odysseus

Paying more attention to his phone than the kissing booth he was supposed to mandate, Leo didn’t bother looking up from Twitter when he noticed someone approach from the corner of his eye, “Only a buck but I’m charging $5 for tongue,” he mumbled, finally glancing up from his phone to stick his tongue out at the person standing on the other side of the booth, goofy grin on his face, “Kidding. I’m technically on break,” pointing out the shitty homemade sign that said smoking back in 15, “waiting for my replacement. However, exceptions have been made in the past, as long as you’ve got some chapstick on you.”

“You seem to be having the time of your life, who knew kissing was so exhausting?” he questioned with no intention of getting an answer. He laughed. “Only 5? That’s the cheapest date I’ve ever had. In fact, no, that’s a lie. I once went on a date that cost me a pack of love hearts in kindergarten. We went to the sand box, super romantic.” Tommy picked up the sign to inspect it further, glancing at it like he was an art critic and this was the next Mona Lisa. “Well… I guess we know you don’t have a career in graphic design… Sorry…not sorry.”  Pressing his lips together in pursed manner, he placed it back onto the table. “Chapstick is a staple of mine, hope you like strawberry flavoured, delicious."

“I don’t know, but I think that’s an expression… Or maybe you just spoke it into reality,” she thought out loud, gasping as someone narrowly missed her falling off a nearby trampoline. “Man down!” she shouted, taking a step back as he sprung back to his feet again. “I’m already stressed.”

@tommyhwthrn

The show had gone about as well as expected. Familiar faces were in the crowd along with new ones, some singing along, some bopping their heads to the rhythm of his guitar. He’d done some favorites and a newer song that he’d only just finished the final touches on the week prior. He couldn’t quite name the feeling he got when he saw faces light up with the words, bodies swaying and excitedly clapping when he said he would release the song’s audio the following day. He closed out the show with his highest rated song, the grin still bright on his face as he came off stage. He wasn’t sure he could feel any more euphoric until he spotted Tommy’s familiar face, stomach flipping in a way he pushed to the back of his mind as he walked up, arm already wrapping around the other in a hug. “Hey! Did you enjoy the show?”

As soon as he had heard the boy was performing, Tommy knew he was going to go. It didn’t matter that they were no longer together, there was always a soft spot in his heart that gave him butterflies when they were in close proximity. Sipping his alcohol infused beverage, he smiled as he listened to the soothing voice that he knew all too well - recognising some of the songs that he’d heard before. When it came to the end, Tommy made his way forward through the slowly dispersing crowd and felt the warmth in his cheeks when he got close to Gianni. An ever spreading smile grew on his face as he embraced the other in a comforting hug. “Of course I did! You’re amazing. as you always are,” he said, feeling a slight buzz from the alcohol running through his veins. “I actually think this could have been one of your top ones.”

“Who cares?” she repeated in solidarity, nod becoming more furious as time went on. Making her way into the tent which was overrun mostly by college kids, rather than actual kids, Maggie began pulling her hair up in a pony tail. “Oh my god, that was in Glee? I think I told someone recently their brain made that whole thing up. Fuck. Guess they live in the Berenstein universe now.”

“Rest in peace? Rest in pieces. Rest in peen-ce,” Lana re-phrased a few times for no real reason, legs limply swinging from her place on the table. Hand cropping up, she nursed a thumb over a drop of liquor clinging to her bottom lip, skin left faintly red.·“I think it’d be kind of hot, getting killed with an axe. Like Red Riding Hood roleplay. The wolf and the huntsman. I throw down onto all fours and start thrashing around, snarling like Remus Lupin. In role! And the Oscar goes to!” More genuine smile tugging on her lips at his compliment, Lana hopped down from the tabletop after touching the tip of her index, once, to the moon in question, almost like she had to clarify it’s existence.·“That’d be kind of cool. I boop it once and activate my X-Men powers. Hair starts, like, floating around, like I’m Jean Grey when she levitates. Eyes red. Or… Wait, that’s a different X-Men. _God. _There’s too many, it stresses me out.” Cracking a lone laugh at his comment, Lana’s dimples roused to life before she cleared her throat, attempting to compose. It was just as well, too, because the curtain rustled and a man with a western style belt buckle stepped in, pecs first.·“Oh? Hulk Hogan, in our midst! Please, take a seat. Enchanté,” Lana randomly quoted, not quite sure who she was even quoting. Pulling a chair back, she hopped down to take a seat, giving a wild waft of her hand for Tommy to hide the flask.·“This is my associate. Um…” trailed off, eyes flitting back to linger on Tommy as she thought of a name.·“Fergus. He’s, like… He’s super good with balls, so. A necessary presence, to enhance… our auras.” She cleared her throat.·“Shall we begin?”

