#geoffin

First and foremost, for you newbies (and maybe a reminder for you oldies too) – this isn’t just a fluffy high school fic, it gets dark. I will try and remember to put warnings above each chapter but please check the bottom of this post for a full list.*

None of the characters reflect their IRL counterparts and are merely characterisations.

The story is mostly, I hope, a faithful recreation of the original give or take a few pacing issues and (fingers crossed) an evolved writing style. However, as the title says it is a remastered version and there may be some scenes missing/changed/replaced.

A certain someone who was once relevant to the plot has been removed and replaced with ‘Daxton’ and, despite the fact I hope they never read this, as per their wishes Lindsay’s character uses they/them pronouns now. (Although I may slip up here and there, please let me know when I have!)

Finally, I just wanted to say thank you for reading (or re-reading) what was my first major project as a teenager. At the time of posting, the original is eight years old. Despite its flaws, I had a lot of fun re-reading it and if you want a laugh, I’d recommend putting the two pieces side by side and play a game of spot the differences. There are some dialogue choices you just can’t improve upon.

So, sit back, relax, grab a pop tart, and enjoy.

*Known trigger warnings: Self-harm, emotional abuse, homophobia, bullying, teen pregnancy, miscarriage

"Gavin, slow down god damn it!" Michael cried as Gavin pulled on his hand, practically running to the diner. His broad shoulders bounced erratically as he leapt to keep up with his boyfriend.

"I can't! I want to see everybody!" Gavin said.

"You saw them yesterday!" Michael said. Gavin stopped then, sending Michael crashing into his back.

"Yes, Michael, but I want to see them now." Gavin turned to face his boyfriend.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed!" Michael rolled his eyes.

"Stop being mean, Michael." Gavin whined as he turned to run to the diner again. Michael stopped him. He tugged him back like an elastic band. Michael wrapped his arms around Gavin. He pressed a kiss to Gavin’s cheek. Gavin wrestled out of his boyfriend’s hold and ran away again.

  Geoff had waited all day in the diner for Griffon. He could have done his coursework or gone back to his dorm and slept. Geoff couldn’t seem to move from his spot in the diner. His foot bounced as he stared at the doors. They swung open and Geoff was graced with Griffon’s glory. She beamed as he pulled her close. Their lips met in the sweetest kiss. Geoff poured his heart into it. Griffon pulled away and licked at her lips. Griffon let him guide her back to his chair. She fell onto his lap as his arms slid around her waist and encased her. Geoff stared in wonder at her as she shook her head at him. He watched as her blonde hair bounced with the movement. Geoff had never understood why Michael was so clingy with Gavin, why he could never let the damn boy go but now he got it. Geoff didn't want Griffon to move an inch from where she perched upon his lap. Her legs swung as she waved to the people who poured in.

  "Griffon!" Gavin yelled as he pulled Michael in behind him. Michael tripped over his own feet. Gavin promptly dropped his hand to hug the tattooed blonde. Griffon wrapped her slender arms around Gavin's waist. She buried her head into his chest. Gavin squeezed her back. Griffon guided Gavin to sit upon her lap.

"He can't sit on my lap too, he's not my partner!" Geoff protested. He bounced his knees to jolt the two people on top of him. Griffon locked her legs around his and kept both herself and Gavin firmly seated.

"No, unfortunately he's mine." Michael grumbled. Gavin huffed.

"Bloody rude, both of you," He said.  Griffon nuzzled her chin upon his shoulder.

"I agree, Gavin." She bumped their cheeks together. Michael slouched into the seat beside Geoff. He ran his hand through his hair. The heat of Geoff’s gaze made him turn. The older boy’s eyes screamed for help. Michael only smirked.

  The bell chimed again and Jack, Caiti and Ali walked in. Jack laughed at the scene he was greeted with, shaking his head at Griffon and Gavin as they balanced upon Geoff’s knees.

“Well, isn’t this a cute family photo?” Jack pulled a chair out for Caiti. He guided her to sit before taking one for himself. Ali slumped into her own, the legs scraping across the linoleum floor as she dragged it out. Ali glared at Geoff before she appreciated the scene before her. Geoff looked like the disgruntled father, forced to pose for a picture he couldn’t care less about and what would most likely end up in a family album somewhere. Griffon looked like the over cheerful mother and Gavin resembled their child that had just eaten one too many sugary sweets. Ali hated to ruin the moment, which was only half true, but she caught Griffon’s eye and she smiled.

“So, Griffon – when are we going to the movies again?” She asked. “Y’know, girls’ night out and all. Right, Caiti?” Ali said.

  Caiti, having been absent during the morning’s conversation, was extremely confused.

“Huh? I didn’t know we were going to the movies.” She confessed. Caiti looked to Griffon for help. Everyone else looked at them suspiciously, save for Gavin as he perked up at the idea.

“Can I come?” He questioned. Griffon sighed, reluctant to deny Gavin anything, before she shook her head.

“I’m afraid you can’t, babe. It really is girl’s night out and besides, you’ve got to keep Geoff company,” Griffon said.

“What? I don’t want to do that – he has Jack!” Gavin protested. Geoff chewed upon his lip.

“I didn’t know you were going out tonight.” He mumbled into Griffon’s shoulder.

  Griffon would have felt bad about his reaction had she not been sneakily planning to sew her own wedding dress. Instead, she turned and kissed Geoff’s cheek and smiled at him.

“It’s just tonight; you can have me all you want tomorrow.” Griffon promised and that, for now at least, perked Geoff up. Gavin did not.

“I want to go to the movies with you guys!” He whined as Natalia and the other girls waltzed through the door. Kara’s hand was holding onto Barbara’s while Barbara linked her arms with Lindsay.

“Are we ready to go?” Natalia made eye contact with Griffon and then Ali.

“No.” Gavin pouted, folding his arms and glaring at the girls. Griffon looked sadly up at him.

“I’m sorry, Gavin – another night we’ll take you too.” Griffon offered.

“No, tonight.” Gavin scowled at Griffon. She pet his hair and cooed under her breath.

  Dan and Chris chose that moment to walk in. Dan bounced as he walked. He wrung his hands together and looked at Natalia.

“So, when are we leaving for the movies?” Dan nudged her arm. Gavin’s mouth fell open and he glared at Dan from where he sat before he turned to face Griffon.

“Why does he get to come?” He almost screamed, dreadfully close to crying. For once, Griffon didn’t actually know how to explain it. Even Geoff, who’d been content to let her go, suddenly became suspicious. He narrowed his eyes at his fiancé.

