Roddy frowned at Dan's insistence. "Y'know, he's right. You're gonna start a habit sooner or later and I don't want to lose my best friend to a drinking problem." He chastised, folding his arms over his chest. He didn't like Dan's drinking, never did. It made him feel weird. Mostly because the alcohol affected Dan's brain and therefore his imagination, making him more susceptible to warping Roddy's existence.
(Grizzly is a form of tobacco)
"I already got a 'habit'," Dan muttered in response, only a bit of snark in his voice, as they walked out the door and back to the car with a frown. It wasn't like his parents cared, heck, it wasn't like he cared. He could handle tobacco, so there was no reason not to. Dan had handled much worse, and he was almost eighteen anyways. He could make his own decisions and face his own consequences.
(Oh, whoops 😅
Ah well, has the same effect)
"That doesn't change my point, Dan. It's a bad habit for you to have and I don't like how it makes you act. It changes you, makes me feel weird." He huffed, a bit agitated now. "The last thing you need going into life, especially while looking for a girlfriend, is a tobacco addiction. With bad breath and a stained yellow smile, it'll be gross."
Dan made a screwy face at Roddy, teeth barred playfully as he slipped into the car. "Do you honestly think I'll make it to that point in life where I would face the retributions?" He asked, only half joking while he put the car into gear and started on the way home. "I mean for all we know, I could crash this car and die within the next minute." Dan pointed out, gently turning the wheel back and forth to weave in the lane for emphasis. Daniel had thought about it before, what it would be like to die in a car crash. It could be fast and painless and getting smashed by a semi, or it could be bleeding out waiting for someone to come find him in a ditch. He supposed it didn't matter, it would be out of his control anyways.
Roddy groaned but smiled a little. "You get what I mean though. It's a bad habit and I don't like what it does to you." More accurately, he didn't like what it did to himself. With Dan's grip on reality loosened, Roddy's became shaky. He became stressed, panicked, felt like his world was caving in. And in reality, if Dan truly wanted to get rid of him, he could use tobacco or alcohol until his reality was so warped that Roddy couldn't exist. No guarantees he wouldn't come back when his mind returned but he could disappear for a while.
(This is such a fun concept to think about. Someone who is completely inside someone's mind and how their creators actions affect their existence)
(Right? It really shows a new light how a person's actions can affect the people around them)
"M'kay," Dan said softly with a shrug, "I'll keep that in mind, Roddy." He would keep it in mind- the very far back of his mind when he would buy another next time Johnny was feeling lenient. Dan's head was already messed up enough as it was, it was so very clear as he was talking to nothing, so what more would a bit of drugs do? Especially when he already worked hard enough at school, and he didn't have many things to pass the time in the big empty house he had to call home.
(Ooo, we should do that sometime. Just have Dan just get 12 kinds of screwed up at a party or something and then realize that Roddy's gone and panic)
Roddy fell quiet, just sighing with a shake of his head. He readjusted his brown jacket, wrapping it tighter around himself. "Is it just me or is it kinda cold in here?" He shivered, rubbing his arms and trying to get some warmth back into them.
(I may or may not have something along those lines planned 😂)
"It’s just you," Dan said softly, humor twinkling lightly back into his voice, and turned the car heat on low nonetheless. Despite how he wouldn't really listen to his imaginary friend about drugs, he couldn't stop the soft part of his heart that cared about the string of his imagination sitting beside him in the car.
(Oh I love when evil thoughts come together)
Roddy hummed in appreciation with a smile, settling back in his seat and letting the warmth hit him. He was always cold, as figments of the imagination have no body temperature to keep consistent. He was basically cold blooded, it's why he was always dressed in so many layers.
Dan pulled into the driveway of his parents' house. They had a fountain of a small angel, more like a cupid rather than a realistic angel, with its hands held out as if to receive some grace from God. The water pump for it broke years ago and his parents never bothered to fix it. The house was huge, putting the family's wealth on full display. White siding with deep black trim, windows galore, and two large wooden doors that looked more out of a fairytale rather than a modern house. "Home sweet hell," Daniel muttered before turning off the car, grabbing his bags of snacks and his backpack, and made his way for the house.
Roddy rolled his eyes and followed Dan up to the house, fixing his glasses as he did. "Oh come on, don't be like that. It can't be that bad when you've got me, right?" He chuckled, flashing a bright smile. "Besides, now you can ask Anna more about the party. And get that reading done but I've got a feeling I'm going to be doing it more than you."
