𝖈 𝖍 𝖎 𝖕

——————-

Drake wasn’t sure where to look. Confusion washed over his face. Which… wasn’t all too unusual in Theo’s company. 

“Soda baby?” was all he managed to say. He frowned a contemplative sort of frown before he shook it away, flushing slightly. It wasn’t that bad, was it? He’d been on his fair share of dates. Nothing all that long lasting ever came of it, but it was a mutual thing. He just… hadn’t found something that fit. Too many corners and not enough edges that clicked neatly, as it were. If he were being honest, he was still slowly putting the puzzle pieces of himself together.  “I don’t know, neither? I honestly don’t get how you can just jump into things as easily as you do.” 

Without a care in the world. Maybe if they’d met at a different time Drake would be like that too. But he was who he was now, Champagne Papi or whatever, or not.

“That’s right. I’d say is the opposite to being cool and suave, but hey, that’s why I’m here for!” Something told him that Drake here probably didn’t realize he was just making a word play with the singer Drake’s social media handler, and it didn’t quite surprise him. Nonetheless, he would do his best to help him out, break him out of his shell to try to accomplish his goal. Not an easy task, Theo knew that, but he was confident he could work his magic. “I don’t jump into.. Okay, you know what? Let’s forget about what you’ve just said and focus on this,” he gestured the other male with his index finger. “Regardless of how the night ends, we gotta work on the initial approach. First impressions are always important and looking nervous is a no-no they can smell fear. So, tell me, how would you try to hit on me?”

His little hospital adventure would have been over if he hadn’t bumped into someone he didn’t think he would see again after they slept together. Silly of him, considering this town seemed to be small enough that probably everyone knew one another. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t enjoyed it, but you normally weren’t supposed to see your one night stand again. “Well, is this just a coincidence or you’re just following me now?” He joked to keep it casual, just as the night they hooked up. They hadn’t shared more than their names, so it was impossible for any of them to know the other was there, unless some stalking was behind. Then again, he didn’t even know Johnny was a doctor. “Sorry for hitting you, by the way.”

***

“More so I don’t want the death of your stupid ass to be on my hands.” It’s easier to say than to outright admit that Theo was right, but it held the same affect. Because he was right. Chad clearly cared about what happened to the guy because he couldn’t help but care about what happened to Theo. They were friends. Chad cared about him. “I’m fine, yeah. Thanks, I guess.” He really can’t be too annoyed. Theo hadn’t been hurt and he supposed the vehicle could have had more damage done to it if someone hadn’t stopped them. Still, he hated the idea of Theo jumping into danger just because he was worried that Chad had been in there. He’d always hated the idea of someone putting themselves in danger for his sake. It just wasn’t worth it. “Right, about that, I don’t actually have any spares for this thing. So we’re not going to be having any tire changing lessons anytime soon, dude. I’m going to have to just come back for it.”

***

“Very touching, I swear you’re gonna make me cry with all this affection.” To say Chad was his only real friend, meant Theo worried as much about him as the other did for him, even when this friendship was built upon lies about who he really was. And that was what scared him the most, Chad finding out he hadn't been completely honest with him. The persona he had created was friends with the Redding boy, but Adrian also considered him a friend, there were no second intentions on getting close to him but he knew it would be hard to believe. "You're welcome," he smiled, making a jokingly curtsy. Despite his train of pessimistic thoughts, the conversation it was all fun and games until Chad mentioned there was no extra tire. "I'm sorry, what?" Whatever happened with the ambulance wasn't really his problem, but it was his friend the one who would have to deal with the consequences, and the good side of him couldn't let that happen. "Do you always ride around without a replacement tire? 'Cause let me tell you, that's completely irresponsible, like more than your usual behavior and that's saying a lot —don't shoot the messenger, man. Someone had to say it."

It had been a relatively simple day for the most part; just a couple of the usual deals that she carried out here and there until, soon enough, she found herself with absolutely nothing to do until her shift later that night at Royal Flush. Truthfully, the last thing she wanted to do was work on top of work ( especially when there were way more fun things to do ), but she figured she would just have to make do to the best of her abilities. Which is how she found herself hanging out just outside the casino, old, battered, and loveworn sketchpad balanced precariously on her knees from her place perched on a nearby ledge as she doodled away with some charcoal; dark stains smudged at her fingertips and one bold line across her cheek. What she was drawing, she hadn’t the faintest idea. It’d come to her later. Maybe.

