BOYS WILL BE BUGS ~ Warren x Shrignold

7. cigarettes out the window

~cigarettes out the window - TV girl~

WARREN POV

Thanks to my new fixed sleep routine, I fluttered my eyes open at exactly six-thirty AM. Soft chatter commenced downstairs, threatening me to lull me back to sleep. Never the less, I heaved myself up and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on my shorts with my vest and securing the inspirational quote pin buttons on the vest. 

After getting dressed, I reached for the door handle, but couldn't bring myself to turn it. I took a step back and pondered intently. I didn't want to go back downstairs, I knew that now. I knew I couldn't just hide in my room all day...but maybe. 

I stepped to the window and opened it, cold air engulfing my upper I looked upwards and saw the rain gutters which hung just above me on the roof...

The roof!

I smiled to myself and placed one sneaker on the window frame, though stopped myself as I looked back into my room...am I being a coward? I thought to myself.

Huffing, I dove back into my room and opened the drawer on my desk, pulling out my cigarettes and lighter and going to back to climbing out my window. So what? Be a coward, act a coward...

Placing the cigarette box in my mouth and my lighter in my pocket, I jumped from the edge of the windowsill and caught myself on the rain gutter, my bottom half fainting as I inched myself up, praying that the freaking rain gutters wouldn't give out under me.

Finally, I heaved myself on the the roof with a breath-torn grunt and balanced myself, crawling up onto the flat part of the room above a protruding window.

Steadying myself on the flat and sitting down, I pulled the lighter out of my pocket and clenched a cigarette between my teeth. Lighting the cigarette, I knew that people luckily weren't going to know where I was, or at least not care. Maybe Larry, but even then...

As I huffed out a breath of smoke, I saw an odd figure lazily flying through the thick morning mist, as it came more into view, I saw shrignold. Shoulders hunched and eyes dull. He flew to me and sat down next to me, his hands sunder his head, propped against his scrunched knees. I didn't really know what to say, should I say anything?...

"H-hello?" I greeted awkwardly. "Hello." Shrignold sighed tiredly. I leaned forward a bit and got a good look at his face. His eyes wore dark bags and it seemed as if the bubbly light had been drained out of them, his wings where sagged and lightly rumpled. "Are you ok?" I asked.

"I'm fine. You?" He asked, continuing to stare into the far, misty distance. "Fine." I said blankly. I was still taken a bit off-guard for what Larry said about me and the 'love teacher'. I didn't even find Shrignold appealing. Sure he was pretty considerate and soft-spoken, and nonjudgmental and friendly, and caring and colorful, and prett-

"What are you doing?" Shrignold asked softly, glancing at the burning cigarette between my two fingers. "Smoking. Want one?" 

"Sure." Shrignold shrugged, I took out a cigarette from the carton and lit it, handing it to him. I then continued to smoke, looking off into the distance. Shrignold inhaled and began violently coughing, small convulsions running through his small body. A looked over to him and he waved his hand in front of his face in a gesture to look away, and I did so. It must've been his first time.

When his coughing finally died down, Shrignold spoke again. "It sure is dark for morning..." He rasped. I nodded. "Rain will fall soon, with this fog. Probably going to be like this all day." 

There was silence. Shrignold spoke again. "Why didn't you go downstairs with the other teachers?" He asked. I sighed, my hot breath mixed with the smoke softly pluming. "They got mad at me for running out on my lesson, no big deal." I pressed my cigarette against my tinge to out it out, flicking it down the roof and lighting another one. 

"Why don't you ever muck about with the teachers?" I asked. Shrignold sighed and twirled the cigarette between his gloved fingers. "They don't like me all that much, they think what I'm doing with Malcom and all that is wrong and stuff..."

"You don't seem that bad, you should t take it personally. They are all talking objects." I chuckled, and Shrignold peaked a smile.

"If anything, you're one of the only ones who has really taken time to talk and get to know me." I said to Shrignold. He took another breath of the cigarette, now getting used to it. "Ditto..." He mumbled.

I smiled, thankful to be at peace in the quiet with only Shrignold. I could understand why everyone would think he's weird and all with all his cult shenanigans, but he was a really nice guy from what I had experienced. "Can I cast one more thank you for patching me up?" I asked, raising my legs slightly to show the bandages. Shrignold looked over. "You're welcome." He hummed quietly. 

We stared off into the distance after that, letting the cold traveling fog engulf us as we (mostly me) smoked cigarette after cigarette. Though of course, as I had predicted, it soon began to rain...

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