Griffin Arsenio

William pushed the entrance to his new favorite bar with a sigh. He came to the city three days ago and so far he still had zero luck in finding his former foster brother. He’d been missing their time spent together. Being best friends and talking about taking over the world. William sat down on one of the stools. He looked to his side and noticed his companion. He paused before deciding to give it another try. He pulled up a picture from his coat showing it to the stranger. “Hi. I hope I’m not disturbing you but have you ever seen this man around here?” He asked as he displayed the picture of him and Noah grinning together without a care in the world. “He’s an old friend…… I have been looking for him everywhere.” 

Griffin assumed that the man who sat beside him was just here to drink, but after a moment of silence, he produced a small picture from his pocket. Griffin turned to look at it and his blue eyes settled on the stranger. What was this? “How do you know him?” Griffin asked, suspicious of the man’s intentions. If Noah was purposefully avoiding this guy, Griffin wasn’t about to endanger his friend by giving him up. He examined the man carefully. “And why are you looking for him?”

Griffin noticed the stranger standing just outside the crowd. They seemed frozen, perhaps from indecision. Griffin moved towards them, meaning only to catch a glance of their face, but instead he found himself caught in the stranger’s gaze. The individual moved towards him and Griffin stopped, glancing between the coffee line and the stranger for a moment. He considered walking on by, but when the person began signing, Griffin knew he had to stay. Fuck. He didn’t know any of this stuff. Griffin’s brow furrowed in both frustration and sympathy. “Sorry.” He signed, tapping into the only sign he really knew. He shrugged and mouthed, “I don’t understand.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking it and opening a note taking app. Blue eyes met the stranger’s as he held out the phone for the other’s use. 

Walking around with a bleeding gash on his face may be a spectacle for the people who aren’t a part of his crew but it’s what he does on a day-to-day basis, and none of that substance is actual blood. Though he still finds amusement whenever he passes someone and hears their surprised gasps. It’s one of his favourite things about acting or fronting as a stuntman. The fakeness and farcicality of it. He’s sipping on a smoothie and watching the crew set up the set when he notices someone gaping at him. Eddie smirks and turns to them. “Don’t look so frightened.” He swipes some of the ‘blood’ from his cheek and puts it in his mouth. “See? It’s chocolate syrup, actually. I’m an actor.” 

Griffin had seen the commotion from a few blocks away. His lingering desire to be back in the spotlight drew him closer. It looked like some kind of movie shoot. Beautiful people milled around the barricades. It was a typical sight in New York. People wanted to be noticed. Out of the corner of his eye, Griffin caught sight of a familiar face. Fuck. His blue eyes grew wide for a moment when he noticed what looked like blood on the stuntman’s face. “It’s half fear, half fucking shock.” Griffin shook his head slightly- as if he could possibly escape the daze of seeing the familiar face. “I haven’t seen you since...” Since the freezing night he’d gotten plastered and wandered around the city in a tank top. “Since that party.” He’d ghosted Eddie in the middle of the night. Seeing him now Griffin felt a bit bad about it, but back then he figured he’d never see the guy again. “Where’ve you been?”