2019-05-22 - Talking is for Lovers

Geoff had texted the directions to his trailer to Easton earlier that day and told him to bring the beer and he' supply the food. By the time Easton pulled up he'd find Geoff's bike parked in front of his trailer, with a grill smoking outside on the porch with the door to the trailer open. Sitting on the couch is Geoff, sweaty, shirtless and looking like he'd just gotten done with a work out. Overall the man looks slightly annoyed as he texts and drinks from an ice cold beer.

It's a little too wet out (as usual) to take out the bike that he kind of babies, so Easton opts for the jeep tonight. It takes him a while nosing around the trailer park to find the right one. The bike out front certainly helps. Pulling up the parking brake, he takes a minute to try and make sure he's in the right place.

Stepping out of the jeep in his usual outfit of a plain tee-shirt, this time navy blue over dark faded jeans, these almost worn through at the knees, and the same red vintage sneakers on his feet. He doesn't have the crutches tonight, but is moving slowly and walking stiffly. He pulls two 24-packs of beer out of the back of the jeep. He came loaded to bear. Stopping to knock on the door he calls, "Geoff? That you? If not, don't shoot."

He's not exactly kidding about that last part. There's a story there.

Geoff glances over his shoulder and flashes Easton a grin "Hey man, yeah you got the right place. I was hoping the open door would be an indicator." through this he seems to continue texting, while it might be a no go to text wile on a date with a chick, a bro date is a total exception "You see man I got your back, I even cancelled a pseudo date to make sure I had a block open for you." draining the rest of the beer he asks "So what's been up with you?"

"Yea well, I've made mistakes before. Walking into the wrong officer's quarters is a mistake you don't make twice." He hefts the beer up on the nearest counter, and pulls out a can for himself. It's not what anyone would call high-end beer, but it's plentiful and that's apparently what he was going for tonight. Seeing Geoff drain his, he just tosses one his way, not asking for giving a heads up first as if this was something they did all the time.

"Aw that's sweet, but if your trying to get me to put out to make up for it I'm gonna need a least a couple in me first before I think that's a good idea." But yes despite the joking, he is glad to have the chance to talk.

What's been up with him?

"Seriously I feel like I nearly lost my damn mind coming here man. I thought it'd be great. A clean start, a place I used to come as a kid and really feel connected to ... something. Hasn't exactly gone the way I planned my friend."

Geoff catches the beer easily and cracks it open, and says amusedly "Man I've been in more then a few wrong houses before when drunk, it happens." taking a moment to sip the fine brew offered him, he nods as he decides it will do "As for getting a few in you, man I don't normally share but I guess we could get some other guys in here and just go for the full orgy."

Gesturing to the couch he urges Easton "Take a seat man and let's talk. Just gonna start out saying, yeah this place isn't the friendly place you knew as a kid...Or rather now you just have eyes to see what the fuck the town actually looks like. If that bit of a spark in us that lets us do shit no one else can is like a fire, then you just stepped into the middle of forest fire. You lose track of what you're doing and you'll be drawn in and lose yourself to the inferno."

"Woah, I don't know how prison works but in the Marines that's more of a second date kinda thing. Let's ease into this." Yes, of course he also got the joke about getting a few in him, but it's funnier to him to make the prison crack. He all but chugs half his beer, as if he's been waiting to do that for most of the day.

He takes a seat on the couch, makes an awkward twisting motion with his lower back and then settles in. He exhales and nods as Geoff starts to explain.

"Fucking, word. I knew something was up when I was a teenager. I knew I could do shit, but outside of this town it was like lightning strike to make something happen. Here?" He reaches out and pulls another beer from the package to his free hand. "It's like thinking. And I don't know if that's good, or bad or just... is. But like you said, people here have that spark. It's something I would see here or there, but this place? It's crawling with it. Lousy with it. And I don't even know what to call 'it'. For longest time I kept getting tripped up thinking it was that sixth sense danger warning, like someone was gonna start shooting or blow themselves up. I thought I was some limp dick crack up."

