CITY MANAGEMENT

this time, give it to me easy and let me try with pleasured hands. what's your name? who's your daddy? is he rich, like me. has he taken any time to show you what you need to live? tell it to me slowly, tell me what i really want to know.

[ofgoldenboys]

wren.

Wren had been waiting at the very end of a dark alleyway, his hands in his pockets and hood over his head as he waited for the person who was buying off of him tonight. This was a big exchange, and his heart raced with excitement. He would receive about $500, for a handful of OxyContins.

Minutes ticked by before he saw a larger man beginning towards him. Wren slowly began towards the other until they came to a stop in front of each other. They looked around, and then there was a quick exchange; a pile of money for a bottle of pills. There wasn’t many words between the two, just a quick ‘thanks’ from the guy. 

it was unmistakable, this was the kind of drug deal that tejay had seen portrayed in all kinds of media. the shady alley, the passing of items between two people, a perfect set up. he fell back as he tried to sneak away from the scene, a loud clanging noise coming from the mess of things near the garbage. of course the bar had trash full of bottles and cans, and of course that made noise like hell. he covered his mouth, looking around to see if he could get out of this. a drug dealer could be a dangerous person, it might just be better to stay put. so he did. “i’m coming out with my hands up, please don’t hurt me,” tejay calls out, hoping not to get involved in some kind of fight or trouble.

[ofgoldenboys]

sonny.

“I’m always sleep deprived.” Sonny said with a shrug. He was used to it, though he did love the nights when Noah was home and allowed him in his bed. Sleeping alone was one of his least favorite things, which led to him not sleeping at all some nights - that, on top of his nightmares and general insomnia, made for one sleepy boy. But he’d grown used to it over the years and hated to complain, so he just dealt with it as best as he could. Once they reached the diner, Sonny dropped his cigarette on the sidewalk and ground it out with the toe of his shoe before going inside and heading toward a booth. “Cool, man, thanks. I appreciate it.” Tejay was asking for it, telling Sonny he could order anything he wanted, because the boy had an appetite and could scarf down food like there was no tomorrow. Once they were settled in a booth, he turned his attention to the man and rested his arms on the table. “So, anything, huh? I’m pretty hungry, you might regret that offer.”

“maybe you should start thinking about the lasting effects that could have on you. especially your mental and physical health; for example, if you drive you could put yourself, and others, at risk,” tejay continued to scold, starting to sound like a parent. ever since he’d found out about his daughter, his fatherly tone had been getting worse and worse. the car comment rang close to home for him, though. his parents had been killed in an accident that was a mix of weather and sleep-related issues. maybe they’d both still be here if they’d rested just a little bit longer. tejay shakily exhales, shrugging his shoulders up. “no worries, it’s my pleasure to help out any citizen of wellcliff that i can.” he slides in across from sonny in the booth, picking up the menu and looking through it. he always got the same thing, ever since he’d moved to wellcliff (a stack of silver dollar pancakes with a side of berries and home-fries), but it didn’t hurt to look over it once more every time. he might change his mind some day. “let’s set a limit of forty-dollars, including tip,” tejay decides that’s a good starting boundary. “if you’re still hungry after that, i’ll see what i can do.”

[ofgoldenboys]

chuck

       chuck hops down from her spot on the wall to land directly in front of a passing tejay. her hands clap together and she grins brightly. “hey pencil pusher!” she gives tejay a playful poke to the chest. “i’m kidnapping you for the day and we’re going shopping.” she straightens his tie and sighs. “i know you’ve got to be fancy in your suits but they’re always so boring and t k maxx just got in some really sweet ties so- lets go!” @ofgoldenboys·

“pencil pusher?” the nickname surprises him, and so does chuck. she’s jumping off the wall and suddenly in his personal space. he flattens his tie after she’s straightened it, getting it back to its original position. “isn’t the nearest tj maxx a couple of towns away? it would take at least an hour and a half just to get there. could we go somewhere closer to home? i have to be back by nine to check in on my grandmother.” he’s not rejecting the sudden shopping trip idea, but maybe he should’ve. tejay knows just how much trouble chuck can bring.