“Yeah, why does Dan get to come?” He questioned. Griffon started to chew on her fingers. He eyes bulged as she looked to Ali.

“Because Caiti accidentally bought a spare ticket and he asked for it first. The movie is fully booked,” Ali shrugged, “so you couldn’t come anyway Gavin.” Ali lied smoothly. Caiti, who had been in the dark about the whole scenario for the past few minutes, finally realized what they were all talking about.

“Oh yeah,” she gushed, “silly me!”

  “I thought we were friends.” Gavin whispered pitifully as he looked at Caiti. She opened her mouth as though to say something more but Caiti clamped it shut immediately. Gavin had tucked his chin against his chest and he began to rub at his eyes. She’d never understood Griffon’s need to protect and nurture the group until now, wanting desperately to hold Gavin and reassure him that he could come with them and join in. His boyfriend, however, was apparently not as concerned.

“Gavin, leave them alone. I’ll take you to the movies, yeah? We’ll even go to that café you like so much.” Michael said. He grabbed Gavin’s wrist and guided him to his lap. Geoff stretched his legs.

“Okay Michael.” Gavin muttered as he cuddled into his boy’s chest.

“What am I supposed to do?” Geoff questioned.

“You can come too,” Michael said.

  “Great, so you’re all sorted?” Griffon asked. She avoided Gavin’s eyes so that she didn’t feel anymore guilty than she already did.

“I guess.” Gavin and Geoff moped. Griffon just smiled at them. She pressed a kiss to Geoff’s lips as he pouted.

“Okay then, so we’ll be off. Don’t worry, Gavin – you can come with us to the movies next time.” Griffon pet his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll even make sure to book your ticket!” Caiti chirped, smiling as best as she could at Gavin. The Brit only sulked, burying his face in Michael’s shirt. Michael smiled for him, nodding at Caiti and silently telling them to leave. He’d deal with Gavin, the Brit would be fine. Griffon untangled herself from Geoff’s lap, shaking her head at him as he refused to let go of her hand.

The city of Seattle always seemed to be busy- people walking, people driving, people working, or people just enjoying the leisure of the city in general. Normally, most people just drove, but there were a few people just like Gavin who couldn’t drive who just walked everywhere or took advantage of monthly passes for public transport. The city wasn’t too much of a pain to drive in normally, even though there were a lot of people in the city regardless of what time it is, and it’s easily manageable, but Gavin had just never had any interest in learning how to drive. When you work in the dead center of the city, it wasn’t that hard to find a bus that dropped off near there.

Unsurprisingly, it was raining was the sun rose over the horizon. He looked out the dreary bus window, watching as the raindrops rolled down the cool glass, absorbing more droplets and taking them down with them. Looking on further, Gavin saw that the streets were gathering rather large puddles, the pedestrians walking keeping a very large distance from the curb as to not get soaked if a car drove by and happened to hit it by accident. Though, it could also happen on purpose, because some people are just complete assholes for no reason. All the people were covered in raincoats and boots, the lot of them being very used to the instant dreariness and rain that came with living in Washington. Even the people that were on the bus were adorned with rain-resistant clothing, as they most likely had a trek ahead of them in order to get to their final destination. Gavin himself had a trek to make, but, luckily, it wasn’t a very long one. Since the city had started adding more bus stops around, they had put one right near his shop, so it was less than two minutes for him to be in the doors and flipping around the open sign.

Flipping on his phone to see the time, he notes to himself that he would have nearly an hour before initial opening of the shop to prep with his staff, which included one person, so it really wasn’t all that hard to manage at all. During the day, they never got very busy, just spending the lot of their time ordering stock or making fresh goods in order to be sold. Normally, each day they’d get close to running completely out of fresh baked goods, splitting up the remaining stock between themselves and taking them home with them.

Gavin jolted forward in his seat as the breaks of the bus were applied semi-roughly, sending his almost slamming into the seat in front of him. Out of reflex, he propped himself up from the seat in front of him with his hands, but after putting so much pressure on his rather heavily bruised wrists he jerked back in pain, sucking in a hiss of air through his mouth in order to prevent himself from releasing a loud outcry. Taking a quick glance out the water covered window, he notices that somehow they had reached his stop in what seemed to be record time, but it was probably the same amount if time that it had always been from the very beginning since he had started taking this route. He stands up quickly, grimacing as he accidentally bends over a little too far while reaching for his computer bag. His core screamed in agony, the muscles protesting very loudly, nearly making Gavin double over right in the middle of the aisle. After a few moments, he was able to let himself stand upright, his muscles still screaming in pain, but a manageable amount of pain. He slowly trudged towards the front of the bus, smiling at the driver as he passed by.

“Thanks for the ride again, Chris.” Gavin says, nodding his head at Chris, who’d been driving the same bus on the same bus for however long Gavin had been on this route.

“No problem, Gavin. See ya tonight.” Chris says, smiling slightly as he tilts his head in a gesture of parting. Gavin doesn’t bother to wave as he steps off of the bus, not looking back as he begins his trek towards the shop. It’s only about a block and a half way from the bus stop, but by the time he hears the jingle of the bell as the door opens he’s soaking wet. The door usually wasn’t unlocked, but he payed no mind to it as he just pushed the glass door closed and locked it with one swift turn of the wrist. He listened to the squishing of his shoes against the tiled floor as he set off towards the back room, hearing the soft sounds of music and humming coming from the kitchen area.

As he rounds the corner to walk into the kitchen, he smiles as he makes eye contact with Griffon instantly, her smiling briefly before looking back down at what she was working on prior to his soppy entrance.

“Hey there, Griffon. I had no idea you were here this early, you usually get here after me.” Gavin says, going over to the coat hanger and table for their things to shed off his coat and place his rather dry computer bag down.

“Yeah, I came in a little earlier this morning, I woke up way early this morning for some reason. Luckily Geoff wasn’t too hard to wake up when you stick fresh coffee under his sleepy nose, so he drove me down here and got on the ferry that departs a half hour before the one that I usually take any other day.” She clarifies, only looking up for a second before going back to what she was doing, still humming to the soft music.

“I didn’t even think it was possible to make him wake up early ever.” He comments, smiling as he hears the small laugh that escapes Griffon’s lips.

“Believe me, after all these years, I’m still surprised whenever it happens. That’s one thing I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get used to.”

