“Breathe, Noe.” Clive ordered flippantly, grinning cheerfully. He seemed happy enough, as Chrissy was taking care of some errands while they shopped. She’d been reluctant to let Noe go, but he’d just had to ask politely for her to cave.
“I’m breathing.” Noe replied slowly, fighting to ignore that there were a dozen people in the near vicinity, moving both quicker and slower than them. Digging his fingers into the pockets of his jeans, Noe followed Clive across the wide tile aisle, brushing by a plastic tree and a concrete bench that couldn’t be comfortable. Clive skirted easily around a gaggle of girls, his borrowed jeans hanging low on one hip.
Noe hesitated, waiting for an opening before crossing over into the store with a bright sign and dark, trendy interior. Clive flashed a grin at him, waiting by the door and nonchalantly ignoring the wide boy with six facial piercings and the tall, skinny girl with dreads that dangled past her shoulders as they squeezed past him.
“Here?” Noe asked, half-disbelieving but really he should’ve guessed. This was the type of clothing that would definitely piss off any upstanding citizen, and Clive had said he’d liked to piss off his uncle. Noe blinked, edging a little closer to Clive because the store wasn’t overly crowded but there were still a lot of people around.
“Yep.” Clive’s grin tilted at him again, and Noe blinked a few times, not used to being the subject of so many smiles in rapid succession. Eric and Chrissy tended to let him be, only occasionally forcing him to interact. “What do you think of this?”
Clive held up a pair of black jeans, still creased where they’d been folded. Silver eyelets ran up and down the inside and outside seams, and a clunky silver belt looped around the waist. There were a few pre-torn holes in the front of the jeans, and the ends were artfully frayed.
“They’re… pants.” Noe replied slowly, not sure what the proper reaction was supposed to be. Curling his fingers around the ends of his dangling sleeves, Noe watched Clive fold the pants back up and set them on top of the pile.
“Find something you like.” Clive ordered, gesturing to the table. Noe hesitated before shuffling a small step closer to the table. The hardwood floor was scuffed a little under the motion, but Noe ignored it, focusing on the mound of dark-colored clothing on the table.
“Can I help you?” A cheerful voice popped up, and Noe jerked back from the table, staring wide-eyed at the young woman – an associate, she had a black t-shirt proclaiming the store’s name on over a black and green long-sleeved shirt. She beamed, showing off her lip ring and Noe took another step back.
“No, we’re good.” Clive told her coldly, and Noe wondered how rude it would be to put the table between him and her.
“Alright, well, let me know if that changes.” She tossed Clive a wink and flounced off to another part of the store. Noe stared for a moment before Clive snapped his fingers in Noe’s face, drawing his attention back.
“What’s your favorite?” Clive asked, and Noe hesitated again, wondering why he’d agreed to this. It was a bad idea, there was nothing about this that could turn out well.
“I don’t – the blue?” Noe suggested, a dark blue shirt catching his eyes. Clive grinned, and pulled out a medium from the stack.
“Well, I’m fond of green, too.” Clive tugged a green shirt out from another pile, and sorted through a stack of the ornamented black jeans until he found one that satisfied him. “Here, be a human shopping cart.” Clive ordered, and shoved the clothes at Noe. Noe accepted them with a hint of a smile, ignoring as best he could when Clive’s arm brushed against his.
“Come on, this way.” Clive skirted around an end table towards a scarier table, with lace and fishnets dangling off the sides. Noe winced, and hoped he wasn’t supposed to like that too. “I think I’ll try one of everything.” Clive mused, sorting through the messy table. Noe stared, wondering how long Clive expected this to take.
“Only of the things I like.” Clive amended, discarding a tube top that looked more like a headband.
“I hope you’re picky.” Noe murmured, earning a laugh and a few new shirts.
“Oh, hey, should I get skirts?” Clive wondered, and Noe took a few careful steps closer as the scary associate wandered by them again, towards the customers who’d just come in.
“Why?” Noe asked, curious and a bit put off. “Skirts are for girls, aren’t they?”
“Yes…” Clive shrugged, his bright green (contacts, Noe had learned this morning when he’d gone to get Clive for the ride up and found him shoving them into his eyes) eyes twinkling mischievously as he fingered a soft, fur-lined shirt that dangled off the edge of the table. “But they’re excellent for easy access.”
