EX (plicit)

“Right…” I hummed as I eyed him curiously, debating whether or not to question him on this life he was apparently living on the outside, though I decided against it. For now, at least. It was obvious he was in a rush to get out of here, and though I was still questioning my sanity, I didn’t want to get left behind in the odd chance this was actually real. “Yeah, you look ancient. Was beginning to question if my folks sent in a senile old man to torment me the rest of my life…” I rolled my eyes, sarcasm thick. Honestly, the guy looked just a few years older than I did. How he could be complaining about age already was beyond me.  “The fact you just climbed out that tv screen like something out of a sci-fi movie, I’m not about to argue with you on that point,” I stated simply, drawing in a deep breath and preparing myself for whatever the hell was about to happen. His comment brought a look to my face that made clear every word that got swallowed up before I had a chance to speak them. There was a rush through my entire body, blinking when my surroundings dissolved and then came back into a sharp focus, the room he’d landed us in taking my breath away.  “Holy shit…” I breathed after a long fucking pause, my brain only just now catching up with itself, moving to the window and peering out at the bustling streets below, the sounds of traffic and nightlife such a stark difference from the deathly silence of that fucking prison. “Holy shit…” I laughed before turning to face the man who not only was responsible for my freedom but was offering me a roof for a month. “Please tell me this isn’t a dream…” I whispered quietly, moving toward him with a ridiculous shake of my head. “Who the hell are you, and how did you just do… What you just did?” 

I cracked another smile: “You sure you ain’t heard my shit? I wrote a line about bein’ the youngest douche in the nursin’ home flirtin’.” I shrugged. Of course he ain’t know, he was stuck in here. About’ta be un-stuck, though.

When we were back in the hotel, I placed a hand on his shoulder. Just in case the trip hit different than it did for me bein’ the one made from the airwaves n’shit. “You good?” I asked, steppin’ back when I was pretty sure he was.

“Told ya I was gettin’ ya the fuck out of dodge, didn’t I?” Scratchin’ at the back of my neck while Kai moved around the room, I started packin’—- slippin’ the Rolling Stone off the top’a the set to Kai when I had everything else tucked away. “There’s some basic stuff in here about me [ I’m on the cover, duh ]—- but it’s mostly all bull, man. I ain’t really in the business of givin’ shit away. Truth’s too complicated.” 

Slingin’ the backpack over my shoulder, I bounced back on my heels, tryin’a remember if there was anythin’ else I wanted’ta say. “Oh, shit, feel free to order anything from room service. It’s on me. And I guess I’ll check back in with ya at the end of the month. See if ya need more time to get your shit together and whatever.” Pullin’ out a card from my pocket with my number on it, I held it close to him between my fingers. “You need anything, you call me, a’right? Just try not to blow up my phone. I wasn’t messin’ about havin’ shit t’do.”

As I was walkin’ to the door, I stopped dead when it hit me: “Oh, right. Name’s Ex. Also, apologizin’ in advance—- you’ll probably get sick of hearin’ bout me in a couple days. My agent says I’m really bout’ta blow.”

@explicitcntent​ appeared in not Chesh’s phone

      “Well, by my tail and whiskers– I’ve heard tell that the internet is made of cats, but a part of the internet being made of a man– this is new.” The cat god can barely suppress a chuckle as he stares at the small man in the screen on the phone of his latest sexual partner who was in the shower. Not that he had permission to access the phone– he had just reset it. Not that any of this surprises him. If he is a cat, and a god, why should the internet not only be a concept but also a person? 

      Here he thought this would be another routine ‘get the hell out you damn cat’ after sex– a routine boring day– but the woman who had invited him thought his grin (and the rest of him) were noteworthy enough to keep around– a fact that more people ought to realize in his opinion. Chesh is gonna see if he can at least get a free meal out of this, but he’s not keeping his hopes up too high, especially considering what he just did to her phone. Now, with this newest curiosity, he’s glad she decided to keep him around. 

     Besides, this is far more entertaining than listening to the musical Cats again. 

        Well– only slightly. 

       He rolls over onto his back, basking in the sunbeam throwing its light on the tangled sheets beneath him. He also tilts his head to look up at the image before him and is clearly in no hurry to turn off the phone now that he has far more interesting company paying attention to him. “Riddle me this my handsome fellow– how did you come to ride the electric waves, or find my own very charming self?” 

