Stalker's Delight (Kodi)

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Oriel had been coming down to the bookstore everyday this week and twice on Sunday. That wasn't a joke either. How hard was it for him to locate his best friend? A text message probably would have done the trick just as well, but either Kodi wasn't responding(likely), or Oriel was too chicken to send it for fear of the answer(equally likely). So he resorted to stalking. Yes, yes, he knew he shouldn't but...but this was important dammit!!

During his breaks between work and school and Phoenix, Oriel had been stopping by the bookstore to glimpse inside if only to check on Kodi. To...you know...make sure he was still alive. To make sure he wasn't getting himself in trouble. To make sure....something something, GAH!! Oriel was just worried!! What was wrong with that??

Oriel grunted across the street, both hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, black shirt unbuttoned to reveal a white tank underneath, and with his long hippie hair blowing in the wind like a goddamn shampoo commercial. Only his face was anything but 'worth it'. Scowly McScowly-Pants glared at the trash can he'd kicked a dent into a day or two ago and nearly had the thought to give it another. He wasn't in a good mood, because the progress of his stalking adventures had been....non-progressive.

But no, vandalism wasn't his thing(lies!) and he'd already had people threatening to call the cops on him if he came back there. So it'd do no good to draw attention to himself. So...A short ways up the sidewalk from the shop, Oriel found a lamppost to lean up against where he waited, burning his eyes into the bookstore establishment. He crossed his arms and scowled some more. How long was he going to have to do this? Until he fucking got some results! He could be there forever then.... Oriel took a breath, closed his eyes, and counted to ten.

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Kodi had been doing just fine. That was a lie. But that was what he would tell anyone that asked, even when he would show up to work hungover and feeling sick, or just plain feeling sick, which seemed to be a common occurrence these days, mostly from guilt and loneliness because he knew his situation was his own fault. Somehow, though, he still managed to come to work most days and get what he needed to get done before he inevitably ended up back in his dorm, cradling whatever choice drink he choose that evening.

If he was going to go downhill, he might as well crash and burn completely, right?

Even his mom didn’t want anything to do with him now, but he didn’t blame her. With Kodi becoming as unstable as he was, he knew it was dangerous for him to be around Belle. If his mother hadn’t told him to get his act together before he came back, he would have done it himself anyway.

He had thought of Oriel on occasion, usually when he was lonely and horny and wanted someone he knew he could have in bed if he asked. But no, the younger boy was taken, it was never going to be like the old days. That frustrated him immensely, and kept him from contacting Oriel when he should have. It didn’t keep him from thinking about him sometimes, though, wondering how long it would be before the twerp found out about his ‘situation’ and came to yell at him about it.

Not much longer, apparently. As fate would have it, Kodi’d been hearing from a couple people recently that there had been some long-haired hippie kid asking about him outside for a while now, and he’d never had the guts to go and actually look. Not until today, at least. His co-worker, August, spoke up about it, and since Kodi was getting off soon anyway, he figured he’d… Finally tackle the issue. At least it was late enough in the day that he wasn’t hungover, but early enough that he wasn’t drunk yet. So he took a deep breath as he stepped outside into the crisp autumn air, looking warily around for said hippie-boy. Man. How old was he again? Whatever. It didn’t take him long, and as soon as Kodi’s eyes met Oriel’s, his shoulders slumped and he looked away. Well, if Oriel wanted to talk to him, he would have to come do it himself. The dentokinetic found that he couldn’t move.

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If Kodi was any degree of ‘fine’, then Oriel was a fucking saint. Like a Saint Bernard. Fuck, he hated dogs. Anyway, digressing, Oriel didn’t believe for a second that Kodi was ‘fine’, and that’s what had him so worried. After the last time Gryph and Kodi broke up, Oriel was afraid he might….do something, maybe even go back to that bastard Damon or get himself in some real trouble or….or something.

Call Oriel paranoid, but he was paranoid! And a worrywart! And it was just in his nature to obsess over these sort of things rather than just leaving them alone.

