The cold, night air combed through his hair as Kleo stood in the middle of the street. All the shops along main were dead, lights off, and storefronts vacant. The air was stale and he felt as if all life had been drained from the town. Kleo was cold and his heart pounded. He wasn’t alone but he didn’t know what was out there, hidden in the shadows. He felt a presence behind him, but no matter where he looked, he was met with the same emptiness. His feet began to run and carried him down the street towards his home. He had to get away, he just didn’t know what from. He could feel a hot breath at the back of his neck and panic within his chest. He couldn’t get away, not fast enough. The edges of his vision became jagged as if long, slender black fingers were beginning to cover his sight. He closed his eyes and the world stopped. All was dark and the only sound was that of his own, rampant heart. He woke with a gasp, just as red eyes appeared in his mind.

A cold sweat layered his face as he caught his breath and took a look around. All eyes were on him as he steadied himself within his seat. His biology professor cleared her throat from where she stood at the front of the auditorium class. A look of concern with a sprinkle of annoyance played on her face as she watched him.

“Everything alright, Mr. Amastacia?”

Kleo rubbed the back of his neck as he sat a bit lower in his seat, wishing he could somehow hide within himself.

“Yeah… sorry,” he said sheepishly and fortunately, the professor nodded and continued with the lesson.

These nightmares were bad enough, but he didn’t need the extra embarrassment of putting them on full display for the entirety of his freshman biology class. His phone lit up from where it sat on his desk and he took a look at what it could be. He swiped it open to find a message from Sean:

Meet me in my office after class.

Kleo responded with a quick affirmation and pulled his hood up over his head as he waited for class to be over.

“Yo.” Kleo awoke to the sound of a familiar voice. Certainly, he hadn’t meant to fall asleep in class again, but he was admittedly more tired than what he was used to. He rubbed his eyes and lifted his head to see Alexei sitting on top of the long desk. Kleo was still getting used to the lavender locks his best friend now sported. Long bangs framed the side of his face as the rest was tucked behind the opposite ear. Alexei pushed a cup of iced coffee towards him. “What is it? Not sleeping well in that comfy, new bed of yours?”

Kleo groaned slightly in response and rubbed his eyes. “No, I guess not.” He sat up and realized that the lecture hall was now empty, save for the two of them. He looked at the coffee then back to Alexei. “You TA this class, where did you even get that?”

“Some girl,” Alexei shrugged. “Drink it and wake up,” he pressed further, moving the coffee to be directly in front of him. Deciding he didn’t care where he got it from and trusting some random girl crushing on Alexei wouldn’t give him anything but decent coffee, he took a long sip. It was a bit on the sweet side but hey, he couldn’t be picky.

Kleo packed up his belongings and the two-headed out. Kleo stretched his arms, letting out a yawn. “I don’t know what’s up with these nightmares dude.”

Alexei took a sip of the coffee, thinking for a moment before speaking up, “Is it just the same nightmare?”

“Yeah, it’s always the same. I’m always in town, it’s always creepy, and I always wake up right before I can even see what the thing that’s chasing me is. I don’t why I keep having them or what they could even mean.”

They walked in silence for a minute more before Alexei suddenly stopped walking, “I got it!” He looked at Kleo with a look that made Kleo believe he had somehow managed to solve all the world’s problems with just a single thought. “I’ll just move in.”

“No.” Kleo deadpanned without missing a beat and Alexei instantly began to pout. “Lexi, it’s been what, two months since you moved in? Plus, you were the one who decided to live in the dorms.”

“I know but,” he almost whined, “I didn’t know just how shitty they’d be? Besides, my position pays for it. I wasn’t thinking when I said yes.”

“Wow, that sounds like a personal problem.”

“Come on Kleo, plus! I didn’t know Dr. Lake was going to redo your old place.”

“Yeah, well, neither did I,” Kleo said. “He surprised me with that, saying he thought it would be nice for me to live closer to campus.”

“Well, maybe that has something to do with the nightmares? I mean, the place doesn’t look exactly the way it did before but it’s been years since you stayed there,” Alexei explained and Kleo mulled it over. Maybe Alexei had a point? When Kleo was younger, he lived with his mother in the home that rested above her shop. All of his memories about his mother and growing up were there. Ever since the fire, the top part had just been closed off. Even the shop was closed for a few years before Sean reopened it, saying something about letting Kleo’s mother’s legacy live on. Technically, Kleo owned the Apothecary since his mother left it in his name, but, he was too young to make any decisions for it. Honestly, he didn’t want to at the time. It still held a lot of memories for him and reminded him so strongly of her.

Sean hired someone to help manage the store and they had a few employees, including Kleo himself who worked there part-time.

