As You Know, Bob.... (Phoenix)

[Deleted]

Jackson scratched his head, seemingly exasperated. "And so...they stuck me with a million hours of community service," he explained to the pet store worker with a long, tired sigh.

It'd been a while since he last saw the graduated Hammel student. Since the sleepover, maybe they got together all of twice at best. Mostly when Jackson got bored and needed a place to hang out until someone else became available. Or when he was picking up food for Rue's cats.

Well, couldn't he do both?

Otherwise, Jackson had been too busy fucking up his life to think about spending more time with people who were supposed to be his friends. He honestly felt bad about that.....what in the world had he been doing up until now? "I feel like the past six months have just...I don't know, like they didn't really happen...or maybe happened to someone else, y'know?" Or like he'd been dreaming the whole time.

Jackson leaned against the front counter as he jabbered away, having not made any move to pick up the bag of food from the other side of the store like he was supposed to. He again idly scratched his head of freshly dyed black hair as he continued to watch Phen go about his business. "So....what's up with you?" he asked, only politely interested. Jackson had been going on for quite a while about what's been going with him. It might be time to give someone else a chance to talk. Like Phen. "How's that boyfriend of yours....?"

[Deleted]

Phoenix saw all kinds of people in the pet shop, but since he’d been working there for a good long while now, he’d finally grown used to it. He was even able to lift some of the heavier bags of food and other large, awkward items now, which he’d struggled with for a long time. He still didn’t show much muscle, though…

Anyway, the shop was pretty quiet at the moment apart from Jackson, so Phoenix didn’t see a problem in them chatting as long as he sort of did his job. He was organizing some of the items on the counter as the younger boy spoke, a sympathetic expression on his face while he listened to the guy’s story. “At least that’s better than jail,” he offered as an attempt at optimism. “I heard Kodi got stuck in there for a night and it was awful.” Phoenix could only imagine.

He’d of course heard about the incident through Oriel, but it was interesting to hear it from Jackson’s side of the story. The whole thing didn’t make Phoenix look at either of them any more poorly, because he and Oriel had likely done similar, or even worse, things, and simply hadn’t been caught. “Mm… Yeah, I know what you mean…” he mused aloud. “That’s how I felt back when my ex broke up with me and all I did for a long time was drugs…” Granted, it was his own dust, but still. “I don’t remember much from that time, really.”

Phoenix shuffled through some papers behind the counter in the brief pause, then looked up again when Jackson asked about him. “Oh! My fiancé? Oriel, he’s great,” he beamed always lighting up whenever the subject of his squishy came up. “I was really worried about him for a while ‘cause it seemed like he kept getting hurt…” Or, in reality, beat up, but Phen didn’t want to say that. “He should graduate this year, though! And once he does, we’re gonna get married.” That fact sent happy tickles through the pixie’s tummy.

[Deleted]

“No kidding…” he said drearily. Jackson supposed he should feel bad about Kodi getting it worse than he did, but quite honestly the guy probably deserved it. Just getting arrested had been a sort of wake-up call for Jackson. Kodi…Kodi was a wild card. Completely out of control. “I don’t think I’m gonna be seeing him again….” Kodi had attached himself to some other kid anyway, or so he heard.

Jackson hadn’t heard about the dentokinetic being in the hospital recently either. If he had, though, he probably still wouldn’t care much.

Though when Phoenix brought up his ex, Jackson looked away, feeling somewhat guilty. Sorta. “Y-yeah….that’s gotta suck,” he murmured. Phoenix still didn’t know that Jackson was currently seeing that ex of his. The boy hesitated. “You’re talking about…about Rue, right?” Jackson flit his eyes back to Phoenix, but then looked away again quickly. “Finn told me…about you and him…” And that he should never find out that Jackson and Rue were something of a…well, he didn’t know quite what they were, but the bottom line was that they were fucking.

Jackson smirked slightly when Phoenix brightened as the subject turned to his fiance. He was always so stupidly happy about that guy. “That’s great. Invite me to the wedding, whenever it is.” And Jackson might go. That name, Oriel, sure sounded familiar, though. It couldn’t be the same guy he was thinking of, right? The asshat who’d been riding on Jackson until Rue took care of him? “He’s a pretty wild guy, I guess, if he’s always getting hurt.”

[Deleted]

Phoenix lifted an eyebrow as Jackson mentioned not seeing Kodi again. “No?” he questioned, his voice neutral. “I haven’t seen him in a while, but Oriel has. I never really liked him all that much t’begin with, and then after he broke up with Gryph…” The pixie trailed off with a shake of his head. It was hard to forgive the dentokinetic after seeing how bad his best friend had taken it, but at the same time, he was a little relieved and hoped Gryphon would find someone better.

He was oblivious to Jackson’s guilty feelings as he spoke about his ex, and kept fiddling with some things behind the counter as the younger boy responded. “Yeah, it did,” he agreed with a short nod. “But it’s okay now, because I’m doin’ a lot better!” His head snapped up at the mention of Rue’s name, and Phoenix’s lips parted in surprise. He didn’t remember telling Jackson who it was… “Um, yeah,” he said softly. “Oh, right, of course Finn knows….” Phen tilted his head slightly. “You…. Know him? How?” Rue was several years older than both of them, so he was curious how they could have met. Maybe through Finn, he supposed, that would make the most sense.