“Well, if you really wanna get into it, I was here before the internet, but—- I ain’t gonna hold y’on a technicality.” Head tiltin’ from the other side of his screen, I sized him up. Not in a threatin’ way. Curious f’real, that’s all it is. “Also, I’m pretty sure this ain’t your phone. Think your girlfriend’s gonna appreciate you snoopin’?” Not that I cared. I’m jus’ sayin’. “Then again, this ain’t your first rodeo in the nose-y department.” I shrugged, the screen glitchin’ for a second before I was standin’ at the food of the chick’s bed. “I ain’t a stranger to eavesdroppin’ myself. You could say imma voyeur by nature.”

I grinned, “Straight up, I’m not sure how I am. Just that I am. I came onto the scene when America was gettin’ more into its own self-expression, the good shit—- but then things got a little dicey. Some bigot motherfuckers tried to choke me out completely. But it ain’t work. I’m back now, and I definitely don’t ‘ got no plans to retire.’ ”

I heard the door handle jiggle and was out. The phone in his own pocket buzzin’ with a text this time.

“A music video?” I asked with a soft frown, this little daydream only getting weirder and weirder. Or maybe it really wasn’t a dream at all. I mean, he definitely seemed real, his body looked fairly solid to me. And again with those reassurances, I mean, could he blame me? How long had I been in here now? It’d been years, I knew that much. It would be natural for my brain to start freaking out and giving me an imaginary friend to talk to. “Helping me out of the box?” I asked with a frown, talking myself out of feeling any kind of hope that freedom was an actual possibility. After all, wouldn’t my imagination conjure up just this? Giving me a false sense of security that this wasn’t my eternity.  Eyes flicking down to his outstretched hand, I shook my head with a ridiculous laugh. Could it really be this easy? Of course not. My dad wasn’t that much of an idiot. Though, at the end of the day, what did I have to lose, really? Huffing out a sigh, I rolled my eyes before taking his hand, surprised by the warmth radiating there.  Okay, I had to give my imagination props. It was making this whole situation feel pretty real to me.  “Happy? I mean, if you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t need to make up a whole story and promise me some freedom to do it…”

“Yeah, I’m—- well, I’m startin’ to blow on the outside. Nothin’ major, y’know—-” my shoulder blades rolled 'til I felt the pop I was waitin’ on. “Damn, I’m gettin’ old.” Not like that’s possible, but let’s not get into it. The kid was clearly going through ‘ the [w]ringer ’ as is. “Yeah,” I said again, dead-ass starin’ him down at this point.

“I ain’t got shit to do with your dad’s bag’a tricks, but I do got a couple’a my own up these sleeves.” I took his hand despite the flack, glad we were finally movin’ this along. “If this was jus’ an excuse to play handsies, trust, I’d go for more than a handshake.” Before he got a chance to clap-back, I jerked him through the screen—- in one side and out another. Landin’ us in a hotel room in LA. None of that cheap shit, neither.

“This is where I was hangin’ but—- I can get myself another room, no problem. The room’s paid out for through month. Life of a up-n-comin’, I guess. So... I’ll move my shit: you can make yourself at home.”

“You do realise you’re fully in charge of your own wardrobe, you could have shown here in something a little…” I trailed off when the guy proceeded to strip down right there and then, blinking slowly at the set and questioning if this really was happening in my own mind. Firstly, that suit is something I’d never seen before, what kind of fucked up imagination did I have? And secondly, why is my mind casually censoring for me? “More comfortable…” I finished before rolling my eyes, annoyance beginning to build. Of course, my mind would conjure up a guy just annoying as me. Is this some kind of mental retribution?  Jaw hanging slack when the guy appeared from the screen like something out of a movie, I couldn’t tear my eyes off him even for a second. Blinking was out the question, part of me only a little worried he might disappear in that split second. Okay, maybe I could give my imagination some credit. “You’ve been watching me?” I asked in disbelief as I lifted the glass, moving toward this figment with a curious frown. He definitely seemed real. “I didn’t need to take it out on the kids?” I snorted, shaking my head ridiculously. “My siblings were just as bad as my parents. If you’d been watching, you’d know. But forget that little fact, why the hell do you care what happens to me? Out there or in here. We don’t know each other. If you’ve been reading up on me, that’s cool and all, but why do you care?”  I couldn’t understand what was happening despite trying my best to. I was a witch, the was for sure, though I hadn’t seen any kind of magic like this. Being able to travel through a television screen to a world that was designed solely for me? Why would you want to? “Who are you? And why are you watching me in here?”