Walking over to a filing cabinet, he opens it quickly before pulling out a box with a scribbled doodle of the face of a creeper from minecraft on it. He places it on the table while using his foot to close the ajar drawer loudly, opening the box swiftly. Reaching inside he grabs the spare pair of pants and shoes, as well as one of the pairs of socks. He had come in soaking wet on more than one occasion, so Griffon had made him plan ahead after customers had started giving him strange looks and glances.

He stalked off to the supply room to get changed, still hearing Griffons hums as he walked. As he got into the room, he poked his head out briefly in order to check if he was alone. Sure, Griffon was his only employee, but he didn’t want anyone seeing anything he has to hide.

Quickly dropping his pants, he pulled on his spare dark blue skinny jeans, wincing as he did so, trying to keep himself from crying out. Why he had left himself skinny jeans he had no idea, but all he knew now was that his past self was really stupid for doing that. Bending down to grab the soaked pair of jeans, he felt the tight fabric rub against nearly every single bruise that littered his legs, sending many jolts of pain up and down simultaneously. Within seconds, Gavin yelled out in agony, landing on the cool storage room floor, writhing in pain as tears welled up in his eyes. He heard the instant clatter of cookware from the room over, followed by Griffon’s frantic footsteps.

No, no, no...

“Gavin?” Her voice rang down the short hallway, “Gavin, are you alright, what was that?”

She can’t find out…

Panicking, Gavin frantically curled up into a ball in order to keep her from seeing his feet, and to possibly deter her from asking any questions. Though, in the back of his mind, he knew that there was no way out of this.

As Griffon sprinted around the corner, Gavin locked eyes with her, the tears finally spilling over the edge of his eyes. She dropped to her knees immediately, looking gavin over frantically first before scanning her eyes around the room looking for what might’ve caused the incident. Below her gentle reassuring grasp Gavin writhed, wishing for nothing more than to escape from this whole thing and disappear.

“Gav?” She spoke, her voice quiet as he slowly turned his head in order for his eyes to meet hers. Her eyes were soft, the blue swimming with concern and nothing but concern.

He gave her no response, his eyes never breaking away from hers. She continued to stare into his eyes, one of her hands resting on his upper thigh. She attempted to rub small, comforting circles with her hands, but yanked away quickly as Gavin began to cringe once more, his eyes flaring with agony.

“Gavin?”

He blinked once, still glancing into her eyes while simultaneously trying to desperately escape from beneath her gaze.

She hesitated, then spoke pained words from her voice.

“This didn’t just happen in here, did it?”

Gavin’s heart began to race even faster, his mind screaming at him to lie, lie, lie, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He shook his head, revealing the partial truth to her in a matter of milliseconds.

Tearing her eyes away from his she leaned back and scanned his vulnerable form, her gaze traveling from his neck to his torso, then from his pelvis to his feet. Once her gaze reached his ankles and feet her mouth fell agape, whispered words escaping through her long, silent breaths. Her eyes roamed the purple and blue splotches slowly, tracing the outsides of each.

“How?” She choked out in a whisper, finally able to form some form of speech.

“I…” Gavin sputtered, eyes darting to the floor, “I...can’t tell you.”

He expected her to ask once more, telling him that he had no right to keep anything to himself and that he needn't have any secrets.

Though, to his surprise, she nodded and put her hand atop of his, her eyes soft.

“You should go home.” She stammers out eventually, squeezing his hand lightly. He looks at her with questioning eyes, looking for assurance that he wasn’t hallucinating.

“A-are you sure?” He questions, after she expands no more on her previous statement.

“Yes, I’m sure. I believe Geoff is available if you wanted to be picked up, you’d just have to wait for him to get down here.”

Gavin waited once more, seconds elapsing in his stunned silence.

“Uhmm, yeah,” He stutters, unsure of himself and his own words, “If it’s not too big of an inconvenience for him, sure.”

She nods her head slowly, clearing her throat and running a hand across her cheeks before standing up to go and find her phone. After she had left the storage room, he glanced around himself at his surroundings, deciding to put his shoes on while he was sat on the ground instead of trying while stood up, which would most likely result in a repeat of before.

He reaches over to his right, attempting to grasp the socks in his hand, finally succeeding after many pitiful previous attempts. After a few slowly elapsed minutes, he managed to get the dry shoes on and himself sat up. Using the stock shelf next to him, he used what small arm strength he has remaining to pull himself into a standing position, his legs burning and throbbing. Closing his eyes, he breathes deeply, in and out, attempting to soothe his fired nerves.

Eventually, Gavin managed to stumble out of the storage room and into the kitchen, looking around for Griffon. He raised one eyebrow in confusion as he couldn’t spot her in the kitchen, deciding to set off walking towards the front of the store. As he drew closer, he heard her soft voice, and then he knew that she was most likely talking on her phone in the front of the store.

“Okay. Yeah, okay, that’s fine. Thanks, Geoff. Okay, bye.”

As he rounds the corner of the wall to the front of the store, Gavin’s eyes meet Griffon leaning on the counter, head in her hands.

“Everything okay, Griffon?” Gavin chokes out, his voice wavering slightly.

She spins her head quickly to look at him, smiling as soon as she does.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m more worried about you.”

Gavin shrugs, waving off her concern with a loose hand.

“I’ll be fine, just can’t wear skinny fashion.” He says sarcastically, which makes Griffon frown.

“Gav-”

She’s interrupted by a loud rasping at the front door of the store, disregarding her speech to slide over the counter and open the door.

“Your hours say that you should be open.” A voice says, somewhat raspy. Gavin’s heart speeds up and his eyes shoot towards the door, eyes wide mimicking a deer in the headlights.

“M-Michael?” Gavin forces out, his voice uneasy.

“Oh, there you are Gavin.” He smiles briefly, before it returns to a scowl. “You didn’t answer my calls.”

“Yeah, sorry...I was...taking inventory.” Gavin mumbles uncertainly.

“Hmm.” Michael hums, before turning to Griffon. “Anything fresh today?”

“No, not really, we haven’t done much yet. Gavin’s going home for the day anyways.”

Michael raises his eyebrows and swivels his head in order to lock eyes with Gavin behind the counter.

“Oh really?” Michael asks, not breaking eye contact with Gavin. Beneath Michael’s gaze, Gavin began to panic, anxiety rising in his chest in overwhelming amounts.

“Yeah, he’s not doing too well.”

Don’t tell him why, don’t tell him why…

“Aw, thats just too bad.”

“Yeah…” Griffon’s voice fades out as she looks out the window, losing her thoughts in the pouring rain.

Clearing his throat, Michael begins to speak, still not breaking eye contact with Gavin.

“Hey, Gav, can I talk to you in the back for a second.”

