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Purpled lived to survive. He always had. When he was offered a job as a mercenary, he took it. He needed groceries and it paid rent.
The only downside was the tally by his bed. It was the least he could do to honor his target's memory, even if it was in a small, crude, way.
It was one of his rules.
1: do what your told
2: don’t get attached
3: honor his targets death
He had been doing this for years and became a master of his craft. He had never been caught and no longer felt guilty for what he did. It was the nature of his job. He couldn’t fail.
Punz called him and told him he had a new job. Apparently, someone named Tommy Innit pissed off a dude name Dream.
Purpled didn’t know the motive, and at this point didn’t care. He did know Dream had money and Punz had referred him to Dream and now here he was, going to his target's house.
The lights were on and he could hear music coming from it. There must be a party or something going on. While he was observing the house, he failed to notice the rise in the sidewalk and lost his footing, face planting into the concrete.
He was beginning to get up when her heard a voice. “Dude, you good?” He looked up and saw a kid around his age.
He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was in a baseball-t. From his info, that was his signature look. This was Tommy Innit. His target.
As Purpled got up, he continued talking. “I saw you going by and then you fell. What are you doing here anyway? I’ve never seen you around before.”
Purpled liked stealth. He didn’t have to talk to nosy teenagers and come up with lies off the top of his head if they were dead before they could ask any questions. He still needed to answer though.
“I was on a jog and got curious about the music. Lost and my footing and now I’m talking to you. Why do you care anyway?”
“I’m sorry I wanted to check on someone that just face planted into the sidewalk. At least come inside so you can deal with that bloody nose. It’s going to stain your hoodie if your not careful. That might not be too bad though, then you could get a hoodie in a decent color like red.”
Tommy talked the whole way into the house. Purpled couldn’t help but wonder if this is why Dream wanted him dead. He wouldn’t shut up.
Once the bloody nose was cleared up, Tommy asked if he wanted to go to the movies. Somehow, the fact that he had never seen Disney before came up. Apparently, that was unforgivable so Tommy ‘invited’ him to the movies.
They got in the car and began to talk, since the theater was a long drive. Not like he was curious or anything.
Somehow, random get to know you questions came up and one of them was how would you murder someone. Purpled went with something generic like poison, but Tommy (in as he was beginning to understand, his usual fashion) had an interesting answer.
“That’s easy! You take them to and action movie.” Tommy claimed, confusing Purpled.
“What’s that going to do? Give them a heart attack? That would only work on an old lady and still would be slim chances.” He countered. There was no way he could let that logic fly.
“No! You sit near the back, wait for a loud part, and bam! You shoot ‘em. The action on the screen would hide the gunshot and screams and shit. Especially if you had a sciencer.”
That might actually work. Maybe he was smarter than he looked. They continued to talk, the murder plans soon forgotten; soon they were at the theater.
They got to two tickets for “Moana” went to concessions. The whole time Tommy was talking about how ‘if he was a big man and loved this movie, Purpled would have to.’ Sometimes Purpled thinks he’s from Mars or something because there is no way that this kid was speaking English, much less any human language.
They got a giant bowl of popcorn and went into the theater. They sat in the back since it was ‘the best spot’ and waited for the movie to start.
After 10 minutes of complaining about adds, It finally started. Tommy knew every word to all the songs and Purpled was loathe to admit, but he enjoyed it.
It was about a girl going off to do what she wants and help those around her in the process. If his eyes were a bit red, no they weren’t.
The two talked on the way out the theater, Tommy singing Your Welcome. Whether it was to say your welcome or annoy him, he couldn’t tell. But he made sure to tell him thanks, just in case.
“No problem big man! We should do this again. Do you have a phone number? Do you have a name!? I never told you mine, I’m Tommy.”
“Yes, I have a number. No, you can’t have it. And obviously I have a name. Purpled.”
“So, Big- P, can I call you that? Imma do that. How about we do this again next week? They are doing Tangled and I think you would like it.”
He was still sputtering from the vulgar nickname so didn’t even realize he said yes until Tommy was waving and saying see you next week. Purpled was screwed.
~~~
Through out the week, Purpled found himself looking forward to Friday. He had Moana stuck in his head all week and was curious about Tangled.
Of course the main reason was to keep an eye on his target. Not that he was curious or enjoyed his company. That would be against his rules.
That didn’t stop him from going to the theater though. He saw Tommy at concessions and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Holy shit- you scared the crap out of me! You came out of nowhere. I got a large again since it worked last time. I’m also getting a coke.”
“Coke!? You do drugs!?” Purpled called out in alarm. Was Tommy a drug dealer? Was that why Dream wanted him dead?
Tommy started laughing “no, I do crack. The drink obviously. Have you never had coke?” Tommy’s smile slowly changed into horror as Purpleds face remained confused.
