𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 | 𝗶𝘇𝘇𝘆/𝗮𝘅𝗹

꧁ᴏɴᴇ ; sᴛɪʟʟ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀs ʀᴜɴ ᴅᴇᴇᴘ ꧂

—— august 2023

IZZY MANAGED TO FIND A JOB in a vintage record shop right on the 'Sunset Strip'.

He'd only gotten hired after an entire week of putting in applications at every chance he got.

He wasn't complaining, though.

The pay was decent and being surrounded by music all day was a plus, so he didn't particularly hate it.

The people, on the other hand....yuck.

The store mostly got time-nostalgic teens and old guys who wanted to relive their glory days and taunt the kids about 'not even knowing what a vinyl was', which always made Izzy roll his eyes.

They were young, not stupid.

At the moment, there were two kids near the Metal section of the shop, bickering over which vinyl would be better to get with their shared finances.

"Hey, dude!"

Izzy boredly looked up from his magazine at the two.

"You look pretty emo," The kid starts. Izzy narrowed his eyes dangerously at the two. "Which would you choose? Pantera or Slipknot?"

Neither, Izzy mentally rolled his eyes.

"Pantera." Izzy settles, just for the sake of getting these little fuckers out of the shop.

"Slipknot it is!" The other kid exclaims.

Izzy just barely manages to not bash his head on the counter.

After they've paid and gone, Izzy has less than ten minutes left of his shift, so he cleans up what little mess there is, and sits atop the counter until it's time to go.

Luckily, no last-minute shoppers came in, so he was able to clock out and lock up on time.

•

HIS HEAD WAS THROBBING.

As much as he loved working in the record shop, constantly dealing with people who didn't understand literal common sense and the annoying conversations around his head almost never failed to make his head spin in the worst way.

For the third time this week, he'd have to scrounge Duff's medicine cabinet for Tylenol and something quick enough to knock him into a sleep that'll last until morning.

He could not deal with the dull thud on his temples and behind his eyes.

Like a zombie, Izzy entered the apartment dragging his feet behind him.

As he gently closed the door, he heard soft singing coming from the living room.

He straightened up a bit, silently following the noise.

Break a heart, break a heart of stone.

Was that Duff? It had to be. He sounded....surprisingly very good.

Open it up, but don't you leave me alone.

Izzy stopped behind the sofa Duff was perched on, headphones over his head as he continued adding onto his never-ending page of notes in his school notebook.

He gently laid a hand on Duff's shoulder, making the man jump and clutch at his shirt where his heart was.

He pulls his headphones off and smiles. "Jeez, you scared the hell outta me."

"Sorry." Izzy apologizes sheepishly. "I just....I just got home. Wanted to say hi."

Duff smiled wider. "Let me guess..." he stands, sitting aside his schoolwork. "Headache."