She couldn’t tell you how long she’d been out there, lost in her own little bubble, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of someone approaching at her side. Thank god. Now she could not only get some company, but also some insight and answers to a question that was currently plaguing her. Once she made sure to shade in a bit more toward the top corner of the page, Madelaine lifted her head up from her sketch pad, shot the newcomer a beaming smile, and without letting them get a word in edgewise, quickly flipped her current work-in-progress over to face them with a little wave of paper and different hues of gray and black. “Quick! Tell me what you see when you look at this. First impressions only.”

***

The Royal Flush wasn’t his usual outlet, but sometimes it helped as an entertainment or to mark potential targets. Every move he had made since him and Rachel arrived to Grimmbrook had been somehow related to extend his web of connections; no one knew when those could come in handy. So there he was, on his way to the casino when he was stopped by no other than Madelaine. He hadn’t had many interactions with her, but he knew enough about the woman. Tilting his head slightly to loo at the drawing carefully, Theo brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it as if he was really focused on the task. He was good at making things up, so he would give this sketch a cool story to go with. “I can see turbulence --looks like a storm breaking out in the middle of the sea,” he made a dramatic pause as he gestured with his hands, “ready to suck in anything and anyone who dares to get in the way. If that’s what you were going for, it’s pretty dark but powerful.”

The entire town had been thrown into something of chaos lately. All of it was absolute chaos. Even before the mist, there had seemed to be something wrong with Grimmbrook. Now it just seemed the town had hit its end point with the mist rolling in. He had been responding to a call that turned out to be nothing and initially, he had thought it was a terrible prank from some shitty kid wanting to drag him out into Grimmbrook for some laughs. It wasn’t as if responding was too dangerous. Should the mist roll in, he had been given the proper equipment – one of the few perks of having his job – but whatever.

Of course, as he approached his vehicle once again, it became abundantly clear that everything was not alright. Whether the looters had called him out there in order to do this, Chad wasn’t sure. All he knew right then was he was staring at a raided ambulance truck that wasn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon. Also, there was Theo, which made Chad’s eyebrow raise in question.

“Hey, not for nothing, but are you stupid? You could have gotten yourself hurt, getting involved in that. The tires are slashed. Do you think they would have had any problem slashing you next?”

***

He scoffed, opening his mouth in fake shock as he brought a hand to his chest. “One: Fucking rude. I know you wouldn’t be saying the same if you were inside that ambulance,” he responded wiggling his index finger at the other, and ignoring the fact his friend was right about it. He could have gotten stabbed, and getting stabbed wouldn’t look pretty on him. “And two: Aww, it’s so sweet you worry about my well-being, it makes me feel you actually care.” There were worst problems they should be dealing with, rather than mocking Chad for his cute outburst moments ago, even when he smug grin said otherwise. Those people could come back, some others knowing what happened would probably want to take a chance too, and even the mist covering them was on the table. “Are you okay? Now the horde is gone, and you can see I’m fine, I won’t get my hands dirty, but I’ll guide you on how to change the tire.”

Sleeping where you work at wasn’t healthy, every knew that, but he was planning to die any time soon, nor going to wake up earlier than expected to get to work just to stick to this fucking mist agenda. Definitely not glamorous, and seeing your co-workers and guests 24/7, truly a nightmare. At least he could take a some breaks during the day to clear his head and stretch.

Adrian was heading to one of his favorite deli shops to buy lunch, when he spotted a group of people raiding a parked ambulance. Could that be the one Chad rides? His immediate reaction was rushing over the vehicle  to drive away the looters and help his friend get out of it, in case he was inside. How he would do that was a mystery, he’d figure it out once he was there, though he wouldn’t be able to fight if someone decided to get at him. Much to his surprise, his presence as he came running and shouting was enough to scare them and make them take off.

No one was inside, which was a relief, and as he was inspecting the ambulance, the male saw Chad coming over. “Dude, that was a close call. Was starting to think I was gonna be the one taking you to the hospital,” he said humorously, definitely trying to lighten the mood for what he was going to say next. “Your equipment and tires on the other hand... hope you guys have insurance.”

Full Name: Theodore Beck Adrian Hernández Nickname(s): Theo Age: 27 Date of Birth: April 15th, 1993 Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Romantic Orientation: Biromantic Languages: English, Spanish, some French and Italian Occupation: Marketing Manager at the Sherwood Hotel / Con-artist