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Ian Hardison does best friend tag with childhood friend; Somewhere in Los Angeles Corey Milton cries.
Late last night youtube personality Axelle Hall, aspiring musician and disability advocate, uploaded a video entitled ‘Best Friend Tag’ and many fans were shocked to see hockey pro Ian Hardison as the aforementioned best friend. The two recounted childhood memories and shared inside jokes for the thirteen minute video. The video even takes an emotional turn that had us all clutching our chest. In other news someone should call Corey Milton to see if he’s alright.
Below the article is a link to the video. Axelle laughs so hard at the article he decides to watch the video again, though he never really watches his videos once he’s done uploading unless it’s to respond to comments.
Hey guys Axelle on screen says So I’ve been wanting to make this video for a while but I always put it off when the moment arises but I finally have it here for you today, the best friend tag. I have my best friend Ian here with me today and we’re going to be answering some of the tag question and also some questions some of my irl friends ask me all the time so let’s get to it.”
On screen Ian reads the first question off the tablet in his lap. “ How and when did you meet? We were five at the time, I think. If I can count right. So my mom was a nurse and I used to have to sit in the hospital after school while she finished her shifts and I was always sneaking out of the daycare because it was so fucking boring in there and one day I saw Axelle and I mentally decided he was going to be my new best friend.”
Axelle laughs, “Nevermind the fact I was there to potentially have brain surgery.”
“It’s not my fault epilepsy is an invisible illness. You should’ve been more visibly disabled.”
“Speaking of epilepsy why don’t you tell everyone your reaction to the first time you saw me having a seizure.” Ian frowns at Axelle and looks directly at the camera.
“Look. I was six. I didn’t understand what was happening. I was scared so I started screaming which I think is a very natural reaction when your friend starts convulsing in front of you.”
“No. He’s playing it down. He started screeching like a banshee. And he did not stop. Most people would have stopped when a doctor showed up. Most would have stopped when four doctors showed up. He screamed for over ten minutes, and let me tell you I’ve never had a seizure that lasted more than six minutes. His mother had to literally shake him to get him to calm down.”
“It was scary! I panicked. I’m a high strung person. What was I supposed to do? Not scream?”
“Yes. Not screaming like maniac is usually the prefered course of action if your friend is having a seizure.”
“Well excuse the fuck outta me for being six and terrified. Next question, first impressions of your friend? Honestly I didn’t have any thoughts outside of ‘holy shit another child. We have to be friends’.”
“Yeah.” Axelle says, “I didn’t really have time for a first impression. Our first conversation consisted of Ian saying hi. I said hi back. He asked if I wanted to be friends. I said yes. I promise y’all we knew each other for a second and a half before we were friends.”
“Instant friendship.” Ian agrees. “Next describe each other in one word. Axelle, I would describe as talented. I think you guys have heard some of his original songs and they’re all so good, not to mention the stuff he’s composed for the piano so yeah he’s pretty talented.”
“Awwww,” Axelle coos, “I was going to say something mean but now I have to say something nice. Ian is brilliant. Like he reads all the time and he’ll look up things he reads just to learn more about them and not to mention that after high school Ian got accepted to three different ivy league schools.”
“And because I know people are going to ask the three were Cornell, Brown and Columbia. And for those of you who don’t know I didn’t end up going to college, I pursued a different path. Moving on, do you have anything matching?” They both raise their right arm and pull their sleeves back to reveal two black bands on each of their forearms. On Axelle they look right at home amongst the multiple other tattoos on his arm and on Ian they stand out as his only ink.
“We got these when he was seventeen and I was sixteen,” Axelle says. “The tattoo guy knew we were underage and just gave no fucks. They were kind of an impulsive decision, I was really sick at the time. I was living in and out of the hospital, I was having tons of seizures and it was just a bad time so when he came on a break we just decided to do it because fuck it y’know. Let’s just say our mothers were not fans. My mom only found out about mine after I’d had a seizure and had to go back in the hospital so she was just angrier that she couldn’t even yell at me about it.”
