Inhale [DNF]

- 5 -

That next morning I threw on a Navy blue sweater and black pants, then promptly remembered that it was July and I would have a heat stroke. Instead, I changed into a pale blue T-shirt and thought back to my conversation with Sapnap the night before. I shook it out of my head and left the apartment, my phone tucked safely into my pocket.

The subway quiet. It was almost eleven, and almost everyone was at work. I was lucky that I didn't have to clock in until noon. An eight hour shift on the weekend isn't all that bad.

When I arrived at the office, Johnson immediately greeted me. He'd taken to calling me mate, like he thought I'd appreciate the European slang.

"There he is, there's George, my mate!" He sounded almost Australian. I cringed and sat at my desk. "Lots of stuff happening today. There was a crash down on the hundred-ninety-second, I'm going down to get a report. You want to join me? Heinzman already approved it. Figured you'd want to go out in the field." He waved a pen that had a stylus on the end around in a circle in the air.

I grinned.

"Yeah, sure! I—uh...is there anything happening in the political world I can write on?" I asked.

"Nah, there's always corrupt politicians and even more corrupt law codes around here. Nobody reads shit about the politicians here unless it's about Trump, and believe me, you don't wanna write on that for your first paper. We'll just do the crash and whatever other shit we see today."

I followed him out into the street and hurried to stay beside him.

"Say, George, if you ever need help with the girls in the office, you can come to me. They all play hard to get, so if you need advice I'm here."

"Er...thanks? I'm alright though." I swallowed my breath. "I'm not really looking to date."

"Suit yourself." Johnson shrugged and led me towards 192nd street.

I stared in awe at the wreckage. While the bus had been pushed to the side of the curb, glass was strewn across the street and dozens of people stood on the sidelines, watching as they tried to sweep up the debris.

Johnson started to talk to one of the EMTs, and then moved on to a policeman who was keeping everyone out of reach of the accident.

I took notes feverishly, but my mind started to wander. I glanced up from my note pad and caught eyes with the same boy I'd run into last night at the subway. He wore the same white mask that covered the bottom half of his face, but his green hair still stuck out like a sore thumb.

It felt like he was following me—watching me. Maybe it's just the wrong place at the wrong time. He turned as soon as he saw I was looking at him and disappeared from my view.

"Davidson!" My coworker brought me back to reality. "You ready? We've got enough for a small story."

I nodded and hurried back to his side, where we started to discuss whatever the policeman had told him. While we talked, though, I couldn't get my mind off that boy. He's the kind of person that you pass on the street, note that they look interesting, and then never see them again. I wondered why his face was hidden.

Johnson and I went back to the office, where I returned to my desk and waited for him to type up an article. I went through the stacks of paper that Kiya and the others had piled onto my desk, and finally, the papers for the weekend were thoroughly edited.

When 8 finally hit, I left my desk and delivered the last few things I was working on to Heinzman. I gathered my belongings and walked out to the darkened street, hurrying towards the subway. I had agreed to see Sapnap at that bar I'd gone to, and I almost never broke a promise.

When I arrived, after finally getting away from the people at the station, the bar was already fairly busy. I noticed Sapnap from across the room, checking his phone awkwardly as if he were waiting for me. I joined him at the table and he broke into a smile.

"Oh, you actually made it!" He exclaimed, as if he expected me to ditch him. "Well, we're about to start for the night, so just get yourself a drink or something." He patted my arm and went up to the stage, where a set of drums, an electrical guitar, and some other equipment sat in wait.

I ordered a coke and a shot of tequila—because why not? I scanned the bar for someone that looked like they could be the owner, and I finally spotted him at the other end, wearing a blue beanie and an apron that was tied messily behind his back. I had to assume that this was Alex, Sapnap's ex. In a way, I didn't really take Sapnap to be that kind of person, but at the same time, it felt understandable. I wondered why they broke up.

I heard someone starting to hit a beat on the drums and I turned my attention back to the stage. Sapnap sat at the drums, a tall man wearing a black and white mask was at the piano, another guy wearing glasses held an electric guitar, and then finally, my eyes settled on the boy at the front who also wore a mask.

His hands curled around the microphone as the group played. They were good—there was no doubt that they were good. But I couldn't focus on the music, even though they were playing some of my favorite songs.

The boy at the microphone locked eyes with me and recognition flooded my senses.

The boy with the green hair and the white face mask was everywhere, and I couldn't get rid of him.