❛ i thought you didn’t know anythin’ about dogs, ❜ he teases, giving the other a friendly smile as his legs cross, bottle held in his lap with both hands. ❛ she’s always been a daddy’s girl, but, i mean.. just like how kids cling to their parents more when they’re sad or not feelin’ good, she does the same thing. she probably is just actin’ weird because she knows shit is wrong – she hasn’t seen me in so long, y’know? ❜ dogs have an amazing way of connecting in an ethereal way to humans ; they know when something is wrong, even before anything might be wrong. ❛ i just… really can’t understand how someone could love me like that. not with how i am, not with the things i’ve done… but i know she does, and it feels so good to feel that, because i haven’t in a long time. but i’m kind of just… sitting off to the side right now, watchin’ her live her life. i just got back, i know i’m not– i know i’m not okay mentally.. – i don’t want to drag her back into that shit, i can’t. i want to be back to the point where i can tell her i love her and not be scared i’m leading her on or making her feel like she’s trapped. i’m just… scared that i’m never going to have her again, someone better is going to come through. ❜
❛ don’t need t’know dogs t’have common sense, mate. if they’re sick, take ‘em to the vets. done and dusted … – ❜ he does feel for him, though. he lost his own dog a couple of years back, but he remembers the pain it brought him when he did ; it was, essentially, like losing his best friend. his family. she probably is just actin’ weird because she knows shit is wrong. has somethin’ happened, then? – and who are you … oh, right. ❜ elwood sighs and runs a hand through his hair ; he didn’t particularly sign up for a feelings fest, but he does have alcohol and he does have a lot of it, so he’ll let it slide this once. besides, he’s working on being nicer. and he did ask for it. ❛ … got yourself into a right shit show there, mate. look… for what it’s worth, somethin’ tells me she’ll wait for you. she doesn’t have to, and she doesn’t owe it to you to do it, but i think dax will. you’re – ❜ he pauses, thinking over his words before tipping the vodka back down his throat, waving his hands.
❛ … you and dax have always seemed endgame to me, you know? shit – you knew me before i even dated lucas the first time, and look at how many people i’ve been through since then ; it’s fuckin’ ironic the only constant thing in my life has been you two. you need to get better ; like i said, not for daxton, but for you – because i’ll bet anything you being healthy and happy is all she’s gonna want, alright? and maybe she will find someone else, maybe that’ll happen, but you’ll deal with that if it ever comes to it. there is no point at all in living your life for what ifs. what if this happens, what if that happens – you gotta wake up and realise what you have now. you’ve got a beautiful family, you got mason, you’ll always have daxton, and up until the next time you piss me off you’ll have me – ❜ he offers a cheeky grin, but he does mean it this time. ❛ this isn’t – this isn’t me invalidating how you feel, not at all. but what happens is gonna happen, bri – you can’t avoid that, the only thing you can change is what place you’re gonna be in mentally when it happens. ❜
❝ it wasn’t intended to be deep. ❞ but he’s kind of proud about it now, considering the reaction he got from the other. he takes a seat next to him, catching the bottle as it’s tossed to him, and doesn’t even do the kind thing of raising it back, because he’s already got the top open and a good portion down his throat. ❝ she’s, like– i don’t know. her stomach is bothering her. if it’s, like.. possible for a dog to look pale, she looks pale. all she wants to do is lay on me, and she’s like, a year old rottweiler, so sometimes it’s easier said than done. ❞ if she doesn’t get better within the next day or so, he’s going to have to bring her to the vet. ❝ i’m really– tryin’ to be better. i’m trying to be better for myself, but i’m trying to be better for her. she’s the only one for me, and i guess it took three months in hell to really sink in. ❞