“My mom still glares at my tattoo whenever I’m wearing short sleeves. Which I’m not going to lie kind of makes me mad because I bought her a house. An expensive ass house, in upstate new york and yes I know it’s tacky to talk about how much things costs but it’s an expensive house so I’m going to talk about it. I buy her a house and she can’t forgive a tattoo. Petty.” Ian then moves on to the next question. “Favorite memory together? Well I think mine would have to be the tattoo story. It feels like that one dumb teenage adventure that everyone should have at least once and we got a permanent reminder of it so yeah I think the tattoos. What about you?”
Axelle thinks for a moment. “Hmmmm, I think I’d have to go with the concert. Ian and I went to our first concert together. It was some local band that I was obsessed with at the time, mostly because the frontwoman is, to this day, one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen and that day cemented my love of music and my want to be a musician and being able to do that with my best friend was awesome.”
“That was fun. I’m not even a rock fan and I still had a good time. Next one, what is it like being friends with someone famous?” Ian lets out a little laugh once he’s read the question.
“Ok so for those of you who don’t recognize him Ian plays hockey in the NHL. He plays for the LA Conquerors and he’s quite a big deal. He got rookie of the year a few years ago and last year he was nominated for some big award that I don’t remember the name of. All that to say Ian is hot shit, so what is it like being friends with him? It’s weird.”
“Weird. That’s it? It’s just weird?” Ian asks.
“It’s weird because I don’t follow hockey and I’ve known Ian since we were babies so it’s so easy for me to forget he’s famous and then we’ll be getting lunch in public and grown ass men will come up to him and be totally starstruck and it’s weird every single time.”
“I will say though,” Ian adds, “Axelle gets recognized in public way more than I do. More people stare at me but way more people approach Axelle. His fans are so intense and they’re always so excited. Axelle is way more famous than I am.”
“Yeah, Axelle agrees. “I’m the cool friend.”
“I wouldn’t go that far but ok. How often do we see each other? Ok so I live in LA obviously. Axelle lives here in Detroit. We don’t see each other that much during the season but I do try to spend a big part of my summer here because my parents and like sixty percent of my friends are here and Axelle has been out to LA a lot recently.”
“Yeah we see each other a lot more than we used to but it’s still mostly just texting and skyping.”
“Moving on. Will we be friends forever?” Ian looks confused for a moment and rereads the question. “Will we be friends forever? What the hell kind of question is that?”
Axelle leans over and takes a look at the tablet. “Huh? Just something someone asked me recently that I was thinking about. I thought I took it off the list though.”
“Who asked you that?”
“Another friend of mine. We were talking about able bodied people and it came up. Not a big deal.”
“Of course we’re going to be friends forever. Right?”
“Who knows.” There is a five second pause where Axelle winces at the reaction he knows is coming and Ian registers what Axelle says.
“What do you mean who knows?”
“I just mean we have no way of knowing what’s going to happen in the future but I can say that no matter what happens you will never mean less to me. You’ll still have been my best friend and that’ll always be important.” Axelle smiles thinking he’s diffused the situation but Ian still looks pissed.
“So you think our friendship is going to end?”
“Once again I did not say that. I’m just saying that I speak a lot on my channel about moving on and letting go and it makes what I’m saying false if I’m not prepared in my own life to move on and let go. Our friendship may one day end and that’s ok. It won’t be the end of the world. It’ll be ok.” Ian looks like Axelle just slapped him.
“I can’t believe you think we won’t be friends forever. My feelings are so hurt. I’ll never love again.”
“Look,” Axelle says, slightly losing his patience, “You’re a young talented athlete who is only going to get more famous and it would be naive of me to think I’m going to be your best friend.”
“Oh my god,” Ian says, “You think I’m going to ditch you.”
“That is not at all what I just said.”
“You think I’m one of those people that makes it and forgets their friends and where they came from.”
“I don’t think that.”
“Obviously you do.”
“Ok let’s look at this logically. You’re a hockey player. Hockey is your favorite thing in the world. You spend majority of your time with hockey players. It’s only natural that one of them will become your best friend. It doesn’t mean you ditched me or hate me. It just means they are better for you as your best friend than I am. Isn’t that Corey guy already one of your best friends? Eventually he’ll be your best friend over me. That’s ok.”
“No no no. You’re my best friend. You’ll always be my best friend. No matter how famous I get or how many hockey player I meet you will always be my best friend. Forever. None of this letting go and moving on shit you’re so insistent on preaching. That’s fine for other people but not us. We’ve known each other since we were five. We have dumb matching tattoos. I call your mom auntie. You hang out with my mom even when I’m not in the city. We’re best friends forever. That’s it.”
