{Mikhail}

Useless thoughts filled my head for the next couple of days. The stupid thoughts clouded my judgment and the butterflies in my stomach have only multiplied since I last saw Nico. I had to admit that his gesture of waiting patiently with me until I woke up at the park felt nice. I wasn't even sure how long he was waiting there for me to wake up that day.

I haven't seen him since then which made me feel a little odd. He is the son of a Mafia boss so I wouldn't be surprised if he had some dangerous jobs to take care of. We've only had two encounters since the first day I saw him in the shop. There was no reason for me to get so happy over his small actions.

It was the weekend which meant I had to run the shop while dad went out doing who knows what. Occasionally he would stand in and help but it wouldn't happen often. The closer we got to mom's December 25th leading into the 26th the more dad looked depressed.

We have two weeks off of school and go back starting the second of January. I already knew that these next two weeks were going to go by unbearably slow. It's not that I didn't like spending time at home, I did, but there were too many memories of mom. Perhaps that was why dad always seemed to vanished and never spent time at home. Though, honestly speaking, dodging his responsibilities made him unreliable as a grown up.

Even when he was home, he was usually drunk and would pass out in the living room or the back room. Occasionally he would sober up enough to help around he shop but he was so clumsy it irritated me and I would send him away.

Dylan and or Dan would come at times and volunteer to help out for free. Every time I offered at least a couple bucks they would turn me down and promise they had nothing better to do.

They were good people and the only friends I had after many found out in what kind of condition I lived in. Lots of kids from school were so close minded so when they found out I lived in such or conditions, they dropped me as a friends in fear of ruining their own reputation. I wasn't sad or bothered by it. It's not like they had really meant anything to me.

Paint from the walls was chipping and there were a few cracks coming down from the ceiling. It definitely was a safety hazard if an earthquake struck. Though, I highly doubted that we would get shut down because most of the houses in the neighborhood were the same.

The government did nothing to try to remodel this half of the city and instead used our tax dollars to invest in new 'toys' for war. That's why the Mafia ran a big part of the city. They kept money flowing so the government didn't try to stop their illegal businesses. Many people, though, wanted the Mafia gone. Some for selfish reasons and others for safety. To be honest, the Mafia was probably doing a better job at keeping most communities safe. Better than the government, that is. I've heard around that anyone who dared cross the Mafia, didn't end up so well. I could already imagine death and torture were how they would set an example for anyone else willing to play dirty but it was none of my business.

What my father did was none of my concern. He was an adult now, even if he didn't behave as one.

I would only get involved if something were to happen to the flower shop or they tried taking his life away. Dad was irresponsible but I wasn't going to lose my only family member over something like a debt. Dad's life probably wasn't worth much to the Mafia anyway. Realistically speaking, they would attempt to take the shop away and make a different business out of it.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't realized a few customers had come in. A man and what seemed like his wife or girlfriend. They were looking at different flowers around and talked amongst themselves.

I straightened out and put on a more approachable appearance. I smiled at the women with a small nod of my head as she caught me staring. She giggled quietly and grabbed onto the man's arm. She pointed at a particular flower. The man pulled it out and smelled it. He showed it to the women and she nodded enthusiastically. "Excuse me. What are these and how much do they cost?" He asked showing me as he held the flower up.

"Coral Rose." I said smiling at the beauty of the small rose. It was a vibrant orange that many also compared it to fire. "A dollar per rose. You'll get a small gift for the beautiful young lady there if you buy a bouquet of them." I said speaking gently.

The women flushed red and tugged on his arm. "Babe, I really want these." She said smiling widely at him.

He narrowed his eyes slightly in my direction. I kept my smile on my face. He looked down at his girl and nodded, "Okay." He gave in with a sigh. He Picked up twenty or so flowers.

As I cut off the long stem and wrapped his flowers I overheard them talking about going to a birthday part or something and how much Jess was going to love them. I rang him up and he paid me. I gave him his change back and dug into the cabinet. Inside we had small flower crowns that I personally made when we ran out. I leaned over the counter and placed it on her head. "Thank you and please come again." I said putting my hands in front of me and gave a slight bow.

The women looked happy as they walked out of the store. The moment they walked out, the smile fell from my face. I found it difficult to hold the smile for so long. At first, I didn't smile at the customers but many of them assumed I was glaring at them and would leave. In time, I had to teach myself how to smile so they wouldn't mistake me for being angry even if I really wasn't.

I sighed softly and let my head fall on the desk. "Ow." I said quietly and propped my head on my arm instead of the hard wood desk.

I started wondering how Nico lived his life. I imagined him walking away from a burning car and then an explosion behind him as he held a cool grin on his face. I laughed gently as my wild imagination. It's not like he was some kind of hero in a movie. In the real world, he was looked at more as the villain.

