Jaylen POV

  "Welcome to Denver ladies and gentleman." I heard the pilot say upon me waking up. I looked out the window to observe the illuminated city. It looks so peaceful here, I'm in love already. The lights came on shortly after that, blinding the kid. I wish they would announce these things first, geez. The flight attendants came around to start collecting trash and to make sure everyone's seat belts were fastened because we'd be landing soon. Smiling internally, I made sure I was all set. I placed panda on my lap once we passed our seat belt check. After a rather gentle landing, everyone was now getting out of their seats to grab things. I didn't have those problems, mines were already with me. 

  One thing I did not like was everyone rushing to get off the plane. It was honestly annoying. You would've thought they said it was a million dollars waiting for the first 20 people. With a firm grip on my belongings, I made my way off the plane. Not going to lie, this was place was like a maze. I've never been on a plane before so I didn't know the full exit procedure. I faked it very well though, thank god for signs. Walking past all of the shops here made me realize how hungry I was, to eat I go. Once I finally made it outside the airport I was kinda confused on where I should go to catch a cab. "If you're looking for a cab, it's that area over there. " One of the workers said as he walked past me. Thanking him, I made my way to said area. 

  "Need a ride kid?" a driver said. I gave him a quick look before opening my mouth. He was giving my killer or homeless vibes so he was cool in my book. "Yeah." "Where to?" "To a nice place to eat. No fast food or super expensive place though." I said as he nodded his head. "My car is right here. I know just the place." he said as he put out his cigarette. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't weary of getting in the car, especially after everything I've been through. "You gonna get in?" he said as he started the car up. "Oh, my bad." I said as I shook my head. I noticed that he didn't start the meter until we reached the light. That's a little odd. "I don't like starting it until we actually move. That's how they get over on you. Besides you're not even from here." he responded. I guess he noticed my raised eyebrow. Nodding, I still had a firm grim on my things. The ride was silent shortly after that. "I'm not a killer or anything. You can talk to me." he smiled in the mirror at me. "Sorry." I said as he laughed. 

  "He finally speaks. So where are you from?" he asked as I scrambled to find an answer. "Ohio." "Kinda far away from home you think?" "Needed a change of scenery." "I hear ya. I'm originally from Detroit." he said as I raised my eyebrows. "Don't believe me? Look." he said handing me his ID. So his name is Benji? Cool. Sure enough though, he is from where he said. "Oh wow. So how long have you been here Benji?" "Eh, 6 months. Not gonna lie, it was hard as hell to get adjusted. They say change is good but fail to mention the adjustment process. Especially when you have to look for a job and place to live. You know?" "Right. Do you have any family around here?" "Yeah a few of my cousins live here but nowhere near me so there's little comfort in that." he said as we stopped at a red light. "So you drive the cab every day?" I asked as he chuckled before shaking his head. "Nah. I work as a mechanic at pep boys. I only do this as a side hustle." 

  "Ahh I see. I respect that." I said as we smiled. "Yea so I hope you like it around here. It's a pretty nice area." he said as we pulled up to a nice restaurant. "Here's my number, in case you ever want to talk and have tour of city." he said handing me a piece of paper. "Sure thing. It feels easy to get lost here. Here's the fare." I said handing him $40. "Keep the change." I said smiling at him. "Oh gee man, thanks. Hopefully we'll see each other around." "Yeah I hope so." I said waving to him as I closed the door. I made sure I had everything before I got out. "Hello, welcome to Cosmic. Table for one?" she asked as I nodded my head. "That's a nice animal panda you got there." she said as I smiled. "Thanks. A friend got it for me." "Just follow me, I get you seated." she said as I did just that. "What would you like to drink?" "Water with a lemon is fine." I said as she nodded her head and left, leaving me to browse the menu. 

