The Beginning of a Friendship
Chapter 1
Two Years Ago
November 25, 2004
"Happy Thanksgiving Kylie." Freddy said.
"Happy Thanksgiving Freddy." Kylie replied with a smile.
That was Freddy, always a smile on his face. It didn't matter that they lived on the streets of New York City during the middle of a snow storm on Thanksgiving. It would be him to find something to be thankful for.
"What are we doing today?" Kylie asked him, always one for ideas.
"It's Thanksgiving. We're going to do what everyone else does today. We're going to go have a grand feast down at the shelter." Freddy answered taking a drag from the cigarette he'd managed to bum off someone yesterday.
"Sounds grand." Kylie nodded.
Freddy had saved Kylie from some thugs a few months ago and they'd been best friends ever since. They looked out for one another. Kylie's mother was a user and a dealer on the side. She'd grew up on the streets, never knowing anything different. Freddy had come to the street after his parents had disowned when he'd let them know he was gay.
"It's so cold out here today." Kylie shivered pulling her ragged sweatshirt closer to her underweight body.
"Sorry sweetie, let's go down to the shelter now and see if we can get out of this snow. They should be serving by now." Freddy said grabbing her hand to pull her to her feet.
"Thanks babydoll." Kylie nodded as she stood.
They headed down to the shelter three blocks away. They passed many other homeless people enjoying the holiday as best as they could. Kylie saw a little girl sitting alone, looking around for her mother, and she felt a strong sadness. She remembered exactly what it was like to be that young, alone, and cold.
~*~
Charlotte Devereaux got out of the cab and headed toward the homeless shelter she was volunteering at today. Her parents were off on some new business deal so she was left alone for Thanksgiving yet again. Story of her life, she didn't remember the last time she had a real holiday with her family all in one place. Her parents were always gone on business and that had been the way of it since she was a baby. She was raised by her nanny, as her parents seemed to forget she existed.
She didn't want to be alone today which was why she decided to volunteer at the shelter. Her heart went out to those who didn't have families or homes on this day of thanks. It broke her heart to see so many people living on the streets, especially when there were so many rich people that lived in this town. She may come from a rich family, but Charlotte lived in a five floor walk up a few streets over. She loved living among the people, a lot of artists and musicians lived in the area. She felt like she belonged for once in her life, people treated her like she was a person instead of ignoring her like her parents had done.
Charlotte walked inside the shelter and saw several people there serving already. Nicole, a girl who she'd met a few times before saw her and smiled.
"Hey Charlotte, come on in."
"Hey Nic, just let me get out of this coat." Charlotte said shrugging out of her thrift store jacket.
"You can man the spuds." Nicole said nodding to the potatoes.
"Thank you, spuds it is." Charlotte laughed.
Nicole was from the south and had a very strong accent, her lingo stayed with her even if she had been here for the past five years.
"Has it been slow all day?" Charlotte asked.
"Pretty much. The snow has people staying inside. Well as inside as you can get when you live out in the open. Give it another hour, it'll pick and we'll be askin where'd they all come from." Nicole smiled.
"It's so much warmer in here." a girl said stepping through the door followed by a young man.
"I told you it would be. Come on, let's grab some food." he answered.
"Hey there kids, how are ya?" Nicole asked grabbing a plate.
"Good, thanks." Freddy smiled. "I'll take some of everything."
"Freddy isn't it?" Nicole asked recognizing him.
"Yes ma'am." Freddy grinned. "And you remember Kylie?"
"Of course, your side kick." Nicole smiled. "How are you honey?"
Kylie smiled shyly, not being used to people talking to her. "I'm good."
"You want some of everything too?"
"Yes please." she nodded.
Charlotte watched the interaction between the three of them and smiled. They were homeless, yet they still had a smile on their face and they were in good spirits. They had to be about her age or less, she couldn't imagine actually living without knowing what you were going to do for your next meal or where you were going to sleep at night. She liked her simple existence, but she couldn't fathom having nothing.
"I'm Charlotte." she said when Freddy stepped in front of her.
"Freddy, and this here's Kylie." Freddy said bowing slightly.
"Nice to meet you both." Charlotte smiled at them.
"Hi." Kylie smiled again feeling a bit shy.
Charlotte really wanted to go sit with them when they walked away with their full plate of steaming food.
"Breaks your heart to see them." Nicole commented.
"It does. I've never seen them before, do they come in often?" Charlotte asked.
"I see them once in a while." Nicole nodded.
"How old are they?"
"I'm not really sure, I haven't talked to them much. Why?"
"No reason, I was just wondering." Charlotte shrugged glancing up at them again.
