The Boy in the Black Hoodie

Chapter Twenty-Five

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Jay's POV

"So, Carson, huh?" I asked the kid that had tried to kidnap me last night.

He sniffled, and nodded. Dang, he seemed depressed. I needed to do something to cheer him up. Maybe straying away from all the WIO and FFO stuff would help him relax.

"Well, I'm Jay."

Another sniffle. Another nod. Time to put the plan to action.

"So, what do you like to do?"

Carson looked up at me with sad, hurt eyes. What had I said?

"Nothing, sir. I don't play."

Sir? What the heck is he talking about. Kid needs to loosen up.

I frowned. Carson covered his face and whimpered, as if expecting a blow. Something didn't seem right.

"Y-you didn't hit me," he whispered.

Okay, suspicions confirmed. Something was definitely wrong.

"No," I said. "Why would I hit you?"

Carson looked as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't. His nervous brown eyes scanned the room. Never once did he meet my gaze. It was like he was afraid I would harm him.

"Sir, can I you a question?" Carson said hesitantly.

"Why couldn't you? Ask away."

This was getting stranger, and stranger, and stranger.

"D-do you hate me?"

Now, why would he ask that question? Wasn't the answer obvious?

"No, Carson, I do not hate you. Why would I hate you?"

Carson's eyes widened with my answer. He seemed somewhat relieved.

"I-I thought you hated me because of...you know, last night," he said. Immediately afterwards, the fearful look returned to his eyes, and he prepared to be hit. "I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to-"

"Carson," I said gently. "There's nothing to apologize for."

He cast his eyes to the ground. Still he refused to look me in the eye. He was always so nervous.

"Sir, I-"

"Jay."

The faintest hint of a smile appeared on Carson's face. Score! We were making progress here. Step by step, we were getting somewhere. By the end of the day, he'll be laughing along with the rest of us. We would make a great team.

"Jay, I need to tell you something," Carson said.

It felt so much better when he used my name.

"I'm all ears."

~~~~~

Carson's POV

This was so strange, the way Jay was treating me. It was like I was an equal, like he was no better than me. It felt good. I liked it.

He wasn't hitting me for a slip of the tongue, and actually encouraged me to speak my mind. I think these guys were good. They weren't like the WIO. I shuddered just thinking about that organization. They had ruined my life.

I told Jay the story of my life. I realized then just how much I had needed to tell someone. To explain to them how I felt. To just let it all out. The more I told, the better I felt.

When I had finished, I finally allowed myself a smile. I looked over to Jay. He had a deep frown on his face. What could possibly be wrong?

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

Jay shook his head, "Oh, yeah, everything is fine. Except for the jacked up WIO! The nerve of those devils."

Oh. So, that's why he looked so mad.

Jay stood up, "You wanna go meet Chloe and Rob? I'm sure you'll like them."

I think this is the first time I've ever wanted to meet someone.

"Sure," I said with a smile.

Jay smiled back. We walked out of the room. I could hear noises coming from one of the rooms to the right. There was the wonderful sound of laughter. Jay opened the door and motioned for me to enter. I peeped inside the room. The guy who was with me earlier, Kent, was there, along with another boy and another girl. I assumed the girl was Chloe and the guy was Rob. Three heads turned towards us as we entered, followed by three welcoming smiles.

"Hey, guys," Kent said. "How's it going?"

Jay walked closer to him. They talked quietly for a few minutes. Several glances were cast my way. Finally, Kent nodded.

They walked back over to us. Jay sat on a couch next to Chloe. I think they have a relationship going on. I could tell just by the way they sat to gether. They looked so comfortable with each other, so happy. Everyone around here looked happy. So unlike the WIO. I mean, sure, the top-ranked guys were happy sometimes, but that was because they were overcome with greed, and got everything they wanted. The people at the bottom were always depressed, scared, or frustrated. Smiles never appeared on faces where I came from. It was all frowns and tears.

Jay told me to take a seat, so I sat down on an armchair. It was so comfortable, wonderful, and soft. How different this FFO place was!

Rob was the first to speak, "I'm just going to take a wild guess and assume this is Carson."

Jay shook his head sadly, "Nope. I told you it was Bob, remember? Jeez, get you facts straight, man!"

"Ah, shoot," Rob snapped his fingers. "I should've known."

The rest of the room slowly nodded. A few "tsk" sounds were made.

I liked this place. I liked it a lot.

*****

Hey, guys! Twenty-five chapters are done! I'm so excited. I really didnt think I could get here. Thanks for all the support! Keep it coming by voting for this chapter! Thanks again! :) :P :D