Chapter Text
Dropping out of college and moving away from your parents’ house might be a tough decision to make. But when that decision is made under the pressure of your family disowning you, and forcing you out of the house with little to no money to support yourself, now that could leave any sane human emotionally damaged.
Felix was twenty two years old when he flew across the globe. He moved into a quiet suburban town in America with more green than all of the cities he’s lived in combined. He was a clueless kid and a foreigner too, but Felix was a fast learner, he was away from his family, and most importantly he was still alive.
Of course the small town he ended up moving into was far from his expectations. As a child he had promised himself to save up enough money and aim for a big city like New York, but how things unfolded during his twenty second birthday, and how everything went downhill from there, he was glad he could at least afford an old but decent apartment in the suburbs.
A month after he moved in, Felix applied and successfully got a job at the local Game Shop. It was the first time in years he felt proud of doing something based on nobody else’s decision but his. Felix loved anything gaming related, so he put his all and everything into the job. He worked over hours every single day of the week, showed up even when sick, and made his customers the happiest. His hard work was fruitful, since his boss, an old man in his late sixties named Dave, grew very fond of him and treated him no different than his own son.
Most mornings, Felix would receive the visit from the neighborhood kids, a group of three youngsters who would stop by at seven on their way to school. They would read a couple comics, ask Felix about the new series, get too caught up in small-talk then end up running to make it on time for first period. Before he knew it, that routine became the highlight of his day.
Today, however, the kids failed to show up, and Felix was bored to the bone.
Cheek pressed against the palm of his hand, Felix bobbed his head back and forth to the beat of the music blasting on the radio. He was alone in the shop, most of the other usual regulars failed to show up today and Felix blamed it on the heavy rainstorm unraveling outside.
The loud thunder rumbled from afar, slowly closing up on town with every strike of lightning that split the sky in half. Felix loved winter season as it reminded him of his hometown. As a kid, he used to get caught under the rain on his way back from school and end up running all the way back home. He'd get scolded by his mother for being drenched down to the underwear, but Felix cared less. He loved the rain.
The thunder eventually ceased and soon all that was heard was the noise of the raindrops clattering against the shop windows. Felix was nose deep into reading a magazine on the newest games of the season, cultivating himself for both his own pleasure and for the sake of the curious customers who sought suggestions on the upcoming games. He might be a shy and awkward guy, but when it comes to topics related to gaming, Felix could talk for days.
The front door bell rang and Felix’s concentration was disrupted. He dragged his nose away from the magazine, hastily correcting his posture and flashing a bright customer-friendly smile.
“Welcome. How may I help you?” He announced energetically. This was his first customer of the day.
The person who walked in was drenched to the bone. He wore an all-black outfit: A black hoodie, black jeans and black boots. His face was half visible underneath his black cap but Felix could tell they were around the same age.
The guy either didn’t hear Felix or chose to ignore him, because soon he was strolling through the shop aisles, away from the counter where Felix stood with a wide stupid smile on his face.
Felix exhaled and returned back to his magazine reading, flipping through the pages while keeping an occasional eye on the rude customer. He was used to the local youngsters coming in, looking through the goods then walking out. Some were even close to wearing a large sign that read ‘Don’t talk to me’. Felix felt both rejected and sad in that context since moving into a smaller town had him believe the locals would be friendlier and warmer. But he apparently guessed wrong.
When Felix checked on his customer the first time he was browsing the comic section, picking and flipping through a couple books on the lower shelf. The second time, Felix noticed he had moved to the PC Games aisle, and the third time, he was looking through the indie band CD covers, and he didn't move from that section for another hour or so.
Felix wondered if he was an indie music fan. He also wondered if that was what the guys his age were into. Felix didn’t have any friends in town aside from Amy. Although Amy was more of a co-worker than a friend, to be exact. Amy was a part-timer at the game shop and also a college student. Felix knew very little about her except from her numerous love conquests which the girl would go on and on about for days. Still, Felix was glad he knew her. He was always afraid he wouldn't be able to make friends, until Amy proved him wrong.
Felix nearly jumped off his side of the counter when he realized the hooded guy was standing right in front of him. The guy had removed his earphones which blasted music so loud Felix could hear it all the way from where he was standing, and had laid a couple CDs on the counter.
‘No wonder he didn’t hear me’ Felix thought as he examined his face. His eyes were a dark mixture of blue and green and they appeared rather intimidating under what looked like a shade of dark eye-shadow. He also had a lip and nose piercings. Felix wasn’t sure he's ever seen him around the shop before, otherwise he would remember a scary-looking guy like him.
“I’ll take these” he said, his voice slightly acute and fresh, which conflicted entirely with his looks, and Felix might have even spotted an accent in there. “Do you sell energy drinks?”
“Yeah, which one do you want?”
“What do you have?”
“Monster, Red bull, Rockstar…”
“Monster zero ultra?”