Geoff grunts in a rather pissed off fashion and tosses his phone to the side and shakes his head before giving the full of his attention to Easton "I didn't discover I could do shit till I was in prison....Imagine having to learn to control your shit in that environment then coming back here there are others like you." gesturing with the beer he says "I'm not saying that you aren't a limp dick crackup, but at least in this circumstance you're on the level. Now like I've told others you gotta be careful, keep a lid on that shit and don't shine too bright or you'll stick out and then the predators come."

"I can imagine that'd be an extra layer of fucked up in the seven layer fuckup dip that is this spark thing." Easton finishes his first beer, which he tosses to the sink with a practiced throw.

"It is not the same for everyone, right? Because..." He notices the grunt and looks curiously at the phone? "I'll trade you. Somehow I'm texting about dick measuring with British chicks boytoy prime. Not sure how that happened."

"Yes, well obviously, I'm here with you so something's wrong with me, sure." But then Geoff gets serious and his face darkens and he asks, "Predators? I'm gonna need some more words on that."

Geoff gestures to his phone "So was going to show this chick how to defend herself, was supposed to meet up tonight and had plans for a date at later date. Tell her that we're going to have to put a pin in it because I got a meeting with you. She tells me she'd just turned down dinner from a guy to meet up with me, is now super evasive and I'm betting took him up on that dinner." with a wry grin he says "I think I fucked the pooch on this one."

Relaxing back on the couch he says "So combined with the fact I had one of those predators I mentioned turned on me by one of their henchmen recently, and /everything/ has lost its luster I'm wanting to jump back into another brawl. Food tastes like shit I'd get dished up back in the chow line, everytime I'm indoors even with the door open it's like...Well it's like the walls are closing in, crushing in on me and I'm trapped. Keep getting the feeling that everyone around me is just waiting for me to fuck up, so they can sick the pigs on me and haul me back to prison." exhaling he closes his eyes "It's how they feed man, those predators. Where we're a glimmer against the world, they're darkness and to them we're the tastiest food. They feed on our pain, fear, and despair and do what they can to stoke that in us. So only choice I have is to grit my teeth and show the world deuces because I'm doing things my way."

"Oof. Sorry, if you need me to call her and explain the sex between us is just meaningless and purely physical, I can lie and do that." He says just a little more seriously, "But if you ever need a wingman and don't call me, I would actually be hurt. Genuinely."

"Wait, is this hot Erin?" There may have been an earlier text conversation about this.

He frowns as Geoff starts to explain something to him. His rational mind thinks it sounds like depression and paranoia. He tries to switch off the part that wants to relate to Geoff like a marine who needs the right motivation to get their head back in the game. He knows there are different rules here, but his training and his experience are all still screaming at him to act a certain way.

"Shit. That sounds like ... hell. Seriously. " He motions outside and says, "You want to go out? I don't care about a little rain." He grits his teeth and stands back up, trying not to flex his jaw or show that maybe he's not quite up for ditching the crutches yet, because screw crutches. "Come on, I think that whatever yer cookin is burning."

Damn. He came here thinking he had to get something off his chest. But the phrase feed on our pain, fear and despair echoes in his mind. And of course they do, because what better way to torture him than to keep cutting limbs off.

Geoff stands and cocks a grin at Easton "This is definitely hot Erin." standing he seems just a bit too eager to get outside, though as he nears the threshold he pauses slightly unable to the conditioning of eight long years to wait momentarily at every door. Then he is stepping towards his grill to flip it open and draw out a couple of bratwursts onto plates "You know I'd never want you to lie about us, we can't deny what we share." this is said with a straight face and rather sardonically. "You know what makes this worthwhile? What makes it not hell? I chose this." this is uttered with a grim determination "Their human muscle offered me the choice of picking targets to feed the dark men, or be food myself." gesturing with his tongs he says "I've never let someone bully me or cow me into submission. So if this is the way I remain free they can go fuck themselves because I'll choose it every time."

"Oof, I am sorry for your loss." Easton bows his head in mock moment of silence for that.

He laughs as he very gently navigates the steps, holding one hand on the door frame as he steps down at the cracks about denying what the two of them have. He suddenly stops and looks around as if saw something but recovers quickly and nods as Geoff outlines his approach. He raises a beer and agrees, "Ooorah. Fuck'em." He narrows his eyes and says, "So there is an enemy" He doesn't quite hide all the excitement in his voice at that statement. But the thought that whatever's been toying with him, attacking him might have a form, or something he could fight appeals to him.

