Nathan + Rhine || Dingy Hallways
devil-has-a-name:
Nathan awoke with a sudden jump, smacking his elbow off the wall his bed was against. “Fuck,” he cursed allowed as he punched the wall with a closed fist, took some deep calming breaths, and tried not to let his anger get the best of him. He was alone, and had no toys to take his anger out on other than himself. Rubbing a hand through his hair he tried to wake himself up, he decided a shower was a must at that moment. Placing his feet over the edge of the bed he pushed himself up—from his mattress on the floor—taking his time until he reached the washroom. It was old, it was grungy, and he was lucky when he got moderately warm water. Turning on the shower he it creaked under old iron rusted pipes but eventually the water tapered out. It would appear today was lucky, as he felt the warm water, and stepped inside.
The shower had woken him, let him feel a bit more alert. Pulling on dark denim jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt he made his was into his kitchen. He needed to get out of the apartment, without a toy he was going crazy, and other than Rem and Celia he hadn’t had much to entertain him. Picking up his stray pack of cigarettes he lit one before heading towards his door, inhaling the rich taste, he took one last look around before stepping out. When his door shut he heard an echo of it, although the echo seemed to be slightly delayed. Turning back around he saw a girl he had met only once before. She was leaving one of the apartments for some reason he assumed. Walking up to her he leaned on the wall close to where she was standing. “And what brings you to my building?” his eyebrow raised and voice questioning. He didn’t exactly take well to people poking around where he stayed.
She remembered. The sweet bitter taste of the pill. The fact that everyday she woke up twice, once as herself, once as “Rhine,” the other. The one who wore black—black nails, black clothes, yet never a black eye—, the one with sharp knees, sharp nails; a pocket knife in one pocket, her lighter and cigs in another. Not sure which she liked better. Maybe this one. Maybe the other. It was in constant flux. She wasn’t loving the reality she was in right now. Whatever. In a few hours, Rhine would be back on her nice mattress, in a nice side of town, just begging for her tutor to come, so she could get back. Ugh. She just wouldn’t think about it; too complicated.
Anyway, the girl was wandering, probably somewhere she shouldn’t have, by the way the streets were deserted, even if in bad neighborhoods it was usually loud instead of quiet, and the neighborhood she was in was quiet; she was overthinking it. Rhine grabbed her packet of cigs from her pocket, turned them over in her hand, decided if she should light one now or later. Later. She hated smoking by herself, it was a social thing for her.
A boy came up to her—as of now, she couldn’t recall his name—“What brings you to my building?” he said. Rhine snorted. It was a free universe wasn’t it? ”I needed a place to crash. The locks are easier to pick here.”