He had planned to go straight home, sink into his bed, and snooze the evening away – yet, a shop across the road made him stop. It had probably been there a while, but it was new to him seeing as he never really paid much attention to the still or changing surroundings of this city, despite driving here for work nearly every day. He couldn’t put his finger on why he felt drawn to it – the front held nothing special to it, not really. “Hawking” was written in bold black letters above the door, the name didn’t give much away as to what this place even for. “Welcome” A man sat behind the counter, a slightly unsettling smile on his face as he greeted Will. He nodded, glancing somewhere approximate of the presumed owner’s face, landing on his lips instead of meeting eyes. He looks like the talkative type, for the split second that Will saw his eyes he could sense the curiosity lingering behind. If he didn’t say anything first, hopefully the guy would get the hint and wouldn’t press for small talk. Or, worse, he’d pry into his personal life, trying to claw his way into a stranger that seemed to hide something interesting. Depending on the person, the silent treatment only fuelled their interest while others quickly became bored once their leading questions were rejected, he was hoping for the latter. The man didn’t follow up, yet Will could still feel how he watched, noticed the piercing eyes on him as he dipped into the rows of shelves – a little privacy hidden behind wooden furniture. He walked through isles of shelves, full of trinkets, yet still clean and tidy, slowing his feet every now and then to look closer. It all blended into a colourful sort of mess when viewed from afar, but come stand right by and you’ll be sucked into this little world for an hour. Pawn shops can often devolve into revolving doors of junk, but this felt curated, albeit by a chaotic person’s interests. Items accepted more for the owner’s perceived value of it, his personal interest in them, rather than monetary value. The delicate silence was broken as the man spoke up again. “First time noticing this place?” His smile hadn’t moved since Will entered, still slightly askew as he waited for an answer. Will simply nodded again, he didn’t intend to start a conversation and he certainly wasn’t going to start now. (Not really sure what item he'd notice in-between here, something that has an origin that makes him actually curious about the owner himself and how he'd procured it) “Where do you get all this stuff?” Will asked, still glancing around at the wide variety of items in the shop. By variety, he means it. Niche canes, one with a skull planted where you’d hold it under your palm, the one next to it wrapped in genuine bull penis skin... the rest of the motley was no less strange. „Around.” The owner called Matthew, who he had learned the name of just a little bit ago, quirked a smile as he leisurely rested his elbows on the counter in front of him. „Little birdies drop by if they find something that caught their eye, hoping it catches mine as well” He says, eyes smiling as well as he looks up at Will.

Maybe more illustrations for “the beat of your heart” hhheh.. or anything brownham related really, love your art so bad

gif... moodboard for will and matthew