"U-Um… yeah, pretty close. I just… um… moved there recently, so I don't remember the exact address…" Nix toyed with a lock of his hair nervously, his heart pounding hard in his chest. "I don't really have any friends either… uhm…" He considered for a few seconds to decide what information to tell Emrys. "I'm nineteen years old, and… I live alone, and… um… I… like cats…?"
(if you wouldnt mind that would be really nice)
"Mmmm." Emrys straightened himself a bit. Nineteen years old was a good age. Young enough to be hardly more than a precious little softie, but old enough that Emrys couldn't be accused pedophilia if he got any ideas.
And, oh, did he have ideas.
Living alone was double points. That meant there were no family members in the pictures, no external forces to cause Emrys undue stress.
"Oh, I love cats," Emrys said. "I used to have one when I was a about fourteen or fifteen. I would always hold it whenever I was stressed." Translate: whenever he had just been abused and was in a state of complete despair. "Calming, precious little creatures." He tapped his finger against the side of his wine glass. "I bet it gets lonely, doesn't it? Living all by yourself. No friends or family."
Nix nodded a bit as he listened to Emrys talk, fidgeting nervously with his hands. "U-Um… yeah, I guess so. It's nice to have the freedom though, don't you think? I can go where I want, do what I want…. to be fair, I usually just stay at home since I haven't got much else to do, but it's nice to have the option if I want it. I had… uhm… very strict… parents." He said slowly. He couldn't say anything about the lab. "They didn't like to let me go outside or have fun. I think it was probably lonelier with them than it is for me to actually be alone now." He smiled weakly up at Emrys.
"Oh," Emrys said sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear." His own parents had been good to him— but unfortunately that didn't protect him once they were gone. "Not everyone's lucky enough to have good parents. Or good lives." He glanced slowly down at his wine glass, as if deep in thought, but soon raised his gaze back to the attractive boy. "So you prefer solitude, then?" Emrys surely didn't. He knew how it felt to be alone— even among a crowd of people.
"Uhm… yeah, I guess you could say that. I spend most of my time alone and I like it fine. And I generally get a little nervous when I'm in big crowds…" Nix glanced around the restaurant, fidgeting a bit with his hands. "I like to feel safe, and I feel the safest when I'm at home by myself. It's not safe out here in the open. Anybody could attack me…"
(Bump)
"Mmm, that's true. But, don't you get nervous being all alone?" Emrys stared at him thoughtfully. "Anyone could break in and take you away." Oh, and who wouldn't want to take away such a beautiful boy? "You ought not to stay alone, little Nix. It's too dangerous for someone like yourself."
Nix looked away nervously, fidgeting a little more as Emrys spoke. "W-Well, I dunno, I… I haven't had any trouble with anything like that yet… I just… I kinda hope that people don't do anything like that, I guess. It's not like I know anybody here that I could stay with. No friends, no family… I live alone, and… and it's just fine that way. I get by." He shrugged, although he still appeared anxious.
"Well, I'm your friend, aren't I?" Emrys's eyes sparkled a little as he lifted his wine glass to sip. "You could stay with me anytime you wanted. My house is plenty big enough. There are lots of extra rooms and extra beds—" He smiled faintly, and subtly added, "—though most of them are big enough to share." He put his glass down again. "But I guarantee it's safe at my house. I make sure of it. Nobody could ever break in and hurt you there, so if you're ever inclined to come for a visit… you're more than welcome." He leaned back into his seat casually. "In fact, you could even come over tonight if you wanted. I wouldn't mind at all."
Nix flushed harder as he stared down at his lap, unsure what to do. "B-But I… I just met you a few minutes ago, didn't I? Do you really consider me to be a friend?" He looked up at Emrys meekly. "I've never really had a friend before, so I dunno… how… h-how do I know that it's safe at your place? That I can trust you?"
(Bump)
(Bump again?)
(👉👈)
(Are you still on notebook?)
(sorry I died)
Emrys smiled sweetly. "Of course I consider you my friend. Why wouldn't I?" He hesitated. "Undoubtedly, my house is safer than yours. My house has guards to protect me from any possible danger; anyone could attack you at your house." He sighed. "But, I suppose you don't have any real reason to know I'm telling the truth, do you?" he said this with disappointment and looked down at his glass. "Perhaps you don't even think I'm your friend at all. I suppose I can't blame you…" He swallowed. "My friends never tend to stick around long."
(Np lol)
"W-Well, I dunno, it's just… we just met and all, and usually people don't wanna be friends…" Nix fidgeted nervously, still seeming a bit wary of Emrys despite the man's outgoing and charming personality. "And they definitely wouldn't invite me to live with them… I really don't wanna get attacked by anybody, though…" He sighed and looked down at the table, his heart thumping hard and fast in his chest.
(Bump)