The sun was in the midst of setting. Emmett stretched with a yawn, forcing a tear to roll down his cheek. He'd picked a more appropriate place to smoke this time, the rear of the building where he could watch the audience make their way to their cars if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to.

The runway show itself was ultimately uneventful. Work, like any other. The only thing that still separated him from the appearance of any other staff member was the wild hair and makeup he still wore. He'd been too impatient to wait around for an empty mirror in the dressing room or bathroom. He'd wanted a breath of fresh air more… and that cigarette.

He'd only briefly seen Edan on the way out. They'd waved at one another as they passed. Emmett wasn't surprised. Edan seemed to be good at the real version of networking. Emmett didn't have the patience for that either. Probably why he'd been slow to get any decent jobs.

The back door to the building opened and Emmett glanced over, hoping for Edan. It was only a graying middle-aged man with a camera looped around his neck. He smiled when he saw Emmett but Emmett was too disappointed to share anything but a frown.

Please don't talk to me.

"Oh, I was hoping I'd run in to you."

Emmett narrowed his eyes. Did you now?

"Well, obviously not just you, but you were on my list.." He took a few steps toward Emmett, brandishing a business card.

Emmett glanced at it but didn't take it. "What for?"

"Because I wanted a chance to photograph you, clearly."

It sounded like a scam or something more skeevy. "I'm not that new to the business, sir."

"I like your look. I think I could do it justice." He took another step forward, reached a hand out towards Emmett's cheek.

"Don't touch me. I bite." It was an empty threat. Emmett didn't do anything when the man took his chin even though his heart was pounding wildly.

"I don't think anger's the right look for you." He bent down to look Emmett more directly in the face, tilting his chin left and right. Emmett shuddered. The guy didn't seem malicious, which only unsettled him more.

"You should look down on the camera the next time you do a shoot. Let them know they're all not worth your time." He let go of Emmett, slipping his business card into Emmett's collar as he did. He smiled again, bobbed his head a little and strolled away.

Emmett let out a shaky breath. The encounter was just strange, like if a cryptid had phased through the world and asked him about the weather before fading away. A legend to be passed down. Some would seek out an encounter while others would warn of the dangers… Suddenly he didn’t want to be alone.

He pulled the card from his collar, tossed it away into the garbage.

The back door opened again and this time it was Edan. Emmett breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally made it out of there.” Edan mumbled past his own sigh.

“Yeah, but I bet you earn at least three more jobs for being so candid.” Emmett rose to his feet eager to get gone.

"Take one from me, please." He seemed to notice something in Emmett's face. "Did something happen? You look kinda pale."

"I'm just hungry." He stepped closer to Edan, resting his hands on his waist. "Take me out for dinner?"

"That depends, what do you want?

----

"God, why'd I let you talk me into this place?" He was making a face as he watched Emmett cram another fat french fry in his mouth.

They were settled in the outdoor seating of a local fast food chain. Emmett liked them. They offered a lot of food for cheap and most importantly, a shit-ton of milkshake flavors. "You know, they put a whole slice of cheesecake in some of the milkshakes." Emmett had a sip of his. Well, tried to. It was still too solid.

"Do you know how long I'll have to spend at the gym to work this off?" He complained as he crumpled the remains of a burger wrapper and dropped it on the table.

Emmett pried off the lid to his milkshake, attacking it with a spoon instead. "I'll come with you… just so I can watch." Emmett bumped his shoulder against Edan's, tucked his mouth against Edan's ear. "I bet you're the type to workout shirtless."

"And your sounding like the type who walks on the treadmills just so he can ogle the guys around him. How do you keep your figure?"

Emmett winked at Edan's accusation, slipping another bite into his mouth. "I'm still a growing boy." He joked. He licked a bit of chocolate that'd been left behind on the spoon, watching Edan intently. "And you know how I like my exercise."

"I definitely don't need three guesses to figure that one out." He took Emmett by the chin, leaned closer.

Emmett tried not to remember his encounter earlier that day, letting Edan pull him into a kiss. He kind of wished that there were more people around, but then, he doubted that Edan would be so forward with more of an audience. His hands were on him and it was thrilling.

He gave Edan a playful grin when they parted. "How much 'exercise' do you think you'll need to pay for the ice cream on my tongue?"

"Depends on how long you wanna keep me up."