“This got so weird so fast. Let’s move on.”
“I swear sometimes I wanna fight you but sure let’s move on. What annoys you most about your best friend? Well mine would be the way he says I’m going to ditch him because I play professional hockey even though I’ve literally been the most loyal friend anyone could ever ask for. I’ve been there for you through everything. I’ve threatened to beat up every boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
“Which I constantly say is unnecessary. What annoys me most about Ian would be how he would never lets anything go. Ever.” Axelle becomes distracted when his dog comes up to him and crawls into his lap. Axelle scratches behind her ears and coos at her as she preens at the attention.
“Enjoy it now Captain.” Ian says to the dog, “Because in a few years he’s going to move on and let go of you. Like you never mattered. Like you haven’t been there for him since the first day you met. Like you’ve ever shown any signs of abandoning him in the eighteen plus years of knowing each other. He’ll just move on like your relationship never meant anything to him at all. Because life is about moving on and letting go apparently. So enjoy those ear scratches and belly rubs now because those days are soon over.” Ian glares at Axelle. Axelle glares right back.
“Ok guys I think that’s it for today. A new music video will be up on Saturday. If you liked this one give it a thumbs up and comment below. If you haven’t yet please subscribe and if you really like it share it with friends. Bye guys.”
Usually Axelle tries to keep up with comments but this video has nearly five times the number of views he usually gets and nearly as many comments so he answer a few of the most popular comments then he closes his computer and rolls across his bed to grab his guitar. He plays for about twenty minutes before Captain climbs onto his bed and starts pawing at his leg. He scratches behind her ear, initially thinking she just wanted attention but as her pawing gets more intense he realizes that she’s trying to alert him to a seizure coming on. He hops off of his bed grabs the blanket off the foot of his bed. He folds the blanket a few times and lays on the floor with his head cushioned on the blanket. Captain comes over and lays down across his torso and Axelle stares up at the ceiling until he begins seizing. Captain continues to lay on him as he violently jerks and spasms on his floor. She licks his face and nuzzles his neck to comfort him when the seizure starts to end and his jerks become less violent. Axelle lays on the floor as he comes out of his seizure, petting captain and murmuring encouragements at her. Once he feels coherent enough he instructs Captain to get his phone from the bed and he texts his parents to let them know he had a seizure and that he’s fine now. He crawls into his bed followed by Captain and burrows under his blanket to rest until the last bits of strain from his seizure fade. As he lays in bed his phone rings.
“What do you want Ian?” Axelle asks as he answers the phone.
“Someone's grumpy. You have a seizure?”
“About fifteen minutes ago.”
“Want me to get off the phone so you can rest?” Ian offers.
“No go ahead.”
“I just called to tell you I got the last few things today so your rooms all ready for when you get here.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna say this one last time but you know you don’t have to let me live with you just because I got a job offer out there. My parents could just as easily pay for me to get my own apartment.” As he says it though he looks around the room at where his things are packed up. He thinks about how tomorrow he’ll have to pack up his guitar, his keyboard, his recording equipment and prepare it to be shipped to Ian’s house.
“Not going to lie I stopped listening when you said I don’t have to let you stay with me. When you say dumb things I kinda tune you out. So like I said you’re rooms ready and I’ll be there to pick you up from the airport when your plane gets in.”
“Don’t you have practice that day?”
“It’s fine. Because of the time difference it’ll be late when you get here.”
“Alright then I guess I’ll be there Friday night.”
“See you then. Give Captain a belly rub from me.”
xXx
The day before his flight to Los Angeles Axelle decides to make the announcement to his followers about his move via snapchat. It’s the social media platform where he has the least amount of followers and whenever he announces something big there he feels as if he’s giving them a sneak peek to what everyone else is still yet to learn.
“A few of you guys have been speculating and I can now confirm your suspicions,” Axelle holds his phone away from his face and spins around the room giving a view of all the empty space and moving boxes. “I’m moving to LA. Some of you have wondered why I’ve been out to LA twice in the past three months and both visits were to interview for a job which I was offered and have accepted. I’m going to make a full video about all of this but you guys are the first to officially know. By the time the next video goes up I’ll be in LA.”
