Riley had one cigarette left. Maybe I should quit. I should quit. I don't want to quit. I'll quit when I'm older. He knew how ridiculous he sounded, but didn't care.

Despite it being only an hour or so before sunset, he was still in his school uniform and carrying his bag as he walked the 5 1/2 kilometres home. He hadn't been anywhere indecent (this time). Just watching the Girls' Dance Club practice—which was morally allowed, since he was just there with a classmate who came to watch his girlfriend. Malik was the one who invited him saying that he didn't want to watch his girlfriend alone. For whatever reason, even though they weren't friends, Riley was Malik's go-to whenever he didn't have the courage to do something. Maybe being beside a tall handsome guy gave him a boost of confidence, who knew.

Anyway, the eye candy was just a bonus. He smiled to himself. Ah, girls really are the best. The smile faded. Wh—the best to what? he worriedly asked himself. The best thing to look at. When it comes to things you can look at. That's what I meant.

His plan for ending his "vacation" had failed. He and his friends only noticed one cute girl and argued about who would go after her. Riley wanted to resign from the contest immediately but joined in anyway. When Tony won rock paper scissors, for some reason he felt relieved. The girl flat out rejected Tony, so they all went home without a hookup or contact info, or even names to mention.

A fourth kilometre away was the convenience store. Riley stared down the road as he swung his bookbag side to side.

The day after the failed pickup, he had stayed home thinking about girls and why he had felt relieved upon losing the chance to talk to a pretty girl. That evening, he decided to check and make sure, and it was confirmed that he was still attracted to girls. For maybe the second time in his high school life, he was happy when Monday arrived; he was freed from his circling thoughts.

But now he was in that area again and the memory came back. He'd luckily managed to forget the man's face, his eyes, and his smile. There's no way I'd bump into him, right? I don't even know if he lives around here. Riley's thoughts cut off as he caught the familiar smell of burning cigarettes. He looked in the direction of its source. Four middle schoolers, none the same ones from the convenience store, were crouched behind a tree at the corner of the park in front of him. A devilish smile formed on his lips. Shall I play Convenience Store Man? Wondering how things would play out, Riley sneakily approached them, avoiding any dead leaves.

"You're kind of young to be smoking, eh?"

The kids jumped, then looked up. Their expressions changed upon seeing the private high school uniform. "Fuck off," the kid holding the pack said while turning back around.

"What?" Riley demanded pissed off by the kid's attitude. The back of the kid's head was smacked, then its hair roughly grabbed as Riley bent down close and dangerously said, "I didn't hear you. Say that again you little shit."

The kid being held looked genuinely afraid and the others froze, not daring to ditch their conspirator and run away.

Riley stood back up and reached for the pack at the same time the kid relinquished it to be confiscated. He pushed his foot against the back of the kid's knee. When the kid stumbled, Riley moved his head in a way that clearly said, 'Get out of here.' They all ran off like roaches hiding from a light.

Riley pulled a cigarette out of the bent pack, then slipped the pack in his pants pocket. He took a seat on the bench a few strides away, complaining, "Little shits. Telling me to fuck off." After lighting the cigarette, he immediately relaxed before even taking a drag.

It was only Riley's second release of smoke when from behind him he heard, "Impressive, impressive." Startled, he gasped, causing him to cough. As he regained proper breathing, the man continued. "But aren't you a little too young to be smoking?" A hand reached over Riley's head and pulled the cigarette from his mouth. The hand's owner walked to the front of the bench. With a serious expression was the Convenience Store Man.

The man sat beside Riley with the lit cigarette in his hand. Riley could see a lot more with the closer view. The setting sun highlighted the red undertones in his messy hair. Eyelashes of the same colour framed bluish-green eyes. Aren't people supposed to look uglier the closer you get? He watched the man raise the cigarette to his lips and unintentionally take a drag. The man blinked and stared at the cigarette, realizing what he'd done but then moved his mouth in a way that seemed to shrug it off.

"You were watching?" Riley asked playfully, "How did I do, Teacher?"

The man scoffed and smirked. "I think you're getting a little too ahead of yourself."

What's that supposed to mean? Riley subconsciously pouted and gave a small glare.

The man ruffled Riley's hair and said, "Kids should be kids."

Riley knocked the man's arm away and stood up. He removed the cigarette from between the man's fingers and returned it to his own mouth. "I completely agree."

He walked away seething-no, he was sulking. Jackass, treating me like I'm a kid. He doesn't even look older than me. Wouldn't even know he's an adult if not for his stupid tie. Riley clicked his tongue in annoyance. Just now the man had his tie loosened and his shirt's top buttons undone, enough that his collarbone was showing. Remembering his casual appearance, Riley thought a bit. "Well, I guess he isn't that uptight." Riley licked his lips. The cigarette tasted a bit like fruit candy.

When Riley arrived home, he removed the man's wallet from his pocket and examined the contents. "No cash?" Could he have removed it, thinking I might steal his wallet? Riley brushed away the thought deciding he was just being paranoid. Normally his next step would be to find the owner's address and mail them back their wallet, keeping the cash and anything else of monetary value and untraceable. Simple and quick as that. But not thinking much about it, he took a seat at the kitchen table and looked at every part of the man's ID.

Eran Kristiansen. 24 years old. 176 cm.

Is 24 too old? Riley wondered. He lied about his height, he decided, remembering how little he had to tilt his head to see the man who stole his cigarette.

Riley continued to go through the wallet, seeing what stores Eran might shop at as he shuffled past receipts and store cards. He couldn't find anything related to his job.

The cards dropped from his hands and hit the table with a small clap as he came to a realization. Am I acting like a stalker? "Return it..." he mumbled, worried by his own actions.

Eran's apartment was probably only about 20 minutes away from Riley's via bike. I don't know what time he goes to work, so I'll take it there tonight. I hope he has the kind of mailbox I can just leave stuff in. If he's in one of those nice places, he might have one of those desk attendants and I can ask them to deliver it to him. If none of that works, what should I do? I can't tape it to his door, or sit there until he comes. Maybe I can give it to a neighbour. But what if that neighbour hates him?

"Damn!" Riley stood up from his chair. "Does he drive?! I have his license here. Did he drive without his license or did he walk home?" I guess he could walk home with no problem. "AAAGH. BUT WHY THE HELL DO I CARE?" He dropped back down onto the chair feeling confused. Staring at Eran's photo on the driver's license, Riley felt an unfamiliar sensation in his stomach and a tightening in his chest.