Jeremy Crowns had been down this road plenty of times before, it was a nice short cut from his job at the “Biggie Burger” I took him right though the old abandoned part of town, full of run down old Shoppe’s and Clothing stores that foreclosed from bad business…
Honestly, he loved it…
To normal people, it would seem decrepit and depressing, but not for Jeremy. He never got tired of stopping once in a while to look into the shops. For him, it was like looking into the past, seeing what might have been. A dream of someone’s that just wasn’t realized…
Dream; he’d used the word often. With his small 5’7” frame, he wasn’t half as imposing as all the other guy’s he hung out with. A weakling really. Then, again, his social circle wasn’t as grand as he wanted it to be either. At 22, he was healthy, but looked like a stick. Slender and almost feminine like, he’d been mocked for a little more than half his life. Some said, that if he turned sideways, he’d practically disappear…
It stung him for years, the way he was treated by others. No one just seemed to like him, always thinking of him like a doormat; walking all over him. Now years later, that torment still hurt, but the pain had died away to a slow numb. Jeremy hated them, all of them…
…Especially Robert Tucker, His own personal demon…
After learning he was gay by messing around with his private computer, by means of theft and ransom. Rob rushed to tell the gym coach at Nocturne College, Jeremy’s father, Richard Crowns. Worse yet, though obviously not publicly known by anyone other than his students, Richard was an extreme homophobic. He threw Jeremy out, disowning him not two hours later.
That was three years ago…
~DING! DING!~
“Well, 'ello there lad! Mind if ye’ take a look around me shop?” a voice called
Jeremy broke out of his memory trance and stopped. There was a older man standing in front of him, not six feet away. With his clean cut hairstyle, white dress shirt, black pants, and a blue apron. Complete with white vertical stripes and matching hat, he appeared to have jumped right out of a 60’s Malt Shop. To say he looked out of place would have been a drastic understatement…
“Please, I just finished openin’.” He Pleaded “You’ll be ma’ first customer, Give ya some Freebie’s if ya do? No Charge, I swear!”
“Um…” was all Jeremy could get out. He was obviously eager, and seemed nice for an older guy. Plus, he spoke in a British Australian accent. Weren’t they supposed to be very proper and mannerly?
Looking at the older man, how he was bowing slightly, making an overly dramatic gesture to come inside. Jeremy smiled, a real, true smile. It’d been a while since he’d done that around anyone else.
“Sure! Why not! I’ve got some time, plus, I’ve never really been one to turn down FREE anything really? What kind of place is this anyway?” He began as he followed the man inside, failing to notice the sign overhead that read “Barry Strange’s: Candy-opia.”