[ofgoldenboys]

teddy.

     "dude, you need to learn to let lose. otherwise you’re going to end up like one of those guys that snaps one day and goes insane.” teddy is sat on his pick up trucks hood with his legs dangling off the front. “yoh, we should go do that yoga shit! i wanna see if i can be a human pretzel!” @ofgoldenboys·

“you’re starting to sound like a broken record with all this ‘loosen up’ talk. teddy, i already do yoga sessions weekly and it takes a lot of discipline and calm,” he rolls his eyes at his longtime friend. “you’re welcome to try it with me. we can do a quick sun salutation,” tejay hops off of the hood of the truck, days like this remind him of high school and bad decisions. “the sun, the sun, i salute the sun,” he begins, holding his palms together in the starting position. “come on, try it with me.”

[ofgoldenboys]

SUITED UP !

tejay is more formal and is rarely seen going out casual. his go to is a tie, some nice slacks, and always a button down. he keeps his facial hair neat, but visible, and uses his glasses as both an accessory and a way to see. his favorite tie is jut a simply black satin one that used to be his father’s. he mainly shops online off of hugo boss, even if he can’t always afford it.

[ofgoldenboys]

anya.

Her eyes grew wide hearing his response. “Wow, that’s pretty impressive! Especially when people don’t really know how much leaving their trash behind really effects the ocean in the long run.”  She shook her head in reply. “Not much. We actually ran into each other when I was trying to find this pharmacy and my stupid phone kept giving me the wrong directions. Hey, maybe that could be something you can put on your-i’m sure it’s an ever expanding-to do list: having properly placed shop points in google maps,” she laughed. She wasn’t wholly serious about the suggestion; she wasn’t quite sure how much trouble it would be to even try to get something like that done. “Both. I know it always sucks to lose bushiness, but, ugh, I’m like over the moon when they decide to take their business elsewhere because those are always the types of clients that are just way too much of a pain in the ass to deal with. And it’s always over something dumb, like they the colors we provided were never what we discussed when they had given us the approval of the mockups just an hour ago,” she shook her head and sighed.

he laughs as her eyes widen and she compliments his achievement. “thank you very much. i do my best to impress the people of wellcliff. i also am looking to improve our clean energy initiative to move away from fossil fuels. we have a young conservationist who has been really pushing the city to make changes,” tejay explains, his job proving to be a difficult but pertinent one. he listens as she explains her encounter with emmett. “unfortunately, it’s the shop owners that set their details into google. perhaps i could try and go around to each shop making sure they have their information inputted correctly. a lot of the older entrepreneurs here don’t know how to use the newer technology,” he shrugs, trying his best to move the subject away from emmett in hopes to make anya more comfortable. his curiosity is still there, and he wonders if he could ask her more about their interactions a little later. “if they approved the mock-up, why would they think the final design would be anything completely different?” he shakes his head, feeling her pain in dealing with asshole clients. “i’m sorry that’s the kind of thing you’re struggling with at your job. are there any times when you’ve gotten the chance to drop the client?”

[ofgoldenboys]

sonny.

“This bird is always down for free food. I don’t get a whole lotta sleep, like, ever.” Sonny hated nights when he was at home and not out at a party. He was an insomniac and, on top of that, he had terrible nightmares that he couldn’t shake. It’d been that way since he was a teenager, but it had gotten worse after he moved out on his own and away from his family. Nights at home meant tossing and turning in bed, staring at the ceiling, praying for sleep and then regretting it once it came. He felt like he couldn’t win. So Sonny, being the annoying shit that he was, ran on nicotine and spite most days. “Well, I appreciate it,” He said as they walked, taking a drag from his cigarette before continuing, “And I appreciate not being wined and dined. I’m a fuckin’ liability, you wouldn’t want to wine and dine me.”

