Incompetent (BxB)

Chapter 21

Eddie entered his house and stretched. He began walking over to his room quietly, in the case anyone were to hear him. Once he had set foot into his room, he took off his bag and jacket, threw them both to the bed, then let himself fall face first onto one of the most comfortable things he fortunately has.

"I am so tired, my legs are killing me. I just want to sleep..." He thought, then yawned and turned over before knocking his backpack over.

He heard a slightly loud noise and scurried to put his bag in the closet. "That sound... I am hoping I didn't break anything important." He thought. He took a peek inside the bag he had unzipped, to reveal a voice recorder Atlas had left behind with Eddie.

"The recorder- please don't be broken-" He hurried to aid the device, as he knew it meant a lot to Atlas. It was a gift from a close relative, and it meant a lot to him since he recorded his voice and singing into it. It also meant a lot to Eddie, he loved listening to Atlas' voice, and hearing him sing.
Atlas gave Eddie the recorder to keep hold of for a few days. When walking home, the both of them had forgotten to return it.

"It looks fine.." He examined the object, looking for any possible scratches or dents. "Hopefully he had not gone so far. Maybe I can catch up to him and give this back." Eddie tidied his hair and quickly sprayed on some perfume. "I probably won't be needing a jacket. It's cold out, but I'll be quick." He thought, before setting off once again to search for Atlas.

- -

Eddie ran through the path leading to Atlas' house, however he was nowhere to be seen. While looking around for him, he had come across a phone on the ground that was still on.

He took a breath in, and shivered. "Atlas' phone? Did he drop it?" Eddie knelt down and collected the phone. "It's phone numbers.. for Child Services?-" He inspected the phone even more vigilantly. Eddie found it strange how the phone was left on while on the floor. It seemed clear Atlas was using his phone before it had dropped, and he quickly assumed Atlas didn't drop or lose it on accident or purpose.

Eddie ran over to Atlas' house, and even though Eddie hadn't been formally introduced to his family, he just wanted to know Atlas got home safely. He rushed to the house as soon as he could, and as soon as he reached the front door, he knocked 4 times.

Knock knock

He waited out the door, tapping his foot up and down impatiently, sweating nervously. No one responded, so he knocked once again.

Few minutes passed to no response. Eddie noticed the lights in the house were all off and he began to worry even more. He ran back to the spot he was sure Atlas had gone missing and looked over to the dark but clear alleyway right in front of him. The alley led to a dead end. Eddie soon stuffed the phone into his pocket and began running around the block looking for clues, anything that could give him a hint of where Atlas may have gone.

"Yo!" A familiar voice shouted.

Eddie was anxious and felt so distressed. He stopped to take a look at who was speaking to him. He also stopped to take a breath after all the running he had been doing, ignoring how he was freezing. He had found nothing.

"It's so damn cold out here. You don't look dressed right, dude." Danny ran up to Eddie with a cigarette in his mouth and his hands in his pockets, wearing a large coat, scarf and hat. "Why are you running around like a mad lad? Everyone's been staring and whispering. Are you looking for something, or do you just really need to be put in a mental asylum?" He chuckled. Eddie was still out of breath, and failed to respond to this sarcastic question. Danny spat out the cigarette and put it out with his shoe.

Eddie finally responded, looking down at his feet, staring at his red fingers on his knees. Freezing because of the cold.
"Atlas..."

"Atlas? Am I s'possed to know what that is?" He raised an eyebrow. "Aye, don't look so down. It isn't the end of the world."

Eddie looked up at Danny, feeling lost and hopeless. "No- Atlas is a person... He's my boyfriend, and he's gone." Eddie teared up.

"Your boyfriend?" Danny stared at Eddie's eyes. "Uh, well. There's no need to cry. Can't you go to his house, or call him?" Danny pet Eddie's head roughly, like a dog, then looked around to explore his surroundings.

"I am unable to call him since he dropped his phone, his house is empty and I don't even know where to start looking!" Eddie insisted. "Forget it- there's no time to waste, he could be in danger and I'm wasting time." He turned around and began running, determined to search for anything.

"Wait, let me help you! Running in circles looking like a psycho won't get you anywhere but to a facility." Danny called out and jogged towards him.

"I'm so scared that something bad may have happened." Eddie whimpered.

"Don't worry, I think I've already gotta lead on where he might've gone." Danny sighed and began walking. Eddie following his speed and asked. "Where?!"

"Remember the bear?" Danny questioned.

"The bear?..." Eddie was confused, he began brainstorming because he knew he recognized this name. "The bear." Eddie solved it. His eyes widened and his eyebrows lowered, he was furious.

He grabbed Danny's shoulders and began shouting. "What could he want with Atlas? Why would he take Atlas?!"

"Chill man! I don't know-" Danny pushed Eddie away lightly and smiled awkwardly.

"What the hell? Is it because he saw me hanging out with him or something?" Eddie grabbed his head with a tight grasp, trying to think of an explanation. "Fuck the explanation! Where is Atlas?!" He swiftly looked up.

"I think I may know a place, but relax."