Cards and Diamonds: UnOrdinary

Chapter 9

They returned to John's apartment after the dark haired man's work was done, and unexpectedly, the blond bought some chips, snacks, and drinks from the grocery before John's shift even ended.

It made John feel more indebt more than he already was, since Arlo kept buying him foods, and he never really charged him for it although John always insists to pay.

He told John that not everything is about money, and that he just likes seeing the dark haired man doing well and being happy. At that moment, John thought that Arlo was admirable.

He had the wealth in his hands, yet he was never consumed by it. He wasn't selfish, and he didn't care about status and what other thinks of him.

John could never do that.

He wished to tell the blond what he've thought, but decided to smile warmly instead.

Since it was already a little bit past twelve, John was actually feeling tired, but still, he doesn't want to disappoint Arlo since he slept really early when he was on the blond's place.

In order to avoid himself from falling asleep, John opened a bag of chips, and the blond did as well, taking a can of coffee inside along with it.

"You really seemed to love coffee." John commented.

"Coffee makes me feel more at ease, it's great after a long day." Arlo replied, "How about you John, any preferences in drinks?"

"Mango boba is the best for me, although I like mango shakes-- fruit drinks, or fruits in general."

"Mangoes are your fave huh?"

The dark haired man nodded his head, taking a piece of chips afterwards.

"You know John, you already know a lot about me, but I still don't know a lot about you." Arlo started, "I really am curious, how did you end-up here in Wellston?"

John gulped, "It's just like one of the rumors says, the headmaster was watching me perform on the circus, felt sorry for me, and somehow granted me the opportunity to study here for free?" he answered, "Or maybe he thought I'm good at miming? I've never really studied at a school before going here... I was just wandering on the streets half of my life, and I only did some self studying at the circus after they trained me."

Arlo was suddenly silent, although there seems to be some truth in what he've said, a part of it seemed like a lie.

"Before I became a part of the circus, I was just some filth on the road. I wore rags, begged for some food and money, and searched the trash just for anything to eat... I could barely get any proper sleep, since some bigger kids would beat me up if I slept on their 'territory', and if I tried sleeping in front of shops, I get shoved and kicked away..."

"Sometimes, I look for bottles to sell, but still, it isn't enough to feed me. So, I did things-- I stole things, and it made me almost got beaten to death a lot of times... "

Stopping himself from saying much more, John continued eating his chips, the blond stared.

The dark haired man remembered those days on the streets, when he was humiliated and beaten after being caught. He was just a small kid, but because of those experiences, he learned how to fight back, and to be as tough as he could just to survive. It was terrible looking back, but that was life for him.

"John, you've been through a lot..." the blond just said, at this moment, he was finding it difficult to find the words to say.

"Yeah..."

Then there was an awkward silence, and the only thing heard was them eating their pack of chips, with John almost rushing to finish it, while Arlo takes his time to finish his' along with his coffee.

Once he was done, John stood up to throw his trash, also moving towards the sink to brush his teeth. The mattress was already prepared on the floor, the dark haired man told Arlo to sleep on the bed, but the blond insists to sleep on the mattress.

Arlo was really an angel, and John just kept on feeling like he owes him a lot.

Once both John was finished brushing his teeth, he laid on his bed, while Arlo took his turn to brush his teeth using the new toothbrush he bought. Arlo didn't take long to finish, and after that, he laid on the mattress as well.

John looks at him, and when the blond looks up, their eyes met.

"Got something to say, John?"

"No..."

"I'm not convinced."

"Hey Arlo..." John finally said, "Can you sleep with me?"

Arlo's eyes went wide, what exactly is he asking?!

Noticing the misunderstanding, John spoke again, "No-- as in, you, me, bed...? Wait--" the dark haired man lightly pulled his hair, "Not that, can you just, lay beside me?"

John looked far too embarrassed at this point. Arlo didn't really understand the reason for his request, but he thought that there's nothing to lose with complying, and there is obviously something more to gain; John's trust, and an increase with the possibility of him personally telling his true secret once he decided that he trusted the blond enough.

"Is that so? Then you shouldn't have laid the mattress."

"You can move once I've fallen asleep. I just, never slept beside anyone before so, I wanted to know what it's like, and I can't exactly ask Sera that you know? Sorry if this request is weird."

Of course, John just have to be craving for warmth, the guy didn't have any friends or parents.

"There's nothing great with sleeping beside someone else, there's less space, and there's restrictions."

"Still, I wanted to..."

Arlo laid there beside him awkwardly. There isn't much space on John's bed since it isn't that big, but both of them fitted. John covered himself with a blanket, in which he also shared with the blond. Arlo positioned himself sideways, turning his back on John. He was just waiting for the dark haired man to fall asleep, and after that, he could search his cabinets for anything he could find, as long as John was in a deep and good sleep, he shouldn't have to worry about him waking-up.

Well, that was his plan, but after a lot of minutes of waiting, he felt arms being placed in top of his stomach, then gripping him in a hug.

Arlo turned his head a bit to look at John, but he realized that the dark haired man was already asleep. He gently attempted to remove John's arms, but the man only gripped him tight, this time, his legs were even constricting the blond's

Arlo was disappointed, how can he search John's items if he couldn't even get out? It's difficult finding another opportunity. He could try searching once morning comes while John was on his hand, but there's no guarantee that he'll wake up first before John.

He could set an alarm, but that would also wake John up. In other words, Arlo most likely lost an opportunity to dig through the dark haired man's stuff, and the opportunity might rarely come.

But, Arlo wasn't going to give up. He would do whatever it takes to send John off even if it's just for awhile, or wait-- the blond got an idea, why not search once the dark haired man was taking a bath? Although there would a limited time and he'll have to look fast, a limited time is better than none.