The bright smile… Dan replied to it with a shrug, even if it did nudge him away from the foul mood that crept up on him. "I suppose," Daniel said with a sigh, shaking his head as a smile snuck onto his own face and he unlocked the front door. He made his way into the home absent of sentimental value and went straight to his room. There was a couple of scuffs and breaks on the drywall, one suspiciously punch-sized shape whole in the wall just outside his room. Dan shouldered his door open and chucked his things onto his bed.
The room was fairly barren, the most notable items being a couple of faded posters of small artists and bands on the walls, a binder full of pokemon cards collecting dust on his desk, and a TV hung on the wall. Daniel plopped himself down on his bed, grabbed an energy drink and pulled out his phone. As expected, there was a text from Anna with her address, time of the party, and a bring your own beer message. Dan tossed a glance to Roddy, "Should I respond to this or just go to the party Saturday?"
Roddy hopped up onto Dan's desk, resting his feet on the rolling chair in front of it like he usually did. "Answer it! Start a conversation! Do you know how awkward it is to show up to a party expecting to flirt with a girl that you've never spoken to before in a friendly way beforehand? Don't be that guy, nobody likes that guy."
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Flirt? How the heck am I supposed to flirt?" Heck, Dan wasn't even sure he knew what flirting was. Not that he wanted to flirt with Anna, she was nice, but Dan could not go from zero to a hundred that fast. He could hardly go from zero to twenty-five. The only person he ever actually felt comfortable talking to -not just a 'hi, let's get this group project done' type of conversation- was Roddy. Every other conversation was stiff and awkward, Daniel was much more of a listener than a talker, and it felt like everyone expected him to fill in the uncomfortable silences.
Roddy groaned, his head falling back as he did. "Dan come on. You cannot possibly be this helpless when it comes to talking to girls. How are you ever supposed to get a girlfriend when I'm the only one you ever talk to." He raised an eyebrow at Daniel with a dead stare.
"I don't know," Dan said, flopping back onto his bed. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to say to this," he lifted his phone, "Thanks for the invite? I can't wait? How is she supposed to respond to that, what if I just kill the conversation?" Daniel's eyes flickered to Roddy. He was helpless when it came to social situations, that much was very clear.
"Just ask what kind of beer everyone else is bringing. Don't want there to be doubles, right? So ask a question that actually needs answers and strike up a conversation from there."
Dan hummed in thought and agreement of the suggestion before typing out his response and hitting send. "Roddy…" Dan murmured, his eyes finding his imaginary friend. Dan wasn't sure how the party would go, and with Roddy there… He closed his eyes, shaking his head. He could deal with that later. "I don't know what I do without being able to talk with you."
"You'd be very lonely and much more socially inept." Roddy laughed, jumping down from his spot on the desk to sit backwards in the chair instead. "Besides, you enjoy my company, don't you?"
"I do. Most of the time," Dan told him with a small laugh, but his eyes went back to his phone when his felt the small buzz notification. The text from Anna. We just got a bunch of cheap crap, anything strong would be good.
Dan didn't hesitate for long before responding. Drugs too or just alcohol?
Only a few seconds before the next response from Anna. Bring whatever you got. My parents are gone so we can go wild.
Awesome, can't wait. Will there be music too, or games?
Anna once again responded quickly. Yeah, all the good stuff. I know there's already some people planning college pool and beer pong. You'll have to join me for a game of strip poker ;)
Dan paused at that texted, unsure of how he felt by that and unsure how to respond. "Roddy? I don't know how to respond again," Dan said softly, chewing on his lower lip before grabbing a bag of chips to focus on instead.
He leaned over to read the message and threw his head back with a groan. "Danny, come on. You can't possibly be this useless. She's trying to flirt! Just play along! Something like, I don't know, don't threaten me with a good time. Something like that!"
Dan's face, usually so serious and unexpressive, turned a shade of red as he flushed. Rather than open his mouth an get tongue tied, he quickly responded as instructed. Just after he hit send, he paused once again. "But- what if she actually wants to play strip poker with me?" He asked, as if that possibility hadn't been real until now, as he grabbed a handful of chips and stuffing them in his face.
(Also want to jump to the party?)