“I didn’t need to know that.” Noe told Clive solemnly, glancing at the wall behind Clive. “What about – ”
“What?” Clive turned, then laughed, heading over to the wall without checking to see if Noe was following. Noe skirted around the edge of the table carefully, keeping his gaze fixed to the floor so that he didn’t accidentally look at someone wrong. “Oh, that’s nice.” Clive grinned at him happily, scooping the shirt off the wall and plunking it on top of the pile Noe held.
“So, see anything yet you want me to embarrass myself by trying on?” Clive asked cheerfully, pushing his mop of golden curls out of his face. Pausing by a rack of band t-shirts, Clive snorted dismissively before moving on, to a rack of green camouflage jeans.
“Please don’t get those.” Noe told him before he could stop himself, hugging the pile of clothing to him like a sort of shield. At least now the associate wouldn’t ask if she could help – they had things.
Clive laughed. “Not even the grey ones?”
“Not even the grey ones.” Noe told him solemnly, and it was easier if he paid attention to Clive and not to the people that were also in the store with them (or the horrible music that went with the bad music videos being played on the TVs above their heads).
“Alright, alright.” Clive sighed and paused at the next table where there were stacks of jeans that had legs twice as wide as they needed and extra pockets everywhere. Clive looked thoughtful for a moment before dismissing it, turning to grin widely at Noe. “I think that’s good for a first swing. To the fitting rooms.”
Clive sauntered past Noe, heading for the back of the store near the cash registers. A black and white neon sign proclaimed ‘Fitting Rooms,’ and Noe trailed behind obediently, cringing a little because Clive was going to try on pants and he wasn’t wearing underwear and that seemed so wrong.
“Okay, you can either sit here and be subject to a fashion show, or go in search of more clothing options.” Clive told him, leading him around the divide between the store and the fitting rooms. The stalls were all the same size, except for the one on the end with a handicapped sign on it, and they were painted black. There was no attendant, but a sign on each door proclaimed that ‘Shoplifters will be prosecuted.’
“I’ll –” Noe paused, glancing back into the store. “I’ll stay here.”
Clive smirked knowingly and accepted the clothes from Noe’s arms. “You just want to see my lovely body showcased.”
Noe flushed and sat down heavily, glad when Clive just grinned again and slipped into one of the narrow little stalls. The door shut with a click, and Noe waited patiently, glad of the relative quiet back here. The other stall doors were open, so they were the only ones back here. The bench Noe was sitting on was a wrought iron, or some sort of heavy metal, crisscrossing to form little diamonds he could stick the first knuckle of his fingers through.
It was cold and not terribly comfortable, but Noe was just glad to not be milling about in the store, avoiding people. As long as it didn’t get worse than this he’d be fine. Smiling a bit, Noe wondered what Chrissy and Eric would think if he managed this trip without slipping. Probably good things, regardless of his trance yesterday.
“So how’s this?” Clive asked, and Noe looked up, blinking a few times.
“It fits?” Noe offered, and Clive snickered. He was wearing the torn black jeans and the blue shirt that Noe had picked out. The shirt was snug in all the right places, with long sleeves and a winged silver heart painted across the front. The jeans clung at Clive’s hips before flaring out to cover his feet entirely.
“Ah, but does it fit well?” Clive asked, straining to peer over his shoulder, and Noe smothered a smile because it really looked like Clive was trying to see how his ass looked.
“Yes.” Noe replied, tangling his fingers in the diamond-shaped holes of the bench as he waited for Clive’s response.
“Good. And no objections to us getting it?” Clive asked, tugging at the shirt’s hem a bit. “I really like the shirt.”
“No objections.” Noe replied because Chrissy had entrusted him with the credit card with the stipulation that he veto anything outrageous. Clive smirked, and whirled back around, ducking into the fitting room again. Noe waited patiently, humming softly under his breath for lack of anything better to do. A loud, obnoxious voice broke into his reverie a moment later – the cashier greeting someone as he checked them out.
“The green is like the blue.” Clive announced, the door swinging open. He was still wearing the black jeans instead of Noe’s ripped ones, with the shirt Noe had spotted on the wall. It was very nearly a dress shirt, except for the dark red ribbon lacing the collar and around the cuffs. Clive hadn’t buttoned the top three buttons, showing off a triangle of smooth chest, pale next to the dark shirt.
“I like it?” Noe offered cautiously. It made Clive look quite respectable, even if the black of the shirt didn’t quite match the grey-black of the jeans.