Oriel closed his eyes at some point while he waited. That was both because 1) he was tired, and 2) he didn’t want to have to deal with people staring and it was easier to pretend they weren’t there when he couldn’t see. It was probably just by chance that Oriel opened his eyes when he did, and when he did, Kodi was…he was there. Standing there. Staring at him. How long had he been standing there? And then Kodi looked away. He looked like….like he really didn’t want to see Oriel. Like Oriel was the last person he wanted to see ever. And that…..any anger that he’d been feeling a moment before was quickly replaced by something else. Something more….sad.

No, that was just it. Oriel was sad. He didn’t want to see Kodi turning away from him like that. They’d just made up a short while ago, and now…were they right back to square one? These thoughts continued to cycle through Oriel’s mind as he stared at the denokinetic with doleful eyes. He took a steady step forward…then another. After several more, and without taking a moment to pause, Oriel wrapped his arms around the shorter boy. “You’re aliiiiiive~” he sobbed into the boy’s shoulder, clinging to him tightly.

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Fortunately, Kodi had avoided Damon ever since the breakup. Despite the self-harm he was doing to himself, he knew that guy would probably end up being the death of him, and if he was going to go that way, he’d rather do it to himself and go out on his own terms. Not that he was constantly drinking, or that he was drinking copious enough amounts to make him wind up in the hospital (yet), but Kodi wasn’t exactly following the healthiest of regimes either.

It wasn’t that Kodi didn’t want to see Oriel. In fact, he might have felt some small tingle of relief and comfort knowing that the younger boy had gone to so much effort to see him. Well, not all that much, if he thought about it – why hadn’t he texted? Or called? Or just… Walked into the book store and look around until he found Kodi? Whatever, it didn’t matter now. All that mattered was that the dentokinteic was frozen and didn’t know what to do or say.

He still didn’t move as Oriel approached him, or even as the ink manipulator’s arms wrapped around him. Kodi felt… How did he feel? He felt numb, honestly. He didn’t know how to feel. When his friend spoke, Kodi stiffened a little and continued to look down. He had to swallow the lump in his throat before replying in a raspy voice,”Well, yeah, what’d you expect?” He didn’t hug the long-haired boy back, but he didn’t move away, either. “…. Everyone’s been tellin’ me some hippie’s been out here askin’ ‘bout me, I knew it had t’be you.” He finally looked up with weary, slightly bloodshot eyes. “You coulda come in, you know. Instead of takin’ it out on the trashcan.” Yes, Kodi had seen the damage, and had heard the story. “…. So why’ve you been stalkin’ me anyway? Do I owe you money or somethin’?” The dentokinetic had a fairly good idea what it was, but he didn’t want to say it out loud.

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“No reason…” he muttered from within his cage of arms that were still wrapped securely around his good friend. Clingy much? Hell yeah. “I’d just worried ‘bout you. ‘Cause….things….and 'cause I missed you,” he added. It’s not like Oriel wanted to avoid the subject, but…it was true that it’d been a while since he’d seen the dentokinetic. Couldn’t they just forget that there were thing that weren’t so cool going on, and pretend it was okay and just have happy-fun-times? Couldn’t they? No? Fuck…

Oriel wasn’t going to bring it up. At least not right away. Right now he was just happy to see his friend. To see that he looked…somewhat healthy. He at least wasn’t doing so bad that he disappeared off the face of the planet! He was still going to work. Probably to school…..maybe not that, but work yes, because books. And Kodi liked books. And if there were ever a time when Kodi didn’t like books, then there had to be something enormously, seriously, catastrophically wrong!!

Or maybe Oriel was just over-exaggerating, like he always did….it was habit he wasn’t likely to kick anytime soon, so STFU!!

