Post by Seth Dillinger on Mar 19, 2018 17:32:03 GMT -5
They say, expectations are too high
And you’ll never find a guy like that
It’s driving you mad, honey
And you’ll never find a guy like that
It’s driving you mad, honey
"Jesus fucking Christ."
Seth tossed back another old fashioned, sitting at a barstool inside of a dingy dive bar while the NCAA tournament played, showing Xavier going down to FSU.
"Fucking shit. I mean, really, FLORIDA STATE? This really is the darkest timeline."
Seth slid his tumbler glass across the bar, and the bartender caught it as it nearly slid off the side and crashed to the ground. He shot Seth a stern look. Seth grinned back, sheepisly.
"Oops. My bad, man. I'm a little... toasty."
The bartender rolled his eyes.
"Yeah. You having another?"
Seth nodded and put on a cheesy British accent
"Another Old Fashioned, with haste, good sir!"
The bartender groaned and turned back to his duties. Seth shook off his own cringe and his eyes darted back up to the television.
"You know, if all the underdogs win, it doesn't really make being an underdog that special, does it?"
Seth mused out loud to nobody in particular. After a few moments, the bartender finished pouring his drink and turned back to Seth.
"Hey, let me ask you something. Do you, like, understand hashtags?"
"Eh... no. Emojis neither."
"Yeah okay. Look I'm not some luddite. I've got social media, and my house has lights that talk to each other or some shit. I'm just really confused. I saw this guy, Sokolov, and he was talking himself up and shit. And then, get this, he like... ended his big hype up by saying a hashtag. Like, out loud. With his mouth words."
The bartender shrugged.
"I dunno man. I'm behind the times, so I'm not the best person to ask. I'm still trying to figure out why the fuck my house is filled with fidget spinners. The fuck do my kids need so many for?"
Seth chuckled and took another sip of his drink as the bartender moved on to another guest. A blip on his phone caught his attention. It's a text from his sister.
L: Today was his birthday.
Seth just stared down at the phone for a second before typing back a response.
S: ...yeah.
L: I'm thinking about him.
Seth started typing a few times, then stopped. He wrote a few letters, then deleted him. Now, he couldn't stop thinking about him either. His mind wandered back to a happier time.
We're fated to pretend.
The music was entrancing. The lights, dazzling. The colors, electrifying. Seth Dillinger found himself out on the dance floor with about three-hundred other people, dancing in his own unique way and simply not giving a fuck who was looking or what they thought. He was surrounded by his closest friends who felt the same way: Matt, Josh, Courtney, Kyrstin, and Bree. They were just one giant interwoven web of human connection, moving to the music of the club and feeding off each other's presence. This was one of those things for which Seth Dillinger lived. He didn't care he only had about thirty bucks to his name. He was drunk off his ass, looking stylish in his vest and skinny tie, and was going to just keep on partying until the break of dawn. And, by his count, that should only be another three hours. The six of them stayed on the dance floor, unaware that the club crowd was slowly dissipating. They just went on and on and on and on...
And then Seth shot awake, the next morning, losing whatever bit of time and memory the rest of the night had brought.
"Ow, shit, sunlight."
The rays of sun beaming through his window were piercing his eyes like fucking razors, which wasn't making his hangover headache feel any better. He stumbled across the fallen bodies of his friends, who were like rigid corpses on the floor, passed out from living life a bit too well. He tiptoed across the massive sprawl of bodies and made it to the window, pulling the blinds shut. It wasn't until a massive wave of frozen air blasted him that he realized walking around an apartment in Philly in the middle of the winter wearing nothing but boxer-briefs probably wasn't the greatest idea. A shiver ran down his spine and through his body as he rushed to his closet, this time accidentally stepping on the feet of Matt.
"Ouch! What the fuck?"
Matt shot up and blinked a few times, then squinted up at the half-nude Seth, who was also wincing.
"Oh, Matt, my bad man."
Seth opened his closet and began rummaging through his clothes, searching for a pair of pants to wear. After a few moments, he throws his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Man goddammit. All my shit's dirty or in the wash. And I'm freezing my balls off."
Matt scanned the room lazily.
"Where's the stuff you wore last night?"
Seth took a quick glance around the room and shrugged in response.
"Looks like you're shit outta luck then, bro."
Seth smirks at Matt and leaps towards him.
"Not for long."