They were sitting at a table isolated, eating and talking quietly. They looked cold and tired, she didn't know why, but she felt such a connection with them, a burden for their well-being.
Before she could dwell on it some more, a stream of people came in followed by more people. Just as Nicole had predicted, they were now busy and there was a long line of people waiting for food. She cleared her head and focused on the task at hand. She greeted everyone with a smile and some word of pleasantry.
In the back of the room Freddy and Kylie were talking about what they were thankful for.
"What are you thankful for this year Kylie?" Freddy asked.
"I'm thankful for a friend like you. You're like my big brother you know that right. And before you say anything, I know we're the same age, but you are always protecting me and making sure I'm safe. Thanks for everything you do." Kylie answered, tears threatening to fall.
"Don't you cry on my sweetie. That was really sweet of you." Freddy smiled touching her hand.
"What are you thankful for?" Kylie asked.
"I'm thankful to be alive." Freddy answered.
They were silent for a few moments. Before they had met, Freddy had nearly been beaten to death by a bunch of his old friends after they'd found out his sexual preference.
"I'm thankful you're alive too Freddy. I love you." Kylie smiled hoping to cheer her friend up.
"Thanks K, I love you too." Freddy smiled.
They finished eating, but didn't want to go back out into the snow so they sat at their table talking for about an hour longer before they saw someone coming their way.
"Hey, do you guys mind if I sit with you?" Charlotte said holding a plate of food.
"Go ahead." Freddy nodded.
"Thank you." Charlotte set down her plate and drink next to Kylie and slid into the chair in front of her.
For a moment, there was an awkward silence before Freddy broke the silence by sneezing.
"Bless you." Kylie said.
"Thanks hon." Freddy winked.
"So are you guys in love?" Charlotte asked seeing the closeness between the two.
"No ma'am, we're friends. We look out for each other, we're more brother and sister." Freddy explained.
"Freddy is as gay as you can get." Kylie smiled warmly at her friend.
"Sorry, hope I didn't offend you." Charlotte said looking at the two of them.
"No worries." Freddy assured her.
"We get it all the time." Kylie nodded.
"So how old are you guys?" Charlotte asked.
"We're both nineteen." Kylie answered.
"You look younger. I hope you don't mind me askin questions, if I'm getting nosy or rude just tell me." Charlotte told them.
"No problem." Freddy added.
"How old are you?" Kylie asked.
"I'm twenty." Charlotte said before taking a bite of her turkey.
"Do you live around here?" Freddy wondered.
"Bout three streets over." Charlotte nodded.
"Good neighborhood. Never seen you before though."
"I have an apartment over there. I'm not outside much." Charlotte shrugged. "So what's your story? Why are you out here."
"I'm here because my parents have a stick up their ass." Freddy answered.
"Because you're gay?" Charlotte guessed.
"You got it babe." Freddy nodded.
"I'm sorry." Charlotte sympathized with him, her parents hadn't turned her away but they might as well have.
"I've always been out here." Kylie answered.
"Really?" Charlotte asked hoping she'd reveal more.
"My mother ran away from home when she was pregnant with me and she had me out here and I've been here ever since. I've never known anything but living on the streets." Kylie shrugged.
"I can't imagine."
"It's not that bad. It is when it's this cold out and snowing, but we have some of the best times." Freddy added.
"When was the last time you slept in a warm bed?" Charlotte asked.
"For me, never." Kylie answered.
"Before I got kicked out, it's almost been three years." Freddy answered.
"You guys can stay with me tonight." Char offered.
"We couldn't bother you." Kylie shook her head.
"It wouldn't be a bother. It would actually be a blessing. I'm tired of being alone all the time. It'll do us all good." Charlotte pleaded.
"I'm game." Freddy answered.
"If he goes, I'll go." Kylie added.
"So we're going then. It'll do you good to get out of the cold." Freddy said to Kylie, caring about her well-being.
"Thank you," Kylie said to Charlotte.
"You're very welcome. Let's go now." Charlotte said picking up her empty plate. "Do you guys need to get anything?"
"No ma'am." Freddy shook his head.
"The name is Charlotte or Char, not ma'am. I'm only one year older than you, you're making me sound like an old woman." Charlotte laughed.
"Alright." Freddy nodded.
Kylie was excited to go to Charlotte's place. She didn't show it, but she was excited to see what it looked like. She really hadn't experienced normal life having grown up knowing nothing else.
"Hey Nic, I'll see ya around. We're going now." Charlotte stopped to get her coat.
"You have fun." Nicole smiled knowing that Charlotte had taken the two kids in.
"Happy Thanksgiving." Charlotte smiled.
"You too dear."
"All right, lets go." Charlotte said leading the way.
Freddy and Kylie followed Charlotte out the door and went outside.
