vinylreality

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Charlize Theron in Gringo (2018)

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#same

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vinyltruth‌   ( the jason incident )

          considering the fact   that josiah was a human that had ended pulled into a supernatural world,  it was odd that it was suddenly his own baggage,  his own ties that were bringing danger and pain to the people who were around him.  this was his fault.  through and through.  if he had not gone to see jason,  the older crane never would have come back around.  had josiah not let delaney call for hale,  then maybe the last image he had of the male wouldn’t have been him laying on the ground,  body littered with bullet holes.  all to protect him.  all to keep him safe when,  in all reality,  josiah should have done more to keep hale safe.  and dj,  but the witch hadn’t been the one who been faced with the immediate danger.  he’d stayed in the bedroom to call blaise.  and if it wasn’t for the fact that josiah knew the singer was a demon,  he’d be feeling guilty about putting his life in danger too.

          ❛   you didn’t see it   …   you didn’t see him,  jason shot him so many times.   ❜     arms tighten around delaney’s body and buries his face into his chest    —    but closed eyes bring on the images he’d seen downstairs and suddenly the teacher is pulling away from his partner.  it’s only then that he realizes there’s a deafening silences that’s filling the walls of their home.     ❛   why is so quiet?  what’s going on?   ❜     moving across the bedroom  josiah presses his ear against the door,  listening closely    —    trying to tune in to any sound that might let him know what was happening on the floor below but there’s nothing.  no gunshots,  no sounds of a fight,  no screaming.  it’s as if they were suddenly alone all over again.     ❛   something’s wrong   …   ❜

————

          the reassurance that their surprise visitor was a demon didn’t exactly put sefa completely at ease,  but maybe that was more just his frustration from being interrupted.  blaise was a cool guy.  when sefa had gone out of his way to stop and help the band fix the broken down bus in the middle of canada,  the singer had ended up offering him a job.  one that moved him from his home country into this one,  and one that had led to him meeting river.  so he owed him one.  he owed him a lot,  actually.  though that didn’t stop the huff of frustrated air that left his lungs only for it to be sucked back in when he stepped out of the room and saw the bloodied male he held in his arms.

          blaise’s very presence alone was even more intimidating than usual.  there was an intensity that seemed to burn behind blue eyes,  anger rippling along every inch of his skin as he moved towards the table and carefully laid the wolf on top of the flat surface.  sefa stayed on the outskirts of the room,  almost hiding in the shadows as he watched the whole thing unfold.  listened to the words coming from hale’s lips,  took notice to the fact that with every sentence that came out blaise seemed to grow more exasperated.  but he still stood tall.  hovering near hale with his hands on his hips as his gaze took in the sight of every movement the other male made.

          ❛   no.  at least,  i highly doubt it.  the bullets weren’t for him.  they were for that josiah kid.  but the fool decided to take them all.  at point blank range.  i was able to get them out,  but   …   ❜     blaise’s hand waves towards hale as a sigh forced its way from his lips.     ❛   just   —   tell me you can fix him.  tell me you can heal him.   ❜    

          ❛   shouldn’t you take him to a hospital or something?   ❜     sefa’s words have blaise’s head shooting up,  as if it was a surprise the human was there at all.  and with his eyebrows furrowed together,  hatred spewing from the depths of crystal blues,  the demon lifts his hand and uses an invisible force to wrap around the mechanic’s neck and slam him up against the wall.  immediately sean is choking    —    hands grasping at his own throat as if he’s trying to pry the force off of him and let some air slip back into his lungs.

          ❛   interject yourself in my business one more time and it’ll be  YOU  that needs to go to the hospital,  boy.   ❜     but for as satisfying as it might be to kill  ANYONE  right now,  the last thing that blaise could afford was getting on river’s bad side.  and he knew that,  for whatever reason,  she’d come to take a liking to this mechanic.  so he released his grip and let his gaze fall back on the witch before reaching into his back pocket to pull his phone out.  there was still more business to attend to.

