'ᴇʟɪᴏᴛ ᴠᴀʀɴᴇʀ

‘   FUCK!  ’      there it was,   the unmistakeable cursing coming from the lips of eliot varner.   a sound that had been missing from the parking lot of zenith studios over the past two months,  finally resurfacing as the male in question stood standing at another persons car.    or rather,   the deep scratch he’d left in the side of it  ---  in his defence,  he wasn’t quite used to his new parking space.  ‘  is this your car? ’    cautious eyes looks to the side of him where he expects the owner to be.   his mind is racing with thoughts,   things that he could say.    you should be more careful how you park.   serves you right having a car so ugly.     hey!   it adds character.   instead,   his voice drops in to an anxious tone.   ‘ i’m SORRY. ’   words that had left his lips so rarely that they feel uncomfortable.    ‘  i’ll pay for the damages. ’

‘   SO,   you want the good news   or   the bad news first?  ’      he looked down at the vehicle by the side of him.    it sat in a parking space that he’d believed to be empty  --- that was until he backed in to it and heard a smash.      now there was broken glass at his feet and a smashed headlight facing him,    ‘    the bad news is,   someone backed in to your headlight.  ’  a half smile spread across his face as he looked to his friend,    ‘  the good news is,    it was me   &    you can take the repairs out of the money you owe me.  ’   such a good friend.

        ‘  IT’LL BE GOOD FOR YOUR IMAGE! ’    eliot scoffed,   holding nathan’s phone in one hand   &   pushing the younger boy away with the other.    twitter was still open on the screen,    the rather inappropriate status he’s just type waiting to be sent.     he liked to think of nathan as the brother he didn’t have.    which of course meant he could torture the hell out of him whenever he felt like it.     including posting a rather fun little status about nathan  &   some strippers.    ‘ c’mon ------   hollywood    loves   a good sex fiend.  ’

       YOU COULD SAY    eliot too was someone who had made it in an industry that was so against him.     everyone had taken a distaste to him,    a twelve year old kid who barely knew what the word    bastard   meant before it was being thrown around to describe him.  hollywood was a cruel place.     he’d managed to somewhat shake it off though.    the executives at the studio liked him for some reason,    maybe he boosted a few ratings,    who knew?    it meant he was able to get away with the kind of behaviour jocelyn was shamed for.      then again,   that was how society worked,    eliot was able to admit that.     watching the woman,   he raised an eyebrow.     honestly,   had this been any other situation that didn’t involve alcohol eliot probably would’ve succumbed to the woman’s advances.     she was pretty enticing   &   he was no stranger to having flings with older women.     this wasn’t  any other situation though.    this was here & now.    it wasn’t going to happen.    hopefully once jocelyn had sobered up she wouldn’t feel so bad.   ‘ you’ve got it.    sure you do.  ’     he didn’t buy it for a second.   yet he wasn’t going to point it out  & damage her pride anymore than it was.    then he felt her grab on to him.   her grip was tight   & eliot was pretty sure she was probably cutting off some circulation.   ‘ maybe i should take you home.  ’    he was sincere,    no hidden meaning behind his words.   he wanted to head off anyway.    there was no way he was going to leave her at the bar in that state though.     ‘ you are  VERY  out of it. ’

 ‘   THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID.  ’     he approached the male from behind,   watching him assist the stranger on to the horse.    clearly eliot was reliving the youth he didn’t have because     that    response sounded like it came from the lips of a twelve year old.   ‘ ... hopefully not to the horse.   that would be illegal. ’ 

      ‘  FINE & DANDY.  ’    lies.   he stretched out his fingers,   gripping on to the chair he’d found up on the roof.    ‘   none of the above  ---  i’m content with just being here until i find something else that occupies my time.  ’   a statement that applied to his current rooftop adventure & his career in hollywood.   whilst he loved getting paid a lot to act,    he didn’t limit himself to being a hollywood actor for the rest of his life.   it would only make him bitter ---  he was already bitter enough.   ‘ finally!     i work on a teen sci-fi show,   there’s not a whole lot to escape from.  ’   if anything work was the escape,    he wasn’t about to divulge that information though.   ‘ what’s with all the questions?   got an internship at tmz or something.  ’ 

eliot: if they'd have you that is.