“Got it”
Felix made a mental note that this guy had good taste considering the drink he ordered was his personal favorite. He picked the white can out of the small fridge and put it on the counter, then typed the articles down into the cash register.
“That’ll be twenty six fifty”
The hooded guy reached for his backpack and fished out a wallet. Felix noticed a number of skulls and band name tags on it. When he handed over the cash, Felix saw he had his nails also painted black, and wore five different metallic rings on each hand. Is that what guys his age were into? Felix was a bit concerned.
Once the goods were paid for, the hooded guy shoved everything into his backpack and walked to the door. Outside, the rainstorm was still ongoing, and out of consideration, Felix stopped him right before he stormed out.
“Hey man,” Felix called, catching the guy’s attention. “Do you need an umbrella or something?”
There was a moment of awkward silence and Felix started regretting his offer, but then the hooded guy showed a surprisingly large grin. His features suddenly softened and he looked far less threatening. Felix thought he looked even cute with a smile on his face.
“If that’s okay?”
Felix reached for his emergency umbrella stacked underneath the counter then handed it over with a smile on his face.
“Just bring it back whenever”
“Thanks, man! You’re awesome!” The hooded guy’s face beamed as he took the offered umbrella, then waved Felix goodbye and walked out of the shop.
Once he left, Felix found himself blushing. He had to shake the thought of the strange guy off his mind for the rest of the evening, and instead think about how he was planning to walk back home in this harsh weather.
For childhood memories' sake, Felix ended up running home.
...
The next day Felix woke up with a burning fever and a runny nose. He called Amy and begged her to cover for him. It's true that the girl owned him a whole lot of covering but Felix was still surprised to hear her agree on a heartbeat and even offer to pay him a visit during lunch break.
Felix spent the rest of his morning sleeping. He only left the bedroom once or twice to use the bathroom, and had no food nor medicine at home. He felt ashamed to ask Amy for more help than she was already offering, and decided to just sleep on it.
The next time he woke up it was to the sound of the doorbell. Felix slowly peeled himself out of bed and dragged himself to the front door where Amy awaited.
“Oh my god, Felix! You look awful!” Amy shouted with a horrified expression. Her loud voice made Felix’s head painfully throb. “Jesus, are you okay? Did you eat anything? Did you take your medicine yet?”
“I just woke up” Felix lied, his voice weak and sounding like a mumble due to his stuffed nose.
“Good god, are you trying to kill yourself?” Amy scolded, shaking her head in disbelief. She pushed the Swede through the apartment and back into his bedroom. Felix still hasn’t gotten around rearranging everything in his apartment after the move in, and he was embarrassed to have Amy see all of the mess around.
“Lie down” Amy ordered, putting the Swede back underneath the pile of blankets. “Your room is freezing cold. Is your heater broken or something?”
“Takes time” Felix muttered, his limbs finding comfort under the warm blankets. “The landlord said it’ll be up next month or so.”
“No wonder you got sick, Jeez!” She exhaled loudly, but decided it wasn’t the right moment to be scolding him. “I’ll fix you some food and buy some meds. In the meantime, promise you’ll get some sleep, all right?”
“But your work-” Felix brought up, his eyelids so heavy he was already half-asleep.
“Don’t worry about it. I told Dave you were sick and that I was visiting you, he’ll understand. Now be a dear and get some rest.”
Felix didn’t have the energy to argue, so he did as told and closed his eyes. He fell asleep for another hour and a half until Amy returned into his room with a bowl of chicken soup and cold pills. Felix forced himself up in a sitting position to eat his meal and take his medicine.
Meanwhile, Amy was on her phone occupying a chair beside Felix’s bed, all while talking to him. She told Felix she dropped by the shop and Dave asked her about Felix's well-being, insisting that the Swede should take tomorrow off if he doesn't feel too well. Felix felt happy his boss cared. Dave has always treated him kindly and he would hate to disappoint the man.
“… So I kissed him and now we’re dating.” Amy carried on, grinning happily at Felix who was shaken back into reality. What was she talking about again? He could swear he zoned out half-way through her speech. Felix could definitely blame it on the medicine.
“He’s so dreamy, Felix!” She went on. “I mean he also plays the keyboard and I just fell in love the moment he dedicated that one piece to me. I swear to god I melted!”
Felix had a hard time catching up with all of Amy’s conquests. Who was it again she was talking about this time? Was it Peter? James? Oliver? God, he should seriously pay more attention to her talking in the future. Felix wouldn't want her thinking he didn't care.
“So you’re dating Mark?” Felix spoke the name at random. In the back of his mind, he remembered Amy mentioning that name at least a couple times more than the others.
“No, Felix!” Amy sighed. She seemed disappointed by his guess, but not all so bothered. “His name’s Michael. Mark is my high school crush. Did you mix them all up again?”
“Sorry” He quickly apologized, making a mental note of her current situation. So Amy's dating Michael, who plays the piano, and who’s adorable and cute, but she also has a crush on her high school classmate Mark, who…Wait, who’s Mark again?
