Trying to Escape the Inevitable

“How many times do I have to say no, Mikey?” I huff, ignoring his presence behind me and attempting to identify the ancient and warped piece of vinyl in my grasp. The dim lighting and constant buzz of overplayed pop singles makes the task even more difficult. Maybe it’s the Turtles? The Tokens? Fuck I don’t know. Why even sell vinyl this fucked up? All I want to do is get this over with and maybe grab some coff-

“-try to go out with someone” I barely catch Mikey argue. He must catch my blank expression because he rolls his eyes, sighing though there’s no way in hell he isn’t used to me fading in and out by now.

“What I said was, you always lock yourself up. You need to quit collecting dust in this place, or in your studio. At least give someone a chance?”
“No Mikey. After him, I’m done. Why even bother with an ordeal like that again?”
“Ordeal? C’mon Gee, really? It’s called a relationship and you’re acting like a child by not even allowing it the decency of being something that COULD be good.”
To prove his point even further, I stick my tongue out and whine “Leave me alone”.
At this point Mikey should win an award for sighing, because it’s all he ever seems to do anymore.

“If you don’t want to meet anyone, fine. But at least do me a favor and get out of the house tonight. There’s a show at Boot&Saddle, and a band I’ve been meaning to see for ages is heading. Come with me?” He pleads with puppy dog eyes that are only vaguely distinguishable from his usual stony features. As much as I hate to give in, I’ve always been a sucker for live music and beer, especially when put together. Oh, and I like to make my brother happy, on occasion. I pretend to mull it over while throwing the forgotten vinyl somewhere amongst the “T” section, before finally giving in.
“Fine. But you owe me.”
“Ohhh, did you have plans?” Mikey chuckles.
I think of that warm, bitter coffee I would’ve had keeping me company, its cup leaving brown rings on the already stained piece of wood that constituted my desk. Maybe I had an idea to create a villain based off of Mikey; A stone cold killer who just wouldn’t let the hero have a damn day off without being a pain in the ass…
I shake my head to get back to the present, and offer an innocent shrug. “Maybe.”
“Alright, how about this? I’ll buy you the hangover coffee you’re gonna need after tonight.”
“Deal.” I spit back almost immediately.
I swear I catch a slight smirk grace his face before I return to the pile of unsorted records in the back, but I choose to ignore it. It’s not like Mikey’s the bad guy who’s got evil plans or anything…

Notes

Alright! I'm finally bringing this story back. It's definitely going to be a little different but I've got the whole plot written out so expect relatively frequent updates.

Thank you to those who commented that they were still interested, I probably would've scrapped the story without you.

I'm excited to see this through so I hope you guys enjoi!

xoxo ghoul