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Gary knew that if he stopped now, there would be no way in hell he would get the job that would cover his rent.
He should’ve taken a taxi or maybe even paid for the bus, but he couldn’t afford to waste any more time than he already had.
On the bright side, he got a free workout, though he knew he’d despise the pain afterwards.
While checking his phone for the time, Gary sensed a familiar presence, a presence he knew he loathed.
“Hey Gare,” the guy whispered.
Gary instantly recognized the voice. He sighed, and quickened his pace. He didn’t have time for pointless arguments.
The boy let out a teasing laugh, “Don’t walk away. You can’t hate me that much.” He smirked, following behind Gary.
“Marshall, I don’t have time for your shit today,” Gary grumbled, trying to tune out the dark-haired boy.
“What could you possibly be doing that’s got you so busy?” Marshall mocked. “Forgetting about me to chase dreams we both know won’t happen?!”
Hearing these bogus words pour out of Marshall’s mouth made it nearly impossible for Gary to tune him out.
He knew Marshall was grieving the sudden breakup, but this wasn’t the way to deal with it.
Marshall grabbed Gary’s arm, forcing him to stop and give his full attention. Their eyes locked, and Gary’s heart started to race.
“I…I didn’t leave you,” Gary paused, choked up.
Marshall let out a dry laugh, he was tired of Gary’s pity.
“Right,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Too busy to answer your phone. Or better yet, too busy to hang out with a guy like me, huh?”
Gary felt like a deer in headlights. When he tried to speak, his throat tightened more than ever before. He didn’t know how to reassure Marshall without drawing more attention than they already had.
Marshall shook his head with a careless smile, “We can both be delusional, Gary.”
Marshall stepped away.
“Well, at least I’m trying to get my life together. Meanwhile, you’re spending your days on the street, like some kinda hobo.”
Gary’s eyes widened, He didn’t know he had it in him to say something like that, especially to someone he might still care about.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Marshall called out over his shoulder.
And just like that, Gary’s reconsideration flew out the window.
He jolted, and checked the time.
“Aw man!,” he cried, breaking into a run.
Marshall had gotten the best of him once again, he’d completely forgotten he was already nearly late for his job interview.
Any hope he had of landing the job went straight down the drain.
———————————————————————
“Thank you for the opportunity. I apologize for any inconvenience that I caused!” Gary cried.
The lady looked extremely uptight, definitely more affluent than Gary ever dreamed of being.
It seemed like she was truly annoyed that he showed up late, but she did a damn good job at hiding it.
“It’s no problem sweetheart, we’ll definitely contact you when we need you,” The lady said with a warm smile.
Gary thanked her one last time before leaving. Once he stepped out, he couldn’t do anything but cry. He couldn't stop thinking about Marshall.
Throughout that whole interview Gary’s mind was stuck on him.
Marshall’s sweet pine-tree scent, his soothing voice that could drift Gary to sleep, and that stupid, but hot laugh.
Every time Marshall won a video game, he’d let out a soft chuckle. Gary was never into video games like Marshall was. But he played anyway, just to hear that laugh. It sent chills down his spine. He knew he couldn’t get enough of Marshall, even if he tried.
Gary sat on a bench, wishing he could start the day completely over, or even better, live in a universe where Marshall never existed.
He slumped on the bench, searching for any job opportunities on his phone. At this point, he was extremely desperate for anything.
While scrolling, he felt a shadow hovering over him.
He glanced up to see Marshall, who was holding what looked like a cup of coffee.
Gary sat up, “Here to harass me some more?”
Marshall smirked, handing Gary the cup.
“You know you want some,” he insisted.
Gary rolled his eyes, taking the cup from Marshall’s hand. He took a sip, sighing as the coffee trickled down his throat.
“You always know how to make me feel better.” Gary murmured, taking another sip.
Marshall looked away, “Wanna walk for a bit?”
Gary looked up, unsure how to respond to the sudden request. His mind told him no, but his heart screamed, fuck yes!
“I don’t see why not,” Gary said, with a slight shrug, getting up.
They started walking, the silence between them heavy.
Only the city's noise and Gary sipping his coffee broke it. But it was a silence they could both deal with. For some reason, it felt different from all the others.
Maybe it’s because they dreaded being apart again, or because one wrong word could send them back to square one. Back to the same petty, ignorant arguments that wouldn’t get them anywhere.
“So…watching anything good lately?” Marshall asked, nervously scratching the back of his neck.
He didn’t want this date to die out from awkwardness, and they both knew they’d eventually had to say something.
Marshall knew it had to be him. That’s how it always was. He'd say something to bring out Gary’s talkative side.
“I mean, kinda. They’re usually musicals though. The latest one I watched was Falsettos. That one was amazing.” Gary replied, with a tense laugh.
“Never heard, What’s it about?” Marshall asked, as they both crossed the street, entering a small parking lot.
“Well, long story short, it revolves around this guy named Marvin who has an affair with his friend, Whizzer. His wife, Trina finds out.. and yeah.” Gary said, with a faint smile.
“Wow, they make musicals about anything nowadays,” Marshall scoffed.
Gary crossed his arms. “There’s more to it than what I said, but yeah, that’s the main plot,” He spat.
“Relax crybaby, I’m playing with you.” Marshall purred, putting his hands up in surrender.
They both walked up to Marshall’s van. He shoved his hands in his coat pocket, digging until he felt his keys. He unlocked the car, opening the door to the cargo area.
