LINDY WOKE UP earlier than usual, tangled in her sheets and blinking away the sleep that clouded her vision. The sun was just coming up, hidden by gloomy clouds, but nonetheless rising for the day. That, of course, concluded one certain thing— Lee had already left for work.

Lindy threw her covers off of her, surprised when she saw she had fallen asleep in her clothes from the previous night. She tugged them off, replacing them for a new pair of jeans and an oversized, faded t-shirt that had Spin City's logo emblazoned across the front.

She ran downstairs and out the front door, stepping into the dewy morning air. With no car and no phone number for Krist's house, she had no idea how to track down her brother. She vaguely remembered the directions Trae had taken to get to Krist's, but even then, it would be much too far of a walk.

The only solution Lindy could think of would be to walk to Spin City, where she was almost certain Trae had a shift that morning. She could have waited at home until the afternoon, but she didn't want to be inside of her house for a second longer. The negative energy from the night before seemed to permeate every corner, making the place seem more like hell than home.

Without a fully formed plan, she began her walk down the driveway, folding her arms and hoping for the best.

With the way things had been going, things seemed like they could not get much worse.

________

Before heading to Spin City, Lindy stopped at the gas station, where she purchased a bag of Skittles and a new pack of cigarettes. They worker behind the counter had eyed her suspiciously as he'd handed over the fresh box of American Spirits, but declined to remark on her age. She treated herself to a new lighter as well, selecting the all white one that caught her eye.

Afterwards, she trudged to the record store, which was still closed. Defeated and still tired, Lindy sat down out front on the sidewalk, her back pressed against the hard concrete wall. She tore open her bag of Skittles, sifting through the candy until she had collected all the green candies in the palm of her hand. They were her favorite.

Lindy had kept her head down for so long that she didn't see the person who approached her, wearing an oversized parka-like jacket that was hardly suitable for the weather.

"Lindy?"

She looked up and almost choked on the Skittle that she was she was chewing. It was Kurt, standing in front of her with his hands balled into his jacket pockets.

"Oh god," she winced, feeling horribly embarrassed to have been caught by Kurt while camped out in front of a record store, eating candy for breakfast.

"What are you doing?" he smiled curiously, looking down at Lindy as if running into her outside of Spin City at the crack of dawn was an ordinary ordeal.

Hoping to avoid discussing the real matter that was plaguing her, Lindy tipped her bag of Skittles towards Kurt.

"Eating. Want one?"

Kurt laughed, but took a seat next to Lindy, reaching into the bag and taking a few candies in his hand.

"I shouldn't eat this crap. It makes my stomach hurt. But they're the best."

"Agreed," Lindy said, popping another in her mouth. Despite the fact that they had pretty much kissed the night before, things seemed at ease between her and Kurt. In fact, Kurt was communicating the idea that he'd known Lindy all his life just by how comfortable he seemed to be beside her. Their shoulders brushed together as he ate his handful of Skittles. 

"So, why are you at a record store at eight in the morning?" Kurt pressed.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Lindy retorted cleverly, quick to dodge Kurt's question.

"Couldn't sleep," Kurt smiled wryly. "The couch isn't exactly the best place in the world for a good night's rest."

Lindy almost asked why Kurt was sleeping on a couch in the first place, but decided against it. She didn't think it was her place to pry. But she did feel like she ought to tell Kurt the truth. She couldn't deny that there was an established trust between them already and something in his face told her that she could talk to him. 

"Trae and I got into an argument with our dad. He kicked Trae out," Lindy admitted in a small voice. "I wanted to hang out here until Trae came in for his shift."

Kurt's sharp and angular features softened at this news, and he looked down into his lap.

"I know plenty about getting kicked out of your home. Even if not by force. I'm sorry, Lindy."

Lindy was slightly taken aback by the news that Kurt had been shunned from his home. She hadn't necessarily pictured him with a happy-go-lucky life with his parents, but she saw him in a new light knowing then that he was just as homeless as her own brother.

"I should be the one who is sorry," she told him gently. He shook his head.

"Don't be. It was for the best. My crummy ass parents didn't care enough to keep me around, and they sure as hell didn't try to either. I'm better off on my own."

No matter what Kurt said, Lindy didn't buy into his adamance that his solitude was a well accepted thing. Even though she considered herself to be the biggest loner around, she couldn't imagine her life without Trae. Her empathy for Kurt swelled ten times bigger.

"You don't have to be on your own," she offered. When Kurt looked at her, she smiled, hoping to welcome him with her metaphorical-open arms. 

"I don't feel as on my own . . . since meeting you," Kurt explained slowly. Lindy wanted to take his hand so badly, but resisted, deciding to simply give him the most loving smile she could muster. Her heart fluttered dully, the first true bit of happiness she had felt since the night before.