          ❛   just fix him.  i need to check on dj.   ❜     and with that he was stepping away,  fingers moving over the phone screen to dial the guitarist’s number before the device was pressed against his ear.

          for a moment, all delaney can do is let his lower jaw hang open like a fish.  both arms wrap around josiah’s body with one palm pressed firmly to the back of the other’s head.  dark eyes blur, fixating on a random point across the room while everything about the past few minutes finally starts to process. 

          no, he didn’t see what happened because he was a god damned coward.  no matter what josiah said about himself he proved to be the one with the fight instincts, not delaney.  the witch cowered behind closed doors like a child.  he’d called into the universe for a demon to come to his side.  no matter what he’d grown up with, delaney leaned on chaos to right his world.  blaise was the first thing off his lips when push came to shove and at any other moment the witch knew there was something to unpack there but he was too numb to dig deeper.  energy buzzed in his bloodstream, likely the adrenaline from a fight he had no part of.

          “ it doesn’t matter, babe, “ delaney said with a hollow tone that was not his own.  idle fingers continued their slow scratch against the back of josiah’s head.  “ he’s a werewolf. “  that statement alone made the witch feel like a broken record but it also felt like a mantra that could keep him sane.  “ regular bullets shouldn’t be able to kill him even in mass volume.  it would have to… “  his head shakes from side to side.  delaney had no idea how to explain the biology behind it because he found he didn’t really know how it all worked.  something about silver reacted fatally to the magic in certain supernatural beings.  he had no idea why, just that it did.  he also found he had no idea if the right amount of normal bullets could prove fatal.  logic said yes.  who would be able to survive enough damage to vital organs?  

                                        except vampires.

          when josiah moves, delaney lurches forward to grab an arm and pull the other away from the door.  one piece of flimsy wood wouldn’t keep them safe from most things in the world but it was nice to pretend.  “ josiah, do- “  

           the witch’s head whips around because his phone starts to ring.  dread spikes, sending his heart into yet another frenzy.  it was very possible everything was so quiet because no one was in their house any more.  the gun shots could’ve scared jason right out of the house, leaving blaise to port himself and hale somewhere nice.  like cabo.  

               despite the fear, delaney finds himself scrambling toward the bed because his phone was laying on a wireless charger.  the image staring back at him had him slumping against the night stand.  then again, blaise was always able to take every ounce of his fear away.  everything was safe when blaise was around.

           pushing the button, he brings the phone up to his ear as fast as he can.  “ are you okay?  what happened to everyone?  it got quiet and i… “

————

          a number of herbs are pulled from her pantry.  as they’re sprinkled into her crystal mortar it’s hard not to think back to that very first time she’d ever met the wolf laying on her kitchen table.  she’d been young.  in fact, it had been right before the loss of her parents.  they’d all been elbow deep in some chocolate cake batter when valentine, a family friend, barged in through the back door.  hale had been riddled with bullets back then, too.  at the time, a younger version of herself couldn’t believe someone would willingly end up like that so often but time helped her understand.  

          since then hale had been in and out of her life.  living peacefully beneath a magical bubble simply wasn’t his way.  in retrospect, it was probably his talk about the outside world that gave ester her itch to wander.  having seen him injured so many times, river couldn’t imagine stepping outside the safety that was winterhaven.  but, with the seasons come change and the barrier made her decision for her.

          just as lips part to comment on the bullets sefa’s voice floats on the air, comforting yet questioning.  to a human it was a perfectly logical answer and, if anything, displayed his concern.  unfortunately, the demon clearly didn’t make the same logical leap because the next think she knows her boyfriend is floating in the air.  in her surprise, the bowl drops to the hardwood floor with a thunderous crack.  river side steps it.  the crystal is replaceable.  a human life is not.

          “ BLAISE, PUT. HIM. DOWN. “

           in the blink of an eye fenrir is standing next to sefa, ready to strike.  the snarls are silent but no less present.  river herself realizes all too late that she’d thrown a fireball in the demon’s direction.  heart pounding, the witch looks down at her hand.  it’s not the presence of fire she finds confusing but the quick jump to violence.  that’s never been her way.  

           rather than dwell on it, or how widely the fireball actually missed it’s intended target, river straightens her back.  “ you don’t get to come into my home and threaten someone i love.  do it again and i ward this place so tight you can kiss any chance of help goodbye. “  a threat that likely wouldn’t stick considering how much river wanted to help those she cared about.  but, a line had to be drawn.  plus, a ward against demons wouldn’t prevent hale from coming through.

