Damn, you're cold.
Giving another shiver, you get yourself more snug into your jacket as you walk down the familiar, poorly-lit sidewalk. There isn't any snow yet, but it was certainly cold enough. It only added to the somber feel of this part of town. It was a hole in the world, like a great black pit, and it was filled with people who were filled with shit. The vermin of the world inhabit it...
In a place like this, being edgy and angry was always preferable to being depressed and suicidal. It kept you focused. Luckily, your old pal Sweeny Todd helped you put words to those thoughts.
Making a right, you head down the worst part of your walk home. Your apartment was on the other side of the riskiest street in town to walk through. You called it "The Gauntlet", because it was filled with hobos and criminals who looked like they could snap at any moment, and you had to walk through it. They weren't the humble, down-on-their-luck, war veteran type of hobos, these ones had other problems. You, quite literally, live in the worst part of town.
Putting on your best "Don't fuck with me" face, you proceed down the street towards your apartment. Staring straight ahead, you continue walking to your destination, doing your best to ignore the smell, quiet mutterings and occasional laughter from those around the various trash fires around you.
Probably talking about how many people they've stabbed, or how many children they've raped or something... You'd rather not know the details.
Approaching the final stretch on your way home, something in the alleyway on your left catches your attention.
No, not something... Someone.
You look down the alleyway and you see a girl sitting next to a dumpster beneath a streetlight. Her head is resting in her arms, and she's rocking back and forth. She's clearly living in the same conditions as the rest of the scum on this street, but there's something... different about her...
You don't know why, but you start walking towards her. She hasn't noticed you yet. You take another few steps towards her. Your curiosity is piqued.
"S'cuse me-" Your foot bumps against a glass bottle and it rolls along the ground, breaking the silence.
The girl, startled, looks up at you with tear-stained eyes. That, in itself, startled you as well. She's absolutely beautiful. Albeit, she clearly hasn't bathed in a while, and she's covered in dirt, but there's something about her... You don't know how, but you can see that she isn't like the rest of the homeless people that live around here.
She whimpers lightly and cowers back against her dumpster. "P-p-please... P-please d-don't..."
You quickly hold up your hands. "Woah, woah, woah, hey, calm down. It's alright... I'm not going to hurt you."
She stays where she's at. She's way too scared to trust you right now. You keep your hands raised and slowly step closer, her eyes are filled with terror as they meet yours.
In the dim lighting, you notice through the holes in her tattered jacket that she is covered in bruises, and she has a slight black eye.
You crouch down to her level and look into her eyes. "I won't hurt you. I promise."
If saying that helped, it was only slightly. Her arms lowered a bit and her eyes were now searching yours to see if you were telling the truth. In an effort to help her see your sincerity, you give her a small smile.
You both just sit there, staring into each other's eyes for a few minutes, saying nothing.
"Wh... Why h-haven't you h-hit me or... or... anything y-yet?" She weakly stammers.
What the hell?
"Uh... I wasn't planning on hitting you or anything at all."
She looks at you with shock and wonder, almost like she physically can't understand what you're saying. "Wh... Why?"
She seriously doesn't know why you're not hitting her. It's like she's from another planet, and her first interaction with humanity was one where they beat the hell out of her. She must've gone through all kinds of hell lately.
"Well... Uh... I guess it's because... that's kind of rude?" You shrug. "I don't particularly like being rude."
You swear you see her smile, just a little bit before she looks down to the ground, her mouth open slightly as the gears in her head turn. She's trying to grasp the reality of what's happening right now. She wants to say something else, but she doesn't know what.
A gust of icy wind blows through the alleyway and you both shiver. Her shiver is noticeably more violent though.
Hugging yourself, you look at her as she shakes uncontrollably, and tries in vain to warm herself. You can hear her teeth chattering through the wind.
You take a few steps to the side, trying to block the wind from hitting her as best you can. If it helps her at all, it isn't noticeable. When the wind dies down some, you do the first thing that comes to your mind: you take your jacket off and set it on her shoulders.