“Hmm.” Clive stretched in it, crinkling the shoulders up. “It moves weird. Poofs up in the shoulders.”
Noe smothered a bit of a smile, watching the shoulders of the fabric rise as Clive lifted his arms. Clive turned, dropping his arms with a soft ‘whump’ noise and made a face. “It’s pretty but I’m not getting it.”
Noe nodded, carefully disentangling his fingers from the iron diamonds. “Okay.”
Clive grinned, apparently amused somehow by this, and turned back into the fitting room, leaving Noe to wait patiently outside for him, hoping that Clive could find enough clothes quickly so that this didn’t have time to turn bad.
Clive smothered a smile as he led Noe out of the fourth store of the afternoon. He was carrying two large plastic bags and Noe held two others, and he hoped that Nelson got the bills for this. Noe hadn’t objected to anything he’d picked out yet, which meant that either he was a complete pushover or Chrissy hadn’t restricted them much.
Noe was starting to look a bit frazzled about the edges, his lips pressing together whenever anyone brushed too close in the crowded walkways or spoke too loudly. His hands kept disappearing into his sleeves, but he kept walking closer and closer to Clive and Clive took that as Noe being less afraid of him than of the surrounding people.
“This mall isn’t big enough.” Clive sighed, then paused next to a wishing well – a fountain with a basin at the bottom, peppered with coins – and turned to Noe. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry.”
Noe paused, coming to a stop next to him. Clive didn’t let him answer, glancing up at the nearest sign dangling from the ceiling.
“Let’s go to the food court.” Clive decided. “Unless you think Chrissy wouldn’t want us to feed ourselves.”
“No.” Noe replied slowly. “She wouldn’t mind.”
“Good.” Clive declared, swinging his bags cheerfully – it wasn’t everyday he got to go shopping for an all-new wardrobe. Starting to walk again, he deliberately kept his pace slow enough for Noe to walk with him. “I think there’s a Chinese place. Do you like Chinese?”
“I don’t know.” Noe replied after a pause, his blue-grey eyes shifting to meet his hesitantly. “Chrissy always cooks.”
“Wow, that’s sheltered.” Clive commented dryly. “She never burns anything?”
“She used to be a chef.” Noe murmured, his fingers clenching around the bag-handles he was carrying. “And Eric can cook a little when she doesn’t… feel like it.”
“Ah.” Clive tilted a grin at Noe, turning the corner towards the ruckus of the food court. It was late afternoon, which meant that school was out and the high-schoolers would be buzzing around like annoying flies. “I lived on take-out. But we can get pizza. The Chinese here is passable only if you’ve had good Chinese. Nothing to start out on.”
“Okay.” Noe agreed quietly, watching the mall aisle warily as it filled with people. Clive frowned a little – the food court was always the most crowded place in the mall, and it was near impossible to not bump into other people, especially when you were standing in line. Glancing around, Clive frowned to see very few tables empty… then grinned in triumph as one on the end was slowly vacated by a pair of older, middle-aged woman.
“Head for that table.” Clive directed, picking up his pace. Noe followed closely, and Clive set his bags down quickly on one of the attached seats. It was one of the smaller, two-person tables, and Clive gestured for Noe to sit. “Save our table. I’ll get food.”
“I –” Noe hesitated, then dug out the credit card Chrissy had given him earlier. Handing it off to Clive wordlessly, Noe gingerly sat down in the opposite chair.
“Okay, so what do you like on your pizza?” Clive asked, tucking the card into his front pocket. Noe half-shrugged, one shoulder rising and falling slowly.
“I’m not picky.” Noe murmured, and Clive nodded.
“Cheese it is, then.” He tossed Noe a grin, half because he was feeling far too cheerful to not smile and half because it seemed like Noe needed a lot of smiles for encouragement. He really was painfully shy, and nowhere near the snob that Clive had first taken him for. Noe didn’t object, just nodded.
Noe was a little more warped than he at first seemed, and Clive was burning with curiosity as to why. He hadn’t wanted people to touch him since he was four, and Clive was really, really curious about that. Of course, Noe had also manifested that year, and apparently his mother had died around age five, so those could have something to do with it.
Clive wove his way through the occupied food court tables deftly, heading for the pizza station. There was a short line, but he didn’t really mind. Noe drank… water at least. And he didn’t have a budget, so he’d get a bottle of Pepsi and a bottle of water and if Noe wanted the Pepsi, he’d drink the water and it would all work out.