          “ hey.  hey hey.  you’re both pretty.  someone check on jay jay.  he didn’t need to see all that. “

           “ baby, “ river uses the distraction to focus on something else.  blaise was walking away from sefa, leaving her muscles a little more relaxed.  “ i really need you to rest. “  one palm gently covers the werewolf’s eyes.  with her will, magic infuses the action and sends hale off into dreamland.  it would also give her time to check on both her boyfriend and the fallen mortar.

[vinylreality]

Unknown Source.

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Casey Deidrick photographed by Trevor Godinho (2019)

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vinyltruth‌   ( hale & josiah )

          𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐇.   he thought he’d been sure about delaney,  but for as sure as he felt in areas,  there was always doubt in others.  and for the entirety of their relationship,  josiah just thought that was him.  he’d always have doubts,  he’d always be scared of something,  he’d always feel like he wasn’t good enough and he’d always dread an eventual expiration date when views regarding him began matching up more with what jason had spent his whole life drilling into his head.  he’d done his best to ignore all of that with the guitarist,  but it was hard.  he always needed some reassurance.  always needed to hear that delaney loved him and that he’d always love him.  for so long,  that’s what josiah thought that being sure was for him.

          that wasn’t sure at all.  and the only reason he knew that now was thanks to the way he felt with the man that he currently had his arms draped around.

          from the moment that their texts had taken a turn for the more flirty,  josiah had started feeling a confidence with hale.  all it took was that first,  initial comment about how hale would bend him over in a heart beat and josiah couldn’t help but feel desired from there on out.  even with the circumstances what they were,  he believed those words in a way he didn’t always believe with delaney.  so much so that he couldn’t help but push those lines further    —    feed into the idea of hale being with him and fill the wolf’s head with subtle images and thoughts because josiah  KNEW  that they weren’t going unnoticed and unexplored in the other’s mind.  that’s what drove him to cross boundaries that josiah had never considered before.  and the more those comments were made,  the more josiah felt confident.  in the fact that hale wanted him,  and in the fact that he wanted hale.

          having every intention on telling the other just how impatient he was as well,  josiah began to lean back so he could be sure hale saw just how genuine his words were as he spoke them.  but he did get a little side tracked as soon as he was informed that the process of the paperwork was already started.  and while his mouth did drop open in a surprise,  it was matched with a smile underneath    —    sparkling in his eyes before he reached a hand up to playfully swat at his partner’s chest.     ❛   if i had any real ability to be mad at you,  you’d be in so much trouble right now.  you’re lucky this house is as beautiful as it is.   …   and that you’re as good looking as you are.   ❜

          as hale begins to stand,  josiah takes a moment to steal a quick kiss before those lips are too far out of his reach that the action requires more effort.  but then he’s met with another,  softer kiss.  one that has the teacher shifting his body weight more against hale.  he always got so lost in those kisses.  and never felt a bit of shame over the whines that followed whenever they had to end.  a smirk inches its way across his lips as he steps in time with the other male,  refusing to let any space come between them until the mention of the shower has his eyes rolling.     ❛   are you sure about that?  because i plan on spending a lot of time making sure that your time in that shower is spent getting more dirty than anything.   ❜     biting on his bottom lip,  josiah finally grabs hale’s hand and starts moving back towards the bedrooms as a quick pace    —    eyes are set and focused on the room that was so clearly the master,  but something in the corner of his eyes has his focus breaking long enough to slow him down and guide him off the path.

          eyes go wide as soon as josiah steps through the threshold of one of the other bedrooms within the home.  bright,  pink walls overwhelm his senses and he can’t help but let out a stream of amused laughter as he moves deeper and deeper into the room.     ❛   okay,  who needs a master bedroom when you have this beauty.  we’re totally sleeping in here.  so vibrant and   …   intense.   ❜     more laughter bubbles from his throat as josiah turns to face hale,  eyebrows wiggling in the process.     ❛   doesn’t this paint just   …   get you in the mood?   ❜     but even he can’t keep up the sarcastic train of thought and soon enough he’s moving around the space and shaking his head.     ❛   i feel like i just stepped into a barbie dream home.  see,  i told you that there had to be  SOMETHING  wrong with it.  this is it.  this is the something.   ❜

          for years hale went down this rabbit hole of self destruction and in the beginning tatum and shiloh let him be.  one was too wrapped up in his own pain to really put forth an effort and the other was dealing by moving on as fast as his werewolf legs would take him.  hale wouldn’t necessarily call tatum the healthier of them but there were moments when his best friend looked happy and he couldn’t help but be a little jealous.  ryleigh helped, in her own way.  but it never helped that an injured hale didn’t want to listen to reason.  he didn’t want to listen to anything that meant moving on or living his own life.  how could he when he was supposed to live that with his twin?  with the rest of his pack?  at some point someone tried telling him there were remnants of them.  if nothing else he had tate and ry but for some reason that never really sunk in.  their existence didn’t help that pain simply because they weren’t at the house that night.  somewhere in the wolf’s twisted logic that didn’t mean anything positive.  he didn’t fail them like he’d failed everyone else who was killed.

