Chapter 3: Ride with Me
The Regalia's engine roared to life as the teens peeled away from Noctis' flat and ventured off into the night. A short time later, after some overly-generous helpings of Kenny's fries and a couple of greasy hamburgers, the two stopped into the ice cream parlour that had recently opened across town to top off their meals with a couple of late-night milkshakes. Chocolate for Prompto. Strawberry for the Prince. Both extra-large, of course.
All consumables of the evening had been purchased courtesy of Prompto, who Noctis knew was always flat broke and would probably need to go without lunch money for the next week because of the splurging. However, just for tonight, the Prince allowed himself to be treated. Partly because he knew Prompto wouldn't hear otherwise, and partly because he simply liked the smiling version of his blond accomplice a lot better than the alternative. He also knew that Ignis packed enough food in his lunches to feed a small army, so he could easily share and Prompto would not have to go without.
"If I didn't know better, I would say your mission was to give me a birthday heart attack," the Prince complained jokingly as he clutched his gut and rolled himself behind the wheel of the Regalia on their way from the ice cream parlour.
"You loved every single mouthful of happiness dude, admit it!" the blond quipped, rubbing his own swollen belly. "Gonna have to run twice my normal route tomorrow, but man, that shake was totally worth it!" Prompto snivelled happily.
Noctis chuckled. "Want me to drop you home, or are you crashing?" he asked, turning the key in the ignition. With little parental supervision, the blond was free to come and go as he pleased, with nobody so much as batting an eye if he didn't come home. As such, it wasn't uncommon for Prompto, on occasion, to sleep on Noctis' couch if they were up late gaming. The blond had even acquired a small drawer in Noctis' dresser where he kept a pair of tacky chocobo-print sleep pants, a couple of extra school shirts, and the hair gel he couldn't live without.
"Noct so fast, birthday boy!" the blond exclaimed excitedly, poking an index finger playfully into Noctis' cheek. "There's one more stop we've gotta make before the night is over!" Prompto's fountain of energy was met with an exaggerated eye roll as the raven-haired teen swatted his friend's hand away.
"Seriously, you're killing me!" the Prince joked.
"Don't worry. It's not too far from here, so just drive!"
Under Prompto's direction, the Regalia traversed a few city blocks before pulling onto a narrow avenue lined with shuttered businesses and deserted parking lots. Finally, Noctis was instructed to pull the vehicle into a curb-side parking stall in front of a grungy, dimly lit convenience store.
"What is this place?" questioned Noct, eyebrow raised at the heavy iron bars that decorated all the doors and windows of the shop. Although, in this part of town, it was easy for Noctis to surmise that a little extra security was probably warranted.
"Oh, you'll see," smirked the blond with a wink as the pair made their way inside.
"Ok then. Lead the way," the Prince laughed, holding the door of the seedy establishment open for Prompto while the overhead bells jingled to announce their arrival.
"Evening," the balding, middle-aged shop clerk muttered out of what was clearly store policy rather than any true desire to greet them. The unfriendly man remained slumped over his newspaper behind the checkout counter, eyeing the two teens suspiciously as Prompto gingerly pulled Noctis by the wrist through the aisles of overpriced snackage until they were at the back of the store, standing next to a shabby red curtain.
"You can thank me later," the blond grinned. "Just step inside," he added, holding back the faded fabric for his friend to enter. Stepping inside as instructed, the Prince's eyes grew immediately wide, heat rushing to his cheeks. The small back room was peppered from floor to ceiling with a graphic selection of pornographic magazines, movies, and sex toys.
"Woah."
The blond grabbed his dumbfounded friend around the shoulder and jostled him light-heartedly. "Heh, what did I tell ya? Every man's paradise, right?" he asked, arm outstretched and gesturing toward the vast array of porn.
"I guess… you could say that," the raven-haired teen mumbled, pausing halfway to clear his throat.
"Don't be shy, buddy! There is definitely something here to suit every taste. Trust me."
Noctis felt awkward as he glanced around the room, curiously surveying its contents. The Prince was not used to seeing such explicit material. His laptop and phone were checked regularly by the palace Crownsguard for potential security breaches, spyware, and whatnot, so he'd never dared to delve far into the bowels of the internet. How on earth did Prompto find this place?
"So?" Prompto asked expectantly. "What do you think?"
"I can't… even…" Noctis' words were barely audible as he tilted his head, trying to figure out which limbs belonged to who in the sea of naked flesh plastered across one of the video box covers.
"You think Iggy would approve?" the blond asked, nonchalantly reading the back of one of the magazines.
"Um, definitely not," the mesmerized Prince managed to articulate after swallowing the inordinate amount of saliva building up in his mouth. So many naked bodies…
"How exactly did you say you found this place again?"