When Sean told him his plans of letting Kleo live there again… Kleo didn’t know what to think. Sure, living on his own was fun an all, but Alexei had a point. Those nightmares did start up shortly after he moved in…

“See,” Alexei said, bringing Kleo out of his head. “Maybe it would be nice to have another person there, hm?” He wasn’t letting this go.

“Alexei-“

“Please.”

“Lexi-“

“We’re best friends, aren’t we?”

“Are you going to pay rent?” Kleo asked and Alexei immediately shut up. Kleo knew his money was tied up a bit since the school paid for the dorms out of his earnings.

“I can help in other ways,” Alexei offered and Kleo sighed. A grin formed on Alexei’s lips as if he knew Kleo simply couldn’t say no to him. He had his wrapped around his finger.

“Okay, fine!” Kleo groaned and Alexei punched the air in success. “But! You’re going to have to pull some shifts at the shop, ok?”

“Deal! You won’t regret it, you know it,” Alexei said, stewing in his excitement.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s talk about the rest of the details later. I need to go meet Sean,” he explained.

“Okay! I’ve got another class anyway. Meet you at your place later for a movie night? Or should I say, our place?” He grinned, “My treat for the birthday boy.”

Kleo waved him off with a chuckle, facing him as he walked backwards, still looking at Alexei and he headed towards the hall where Sean’s office was, “Sure, sounds like a plan!”

Kleo knocked on the door with the nameplate, “Dr. Sean Lake,” and waited for a response before heading inside. Sean was sat behind his computer, typing away. A smile formed on his lips when he realized it was Kleo and he stood to greet him.

“There’s the birthday boy,” he walked around the desk to hug Kleo. He pats his shoulder as he takes a step back. “So, how’s it going? Settling in well I hope? Do you have any plans for today?” Sean launched each question, one after the other without a break and Kleo chuckled.

“I’m fine, yeah I am, and sort of? I’m hanging with Alexei later,” he answered, leaning against one of the chairs that sat before Sean’s desk.

“That’s good to hear,” Sean nodded. “You be sure to let me know if you need anything, alright? I’m just a phone call away, no matter what it is, even if its just a leaky faucet or something. On second thought, do contact me if that happens because those pipes are new. I’d be concerned if something was wrong with them already.”

Kleo couldn’t help but smile and nod. Sean was a close friend of his mom’s and has been the closest thing to a dad for Kleo for the last four years. He could be a bit quirky and spoke as if he was racing against a clock but Kleo appreciated him. “I promise, if a faucet starts leaking even the smallest bit, you’ll be the first to know,” Kleo assured him.

“Good,” Sean said, leaning back against the front of his desk. The two of them spoke a bit about how Kleo’s classes were going and how things were at the Apothecary. “You’re not working today, are you?”

Kleo shook his head, “No, I have the next few days off.” He explained. “Oh, it looks like Alexei is going to be moving in soon.”

“Yeah?” Sean raised an eyebrow and Kleo shrugged.

“Yeah, he hates the dorms.”

“Hmm,” Sean nodded, “He’s a responsible kid, plus, I’m sure he’ll keep you in check with your biology assignments.”

“I know how to do my assignments.”

“Yeah? Do you know how to stay awake in class though?”

Kleo nearly cursed to himself. Words sure do travel fast among faculty, huh? “Yeah, you heard about that?” Kleo asked, a bit embarrassed.

“Are you sleeping okay?” Sean asked with a look that screamed concerned dad.

“I’ve just been having this nightmare,” Kleo explained, “but, overall, I’m okay. I’m sure it’s just sleeping in a new place and whatnot.”

Sean didn’t look too convinced but if he didn’t believe him, he didn’t say anything about it. “Alright, just, you be sure to let me know if things aren’t ok?”

“I promise,” Kleo assured and Sean seemed to ease up a bit.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot about your birthday gift,” Sean said, lifting himself from his spot and moving back behind his desk to grab a gift bag. “I was rummaging through some old stuff and came across it. I thought you’d appreciate it,” he explained as he handed it to Kleo.

Curious, Kleo carefully dug through the tissue paper to find a framed image of a younger him and his mom. A lump formed in his throat as he looked the image over. He must have been around 7 or 8 years old if he could remember correctly. It was a picture of the two of them tending to some of the flowers in the Apothecary. His mom loved teaching him about all the flowers, their meanings, and how to care for them. He still remembered a lot of it even now. She loved the Apothecary. It was somehow part flower shop, part book store, a combination of her two favorite things. Now, those elements were still there, but it’s become a place for local college students to study and relax.

Kleo smiled a somewhat sad smile as he thought about her. Part of him hoped she’d be happy about how her shop has changed and just, of him in general.