“Errm…”

Michael’s gaze intensified, though silently in the room screamed in Gavin’s brain.

“S-sure Michael.” He stammers, turning slowly to walk towards the back room. Within seconds Michael is there next to him, swiftly taking Gavin’s wrist in his, squeezing unnaturally hard.

“Make sound and you’ll regret it.” Michael growls out quietly, but loud enough for Gavin to hear.

“O-okay, Michael.”

“Why’re you going home?”

“I don’t f-feel well.”

“Are you lying to me?” Michael forces out sternly, glaring a metaphorical hole into the brits head.

“N-no.”

“No, what?”

“No Michael.”

“Better. Well, if you’re going home, you’re riding with me.”

“But, Geoff-” Gavin’s voice is cut off abruptly as Michael tightens his fingers around his wrist, fingernails digging in deep enough to draw blood.

“Don’t disobey me. You’re going home with me, and you’re going to tell Griffon that as you walk out. Nothing else.”

Unable to bring himself to speak, Gavin nods his head, new tears forming behind his eyelids.

“Hey,” Michael begins, softer now, “I don’t hate you, Gavin.”

Slightly raising one eyebrow in question, Gavin looks at Michael as he lifts the hand that isn’t grasping painfully at his wrist to stroke Gavin’s face.

“I love you, Gavin.”

Gavin’s heart fell in his chest, plummeting at the speed of light into his stomach. Michael has never said that to him before, he had always refused. Gavin had let the three words slip out once before, but Michael had not approved, striking him across the cheek instead of returning the words.

“I-I...love you, t-too.” Gavin stammers out, eyes meeting Michael’s hard brown ones.

“Yeah, I know you do.” Michael says, releasing Gavin’s wrist before looking at his fingers, blood under his nails, shining in the fluorescent light.

“Hmm, first time that’s ever happened….Interesting.” Michael mutters, eyes focused on his fingernails for a few moments before he wipes it on his pants and begins to speak once more.

“Alright, let’s go home, shall we?” He asks, turning on his heel quickly, starting down the hall for the front door. Gavin reluctantly follows, his mind swamped in many differing emotions, leaving him numb and shocked.

“Gavin’s actually going to come home with me, so could you let Geoff know that Gavin won’t need him to take Gavin home?”

“Oh, yeah, no problem.” Griffon says brightly, a smile spreading on her face.

“Alright, let’s get a move on, Gavvers.” Michael says, putting Gavin in front of himself as they walk out the door. Gavin waves weakly at Griffon before being subtly prodded through the doorway by his boyfriend. As they stepped towards the blue car parallel parked on the street, Michael opened the door for his boyfriend, a seemingly loving gesture up until Michael forcefully shoved Gavin into the car by his head, Michael slamming the door behind him. Gavin secretly hoped that Griffon could see what was happening, but he knew that she couldn’t, as Michael took extra special care in tinting his windows.

With the aggressive slam of the driver door, Gavin’s heart sped up in speed, though somewhat calmed as Michael turned the car on, the stereo blasting through the speakers. After a few moments, Michael turned his head to Gavin, a soft smile on his face. Though, as Gavin went to return it, a hard hand came up and slammed into his temple, sending Gavin’s head slamming into the dashboard and his consciousness wavering.

“You’re a pitiful idiot, Gavin. Fucking pitiful.” Michael speaks out through clenched teeth, voice pure venom.

The ride on the morning ferry was peaceful, or as peaceful as a gigantic boat with a ton of cars and irritable commuters can be at the crack of dawn. 6 AM was never a fun time to travel, due to the fact that the sun barely peaked the horizon, making the entire Seattle area seem even more sleepy than usual. Sure, there was the movie with the words “Sleepless in Seattle” on them, but the area itself, though always seeming to have people around, always seemed kind of dull and low key. Though, beauty may be in the eye of the beholder.

The day started off very familiar, extremely repetitive to what he was constantly used to. Wake up at some ungodly hour of the morning, make coffee, forget it at home, barely make the 5:45 bus in a flurry of unsteady legs and squealed britishisms. Then, the wait with the other irritable commuters for the bus to drive up onto the ferry, waiting for what feels like years for the others to board the boat, cars, trucks, and then even simply the people who just walk on like the horde, then finally relaxing a slight bit as the boat finally departs from the shore.

Today, though, unlike all the other repetitive consistent days, Gavin gathered his computer bag and his oversized hoodie in his lanky arms and nodded once to the driver of the bus as he walked through the now open doors of the city bus and headed up the stairs of the ferry. From the bottom level of the boat, the walk was always somewhat tiring, two flights of stairs in order to reach the top deck, all the while fighting the strong winds blowing at his back from the moving barge. Though, once inside the top deck, everything got quiet once again as the doors shut behind him.

He looked around, then set his sights on a large empty booth over in the far back corner. He strode sleepily over there, one foot in front of the other, and set his stuff down on the table before sliding into the large booth. Since the booth was so uncommonly large, he allowed himself to lay down, stretching out his body along the length of the bench. Even fully straightened, the booth still trumped his size, and he was in no means a small man. From his place laid down on the squishy red booth, he reached a hand up to slap the table gently, sliding his palm around the surface until he felt his jacket. He pulled it down quickly in one fluid motion, stuffing it behind his head before turning on his side and closing his eyes. The ride to downtown was always at the very least 45 minutes, and he knew he couldn’t nap for much longer than a half an hour anyway.

As he laid there, he listened to the sounds of the people around him on the upper deck with him. A lot of the other people, fellow travelers going to downtown for work just like he was, found themselves doing exactly like he was currently, trying to get at least a little refreshed before being stuck in a cubicle and going to the nine to five grind, only to travel home and do the same thing all over again. Even though he saved himself from the zombie-like life that was large corporate workers who slaved over a desk in a cubicle all day, he still found himself just as overworked and strained as them.

He then turned over, groaning as he did, facing the other way on the booth entirely. He wrapped his arm around himself, tucking his hand under him ribs. He yelped and sat up quickly, grimacing as he hissed with the inhale of air through his clenched teeth. He glanced around, a careful gentle hand rubbing circles on the bruised part of his ribs. Luckily, everyone else was too involved with their own thoughts to have noticed his squeal of pain. He shook his head slowly and looked down at his phone, using one free hand to touch the button in order to light up the screen. The time flashed before his eyes briefly, before notifying him of a text from Michael. He hesitated, not looking down at it for a few seconds, before ultimately deciding that it didn’t matter at the moment before pressing the power button and standing up from the booth, stretching as big as he could without straining himself too much. He winced slightly as the bruise began to burn, instantly putting his arms down and rubbing his side once again. He scooped up his computer bag and slung it over his shoulder quickly, being careful about where the strap collided with his shoulder and his neck at the same time.