         ‘  YOU’RE WELCOME  ---  & people say i’m not nice.  ’   actually,   the words they used tended to be more colourful that a simple    not nice.    he flashed parker a smiled,   leaning back as well.   ‘  come to think of it ... i’m not sure you’d be his type. ’   despite the fact that she looked a little like his ex.   ‘ your baby face might ruin his reputation. ’

      ‘   I FEEL LIKE    i should be offended by that comment ---   but you’re right.  ’   he shrugged owning up to his flaws.    or at least,  the flaws people assumed he had.   thankfully,   he wasn’t quite as bad as he let people believe.   ‘ probably.   most people are pretty   hush hush   about it though.   violence tends to be frowned upon.  ’   for many obvious reasons.  ‘  i’m jealous--- seriously sometimes i wish there was another eliot varner around so that i could call in sick & he could cover for me. ’   he toyed sarcastically,  ‘   alas,   there’s only one of me.   shame.  ’

      ‘  I FEEL THAT.  ’    eliot scanned the area,   taking in that la air.    he didn’t have anything against this city in particular.   in fact he had a secret little crush on it.   it just wasn’t home for him.   ‘  can’t say i’ve ever been to florence though?   i’ll add it to the list of places i want to go that aren’t in this country ---  fortunately for you,  you still get those handsome locals ’   he blew the girl a kiss. whilst he wasn’t some tanned italian guy,   he was a pale canadian one.  some women found them attractive right?   like those vampire fangirls.  ‘  i don’t have any issues with you,   but if it means I get nice italian wine,  i can make one up. ’

       SELF SABOTAGE     was something eliot knew all too well ---   he’d spent most of his life participating in it like is was a hobby.    for him it was.   the difference between the male   &   female though,  eliot had nothing to lose.  not anymore.   so when he threatened to glass a guy in a bar,   it was okay --  well,   not okay  but it was more justifiable than jocelyn’s behaviour.   he hated himself for thinking it but the word     if they could see her now   snuck in to his mind.   he wasn’t so sure the big executives at zenith would find the current display amusing.   at her words eliot sighed,    being the polar opposite of her clearly.  I’m not,  he wanted to say. that didn’t mean he was having a miserable time.  he had access to alcohol &  above-mediocre company.  he just wasn’t quite enjoying himself enough to start fake smiling.  although the kiss changed that slightly.   it wasn’t every day that someone so…normal forced themselves on eliot. so why did he push away?   the woman had given up her inhibitions. she wasn’t sober.   she wasn’t in her right mind.  it wasn’t going to happen.   his philosophy was clear when it came to matters like this.  ironically that came from his mother in the same way jocelyn’s insecurity came from hers.   because she left him alone with him.   ‘ I’m sorry.   it’s not personal.’   he spoke quickly,   genuine sorrow in his voice.   the last thing he wanted to do was dent the woman’s ego.   more fool him for believing she was as confident as she appeared.   ‘maybe you should just sit down…’   eliot tried to stop her from standing,    a hand reaching forward.  before he knew it though,   she was on the ground.   ‘ FUCK ---   here,  let me help.  ’  

      ‘   THAT    is   really   sad.  ’     the thought of being solely focused on his work terrified eliot.   not because he didn’t love what he did,    he just needed  other  things too.   with the knife in hand,    he wore a smile.   a menacing one,    definitely shouldn’t be trusted,   ‘  it’s okay,   if you lose an ear you can just sell it like van gogh did.  ’    and with the one comment,   he grabbed her hair with one hand and made a precise snip with the other.   ‘ there --- you’re welcome   & you owe me. ’

       ‘    ALWAYS.   ’    he smiled a menacing smile.    ‘  not because i care,    i’m just   what some might call a     violent person.  ’   his hands quickly former air quotes around his words.   that accolade was something eliot was proudly able to claim after the incident in the bar.   he probably shouldn’t be so proud of it.   ‘   your logic is flawless ---   what happens when you have to get up for work in the morning though? ’     

         ‘  I GET TO  define my own shifts because i’m efficient,  get the job done no sweat.  ’   he smirked,    if there was one single positive thing about eliot,   it was that he knew what he was doing in front of a camera.   no one could fault him on his skills as an actor.  ‘  another remedy?   you want me to take you to a witch doctor or something?  ’   he shrugged,  ‘ by the time we got there it probably would’ve scalped you,  got all caught up in bugs and SHIT. ’    a devious smile spread across eliots face as he reached in to his pocket,   grabbed his keys  & fiddled around until he producer a blade from a swiss army knife,  ‘ come on!   where’s your sense of adventure. ’

eliot: literally i hope, so he can murder you in your sleep.

eliot: oh waiT...

eliot: also wtf delete my number