The cacophony of city life always started early, even earlier in the city center. A phone rang and Mathis covered his head with his pillow. He didn't want to work today, dodging city cars and idiotic pedestrians too absorbed in nothing to pay attention to his speeding form whipping round the corner. Inevitably at least once this week he'll have flipped over his handle bars and beaten up some part of his body. Most of the time it was his knees, which he hid under the thick fabric of his pants, but others it was his hands or arms. Any sensible bike courier would have called Mathis an idiot for not wearing protective gear like a helmet, but he liked the danger and excitement of going without. His phone rang again, screeching warble of a sound. Seemed to always sound like a cat being fitfully strangled, or just having it's tail stepped on. Mind, Mathis never had a cat so he was going off of imagination.
He sat up, the pillow falling form his head in silent defeat, and rubbed his face giving the phone a healthy glare. Leaning over he grabbed it from the hook ,silencing the piercing warble of its ring.
"Yeah?" He said continuing to rub his face. "What is it?"
"Farrin!" A gruff voice boomed on the other end of the call. Mathis moved it from his ear the harsh sound jostling his sleepy mind. "This is the fourth time I've called! Get your lazy ass out of bed and get to work!"
mathis sighed and put his head in his free hand. Today was not going to be a good day. "Okay, okay, just... stop yelling."
"I'll yell if I damn well want to! There are packages piling up here and you need to get on your route, now!" Mathis could just picture is boss, the usually squirrly guy would be red faced and spitting fire into the mic of the phone.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He hung up. "Geeze..." Running his hands through his hair he walked to the sliding glass door of his tiny apartment and pulled the curtains back. Strong light ripped through the happy darkness of his apartment, and Mathis groaned in distaste. He hated mornings. Hated getting up, leaving the nice comfy warmth of his bed, and going out into the cold morning air. Even colder on a speeding bicycle. Retreating from the strong natural light flooding in from his window he began getting ready for the day ahead.
Splashing water on his face to fully wake up, he changed into the black t-shirt and cargo pants that he wore on a daily basis, packed his neon blue sling-bag with various things he might need (water, poncho for the odd day it rains, ductape for any time he busts a tire which is surprisingly not that often but still), and of course putting on the custom made leather bracers to hide the deep gashes and cuts on his forearms from a nightmare long past. He always wore them, hiding the scars that would brand him as that child of that Farrin to any person in the public. He could never hide the scars that adorned his face but at least he could blame those on his job. Wiping out more often than not did help in that respect. Also didn't help that he was named after him. Mathis was short for Metthias but he never ever liked being called anything but Mathis.
He strapped his neon blue and yellow bag onto his back, the only splash of color in is ornery black duds, slipped on his well used converse (also black) and exited his messy apartment, locking the door behind himself. Mathis would really prefer doing something else this early in the morning than ferrying packages from point A to point B. Anything, even something as mundane as talking to those two weirdos that Mathis played games online with. What were their screen names... carcinaoGeneticist and twinArmageddons. CG and TA for short. The former always seemed to use his caps lock far too much, which always made it seem as though he was screaming, and the latter had a penchant for using '2' and 'two' as well as double 'i''s in his writing, always making it seem as though he had a lisp. Mathis stopped in the middle of the hall of his apartment complex, looked to his watch then stared straight ahead and promptly turned 180, returning to his apartment. "I have time." Mathis thought. His boss already knew he was chronically late so one moderately late morning was nothing new. He stopped again before his door and dashed back down his hall to the place where the mail was usually stored. Opening his box he pulled the medium sized package and returned to his apartment.
Mathis' floor mate and friend Deyria always brought his first package to his apartment, one of the few ways Mathis was most likely holding his job. Returning to his apartment he flopped into the semi-comfortable chair that sat in front of his computer screen and turned on the chat client he used. They were on, they always seemed to be on, at least CG always seemed to be on. Did that kid ever even sleep? TA was also on, he was online less than CG but still was on more that Mathis ever was. He began to type:
PD: hello?...
CG: OH GREAT, YOU'RE ON.
PD: well that almost sounded like you weren't all to happy to see me on....
TA: hii PD
PD: hey...
CG: DON'T YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO?
TA: don't you?
CG: SHUT UP.
TA: hehehe
PD: yeah, I probably won't be on long, gotta deliver this package...
CG: WHO IS IT TO?
TA: kk your not 2uppo2ed two a2k tho2e 2ort2 of que2tiion2
CG: I CAN ASK IF I DAMN WELL WANT TO!
PD: it's okay, you guys probably don't live anywhere near me anyway...
PD: shit.. i'll tell you but then i have to go...
TA: 2uiit your2elf
PD: uhh...
He inspected the white and back tag that adorned the front of the package. Most of it was technological crap only to be read and understood by computers but there was the name and address of the receiver of the package, or how else would he know where to bring it.
CG: SO? WHAT'S THE FUCKASS'S NAME?