The very second you make physical contact with her, she gasps and tenses up, her eyes shoot open, her pupils are reduced to pinpricks, and she is overcome by a look of terror. You gently set your jacket on her and step backwards, your arms folded tight. She slowly looks at your jacket on her shoulders and feels it with her fingers, almost like she can't believe it's real.
She looks up at you with uncertainty in her eyes. "Wh-Why are you being so nice to me? What do you want?"
Why is she so surprised by kindness?
"Are you expecting me to be mean?" You ask.
"Y-Yes." She
Oh, your heart. It's now filled with sorrow.
You look at her sadly. "Why would you assume that?"
She pauses and looks down to the ground, sinking into your jacket. "Because... Everyone else here I've met has been..."
You just stare at her in shocked silence. She rubs the sleeves on your jacket as she tries to get warm. You can't take the sight of this anymore.
You need to hear her story, but you can't let her sit out here in the freezing cold.
"Look, uh..." You begin. "I can't just leave you out here to freeze to death... How about you come inside and warm up?"
She looks up at you, again, with uncertainty. "Wh- What do you mean?"
"I mean, I want you to come up to my apartment. Warm up, take a shower, and I'll make you some hot chocolate."
She looks hesitant. "I don't know..."
You don't want to force her to come upstairs, but at the same time, you know she probably won't survive the night out here in the cold.
"I know you probably don't trust me, or anyone else, for that matter... Your bruises suggest you've been through your fair share of hell lately."
She shamefully looks down and tries to hide them.
Shit. Damage control.
You clear your throat. "What I mean is, I feel bad for you... Seriously, I do... I want to help you. You look like you could use it."
She still doesn't look up at you.
"I promise you, cross my heart, that I'm not going to hurt you or do anything to you." You say. "All I want is warm you up, get you clean, get you fed, and give you a decent place to sleep... No funny business."
When food was brought up, she looked at you solemnly. "H-Hot food?"
You nod at her.
"A-And sleep?" She asks. "Like, in a bed?"
You shrug. "Well, I'm sure as hell that it beats what you're sleeping in now."
You motion towards the dumpster behind her and she gives a slight giggle. "Yeah, I bet it does..."
You smile at her as she starts to open up a bit.
You look into her eyes and extend your open palm to her. "Come with me, and I'll help you... I promise."
She looks at your hand for a moment before looking up at you again. You smile at her reassuringly.
Finally, she moves her freezing hand into yours and squeezes it. "A- Alright..."
You smile wide at her and help her to her feet. She trembles some as she stands up next to you.
"Okay then. Follow me." You walk out of the alleyway with the girl behind you.
Oh, that's right. You haven't even introduced yourself yet.
"I'm Anonymous, by the way. But everyone calls me Anon."
"Anon?" She repeats.
You nod and hum at her.
She rubs your jacket and smiles as she walks behind you. "N- Nice to meet you, Anon... I'm Sunset. Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset Shimmer. That's a beautiful name.
"It's nice to meet you too, Sunset Shimmer."
She smiles again and you turn the corner. Walking upstairs, you get to your apartment and insert your key into the lock. You open the door and usher her inside.
Upon entering, her eyes brighten up like a kid at Disney World. There were stains on the carpet, a few old pizza boxes piled in the corner, it was cluttered and messy, and the walls were gross and faded. This place was a shithole to you, but it must've seemed like a five-star hotel to her.
"Well Sunset, please, make yourself at home. Sorry about the mess."
"No... No, it's... it's wonderful!" She smiles.
You cock an eyebrow at her as she continues staring at your apartment. Five-star, indeed.
You walk into the kitchen and open your freezer. You pull out a couple of pizza flavored Hot Pockets and put them in the microwave before filling up two glasses with water. Two minutes later, you take the Hot Pockets and water out into the living room. Sunset is laying on your couch with a huge smile on her face. She quickly sits up as you enter.
"Alrighty then, here's some dinner."
Almost immediately after setting the plate down on the coffee table, she snatches both of them up and starts messily devouring them, like a bloodthirsty animal. You yank your hand away quickly as she eats the Hot Pockets without restraint. You set the glass of water down next to the plate and inch it towards her with your fingertips. Seeing it, she grabs it and gulps it all down within seconds.
