And just like clock work, Vega found her target. The kid walking home from the flower shop early one day. The pink haired woman shoved her hands in her pockets and looked him over from head to toe. She then ran around and managed to get right in front of the guy all nonchalantly. Her hands were in her shorts pockets and she flashed him a wide grin.

“I see you walking all the time,” she said to him, stopping in her tracks. “You live around here?”

Leslie, startled out of his mind, stared at her like she had a second head and then gripped his phone he'd been talking on tightly. Well, he guessed people in this city were ….nice. A little off, but mostly nice.

“Erm..” he cleared his throat and then just nodded. “Not.. too far?” He said, sounding like his voice was going through puberty again. Great. Pretty lady and he was ten again. Without much thought, he turned the screen of his phone off, letting just the yellow florescent lighting illuminate the both of them. “I don't live far,” he repeated, a little more confident with his wording.

Vega looked impressed and then just eased he expression up a bit. “That's cool. So uh. I'm Vega. I live around…. Well just around.” She winked at him and then sighed. “So I was wondering if you ….would let me use your shower?”

That took Leslie by surprise. “L-Leslie… I'm.. Leslie.” Use his shower? He tilted his head to the side and then bit down on his lip. “Why don't you use your shower?”

“Oh, 'cause the van doesn't have one. I mean I'd be hustling a trucker out of a shower token, but I don't feel like going to a truck stop tonight to try. That and the guys think I'm some kind of truck stop hooker, or something.”

Van? “..Do you have a home, Vega?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Look, there's this party I'm going to tomorrow, and I'd rather be clean? You look.. safe. Like you're not gonna try anything funny.” Vega licked at her lips slowly and then grinned.

He didn't look harmful. He looked safe. Leslie.. supposed in her shoes she could understand. The teenager looked around and then back at the girl in the bright yellow shirt before sighing. Well, he was very much on the spot here. With a sigh, Leslie just nodded and looked her over one more time.

“The masquerade thing?”

“You saw the short thing too?”

“The guy? Yeah! I… he wasn't that short.”

“Short enough,” came Vega's cocky reply. She was still looking at him expectantly.

With a defeated sigh, the teen nodded and gave her a watery smile. “Sure. I mean. I… don't mind. My parents… aren't home. So.. If you wanted to sleep on my couch, too, I mean.. Maybe.. wash clothes?” She was homeless, so she probably would want to do these things. And he could offer them for free, so why not?

Vega's eyes narrowed at his extended offer. Why would he be that nice to a chick he just met? He was pitying her, wasn't he? Vega's first instinct was to get riled up. He didn't look like he meant anything by it. His intentions were good, weren't they? She rubbed at her nose ring a bit, effectively scratching an itch and then looked down at herself.

Her clothes did need a good wash.

“Yeah,” she sighed out, shrugging and dropping her hands to her side. “I could… use that. All of it. The washer, especially. So.. Wait here?”

“Let me follow you.”

With a shrug, Vega led him down the dark alley she lived. When they got to the van, there were no doors on it. Literally anyone could come in and steal what they wanted. So far no one had, but Leslie felt bad for her.

He watched as she turned on a flashlight and put it in her mouth and gathered her clothes (which were strewn about everywhere in the van) and shoved them into her canvas bag. There were empty metal cans, cans of paint, food wrappers and containers… She really was living out of a van in an alley. It probably wasn't hers, either, this van. Vega rubbed at her neck as she tossed the now turned off flashlight back into the van.

“Okay!” It sounded like she was chirping at him. “Lead the way… Uuuh.”

“It's Leslie,” he reminded her gently.

“Oh, right, Leslie.” Her cheeks had a little color to them, but she seemed content. “Thanks for this, man. I mean it. So you said your parents? Meaning a mom?”

“Yeah, why?”

“...Don't worry about it.”

He didn't stop his walking as he tried to think about why it was important he had a mom.

“Okay..” He sounded hesitant, but whatever. It probably had something to do with being a girl. He didn't want to know.

Word Count: 823 words