Seth quickly grabbed Matt's burgundy fuzzy blanket off of Matt and wrapped himself in it. Matt made a half-assed attempt to grab it back, but missed. Seth darted out the door to the bedroom, emerging in the living room of his shitty one bedroom apartment. There wasn't much to see: an old couch and chair, coffee table, ash tray, small television, and a tiny kitchen. It wasn't much, but the six of them loved the place anyway. It was Seth's place, which meant there was a loving, warm environment no matter what time any of them decided to just show up. And every weekend, they'd all go out to the bars and clubs, then come back and pass out in the bedroom together. Of course, the bedroom was more or less a hovel with three cheap mattresses lining the floor. They all just kinda collapsed in a pile, a la Where the Wild Things Are.
Seth plopped down on the couch, still shivering a bit and wrapping himself up tighter in the over-sized blanket. Matt stumbled out of the bedroom door, fumbling around to slip on his jeans. He shuddered and pointed a finger at Seth.
"You asshole. Now I'm the one who is freezing. I can't find my shirt anywhere."
Matt's teeth chattered against each other as the shivers set in.
"Hey, at least you've got pants, man. I can't find my shit."
"Fuck, dude, why do you keep your apartment like an igloo anyway? It's the 21st century, we have heat."
Matt trotted over to the sofa and plops down, crossing his arms over his chest and shivering. He reached for his pack of Parliament Lights on the table and started to light one up, but Seth interrupted.
"Mind if I bum one of those?"
Matt raised an eyebrow at Seth.
"You steal my warmth then want a cigarette! Ehhhh..."
He trails off and rubs his chin in contemplation. Seth sighs and lets some of the slack out of his blanket.
"Fine... you can share the blanket if you give me a cigarette, I'm not gonna leave you hanging."
Seth holds up part of the blanket as a peace offering and Matt shrugs his shoulders.
"Alright... deal."
Matt smirked and grabbed half of the blanket, covering himself up while passing Seth a cigarette. Seth took the cigarette and grabbed a lighter off the coffee table, and not a moment later, the end of his cancer stick was glowing orange. Seth passed the lighter over to Matt.
"Can you pass me the remote?"
"Nothing but requests from you... it's always take take take."
Seth punched Matt in the arm playfully as they both chuckle. Matt tossed Seth the remote, and Seth began mindlessly flipping through the channels.
"Last night was pretty epic!"
Seth nodded.
"Yeah, man, it really was. I mean, I think it was, anyway. I really don't remember much after like... 10PM or so. I did have some weird fuckin' dreams though."
"What was your dream?"
Matt seemed halfway interested in the dream, but mostly had his eyes glued to the rapid shuffling of faces on the TV in front of him.
"I was driving a school bus. And, like, there were really random people on it. Like my high school English teacher, and the whole gang, and President Obama. Then my mom was there sitting in the back. Eating cookies. And the entire bus smelled like tuna fish."
Seth paused to take a drag and reposition himself on the couch to face Matt.
"And we were driving down I-95, right? Except, it was all... destroyed and shit. So I'm trying to drive and avoid these giant craters in the road, when out of nowhere this big fucking flying saucer appears above the road and starts following us, right? The whole damn bus is still reeeeeeking of tuna fish, too, and there's my mom in the back, just chomping away at a bag of cookies."
"They make bags of cookies?"
Seth shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess. So anyway, this UFO thing is just kinda hovering there... and then finally it zaps us with this white bright light. And next thing I know, I'm sitting on the high council from Lord of the Rings and the rest of you guys are nowhere to be found. Except my mom's just there... eating those cookies and not saying much of anything. Lemme tell you, man... it was bizarre."
For a moment, nobody says anything. The hungover silence is interrupted by a piercing chirp, and Seth realizes his phone is ringing. Matt stares over at him.
"What do you think it means?"
Seth shrugged and chuckled.
"Hell if I know, dude. I was just super drunk."
Matt laughed as Seth answered his phone, not recognizing the number.
"Hello? Uhhh yeah, this is Seth... wait, what? That's not what Kim told me... she said-- I mean, nah, not really. I just woke up and I don't think... well, I don't know, then, man. You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess."
The person on the other end of the line babbles on for a few more seconds, and the line goes dead. Seth ends the call and tosses his phone down on the blanket in between him and Matt.
"What was that all about?"
Seth took the last drag off his cigarette and stamped it out in the ashtray.
"Apparently I just lost my job, dude."
Matt winced.
"Ouch... you gonna be okay?"
