10. Craic

[gunwithoutmusic]

Friday, May 23rd—11:48 p.m.

690 words. Approximate reading time: 3 minutes, 24 seconds.

Nicolas led Zach quietly through the fire door of the skyscraper, closing it softly behind the two of them and flicking on his large flashlight, shining light around the access hallway.

“You know, I still can’t believe that you convinced me to do this,” Zach said. “If we get caught—”

“I’ve done this a hundred times and they’ve never gotten me yet,” Nicolas replied with a grin in his eyes. Zach never could resist those eyes. “Besides,” Nicolas continued, “it’s so worth it, I promise.”

Zach, who had never really been given to adventure, remained unsure, but he swooned when Nicolas’ eyes sparkled, and just said, “Okay. I trust you.” Nicolas didn’t say another word; he simply led Zach down the access hallway to another door that read “STAIRS.”

“It sticks a little sometimes.” Nicolas grunted as he tugged on the door until it finally popped open. “After you,” he said to Zach, still with those same sparkling, smiling eyes. Zach wanted more than anything just to see Nicolas smile.

“Are you sure this is safe, Nic? I don’t even mean like the cops or anything, it’s just... this place is pretty old.”

“Didn’t you just say that you trust me?” Nicolas said, making Zach squirm a little.

“Yeah, okay... But you lead the way. At least that way if anything happens, it’ll get you first!”

Nicolas rolled his eyes at Zach’s attempt to defuse his nervousness with humor. “Come on then,” he said, and led the way up the staircase. The two young men climbed flight after flight until they reached the fifteenth floor. Zach collapsed on the landing with a huff, trying to steady his breathing and rest for a moment.

Nicolas punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Come on, man, aren’t you like twenty-three?”

“Twenty-two,” Zach corrected him through ragged breaths. “And what does that have to do with it?”

“We’re in the prime of our lives!” Nicolas shouted. “Fifteen flights of stairs should be nothing.”

“Okay, well I don’t do this everyday,” Zach grumbled, before adjusting his face covering. “And it’s not like my gaiter is helping things.”

Nicolas reached out, giving his hand to Zach and pulling him up to his feet, then into a tight embrace. “I know, man. I’m just messing with you. This climb sucks, but it’s gonna be so good, you’re gonna just love it. We’re almost there.”

He pushed through the door on the landing and led both of them into a large open area. Nicolas shined his flashlight around, and Zach could see that the floor was filled with short partitions that separated desks from each other. “Give me your hand,” Nicolas said, “It’s a little bit of a maze.”

Nicolas led Zach down a path around the partitions, shining his light back and forth while they walked. Zach glanced at one of the desks as they passed by, Nicolas’ light shining across what looked like a family photo of a young couple and two small children playing in an outdoor space. He couldn’t make sense of it before the light moved on and so did he.

“We’re here!” Nicolas said in a sing-songy voice, breaking Zach out of his confusion and making him forget about that weird photo. Nicolas pulled Zach through a double set of glass doors onto a balcony, and Zach gasped.

Before him laid the entirety of Downtown, all black buildings cutting a jigsaw edge against the dark blue sky, and above him shone thousands of stars. Zach had never seen so many stars before; the lights were always on in his Neighborhood and must have been blocking them out. He stared in wonder for a moment, before turning his gaze to Nicolas.

Nicolas had pulled his gaiter down, showing his entire face to Zach, and causing sparks to fly through Zach’s body. He smiled, a big toothy grin that most people would describe as goofy.

“Well? You having a good time?” Nicolas asked. “Didn’t I tell you? What do you think of the view?”

Zach stared at Nicolas’ smile for a time before allowing his eyes to drift up to meet Nicolas’. He reached up to his face and pulled down his own gaiter, revealing a small and nervous smile.

“It’s beautiful, Nic. Just beautiful.”