Samuel trudged down the long street, shoulder his backpack. He couldn't ruin another one, he just couldn't. He moved his free hand to the back of his head and pulled the hair tie out with a great deal of force, allowing his heavy dreadlocks to hit his back. Shoving the hair tie into his pocket, he continued down the street.

Light swept the streets and made the shady area of Lima, look timeless and much more than it really was. It wasn't cold yet, but Samuel could tell that it would drop temperature rapidly by tonight. His heavy bag weighed down on his already aching back and the thought of all the homework shoved in there, weighed down his already exhausted mind.

Keeping his head down, he strolled quickly past a group of older men who stood on the street corner suspiciously. They eyed him with interested, laughing at his odd appearance. Samuel looked down at his pink converse, trying to figure out what the stain was that covered half of his left shoe.

His black jeans were ripped, which his manager had noticed today. She looked at them with disgust and ordered him to take more care of his uniform. He reached up to his nose and pealed the bandage off, throwing it on the ground. The air rushed to the skin, allowing his nose ring to breath.

Various people pushed past him, trying desperately to leave this part of town before dust broke. He didn't blame them, but unfortunately he could not follow them, he could not flee. He shoved his hands into his jeans, ignoring the sympathetic looks he was getting and the disgusted looks. He just didn't care anymore.

He reached the run down apartment, jumping up the steps. Extracting his keys slowly from his pocket and placing them into the difficult lock, with five minutes of unsuccessfully managing to pull his keys out of the open lock. He cursed the door and kicked it with his toe, cringing as the pain spread through his foot. He then gave the keys one last, forceful pull. They came out, along with swinging the door open.

He stepped in and began to climb the stairs; he hated the smell of the apartment block. In fact, Samuel hated the apartment block period but it was all he could afford. He came to his door and stared at it, like he did every night for a good minute. He pressed another key into the lock and opened the door. He closed it behind him quickly, wanting to shut the judgmental world out.

Bryce sat on the small kitchen table, his schoolwork spread out in front of him. He looked up at Samuel when he entered, and flashed him a smile. Samuel dumped his keys in the bowl on the counter and threw his bag next to the door. He slunk into a chair opposite Bryce, who was now staring down at a complex equation.

"How's she been man?" Samuel asked, gesturing towards the bedroom. Bryce looked up at his friend, tapping his pencil on the side of the table.

"Man" Bryce sighed, "She wrecked"

Samuel shot a grimace towards the bedroom, noticing Bryce shudder slightly.

"Man" Samuel paused awkwardly; "You know I appreciate you staying with us, right?"

"Yeah" Bryce laughed, "I don't mind it here honest, you've helped me out too"

Samuel grinned and stood, leaving Bryce to finish the rest of his homework. Samuel tapped nervously on the door and pushed it open, smiling at the sight before him.

"Hey" Marissa greeted him quietly, indicating her head down. Samuel sat on the bed next to her, careful not to jostle the sleeping figure.

"How was school?" Marissa asked, "And work?"

"Fine" Samuel sighed. Marissa couldn't know how hard it was on him, or else she'd persuade him to quit and find something else. He couldn't let her down; he needed to do this for her.

"Big day?" Samuel asked, holding Marissa's hand.

"Yeah" Marissa sighed, "It was. We did some shopping and walked a lot"

"I'm sorry" Samuel apologized, "I'm looking at cars, but –"

"Nothing we can afford" Marissa sighed, "I know"

The way she delivered that line, sent a fresh wave of guilt through him, followed by a flash of anger. The way she just knew the answer and sighed, as if she could expect nothing more. Samuel's smile vanished, as she looked at him with tolerance. How could she possibly think that Samuel was not trying everything he could do, to survive?

A small smile flashed across her face, as she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. The anger melted away, as he stared at both girls. His favorite girls, in the entire world because, well they were his world.