As he stops and quirks a brow, two things run through your mind.Â
One: this may be the part where you die. Where the doppleganger realizes youâre testing them, and chooses to snuff you out before you can warn anyone. You tense a bit. Wreaths, mistletoes, trees, all kinds of greenery cradles the scene. They may not know how to use Broâs power to its fullest extent, so youâll a few seconds to defend.
Two: that was the most godawful embarrassing thing you have ever said in your entire darned life. Fresh pickle brine? What were you thinking? You almost hope this Bro really is a scary clone, so heâll kill you to end the humiliation.
You werenât bracing for number three.Â
Your hand covers your heart immediately as he starts speaking, and then, from your toes up to your cheeks, laughter glows in you like every one of your freckles is a bulb on a string of holiday lights.
Yeah, thatâs the Bro you know.
You let him nudge you, following along. âGosh, I donât know how you do it,â you laugh, âthat was⌠wow.â You catch the breath you didnât know you were holding and carry on with a skip in your step. Sunshine⌠you can feel your face heat up, but maybe itâs just the cold. You can tell yourself that and be content, at least for now.
âIâm glad youâre having a good time.â Youâre just about beaming now. âMaybe the holiday cheer is good for youâ oh, I should mention, ah,â you tuck a lock of hair behind your ear, âIâm not much of a drinker, but donât let that stop you from having fun.â
holiday cheer? that concept wasnât applicable. youâd spent many holidays on the earth, most of which were alone. when dave came around, you made them ironic. dressed him up as a small elf when he was a baby, said he did a shit job at making toys and made him cry. when he got older, you pretended to be santa himself, did stupid shit for him. but never had you gotten into the spirit or actually felt it. here in this city? life was no different than itâd been in houston. you still worked on films, you still browsed the internet, ate doritos for lunch on the couch, stopped by record shops and picked up beer for late nights spent sewing. nothing had changed, nothing would change.
heâs praising you, laughing and smiling. if thereâs one thing you never experienced, was any sort of idealization made from someone other than dave. he looked up to you, he thought you were strong, he considered you a hero. everyone else figured you were an aloof guy, someone who did his own thing, who didnât need validation- and even though they were right, having the freckled shit note your skills was something. something you couldnât quite put your finger on, however.Â
â whaaaaat? â after initially nudging him, you pace beside his person, pocketing your hands. open posture. not an ordinary day to day thing you held accountable for. â nah, man. peer pressure on the rocker, youâre drinking something tonight. weâre going to get you shit faced. â demanding as it sounded, you held friendliness in the words, a tone that showed expression that while you were serious, he could still say no. â you canât turn down the sparkling vodka. â a small shoulder bump into him, you level your chin forward, listening to the faint sounds of music playing from peopleâs apartments and the like.Â