“You know,” Sean began, “she’d be proud of the man you’ve grown to be.”

Kleo swallowed the lump in his throat. Things were getting a bit too emotional for him at that moment. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in Sean’s office today. Instead, he took a breath to compose himself and smiled. “Thank you, Sean. I do appreciate it.”

Sean gave him another pat on the back with a loving smile, “Anytime.”

Kleo let Sean’s office door closed behind him and he stood there for a moment, looking at the framed photograph again. To say that Kleo missed his mother would be an understatement. It was just the two of them for so long, his mother was the world to him. She was his best friend and greatest support through whatever troubles life brought onto that of a child.

He stuffed to frame back into the gift bag before sticking his headphones into his ears. His music drowned out the world around him as he started the trek home. Kleo never thought too much about his future, if he were being honest. He knew he wanted to study literature and thought that becoming a professor would be the most logical step after that. Sean was one and he enjoyed it plenty. Hell, his literature classes were the only thing he held a genuine interest in and keeping up with all of those readings was far from a problem for him. Kleo grew up surrounded by books and he had no qualms about readings chapters upon chapters each night for assignments. Kleo knew he’d also be the one to eventually run the Apothecary. He liked where it was now, but still, it wasn’t like he had a lot of responsibility for it. He should probably take some business classes as an elective or something to get a better understanding of when that time would come. Maybe he could talk to an advisor to figure out an ideal option?

But past that, Kleo didn’t think too much about his future simply because it felt like he didn’t have to. His path was planned out and he would follow it. He liked his life this way, predictable and expected. The only sudden change he could deal with was the color of his hair. With that thought, he tugs at the ends of his fringe, the color looking more grey now that the color had faded and the length getting a bit longer than his usual.

Maybe I can get Alexei to color it for me again…

He shot the boy a text as he walked through the glass doors of the Apothecary. It was just around noon and probably the busiest time of day for the shop. The seats both outside and in were filled with students on the break between classes, either chatting it up with friends or working on some sort of assignments. Kleo excuses himself through a group of students crowded near the front and gave a short wave to the girl behind the counter. Flora gave him a nod and a look that said, one second, before finishing up with her current customer. Kleo made his way behind the counter and leaned against it as he waited. He looked Flora over for a second, her curly dark hair pinned up and back into a long ponytail.

“How’s it going?” She asks and she turned to face him once the customer was gone. Kleo shrugged and looked around at the storefront. It was packed in here, maybe more than usual.

“S’fine,” he says before looking back at her. “Is it busier than usual or is it just me?”

Flora let out a breath, moving a stray strand of her bangs off of her shoulder.

“It’s busier. I think someone said the cafe on campus was closed or something?” She explained and he nodded. That explained it.

“Are you fine dealing with this on your own? I don’t have much homework and I don’t have any plans until Alexei comes over later so I could help out a bit,” he offered. Flora looked a bit tired and in need of a few extra hands.

“Isn’t it your birthday? I figured work would be the last thing you’d want to do,” she asked and he shrugged again.

“As I said, I don’t have any plans until later,” He pushed himself off of the counter and adjusted his backpack strap. “But I mean, if you don’t want the help, I can just go upstairs.” He could tell by the look on her face that she was seriously considering his offer. It didn’t take long before she caved.

“Alright, yes, if you’re sure,” she said with a sigh. “But just until this rush is over. I feel bad for making you help on your day off.”

“It’s fine,” he smiled. “I’m gonna go put my stuff away and change but I’ll be right back down.”

Flora nodded and waved him off as he quickly went upstairs. He dumped his bag near the coat rack and placed the gift bag on the kitchen bar so he could find a spot for the Frame later. He traded his jacket for a light cardigan and his work apron before heading back down.

The brunt of the rush lasted for maybe another few hours before everything became quiet enough for you to hear the music playing through the sound store’s stereo. Kleo folded his arms behind his head as he sat back on a stool.

“Easy peasy.”

“Yeah, thanks again for the help,” Flora said, taking a seat of her own as she rearranged her hair in her ponytail. “Hopefully whatever’s going on with the cafe on campus lightens up soon.”

Kleo hummed, “Yeah, but the business probably isn’t bad to have.” He said and she rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know much about finances or whatnot for a business, but I’m pretty sure the Apothecary makes enough.”

“Still, it’s nice to have. Plus, more money could mean better pay for employees such as yourself.”

“I guess if that’s even how that works,” Flora said and the doorbell chimed as someone walked in.

“Yo,” Alexei said with a wave and held up a plastic shopping bag. “Let’s get your hair colored so we can watch some movies.” Without another word, he turned and walked past the counter to go upstairs.

“Look’s like that’s my cue to go,” he says to Flora and she gives a single wave before turning to look at her phone.