Warm afternoon sunlight fell upon a classroom filled with students. All of them hunched over a set of papers, their pencils moving frantically to fill up the papers with math equation after math equation. Yet only one student was doing something else, and that was Damien. He who had his finished test stacked in front, snoring happily away. Numerous students shot glares at this boy, yet the ticking of the clock claimed their attention, causing their hands to move quicker. The clock continued to tick 2:58…2:59... 

"Pencils down class. Please pass your finished test to the front.”

Everyone in the class dropped their pencils down in exhaustion and did what the teacher told them to do. Someone nudged the sleeping Damien. 

“Your test?”

Damien sleepily nodded his head. The person sighed as he thought Is this guy really number one? And Damien, oblivious to this assessment, handed his test to the guy in front of him.

The teacher continued with their spiel, “Rankings should be shown a week after the test as usual. Have a good day kids.”

With that, the teacher left the room and students started to place their things away. Damien was one of these students. In his exhaustion he had quickly finished the test and had chosen to sleep afterwards. He smiled, at his well-received rest. I needed that nap, since I'm going to be working non stop for the next 7 hours. He brought his gaze to the clock that read 3:05. Seeing that it was 3:05 he figured that he could race to the bus stop to catch his bus that was to arrive in about ten minutes from now. As he stuffed things into his bookbag his mind started to wander. The phone bill and the electric bill are paid… but the water… he thought about his little brother shivering away in the cold water then to Dakota playing happily on his phone. He shrugged. A little cold water won't hurt, besides… "We can just heat up the water." 

His eyebrows started to wrinkle as more worries clouded his mind. "I should be getting that call right about now." His phone rang, placing an end to his thoughts of worry. He took out his phone and smiled at the screen as he placed the phone to his ear.

"Dami I made it home~" the voice belonged to his brother Dakota.

"You did? Make sure you lock the door okay? I should be home around 11:00ish."

A small giggle could be heard on the other end, "Dami you worry too much. Have a good day at work! Oh, and Ava said that she'll be making dinner tonight! So, look forward to it!"

At the mention of Ava's name, confusion crossed his face. Why is she there? Dakota who was oblivious of Damien's confusion kept on talking.

"Dami, it's like 3:10. are you on the bus yet?"

"Shit. Thanks Dakota."

"That's a cuss word Dami. But I'll let it pass." 

He hung up, gathered the rest of his stuff, and proceeded to leave the room. Only to be stopped in his tracks moments later by a voice.

"Damien Irving" 

At the sound of his full name, confusion took over his features. He turned around to see a short blonde-haired boy, who was dressed in the uniform as his own. Yet for some reason his uniform appeared to be fancier than his own. Wrinkle free, no cotton fuzz, just spotless. Damein glanced down at his own uniform, wondering about what he did wrong. The blonde boy smiled at the attention, striking a pose as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Damien Irving. Would you like to be mine?"

What…? Was Damien's only thought as his look of confusion grew more twisted. He had never seen this boy before, but something about him seemed familiar. Was it his bright blonde hair? Or perhaps his silvery gray eyes? Damien didn't know, and to be honest he didn't care. He glanced at his phone and realized that too much time had already passed.

"The bus…"  He stuffed his phone into his bag and rushed past the blonde boy. Who stood baffled at Damien's rudeness. Quickly the blonde caught a hold of himself, he called frantically at Damien's disappearing back. "Irving wait! I have a proposal for you! Become mine t-" Yet before the words could reach Damien, he had already disappeared.

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Damien sighed as he sprayed degreaser onto the dirty grill. He then started to scrub at the layers of food that had accumulated throughout the day. He scrubbed so much that his fingers grew numb from the tedious work. 

"Damn'' he muttered under his breath. Frustrated, he threw the towel down and looked around his workplace. He took in the grills tucked against the walls, the two stoves that shined with cleanliness and the lobby with its tables and chairs. He also took time to notice two other employees who were still hunched over their own appliances cleaning them. Finally, he looked upon his own grill and sighed once more. Despite all his scrubbing he had barely made a dent in the grime. Right when he was about to try again, Damien felt a slight pain on his back. Someone had struck his back.

"No matter how much ya scrub, that ain't coming off." A wry smile came upon his face as he stared at the culprit, a smaller old man dressed in a dirty white shirt, black slacks and an apron. This man was Damien's boss.

"So, can I stop now?" Asked Damien, pointing to the grill.

