Stairway to Paradise

A loud slam that shook the house snapped Damien out of his thoughts and sent him into motion. He threw two pairs of jeans, four shirts, socks, and underwear into a gym bag along with some bottled water and zipped it up. He slipped on his jacket and shoes and slung the bag over his shoulder before making a hasty exit out his window.

The cold night air bit at his skin, but he hardly noticed. He quietly shut the window behind him before checking his watch.

9:50pm. Plenty of time.

He took off at a quick pace toward the bus stop, intent on finally getting the hell out of this hellhole.

It took five minutes to get to the bus stop. Someone was already sitting on the bench, but they were on the end, so Damien simply took a seat on the opposite side.

A minute slid by in silence, no bus in sight. The snow fell quietly around them, the dark haired boy finally noticing how chilly it actually was.

Damien chanced a glance at the boy beside him, who was sitting with his feet on the bench, arms resting on his knees and face partially hidden behind them. He was gazing silently into the distance, mind obviously in a faraway place. His clothes were thin, ratted and dirty, and he had no shoes, only worn-out socks. His shoulder length blonde hair was clean, however, which made the dark marks on his face seem a little suspicious.

Damien guessed the boy was homeless, or at least came from a low income family. He turned away, looking straight ahead again as he continued the wait for the bus.

Another minute ticked by.

"You've already missed it." Came a soft voice. Damien looked over at the boy next to him, "What?"

"The bus. You already missed it." An English accent made the sentence sound strange.

Damien frowned, "The last bus isn't supposed to run until after ten."

"It usually shows up between 9:30 and ten. It came by around 9:47 tonight, actually." The boy lifted his head and looked at him, blue eyes a little cloudy.

"How do you know it won't come back?" Damien said with a sneer.

"It never does."

"What're you, the fucking bus expert? What, you sit out here and watch the bus every fucking night?"

"For the last three months, yes."

Damien had no smart-ass reply to that.

"You can come back tomorrow, but you should get here at 9:30."

"Right… Thanks."

The boy gave a small smile and they fell into silence again, but it only lasted several seconds.

"What happened to your eye?" The blonde asked.

Damien reached up and touched the blackened area just below his left eye. He looked back at the boy and noticed a similar mark on his right eye, "What happened to yours?"

The boy paused, looking away, "… I fell down the stairs."

"… Yeah, me too." Damien replied, understanding what was actually meant.

"Is that why you're waiting on the bus?"

"Yeah. What about you? Why haven't you gotten on the bus yet?"

The blonde shrugged, "Why bother? There's going to be stairs no matter where I go."

"Kind of a shitty way of looking at things, don't you think?"

"I'm no good at anything and I have no way of living on my own in the world. I'd just end up falling down different staircases."

Damien scoffed, "And you think I would fare the same?"

"No. You seem like you'd actually be able to make something of yourself. You have a real chance. I'd give anything for just a chance."

Another silence.

Damien checked his watch. It was after ten now and he saw no reason to stay out in the cold any longer. He stood and slung the bag over his shoulder again, giving the boy a final glance, "I'd best be off. You can bet I'm coming back tomorrow night though."

"In that case, see you tomorrow. I hope you get here in time."

"Thanks." He began walking away, but only made it four steps before pausing again, "I'm Damien, by the way." He wasn't sure what possessed him to introduce himself.

"I'm Phillip."

"Well, I hope you don't fall down the stairs again tonight, Phillip."

"Thanks. I wish you that luck as well, Damien."

With that last exchange Damien set off again back toward his house.

Damien mentally cursed as he hurriedly gathered his things. He'd meant to leave much earlier, but a fight with his father had delayed him. He could hear him down the hall screaming at his wife, Damien's step-mother, but he tuned it out in favor of making sure everything was in order before once again jumping out the window.

9:32pm.

He ran all the way to the bus stop and smiled when he saw it in the distance. Freedom! He slowed his pace some to catch his breath, only to be filled with dread a moment later when the bus slowly pulled away from the curb.

No, no!

"Wait!" He yelled, picking up the pace, but it was no use. The vehicle drove out of sight, leaving him standing in the street at the bus stop.

