𝙰𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚡𝚒𝚊 (𝙶𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙾 & 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙴𝚁)

•𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘸𝘰•

"Hey kid."

You jumped. You weren't expecting him to talk so suddenly, and seemingly to no one. You looked around, trying to see if he were really talking to you and not someone you just couldn't see yet. Wouldn't want to get embarrassed by exposing yourself when he didn't actually know you were there, haha.

You squinted through the thickening green smoke until he coughed a bit, and you felt just the tiniest smidge of concern.

"What'cha hiding for? I won't bite," he spoke again, with a small chuckled at the end. He looked up in your direction and you realized he really was talking to you.

Seeing as there was no reason not to— (actually, there were probably many reasons, but let's ignore that for now)—, you walked out from behind the dirty, grey wall and cautiously strode towards him.  I mean, this man was pretty sketchy looking, so of course you'd be careful.

He noticed how cautious you were being and made some type of gesture, maybe to show that he didn't have anything harmful on him,  nothing except for the strange cigarette in his hand.

You slightly smiled at him,  sizing him up and examining his worn looking clothes.  What he was wearing was pretty simple, really.  The black jacket, white T-shirt, and teal sweatpants. You notice they were a close match to the color of his medium-length hair.

Something you found that stood out was the large brown hat atop his head, casting a shadow across a majority of his face. You also noticed slight stubble on his chin.

The man seemed to be quite a few years older than you, and you had to admit, he was, perhaps a bit attractive, but you didn't think you could see him in a romantic or sexual light.  He gave you uncle vibes, but not quite the creepy kind.

You stood there awkwardly for a few moments, just staring at him in silence while he smoked his cigarette.

Then he spoke again, with a small undertone of a laugh.

"Can ya talk?"

You stared, contemplating.

"Y.. yes," you stuttered. Why did you stutter?

He smiled softly at you, and it was oddly comforting.
His hand came out towards you and you backed up a bit, only to see he was offering one of his cigarettes to you. You glanced at the cigarette and back to his face, and he had an assuring expression, one that didn't make you feel pressured.

He was simply offering one if you wanted, and would take it back if you didn't.

Your lips parted, trying to find words and trying to decide whether or not you wanted to try this.

His hand retreated at your hesitance, and he brought his own cigarette to his mouth again, blowing out the green smoke. You were baffled by how and why it was colored.

"These cigs are special, one of a kind, in a way," he explained, as if your stunned silence let him read your mind. He blew out some more smoke, and this time it was.. pink? He had changed the color of the smoke, somehow.

He laughed with a rasp to his voice at your confused expression, and blew various other colors out in different blows.

You decided you'd try it, so you inched towards him and held your hand out shyly, silently asking for one.

He smiled at you and handed you one of the sticks, helping you position it comfortably.

He pulled a lighter from his pocket and let you light your own cigarette, then took the lighter back and stuffed in into his pocket again.

"Just be careful, alright? Like this." He demonstrated, bringing the cigarette to his mouth slowly and showing you how it's done.

It looked easy enough to you, so you brought it to your lips and took in a large breath, regretting it as you started having a coughing fit from all the sudden smoke.

The man had a worried look on his face and he hesitantly neared you. You put your hand on his shoulder to support yourself and he took it as a sign it would be okay if he just pat your back a bit. He was a stranger after all, a very polite one, and he didn't want to make you uncomfortable.

After you caught your breath, he helped straighten you up, and backed away. You cleared your throat and felt your cheeks flush, feeling embarrassed.

"You good, kid?"

You nodded, and he nodded back in understanding. He took a small, casual breath of his cigarette, like it had become a second part of him, and looked back up to the darkening sky.

"The first time's always the hardest. That's alright, though. Wouldn't want you getting a bad habit, like me," he said, and chuckled. He held his hand out, and you stared at it for a second, before you understood. You disappointedly handed your cigarette to him, and he dropped it on the ground.

"Wanna do the honors?" He gestures to the cigarette, and you smiled slightly, stomping the stick out until the little flame ceased.

He had a small smile on his face as he looked back up to the sky, and your gaze followed.

"The stars are always the best over here, but more so when it's really dark out," he stated.

"Name's Garcello. Yours?"

He looked to you, and you met his eyes. Well, you assumed so, since they were still overcast by the shadow of his hat.

"Ah, it's, um, (Y/N). Nice to meet you, Garcello." You stuck your hand out to shake his, since it was only polite, and he accepted it, pumping your hand heartily before going back to stargazing, or rather, waiting for the stars to come out.

You two stood there for a few minutes, just watching the sky fade from its vibrant reds, pinks, and oranges to a dark blue,  little specks of glowing white shining through the night sky.  It was beautiful, but not at it's full potential.  Not yet.

You heard Garcello shift, and looked to him.  You saw that he had finished his cigarette, and was now stomping the remaining ashes out. 
"You should probably start heading home, kid.  Your parents must be worried,"  he spoke, and you scoffed.

"I doubt it.  My dad is probably drinking his kidneys inside out, and my mom.. well,  who knows what she does when she's out and about."  You kicked a pebble around with a newfound interest for your shoelaces.

You could practically feel him pitying you, and you were about to say something until he began talking.

"I'm sorry to hear that, kid.  Y'know,  if you ever want to escape,  feel free to visit anytime.  It's nice out here,"  he offered, and you smiled at each other.

"Thanks, I will."

And with that, you waved goodbye to him, and make your way back home, feeling at peace.

The man— Garcello—  had already made your day much better, and oh boy, if only you knew how much he would mean to you in the future.

This was the first time you had gone back home without worrying about what would happen once you got there.

It was a nice feeling.

-1211 words-

-(A/N)  WOO second chapter lets GO  i hope you liked this!!

i wrote this while listening to Release on repeat for like 30 minutes straight

i think this is moving at a fairly even pace, but i'm not sure if it's too slow??  or fast?

who knows haha anyways i hope everyone here has a good day, and i bid you all,  adieu :]