In a city, not too far from here, there was an ambitious young lad by the name of Pab. Pab was a good guy; delightful, charming, and honest. He had only recently moved to the city and was looking forward to making some friends. Shortly after arriving, he got a job at a local grocer's called "Stolio's", the owner, Stolio, specialized in the trade of exotic melons. Stolio was very supportive of Pab and they quickly became friends.
The two became regulars at a bar uptown called Nexus, it was a pretty chill place, but not necessarily in the best neighborhood. After a few visits, Pab noticed that the same guy with long blonde hair would sit at the opposite of the bar, frequently meeting his gaze. The unnamed gentleman always sat on his own and constantly checked out his surroundings as if he was expecting someone to appear out of the shadows. This made Pab a bit uneasy, especially after the mystery man appeared one day with a bandaged hand and blackeye, but Stolio reassured him that the bar was a safe place as he had been going there for years.
A few weeks went by with nothing out of the ordinary occurring. The blonde man's hand and eye healed up, he continued to sit in the same spot never doing much but sippin' on what appeared to be whisky with his eyes darting about. Just as Pab had all but forgotten about the man at the other end of the bar, tragedy struck.
Pab & Stolio were up to their usual antics, both tossing back Johnny Walker and shootin' the shit, suddenly, a commotion is heard coming from the back room. Two men tumbled through the door from the back, crashing through a table knocking glasses to the floor. At the same time, another man busts through the front door, shotgun in hand, eyes scanning everyone in the room. Pab, blinking in disbelief and trying to hold himself up on the bar didn't realize that Stolio had run to the other side of the room, seemingly waiting for their new shotgun-toting friend to leave the door long enough for him to sneak out. The grizzly man at the door began shouting at Pab, but in a language he couldn't understand, and for a reason unknown to Pab.
It took Pab what seemed like an eternity to realize he wasn't the one being shouted at, but the blonde man from the other end of the bar had somehow gotten behind him and was holding a blade to the throat of one of the men who came crashing through the back. In one quick motion, the mystery man dropped his knife, shoved the accomplice towards the grizzly man, grabbed Pab by his flannel, and flew out the back. Pab was running before he even realized what had happened. It seemed like they ran for hours, with the unnamed man leading the way, they weaved in and out of crowds, through the entertainment district, and to the docks. Pab collapsed, exhausted, barely able to choke out "what the fuck was that?". The blonde man chuckled, he had somehow already caught his breath and was smiling at Pab. "My name is Weird, WeirdBuilder," he said, "you were meant to get caught in the crossfire, I'm sorry."
"What do you mean 'meant to?' were you planning on being attacked today? Why'd you take me with instead of escaping on your own?" Pab asked. "I'm in a dangerous business, but I couldn't leave you there," Weird said, blushing and no longer making eye contact. "Dangerous business?" asked Pab. "Yes, I do computer work for some questionable people to say the least, and it doesn't always end well." Pab was silent for a moment, he suddenly furrowed his brow and asked "...Why couldn't you leave me? I've never met you." "I've seen you at Nexus for the past few weeks, I've admired you, your smile. I need to know you.." Weird trailed off.
Just then, tires came screeching around the corner, "You coming?" Weird asked, his voice was like a sweet melody. Pab had failed to realize that while chatting, Weird had gotten into a boat and untied it from the dock. "Absolutely," said Pab as he stumbled into the boat, not taking his gaze off Weird. Within seconds, they were flying out of the bay. While Pab was utterly confused and scared, he couldn't help but be mesmerized by Weird and his life of danger and wanted it to be his life too.
**To be continued** (maybe, maybe not).
