14. Carter

I had passed Finn on my way out of the academy. I had a mission to accomplish and it was something I couldn't do on my own.

"That's a lousy idea, if anyone recognizes us, we'll tarnish the reputation of the club" said Finn when he heard my idea.

No one had to discover us, it was a matter of wearing dark glasses to cover half of our face.

"You're overreacting man, besides I can't do this alone, I just need you to come with me, I'll take care of the rest" I said, giving a little tap on Finn's shoulder.

Finn shook at the idea.

"Tell me again, why do you have to do this, why is Aaron so special that you do whatever I tell you to do?" asked Finn.

I couldn't put it into words, I didn't know how to say I was in love and would do anything for him. The only thing I knew was that this whim of mine to do whatever he told me made me feel complete and closer to him.

"I love him, Finn," I finally said.

"Shit Carter, it hurts me to see you like this. Let me change and I'll be right with you on your little adventure."

Finn closed the door to his apartment. When he came out, he was wearing jeans with a pink T-shirt, something that wasn't typical of him, but could work, since we didn't want anyone to recognize us.

I parked my slider on the roof of the mall and we put on our goggles so as not to be recognized.

I could feel the obscene looks they were giving us as we walked around the mall. I was embarrassed to admit it, but I didn't want to draw attention to myself, it was as if the whole swarm was ready to attack when I let my guard down.

My grief kicked in as we passed into the dark hallway and entered the toy store. A small bell buzzed behind me as I opened the door and when I turned around I noticed Finn had abandoned me.

Damn traitor, I thought, but I couldn't blame him, he had accompanied me all the way to the end of the course, it was more than a best friend could do.

There were several people in the place, when I walked in and felt their stares in front of me, I couldn't help but show my frustration and make everyone uncomfortable, making everyone avert their gaze.

A small, thin little man emerged from the counters, behind a hidden door.

"Gentleman, welcome" said the little man behind the counter, " I see you are new here, how can we help you?".

I approached the little man and began to speak in a low voice, I didn't want anyone to hear me.

"I want a toy for fun tonight" I said barely, feeling embarrassed at my stupid words.

"I see" said the little man, " to have fun with someone or to have fun alone?".

I couldn't say another word, I was so embarrassed I could barely hear myself breathe. Surely the color of my skin had already given me away.

Maybe I should leave the toy store and think that nothing had happened, but I remembered that I was doing it all for Aaron, he should have noticed that I would be able to do anything they wanted.

"I understand" said the little man at my silence, " don't worry, I know what you need".

The little man walked away, leaving me alone at the counter, to hide in the back room.

I felt the gazes of the people looking at me with some prejudice, when I turned to look at them, they turned quickly pretending they were watching something else.

The little man came out of the room with several toys that he placed on the counter. Of different colors, sizes and textures, which made me blush more, although everything changed when I looked at the price, I had to take something cheap.

The little man collected my toy by placing it in a black bag so no one could see my intentions.

I walked as quickly as possible out of the store, feeling those judging stares still on me.

I did not find Finn at the exit, the traitor had been scared away and had probably gone far away.

I looked all over for him until I found him in the cafeteria, he was with a couple of poorly dressed girls. One of them had pink hair, shaved in the middle, with white makeup covering her face and black lipstick. The other girl, on the other hand, seemed calmer, with white hair, no makeup and well groomed, only for the piercing on her nose.

Finn took off his costume, he didn't really need it, not if he wanted to hit on that pair of girls.

I hid behind one of the bars and started to turn around, the best thing to do was to wait for Finn in the slider so no one would discover my toy.

"Hey Carter, over here " Finn said loudly, making all the people around turn to watch me.

Damn Finn, I thought, I'd drag him with me and take him to the slider, I knew we were incognito.

I took off my glasses and looked at myself with an annoyed smile.

"This is the guy I told you about," Finn said to the girls.

"The butcher of the clouds " said the pink-haired girl, eating me with her eyes , " I could recognize you with those glasses from miles away."

That must not be something new, I thought.

"They want to go out with you this afternoon," Finn assured.

"You can stay at two if you want, stay out of my business" I said with some more uneasiness.

I turned around and walked out of that place, furious at Finn's words, it's as if he thought my feelings weren't worth it.

Finn came running up behind me and hugged me from behind, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Come on man, I'm sorry, I thought they would help you solve your little problem" Finn said in a mocking tone.

"That's a problem I'll solve on my own, I asked you to come with me to go to the toy store, not to get me a date" I claimed, taking Finn's hand off my shoulder.

"Come on Carter, those girls are cute and I've prepared them for you, they're willing to spend the rest of the day with you, why don't you give yourself a chance? This will stay between you and me" Finn insisted.

I said nothing, remembering how I couldn't look at Aaron all morning because of the mistake I had made over the weekend. If he found out I hadn't kept my promise, he would surely stop talking to me.

"I'm really sorry Carter, I swear it won't happen again" Finn said at my silence, trying to be as nice as possible. I hated him at that moment, he was being too cloying.

I shook my head and we left the mall.

I dropped Finn off at his apartment, then headed to mine.

I placed the toy on my bed and thought about how I could use it. Maybe I should look for an educational video, maybe it was just a matter of intuition. All I knew was that I would think about Aaron when I was using it.