Rent Boy
Part Four
By Miss Dincht
Who: Seifer and Squall [Who else?] Squall gets to abuse Seifer for a change. Seifer is going to be a more balanced personality in this one, but the temper will still be there, just not as much bravado. Seifer can be a nice guy too. It's a change and a challenge. He's always so mean and conceited in all my other fics. Squall is 17, as in the game, and Seifer is slightly older than that, but not by much.
What: Yaoi fan fiction using characters from Squaresoft's Final Fantasy 8. Alternate Universe fic.
When: Eh, the present.
Where: Alternate Universe [our own, maybe, heh.] Big Urban City [ New York maybe].
Why: This fulfills a request for Dunsinane.
How: Pains shot up my arm!
Rent Boy
Part Four
By Miss Dincht
Squall wrinkled his nose at the pitiful selection of food before him, then slammed the refrigerator door. He grabbed a plastic cup from the counter and filled it with water from the tap, gulping the liquid down so fast that he spilled some of it all over his t - shirt. He filled the glass again and again drained the cup. The slightly warm liquid was unsatisfying, but it made him feel full and chased some of the hunger away. Squall starved himself most of the time, but every so often he would get so hungry he just couldn't help but want to eat, and fearing that he would gain weight, he would drink the water in an attempt to keep the hunger away. If he did slip on occasion, he would purge himself the only way he knew how, and for a moment he would feel "better".
Squall padded back into his bedroom and went to lie down on his bed. He could see into the kitchen from his position on the lumpy mattress, and so he picked up one of his boots and threw it at the door, closing it and keeping temptation from view. He sighed and closed his eyes, but he didn't plan to rest for long. Although he was very tired, he didn't want to waste the little bit of time he had to himself today sleeping. It was already late in the afternoon, and in a few hours he would have to go to work. Nida had gone to work early to fill in for Kenny, and so Squall was alone in the apartment. Although Squall considered Nida a friend, he couldn't stand to be around the other youth sometimes, and so he was glad to have the cramped, ugly little apartment all to himself for at least a few hours.
The two young men had been having numerous arguments lately. Nida had been in a very bad mood for the last few days, ever since that night when Squall had come back from his little "outing" with Seifer. Nida had been real bitchy about the whole thing, and Squall had no idea what Nida's problem was, but Squall was determined not to let Nida's foolishness bother him. Squall couldn't understand why it had been such a big deal anyway. As far as Squall was concerned, Seifer had been a costumer like any other guy, and Squall had no idea why Nida was talking about people behaving strangely and leaving and moving out and running off to live with someone else. Squall had no idea where all of that had come from, although he could admit that he hadn't been feeling too well the last three days, and so he supposed Nida had a right to be upset. Although Squall was always depressed in some sense, now it was as though the depression was overwhelming him instead of just being a little extra piece of baggage that he carried around. It wasn't as though he was ever really happy, but usually he was able to find some little thing to be happy about until the next small thrill came along. Still, Nida hadn't been able to handle the sudden mood that had come over Squall, and Squall resented it. It wasn't as though he and Nida had ever been involved in a relationship, and Nida said it himself, it wasn't as though someone like Seifer could ever really like him. Squall hadn't even seen Seifer since that night, and he didn't want to see the young man ever again if he could help it. Seifer had called him several times over the last three days - even coming by the apartment once, Squall hiding in his room until the young man left - but Squall had refused to speak to Seifer. He was beginning to regret giving the other young man his number and having met the young man in the first place.
Squall lie in bed quietly, just thinking, for several more minutes, but he got up after a little while and decided to clean his room, hoping that this would get his mind off of these things, but knowing that it wouldn't. The room was small, and he hated the tiny space as much as he hated the rest of the apartment, but at least now he had somewhere to sleep. He would never forget all of the cold, lonely nights he'd spent on the street when he first came to the city, and Squall would rather have died than live like that again. The apartment would never be anything but a dump no matter what he did, so there was no point in getting worked up about it, but Squall had always done what he could to make his room more comfortable. There were posters of his favorite actors and singers all over the walls, the brightly colored paper covering the cracks and holes. He also had pictures of his favorite cartoon characters lining the double doors of his small closet. He had a few stuffed animals on his bed, and a vase with plastic flowers on the windowsill. There were clothes all over the place, all of his brightly colored T - shirts and pants, his shoes and coats, and even this mess of things made the room look and feel more pleasant. Squall finally had a few things that he could call his own, even if he couldn't say that same thing about his own body.
