Chapter Five

(Henri)

The shop we're going to isn't far away, but unfortunately it is a bit sketchy. I was going to have to keep Enzo by my side at all times. For now, I let my hand slide out of his and rub the back of my neck nervously.

"Hey… about what happened before. Sorry for lashing out on you like that. Stuff… happened and that's why it's there. If we get the chance to be really good friends… maybe I can tell you then."

"Wow… you'd really tell me? I-I mean… you don't have to! I-I shouldn't have touched you without permission anyways… I'm really sorry. Maybe if we get the chance to be good friends… I can kiss it better?" He answers innocently, completely oblivious to how… romantic it sounded.

I feel my cheeks start to hurt with how much I've been smiling, and I have to look away in order for my heart not to explode. "Yeah… maybe. You don't kiss all of your friends scars… do you?"

"I kinda do… not really though. Most people have scars on the inside. I just… I try to make everyone feel better. You're the only one with physical scars… I can try to make those better too." He explains sweetly, smiling up at me.

I reach out and run my hand through his hair, letting my arm rest around his shoulders as we walk down the street.

"You're one of the sweetest people I've ever met… I'll be honest, I have scars on the outside, and scars on the inside… so I'd love if you could do what you can to make them feel better. I've been waiting for someone to help me with that." I admit.

I walk close to Lorenzo who looks around at people, signs, and cars. He never focuses on one thing for too long as we walk to the weapon store.

"Yeah… I'd love to help… and if you want to… um. You can help me too?"

I nod and take occasional glances to see his cute face and cute movements. "Of course. It's only fair, right?"

My arm moves down to his waist as we walk inside the store, eyes immediately settling on us. I tighten my grip and unconsciously glare at all of them.

I lean down, pressing my lips against his ear to whisper. "Stay close, okay? Don't wander off."

He nods, looking around at all of the items, completely oblivious to the looks that we're getting. He seems so interested in everything… like he hasn't seen any of these things before.

"What's this?" He asks, picking up a gun, and holding it backwards so that it's pointed at him.

I scramble to grab the gun and gently place it back on the shelf. "New rule, don't touch anything. If you want to pick something up, ask me first, okay?"

"Okay!" He responds before pointing at something else, completely forgetting about the gun. I look down to see that he's pointing at a taser. "What's that?"

I let out a small sigh and pick it up, making sure he doesn't try to reach out and grab it from me. He's a bit too curious, and has the attention span of a puppy, that's extremely dangerous when in a store like this. "It's a taser. A lot of people use it for protection and carry it around with them. If you touch someone while holding down this button, it shocks them. And it doesn't feel too good."

I press the button, causing the taser to shake a bit and let out a loud crackling sound. His eyes widen in excitement, and he reaches out to touch the little bolts of electricity. I quickly yank it back and place my hand to his chest, gently pushing him away.

"What did I say about touching?" I scold, quickly turning off the taser and putting it behind my back.

"B-But I just wanted to feel it. It looks like tiny lightning bolts. It can't hurt that bad." He dismisses, reaching to pick it up.

I grab his wrist and shake my head, trying my best not to get frustrated with him. "It does, Lorenzo. Why do you think I don't want you touching it? I'm not going to tell you again, no touching, understood?"

He glares at me, and turns away, continuing to walk down the aisles. I follow him to make sure that he doesn't hurt himself as he looks at all the different weapons that they have stacked on shelves. "You can't tell me what to do, Henri. We're friends, but I can make my own decisions. I'm not stupid."

It's really difficult for me to just let him do what he wants considering what he wants can get him seriously hurt. Maybe it would be best to let him do whatever he wants, and if something goes wrong, maybe he'll learn something from it.

"I didn't say you were." I mumble, deciding to follow him around without scolding or warning him.

"You implied it. You told me what to do because you think that I'm too dumb to figure out right from wrong." He replies, picking up a knife. He pokes the tip, cutting his finger with a wince. "Ouch!"

He sticks his finger in his mouth immediately. When he pulls it out, I'm surprised to see that the cut is completely gone. He puts the knife back as if nothing happened and continues to look through the store.

All I can do is follow after him, exasperated and confused at what just happened. Honestly, he's getting more and more interesting the more we hang out. And I guess I really don't have to tell him right from wrong, because he is smart enough to figure that out himself. I'll just have to apologize later… even if he's being smart… his curiosity is spiking my nerves.

"I'm guessing you decided that, that was a wrong decision?" He looks over to me and nods.

"Yeah… I just didn't think that it would be so sharp. What are we here to get anyways?" He asks, looking around to see if there was anything else to interest him.

"Well, knowing Winston, he probably already called and asked someone to gather up the weapons… so I'll have to check with the guy behind the counter."

I go to tell him to stick by my side but realize that every time I think of him as weak or stupid, it only hurts him. I don't think that about him at all… I'm just being cautious.

"I'll go get the bag. Shouldn't be too long. I'm guessing you want to continue to look around?"

He looks up at me and smiles widely, seemingly happy that I would let him roam around by himself. "You'd really let me do that?" He asks, beaming up at me.

"It's like you said, you're not stupid. You know your right from your wrong, and I can't control you. We're friends, but you make your own decisions. I get that." I ruffle up his hair and smile, though deep down I have a horrible feeling about this.

He stops me from walking away by grabbing my hand tight. "Wow… Thanks. I-I'd rather stay with you though. Is that alright?"

I nod quickly and squeeze his hand.

"It's more than okay. We can look around together some more after I get the weapons, okay?" I tell him, guiding him up to the counter before talking with the guy and watching as he goes to the back to get the back that was already packed and ready.

"Yeah! Let's do that!" He exclaims, jumping up and down in excitement.

I smile at him as we wait, admiring his features as he continues to ask questions about the things behind the glass. I answer most that I can, and nearly sigh in relief when the guy comes out with a large black bag.

"Everything you need, in there. Winston already paid for it so you're good to go."

I nod and take the bag, slinging it over my shoulder. "We'll be looking around a bit more, so stick around just in case I wanna buy something else."

He laughs and nods, and I gesture for Enzo to lead the way.

"After you. We can look at whatever you'd like."

"What's that stuff over there?" He asks, pointing to the wall off bulletproof vests, and belts of ammo.

"The vest prevents a bullet from entering your chest, and the belt looking things right there are to help you easily reload. Wrap them around your waist, across your chest, and you put the bullets of your gun in them for easy access." I explain. "Wanna try it on?"

"Umm… Okay. Just don't shoot me. I don't know if it works." He replies, grabbing a plain black vest and putting it over his plain shirt.

"I would never shoot you, peu d'amour. Here, does it fit well?" I ask, clipping it in the back and gently patting his chest.

"Great! It's kinda heavy though…" He trails, wobbling a little.

I coo and mumble a few things in French about how adorable he is before helping him remove the vest and setting it back on the shelf.

"But it gets It's job done. Anything else you're curious about?"

"Have you ever… H-Have you ever hurt someone with a weapon before?" He asks, timidly stepping back.

I quickly shake my head and stay standing in place, not wanting him to see me as some kind of threat that he has to be cautious around. "No… I don't necessarily enjoy using them. I'd ever only use one if necessary. Like if someone I cared for was in danger. I've never had to hurt anyone with one before… and I hope I never have to."

"Sorry… I don't think that I could hurt someone even if it was to protect myself." He admits, looking guilty.

"That's okay… not all of us are made to be able to hurt others. If anything, that makes you a better person than most…" I adjust the bag on my shoulder and sigh softly. "Why don't we drop these off at the house and then go get something to eat? Just the two of us."

"Yeah… I'd like that."