"So where is Trae? Maybe I could help track him down?" Kurt implored, propping his elbows up on his knees.

"He's at Krist's house. Or at least, that's where he told me he was going."

"Lindy, you really don't have to worry about him if he's there. He'll be getting loads of hot meals and a warm place to sleep. Krist and Shelli are good caretakers."

"Krist owns that house? His parents don't come around, or anything? He lives completely alone?" Lindy asked, shocked to hear this.

Kurt laughed. "An old man like him? He moved out ages ago. It's been him and Shelli for awhile now. They'll probably get married soon."

"Wow. I forgot he's a few years older," Lindy thought aloud, remembering how much older Krist had indeed looked than the rest of them.

"But hey, like I was saying, don't worry about Trae. And if it makes you feel better, I'll find him later and him and I, we'll stick together. Wherever I go, he'll come to."

Lindy wasn't too sure how reassuring Kurt's promise was, seeing as to how Kurt probably had no real home to turn to himself, but the fact that he had offered to keep her brother safe meant something to her. It was an unspoken pledge that Kurt cared enough about her to care about Trae too.

"Thank you," she said. "It means a lot that you want to help."

"Of course I do. I didn't think for a second that you didn't have it so great at home, but I guess that's what happens when you get to know someone."

"Yeah . . . my mom died when I was a kid, and my dad is just a huge dick. It's been this way for as long as I can remember. He just resents me or something. Trae always says it's because I was supposed to be a boy."

"Trust me, thank your stars you weren't born a boy. Fathers and their sons are a tricky thing. They expect too damn much, or they don't give a damn at all. I can't really explain it," Kurt maintained, a crease cinching his eyebrows together. "And I'm sorry about your mom, by the way. I feel bad bitching about mine when you don't even have one."

"Don't worry about it. Bitch all you want. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with shitty family problems." Lindy had closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall behind them, but snapped herself back into reality when she realized what she had said. "I didn't mean . . ."

"It's okay. Between the two of us, we're perfect together based solely on our joint collection of shitty problems," Kurt quipped playfully. His light smile assured her that she had not overstepped any boundaries. 

Lindy chucked, pulling her knees to her chest and passing off her bag of Skittles to Kurt so he could polish them off. For the first time in awhile, she felt entirely relaxed while out in public. She knew it had everything to do with Kurt. He calmed her and made her feel like he understood everything wrong in her world. In fact, he made all the wrongness seem right. He claimed to carry his own baggage, but Lindy saw him as a warm light, brightening every path he crossed.

"I hate to ask, but are you offended that I kissed you without permission?"

Kurt's question jolted Lindy from her dreamy thoughts, and she found herself suddenly tongue-tied.

"Offended? Why would I be offended by that?" She prayed to God that her cheeks weren't warming. 

In an instant, the roles were reversed and Kurt was quickly in Lindy's shoes as the younger of the two. His pale skin flushed at her question, and she could automatically tell that Kurt was no playboy. It was easy to see that he treaded the waters of physical contact carefully, and she could also guess that because he'd known her such a short time, he feared scaring her off.

"I'm not offended at all. And besides, it wasn't a real kiss," Lindy quickly said, looking down and busying herself with her unkept shoelaces. She picked at them, closing her teeth over her lower lip nervously. 

"Not a real kiss? What defines a real kiss?" Kurt asked. She thought she could hear a mix of amusement and concern in his voice. 

"Well . . . we just touched mouths. A kiss is more than that," Lindy explained, though her face was growing obviously red and she was becoming mortified. How could she define what a kiss was when she'd barely shared any in the past?

"Don't make me explain," she whined, nudging Kurt with her elbow. He was grinning at her, but yet his face was a blush red as well. The two of them had embarrassed each-other with their talk of kisses and touching.

"Is it like this?" Kurt questioned. Lindy looked to him, confused, but was immediately stopped when he leaned in, cupping his hand around her neck and softly planting his lips on hers.

This kiss was much different than the one from the night before. There was no space between Kurt's mouth and Lindy's, and Lindy found herself pleasured by the softness of Kurt's lips and the way they shaped nicely around hers. She lifted her hand, clutching the wrist leading to his palm, which moved to the back of her neck and pulled her closer.

It was rainbows and sunshine, euphoria at its finest. Lindy had been kissed before, but never like that. Every bad ache in her body melted away at Kurt's touch, and she found her insides screaming with gratitude over the fact that this stranger had walked into her life only a few weeks earlier.

And all the while, she enjoyed the taste of Skittles on his breath as he kissed her, not once pulling away.