           shiloh pointed out at one point that causing destruction was a desperate attempt to keep some semblance of control in his life.  and, at the time, all hale could do was laugh off the thought.  it took the resurrection of his brother and the affection of josiah for him to finally think that maybe - just maybe - there was a bit of honest truth to that.  all the original reasons for seeking out blaise certainly fit the bill.  sure, there was physical attraction there but something else kept the wolf crawling back.  something else kept him down every time the demon reminded him that there was no more freedom.  and for a long time hale thought he was happy.  he thought he was in love.  in a lot of was, he was.  no one had ever given him a sense of control like the one he’d gotten from blaise.  anytime he needed to feel something all he had to do was push any number of buttons to get himself punished.

                              and that attention made hale think he was in love.

          tilting his head, the wolf can’t help but admire that twinkle in josiah’s eyes even as hands lift up to swat at his chest.  hale smiles, laughing at the playful energy resonating off the other.  this wasn’t anything close to what he’d let himself experience over the decades since the loss of his pack.  months later he still had no idea why.  blaise was a comfort zone.   one that had been ripped from him when the demon crossed to the other side and came back with a soul.  for months the wolf tried to explain the rapid change of events.  back then his fear had been confusing and his draw to josiah even moreso.  happiness wasn’t on the menu.  ever.  

          the only thing hale could really explain to himself was that hayden’s return changed everything.  it meant, on some level, blaise really had changed.  for little over a month hale held on to the hope that the evil would return to keep him in his place.  he had no idea how to truly be happy because he’d spent over fifty years trying to feel anything but.  it started with believing he was in love.  that turned into the fear of losing it when blaise died.  he didn’t think the demon could love him when everything changed because anyone with a soul could see how broken hale was from miles away.  he was losing control because he couldn’t evoke those same reactions anymore and it was terrifying.

          he’d flown home to josiah looking for none of that.  hale didn’t want punishment or control or even sex.  he’d gone home that weekend seeking that same soul connection he’d felt over the phone.  one with someone who understood the pain in his heart.  hale wanted to talk about all the things he’d never really talked about with anyone else since tatum last talked to him; books and movies and regular everyday interests.  there was a strange relief in finally being himself.  

           “ there’s nothing to be mad about, angel.  this will be us.  as even steven as it can possibly be. “  the joint bank account would hopefully drive that notion home.  over his time knowing josiah he’d picked up on that.  the teacher wanted to be equal.  he wanted to feel like he was doing enough and, at that moment, the only way hale could think of to help that was by erasing the lines between them.  they weren’t two individuals in a relationship.  they were partners.  “ but, let’s be perfectly honest.  i’m way too cute to be mad at. “  the tip of his tongue sticks out in emphasis seconds before being whisked to a different part of the house.  an arm slides around his lover’s shoulders and he looks around to take in all the details he skimmed over while the other was excitedly bouncing through the house.  “ oh.  oh hell no. “  hale refuses to get within several inches of that glowing magenta room.  “ this looked bad online but in person i...no.  dealbreaker.  my mood is shot for several lifetimes.  if you want to sleep in here you’re more than welcome to.  just means i get more bed to myself in my room.  which will be far from here. “

[vinylreality]

[vinylreality]

It is you. It is fucking you. I cannot describe it anymore, it is you. You are the only one that I will ever want. I belong with you. You are my home. I look at you, and somehow I can see 50 years from now on the front porch of some old house in the middle of nowhere and we’re together. I need you. You are the only thing that matters. You are my good.