Smiling slightly to himself, Clive stopped behind a short Asian woman who was chattering loudly into her cell phone in some language that wasn’t English. Clive ignored her to the best of his ability, pondering where to go next. He had a good assortment of clothing already. Noe had a good eye for things, surprisingly considering the not-so-fashionable way he dressed.
Clive smirked. Maybe he could get Noe to try something on for him later. The Asian woman in front of him stepped up to the counter and snapped out her order in quick, abrupt words, holding her cell phone to her chest as the cashier rung it up. Forking over a twenty, she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her change as the greasy-faced teenager behind the counter hit buttons.
Collecting her change, she started talking into her cell phone again as she moved down the front of the display cabinets to the other end where her order was being assembled. Raising an eyebrow at the teenager – he didn’t look familiar at least – Clive stepped up to the counter.
“Two slices of cheese pizza and two of that chicken broccoli stuff. And a bottle of water and a Pepsi.” Clive announced, palming the credit card from his pocket.
“Twelve fifty-eight.” The kid announced in a bored voice, and Clive handed him the credit card, making sure not to touch the kid’s fingers as he took the card. Waiting impatiently for the moment it took to run the information back and forth, Clive signed the slip quickly and stuck the card back in his pocket, moving to collect his food.
Turning back to the mass of tables, Clive scowled at the crowd as he balanced the tray through the sea of people back to the table he’d had Noe stake out. Noe looked paler than usual, his hands folded together on the tabletop. He was staring straight ahead and barely moving and for a minute Clive thought he’d dropped back into a trance until he set the tray down and Noe jerked upright, his hands slipping off the table like they’d been scalded.
“You okay?” Clive asked, shoving the grease-stained paper plate with the cheese-topped pizza at Noe.
“Fine.” Noe murmured, his eyes on the plate in front of him. Clive waited patiently for a moment before Noe glanced up at him hesitantly, his blue-grey eyes slightly wider than usual.
“Do you prefer Pepsi or water?” Clive asked, pulling his pizza slices apart from each other.
“Water.” Noe answered after a pause. Clive snagged the bottle and set it next to Noe’s plate, grinning a little.
“Good because I prefer soda.” Clive winked a bit and picked up his pizza. Folding it in two, he took a large bite. Noe blinked, but picked up his own pizza slowly. He took a smaller bite, and Clive really wished he didn’t look so damn tired. “If you want, we can go after this.”
“I – you’re not done.” Noe protested quietly, setting down his pizza and licking a bit of sauce off his finger. Clive fumbled a little, dropping his pizza back onto his plate.
“Ah, well, we can come back later. There’s only one or two more stores I would bother looking at anyway.” Clive shrugged, watching Noe’s fingers nonchalantly. They curled into loose fists briefly, before disappearing under the table, and Clive met Noe’s eyes curiously.
“If – it’s only a store or two more.” Noe half-shrugged again, brushing a bit of hair out of his face.
“It is.” Clive grinned – maybe he’d be able to get Noe into some decent clothes yet today. Picking up his pizza again, he ate it quickly, focusing on it and not Noe because that made Noe self-conscious and twitchy and the pizza was really best hot. Noe nibbled at his food, not really paying much attention to Clive either as he stared around at the people wandering back and forth through the food court.
“So where did Chrissy say to meet her again?” Clive asked, when the quiet got to be a bit much for him. Noe swallowed, licking his lips quickly before speaking.
“The bookstore.” Noe set his first slice of pizza, half-eaten, back on his plate, and Clive made a face because he was already on his second piece. “She likes to see what they have for cookbooks.”
“Because she cooks.” Clive grinned, taking another large bite of pizza. Chewing it a few times, he shifted on the uncomfortable, plastic-molded seat, the edge catching on one of the tears he’d inflicted into Noe’s jeans.
“Yeah.” Noe agreed, wiping his fingers on a napkin, ignoring the slice and a half of pizza on his plate as he glanced out at the crowd again. Clive half-turned, craning his neck to see what was so interesting. Far too many school kids – a year or two younger than him – but nothing interesting. Some girl making out with her boyfriend under a potted fern, an old lady scolding a young child for something by the garbage cans, and just… people.
“What stores?” Noe asked, his voice almost lost as a girl walked behind Clive chatting loudly and rapidly.
