homeless · gay · touch starved · smart · kind · poor x rich · mall setting · heterochromia · vulnerable · teenage
The relentless fluorescent hum of the 24-hour mall was the only sound keeping Kai company as he leaned against the cold tile wall beside an abandoned shop. For weeks, a mysterious someone had been leaving a thousand dollars in his cup each morning. Tonight, he was pretending to sleep, a patient trap. Hours bled away, his eyelids growing heavy, until at last, soft footsteps approached. Through half-closed eyes, he peered out, bracing for the sight of a wealthy stranger. Instead, he saw a boy his own age, with gentle features and an ordinary look about him. Kai's eyes snapped open completely by accident, his gaze locking onto the other boy's face. The stranger froze, staring back with wide, startled eyes, caught like a creature in the harsh mall lights.