"But seriously, have thought about trying a little Molly? The pill kind it's.." He hesitates for a minute and adds, "It's supposed to be good for PTSD. It might help break you out of whatever's going on with yer head." Because drugs aren't the answer, but they can be one of them.

Geoff snorts softly "It's more like an eldritch slenderman type abomination from what I can tell. I'm not sure how you fight that other then deny them their food when it come to you and hope they choose an easier target." gathering the meats he loads up the platter back in to gather the toppings and condiments from the fridge, laying them out for Easton to have his pick of.

"I haven't tried molly, and honestly I've done everything I can to remain on the right side of the tracks since I got out. Cut out all the illegal shit, I'm not entirely sure they'd help here. This isn't me, it's not biological shit or my perception of reality....I'm either being mindfucked by an incredibly powerful psychic, or it's all the power of the dark men. Either way I'm not keen on it."

Easton's brow furrows, and he follows Geoff back in, trading in another empty for another beer. He's obviously intent on getting hammered.

"Eldritch. Slendman. Riiiight. Does he employee Bigfoot to kidnap and sodomize people?" He doesn't catch himself in time before snarking on that. "I mean, not that I don't believe you. I do. I fucking really get that shit here is legit screwed up. But... what about ghosts?"

He agrees with him quickly about the drugs and doesn't press the issue obviously if he wants to keep C&C that's his choice. He makes himself a heaping plate of food and carries it carefully back to the couch. He sits down, against apparently needing to adjust when sitting.

"Because a ghost is why I'm here." Ooh, apparently they've moved on to the next level in their relationship where Easton shares things about himself instead of just making sex jokes and stripping off his clothes. Humping people is for strangers, actually talking is for lovers?

"When I woke up in the hospital, I saw Tom sitting there and my first thought was how fucking grateful I was that he made it. I couldn't feel my legs, I was torn to shit, but seriously he was sitting there looking brand new. It took them three days to convince me he was dead. They wheeled my entire damn bed down to the morgue. And I still didn't believe it. But then Banks would just disappear, and I thought I'd just cracked, like fuckin' lost it. But I remembered stories from here. Stories about ghosts being real and spooky shit. And somehow I figured coming here would help me figure out what was real and what wasn't."

He pops open his beer and takes a drink to let that little backstory settle in.

"That was a bitch slap of irony let me tell ya."

Geoff looks about to say something, and then the topic moves onto ghosts and he is downing his beer in several deep chugs before tossing the beer into the trashcan set aside just for beer cans (because of course there is). "So I've never seen a ghost, I've heard of weird shit and there was places in the prison it just felt wrong to be alone, but never saw one. But you...." here he narrows his eyes at Easton "But you've got the ghost of your buddy haunting your ass." grabbing a beer he takes it, cracks it open and sets it to the side "This ones for you bud, thanks for your service."

With that little offerendum for the dead he turns back to preparing his food "Yeah I'm not surprised that there are ghosts, I'm just....I'm past being surprised at this shit..." Settling down onto the couch he gestures with his sausage "I've had to play slasher in one of those dreams, I've /royally/ fucked up the globe trotters and I've survived a blizzard with snow worms in one. I'm not sure if we're moving to other realities, or like...There is some sort of dimension overlayed and affected by ours and we just happen to be where the tissue between them is weakest."

But is it Tom?! The question burns in his head but he doesn't ask. He doesn't want to know if that flickering image that flips him off or blows him kisses is actually his dead best friend or just some memories stuck on repeat flickering in his head. There's still plenty of questions but it feels good to get out at least the fact that he's seeing Banks around, and especially to have it just be accepted.

"Yup. Well in fairness, if I bit it I would haunt his ass so hard. I would never give him a damn moment of peace." He smiles wryly at the thought of the tables being turned, knowing how many times since the accident he's wished for just that.

