The last bell rang dismissing the class to go on with the rest of their day. Usually, by this time Elliot will go to the upstairs of the auditorium to write down some poems, but he decided to go visit Angelo.
He had no idea where he lived, but he assumed that it wouldn't be far from the street where he first saw Angelo walking around while he was high. When he turned the corner, he didn't see any houses nearby.
Instead, he saw a hotel with a blue-green rooftop and a fountain in the entrance. Confused he roamed around the parking lot hoping to run into him, but there was no one around.
Surely, he must live somewhere in the area, seeing as this city is so small and it's not too hard to find the person you're looking for.
"Are you looking for someone?"
A man in his mid-twenties gave him a warm smile as he wore a uniform. By the looks of it, he seemed to be the manager of the hotel. He shifted awkwardly on his toes when he realized that he needed to answer.
"Uh yes, do you know a person named Angelo around the area?"
Mike stared at him as his jaw dropped. He has never heard of anyone looking for him aside from the police.
"Ye-yeah, he's staying in room 204. I can go get him for you"
"That'd be great, thank you for your help," Elliot said kindly.
He was offered to wait in the lobby, but he declined. The outdoors made him feel calmer and he'd much rather be in an open space.
It took about ten minutes for Angelo to come out. It would've taken him a lot shorter than that, but he was just as in shock as Mike was when he heard that someone has come to visit him. Of course, he knew right away that it'd be Elliot, but he was still surprised that he came to see him instead of the other way around.
When he stepped out Elliot was sat on one of the benches with his journal open. Angelo noticed how often he uses that and wondered what kind of things he wrote in them, but he decided to push that thought aside for now.
"You wanted to see me?" He asked as he casually stood right in front of him.
"Yes, do you mind walking with me?" Angelo gestured for him to lead the way as he nodded his head in the process.
Once Elliot closed his journal and held it close to him, he started walking.
The path he was taking was one that Angelo wasn't familiar with. He couldn't help but look around at the buildings and shops that he hasn't seen before.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see, why do you have those specific piercings?"
The sudden shift in the topic made Angelo think a second. He was about to ask him why but stopped when he knew that he'd have to answer him anyway.
"All of my piercings serve as a reminder. My lip is for the first time I let alcohol or cigarettes control me, my septum is for the substance I have inhaled, the gauges are for the ignorant minds spreading rumors about me and the industrial is a symbol of how little I care about my own wellbeing"
Some of his explanation was metaphorical while others were more literal.
Either way, Elliot took in the information and made sure that he understood what he meant when he said it.
"What about the tattoos?"
"Permanent markings of many things I want to have engraved in my body" Angelo didn't really know where he was going with this but went along with it anyway to avoid any weird arguments.
"How much do you have?"
"6"
"And when did you get your last one done?"
"3 months ago,"
"And have you considered getting any more?"
Now, this is when Angelo stopped walking. He felt like he was being put into a therapy session.
Everything he said was being decoded into Elliot's mind and Angelo hated that. It was like his words were being taken from him as he learned more and more about him.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Because I-"
"No" Angelo stood in front of him stopping him from moving any further.
"When I asked for your help, I meant for you to explain to me how you managed to say the things you did to me back at the cemetery. But right now, I am being profiled by you and I never asked for you to do that and I certainly do not want you to"
Frustration has started building inside of him as words started rolling off his tongue.
"If you are here to try and figure me out it's not going to happen. So, stop it with the integration and help me like you said you will"
He spoke through gritted teeth and balled-up fits. He couldn't help but suspect that Elliot was one of those people who like to barge into one's life, only to use it to their advantage. But he wasn't going to let anything like that happen to him like before.
All he really wants is Elliot to help him, but it seemed like he wasn't doing what he promised.
Elliot nodded before looking up to meet his gaze.
"Could you say that we have taken a path that we never have before?"
Angelo looked at him like he has said the most obvious thing he has ever heard and felt annoyed that he was ignoring the things he has said previously. He was about to give a sarcastic remark but got cut off.
"There are so many ways to get to the place that you want to go to; many paths, trails...and methods"
Now Angelo was slightly catching on to what he was saying.
"Remember how I told you to adhere to my methods" He watched as Angelo nodded slowly. "Well, I need you to trust that I will give you what you truly want and for that to happen, I needed to gain your trust by bringing you here and asking you many questions"
The confused look on his face made Elliot elaborate on what he has just said.
"Answer me this. Why did you tell me about your tattoos and piercings?"
"Because I knew that even if I tried to get out of it, I'd have to answer anyway"
"Then why did you give me an honest answer?" Angelo glared at him feeling frustrated since he himself didn't know the answer to that. He also felt that Elliot knew him more than he knew himself.
"Isn't it because you wanted me to know? Because you trust me enough to tell me the truth instead of making something up to hide your true self from me"
"I don't fuck trust you"
"Yes, you do. You have the moment you followed me all of the ways here. Look around, don't you notice anything?" The sign at the end of the road read Clover Street. And the house they were in front of was Elliot's.
Angelo took a double-take since he wasn't even paying enough attention to his surroundings at all until now.
"How did -'
"You followed me around on a path that you didn't even know with a stranger like me because you trusted me. You may not have been consciously aware of it yourself, but it's true, isn't it?"
There was a long pause before he spoke again as Angelo sided with the fact that he did trust Elliot, at least to some extent.
"Trust is weird like that, even I wasn't aware of myself trusting you"
"You don't trust me. No one does, so there is no way that you can"
"I trust you" Angelo scoffed thinking how ridiculous it was for someone to say that to him of all people.
"And how do you know that?"
"Because I wasn't hesitant to start a conversation with you, normally I do not speak unless I am spoken to, and I am mostly a mute at any public gatherings since I choose not to say anything. But when it comes to you, I can start talking like it is not a problem for me and I didn't notice that until after you left my house yesterday"
They looked at one another with expressions that neither of them could read. Angelo's curiosity for Elliot just seems to increase as time goes on and he couldn't quite control how he felt.
"My methods may be strange, but I will lead you to what you need the most"
"And what is it that I need?"
"Well for starters. A mutual trust"