"Come on now, no need to walk behind me." Charlotte said in a no-nonsense way.
Freddy and Kylie walked to catch up to her and walked with her one on each side.
"You'll both have a hot shower and we'll get you into some warmer clothes."
Kylie looked at Freddy with wide eyes, just what were they getting themselves into.
They finished the fifteen minute walk back to Charlotte's place in silence and followed Char up the stairs.
"Well, this is it." She said unlocking the door. "It's not much, but it's home."
Kylie looked around and took in the wonderful sight. It was one big room with different areas in which each had it's own purpose. There was a bedroom area with a bed that had see-through lace curtains flowing down from it and a dresser that matched in white. There was a living room area with two couches and a chair that had seen better days, but looked very inviting.
"This is really nice." Kylie breathed in.
"Thank you." Charlotte smiled taking off her coat and hanging it up on the tree next to the door.
"I agree, its very retro." Freddy nodded.
"It has a great view." Charlotte walked over to her huge window and looked out at the city.
"You're right, it does." Kylie agreed.
"You must be freezing, let me get you some clean clothes and then you can take a hot shower and warm up." Charlotte said digging in her dresser to find some clothes that would fit. Kylie was a few inches shorter than her and more petite. She came up with some workout pants and a warm sweatshirt that was sure to be baggy. She also grabbed the new undergarments she'd bought at her last shopping trip, grateful that she did so she could give them to her guest.
"I can't believe we're here." Kylie said to Freddy who was still looking out the window.
"She's a sweetheart." Freddy nodded.
"This should work for you." Char came back and handed her the clothes.
"I can't accept these." Kylie said, her eyes opening wide.
"Why not?" Charlotte asked.
"They're far too expensive."
"Nonsense, come with me, the bathroom is the only thing that is in a different room."
Charlotte showed Kylie to the bathroom and showed her how to work the shower.
"Here's a clean towel for you, but if you need another one, they're in the closet up there. Feel free to use whatever else you need, shampoo, conditioner, brush." Charlotte smiled.
Kylie stood there and looked around feeling lost.
"You okay sweetie?" Charlotte asked.
"I'll be fine. I'm just not used to this." Kylie nodded.
"All right. Well, I'll leave you to your business. If you need anything, just holler." Charlotte smiled then left her to her shower.
Charlotte went out to find Freddy sitting on the couch.
"Want something to drink?" she asked.
"No thanks, not thirsty." Freddy shook his head.
"All right." Charlotte nodded.
She went to her dresser and pulled out some really baggy sweats and another big sweatshirt. She found a pair of boxers that she'd used to sleep, hoping that would work she moved back to where Freddy sat and handed him the clothes.
"These should work for you. They're kind of girly, but their clean and warm."
"Thank you. They'll do just fine." Freddy smiled.
"We'll go shopping tomorrow." Charlotte said sitting on the couch across from him.
"For what?" Freddy asked.
"New clothes for you and Kylie." Charlotte answered.
"We can't let you do that." Freddy shook his head.
"I want to. You didn't think that this was just me letting you stay one night did you? I want you guys to live with me."
"Why? You don't even know us."
"I want to know you. Besides, I have nothing better to do except sit here and be bored off my ass." Charlotte shrugged.
"How do you pay for all this?" Freddy gestured.
"My parents are rich. They give me an allowance. I don't use even a quarter of it."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Charlotte nodded.
A few hours had passed and they all sat around talking and were warm. Charlotte had got out a bottle of red wine she'd taken from her parents house. It was safe to say that all of them were buzzed as they continued to laugh and tell stories.
"You guys, I cannot believe the fun this has been. Let's make a pact that no matter what happens, we will always be friends." Charlotte said holding up her glass of wine.
"I'm with you on that one." Freddy said raising his glass.
"Here here." Kylie said raing her glass to join theirs.
"To friends." Charlotte said before drinking.
"To friends." Kylie and Freddy both said.
"Man I am tired." Charlotte yawned.
"Me too." Freddy agreed.
"Time for bed, you guys can take the bed, and I'll sleep on the couch." Charlotte said grabbing a blanket out of the closet.
"I have no complaints with that." Kylie agreed.
"I do, you should sleep in the bed." Freddy said trying to be the gentleman.
"Nope. I'm sleepin out here. You both take the bed, end of subject case closed." Charlotte said grabbing an extra pillow off her bed.
"Okay, you win." Freddy said jumping on her bed.
"Goodnight you guys." Charlotte said turning out all the lights except the lamp by the bed in which they would turn it out when they were ready.
Kylie and Freddy both got into bed and they shut out the light. It was the first time they'd be able to sleep all night in warmth in a long time.