Oriel took a breath and slowly pulled himself back from Kodi’s shoulders. He didn’t expect Kodi to return the hug. Not many people were as huggy as Oriel, he usually just imposed them with his tactile nature. He did wish that Kodi was a little bit happier to see him. Oriel smiled sadly down on the other boy. “So….you want to do something…..or something….?” he asked hesitantly. Hopefully. As in, Oriel wanted an excuse for them to hang out so he could see how he was doing other than just hanging out so he could see how he was doing. Or just outright stalking.

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No reason… Riiight… Kodi didn’t believe that for a second, but he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t really say much other than muffled mumbles anyway, being wrapped in Oriel’s arms like he was. When Oriel said he was worried, though… The dentokinetic was pretty certain he knew why. Last time he’d broken up with Gryph, he’d gone to Damon, and that had been awful. This time… Well, he still wasn’t great. But Oriel didn’t have to know that (even though it was probably obvious). “Yeah… s’been a while,” he agreed quietly. That much was true at least. “…. Missed you too, nerd.” That was kinda true too. He had missed seeing Oriel… But he also hadn’t been going out of his way to see him, since he knew he was probably in for some harsh words when he did.

But… Apparently he was wrong? The younger boy didn’t look ready to start yelling at him, at least. Certainly he knew about the situation though… Right? Phoenix was good friends with Gryph, so…. Yeah, it was probably coming soon. Kodi had been going to class occasionally, but he’d been avoiding those he knew other than his co-workers at the book store. Sometimes the novels he got lost in were the only thing that kept him sane. Augustus helped some, at least. That guy really was something else, and his voice really did calm Kodi down sometimes, not to mention the older man really seemed to have his back.

Anyway…

Kodi slowly relaxed as Oriel let go of him, and looked up at the taller boy with his tired gaze. He finally managed a dry smile when the ink manipulator gave him one, but it didn’t reach his (for once) kohl-free eyes. “Somethin’ or somethin’, huh? Sounds fun,” he joked weakly. “What’d you have in mind? I was just gonna go home and….” Drink. Kodi didn’t finish the thought aloud. “But yeah, whatever, lead the way and I’ll follow along.” He didn’t feel like coming up with ideas, so Oriel would have to do that for them.

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He missed him too….Kodi missed him too!! He said it, he said it out loud and Oriel wasn’t just hearing things, Kodi missed him!! Oriel felt like he could dance in the skyyyyyyy~!

Oriel’s grin conveyed every speck of his excitement, and he beamed it down on the gloomy boy.

Oriel had thought about punching Kodi over this whole break-up thing. He’d rehearsed it many a time in his head; what fist he was going to use, how hard, what he was going to say, how he was going to kick him afterwards and lecture him until doomsday…. But from the moment he saw Kodi, Oriel couldn’t help being overwhelmed with feelings that were the exact opposite of what he expected. This was a good thing, right? Right? It was probably just as well. Oriel had also considered that coming at Kodi too hard over this might push him away again. It might trigger some association Kodi had with that fucker whose name Oriel didn’t want to think of at the moment. Oriel didn’t want that either. That was good too…right?

Progress.

Oriel nodded, continuing to smile down on Kodi, and wiped a trace of dampness from the corner of his eye. “Yeah…something,” he repeated with a laugh. Oriel had no idea what that something was. But they needed something. Something. Oriel turned his eyes upward to the sky, thinking of what they might be able to do. “Um….strip joint?” He could go legally now! “I hear they have a gay night…somewhere.” He had no idea if they did or not. “Or, we could uh…..go roller blading! Or or….” Think think think. “Biking! We could rent those bikes they got over someplace and roll down to Burlington for no reason.” He rested an arm around Kodi’s shoulders and pointed over yonder. “Just you. And me. Wind in our faces, c’mon, it’ll be fun!” Probably not, but it was something to do.