Squall had found himself wondering what sort of place a guy like Seifer would live in, and although he didn't know why he should care, he still wondered about it. It was obvious Seifer had money, and Squall was willing to bet Seifer lived in a nice, big house, maybe a house like the ones in the decorating and architecture books he liked to look through. He would hang some of the pictures from the magazines on his wall, and sometimes he would just sit on his bed and admire them. He knew that he would never have anything that nice, but then Squall knew he didn't really deserve anything nice. Who would give anything nice to a whore unless they were a fool, and if anyone ever gave him anything nice it never lasted long anyway. At least now he was warm, and had nice things, and at least now he had some place to sleep at night.
Squall sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. He reached down and pulled a heap of his clothing from the floor and into his lap. No matter how hard he tried to avoid thinking about Seifer, the young man invaded his thoughts. In fact, for the last few nights, ever since his "date", Squall had lain awake thinking about him, and it was making Squall's life miserable. Squall was making himself sick longing for things that he knew couldn't be, and worse still, Squall was beginning to look at his life in a way that made him see all that was wrong with it, all that he wished he could change about it.
Squall had always hated his life, he had always known that he was just one of those people who was meant to suffer in life, but now he began to wonder if he couldn't find a little happiness in this world. It was so stupid, but Squall was actually think that he was in love with Seifer and he hardly even knew the young man. This was so unlike him, but the feelings were there, and they wouldn't go away. After too many painful experiences, Squall had learned to push all of his emotions deep within himself, but now it was like he couldn't do that anymore. It was almost like he wanted and needed to feel these things, like he was waking up after being asleep for years, and it wasn't right. It was scary, and it was dangerous. Squall didn't know if he could stand anymore pain, and there was already too much pain in his life, yet the idea of never seeing Seifer again was becoming even more painful. Still, the pain he was feeling now would never be as bad as the pain of a broken heart.
Squall got up from the bed and tossed the neatly folded pile of shirts back onto the floor. He looked at his reflection for a bit in the mirror that hung from the backside of one of the closet doors. He lifted his tiny white t - shirt and frowned at what he saw. He decided that he was hungry, but didn't dare think of getting anything to eat. Then he decided that maybe eating a little something would make him feel better. Just as quickly, he decided that he really didn't need anything to eat, and so he went into the bathroom instead and got ready to take his shower. Squall really didn't feel like dancing tonight - or looking for a "John" afterward - despite that fact that he would probably make a few dollars before the evening was through since it was Friday, but he remembered clearly what happened the last time he skipped work. It was always better to keep Cid happy though, this Squall knew too well.
Squall always took long showers, but even then he never really felt clean. He always felt tainted, dirty, but yet, there was one man who hadn't made him feel that way. When he had been with Seifer he had felt different, like he was clean. He had almost felt like he could be worth a little something, and for too many reasons that bothered him.
"He doesn't like you." Squall mumbled to himself as he got out of the shower and dried his body. He sucked his teeth and sneered. "Whatever, I don't care about him, anyway. I fucking hate him."
Squall really did want to hate Seifer. He certainly thought he had plenty of reason to. Squall was certain that Seifer was a phony, pretending he was some type of nice guy who just wanted Squall to go out with him, but Squall wasn't going to let himself be fooled. Seifer was as self - righteous, hypocrite who thought he was better than Squall, but Squall wasn't fooled.
"I hate his fucking guts." Squall whispered, but he had difficulty believing his own words.
Squall went back into his bedroom, and took his own sweet time getting ready. Squall was always late for work, partly because this made him feel like Cid had no control over his life, but part of why he always took his time getting to work was because he never wanted to go. He spent several minutes looking at his nude body in the mirror, and he wondered again why a man like Seifer could want him. Squall turned from the mirror in disgust and rooted around in his closet for something to wear. He pulled a tight - fitting blue shirt from one of the wire hangers, then pulled a pair of shiny black, vinyl pants from a pile of clothing on the floor. When he had put these thing on, he put on a pair of socks and slipped his feet into his motorcycle boots. He grabbed a furry black coat from the closet, snatched his cell phone, back pack, and keys up from the floor and headed out of the apartment.