  There was so many things to choose from, but I know just what I wanted to eat. "Sorry for the wait. Here's your water. Are you ready to order?" she asked as I nodded my head. "Yes I would like the lemon and herb chicken with scallops. For the sides, mashed potatoes and broccoli will do." I said as she nodded her head. "Excellent choice! That's one of my favorites. Alright let me just take those from you and I'll be back with your order." she said as she left. I looked around at the people at the nearby tables. Everyone was engaged in conversations, some were making silly videos or telling silly jokes.  The atmosphere here was very friendly and inviting, it made me smile seeing everyone with smiles on their faces. "Sorry for the wait. Here's your food sir." the waitress whose name tag read Rita, said. "Enjoy." she bowed before leaving again.

  "Talk about service!" I said to panda. "Aww man I forgot to get you something. I can share with you though." I said smiling at her. I looked at the plate, admiring the healthy portion of food on there. Whew the deliciousness jumped out. Lemme say grace first though. I grabbed panda's paws as I bowed. Once I finished, I dug straight into the food. "Want some?" I said to panda as she just stared at me. "My fault." I laughed as I continued to eat. I demolished that food so fast that I didn't even realize that it was actually gone until I tried to reach for another bite but only  heard the sound of my fork hitting the plate. "Enjoyed your meal?"  Rita said scaring me for a sec. "Yes. I'm actually full so could you bring the check?" "Sure thing. I'll be right back." she said  before leaving again. "Here's your check." she said before leaving.  $22? Not bad. I put $40 in the book and wrote a thank you note to her as I grabbed my bag and panda and headed out.

  It was really nice out tonight. Oh damn, my phone hasn't been on for these last few days. "I know they're about to curse me out. Not to mention I had to tell Roman I landed." I mumbled as I quickly fished my phone out the duffel bag and powered it on. I decided to walk to a nearby park while I waited for it to come on. Mid walk, my phone was vibrating like crazy! I had a ton of messages and voicemails from Dion and Malika as well as some from Roman. Before I could even respond to them, Roman was calling me. "Hello?" I answered. "You don't believe in using your phone?" "I high key forgot I had it. It has been on since that day." I said as he got silent. "Well I'm glad to know that you're safe. Where are you?" "Denver." "That's pretty far. Nice. Imma come visit." he said as I laughed. "You lie but whatever. What are you doing?" I asked curiously. "I'm actually packing. Moving in with my cousin for now. Yes I have been care not to take the usual routes and allat so you can rest easy." he said as I breathed a sigh of relief.

   "I'll be transferring to the site in New York in 2 days.""That's far!" "I know, but you know if you ever need me, I'l drop everything and come to you." I smiled. "Yeah I do." just as he was about to say something, my other line was beeping. It was Malika calling. "Ro, I gotta answer this. I just wanted to let you know that I made it safely." "Cool. Glad to hear it. I'll text you later." he said as he ended the call. "WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!" she said the moment I picked up. R.I.P to my ear drums. "I-" "Hold on." she said stopping me. Aww shit here we go. "Here he is." "WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Dion said yelling in my ear. I mean god damn! "Wow, y'all voices sure can travel." "Cut the shit Jaylen." he interrupted me. I took a deep breath before speaking. "I escaped you guys.""You dead ass?" "Yes. I escaped two days at. That's why I haven't been able to talk to you guys like that." I said as they were now giving me their undivided attention. I then proceeded to give the the recap of everything that has happened thus far.

