2.

Come Back Home

 

         Kevin slowly pulled on the thick wool cardigan Eli bought him last week. He thought it was itchy but Eli talked to him about something called seasons and how it would be cold soon like the fridge. Kevin didn’t like to be cold. Pulling on a pair of jeans, Kevin had difficulty remembering how the button worked.

         “Dressed?”

          Kevin whimpered. Eli strode in, took one glance at Kevin, and reached for the waist of his jeans.

“Watch me, okay? Try to remember and learn.”

Kevin nodded pathetically. There was so much he couldn’t do. Why did he feel so stupid all the time? He knew it wasn’t his fault… but somehow, he felt like everything was. Eli took his hand in his and led him out the door.

         “Remember what those are?” Eli pointed at the set of stairs.
         “Uh, stairs?” Kevin squinted his eyes, focusing hard.

         “Good.” Eli smiled.

         “What are we doing today?” Kevin fiddled with the zipper on his jacket and accidentally ped it.

         “We’re going somewhere called the movies.” Eli pulled Kevin’s zipper back up.

         “Movies.” Kevin closed his eyes and made a mental note.

         “Movies.” He repeated, opening his eyes, smiling.

         Eli and Kevin stopped at a busy intersection. Kevin stared at the red traffic light.

         “Red… is go?” He took one step off the curb. A car came screeching around the corner. A sudden memory hit Kevin harder than any car.


“I want to go to the other café. I don’t like this one.” Eli wrapped his arms around Kevin’s waist.

         “But I don’t want to! We went there so many times already!” Kevin gave Eli his puppy eyes.

        “Let’s go one more time?” His breath was hot on Kevin’s neck.

        Eli stepped off the curb, about to cross the intersection leading to his favorite café. (Secretly, it was Kevin’s favorite too – because Eli loved it so much.) Despite the light being green, a car came thundering down the intersection, driving dangerously close to the curb. Eli, oblivious, held onto Kevin’s hand, still trying to persuade him. Kevin reluctantly followed. The car’s tires skidded on the frozen patches of winter ice. Closer, closer… it crept closer.

         “ELI!” Kevin threw Eli on the curb, leaving himself vulnerable.

 

         “Kevin!” Eli pulled Kevin back onto the sidewalk.

         “Remember, green means go. Red means don’t go.” He breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

         “I just had a dream, Eli.”

         “A dream? You’re awake.”

         “No, it was a scary dream. I just had it.”
        
          Eli looked concerned.

         “What was it?”

         Kevin paused. What was it? Who was in it? It seemed familiar, yet fictional.

         “There was… a car. Yeah, a car… and then… it was driving.” Kevin stopped, frustrated. That wasn’t it.

         Eli tightened his grip on Kevin’s hand. It was trembling and cold despite Eli’s warmth. He looked over to Kevin, his face pale and eyes glassy. Eli knew exactly what “dream” Kevin was speaking of, but he didn’t seem to remember any details a few seconds after the flash memory. In due time, Kevin was bound to remember everything. And at that time, Eli wouldn’t hold on to Kevin like he was now. He’d leave and let Kevin erase everything that was a part of his past.

         In front of the movie theaters, Kevin stared at the bright light bulbs with awe.
         “Which one would you like to see?” Eli pointed at the list of movies tacked against the wall.

         Kevin traced his fingers over the Hangul. Eli patiently waited for Kevin to read.

         “This one… Do-n’t… Cr-cry… M-om-my?” Kevin looked at Eli.
         “That’s right. Don’t Cry Mommy. Is that what you would like to see?”
         “Yeah.”

         Eli led Kevin’s hand to the ticket booth and explained they needed things called tickets to go watch the movie. He taught him how to buy one for the movie they wanted to see.

         “Two adult tickets to see Don’t Cry Mommy, please.” Kevin seemed pleased with himself.

         Eli stood by his side, gripping his hand, letting him know he did well.

         The worker pushed two tickets through the slots.
         Kevin stared.
         “Take them.” Eli whispered in his ear.
         Kevin pinched them between his fingers and handed them to Eli. Walking inside, the familiar scents of the movie theater wafted around them. Kevin ran his fingers over the candy counter, soda fountain, and concession stands.

         “Would you like popcorn?” Eli pointed at the menu.

         “Can I?” Kevin hung onto Eli’s sleeve excitedly.

         Eli handed over some money.

         “Money. I remember. You buy things.” Kevin held the crisp bill tightly in his hands. He bravely walked up to the man working behind the concession stand.

         “One adult popcorn to see Don’t Cry Mommy, please.” He beamed.
         Eli laughed under his breath. The man behind the counter shot Kevin a confused look, but understood nevertheless. Kevin handed the man the money and remembered to usually wait for change. The man gave Kevin a few frayed bills and dropped coins into his palm. He pushed the tub of popcorn towards Kevin and turned to greet the next customer. Kevin waved the tub of popcorn towards Eli, showing him his latest success.
         “You did well!” Eli put his hands around Kevin’s waist.
         “I did well!” Kevin echoed, popping a few pieces into his mouth. He offered Eli some, but he shook his head.
         “You earned it, you have it.” Eli pushed it away gently.
         “No, I remember you taught me something called ‘share’. I don’t remember what it meant, but you gave something to me and I gave it back.” Kevin persistently pushed the popcorn against Eli’s lips.

         “Okay, okay!” Eli took a bite, biting Kevin’s fingers along with it.
         “You bit me!”
         “It was good.”
         “You need to aplogize.” Kevin mispronounced it.
         “You mean apologize.”
         “Yes, aplogize.”

         “I’m sorry.”
         “You are frogiven.” He mispronounced that too.
         Eli smiled. “Forgiven.”
         Kevin narrowed his eyes.
         “That’s what I said!!!”
         “Okay.” Eli held onto Kevin’s hands tightly. “I won’t do it again.”
         “Good.” Kevin was satisfied.
         Eli traced the outlines of lines on Kevin’s palm. Will he ever have a chance to do it again?

_____________________________________________________________________________
Hi guys (: It's so encouraging to see comments that people actually like the story <3 
Thank you so much! It's been a long time since I last wrote, so comments are wonderful! ^^ 
Sorry for the weird format of the story, I copy and paste from a Microsoft Document, as I prefer to type my story there. 
Hope you guys don't mind. I usually indent during dialoge. 
I hope you'll continue reading, commenting, and predicting ~

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TimelessRhapsody
#1
Chapter 2: I liked this! Hoping for an update soon ^^
twiggyrocks2815 #2
Chapter 2: I'm intrigued. I look forward to the next chapter :)
imeellpeiwen #3
Chapter 2: Kyaaa~ kevin is so adorable..he's like a little boy here..aaawww~ gonna subscribe!! :D update soon!!^^
erialc #4
Chapter 2: Awww, Kevin's adorable! :D HAHAHA
ShipJongkey #5
Chapter 2: Omg update soon! update soon! update soon!
EolinDociak
#6
Chapter 1: I like your story
Please, update soon ^^
erialc #7
Chapter 1: Woah.., I wonder what happened to Kevin... I liked this :D update soon!