"God fucking damnit!" He yelled, furious. He snarled before sighing, realizing there was nothing he could do about it at this point, and stepped out of the street. He took a seat on the bench and dropped his bag on the ground, "You were right. That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, it really is." Came the soft reply from Phillip, "It didn't stop very long either. Never does."

"Guess I'll try again tomorrow."

"That's all you can really do."

Damien looked over at the other boy, who was staring into the distance again, a defeated look on his face. "So how was your day?" He felt compelled to ask. On some level they'd connected the previous day, if only because they were going through a similar experience.

Phillip shrugged, "It was fine. No worse than any other day."

"Stairs?"

"Yeah. I think my tooth is chipped. It hurts. Can't do anything about it though, so I suppose complaining about it is utterly pointless…"

"I don't mind." Damien opted to scoot a little closer, "That was kind of the point of asking about your day."

"That's kind of you." Blue eyes finally met his own, "How about you? How was your day?"

Damien shrugged, "Stairs."

"I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault. Nearly broke my damn arm. I was really hoping to get out of here tonight…"

"That's understandable. There's always tomorrow night."

"If I make it that long."

The blonde reached over and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers and offering him a watery smile, "I know you can. You're strong. I can tell. You're not broken. I'm certain you'll get out of here and make something of yourself."

Damien looked down at their hands in slight awe. No one had ever touched him so delicately before. Since day one he'd been raised on nothing but painful human contact and experienced it even outside the home. He squeezed the hand, marveling at how small and delicate it was, and nodded, "Yeah, I'll get out of here. Just one more day won't hurt."

"Exactly." Phillip smiled, "Just one more day and you'll be free."

Damien couldn't help but run his thumb across the back of the blonde's hand. The tenderness of the act was so foreign and strange to him, but he knew he liked it. He liked these soft, comforting touches he never received at home. He scooted a little closer, deciding he wanted to share his warmth with Phillip, who was still wearing hardly anything more than a shirt, pants, and socks. The boy leaned slightly against him, making Damien's lips upturn in a very unfamiliar expression; a smile. He rested his head on Phillip's and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

Minutes ticked by, though they felt like hours. Damien checked his watch.

10:23pm.

He sighed and straightened up, "I guess I should get going."

"I suppose I will too then."

"Where do you live?"

Phillip pointed in the opposite direction that Damien had come from, "Orphanage."

"Oh…" His heart sank. That place was terrible, he'd heard. Poor kid. "Hey, what shoe size are you?"

"I dunno. A women's eight, I'm sure, but I don't know about men's. Mine are always hand-me-downs. Why?"

"Just curious." He lifted his foot, trying to compare them, "A lot smaller than mine, that's for sure. But, then again, I have big feet." He grinned and nudged the boy, "But, you know what they say about guys with big feet, huh?" He chuckled, trying to get a laugh out of the boy. They could both use something light-hearted before returning to their private Hell's.

The blonde merely gazed at him in slight confusion, "No? What do they say?"

"Er…" Damien returned the confused gaze, "Uh, never mind."

"Oh, you were trying to joke with me, weren't you? I'm sorry. I'm told I'm kind of dense."

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged and stood, unlacing their fingers, "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Good. Stay warm, okay?"

"I'll try."

9:20pm. He couldn't possibly miss it this time. He grabbed his heavy bag of clothes and food, his wallet, jacket, and another bag, this one with a couple things for Phillip. He couldn't stand watching that kid just sit there in the cold each night with hardly anything on.

He crept out of his window and walked briskly, trying to hurry without winding himself.

The bus stop was empty save for a small blonde sitting on the bench. Damien smiled as he stepped up to him and put his bags down, "I got you something."

"What?" Phillip tilted his head.

Damien opened up his new bag and pulled out a fluffy jacket, "I hope it's your size."

Phillip's eyes went wide. He unraveled himself and stood, "Where did you get that?"

"I bought it." This was the first time he'd seen the boy standing. He was fucking tiny, both in height and build. Did he ever get to eat?

"How did you afford it?"

"My family isn't poor, my dad is just a total dick." He informed, offering the coat, "Put it on."

Phillip turned around and let Damien help him slip it on. It was a little big, but obviously much better than nothing. Phillip turned back around and smiled brightly, the first real smile Damien had seen from him, "Thank you! I love it!" He hugged Damien's chest, "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever gotten me. Thank you so much!"

