“So not good news I take it?” Chancey met Wyatt outside the shop at which he worked. He had spied his friend walking down the street and even at the distance he could tell that the blond boy was upset. 

“I…” Wyatt took a deep breath to steady himself, “just don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Hold on! I’ll see if I can take extra time for my midday break.” Chancey gestured to stay put before dashing back inside. A few minutes later he reappeared and approached within a cautious smile. 

“Let’s go to Tamara’s. We can talk there.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

“Then have a drink with me while I eat, cuz I could eat a horse!”

Tamara’s was a small food stall tucked away around the corner, known mostly to those who worked in the area. Like most places, it served a blend of foods depending on the availability of ingredients but by far the most popular item was their beef dip sandwich. 

The two boys sat down at one of the tables a little further away from the stall. 

“Wyatt,” Chancey began in a soft tone, not unlike the tone he used when they would sometimes chat late at night. “Whatever it is, I want to know. I want to help.”

Wyatt didn’t say anything until after their order was taken. 

“It’s hard to describe, I guess.”

“Start with the Giver. How much allocation did you get?”

Wyatt dove a hand into a pocket and pulled out a dozen tokens with symbols on them.

“Is that all?” The redhead scoffed.

“After two weeks worth of housing, yeah.”

“Oh, well still… that’s not a lot.”

“I know!” Wyatt sighed and feigned slamming his forehead onto the table in frustration repeatedly. 

Chancey reached across the table and placed his hands palm up to interrupt the contact. The blond boy stopped and just rested his head in his friend’s hands. 

“Ok, sit up and let’s work through this. You’re not normally a quitter. So… up!”  Chancey watched his friend raise his head and slump back into the chair. Those warm eyes seemed to be darker and almost brooding. He sensed there was something tucked away. Wyatt’s gaze was hesitant. 

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Just when Wyatt looked ready to reveal what was bothering him, the food came. Chancey’s food, a beef dip, and then a tall glass of fruit cider for each of them. 

“You want one now, don’t you?” 

“Fuck, yeah. I forgot how delicious those looked and smelled.” 

 Chancey took a big bite of the sandwich after dipping it, and then grinned as he chewed sloppily. Wyatt was jealous and admittedly kinda hungry now. The au jus was generously seasoned and full of flavour. Chancey continued to chew. Wyatt glanced over at the server anxiously. 

“Here,” the redhead dipped a corner of his sandwich and then held it up to Wyatt’s mouth. When the other boy stubbornly did nothing in response he slowly pushed the dripping sandwich up to Wyatt’s lips. “Come on, just open your mouth and take it.”

Wyatt’s attempt at shock seemed genuine at first, but quickly was undermined by the grin spreading from one corner of his mouth to the other.

“Fine.”  

Chancey began to chuckle as he held the sandwich in place so that Wyatt could take a bite. Wyatt chewed and enjoyed the tasty morsel. He wiped his chin with the back of his hand and gave a thumbs up. 

“You could have had another bite!” Chancey told him once the food was all gone. Wyatt seems to be eyeing the crumbs left over.

“No. It’s okay.” The light playful tone was gone from his friend’s voice again. Chancey studied the other closely and started to worry.

“No, you’re not okay. Tell me, Wyatt.” The words were on the tip of his tongue for a frozen moment, but he forced them out after a slight breeze tugged some of Wyatt’s hair down into his eyes causing him to blink instinctively. A tear slid down his cheek.

Chancey knew the Wyatt had some difficulty sharing certain things. Even with them being best friends, the younger of the two still hesitated a lot. It wasn’t that the kinship they felt was one sided—Chancey truly cared for Wyatt, like he was a little brother. And while the red head knew that Wyatt might experience certain feelings towards him he never let it become a concern. Mostly, because Chancey knew that whatever Wyatt’s feeling for him were, he believed their friendship was as solid as any remnant of the world before that still stood. As was his faith in it—never wavering. 

“Look, I can go home early and we can just..” Chancey began tenderly, but his words faded when Wyatt spoke in a tone that was eerily calm. 

“The exchanger at the giver’s office told me that he knew of a way for me to get almost a years worth of housing allocation, so long as I was a virgin.” His eyes were focused off in the distance now.

Chancey heard the words. He couldn’t quite comprehend their full significance until he realized that he was holding his breath. 

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean I have thought about it.” The same quiet and serious tone.

Now, Chancey was shocked. Finally, Wyatt returned his focus and saw the look on his friends face. He turned red with embarrassment. 

“No,” Chancey’s mind was scrambling for reasons. “Is it worth the risks? What if you get caught? What if you get hurt real bad? What if they don’t pay up?”

“Don’t worry I don’t want to do that! I’m too scared.”

Chancey scrutinized the other boy for such evidence and saw that Wyatt was apparently genuine but remained unconvinced. 

“Seriously, if I ever think you’re about to try something like that I’ll have sex with you myself so that you won’t be a virgin and it won’t be worth it at all.”

Wyatt went from flushed to blanched in a heart beat. The look of absolutely astonishment was simply comical. Chancey tried to hold back laughter, but his resolved crumbled. He was holding on until Wyatt’s visage began to contort with his own restraint. 

Finally both boys were reduced to laughter again. But Wyatt’s mirth was an effort on his part. He didn’t want to bring Chancey’s mood down any further so he didn’t mention that the new Giver was quite forward with his suggestion and that it was obvious that the man would be the first one to take advantage of such an opportunity. The man was younger than the previous Giver, but still had some grey in his thinning hair. Stout and sturdy in frame, no doubt he had been a force to be reckoned with in his youth, and possible even handsome. His face however, was scarred in a few place and he regarded Wyatt as if he was a juicy piece of meat during the whole exchange. 

“Just in case I ever reconsider it, I’ll be sure to let you know!” Wyatt teased his friend, not because he was in a flirtatious mood—far from it. It was the type of comment that was expected of him so he used it to move away from this uncomfortable conversation.