He shuffled his feet slowly across the deck floor, feeling the familiar sensation of the boat rocking beneath the feet of his converse as he slowly dragged his feet around. He looks at the food bar in the center of the deck quickly, seeing all the tired people trying to eat a meal and work at the same time. That had to be the number one thing he licked the most about his work now, that he didn’t slave over a desk too often, as the only times he seemed to have to do that were when logging the sales for the week and running the two paychecks he had to run for his employees. Stock was always easy to order, as the easiest way to make sure that he didn’t do it wrong was to make sure that they always knew that he wanted to repeat his previous order, and if he needed anything unusual, they always asked just to make sure. He never needed a repeat of the day that he ordered a surplus of white frosting by accident that had melted in the box and went all over the shop when he dropped it on the ground. It had gotten in some...questionable areas, which meant that he hadn’t gotten away without multiple pictures of him with frosting all over himself, which had been posted to many social medias by one of his employees. To this very day he still hasn’t heard the end of it.

He chuckles to himself as he looks away from the food bar, his stomach growling in protest, but Gavin ignoring it in favor of shooting it down and disregarding it completely. Instead, he wandered over to one of the vending machines and stuck in two dollars, tapped the number and letter combo for a bottle of water in swiftly, with a surprising lack of mistakes, and received a chilled water bottle and 75 cents in return. He unzipped the front pocket of his computer bag and shoved the change into it before zipping it back up and wandering towards the front of the boat. The few people that were actually awake and attentive cast him weird looks as he opened the door, struggling slightly as the powerful wind made it nearly impossible to open it with his rather weak arms.

Once through, the wind hit him in the face at full force, sending his hair all over his head, making it look even more messy than it usually did. He walked up to the railing at the very front of the vessel and leaned on it, using both of his arms to support himself as he stared out onto the water. The sun barely reflected off of the water, an orange glow on the surface of the waves, vanishing inch by inch as the front of the boat overtook them. He stared off into the distance, not seeing much but water at the moment, as they were still approximately at least a half hour before docking in the Seattle port.

The wind was loud in his ears, making it almost impossible to immerse into his own thoughts, but somehow he found himself lost in his own thoughts. He knew that most times when he did this, nothing good really ever came out of it, but sometimes out of some strange void came a singular stroke of genius.

His thoughts wandered aimlessly, skipping back and forth between work and other things, such as the movie that he’d watched the night before, work, as well as the things he talked about around the bar the night before.

Last night.

It all came flooding back in a flurry of thoughts, all the things that had happened. The fact that he hadn’t even remembered how he’d gotten to Neon in the first place, so clearly he had already been drunk before he’d even left his condo, and then he’d drank even more once he’d sat down at the bar. The fact that he’d wallowed in his own self pity again, not telling anyone else of anything that was going with him once again, bottling it up inside instead of gathering up the courage to actually say something about it...to ask for help or something.

Not to mention when he’d stared down the highway, seeing the bus headlights coming straight at him in his swimming vision, his brain going blank with any thought, other than one thing. All night last night he’d been trying to decipher what it was, that strange feeling he’d gotten when his mind had drawn a complete blank. How when Geoff had asked him if he was trying to end it all…

“Christ...everything is just so bloody fucked now isn’t it?” He mutters to himself, still looking out over the water.

He’d known that he couldn’t tell Geoff anyway. He knew he couldn’t tell anyone. The last time he’d almost done it, when the words had nearly slipped his lips, he’d regretted it that night immediately, facing the reason why it was never okay to open up, for him to never face his problems and just end them.

“Do you have any idea what you almost did?!” the voice seemed to echo endlessly off of the walls of his skull, never ending, like a burn that just wouldn’t STOP.

“N-no, I-I mean, yes, I know what I almost just did b-but…”

“But what?!” He had screamed, his face turning a dark shade of red quickly.

“B-but I...I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, it won’t ever happen again, I-I promise it wont! I swear! What can I swear on, I-I’ll do it! I swear-”

“Why do you use that tone with me?!” He demanded loudly, glaring down the shaking man below him. “You know I hate that! You know what it does to me!”

“Y-yes, I-I do, but I’m not meaning it like that-”

“Like fuck you aren’t! You would probably give anything to make me feel like shit, wouldn’t you?” He screeched, staring the man down once again. “Wouldn’t you, Gavin!?” He demanded with even more force than usual.

“No! Of course not! I never would-”

“Don’t you fucking dare lie to me!”

A whimper of desperation came from his lips against his own will, and his body shook with sheer terror as his thoughts thought to what might happen…

“I-I’m not! I swear!”

“Bullshit!”

Tears streamed down his face against his will, his body racking with unspoken sobs. There was a swift kick to the ribs, followed by another. One, two.

“Agh!” The sound escaped his lips with the second.

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“I-I’m s-sorr-”

A quick second passed before his back was flush against the tile floor, a heavy weight on his chest with the foot that forced him down onto the floor.

“Can you not hear?! Are you that stupid now?!”

“N-No..!”

“I SAID STOP!” He clamored, before stepping down harshly and adding an abrupt kick to his head. Gavin’s vision swam, and he shook his head back and forth as a silent plea for it to all just stop. He felt his consciousness begin to fade away slowly, his eyelids drifting closed beyond his control. The very last thing that he registered was a soft touch to his cheek and a muttered line.

“I’m sorry, It’ll never happen again...

The glass slammed down on the table with a hearty sound, though drowned out by the hustle and bustle of the surroundings. The lights were bright, but not too bright. The voices were loud, but not too loud. The wooden bar top beneath his callused fingertips was smooth yet rough at the same time. Some things just made no sense to him.

The setting is titled Neon, a dingy bar off of the one road that links between the city of Seattle and the miniature “town” of Rinstpond. Though, the term town was always used very loosely, as the whole thing was probably smaller than a pinhead when looked at from even a mere 5,000 feet above. All the same, it continues to be ironic and just flat out dismal as there wasn’t even a pond anywhere in the entire town. What were the founders thinking.

He himself would say that there was no thought at all put into the founding of probably the shittiest town alive, that the people who decided to make this decision to settle were probably short a few hundred brain cells, as there was precisely one road between here and the city, which included a ferry ride, which just so happens to take an hour and a half each way, and don’t even get him started on the commute from the ferry to the center of town.

