(no subject)
<< hey now, touch the sky
you've got a certain kind of look in your eyes
He fiddled with the radio stations as he managed the steering wheel. It seemed everything he found was either a romantic night choice by the DJ or a late talk radio show about how the participants had been dumped. He groaned in frustration, and decided to put on a CD he had salvaged from being boxed. His fingers brushed past a notebook in the same duffel bag he had used to pack his music, and he sighed again. He hadn't been able to get rid of that particular piece of memories - it was Archie's notebook, the place where he wrote down all his ideas for songs and lyrics, and where they both looked to find inspiration for the tunes they wrote together. He hadn't been heartless enough to send it Jeff Archuleta with a sticky note on it that said please forward this to your son.
He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and selected the CD on top of the pile and waited for his radio to swallow it and process the information. He was a little lost in his thoughts, having been driving for almost an hour that he was surprised when a honk entered his hearing field.
"What?" he asked to no one in particular, gesturing to the driver behind his car to pass him. But the honk didn't stop, and it was grating on his nerves. "What the fuck? Pass me already!" he almost yelled, taking his frustration out with his voice, as he swerved a little to the right. The car actually obliged, and David found himself being almost eaten by Neal's twelve-year-old Toyota when he looked at his left to see who the hell had been so slow on the uptake. His surprise was gigantic when he saw Archie driving instead of their blond friend. "What the-" he managed to say before the shock became too much and he lost control of the car, getting out of the road and smashed the vehicle into a nearby tree that had been conveniently placed there. Dublin yelped from his spot over the duffel bag on the passenger's seat. "Holy shit!" he swore.
"David! David!" he heard. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the fog that had taken residence there ever since he had seen Archie driving the other car. "Are you okay? David, say something!"
He opened the car door and stepped outside on shaky legs. The world seemed to revolve in slow motion, and his feet felt as if he was walking on sticky oil, but he was in one piece and that was what mattered. That - and the fact that David Archuleta was standing in front of him in that deserted road in the middle of nowhere, a few miles outside Tulsa. "Yeah, I'm-I'm fine. I totally meant to do that," he joked. He shook his limbs to regain the feeling he had lost due to the shock and kept talking. "What are you doing here, Archie?" He didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but he was kind of pissed off that Archie kept messing up with his head - and his heart - by leaving him hanging on a tiny thread of hope and then crushing him to the ground before walking out of his life until he decided it was time to come back. David was starting to feel like a yo-yo of the worst kind.
Archie opened his mouth but no sound came out of it. He tried it a couple of times with the same result. David tapped his foot on the ground; he was growing cranky and he didn't have that much patience - there was only one too many times a guy could have his heart crushed to ashes in his life, and he wasn't sure he could actually survive it if Archie had just hunted him down to request David give him his lyrics notebook because he thought Noriega could use some of them.
"You have five smiles, David," Archie spluttered. David just stood there, blinking agape at his tiny figure as Archie struggled with his voice. He breathed deep and repeated himself, more confident as he spoke those five words over again. "You have five smiles, David. One when you think someone's an idiot." He was even encompassing his speech with his hands, counting with his fingers as he listed. "One when you think someone's really an idiot. One when you're getting all dressed up for no reason at all. One when you're singing Our Lady Peace and you think no one's watching. And one-" Archie choked up on his own voice. He coughed for a second, but David couldn't make himself walk over to him, he was so stunned. "One, David, one-when you're looking at me."
There was a small pause, tears rolling freely down Archie's face and now that the rain had stopped David could see them clearly. He felt an ache deep inside, as if a nail was scratching at his soul as the moment wore on and the silence grew between them like a gigantic shadow they could not get rid of. It was a distant feeling, though, because as soon as he had seen it plainly the clouds started to move over, to gather together as if they were in some kind of conspiracy theory not to allow an open sky full of stars reign over their heads.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but-" David inhaled, his hands trembling as he reached out and opened his arms towards Archie under the rain that had started to fall in tiny amounts of drops and bits. "Would you like to dance?" He hated how his voice grew pitchy in the end, but there was just so much he could go through without breaking, and the experiences he had lived the last few days had been too triggering. He wasn't sure he could endure another rejection, even if Archie's presence in that long forgotten road meant that he was in for the fall as well.
David held his breath as he waited for Archie to make a decision. His friend smiled widely, the hint of the tears pooling in David's eyes just barely visible in Archie's, before nodding eagerly and running towards David. He lunged himself into David's arms, and David caught him, just like a perfect scene in the perfect romantic movie they used to enjoy together when they were both teenagers.
They danced to the tune of Have You Ever that was blasting through David's car radio, have you ever found the one you've dreamed of all of your life, you'd do just about anything to look into their eyes; have you finally found the one you've given your heart to, only to find that one won't give their heart to you; have you ever closed your eyes and dreamed that they were there, and all you can do is wait for the day when they will care, David twirling Archie around as if they were the perfect couple of that same film they seemed to be trapped in, Dublin staring at them under the moonlight, until Archie stopped dancing in circles and stood on his toes, catching David's mouth in a shy kiss that took David's breath away. It was just right, David mused as he licked at Archie's lips to pry them open.
After all, Archie had already taken possession of his heart, and David didn't even want it back anymore.
