european // ONEYNG

seven

The next afternoon, Chris and I had planned to swing by GameStop, he needed to get a new controller, as he had complained the last one was "possessed." I didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but I wanted to get a new copy of Dark Souls. An old friend in New York snapped the original copy I had out of anger.

I took Todd's Jeep Eagle, one of his many cars, and headed to the address Chris had given me. I was told it was Matt and Ryan's apartment he was staying in for a short period of time. The area had an abundance of homeless people, even so, I didn't care enough to lock the doors. If they assumed someone with a Jeep Eagle was someone who had money on them, they were the idiot.

I texted Chris I was there, and he came out quickly afterward.

"Not the car I would've expected," he admitted, "would've expected something more stylish."

"Well, Todd only lets me borrow certain cars after the Maserati incident." I put the car in reverse and turned down the music so I could hear him better.

"Who's Todd?" Chris asked, which intrigued me, considering he didn't ask about the Maserati incident, just Todd.

I tried to find a simple sentence while merging onto the interstate, "a friend from high school. Probably my best friend, actually. I'm staying with him and his husband until the foreclosure on my next apartment clears."

"Haha," Chris chuckled, "he's gay."

My mother always told me that LA traffic was the best time to get to know a person. I didn't understand why until I was stuck in midday traffic on the 405 with a cute boy.

"I've never drugged a woman."

"I feel it's a good if you're a comic," I began, in response to Chris' odd remark, "and can say that truthfully."

"Sure, if my girlfriend were to ask for a Tylenol, I'd get her a Tylenol PM, but that's only because I want to watch TV by myself. I don't think I'd go to jail for that."

"Probably not," I huffed as I checked my mirror, "what's your girlfriend's name?"

"It was hypothetical," Chris explained, "if you think I would actually have a girlfriend after half the jokes I make, you'd be fuckin' crazier than I am."

"Colour me crazy," I mumbled as I checked the rear-view mirror. "What are you doing in LA, anyway? I never asked."

"It had a lot more... business... opportunities?" He started off strong, but ended the sentence as a question, "I can't tell if that's proper grammar."

"That is true," I tapped the wheel of the car, "LA is lovely if you've got a job already. Otherwise, it's pretty shitty."

"Why are you in LA?" Chris asked, as he searched through the channels on the car.

"I grew up here," I explained, "Burbank, actually. Long story short, I want to start animating again, so I figured I'd have to go back to where it started."

Chris didn't have anything to add, he only played with the different functions in the car. He ended up cranking the volume up to max as he was toying with all the controls.

   "What the fuck are you doing!?" I yelled over the radio as I pulled into the parking lot of the plaza with my usual GameStop. I was frightened by the sudden loud noises and felt like I almost had a heart attack.

   Chris started laughing hysterically as he turned it down with one swift motion, "Jesus fucking Christ! I thought it was the air conditioning!"

   "My ears are ringing." I complained as I tried get my bearings and find the door handle.

   "I'm sorry," he choked out in hystericals. He was crying from laughter, his face was red and his eyes closed, while I was trying to steady my breathing. "Are you okay?" He calmed himself down to ask.

   "It was so loud to the point I couldn't even tell what song it was." I opened the door and stepped outside and walked up onto the curb, Chris followed close behind. "It was funny, though."

   Finding Dark Souls was easier than finding a controller, apparently. I picked the game up almost immediately, but it took a good 25 minutes to find the controllers. I hadn't been to this GameStop in years, they had changed the entire layout, as expected, so I couldn't help very much. The bitch behind the counter wasn't any help, either. We had both asked her where to find the controllers and she actually replied, "no clue," and shrugged.

   "I think I found them," I tugged at the back of Chris' hoodie to get his attention. He turned around and I pointed to the rack in front of me. "We walked past it like nine times."

   "I'm such a fuckin' autismo," he exhaled and grabbed a PS4 controller. "Okay, let's go."

   His hoodie was actually really soft. It must've been new, seeing as mine was scratchy and worn out. His was fresh looking, and it looked quite warm. I wondered if I should've asked him where he got it or not.

   After everything was paid for, he invited me back to Matt and Ryan's apartment, claiming they were planning on playing some video games for a while. I was about to accept his offer, it was hard to say no, but I remembered that the movers were dropping off my stuff at Todd's place. I had to decline, though it was wilfully against my desires.

   "That sucks," he muttered as he played with the car controls again, "fuck it, I can't find the fucking air conditioner." He started his sentence normally and escalated into a childish voice. He took his hoodie off and threw it in the back. "That's bullshit."

   "Must've been annoying you something fierce," I noted, "I could've just turned the AC up, fuckwit."

   "I got frustrated," he admitted.

   We talked a bit longer until I pulled into the apartment complex again. It seemed as if neither of us knew how to say goodbye, we sat in the car for about 10 minutes talking more, until I got a text from Todd.

   Hope you're having fun, but you better get here fucking soon or I'll throw your shit out the window.

   "Oh, hey," I coughed, "I've gotta' go, the movers are there."

   "Ah," Chris opened the car door, "text me when you get to his apartment."

   "You got it," I nodded, which followed a short silence that felt longer than it really was. It felt like a year, as if there was something more to be said. "Later, dude."

   "Later, girlie." He closed the door and walked to the apartment door. He turned around to face me, flipped me off, and walked inside.

   Much to my delight, he left the hoodie.