Chapter 2

It was a dark night a week after Jake's accident and a week since Diane had been tossed in the dumpster when the young man came to the alleyway, hiding his car under a tarp in the old garage. "This is a good spot to stay in," he said as he sat down before noticing something on the ground and picked it up, recognizing it to be a pair of glasses that were broken. He immediately grew concerned and wondered if someone else was there besides him. "Hello?" He called out. "Is someone here?"

He then heard sniffling and turned to a dumpster, going over and pushing up the lid to find a young woman a year younger than him sitting on the bottom of the dumpster and crying. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

The girl gasped as she looked up to see a young man just a little older than her. Though her vision was a bit blurry, she could somewhat see him. "Who are you?" She asked.

"A friend," he said before smiling. "Hey, why don't you come out of this dumpster? I'll help you out."

The kindness in his voice made her smile and nod. "I would like that, thank you," she said.

Jake reached his hand in. "Take my hand," he said.

Diane did so and she was soon out of the dumpster and standing in the alleyway with the young man that had rescued her. "Thank you. You're very kind," she said. "What is your name?"

"I'm Jake," he said. "May I ask your name?"

"Diane," she replied. "How did you find me?"

"I came here and heard you crying," he said, deciding not to mention the broken glasses for now. "What were you doing in that dumpster?"

She looked away. "I...I'd rather not talk about it," she said softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry," he said, gently touching her arm before looking at her. "You can stay here with me, if you want."

She looked at him. "You're...going to stay here?" She asked in surprise.

He shrugged. "Don't have a home to go to, so yeah," he said. "At least we've got some shelter here."

Diane nodded. "True," she said before smiling. "I...I don't know how to thank you."

"It's okay," he said before noticed it was starting to get late. "It's getting late."

The girl tried to stifle a yawn, but it escaped her, to which Jake began looking around and he managed to find an old, but comfy blanket and a sturdy crate that was long. "Here," he said. "It's not much, but better than sleeping on the ground."

She smiled at his kindness and laid down on the crate while Jake stood beside her, leaning against the wall nearby. Diane looked at him and noticed the blanket was plenty big enough. She smiled and looked at him. "Wanna share? This blanket is big enough for two," she said.

He smiled. "It's fine," he said. "I don't need any comfort anyway."

"Okay," she said before another yawn escaped her. "Goodnight, Jake. And thank you."

"Goodnight, Diane," he said, smiling at her. "You're welcome and sweet dreams."

With that, the young woman fell asleep while Jake sighed as he leaned against the wall, deep in thought as he was unable to let go of the fact that he was forced to quit racing. It hurt him to the point that he just couldn't sleep. Just then, he head an unfamiliar voice in the near distance.

"I wonder what's gotten you both out here on this cold night?" It said.

Jake turned to see a tall man walking towards him, one that wore a suit that was sparkling with with red and gold accents, a dark vest around his waist, heeled boots on his feet, while gloves with gold accents on his hands, and a hat that was on his head but pulled down to cover the top half of his face. Gold, ringed eyes gazed at the young man while a wide smile stretched across the man's face. The boy grew nervous as the stranger came closer. "Who...Who are you?" He asked, moving to where he was standing protectively in front of Diane, who was still sleeping.

The man's smile gentled and he raised his hands in front of him to show he wasn't armed. "Relax, my boy. I mean no harm," he said. "As to who I am, my name is Balan."

The young man wasn't sure, but noticed that Balan was still approaching slowly as if to further show that he truly wouldn't hurt them. "And what is your name, my boy? And the name of the lovely girl behind you?" Balan asked as he paused, giving the boy some space.

He sighed before looking at the tall being. "I'm Jake," he said. "And the girl is named Diane."

"Those are wonderful names," the tall being said with a smile before he looked concerned. "But as I said before, it's very cold out here."

Jake shrugged. "It's not bad," he said.

Balan smiled gently. "Nonetheless, will you two come inside with me?" He asked. "Away from the coldness of the night?"

The young man looked at him warily, unsure about trusting the stranger or not, but he noticed that Balan was being nice to him and Diane. He didn't approach them threateningly and he seemed genuinely concerned for them. The tall being's face softened at seeing the young man's wariness. "Come, my boy, I won't bite," he said coaxingly. "But I'm not going to leave you two to freeze out here either."

The concern and compassion in Balan's voice further convinced Jake to take him up on the offer. Not only that, the young man thought about Diane, looking at her sleeping face before nodding. "Okay," he said, still a little hesitant, but thinking about the young woman beside him.

The maestro smiled, placing a hand on Jake's shoulder. "Come," he said, gesturing to the side where the young man could see a building of sorts. Carefully picking up Diane in his arms so that he didn't disturb her rest, Jake followed Balan to the building and the tall man led him inside, where the warmth of the theater chased away the chill of the night. The maestro led the young man down the hall and into a large living room that had quite a few plush couches in it that looked very comfortable. "You two can rest in here for tonight," Balan said. "I'll see about having rooms ready for you by tomorrow night."

"You...You don't have to do that," Jake said quietly.

"Nonsense, my boy," the tall being said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be better than the streets, yes?"

He couldn't argue that and nodded as he set the still-sleeping Diane on one of the couches, making sure the blanket was tucked around her snugly before he remembered something. "Balan?" He asked.

"Yes?" The maestro replied.

"Before I found Diane, I found a pair of broken glasses near the dumpster where she was hiding in. I think they belong to her," he said. "Do you by chance have some spare glasses here?"

"There should be some in the dress-up room," Balan said before smiling. "Why don't you get some rest and I'll look for the glasses?"

Jake noticed then that he began to feel a bit tired, to which Balan gently guided him to the couch and the young man nodded at him. "Thanks for bringing us out of the cold night, Balan," he said as he settled down beside Diane under the blanket.

"You're welcome, my boy," the tall being said before another blanket appeared in his hands and he placed it over the two. "Rest easy and pleasant dreams."

With that, Balan headed out quietly and Jake fell sound asleep next to Diane.

As the maestro of Positivity headed down the hall, he met up with Lance, who looked at him. "There's a very deep sadness and resentment about Jake," the dark-haired being said. "Diane has a very deep sadness as well."

Balan nodded. "Both their hearts have been broken," he said. "And dreams crushed. I could sense it around them when I found them."

Lance nodded as well. "Hopefully with time, they will heal," he said. "I'll keep an eye on them to make sure the negativity doesn't become too much in them."

"Thank you, Lance," the white-suited being said.

Hopefully, both of the young adults could begin to heal.

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GoldGuardian2418