Chapter 3

"Hey… you good now?"

The gang of girls had left some time ago.

When Courtney told them off, they didn't really reply.

The whole scene ended with a quiet and quick departure.

She didn't really move, nor did she turn to look at Lauren.

"You're good, right?"

Lauren's stiffness had disappeared, leaving him with a newfound sense of animation.

"Y… yes…"

All across his face, he felt a fuzzy and warm sensation.

Sweat gathered across his forehead and hands.

"Th-thank you for getting rid of them… I didn't really know what to do…"

Courtney was confused by him.

"You'd think attractive guys would be a lot more confident…"

What she said caught his attention.

"Uhhhh… who's attractive?"

His left eyebrow was furrowed, his right raised, illuminating his dense nature.

Sighing, she replied:

"Nothing. I've got a thing to do. Bye."

Hearing her, Laurens arms flailed, as he tried to think of something to say.

"Th-thanks… I'll see you at school…"

Courtney didn't turn around, but she did say something.

"We live next to each other."

She turned a corner, leaving his sight.

Not really sure what to do with himself, Lauren's body was stiff, his arms in an awkward position.

"Oh… alright then…"

There was a solid few seconds where he was stuck in that pose, before he relaxed his body. Lauren looked down at his clothes, patting them down, to find his wallet. It was in his back pocket.

He ran his hand through his hair, trying to figure out if it was time for a haircut.

"Hmm… alright."

Lauren was determined to maintain the same look he had kept for a while now.

A medium skin fade… with a tiny trim on top.

To him, it was a mop top, but it was really a bowl cut, except it all went forward.

It really was time to stop by his usual guy.

The walk there took three minutes, most of which had him keeping his head down, to avoid being seen.

His usual barber already knew what was going to be asked of him, as soon as he saw him outside the shops window.

"Jeez… its already that time again?"

Swiftly, he grabbed a black cape for him, and stood by an empty seat.

With a sigh, he scratched his goatee, while running his tanned hand through what little hair he had left.

The door swung open, which was accompanied by a little bell sound.

"…Hello…"

Despite the time he had spent in there, he was still reserved.

The barber pat the seat.

"Medium skin fade, Lauren?"

Lauren smirked, though the barber didn't notice.

"Yeah, thanks."

To Lauren, it all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.

From him putting the cape over Lauren's body and putting the little paper around his neck, to the cutting of his hair.

It was like a world record was broken for this.

Despite not feeling like he had much of a place anywhere, the few moments he spent with Mr. Hogan were warm.

Recalling his first time entering the shop, he only remembered it with a rose-tinted nostalgia.