“i think i heard on npr that sleep deprivation can lead to a variety of adverse effects on the brain,” tejay always got nine hours a night, he went to bed at a good time and woke up early. he knew he didn’t function well after nights staying up to work on policy or sending emails and mail back to concerned citizens. “i feel like being a liability doesn’t stop a lot of people from getting wined and dined. however, i can assure you there’s little chance i would wine and dine anyone right now. i’m too focused on my career.” tejay had a long stride, one that was confident and determined. he was able to make his way to the diner with ease, holding the door open for sonny to go inside. “you can order anything you want, it’s all on me,” he knew that was asking for trouble. but, he was hoping sonny would be realistic with how much he could eat versus how much tejay could pay for.

[ofgoldenboys]

// @wrxnxashby​

tejay was still trying to grapple with the idea of having a daughter. he’d been spending more and more time at sparky’s pub since the bonfire, drinking away his problems until he felt numb. it wasn’t good for him, and his grandmother kept asking him what was wrong, but he didn’t want to deal with it in a way that seemed “right.” tonight was one of those evenings, where he stumbled out of the bar, into the alley, leaning against the wall to gain his bearings. he saw someone else (two people) further down the alley. he moved closer, making his way behind a trashcan to hide. he watched carefully to see what he’d run into.

[ofgoldenboys]

anya.

“I understand that,” she nodded and smiled. “What would you say’s your greatest Wellcliff accomplishment so far, Mr. City Manager?” Hearing Emmett’s name, she shook her head. “No, it’s fine. It’s nice he helps you out. He did always have a special place in his heart for this town,” she smiled weakly. “But I did see him, actually. He, uh…he looks like he’s doing well,” she sincerely stated. “Yeah, we’ve worked with a lot of well known clients.” She then began telling him about a few of the campaigns she got to work on while at her company. “…There were a couple times where we’d put in all this work and then they decided they wanted to ‘go in a new direction’” she said with air quotes. “Well, New York has plenty of people out there. If you ever went, I’m sure you’d come back with dozens of phone numbers,” she giggled, choosing to avoid his comment about blind dates. Truth be told, she still wasn’t quite ready to get back into the dating scene for reasons she didn’t want to say out loud.

“your work sounds similar; at least in the regards that the days seem interesting and so do your client,” tejay could never imagine himself in too artistic of a career, he’s too logical for that. he’s impressed that anya holds a career that’s both creative and keeps a high profile. “my greatest accomplishment? i’ve gotten quite a lot done with the beach clean up initiative. that’s taken a lot to complete. we’ve lowered the amount of trash that is left on the beach by thirty-percent since the year two-thousand,” the facts and figures of his job are easy to come up with. he’s increased the pay of wellcliff teachers and school staff by five-percent, the increase in the amount of books donated to the public library compared to three years ago is eleven-percent, and so on. he could recount those facts to her, too, but he chooses not to. “he has been well, did you talk much?” tejay notices the way her body language changes, clearly this isn’t something he should have brought up. she seems uncomfortable. “so you’d have to do the work over for them? or would they go to a different designer?” he asks, curious to hear more about the trials and tribulations of graphic design. “i don’t need anymore phone numbers, i’m good with my current contacts,” he jokes.

