Fair Ain't What I'm Looking For
Chapter Two: The Building Held So little Light Before
They lead him out of The City, well, not necessarily. Technically they were still in The City, but outside the weaving tunnels and glass encased walls. They walked for what felt like half an hour and came out a long metal tunnel lit by dim lights. Where they stopped was a mile or so to a place called Hedos. There weren't many buildings in this lonely section of The City and seemed void of people.
Christopher turned to him, "It's actually nearest to the top."
"David, the guy you'll be living with, is possibly the only person who still is cared about by his family," said Ryan.
"Though his sister is a prize piece," muttered Christopher.
"If he's still in his families good graces, why is he here?" Jack gazed up to see a large building.
"His family was, but the town isn't Saint Morning Hallians aren't exactly the most accepting of people. As you may have noticed," said Christopher stopping in front of the door to knock loudly.
"No kidding, but I guess that means he did some unsavory things?" Jack stared at the dark windows lining the building.
"You could say that," said Ryan waving as the front door opened to reveal a curly haired brunette.
Jack raised his eyebrows and automatically smiled at the brunette, "Hi."
"David, this is Jack, he'll be staying with you for now," said Christopher gesturing at Jack.
David stared at him for a moment before extending out his hand, "Hey, uh, come on in."
The three of them followed David inside the place was dark in color but filled with light. David lead them to a siting room four chairs surrounded a wooded table with glass embedded in it. Jack took the seat closest to David and Christopher and Ryan sat at the chairs across.
"So, you live by yourself?" asked Jack.
David arched an eyebrow, but then nodded, "This is more like a holding area till Shawn figures out if he can trust you or not."
"Oh."
"David," hissed both Christopher and Ryan.
"Just telling him the truth," David shrugged as he got up and walked out the room.
Ryan turned to Jack, "He doesn't like that Shawn deposits people on him."
"What with his life being at stake and all," said Christopher.
"What do you mean?" Jack furrowed his brows.
"Shawn may trust David, but since he lives the farthest away it's safe to say that if a new person tries to kill someone, it won't be someone important," supplied Ryan.
David was standing at the doorway carrying a tray of drinks, "More specifically, Shawn."
"Exactly!" said Ryan.
Christopher reached over and hit him, "What do you expect when you choose to live out in Hedos to be closer to your family?"
"Well not all of us get the opportunity to live in Rhapsody with Shawn," David set the tray on the table and handed Jack a cup.
"You have to admit, working for him does have it's perks," Christopher reached over and grabbed the cups for him and Ryan.
"Plus being friends with him when he discovered this place," said Ryan taking the cup.
"So you guys knew him before this, how the hell old are you guys?" Jack set his cup down after taking a sip of the warm tea.
Christopher motioned to himself, "I'm nineteen, Ryan's seventeen, Anthony's sixteen going on seventeen in like a week, and Shawn's fifteen going on sixteen in about three months."
"Why do you guys all follow the fifteen year old?"
"There's just something about him you have to respect," said David staring down into his own cup.
"Shawn went through hell and back to be the kind of person he is today," Ryan finished off his cup and put it back down on the table.
Christopher did the same and stood Ryan followed suit, "There are a lot of things about Shawn that new comers aren't privy to, but one thing should be made clear. Try anything and you won't live to face the next five minutes."
"Way to intimidate Chris," said David waving as they walked out the room to leave.
The room was silent till Jack finally decided to voice a question, "Does every building have name?"
David stood to collect the cups and tray, motioning Jack to follow him, "It's more like sectors. Shawn lives in the largest sector thusly named Rhapsody. They all had names before we got here."
"So Anthony wasn't lying when he said the people who lived here before went crazy?" Jack stared at the elaborate kitchen as it came into view, the place was stark white, glistening.
"No, and that notebook he carries, now has your name in it by the way," David deposited the cups in the sink and tossed the tray on top of the small pile of other brown trays.
"What's that, like, a list of people he don't trust?" Jack continued to follow David who lead them out the kitchen.
David started up a spiraling stairway the walls had pictures hanging on them of people Jack assumed were David's family. A blond woman, a man with short hair and a mustache, a young boy with dark hair, and a long haired brunette girl. Jack definitely had seen her somewhere before.
"He has a variety of notebooks. People who live in The City, what sector they live in, who they live with, people who no longer live here and why. He's meticulous about keeping records," David opened a door and lead Jack into a room.
"I take it this is where I'll be staying?" Jack walked over to the sparsely blanketed bed and pushed down on the mattress, testing its softness.
