Snapshots

4. Eldon

When James has a mission for Eldon, he sees it through to the end because James is his bro, his longest friend, his brother from another mother. He takes these missions very seriously.

This particular mission starts with a phone call.

Eldon's in the middle of battling his brother Thaddeus in Honor Quest when his phone rings. He answers without thinking about it and grumbles when Thad takes the opportunity to decimate his character in his moment of distraction.

"Dude, no fair. I wasn't looking," Eldon grumbles, holding the phone up to his ear as he addresses his brother.

Thad rolls his eyes, tossing a piece of popcorn in the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. It misses, falling to the carpeted floor instead. Unperturbed, he says, "Not my problem."

It's Eldon's turn to roll his eyes. At 16, Thad's attitude is sky high, and he's developed a superiority complex that's done nothing but get under Eldon's skin and start many arguments over family dinner. Have teenagers always been this unlikable? Was Eldon this unlikable at that age?

No, there's no way. He's always been the favorite, whether at home with his parents or the studio with Miss Kate and Chris.

That's what he likes to tell himself anyway.

"Eldon, bro, are you there?" James' voice says in his ear, and that's when Eldon remembers he's supposed to be on a phone call. His best friend is speaking urgently. "I don't have much time. Riley's in the shower, and she can't know I'm talking to you about this."

"About what?" Eldon asks, turning away from his brother who's now stuffing his face with popcorn. James only calls when something big is going on, so something big must be going on.

"You're DJ-ing the prom at the studio, right?"

"Yeah, Electric Eldon is really taking off since my cousin's birthday party."

The prom is, in fact, the first DJ gig Eldon's booked since his cousin turned seven three months ago. Choreographing for AcroNation, of course, is his primary job, but this is a nice way to earn money on the side. And even though Emily hired him on a major discount, meaning he won't be making quite as much as a usual gig, he's still excited because a prom has to be more exciting than a birthday party with screaming kids and a freaky clown with questionable intentions.

"I need you to do me a favor," James continues, and Eldon's intrigue piques at the words.

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I need you to keep an eye on Piper. Some kid at the studio keeps asking her out- Finn." James spits out the name distastefully, and Eldon scoffs in solidarity.

"Alright. I'll keep an eye out for him. What's he look like?"

"No idea. But he'll be the one following Piper around like some gross lovesick puppy or whatever, so just don't let him try anything with her."

"Got it. Operation Puppy Dog is a go."

James groans at the name. "Can you not come up with something better than that?"

"What? You said he'd be like a puppy so—"

"Shit. Riley's out of the shower. I gotta go. Keep me updated. I want to know everything."

With that, James ends the call. As Eldon sets his phone aside, Thad starts a new game and asks, "What was that about?" The question's likely a formality as Thad doesn't actually sound like he cares, but Eldon answers anyway.

"I'm supposed to keep an eye out for Piper at the prom on Saturday. Apparently, some guy keeps asking her out, and James is concerned about it."

Thad's shoulders tense, and he suddenly sounds a lot more interested. "Oh. Does Piper like this guy?" he asks, trying and failing to sound casual, like he doesn't actually care whether the answer is yes or no. Considering he used to harbor quite the unrequited crush on Piper when they were kids, however, Eldon suspects he does care, at least a little.