Though, the commute between his cramped apartment and the bar known as Neon was much more manageable. So very much so that he found himself here on a daily basis. Better yet, he wasn’t the only one to follow this pattern either.

There was never a shortage of patrons when he found himself walking through those two squeaky double doors out front. They’d been squeaky for as long as he can remember, but were never fixed, put off as an afterthought to the glory that was the rest of Neon.

Yes, a name like Neon sounded awkwardly similar to some sort of nightclub, dance rave thing, or better yet, an illegal strip club, but it surely isn’t that in the slightest. Sure, the outside was dingy, but the inside was nothing but charming. No, there were no spinning disco balls or glow sticks or foam pits, but it was a nice bar none the less. Though, when hearing from the word of mouth, you would never know that Neon was the bar that anyone talked about.

The printed, and ironically not neon sight hung up above the entrance to Neon may have the four electric letters on it, but inside it was a much different story. The regulars, the whole lot of them, never really called the bar by its printed name, but rather their own slang they had come up with for it. They all talked amongst themselves about the wonderful bar that they came to know as the Cockalorum, which apparently, unbeknownst to him, was a synonym for a rooster, when it just sounded like a stupid word someone had made up. Who would’ve known that something as stupid as that could have an actual definition.

He himself knew quite a few of the lot of regulars, but most times, never talked with them. They all talked like they had known each other for their entire lives, when in reality they had really only met a few years prior. Though, in with the owners and a few of the original staff, a few of them had all known each other since the big grand opening, when even the new doors squeaked their way open to a new crowd of all sorts of oddities, all stemming from the town in the middle of absolute buttfuck nowhere.

“Another one for you, Gav?” A somewhat raspy voice cut in, yanking him quite abruptly from his train of thought, that had slowly run into the ground becoming a tangent. He looked up, eyes wide with the deer in the headlights expression seemingly set in stone to his facial features. He shook his head a few times quickly before looking up at the man standing in front of him.

“Oh, yeah yeah, sure. Same as before.” Gavin mumbles, waving his hand limply in the air as a general sign of ‘whatever’. The bartender gets a quizzical look before wiping it from his look entirely, focusing all too hard on the simplistic drink in front of him.

“Something up?” The man asks as he picks up his spoon and begins to stir with extreme precision and skill.

“Hmm?” He questions, looking up from where his gaze was transfixed on a small carving on the wooden bar top beneath his fingertips. “Oh, yeah,” He begins again after his pause, “No, I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

The man behind the counter slides the drink across the polished surface with ease, the now condensing glass sliding perfectly into the other mans hand. “Come on, Gav, I know that’s entirely bullshit.” The other man scoffs, leaning his head back to shoot most of the drink back in one gulp. The ice jingled in the glass as he moved the cup around in his fingertips, eyes focused intently on the frozen cubes rather than anywhere else. “So tell me what is actually going on.”

“You always know me so well, Geoffrey.” He says, a small smile toying at the edge of his lips. Geoff, standing behind the bar, decides to take a more relaxed stance and leans up against the bar, elbows resting on the counter, and his head resting in his hands.

“Damn right I do. As well as I should, considering I see you here so often.”

“Well you know, a person’s gotta get away some time, right?”

“Yeah, maybe, but you sure are out a helluva lot recently. Everything alright? Usually you’re always over talking to Matt and Joel, if not the two plus Gus, and Burnie if he’s there.”

Gavin shrugs. “I guess the cramped town is getting to me. Gotta get out.”

Geoff scoffs. “Then take a trip into the city, idiot, instead of just coming from the middle of buttfuck nowhere to here, coincidentaly, also the middle of buttfuck nowhere.”

“Can’t take the time off work.” Gavin  mumbles, before lowering his face to rest in the crook of his elbow.

“I’m sure you can. For fucks sake Gav, you work for yourself. You don’t even have to request the time off, just spin around the Open sign to say Closed and catch the bus to go into the city.”

“Can’t. Plus, I work in the city. I’m in the city anyway.”

“Then fucking act like it, genius. I swear, sometimes you are the most difficult ass.”

“Thanks, Geoff.” He mumbles halfheartedly, not even bothering to lift his head. Geoff just sighs.

“Look, all I’m saying is that you need a break. I mean, hell, look at you, dark circles under your eyes, and even I didn’t know that circles could get to that shade of purple. If I didn’t know any better I’d say that you’d gotten punched.” Geoff chuckled, not noticing Gavin’s visible flinch at the words.

“Plus,” Geoff begins again, continuing his previous thought, “You’ve really been dragging recently. You haven’t talked to anyone in the past two weeks at least, even though you’re here everyday without fail, and all you do it drown your liver in alcohol, nothing else. Hell, do you ever eat while you’re here? I don’t think I’ve ever taken a food order from you before.”

“Not hungry.” Gavin deadpans, still not lifting up his head.

“See, and you aren’t even sitting up. By your demeanor today, I can’t tell if you and that loverboy of yours just go at it rough, or if you really took an honest beating.”

Another chuckle, another flinch unnoticed.

“Honestly, I never really knew what to think of Michael.” Geoff starts, suddenly staring off at something on the wall, talking into the air with the hope in the back of his mind that the sounds we’re actually reaching Gavin’s ears. “He had always seemed like a good kid to me, especially that day you’d brought him down here from the city. Man, he was fun to be around. But man, talk about the rage on that man. He was all fine, sunshine and rainbows and all that shit until you beat him at that game, following his loss up with a string of curses and tackling you to the floor. I wouldn’t want to know where else he can put his rage.”

“Mmph.” Gavin mumbles, faking like he was listening. Though, the last few lines hit his ears, and they hit him hard. Maybe he shouldn’t be thinking hit so often anymore…

“But anyways Gav, seriously, go home. Rest up, and maybe consider just not going to work tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to go home, Geoff.”

“What do you mean, I thought Michael was down here in the shitty ass town of Rinstpond for the week?”

“He is, yeah…” Gavin mumbles, his voice trailing off weakly.

“Then I’d think you’d be excited to go home. I don’t even know what that’d be like, dating someone who was over 3 hours away from me. I was lucky that I met Griffon in the town. She lit up that dingy place like nothing else. Man…” Geoff’s voice falters off, his tone turning nostalgic. “But anyway, go home. The bus’ll be here in a few minutes, headed Rinst-side. Get back home to your man.”