  "Oh my god Jay. Thank God you're alive and safe right now." Malika asked. "It was definitely a  scary time." I answered. "I'll be right back y'all. Gotta go handle something." Dion said as he swiftly hung up. It was weird because he hasn't said much since I told them everything. "Jay?" "Yes?" "You didn't hear what I said did you?" "No. What's up?" "I said imma call you back. My manager just walked in and he's pissed." she said as I laughed before hanging up.I let of a breath of relief, it felt good to tell them everything. I was snapped out of my thoughts by my phone ringing again. This time it was doing video calling me. I didn't even know my phone could do this. "Yes?" "Come stay with me." he said as I tilted my head. "I don't even know where you're at." "Sacramento." he said plainly. To say I was baffled was an understatement. "I told you where I'm at so why you ain't moving." he said looking at me:   

  I laughed at him. "Don't you have a roommate? Besides I'm pretty sure the school has a no unlisted student policy. One more thing, I'll be there in a few more months." "I can't protect you over there. What if he comes back?" he said as I sighed. There go his reason. "Then I'll have to stand on my own." "But-" "I remembered what you said Every word of it. However, I can't always keep depending on you to be there for me." I said as he sat up. "I guess you're right." "I'm not a damsel in distress." "That's correct, you're my damsel in distress and I'm superman, ready to swoop in and save the day." "That was so cheesy!" I said as we both laughed. "Nah but for real. I'm going to be OK. Once winter semester comes, I'll be the first face you see." I smiled. "You better." "Nevermind." I said as he laughed. "Where are you going all dressed up?" I asked changing the  subject.   

  "Out to some club." "Oh you showing off. Done got new friends and shit. Oh OK." I said fake shocked. "Ayo stop playing. Nobody replacing you or Malika." "Better not be. Imma let you go and enjoy yourself." I yawned. "Just throw a thug away like a used toy. I wanna continue talking to you though." he laughed. "Dion I'm tired. I've been on the move for majority of the day." I said as he nodded his head. "Ight imma let you go then. Wait, where are you even staying?" he asked. Shit. "A hotel that's like 5 minutes away." "Oh ight well get some rest talk to you tomorrow." "Don't get a girl pregnant either fast ass." I laughed hanging up before he could respond. He texted me some laughing emojis shortly after. I looked at the time on my phone, 10:42. I looked around the area to spot any time of hotels for me to check in. Just my luck. Sighing and going against my better judgement, I clenched tightly on to my bag as I cuddled with panda before falling asleep. 

The Next Day.

  "Don't hurt them!" "Stop!" I yelled as I woke up. I immediately noticed that I was no longer on the bench at the park anymore. Nor did I see any trace of panda or my bag. Panic began to wash over me as the door opened. "Are you OK?" this guy said. I looked him up and down. He had smooth dark skin, a nice tapered fade, outfitted in Adidas sweats, a wife beater and some sneaks . Looks like he just came from the gym. "Hello?" he said snapping his fingers. "Who are you?" I asked him as I started to jump out of the bed. "Answering a question with a question. OK. You can relax though, I'm not a bad guy or anything. My name is Bobby. Yours?" he said with his hand out as if he wanted me to shake it. I just looked at it. After a few minutes of me just staring at it, he slowly retracted it. 

  "Uh OK." "How did I end up here and where's my stuff?" I asked getting defensive. "Easy killer. Your bag is right here." he said opening the closet door, revealing my bag. "As for your stuffed animal, it's right here." he said walking out the room for a second before coming back with panda and handing her to me. I noticed that she smelled like she just got washed. "It was a little dirty so I decided to give it a wash." he said shrugging. "How did I end up here?" I asked again. He kinda skipped right over that question. "I brought you here." he said as I raised my eyebrow waiting for him further explain. "I was on my late normal late night jog when I saw you. I mean you almost tripped a nigga. Although I almost cursed you out, I just chalked it as me not paying attention. I was about to continue my jog when I saw that you was sleep." I still didn't say anything. 

  "I felt bad because you looked to young to be homeless and I know first hand how vicious people can be at that time of night. So I decided to just bring you here. It was a struggle trying to carry you, your things and open the car door at the same time." he laughed but I didn't find anything funny. "So this is what you normally do? You take a "jog" and pick up random people you find sleeping on a bench because you "feel bad" for them. Bullshit. Like what sane person does that? Where's the rest of them?" I said now looking under the bed for some type of hidden door. Not again. When I looked up at him, he face displayed a very visible sign of anger and embarrassment. "Maybe I should've just left you where you were." he mumbled. "Yeah that would've been smart." I responded.  He sighed before speaking again. "Let's just start over. I'm Bobby." he said walking over to me with his hand extended again. 

