but now im free

“See, when I come across a picture or just seeing an animal suffering cause of that I want to punch the next person that’s doing it.” She sighed shaking her head. “So I kinda owe you the biggest thing you for being so passionate about it. And snippy! I mean people deserve a little wake up call if they’re going to be careless and trash the world. So, thank you, bud.” 

“I’m glad I can be of some service to old Mother Nature.” He twittered, flashing a toothy and childishly playful smile. “I’m sure it’ll be worth the angry men and business ladies swearing at me someday.” His joking was lighthearted. “I’m glad I have someone like you on my side too.”

“And a plus one. Well thank you - I could always bring along a kid in the program or business partner after a meeting.” She thought out loud. “Oh, yum with a nice bowl of tomato basil to go along with it. There’s a really cute cafe not far from here. Everything is pretty homely feeling. They also have a really nice blended mocha too.” 

Pin couldn’t help but give her a flat look, with the glimmer in his eye that said what he didn’t say out loud; ‘no special someone then?’ He hummed again at that. “That sounds perfect.” He punctuated the word and reached his arm out for her to take in her own. “What’re we waiting for?” He chirped.

“Mm, this is very true. Though, I doubt I could ever be disappointed in you, Pinocchio. Unless you go about and forget reserving at least one seat for me to every show of yours from here out - then well you’re in the clear.” Raising a brow she nodded softly. “You know breakfast is the most important meal of the day - bu thankfully somewhere is here to remind you of the second most important one. Anything sounding good?” 

“I have to give you some reasons to keep looking after me, right? You know you’ve always got a seat and a plus one.” Pin clasped his hands together, whittling down in his mind his options. “Well, you can’t go wrong with a sandwich, can you? I could really die for something melty and cheesy right now!” And no doubt a cake or pastry to wash it down with.

Harry smirked as he slipped his hands into his pockets, laughing at the fact that the kid called him crazy. “I reckon I might be, but that just means that next time ya see me, yer gonna be better about them three strikes, right?” he asked as he took a step back from the dumpster, just in case the kid got the bright idea to throw something at him. “Learn yer lesson, ya don’t have to see the crazy.” Or, maybe he wouldn’t learn his lesson and Harry could get some easy entertainment again. He didn’t care either way.

Pin’s energies were all but used up, and though he hated being such a weak fellow he could feel the tears pricking up at the corner of his eyes now. He didn’t see any way of regaining a win after this, and he was reduced to how he had felt all those many times years ago. He made no attempt at getting up or making any more retorts, instead opting to feel rather sorry himself and snivel quietly. He was a mess now and he couldn’t run his errands looking like this, so he would stay here until he could sneak away without anybody noticing. He glowered at the man opposite him who had put him in this mess, his cheeks tainted red with his small tears and frustration.

Harry offered no response to the boy’s remark except to reach out and grab him by the scruff of the neck, nearly lifting him off the ground as he dragged the kid a few alleys down. Oh, good, the little Italian place had just dumped the scraps from lunch. “Hope ya like lasagna, lil missy,” the man commented, before using the back of the kid’s shirt and his belt loops to pick him up and toss him in the open dumpster, bopping his forehead once the kid was still enough. “Try and learn for next time, got it, Pinhead?”

Was this really happening? Was this just some vivid nightmare forcing him to relive his high school bullying? This kind of stuff didn’t happen in the adult world, and it had poor Pin too flustered to respond much besides a squeak at being tugged about by his collar. A few thoughts entered and quickly left his mind as he being dragged along. One thought remained as he felt himself being lifted up toward the very noticeable dumpster behind him and he was squealing again as he was tossed inside. It took a little bit of fumbling to regain any composure in this predicament he found himself, but he was quickly spluttering at the man. “What is wrong with you?! Are you crazy?!” 

“Oh, I doubt anyone would ever take me seriously if I was anything other than soft and caring. I’ll have to give the scary act a try someday though.” Blake knew how to be stern - typically when people she cared deeply for where messed with. Smiling she nodded. “Well, I’m glad to hear voices are heard and bring well expressed. Now that we’ve made a small step in cleaning up the streets- have you eaten anything today? We should get some lunch or something. You can catch me up on anything new.” 

“I think you could play the ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’ card really well. I’d be beside myself if you ever said that to me.” He admitted. His expression was a sincere smile that indicated how much her approval meant to him. Recalling his last meal had Pinocchio realising he’d dashed out of his apartment without breakfast! No wonder he had been grouchy enough to scold a stranger. “Oh, lunch sounds just perfect about now.” He hummed with eagerness to sink his teeth into something sweet and sugary. 

