dogfight : reddie

come to a party

buy you a drink, don't stop to think, say yes!

richie eventually wandered into a typical diner. he sat at the counter, oblivious to the boy with his guitar in the corner. instead he focused on the woman at the counter. maybe he could pretend to be bi, just to make it easier on him. 

the woman was quite overweight, and had the face of somebody you do not want to piss off. nevertheless, richie attempted to woo her.

"what can i get you?" she asked, richie looking her up and down. the way he did with every other possible date, his smile perked up at one end of his mouth.

"haven't had a good cup of coffee since before basic training. bet a pretty little thing like you could fix that." he slipped in the flirt, fluffing his shirt collar while speaking. 

"coming right up..." she said, unamused entirely by his tactics. she rolled her eyes and moved to get his order. 

richie looked around, desperate for any date. 

the small boy was still in the corner, holding a guitar. he plucked strings and struggled to play chords while richie watched. he sang softly under his breath, his voice raspy. richie swivelled his chair around, now watching the boy sing. he got up, wandering over to him. 

"wow." richie mumbled, just loud enough for the boy to hear. he turned around, guitar in hand. the boy wasn't super ugly, but he was not conventionally attractive. he was extremely short, had brown hair, and patchy skin. he looked far too skinny to be normal, and he didn't seem comfortable in his own skin. he looked to richie, awkward and shy.

"don't stop, you sound real good." richie cooed, sitting down next to the booth where the boy sang. 

"gee, thanks." he replied shyly, having nothing more to say. 

"what's that song you're playing? i just love that kind of music" richie smiled, hoping his natural charm could woo this boy.

"you do?" he asked.

"it's all i listen to. actually, that song reminds me of.." richie thought long and hard and came up with nobody real, "jim swain. y'know?"

"jim... swain?" the boy asked, hesitant. "i don't know him."

"well he's--you know--he's just--you've heard of bob dylan, right?" richie stammered, the boy laughing at the insinuation. 

"duh."

"jim swain's music is a huge influence on dylan." richie lied through his teeth, really hoping this boy wasn't a music geek.

"i thought woody guthrie was dylan's influence." man, richie's hoping was doing nothing for him. richie was considering coming clean, but he might have been one lie away from getting a date, so he continued. 

"oh-yeah-for sure-but there's jim swain, too. in fact, i think swain and guthrie wrote some songs together, if i'm not sure." richie was digging himself a hole, but he kept going. 

"i always thought woody wrote on his own." the boy responded. what a nerd, richie thought, continuing down his spiral.