"My room is just across the hall, extra blankets are kept in the closet along with the towels over there and there's a bathroom connected to your room," David pointed him in various directions.
"If you don't mind my asking, what part exactly do you play down here?" Jack sat on the bed.
"Resources, sort of. Once a month Anthony gives me a list of things we need, first aid, fabrics, an assortment of things with a set amount of money that we, acquire. I give the money and the list to my parents who buy them and I bring it all back here."
"I suppose being on good terms with your family has its perks," Jack didn't mean for it to come off the way it had.
"My parents understand and respect all the decisions I've made in my life and I don't appreciate someone who just fell from the top calling them perks," David walked out the room semi-slamming the door as he left.
"Pushed a button apparently," Jack just stared at the door for a moment.
-x-
Shawn sat perched on his chair as he watched Anthony filing things away. All of Anthony's notebooks looked more like real books and filled up half the study library. That wasn't to say that none of the books were actually literature. Shawn was more then willing to share so long as people weren't adverse to being watched as they picked out reading material. Only a small handful of people actually came to get books so it didn't really interfere much with Shawn's business of sorts.
Anthony turned and smiled when he found Shawn watching him. The two of them had known each other since they were seven and eight. It had just been the two of them till they'd hit thirteen and fourteen. Anthony's parents had been so warm and caring while Shawn's had been distant and in the midst of divorce. That year Shawn had met Nick in one of his classes, they hadn't hit if off at all as friends.
In fact, Shawn had been so mean to Nick that an older boy, Ryan, and his friend, Christopher, had came to settle things. Nick had been no where in sight. Anthony remembered that scuffle so well. Shawn had jumped straight to violence, a product of his fathers violent tendencies, and pummeled the hell out of Ryan and Christopher when the two had only come to talk.
It was at that point Nick seemingly appeared and without warning angrily hit Shawn in the face. Shawn had been taken aback, but had a new found respect for the boy. At the time Shawn had only laughed and told the boy he had moxie and simply walked off a smile on his face. That night, another reason Anthony recalled that day so vividly, was the night the two of them sat in the dark of night and finally admitted something they'd been so scared of admitting.
The door flung open and David angrily walked in, "Yeah, that new guy you stuck me with, not gonna happen."
"I take it he already did something wrong?" Shawn arched an eyebrow at him.
"He called my parents perks, they're not perks, they actually give a crap!"
"Don't have to tell me twice, but can you blame anyone for thinking something like that down here?" said Shawn rolling his cane back and forth between his hands.
"Well-"
Anthony cut him off, writing something in a notebook, "You have to remember you're alone in your group David, the rest of us never had the luxury of good caring parents who continued to care after they found out. The fact of the matter is-"
Shawn firmly jabbed his cane on the ground between his feet, "We trust no one but ourselves, regardless if they help us or not. Keep in mind, your family is in a very dangerous equation, we might end up being their get-out-of-jail free card. I ain't having that."
"Beg your pardon?" David frowned.
"We keep close tabs on everyone remember that, little Davey," Shawn nodded his head in the direction of the door, clearly done with the conversation now.
David gently took a deep breath and quickly turned on his heels out the door.
Shawn looked to Anthony and laughed, "My god the balls some of these guys have."
"Well those balls are the reason we found out that guy even fell down here," Anthony paused, "well, more like the body with the mouth that's attached."
"You can never fix the sentence you messed up, I command it so, it wouldn't be funny otherwise," Shawn smiled at him.
Anthony tossed his notebook carelessly aside and cocked a grin at Shawn,"Why don't you command me to do something more worth while?"
Shawn was about about to, but paused, "I always thought it was wild...but I guess while makes more sense."
"Please don't ponder, it always ruins the moment," Anthony hung his head.
"I can fix that," Shawn reached over and pulled Anthony closer to the chair.
"Take as long as you need," Anthony's voice went low as he inched closer to Shawn.
The door was flung open once again.
Shawn jerked his head in the direction of the door, "Nick, I want you to strangle David, and then, yourself."
"What I do this time?!" he looked surprised and defensive, hands in the air.
"Forgot your manners!"
"But I was coming to tell you food was ready," he folded his hands behind his back and smiled in a genuinely friendly manner.
"Who cooked, Ryan or Chris?" asked Shawn grabbing his cane and sliding it through his belt loop.
"Chris," Nick smiled.
"Thank Rhapsody,"muttered Shawn as he and Anthony followed the other boy out to the dinning area, closing the door behind them.
