He rested on the bed and mindlessly threw a ball at the ceiling. Avery caught it without difficulty.

Time passed.

He rested on his bed without the ball. It was somewhere on the floor.

The blinds were closed, and the lights were off. It was past noon. Usually, Avery would've gotten up by now.

His thoughts kept him up at night. Avery was focused on what he did in the outside world.

More importantly, he was focused on what he did to Tim.

He groaned and rolled over to his side with his phone in his hand. He briefly checked his unread text messages.

"Two missed calls from Ridley… an hour and 13 minutes ago?" His phone was on silent, so he didn't hear the ringing. That, and he didn't remember if he was awake or not.

He played the voicemail.

"What's up, kid. Not sure why you didn't answer the phone. Taking a shower? Maybe even talking to some women on that dating site I showed you a while back? Heh, let me know if you need any help. Anyways, that's not why I called. Andrea's is having a deal on their soup and sandwich combo. You're tagging along since you haven't had Andrea's in forever. I'll be there in two hours. Your ass better be up or else I'm kicking your door down. Peace!"

He groaned louder and stuffed his nose into the pillow. Ridley called an hour and 13 minutes ago. That means that Avery had around 45 minutes to get ready. He pushed himself up and slapped his face a few times before standing. Unexpectedly, his feet weren't cold. He usually slept with his socks off. For some reason, he didn't last night.

Did he forget to take them off?

He shrugged it off as a weird mishap.

It took Avery 28 minutes to get ready; that included eating a ham, egg, and cheese on a bagel, showering, and fixing his bedridden hair.

Avery slipped on his white, low-top shoes and waited outside for Ridley. It was warm out with just the right amount of breeze for a sweatshirt. Avery preferred it that way. It sheltered the perfect amount of warmth for him.

He wore his brown sweatshirt. Plain, with no design. Just the way he liked it. He had many more in his closet, though in different colors.

Avery stuffed his hands in his pockets and sat by the front door steps. He looked up at the sky and sighed.

"I wish I got more sleeeep…"

Moments passed.

Ridley arrived with the car windows open, blasting rock music. Avery wasn't familiar with rock. He preferred lo-fi and more chill music.

Ridley got out of the car. "What's up, kid?"

"New car?"

Ridley looked back. "Yeah. Got bored with the other one. This thing is a beauty."

The car's body was smooth grey. Its side was fully transparent, which made Avery uncomfortable. From the outside, the interior looked like a pod. Neon light raced through the car's edges and every crevasse. The wheels were illuminated with blue LEDs and were as thick as a boulder. It was impossible to get a flat tire.

"The… side. It's clear—transparent." Avery noted.

"Yeah, I don't a shit. It's cool. I know a few people in the office who have transport sides."

Ridley pressed a button on his key. The transparent doors disappeared at the top of the car.

Avery got into the car. It was empty, except for a big screen in the middle. The seat was low, and it felt like he was lying down. Ridley pressed another button for the door to reappear from the roof. It was an odd design.

"So… Andrea's?"

"Yeah, I'm excited as fuck. Gonna have my usual tomato soup, turkey, and pesto sandwich. You?"

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"Not sure. I'll see when I get there."

Ridley slapped him on the shoulder. "It's on me, so get whatever."

From there, they drove to the city center.

The city center was busy as always. Long traffic lights caused traffic to plague the streets. Kids blew past us on the sidewalk with their hoverboards, which levitated a few inches off the ground. Businessmen dressed in fancy suits walked by, one held a coffee while the other two held briefcases. A mother pushed her baby in a stroller while window shopping for wedding dresses.

The car moved as soon as the light turned green. Ridley clicked his tongue, scanning the streets for parking.

He slammed the steering wheel. "There's fucking nothing here!"

"Use the office lot," said Avery.

"It's a twenty-minute walk from Andrea's. Do you want to walk all that?"

"I don't mind."

