Junk of the Heart

chapter seven - the ceramic elephant

A.N.: soooo after a very long time i give to you this somewhat longer chapter (that's hopefully just as much fun). Dedicated to @MishlRodriguez for a. being an excellent follower of this book and b. because her last comment gave me an idea of how to start this chapter off, haha. thanks so much - to you and to everyone!

The paper coffee cup fluttered a bit as it sailed across the yard before landing neatly in the garbage can at the end of the driveway. Brodie threw his hands up somewhat passively, as though he knew he would never miss that shot.

“Just call me the Sundance Kid,” he sighed contentedly, lacing his fingers behind his head and reclining in the lawn chair.

C.S. quirked a brow. “You talk too much to be Sundance… You’re Butch Cassidy.”

Brodie chuckled. “I guess I’ll have to be both, because you, sir, definitely lack the effortless charisma of Butch, and you’re not a surly badass, so Sundance is out of the question…”

Stifling a pressed sigh of frustration, C.S. wondered for a moment why these pointless comparisons were so important to him.

“Face it, C.S.,” continued Brodie. “In this duo here, I’ve always been the action man. You’re the less daring and - admittedly - overlooked idea-guy. I’m the Matt Damon, you’re the Ben Affleck.”

“‘Overlooked’...” echoed C.S., testing the word on his own tongue for hidden insults. “That almost sounded like a compliment.”

“You’re damn right it’s a compliment! I mean neither is really an insult in this day and age… In one corner it’s Matt ‘No Explanation Necessary’ Damon…” Brodie jabbed a finger into his chest. “Opposite that, there’s Ben Affleck being the artistic success no one thought he would be - and might I add, soon to be the illustrious Dark Knight… Which, for entirely inexplicable reasons, sits alright with me.” He patted C.S. on the shoulder. “Jason Bourne and Batman would be a truly unstoppable vigilante pairing.”

C.S. shrugged, expelling Brodie’s hand from his person. “I guess we’ve got our Halloween costumes locked down for this year.”

“Ha.” Brodie let out a sharp laugh. “Now, you know me, I’d love nothing more than to run around town kicking down doors a la Bourne. But unfortunately, there are a few factors that stand between me and fulfilling this dream…” He held up two fingers. “Firstly, my costume from last year is on point… I’ve got ‘Marty McFly’ down to the suspenders; that shit isn’t a one-and-done sort of investment. I’d say it’s a three-year repeat at the least…” He paused. “Still working on securing a DeLorean, though.”

“Of course,” replied C.S., without any spark of inflection. “And secondly?”

“Secondly… Thank you, C.S.” continued Brodie. “Secondly. I think I might be unofficially uninvited to Kenny Boward’s Halloween party this time around. And being that it’s really the only party worth going to…” He shrugged. “I might have to join the neighborhood miscreants in their yearly tradition of egging the squirrels.”

Furrowing his brow, C.S. glanced over at his friend. “Why?” he asked.

Brodie shrugged again. “Because my mom doesn’t trust me to hand out candy…” he grinned, somewhat sheepishly. “She thinks I’ll eat it all.”

“No, I mean…” C.S. shifted in his seat, swallowing another sigh. “Why are you banned from Kenny’s house?”

“Oh.” Brodie toyed with his sunglasses, adjusting them on the bridge of his nose. “Actually, it has something to do with that.” He pointed to the blanket and to the collection of miscellaneous objects.