"If you don't leave me alone..."

He didn't trust himself to say anything else, so when he stopped grinning so hard, he crossed his arms. Waiting until the other boy stopped guffawing at him so he could tell his piece and leave him alone, at least he couldn't see the blush on his face. Probably.

"Sorry 'bout that," wiping the moisture from his eye and then chuckling again quietly, "seein' you smile makes it all worth it, though. These are for you, by the way. I know they're your favorite." He pulled the peach rings out of the brown bag and held his hand out for him to take.

"Oh, thank you."

Jericho grabbed them and opened it up to pop a few in his mouth. Technically he wasn't supposed to be eating on the clock, but there were no other customers around, so he made an exception.

"Ma doesn't even remember things like this half the time."

He mumbled to himself with a mouth full of sugary candy, but Joseph still somehow heard him. The blond flashed his perfectly straight teeth again and winked.

"Anythin' involvin' you is important to me."

Jericho would ignore that entire statement because it could've meant many things he would rather not think about. A few silent minutes went by, and another problem he discovered was that he wasn't leaving.

As a matter of fact, he looked like he was making himself mighty comfortable. Resting a hip against the counter casually, watching the cars go by outside of the windows, and guzzling down his trail mix. The brown-haired boy cleared his throat and leaned over the fake granite countertop.

"It's late. Don't you have to get going? I know you probably have to work tomorrow."

Joseph turned his head and studied him, eyes beginning at his hair and moving downwards slowly. He sealed the package he was eating out of, dusted his fingers off on his jeans, and turned around to face him again.

"No sir, I do not actually, pops gave me the day off tomorrow... mm, you look different," The taller boy leaning forward as well to get a better look at his face, and Jericho backing the hell up because there would be nowhere else to look but his eyes. Lord knows he was getting lost in that neck of the woods already. "good different, though."

It was probably the hair. He unconsciously tried to smooth out his curls, failing miserably when they sprang back up. Truth be told, he wanted to cut it all off, but his mom wouldn't let him.

She'd always say something along the lines of, "You got all that beautiful hair from me. As long as you live under my roof, you won't lay a finger on it." Something about him looking like, in her words, his clown of a father if he ever did.

"My hair, maybe? It got wet on the way here. I undid the twists, but when I tried to pull it back, the elastic broke and landed in the shadow realm. That's just how it goes."

The blond arched a golden eyebrow and smirked. He reached out his clean hand but stopped himself almost immediately.

He cleared his throat, "You haven't worn it out in a minute. You mind if I...?"

Joseph gestured to his hair; the brown-haired boy laughed under his breath and shrugged in an 'I guess' sort of way.

"C'mere then, you know better than anyone I don't bite."

He made the demand sound sweet as pie, but the shorter boy was still dragging his feet.

"How am I supposed to reach you if you're all the way over there? My arms ain't that long, doll."

Jericho let out a stubborn breath and reluctantly strode forward, letting him attempt to run a large hand through his thick afro, massage his scalp, and twist a long coil around his finger.

"So impatient..."

The boy mumbled as Joseph's hand slowly graduated to his cheek, smiling softly and running calloused fingers against his skin. He unconsciously leaned into the warmth of his palm, and when he looked back up, Joseph practically had stars shooting out of his eyes.

"Actin' like you've never touched my hair in your whole life. Don't get any ideas. I'm only allowing this because I trust you."

He said this quietly, too, afraid Joseph could already feel the heat coming off his face. Trying to sound irritated wasn't working out either because he didn't give a fuck; he liked it. A dark crevice in his mind wished the other boy would just grab a handful of it already and pull, but he shut that scenario down quickly.

But he couldn't move; it was more like he didn't want to, though. The hand gently rubbing his skin felt like it belonged there, tracing under his jaw, long fingers lifting his chin. He laughed at the blond despite all eight billion red flags rising in his head.

"Mm, you don't know how much that means to me... Forgive me just this once, sweetheart. I ain't mean no harm; it's so pretty I couldn't help myself," Joseph's grin was wide and crooked, but his voice was barely above a whisper, cloudy green irises shifting down to take a peek at his lips and then back into his eyes. "You damn well know you're the prettiest lil' thing in this county, don't you?"

Joseph had a sickeningly saccharine way with words. Almost like if life had subtitles, you'd see the agave and honey dripping straight off them. What he felt now was the same way he felt the first night of summer; be a bald-faced liar if he said he wasn't blushing like a ditzy schoolgirl, too.

Fortunately for him, a car speeding by, God bless them, honked the horn at someone who probably cut them off. They both backed away at the same time, coughing awkwardly.

"Your hair, it... looks real nice like that. You should wear it out more often. Only if you want to, of course."

The blond cringed and looked away, scratching the back of his neck. Jericho mumbled a "thank you" but took another small step in the opposite direction, picking at a hang nail and refraining from making eye contact.

"How did it get wet anyway?"

He sounded genuinely curious. Just like that, the moment and all his dizzying southern charm released its hold on him, flew out of the window, and disappeared into the starry night. Good.

"I didn't already say it? I walked on my way here; a couple of assholes forgot how to drive, swerved into a bunch of puddles, and I got a free mud bath several times."