It was evening by the time Squall came out of the house, and the sky was darkening, but it was never completely dark in the city with so many lights. Squall was already late for work, so he took his time getting there. Very few of the dancers had cars, so most of them caught the bus or subway. Squall didn't live all that far from Cid's, but it was too far to walk. There was a bus stop at the end of his block, and the busses ran every fifteen minutes. Squall didn't have long to wait before a bus came. He got on, paid his money, and twenty minutes later the bus let him off down the street from Captain Cid's.
Although it was well past six in the evening, it was still early for the club, and not many customers were there when Squall arrived. Trixie, another dancer, was on stage, and there were several other boys working the main room, but not many of the tables were filled. Cid was standing behind the bar with one of the bouncers - one of Cid's "hit men" the dancers called them - counting the money in the register, and he narrowed his eyes when he saw Squall, but Squall just ignored the man and headed toward the stairs that led to the dressing rooms.
"Squall, got a minute?" Cid called.
Squall stopped and sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. He really did not feel like dealing with any of Cid's shit today. It was getting harder and harder for him to even be around the man. "What?" he said.
"Come over here." Cid said.
"What is it?" Squall said as he walked over to the bar.
Cid gave him a hard look, then chuckled. "Got a friend coming by today. I need you to take care of him." he said.
Squall sucked his teeth and uttered a sound of exasperation. Cid and his fucking "friends".
"What? Is there some kind of problem? Anything you want to discuss, cunt?" Cid said.
"No. Whatever. Fine." Squall mumbled.
Cid smiled. "Thought so, now hurry up and get ready, you're already twenty fucking minutes late as it is." he said.
Squall turned and headed for the dressing rooms, cursing Cid under his breath as he went. It was all Squall could do to keep from screaming.
Nida was in the dressing room when Squall got there. He was standing in front of the mirror, in a pair of black hot - pants, oiling his body down with baby oil. The dark - haired youth turned when Squall entered the room, and Squall could actually feel the hostility emanating from the other youth. Squall couldn't understand what was happening between them.
"About time you got here, bitch." Nida said, and although they called each other names in play, there was nothing playful about Nida's tone.
Squall sucked his teeth, and pretended not to be hurt. "Whatever." he mumbled as he pushed past the youth and threw his backpack on the counter.
Nida grabbed one of the plastic brushes from the shelf and started pulling it through his hair. He sighed. "I just don't know what your problem is lately, Squall. You're really getting on my nerves." he said.
Squall said nothing as he took of his coat and hung it on one of the hooks in the wall. He began to strip off his clothing.
"You've been acting like a bitch for the last few days. Are you sick or something? I just don't get it." Nida said.
Squall tried to tune the young man out. When he had stripped off all of his street clothing, he pulled several skimpy articles of clothing from his backpack.
Nida looked at him for several seconds and then uttered a sound of disgust as he tossed the brush back onto the shelf. "Bitch." he said.
Squall turned on the young man. "What is your fucking problem, Nida?" he said.
Nida said nothing as he tossed the brush on the counter and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Squall sighed heavily and collapsed into a chair. He hadn't meant to snap at his friend, but he couldn't help feeling angry and disgusted with Nida. They were supposed to be friends, and Squall couldn't understand why Nida was so angry at him. How could Nida be jealous when Squall had said he wasn't going to see Seifer again. Squall sighed heavily and snatched a brush from the shelf and raked it through his messy locks, and when he was done he finished dressing. Since he was supposed to "entertaining" one of Cid's guests this evening, he didn't have to wear his dancing costume. He put on the glittery purple hot - pants he had pulled from his bag and slipped them on. When he finished applying his make - up, he got up from the chair and left the dressing room.
