PROMO: Ancient History III

[Toxxic 0]

Ancient History III

 

Atlanta, Georgia

Early 2002

 

“WHOOO! YEH!”

 

There’s always someone willing to serve underage people alcohol.

 

“WE FUCKIN’ ROCK, INNIT!”

 

However, on this occasion such immoral services were not required. Because while Toxxic, the spiky-haired, black-fingernailed and heavily-eyelinered British punk weaving down the street with a can of lager in his hand is most certainly drunk whilst being only 19, both his companions are over the legal age and were the ones who bought the beer in question.

 

“You are the man!” Karl Winter shouts, shoving his friend heftily in the shoulder and causing Toxxic to stagger across the sidewalk.

 

“No, you’re the man!” Toxxic replies gleefully, then switches his attention to the petite, sultry form of Livvy Luscious bringing up the rear, “and she’s the girl!”

 

“I have never seen you do a ‘rana like that before,” Karl says with open admiration to Livvy, who grins wide at the praise and then stumbles, having taken her eyes off the ground. She mutters something along the lines of it not being a big deal, then takes a swallow of her own drink. Karl reaches out and tugs her arm, pulling her away from a collision course with a fire hydrant; she looks at him for a moment in seeming anger, then focuses on something else and emits a high pitched “Oooohhh!” before stumbling over to nearby wall. There, pasted up in possible violation of local byelaws, is a flyer for the wrestling show the three of them have just wrestled at. The first wrestling match of their careers, and their first win after Toxxic nailed one of their opponents with a swinging, sit-out Pedigree that he swore blind afterwards he’d never seen anyone else do before in his life, Livvy had come off the top to ‘rana another opponent and prevent him from interfering and Karl Winter, Karl freaking Winter, generally regarded at the Academy as the slowest learner and the least likely to make it in the big time, had locked Toxx’s victim in a single-leg crab for the submission.

 

“Look! It’s us!” she says gleefully, not to mention drunkenly. “Well, it’s you anyway,” she adds in a less enthusiastic tone, peering at the bill, “and Gabe. ’m not even down as a manager!”

 

“That’s fuckin’ wrong mate,” Toxx volunteers, leaning against the wall, “you should def’nitely be on there. Yer just as good as Gabe, an’ better-lookin’ an’ all!”

 

“s’right,” Karl adds from the other side, “couldn’t’ve done it without ya, Liv. Gabe’s gonna be so pissed he missed this! You were great!”

 

* * *

 

The door to Karl Winter’s apartment block shuts behind him, leaving Livvy and Toxxic alone together on the sidewalk. It’s gone 2am and really, they should both be getting home. Luckily their respective digs aren’t far from here and they set off together, leaning on each other to hold themselves up. The fact that Toxxic weighs a good eighty pounds more than Livvy, possibly more, means that the leaning isn’t necessarily evenly distributed; thankfully, there aren’t many cars in this neighbourhood at this time of night.

 

*beep-beep!*beep-beep!*

 

“t’fuck’s that?” Livvy mutters.

 

“Phone,” Toxx grunts, hauling his out of his pocket. Sure enough, he’s got a message. Not only that, he sees it’s from Gabe; presumably a reply to the gleeful message he sent earlier - when considerably more sober - about their team’s win at the show. He’s surprised it’s taken Gabe this long to reply, but hey, maybe wedding anniversary parties go on late in Athens.

 

What the fuck do u think ur doing? I told u 2 keep Liv SAFE Tox, u promised me. U let her in the fuckin ring? She’d better b alrite. Comin bak Friday early.

 

“Well, fuck you too,” Toxxic tells his phone cheerily and replaces it without bothering to reply. Livvy is safe and unharmed, and he’s not going to let his friend’s worrying drag him down tonight. He’s far too happy for that although, he now admits to himself, his legs are getting rather tired.

 

“Bastard!” Livvy says beside him, and Toxxic suddenly realises that she could see the phone’s screen when he read the message.

 

“Look Liv, he-”

 

“You said you’d keep me safe? Honestly? ‘kin hell Toxx, I thought you were joking back at the show!”