"I have my ways," Prompto smirked proudly.
"Hey Noct, look at these! Where do you suppose they go?" snickered the blond, holding up a pack of fluorescent orange anal beads and cracking up at the deep shade of red his best friend was turning. Prompto seemed to be having way too much fun with this.
"Heh, you're kinda cute when you're embarrassed," Prompto blurted out. "I mean, uh," he stammered, scratching at the back of his head with his free hand. "You know. This is just fun! I had to show you!" And there it was – the ear-to-ear infamous Prompto smile that was as bright as sunshine and dangerously infectious.
"Yeah, well… thanks. I guess," Noct chuckled.
Prompto moved to return the shrink-wrapped sex toy back to the rack from whence it originated. But suddenly, somehow, the corner of the plastic packaging snagged the edge of the cheap metal shelf. Before either teen realized what was happening, the very precariously installed wall rack had slipped entirely off its base and was crashing down onto the rows of shelves below.
"Shit!" cried the blond, flapping his arms in a frantic yet futile attempt to stop the tidal wave of falling merchandise as the contents of the entire wall display toppled into a heaping crash of boxes and plastic clattering across the tiled floor.
Prompto stared in panic at the mess strewn about his feet. Realizing that he would never be able to pay for anything that might be broken, the blond grabbed a hold of his friend who was standing frozen and wide-eyed amongst a mound of dildos and miscellaneous porn. Dragging Noct by his puffy outerwear, Prompto made a mad scramble for the exit. "Come on, dude! Let's get outta here!"
In his speedy exodus, the blond sprinted past the curtain and brought up solid in an unforeseen obstruction on the other side.
"Umm, sorry! Didn't see you there," squawked the blond nervously, feigning innocence as his realized the obstacle was a very broad chest stuffed into a tight, skull-printed t-shirt. Wearily raising his eyes, the blond winced in the enormous shadow of the hulking stranger. And why was this man soaking wet? The smell of coffee and the empty cup in his hand probably had something to do with it.
"Oh man," Prompto muttered. Without thinking, he dove into his pockets for the leftover napkins he'd stashed away during their earlier visit to the burger joint and tried patting the man's shirt to stop the dripping liquid.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the man's deep voice resounded angrily as he peered down upon the thinly-framed teenager in front of him.
"Ahhh, sorry!" cried the blond, holding up his hands and letting the wet napkins fall to the ground. What a mess. He was so screwed. Prompto began preparing mentally for an imminent ass-whooping.
"My friend's just clumsy. We should probably get going," the Prince said, firmly tugging on Prompto's wrist. "Come on, Prom."
But as Noctis spoke, the man's irritated expression transformed into an unexpected grin. He slowly turned toward the Prince. "Well, look who we have here," the man exclaimed, reaching down into his satchel. "Never thought I'd see someone like you in a place like this. Almost didn't recognize you in that baseball hat," he sneered. A heavy item emerged from the stranger's knapsack, which the teens quickly realized was a camera. A pretty fancy one, with a huge zoom lens. It was the type of camera the paparazzi carried around town when they were fishing for royal news…
Prompto looked in his friend's direction, exchanging a panicked glance with Noctis that affirmed what both of them were thinking – they were in big trouble.
"We gotta go! See ya around!" shouted the blond before pushing hastily past the cameraman, causing the heavy-set man to lose his balance and fall backward into a stand of chips and candy bars, sending more merchandise scattering all over the place.
"Shit man, run!" Prompto cried as the two teens sprinted top speed toward the shop exit.
"Get back here!" the cameraman yelled after the teenagers. "Smile for the camera you little douchbags!" he shouted while climbing back onto his feet and chasing after them, camera flashing a mile a minute.
As the boys dashed past the front counter, Noctis noticed the shop-keeper reaching under the desk. Probably for a gun to scare off the delinquents that just messed up his store.
Blowing past the shop clerk the teens burst through the front door and boarded the Regalia. The photographer wasn't far behind, chasing them down the sidewalk and shouting at another man who was standing against a parking meter having a cigarette. "Get in the car!" the cameraman yelled at his partner while shooting a couple of photographs of the royal vehicle and hopping into a run-down Cadillac. The second man threw down his unfinished smoke and joined the other man in the dilapidated vehicle.
"Dude. Drive! Now!" Prompto shouted at Noctis, seeing the paparazzi jump into their vehicle. There was jingling as the shopkeeper emerged threateningly from the store with a 12-gauge in-hand. Wasting no time, the Regalia's engine roared to life and the teens put pedal to metal as they tore away from the shop front.
"Can you believe this?" the Prince complained, shooting Prompto an accusatory scowl before looking behind them in the rear view mirror.
"Sorry dude! I swear, I don't look for trouble… trouble looks me," replied the blond with a worried grin.