He took a detour and made it to the back of the SCAR Agency building. Ridley opened the window and allowed the agent on duty to scan his face. The light turned green, allowing us to enter the underground lot, where Ridley parked at his designated spot.

They hopped out of the car.

"Kid, you wanna hit the mall after?"

"I'm okay. I want to go home and get some stuff done."

That was a lie. Avery had nothing to do back home besides sulk in his room.

Ridley sighed and locked the car. "Let's go," he said with a head gesture.

Once outside, they waited for the light at the crosswalk to turn green. Avery's nose began to work like a dog. The smell of fresh meat hitting the grill caused him to salivate. He licked his lips. The crips smell entered his nostrils, nearly making him levitate.

The man behind the colorful, green, and yellow stand waited patiently for customers to arrive. He stood there, flipping patties and adding spices.

I can go for some good street food.

He quickly shook his head. Ridley never ate street food. To him, it was considered "low class" and "filthy". Avery didn't care, though. He would eat anything, regardless of the vendor.

They walked across the street as soon as the crosswalk turned green. Everyone in the city obeyed traffic laws since the punishment was ruthless. Traffic laws were worse than stealing from a convenience store or something equivalent. Running a red light resulted in the permanent loss of your license. Speeding usually ended up with a brutal lower body beating at SCAR's prison, and also resulted in the revocation of your license.

"So… kid, Archon told me what happened… when you met him."

Avery continued looking forward. "Was I out of line?"

"Heh, hell ya! Pulling a gun on Archon is a death sentence. You're lucky your Kajo's son, otherwise it wouldn't have been pretty."

Avery lowered his head. "What should I do? He's the reason I grew up with a mother, killed my half–brother's father, shot my half–brother, killed the King of Outsiders… what more…?

Still walking, Ridley placed his hand on Avery's shoulder. "Kid, you do not have to worry anymore. The events in the outside world are all in the past. It's best to move forward and live a peaceful life."

"How can I have peace when my dreams are tainted with sin?"

After that, the walk to Andrea's was quiet. Ridley attempted small talk, but was ignored each time.

Andrea's was as busy as always. Tables of all sizes were packed, and the waiting line was longer than usual, primarily because of their promotion.

"Dang, let me see if I can squeeze in a seat," Ridley said. He planned to speak with the hostess and use his government connections to secure a table.

Avery stayed in line and peeped through the glass wall. He noticed two people, a man and a woman, playing cards. They appeared to be a lively couple. Avery didn't think much of it. He looked away and focused his attention elsewhere.

But then it hit him.

His gut tingled.

Something felt off.

He looked through the glass wall again, this time, paying more attention to the couple.

Avery's eyes widened. He didn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. He searched through his mind, scraping for all the possibilities for this to be true.

There they were, playing cards, inside a restaurant—an Ionian restaurant.

"Tim…" Avery mumbled.

He swallowed, then stepped out of the line and re-entered the building. Ridley, who was still speaking with the hostess, was surprised by Avery's appearance.

"Avery? What are you doing? Get back in line."

"We're leaving," he frantically said.

"Leaving…? What's gotten into you? Let go of my arm."

Avery's breath shook. "N—No. Let's go."

"Kid, are you not feeling well?"

Avery stayed silent as he pulled Ridley out of the restaurant, away from the glass wall.

"Kid, answer me. You okay?"

Avery shook his head, his eyes darted around with haste.

"Ok. ok. I'll take you home."

"No, I'll walk around a bit… alone."

Avery had a plan, but for it to go through, he had to separate himself from Ridley. Knowing Ridley well, he wouldn't dare push Avery to something he didn't want to do.

Ridley backed away with his hands up. "Ok, ok. I'll—uh—grab something to eat from down the street. Just let me know when you want to go back and I'll—"

"I'll taxi my way home."

Ridley nodded, gave a thumbs–up, and walked away without saying anything else.

Ridley always did his best to respect Avery's wishes. Avery didn't ask much to begin with, but when he did, Ridley did his best to make him happy.

Avery knew this very well and used it to his advantage.

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