“Stores for?” Clive asked, picking off a piece of broccoli and dropping it in his mouth. It was slightly overcooked and would’ve been rubbery in a minute, but Clive ignored that and tasted what good of it he could.
“Left.” Noe blinked once, shifting on his seat to lean back, away from the table. He’d balled up the napkin and set it next to his plate, and his fingers were fiddling with the cap to the bottle of water.
“Oh. I don’t know, the ones down… remember the last store? Where we went left instead of right or straight like we came here?” Clive rattled off with a half-chewed bite of pizza in his mouth. Noe’s lips twitched up slightly, and Clive chewed the rest quickly, swallowing hard. “We’d go right. Unless it’s gone out of business, I think there’s another store down there that might have something.”
“Okay.” Noe accepted, picking up his water and screwing the cap back on it slowly. Clive grinned and popped the last bit of his pizza into his mouth. Noe hadn’t touched his pizza again, leaving a slice and a half slowly oozing through the paper plate to the tabletop. Chewing quickly, Clive cracked open the soda with a hiss of carbonation, swallowing half the bottle in one go. Noe looked faintly surprised, and Clive grinned, capping it and standing up.
“You good?” Noe nodded an affirmative and stood up hesitantly, leaning close to the table as a pair of girls walked by quickly, laughing and clutching at bright, sequined purses. “Alright. I’m going to the bathroom – did you want to stay here, with the bags or come?”
“I’ll go.” Noe offered, picking up his laden plate and tucking the bottle of water into one of the clothing bags. Stooping a bit, he picked up the two bags he’d been carrying as Clive did the same.
Swinging around the table, Clive ducked his bags down low to keep them from catching on the chairs or table edge. Falling into step beside Noe, he followed him over to the nearest trash can, crumpling his greasy paper plate as he went. The dull edges dug into his palm, but he ignored it because it wasn’t really painful just annoying. Noe carefully pushed open the swinging door to the trash can and slipped his plate in, holding it for Clive to do the same.
“Thanks.” Clive grinned, leading the way as they headed towards the restrooms. He was actually enjoying this shopping trip, and it seemed that, as long as the lessons with Eric and Chrissy weren’t too bad, this enforced trip might not be a bad thing after all.
Noe wanted to lean against the wall but he was relatively scared of the sanitation of the restroom. It smelled like piss and lemon cleaner and the cheaply perfumed hand soap that was spilled all over the sink. He edged a bit further away from the urinals and their adjoining puddles of questionable fluid, pooled at the foot.
Clive had disappeared into the third stall down, the first being occupied, and the fifth door was shut as well. There was no one else, though, and Noe was tempted to wait outside except the women’s restroom was busier and right next door. Clutching the bag handles tighter, Noe breathed carefully through his mouth. A toilet flushed and the fifth stall door banged open loudly, a wide-shouldered young man leaving.
He caught sight of Noe and smirked, but left it at that, moving to the sink to wash his hands. Noe shifted his weight to his other foot, studiously ignoring the young man. He’d looked to be young, even if he had a few inches of height on Noe and about a hundred extra pounds. He could be an athlete, Noe decided, one of those larger football players who formed the front lines and were heftier than the other players.
Or he could just be genetically turned that way, or a bodybuilder, and it really didn’t matter. His sneakers looked fairly new, a Nike symbol in blue along the side of the blue and white shoes, and his feet were huge. Eric-sized, and Noe fought a bit of a smile at that. It was fun to watch Chrissy tease Eric about his huge feet, even if he’d never admitted it in front of them.
Another toilet flushed, and the young football player with the new sneakers was taking an awfully long time to wash his hands. Noe waited patiently as the first stall door opened, and another young man with a day’s worth of stubble covering his head came out. He had a grin and a bit of toilet paper wafted out of the stall as he left it.
“Carlos.” He greeted the other one, and maybe they were on the same team, because they both had the same sneakers, though they were a bit more worn on young man who’d just left his stall.
“Jakey.” Carlos smirked, and the expression wasn’t very pretty. Clive smirked prettier, and Noe called it an appreciation of fine art before he could panic over something like that. Jakey rolled his eyes and stepped up to the sink, staring at Noe blatantly. Noe ignored him and wished that he could go outside. It would seem odd now though, since he was obviously waiting for something, and Jakey and Carlos the football players would probably leave the bathroom before Clive to find him waiting outside.