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Unfortunately, Oriel’s smile didn’t have too much of an effect on Kodi. Any small ghost of a smile he gave in return was emotionless and fake. God, he needed a drink…

He really did half-expect Oriel to do something drastic. Surely he was upset over the whole deal, since he and Gryph had sorta kinda(?) almost become friends? Had those two really seen each other before Kori and Oriel did? Meh, whatever… The dentokinetic hoped the winged man was seeing other friends and whatever and not… Well, getting self-destructive like Kodi was. Hopefully he’d find someone that deserved him. Kodi hoped he did.

He, meanwhile, would likely drink himself to his grave if he didn’t snap out of this mess. Well, it wasn’t much different than before he’d met Gryph, so it wasn’t really a big deal, right? His mom and sister would be better without him anyway…

His eyes stayed a little down and to the side, hoping Oriel couldn’t tell how red they were, or wondering why he didn’t look like he usually did. Kodi just couldn’t muster the energy to care what he looked like these days, which was probably troubling to anyone who knew him. Whatever… He snorted at the first suggestion. “Do they now?” he asked, almost genuinely curious. “Sounds like my kinda place.” Now that he didn’t have anyone to go home to, at least. He gave Oriel a deadpanned look at his latter suggestions, wondering if he was joking. “… You serious?” he asked incredulously as Oriel’s arm wrapped around him. He didn’t move away from it. “… Sure, y’know what, fuck it.” Maybe, for one night, he could try to be healthy and get his depression out through exercise and not alcohol. He doubted it would work as well. “Lead the way, hippie.” His voice and expression still lacked much mirth, but at least he started dragging his feet along wherever the younger boy took him.

“…. So…. When’s the lecture comin’?” he asked bluntly.

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Oriel didn’t fail to notice Kodi’s complete lack of energy and responsiveness, and that almost made his own spirits plummet as well. No, it was a pretty big blow to not even get a growl out of the dentokinetic, but…Oriel was going to keep trying! What kind of best friend would he be if he didn’t try to cheer up his best friend when times were rough!? Oriel would take that challenge!

Hopefully he didn’t get too frustrated with trying before the day was out.

Oriel had decided not to say anything about Kodi’s appearance. Yes, his eyes looked terrible. Yes, he noticed that Kodi was’t wearing his eyeliner. Yes, he noticed that the rings under his eyes were the real thing… Oriel didn’t want to talk about that stuff right now. He just wanted to have a good time with his friend…was that too much to ask?

The strip joint probably would’ve been great, but to be honest, Oriel didn’t know where any were, at least not the male-strip clubs. And he probably didn’t have the money to be stuffing some guy’s thong with, and neither did Kodi he assumed. He wasn’t completely thrilled about his latter choices either, but… they were simple, and doable for the young ink manipulator. And who knows, maybe it would be fun? Just like the old days when they’d go to the gym together!

He was glad that Kodi didn’t say no. He was bouncing with joy, in fact. “Right, okay! I think…I think there was one of those places over….thataway!” he said, pointing across and down the street. This would be fun, right? It might have been a little obvious that Oriel was trying too hard to be energetic and upbeat and happy….even more obvious when all that energy seemed to dissipate when Kodi asked him point blank. Oriel stopped bouncing, his back turned from Kodi as a gloom seemed to fall over him. “Can we….uh…” Oriel stammered nervously. He turned to look over his shoulder, showing off a very strained smile. “Can we not talk about that right now?” he asked. His voice was almost pleading. Oriel turned his gaze downward. “I’m worried….and I got a lot to say,” he explained. “But I don’t….I don’t think I can get it all out right now without fucking losing it….and I don’t want to fuck shit up today if I don’t got to.” He cleared his throat and took a step towards Kodi, raising his gaze to look down softly on the older boy. “That alright?” he asked, hoping that Kodi wasn’t going to call everything off now.

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It was amazing that Kodi was even able to work, really, in the state that he was in. If he didn’t enjoy being surrounded by books so much, he likely would have quit by now. But it was one of the only things that was really keeping him going by this point. As long as he managed to get done what needed to get done and didn’t show up visibly hungover every day, he figured he could keep doing it.

