Chapter Text
Music blared out from the bands half broken speakers as Rudolph James Lovell worked his way through the rowdy crowd- he was no stranger to strange punk shows, and usually found himself deep in the pit and hanging onto a slightly drunk friend, but today he had other things on his mind. The first thing on his mind was: what the hell was he going to eat tonight? He was broke, as is usual for him, but Hugo was out of town and Marley was back in Juvie , so his usual methods of begging for food were off the table. Second, and probably more important, but Rudy was never one for good priorities, was the man who looked shockingly like his father that had just passed by his peripheral vision. This was important, because Rudy's father was meant to be in jail. In jail for murdering Rudy's brother and very nearly murdering Rudy himself. So he was not a figure Rudy wanted to be seeing out of the corner of his eye. But, still, Rudy would bet all of what little money he could get his grubby little hands on that the man he had just seen shrugging past a girl with a mohawk and uttering a hushed apology was his father, out of jail, and at a punk show. What the fuck?
Rudy knew he was a little...strange. He was prone to getting unusual ideas in his head and obsessing over random things for months before dropping them completely, and that's not mentioning his rather over active imagination. An over active imagination that had him more often than not imagining all the various scenarios in which he would find and take revenge out on his father. So it stands to reason that perhaps in Rudy's current state of daddy issues induced delusion and hunger, he had imagined his father at this punk show.
But another thing about Rudy is that the little fucker is perceptive. He doesn't do a lot with that perception, mind, but it's hard to sneak one past him. Something about being homeless for the past 2 years had heightened his senses, leading him to be quick to pick up on subtle movements or familiar faces. So it wasn't improbable that even in his less than optimal state, Rudy had seen his father- there was hardly a more familiar face to him then the one who had nearly cost him his life. And so, Rudy decided to halfheartedly pursue the figure. He didn't really want to see his dad.....not even in the slightest, to be honest. He was dead terrified of the man, and the idea that he was here, out of jail, and near him? It was maddening, the most frightening possibility Rudy could've considered. But Rudy, if nothing else, was curious, and if his dad was here, he wanted to see him. Just to confirm.
He says his excuse mes and sorrys as he pushes his way to the exit, before he runs into someone he hadn't noticed. "Oh, shit, sorry mate-" He starts, before looking up and making eye contact with the person in front of him. She was tall. Or at least taller than Rudy, which wasn't hard to achieve. She had tan skin and mid length black hair that fell over her forehead and a scar that went through her eye, splitting her eyebrow in half. Most distinctively, Rudy thought, was her bright purple eyes. Weird. Contacts, maybe? But she didn't seem the type - she was rather grungish, alternatively dressed only in the sense that she had no other choice but to dress a little dingy. A kindred spirit! Rudy just leaned into the ding- while not a crust punk exactly, he most definitely wasn't very.... uh, clean. Hugo called it rabies punk, but Rudy preferred folky.
"Ah- no worries." She steps to the side, allowing him past her. He goes to leave, but pauses, turning on the balls of his feet to face her again. She grimaces slightly at the realization that he was going to force her into more social interaction, but Rudy doesn't pick up on it.
"Uhm- sorry to bother you, but, uh, have you seen a man here? I'm- well, you've definitely seen a man here but-" He sighs, rallying himself "Have you seen a man around your height that looks like me but with straighter hair and glasses? Hes mean, bitter, murderous, and an asshole?"
"I- huh? Sorry, murderous?" She pauses, looking down at him, concerned.
"Oh, yeah. You know how it is. Have you seen anyone like that?" Rudy says, wringing his hands anxiously and looking up expectantly.
"Murderous...maybe." She looks around at the moshpit. "But everything else, I'm afraid not." She says, giving him a sympathetic look. "Sorry. I- uh..." She isn't usually one to offer to help - not out of a lack of wanting to, but a lack of opportunity, or more likely, a lack of trust. But the boy in front of her seemed so entirely harmless that she figured it would be alright. "Do...you need help looking for him? I don't- don't quite want a murderous man walking around."
He shakes his head, biting his nails. "No - I, shit, ill be honest, I don't even want to find him myself." He leans against the basement wall, sighing. "I just....yeah." He covers his face with his hands and groans. He regains his composure, looking at her. "....Hey, do you know anywhere with really, really cheap food? Like..." He rifles through his pockets, pulling out a crumpled dollar bill and a few quarters. "Anywhere I could buy something with this much?"
"Ah." She eyes his sad collection of money "Save a vending machine, I don't think so. Sorry, man."
He lets out a half sob, half scream as he slides down the wall, pocketing his money. "They banned me from the hotel lobby after I fell asleep on the couch....cant go to a vending machine." He pulls his knees up to his chin, biting back tears. "Fuck, sorry, I'm a mess."
She pats him on the back awkwardly, looking very much out of place. "Its, uh, okay?"
"It's notttttt.." He whines, throwing his head back dramatically. "And now I've dragged you into my mess, a perfect stranger! You- you could have your own mess going on and I wouldn't even know, and here I am, crying to you at a SHITTY punk show!" Hes fully sobbing now "The singer doesn't even know how to sing!"
She glaces up at the stage to see the white haired singer fully kiss the bass guitarist on the lips in the middle of a song. "At least he's...passionate?" She quickly looks back down at the crying boy in front of her.
