Matthew shivered against the New York winter chill. He had tripped earlier and ripped a hole in his only sweatshirt leaving him with little protection against the elements. His stomach growled and he let out a groan of frustration. It's probably been about four days since he last had a meal. He liked to think he was above begging but at this point he wasn't so sure.

He could see how people looked at him. A bum. Homeless. They most likely assumed he was a drug addict or an alcoholic. Matt shivered again. He may have dabbled in marijuana when he was younger but why would a homeless person want a drug that gave him the munchies? But that wasn't the cause of his situation regardless.

A woman and her daughter walked by, Matt offered the little girl a small smile and she waved back. Her mother tugged on her arm and made her walk faster. Matt sighed, he wasn't diseased nor was his predicament contagious. The girl broke free of her mother's grip and ran back to him, pigtails bouncing.

"Mommy says you should get a job but daddy always says that there are no jobs anymore so here, I wanna help." Matt almost cried as she handed him a few dollars out of her pocket, "I was gonna buy a dolly but I think you need it more."

She smiled widely again before her mother marched over and carried her away from him, berating her loudly about all the horrible things about 'people like him.'

He looked at the bills in his hand, four crumpled singles. One had a smiley face doodled on it and he wondered if she drew it. If he stuck to fast-food, this would be more than enough to buy him a meal. His stomach groaned in protest. He had no taste for fast-food but he literally could not afford to be picky.

Matt slowly stood up. Between the weather and his diet he was very weak, with every step the world spun a bit faster and a bit more violent. No wonder people thought he was a drunk. He had to stop after only five steps. Breathe, he told himself, breathe. When he opened his eyes again the spinning had mostly subsided.

Slowly, he kept moving forward. McDonald's was only down the street and even if he didn't like the food, his mouth was already watering. His mind was filled with thoughts of fries with gravy but that wasn't really a New York thing so he'd settle for packeted ketchup.

When he arrived he was instantly thankful for the heating system. It almost made him want to shed his sweatshirt but he would rather be overheated now so when he goes back outside it won't be as bad. Children were screaming and running amuck as their parents quietly finished off their meals.

Matt stood in line and stared at the menu. How he wished that the dollar menu hamburger looked like it did in the picture, but he knew differently. When it was his turn to order he stuttered his way though saying two dollar menu hamburgers. The previously annoyed looking cashier looked increasingly angered with each stutter. He handed her two of the four crumbled bills, but kept the one with the smiley face on it, and shrunk back a little as she forcefully placed the two burgers on the tray.

He picked up the tray and practically ran away from the girl behind the counter. He sat in a corner booth and quietly unwrapped one of his didn't smell good or look all that appetizing but it was food. From his seat he could hear a customer ordering what seemed like everything on the menu. Matt wished he had that kind of money to spend, not that he would be spending it on fast-food to begin with, but it was a nice dream really.

He forced down the remnants of his first burger and was contemplating saving his second for later when a large drink was placed on his table.

"Here ya go! I saw you didn't order a drink with your meal and thought you might be thirsty! Who doesn't order a drink with their burgers! Need something to wash it down with, don't you?"

Matt blinked up at him, was today help a stranger day and no one told him? Not that anyone would tell him. The man held a tray in each hand, both with mountains of food on them and Matt wondered how he held the drink.

"Thank you," he replied meekly.

The man grinned, "No problem!" He shifted on tray to rest on his arm and slapped Matt on the back, sending him into a coughing fit that the man didn't seem to notice, "What are friends for?"

As the man walked away Matt wondered when they became friends. Hell, they didn't even know each other's names! He was grateful for the drink nonetheless, even if it was too syrupy and unnecessarily sugared. Matt took a few sips of the drink and decided to save the rest for later. He put the wrapped hamburger into his sweatshirt's pocket and head to the bathroom drink in tow.

He placed the drink on the sink and washed the dirt off of his hands. He realized that he should have done that before eating but figured it didn't make that much of a difference now. His reflection showed a dirty face, messy hair, and dull eyes. Deciding he could make a little difference in his appearance, he wet a paper towel to clean off his face and attempted to straighten his hair. One curl wouldn't stay down but it was better than the mess it was before. His eyes were still lifeless but he didn't know what to do about that.

When he exited the bathroom he noticed that the man with the mountains of food was gone. Maybe he had to go back to school, Matt thought, he was dressed like a teenager and Matt was almost positive it was Wednesday. Besides, no one could eat all that food that quickly.

Matt left McDonald's and was immediately cold again. The water on his hands and face left over from his little wash didn't help much. He wiped at his face with his sleeve and stuck his hands in the sweatshirt pocket. He forgot the drink inside but didn't want to risk looking desperate for going back and getting it even if he was.

There was a man around the corner from where Matt usually slept who would come and give Matt coffee on his breaks. He wasn't working today so Matt was lucky to get anything to drink. He trudged back to his spot, his stomach growling in protest that he didn't eat enough but also that what he ate was crap. He squeezed himself tight, trying to make it stop.

He used to be built very well and eat more than the daily recommendation of calories. Every day he would go to the ice rink and burn most of them off. He had muscle mass and maybe a bit of chub around the edges. Now he was mostly skin. Nothing remotely hinted that there used to be muscle on this body. But that was years ago.

The alley he stayed in was narrow and homed two other men who bickered constantly but refused to move away from each other. Secretly Matt enjoyed their company, the other voices kept him from going crazy. When he got back he realized that he could have gotten something for them as well. He split his remaining burger into thirds and shared the remainder of his meal. They were grateful and offered to share with him next time. He knew they were good for it.

Night fell and snow began to fall with it. Matt held himself tightly trying to keep some semblance of warmth with him. Suddenly there was another body in front of his.

"You look like a wet dog" the man laughed jovially. Matt tried to hide under his sweatshirt but the man squatted down to make eye contact with him.

"Come be my pet!"