When she's done, she exhales loudly and wipes her mouth, burping once. She then realizes the display she just showed to you and looks at you sheepishly.
"A bit hungry, were ya?" You say with a laugh.
She gulps and smiles at you nervously, and you think you can see her blush under that dirt on her face.
You just laugh and take the empty plate. "Don't be ashamed, I understand. I'm just glad you've been fed." You walk into the kitchen and put the plate in the sink.
"Thank you, Anon..."
You turn around and see Sunset standing there. She looks embarrassed, sad, and grateful all at the same time.
You smile at her. "You're welcome, Sunset."
You glance at the clock real quick. It's 10:37. You're tired, and you're willing to bet that she is too.
"So, there's a bit of an issue we have here. I only have one bed." She immediately looks worried about where this might lead. "So, I'm gonna give it to you. I've got the couch. Okay?"
She breathes a sigh of relief and smiles at you. "Okay."
Poor thing.
You walk past her and lead her down the hallway. Trying your best to be fun, you give her a little tour of your place. "Here to the right is the bathroom. In it, you'll find bathroom stuff. Here to the left is the office room, which I just use as a storage room. It has just a bunch of crap in it, and nothing else. Down at the end of the hall is my room."
You turn on your light and she looks around your room. It's nothing flashy. You got a few old posters on the wall, a decent-sized bed, an old dresser, and a small tv.
"Here you go." You say. "You can shower in the morning, if you want."
She looks at your bed and pauses before turning back to you. "But...these are the only clothes I have."
Her "clothes" consisted of an old jacket that was filled with holes over a grey, ratty sweater, a black beanie cap, and a pair of blue jeans.
Well, they used to be blue.
Snapping your fingers, you go to your closet and dig through the contents on one of the shelves. You pull out a magenta t-shirt, a pair of clean jeans, and some women's panties. You also pull out a pair of short shorts and an oversized AC/DC t-shirt. Turns out, ex-girlfriends are good for something.
You turn to Sunset. "Here. Now you have another outfit to wear tomorrow, and you have some sleeping-in clothes."
She takes them in her arms and looks at you.
You smile at her. "Go on, take 'em. I have no use for them, and the girl who owned them before probably won't care. So, they're yours now."
She looks at her new clothes and gives a small laugh. "I just... I am at a loss for words, Anon. I have no idea what to say."
You set your hands on her shoulders and look into her eyes. "You don't need to say anything. I couldn't just let you freeze to death, Sunset. That goes against everything I stand for."
With tears beginning to form, she closes her eyes and slowly hugs you. You smile and wrap your arms around her, rubbing her back and patting her head.
She sniffs and starts to cry. The best thing you can do now is just make sure she's comforted and feeling cared for. You don't stop the hug, you let it run its entire course.
It didn't sound like she cried for long, but she hugged you for an eternity. It was a very sweet and tender moment. You're glad you got to share with her.
It unfortunately had to end though.
You pull yourself out of the hug and look at her. She looks really tired all of the sudden. Crying takes a lot out of you.
She looks up at you with a tired smile on her face.
You smile back at her. "Well missy, I think it's time for bed."
She rubbed her arms and looked at your bed. "It's been so long since I slept in a warm bed..."
You smile at her and back up out of the room. "Well, you're in for a treat tonight then." She looks at you, her smile fading as you leave. "Don't worry, I'll be right out here on the couch. If you need me for anything, don't hesitate to wake me up, okay?"
She looks around the room a bit, still standing there before looking back at the bed. "Well... M- Maybe... Y- You c- *mumble*."
You lean forward. "Say again?"
She looks back at you and snaps herself out of it. "N... Nothing. Never mind... Thank you so much, Anon. For all of this, I just... I don't know what else to say..."
You smile at her. "You're welcome, Sunset."
She smiles back and hugs you again, sighing happily.
You both stand in the hug for a while before you break it. "Okay then. Goodnight, Sunset."
"G... Goodnight, Anon."
You both smile at each other and she shuts the door. You feel good.
Taking off your shirt, you plop on the couch and take a deep breath. Sunset's a good girl. You like seeing her happy. Tomorrow, hopefully, you'll get to do it more.
You yawn and shut your eyes as you fall asleep.