[vinylreality]

[vinylreality]

vinyltruth‌:

WHO:   josiah & courtney WHERE:   on stage after a concert WHEN:   a summer in probably 2017 or 2018 after first crossing paths again

          when josiah had been introduced to members of black vinyl’s fellow touring band,  the last thing he would have expected was to see a familiar face.  definitely not two of them either.  though the familiarity behind the band’s guitarist was still unknown,  that thought process had been derailed the moment that the guitarist’s tech had come into view.  it took all of a fraction of a second for josiah to feel like the world beneath his feet had been turned inside out and thrown into reverse.  of all people from his past to cross paths with,  it just had to be courtney,  didn’t it?  like some cruel fate to punish him was being carried out.  find something good    —    amazing even,  in finding love with dj only to have one of the most painful memories of romances past shoved in his face as a reminder of all the reasons he continued to fail in relationships.  

          truth be told,  josiah had issues long before courtney came around.  denial of love from his own family had been what truly set him up for failure,  but the time spent with courtney had only made things worse.  he remembered being so happy.  so in love.  but then he remembered the fear.  the crushing realization that his first boyfriend was keeping secrets from him.  distancing himself.  vanishing constantly and leaving josiah completely in the dark about why.  courtney had been the first person to give him the feeling that he could be loved and appreciated only for him to yank that rug out from underneath him.  give and take.  false hope.  all of that.  which was exactly why the moment he saw him and uttered his name in surprise only for the other male to confirm that he was indeed the ghost of relationships past,  josiah had ran.  literally turned away from him and ran to whatever sanctuary he could find.

                              in retrospect that was very rude of him,  but how else was he supposed to react?

          still it wasn’t like josiah to be like that.  emotional,  absolutely.  but rude?  it took a couple of hours and a full show for the teacher to work up any sort of courage to face the male again,  but here he was.  the show was over and everyone was working together to pack things up.  there was hustle and bustle around him that probably should have been far more distracting than it was,  but blue eyes had fallen on courtney’s form in the distance.  watching as he attempted to catch his breath and push himself closer.  step by step,  one at a time until finally josiah was close enough that he could have reached out and grabbed the other’s shoulder    —    if he was brave enough to do so.

                              he wasn’t.

          ❛   i know you’re busy   …   ❜     the nerves that came with approaching courtney for the first time since college were so much that josiah had to clear his throat just to get the shakiness out of  his words.     ❛   …   but i just wanted to apologize.  for running out on you and the band earlier.  that wasn’t exactly my finest moment,  but circumstances being what they are,  it was the first instinct.  doesn’t excuse it though.  i’m sorry.   ❜     with a deep breath josiah lifts his hand to rub across his mouth a few times before slowly letting the air flow back out of his lungs.     ❛   that’s it,  though.  that’s what i wanted to say so   …   i’ll leave you to your work.   ❜     

          he wanted to turn away again.  run like the wind and never look back,  but something was holding him in place    —    keeping him hovering near courtney as if there were unspoken words that needed to be released before he could shoo himself away.  and while there were  PLENTY  of unspoken words he wanted to say,  very few of them would ever make their way past his lips.  he knew that.  but there was something he could add.     ❛   you look happy,  by the way.  you look   …   like you found somewhere you belong.  it’s nice.   ❜          //          @vinylreality gets a blast from the past

           all those years ago before life turned upside down, courtney had been in the kind of love he didn’t think he’d ever find again.  the romantic side of him dared to think that josiah crane had been his soulmate.  only, that had been hard.  they found each other during a rough time in his life because all the turmoil back at home meant he had to tear his attention across several different places.  and, naturally, it got progressively worse.  the beginning had been bliss.  things weren’t bad enough to pay attention to.  hunters weaved their way in and out of savannah every several years.  each time they found nothing, mainly because pack members within the police department meant they could steer the violence in another direction.  but, during his relationship, a hunter managed to accidentally kill one of those officers and that nearly brought a way to his pack’s front door.

          the last place he expected to find the gentle human was backstage at a rock concert.  at first when he heard the familiar voice he’d thought he’d been crazy.  backstage was always a cacophony of noises.  stagehands were still putting the finishing touches on everything and it was very plausible to hear the ghosts of the past.  up at the microphone the sound check was sending syllables echoing through the space.  even through all of that a squeak makes it to the wolf’s ears.  before anything can be said, let alone expressed, josiah’s running.  delaney had barely caught up before the other bolted, leaving the guitarist with a look that was somewhere between frustration and sadness.  the wolf tilted his head at that.