Ian and Corey have been playing hockey together since they were about thirteen. Corey’s parents had even fostered Ian so that he could live and play for Corey’s school in Wisconsin since it had one of the best hockey programs in the country. They played together all through high school and were drafted to the Conquerors the same year. As far as Corey knew, they were best friends who told each other just about everything. Which was why he was now sporting quite the attitude.
“I’m not mad.” Corey says, “I just hate you and never want to talk to you again. But I’m not mad.”
“See, you say that,” Ian says with the patience of a saint, “but context clues imply that you’re a tad upset.”
“Why would I be mad? Just because you have some super secret best friend you never told me about? Just because you guys have matching tattoos and and inside jokes and shit? Why would I be mad about that? Just because I thought we were best friends and it turns out we’re not.”
“You are my best friend... on the team.” Ian offers but Corey’s eyes shoot up and he looks downright offended.
“Everyone knows your work best friend doesn’t mean shit compared to your real best friend. But, that’s totally fine because you’re dead to me.” Corey turns away from Ian to unstrap and restrap his leg pads in his pre-practice goalie ritual.
“You’re acting like a literal child.” Ian informs Corey, finding the situation growing more and more comical by the second.
“Tyler!” Corey yells across the locker room to one of the rookies who comes running, still so bright eyed and eager to please. “Please remind Ian that he is dead to me. And since I’m not some sort of Theresa Caputo Long Island medium, I can’t hear it.”
Tyler’s eyes go wide and he looks over at Ian, completely unsure of what to do. “Um, Ian. Corey wanted me to tell you that -- ”
“I am standing right here and clearly heard what he just said.”
Tyler turns back to Corey. “Ian is ‘standing right here and clearly heard what you just said’.”
Corey opens his mouth to say something but Hudson, the team captain, stomps over with egregious impatience and admonishes both Corey and Ian for involving the rookie in their squabble.
“Ian started it.” Corey says gesturing in Ian’s direction.
“Ian started it.” Ian says mimicking Corey.
Hudson sighs and sits down on the bench next to Corey and gestures for Ian to also take a seat. “Corey,” He starts, “Is it possible you’re feeling a little upset that Ian has another best friend that he didn’t tell you about?”
Corey scoffs but when Hudson looks at him knowingly he says “I guess. Maybe.”
“And Ian is it possible that maybe you’re being a tad insensitive to Corey’s feelings?”
Ian shrugs. “Maybe. But it’s kind of weird he cares so much, and speaking of weird, you’re talking to us like you’re our father. What’s up with that?”
Hudson nods. “I took a class on conflict resolution and I’m just really excited to use it. Now shut up and let me fix this. Corey are you more angry that Ian has another best friend or that he didn’t tell you?”
“I’m not angry. It just would have been nice to know. I mean they’re so close they have matching tattoos but whatever.”
“Corey, you’re super Jewish. You hardly drink. You call your rabbi once a week. You’re not getting a tattoo anyway.” Ian reminds him.
“I’m not saying I want to get a matching tattoo. I’m just saying it’d be nice to know you have them with other people.” Corey added, folding his arms over his chest as he tightened his jaw in frustration, “And, by the way, screw you. My rabbi is hip as hell and would be totally cool with me getting a tattoo. I’m just not the ink type.”
“Do you want to meet him? Is that what this is about? Because you can. It’s not a big deal.”
“I mean, yeah. Whatever. It’d be cool.” Corey says utterly failing at nonchalance.
“Wow.” Hudson says in amazement. “I am awesome. I just saved a friendship. I’m amazing. I mean not to exaggerate, but I’m a hero.”
xXx
The first thing Axelle does when he gets to LA is unpack his recording equipment so he can make a video. He sets up the camera in front of the red love seat that sits right under a large window in his room that will provide him with the perfect amount of natural light. With so many new subscribers to his channel after Ian’s guest appearance, he already knows the perfect video to make. Once the filming is done Axelle sits down to edit which takes nearly an hour and a half which is not as long as editing usually take so he’s happy about that. Once the video is done Axelle watches it one last time before exporting and uploading it.
