Homeless

I sighed, pulling on my jacket. It was another cool, windy day. I stepped out of my house, locking it behind me slowly before I stepped along to the beat of the music blasting through my headphones. I began a slow walk down my road, to a little burger shop I liked. It was a family-run business, and they were good. I started to think about what I wanted to buy for lunch today.

As I decided, I walked past a small homeless girl. I noticed her wearing a hoodie, leaning against the side of a nearby building. She had one of those small paper cups in front of her, with a few coins inside. She was facing the ground, so I couldn't see her face, only some long, brown, dirty hair that fell to the ground. I felt bad but found myself too nervous to say anything, so I simply kept walking.

I made it to the little burger shop, and walked in. I turned my music off and walked up to the counter to order.

"What can I get for you, Jonny?" The lady behind the counter asked. Her name was Sandra, and she had been working here for a couple months. I frequented this place ever since I moved here, so I was a regular, and they knew my name by this point. I thought briefly of the girl outside, and I decided on a whim.

"Can I take two burgers, some large fries, and two drinks to go?" I asked, grinning. Sandra raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she put the order on the register. I sat down on one of the nearby seats to wait. There was usually only ever one or two other people in here. It's not the most popular place, but that was part of the appeal to me. I sat and waited for my order to come, tapping my knee absently as I waited.

"Here you go, Jon. You just feelin' extra hungry, or do you got another mouth to feed?" She asked, handing me the large paper bag.

"I uh, saw a homeless girl outside that looked a little hungry, and thought I might get her something." I answered, shrugging as I grabbed the paper bag. I passed her the money, and bid her farewell, before walking out. I could see the homeless girl across the street, her head still facing the ground and leaning against the building. Looking at her from this angle, she looked rather small. Could she be a child? I started heading towards her, carefully checking the road before crossing.

I soon was getting close to her. My heart was beating a little faster than usual for some reason. I didn't really do stuff like this. I mean, I think of myself as a decent person, but I don't normally buy for homeless people. I took a deep breath, before speaking.

"I uh, hi. Are you hungry?" I stammered, gulping as I finished speaking. She looked up, and I saw she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She had the most incredible eyes. Brown, large and shining like the stars. I could explore her eyes for hours, if I wanted to.

She had an adorable button nose, and cute small lips currently in a frown. Her long brown hair was unkempt, a little dirty and tangled but otherwise beautiful. She looked to be in her late teens, early twenties maybe? Her eyes went from mine to the large paper bag I was holding, and her eyes widened.

"I, uh, yeah. Did you buy that for me?" She asked, her voice sounding like beautiful music to my ears. I nodded, unable to speak to this beauty. I watched as her lips curled into a little smile, and it melted my heart. I handed her the bag, and watched as she opened it quickly, her face filled with delight as she looked inside. I felt my heart fill with glee, as I became a little light-headed.

"You don't mind if I, uh, sit with you, right? I kinda bought for myself a little too, um, sorry." I stuttered, my hand was shaking in my jacket pocket. Her smile grew wider, as she looked into my eyes.

"Of course, I'd love for you to sit next to me." She replied, her angelic voice rang through my ears. I took a deep breath to calm my heart as it tried to jump through my chest. I quickly sat beside her. "Thank you so much, I've barely eaten this past week." She beamed, hugging me tightly. I felt her cool hands against my back, and I couldn't help but grin like an idiot as her arms wrapped around me.

I watched as she looked through the bag, pulling out my drink and burger and passing them to me, before grabbing her own desperately. She unwrapped the burger quickly, rushing to eat it. I unwrapped mine carefully, and watched her bite into the burger desperately. I started to realize just what I had done for this girl as she began gulping down the burger quickly. She was done within a minute.

"Sorry, I kind of ate like a pig just now..." She muttered as I saw her adorable cheeks turn a little red. I couldn't help but smile at how cute she was.

"It's fine, I can understand why you would. I'm not exactly a perfect eater anyway." I shrugged. She grabbed her drink and began sucking on the straw quickly. I had just finished the burger by the time I heard the straw scrape against the paper cup, frantically searching for more drink. "Want some of mine?" I offered, holding out the full drink.

"But, that one was yours." She objected, shaking her head.

