[private//a couple of texts to tommy]

[notahobby]

hey

look if you don't want to talk anymore just tell me and ill quit texting you

Comments

[crotcharrow]

wat cant a guy b busy

[notahobby]

not ths busy! if ur still upset its fine just talk 2 me

[crotcharrow]

y wud i b upset??

[notahobby]

uhhh cuz ur mom caught us snogging???

[crotcharrow]

snogging

[crotcharrow]

shes not my mom

[notahobby]

w/e dude r we gonna talk or what

[crotcharrow]

idk wat u want 2 tlk abt!

[notahobby]

i just wanna know wat this is... if u wanna stop hookin up thats fine jst tell me

[crotcharrow]

dude jst cuz i stop replying 2 u dnt mean i want 2 stop

wait wat do u want this 2 b???

[notahobby]

i dont want to do this over text just call me or come over or smthing

[crotcharrow]

[a reply comes around ten minutes later]

r u gonna mak me tlk abt my feelings?? bcuz i dnt hav any u no that rite?

[notahobby]

ffs stop being difficult and jst call me

voice;

[crotcharrow]

[FINE. HERE HE IS. CALLING YOU.]

[notahobby]

[WELL HERE HE IS PICKING UP and sounding just a bit annoyed.]

Hey.

[crotcharrow]

[He huffs.]

Hi. So, what can I do for you?

[notahobby]

[GOD is this every annoying.]

You could stop ignoring me, for one.

[crotcharrow]

I'm not. I had a freaking Alpha Force member try and toss me out on my ass today. Kinda been busy with that.

[notahobby]

You can't take one fucking minute to tell me you're busy?

[crotcharrow]

Uh, I'm pretty sure I did.

[notahobby]

Not until I sent you like fifty texts! Look, just... [he sighs] if you're dealing with shit, that's fine, but you can't just stop talking to me and expect me not to wonder what's going on with you.

[crotcharrow]

[Tommy groans a little, rubbing at his face. Not that you can see that. But. There's an audible pause.]

Y'know she dumped a ton of condoms on my bed, right?

[notahobby]

[Maxxie would probably find this funny if he weren't so annoyed. Well, it's still a little funny, and his voice softens a little.]

Could've been worse.

[crotcharrow]

Dude, I'm just getting used to the idea of having a Mom that gives a shit. I'm so not ready to have 'the talk' with her.

[notahobby]

[A heavy sigh.] I didn't call you so you could complain about her, alright?

[crotcharrow]

Uh, I'm pretty sure I called you, Max.

[notahobby]

You know what I mean!

[He takes a moment to calm himself down, but he still sounds angry when he continues.]

I just want to get it clear, alright? You can't just ignore me and then expect me to listen to your shit when you finally decide to talk! That's not how you treat your friends!

[crotcharrow]

[Tommy opens his mouth to retort but actually manages to think better of it and lets his brain connect before his mouth starts running off with the first thing that comes to him. He's never heard Maxxie sound this mad before, and it's sort of startling. And testament to how much of a dick he's been.]

Look, I. [He makes a frustrated noise.] I didn't know what to say, okay? It's not like this has ever... happened before.

[notahobby]

[Maxxie stops himself from shouting, but he still sounds angry and a little hurt.] An apology might be a start! It's not like I'm looking for a commitment here, Tommy, I just... I thought we were friends, yeah? You can talk to me about this shit, but it goes both ways.

[crotcharrow]

[Tommy just sounds frustrated with himself. He knows he's in unfamiliar territory and it's making him uncomfortable.]

We are friends, I just. [Goddamn, why is talking about feelings so hard.] This is a thing I do. And yeah, it makes me a shitty friend or whatever, but. Nobody else needs to deal with my crap. [Also known as when something big goes down I close off and sulk about it on my own because that's the only way I know how to deal with it.]

[notahobby]

[Sigh. He's still pretty frustrated and he feels like he shouldn't have to have this conversation, but here he is.]

If you need time, just tell me. It's alright if you don't want to talk to me for a bit, you just can't leave me wondering.

[crotcharrow]

[He rubs at his face.]

Yeah. Okay. [sometimes he gets so deep in his own shit he can't plough his way out to pay attention to other people.] My bad.

[notahobby]

[His voice softens considerably.] It's alright. If you wanna talk about her, we can... I'm worried about you. I dunno what's going on with you.

[crotcharrow]

[He laughs a little weakly.] Nah, it's cool, I really don't need to think about it anymore than I already am. [There's a slight pause.] Don't be worried. I can text you when I'm good for another hook-up, okay?

[notahobby]

It's cool if you just wanna hang out too, yeah? I get that this is all fucked up with your mum knowing about it and everything.

[crotcharrow]

I thought you only wanted me for my body and pizza. [he says it jokingly. But part of him isn't actually... kidding.]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie laughs softly.] That was a joke, yeah? I mean, you are pretty hot and you do have great taste in pizza, but I like hanging out with you.

[crotcharrow]

Kinda? I mean, I don't remember a time we didn't have sex after hanging out. So...

[notahobby]

If you wanna hang out without having sex, that's fine. I mean, I like having sex with you, but if you don't want to... I'd still like to be friends, yeah?

[crotcharrow]

[he pauses for a moment, like he's struggling to process this.]

...Yeah. Yeah--that'd be great.

[notahobby]

You should come over tonight. We'll... we'll watch a movie or something. I don't have any but you can still rent shit, right?

[crotcharrow]

[he seems to recover from whatever process was stopping him before.]

No chick flicks, right? If there's not at least three explosions I'm not interested.

[notahobby]

[Maxxie lets out a soft laugh.] We'll find something to keep your attention, yeah?

[crotcharrow]

[This is way easier for Tommy. He doesn't do feelings and junk. He does this.]

Good luck man.

[notahobby]

Alright, well... I'll pick something up and I'll see you tonight, yeah?

[crotcharrow]

Yeah. [he thinks about bringing a pizza, but thinks better of it.] How about some Chinese take-out?

[notahobby]

Yeah, cool. Bring some for Chris too, yeah? I dunno if he'll be home but he'll like the leftovers if he isn't. I can pay you back for it.

[crotcharrow]

Sure. See you later, man.

[notahobby]

Yeah, later.

[And with that, he hangs up.]