He was a little surprised by how Oriel was acting – not his usual, snarky, sarcastic self – but it made Kodi realize how terrible he must really look. Too terrible to make fun of, at least. His teeth gritted uncomfortably. He didn’t want Oriel’s pity. He didn’t want anyone’s pity. He wanted to be left alone to stew in his own self-hatred and discontent because that was all he deserved anyway…

“Right,” he replied quietly and with barely any enthusiasm, and shuffled along after the younger boy. Kodi didn’t know of any of these rent-a-bike places, so he was just relying on Oriel to find what they needed. He could tell what the ink manipulator was trying to do, and in his head, Kodi had to appreciate the effort, but he couldn’t muster up any energy to put up a decent, happy front. That was why he figured he might as well cut to the chase he was certain was coming. His weary gaze lifted to meet Oriel’s as the younger boy spoke, and Kodi shrugged apathetically. “Yeah… Sure…” he replied hollowly. Well, at least he did know Oriel planned on saying something eventually. “Don’t worry, though. Even if you hit me, y’can’t make me look worse than I already do.” That was the only humor he could get out at the moment, and it wasn’t very funny at all. He looked away when Oriel came closer to him and nodded shallowly. “Sure. Whatever you want,” he mumbled. Kodi tried to just drop the subject and keep walking. He wondered if it was legal to drink and bike. “… Y’got any booze on you?” he asked the younger boy stupidly. “I’m dyin’ here…” So much for trying to attempt a day without his poison.

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Maybe Kodi would be more at ease with Oriel acting like his normal, offensive self.....but it wasn't like he wasn't being himself at all either.  Though him being happy and giddy in then face of this situation was just as much a defense mechanism as him being snarky and sarcastic in another.  Oriel didn't know how he was supposed to act. And when Oriel didn't know how to act, he usually defaulted to the silly and unpredictable. It was better than leaving things quiet and awkward, right?

Maybe once they started doing something, they'd be able to relax a bit more?  Oriel hoped so. Kodi needed to relax, he thought. He could use a day to just.....hang out and not think about horrible shit. Because Oriel Knew that that's what he'd do in the same situation. Just spend his days overthinking and feeling sorry for himself....

At least Kodi was out and about now, he thought. This was better than nothing, even if Kodi wasn’t 100% into it…or even 10%….5%…? Weehhhh!!

Shake it off, shake it off, Oriel was resilient!! (no he wasn’t) He could do this! “I’m not going to hit you….yet,” he said, trying to turn it into a funnier joke. “And either way, you can’t have looked as bad as I did some few weeks back. Pissed off a giant and he went postal on my face! Ha!! I ain’t never been so ugly! My beautiful face! You should’ve seen it!” Oriel grinned down at Kodi by the end of that, looking for any sort of reaction. Anything was better than nothing at this point, even if it was just calling Oriel an idiot or a hippie or something similar.

Oriel turned them around a corner where lo! and behold! there was a bike rental place, right where he thought it was. He pressed forward, but then stopped again when Kodi asked his next question. Oriel blinked down at Kodi, both confused and surprised that he would even ask Oriel that question. “Kodi…..you know I don’t drink…” he said warily. “Of course I don’t.” Did Kodi really forget what happened last time he did that? If he had, then…maybe Kodi was a lot worse off than he thought? That just made Oriel more justified in worrying his little hippie head off over the dentokinetic.

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In all honesty, this would probably be good for Kodi. He so often just kept to himself and wallowed alone in his room that it was no wonder he was making himself more and more depressed. None of his internal thoughts were very good these days, and dwelling on them just made it worse. So maybe this biking would at least distract him enough to not be… Quite so miserable. Maybe.