“Hey, guys.” Axelle on screen says, “Since the last video, I recently got a huge influx of new subscribers, so I figured this video would be a perfect way for those of you who are new to get to know me -- and maybe even some of my older subscribers will learn a thing or two. I’ve been making videos since I was fifteen so there’s no way I’ll be able to cover everything about me so feel free to ask questions in the comment section. I like to believe my fans who have been here for years are nice people who don't act like pretentious hipsters and will be happy to answer questions. And now that we’ve got that all out of the way we can get started.”
A counter appears in the upper right hand side of the video screen as Axelle starts to state his facts.
1. “My name is Axelle Hall.”
2. “I am twenty-three years old.”
3. “I am a musician. I play the guitar,” a picture of Axelle holding a guitar slides across the screen stopping at the edge of the left side, “the piano,” a picture of Axelle playing a baby grand piano slides across the screen to join the picture of Axelle with the guitar, “the drums, the bass and for some reason the ukulele.” Pictures of Axelle playing the drums, bass and ukulele slide across the screen filling out the rest of the frame making Axelle look like the coolest one man band ever. “I am also self taught on all of them.”
4. “I love sushi and could eat it for every meal.”
5. “My mother is African-American,” Axelle inserts a picture of his mom holding him as a baby, Axelle resembles her greatly. He has her deep brown skin and golden undertones, curly black hair and full lips. “And my biological father is Thai-American,” Axelle inserts a picture of his biological father holding him while also playing the guitar and we see that Axelle has his monolid eyes and strong, sharp cheekbones. “and my adopted father is Indian-American so I have a very rich cultural background.” Axelle inserts a picture of his adopted father holding him while he slept when he was six years old.
6. “I love being biracial. I wear my dark skin, curly hair, and monolid eyes with honor.”
7. “I am an only child and I am not afraid to say I’m a little spoiled because of it.”
8. “I am epileptic and suffer from episodic migraines.” Axelle holds up his wrist and zooms the camera in on the black leather band on his wrist that has a silver plate on it where the words ‘I AM EPILEPTIC’ are inscribed.
9. “My dog Captain is a service dog and she is trained in seizure alert and response.”
10. Axelle calls Captain over to him and she comes readily hopping onto the other side of the love seat with Axelle. She’s not a particularly large dog but with with Axelle sitting and her standing she looms over him. She’s mostly dark brown with large portions of black fur across her back tail. “She’s a german shepherd and I got her when I was eighteen.” Axelle scratches behind her ears and she lies down across his lap where she remains for the rest of the video.
11. “I started this channel as a safe place for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses to share their thoughts and experiences.”
12. “I was relentlessly bullied in high school for my disability and it really changed the way I interact with able-bodied people. For example, if I can avoid it I will try my best not to hang out with large, close knit groups of able-bodied people. Never ends well.” Axelle gives a shudder in remembrance then moves on.
13. “Most of the significant relationships in my life are with other disabled or chronically ill people and I love that.”
14. “I have friends that call me and ask me to sing them to sleep and I love doing it.”
15. “I lost count of how many tattoos I have but I know it’s more than thirty but less than fifty.” Axelle shrugs off the blazer he’s wearing to show off both his arms which are both covered in tattoos. He tugs at the collar of his shirt pulling it down so the viewers can also see a peek of the large and intricate piece on his chest. “I promise I’ll do a full tattoo video soon but I know I want more so I’m going to wait until I go and get the few that are still left on my list.”
16. “I am very close to my parents. I tell them just about everything so chances are if you’ve wronged me they know about it and they don’t like you.”
17. “Star Trek is my all time favorite show and I feel as if I can safely say I’ve seen every episode of every iteration of Star Trek.”
18. “I have a chart that sorts all of my friends into what job they would have on a starship. I take it very seriously.”
19. “I have the Star Trek command insignia tattooed on my arm. The tattoo is both in reference to the show and to my dog so it has a double meaning. Also Captain’s full name is Captain Kathryn Janeway who in my opinion is the best starfleet captain to date.”
20. “I cry very easily. I am a very emotional person.”
21. “I don’t like public speaking but I can sing in front of a crowd with no problem.”
22. “When I was sixteen I had a seizure while in bed and nearly suffocated in my pillow and so for the next year and a half I slept in my parents bed.”
23. “I still cannot sleep alone. I’m nearly one hundred percent sure that’s why my parents got me my dog so she can sleep in bed with me and turn me onto my back in case I have a seizure in bed.”