The End
you've got a certain kind of look in your eyes
He fiddled with the radio stations as he managed the steering wheel. It seemed everything he found was either a romantic night choice by the DJ or a late talk radio show about how the participants had been dumped. He groaned in frustration, and decided to put on a CD he had salvaged from being boxed. His fingers brushed past a notebook in the same duffel bag he had used to pack his music, and he sighed again. He hadn't been able to get rid of that particular piece of memories - it was Archie's notebook, the place where he wrote down all his ideas for songs and lyrics, and where they both looked to find inspiration for the tunes they wrote together. He hadn't been heartless enough to send it Jeff Archuleta with a sticky note on it that said please forward this to your son.
He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and selected the CD on top of the pile and waited for his radio to swallow it and process the information. He was a little lost in his thoughts, having been driving for almost an hour that he was surprised when a honk entered his hearing field.
"What?" he asked to no one in particular, gesturing to the driver behind his car to pass him. But the honk didn't stop, and it was grating on his nerves. "What the fuck? Pass me already!" he almost yelled, taking his frustration out with his voice, as he swerved a little to the right. The car actually obliged, and David found himself being almost eaten by Neal's twelve-year-old Toyota when he looked at his left to see who the hell had been so slow on the uptake. His surprise was gigantic when he saw Archie driving instead of their blond friend. "What the-" he managed to say before the shock became too much and he lost control of the car, getting out of the road and smashed the vehicle into a nearby tree that had been conveniently placed there. Dublin yelped from his spot over the duffel bag on the passenger's seat. "Holy shit!" he swore.
"David! David!" he heard. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the fog that had taken residence there ever since he had seen Archie driving the other car. "Are you okay? David, say something!"
He opened the car door and stepped outside on shaky legs. The world seemed to revolve in slow motion, and his feet felt as if he was walking on sticky oil, but he was in one piece and that was what mattered. That - and the fact that David Archuleta was standing in front of him in that deserted road in the middle of nowhere, a few miles outside Tulsa. "Yeah, I'm-I'm fine. I totally meant to do that," he joked. He shook his limbs to regain the feeling he had lost due to the shock and kept talking. "What are you doing here, Archie?" He didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but he was kind of pissed off that Archie kept messing up with his head - and his heart - by leaving him hanging on a tiny thread of hope and then crushing him to the ground before walking out of his life until he decided it was time to come back. David was starting to feel like a yo-yo of the worst kind.
Archie opened his mouth but no sound came out of it. He tried it a couple of times with the same result. David tapped his foot on the ground; he was growing cranky and he didn't have that much patience - there was only one too many times a guy could have his heart crushed to ashes in his life, and he wasn't sure he could actually survive it if Archie had just hunted him down to request David give him his lyrics notebook because he thought Noriega could use some of them.
"You have five smiles, David," Archie spluttered. David just stood there, blinking agape at his tiny figure as Archie struggled with his voice. He breathed deep and repeated himself, more confident as he spoke those five words over again. "You have five smiles, David. One when you think someone's an idiot." He was even encompassing his speech with his hands, counting with his fingers as he listed. "One when you think someone's really an idiot. One when you're getting all dressed up for no reason at all. One when you're singing Our Lady Peace and you think no one's watching. And one-" Archie choked up on his own voice. He coughed for a second, but David couldn't make himself walk over to him, he was so stunned. "One, David, one-when you're looking at me."
There was a small pause, tears rolling freely down Archie's face and now that the rain had stopped David could see them clearly. He felt an ache deep inside, as if a nail was scratching at his soul as the moment wore on and the silence grew between them like a gigantic shadow they could not get rid of. It was a distant feeling, though, because as soon as he had seen it plainly the clouds started to move over, to gather together as if they were in some kind of conspiracy theory not to allow an open sky full of stars reign over their heads.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but-" David inhaled, his hands trembling as he reached out and opened his arms towards Archie under the rain that had started to fall in tiny amounts of drops and bits. "Would you like to dance?" He hated how his voice grew pitchy in the end, but there was just so much he could go through without breaking, and the experiences he had lived the last few days had been too triggering. He wasn't sure he could endure another rejection, even if Archie's presence in that long forgotten road meant that he was in for the fall as well.
David held his breath as he waited for Archie to make a decision. His friend smiled widely, the hint of the tears pooling in David's eyes just barely visible in Archie's, before nodding eagerly and running towards David. He lunged himself into David's arms, and David caught him, just like a perfect scene in the perfect romantic movie they used to enjoy together when they were both teenagers.
They danced to the tune of Have You Ever that was blasting through David's car radio, have you ever found the one you've dreamed of all of your life, you'd do just about anything to look into their eyes; have you finally found the one you've given your heart to, only to find that one won't give their heart to you; have you ever closed your eyes and dreamed that they were there, and all you can do is wait for the day when they will care, David twirling Archie around as if they were the perfect couple of that same film they seemed to be trapped in, Dublin staring at them under the moonlight, until Archie stopped dancing in circles and stood on his toes, catching David's mouth in a shy kiss that took David's breath away. It was just right, David mused as he licked at Archie's lips to pry them open.
After all, Archie had already taken possession of his heart, and David didn't even want it back anymore.
The End