And Oriel was one of his favorite people to be around, apart from his ex-boyfriend, so that was good too. Kodi honestly thought he deserved to be hit in the face, and was almost disappointed that the younger boy didn’t seem to want to. He’d hurt Gryph, after all, and that was terrible… “Alright. But don’t hold back if you wanna, I know I deserve it,” he muttered. Kodi looked up in slight interest as Oriel spoke of his own punching incident, although he couldn’t muster the energy to laugh. “Really? Who’d you piss off this time?” he replied weakly. Kodi squinted and looked more closely at Oriel’s face. It may have totally been his imagination now that he’d been told, but… “… Did he break your nose?” he asked curiously. “Shit, Oriel… You gotta… Keep pickin’ on smaller punks like me…” he huffed, attempting to be at least a little bit funny.

Kodi followed behind Oriel as they rounded the corner, and he blinked in surprise. Well, what do you know? The hippie was right. That didn’t stop the Chinese boy from asking his question, though, and he dropped his gaze under Oriel’s response. “I know,” he replied hoarsely. “Sorry, shouldn’t’ve said anythin’…” Now Oriel was probably going to get after him for becoming so dependent on the stuff. And Kodi knew it wasn’t good for him, he just didn’t care. “Forget it,” he said roughly. “Let’s just… Ride these fuckin’ bikes or whatever.” He kept walking past the other boy with his head bent.

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“I’ll let you know ‘fore I do,” he muttered impatiently. Oriel really did feel like hitting Kodi, honestly…and then he didn’t. He wasn’t sure if Kodi deserved it, but he sure as hell felt like taking out his frustration with the situation on him. But seeing Kodi looking like he did made Oriel think…yeah, he was just glad his best friend was doing…okay…ish. Oriel still didn’t know why Kodi and Gryph split, and as agonizing as that was for him not knowing….it was still more agonizing seeing the both of them looking like their entire lives had just ended. Oriel had screwed up with Gryph, getting emotional and playing the blame game. He just wanted Gryph to tell him what happened…how could he help if he didn’t know what was going on? Either way, Oriel didn’t want to make that same mistake with Kodi…so maybe that’s why he didn’t approach Kodi earlier. He didn’t know if he could keep his shit. Apparently he could….just barely though, he’d insist. It was easier when it went unaddressed.

Oriel shrugged at Kodi’s weak interest in his own punching/beating. “Meh…a guy too nice for his own good…and apparently with a fucking temper I ain’t know nothing about.” Oriel really didn’t dislike Rue…not completely. But he couldn’t afford to like him, not considering his connection with Phoenix. It was for that reason only that he antagonized the older man. “Yeah,” he said, rubbing his nose that still felt like it needed to heal. “Ain’t nothing, don’t got to worry ‘bout it.” Oriel at least managed a smirk at Kodi’s ‘joke’, however tasteless it was considering the circumstances.

Though…Oriel supposed he could forgive Kodi for being so lackluster in his humor…and idiotic in tact. He must really be something terrible if he dared to ask Oriel of all people about alcohol. “It’s fine, it just…” Oriel didn’t know what to say. It worried him, that Kodi was probably depending on the stuff, if he was asking about it before the day was even half over. Oriel put it on the list of things he wasn’t going to address just yet. Eventually…but not now. He didn’t want to taint further their time together. It’d been too long since the two of them hung out just to hang out and be stupid goofs. “Right….let’s…let’s do that.” Oriel didn’t know how much more of this depressing atmosphere he could take though.

Oriel figured these things weren’t too hard to figure out. They just rent the bike here, and ride it across town and drop it at another of these things…or ride it back to PR and drop it here again. Right? Whatever, soon enough Oriel was holding up an ugly orange rent-a-bike. Somehow, the time it took to get it was just the right amount of time to get his spirits up again, at least a little. “Hee hee hee,” he cackled, swinging his leg over the thing and planting his ass on a seat that gave him a nice ride up the crack. “People really ride these things?” he asked rhetorically, experimenting with one foot pushing on the pedal. “Seems….a little unsafe….” Oriel kicked off, rolling the bike forward a short ways. Oriel steered to the left…then to the right….and left…before he finally teetered off into a bush with a short cry. Whose bright idea was this again?

