"Why do you keep looking at your phone, baby? Who keeps texting you?" Cindy asked while sitting on the left end of the sofa with her back against the armrest and her feet on Ian's lap.
"It's important." Ian said and read the messages on his phone while keeping his shoulder on the armrest of his side.
"Never done anything illegal? So you've got a lot to lose if this fucks up. You still sure?" Ronnie's message said.
"I quite literally have nothing to lose. Don't care if I go to jail. One less thing for people to worry about if I go to jail. Let's do it." Ian typed in his message back to Ronnie.
"Alright. But if you fuck it up, I'm not saving your arse. You're going to jail alone." Ronnie replied.
"I understand that. I'm not saving you either."
"That's part of the deal. Like I'm getting caught lol."
"And when do we do this?"
"I've been planning to do this tomorrow. I've scouted the house and the schedule of the geezer who lives there. When there's two of us, we can grab more loot before we have to dip. That bloke's house is full of gold."
"Let's do it tomorrow then. I've got nothing to do tomorrow anyway."
"Babyyyyy, pay attention." Cindy pleaded and drummed her heels on Ian's lap.
"To what?" Ian said back and felt a bit startled.
"To the film. You picked it."
"Right. Guess I did." Ian said and watched the screen of the huge television.
"It's getting interesting." Cindy said.
"Alright alright."
"I haven't read my messages all day because I have self control."
"Have you got any messages from work asking you where you are?"
"Oh bollocks, I probably have." Cindy said and checked her phone.
"Such self control." Ian said, chuckled and rested his cheek on his own fist.
"Oh shut it." Cindy said and squinted her eyes to look at her phone.
"Why did I pick this film? This is so awkward to watch with you."
"Heh. You knew what you were doing and... What the fuck?"
"What?"
"So you met my colleague Steven, yeah?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Listen to this message he sent me. Let me read it."
"Go ahead."
"You didn't attend any meetings today, your lights have been off all day and your car is in the driveway. Are you ok?" Cindy read out loud.
"Does he live on the same street?" Ian asked.
"Nowhere near! Why was he even here? And listen to this!"
"Read it."
"Your lights are now on. Is it you?" Cindy read.
"What the fuck?" Ian said.
"And this was sent about the same time as we came here!"
"Is he always watching your house?" Ian asked.
"I hope he isn't." Cindy answered.
"Call him."
"Yeah, maybe I need to talk to him and ask him what this is about so he can't carefully think what to say." Cindy said and picked Steven's number.
She called the number and waited. She put the phone on speaker so Ian could also hear the beeping. Ian paused the film.
"Let's see if he answers." Cindy said and listened.
"Wait... Do you hear that?" Ian pointed out.
"Hear what?"
"Listen." Ian said.
Cindy took the phone off the speaker mode so the beeping got quiet.
"Wait, I hear that too. Is that... Is that a ringtone?" Cindy wondered in bewilderment.
"It's coming from afar." Ian pointed out and went to the window.
The call was answered before anyone could hear any more of the ringtone coming from afar.
"Oh hi, Cindy. So glad to finally hear from you. You alright?" Said Steven's voice from Cindy's phone.
"I've been... Fine. I just haven't been home all day. We just came home pretty recently." Cindy answered.
"You din't get any work done today and you weren't in any of the meetings. That got me worried." Steven's voice said.
"Tell him to talk louder." Ian said from where he stood.
"What was that?" Steven's voice asked.
"That was... Just the telly. Can you talk louder? I can't quite hear you." Cindy said into the phone.
Ian opened the window so he could hear the outside better.
"I just said that I was worried because you weren't at work today!" Steven shouted from the phone and Ian also heard the same words coming from a car that was parked on the other side of the road a little further from Cindy's house.
"Come listen to this." Ian said from where he stood.
Cindy walked to the window to join Ian and looked at the car that Ian pointed with his hand.
"You there?" Said Steven's voice from the phone and the car.
"What? Is that him? That car is almost always there!" Cindy whisper shouted to Ian.
"Wait, so he's there often?" Ian asked back.
"Steven! Get out of the car right now!" Cindy shouted out of the window.
The phone went quiet.
"I know you're in there." Cindy said into the phone.
The call ended.
"What the fuck?" Ian said.
"Hold on, I'll tell him to go away. Stay here." Cindy said and went towards the front door.
She put her shoes on and left the house. Ian closed the window and stepped away from it so he couldn't be seen from outside.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Cindy's voice shouted outside as Ian just leaned on a wall inside and listened.