"Yea, I keep tellin' myself that I need to just roll with this now. It's still fuckin' weird though." He laughs with a mouthful of food at the quick synopisis of Dreams that Geoff's endured. He ohs, "Reminds me. Baylee told me I needed to hear your famed worst tinder date story, don't let me forget."

But then he's talkinga bout other dimensions and Easton just shakes his head, "I keep wanting to say there's got to be a reason for this. Something we can measure. Like sure monsters from another dimension are coming to eat our souls, but we should be able to figure out what they are, where they come from and how to kick their ass." He really wants to believe that's possible. But on the other hand, he's also not sure he wants to find out that it isn't.

Geoff claps Easton on the shoulder "Man go with it, accept it but you know live your life and keep walking forward. Obviously denying it isn't making it better and I'm guessing drugs haven't helped so why not. So let's just accept Tom is here and watching us fall in love, it'll be like our own private voyeur." This is said with a hint of amusement but otherwise completely straight laced.

"So worst tender date, didn't start out that bad. Red head which is totally my thing, she was a park ranger and spent most of her time out in the woods and was super outdoorsy which is also hot. We're going good and I get her back here for the third date." Gesturing outside to his grill he says "So as I'm grilling she asks me if I thought it would be hard to hunt someone...I laughed and thought it was a bad joke. We go on and throughout the night she keeps revolving around the subject of cannibalism." Geoff's features are grim as he states this "It's at this moment I realize that she was hot, skilled, and I /hadn't/ seen the crazy to make up for it up till this moment. So I did the only thing I could think to do, I got her blackout drunk, got her and uber and sent her home."

"Drugs are a mixed bag." Better is also subjective he doesn't add. Because he very much agrees with Baylee's sentiment from the other night that he'd love to just forget it all for a little bit. Slip away. But not like the other kind of slipping away with the leg cutting and the bleeding.

"Oh yea Tom approves. He's still trying to figure out how to get in on that orgy thing without being able to touch anything or anyone." Okay in fairness, Banks hasn't appeared, except for maybe a glint when they walked outside, so Easton is just bullshitting as usual.

He actually settles in to eat the rest of the pile of food on his plate as Geoff starts up his story. He nods appreciatively at the description of the girl, approving of Geoff's preferences. He echoes, "Third date.." as if surprised that a story about the worst Tinder experience was longer than a few hours. But at the part about hunting someone he just starts to laugh. He says, "Yea I mean I mighta been down with the hunting, give her a taser and I get a camo suit. I fuck with crazy. But eating people? Hard pass."

Geoff hold his phone up to take a picture of him and Easton eating together on the couch "So just taking this for my new profile pic on twitter. As for Tom, man all he has to do is Patrick Swayze me. Really we'll go find a pottery wheel." crushing the beer he's currently working on, he tosses it into the tin with a swish.

"Yeah right? Tinder is supposed to crash and burn immediately, or like just after sex. I kept waiting for that other shoe to drop but I figured I might have gotten lucky there. Then the cannibalism and holy shit I watched my back over the next few days to make sure I didn't get kidnapped and dropped in the woods by her." with an exhale he says "But yeah I would have been up for the manhunt or even if she wanted to dress in some sort of sexy cop attire and tell me I was under arrest. Don't judge me."

Easton leans in, mashing his face against Geoff's unapologetically. He nods and at the talk of Swayze ghost fucking. "Yea, that's what I was thinking too. Actually I'm trying to find a nice ghost broad for Banks to fuck. Can't stop being a wingman just cause he's dead."

"You just offered to have my dead best friend possess your body so you could both pound my ass. Are you really thinking I'm gonna judge you for a sexy cop naughty con fantasy? I'm a little hurt." He laughs and goes to get another beer, standing this time to clear his plate and place his empties where they belong, now that he knows.

Cracking another beer, he gets momentarily serious saying quieter than his usual loud proclamations, "But thanks for this. It... helps."

Geoff lightly punches Easton's shoulder "We're bros now man, I got your back." Of course this moment of seriousness can't last too long as he has to acknowledge "It's good that we're feeling the same flow here and realize I'm definitely the top in this relationship." with a laugh he says "Man I hope you don't have anywhere to be in the morning because we're going to have to polish off these cases here."