Masoud Tehari

MASSOUD “Tash” TAHERI: 27 year old, manager at asteroid belt rink & pin alley, gender non-conforming he/they/she, impulsive to the point of disastrous, tends to see issues where there are none and is incredibly charming. Moved to Roswell recently, before that he was recovering from wounds in Corpus Christi, Texas. Lives in neptune ave and is part of the Westies gang. penned by Nico

sparrow’s toes scraped against tarmac . brows fell , furrowed in the middle , as their arm was ripped away . despite them being only a slight thing , they were once again up close against tash — a silent warning , the way a moth would spread its wings to display a skull in their wings , that fucking with them would end in a new kind of scathing bullet , one that would cause irreperable damage that time . “ what do expect me to do , stand here until we frost over or become another one of those huge alien things ?? i didn’t think so . i can’t do anything , i can’t make this better , and you sure as hell can’t come back to my trailer . my mom would tear you down before you even stepped through the door . “

once upon a time , a life where tash could be introduced to their mother was a utopia not too far away . they would dine as a family , she would meet emmett , and shiloh , and rollo , and they could start anew , passing on the moore-tehari name without the generational baggage . now , such a thing was a playground game ; how could sparrow ever imagine them and tash creating a life between them with any semblance of normality , with any order or understanding or , god forbid , peace ?? “ unless you want to show me your fancy new life .. “ the life he had created in the absence of sparrow , in the whole they had left , in the little death that remains when a relationship crumbles .

Massoud wasn’t sure what he was doing, they had been so ready to play their revenge on Sparrow, to hurt them and ensure they knew how much pain she had been in. But now he was here, now they were in front of her, and all her feelings were so meshed up and fucked that she barely knew how to breathe. Was that was they wanted? To go home with Sparrow, to hug them, to lay close to them, till there was no clear sign of where he started and they stopped. This melting together that neither of them had experienced since. 

They breathed in through their nose and their eyes fluttered over Sparrow’s face, trying to find the lie there. Then they struck out with an offer, taking him by surprise, this offer of showing them his new fancy life, this offer of them wanting to have anything to do with him. Because that had been a fear, that they would’ve wanted to walk away again, that this meeting would mean something in the moment, but once they had disconnected again, things would go back to the same old. And that was something he couldn’t handle, he couldn’t handle the idea of losing them again, of this all meaning nothing. Because it meant so much to her, it meant so much to her whole being, and she couldn’t be the only one hurt. “Let me show you my fancy new life,” she said, almost begging.

aylin nods in agreement, “that sounds like the perfect idea. we can get onto the difficult bits later”. they follow the other into their office, they were feeling excited about getting this process started. “well for starters, the couple have asked if they could have the ceremony on their favourite bowling lane” they tell the other, “lane six is the grooms lucky lane, apparently” . 

Massoud nodded, smiling as well as the other followed him, figuring he could make short work of this anyway, the fonds were easily calculated. Running a business such as this was far easier than what he did behind the hours. He gestured for them to take a seat, and sat down as well. He chuckled. “Lane six? That’s a good lane, close to the snacks as well,” they said, writing down a note about it. “When did you say they wanted to do it?”

What would have been a slow exhale shoots out of her nose in a petulant huff. Kaya runs the tip of her tongue along her gums. There’s no tingle, no telltale signs of inebriety, of course. Slim fingers clutch at the baggy in her pocket. “Walk and talk,” Kaya murmurs. Her shoulder bumps Massoud’s on her way past, and she barely shoots them a glance to see if he’ll follow as she ducks into a far more secluded spot. 

-

Massoud followed, if only because they were interested to see where this would be going, they grinned, moving behind Kaya with a glint in their eyes. They watched her move and could figure out what she was on about. “Alright,” they said, letting her know they were still there.

“well hopefully if i ever get lost in the woods, i’ll be with you. then i’ll be sorted” she shrugs in reply. a laugh falls past her lips, “i’m getting boy scout vibes from you” olivia replies, teasing him. olivia shakes her head, “that’s not what sciene says, but sure buddy” olivia didn’t really want to argue with a stranger.