He spat out the words, just remembering it pissed him off, but he was also slightly sick of the small talk. That was way too close; he just wanted to go home and forget this entire day ever happened because, frankly, it couldn't get any worse.

"Woah, wait one minute now, you didn't tell me all that. Why'd you walk?"

It seems he spoke too soon. He needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut, or in this case, his thoughts. He ignored him to check his watch. Five minutes until closing, and then he was a free man.

Jericho gave him a look before spinning around to gather his stuff from the small chair next to his workstation, not really up for explaining his financial situation to the wealthiest kid on the block.

He grabbed his black backpack from off the floor and put his white name tag and candy into the small compartment in the front. Slinging the bag over his shoulders and shutting down the register when Joseph sighed audibly and kissed his teeth.

"Jericho."

Not speaking from experience or anything, of course, but he knew Joseph started to sound a little different when he got irritated. He'd put all that bass in his voice and ditch the flowery words and slang. A small part of him liked it, a tiny amount.

He sighed and walked from behind the counter to where he stood, letting a soft "yes" spill from his lips.

"You always walk home alone? At night too?"

Another "yes." For his life, he could not understand why Joseph was getting so worked up over this. It wasn't anything he had to deal with.

"Why?"

"Joey," the brown-haired boy pinched the bridge of his nose, "You know I don't have a car. My mom has to work, too, so she can't drop me off in the morning and pick me up at ten or eleven every night. How else am I supposed to get home?"

His migraine from earlier was coming back tenfold; Jericho stepped back to the hallway near the break room to clock out because Joseph finally quit running his mouth, only to go back and see that he was now practically blocking the front doors.

For some reason, those doors were the only way out of the building aside from the fire exit, faulty architecture if you ask him.

He walked over, "I have to close the store." Joseph raised his eyebrows, "leave, please?" The shorter boy pouted sweetly, but all Joseph did was beam right back and pat his cheek.

"You're an angel, and on any other given day, that look woulda had me all turned around, but I'm worried. All these redneck shits that live 'round here? Walking home alone in the dark, it's not safe. 'Cho, I know you don't have a car, but that's why I'm here. If you needed a ride, all you had to do was ask."

He dropped the fake smile, lowering his head and sagging his shoulders.

"Joey, I'm grown, and you know well enough how I feel about asking for shit. It's embarrassing, and you live kind of far; I don't want to be a—"

"Cut it out. You're not a burden or an inconvenience or anythin' else you're thinkin' of. Ain't nothin' but a thing, you understand me? I know you're exhausted, so let me take you home, alright?"

How the hell was he supposed to say no to him? Those eyes dragged him right back in by his damn ankles no matter how hard he fought it. He didn't ever want to be in that car again, but he was five minutes from taking a nap on the floor, near the damn slushie spill and everything, for god-sake!

Besides, he knew the blond wouldn't take no for an answer, would've tossed him right over his shoulder, and dumped him in the passenger seat if he had to. Jericho rubbed his temples for a little bit longer before nodding.

"Just let me turn the lights off and lock up real quick. I'll meet you outside, okay?"

He sped over to the small office on the other side of the ample counter space in the middle, not waiting around for him to respond, and flipped off all the main switches.

After ensuring everything was safely secured behind him, he locked the sliding doors and headed outside to Joseph's truck. When he climbed in and adjusted his seatbelt, Joseph started the engine.

"Everythin' good?"

He nodded. After that, it was quiet the entire ride home aside from the radio because he had dozed off somewhere along the way with his head resting uncomfortably against the window.

Jericho thought he felt the car eventually stop as he slipped in and out of consciousness. He didn't know if he imagined it or not either, but he swore he felt fingers pulling a curl out of his face and adjusting it behind his ear before he stirred awake

"'Cho," the other boy gingerly shook his shoulder until his eyes cracked open, "we're here." Jericho grabbed his bag, tired as hell, and opened the truck door. The only thing on his mind was a shower and his bed.

He wasn't tired enough to forget his manners, though. His mother, who he had just realized wasn't even home from her shift yet, hammered that into him.

"Thanks for the ride," yawning behind the crook of his elbow after adjusting his backpack straps, "text me when you get back."

Joseph smiled, all soft and crooked, bottom lip tucked into his mouth. "I will," he leaned back against the headrest and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "You gonna stand there all night lookin' good enough to eat or go inside and get some sleep for me?"

He wanted to melt into a puddle, sink into the grass, and die. Instead, he said 'night' in a deadpan tone and slammed the truck door. Hearing Joseph's laughter through the car's open window only caused him further embarrassment.

His walk up the dirt driveway in front of the house, a small white two-story, was a short one, almost fumbling the keys like a football. He was very close to dropping the damn things on the sidewalk again when he couldn't find the right one.

He turned back around, waved, and stepped into the safety of his own home, slamming and locking the door as if someone were out to get him.

He dropped his bag on the hardwood floor and leaned back for a moment to take a deep breath, smacking the back of his head against the wall and chuckling. This kind of thing couldn't ever happen again because he had it bad for Joseph Turner, which meant absolutely nothing but trouble.