Suburbia ◇ Owen P Joyner

Prologue

It was 5:54 am and I have no clue why I am up this time of the day already trying to board the plane. I didn't have to be there until Friday and it was Tuesday. That and I would mean by we. 

Charlie is behind me in baggage claim and I almost shake my head as I remember the time he took a knife to the airport. The poor guy thought he was able to take it. What was his excuse again? It was that he needed it to protect himself or it was the fact it was a great knife. Either way it now belonged to a surplus unit in LA now. I am really glad he learned his lesson on that one. And I know he is glad too. 

I wait for him to pass the monitor and then he pulls his bag up a little bit more on his shoulder. He walks a little bit past me but he is looking all around him. Charlie was the only observant man I knew that still had bad shit happen to him. Most of his fans think it is just a personality trait but it is him. 

He wanted to go back home with me and I didn't even want to go home at all. I had went back to LA for a month to hangout with the cast and chill a bit more after Thanksgiving but going back home for the second time this year is making me feel nauseous. I had lived with Charlie in the past and so my parents were excited to see him again. I already asked him if he had any other plans for Christmas other than going to Norman Oklahoma. 

there wasn't much in Norman but if there were things it was the memories and nostalgia of my past childhood. It was a good childhood. That's where I fell in love theatre and the rest to that story was what you could say was history. 

I had many days where all I wanted was to come here and there were days where I hated it here. I couldn't even feed myself though so of course I needed my mom's help to get. Especially during the holidays. My mom has done a lot for me so it is the least I could do for her. 

Norman is a suburb. Not much happens but what does happen sticks with you for the rest of your life. My dad says he grew up here too and didn't do much of his life until he left. Kind of ironic he brought himself back to start a family. That is definitely not what I want to do. I want to do a fantasy marriage. An unrealistic one but make it one of my fans. I don't know it was just a humor of the fantoms but I did have a dream of dating a fan and falling in love with one. 

it only made sense, right? They would support me and love me already so I wouldn't have to try so hard on buying their love. Not buying their love, but you get the picture. 

Charlie nudged my shoulder and I got a cab through the app I still had on my phone from Thanksgiving. He nudged my shoulder harder and I scrunched up my nose and pushed him back, "stop pushing me you weirdo.'

"Dude you are going back home," Charlie points out to me and I can't help but want to slap that silly little smile off of his face. He always had this awesome persona. Everyone loves Charlie right when he got in the spotlight. I have been here for how long and this bastard-

"What are you thinking about?" Charlie asked as we watched the cab pull up to the curb. I shrug my shoulders. I don't really want to say what was on my mind. It was pure jealousy and I don't want to be jealous of Charlie. he has helped me a lot. Helped me through a lot of feelings, emotions, ups and downs. I was only eighteen when we met and sure two years go by fast but that wouldn't matter. Charlie helped me through home sickness. Helped to cheer me up through pranks. The one of wrapping my room with Christmas wrapper didn't really catch my heart but some really made my day brighter. 

Charlie opened the back door and laughed out, "your chariot awaits, sir."

"You're a nerd," I tell him and then hop in the cab. The driver was a guy and he nodded to us through the mirror. I pushed the app that we had the right driver and then he started driving to the address I pushed in. That was the thing with Norman. There wasn't Lyft or Uber right here. Everywhere else especially in the huge city there was obviously but not here. This place had one billboard and even when I was the only thing on it for a while I didn't grow much liking to it yet. 

This place had grown a sore in my stomach worse than those chicken nuggets I ate that Her made. He didn't turn the oven on to the right setting and whoever ate them had a sick feeling for a few days afterward. He felt bad for it.

This feeling won't go away even when we pull to the curb of outside my childhood home. I looked at it through the window and bit my lip as I pushed on the app it was the right place. I wished it wasn't. Why couldn't I just be in LA? 

I thanked the driver. So did Charlie as we both got out. Charlie had two bags while I had three. We them out of the trunk and Charlie turned to me as I shut the trunk, "you know what man. This can mean so many things. We are here for the holidays! No hustle bustle. Not much good wifi and here we are. We can go live and enjoy our time with some fans maybe then we can just hangout."

"Man you never go live," I say to him as I got my bags in my hands and started walking up the driveway. 

"Whatever I do too!" Charlie retorted and started walking too. We made it to the end and I didn't even have to knock because my mom had opened the door already. 

"Owen! My dear!" my mom hugs me a little and takes one bag from my grasp. I thank her and we walk inside. The living room is already decked out in the decor and I roll my eyes at how much she put out. 

"Hey Ma, don't you think you have put up to much this year?" I tell her as I go straight to the stairs. Charlie follows my mother and I up the stairs. We go to the first door up and my mother puts the bag on the bed. 

I look around my room and I gawk, "oh my god, really?' I ask as I see she decorated my room even. 

"Yes. I mean dear. We were all excited you are here for this year. Last year you weren't and it bummed us out," my mom looked a little hurt but I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled. 

"It looks great is what I meant."

I just didn't really get the whole hype about the holidays. Ever since growing up the holidays became more and more of a just a reason to holly and happy all the time. Christmas became this excuse and I was becoming a grinch. With how I was feeling about being home again I even matched him. 

My mom went to the door and then quickly added, "when you get settled in do you guys mind going to the store for some things?"

'Yeah of course," Charlie spoke for me as he was excited to go inside of my truck. The man liked my truck and I shook my head as I pushed him on the bed playfully. He yelled at me and I ran past my mom. I ran past my dog, Bindi and rubbed at her head for a second until I ran past the stairs that had tinsel all around it. 

Charlie was chasing me through the living room until I picked up one of the nutcrackers from the set my mom had. I put to Charlie as a guard, "you better watch it mister I have a nut cracker."

"What is that suppose to do to me, huh?" Charlie got in his stance to wrestle me down and I threw it at him. It hit him and it went down on the floor hard. I saw one of the arms broke off and Charlie looked at it from his spot up above. I look from Charlie to my mom and Mom shook her head. 

"Owen Patrick you have been home for five minutes and already have broke something, really?"

"Sorry Ma, " I say and then grab it. I put it back on the set without the arm and Charlie took the arm. 

"You act like you were gonna kill me with this thing anyway."

"Yeah I was going to crack your nuts with it. It is a nut cracker after all," I joke and then walk past him to sit on the couch. 

Charlie laughs and then sits next to me on the couch. 

A 'Holly jolly Christmas' banner was up above on the tv and I start to think that I hope it will be. I want this Christmas to be good and I want to stop about being here so much. 

Of course I would come home. How else and who else would ruin Mom's decorations?