Massoud grinned. “One can only hope, that you’d be that fortunate. Send out a signal otherwise, like the bat sign.” They raised an eyebrow at the boy scout comment, bringing back memories of their father and his little excursions to the woods to learn how to make a fire without a match. Their father had loved nature, they had gotten a fancy jeep because of it, would camp sometimes with family friends. They swallowed. “Oh, while not completely correct, I do have most of the skills boy scouts have, I probably still know my ropes and knots.” He shrugged with a smirk. “Science smience,” he said, though he too was only teasing.

the cannons were only a few trailers down from the moore family , close enough that they knocked on each other’s doors for sugar or spare fuel , that they could hear arguments through the thin walls . whatever had happened between the lovebirds , the illusion of love and adoration shattered from a life of perfection , it was easier for the male not to know — why get himself caught up in the life he had willingly left behind , something he had rejected in favour of protecting his two younger siblings which meant the entire world . “ pro’lly for the best . trailer park ain’t full of savoury characters , but you know that . ‘m up by the ranch more often than not , anyhow . workin’ is all i seem t’ do . “ 

it wasn’t the most exotic of work , but it was honest . compared the alternative , he’d choose hard physical labour over risking his life and the freedom of his siblings . when they had broken away from their family home the men had been presented with a choice , to choose the violence they had been raised with or to actively steer towards love . it had been a long journey , a whirlwind of bad decisions and near misses ; striker felt bad for tash , having been unable to choose such outcomes for herself . 

“ don’t mention it , bubs . “ 

Massoud nodded, though he felt like Striker only said that for his well-being. He would’ve lived there too if he hadn’t saved up most of his money over the past years, getting into a perfect situation simply because he hadn’t worried about getting back into his own unsavoury business. “Alright, and can’t be that bad, if you’re living there… unless if you mean yourself,” he said with a grin.

They felt awkward for a short moment, unsure if there was more to say, or if they should move on. They had no sales today, no shift at the bowling pin. They could chill at home and make themselves some mac’n’cheese. Instead they shrugged. “Need help getting home, old man?” They asked with a smirk. It was friendliness for once.

emmett never particularly excelled at anything . easily lost in the shuffle of his siblings . plagued by extreme middle child syndrome . only ever striving for mediocrity now , but at least he’s consistent . it carries across to his part time gig no doubt , sure tash is coming to pick up on that . they’d have to be blind not to notice . but with the big wig’s breath down his back , hands are a little clammier than usual . pricy prescriptions and the need to feed his beloved pooch were reasons enough that emmett needed this job . not to mention , he couldn’t be the one to run home , begging sparrow for a place to stay in their family trailer all because he lost his job over a puff off a joint . ❝ the other thing , ❞ emmett repeats , still ‘ playing ‘ dumb , ignoring the obvious as fingers fumbled to re-tie the plastic bag . ❝ oh , the racoons ?? or the rats ?? maybe they are giant cats getting in the bins , but i was thinking fornax might sell locks big enough to latch on to the dumpsters . ❞ perhaps maybe , just maybe , his ramblings and ‘ genius ‘ ideas for unwanted critters getting in to trash would be enough to throw him off .

“The weed, Emmett,” Massoud said, enjoying the way the other thought he could just… move around the subject, the fumbling, the sweat on his hand clear from the way he tied the bag back up. They were enjoying every second of it, basking in the power they had. Perhaps they shouldn’t, maybe they should hold back and stop it, stop being an ass. Certainly they had nothing to say about all of this, they sold weed more than Emmett used it, and while they did have the responsibility, it wasn’t as if this position and job brought in more money than their other business. But that also meant they didn’t care all that much. “So, what are we going to do about that?” they asked.

wes knew he was weird - could tell from a mile away that the other was trying to rile him up, because he’d been known to do that with his friends more times than he could count - but when others would tense up even more, he was utterly fine with the comment, with everything. the one button he had, the one that made him twist up in knots, had been pushed, and he didn’t care if the other saw him as lonely, because deep down he knew that’s exactly what he was. he didn’t relax, but there was no further tensing, his gaze calming almost immediately as his head cocked to the side. “i wouldn’t know, it’s how i’ve always been.” that, at least, was true - he’d kept people at arms’ length his entire life, had never gotten too comfortable with anyone’s presence, to the point that when people got too attached he felt it like an allergic reaction, like it was about to make him itch. “i do - i’m not in the habit of lying to anyone just to get in their pants. i’m always honest,” his grin this time is almost brutal, more a flashing of teeth than anything else as he lifts his shoulders in a small shrug. “but i guess they hope for more anyway.” the question of two, however, is plenty easy to explain. “date number one is to build sexual tension - flirt, maybe some heavy petting so tensions are high, then date two is for sex. always at their house, of course, or a hotel. any more than that and they start getting comfortable.”