24. “My dog also goes into the shower with me every morning and I’m reasonably sure it’s her favorite part of the day.”
25. “I love and crave a lot of affection so if we’re friends hugging, kissing and cuddling is all on the table.”
26. “That may be the reason I’ve dated more than a few of my friends.”
27. “I had sex for the first time when I was fifteen years old.”
28. “At the time it didn’t seem like a big deal but now I just think that’s so young to be having sex. I actually have a whole video about my first time having sex which I will link in the description box. The girl I had sex with is even in the video and I know some people think it’s a little weird to so openly talk about sex but I think disabled people should talk about sex more. We have a reputation as sexless children even if we’re adults and that is just not true. Do you ever wonder what tenagers do in hospitals overnight when the nurses aren’t looking? We can get pretty dirty.”
29. “I am bisexual and one-hundred percent proud of it.”
30. “I have never dated someone who was able-bodied or didn’t have some type of chronic illness.”
31. “And I don’t really think I could.” Axelle then gives an apologetic shrug.
32. “My last boyfriend was a deaf guy named Ethan.”
33. “I have an on again off again relationship with a girl with cystic fibrosis named Emily. She’s also one of my closest friends and she is also who I shared my first time with. I would say ‘it’s complicated’ but it’s not.”
34. “To name a few others I have dated a guy who uses a wheelchair named Darren, a girl with sickle cell named Letoya, and a girl with type-1 diabetes named Madison.”
35. “I am still very good friends with just about everyone I’ve ever dated so Hi Ethan, Emily, Darren, Letoya, and Madison if you guys are watching this.”
36. “I am fluent in sign language.” To prove this Axelle signs ‘Hi my name is Axelle. It’s very nice to meet you.’
37. “I am not into any sports. They all kind of confuse me.”
38. “Elephants are my favorite animal.”
39. “I have a stuffed elephant named Jeffrey I got from my mom that used to stay with me in the hospital whenever she couldn’t and I’m very attached to it.”
40. “My dad is a neurosurgeon and my mom is a freelance writer.”
41. “My parents met when I was five and my doctors wanted to see if I was a candidate for a type of brain surgery that would have cured my epilepsy that my dad would have been performing.”
42. “I did not qualify for the surgery obviously but my parents got married a year later with my dad’s adoption of me finalized just three months later so it all worked out.”
43. “I have a very dapper style of dress. I love bowties and scarves and blazers and I have no clue where that comes from. As the saying goes when in doubt, overdress.”
44. “My best friend is a professional hockey player and yet I don’t think I’ve seen a full NHL game. The puck is just so small, how do they expect us to see it?”
45. “The worst part about having epilepsy is the no caffeine rule because I love mocha lattes.”
46. “I try not to judge people for their music taste but if you tell me Coldplay is your favorite band or Adele is your favorite soul singer I will never trust your judgement.”
47. “I have a lot of anxiety but I’m working on it.”
48. “I have a very self-deprecating sense of humor but it is just humor so don’t worry my self esteem is fine.”
49. “I love being a role model for other disabled people.”
50. “I think the disabled community is capable of so much more than we’re given credit for and I’m proud to be disabled.”
Axelle takes a deep breath and slumps down on the loveseat. “And there you have it guys. I hope you guys enjoyed it and so now that I've told you about me leave me some comments with some fun or interesting facts about you guys. There’ll be a new video up this Saturday and I promise it’ll be a music video. I know I’ve been slacking on those lately so I am taking request if there’s anything you want to hear me sing just let me know down below. Bye guys.”
xXx
When Ian and Corey get to the apartment there are blue sticky notes attached to various things around the apartment such as the tv and the coffee table. There’s music coming from Axelle’s room where it looked like he’d been unpacking but now was laid across his bed with Captain next to him chewing a rope toy.
“So, how’s the unpacking going?” Ian asks.
Axelle sits up and gestures around the room, “Okay, so I was unpacking and I was in a groove and it was awesome and I was like ‘wow I’ve been unpacking for so long I have to be nearly done’ but I looked around and I wasn’t even close to being halfway finished, so I gave up. I’ve been lying here, defeated, for an hour.”
“For some reason that doesn’t surprise me. Also, this is Corey. He’s been annoying me all day because he wants to be my best friend.”