  I took a look at his face again and saw that he being sincere. "Jaylen." I said quickly grabbing it and trying to release but his grip was tight as hell. "Nice to meet you." he said before letting my hand fall. "You hungry ? I can whip up something to eat. I started to decline but my stomach betrayed me. "I'll take that as a yes. I'll go whip something up to eat. I guess when you're ready, I'll be in the kitchen." he said as he turned to leave but stopped mid way. "There a spare tooth brush, towels and rags in the bathroom. I think I have some clothes that can fit you in one of these drawers here." he said before actually taking his leave. I forgot to ask him where he put my phone. I was interrupted by the sound of something vibrating. I looked around and saw it laying on the night stand, plugged in the charger. Well that was easy. I hit the power button and saw that I had a few messages from Malika, Dion, and Roman. 

  "I'll text them back later." I mumbled as I got up and walked into the bathroom to take care of my hygiene. His bathroom was really nice. I was now in the mirror inspecting my cuts and bruises. I searched the area for a first aid kit. I finally found it in the drawer and wasted no time changing out the old bandages. I walked back into the room and open the drawers. I found a pair of underwear, some sweats and a graphic tear. It felt weird to wear some one else's stuff, especially underwear. I hope he washed this shit. Once I was dressed, I looked for some deodorant and lotion. Was right on top of the dresser. I applied both of them before sliding on my sneakers. I went to the closet and checked my bag to make sure everything was still there. Luckily it was but there was a white envelope in there. I don't remember that being there. I turned it around to see my name was written on. Opening it, there was a $1,500 along with a note. 'Good luck with everything' -Ro, it read. 

  That damn Roman. Smiling, I quickly zipped the bag back up as I closed the door and walked into the living room:                 

  This is nice as hell! "I thought you was climbing down the windows." Bobby joked as I stared at him. "Glad you found it funny." I said walking into the kitchen and sat down. "I made some Alfredo." "Allergic to the sauce." "Oh shit. My fault lemme order a pizza then." he said as I reached for his phone. I started to eat the food as he did so. "Lemme get two small- never mind." he said hanging up as he took a look at me. "Very funny." he responded as there was a knock at his door. "You expecting somebody?" I said with eyebrow raised. "Nah. I'll be right back." he said walking to the door. I continued to eat my food. "Yo play boy. You ready to ball?" I heard someone say as they walked in. "Fuck is you?" I heard someone say as I looked up. 

  This man was had a nice caramel skin with these beautiful hazel orbs for eyes. He was dressed just like Bobby. So much for thinking they were going to the gym. Ignoring him, I continued to eat. "I know you heard me. The-" "P chill. He's a friend of mine." "What's his name?" "Jaylen." "You never mentioned him to me." "Nigga, the fuck you 911 or something? What's with the interrogation? Besides he just moved to the city. I told em he could crash here until he gets himself together." Bobby defended me. "Pssh, whatever. Does Kayla know?" he asked. Who's that? "Nah but last I checked, this was my shit. She don't pay any bills here. Matter of fact if that makes you happy, lemme text her." he said whipping out his phone and doing just that. "See? she cool with it." he said showing him the phone. 'P' still didn't take his eyes off me. It's almost like he wanted to murder me or something. 

  "Dawg imma just meet you at the court. I already know you about to do some dumb shit." Bobby said pushing 'P' out the door. "Ight. Hurry up." 'P' said switching to a playful mood as he walked out.

 Dude is a weirdo. 

Whew another one down. 

Thoughts?

Roman?

Dion?

Bobby?

'P'?  

Introducing

Prince:

Bobby:

Buckled in? Let's go