When Squall got down to the main room, he saw Cid talking animatedly to a man in a black leather jacket. Squall didn't doubt that this was the man he was supposed to "entertain". The man was thin, his hair greasy and dark, and slicked back from his face and pulled into a ponytail. He looked like a dime - store mobster or perhaps one of those nasty porn directors Squall often saw in the place. He was a low - life either way. He probably had a little money, but this didn't make Squall feel any better. Cid was seating the man at one of the back tables. The interior of the club looked much the same as it looked when it was first built in the late 70's - Cid was too cheap to make any changes, not that that was necessary for a place such a this - and there were no special VIP rooms for guests. There were the rooms in the back where they could take a costumer who wanted a quick screw, but that was it. It wasn't as though many celebrities came into the place anyway, and so anyone of note or importance to Cid was usually placed at one of the back tables. Cid joined the man at the table, and the two of them continued their conversation, while Squall simply waited for the summons that he knew would be soon coming.
As Squall stood waiting in the shadows, he caught a glimpse of a large blonde man entering the club, and for a moment, just a second, Squall felt as though his heart had topped. It was Seifer, and Squall stared at the large man, his eyes wide and his heart thundering in his chest. Seifer lingered by the door - his mouth in a harsh line - as if he were loathe to enter the club and searched around the room. Although the club was dark and smoky, and Seifer probably wouldn't have seen him unless he was directly in front of him, Squall was badly shaken, and as he stood there, still as stone, watching the large blonde as he moved toward the bar, his only thought was that he didn't want Seifer to see him. Not like this, not this way. Squall turned, ran up the steps, and rushed for the dressing room, the only relatively safe place in the club. Once inside, Squall shut the door tightly and leaned against it as he gulped for air and tried to still his shaking body.
"Why did he come here?" Squall sobbed. He closed his eyes and slid to the floor, his head against the door.
Several tears spilled from his eyes and Squall wiped them away angrily with the back of his hand. Squall hated himself for feeling ashamed and embarrassed and not wanting Seifer to see him, but just as quickly Squall grew angry, and thought that Seifer got what he deserved if he wanted to treat a whore like a prince. Seifer knew what he was, what he did, and what did Squall have to do with whatever decision the fool wanted to make. What did Squall care if Seifer wanted to make a fool of himself. Why did it seem so important now what Seifer thought of him? Why did it seem so important what he thought of himself?
There was a gentle knocking at the door, and Squall heard Trixie, one of the other dancers call his name.
"Let me in Squall." Trixie called. "What the hell are you doing? You okay?"
Squall quickly wiped his eyes and got up from the floor. He opened the door and stepped back to let Trixie in.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Squall said.
Trixie brushed his long black hair back over his shoulder. "You don't look okay?" he said. "Well, there's a guy asking for you. Really hot. He you're customer, 'cuz I'll take him if you don't want him."
"Yeah, he's mine." Squall said quietly. He pushed past Trixie and walked out of the door.
"Lucky bitch." Trixie muttered.
Seifer was there waiting at the bottom of the steps when Squall finally emerged from the dressing room. Squall just stood at the very top of the worn steps - arms wrapped loosely about his waist, one bony hip jutting out - eyeing the blonde nonchalantly. Seifer waited for Squall to come down, and he smirked slightly when he realized that Squall wasn't moving. Seifer held out his hand, and Squall sucked his teeth as he stomped down the steps, pushing roughly past the blonde when he reached the bottom and not even acknowledging the other man. Seifer grabbed Squall's arm as the brunette tried to walk by, and Squall snatched away from the larger man's grasp.
"What do you want?" Squall snapped. "Why are you here?"
"I've been calling you all day." Seifer said.
Squall frowned and shook his head. "So? What's that supposed to mean? I don't have to see you if I don't want to. Why did you come here?" he said, his voice shaky.
"You wouldn't talk to me. You wouldn't see me. What else was I supposed to do? You think I wanted to come here?" Seifer said.
Squall uttered a sound of exasperation. "Just leave me alone. I have to work now. If you want to see me later fine, you can meet me at the hotel." he said.
"I'm not one of your customers, Squall." Seifer said. "You think that's what I came down here for? You think I gave you that money just so I could sleep with you?"
"Why did you give it to me then? Why else did you come down here when it's obvious I didn't want to see you like that again?" Squall said.
"Because I want to make you mine, Squall, and I always take care of what's mine." Seifer said.
Squall uttered a sound of disgust. "What do I care? You think that one little date meant anything to me? Why are you doing this? You're not my fucking boyfriend." he said.