"I was just worried about you so I came to check! And I wanted to apologise for calling you useless eye candy. I didn't mean it." Steven's voice explained outside.
"So that's why you've been parked here for several hours?"
"Well, yeah."
"Oh, correct me. You've been parked here on and off for months! I told you that you're not working from here anymore so fuck off from the entire neighbourhood!"
"Well, I can't really do much at home..."
"That car has been parked there even before the pipe broke at your house! Go somewhere else!"
"I... I just want to know where you've been all day."
"None of your bloody business."
"I won't leave until you tell me!" Steven's voice demanded in a threatening manner.
Ian straightened his back inside and was ready to go out.
"Fine! I've been with my boyfriend. Now go away." Cindy's voice shouted.
"Oh great." Ian said indoors to himself.
"Your... Oh, I see how it is." Steven's voice said outside.
"And you've seen enough so go away already. Drive that car of yours to hell and leave us alone." Cindy's voice said back.
"Where is the wanker?" Steven asked.
"Back ngh... the fuck ngh... off!" Cindy's voice shouted with great struggle.
"Oh that's it." Ian said and decided to act.
He went to the front door and stepped outside where he saw Cindy holding Steven back but not being very victorious.
"Here's the wanker." Ian said once he was fully outside.
"You again? You hoodlum are shagging Cindy?" Steven asked angrily.
"I'm not, but how about you do as she says and fuck off?" Ian shouted back and stepped up to Steven's face.
"How about you get your hands off my girl?" Steven asked threateningly.
"Ngh... And since when have I been your girl?" Cindy asked Steven while keeping the two men separated.
Rather than answering the question Steven punched Ian in the cheek. The punch hardly flinched Ian so Steven prepared to throw another one.
"You bloody maniac!" Cindy shouted and held Steven's arm to prevent him from throwing another punch.
"Fine, if that's how you want to play..." Ian said and got ready to throw as well until Cindy stopped him.
"Don't hit him back. Do not hit him back!" Cindy insisted and stood between the men.
"Why not? He's a stalker and a dickhead." Ian asked.
"I'll be fired the second that you touch him." Cindy answered.
"Who the fuck even is this hoodlum to you?" Steven asked.
"Oh shut UP! You and I were never anything so it's none of your business who I'm with. You got your punch in, now please just leave us alone." Cindy insisted.
Steven looked at Ian who now had a fist print on his cheek and an angry look on his eyes.
"I understand. See you tomorrow at work." Steven said looking at Cindy and then turned around.
"Yeah. See you." Cindy said back with contempt in her voice.
Steven walked to his car and got in. After a moment the car was turned on and drove off.
"I'm sorry about that, baby." Cindy said and got next to Ian.
"Don't be. What's his problem?" Ian asked.
"I don't even know. Not the first time he's argued with me over petty bollocks."
"So is he stalking you?"
"I hope he isn't. I would have believed his explanations if his car hadn't been there before pipe repair in his home though."
"I don't think he'll come around anymore."
"Even if he does, he won't find me. I don't think I want to spend much time here anymore."
"Yeah, I get you. Wouldn't blame if you got a restraining order on him."
"I won't. I'd be fired for sure."
"I believe you're good enough to find a good job somewhere else quickly."
"I know, but I don't want to risk anything since you're also dependent on me."
"Oh. Well... I appreciate that. Can you deal with all this?"
"I've dealt with a lot. Including you. I can deal with him."
"Do you feel safe here? You wanna go home? I mean... my home?"
"Yeah. I'd prefer that." Cindy said with a monotone voice and an empty stare into the distance.
"Let's go get what we came here for and go back then."
"Yeah. Let's." Cindy said and turned to walk towards her house.
Cindy retrieved her laptop and put it in a bag dedicated to it and Ian took his shoes.
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"Do you two have anything to eat today for dinner?" Cindy asked while driving the car.
"We're not completely broke." Ian answered from the passenger's seat.
"Okay. I just figured that if I'm going to be staying, I'll just be another mouth to feed and so I should also contribute."
"You already contribute enough." Ian reassured.
Cindy got a smile on her face for the first time since before the altercation with Steven.
"Okay, baby. Just worried." Cindy said happily.
"Are you stressed?" Ian asked directly.
An awkward silence fell.
"Isn't it obvious? I can't even stay in my own home and I'm still not convinced that you're fine with me staying over and I don't want to feel like a leech, and also my job is going to be more awkward now and after my recent arguments with Steven I'll have to walk on eggshells to not piss him off because he's the one who helped me get hired to begin with and..." Cindy started explaining.