Seth continued staring at the television and flipping through the channels.
"Yeah. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Certainly not the first time I've been fired."
Matt chuckled.
"Yeah... you do seem to be fond of getting fired."
Seth forced a laugh, but Matt could tell he was actually bothered. Matt quickly pivoted.
"You know what? I have a Congrats on Your New Career Change present for you."
Matt reached under the coffee table and pulls out a box. He flipped open the box, showing off a bag of weed and little glass bowl.
"Fuck this hangover, man, wanna get high and take a mid-morning nap?"
A wide grin grew across Seth's face as he nodded.
"You bet your ass I do."
====
Feb 2010
====
Forget about our lovers and our friends. Feb 2010
====
We're fated to pretend.
The music was entrancing. The lights, dazzling. The colors, electrifying. Seth Dillinger found himself out on the dance floor with about three-hundred other people, dancing in his own unique way and simply not giving a fuck who was looking or what they thought. He was surrounded by his closest friends who felt the same way: Matt, Josh, Courtney, Kyrstin, and Bree. They were just one giant interwoven web of human connection, moving to the music of the club and feeding off each other's presence. This was one of those things for which Seth Dillinger lived. He didn't care he only had about thirty bucks to his name. He was drunk off his ass, looking stylish in his vest and skinny tie, and was going to just keep on partying until the break of dawn. And, by his count, that should only be another three hours. The six of them stayed on the dance floor, unaware that the club crowd was slowly dissipating. They just went on and on and on and on...
And then Seth shot awake, the next morning, losing whatever bit of time and memory the rest of the night had brought.
"Ow, shit, sunlight."
The rays of sun beaming through his window were piercing his eyes like fucking razors, which wasn't making his hangover headache feel any better. He stumbled across the fallen bodies of his friends, who were like rigid corpses on the floor, passed out from living life a bit too well. He tiptoed across the massive sprawl of bodies and made it to the window, pulling the blinds shut. It wasn't until a massive wave of frozen air blasted him that he realized walking around an apartment in Philly in the middle of the winter wearing nothing but boxer-briefs probably wasn't the greatest idea. A shiver ran down his spine and through his body as he rushed to his closet, this time accidentally stepping on the feet of Matt.
"Ouch! What the fuck?"
Matt shot up and blinked a few times, then squinted up at the half-nude Seth, who was also wincing.
"Oh, Matt, my bad man."
Seth opened his closet and began rummaging through his clothes, searching for a pair of pants to wear. After a few moments, he throws his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Man goddammit. All my shit's dirty or in the wash. And I'm freezing my balls off."
Matt scanned the room lazily.
"Where's the stuff you wore last night?"
Seth took a quick glance around the room and shrugged in response.
"Looks like you're shit outta luck then, bro."
Seth smirks at Matt and leaps towards him.
"Not for long."
Seth quickly grabbed Matt's burgundy fuzzy blanket off of Matt and wrapped himself in it. Matt made a half-assed attempt to grab it back, but missed. Seth darted out the door to the bedroom, emerging in the living room of his shitty one bedroom apartment. There wasn't much to see: an old couch and chair, coffee table, ash tray, small television, and a tiny kitchen. It wasn't much, but the six of them loved the place anyway. It was Seth's place, which meant there was a loving, warm environment no matter what time any of them decided to just show up. And every weekend, they'd all go out to the bars and clubs, then come back and pass out in the bedroom together. Of course, the bedroom was more or less a hovel with three cheap mattresses lining the floor. They all just kinda collapsed in a pile, a la Where the Wild Things Are.
Seth plopped down on the couch, still shivering a bit and wrapping himself up tighter in the over-sized blanket. Matt stumbled out of the bedroom door, fumbling around to slip on his jeans. He shuddered and pointed a finger at Seth.
"You asshole. Now I'm the one who is freezing. I can't find my shirt anywhere."
Matt's teeth chattered against each other as the shivers set in.
"Hey, at least you've got pants, man. I can't find my shit."
"Fuck, dude, why do you keep your apartment like an igloo anyway? It's the 21st century, we have heat."
Matt trotted over to the sofa and plops down, crossing his arms over his chest and shivering. He reached for his pack of Parliament Lights on the table and started to light one up, but Seth interrupted.
"Mind if I bum one of those?"
Matt raised an eyebrow at Seth.
"You steal my warmth then want a cigarette! Ehhhh..."