"But I can buy drinks whenever, and I have some at home. It's fine, honestly." I insisted, holding it out to her. Her cheeks turned a shade darker, as her grin grew somehow wider. I watched as she eagerly took mine and sipped on it slower than her drink. I pulled the chips out, and handed them to her. "Feel free to eat as many of these as you can, just make sure not to make yourself sick." I told her. She nodded, still drinking.

We sat quietly for a couple minutes as the beautiful homeless girl kept eating chips, at a slower pace than she ate the burger, and sipped on my drink. I waited for her to finish the chips. I watched as she put the small paper bag in the larger one that everything came in. After she had finished, she turned to me and hugged me tightly again.

"Thank you so, so much. I don't even know your name and you bought me this meal." She babbled into my ear. I felt like I was in heaven having this beautiful girl so close to me, thanking me.

"It's okay, really! My name's Jon. What's yours?" I managed to ask, barely able to think. She let go, but was still sitting close to me.

"My name is Cindy." She smiled gently. Cindy was the perfect name for such a beautiful girl, I decided. I noticed her shiver a little, and immediately began taking my jacket off. Her hoodie was a little big on her, but seemed to have a few holes in it, possibly from being her only clothes? I wrapped my jacket around her, and watched her grin. She moved closer, and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you, Jon." She whispered close to my face, her cheeks slightly red. I blushed deeply, unable to believe she would even want to kiss me.

"I-It was no problem, really." I stuttered, still hardly thinking. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heart again. "Can I ask, if it's truly not too personal, how you came to be here?" I hoped I wasn't intruding too much.

"Sure. Abusive mother, no real friends, I left in my last year of high school just under a year ago. I've made by on petty change and recycling, buying cheap food from stores, wandering around the streets randomly, hoping I don't die. That's it, honestly." She explained, finishing with a cute shrug.

"I-I'm so sorry you've had to go through that, I'm really glad that I bought you that meal today." I sputtered, feeling terrible for her. "This might sound a little crazy, but would you like to stay at my place for a little bit so you can get back on your feet?" I offered. I knew it was far too soon to offer something like that considering we had just met, but I knew I had to help this girl. Her eyes widened, and tears sprang from her eyes, running down her cheeks.

"W-would you really do that?" She stammered, her lip wobbling. I felt terrible for making her cry, but I nodded eagerly. She beamed the widest I'd seen so far, her lips still wobbling as tears ran down her cheeks. I quickly reached over and wiped them away.

"Hey now, please don't cry." I whispered gently to her, carefully holding the side of her face. She grinned, before hugging me tightly again.

"You have no idea how much this means to me, thank you so much." She thanked me, whispering into my ear. I felt amazing, being able to help this beautiful girl.

"Y-you're welcome! Do you want to go now so you can get cleaned up and rest for a bit?" I offered, my cheeks still red.

"If that's okay, yes please." She replied, grinning from ear to ear. I got up quickly, and held out my hand, and helped her to her feet. I realized, as we both stood beside each other, just how small she was. She barely went up to my chest, and she was scarily thin. After she stood, I noticed her legs shaking a little.

"Are you gonna be okay to walk?" I asked, concerned. She looked down at her legs, before back up at me.

"Would it, uh, be okay if you helped me across? I'm not exactly too strong." She murmured, embarrassed. I simply nodded, before she leant against me. I reached around with my arm, holding onto her side gently to make sure she wouldn't fall. I felt fantastic, with this beautiful girl in my arms as we walked down the street to my house.

"So, I'll let you shower, and rest for a while, but do you want to go shopping for clothes today or tomorrow?" I asked, as we grew close. She looked up at me, her eyes widened.

"What do you mean, you don't have to buy me things." She denied, shaking her head.

"I think I do, if you're gonna stay with me for a while. I can't have you wearing the same dirty old clothes all the time, that'd just be wrong. Oh, you're gonna need uh, girly toiletries too, right?" I replied, blushing a little as I thought of it.

"I mean, I guess, but I don't wanna cost you too much money, especially when I can't even get a job straight away to pay you back." She admitted, as we approached my front door. I stopped in front of it, and faced her, crouching a little so we'd be face-to-face.

"I don't care about money, I care about making you safe and happy. Pay me back by being happy, that's all I want from you. Not a single penny." I told her, blushing a little as I stared into her eyes. I saw tears begin to fill her eyes, and felt bad again. I really needed to stop making her cry so much.

