Matthew was halfway dressing into his clothes from his Naveen costume when he heard a familiar voice coming from inside the breakroom, he hurried his walk until he entered the room. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “You’re back.”
Landon had been on the phone with his mom, letting out a laugh as she started to reply. He heard someone walk in, causing him to spin around. He tensed up when he saw Matt, immediately hanging up on his call. “Uh- Yeah. Hi Matt.”
Zavir stumbled back as the fist collided with his face, falling backwards onto the ground as he felt thick, hot blood run from his nose. Just as he heard Landon pleading for the man to stop the man kicked Zavir in his abdomen before giving him a disgusting look, walking away. Zavir clutched his stomach in pain, coughing up more blood as his eyes screwed shut. He was convinced that this was all a dream now – he would never go out by himself, get drunk, and confront someone like that. He wasn’t sure what had gotten to him but he regretted every moment of it. The ground was hard and cold as he curled himself into the fetal position, waiting for the the man to come back and finish.
Landon let out a worried sigh as the man walked away, Landon eyeing him as he disappeared into the darkness. He rushed to the boy, sitting himself down, with his legs crossed behind the boy’s head. He carefully slid his hands under the boy’s neck, lifting his head up into Landon’s lap. He moved his hands, lightly playing with Zavir’s hair as he began to speak in a quiet voice, leaning forward so it’d be easier for the other boy to hear. “Hey, hey, it’s gonna be okay. Just try and stay awake, if you have a concussion, I don’t want you falling asleep.” He bit his lip, a wave of anxiety flooding over him as he did his best to comfort the boy in his lap.
Julian couldn’t help but laugh at his response. “You’re afraid of riding it?“ He was slightly shocked. “Ahh, it’s not that bad. I’m gonna make it my goal to have you conquer your fear and by the end of it, you’ll be rushing to go on it again.”
Landon threw his hands up, letting out a quiet laugh as he spoke. “No, no, no. I don’t do well in the dark, it freaks me out. And that’s all that ride is, so I’ll pass. But, hey, if you’re ever feeling a ride with the ol’ Landster, he’s particularly a fan of that Dumbo ride.”
“Yeah, oh god. I know what you mean. I’ll be checking out dat ash if you know what I mean,“ he joked. “But no, it’s great. I always feel bad for the terrified kids whose parents force them to ride it though.”
“Well, I guess I’d rather have you checking out my ass than it getting attacked. So, I’d say it’s a fair trade, and I hope you enjoy the view.” He said, giggling as his cheeks turned bright red. “But, uh, yeah. I’m one of those people who is terrified to ride it, so I can relate. I hate watching kids have to ride it, because I know what they’re going through.”
“It’s ok, we may be strangers but I got your back. And I work at the Haunted Mansion. I like to make sure that no one tries to dump ashes,” he laughs.
“Thank you, my back needs all the protection it can get. There are some crazy people out there, let me tell you. And that sounds like it’s fun, always has to be a good time when your job is to be on ash patrol. I can’t say I’d be good at that job. Freaks me out too much.”
“Ah, nice. I’m sure everyone you do know is glad to have you back. Fresh starts are always nice. I actually started working here a few days ago.”
“I can only hope! I like to think that I wasn’t completely hated by everyone, but who really knows. And that’s cool, I hope you enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun, if you let it be. What exactly do you do?”
Zavir felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket, causing him to look around before realizing he’d gotten a text. It took him a while to unlock his phone since he’d forgotten his password, but eventually he opened it, his long, skinny finger clicking the messages button. He had to squint his eyes to read Landon’s text properly, looking around him. [some treess and a mcdonalds and gas] Zavir managed to respond, hoping to let Landon know he was in Williamsburg without remember that he lived in the tiny town. Just as he slipped his phone in his back pocket, a man shouted, “Clean up yourself, you piece of shit!” Zavir balled his hands into fists as he turned around, shouting back, “Hey, why don’t you shut the fuck up?” Zavir quickly realized what he’d said, his eyes widening as the tall, burly man much bigger than him turned around and began walking towards him. “What the fuck did you say to me?” The man asked Zavir, his breath hot, fanning on Zavir’s face. “I said, why don’t you shut the fuck up?” Zavir had absolutely no idea where this confidence had stemmed inside of his one-hundred and ten pound body but he could hear his own fear as he returned the piercing gaze. He began praying that Landon would get here soon, before realizing that the man had drawn his fist back, aiming for Zavir’s face.
Landon let out a sigh of relief as he felt his phone buzz again, having already made it to the car by the time he’d gotten the text. He quickly read it and had a good assumption as to where the other boy was. There weren’t many places that had a McDonalds and a gas station right next to each other around here, so he thought he’d try the closest one first. Before starting his car, he sent a quick text back to Zavir. [Okay, I’ll be there soon. Don’t worry!] He slipped his phone into his cup holder, carefully pulling out of his apartment complex and headed to where he hoped he’d find the other boy. After a few minutes, he pulled into the parking lot of the gas station, parking his car and getting out. He walked around for a moment, looking for any sign of the boy who seemed to be rather lost, before spotting two figures sitting on the side of the road, seeming to be having an argument. He made his way closer to the pair, recognizing one of the people to be Zav just as the larger man winded up and decked Zavir in the face. Landon gasped loudly, immediately running over to where the two were standing. He stood beside them, not exactly knowing how to handle the situation, he decided to put his hands out in front of him as he felt a few tears roll down his cheeks out of fear. “Stop! Leave him alone.” He pleaded.