[ofgoldenboys]

bj.

settler’s point was a great place for bj to park her skoolie. it gave her a great view, lots of people surrounding her - and it was the only beachy location that allowed parking big enough for school busses without having to pay for overnight. it would do for now. when she woke up, she was already excited to see what the small town had in store. with her roller skates strapped to her feet, bj slowly climbed down from the school bus’ emergency door at the back, easing onto her feet slowly while barking out a cheery “good morning, wellcliff!” as she did so. she spun around to close and lock before skating over to a perfect stranger, “hi! you know any good breakfast places around here?” @wellcliffstarters·

tejay had gone up to the lighthouse to start working on a report for the town hall. they were planning on doing some restoration on the old thing, and adding some informational signs through settler’s point to help tourists understand the town’s history. he stood looking at the lighthouse, but was slightly distracted by the school bus parked there. it certainly wasn’t from any of wellcliff’s schools. when a girl on skates came out of it, he was certainly shocked. it took him a moment to gather his bearings. “there’s a diner down on main street, but it would take quite a while to skate down that way. if you go, get the pancakes but skip the coffee,” he offers the advice, still looking behind her at the school bus. “what is that thing?” he asks, pointing to the big bus. usually his manners were incredible, but he'd lost that in matter of seconds when he was caught off guard.

[ofgoldenboys]

tessa.

being called ma’am by tejay of all people was jarring to say the least. she could remember running after him and her brother when they were younger. maybe he just didn’t recognize her. that thought hurt her feelings a little, but it would be wrong of her to assume. “i know it’s been a while, but i am not a ma’am to you, tejay.” a soft laugh punctuated her reply while the kid in the background continued to shriek at the top of their lungs.

“sorry, tessa, it’s a bad habit from working at the town hall,” he smiles at her warmly. “do you need anything, though? you’re looking a little sleepy. did the high schoolers finally crack you?” he asks, watching her carefully. tejay remembers when she seemed just like the shrieking kid near them. when she used to follow him around alongside her brother, they wrote her off as a kid sister. tejay misses those kinds of days, though. “do you think i could use my political power to bribe that family so the baby stops screaming?”

[ofgoldenboys]

sonny.

Sonny snorted out a laugh before taking another long drag from the cigarette, allowing his head to fall back against the brick building behind him as he blew smoke above his head. “Yeah, man, I just left a party, like… Twenty minutes ago. Haven’t slept it off yet.” Not only had he not slept off his drunkenness, but he wouldn’t have time to do so before he had to go to his real job. Working as a mechanic was his main source of income, but he had a good time dj’ing parties and figured he may as well make some extra cash on the side while doing it. It would be fine, though, because it had to be. He couldn’t call out from work again, mostly because he didn’t have an excuse to give that he hadn’t used recently. “Hey, look, if you wanna buy me breakfast then I’m fine with that,” He said with a grin, perking up a bit at the idea of getting food. “Are you trying to wine and dine me? Minus the wine?” He teased, tongue darting out momentarily to wet his lips. “I’m gonna starve, bro, let’s go.”

“well, they do say that early bird catches the worm. i’m not sure what they say about the bird that never goes to sleep,” he jokes, making the sound of a drum symbol afterwards. “maybe the bird who never sleeps gets a free breakfast.” tejay was definitely not trying to wine and dine, he was just hoping to gain the favor and understanding of someone who seemed to take issue with his authority. he does a little face palm, shaking his head. “no wining and dining, just a good deed as charity for one hungover man.” tejay starts walking in the direction of the diner where the bacon, eggs, and pancakes were always piping hot and tasty. the coffee seemed a little burned, but you could always run across the street to bean there, done that for a good cup.

[ofgoldenboys]

chuck.

     “you never know, miss weather is a sneaky bitch.”  she shimmies her shoulders before a laugh passes red lips. “ew, don’t call me that, it sounds so- old. whatever your brain is cooking up, dial it down by like one hundred. i just committed a minor felony for it, is all.” she shrugs, taking a swig again before holding it out almost teasingly. as the other takes the bottle, chuck claps her hands together. “yay! and aww, i wanted to see what the shade satin sunrise would look on you.” she pouts for a moment, tossing some blonde hair over her shoulder, but chuck’s signature smirk returns soon after. “oh you wish you were married to all this. as fleetwood mac once said- wouldn’t you love to love her. but i’m not down for some shackles just yet.”

