Todd, unbaptized and uncourted by any religion, hovered outside the patch of ground that was designated ▒holy▓, watching the doors of the little catholic church and knowing he looked damned obvious, there, but there was nowhere to hide. The church was clean, white walled, and dedicated to the Holy Virgin, sporting a high marble statue on a pedestal in front. The virgin, clean and unmarred by dirt and time, stood with her hands outstretched, welcoming with a serene, maternal smile, an unjudging look. He knew better than that, too. Todd, smoking his fifth cigarette leaned against the lamp post, listened to the faint voice coming from inside. He couldn▓t make the words out, just a slow, steady droning, sometimes other voices, sometimes music.
The mass cycled through. The Virgin still stood there, smiling at him, palms open.
Todd glared at her. She was lying, and she was cruel.
Finally the dark, heavy doors pushed open and the milling congregation filed out, most of them dressed for a Sunday, and Todd▓s attention perked. He waited. The crowd wandered towards their parked cars, or on foot back to their houses or their Sunday brunches or whatever the hell good little Catholics did after Mass. Todd waited. There, at the end of them all, dark hair in a good suit, and pale, holographic skin that never quite looked real. It was too perfect. Todd stood straight, and grinned, waving him over from his place safely outside holy ground.
⌠Hey! Dawg!■ he called. Kurt looked at him, and froze, face slowly draining to white. The other parishioners ignored them both.
⌠Thought I▓d surprise you!■ Todd called, grinning. ⌠Wanna go get lunch? Yer payin, of course.■
Kurt glanced furtively around the dispersing group, eyes settling for a brief, pained moment on the white marble statue of the Virgin Mary. His eyes lowered and his mouth set in a line. Walking quickly, he crossed the little church yard to where Todd waited by the lamp post, the set of his shoulders all wrong.
⌠Todd, don▓t you EVER come meet me here again!■ he hissed, looking quickly to see if anyone else heard.
Todd blinked at him, grin faded. ⌠Huh?■
Kurt shook his head. ⌠Not here.■
He looked back at the white church guiltily, looking anywhere but at Todd, and moved off, trying to act normal, like he hadn▓t just come out of church to find his boyfriend standing there, bold as anything before God. Todd looked after him, mystified, but slowly his mouth pulled down into a sneer, glancing up at the statue of the Virgin, hands outstretched, welcoming.
⌠Bitch.■ Todd muttered, and stalked off the opposite direction.