He's Dead

Stepping out into the summer night of Possums was an experience, whether it was pleasant or not is still up for debate. The sound of cars driving down the worn road and the occasional group of people on the sidewalk is all that's in Andre's mind as he stares at the cigarette sitting between his middle and index finger, his line of sight focusing on the glowing orange tip of the currently burning cigarette. The back door of the gas station creaked open, and another teenage boy stepped out, flashing Andre a lopsided grin, which showed a row of white teeth. "Hey, dude. Whatcha been up to?" The boy asked, letting the door fall shut behind him as he walked closer to Andre, leaning against the brick wall similarly to Andre himself.

Andre glanced toward Seth and gave the kid a small nod. "Nothing, you?" Andre asked after a moment. Seth shrugged as he reached a hand over toward his friend, pulling a box of cigarettes from Andre's pocket. "Same, bro," Seth said, sighing through his nose before opening the small box and pulling a cigarette out.

"...Okay."

A moment of cold silence mixing in with the hot, damp air of the night made a stark contrast that, if Andre were alone, he would let himself shudder, his shoulders tensing and rising closer to his ears for a moment as his body gave a light tremble. After Seth had taken a lighter from his pocket and lit the cigarette that was now hanging from his pale lips, he reached a hand up and pinched the cigarette with his thumb and index finger, pulling it from his mouth to continue the conversation.

"So, anything interesting going on between you and Katie?" Seth asked, flashing his friend another grin before turning to the black and blue of the sky. The response Seth reserved was simply an eye roll and a quick slap on the shoulder, a second of silence hanging loosely between the two before Andre opened his mouth to respond, only to be promptly interrupt by the door swinging open, slamming against the brick with a loud bang as an older woman glared at the two startled teens, one pausing mid drag while the other dropped his cigarette. 

"Y'all already took your fucking breaks! Get your asses back in here before I call the owner and get you two fired!" The woman yelled, the sound of crows cawing and flying away from the nearby forest briefly drawing Andre's attention before he sighed, grabbing his buddy by the shoulder, pushing Seth along as he walked toward the door. "Yes, ma'am..."

The sound of the doors sliding open leaves Andre with a sense of annoyance, but he puts on a polite smile and gives the person a quick welcome. A few minutes passed before that same person walked up to the counter, a bottle of water and a bag a beef jerky. Andre watched as the person set the two items down in front of him, all why they were staring at him with a strangely serious expression. Picking up the items, Andre scanned them before setting them down in a white plastic bag, which would probably just end up in the ocean and in a sea creature's stomach. 

"$12.34."

The person paused for a moment, remaining still for a second or two before reaching into their pocket, retrieving a simple wallet. "... Yeah." They mumbled, pulling out a crumbled 20-dollar bill, setting it down on the counter before grabbing the bag and exiting the store.

Seth steps outside the store with Andre following behind him. "We should go to that Chinese place," Seth said, which was followed by the thud of the door falling shut. "You pay," Andre said with a sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly as he walked ahead of Seth. 

The sound of the keys softly clinking together and the sound of a plastic bag containing a few small containers of food shifting were sounds that were almost heard daily. Andre stuck the key into the door handle and twisted it, successfully unlocking the front door of the apartment. Pushing the door open, Andre glanced over his shoulder at Seth for a brief moment for no real reason, and then walked into his home with Seth following behind him after a moment. Seth reached behind himself and grabbed the door, shutting it before continuing further into Andre's home.

"Sooooo... What are your plans for the weekend?" Seth asked for the sake of conversation as he walked toward the kitchen, placing the bag down on the counter and then digging through it while Andre walked toward one of the drawers, picking out two forks, shifting the forks to his right hand before closing the drawer with his left. "Nothing much, man. Maybe go to The Hole or something." Andre walked toward Seth with one of the forks held out to him. Seth took the fork that was held out to him and twirled it around in his hand before pulling out one of the containers in the bag. "That's cool," Seth mumbled as he walked into the living room, plopping down on the worn leather sofa, setting down the two items in his hand, then grabbing the TV remote.

Andre reached his hand into the bag and pulled out a fortune cookie, and then the remaining container of food. "Yeah, I guess," Andre said under his breath, opening the container and digging his fork into the warm food. 

Seth snorted, looking at Andre with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "'Tonight will be a night to remember'? Wowww, that's kinda gay, man." Seth said, poking Andre in the side. "Shut up." Andre sighed, his gaze shifting from Seth to the small slip of white paper pinched between his fingers. 

A moment later, the slip of paper was tossed to the side as Andre picked up the fortune cookie, which had been split in half from when he had taken the slip of paper out. Seth took one of the cookies out of Andre's palm.

"Oh, bro, have you seen the new episode of RK? It's pretty good." Seth said, popping the cookie into his mouth.

"Nah, but I'll check it out sometime."

Seth held his hands under the cold water, turning the sink tap off once his hands were clean, grabbing the hand towel and drying his hands off, his phone buzzing on the counter next to him.

After a second, Seth shifted his gaze toward the device, picking it up and holding it to his ear.

"Hey, Carter. How've you been?"