Morning Shift

Universal Signs

Jonah was not in the mood for anyone's bullshit.

The blizzard kicking Minnesota's ass was still going full force, and in his little town, that meant none of the roads were plowed. Since his aba had already left for work, leaving him with the car that couldn't touch a piece of ice without skidding across three lanes, he decided walking was his best option.

He was about ten minutes from Happy's when he realized how big of a mistake this decision was. His letterman's jacket was wrapped so tightly around his shivering body, he could barely breath, and the thin cotton gloves he may or may not have stolen from the clearance isle of Happy's weren't doing much to protect his fingers from the cold. Apparently, spending your life on an ice rink wasn't enough to build up an immunity.

He stared straight down at the sidewalk, absentmindedly stepping over cracks in the pavement as he walked. He thought about whatever he wanted to keep himself busy. He thought about the butterfly effect of him stepping on an ant, or how he might have superpowers and they just haven't been activated yet, or even how easy it would be for him to slip on ice and fall into a coma.

That last one scared him a bit. He didn't like to think about bad things, but they always sort of popped up without warning. He wished they wouldn't.

His daydreaming was cut short when he ran right into a puffy black jacket. He snapped his head up, his brown eyes wide as he waited for the person to turn around.

"Dude!" The jacketed guy snapped, spinning around on his heel and ripping the earbuds out of his ear as he bumped Jonah back with his shoulder. "Mind watching where you're going?"

"Sorry! I was just..." he trailed off, looking at the boy's tan, freckled face. "It's you."

The boy's tense features softened as he looked Jonah up and down, suddenly remembering how he knows him. "You're the kid at the drugstore."

"You're the kid who gets birthday cards at 5:30 in the morning. Nicky, right?"

He nodded. "And you're Jonah."

Jonah smiled. It had only been a few days, but he was still sort of surprised that Nicky remembered him. He couldn't help but feel a bit happy. But his grin faltered when he noticed Nicky wasn't smiling back. He wasn't scowling or giving him a dirty look, he just looked bored and exhausted, which made sense considering how early it was.

"Where are you going?" Jonah asked.

Nicky nodded down the road, little curls of his black hair falling out of his wool hat and over his eyes. "The pharmacy."

"My pharmacy?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the only one in a ten mile radius, yes."

Jonah frowned. It was sort of a stupid question, considering their small town only had one other drugstore— a CVS about a twenty minute walk in the other direction. There wasn't much to do where he lived, especially during the winter where it was too cold to ride his bike around and explore. He had a severe case of cabin fever when it got cold out and it really only cleared up when he was free to roam around and find new things to keep himself busy.

Nicky gave him a tight lipped smile before popping his headphones back in his ears and walking away. Jonah's snowy converse moved quickly without his permission so he could catch up with the other boy. Nicky did a double take when he noticed Jonah was right next to him. He pulled out an earbud and glared at Jonah.

"Hi again," Jonah said.

"You know the universal sign for 'I don't want to talk' is headphones, right?"

"I do now."

"Great," Nicky mumbled and put it back in his ear, "goodbye now."

But Jonah stayed next to him. He stared down at their feet and watched as they walked in synch, stepping over cracks and sheets of ice in perfect unison. Nicky glanced over at him a few times with narrow eyes— Jonah assumed he was trying to scare him off, but the way he furrowed his brows and scowled wasn't intimidating in the slightest. Finally, Nicky stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms.

"What do you want?" He demanded when Jonah stopped as well, staying in his place beside the other boy.

Jonah thought for a moment. Making friends wasn't exactly his forte, especially with the people he went to school with. He wasn't exactly blessed with incredible social skills, so usually, he just gave up after a few minutes of trying. He felt different this time, though— like he needed to figure out this boy before he stopped seeing him in the early morning.

"What school do you go to?" He asked.

Nicky cocked a brow. "Why do you care?"

"I'm not sure. I just do," Jonah answered honestly.

"Look, kid-"

"I'm seventeen, actually. How old are you?"

He ran a hand through his hair, pushing back the little curls that flopped over his eyes. "Are you gonna keep walking with me even if I answer?"

"I have to get to work... so yeah."

"Fine," he huffed, shoving his hands back in his pockets and starting off in the direction of Happy's. "I'm sixteen. I go to Westview Academy. Happy?"

Jonah smiled and let out a long breath, watching as it showed up in the air and faded away seconds later. "Yep."

———————
:)

Nicky's kind of a bitch but just like bear with him.

Thanks for readingggg

~Teddy