"I'm glad we started talking again. And not just because of the money. I... actually enjoy your company. So there. For all that's worth." Ian interrupted with.
"Oh. Well, that's one source of my stress taken care of." Cindy said and smiled.
"Great, did I give her the idea that I actually want to be with her in that sort of way again? Maybe I should tell her where the line goes..." Ian thought in his head.
He side eyed Cindy and the expression he read on her face seemed to be relieved and little bit happy in the midst of her stress.
"Or maybe I shouldn't. I don't want her to feel bad." Ian thought and then turned his head to look out the window.
The ride home didn't take long in the minimal traffic of the two small towns. Before long they had arrived to the familiar street where Cindy parked to the side of the road. It was dark outside already when the riders stepped out of their car. They got to Ian's house and got inside. The lights were off inside the house.
"Guess mum went to bed. Want to eat something?" Ian said to Cindy while taking his shoes off.
"I'd like that." Cindy said back while taking off hers.
"There's probably something in the fridge."
"Did you even tell her that we're going away for a bit?"
"I didn't. I just figured that it'd take maybe an hour at most."
"Oh. Sorry for delaying you." Cindy said and cringed humorously.
"Don't be sorry." Ian said and pulled out a big plate of cold chicken wings from the fridge and then put it in the microwave.
"Still not much of a cook, is she?" Cindy asked.
"You expect her to be? She's got a lot on her plate as is."
"I know."
"Are you?" Ian asked.
"Ha. No. I'm too lazy for that. I probably should eat a bit healthier though and not just eat microwave rubbish." Cindy answered.
"Eh. You still look good despite that." Ian commented.
"Why did I say that?" He then immediately thought.
"Well, isn't somebody trying to flatter me now?" Cindy said back jokingly.
"Like I'd even need to do that at this point." Ian said back.
"Wait. Shit. That can be taken in two ways." He then thought.
Cindy just chuckled and blushed.
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"Nhg, who is it now?" Ian said out loud in his bed as his phone buzzed.
He checked the phone screen that said that the current time is 10:22 in the morning. The screen also displayed a message from Lloyd.
"You coming to school today?" Is what the message said.
"Suppose I should. Bloody hell tonight is the night. It's actually happening. If I back down now I'll look like a pussy. And I want that cash." Ian said to himself and started getting up.
He got up from his bed in wearing his Adidas and his t-shirt which had essentially become his sleeping uniform. He opened the door of his room and stepped out, and as he stepped out, he kicked a brown paper bag without seeing it there.
"What's this now then?" He said and looked down at the bag.
He picked it up and looked at it. The brown bag had the words "Made with love." written on it along with a smiley face and a heart. He looked inside the bag. Inside the bag was one banana.
"As I expected." Ian said and tossed the bag into his room.
In the bathroom he smacked his head to see if his ear would bleed. It did not.
After taking a shower and doing the other things, Ian returned to his room, put on his uniform, put the paper bag in his rucksack and then stepped out of his room once again.
"All quiet in the house. Mum is of course working. Is Cindy still here?" Ian thought and walked the stairs down.
Downstairs he heard the sounds of a keyboard being touched coming from the living room.
"Guess she is." He thought and started putting his shoes on.
"Not even gonna kiss me goodbye?" Cindy's voice said from the living room as Ian opened the front door.
"No." Ian coldly answered and went outside.
Once again the walk to school took long and once again Ian wasn't bothered by it. Only at the front door he sent a message to Lloyd asking where the class is. The answer came quickly and at the university Ian went to the right classroom.
"Just in time, Maltman." The professor said sarcastically when Ian stepped in the class.
"Expel me then." Ian said back and took his regular seat between Lloyd and William.
"Your girlfriend seems like a lovely dame." William smugly whispered from his seat.
"Girlfriend?" Lloyd said from his seat.
"I told you yesterday that she's my ex." Ian said to Lloyd and then turned to William.
"And are you bloody stalking me?" Ian asked William.
"Silence, please!" The professor asked from the front of the class and continued lecturing.
"Can we talk in the mid break?" Lloyd asked Ian.
"Sure, mate. Whatever." Ian answered and did his best to focus and behave for the rest of the class.
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"You need to get bitches." Ian said to Lloyd in their typical spot at the mid break as he took his brown paper bag from his rucksack.
"Huh? Why are you saying that now?" Lloyd asked from his spot.