Jakey was washing his hands, and Carlos was playing with the paper towel dispenser, and Noe wondered how the little shreds of brown paper had managed to travel to all corners of the floor, why it was taking Clive so long, and why there was a dispenser of travel items against the far wall.
Clive’s stall flushed, and Noe fought the urge to back up as Carlos headed for the door beyond him. His nearly-new sneakers squeaked against the tile floor, and he had a grin twisting his lips still, as though meeting Jakey in the bathroom had been something pleasant, and would only be more so. Jakey was shorter than Carlos, and a little less built like a brick building. He was about Noe’s height, and his mass came from the muscles he had, shown off under a tight t-shirt that was probably at the least a size too small.
Clive’s stall door clicked open, and Jakey turned, his face turning victorious as Clive stepped out – Noe was watching in the mirror, too aware of Carlos, paused by the door. Fumbling with the door, and a loud click came after a grunt and a soft swear, even as Jakey greeted Clive.
“Fancy meeting you here, Clive.” Jakey drawled, and Clive hesitated for a bare split second before his gaze hardened. He stared coldly at Jakey, and Noe felt like an interloper. He didn’t know Jakey or Carlos, and he wasn’t sure precisely what was going on here except that Carlos had seen fit to both lock the door and block it.
“What do you want?” Clive spat, crossing his arms but not venturing any further out. Noe watched silently, a bit unnerved because Clive had been rather nice to him and now he wasn’t acting right.
“What do you think, Clive?” Jakey sauntered forward, and Clive scowled, his bright green eyes narrowing in anger and actual fear, and Noe’s stomach flipped because that couldn’t be right.
“Go away.” Clive snapped, taking a step back, and Noe made the mistake of glancing at Carlos because he couldn’t forget the might-be-a-football-player, not when he was standing so close, and walking closer with little squeaks of his shoes. Carlos had stepped more into the room again, out of the alcove that hid the door to preserve a bit of privacy for the urinals. His eyes were focused on Clive, too, slightly glazed, and Noe fought the urge to shield. He didn’t need to shield. He could – click, and the door unlocked, startling Carlos.
“The fuck?” Carlos wondered, turning back and snapping the lock shut again. Noe’s breath hitched a little as Jakey turned to stare at them, his frown radiating his annoyance. Clive ducked behind him when he was distracted, dodging Jakey’s attempt to snag his arm as he clomped across the short distance to Noe. Carlos smirked, coming back into the room again, even as Clive skidded to a halt, scowling at Carlos which probably wasn’t the best idea considering his considerable bulk.
“Noe –” Clive huffed out, and Noe met his eyes even knowing his eyes were wider than they should be. He didn’t really know what he was supposed to be doing, because he didn’t know what was going on. He couldn’t ask though. He should know – it was apparent to the three boys, and maybe they knew something he didn’t.
“Who’re they?” Noe asked, then shut his mouth because he hadn’t meant to say anything. Jakey paused, halfway across the room and stared at him like he was just noticing that Noe was there.
“I used to go to school with them.” Clive glared, his tone suggesting he wasn’t and hadn’t been fond of them. Carlos snickered, and Noe turned helplessly towards the sound. Carlos was closer than he had been before, watching them avidly – or watching Clive avidly as he smirked.
“Yeah, we’re old school pals.” Carlos was lying. Noe’s heart was beating too fast, and Jakey and Carlos moved at once, towards them. Clive flinched, standing between Noe and Carlos, but blocking Noe from Jakey. Noe didn’t pay it mind, startled enough at Carlos lunging at them, thick, stubby fingers outstretched, that he snapped up a shield around them both. Taking a step back as Carlos bounced off it painfully hard, Noe ran into Clive and sucked in a sharp breath, fighting to keep from throwing his power around. Jakey tumbled to the floor a half-second after Carlos, and Clive was too pale.
“Sorry.” Noe breathed out, clenching his hands into fists around the handles of shopping bags he still carried. The door clicked unlocked again as Carlos and Jakey shoved themselves to their feet, and Clive shrugged nonchalantly, the motion falling flat.
“No, it’s good. I like them away from me.” Clive tried a grin, and Noe handed him two of the bags because he couldn’t carry them all anymore. Clive accepted them with a better, more real smile, and Noe didn’t let the shield drop because Carlos and Jakey were looking rather pissed at not being able to touch them. Touch Clive, and Noe connected the dots finally, remembering Clive’s admission last night. His power garnered unwanted attention accidentally and he couldn’t shut it off.