he listens quietly, eyes widening as he watches the other drink the liquid ; he’s only ninety percent sure he wouldn’t die if he drunk that much that quickly. raising a brow, elwood tips his head back, nose scrunching as he swallows the vodka down ; relishing in the burn that travels down his throat. ❛ – should ‘ave her checked out, man. s’not sounding … healthy, m’sure it’s gonna be fine. is the – clinginess out of character for her? ❜ his next words impress him ; and his expression shows it, nodding before he hums softly. for someone who’s own life is a chronic mess, he really shouldn’t be handing out advice to anyone. ❛ … you’ve already taken a further step than most. admitting and understanding that it’s you you need to get better for is key, brian. you can’t .. base your validity on the opinion of someone else. i don’t doubt daxton will love you either way ; but it’s you who’s – hurting, and it’s you who’ll benefit most from it. ❜
not what he expected. he really was going to leave. christ, you look so fucking sad. ❝ i think that’s just my face – ❞ he chimes in. it’s unnerving me. he pushes his lips out, a small huh sounding in his throat while his head gives a single nod ; he’s just accepting what he says, it’s not like he’s wrong. ❝ alcohol is great, actually– ❞ he’d love to have a shit ton of alcohol, especially if it’s for free ; it isn’t necessarily that it will get him talking, but it will help him forget. ❝ i’m just really.. having a hard time right now. my puppy is sick, i’m, like… sick in the head. i hate the heat, but my hands make fire. ❞
i hate the heat, but my hands make fire. ❛ bro, that’s way too fuckin’ deep for me. i need at least half a bottle of vodka before i even think about poetry. ❜ inhaling, elwood shuffles over to his backpack, pulling the bottles he’d bought the previous night out ; never say he isn’t prepared. he throws one of them to brian, before unscrewing the other one, raising the bottle in a cheers. ❛ — shiiiiiit. m’sorry about your puppy, sick animals are never fun. can.. i mean – is it sick sick, or like .. human version of a cold? ❜ he knows nothing. ❛ sick in the head, though – that’s somethin’ m’more familiar with. ❜
❝ okay, well, ❞ he really can’t handle it. when he first came back elwood was the first to witness how unstable he was, how deranged he was. but he’s back to a better mental state, he’s trying to do the right things, and fighting is what he’s trying to AVOID. he doesn’t want someone yelling at him, he doesn’t want someone saying the things elwood is saying to him, he just wants to be with someone who will talk to him, be his friend, keep his mind off of things. the demon stands, reaching down to brush the grass and soil from his jeans, ❝ i’m gonna go, i’ll talk to you later. ❞
he hates how he has this desperate need to make sure people are okay ; it appears once in a blue moon, and only for select people, but when it does it’s almost impossible to shift. ❛ you drive me fucking bananas, brian dessron. sit your fucking ass down and tell me what’s happened, instead of going to mope like a little bitch baby somewhere else. i have alcohol, i can get lots of it if that’s what it’ll take, but – christ, you look so fucking sad. it’s unnerving me. ❜
❝ don’t act like i’m the shitty person in this duo, we’re both shitty people. – when the fuck do i ever say sorry, especially to you, unless i mean it, elwood? i didn’t fucking do anything. i was pissed off because mason told me something and i misunderstood it, but it turns out to not be what i thought it was, so i’m apologizing. because i am sorry. so open up your fucking ears and hear it anyway. give me a fucking break, dude. ❞ he’s true in his sincerity, is sorry for jumping to assumptions last time and being so snappy. it’s true that he really never apologizes, and he’s trying to get better at it. the demon almost wants to jump when elwood turns towards him, but after looking at him oddly for a moment, he slowly begins to turn to face him as well. he looks down at elwood’s hands for some kind of guidance, putting his own together in another attempt at the red flower. did you see my father? ❝ no offense, but no.. fortunately i didn’t see your father. ❞
he can’t help the bubble of laughter that leaves him when brian speaks, evidently bewildered. ❛ are you fucking kidding me? are you listening to yourself at all right now? what the fuck have i done to you, brian? i haven’t said more than three sentences to you since we fucked, and now i’m a ‘ shitty person ‘, you can get the fuck out of here here with that. you were in the wrong. you fucked up, as you have literally just said – i don’t owe shit to you, especially not an apology. ❜ elwood huffs, his fingers trembling with the urge to lash out, but he reels it in again ; shaking his head. ❛ good. if you ever do, punch him in the fucking face for me. ❜