Rudy sniffs, wiping his face. "He's alright..." He stands up. "Sorry.. I really am, I didn't want to- to fuckin' cry all over you." He sighs "G-d, I'm useless." He pauses, before pivoting completely, a weird smile on his face. "Hey, want to come with me to the hotel lobby and see if they'll let me in this time if someone else is with me? We can split a honey bun." She gives him a wary glance. He falters "Or, uhm- I'm sorry, you probably have plans. Jesus, you don't even know my name!" He holds out a hand. "I'm Rudy."
She shakes his hand, still eyeing him. "I'm Rowan." He grins
"Hi, Rowan! Want to be my friend?"
Rowan flounders a bit. This was not what she was expecting. Rudy blinks up at her, still grinning. What...the fuck? "....Sure?" He high fives her.
"Hell yeah! Lets go get a honey bun."
The pair walk off. Rudy in much better spirits, and Rowan extremely confused, but going along with it for the sake of the small mans mental state. She was still baffled by how quickly Rudy had changed emotions, and just decided to see where this took her. They walk in silence, occasionally broken by Rudy pointing out a bird or strange personal landmark ('Look! That's where I saw a cat eat a whole pizza!' 'Over there is where I got hit by a bike!').
Rudy is in the middle of describing a incident including an apparently giant pigeon and a librarian when he is all but tackled by a huge dog- a beautiful black doberman. Rudy is laughing madly, petting the dog and cooing at it. Rowan, however, looks extremely on edge. "Lookit! The baby! Look at him!" He grabs its face, pressing a kiss to its forehead. Its slobbering all over him- it doesn't seem violent, just over eager. Its tail wags wildly. "Who's a good baby! Who's the most handsome man!?" His voice has increased in pitch by 20 percent as he fawns over the dog. He notices its collar while petting it and looks at the tag. "Ex....cidum?"
Just then, someone runs up to them, holding a leash and looking oh so angry "Excidium! Jesus Christ, get over here! Fucking guy!" The dog perks up, trotting over to his owner. They clip the leash to the dogs collar as Rudy pushes himself up. "Sorry about him- he ran off before I could get his leash on." They look down at the dog who is now sniffing Rowans shoes. "Little rat."
"It's all good, man!" Rudy says, waving a hand dismissively. "You got a cute dog! He looks like he rips heads off. In a cool way."
'Looks like they rip heads off' was a good description for both dog and owner. Stood in front of Rudy was someone very tall - with their large combat boots and huge frame, they towered over both Rudy and Rowan. They had an intense face, tanned skin and long hair with a streak of white, snake bites, a ring over their right eyebrow, and dark blue eyes. They dressed in all black, the only spot of color being the various band patches on their leather jacket, cut short to show off their muscles.
They had what could only be referred to as a "resting bitch face", and despite the fact they were perfectly cordial and kind, you got the impression they thought they were above even this smallest of interactions. Rudy, despite his perceptiveness, was not so good on the emotional side of that. He tended to be exceedingly naive, inherently trusting of everyone he came in contact with. And Rudy had already decided that they, much like their dog, looked like they ripped heads off 'in a cool way'. So, Rudy simply grinned up at the intimidating person in front of him as Rowan anxiously watched. He holds out his hand.
"I'm Rudy!"
"Ebony Blush." They say simply, shaking his hand.
Rudy gestures to Rowan, who had slowly been inching away during the entire interaction. "This is Rowan! We are on our way to see if they'll let me into the hotel lobby!" She halts, giving Ebony a small wave. She was sure if one more person came up to her today, she was going to start screaming.
"Why wouldn't they let you in?" They question, scratching behind Excidium's ears. "Are y'all from out of town? Staying at a hotel?"
"Naw, I live here, I'm just a starving youth." He pauses "I dunno about Rowan, though. We just met 10 minutes ago. But we're besties." He says, nodding like this was obvious information. Rowan looks like she has other thoughts.
"Starving?" They ask lightly, yanking Excidium back from where he was about to crap on someones lawn.
"Ravenous." He pauses. "And broke." Ebony snorts.
"I think I can help with one of those. I'm trying to get out of my house, you see. And I don't think anything would piss my mom off more than getting food with some strangers I just met." They grin. "Besides, Excidum seems to like you."
"Wait, for real? You'll get us food? Dude, if you're being genuine, I think I'll cry."
"Oh, please don't." Rowan says mildly. She shoves her hands in her pockets, looking at Ebony. "You don't need to get me food, really, I'm alrig-"
Ebony shrugs. "Eh. I wont be paying," They flick out a sleek, black credit card. "Yanked my moms card before I left." Rowan gives them an uneasy glance. Ebony raises an eyebrow "Don't worry, we're loaded. She wont notice."
Rudy is bouncing on his feet. "This day has gotten so much better! I have two new friends now, AND food!"
"Who said anything about being friends?" Ebony asks, looking at Rudy with a strange expression. They have started walking across the street with Rudy running behind, tugging Rowan with him.
"Me. We're friends now!" Rudy says cheerfully.
"He does this, I've noticed...." Rowan says, realizing that Rudy simply will not let her slip away unnoticed. For better or for worse, Rowan and Ebony are now a part of Rudy's pack.