"You're too nice, Jon. You're too nice." She muttered, hugging me tightly again. I laughed a little, grinning from her compliment. After she let go, I grabbed my keys and unlocked the door. I quickly showed her around my place.

I had a small lounge room, with one two-seater couch and a decent size TV. My kitchen, also rather small, had all the usual stuff one could expect from a kitchen. I had a small bathroom, which doubled as a laundry. I then showed her the two bedrooms. I first showed her mine, with a double bed and not much else. I then showed her to her room, which I had been using as a work-room. I had a single bed for guests, and a desk with a large computer.

"Can I ask, what do you do for a job?" She asked, looking at the computer.

"I write stories. I upload them to a place where people can spend a few dollars to read them, and that's how I make my money. I'm popular enough to the point where I can do it full-time. I try to have something new up every month or two. I'll move the computer, don't worry about me having to use it here all the time." I explained, smiling gently. Her eyes widened.

"Wow, that's amazing. Oh, but you don't have to move the computer, I don't mind if you come in whenever." She insisted.

"Nonsense, you deserve privacy. I'll move it to the lounge room, I've got plenty of space in the corner there. I'll do that while you shower, which reminds me that you're gonna need something to wear while I wash your clothes. Come with me, we'll go find something of mine you can put on." I told her, helping her to my room.

"You, you really don't need to..." She muttered.

"You don't have any spare clothes, and I'm not gonna let you walk around in a towel." I said firmly, interrupting her as I opened my cupboard. Cindy sat on my bed silently, with an adorable smile. I grabbed a large jumper I hardly wore, and some old sweatpants that I hadn't worn in years. "Are these gonna be enough for you?" I asked, showing her. She nodded eagerly.

"I uh, I think so. Thank you." She mumbled, nodding. I smiled gently, as she grabbed them carefully. She got up and started slowly wandering to the bathroom.

"You uh, you're not gonna need help with standing there, right?" I asked, blushing. She turned around, and looked at me. She started giggling, probably from my blush.

"Not unless you want to." She purred seductively, winking at me. My face turned bright red, making her giggle more. She wandered away to the bathroom, as I took deep breaths. I could hardly think, that sentence repeating in my head over and over. I shook my head, to try and get the rude thoughts out of my mind. I didn't want to disrespect her by thinking of her too sexually.

After a minute of calming down, I noticed the water was on already. I moved to the spare room, and began unplugging all the various parts of my computer. I then began wheeling my desk into my lounge room. I had just finished setting it up when I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned around, to see Cindy was cute with wet hair. It had turned darker from being wet, but it was long and still tangled horribly. She was incredibly adorable in my oversized jumper, the sleeves going past her hands. I then noticed that she wasn't wearing pants, and gulped. She had amazing, albeit worryingly thin legs.

"The sweatpants didn't fit me, they kept falling off. I'm okay with walking around without pants though. Uh, if you show me how to use the washing machine, I can wash the clothes myself." She told me, her voice adorably quiet.

"I uh, sure." I followed her into the bathroom, and showed her. She put her clothes in, and turned it on. "I'll put your clothes in the dryer, you can go nap for now. I think you could use a good sleep." I remarked.

"I can't remember the last time I slept in a bed. Can you help me to my room?" She asked, grinning. She leant against me, and I wrapped my arm around her side again. We walked slowly to her room, and I helped her lie down on the bed. "So, I was thinking how I could pay you back, and I was thinking..." Her voice wandered off, and I watched as she started to pull up the sweater. I looked away, blushing fiercely.

"Stop, stop!" I yelled, covering my eyes with my hand.

"I, I'm sorry, I just thought..." She muttered sadly. I risked glancing and saw she had covered herself again.

"Listen, you're the most beautiful girl I've met, and I could not imagine being lucky enough to be with you. But I don't want you to do those things because you're grateful, I want you to do those things because you want to, and like me for who I am." I explained gently. A little smile began to grow on her face.

"You're too kind to me. Can I at least give you a kiss, to feel like I've given you something?" She asked, holding her hands out. I blushed, gulping.

"I uh, I guess?" I stammered. I stepped towards her, and she wrapped her hands around the back of my head, pulling me closer to her. Our lips connected, hers were as soft as pillows. We kissed slowly but gently, as I felt fireworks go off in my heart. After a few moments, she eased the pressure on the back of my head, and I slowly moved away.