           courtney found himself reliving the past the entire show.  every creak in the scaffolding had the wolf turning in search of josiah.  long after the scent of his ex dissipated into the air he found himself seeking it out anyway because he had to still be in the building as long as black vinyl was still in the lineup.  the farther along the show progressed the less hope courtney had.  josiah was avoiding him and for good reason.  the way they left things wasn’t exactly the best.  by the time the end came he’d been constantly fighting with his family over his desire to play music and those weren’t exactly conversations he could have around a human who had no idea about the supernatural world.  being with delaney meant maybe, just maybe, all those secrets he’d kept over the years could finally come to light.  it was too late to fix their relationship. a friendship, however, could still be on the table.

          by the end of the show the wolf had given up all hope of being able to talk to josiah.  it was clear a lot of distance was to be put between them.  so, he put his head down and started packing away cam’s guitars.  before each went in their respective cases he played a few bars to make sure the tune was right.  he was just about to put the second one in it’s case when a timid voice scared him enough that he took a step forward.  all the hustle and bustle behind the scenes meant it was harder to sense and smell.  sneaking up on him was much easier than it would be in just about any other situation.

           turning, courtney can’t help but smile.  josiah looked every bit as handsome as he did all those years ago.  those lips were still plush and inviting.  in fact, courtney had to bite down on his lower lip to keep from doing anything with them.  “ i’m very happy, thank you.  looks like you are, too.  you’re practically glowing. “  he reaches out to give josiah’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before leaning back to put his weight against one of the trunks behind him.  “ and you have nothing to apologize for.  that squeak was cute, though.  i’d pay money to hear that again. “  silence takes hold for a few heartbeats so courtney could take in the sight standing before him.  butterflies start floating around the pit of his stomach.  “ so, what’s a guy like you doing in a place like this ? “

[vinylreality]

vinyltruth‌   ( francis & cam )

          for as crazy as tour life could be,  cam much preferred this version as opposed to the one he had to deal with during his younger years.  he felt a lot more at home with the band.  he was so much more connected to what he was doing now    —    able to appreciate the songs he helped sing and the fact that he was allowed to play his own instrument.  fans were crazy no matter what genre you were in,  but everything felt more right with transfer love.  but even that couldn’t take away from the feeling of having some time off.  touring was fun,  but demanding.  bunks were small,  and when a bunch of guys were piled into such a tiny space,  things could become a little less than ideal.  at home he was free to move around.  he had constant access to clean clothes,  spacious bathrooms,  hot showers,  and real food.  every bit of time off felt like a vacation,  but every end of a vacation was filled with the itch and excitement of getting back on the road.  but nothing would ever take away the fact that he fully embraced the peace that came with being off tour.  or at least,  nothing was supposed to take away from it.

          it was late by the time he got the phone call.  deep in sleep and buried by pillows and blankets.  it had been more of a struggle to break free of his sleeping bliss than it should have.  arms battled with his blanket and it seemed like for every pillow he moved away,  another one was falling back on top of him.  but eventually a hand did come in contact with the ringing device,  thumb swiping over the green button so he could offer a disapproving groan to whoever it was on the other line.  as it turned out,  it was lex.  transfer love’s lead singer and someone that cam considered to be his literal savior.  late calls from him usually meant very few possibilities.  either lex was drunk enough to forget that cam liked to go to bed early off tour,  something really amazing happened,  or something really horrible happened.

          tonight it turned out that he was delivering a message that was the very last thing cam ever wanted to hear.

          all it took was the announcement that fran was in the hospital and the guitarist had never been more awake in his life.  instant panic filled his chest and he was throwing covers from his body    —    rolling out of bed as if the world was coming to an end.  questions were flung at lex.  inquires about the why,  the how,  the where while he darted around his room in an effort to pull together any sort of acceptable outfit he could.  anything was better than showing up in nothing but boxers,  but the thought had definitely crossed his mind.  ultimately cam snatched his car keys from his bedside table after managing to throw on a hoodie,  a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants,  and what turned out to be two different colored vans slip ons.  it didn’t matter.  fran was in the hospital.  he didn’t have time to worry about his appearance.

          after securing the location of the hospital that fran was at,  cam was tossing his phone into the passenger’s seat of his car and taking off.  while he was cautious about his driving,  he did get there as quickly as he could manage.  and from there it was a matter of running into the emergency room,  prying the room number from the nurse at the front desk,  and jogging his way back.  a doctor was ignored as he was asked not to run because he  NEEDED  to.  he needed to see the other male.  needed to know that he was okay.  that he was going to be okay.  because for as much as transfer love had been a dream come true,  fran had become so much more than that.  something he’d never thought he’d find,  and something he couldn’t bear to lose.