“See, if ya had a toy shop in yer town at all, that makes ya city.” At least, compared to what Harry had to deal with. “Mighta been real out of the way wherever you’re from, but there’s a difference between a place with a toy shop and my family’s place where ya gotta drive more than thirty minutes to get to a store for what you want.” Kid didn’t even know he’d been lucky. “Well, seein’ as ya tried flirtin’ with me earlier, I reckon keepin’ ya in the same company ain’t gonna be bad for a first offence.”

“Honestly-” Pinocchio had reached as much frustration as he could manage on his own. He wanted to disappear and run back to his friends and tell them all about the mean old man he’d bumped into. “I don't know why I’m still talking to you. I have things to do and I’m sure the care home is wondering where you’ve wondered off to!”

“Must you go knocking every idea I give you?” Blake was only messing with him. The blonde was more than happy to hear the kids seemed to be just as dedicated as Pinocchio was. It warmed her heart to watch others go chasing their passions. “I guess I’m just going to take that idea for myself then. At least save the people from your wrath when they litter.” Nodding she grinned more hearing him. “Key words not yet - do you at least get some sort of word? When it comes to picking? I’d be a shame if you couldn’t even voice an opinion.” She stated with a small frown.

The young man had a sheepish smile on his face, a soft laugh accompanying his words. “I bet you can be more scary than I can.” His smile remained as he wondered on the idea of running the theatre one day. He wasn’t too certain on whether or not he wanted to be running it, or if he wanted to move to somewhere bigger and be a bigger stage presence. He loved choreographing, but his end goal wasn’t written in stone. “Oh I get to have a good say, but it falls on the directors in the end. The kids get a big say in it too- you can’t make them do something they don’t wanna, after all.” 

“Maybe not, but ya still act like a city boy,” Harry pointed out. “Don’t matter what city, ya ain’t got sense enough to act right, so yer a city boy.” It was easy. If you weren’t country, you were city, and he wasn’t country. Not by a long shot. “Y’know how I said ya gotta watch yerself around the old jokes? That includes tryin’ to call me a senior citizen.” It was a warning, a calm one. “That’s gotcha to two. Three and yer out.” And out could mean pretty much whatever Harry could think up that wasn’t straight up homicide. “I ain’t expectin’ anything except for you to keep up bein’ easy to annoy.”

“I’m not a city boy. I’m probably from somewhere more rural than you.” His voice was a squeak of defensiveness. He knew he came across this way to strangers because he always felt so at home and at ease in the large city where he could be himself without too much fear of everyone knowing him and judging him. At being accused of being easy to annoy, this defensiveness only rose. “And what are you going to do if I make it three? Club me with that gun in your jacket? Maybe I am annoyed, but it’s only because you’re very annoying.”

“See, I know the accent’ll fool ya city folks, but I ain’t stupid,” Harry pointed out with a drawl, making a little bit of a show of checking his watch. Well, would you look at that? Thirty more minutes before he had to open his shop a few blocks away. Plenty of time to be annoying for the sake of it. “I got thirty minutes for ya to wise up, or stop bein’ so easy to mess with,” he told the kid, completely honest. “Why, you got some kind of estrogen appointment so you can keep recyclin’?”

“I’m not even from here.” Pinocchio knew his own accent didn’t give away his origins unlike how this mans did. It was the kind of accent and vernacular you didn’t hear every day, and wasn’t easy to miss. Pin found himself watched the mans movements with suspicion. At least he seemed to be acting a little less threatening now. “Your jokes aren't very 2019, but I guess that’s expected of someone from the 50′s.” Despite being clearly the weaker one here, he was determined not to let this man best him. “What would you like me to do or say right now? Did you have anything specific in mind?”

Harry actually lost a bit of his composure at the fact that this kid had just fucking hiccuped when he was scared, and let himself laugh. Hell fire, that had been funny! “Yeah kid, you ain’t easily scared, that’s why ya jumped half a mile into the air,” he said, composing himself. Honestly, he’d never seen a flinch like that, unless you counted the time he’d shot a blank at his brother. But that was family. “Sonny, I smile plenty. Nice try thinkin’ flirtin’ is gonna getcha out of this, though.”

Definitely red-faced. “Who said I was flirting? Maybe you’re just unfamiliar with the concept of being nice.” At least he had kind’ve made him smile? Even if it was at his own expense? Pinocchio was definitely losing here. He’d already lost the initial confrontation concerning the trash, and now he didn’t quite know what he was arguing for- but he was still arguing. He quickly tried to regain some composure, and some control. “I thought you had better things to do?”

