Sweeter Than Fiction | ✓

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

He wasn't even quarter way down the street when his name was called.

Rudy quickly turned, still moving but not running as fast as he had before.

Miles.

Miles was running towards him, obviously had left just as Rudy had from the store. After him. For him, still in that ridiculous uniform shirt that Rudy was in, already out of breath. Miles hated running.

He finally caught up with him. "What... Ever... Is going...on, I'm with...you. JesusIcan'tbreathe!" He took a long gulp of air, his cheeks red with the exertion. Rudy wasn't making it any easier, using the whole span of his legs to walk, making Miles move faster than his legs had ever done as he tried to keep up with Rudy and his freakish, long-legged genetics straight to the bus station.

Rudy kept glancing at the boy beside him, still struggling to match Rudy's stride and concentrating on his legs and his breathing. Rudy hadn't said a thing but still Miles was here with him every step of the way.

They got to the bus station, and found Rudy's bus quickly before jumping on, Miles struggled to find change in his shallow work trousers. Rudy was grateful Miles never asked him what was happening until they were sitting down, even then it was hard. The strain of their relationship from the past few weeks couldn't exactly disappear with a few exchange of words, even if Rudy was talking about how Legolas ran away.

Miles was sympathetic and worried, more about how Rudy was reacting than anything else. He saw the guy that was so composed and quiet usually was freaking from the inside and out.

Miles didn't say anything though, he just sat beside him and listened, placing his thigh against Rudy as the bus jolted and hissed and didn't make a move to separate them. Neither did Rudy.

Rudy had been swiping fingers over his phone again and again, waiting on some update from Rosie. He was getting nothing.

Rudy didn't even know where to look once he got down there. Whenever he had took out Legolas he'd always been on a leash and even then, the stupid thing begged to be carried most of the time so it could gnaw at Rudy's hoodie toggles because it was an annoying little shit.

Rudy's hands started to shake again. He didn't know if it was in anger to himself or fear.

"Hey," Miles suddenly said, looking at Rudy's hands and taking them in his and then lifting his head so blue met green,"you're going to find him. It's going to be fine."

Rudy was simply amazed how Miles could make him feel a lot better and worse all at the time. He squeezed Miles hand, not letting go of it for a second. Not even when some women gave them looks as they passed to sit at the back.

When they got off the bus, Rudy all but ran down the street, tapping into his phone as he went, calling Rosie. She wasn't crying any more but her voice was rough and teary as she said she had looked from the corner shops down to the park and had even roped Mrs Dormar into helping look. Still no luck. 

"So," Miles said as Rudy got off the phone, seeing Rudy's face as a sign that the small dog was still missing."Where to?"

Rudy didn't know. He looked from Miles to down the road and back again before making a decision to go down the road, letting Miles follow. He didn't really know where he was going. He looked down alleys, stopped at every bark and was calling Legolas' name as he went. Miles was even stopping a few people at a time if they had seen a small dog, yanking Rudy's phone out his hand to show his lock screen of Legolas crawled up on the sofa, sleepy eyes peeking out just as the camera went off. Rudy didn't even know how Miles had known about his lock screen. Even so each person they came to would shake their heads at the picture or tell them to piss off.