“Now what?” Noe asked, his voice a whisper. The shield never wavered because he was damn good at shields and nothing short of Clive attacking him would make it fall.
“Well, I don’t much feel like shopping anymore.” Clive admitted flippantly, and Noe’s stomach flipped again, unhappy at even the idea of doing more shopping after this. They were still standing in the bathroom and Noe took a small step towards the door.
“Then…” Noe started, nearly stumbling back in surprise when Carlos snarled loudly, menacingly and glared at him from just beyond the edge of the telekinetic bubble. Noe pushed, then realized what he’d done as Carlos tumbled back, glowering still as his sneakers squeaked against the tile. Jakey was smarter, just hovering in the background observing. He met Noe’s eyes with a sneer, and Noe turned to Clive quickly. Clive was looking calmer at least and a lot less afraid. Noe took comfort in that because he had nothing else really.
“We should go.” Clive told him, gesturing towards the door. Noe nodded, hesitating for a long moment before stepping closer and holding out his hand. Clive stared at it uncomprehendingly for a long moment before moving to hand the bags back to Noe.
“No.” Noe shook his head, tilting his hand away briefly. “Um, give me your hand.”
“Okay.” Clive agreed, his eyes asking ‘why’ even as he complied without argument. Reaching out slowly, he clasped hands with Noe, and Noe knew his hand was sweaty and clammy and he probably wasn’t gripping with the right amount of strength, but he didn’t want to leave Clive out of the shield and he didn’t know how else to do it.
“To – to keep you from…” Noe tried to explain, ignoring that Carlos had moved to lean against the door and Jakey was circling the shield, poking it experimentally with an empty toilet paper tube. “To keep you in the shield.”
Flipping the paper tube out of Jakey’s hand, Noe paled a little, narrowing the shield down a bit so that they could walk without knocking things around. Taking a little step towards the door, Noe tugged lightly at Clive’s hand. Clive followed without hesitation, closer than Noe would’ve liked but he let it pass because Clive’s nearness was almost comforting even if it left Noe slightly on edge.
“Come on, Clive. It’s just a bit of fun.” Jakey tried, and Noe glanced unthinkingly at Carlos, who was glowering at him menacingly. Noe ducked his gaze immediately, and continued to the door. They’d follow, so he’d have to – he could break the lock off in the door, so that they couldn’t open it. Not looking behind him, at Jakey or Carlos or Clive, Noe crossed the tiled bathroom floor quickly. Clive didn’t falter behind him, even as Carlos joined in with Jakey’s attempts to persuade Clive to come ‘play’ with them.
The door opened under Noe’s invisible guidance, and he pulled Clive into the harshly lit hallway, keeping the shield large enough that he could shut the door without Jakey or Carlos leaving the bathroom. When the door fell back into place, Noe clicked the lock over, locking it, and then pushed it a bit further, snapping the little rectangular lock handle off. It clattered to the floor inside, and Noe took a deep breath before dispelling the shield.
The mall was too crowded for a shield. He’d bump it into someone and while it was one thing to use it on Jakey and Clive, it was another to run through the mall in a giant invisible bubble. Taking a deep breath, Noe ignored Carlos’ shouts – it was the deeper voice of Carlos – and the door shook in its frame behind him.
The women’s room was mysteriously quiet now, but Noe counted it as a good thing, all too aware of Clive’s hand, wrapped around his tightly. Turning, but keeping his gaze slightly turned down so that he didn’t have to meet Clive’s eyes (he couldn’t keep it together if he looked), Noe tugged his hand away and carefully tucked it into his pocket.
“Can we – can we go find Chrissy?” Noe asked, breathing just a little too fast. Hopefully Clive didn’t notice, and Noe fought the urge to look up as Clive didn’t answer for a long moment.
“Thank you.” Clive finally said, his tone quiet, and something – someone – slammed into the bathroom door behind them, and Noe started, jerking his head up and accidentally meeting Clive’s eyes.
Clive didn’t look angry at least, just a little alarmed and a lot… resigned, or something. Noe didn’t really know how to respond to that, so he shrugged a little, sagging a bit. Clive offered a ghost of his usual grin and started walking as the door rattled again. Noe blinked at it for a moment as Clive walked by him, and Noe turned after Clive, gripping the shopping bags tightly as he hurried to catch up to Clive.