Damien returned the embrace briefly before gently pushing the boy away, "I got you something else."

"Really? Oh, Damien, you didn't have to…"

"I wanted to." He dug into the bag and produced a shoe box. He opened that and revealed a pair of white sneakers and socks, "They're women's, but I figured as long as they fit that didn't matter."

Phillip sat down on the bench again and slipped his socks off. His feet were just as small and delicate as he himself was. They soon disappeared into a much nicer pair of socks, and then a pair of new shoes. The blonde smiled down at his feet before standing. He let out a small, excited laugh before hugging Damien again, "Thank you! Thank you! I could never ever in a million years repay you. This means so much to me!"

Damien hugged him tightly, nuzzling his golden locks. "I know how you can repay me." He said after a moment.

He felt the blonde stiffen against him, a quiet gasp escaping him. "Please no." Came the soft reply.

The realization of the cause of the reaction made Damien gasp in turn. He hugged him tighter, "No, nothing like that, I swear." The boy relaxed, a relieved sigh escaping him, so Damien continued, "Get on the bus with me."

"I can't…" Phillip whined softly, "I won't survive on my own."

"You won't be on your own. We'll go together." He loosened his grip and looked down at the other male, "It'll be better with the two of us. We understand each other. We can take care of each other."

"I think you'd rather have someone who can actually take care of themselves first." Phillip pleaded, "I can't do anything. I'll just hold you back."

"That's not true. You motivate me to be a better person. You'll keep my ass in line, I'm sure of it." He grinned softly. His greatest fear had always been ending up like his father. He didn't want to be that kind of person. He wanted to be kind and loving toward his partner and possibly children.

"Well…" Phillip lightly bit his lip as he thought it over, "I don't have any money. I can't pay the bus fare."

"I've been stealing money from my dad for a year. Trust me, I've got plenty for the both of us."

The bus pulled up behind them, its brakes hissing as it came to a stop. The doors opened with a squeal.

"Well?" Damien asked softly, "Are you getting on with me, or am I gonna have to come back again tomorrow?"

Blue eyes gazed at him, fear and apprehension in them. Phillip hesitated, but eventually nodded, "Okay. I'll go. But, please, please, don't abandon me out there all alone."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Damien smiled and kissed the blonde's forehead before letting him go. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, then offered his friend his hand. Phillip grasped it tightly and the two stepped aboard together.

Damien dropped a few bills into the bucket, "Take us as far away from this place as you possibly can."

"Can do." The driver nodded, not looking up from his word search.

Damien lead Phillip to the back of the bus and took a seat by the window. No one else was aboard, for which he was very thankful for. Phillip sat down beside him and Damien didn't hesitate to put an arm around his shoulders.

The lights in the bus were on, giving him a much better look at the blonde than the dim lights outside. He was pale and sickly thin, like he hardly got to eat. Those eyes were a vibrant blue though and his hair looked like spun gold. The boy turned to him, obviously eager to look him over as well, and those eyes got wide before he quickly looked away.

"What?" Damien asked, concerned.

Phillip blushed and appeared a little guilty, muttering, "You're… You're very attractive."

Damien couldn't help a bark of laughter, "Thanks! You're pretty attractive yourself, you know."

"You're just saying that. I know what I look like."

"No, I mean it. I like you." He pecked his cheek, finally drawing a smile from the blonde.

The driver put his booklet away and closed the door, dimming the lights. The bus lurched forward and slowly pulled away from the curb.

A relieved sigh escaped Damien as they left the bus stop. "Finally…"

"You really think we're going to be okay on our own?" Phillip asked, looking out the window with interest.

"We're not on our own, we have each other. I know we'll be fine." He smiled softly at the blonde, "You said I'm strong, that I can take care of myself. Well, you are too, even if you don't realize it. We're gonna do just fine, Phillip."

A small smile graced the blonde's lips, "You can just call me Pip, you know." He rested his head on his friend's shoulder, "You know, I think we will be okay. So long as we stick together. Don't go running off on me, okay?"

"I'd never dream of it, Pip." Damien rested his cheek against blonde hair, gazing out the window. A weight seemed to lift from his chest as they finally left South Park, Colorado, and headed toward a new, better life.