random stories

Walter De Ville/Male OC - no title

Eric Johnson — now renamed, Eric Alexander — was not quite sure just how he had ended up in this situation. His estranged — and annoyingly British — family had invited him to a family gathering taking place before a wedding. That's strange, yet, slightly more normal than, well... vampires.

Eric had always been a strong believer in folklore, despite all of the evidence proving or disproving cryptids or monsters. It was something of a past time in his otherwise uneventful life. He might not have been struggling to pay bills, but he didn't exactly have spending money. So  why wouldn't he agree to a free trip to England? He's always wanted to see the motherland.

Let's go back a few weeks to a gig Eric had only just barely managed to pull.

-

The chatter of diners echoed around the large ballroom. Eric — dressed in an uncomfortably tight waistcoat and matching bow tie — walked to the tables he was serving, occasionally asking how the food was or if they wanted another glass of wine. Eric could feel his wallet draining just at the sight of that place.

After all, only rich people can pay for a two hundred dollar first course without blinking an eye. Maybe if Eric didn't have rent... but that's a different story.

He walked up to one of his tables, smiling at the two ladies. "Another glass, ma'am?"

She waved him away, not making eye contact — not even looking at him. Eric felt his eye twitch, catching the drift he was intruding on a deeply important conversation. He sighed, walking to the next table and getting the same treatment. Over and over.

Eric slid off of his bike, carrying it down the stairs leading to his apartment. He struggled to open the door with his bike in front of him, but managed all the same. Eric set the bike up against the wall, locking and chaining his door.

He leaned against the door, totally exhausted. He slid off his dress shoes and took off his tie, sliding out of his waistcoat soon after. As he walked down the hall to his bedroom, Eric unbuttoned his shirt, changing into a loose band tee with the sleeves and sides cut down low. The loss of constricting clothing was certainly a blessing.

It didn't take much longer for him to change into shorts, hanging up his work uniform on the back of his door.

He flopped down onto his bed, closing his eyes. Eric sighed, "I don't know how much longer I can go on..."

His roommate, John, peeked around the corner. "Heyyy, man..."

Eric sat up, knowing John didn't have good news. "What now, John?"

"I don't exactly have the money for this month... sorry, man." John shrugged, looking stoned.

Eric pointed a finger at him, standing up, "You are so damn lucky you signed that lease... otherwise your ass would be on the street."

John laughed — 'definitely stoned,' Eric thought to himself — "Sorry, man. My gig fell through."

Eric shut the door. "Fuck off..."

His phone chimed with a text from Dee.

'Hey, boo!'

Eric rolled his eyes with a small smile, 'hey, baby'

'You see the box I put on your desk? I got it from work, figured you could make more use of it.'

'If it's not money, I don't want it 😂'

'Whatever, try it out. Get back to me. Peace, loser!'

"What an ass..." Eric muttered, tossing his phone onto the bed. He opened the box on his desk, revealing a DNA test that was supposed to help you find long lost relatives or something. "Maybe one of 'em got money."

The next day, Eric mailed the test, not hearing back from anything until a few days later when Dee was at his apartment.

As they were chatting about the latest guy Dee had broken up with, a chime sounded from Eric's phone. He checked it, finding a message from a long lost family member.

"Yo, dude. Check this out." Eric showed Dee his phone and she laughed.

"You really gon' trust some rando on the internet? Come on, E, you know better," she said, pointing at the guy who was claiming to be Eric's second cousin.

"Yeah, okay. But he's British. What if he's rich or something?" Eric shrugged, typing a message back that we would agree to meet his second cousin for dinner tomorrow.

"Boy, what you think he's doin' on that site in the first place? He's probably a creep!" Dee exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Yeah, but maybe he's not. I'll meet up with him tomorrow and text you avid details. Don't worry, Dee."

"It's your funeral. You get kidnapped? I ain't helping you..."

The next afternoon, after Eric had gotten off work, he quickly biked to the restaurant, finding it incredibly fancy. He took off his hoodie, hoping a t-shirt wouldn't get him too many stares. At least he was wearing jeans... Eric walked in, telling the man at the podium he was meeting someone.

"Yo!" Eric called out, greeting his second cousin, "Oliver, right?"

Oliver sprung up out of his seat to shake Eric's hand, patting his back, "Eric! It's so lovely to meet up. Sit, sit!"

Eric sat down, taking a sip from the water in front of him. Oliver smiled at him, signaling something to a waiter that got their food brought out.

"It's so interesting to have a second cousin," Oliver smiled, taking a small bite of food.

Eric took his fork and stabbed a bunch of the lettuce in his salad, shoving it in his mouth as Oliver spoke. He nodded in agreement, swallowing his food. "Yeah, man. It's some crazy shit. I don't even have cousins."

Oliver's eye just barely twitched, but Eric hadn't noticed. In the time Oliver had taken two bites, Eric had finished his salad, ordering some pasta when the server came to get his plate.

Eric suddenly paused, "I assume you're paying?"

Oliver smiled, "Yes! Of course, my treat."

"So," Eric started, "What do you do?"

They delved into the topic of their lives, starting with work then relationships, hobbies, family.

They had quickly talked the afternoon away, and, for once, Oliver felt like Eric really was family. It was a little odd feeling that way, but it didn't matter too much. He just hoped that Walter wouldn't mind if it wasn't exactly a wife Oliver was offering.

"You know... my cousin is actually getting married soon. A big wedding in the countryside of England. Posh and all that." Oliver showed Eric a picture of the 'bride and groom'.

"No shit? Good for them. They look like a good couple."

"Yeah." Oliver paused, pretending to ponder for a second, "You should come! You know, you're quite the scandal back home. The whole family is dying to meet you. You've got great-uncles and second and third cousins to meet.

Eric laughed, "You think I got money for a flight? Yeah right..."

"I'd pay for the whole thing," Oliver smiled, "First class airline... food, boarding, everything."

"Shit... hell, why not."

The roar of a plane landing filled Eric's ears, drowning his music out. He took out his earbuds, grabbing his bag after the plane landed. Baggage claim was a lot less of a pain in his ass. If he had the money and ever flew again in the future, he would definitely be at least in business class.

Olive greeted him at the arrival gate, smiling wide, "Eric! How was the flight?"

"Damn good. Food wasn't total shit either."

-

Watched the Invitation not too long ago and Walter's wives are SO HOT

anyways, lmk if you want more :)