“I don’t want to, Geoff-”

“Jesus, Gav, just go. I’ll walk you over. Plus, and I’m using my bartender duties or whatever the fuck, you’re too drunk to stay here and drink more, so I’m supposed to just guide you to the nearest bus or cab and send you on your way.” Geoff states, jumping up and sliding easily over the counter, his feet landing inches from Gavin’s chair. He reaches out, grabbing Gavin by the arm and inching him off the chair. There was a hiss that escaped Gavin’s lips, but it faded into the air, hitting Geoff’s ears but immediately getting disregarded.

“Lets go, buddy. We’ll get you home.”

Gavin whimpered, dejected and strained before pulling himself free of Geoff’s grasp and stumbling off towards the door.

“Jack!” Geoff shouts quickly, keeping his eye on Gavin as he walks toward the doors.

“Yeah, Geoff?” He hears a husky voice ask in reply.

“Watch the bar, I’ll be back!”

“Will do.” Jack says, his voice barely reaching Geoff before Geoff walks out the door.

He watches Gavin stumble, yet still walk on his own, across the desolate road that is rarely driven upon by a car. Though, when there was a car it was evident, especially to Geoff as he saw the brights come flying closer at an ungodly speed. Right lane.

Gavin was...Gavin, right lane.

Then panic set in.

“Gavin, no!” Geoff yelled, breaking out into a full sprint,crossing the road quickly before colliding with the brit, wrapping his arms around the thin man's waist and pulling him down with himself as he dove for the shoulder of the road, toward the safest place. Geoff heard the car go flying by, him catching his breath before looking down at Gavin, who lay crumpled beneath him.

“Gavin, are you okay?”

Nothing.

“Gavin?”

Silence.

“Gav!”

“Mmph.” It slipped from his lips involuntarily, his eyes forced shut and his head shaking.

“Oh thank god. What the fuck were you thinking, Gav?” Geoff’s voice demanded, though with more pain than anything else. “You could’ve died! Is that what you want, to die?”

His body shook beneath Geoff, though any answer by body language unintelligible.

“Maybe…” The smaller man’s voice spoke, shrill and nearly silent, though falling on deaf ears as the noisily being of the bus drove up.

“Let’s get you going, then. Goddamn, I’ll need to be sure to watch you from now on. What kind of stunt was that, Gavin? Why.” He asks painfully as he stands up, using his strength to pull the lanky brit up as well. Once to his feet, Gavin limped towards the awfully colored green bus, getting on as he slides his bus pass in the sensor. Geoff waves to no avail through the bubbling tint of the bus window as it spouts along the desolate road.

Gavin watched as Neon became a distant memory beyond the glass, fading away behind them as the bus drove along the black road quickly. He wrung his hands together, each hand kneading at the other, the corners of his turning up in small jolts of pain as he occasionally hit a bruise.

“They’re healing,” he constantly reminded himself, “Soon it’ll be like they never happened at all.”

“It’ll never happen again, I promise…” The words played in his mind, burned into his left hemisphere permanently. He forced his eyes shut as the voice stung him, his eyes beginning to well up with tears. “No, it’s a lie…”

“It’ll never happen again, I promise…”

“...Maybe it won’t ever happen again.”

“It’ll never happen again…”

“Maybe he’ll realize he loves me.”

“...I promise…”

Gavin had been at the Ramsey’s for a week now and honestly, Michael hadn’t really left either. The two boys had split their time between the theme park and the guest bedroom. Michael had stayed over for the third night in a row and he and Gavin had stumbled out of bed with the promise of breakfast. Michael lead the way, being more familiar with the house than Gavin was, and Gavin held onto his shirt to avoid falling behind. The two boys wandered aimlessly into the kitchen and they both took a seat at the dining table before they realised that there was another guest.

    “Who are you?” Michael asked the blond man rudely. The man laughed at him and smiled.

“I’m Ryan, I’m here to design the new haunted house.” Ryan explained kindly to the boy.

“The house is haunted?” Gavin whispered suddenly from beside Michael. Ryan laughed again and it unnerved Gavin. Michael puffed out his chest a little as Gavin cowered behind him.

“Not this house, Gavin. Ryan is talking about the new attraction.” Geoff explained as he began to place the food out in front of his guests. “Ryan is the guy that designs all of our rides – even Lazer.” Geoff said with a knowing nod towards Michael.

“You designed that?” Michael cried excitedly. Ryan nodded. “Cool!” Michael exclaimed.

    Gavin, seeing Michael’s excitement, had grown a little bolder now as he picked at his breakfast.

“So where’s the haunted house?” Gavin asked. Ryan shrugged.

“That’s what I’m here for – we’re deciding where it goes.” He said. Gavin frowned.

“Do the ghosts follow the house?” Gavin asked innocently. Geoff snickered while Ryan tried his hardest not to laugh along with him.

“It’s not really a haunted house, it’s a ride.” Ryan told Gavin. Gavin nodded in understanding.

“So it’s a lie?” Gavin questioned. Ryan had to giggle then.

“I guess it is.” He said with a smirk. Gavin shook his head.

“You’re not supposed to lie.” Gavin said sternly to Ryan.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Ryan smiled.

  oOo

  “This thing needs some major repairs.” Ryan sighed as he surveyed the haunted house in the light.

“Yeah, it really does.” Jeremy agreed as he wandered behind Ryan. He’d called upon the engineer to help him out when one of the zombies had crashed and fallen to the ground.

“We might have to close it.” Ryan stated. While it was one of their more popular attractions, second only to Lazer, the haunted house was old and waning. It was just as much Ryan’s baby as it was Jeremy’s. The younger man pouted and affectionately pet one of the werewolf animatronics.

“We could use it one last time.” Jeremy said deviously. Ryan turned to face him, his eyebrows raised.

“Jeremy, it’s a health hazard at this point.” Ryan said. Jeremy shrugged.

“I mean, not as an actual ride but like as a haunted maze with actors and stuff. I’m sure Joel and Adam will be up for it and you’re creepy enough.” Jeremy joked.

“Very funny.” Ryan said flatly, “It’s not the season for that sort of stuff.” Ryan reminded him.

    “I know but that might help it. There isn’t any competition. We can charge like a buck to go in.” Jeremy suggested and suddenly the idea didn’t seem so unappealing.

“You should run it by Geoff tonight. We’re having another meeting.” Ryan said.

“Yeah, I should.” Jeremy hummed absently. Ryan smiled at him before turning back to the zombie that had brought him here in the first place.

“C’mon, Edgar – let’s see if we can get you fixed.” Ryan murmured as he hoisted the zombie over his shoulder. Jeremy raised his eyebrow at the engineer.