“Of course Michael is amazing and all,” Amy went on, all thoughtful and passionate. “But Mark is just…Special.”
“…Why aren’t you dating this Mark guy then?” Felix asked, totally oblivious yet entirely frustrated. If he didn’t put the puzzle pieces together he’ll just keep getting more and more lost in Amy's speech. Felix didn't want to be a bad friend, oh god no, anything but that. Amy was so kind to him so the least Felix could do was show interest in her love life.
“Oh sweetie!” Amy laughed with all her heart. “Mark is way out of my league” she admitted with slightly red cheeks. “Mark and I might have been in the same class in high school once but, there’s no way he’d remember me anyway. Now that he’s become famous and all, I don’t stand a single chance.”
Felix’s eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. One piece of puzzle found, another bigger piece went missing. He had to admit it was sort of difficult to keep up with Amy's story-telling when she talked to him like she had known him for years. But he also liked that about her. She made him feel like a close friend, someone she trusted enough to tell her secrets to.
“Amy” Felix interrupted her with a clear voice. He was feeling much better now that the medication had kicked in. “You’re a great girl, but I have no idea what you’re talking about half of the time. I'd appreciate you giving me the bigger picture here.”
Felix was honest, and he always feared being honest. He grew up in a household where honesty was a negative trait that might get you scolded and punished. But this was different, right? Now that Felix moved a thousand miles away just to start over, he's at least allowed to be himself, right?
To his surprise, Amy was far from upset. She quickly burst out laughing instead, and Felix felt a huge weight get off his shoulders.
“Sorry, sorry!” She quickly added, calming down her laughter. “Sometimes I forget we just met a month ago. You’re so easy to talk to I always end up blabbering whenever we meet.” Amy took a deep breath, then seemed to drag her attention towards her phone, searching through some pictures, and once she found the one she was looking for her eyes lit up with excitement.
“These are The Rock Killers” Amy explained with a large grin.
She was holding up her smartphone in the air, which displayed a picture of three band members posing for a cover photo. Their faces were half visible under the darkness of the background which gave the entire picture an air of mystery. Felix noticed the different hair colors: Red, green and blue. And before he could ask any specific questions Amy was adding in more input.
“They’re the most famous indie rock back in town” Amy explained. “And this one here is Mark.”
Amy’s finger pointed at the guy with the shredded tie-less suit and red hair standing in the middle of the picture. Felix liked how his flaring red eyes contrasted with the color of his hair, which made him look like some badass antagonist.
So that was Mark.
“You probably don’t know these guys since you’re new in town, but I can tell you they’re the shit! Mark is the lead singer slash guitarist, and also the one who started the band, there’s also Jack the drummer and PJ the bassist. They were all in my class back in high school, super weird guys, crazy about breaking rules and great at scoring detention. But music, good god, they were good at it. It was always their dream to grow big, get famous. Everybody took their inflated ego with a grain of salt, and never believed they would actually make it somewhere. I was one of the few who actually did, and look at them now! They’re awesome, I tell you!”
Amy inhaled then exhaled deeply. She seemed truly passionate about this band and specifically about Mark. Thanks to her, Felix has learned something new today.
“Oh crap!” She suddenly jumped off her seat at the sight of her wrist watch. “I'm late! The old man’s gonna kill me.”
Amy quickly shoved her phone into her pocket and rushed to the door.
“Don’t forget to drink your medication after your next meal” She advised. “I made a lot of chicken soup, you can find it on the kitchen counter. Just heat it up and you’ll be fine. Get plenty of rest, okay? I don’t want to have to cover for you tomorrow, so you better get healthy!”
Felix wasn’t sure whether he was being genuinely cared for, or Amy was just trying to get him back on his feet so that she doesn’t have to work his shift tomorrow too. Either way, Felix was happy.
“Thanks, Amy.”
Amy smiled widely, waved at him, then rushed out of the apartment.
Felix did nothing special for the rest of that day. He was too lazy to heat up the food Amy had left him, so he spooned it out of the bowl cold and shoved more medicine down his throat. He eventually stopped sneezing and his throat felt far more relaxed.
With nothing else to do and tired of the random shows he bing-watched on Netflix throughout the day, Felix decided to check the band Amy introduced him earlier: The Rock Killers. Just as she mentioned, they were quite popular in town and had an entire website dedicated to their concerts and open band practices. At the sight of their CD covers Felix remembered the hooded guy from the day before. He wondered if that guy was a fan of this band too.
Felix went though some of their album trailers and was immediately surprised by the amazing quality of their songs. Not being much of a Metal or Rock fan himself, Felix was quite surprised to find they also played chiller, more relaxed music. There was this one track that caught his attention most. It had a slow and smooth beat to it, the bass’s resonance was relaxing and it all married so beautifully with the lead singer’s deep and captivating voice.
Before he knew it, Felix was lulled back into sleep with his laptop still on and the track playing in repeat.
TBC