A Long Road

1

It was sunny that day. And the bright sunlight cast through trees, creating intricate, unique patterns that Lucian loved to walk by. They were beautiful, as was most of the Earth - or so they had to assume since they'd never traveled before, except across the state borders to see the lands close by. Trips with family, and the like.

They knew this path far too well, but there was something unfamiliar, almost a dark vibe that kind of set them off. But they kept walking, knowing that it would be much easier to just get it over with. Plus, the ice-cream shop, where they could get discounted ice-cream, waited at the end. It called to them enough that they pushed aside the dark vibe altogether, and bounced happily along the trail, humming to themselves and trying to enjoy the walk.

And then they got to the end.

They stopped in their tracks altogether, blinking at the brooding man, who hardly even noticed them. After a moment of doing nothing except standing there, they moved forward and put on a small smile before sitting down on the wooden bench, which creaked noisily under their weight.

The man ignored them.

Lucian crossed their arms, staring at him for a moment. "Hey, mister-!" they huffed, waving a hand in front of his face, accidentally rocking the bench with their rushed actions.

The man finally acknowledged them, releasing a heavy sigh and turning his head to face them. The man's eyes were dark, as if years of anger and hurt just melted into deep pools of blood, which happened to be the color of his eyes. Not blood-shot, just blood colored.

His hair was unkempt, messy, and unclean. It didn't appear to be brushed either. This man, whoever he was, looked sick and in need of help.

Drinking in his appearance, Lucian blinked a few times, speechless. They couldn't tell what was more concerning; the dark circles under his eyes or the scar on his cheek, or perhaps that he looked unhealthy.

Finally rolling his eyes and sighing heavily yet again, the guy crossed his arms over his chest, which happened to reveal several stains on his dark grey hoodie, and spoke.

"Yeah? The fuck you want, huh?"

He seemed to hiss every word, and Lucian had to try not to make a face at the stench that effused from his mouth. So he smokes cigarettes.

Lucian almost flinched; they were only trying to be kind, though it was clear the guy they were attempting to interact with didn't really want their kindness.

"Uh... I'm-- I'm Lucian-" their voice wavered against their will as they tried to speak, a bit intimidated by his personality. But they wouldn't back down, they wanted to make a positive impact on him, even if short lived. "You just--"

"I just what, huh?" he growled, turning away from Lucian entirely. "Don't pity me, leave me alone." He started to put in his earbuds, dismissing the conversation entirely. However, this only intrigued Lucian. Who was this guy? What made him act like this?

This curiosity, and the need to be friendly, forced them to interrupt him again.

"Hey! Excuse me!" their voice started raising in volume, and, un-amused, the guy looks over at Lucian, tossing down his earbuds onto his legs, before starting to push them into one of his pockets, annoyed.

"The fuck do you want? Dammit, don't you know how to leave someone alone? Obviously I don't wanna fuckin' talk!" he spoke the words, raising off the bench as he started to get angry, fire igniting within his chest and spreading through his whole body, only becoming more angry with the next words that Lucian spoke.

"Well, excuse me for trying to be nice. You just looked lonely, and I wanted to help."

"Help how? By being friends?" He scoffed, turning standing up. "That ain't happenin'. Fuck off now, before this little act of yours bites you in the ass. 'Kay?" he shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie and started to walk away.

Lucian looked away, a wave of guilt washing over them. They had pried, though, despite the warnings not to. They furrowed their eyebrows, before standing up as well. "Please, at least come back. Next Sunday, please-"

Stopping his movements, the guy put a hand to his face and shook his head. "Fine, whatever, fuckin' Christ." and then he disappeared into the woods, the same way that Lucian had came from.

Lucian felt defeated, and their chest started aching. They weren't really in the mood for ice-cream anymore, but they had obligations. Trudging along, they kept their head down as they walked, and pushed open the door to the shop without much effort. They passed by the counter, taking a seat in the far corner.

After a few moments, lost in thought, they were brought back to attention by the sound of hands slamming down on the table, which shook the entire surface. Lucian blinked in surprise, before looking up and seeing the face of their long-term friend and coworker, Rose-Mary.

"Lucian! What! Are! You! Doing!" she practically shouted at them, requesting their attention.

"Woah, Rose- I'm- I'm just sitting here-!" they explained quickly, a look of surprise still on their face. Finally, she sat down in front of them, leaning forward, the smile on her face dropping immediately.

"What's wrong? You're moping, Lucian, you don't mope, nope, you don't, why are you moping, huh?" she spoke quickly, almost too quickly for Lucian to catch the words she said, seeing how they were dazed and still confused from the previous interaction.

"Uh..."

Rose-Mary gasped, slamming her hands down again. "Lucian! Did you get rejected? Were you rejected? You didn't tell me about him!"

Their jaw fell open and they blinked still, before smiling a little. "Rose, you know I would've told you if I was interested in someone."

"See~! There's the smile I was looking for!" She reached across the table and pinched their cheek, grinning. "But seriously, Luci, what happened?"

Their chest went tight again and they looked away, slumping in their seat. Rose-Mary raised an eyebrow before squinting.

"Did some asshole hurt your feelings? I'll beat them up-!"

"No, Rose, it's okay. I was intruding anyway," Lucian explained quickly, shaking their head slightly. "It's just - this guy, that's all. I kind of -- I kind of got into his personal space a bit? He didn't really want to talk but..."

The girl made a face and placed both her hands on Lucian's cheeks, squishing them.

"Well, then just move on, and if you see him again, apologize. But, y'know, don't go out of your way to do it, yeah? Then he'll just think you're a creep."

Lucian smiled a little again, nodding slowly. "Thanks, Rosie!" they grinned rather cutely and started squishing her cheeks in return.

Rose-Mary stood from the seat and gave a small wave. "Listen though, Luci, I gotta get back to work, mkay? But if you need to me to come hang, I got you." She smiled as she walked away, going back to the counter where the register was. Lucian waved back at her before standing up as well.

"Might as well get some ice cream while I'm here..."