“Edgar?” Jeremy questioned as Ryan shrugged sheepishly.

“I like the name.” Ryan confessed.

“I’d always seen him as more of a Paul.” Jeremy added. Ryan shook his head.

“No, he’s definitely an Edgar.” Ryan said with a confident nod. Jeremy scoffed.

  oOo

  There was a different atmosphere in Geoff and Griffon’s living room this time around. Geoff and Griffon had arrived too late to claim their couch, staring mournfully at Matt, Kdin and Ray as they settled down. The two owners stood behind it instead as they looked out at their employees. Jack had claimed his armchair yet again. Barbara and Lindsay sat on either arm of said armchair this time. Michael stood solemnly against the wall, arms folded in defiance. Gavin stood beside his friend and couldn’t stand still. Joel was squatting beside the armchair – he’d grown tired of standing. Adam was using his taller friend as a chair. Matt and Ryan stood together, Edgar the zombie animatronic held between them. Geoff coughed. This was hard and he didn’t like it. He hated having to gather his employees together for anything that wasn’t good news. It felt like the end already and yet Geoff hoped that it wasn’t. With a sigh, Geoff gathered his courage.

“So, has anyone come up with any ideas?” Geoff asked.

    The room was immediately overwhelmed with the chatter of voices. Nobody gave the others a chance to speak. They spoke over each other. Neither Geoff nor Griffon could keep up with it.

“All right, all right – stop!” Griffon cried out. The noise dropped immediately. Griffon blinked rapidly as her ears rang with the sudden silence. “While Geoff and I are both amazing people, we cannot understand you speaking all at once. One at a time, please.” Griffon pleaded exasperatedly. The second she’d finished her sentence, the room exploded in noise again.

“Enough!” Geoff shouted. When everyone had quietened once again, Geoff nodded towards Jeremy. He’d been the only one to wait patiently and not burst into noise.

    “Well, this morning Ryan had to come and get Edgar here from the haunted house,” Jeremy began and everyone snickered, “He said that the haunted house had to be closed until it’s repaired because it’s a health hazard. So, I was thinking that while we can’t actually use the ride we could use it as a live action haunted house.” Jeremy suggested nervously. With everyone staring expectantly at him, he felt a little awkward. There was a silence as people mulled it over.

“But it’s not even Halloween.” Barbara protested. Jeremy shrugged.

“It was just an idea.” He muttered. He jumped when Ryan’s hand landed upon his shoulder.

“I personally think it’s a great idea. Joel and Adam could act in it, we all could really. You’re right Barbara, it’s not Halloween but as Jeremy said to me earlier – it means there’d be no competition.” Ryan elaborated upon Jeremy’s idea.

“Huh, not bad.” Geoff said as he wrote it upon a scrap of paper he’d brought with him.

    Barbara spoke next, smiling confidently.

“Lindsay and I were talking and I said that I could sell my cupcakes. They’re pretty popular with our customers already and instead of making them every now and then, I could make them every day.” Barbara said. Griffon smiled just thinking of those cakes. She caught Michael’s eye as Lindsay spoke up,

“And, as I said, there should definitely be friend discounts.” Lindsay said with a nod.

“We’re trying to save the park, not get fat.” Ray interjected. Lindsay shrugged.

“Why can’t we do both?” She giggled. Ray rolled his eyes at her but he went ignored. Geoff wrote the idea down on his little paper.

“That’s a very good idea, Barbara. I agree with Lindsay though, there should definitely be friend discounts.” Geoff said cheekily. Barbara snorted.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

    “You know it would be easier just to raise ticket prices.” Kdin piped up suddenly. From the look Geoff gave him, it was as though he’d suggested sacrificing a newborn child.

“No.” Geoff said.

“Well, why not? It makes the most sense.” Kdin huffed. He wasn’t exactly the most creative but he was logical. Kdin couldn’t understand why Geoff wouldn’t want to go through with it.

“The ticket price of our park hasn’t changed since we opened it and I intend to keep it that way.” Geoff ground out through grit teeth. Griffon rolled her eyes at her husband’s dramatic approach to the idea. Secretly, she agreed with him.

“It was just a suggestion.” Kdin murmured.

“It was a stupid one.” Michael spat from across the room. Griffon glared at him and Michael didn’t take it any further.

    “That’s enough of that, boys.” Griffon warned. “I also have an idea that’ll help us raise money for the park.” Griffon said. Everyone’s eyes were upon her, waiting with baited breath. “I’m thinking about selling some of my art pieces, they’re pretty popular and-“ Griffon didn’t get to finish.

“No!” It was Gavin who interrupted this time. The Brit was honest to god pouting, arms folded and eyes sad.”You can’t sell them.” Gavin said.

“It’s an option, Gavin.” Griffon explained calmly. Gavin shook his head.

“No, it isn’t.” Gavin grumbled. Gavin looked beside him when he felt Michael gently cup his shoulder. Gavin allowed the other man to pull him closer in an awkward hug. The Brit’s pout didn’t relent, however, and Griffon looked away from the utter betrayal in Gavin’s eyes. There were several pieces the Brit had grown up watching her make and she knew he was just as attached to them as she was.

    “You know…” Jack spoke up suddenly, “I have an idea.” He drawled out. Geoff rose an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

“That is?” Geoff barked.

“We could tie all of these things together. You said that we had about a month to raise the money, yeah?” Jack asked. Geoff nodded silently.”Well, that’s four weeks and there’s four seasons. We could have themed weeks. We could do spring themed activities in the first week and Barbara could make spring themed cupcakes and Griffon could carve something relevant.” Jack explained.

“Then in the summer, Barbara could make summery cupcakes. The refreshment booths could sell cocktails, non alcoholic and we could dress the animals in the petting zoo up in summer clothing!” Lindsay interjected excitedly.

“Then we could do the haunted house in autumn and dress up all spooky.” Jeremy cried out excitedly. Jack smiled as everyone started to get on board with his idea.

“For winter we could sell a variety of hot chocolate and have a santa’s grotto.” Barbara giggled.

    “That… isn’t a bad idea.” Geoff grinned. Griffon laughed.

“I could carve some themed statues and sell them instead of the ones I have currently.” Griffon shrugged. Gavin brightened up at that suggestion.

“It would be just weird enough to attract more visitors to the park. We could have themed days where people who dress a certain way get a discount on their ticket or something.” Kdin added. Geoff liked this idea more than raising the price.

“For the week dedicated to autumn we could leave the park open for later and let people ride the rides in the dark.” Michael shrugged, thinking of how awesome Lazer would look at night.