Alex shoved another spoonful of food in his mouth. It was pretty good in his opinion. Right after meeting the stra-, no…. after meeting Teo, he discovered his backpack from the previous day, still full of food. He hurriedly put the stuff away, mainly the stuff that needed to be refrigerated, and hoped that the meat didn’t go bad. But after just half a day…? He didn’t know. Having a stomach bug would just be awesome on top of all this other bullshit happening. 

Just to be safe, he cooked pasta for himself and pan-fried some meat. The heat would kill the potential bacteria, right?

He shifted his position on the dining chair, and pain coursed through his leg. More specifically, throughout the fresh wound. It painfully throbbed, and Alex couldn’t help but hiss a little under his breath. 

He looked down to look at it. The plaster was still placed on top of it. The pants were clearly ruined, and still bloody around the edges where Teo ripped the fabric, but Alex didn’t want to get changed. It would be pretty painful, he imagined. The fabric would sag around the area for sure, he would have to move his leg a lot……….ugh. No thanks. 

The plaster was smeared by some substance, as it had a light green hue, except for the edges. It warmed his skin up, and kind of numbed the whole area.

It had a very strong smell, kind of earthy and herbal. Alex had never smelled such a rich and heavy scent. He wondered; was Teo some sort of herbalist or caregiver? Why would he have these things with him otherwise?

Alex’s vision suddenly blurred. What the…..   He needed to clasp the table, to not fall to the ground. His head started pounding rapidly. Ah fuck….  

Why is this happening?? 

……..

His stomach loudly growled. 

It must be from not eating for such a long time.  Uh….I should fill my stomach….I guess 

Alex reluctantly looked at the meal again. He had doubts at the back of his mind. Serious doubts. I really don’t wanna get sick…..

He finished the food quickly and went to his room. The humble room was lit with a soft glow from the window. He sat on his bed and looked out of it. The sun was high, and he could sense that it was really hot out. I wonder where…….he is….

What’s the guy even doing the whole day? Does he have a home somewhere around here? Alex hasn’t seen him anywhere in the school or around town, like, ever. It was weird. Well, aside from everything about him, this bugged him a lot. 

How does he live? Does he have a job or something? 

This whole experience felt so surreal, Alex had no idea how to deal with it. Half the time, he felt like he was trapped in a weird dream, and the other, he was mentally on the edge of having a meltdown from all the stress.

Hmm, I wonder which is better.

But, back to Teo. There were so many questions and so few answers. I have to properly investigate him next time.

It was kinda stuffy in his room, so Alex opened his window wide open. He stuck his head out and breathed the warm air. It honestly cleared his head a lot and made him less overwhelmed. The windowsill was kind of dirty, but he didn't mind and rested his forearms there. It was pretty warm.

Alex focused on breathing. He started looking at the tops of the trees in the distance, and how the sun rays reflected on them, creating a bright and happy atmosphere. He smiled a little. 

“Hey!!!” Teo’s voice resounded in the woods. Alex got so startled, that he flinched so hard, he bonked his head on the top of the window. He whimpered and clutched his head. OWWW

“Alex!!” Teo appeared from the woods and immediately noticed him in the window. “Uh…what are you doing?” He asked, confused as to why was Alex holding his head in pain. 

“I fucking got scared because of you! Shut uppppp!” Alex covered his eyes in embarrassment. 

It was quiet for a second. Alex slowly uncovered his view and saw Teo in front of the house. The Teo spoke up. “Well…I brought you some strawberries!” He held up his palms, and there sure were little forest strawberries seated there, just waiting to be eaten. 

Ah fuck……these look good….   Alex must’ve looked like an animated character with drool coming out of his mouth or something, because Teo laughed, and said. “Come down, before I eat them all!” 

It was obvious he was in a good mood. 

“....why are you so happy?” Alex asked, kind of confused. 

Teo enthusiastically answered. “it's a present for you! It's pretty symbolic for we-.....I mean, where I come from, haha....” 

Alex looked at the awaiting snack for a few seconds.

…..hahhhh…..

“.....I’ll come down……” Alex left the comfort of the sheets and headed down. 

But he stopped in the middle of coming down the stairs. 

…….…..I’m really stupid, aren’t I?  He thought.   

He felt like the dumbest person alive to trust Teo, but something about him seemed………a bit different. 

But he also felt like this, to a certain degree, with Max. Does this feeling really mean anything then? 

Alex resumed and then opened the front door. …..let’s just not think about it. Period. Who would even care if I died? If this guy just murders me or something. I don’t have anyone aside from him now.

He got closer to Teo, to get his gift or whatever. Teo’s fingertips had a bit of red color on them, from picking the strawberries. He must've crushed some accidentally. 

“Here you go!” Teo angled his hand, so the little berries would fall into Alex’s waiting hands. 

“...thanks..” 

I guess…..he’s not so bad……   Alex looked up to see Teo’s face. At least there’s something to keep his mind off things. This guy is enough of a distraction for Alex for him not to fall into the dark pits of loneliness and depression. At least he’s grateful to him for that.