"You're stressed, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah. I have a lot to deal with."
"Wouldn't a girl help with that stress?"
"She'd just add into it. So no, I'm not looking for anyone. And besides Nikki is already bitter because she thinks that she's my second favourite girl. If I had a girlfriend, Nikki would think that she's my third favourite girl." Lloyd explained.
"Ha. Good reasons. So which one is your favourite?" Ian asked and chuckled.
"Neither one! I just want to focus on my studies and my hobby, okay?"
"Fair enough."
"Can we talk about something else? I wanted to as you something?" Lloyd requested.
"What is it?" Ian asked while munching on a banana.
"Can we work together on the project tonight?" Lloyd asked.
"You expect me to actually do something?" Ian asked.
"Just... focusing on studying has been hard lately. I keep getting distracted and last night I didn't get much done. I figure that if somebody is there to make sure that I actually get work done, I'd do better." Lloyd requested nervously.
"Sorry, mate. I've got plans for tonight that I already agreed to." Ian answered.
"With your ex again?"
"Nah. With someone else. Not telling you what it is though."
"...Right. Never mind then." Lloyd said and sounded obviously disappointed.
"So when is your next gig again?" Ian asked.
"It's this Saturday! I'm taking a bus there so you can come with me if you..." Lloyd started explaining with excitement.
"Alright. Sounds good. Guess I can come there." Ian interrupted with.
"Okay. I'll pick you up from your house and take you to the bus stop when the time comes."
"Sounds good. Looking forward to it. Why are you shaking?" Ian replied and asked.
"What? Am I?" Lloyd answered while vibrating.
"Umm... Yeah?"
"Probably just the energy drinks I inhaled last night."
"You need to quit those."
"I can't. They help me stay up."
"Well, if they work for you, mate. Did Evelyn play the video game yesterday?"
"What?"
"The game that we watched her play the other day."
"Oh. Yeah. She did. That's why I didn't get much work done last night. It was more interesting."
"What happened in the story? It's really interesting."
"They found the Metatron Blade and it chose Gabriela as its wielder so now she has the power of the Divine Blow but she doesn't know how to unleash it yet." Lloyd explained.
"What? How did they find it?" Ian asked curiously.
For the rest of the break they talked about the story of the video game until it was time to get back in class. Ian was fine with it. Anything to get his mind somewhere else.
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In the remaining classes Ian at least tried to focus and write things down just in case it made things easier for his and Lloyd's project later down the line. Focusing was hard however, because the job that Ian had agreed to was occupying more space in his mind.
In the last class of the day staying focused was even harder, as the countdown to the risky job dawned closer.
"This is a mistake. But fuck it. If I go to jail, I'll be out of here for sure." Ian was thinking in his head while keeping his elbows on the desk and his hands on his forehead.
His phone buzzed.
"Come to the factory tonight. I'll pick you up from there and we'll do this." A message from Ronnie said.
Ian read the message under the desk and swallowed.
"Ooh, we'll do what? Is that your "ex" again?" William's annoying voice said from next Ian.
"And you piss the fuck off and stay out of my bloody business, mate." Ian said loudly under his breath and stood up, acting like he was going to hit William in the face with his phone.
William looked unbothered.
"Please sit down, Maltman." The professor said from the front of the class sounding like he was tired of this.
Ian sat down and seethed.
"Ok." He replied to Ronnie.
Another message came. This one from Lloyd.
"Thanks for staying in school today. Looking forward to Saturday :)" Is what the message said.
"I'm literally right bloody here, mate." Ian said to Lloyd next to him.
"Will you stay quiet for five minutes, Maltman?" The frustrated professor said at the front of the class.
"Right. Sorry, sir." Ian said back to the professor and rested his face on the desk.
"Please don't end yet." Ian thought in his head over and over again as the fingers of the clock moved forward faster than he would have liked.
And end the class did, and with it, the entire day. When the class was dismissed, Ian quietly and slowly took his face off the desk and his butt off the seat and left the classroom with a blank stare on his eyes. The sound of jogging came from behind him and at this point he had gotten used to it.
"Sucks that we can't work together today. Everything okay?" Lloyd asked after having caught up with Ian.
"Yep." Ian answered, not really thinking about the question too deeply.
"Is something bothering you?" Lloyd asked with genuine concern.
"Nah. You?"
"Well, obviously. The end of the day is the most dangerous to me. But I'm used to that. Other than that, I'm good."
"That's good."