Axelle laughs but shakes Corey’s hand. “Hey it’s nice to meet you although I have no clue why you want that. Ian’s a giant asshole who never answers the phone when you actually need him.”
Ian scoffs. “I answer the phone. Just not at three am when you’re only calling me to answer your trivia crack sports questions.”
“That’s literally all you’re good for, also that game asks impossible sports questions that no real person could possibly know.”
“Literally everyone knows what team Joe Montana played for.”
“I don’t even know who Joe Montana is.” Axelle admits.
“Don’t say that out loud where people can hear, because that just reflects badly on me.”
Axelle turns to Corey. “And you want him to be your best friend?”
Corey laughs. “I don’t actually care or anything, I just don’t like Ian keeping secrets. I thought we told each other everything.”
Ian rolls his eyes and Axelle says “Ian is the master of keeping secrets. He doesn’t tell anyone anything because he’s an asshole. The only way to truly be his friend is to be terribly invasive and go through his things when he’s not around. Also if it makes you feel any better I’m really mean to Ian. Like all the time.”
Corey smiles. “That does make me feel a whole lot better.”
“You both suck. Also, Axelle what’s with the post it notes all over everything?”
“Oh, those are things that need to be changed.”
“What’s wrong with my table?”
“It’s a glass top. If I have a seizure I could fall through it and die and then you’d have to explain to my mom how you let a table kill me.”
Ian nods. “Fair point. Wait what’s wrong with my tv? If the choice is between you and the tv, I’ll choose the tv.”
“Wow,” Axelle says, “Nice to know where I rank. You don’t have to get rid of the tv you just have to mount it to the wall. And that’s actually more for Captain than it is for me.” Axelle’s phone rings from it’s place on the bed. He goes over and answers it and then grabs his wallet from its place on his dresser. “My pizza's here. Corey did you want to stay?”
Corey looks surprised but quickly masks it. “Sure I’ll stay.”
Once they’re all in Ian’s living room eating pizza Corey asks, “So Ian said you got a job out here?” He does so casually as if hadn’t stalked Axelle’s social media to learn everything he could about him to see why Ian had chosen him as his best friend and not Corey.
“Yeah. I’m going to be doing the media management for a record shop out here. Social media, organizing and attending events on behalf of the store, designing posters and all that stuff. It’s perfect for me so on days I can’t make it to the store I can do most of my work from home.” Axelle explains the duties of his job with such glee that Corey is genuinely happy for him.
“Oh that’s cool. Because you have the…” Corey waves his hand in a ‘you know’ motion.
“Epilepsy,” Ian fills in. “You can say it, it’s not a bad word.”
“Yeah.” Axelle says. “It’s basically my dream job. Well besides Youtube.”
“Are you still going to make videos?” Corey asks.
“Yep. Every Wednesday and Saturday. I’m going to try and keep my schedule the same. I’m already changing so much stuff in my life I wanna keep some things standard. Also my followers are mad enough I’m leaving Detroit and all my friends there. If I also change my uploading schedule I’m pretty sure they’ll riot.”
“How many people watch your videos?” Corey asks.
“I have just over eight hundred thousand subscribers. It still feels so surreal to say that. When I started out I thought best case scenario would be hitting a hundred subscribers. I never thought thousands of people would watch my videos.”
“Me neither,” Ian adds, “Mostly because you’re boring and not talented at all.”
Axelle turns and smiles at Ian and the turns back to Corey. “My best friend. Of nearly twenty years. Magical isn’t it?”
xXx
After they eat and Axelle reluctantly goes back to unpacking Ian offers to drive Corey home. Corey spent his first two years in the league living with one of the older guys on the team but had since gotten his own place. Seeing as he hated being alone though he spent rarely any time there.
“Thanks for the ride. I just want you to know though, just because I think Axelle is really cool doesn’t mean I don’t still hate you.”
Ian laughs as he puts the car in park. “Yeah, I figured that out while you were ignoring me the entire drive here.”
“I still don’t get why you didn’t tell me but I’ve come to the realization that it has nothing to do with me. You’re just a shitty person who likes secrets but that’s okay. I mean I spent nearly a month with you in Detroit the summer of our junior year and you still never mentioned this guy. He never even came around, which I don’t get since you guys are oh so close but hey whatever.”
