Flint

Chapter One:

Flint, the nice goofball who loves to spend time with everyone and everything, is doing jumping jacks in the middle of the street trying to stay fit and waiting for some friendly face to come by and keep him company. He is thinking a friendly face will not come soon. Slowing down his jumping jacks, he goes for a walk down the road instead. Normally, people would walk down the side of the road to avoid getting hit, but not Flint. No, he enjoys walking down the middle of the road because he hopes that he can make a quick friend that way. If he is walking down the middle of the road, then they will need to stop and ask him what in the hell is wrong with him. Since he is charming (he thinks so), he will make friends with them in no time. Oh, he also thinks he is invincible and no one could ever hurt him.

After several minutes of walking down the middle of the road while singing show tunes on the top of his lungs enjoying the nice summer breeze he notices a car coming towards him. Flint smiles like a big dumb idiot that a new friend is coming towards him as he walks down the middle of the road like an idiot. Car coming towards him ended up being a big, bulky, a pickup truck with a man who would make you want to walk on the other side of the road and never make eye contact with. To Flint, all he sees is a nice young man who just needs someone to love him or befriend him. To normal people, they see a man with neck tattoos and a permanent scowl to tell them to never speak to him. Someone like him just wants to be left alone. Flint won’t do that.

But see, Flint doesn’t care how weak or strong someone is as long as they are nice and they can spend the day doing anything they might want to do. He is up to anything. It doesn’t matter to him what they do. All he cares about is spending time with someone cool. Deep down, he wouldn’t mind baking chocolate chip cookies with someone. It’s something he always has done with his mom when he is a little boy and thought it would be a great way to get to know someone. People like to spill over cookies and milk.

Man with the giant pickup truck comes to a complete stop annoyed why this big idiot is walking down the middle of the road when he could have killed him. Annoyed by Flint’s actions, he put the truck into park and waited for Flint to approach the window. The window wasn’t down by the time Flint arrive at the driver’s door with a giant, stupid, a grin on his face. Big, bulky, a guy in the pickup truck is ready to socket punch Flint for just being himself.

Flint introduces himself and asked if he would like to become friends. He did not and asked Flint if he has been drinking. Flint responds with an even bigger smile than before while saying with glee, “Why not? We could become the greatest of friends. Think about it, we could go fishing, climbing, watch those sports if you might like them, or do some math problems if that is more your style. Ooooo, we could build a robot that can help me make some delicious cookies. We could become cake bros!” Flint is getting excited thinking about all the fun stuff him and his new friend could do together. Flint could be a little drunk.

Man in the pickup truck does not think it would be fun. He is wondering if this big, broody, blonde weirdo has ever gotten his head examined. There might be a possibility that he had gotten drop on his head way too many times as a kid and might miss a few screws. It wasn’t just the fact that he is acting like a man who might have had too many cocktails but growing irritated with the fact his voice is so, one might say charming. A voice that every man would want because it would help them become a chick magnet. It was bad enough that he, one might say, the gorgeous man in the entire world. Gay men would even want to do some very nasty things to him. He will not be surprised if this guy would become friends with them and do some of those...things.

Sitting there wondering how he can either make these guys leave in an ambulance to a mental home to get checked out for walking in the middle of the road. Or plain old make him leave for having such a soothing. The more he listens to Flint talk, the angrier he gets for not being able to have such amazing features as he does. Why this idiot was so lucky in that department? The guy in the pick up truck is wondering while Flint yammers on about nothing. Coming up blank with a good insult that he will think is funny and go over Flint’s head, instead he says annoyed, “I don’t know what insane asylum you escaped from. But you must go there, immediately. There is no way in hell would I ever want to do something with you.”

Flint, now saddened and annoyed that his potential friend ended up being a monster. No, he ended up being a demon summoned from hell who can roam the world without a care in the world. Someone needs to show this guy what it’s like to get your hopes up only to have them trampled on later on. The guy just needs to be taken down a few notches. Something. No one deserves to be treated like that. Flint continues his walk down the middle of the road.

As he is walking, he thinks about why the asshole wouldn’t have wanted to become friends with him. He didn’t do or say anything wrong. Sure, he might have come across a little strong but that isn’t a great reason he should treat him like that. Flint thought about the words he spoke and none of those words were offensive or disturbing. There is something wrong with the pickup truck guy, clearly.

After several more minutes of walking he notices something coming towards him but the excitement was cut off when he heard a Mickey Mouse voice coming from his right in the woods saying, “Ouch, that really hurt!”. Before he could take another step, they threw a rock right in front just missing hitting his nose. Flint stands in the middle of the road, rubbing his nose, amazed how a rock of that size could be so easily thrown. He was about to go investigate who has thrown the rock when another car stopped right in front of him. This time it is a teenage boy.