"That was amazing." I gasped, sitting on the foot of her bed now. She seemed pleased with herself.

"That was the best kiss I've had." She replied, with a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

"How many people have you kissed?" I asked.

"You." I stared, my eyes wide. It was impossible to think someone as amazing as her had chosen me to be her first kiss. She began to giggle, watching my face.

"I just hope I wasn't rubbish." I gulped, making her laugh harder.

"You were a fantastic first kiss, don't worry." She giggled. I laughed along too a little for a moment, before we settled ourselves. I watched as she yawned, before I got up.

"I'll leave you to sleep now. If you don't mind wearing my oversized clothes until then, we can go looking for clothes and stuff tomorrow. There's nothing you need immediately that I probably wouldn't have?" I asked gently, standing in the doorway.

"Not that I can think of, no. I'm not gonna need any 'girly toiletries,' as you put it." She teased, smirking again. I loved her smirk, and how it adorably lit up her face. It made her seem so cheeky, yet gentle. I shook my head slightly, realizing I had just stared at her face for a moment without saying anything.

"Good, I'll leave you alone then. If I'm asleep by the time you wake up, I'll leave your tea in the fridge to reheat when you wake up." I told her gently. "Goodnight." I whispered, shutting the door slowly.

"G'night." She cooed softly. She sounded so cute, I couldn't help but grin wider as I closed the door. I sighed as I wandered towards my desk. I loaded up a new word document, and let my thoughts wander as I wrote, a romance loosely based on Cindy. Before I knew it, it had become late, around 8PM as she stumbled out of the room, her hair adorably fluffy.

"What time is it?" She meekly asked, sitting down on the couch behind me. I blinked, clearing my thoughts from the romance to the real world.

"I uh, Eight. You slept for nearly six hours." I said, still not focusing properly. She leant over a little, looking at the screen. I quickly minimized my work, before getting up with a stretch.

"So what do you wanna have for tea? I'm happy to go pick up, if there's anything specific you want." I told her. I started grinning as she leant her head to the side to think, frowning for a moment. Suddenly her eyes lit up, and a wide grin spread across her face.

"Can we have pizza please?" She asked, excited. I briefly chuckled before nodding. I sat back down, and loaded up the website for a pizza place I knew. We discussed for a couple minutes about what to get, before putting the order in. After it was done, we sat silently for a moment.

"Were you working before I got up?" She gently inquired. I internally groaned because I was writing about her.

"Yeah, on a new story. I haven't written much though." I lied. I wrote nearly ten pages before she woke up.

"Could I maybe read it?" She asked nervously, twiddling her thumbs.

"Wouldn't you rather read one of my finished stories? It's be better than a couple pages of introducing characters." I advised. She nodded, sitting on the edge of her seat. I loaded up an old classic of mine that did well, and got up. She sat down and got comfortable, before she began reading. I stretched, and wandered over to the kitchen to grab myself a drink.

"What drinks do you have?" She called out from the lounge room. I glanced through my fridge. I only had a few soft drinks and some beers, I told her, and saw her head tilt to the side while she thought about what she wanted.

"Could I please have a beer?" She gently requested.

"You're over 18, right?" I asked, grabbing an extra bottle and moving back to the lounge room.

"Yeah, I think so. We're past February, right?" She asked as I handed her the drink.

"Yep. Happy birthday." I joked. She grinned, giggling a little before opening and taking a large swig. I watched her start reading. It was odd, but I enjoyed watching her read my story. Watching her eyes swing back and forth, her mouth curl into a grin.

"What is it?" She asked, looking at me with a cute smirk. She twisted the chair to face me.

"Huh?" I said dumbly.

"You've been staring at me for like a minute." She giggled. "Not that I mind." My eyes widened for a moment, before looking away, blushing.

"You just looked kinda cute." I muttered, embarrassed. I heard her gasp. She got up and leant over me, before she kissed my cheek. My cheeks turned a shade darker, and I looked up to see her smiling softly, her hair obscuring her shining, stunning eyes. I slowly pushed the hair out of her face. My fingers paused around her ear. I saw her take a deep breath, when the doorbell suddenly rang.