“miss weather has been pretty kind to me all things considered,” he counters watching her take back the bottle. “what should i call you then? ‘chuck’ sounds too personal for me, no offense. i’m sure you’d want me to keep a safe distance from you anyways, otherwise i might have to tell on your little felony, or should i say felonies, and i really don’t want to.” tejay wouldn’t feel bad about having to rat her out even after she gave him the bottle. keeping things at a distance was the way tejay kept most of his friends. it helped him to keep from cutting loose too often. “satin sunrise? is that was that color is called? i would have gone with bloody sunrise. it’s sharper than satin,” he laughs, but he rolls his eyes at her shackle comment. “good thing i don’t want to shackle anyone.”

[ofgoldenboys]

wren.

Wren looks at the man with tensed lips and furrowed brows as he speaks, shaking his head. “It’s not that I’m careless.” But it was. Wren had learned to not care about himself, or others over the past years. Dealing with his parents silent treatment with each other and his father’s alcoholism had been hard on him. He had sworn he would never drink, and he didn’t, but this turned into an addiction to other things, like the various prescriptions that he used and sold. He would never admit to having and addiction though. ‘It isn’t like that’. That’s what he told everyone who cared about him, and what he had been telling himself since it had started. “I don’t really have that many friends. I mean, a couple, I guess.” He didn’t mind it though. He was just used to it. That was about all he wanted to share when it came to anything too personal. It wasn’t this man’s business, and Wren had better things to do than sit here and whine to a stranger about his problems. “You got it.” He had never thought to use inspiration from others around town to put into his stories, and he quite appreciated the suggestion. “Thanks, man. I’ve been doing it for a couple of years. I don’t really have a specific thing, though. I write all sorts of stuff.”

“everyone’s careless in their... what are you, in your late teens? or twenty-something?” tejay guesses, since working with most of the people in town he’s gotten pretty good at guessing where someone falls on the timeline of ages. “at least i was careless in my teens and early twenties, once you get to be my age you’ll see what i mean and you won’t be afraid to admit it.” from the time he was born, tejay had been told about this destiny he was meant to fulfill, and when that was taken away from him he felt lost and without direction. it took him a while to pull his life back together and find a path that seemed worth seeking. politics was what he was good at, what appealed to him. the older man thought that maybe writing was to this young man as tejay was to politics. he loosened the top button on his shirt collar, the summer heat finally getting to him. “i stop in for a coffee there almost every weekday, i’m sorry i didn’t recognize you. i see so many faces in one day they all begin to blur together after a while.” the town hall always had at least one person walking around with a to-go cup of bean there, done that coffee. it was the fuel that kept the government workers from losing their shit. “i mean, james patterson writes all sorts of stuff, and i’m sure even stephen king has written a love story once upon a time. you’ll find your niche and you’ll stick it. i’m pretty sure that the library hosts a young writers competition every year, you should try and submit a piece. maybe that will give you the push you need to get a publisher or what have you.”

[ofgoldenboys]

luca.

Luca’s jaw flexed as Tejay continued his talking down of Bash as if he wasn’t worthy of being cared for. Maybe it was the fact they’d slept together a week before, even though Bash was ignoring him since, or that in general Bash has been the biggest rock in his life since it all went to shit, but Luca wasn’t having it. “He’s a better person than you are. Shown me more decency in ten minutes than you have in the two times I’ve met you. Not to mention that he fights for the little guy whilst you would rather flick them away like they’re nothing.” Luca pulled back, his face scrunched up at the proximity of Tejay sniffing him. “Jesus what is wrong with you?” his voice raises. Tejay reminded him of the creepy kid in primary school who ate glue and showed up when no one wanted them. “How do you do it?” Luca looks over Tejay with a puzzling look “It really must be uncomfortable walking around with your own head up your ass.”