"Maybe I need to be your boyfriend. You need somebody to take care of you. Might as well be me." Seifer said.
Squall sucked his teeth. "You're nothing to me. You disgust me. Who needs you? I take care of myself just fine." he said.
"Does my money disgust you?" Seifer said.
Squall frowned deeply and glared at the blonde. "Whatever." he said. "I have to work. I can't see you right now, and I don't ever want to see you. Go away. Why did you come here?"
"I wanted to see you again, and I'm not leaving until you talk to me." Seifer said as he stared at Squall. He reached out a hand to touch a lock of Squall's damp hair.
Squall continued to stare into Seifer's eyes as he brushed the wayward piece of his hair out of his face. As Squall reluctantly gazed up at the large man, Seifer just stared down at the slender youth with that stupid look Squall had seen on his face the other night. Squall could see things in Seifer's beautiful green eyes that shouldn't have been there, and it scared him. He couldn't understand why Seifer was doing this. No one looked at a whore that way. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Squall's features softened then, and he shook his head slowly. He then turned away. "Seifer, I can't see you right now. Just go home, please." he said softly.
Just as Seifer opened his mouth to speak, Cid walked over and interrupted the two young men. Squall looked down at the ground, but Seifer looked Cid right in the face, his disgust and loathing for the man almost tangible.
Cid chuckled. "What's going on here, gentlemen?" he said.
"Nothing." Squall said. "He was just about to leave."
"Then tell him to get moving, and you get back to work. This isn't social hour. I told you sluts to keep that domestic crap where it belongs." Cid said.
Seifer looked down at the obese club manager and sneered. The blonde looked as though he wanted to slit the man's throat. "Don't worry, fatman. I'm paying for his time." he said.
Cid laughed, but his eyes narrowed. "I don't think so, kid. He's off limits tonight. He's got a special engagement, and you're not invited. If you've got money to spend, go get one of these other whores. If not, get out." Cid said.
"We're not done yet." Seifer said.
Cid's eyes narrowed and he pulled the cigar from between his lips. He waved over one of the bouncers, and the large man came to stand behind the club manager. "He's done, and you're done too, kid. Sam, show this young man out." Cid said.
The enormous bouncer stepped forward, and then made the mistake of grabbing Seifer's arm. Seifer pulled his arm from the bouncer's grasp and pushed the gargantuan man in the shoulder. Then Sam punched Seifer in the face, fully expecting the large youth to go down with that one blow like everyone else. Squall gasped and looked at the blonde with wide eyes. Cid looked around nervously and backed away while simultaneously motioning to another bouncer to step in. Seifer, who had not gone down like he was supposed to, simply blinked, his brow furrowed, as he lifted the back of a bent finger to his nose.
Several patrons in the club had already turned to look at the commotion and the music suddenly died down, then faded out completely as the DJ knocked up against one of his turn tables in an effort to see what was happening. Seifer looked down at the back of his hand, at the streak of blood, and then drew his arm back and punched Sam - Cid's nephew and head of club security, at least according to the books - in the jaw. The huge man stumbled backward and crashed into a nearby table.
A bottle flew and struck someone in the head, and moments later, chaos, but it was not much of a surprise considering the room was filled with nearly a hundred men, half of whom were either drunk or high. Fights broke out throughout the room. Someone fired shots, and the dancers and waiters scattered, most of them running for the front exit. A few headed out the back way, some laughing hysterically as they went, and some even ran backstage to the exit located there.
Squall just watched in shocked horror as the club patrons began to destroy the club. Squall knew he should try to escape, but he couldn't move. Then Seifer reached out for the youth, and Squall grabbed Seifer's hand. Seifer pulled Squall to his feet, and they ran for the front exit. Several policmen ran in as they ran out, and outside the paramedics and several police cars filled the street and crowds of people had gathered outside to watch the commotion.
Squall saw several of his friends being tended to by the fire men, paramedics, and police, as he ran past them, Seifer still holding his hand. They stopped abruptly around the corner, and Seifer placed a hand on the side of the building as he tried to regain his breath. Squall snatched his hand from the blonde's grasp and looked back around the corner to see what was happening. He scanned the crowds for his friends, and let out a sigh of relief as he counted all ten dancers and ten waiters that had been working last night: Trixie, Dixie, Davey, Kitty, Lucius, Marcus, Tristan, they were all there. When he saw Nida he quickly moved back and pressed himself against the wall. He was glad that his friend was safe, but he couldn't even imagine what Nida was thinking. What would he do now? He couldn't go back. Cid would never take him back now.
