InsaneJournal

“Be careful walking home, Jayden. I hear that awful gang is acting up again.”

The small redhead just grinned as he pulled on his coat. “I’ll be fine, Mary,” he said, tugging the hood of his coat up. “Everyone in town knows I’m dirt poor, so why would they bother with me?”

The older woman sighed, shaking her head. “Just be careful, alright? Don’t worry this old woman any more than you already do.”

Jayden’s wide grin faded into a softer smile as he finished zipping his coat up, pushing the heavy door of the restaurant open with his shoulder. “I’ll try not to. See you tomorrow, Mary.”

Mary’s reply was lost to the wind as he stepped outside, quickly hunching his shoulders and tucking his head down against the wind and snow. Squinting against the wind, he started the long trek to the other side of the small town, hands stuffed into his coat pockets.

“Wonderful weather we’re having isn’t it, Mr. Emerson?” he muttered to himself. Sighing, he watched the white puff of air rise in front of his face, taking one hand out to reach into the pocket on his pants. “Wonder if Lea’s texted me yet…hello, where are you phone?”

Stopping next to one of the few streetlights dotted across the town, he huffed as he turned out his pockets, finding plenty of lint but not his cell phone. He sighed as he flicked away the lint, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he continued on his way.

“Left it at home again…” he muttered, kicking at a snowdrift as he stepped off the sidewalk, glancing  from side to side before hurrying across the road.

Despite how small of a population Aisu had, the town sprawled across several miles, and Jayden’s apartment complex was on the opposite side of the small diner, making this nightly trek a long and unpleasant one. Especially on nights like these.

Shivering from the cold, Jayden stopped in an alleyway and huddled close to a building as a bitter wind shrieked past, closing his eyes against the onslaught of snow that followed. He hated walking home in this, and the thought of going home to an apartment nearly as cold was hardly appealing.

“I wonder if Alex would let me stay with him tonight…” he murmured, tilting his head back against the building as he waited for the wind to calm itself, watching snowflakes twirl through the air. His cousin lived closer to the diner than he did, and would likely be more than happy to lend him his couch for the night.

He also, Jayden realized with a start, could ask Alex if he knew anything about the strange text messages he had been receiving lately. Even if Alex knew nothing, chances were Zayne would, and the reclusive blond spent most of his time at Alex’s so finding him would be easy.

Mind made up, he pushed himself away from the wall, pulling his scarf up higher as he prepared to set out into the cold again. Just as he stepped out of the alleyway, something crashed to the ground behind him, and he jumped in surprise. Turning around he could see nothing, even with the glaring light from the nearby street lamp, and shivered as he turned to leave.

“Nasty wind,” he muttered into his scarf, hugging his coat closer to himself and wishing, not for the first time, that he had a car. Something else in the alleyway fell over, making him jump again, though this time he did not turn around, assuming it was just the wind.

Then something struck him in the head, and the world abruptly went black.