"You don't sound too interested."
"Should I?"
"Sometimes I forget that we're not actually friends." Lloyd said feeling down.
"Huh? What?" Ian said, paying attention now.
"Nothing."
"Okay then."
"Good luck with that "thing" that you're doing tonight."
"Thanks for the concern. Try to focus tonight."
"I probably should." Lloyd said and remained awkwardly quiet until he reached his bicycle safely.
Ian didn't mind the silence. He had enough to think about already and when Lloyd paddled away, Ian just kept his face and posture the same as it was.
"I'd rather spend tonight studying at Lloyd's house even though studying sucks and his family sucks too. But fuck, man. I need a new bike and mum needs money and Cindy might get fired if she's not careful. Can't just bet on my luck all my life. Let's fucking do this. But later tonight. Not yet." Ian talked to himself while walking home.
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After coming home, Ian didn't go straight to his room like he typically does. Instead he went on the living room sofa where Cindy was working on her laptop.
"Not even going to change your clothes or did you miss me that badly?" Cindy asked cheekily when Ian sat down on the opposite end from her.
"I just... felt like coming here would be more comfortable." Ian answered while bending forwards and resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands.
"I won't complain. What got you feeling like you need comfort?" Cindy asked.
Ian didn't answer.
"You don't need to talk about things that you don't want to talk about, but you also don't need to keep anything inside." Cindy said, trying to sound consoling.
"I'm just nervous about something that I'm doing tonight." Ian answered.
"Is it a date?"
"Nah."
"Good. And whatever it is, if it goes wrong, you'll always have arms to fall into right here." Cindy said cheesily.
"I don't think even she can bail me out if this goes wrong." Ian thought in his head.
"How is work going?" Ian asked.
"Today was a bit awkward in the noon meeting, but I think my job is secure." Cindy answered.
"That's a relief."
"Yep. So don't worry. I'll be able to help you for now. But I do still need to pay off my own house and I don't think I can pay your rent every month. But don't feel pressure. You got this. And heck, if you need to, just sell this house and move in with me. Both of you." Cindy explained.
"That would be the most humiliating defeat of my life. I'd rather go to jail." Ian thought.
"Yeah. We got this. Thanks again for being so willing to help." Ian said.
"Of course, baby. I'll never abandon you. Whether you like it or not." Cindy said and focused on her work.
"How are you liking staying here? It's not as big as what you're used to but I know you shouldn't mind that." Ian asked Cindy just to distract himself.
"Of course I don't mind it. I didn't always live in my big house. You should still remember when I was just as broke as you." Cindy answered with.
"Yeah. I wonder what you did so differently." Ian asked half sarcastically, feeling a bit insulted by Cindy's words.
"Pretty much just dedication and focus. Or are you implying that I was only hired for being pretty too?" Cindy asked completely seriously, feeling insulted by Ian's question.
"No! No, not at all. Sorry if it came off that way. I'm just... nervous about tonight and can't choose words right." Ian explained apologetically.
"I shouldn't piss her off or even hurt her feelings in any way, just in case." He thought.
"Hmph. Right." Cindy said and went quiet.
"No, seriously. I didn't meant to imply anything like that. I mean, it's been clear for years that you're loads smarter than me anyway. I can't really doubt your merit." Ian explained.
"Don't put yourself down like that. Just stay in the university and you'll be good. You can provide for yourself and you can help out anyone who might need support."
"That's just not going to happen. I suck."
"Well, it's not going to happen if you waste your time sitting here and going to town at nights instead of using your time to study."
"See? I suck. I can't even do that."
"Well, you can..."
"Ugh! I just want to quit and get a job but mum won't let me!"
"I mean, I understand where she's coming from but you're also an adult and you own yourself. Listen to your heart."
"You're so generic." Ian commented and chuckled.
"Generic? How am I generic? Do I not have a point?" Cindy asked, half offended and half amused.
"You do. Just the last line."
"I listened to my heart and it worked out pretty well, thank you very much." Cindy reminded.
"I guess." Ian simply said back.
"And it also looks like the work day is over." Cindy said, closed her laptop, put it on the glass table, sat back, stretched her back and put her feet on the table too.
"Yay." Ian said with a bored voice.
"Ha. Yay indeed."
"So what are you doing tonight?" Ian asked.
"Probably nothing really. Surf the web and watch the telly here."
"Sounds nice."
"You still nervous?" Cindy asked.
"A bit."
"Want to cuddle?"
"... Okay."
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