[TW] Pyrophobia

Chapter Two | "Maneuver"

DOC

Keys jingled from the tips of his fingers as Doc pulled them away from the ignition of his car, the engine's loud rumble ending abruptly. As his door opened slowly, he took a steady breath and stared out at the large building in front of him.

Moving away from the old building had been... hard. Even now he still missed it. But the past was the past... this was his new building now.

Doc had only taken a few steps when he heard his name a few times, taking a pause to look around, puzzled. He then turned around, startled.

"Doc!" Ed hurried over. "Wait up! Wait up!"

"Jesus Christ- hey Ed-" Doc slid his keys into his pocket, trying to dismiss his friend as he was childishly hugged by him. "How're you doing? I haven't seen you at work in a few days, did something happen?"

"Just took the days off. Boy, have I got the news for you!" Ed eagerly smiled at Doc before continuing. "I just got engaged!"

"What—"

"I'm kidding." Ed laughed, seemingly at the expression Doc must've made. "But I'm not single anymore. She's a sweetheart. Almost quite literally. I met her at a bakery, and we hooked up pretty quickly."

"Really?" Doc snorted, amused. "I'm surprised someone clicked with you."

"So am I!" Ed giggled, grabbing Doc's hand excitedly and tugging him towards the center. "How about you? How's Duh and Lulu doing?"

"Fine." His mind suddenly grew distracted. Was it something Ed had said? He was just fine...

"What do you mean 'fine?' Surely there's more than that?" Ed nudged Doc. "Come on! Tell me, it's not like it's a secret that you and Duh are dating anymore."

"Huh, yeah, I guess." His brain slowly processed Ed's words. It was pretty obvious by now, wasn't it? So why was he so worried about something? He checked behind him once. Nothing.

"Huh... dude, you feeling alright? You look pale."

"I don't feel nauseous." Doc admitted. "Just... confused."

"Confused?"

"I don't know." Doc shrugged. "Just started to feel a bit weird after you came. It's not you, I know it isn't. But it's something you said that threw me off, I think."

"I think you're being overprotective." Ed suggested, his voice expressing concern. He did seem to think that was a genuine possibility, though. Maybe it was. "Especially after everything that happened with Duh and Scope... I wouldn't be too surprised."

"Don't talk about that, please." Doc awkwardly mumbled.

"Sorry." Ed looked away for only a moment. "You need to sit down for a moment...?"

"It's not Scope." Doc sighed. "I never thought about her until now, when you brought her up. I don't know what it is. If I did, I would've told you. But it's not her. It's not that at all. It's more... kind of... it's not even from the past, I think."

Ed stopped the both of them, keeping a reassuring hand on Doc's shoulder. "Take your time, buddy. I'll be here for you... alright?"

"...Yeah. I know. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. We all have those moments." Ed smiled. He then playfully punched Doc in the arm, chuckling. "So, where's my 'congratulations,' eh? I congratulated you!"

"Oh!" Doc laughed nervously, forcing a smile. "Sorry, dude. Congrats, of course."

"Good, there it is!" He turned and grabbed Doc's hand once more, tugging him to the center shortly before the two walked inside. He only let him as he tried to piece together everything Ed had said... what caught him off guard?

As the two headed inside, they got themselves checked in. Both Ed and Doc made sure to check their temperatures before parting ways, headed to their seperate rooms. But Doc couldn't help but to wonder what had perplexed him.

Obviously, something Ed had said had caused mere curiosity to peak within him, something that hadn't come out of him in a long time. It was almost a strong urge to do something. To try something that he had never done before. But what could it be?

Maybe this feeling would pass with time. Maybe it was a feeling he had to ignore. But he had to find out for himself. That night, he texted Duh and told him he'd be home late. Duh didn't ask why, only telling him to be careful.

Of course, he would be... why wouldn't he?

As Doc stopped at the parking lot of the nearest mall. He pulled his keys out of the ignition once more as his car came to a quick stop. Perhaps it was just to wander. Perhaps it was to find what had been attracting him. However, something brought him here, for some reason.

Nothing was special about this place, so why had he chosen to place himself here?

That doesn't matter, Doc told himself in his head over and over again despite his own insecurities, you have to find what you're looking for and leave. Perhaps leave with it if you need to... anything to solve your problem.

He had searched tirelessly for the object. Walked through multiple stores. Whether it be restaurants, floral, jewelry... nothing caught his eye at first, but once something had, he paused himself.

The world stopped in an instant and everything seemed to revolve around the item all at once. It was a ridiculous idea, at least Doc assumed so, but he grabbed it. And he purchased it.

"You've got some special plans?" The cashier raised a brow as Doc placed it down on the table. "You look rather young."

Doc didn't reply at first. He narrowed his eyes and placed a few hundred dollars on the counter, his eyes meeting the cashier's. In response, their eye seemed to twitch; was it intimidation or genuine amusement?

"Your total will be four-seventy-five." The cashier spoke after a few awkward seconds and they took the hundreds, digging through their cash register for cashback. "Receipt?"

"No. And listen here." Doc leaned himself on the counter, staring up at the cashier with a glare. "I don't want to be mean with you, but I will if it means I get what I want. You've got a bone to pick with me, then pick it elsewhere, where you won't show yourself as a buffoon in public."

The cashier blinked and quickly nodded, their fear now clearly shining through as they nudged the item over to Doc, who swiped it away from him and stepped away from the desk. Some people stared, but he didn't care.

The nerve of some people.