"What can I do? I don't have anything." Squall whispered, terror unlike anything he had ever felt gripping his heart.
"Squall." Seifer said.
Squall started at the deep voice, then turned angrily on the young man standing beside him. He kicked out at Seifer and pulled away from the reaching hand.
"What did you do?!" he cried. He beat at the hands that tried to pull at him, but Seifer wouldn't let him go. He continued to struggle against the larger man, but Seifer held on. "You stupid fuck! Motherfucker!" Squall cried. "Now what will I do?! What can I do!?"
"Calm down, Squall. Just calm down." Seifer said as he tried to gain control of the youth in his arms. Squall twisted in Seifer's grasp, and Seifer wrapped his arms around Squall's waist. the brunette struggled and kicked, but the blonde was too strong, and it wasn't long before Squall wore himself out. He whimpered and collapsed in Seifer's arms, and Seifer crouched low as he held Squall close to him.
"Shhhhhhhh. Shhhhhhhh. I'm sorry, Squall. I'm sorry." Seifer whispered.
Squall uttered a strangled sound and once again tried to push the blonde away from him.
Seifer sighed heavily. "Are you hurt?" he said.
Squall whimpered.
Seifer squeezed him slightly. "What do you want me to do? Do you want to go home?" he said.
Squall shook his head. "I - I can't go home now. C - Cid knows where I l - live, he owns that b - building, and Nida's there. I can't go there anymore. I can't g - go anywhere." he said. Tears spilled from his eyes and over his cheeks.
"Then you'll stay with me." Seifer whispered.
Squall was silent. He had nothing to say. He couldn't think anymore, and he didn't want to. He just wanted to die, but Seifer lifted him from the ground and onto his feet. Squall just stood still, trembling and sniffing softly, as Seifer removed the black trench - coat he was wearing and forced Squall into it.
"Can you walk?" Seifer said.
Squall sniffed and nodded slightly.
Seifer took Squall's hand and led him to the other end of the street. There was a bench there, and Squall sat down. Seifer remained standing as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and made a phone call. Squall noticed a blood stain on Seifer's white shirt, and he looked up into the blonde's face, but if Seifer was in any pain he didn't show it. Squall looked up over the buildings and wondered what was happening. It wasn't as though this were the first time something like this had happened, and he wondered vaguely how much of the building had been destroyed and when he would be able to go back to work. He wondered if Cid would let him work again, since it really hadn't been his fault. He was sure he could make up for it. Or maybe it was just better if he stayed away, but where could he go? There was no place else to go. Squall looked at Seifer. The blonde was done with his call, and after putting the phone into his pocket he sat down next to Squall and put his arm around the brunette.
Sometime later - Squall really couldn't say how much time had passed - a rickety green station wagon stopped at the curb, and a short blonde man got out of the vehicle. Squall recognized the spiky - haired youth, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him.
"Yo, Seifer, man, what the fuck did you get into? There are cops all over the fucking place. You look like shit. Booya! Yeah, man, that's that 'Old School' shit, man, haven't seen you like that in years. Who did you beat down? Wait until I tell Irvine." the hyper youth said. A huge grin spread across his heart - shaped face and he was bouncing in his brand - spanking - new Air Jordan's.
Seifer shook his head and sighed in exasperation. "Zell, just help me get him in the car." he said.
"Oh." Zell said. He looked down at Squall and his expression turned series, curiosity mingling on his face too. "Let me open the doors."
As Zell walked back to the car, Seifer bent down and grabbed Squall's hand. He escorted the trembling, timorous brunette, to the vehicle and opened the back door. Squall hesitated briefly then decided that for now he would go with Seifer. There would be time enough to think things over. He was just tired, and he knew he couldn't go home, so why not go home with Seifer? He knew Seifer wouldn't let him stay long, especially after he got what he wanted, but maybe he could stay until he could figure out what he could do.