Massoud raised an eyebrow at that, Wes didn’t sound like a person. In a sense that they thought that nobody easily pushed people away, not with such intensity at least. But it was easy for them to have their opinions at the ready, they were terrible at self-reflection, but great at judgement. “Hmmm, well, then I’d say it’s the other person’s fault for not believing you when you give them the rules,” they said, smirking. Getting to know Wes now, Massoud was sure they wouldn’t stay after sex either, and the way Wes described it, the two dates with only the second resulted in sex… that seemed… methodical. “But what if your date wants sex on the first date?” They asked.

“ i wish you well in it . making a life for yourself — “ making a life without them . they were torn apart , split in two by half of their brain wishing to embrace tash , to kiss them again , to fall back into old routines , and the other wanting to run away and skip town just as they had done when they escaped texas . “ — i always thought you deserved better than all of this . “ a sweeping motion gestured to the world , to their surroundings that were forever darkened by their past . the regular citizen would wake up and bless the sunrise , would see the beauty in the morning dew , could watch the fluttering birds and giggling children thundering down the street . sparrow’s outlook was bleak , rose-tinted glasses smeared black .

did they believe that they , too , deserved better ?? not in the slightest . they wished well for emmett , shiloh , rollo and lyla , as much as they were at each other’s throats whenever they were in the same vicinity , but for them ?? they deserved all they got , which wasn’t much of anything if they stepped back and observed it . a silence lingered , falling like a thick fog over the pair as they stood , steps apart yet worlds away from one another . “ i should get going , i should … “ they searched their brain for an excuse , for something to buffer their getaway plan . “ … i really need to … “ they wished they were back behind a wheel , speeding through highway signs , leaving their past life in the dust . 

Massoud watched them closely, a face filled with distrust at the comments. Not that he didn’t trust them, he simply didn’t want to believe them. That they wished for a better life for him, that they had always thought she deserved better, deserved more than whatever life revolved around now. But it did, and she was always finding herself with one foot in the grave, hoping for it all to end but also fighting to continue. She didn’t want better, she wanted her past, she wanted Sparrow. 

Gritting his teeth together, he listened without reacting, waiting for them to finish whatever they wanted to say to them, watching all these emotions, and wishing to put a halt to them. He had the intention of screaming, but Sparrow made him stop in his tracks, the words lingering on his tongue, feeling like a thousand needles. He shook his head violently. “Row,” he said, voice laced with anger, as he pulled them back towards him. All his muscles were tense, his eyes hurt. “Don’t run away from me again.”

Immovable object meets unstoppable force: Kaya’s pettiness butts heads with her overwhelming need as she remains rooted to the spot. Her eyes narrow around a sharp little glare, dampened by the cool sweat beading on the back of her neck. Her hand’s in her pocket, fingers fumbling with the baggy just to make sure that it’s really there, hasn’t grown legs and trotted off to greener pastures. Massoud has authority here, Kaya knows. They could easily cut the flimsy ties between them. Plenty of others need a quick fix, and are willing to put up less of a fight to get it. So she humours them, forces her jaw to relax enough to say, “Scorpios test people a lot. It’s like you’re all always getting everyone around you to prove themselves.”

Massoud watched her with interest, dark eyes waiting for her moment to snap, to run off, to beg for him to let her go her way. He shrugged at the comment, as if that was something he obviously never did, though it described him to a T and he’d never thought much about it before. Either he really was a scorpio, or she was just saying things about them that she had seen. They liked to test people, it was the only way to be sure of their trustworthiness. “And you’d say I fit the bill?” They asked.

“You flatter me,” Breanne grinned. She did like the idea of having help in her quest for vengence/justice. “The most I can pay you for your services is a free dessert at Crashdown on occasion. Or too much knowledge about rocks… or plants… is the offer of partners in crime still on the table?”

Massoud laughed. “I’ll take the free dessert on occasion, I don’t have any use for anything else anyway,” he said, grinning. Maybe money, but there was plenty coming in, and there was more he was setting up. What he needed was customers, but he could get those himself easily enough, who knew, with time, Breanne could be convinced too.

“true but i have a feeling i’m not gonna get lost in the desert any time soon” she shrugs her shoulders in reply. a laugh fell past her lips and she rolls her eyes at his display, “really? nah, it’s not that. but like just what about your lungs? aren’t you worried. doesn’t it freak you out?”

