"A Silver Lining under Bluesy Clouds"
"Why did today have to be so dreary? And why is this kid tailin' me…?"
The day seemed to hate Aiden. Not a fan of rain, he dashed under an awning and threw his hood over his head. The wind didn't help. It made his cold more apparent. Dashing through the rain was his only option, at the time: Stealing medicine from the local pharmacy forced him to make a break, and keep it up for more five blocks. Luckily, he grabbed a brand he knew worked. Nyquil smelled horrible; it tasted even worse. But the purely manmade substance worked wonders on his relatively strong immune system.
He sniffled at the bottle, its dark-green syrup gliding away from the label. The directions were very specific. His lip curled at the side effects' warning. "All meds are like that. Everything in this country is convoluted…Shit."
He looked over his shoulder. The boy following him was a white hedgehog—a frail-looking tenderfoot, to him. He scowled at the boy cringing behind a trash can.
"Hey! I can see you, moron!"
"Ah!" The trash can fell over so inelegantly.
"Quit followin' me…!"
"But I—…?"
Aiden's sinus-clogged threat didn't have much effect on the smaller boy. At an odd, pigeon-toed wobble, more of him was seen. His banana-yellow parka was soaked. And were those cargo shorts?—Crazy kid was the first thing that skirted across Aiden's mind. Those sneakers looked pretty bad, though; more like a lost kid's shoes rather than a homeless one's. Judgment seared into the small boy's soul. He even flinched to prove it.
"I don't know what your aim is, but wandering 'round here will get you killed." The older hedgehog's matter-of-fact tone came out grimly. "You don't know me, so beat it."
"I-I'm not lost, mister…I just…wanted to—um?"
His annoyance peaked. "What the hell, spit it out—I don't have time for this!"
"I wanna help you out!"
"…What? Why?"
"'Cuz you're sick…right?" Sweet eyes hesitated a glance. But when Aiden saw them, his heart skipped. In his hands was a small box of chocolate.
Emerald tacks darted from the boy's sunlit gaze, to the box, and back again. His eyebrow twitched. "What the hell? Why's he lookin' at me like that…?"
Aiden's silhouette was getting harder and harder to see, since the sun was setting. A break in the clouds was a relief to the ragtag community he approached. Rough tumblers in one corner seemed responsible for lighting the neighborhood's bonfire, while an elderly woman spied the older hedgehog entering. Literally snot-nosed seven-year-olds were giving the newcomer behind him odd looks. One even pointed at him, and screamed, "Weirdo!"
Aiden stopped, the frail boy bumping into his back. Burly men stomped up to him. Death glares were exchanged.
"He's with me."
Stern, like a command. The frail boy clutched onto his hoodie as they made their way inside a dilapidated boarding house.
Aiden's room wasn't really a room: A foldout bed had been nailed in. The couch was riddled with holes, and all the cupboards' glass panels had shattered. Some real flatware, but virtually one or two forks and a spoon. Aiden's bed was that couch; the newcomer sat with a cup of tea in his hands.
A teapot simpered. An Aquafina bottle had been tossed to the side.
"I'm Aiden, and this is my pad. Sorry it ain't much, but it's something."
Timid eyes met with the older hedgehog's. Stooping down to sit, he'd brought out the Nyquil bottle. He ripped the seal off with a strong canine. The plastic cap made a break for it, but Aiden wasn't in the mood. "So what's your name, kid?"
The tenderfoot gasped at the sudden question. Shivering a little, he was able to answer with, "V-V-…Venny. Just Venny is fine."
Aiden scowled at the cup, now half-full with that disgusting cough syrup. He pinched his nose, and forced it down the hatch. A choke, but it was down. "Shit! That stuff's bitter like an ex-girlfriend!" He washed it down with what was left from another water bottle. "What was your deal, followin' me like that?"
Venny fiddled with the teacup a bit. "I was…worried. That you'd catch pneumonia or something."
"What're you, a doctor or something?"
"No, but I know one…and you don't have to worry about healthcare or anything—!"
"Sound like a back-alley quack."
"No, for real! He's really good, and—?"
"I ain't goin' to no doctor. So I'm stuck with you tonight for no reason…."
Aiden had no patience for doctors. Plus, he wasn't in a dire situation anyway. All he need was some Nyquil and sleep. Surely, he'd manage that. The downpour saturated his only set of clothes, so he wasn't planning on going back out. Venny kept his eyes on his feet—shoes and socks soaked through and through. But Aiden had grabbed a pillow from off the couch, plopped it down, and leaned back.
Venny watched as the blue hedgehog closed his eyes. A tiny blush came over his cheeks.
"Um…? Why are you going to sleep on the floor?"
"Because you're on my bed."
"Ah! Do you want it back?"
"Nah. You're wet, so I'm good."
There was a flush underneath the older hedgehog's tough exterior. Venny wasn't sure, but Aiden looked like he had a fever. So he dug into his pockets, pulled out whatever was there, and pooled it all onto an old side-table. A string, cracked sunflower hulls, a gum wrapper, and a nickel. Impressed by the 5-cent piece, Venny smiled a little. Although, it wasn't what he was looking for. His back pocket yielded a damp coupon for Walgreens.
A pharmacy. Even better, it was for Theraflu.
A grin skated across Venny's face.
Aiden slept into the night. He wasn't planning on waking up anytime soon, so he didn't hear Venny take off. The small boy's frailty would've been a concern if he'd known him longer.
Unbeknownst to Aiden, some tokens of altruism awaited him. But the boy had vanished into the night, leaving a box of Theraflu, those chocolates, and a note: "Wait another 12-24 hours before taking this, just to be safe. I hope you get better soon, mister! I would say 'I love you,' but that would be weird. ^ w ^" He never came back, either. Like a shooting star.
Like a silver lining under Aiden's clouds.
"A Silver Lining under Bluesy Clouds" End.