PD: uhh... Sollux Captor
PD: bye...
TA: waiit, what?
Mathis leaped of the computer, snatching up his bag in one smooth movement, not even pausing to log off the chat client. He was later that he should have been and he knew he was going to get a verbal beating from his boss. Blasting out the double doors of his complex he unhitched his bike from its locked stand and took off on it with a running start. He was fast on his bike and good at dodging every person, which made him one of the better couriers in New York. He would never be the best, what with his chronic lateness and ability to wipe out over a pebble, but being known as 'better than average' was good enough for him. He jumped his bike off the curb weaving through the stopped traffic, yellow and black of cabs staining the metallic rivers of cars with their eye catching motif. He glanced back at the package under his arm, skimming the address one more time. he wasn't terribly far from the destination but far enough to put his nerves on edge of being late. Hypocritically he hated delivering packages late despite never turning up to work on time. Like birds streaking through the sky the thin wheels of his bike rushed over the black pavement blurring the harsh edges of rock and stone. He easily hopped a curb then quickly careened into an alleyway narrowly avoiding a gaggle of pretentious teenaged girls. Their outraged squawking followed him down the alley, he didn't care really moderate outrage from random groups of people barely phased him anymore. How long had he been at this job? Four, five months? Something around that. The alley was one he used often and favored for getting him quickly from the lower parts of town to the higher class areas, it didn't get him directly there but it got him closer faster than any other route he could have taken. A few more minutes and dodging through and around various tunnels, cars, and groups of absent minded pedestrians, he reached the street in question for the package. Relaxing back in his seat Mathis allowed his bike to coast along the quieter street, both hands holding the package that sat in his lap. He has grown skilled with his balance while on this job that fact is for sure. Before this he probably wouldn't have been able to take one hand off the handles let alone both and especially not in the ways he's been riding recently. That is to say, recklessly but with finesse and grace. He'd like to think that he made being a bike messenger look like an art-form but he more likely looked like a charging black and blue blurr, an evil charging bruise, and he knew it. The townhouse block came up sooner than he expected, sort of in the middle of the row of houses, and he parked his bike at the foot of the steps leaning it against the iron railing taking the steps two at a time. He pressed the small white doorbell button, hearing the pleasant chime within.
"Coming!" A muffled voice said from within. Mathis' eyes began to look everywhere but the door, his foot gently tapping against the concrete landing. "Alright." He heard the voice say, there must have been someone else inside. Unless this person was crazy. It was possible in a big city, though as to why they'd be in such a nice place was beyond him. The lock on the door twisted and unlatched. There in the doorway was a tall guy with short brown hair. His eyes were mostly hidden by what looked to be a pair of old style 3D glasses (one lens being red and the other blue) and his shirt was color blocked with red, blue, yellow and white. These would all seem tacky on just about anyone but he pulled it off well, really well.
"Uhh... Package for a one, Sollux Capt--"
"PD."
Mathis looked surprised at what (whom he suspected was) Sollux had said. "'Scuse me?"
" If I remember correctly you're the one who thaid, it'th okay, you guyth probably don't live anywhere near me anyway?"
Mathis' eyes widened, "Holy shit..."
"Sollux! Who is it?" A peppy sounding girl with long dark hair squeezed under his arm. Mathis' jaw clenched. "shit" he thought to himself. "Oh... Mathis! It's been so long!" She lunged out and hugged Mathis around his neck.
"Feferi." This was all a bit too much.
"You know thith guy?" Sollux questioned her.
"Oh yes! We grew up together! Though he moved away after... an incident." Her voiced faltered when she said incident.
"You still remember that." Mathis began to back off a bit, still holding the package.
Feferi looked almost surprised at Mathis' response, "How could I forget. I alway wondered what happened to you."
Mathis incredulously flopped his arms in the air. "Just great you know. I go out on a normal run find the girl I grew up with is now dating," He tossed the package off to Sollux which he caught nimbly "the guy I play online games with. Small goddamn world we live in, isn't it." He started to trudge down the stars but returned to shove the electronic register into Sollux's chest. "Just sign for your damn package." Sollux picked up the stylus and signed his name, a look of disdain on his face. Mathis pulled a sarcastic smile, "Have a nice day." He said leaping down the full flight of stairs and pedaled away as fast as he could. He always ended up doing this, pushing away everything and anyone from his past life, or what he considered to be his past life. He wanted nothing to do with any of it, with anything that reminded Mathis of him. It disgusted him to think about it.
Feferi stood on the landing watching as the bright blue bag that Mathis wore disappeared around the bend. It felt as if her heart had sunk to her toes, this was definitely not how she had wanted things to go when she met up with him again.
"That wath him wathn't it? The kid you alwayth talk about." Sollux said, a minute amount of concern within his voice.
Feferi nodded, "Yeah."
"The kid who'th Dad tried to kill him?"
"Yeah, that's him." Feferi turned from the depressing scene of the street corner and leaned into Sollux's chest.
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