“I always knew you had a kink for beasts, surprised you haven’t got bite marks all over right now. In fact... I’m shocked,” Tommy honestly didn’t know how they had got to this topic, but that happened a lot and he always just brushed it off with a smile. Fanning himself momentarily with his hand, he could feel himself getting warm while sat doing practically nothing. “You know what would have been nice, if they had got someone to fan us and feed us grapes. It’s just we deserve for donating our time to this hard labour job,” he sighed dramatically, leaning over and tapping the moon himself - testing whether or not the powers were real. ·“A shame… I really thought that might work. When will we be struck with lightning like in Misfits and get the powers we’ve always deserved. To activate mine I have to do The Scream before I transform into a demon,” he momentarily mimicked the art piece as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Almost instantly, as the dark haired male entered, Tommy rolled his eyes as they were interrupted to do the job they had signed up for. “You’re in the presences of greatness, for you are meeting the mystical Margo. You can call her Marg, not Marge. She’s not a Simpson,” he said, shaking his head as if the customer had implied she was. was. His introduction of Lana came out as if he had rehearsed, when in fact, he had not. As he slotted the flask under the table, Tommy stifled back a laugh, feigning a cough as a cover. “Indeed, let the stars forever be in your favour,” he quoted, his lips curling into a small smirk as if they were about to ruin this boy’s life. 

“I feel like a lot of things in the Bible could be confused with Harry Potter,” she suggested with a nod of her head. “Anyway, no demon fucking going to happen tonight, so it’s fine,” she said, peering in around the curtain. “Oh my God, Tommy… I – I think it’s a… Trampoline park or something,” she said. “The soundtrack alone has my sold and no clowns… as far as I can tell.”

“Demon sex,” she repeated, taken aback by the thought. “Do you think that’s actually a thing? Terrifying. Don’t want it, thanks,” she said, shaking her head solemnly. “Not really my brand. Plus, I’m a virgin, so demons leave me alone like… by default,” she shrugged, already starting on her path toward the sound of music. “Oh wait, that’s… Not right, is it? They like… they want virgins or whatever,” she said, exhaling shakily. “Terrifying.” After the repeated word, she happened upon a tent. “It’s coming from in there. You think it’s a circus?”

“Hopefully it takes over my body and then eats me,” Maggie insisted, moving to abandon her apron and gesturing for her coworker to take over, hopping out of the back of the truck. “Whoa, the streets are on fire tonight. Kinda reminds me of Alita: Battle Angel except I’m a human being and you’re not a baby-faced motorcyclist working for my inventor,” she said, pausing in her tracks for a moment. “Oh my god, is that Backstreet Boys?” she asked. “Do you hear that? We have to track down the source of this because they’re already having a way better time than we are, guaranteed.”

“That’ll be three dollars and a promise to adopt me for the night now that my shifts over,” Maggie said, hand extended through the ice cream truck window for the money. “Don’t want to go home yet because all the Lawrence clan is out and last time I was alone there at night, totally convinced myself we had a poltergeist.”

Tommy thanked with a smile as he took the treat and passed over the payment. “It could be a demon,” he paused to tear open the caramel Magnum that he’d been craving about for days. “Fuck, this is good..-Anyway, we have one, a demon. Sometimes she turns the TV on or knocks something over to say hello...she’s nice. Hopefully yours is friendly and won't eat you in your sleep or take over your body. ”

Perched on a back table inside of the fortune teller’s tent, it was clear Lana and Tommy weren’t taking their shift seriously. She was meant to dress for the role, but all she’d done to look remotely mystical was have a moon face painted onto the crest of her cheekbone, sheer shimmer of her mini dress doing little to make her look like anything except a space bound stripper. “Everyone looks, like… way scarier, in this lighting. Every time the lights flicker, it’s like that one scene in Misfits, when Nathan realises it’s a granny riding him at the rodeo. Age? Defined. Can I get a lamp? Can I please get a lamp? I know it’s to set the mood, but god… Intense.” Swigging rum from a hip flask patterned like a cow’s hide, Lana passed it over. She had a smile perma-etched onto her lips, corners of them aching slightly with the effort it took to maintain. “Quick. Slurp a top up before we get the next one. It’s, like… ammunition. It’ll give us strength.” @tommyhwthrn

“Stop it, I almost gagged at the image of that granny appearing but then I imagined Jabba the Hutt instead and I just couldn't… You’d be crushed and snapped like a twig, rest in peace.” Tommy laughed, before glancing around the dimly lit tent. “It feels like someones going to jump out with an axe and kill us, but I guess that's the vibe they wanted... Anyway, your moon is cute, I think it’s actually the only thing lighting up this tent. Maybe you can use it to hypnotise whoever comes in if they’re boring us.” Accepting the flask, Tommy took a swig. His eyebrows furrowed as he forced the taste down, an almost disgusted expression rested on his face briefly before he was smiling again. “Might need a second slurp, I'm sensing something,” he dramatically waved his hands over the crystal ball like he was already in character. "They're going to smell."

felix: tragic

felix: ok fuckin needy ass

tommy: a cute needy ass ill have u know

felix: she would be so disappointed

felix: ok i'm coming over

felix: u want anything

tommy: she'd flip her shit and beat me to a pulp

tommy: maybe a bagel

tommy: okay no, some pringles

felix: i wish i never saw it

felix: what about bud?

felix: if i cant get faded i'm not interested

tommy: somethings you cant unsee and thats life

tommy: you know thats a staple here in this household

felix: hope u choked

felix: u got booze?

tommy: i did and it felt good

tommy: oh i actually sent that

tommy: that is accurate, come and join me