Thread: The boy's just no good. {missedstations x HKitten}

It was a few hours past dawn, and light had still not reached the depths between skyscrapers. If he had cause to look up, he could have marvelled at the beauties of the universe, but Ren really wasn't in the mood. The bruises across his ribs hurt too much. It was a risk of his job. Most clients were willing to pay and leave, but sometimes you got an arsehole that equated prostitute with slut, and beat him up to boot. The beating was worse than just not being paid. If he didn't earn anything one night, he could always count his losses and try again the next one. But if he was covered in bruises, then that attracted the sort of client that would just add more of them. It was better not to work for a week or so than risk broken bones. He had been on the street long enough to learn all those things. He'd had to earn his keep since he was sixteen. It was little surprise he'd left home as soon as he could, disappearing into the city. His first stop that morning was the tiny apartment he managed to rent, whose chief advantage was that it had a working shower. A shower, then to check his fridge, wincing as he bent over. A boot to his stomach why was that such a favourite target? His four years of experience told him that humanity was far more thorough in doing a person ill than good. It wasn't that he was cynical. Ren had simply never seen any evidence to the contrary. He wondered why he had even bothered to check the fridge. He had known that it was empty in advance. He had enough money to pay the rent, and maybe to get food for a couple of days. Damn, that would mean either being back on the streets sooner than he wanted, or being hungry for a few days. It was hard to decide. For now though, he needed something to eat. He tied up his still wet hair in a ponytail, and got dressed again. Not in his work clothes, of course. He went for loose jeans and an ancient sweatshirt, with a greatcoat over the top. Warmth, rather than good looks. Good looks only mattered when he needed to pick up a john or two. All the money he could spare went into a back pocket, and then he was out. The sunlight made him blink. He hadn't seen it in quite a while actually he was surprised at himself. Then again, his clients liked his pale skin, and the way it went with his dark hair. The nearest supermarket was a small one, and a twenty minute walk away. No one sensible would put any shop in Ren's district. It was too filthy and crimeridden. So he ended up in a slightly better place, where the street was a little cleaner and the buildings had less broken windows. Even so, the shop was poor. He picked up some painkillers, a couple of cans, and then stopped in front of the vegetable aisle, wondering whether the few sorry greens were worth his money. He couldn't really afford it, but it had been forever since he had eaten anything fresh... It was hard to get much fresh food down here. Too many people lived in the city, and the prices were too high. Standing indecisively in front of a crate of overpriced and stunted apples, Ren bit his lip. If he bought some, he would need to be back at work even sooner. But then again, he really wanted to taste them... He wished that the security guard was not watching him so closely, because otherwise he would have tried to shoplift a couple.