“Nope. This is unacceptable. First you’ve never seen Disney, now you haven’t had coke. The next thing your going to say is you’ve never had starburst.” Purpleds silence spoke numbers.
The two went into the theater with their cokes, candy, and popcorn and bantered the whole movie, smoldering, smiling and laughing as they watched.
Purpled like Tangled. He found it relatable to a concerning degree, but Tommy made him forget about that. He liked it. So when Tommy invited him to watch The Princess and the Frog, he agreed.
They did this weekly. Purpled had now seen Moana, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Brave, Mulan, and Encanto. He had tried all of the different candies and sodas the theater offered. He had found happiness and was finnaly living instead of surviving.
~~~
It was Friday and they had just watched Up. Tommy had been bawling his eyes out while Purpled had attempted to console him. Emotions were difficult, and he couldn’t deal with his own, much less other people’s.
When he got back to his apartment, there was a note stuck on the door.
Come into my place tomorrow. We need to talk.
-Punz
Purpled blood ran cold. He knew he was taking a while but he didn’t think Punz would notice. He had been wrong, and now the consequences were catching up to him.
~~~
The next day Purpled went over to park to meet with Punz. The man was easy to find when he wanted to be. He was by one of the benches waiting.
“Purpled. What’s been up with you? A target like this normally takes a week max, but it’s been a month. Something you need to tell me? I thought this Tommy kid would be no trouble.”
His hope died when it was confirmed he was talking about Tommy. A part of him wanted to believe that he was getting a new target and that he wouldn’t need to worry about Tommy.
“You have a week to finish before I do it for you. If you can’t finish you won’t be getting any more money or jobs from me. Understood?” Purpled nodded.
He was taking before he realized what he was saying. “Why does Dream want Tommy dead? I haven’t been able to find a reason.”
Punz hummed.
“Normally you don’t care for that type of thing. I won’t question because it’s the first time but this kid seems to be getting to you.
Apparently he’s being disruptive to his plans or something like that. He knows too much to be left alive now.” Punz walked away after that.
Purpled sat on the bench and thought. He didn’t know what he was thinking, but before he knew it the sun was setting. He walked home, humming a song Tommy showed him. Apparently it was from Animal Crossing.
~~~
Tommy was looking forward to today. It was a Friday which meant he got to go the movies with Purpled. The dude was weird, but who was he to talk? He found out his boss was running a gang and was just waiting for him to do something about it.
He knew Dream wasn’t going to let him live now that he knew. He was just surprised that he was still alive. Apparently Dream was too because he seemed more and more frustrated every time he went into work. It was funny.
He was going to show Purpled Aladdin today. It was one of the more sappy ones, but it was still good. He hoped he liked it.
When he saw Purpled waiting infront of the theater he seemed… off. He had a distant look and seemed sad. But he could fix that!
“Hey big man! What’s up!” Purpled startled from whatever mood he was in and gave him a fond smile. “Look who decided to show up. What are we watching today?”
“It’s a secret. Now, let’s get concessions I’m starving!” Tommy dragged Purpled over and got their usual. They sat down and Purpled got that look again.
“Tommy. I’ve never had a target quite like you. This has been a lot of fun. You've been my favorite.”
“Big man. I have no idea what that means but your my favorite target too.” Tommy grinned and Purpled just chuckled.
Soon the movie started and the two did their banter. Purpled seemed to get farther and farther into his own head as the movie went on. It was concerning. Then he felt cold metal in between his eyes and he understood.
Purpled had tears streaming down his face and Tommy just smiled. He knew this was coming, and wouldn’t want to die by anyone else’s hand. Then there was bang and the world went dark.
~~~
Purpled felt numb as he walked home. He had just killed his best friend. His only friend, and he didn’t even fight back. He just smiled. There was only one tear before be shot him.
He had shot his best friend. And he didn’t know how to live with it. The walk home was too long, but too short at the same time. It was too loud, but not loud enough without Tommy.
As he added another tally to the wall, he lost it. Purple cried. He cried for hours. He didn’t know when it stopped, but he felt empty. He didn’t know why he was still there. Tommy had shown him how to live, and he killed him. If Tommy didn’t get to live, then why should he? He had hurt so many people, when Tommy had done nothing.
It should have been him. He should be the one dead in the theater. He should be the one on the news. He should be the one that’s dead because no one would miss him. Tommy had people who cared, Purpled did not.
Purpled didn’t even realize where he was until he felt his toes curl around the edge of the bridge. It was on the way to theater, and overlooking the ocean. He couldn’t help but to think of Moana and how Tommy knew every song word for word. This was a suitable way to die.
He took a step forward onto the air and fell. He hoped Tommy would forgive him, even if he knew he wouldn’t. He didn’t deserve forgiveness. He deserved death for what he had done.