Chapter Seven:

The redhead was sitting outside of Dice’s apartment door when the green-eyed boy trudged up the stairs in a spiritless return. The blue eye’s met those of the dark-haired tenant.

“What?” Dice asked in a harsh tone. He was far past being mad at the slight figure that sat crouched on the floor in front of him, but that didn’t mean he was going to make it seem as if everything was ace.

The landlord stood and straightened his shirt. “You came back.”

“Yeah—” The dark haired boy kept himself from explaining further. He didn’t think it was necessary of him to do so. It wasn’t like Jasper knowing why he came back was all important. Jasper didn’t need to know what was going on or anything else for that matter. All Jasper had to do was make sure that Dice paid rent on time.

A broad smile spread across the landlord’s face. “That’s so wonderful! I’m glad you decided to come back. I think you’ll end up liking it here. You just need to give it a chance.”

Dice shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, nodding slightly as if in agreement. All he wanted was to get away from Jasper and sleep. He wanted to be in his own world, if only for a moment or two.

The red-head looked down. “Well I guess I’ll leave you to your apartment. Maybe we’ll cross paths sometime.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Dice pulled his key out of his pocket and slid it into the lock of his door. He was inside moments later as he heard the footsteps of his landlord ascending away from him.

He could feel his breath against his chest as he shut the door and tilted his head down. He was relieved to be away from Jasper, finally. He hoped it was the last time they would have to see each other for a while. He wanted to stay as far away from the red-head as he possibly could.

Dice moved to the middle of his living room and set his bag down. He slowly pulled the zipper down and dug around for his wallet. He needed a dresser, and a bed. A desk and chair would be nice too, he thought. The thin boy stood up and slid his wallet into his back pocket before heading out once more.

The red head stood at the end of the stairs, situating a cap over his messy locks. Dice tried to run away as fast as he could back up the steps before being seen by the landlord but he wasn’t quite fast enough.

“Dice, is that you?” Jasper had turned towards the staircase as Dice descended down them.

“Yeah, I was just heading out to get some stuff for my apartment.” He ran his fingers through his brown tresses.

“Do you need any help? I know my way around here pretty well and I’m sure I could find you some bargains. Plus it might help to have someone with to help you carry stuff.” He smiled wholesomely in hopes that Dice would let him come along.

The tall boy shrugged. “I guess. I don’t have that much money to spare so bargains would be nice. But don’t think that we’re gonna be all buddy-buddy after this, because I have no intentions of being your friend. You’re my landlord that’s just doing me a favour right now. That’s how I see this.”

“That’s fine.” Jasper smiled again, purely happy to just have the chance to spend some time with his new tenant.

The pair bounded onto the sidewalk and the blue-eyed boy immediately took charge and guided them through the crowds and from shop to shop. Dice wasn’t complaining about the time he was spending with his landlord, he was actually having a rather good time. His stomach was churning, though; his feelings were mixing and becoming foggy. He was doing something wrong, he could feel it, but what was it? Him.