Disclaimer: I do not own anything. All the rights belong to those they belong to. I just want to write this story. Enjoy.
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Summary: Alec thinks he's perfect, well Max has news for him.
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Today is just one of those days that sucks. There's no coffee at home, the soda machine is empty and it's raining buckets outside. One run, that's all I did today, and I am done. If Normal has anything to say about it he could just talk to my backside.
I'm completely drenched. My hair sticks to my face. My clothes stick to my body and my front wheel is so wobbly I fell off once today!
In general, I am not a happy camper.
I walk the bike into Jam Pony and down the ramp slowly. My sneakers squeak leaving puddles in my wake.
"Can't you move faster!" Alec demands coming in the same way I am; drenched to the bone with a pissed off look on his face.
"What's your hurry?" I scowl keeping the pace.
"A turtle just passed you!" He barks sharply pushing right past me, and into the area where I hear him drop the bike right onto the ground. He won't hear anything about it because he is the "golden boy" around here.
Did he just call himself a turtle?
Anyways, not my problem.
Normal stops me. "Hot run! Eighty-nine Peet Street!"
My eyes lay lazily on him. He's looking at me. He can clearly see that I am drenched to the bone. To make a point I ring my hair out right in front of him making the gathering puddle bigger.
"When you get the chance," he says. I take the package. The address is close to Joshua's. I'll drop it off and go see him and make sure he is alright. I know his roof leaks in certain spots.
This is my last run of the day. I am not coming back.
I go over to my locker to look for something dry. I only have sweat shirt so I swap it out just as Original Cindy comes over soaked to the bone, and just as pissed.
"I'm out," she declares shoving her next delivery in her locker. "Little John Pecker can wait until tomorrow for whatever the hell is in the package. Probably just junk anyways. Are you heading home?"
"I'm going to visit Joshua, and then I'll be home. Meet you there."
"Cool." She pulls up her wet hood as she walks away. I don't see Alec so he must've headed home as well. Whatever his problem is he must've created it himself.
Back out in the downpours I see that the humidity has decided to kick itself up a notch along with the fog. The sun hasn't come out in a week. It's normal for it to rain, but this is ridiculous. The pothole next to my apartment will soon be our very own swimming pool.
I pick up some food for Joshua and do my best to keep it dry. Luckily, everything is packaged. Nothing will go bad.
I walk in to all the lights off and Joshua sleeping in his favorite spot in the living room. He has a few blankets on himself and a few books around him. One is open up. I bookmark it for him.
I take off my sneakers and jacket and put them in a pile on the floor. I curl up in the arm chair by the fire. It warms me immediately. Maybe I'll dry off before I go out and get wet again.
I watch him sleep until the feeling overcomes me.
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I wake up covered in three blankets and the fire going strong in the fireplace.
"How are you feeling?" Joshua questions.
"Feeling?"
"You shake in your sleep today. I thought you were cold so I put the blankets on you. Didn't work."
I look around. The sun still hasn't come out; better yet, its actually night. How long have I been asleep?
My wet clothes are drooped on a wooden drying rack that is placed near the fireplace. My shoes are on top.
"I must've had a small seizure in my sleep?" I question more to myself than him. I haven't had one of those in a very long time.
"Seizure?" Joshua questions. The kettle in the kitchen whistles so he disappears and comes back with a cup of tea for me. He hands it to me, and I'm careful to watch my hands for any shaking.
They are fine.
"Thank you."
He sits down on the arm of the chair. "What is a seizure?" he questions again.
"It's when my body goes all whacky."
"You had a seizure," he says, "but no worries, I put a pillow under your head so you wouldn't hit it."
Sure enough there is a pillow on the floor that must've fallen off the chair.
"Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you." I sit up and stretch my back. "I better get home. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Wait! Here." He holds out a large umbrella with a very rusted handle.
"Thanks Big Fella."
"Goodbye Little Fella."
I head home in a light drizzle now. The streets are quieter than normal because of the rain, but the puddles are up to my sock line. One thing I can't stand is wet sneakers, and today that's what I had to deal it.
I get home and OC is in the kitchen cooking something on the stove. Her eyes go to me and she is not happy.
"What's wrong?" I question removing my socks and shoes. I roll up my pants to my knees.
"Your boy!" she says. She drains her noodles an adds jar sauce to the pot. The smell alone puts me in a better mood, but not much.
"My boy?" I question, "What are you talking about?"
"Alec! Remember that pan of brownies I made last night?"
"Yeah?"
"He ate the whole thing and is sleeping in your bed right now." She shows me the empty pan. Just the outline remains of what was a whole tray filled to the rim.
"What!?" I go over and see him curled up in my blankets with his greasy face all up in my pillow.
Oh hell no!
I go over, sit very lightly, turn sideways and double leg kick him off my bed.
He wakes up quickly and sits up disoriented. His eyes go to me.
"Max, what the hell is wrong with me!?" he demands. His hands are shaking. He runs his hands through his hair and stops them there. They still shake. He drops them. He's sweating.
I smirk. "Guess you're not as perfect as you thought you were."
"I am perfect!" He declares.
"Manticore never made a perfect person, and they never will."
Alec gets off the floor and sits down on my bed. He squares his shoulders.
Cindy comes over to us. "Are you staying for dinner?" She questions. He looks from her, and then to me. He shrugs. "Yeah." He lays back down with my favorite blanket over the top half of his body.
"We're all flawed. What we have in flaws we make up for in other areas. We just have to deal. Get used to it. If someone didn't tamper with us we'd then be perfect."
"Far from it," he says. Buddy boy always thought he was one step above me, well now he just got knocked down to my level. A punch to the ego, oooh, it must hurt.
"This is the only time you will ever be in my bed. I have tryptophan. You need it." I retrieve it from my drawer. He holds up a hand. I hand him two. He takes them, but a few seconds later he throws them up in the bathroom sink. He goes back to bed. I shake my head. I guess he needs to be knocked down a few more pegs to be officially on my level. On my level he will get around the fact that he is flawed and learn to live daily.
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Thanks for reading.