"Why are you zoning off?" I heard Dylan's voice.

I looked up, shocked that I hadn't heard the bells from the door. "When did you get in?"

"A few seconds before the couple left. I saw you flirting with his girl from outside the window and was intrigued so I came inside." He said fixing the beanie on his head. Pieces of his black hair had fallen out which made his green eyes pop out from behind his glasses.

"I wasn't flirting." I corrected him, "I was making sure they were going to buy something."

Dylan shrugged with a grin and said, "Hey, I'm not judging. She was pretty. Maybe a bit too high maintenance for you but it could've worked." He tried.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, "I don't have time for relationships."

"Ahh, I forgot." He said shaking his head disapprovingly, "You should really get yourself a cute girl... Wait, do you even like girls?" He asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders, nonchalantly. I was never one to look at a person's gender. I was, however,  interested in this one girl during elementary but she was scared of how my face never showed emotion. Of course, I wasn't against being with guys either. It was just that none of them caught my attention when I was younger.

"I'm your best friend and I don't even know that much. It's disheartening, Mikhail." He said placing a hand over his heart. "Best friends should know each others preferences when it come to human contact."

"You're a drama queen." I told him. "What does it matter if you know my sexual preference? Not like it'll magically change things."

"Am not." He puffed his cheeks gently and then laughed. His smile quickly faded as he rolled his eye at me again, "You're too serious. Obviously, I know it won't change anything. I just want to know whether to send two melons or a banana your way."

"You disgust me." I said scrunching up my face in distaste.

"See? Too serious!" Dylan said pointing at me.

I pushed his hand away and walked around the desk to water the flowers and make sure sunlight was coming in from the windows. "Maybe I am serious." I said agreeing with Dylan, "but then what does that make you? An idiot that never takes things seriously?"

"Ouch." Dylan shook his head sigh fly. He turned his body to face me and leaned on the desk behind him, "That hurt. I take lots and lots of things seriously-" He tried defending himself.

"Catching all your favorite shows on television weekly does not count." I interrupted quickly.

"It does too Mr. I-Don't-Watch-TV-Because-I-Have-Too-Much-Responsibility-And-Don't-Know-How-To-Live-My-Life-Like-A-Teenager-Should-Be-Allowed!" He said accusingly.

I shook my head slightly tired of hearing the same thing every day out of his mouth. By this point, he sounded like a broken tape. Sometimes, I felt like an adult trapped inside a teenagers body. Maybe it's because I had to grow up faster than all of them but it was sometimes hard to relate with kids my age. While they all talked about their favorite tv show, I stayed quiet because I had no clue who they were talking about. While they talked to their parents about wanting to buy the latest smart phone, I talked to dad about having enough money to pay the bills. They were two completely different worlds.

"Oh! I almost forgot the reason why I came." He said snapping his fingers and dropping out previous conversation that wasn't really going anywhere. "Dan wants to go to the mall and hang out later today."

"No." I said quickly and waved him away.

"Aw! Miki! Don't be like that!" He whined, "please! I don't want to go alone with Dan. She'll make me carry all her bags! That girl can literally shop till she drops!"

"I said no. What business do I have going to the mall. I hate it there." I told him as I fixed the shop to try to make it look a bit better from its rundown state.

The mall was mostly filled with teenagers who thought themselves better than the person cleaning the floor they walked on. It was disgusting. Now that we were on break, the mall was bound to be filled with so many teenagers causing a scene. I didn't want to go out when I was perfectly fine inside the comfort of my own home.

Dylan followed my every move with his eyes. I bit my lip hard trying not to give into him again. It was always hard to say no to Dylan when he begged. He was an overly joyful, happy-go-lucky idiot but he was my best friend nonetheless.

"I said no." I told him again strictly.

"Please."

"Go home."

"Pretty please?"

"I'm busy today."

"Pretty please with cherries on top!"

"Fine!" I breathed in trying to keep my cool. "If my dad gets back before the set time to go to the mall, then I'll go. Otherwise, I'll stay here and you'll have to go with it me." Dylan launched himself from the desk and tackled me in a hug. I managed to get my footing and pushed Dylan off of me. "Why are you so happy? There's like a 90% chance dad will come back too drunk to watch over the shop."

"Shh." Dylan said brushing my bad mood aside, "Don't be such a Debby downer. If that happens you can just close up for the day. It won't kill you to take more breaks, Mikhail!"

"I hate you." I said hating me the fact that he was right. I just didn't want to admit that I was working my body to the extreme. "If you're going to stay here, pick up the broom and start sweeping." I said pointing to the back room. Dylan saluted me and skipped out to the back. It was hard to admit that he was the same age as me sometimes.