Author's note: This story is only possible thanks to the wonderful permission of Data Girl 3. Considering that I'm stealing her character, it's probably better that I asked! Hope I can keep Emily in character! (It's so weird referring to Angel as 'he'!)
1987
There weren't many people on the street. The man sitting on the street with the overturned bucket was the only person on the streets at three am. He had nowhere else to go. It had been a rough year for him. He had been evicted from his apartment three months prior, when his landlord found out he was almost a year behind on rent. He had had a run-in with a group of idiot skinheads earlier that week. At that point, he'd been in drag. The skinheads had been harassing a young Latina girl, and he had stepped in to help her. When the guy had started in on him, he'd looked the idiot straight in the eye and replied, "I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, and more of a woman than you'll ever get." The guys had backed off after that, and he had directed the Latina, Mimi, to a safe place.
Angel had had a rough time after that. Just this morning, he'd found out that he had HIV. Rather than let the news depress him, Angel had found a support group. They'd welcomed him gladly.
But he still had no place to live. Out of sheer boredom, he started to drum on his overturned bucket, one of his few possessions. After of few moments, a window opened above Angel's head. A girl not much younger than him, if at all, with frizzy brown hair leaned out. "Excuse me, but I've got a group of sleeping children up here. Not that you're not good, but your drumming is going to wake them up. If you wouldn't mind…"
Angel smiled, stowing the drumsticks in his pocket. "Sorry about that. I'll go somewhere else."
The girl watched him walk off. Sighing, she called out to him. "Wait a second." Angel turned, but the girl's head had vanished from the window. A second later, she was hurrying out the door of her building. "Do you have a place to stay?"
Angel shrugged. "I'm fine, really."
The brunette girl looked skeptical. "And I'm not stupid. Come on, you should at least stay the rest of the night. It's late, and you'd be better off in here getting some rest then on the streets, where I'm sure you where probably heading. So, what do you say?"
Angel considered the girl's offer for a minute. "Well, alright. You win." He smiled at her. "I'm Angel."
"Emily Goodhall. Well, come in, and let me go get Nana. She gets final say on who gets to stay here.
o0o
The next morning, Angel gathered up his things. Emily smiled. "You don't have to leave, you know. You can stay as long as you need."
Angel smiled. "Thanks, Emily, but I really do need to get going. You and Nana have been great, but I don't really like to stay in one place too long, and I don't want to impose."
"It's not imposing. I invited you."
"I appreciate it, Emily. I do. But like I said, I don't really like staying in one place." Angel chuckled. "I'll come back and visit. How's that sound?"
"The kids would love it. They really like you, you know. Especially Penny. When can we expect you?"
"I don't know. Soon, I promise." With that, Angel left the Center. He and Emily would never meet again.