At least talking about his ex only brought back the slightest of sorrowful feelings anymore, mostly for the lost years of his life that had come afterwards. “Of course!” he chirped, bobbing his head in agreement. “We’ll invite everyone we know, I want it t’be huge!” Of course, he didn’t know how they would pay for it yet, but that wasn’t important! His expression faltered slightly at Jackson’s assumption, and Phoenix bit his lip and averted his eyes. “He… He has a temper sometimes,” he admitted reluctantly. “And most people don’t get his sense of humor.” In other words, he had a dirty, offensive mouth. “I wish he wouldn’t get into so many fights, but he just seems to attract trouble, I guess.” A worried crease had formed in Phoenix’s brow, and he stopped working to wring his hands together nervously.

[Deleted]

Jackson nodded slightly as they spoke of the dentokinetic, crossing his arms in discomfort. “Kodi took it pretty hard too,” he offered, lowering his head in thought. “He was always drinking and moaning about how horrible he was….ha, it was a little annoying, if you ask me.” Jackson had no sympathy for the boy, as he clearly brought it upon himself. So why had he stuck by him anyway? “I guess I hoped I could be some sort of support for him. Be a good influence, y’know?” Jackson chuckled, though it felt like laughing was the last thing he should do. It was all an egotistical stunt on his end, he supposed. “And look where my so-called ‘charity’ ended me up. Man, that was stupid of me, ha ha…”

Hanging out with Kodi wasn’t the only stupid thing the telekinetic had done, though he didn’t regret at all having met Rue and growing close to him. “That’s good, I’m glad,” he said, unsure of what else he should say to that. Jackson felt almost guilty(no, he definitely did) to see Phen’s surprised face at the mention of his ex’s name. Jackson hesitated, pushing himself off the edge of the counter to go mindlessly fumble through some treats that were hanging off the corner of a nearby shelf. “Mmm…” he hummed with clear reluctance in his tone. “……..Rue and I have been seeing each other for about a year now…” Jackson spoke carefully, as if one wrong word was going to damage the pixie beyond all repair. “He introduced me to Finn,” he explained. “ And through Finn, I met you….I didn’t know. Sorry.”

He hoped that this new information wasn’t going to create a shadow over their friendship. The two of them weren’t great friends, honestly, but Jackson was trying to be a little more honest. He was glad he was at least being invited to this wedding of his. “Sounds great,” he said with a half smile. “Do you know where you’re gonna have it yet? What the theme is? Are you gonna have it in a church?” This was all just Jackson being nosy. But then Phoenix’s mood seemed to drop again and Jackson frowned in slight irritation. This guy…he was like one of those annoying kids whose mood changed at the drop of a hat. “I’m sure he’s fine. If he hasn’t been hurt beyond repair yet, then he probably knows what he’s doing enough in a fight to keep it that way.” Not that Jackson knew anything about fighting. He was just trying to reassure the meek older boy.

[Deleted]

Oriel had told Phoenix about how Kodi had taken the break-up, but honestly, Phen didn’t care all that much about the dentokinetic’s feelings, he just cared about Gryph’s. “I bet it was,” he replied with a small scowl. “He was always drinkin’ with Gryph anyway, he was a bad influence.” No wonder Jackson ended up in the position that he had. “It sounds like it’s for the best that you don’t see him anymore,” he determined. “He has a way of draggin’ everyone around him down, don’t blame yourself.” Maybe Phoenix had more bottled up negative feelings for Kodi than he realized. He really hoped Oriel didn’t get in trouble because of that guy…

He definitely wasn’t prepared for what Jackson informed him next, and Phoenix stared at the younger boy, his own hands going stiff as he tried to process what he’d said. Finally… “You… You mean like… Dating?” he asked, his voice sounding raspy and uncertain. Phen had no idea how to feel about this. It was so far from anything he would have expected, all he felt was shock. Not anger, or worry, or anything else. “…. He’s a lot older than you,” was the first thing he could think of to say. “He’s… is he twenty-one now?” Phoenix couldn’t remember, and didn’t really know why this was important. He just couldn’t think of anything else to say. “… H… how does he treat you?” he finally managed to ask. When he and Rue had dated, Phen thought he was the most amazing person in the world. Even after they had broken up, the pixie still knew that he was a really good guy, but his own demons had tried to warp his thoughts to make him believe otherwise. He had just been terribly lonely without Rue.

Phoenix still wasn’t angry, he found. And he didn’t think he would be. It was just…. Strange and a little awkward. And besides, talking about Oriel was always a surefire way to make him happy again. “I… I’m not sure!” he admitted with a small, weak laugh. “I think we’ll start planning once Oriel’s graduated… But I think I’d like it t’be outside.” Mmm yes, a nice romantic summer wedding out in the sun~ As long as Oriel didn’t get too terribly beat up before that happened. “I guess so,” he replied uncertainly. “I just wish he wouldn’t fight at all. One time he came back home so beat up I thought he was gonna die… He collapsed before he even got in the house.” Phoenix’s knuckles were white while he clutched his hands together tightly. He hated thinking about that day.