“Never say never, it’s always good to be prepared,” Massoud said, making finger guns for now reason. “I have a compass in my pocket for just that reason.” A broken one, but useful for when you wanted to throw something at someone and it should hurt. “About my lungs? Nah, it won’t change anything anyway, some people fuck up their lungs, others barely notice the difference.”

once a friend , always a friend — it was the cowboy code , a code that him and his brothers had written ( albeit , not on paper ) as a means to get by without the guidance of a parent . living life as a lost toy , a teddy abandoned or a gift left unopened , meant that striker was open to taking other souls beneath his wing , and that was true for tash as much as it was for the moore siblings , for the calves without mothers at puhlman’s ranch . beneath the tough exterior was a real heart , one that teared up over emotional movies and thrashed in the wake of nightmares when his brothers were fast asleep . the pen was taken from tash and her hand seized , hesitating at the mark where the bullet had kissed them — striker had his own wounds , memories written across skin that meant , no matter how far he ran , his past was permanently etched across his body , a scrapbook he was shackled to . 

deciding to ghost over the wound , striker used the unmarked skin as a canvas to etch his promise . there wasn’t much space to squish in his vow , so instead he scribbled down his phone number — the digits leading to his brick phone — with his name ( mispelled as ‘ stryker ‘ ) beneath . “ if y’ need me , y’ just gimme a call , alright ?? i’m usually around , an’ if i ain’t i’m up at the ranch or at the trailer park , “ which , he imagined , was the last place tash wanted to visit , knowing that their ex inhabited one of the trailers only a few doors down from his own . “ my days of getaway drivin’ are long over , but i can still be a friend . “ 

Massoud wasn’t so sure about friends, they weren’t so sure they could trust people anymore, to trust friends anymore. Because… well, obvious reasons. But Striker was different, he wouldn’t call it friendship, it was something else. Something more sustainable. He bit the inside of his mouth, everything was different now, and he wondered if it had anything to do with how far away he’d been, how far away he felt now, even if he was in Roswell. This was a new place, this was not home. They missed home. 

She looked up in confusion when Striker took her hand, it felt too much, too personal, she wanted to take it back. To pull her hand away and hide whatever he thought he could sense there. But instead she allowed for the pen to itch into her skin. It was temporary, it would fade, it would fade and then disappear. 

“Thanks,” Massoud said, shrugging. Though he meant it, it was clear enough in his voice despite how badly he wanted to appear not to give a fuck. “Definitely not going to the trailer park, but I’ve been to the ranch before,” he said. Striker knew why, he didn’t need to share that again.

People are quick to shit on stuff. Kaya should know: Her high school career consisted of doing just that. She’s had enough of dragging people down, regretting it to the point that it takes constant, borderline strenuous effort to first and foremost react with respect. The irony of it all isn’t missed, but she’s finding that even a bitesize taste of her own medicine is plenty, far too much. She rubs her tongue over the roof of her mouth, as though trying to rub that bitterness away. There’s a baggy in her shoe, its contents a welcome relief from how loud Massoud’s dismissal is. Kaya could slip away, muffle everything with just a quick line. But then Massoud’s offering up a date, and she’s anchored to the spot, fidgety. 

“Scorpio,” she shoots right back. “Fits: You’re all mean little fuckers.”

Harsh, but true. Plus, the quicker she puts them off this conversation, the quicker Kaya can soothe the dull ache swelling in her joints.

Massoud laughed, shook their head and bit the inside of their mouth. “Alright, fair, guess I am, not certain about my other Scorpio friends. That’s all you’re going to give me, then?” they asked, they put the money in their inside pocket, hard to get to if you didn’t know how to open it. They could see the itch under her skin, watched it worked around, the fix was already in her pocket, but she’d put herself in this spot to begin with, rambling when she could’ve just cleared off. And Massoud was a mean little fucker, so he was milking it.

their arm was seized , their breath hitched , and they glanced back at tash as though they were a small animal caught in a trap — it was how their love felt sometimes , as though there was no avenue to escape . they were so embroiled in one another , the curves of their DNA intertwined , that a life without the other seemed near impossible , although the months without tash at their side had granted a bittersweet kind of freedom . for once they were able to live life untethered . in their mind it didn’t matter whether they had lived or died , knowing that she would be there beyond the pearly gates ( or the fiery depths ) to greet them once death took them back to the earth . was it love ?? was it codependency ?? either way , dark eyes flitted between the face of their ex and the fingers bearing down into the pale flesh of their arm . a sheep in the claws of the wolf . 