tejay had nothing to lose at that point. he’d found out he had a daughter that he hadn’t known for five years, and that made him so angry. he needed to get the anger out, or at least the sloppiness, and luca was receiving the bulk of it. “i haven’t been decent to you? i brought you paperwork, i listened to all the things you said about the effects of the curfew on the workers, i even tried to understand why you think bash is some great leader,” he steps up to luca, getting more in up in his face. “i am a perfectly goddamn decent human being. i don’t know who socialized you, but bash is the opposite of all things meant to be civilized and calm and kind,” he rants, wobbling backwards a bit after his little sniffing stunt. “oh, i’ve been told many things are up my ass - a stick, my head, and god only knows what else. just like you don’t smell like fish, i don’t have anything up there. you’re just brainwashed by the misanthropic, shady fishery owner.” tejay steps forward again and brushes off luca’s collar. “you know, you seem like a decent guy, so i’m going to tell you this - i would stay away from that train wreck of a person if i were you.”

[ofgoldenboys]

wren.

Wren shook his head. He didn’t want to have to make anyone else happy. His parents were enough. “Yeah? What were you like?” he asks with a small snort. At the question, he smiled proudly. “I’m a barista at the cafe.” He loved his job at the cafe. It was the only job that he’d ever had since he had started working. Growing up he had been taught that he wasn’t going to ever have to work for anything in life, but he didn’t want to live like that. To rely in his parents would leave him depending on them, and it was their responsibility at this point. He could have worked with his father, but he couldn’t handle going to work with him every day. The two disliked each other greatly. “I also write. I’ve never really thought of anything like, school or something.”

tejay doesn’t often share what he was like in the past with others, and he needs a little more liquid courage to share it with wren. he takes up his glass and downs whatever remains of the bourbon he was nursing. “i guess you could say i was rambunctious and a little careless,” he didn’t mean to insult the younger man, it was just the truth he had come to. “i thought i had to be ‘cool’ to be in the spotlight, but really i was just being a prick to everyone in my life. i made friends, but they were never really my friends. i had a lot of hook ups but never something lasting, i thought i had my whole life ahead of me and then i got to this point so fast,” it’s frightening to think about all the time he’s lost through going to school and getting up to this point. it’s scary to think that wren might take even longer to get to independence or success than it took tejay. “at bean there, done that?” tejay asks, wondering if he’s ever been served coffee by wren. “writing is promising, i’m sure there are folks in wellcliff who could give you plenty of inspiration for characters.”

[ofgoldenboys]

thalia.

“oh, so you’re telling me your brain’s one step away from tomato sauce?” she asks, a ghost of a grin forming on her face. she’s just ragging on him, everything a joke as usual. “i dunno if i wanna vote for a city official with sauce for brains, you know.” she snorts, and rolls her eyes, pushing a stray braid out of her face. there’s been many an ex who has been a subject of her set, and to roaring laughter, at that. she’s confident in her abilities. “i try to keep it pretty tame, but if we ended badly, know you’re not safe in the slightest,” she says, with a laugh. but the laugh is quickly cut short by what he says next, and for once, it shifts from light and humorous to something akin to ‘oh fuck, oh shit’. “huh,” she says, slowly, her eyes narrowing. her blood runs cold at the mention of her simple ghost costume. “well– i hate to break it to you, but i’m thinking you might have kids a little sooner than that.”

“most politicians out there already have sauce for brains. it’s because they were thrown around more than me. i promise to keep my sauce brain intact if you vote for me next season,” he laughs along with her, but the laugh and joking about being an ex is put to a halt. he’s looking back down at the little girl and feels the blood rushing to his head. will he pass out? no, maybe, yes. before he has a chance to get out a word, he falls to the sand, his glass falling along with him and spilling into the sand. the black out lasts a moment before he comes back to. he pulls himself off the ground, trying to piece together everything she just said. “you mean... were you...? i...” he is rarely at a loss for words, but he can’t get them to come out. “she’s... she’s mine?” he chokes out, swallowing down his pride, dignity, and any semblance of his reality before this moment.