Chapter 1
When Worlds Collide by SleepingEntity
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I was running down the street trying to dodge the larger puddles, running through the crowd as I tried to get away from Daniel. I was glad I was small and nimble, able to slip and slid my way through the crowd with ease. Daniel was large and bulky, and had to bulldoze his way through the crowd. He was used to that though. He was on the football team.
 
Daniel stood at 6'4” and weighed, like, a bajillion pounds. I don't know quite how much, just that it was a lot and that he loved to throw it around when he could. A man yelled behind me, and I looked back to see an older man I had slipped around a few seconds ago fall as Danial pushed him over.
 
“Ethan!” Daniel yelled. “I can't wait to beat the shit out of you.” He smiled as he saw me look back at him. I felt my heart beat faster in my chest and put on a new burst of speed. Slipping around a mom pushing her kid in a stroller, I stepped into an alleyway and glanced around.
 
Okay, all I was seeing was mostly garbage. Not great. I grimaced and continued looking as continued down the alleyway. Frantically, I continued searching for some kind of exit or hiding place. It was hard to think, sometimes, in these high pressure situations. I certainly didn't want to get my face beat in.
 
There was a scuff of feet behind me and the huffing of heavy breathing before I heard Daniel's laughter creep down the alleyway. “Found you, Ethan... Seems like a dead end. Where are you going to run now?” Daniel brought his hands up and cracked his knuckles, slowly, as he started a slow walk towards me.
 
I turned to face him as I backed away from him, my heart beating harder and harder in my chest. A glint of metal in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I knew I had found my escape route. Carefully keeping my face as fearful as possible, I watched Daniel approach. He laughed menacingly and charged at me, his fist swinging towards my stomach.
I sidestepped the swing and he ran past. Using the moment I was out of his vision, I ran, leapt on to a nearby dumpster, and jumped again, kicking off the wall to grab on to the grab on to the fire escape I had seen earlier.
 
My hand slipped as I tried to hold on to the ladder, which was still wet from the rain last night. Reaching desperately as my grip continues to loosen, I grab on to the ladder with my other hand. Hearing a crash below me urges me to climb faster as I feel the air pass below me as Daniel tries to grab me.
 
“Ack.” I manage, as I pull myself up to the first landing. Master of verbal sparring, that's me. I've always had a certain way with words. Truly, I knew that I was one of the best in the city when it came to those who had silver tongues...
 
Not. Shaking my head as I pulled up the ladder before Daniel, I couldn't let myself get sidetracked. I stuck my tongue out at Daniel before climbing the fire escape the rest of the way to the roof and examining my surroundings.
 
Clutter, garbage, another small homeless camp. Snorting as my steps carried me to the edge of the roof, I looked out over the city. Seeing the bright neon lights flare against the buildings, hearing the horns blaring, the people shouting obscenities below me... I smiled. I knew this was my home. Chicago.
 
I made my way back home. Running across the roofs, jumping the alleys, I've never felt so free as when I was able to just roam around the city. it was extremely relaxing to me, and I could do it for hours. I had a few friends who I could hang out with, but I don't know. I never wanted to bother them with my presence. I felt it was much easier to let them ask to hang out with me, even though most of the time it ended up with me being alone.
 
However, I felt that that was okay. I didn't mind having my free time. My mom and dad and older sister were generally there for me, too, though I was a lot closer to my sister, Ellie. She was pretty cool, and we shared a lot of interests. The same music and show tastes, we both loved the rush of adrenaline. She's always looked out for me, too.
 
She was older than me, and a lot more adventurous. She took her adrenaline rush to more extremes, always chasing that high. She was out of the city currently. I should give her a ring later, I mused, as I opened the door to my empty home. I knew my parents wouldn't be home, as they were at work.
 
My parents were an odd couple, always absorbed in work. My mother is a high end lawyer working at a prestigious law firm. My father is a doctor, researching the human genome and ways to alter it. I knew that they loved Ellie and I. They cared for us... But, we sure as fuck were starved of attention growing up.
 
I'm pretty sure that was why we were doing those stupid stunts as we grew up, trying to get Mom and Dad's attention. Instead, it just mad our parents angry and made us adrenaline junkies. I shook my head and sighed. Always angry because we were interrupting their work.
 
Ah, well. Ellie and I are adults, now. What trouble we get into is our own fault, and the repercussions are our own to deal with. That's what dear old mom and dad said when we turned 18, anyway.
 
I am grateful that they let me live at home still, while I pursue my college education. I just need to graduate from high school first. I'm finishing up my senior year, writing college essays and planning for the future. I turned 18 a few months ago, so I had had the talk with mom and dad.
 
The sun steadily dropped below the cities skyline as I got closer to home. Eventually, I had to drop down to street level as the buildings turned more into homes. Grabbing on to another fire escape, I dropped down easily, landing to landing.
 
Hitting the street, I straightened and glanced around, seeing that nobody was watching me. With that done, I headed home swiftly. No use sticking around for the cops to try and grab me for trespassing again. Gods, was that annoying. Mom went and threw a fit and grounded me for 6 months after that.
 
I smiled, in spite of the memory of me being grounded, as miserable as it was. At the very least, Mom and Dad were around more for that period of time. It was kinda nice, when they weren't yelling at me for getting in trouble with the police.
 
The streets were coming back to life with a different sort of crowd as night came on. Gang members were more prominent and I saw half a dozen different types of illegal sales going on as I made my way home. They haven't bothered me so much as tried to recruit me as a runner for various things. Who knew a smaller, slippery guy like me with a head for running and parkour could be so valued? Ah, well. I've denied them every time. I'd rather not work for them, I just run for fun.
 
I walked down the block towards my house, half distracted by my musings. As I approached my house, or rather, my parent's house, I studied the 3 bedroom house. Reminiscing of all the stunts Ellie and I had pulled throughout the house and yard brought another smile to my face. Like the time I had broke my arm wrestling with Ellie in the front yard, I had hit my arm on a chunk of ice as she had pulled me to the ground.
 
Mom and Dad's cars were in the driveway but none of the lights were on inside the home. Stepping up the sidewalk to the porch, avoiding the creaky bits, and slipping inside quietly was easy. Making my way to my bedroom was also easy, the creaky floorboards embedded in my memory from years of sneaking out.
 
Shutting the door and flipping the light on, I slipped my shoes off and sighed now that I was back home. I put on pair of pajamas and pulled my phone out of my jeans, turning it on to look at the blank screen. No new notifications... A ripple of loneliness pulsed out of my chest through my body before I clamped down on it, hard.
 
My friends had their own lives. I wasn't gonna bug them and bug them about making plans and hanging out. I closed my eyes and laid back on my bed. I'm not a bother. I am loved. I am valued.
 
I tried to lie to myself, to the small, aching hole in my chest, and to the intrusive thoughts invading my mind as I drifted off to sleep.
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