 

“Nah man,” the Englishman says ruefully, “he wouldn’t let me not, had to promise him an’ everything. Thought he might tell yer, I s’pose.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Livvy mutters, “I’m so fuckin’ fragile, aren’t I? Can’t even tell me he’s got his best mate looking out for me! And what do I need looking out for, anyway!?”

 

“Think he thought someone’d try an’ get off with yer,” Toxxic says, sighting Livvy’s apartment block further down the street and greeting the view with relief as it means he’ll be able to escape this uncomfortable conversation.

 

“Get off…?”

 

“Kiss,” Toxxic says, remembering that American’s don’t always understand plain language, “grope, fondle, all that sort of stuff. I told him you’d break any bugger’s arm who tried; don’t think he believed me.”

 

“Oh yeah, right, and who’d want to do that?” Livvy asks with a hollow laugh, fumbling in her pocket for her keys.

 

“Fuck’s sake Liv, yer bloody hot,” Toxxic growls without thinking. It’s always annoyed him that his friend refuses to believe how attractive she is, and for that matter that Gabe doesn’t do more to bolster her self-esteem. However, as Livvy stops what she’s doing and turns towards him for a second, then turns back to the door, Toxxic realises that he’s never said it out loud before. Gabe’s always been around, and it just wouldn’t be right. However, drunk as he is Toxxic isn’t dumb, and he realises from Livvy’s reaction that it wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.

 

“Well, that makes me feel good coming from a make-up wearing fag like you,” she grins at him.

 

“Fag!?” Toxxic splutters, pretending to be offended. She’s taken the comment as friendly banter and is responding in kind, this is good. “I’ll have you know sunshine, I’m as straight as…” he pauses, searching for a suitable simile, but for once his usually-sharp brain lets him down. Damn those alcohol-dulled synapses. “…something that’s very nearly straight,” he ends, slightly lamely.

 

“Never seen you kiss a girl,” Liv teases, standing at the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Never seen me kiss a guy either,” Toxxic argues, pointing a black-nailed finger at her, rather unsteadily. “In fact, right, the only reason I don’t kiss girls in public is ‘cos… yeah, ‘cos I know they’ll be embarrassed when they melt into me arms with unrestrained passion! That’s it,” he finishes, grinning so she’ll know it’s a joke.

 

“Unrestrained passion!?” Livvy gasps, nearly falling sideways as she tries not to double up laughing.

 

“Yeah!” Toxx says, “an’ the reason I’m leaving now is not cos I’m tired and drunk, but because I can see it working on you! Bye…” He turns around to leave.

 

“But Toxx!” Livvy says, pretending to swoon against the wall, “I’m so fragile! I might hurt myself on the way up to my apartment! How will you keep me safe if you’re not there!?”

 

“Well, you got a point,” Toxxic concedes, halting in his tracks and turning around, then making his way back to Livvy as she pushes the button to call the elevator. She grins at him, and he grins back. They both know that he won’t get into the elevator with her, and even if he did, Livvy knows she won’t be inviting him in. Not that Toxx hasn’t been in her apartment before, but with what’s just been said it wouldn’t seem… right.

 

But then again, the first thing that Livvy’s going to do when she gets in is have a coffee, and it’d seem rude not to offer Toxx one when you can just as easily make two mugs. Besides, he’s talking a lot but seems pretty tired - she wouldn’t want him to fall asleep in her doorway, so maybe a caffeine kick to make sure he gets home is what’s needed. The last thing she wants to do is haul him in half-asleep and lay him on the couch, because after what’s just been said that wouldn’t seem… right.

 

The elevator arrives with a *ping* and, both still grinning because they both know they’re joking, both knowing that they’re being a bit flirty because they’re drunk but knowing that that’s all it is, and perhaps most importantly both knowing that the other person will stop the moment feel a line has been crossed, they both step in.

 

The doors close.

 

 

To be continued…

[Above Average 0]

Since I hadn't seen this one before hand I thought I should comment. That and the fact that it's a really good promo. Using a quote box for that text message was pretty inventive and the running theme of re-using the same ending for those last few paragraphs worked.