"Yeah yeah, and good work today boss. Ya did good as always. After you mop the lobby, you're free to clock out." Damien glanced at the floor that he was supposed to mop. A giant lobby spanning more than 20 feet. He sighed, "I definitely won't be home by 11:00."

The boss laughed at Damien’s words, "You're a youngster filled with energy, if you put your mind to it, you'll be fine!" He released a booming laugh causing the other two employees to pass confusing glances towards them. Damien could only nod his head as his boss laughed at his demise. When his boss’ laughter finally died down, Damien asked a question that had been on his mind for a while. "Hey boss... after this could I talk to you about my schedule?"

The old man gave Damien a curious look. "Sure kid, I'll be in my usual place when you're done." Damien nodded, grabbed the mop from the closet and headed out to the lobby. 

It was a simple lobby, not too fancy nor pretty. In fact it felt more homely with its plastic chairs and a couple of tables placed here and there. Damien brought his mop to the middle and began mopping. His mind was filled with various things, bills, his little brother, and that blonde kid.

Damien thought back on that blonde kid, "Damien Irving. Would you like to become mine?" Ah... that was kinda creepy. Damien could even still feel a faint shiver slithered down his spine. Yet Damien was still curious as he remembered those last words the blonde kid said.

"Irving wait! I have a proposal for you!" His mop stopped, as he processed the blonde's words. A proposal? A slight smile flashed across his face. A proposal…who says that these days?

He shook his head, forcing the smile to disappear, "It doesn't matter. I won't have time for it anyway." With his vast amount of schoolwork and his part-time job, he barely had time for some random kid’s proposal. Satisfied with his reasoning, he started to mop once more. Still... he was curious. No matter how much he attempted to kill the thought, it kept on coming back. After about thirty minutes of this he was done with the lobby. Damien tucked the mop away and searched for his boss. He walked to the back of the restaurant, making sure to nod his head to the other two employees as he passed them by. Eventually he found himself in front of his manager's office and went in.

"Aye kid, why don't you ever knock?" Cried his manager yet Damien could hear the mirth in his voice. His eyes scanned the room to find just a desk with papers stacked upon it, his manager was indeed a messy person.

"About my schedule…"

"Ah that. What about it? Want a day off or something?"

Damien shook his head. "No, actually I wanted to get just a few more hours. It can be whenever, morning or night, I can do it."

The old man rose a brow, "Morning and night huh? Aren't you working like 30 hours a week? That's already too much for a minor."

Damien understood where his boss was coming from, but still he needed more hours. Just enough to get by. Just enough… Then his boss said something unexpected.

"Hey kid… Do you need some help?"

At these words Damien clenched his fist, yet his boss was unaware of such an action. He then smiled at his boss. "No, I don't need help. I just had some extra hours to spare and wanted to fill them with work."

As If he was not convinced of Damien's words, he gave Damien a look.  "Are you sure kid? You've been working here for the last three years, if you need help you can just ask." The old man flexed his bicep, "This old man is mighty strong, so ya can always depend on him.” his booming laugh filled the small office.

Damien smiled at this old man, "Thanks for the concern, but honestly I'm fine."

I'm not fine.

"I just wanted some more hours."

I have bills to pay

"Because I was bored."

I need to find more work.

As if he knew that Damien was lying, the manager stared hard at Damien, yet eventually he shrugged his shoulders.

"Welp it's getting late kid, see ya tomorrow."

Damien nodded his head. "See you tomorrow." 

He grabbed his jacket, clocked out and left the restaurant. Damien looked up at the night sky and smiled at the few stars that shined at him. He began to talk to these stars, his companions in the sky. 

"Ah… I should have said yes to his help… But I can't burden him with my shit. It's my problem and I have to solve it myself." He grew quiet, as the sounds of night blanketed his body as the stars continued to light the sky. He was waiting. Waiting for a response from the heavens above. Yet, the stars did not answer him, for they were simply balls of light within the sky. Damien didn't seem to mind this though. He was used to no one answering him. 

"Well… where can I get another job…"

He continued his walk, passing streetlights and avoiding cars. How long did he walk? He did not know, but eventually his feet stood in front of a building. A building that appeared worn down with it's slanting roof and dusty windows. Yet a lone light was shining in one of the windows, as if inviting Damien inside, towards it guiding light. With aching feet Damien entered the building and left out with a new job.