Ian sighs and unbuckles his seatbelt and turns to face Corey. “The summer of our junior year Axelle was sick. Really sick. Like practically lived in the hospital, having multiple seizures a day kind of sick. Remember the last game of World Juniors?” Corey nods and Ian continues. “Remember how I left immediately afterwards? I went home to see him because things were kind of touch and go. It was a hard time for me obviously and when things get hard, I self destruct. I was drinking like I had a personal vendetta against my liver and partying harder than I did when I won the fucking cup.” Ian lets out a humorless chuckle and sits back in his seat to look straight ahead. “It was not a good time for me, so my mom called your mom and asked if you could come visit. I think it was her way of trying to remind me that I had other friends in hopes that I wouldn’t completely fall apart if he died. I was still going to see him everyday though. Those mornings I would go running and didn’t come back until noon or those nights I was out until like one were because I was at the hospital with him. It wasn’t really a secret or anything, it’s just when you have a sick friend you don’t like talking about it. It can be kind of a sore subject.”
Corey leaned over the seat and grabbed Ian into a tight hug.
“Corey, you know how I feel about hugging.” Ian reminds him.
“I know but that is the saddest thing I have ever heard.” Corey lets him go and leans back in his seat. “Is he ok now?”
“Oh yeah,” Ian assures him, “Trust me, he’s fine. He’s not the one with a job where three hundred pound Russian bears try to murder him. He’ll outlive the two of us.”
xXx
When Ian gets home the door to Axelle’s room is closed and there’s no music coming from the room which means Axelle is either asleep or on his way. It’s still early though so Ian sits down on his couch, pulls out his phone and begins looking for a new coffee table.
xXx
Axelle works for a shop called A Little Record Store that not only sells vinyls, cds, and band merchandise but also host music events. Axelle had corresponded with the Store’s owner, Winter Wright, for months before going to LA for an official job interview where she offered him the role of the store’s artistic consultant. She has an amazing staff working for her, she’d told Axelle, but none of them were true music lovers who could truly build an image for the store. Not like what Axelle had done with himself and his channel.
“This is so surreal.” Axelle says as Winter shows him his office on his first day. Winter is leaning on her cane with her service dog Valentine, a large black lab, by her side. “Like I want to pretend I’m a grown up but I also wanna text my mom and tell her I have my own office.”
Winter laughs. “I know the feeling.” She lowers herself into one of the chairs in front of Axelle’s desk, rubbing at her right leg. “After I bought this place I spent months telling anyone who would listen that I owned my own business. It was kind of embarrassing.”
“You want embarrasing? Ask my mom what I was like when I hit a thousand subscribers.”
Winter laughs and motions for Valentine to lie under her chair. Axelle takes a seat at the desk gesturing for Captain to lie on the foam mat beside the desk Winter had provided for her.
“So where should I start boss lady? I am at your service.”
“Well first things first is the website. It’s so boring and bland, it has no personality. I have some colors picked out, they’re in the brand book I gave you but other than that go crazy. I want the website to be fun.”
“I actually had some ideas about that,” Axelle tells her. He reaches for his bag and grabs a small notebook where he’d jotted down some thoughts. “I wanted to make a staff page. Take a picture of everyone who works in the store and put up a little information about them. It’ll make the store feel more personable, which is what people want from small music stores.”
“I love that idea.” Winter tells him. “Most of the regulars wind up knowing the staff by name anyway so that’s perfect. I did want to say though, I wanna leave you enough time to keep up with your channel. I know you’re probably tired of hearing me saying it but I just think what you do on youtube is so important.”
Axelle ducks his head in embarrassment, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.”
“Your videos really helped me come to terms with being disabled. Helped me stop feeling so ashamed of needing a service dog for my PTSD.” Winter runs a hand through her bleached white hair bringing attention to the scars on her face, another reminder of the car accident that had also taken her ability to walk unassisted. “If I’m ever loading you down with work please tell me because I really want you to keep on making videos. I want you to keep being able to help people.”
“I’m always going to keep making videos. As much as making these videos help other people, they also help me. High school was really hard and I didn’t think I could talk about it with the people around me and having my channel as an open place to talk about it really got me through some hard times. Hearing that I’m helping other people just reminds me how important it is for people with disabilities to talk about our lives and just makes me want to do it more. I’ll always find the time for it.”