          ❛   fran!  are you   —   ❜     cam’s words trail off when he steps into the room only to be met by the image of fran lying in a hospital bed and another male standing near said bed.  he takes a moment to look between the two before blue gaze rests entirely on fran,  worry filling his eyes to the brim.     ❛   lex called.  i   —   what happened?  who are you?   ❜     an inquisitive expression moves to fall over the other presence in the room,  and while any other time he would have tried to be more polite and apologize for the interruption,  he can’t do that now.  there’s too much fear and  ENTIRELY  too much relief that the other male is awake and at least relatively in one piece.

         “ i don’t even remember what happened, “ francis instinctively tried lifting his dominant arm only to have a surge of pain shoot through his shoulder from the dislocation.  after a grunt he raises his right hand so fingers could push back the mess that had become his hair.  he’d been racing, that much was still there.  he also remembered smoking his opponents in the rearview mirror.  part of that was pure talent and part of that was from being so intimately familiar with the road they were racing on.  in the darkness, any advantage was a big one.  knowing how early to start taking or cutting turns could shave vital seconds off any race.  before jumping on tour with the band, this had been a good chunk of his life because the thrill helped him forget what he walked away from.

           in the silence he could hear the steady been from the machine he was hooked up to.  if he concentrated hard enough he could also hear an amalgamation of a lot of different things from the room.  beyond that was the nurses’ station and the traffic in the hallway.  all of it helped anchor him down into the moment and remind him that he needed to heal before he saw cam again.  the singer didn’t know this aspect of his life.  not yet.  while the horsemen were his family there were a lot of aspects to being involved with them that he didn’t want to bring just anyone in to.  it was, in a sense, a lifelong commitment whether they were together or not.  ben was very particular about who knew the deepest, darkest secrets of what they did.  otherwise they couldn’t do what they did for as long as they had.

                          criminals 101: don’t have a flashing neon sign pointing at what you're doing.

          “ drunk driver barrelled through all the barricades.  the scouts radio’d it in but the dipshit was driving too fast. “  putting his hands on his hips, ben shook his head.  fran thought he looked tired in that moment.  funny because they were about the same age.

          “ no harm no foul. “  like anything else in life there were inherent risks to racing like they did.  in all the years he’d been doing it there were several of his friends who died either on the track or off.  this particular accident could’ve been his tombstone, he knew that.  oddly enough that was also part of the appeal.  instead of drugs and alcohol the new high was adrenaline.  with ben’s help that was tempered enough that fran didn’t feel the need to do really stupud shit like jump out of planes or off bridges.  still, there was nothing quite like watching the world speed by in a rainbow swath of light.

          a yell of his name spikes his heart.  cam wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the racing let alone know he’d been injured.  tired eyes drift across the room to where ben was standing.  a telltale smirk has the male’s shoulders shrugging.  “ i called river. “  but that’s all that needed to happen because, naturally, river would call lex.  the singer, in turn, called cam.  deep down francis knew his friend didn’t mean anything with the phone call.  something happened and people needed to know.  fine.  dandy.  the only problem with that was the budding relationship meant there were a number of things that hadn’t been discussed yet.  

          lips part in preparation of defending himself but, as fate would have it, the clicks coming down the hall stopped right in front of his room.  “ francis. hunter.  bishop. “   the artist winced despite himself.  while his daughter made a bee-line for the side of the bed with arms wide open, her babysitter looked a little less pleased about the late night hospital visit.  james burke, better known as karma for a number of reasons, huffed in with skinny jeans, a grey chunky sweater, combat boots, and her hair up in a messy bun.  she brushed passed cam as if the musician hadn’t even been standing there.  “ what the actual fuck?  what happened? “

           “ it wasn’t his fault, “ ben tries to interject but is met with a finger raised into the air.  “ it wasn’t, james.  drunk driver blasted through.  you know as well as i do that sometimes freak shit like this just happens. “

           francis has to look through the intense conversation to throw a smile at cam.  “ babe, that’s ben and this is james.  i’m okay.  honestly.  everyone needs to chill out for a few. “

[vinylreality]

real friends deepen the accidental kiss