Harry felt a grin pull on his mouth, the kind he used to get on his face back in school, and he had to hold back laughter. Yeah, sure, he was grown now, but he still hated kids. And this definitely counted as a kid. “Oh, you ain’t scared of me, huh, lil missy?” Harry asked, crossing his arms before taking a lunging step closer to the kid, loud stomp and all, just to get a jump. “D’ya wanna be scared of me? I can arrange that.”

It was automatic response to the sudden movement as Pin jumped, hiccup and all. He truly felt like he was back in school, being threatened by one of the jocks who had many demeaning things to say to him. But he wasn’t a little kid anymore, as much as this man tried to imply he was, and he wanted to stand up for himself. He had dealt with mean men before, albeit that usually ended up in tears. He really hoped this scene didn’t end up in those today. “I’m not very easily scared.” Another lie retorted quickly with, his voice a little higher pitched and his body leaning back a little to put more room between the pair again. “You should try doing something besides being a big bully, like smiling. I’m sure you have a handsome face beneath all those frown lines.”

Another cold laugh left Harry, and he leaned against the nearest object, watching the kid. “Ten-four, there, Pinhead,” he replied, working on his beef jerky a bit more and raising an eyebrow. That was. A very dumb insult. He tried it, at least. “But you’ll uh. Wanna watch your mouth there, I ain’t exactly the best man to insult this side of the city.” Just to emphasize his point, Harry adjusted his stance, letting his jacket open a bit to show off his shoulder holster. “I ain’t gonna shoot ya or nothin’, but watch it, kiddo.”

The younger of the pair couldn’t contain himself and made an audible huff at the man. He was used to being called names throughout high school, but it was much rarer that he heard terms his youth bullies had used on him nowadays. Pinocchio’s eyes flitted down to the inside of his jacket, and his defensive instincts kicked in. This brute had all the makings of someone who would happily hurt Pinocchio, or maybe even was someone who his friends had warned him about. But Pinocchio’s brain and mouth didn’t always connect and he blurted words again, “I’m not scared of you.” A lie. He was more scared of certain other people though.

Harry heard himself laugh, cold and sharp, when the matter of testosterone was brought up. “Kid, it ain’t a matter with my testosterone. It’s a matter with I don’t wanna pick it up. What kind of insult is my testosterone, anyway? Estrogen makes ya wanna recycle more?” Harry knew plenty of women who didn’t give half a fuck about littering, and they were…definitely women. “So I shouldn’t have called ya little boy earlier? Shoulda gone with ‘little miss’?” Harry, at this point, was reminding himself of encounters in school, when a teacher had said something dumb enough for him to pick up and pick on. Old habits died hard.

Gosh, what was this guys problem? Little boy, kid, little miss? His cheeks were hot and no doubt red, both with annoyance and embarrassment at the terms being tossed his way. “My name is Pinocchio, thank you, so you can stop calling me other names.” His lips were pursed and he was pouting at this point, feeling at a loss for what to do. This man seemed unmovable and Pin felt as though he wasn’t going to get anywhere. Instead, he sharply reached for the packaging and tossed it into the trash can himself. “I’ll just assume it’s difficult for someone of your age to still bend over.” Pin should really be more careful who he was talking to.

Liz waved a hand - “It’s fine. If anything you’re a breath of fresh air to be caring so much about it all.” Looking around age made a face at an empty bag of Cheetos. “Mmm- Yeah. And the cities are always the worst places. People tossing things from taxi’s. Or just getting drunk and throwing it around on the walk home.”

The man felt a little relief that she wasn’t going to get angry at him, and she actually seemed quite understanding and nice. “Well, it’s a close thing to me. I think it’s important that we’re all a little bit better about it, especially when we keep hearing more and more horror stories about what’s going on with the planet. The least we can do is throw our trash away properly.” He offered her a friendly smile. “Oh please, drunk people leave everything everywhere.” He joked. The sidewalks were a very gross place to be travelling down on a Sunday morning with who knows what splattered down them.

Marie was a huge gossip and couldn’t help herself from overhearing most things. So when she heard someone mention littering, her eyes went straight to the situation. She held her coffee cup in her hands and pressed it to her face, nodding in agreement with the stranger. “Oh too true. Littering is the easiest thing to avoid. Guess I’ll pick up their wrapper for them since they so kindly walked away….”

Pinocchio couldn’t help but huff, his disappointment and annoyance written on his features. He was quickly turning his attentions to the girl speaking to him though, and quickly shook his head, reaching for the trash and disposing of it properly instead. “Don’t worry! I’ll do it.” He sighed, trying not to let the moment ruin his mood. “If you ask me, it’s just lazy and careless. He was right next to the bin, you know? Anyway…” He shook his head. “There’s probably more important things going on in the world, I suppose.”