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“Alright, do whatever you want,” Kodi replied quietly. Hit him, don’t hit him, whatever, he supposed he was fine with it either way as long as it was what Oriel wanted to do to feel better. But he also didn’t really want to talk about the whole situation, as it was still very raw to him and Kodi didn’t think he’d be able to get through it without having a breakdown. He didn’t know if the younger boy had already seen Gryph, and if he had, what the winged meta had said; he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Too nice?” he repeated with a small snort. “Right… Sure sounds like it.” Well, at least the guy hadn’t throttled him, maybe. “I guess now y’know, at least.” Kodi had learned similar lessons in similar ways, though, so he could relate. He gave a tiny, dry smile. “Guess your modelin’ days are over…” he quipped weakly. “Your nose ain’t perfect anymore.” Barely. But at least Kodi was showing small signs of doing a little better now that he had his best friend to bother.

Well, kinda better, at least. He was still in a not-so-good place, after all, so he couldn’t be expected to joke around all that much, and he was going to make dumb comments and questions like the one he just had. At least Oriel wasn’t dwelling on it, so Kodi let the subject drop. He could drown in his sorrows later. “Yeah,” he said, awkwardly clearing his throat. “Let’s do this stupid shit.” He tried to speak with false cheer but only barely succeeded.

Kodi’s bike was an equally garish neon green, which he wheeled away from the shop with vague familiarity. He hadn’t ridden since he was younger, but he was pretty certain it would be easy enough to pick back up. The dentokinetic chuckled a tiny bit at Oriel’s enthusiasm. “You act like you’ve never ridden a bike before,” he commented, not knowing how right he was. He followed Oriel’s lead and was beginning to take a couple experimental pedals when the younger boy teetered and tottered and went falling into a bush. Kodi stared at him. “…. You’ve never ridden a bike before.” It wasn’t a question. He rolled his eyes and hopped off his bike to help pull the stupid hippie back to his feet. “Are we gonna need t’get you some trainin’ wheels and teach your properly?” he asked, feeling better with the distraction. It was amusing, at least.

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At least Kodi wasn’t going to fight it anymore, or push, or press, or whatever the fuck he wanted to do about the situation. When Oriel was ready to do anything about it, he would. If he ever felt like he could do it without losing his shit. Oriel didn’t want to put his friendship with Kodi, or whatever was left of it after that stunt he pulled with the abuse freakout, on the line any more than he already had. He didn’t think his friendship with Gryph was going to be repaired any time soon either, considering how Oriel had gone off on him…again… Oriel didn’t want to screw it up again….

Oriel nodded, giving a halfhearted laugh. “Yeah…guess now I know.” And now Oriel knew better than to antagonize that guy. Too bad, he was fun to taunt, especially about how Phoenix would never be his again, no matter what. So even if Oriel lost that fight…he still won. Because Phoenix chose him. Because Phoenix wouldn’t….he wouldn’t go back to that guy if he showed himself to Phoenix, would he? No, of course not. “I’ll be fine, I’m still drop dead gorgeous and you know it,” he said with a hair flip.

Even if Kodi wasn’t doing the best, Oriel was glad that they were at least moving somewhere. Somewhere was better than nowhere, and that’s what Kodi needed. They just needed to…put it behind them. Somehow. And what better way to do that than do go on a very healthy bike ride!

A bit ride that would go much smoother if Oriel…actually knew how to ride a bike. After his grand fall into the bushes, Oriel flailed his arms and legs, trying to get out of the bramble. “S…so!! It can’t be that hard….!” Or so he thought. Oriel pouted, laying there in the brambles, having already given up the impossible task of getting out on his own. “Noo….I don’t….think so…?” He probably didn’t need training wheels. “You just gonna stand there and gawk like a fucking prick, or you going to help me up and fucking teach me how to ride like a man?” He growled that the pathetic trapped lion he was.