Flint, who thinks nothing through, walks to the driver’s door with that award winning smile. Teenager who is fully dressed in a stunning tuxedo with his red hair slicked back, waits for the strange man to approach the window to ask him if he needs a ride anywhere. Redhead does not see any houses nearby and is afraid that something bad has happened to him. Or if he escaped from the nut house and needs to go back. Based on the clothes he is wearing, he assumes the guy might be lost or someone dropped him off in the middle of nowhere for whatever the reason might be. To they have pissed him because this guy is very good looking and any girl would want him. And that charming smile. He has the whole works.

Redhead rolled down the window when Flint arrived and asked him, “Hello sir, are you lost?”

Flint, filled with glee said back, “Hi.”

Redhead is thinking Flint should be dropped off at the nut house for only saying hi and looking at him that pearly white smile. And that voice. If he swung the other way, he would be attracted to him but he’s not. He would like this to go faster, he has a wedding to attend. “Sir, is there a place I could bring you? I need to get going but I do not want to leave you here.” Teenager smiled as friendly as he can wait for this big lug to answer his question. His confidence that Flint will give him an answer fades as he stands there getting more excited that he found such a nice man willing to bring him places when he is busy. Someone raised this man right.

Too much time later, Flint finally said, “Yes, could you please bring me back home. I live ten miles in the direction you are heading. It’s a small greenhouse with a lit up tree in the front yard. You can’t miss it.”

Glad he could finally get an answer out of him, he asks Flint to get in the car and he will bring him home. Flint shuffles to the passenger side full of happiness that he has meant someone will bring him home when they know nothing about him. Redhead pauses for a few seconds debating if he made the right choice. Man sitting next to him could break him in half but the way he is acting, he doesn’t think this guy could hurt a fly. If he tries anything he has a gun hidden in the center console. Remembering that, it makes him feel safe and continues down the road.

Flint, joyed, is trying to come up with a way to ask this guy to be friends with him without being creepy. He is having a very hard time trying to come up with something that doesn’t make him sound like a psychopath or insane. Instead he asks him, “So, where are you going all dressed up like that?” Friendly and not creepy, he thought.

He politey answers his question, “My cousin is getting married. In that case, when we arrive at your house I will need you to jump out quickly because I am running late.”

Flint is filled with sorrow that he made this nice young man late for his cousins wedding. Now, he is trying to think of something that he can do for him for his troubles. While he thinks, the young man asks him a question, “What were you doing walking down the middle of the road? You know that is very dangerous, don’t you?” It’s also incredibly stupid, the teenager thinks.

Yes, he does. But he doesn’t care. Because no one or nothing could ever hurt him. Unless you count that man in the pickup truck. That man hurt him. The freak show had hurt Flint right into his over sensitive heart. Trying hard not to think about that man and how rudely he left without making plans. “I was hoping I could make a friend.”

This confuses the young boy, he asks further questions deciding if he should skip the wedding and take this man to a place where he can be safe. “Making friends? Um... what kind of friend you want to make?”

“Oh, friends that will hang out with me and stuff.”

Redhead wishes he could bang his head against the wheel for asking a stupid question. He is looking for a friend to do stuff with, which is the definition of a friend. Being more specific, “Okay, how did you expect to make friends with someone while walking down the middle of the road? Usually, people who are walking on the side of the road like you were ends up being serial killers. Don’t you think it would freak people out?”

Flint never thought about that but...“You stopped and let me in your car. You will help me. Why wouldn’t anyone else?”

This stumped the teenager. Impressed with how the big, strong, peanut brain man sitting next to him can easily come up with answers and is confused why he hasn’t thought about the dangers of walking down the middle of the road or trusting anyone is inside the car. But he could ask the same thing for himself. Why did he allow this man into his car? He supposes, sometimes you just have to take the risk. Redhead, both likes this man and worried about him. It worries him enough that he feels obligated to come and check up on his every once in a while. Someone how he knows this would make Flint thrilled.

The new friends arrived at Flint’s house and he jumps out of the car. Right before Flint closes the door, he asks the nice young man what his name is. Quickly he says, “Roger.”

“Flint.”

“It was nice to meet you Flint. Would it be okay if I come and visit you soon?”

“YES, that would be wonderful!”

“All right, I will see you soon then.” Both of them said their goodbyes. Flint watched Roger leave full of happiness that he just made a new friend. Now, he can forget about that asshole in the pickup truck leaving so rudely. What he said was uncalled for. He no longer needs him. If he sees that guy around, he will walk away with his head held high and hopes that he won’t have a reason to sock him a good one. When Roger’s car was no longer in view, Flint knew what he could do for him. Bake cookies. So, he runs to his car to go to the grocery store to make cookies for his new friend, Roger.

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