it was a pitiful attempt at a flower, really. he’s still rather disappointed once elwood has put it out, shown by how he hands his hand in discouragement. he’s not as powerful as him, he doesn’t know as much ; he wishes he did. by all means, make yourself at home. ❝ i misunderstood what was going on when we talked last time, i’m sorry. ❞ maybe he should go ahead and get that out of the way ; anything that might help ease the tension between them. what’s happened? ❝ i’m just– exhausted. i keep getting flashbacks from being down there, and i guess the continuous wine drinking isn’t helping. ❞
❛ don’t you dare insult me with your fucking sorry bullshit, brian. you’re not sorry – you’re never fucking sorry, and that’s your problem, because you’ll tell me you didn’t mean it and that you misunderstood but you’ll do it again, ‘cause that’s what you fucking do. i don’t want to hear it. ❜ he needed to get that out the way ; he’s held so much in, and although he isn’t angry anymore, he genuinely doesn’t believe what he’s saying ; and it’s unlikely he ever will. calming down, elwood extinguishes his flame, before turning to face him. ❛ you need to hold your hands closer together, for the flower to work. you need to contain the flame in a tighter space, otherwise too much air is attacking it and it’ll just collapse. – … hell isn’t .. the nicest of places, no. did you see my father? ❜
there’s something about him that’s so, entirely uncharacteristic of him. he’s calm, he isn’t angry, he’s just walking around with his heart on his shoulder. heart ache courses through him, his heart beats loud, pulse throbbing at his throat ; when he swallows, he has to force himself, and when he gives him no initial answer other than sitting down next to him.. ❝ i don’t– really have anything to say. i just don’t– know where else to go. ❞ he’s in shock. but he manages to look down at elwood’s hand, bringing his own up to offer a friendly flame, one that’s an attempt at the shape of a flower.
something about his demeanour prevents him from immediately setting the boy alight ( it took more self preservation than he’d like to admit, truly. ) watching him closely, elwood rolls his eyes. ❛ by all means, make yourself at home. ❜ he isn’t angry, not anymore, but he is exhausted. he’d managed to resign himself to the fact that he wouldn’t be seeing brian again, but of course, nothing seems to go to plan in elwood’s life. he reignites the flame, watching brian’s closely before his own flame leaps from his hand to crush brian’s flower. nobody said he wasn’t bitter. ❛ … – what’s happened? ❜
he’s idly sitting with his legs folded, running his hands across the blades of grass surrounding him. he’s distracted, that much is clear, but there’s something else bothering him too – flames lick at his fingers as he watches closely, watching his creation dance around his digits, flashes of orange and red and yellow alike. it’s only when a shadow falls over him that he looks up, his initial reaction of anger causing the flame to lash out, climbing in height before elwood reels it in. offering a sickly sweet smile, elwood turns to brian.
❛… – and what could you possibly have to say to me, this time? ❜
// @noblehigh
not who he expected to see at his front door. he was vulnerable when he first came back, out of his mind and no, that’s not an excuse for his part in the mayhem, but he believes there isn’t one for elwood then as well. he pauses in the doorway, leaning against it, and it’s clear he’s bitter about something. ❝ – what are you doing here? ❞
apparently, turning up at the doors of people he’s less than friendly with ( or, in brian’s case, has been too friendly with ) is becoming quite the habit. what he was supposed to say leaves him the second the door opens, and he recognises the tone, he’s been on the receiving end of it from enough people to know these days. “ do you ever, like – do something morally right, or aim to do something right, and get all pleased and proud of yourself ‘cause you’re finally doing the right thing and coming clean? ” he pauses, suddenly pale before shaking his head. “ i don’t have that feeling. and mason might know more than he should. ”
❝ definitely not interested in your bullshit today. ❞
he stares at him long enough to draw his own conclusions, before the corners of his lips turn up into a smirk, eyes cold ; calculating. “ you’ll never win. ”
