Work Text:
“Bobby would kill you if he knew you were here.”
Flynn is right, she always is. Willie knows, knows, knows that Bobby worries about everything and anyone but himself. He thinks that he can pass the mom friend card off the to Alex, but Bobby observes, always watching.
A warm breeze passes them as the LA area starts drifting into twinkling lights. Noise of vehicles ever ending. Flynn climbs up the old rickety fire escape stairs. They sit on top of the roof with Willie. Hand waiting for him to pass the blunt to her. Golden rings shine an orange hue.
“Eh, but Bobby doesn’t know, does he.”
Flynn shrugs.
Their feet dangle off the roof of the apartment building. Watching as the sun disappears over the buildings and billboards scattered across rooftops. It feels numbing, in a sort. Like waves crashing, no clouds in the sky. Like a firework show, ash dust flying in the wind. It’s everything and nothing.
Everything flowing in a slow blur. Brain moving a thousand miles a minute. Never stopping the what if questions. Doesn’t hurt like the brain fog that comes and goes in the waves wrapping Willie whole. The blunt stops the thinking. His brain becomes quiet, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. The smokes flows out of his mouth and filters into the rosy sky.
Flynn nudges him, “ Y’know, I have never liked the smell of weed.”
Willie snorts, “ Yet here you sit, smoking.”
“ Never said I didn’t enjoy the taste,” Flynn mutters.
Flynn always knows where Willie goes, magical cousin talents she told them once. Never interrogating Willie into pouring themselves over the buckets. The what if stay locked in a tight box, throwing the key down onto the sidewalks of LA. Going down, down, down. The North Star can be seen starting to sparkle in the sky. Always the first and brightest star, waving hello from above the Earth. The rosy color starts seeping into deep blue hues. Hints of yellow remaining from the cheery sun.
They pass the blunt back and forth, blowing the smoke away. It’s not like smoking like this has become an addiction, just a place to breathe. Not being trapped underneath being the picture perfect child. Caleb always said that smoking was bad for your soul. Multiple signs of no smoking where always spotted across The Club. Daunting you, daring you to break their rules. Willie never enjoyed the rules. Habits of breaking them just to piss Caleb off. Flynn and Willie are very similar in that way. Confident to jump off a cliff drunk enough to drown in their own puddles. They always become richer in the end. Twenty more buck in their pockets. Flynn managed to fit in a washing machine in the early hours of the morning.
It seems like hours have passed. The blunt slowly losing its energy, fiery bud fading farther into the dark. Only the faint sounds of cars zooming and their lighter flickering.
“Caleb tried to call me,” saying that doesn’t feel like anything. The waves start to calm and flow within each other. No thoughts but buzzing clouds wracking around Willie’s brain. What ifs hiding in the forbidden box.
“What,” Flynn questions. “Where, when, how?”
“You forgot the who.”
She smacks the backside of his head. Reminding Willie how their life should have been. Hanging out with her - his cousin- their parents trading their own childhood stories.
“Asshole,” braids brushed back over their shoulder. “ Not as much as Caleb though.”
Willie lays against the concrete, feet tapping opposing one another. Tugging the pink strings of Alex’s hoodie to hide his face away, they don’t try to drown in their own puddle. Flynn has never been one to splash in other buckets. The only bucket they do attempt is Julie’s. Best friends till the very end.
Flynn tuts, “ He’s gonna know what you’ve been doing.”
Willie raises their hand into the air, smoke sizzling into the air from the blunt. “Not unless I wash it.”
“ The famous ‘Alex Hoodie’ is not supposed to smell like your detergent.” Flynn points out, and damn it she’s right, always has been.
Then they are both cackling, loud laughing suggestive of a hen’s sound after laying an egg. The buzzing and fog grow faint against the sight of Flynn with their head facing the night sky. Pink sparkly bucket hat reflecting light off LA lights. Willie could of sworn that hat belonged to a specific pink dancer.
The creaking of the fire escape stairs end the moment, Willie stiffens and waits to see who has caught them. Willie always listened for the sound of people’s foot steps at The Club. Noticing the lightest feet of bunnies and elephants charging down the hall.
“ Dios mío…”
Julie stands on the last platform of the fire escape -baseball bat in hand- fierce look in her eye. Flynn’s very best friend. Five feet full of intimidation. Heart of gold, always prepared to snap back as quickly.
“Let me have a pass or Bobby will know where you are.”
Flynn handed her the blunt and patted the spot next to her. Julie glared at them as she took the rest of the blunt between her fingers.
“Bobby should be lucky he doesn’t put you with the rest of his children,” Flynn states as they attempt to take the bat away from Julie.
“No, no, softball Flynn was a lot to handle. You don’t need the bat,” Willie attempts to take the bat away from her. Dangerous objects and Flynn never go hand in hand. Huge ball of anger issues. Once took a branch that had fallen off a tree and snap it in half against concrete bricks.
“ I should hit Caleb with that bat and hide his body,” Flynn mutter under their breathe.
Julie quirks her brow but says nothing. Just hums along to some song with a gleeful beat. Julie always seem to have pep in her step. Feet always bouncing after each other. You never notice when she’s crashing unless you listen to the change in the pep. More thumping, not as much of the ball of sunshine like Reggie typically has.
“We hide his body on the beach,” Julie states, smushing the remains of the blunt into the concrete.
“Caleb doesn’t like the beach.”
“Exactly,” Julie and Flynn say in the same moment, reading each other’s minds.
It’s quiet for a while, buildings and street signs popping up every color of the rainbow. People coming to their houses to be with their families. Missing one another and actual real smiles. Fake smiles were never great. Forced crinkles in the face, eyes never having the spark to real joy. The real smiles are when Alex receives flowers from Willie. Rainbow stickers for him to add to his skateboard from Alex. Every time Willie even glances at Alex. The same actual real smile.
Julie appears over them, brown curls falling in front of her face. “Come on, idiot, I’ll wash the ‘Alex Hoodie’ if you watch Charlie next week.”
“Charlie? Who the hell is Charlie,” Willie questions, tossing his hair up with a pony tail.
They head to climb back into Julie’s apartment, stairs creaking every step, rust spreading around the railing. Flynn just looks at Willie and shakes her head.
“Julie got a cat, Reggie found him and who can say no to him.” They say, magically knowing every question he was going to ask.
Willie stops Julie and puts their hand out, “Deal, this better stay quiet,” he pinches the Champion hoodie.
Julie mimic zipping her lips and throwing away the key, “ I didn’t know you where out there, secret safe with me.” She shakes their hand, making a silent agreement to stay hush hush.
Willie is going to start seeing Charlie a lot more in his future.