“Of course I know that, genius, but I was in the middle of a fuckin’ music video—-  or didn’t you notice? Prolly not, considerin’ you kept turning off the channel before I really got into it. You’re lucky I’m still feelin’ this whole helpin’-you-out- the-box thing after how many days it took to get through.” I rolled my eyes again. He was still givin’ me that look like I just took a shit in his cheerios. “Stop over-thinkin’ it. I’m not a fuckin’ acid trip.”

“Sure, your younger siblings were dicks, but that’s part of bein’ a kid, ain’t it? Your sister, on the other hand, she’s a prissy bitch,” I shrugged. “But I ain’t here to reminiscence. You want out of the box or not?” I shrugged, reachin’ out to him with one hand, the opposite foot already back through the TV screen. “Personally, I think it’d be a better option than dyin’ on a loop for the rest of forever, but hey. Maybe that’s your kink.”

“You don’t gotta know who I am. Take the hand or don’t. It’s that simple. I got shit to do, so... you decidin’ sometime today would be great.”

Remote poised to the television, I gave pause when the figure in the screen appeared to be speaking directly to me, that knock echoing in a way so real it has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Not that it freaked me out… Okay, maybe it was freaking me out a little. I mean, how long had I been in here that I was actually believing the television was initiating a conversation with me? Slowly lowering the remote, a soft frown tugged at my brow as I shifted forward in my chair, studying the figure closely. He knew about my life. Knew what I did. Knew my family and how they treated me. Hell, he knew what music I listened to. He had to be on my head, right? Right.  “I’m going fucking crazy…” I whispered, shaking my head slowly as I threw the remote aside and getting to my feet, frown deepening as casual glances to the set showed me the guy removing a wig, rubbing the back of his neck. Then asking… what? To join me here? Sure. Why shouldn’t I pay into this little illusion? If it gave me company, what was the hem in going a little crazy? “Sure,” I chuckled, sarcasm thick as my eyes caught the man in the screen’s, lips pressed together tightly. “Sure. If you want to come here, come. Ride those airwaves. God, I’m going crazy…” I muttered that last part under my breath, a hand dragging through my hair roughly as I moved to pour myself a drink. I needed one. Hell, I needed a bottle.

Rolling my eyes, I pressed my lips together and blew, lettin' out that sound—- you know the one: like horses do, don't they? "Will you stop that shit. Christ, bein' a witch and all, I thought you'd be a lot more receptive to... well, shit outside the box. Alright, hang on one sec. Gotta change outta this fucking costume before I come in. This tacky-ass suit is kinda hot. No idea why anyone would wear this shit." Stripping out of the clothes, a black box was coverin' up my junk. "I did that one just for you. Appreciate it 'cause I'm kinda the king of showin' off when it comes to shit like that, but I was thinkin' like—- ' hey, not on the first date ' or whatever. People and their sensitivities." I snorted before I was pullin' up a pair of black, baggy jeans that dissolved the box. Next was the white tee. Better. 

Suckin' myself into the screen and back out the other side, I smiled, now standing in front of him. "Yo, you're taller than you look from the other side. Than me. I mean, I didn't choose the tallest form, but I ain't that short, either." I cracked a smile. It was genuine. "So how you holding up here? You all good? Not thinkin' of giving up, I hope? From where I was sittin'... well, I got worried. I'll give ya points for creativity, but... I mean, I don't like the idea of you not being around. I don't know. I kinda relate to the rebel in you. Makes me feel some type of way to see you so down, I guess... Though, for the record, you didn't really need to take it out on the kids. Then again, I ask them if they like violence, so, man—- what the fuck do I know?"

“hi, kids: do you like violence? wanna see me stick nine-inch nails through each one of my eyelids?”

                 Hi—- 

                               [signal lost]

                 Hi, my name—- 

                                      [signal lost]

                Hi, my name is—- 

                                           [signal lost]

               My name is—- 

I knocked on the screen before he could turn off the TV this time.

“Man, will you stop switchin’ off the fuckin’ set while I’m tryin’a talk? Unless you wanna stay alone in this bitch. I do have actual people that want to hear what’s on my mind. Jus’ thought you could use some company is all. People are social animals, ain’t they? It’s gotta be rough bein’ on your own like this. Even with what you did: yeah, I heard [on the news]. Your family’s still cold. I heard what you listened to out there, too. Dark stuff. But I can relate, y’know?... with fucked as it is out there...”

My palm ran over the back of my neck, wiping the sweat that was there. Stupid wig—- you know what? Fuck it. I took it off: leveled with him in a way. Showin’ me... without the get-up.