-x-
The sound of silverware clanked and scrapped against the plates loudly as Jack and David ate in silence. Jack was under the impression that he highly offended the curly haired boy, which was actually the farthest from what he wanted to do. He was going to be living with this guy and a hostile atmosphere was the last thing he was looking for after falling down here. David sighed again for the eleventh time during their meal and twentieth since he'd returned home from where ever he'd stormed off to earlier.
Jack finally decided to chance a look at David.
David paused in the gentle jabbing of his food and slowly raised his head to lock eyes with Jack.
"I'm really sorry 'bout what I said earlier 'bout your parents," Jack went to staring back down at his food.
David stared at him for a moment, no one had ever apologized to him before. Everyone down in The City loved to insult him, regardless of the fact that he brought in a lot of the luxury things they wouldn't be able to get on their own. No one dare do it though when Shawn was in the same room as he. Shawn liked to install random strange rules such as: insult someone to their back not their face. How that was supposed to help, David never quite got, but when it was David by himself no one followed it. Only those close who lived with Shawn followed most of them to an informal degree.
"...thank you," when Jack actually looked at him David felt a smile subtlety twitch itself onto his face.
Jack when he smiled, David noticed, seemed to light up the room. This was the first time in ages someone had smiled at him and meant it. That was excluding Nick, who smiled genuinely at everyone. David always got the feeling Nick was overcompensating for something, but the only person Nick ever really talked to deeply about things was Ryan.
He picked some food off his plate and actually started to eat, maybe Jack could be his Nick. David smiled then caught his train of thought and mentally berated himself. Jack would probably turn out to be exactly like the rest of them, but a small part of him desperately hoped otherwise. Though as David had learned, hope was a very desolate thing in his position.
"So what do you guys do for fun down here?"
David looked up from his plate, "Well, I could show you around Hedos, but that would only take twenty minutes. I would show you Rhapsody, but I try to avoid that place at all costs unless I'm being summoned."
"Or, you know, you get angry at your new tenant," it wasn't hurtful, more like poking fun, and subtle inquiry.
David nodded and smiled, "Yeah, or that."
"How many people live, uh, here in Hedos?" Jack didn't want the conversation to die.
"Well, there's Robert and Fletcher, oh uh, Tace, Linda, Anika he's a strange one, a lot of un-noteworthy people excluding Fletch. He and Nick are like the handy men around The City. The only reason Fletcher lives in Hedos is because Robert doesn't do too well in large groups."
Jack had ceased eating, which David found slightly funny, no one usually stopped to listen to him, so he just kept going.
"He actually lived in Saint Morning Hall, like me. The only difference is They got a hold of him," David polished off his plate and rose to take it to the kitchen.
Jack wolfed down what was left on his plate and followed David, "They?"
"Not the gun men. If you're actually rich enough, you know, come from a well off family They come and take you away. They being the Reformers. They think they can fix you, but it's more like destroy. Same thing happened to Shawn, but back in his own home town. I never said any of that by the way."
"I never heard of these Reformers before, but if they got Shawn...why ain't he so bothered?" they rinsed off their plates clean in the sink and sat them in a rack.
"It's hard to say, the only people who actually know are Ryan, Chris, Nick, and most definitely for sure Anthony. Every once in a while I have to make urgent runs in the middle of the night to get medicine and take it straight back to Anthony," David really wished he could shut his mouth, he was revealing too much.
"I guess everyone's a little screwed up," muttered Jack as he leaned against the counter.
"So why were you running?"
"I was being chased by the Sai-"
"I mean to begin with Jack? Why'd you start?" David leaned against the counter as well.
Jack paused for a moment then stared down at the opulent tile, who ever built this place put a lot of money into it, "I no longer had reason to stay,"
"I didn't have the choice," David pushed himself off the counter and headed for the stairs, "I'm going to bed, I'll see you in the morning, night Jack."
Jack simply watched as David made his way up the stairs and out of sight. He learned so much just out of one conversation. He got the feeling that David hardly got the chance to talk to other people in a friendly manner on a daily basis. There was a thin wall surrounding David and Jack could tell the curly haired boy desperately wanted someone to break it and catch him. Well, really, David just struck Jack as extremely lonely and he just wanted to make the guy smile more. That was all, really.
-x-
A/N: I'm excruciatingly enjoying writing this fic and I hope those of you who are reading it are enjoying it as well. This is the first time I've tried to do something like this so it means a lot to me in many ways. It's a long way from high school fic's and the average teenage hook-up story.
Chapter three: Castle Made Of Sand
What we see in our dreams, what of reality could possibly compare? Jack might find nightmares may be better.
Ps. much love for Girlwithabrokenheart, for reviewing, I'm glad you're liking this!