“ i can’t . “ every fibre of their being wanted to tear away from roswell , to throw caution to the wind and fall back into bad habits , but what would happen to their siblings ?? although it seemed none of sparrow’s siblings particularly liked them in that moment , abandoning them the second time would have been the final nail in the coffin . “ tash . i want to , but i just .. i can’t . “ the echoes of the arguments with emmett , with rollo , with lyla richotted off the inside of sparrow’s mind ; perhaps none of them would miss their sibling if they disappeared into the dust once again , but was that a risk they were willing to take after so many missed opportunities , after countless setbacks and restarts ??

tash’s utterance confirmed everything they had thought , yet had been reluctant to believe . he had made the trek to roswell for sparrow , they had thrown everything away to pursue what was dead , gone and buried . their ex stood as a physical manifestation of everything they had left behind , and sparrow found themself stuck on the fence , toeing the line between sinking back into their previous life or clawing to the summit of a life with real purpose . “ the better part of town , huh ?? you’re really moving up in the world . you’ll soon forget about the little guys . soon forget about us , “ 

Massoud bit their teeth together, grinding them till their jaw hurt. It wasn’t that Sparrow really couldn’t, it was that they were completely incapable of moving. But it also wasn’t that they didn’t want to. They knew them well enough now, they knew that whatever kept Sparrow from making decisions of their own, it wasn’t something they decided themselves. He had always believed that he could keep them from making their own decision, from leaving him, from falling for someone else, from supporting another body that wasn’t him. It had been easy, for such a long time anything they suggested, Sparrow would do. But that stopped. Because once Massoud had been unable to speak, unable to keep them from leaving, they left. 

And now they would no longer follow him blindly, now they were caught in another spell, and Massoud had no idea how to break it this time around. He would have to figure out. 

He knew he could never have Sparrow if they were this connected to something that wasn’t him, he knew he’d lost them if they didn’t figure out soon how to get them back. He knew that even if he wanted to get lost in them again, it would take time, because trust was broken, but most importantly: he didn’t know how to feel about this. 

He tried to find some lie in what they said, tried to find the joke, the laugh. He decided when or how he would forget about them, he would decide when they got to joke about it. “No,” he said. “I’m moving up in the world to not forget about where I started,” he said.

“I’m going to test it out. I have a few theories of how I want to do this.” The goat thing was a little extreme. “I could just do an essay on the entirely wrong topic mixed in with the correct ones. So it doesn’t look like the wrong file was linked.” That idea brought smile to Breanne’s face. “I’ll pick a teacher that doesn’t allow redos too. They’ll have to eat the poor grade.” Did she want to sit through two different essays? Did she even have the time to pull this off… She might have to sacrifice some lunch breaks at work… “Ratting them out is the last thing I’ll do. I want to have some fun first." 

-

Massoud grinned. He liked this one. She was not going for the easy one, the ratting someone out. Which was always their favourite thing to do, but mostly because it was easy in the life they were in, to get a good result out of it. “I like you, lil one, I hope you do have some fun before then,” they said, smirking. “If you need any help, I’d gladly offer my services.” It would be good to throw their rage at someone else, now they felt like stomping around in the dark hoping to hit someone.

“no. i just keep my opinions to myself. ain’t in the business of airing my shit out to people,” wes muttered, one of his eyebrows quirking up a touch, even though he was internally rolling his eyes at the other. any friendliness he might have been feeling was quickly going nowhere fast, to say the least, because he’d never really been the type to hang around people who jumped to conclusions quickly, because they were - as always - wrong. “more like, in my experience, the people i’ve slept with aren’t the biggest fan of the fact that i’m not in the mood to stay and cuddle… or the fact that i’d prefer if they didn’t call me, you know, ever. i have a strict two date policy, then i cut ties.” the only person he’d ever broken the rule for had been a tiny blonde, and that’d been mostly because she swore no strings attached, and he didn’t think the back of his jeep counted as a date.

Massoud realised the other was starting to hate them, which resulted in them not being about to stop themselves. It was so nice to rile people up for now reason, it was so great to see them seeth there, unable to say something about it, unsure if Massoud was really trying to be a fucker or if he was just… not looking out for his words. It could be both, though impulsivity didn’t always lead the joke on this long. “Sounds like a very lonely life, my friend!” He said ‘friend’ on purpose. “Hmmm, maybe it would help if you tell them before had that you’re planning to set them loose,” he offered. Massoud took a step closer to Wes. “So, two dates huh? Why two?” He asked, placing a hand on Wes’ chest, pretending to study the other’s jacket.