He trails off and rubs his chin in contemplation. Seth sighs and lets some of the slack out of his blanket.
"Fine... you can share the blanket if you give me a cigarette, I'm not gonna leave you hanging."
Seth holds up part of the blanket as a peace offering and Matt shrugs his shoulders.
"Alright... deal."
Matt smirked and grabbed half of the blanket, covering himself up while passing Seth a cigarette. Seth took the cigarette and grabbed a lighter off the coffee table, and not a moment later, the end of his cancer stick was glowing orange. Seth passed the lighter over to Matt.
"Can you pass me the remote?"
"Nothing but requests from you... it's always take take take."
Seth punched Matt in the arm playfully as they both chuckle. Matt tossed Seth the remote, and Seth began mindlessly flipping through the channels.
"Last night was pretty epic!"
Seth nodded.
"Yeah, man, it really was. I mean, I think it was, anyway. I really don't remember much after like... 10PM or so. I did have some weird fuckin' dreams though."
"What was your dream?"
Matt seemed halfway interested in the dream, but mostly had his eyes glued to the rapid shuffling of faces on the TV in front of him.
"I was driving a school bus. And, like, there were really random people on it. Like my high school English teacher, and the whole gang, and President Obama. Then my mom was there sitting in the back. Eating cookies. And the entire bus smelled like tuna fish."
Seth paused to take a drag and reposition himself on the couch to face Matt.
"And we were driving down I-95, right? Except, it was all... destroyed and shit. So I'm trying to drive and avoid these giant craters in the road, when out of nowhere this big fucking flying saucer appears above the road and starts following us, right? The whole damn bus is still reeeeeeking of tuna fish, too, and there's my mom in the back, just chomping away at a bag of cookies."
"They make bags of cookies?"
Seth shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess. So anyway, this UFO thing is just kinda hovering there... and then finally it zaps us with this white bright light. And next thing I know, I'm sitting on the high council from Lord of the Rings and the rest of you guys are nowhere to be found. Except my mom's just there... eating those cookies and not saying much of anything. Lemme tell you, man... it was bizarre."
For a moment, nobody says anything. The hungover silence is interrupted by a piercing chirp, and Seth realizes his phone is ringing. Matt stares over at him.
"What do you think it means?"
Seth shrugged and chuckled.
"Hell if I know, dude. I was just super drunk."
Matt laughed as Seth answered his phone, not recognizing the number.
"Hello? Uhhh yeah, this is Seth... wait, what? That's not what Kim told me... she said-- I mean, nah, not really. I just woke up and I don't think... well, I don't know, then, man. You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess."
The person on the other end of the line babbles on for a few more seconds, and the line goes dead. Seth ends the call and tosses his phone down on the blanket in between him and Matt.
"What was that all about?"
Seth took the last drag off his cigarette and stamped it out in the ashtray.
"Apparently I just lost my job, dude."
Matt winced.
"Ouch... you gonna be okay?"
Seth continued staring at the television and flipping through the channels.
"Yeah. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Certainly not the first time I've been fired."
Matt chuckled.
"Yeah... you do seem to be fond of getting fired."
Seth forced a laugh, but Matt could tell he was actually bothered. Matt quickly pivoted.
"You know what? I have a Congrats on Your New Career Change present for you."
Matt reached under the coffee table and pulls out a box. He flipped open the box, showing off a bag of weed and little glass bowl.
"Fuck this hangover, man, wanna get high and take a mid-morning nap?"
A wide grin grew across Seth's face as he nodded.
"You bet your ass I do."
====
Present Day
====
Present Day
====
"...I said, you want another?"
Seth realized he had been spacing out. No idea for how long.
"Uh... nah, I'm good. Actually, can I get the check?"
The bartender nodded and walked over to the register. Seth turned his attention back to the phone, staring at Lauren's last text.
Seth realized he had been spacing out. No idea for how long.
"Uh... nah, I'm good. Actually, can I get the check?"
The bartender nodded and walked over to the register. Seth turned his attention back to the phone, staring at Lauren's last text.
S: Yeah. Shit's rough. Can't let it get to me. Gotta stay focused.
L: Okay. Just wanted to let you know I'm here if you need me.
Seth was caught off-guard. Last time he saw his sister, she had not left a very positive impression.
S: Oh, well. Thanks. I'm good. Just focused on my debut match.
L: Good luck. If you bring even 1/10 of the shit you made me deal with growing up, they don't stand a chance.