Marshall crawled inside, grabbing his box of cigarettes and an old lighter. He flipped the lid, pulled out a cigarette, and flicked his spark wheel.
Click… Click…Click…
Gary stood there, silently watching.
Finally a tiny flame popped up, and Marshall ignited the cigarette. He put the cigarette in his mouth, as the cigarette hissed while he took a slow drag. Gary’s eyes followed the flame as it shriveled the paper casing, inch by inch.
Marshall coughs, trying to clear his throat. “You just gonna stand there?” He grunted.
Gary jumped, quickly sitting beside him, placing his coffee down. Marshall let out that laugh, the same one that gave Gary chills.
He turned his head away, he didn’t want Marshall to see how red his face had gotten.
Marshall took another puff from his cigarette, watching as the smoke spiraled in the air. He let out a soft sigh, stubbing the cigarette out, tossing it on the ground. He couldn’t get into it like he usually did.
“What’s on your mind?” Marshall asked, glancing over at Gary.
Gary took a quick breath and turned toward him. “Oh nothing, just staring at the sunset.” Gary spoke, in a shaky tone.
Marshall grunted, reaching for something in the front of his car.
“You wanna know the best thing to do in the sunset?” Marshall asked, catching Gary’s attention.
“What?”
“Playing the guitar,” he said softly, pulling out his jagged old guitar.
Gary smiled, as Marshall tuned and played a pretty chord progression on the guitar.
He knew that's all it took to impress Gary.
“Have you made any new songs? I still can’t get the one you made me out of my head,” Gary asked, scooting closer towards Marshall.
“Not really,”
Marshall fidgeted with the tuning pegs of his guitar.
“But did you know there’s a guy named Donald? Goes by Childish Gambino or something. Everyone says he sounds like me.” He chuckled, “I mean, I don’t hear it.”
As the conversation died down, the quiet swept back to them again, but they didn’t mind it.
Marshall strummed a familiar tune,
“I recognize this song, but I can’t remember where it's from,” Gary said, continuing to listen to the soothing melody.
“It’s uh…some guy‘s song my mother used to play when I was younger.”
Marshall paused. “Probably one of the only things I’m grateful for her doing. His songs are pretty good.”
He stopped playing, setting his guitar on the ground. Gary gently took Marshall’s hand, resting his head on his shoulder. Marshall was stunned by how close Gary was. It sent a shudder through him.
“I didn’t want to leave you… I just wanted what’s best for us.” Gary said, tracing the stitching on Marshall’s jeans.
Marshall sighed, “I know,” he paused, searching for the right thing to say. “I shouldn’t have bothered you. We don’t have to see each other ever again..if that’s what you want.” He said, pulling his hand away from Gary’s.
“But that’s not what I want, Marshall!” Gary cried, grabbing Marshall’s wrist.
They froze, stunned by each other's sudden words.
Marshall swallowed hard, “Uh…are you sure? Because-“ before Marshall could finish, he was cut off by Gary swiftly leaning on him to place a passionate kiss on his lips.
Marshall's eyes fluttered shut, as their tongues were dancing in each other's mouths. Gary eased on top of Marshall, careful not to break the kiss, as Marshall slowly leaned against the van’s side panel.
Eventually, they both pulled back, breathless, as a faint saliva string left their mouths.
Marshall gingerly wrapped his arms around Gary, his breathing was shaky. Marshall smiled, leaning forward towards Gary’s ear.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this here,” Marshall whispered.
Gary’s eyes widened, he could feel the heat rush through his body, as his face started turning red.
“Aww, you look like a human gumball.” Marshall chuckled.
Gary groaned and covered his face, he could feel it flush even deeper as he quickly climbed off of Marshall.
“Forget everything that just happened. Right now,” Gary demanded, stepping out of the van and standing in front of Marshall.
Marshall got up and walked up to him slowly.“Why forget?” Marshall purred, shaking his keys with a slight smirk.
“We can finish this somewhere special.”
Gary rested his head on Marshall’s shoulder. “You’re a vampire, you know that?” He sighed, “you suck the energy right out of me, Marshall.”
Marshall laughed, rubbing Gary’s back. “You know I’m just playing with you,” He says in a comforting manner.
“You always say that.” Gary whined, lifting his head.
“But you’re always coming back, it seems like you can’t get enough of me even if you tried.”
Marshall lets go of Gary, putting his guitar in the back of the van and closing the door.
“What now?” Gary asked.
Marshall shrugged just as his phone started to ring. He answered quickly, before it could hang up.
“Hello?” He says, already walking away for some privacy.
Gary leaned against the van, pulling out his phone. He scrolled again for any job listings, but paused when he got a message from Fionna.
He quickly tapped it open.
Fionna: Hey Gary, you didn’t answer your phone. But I was wondering if you wanted to come to Cake’s birthday dinner. Sorry this is so out of the blue, I woke up late. :(
Gary smiled as he saw Marshall walk up.
“So, Fionna’s having some birthday dinner for her cat. Wanna go?” Marshall asked, waiting for an answer from Gary.
“Sure. She just texted me about it. But I think we should get a present for her first.” Gary replied, glancing at his phone.
Marshall nodded, as they both climbed into the van. As Marshall started the engine, he leaned close.
“But don’t forget… We gotta finish what we started, ” he whispered seductively.
Gary flushed, he tried hiding his face behind his phone, pretending to scroll as the van pulled onto the road toward the nearest pet store.