The Tales of Vast

Chapter Four: People Are Crazy September 27th, 2022

            It had been four days since Spixter showed up for the first time, and since then, he showed up every morning, at 6:30. Rory always had almost the exact same conversation those past few days: Spixter flirted aggressively, Rory yelled at him while trying to remain cool and collected, and Spixter teased him about whatever he could. "Pshh, asthma, really? Even your own lungs hate you." "Grey hair already, tsk tsk, you'll be bald before you know it." "Why is such a pretty boy like you not dating anyone? You really are pathetic aren't you." Hopeless. That was Spixter's favorite word so far, it seemed. He'd laugh his little head off, taunting Rory about how purely and truly hopeless he was. Spixter had a lot of talk, for someone who had been stealing food from him. For someone who had never even been in this town for long- as far as Rory was concerned, at least. 

           It wasn't so bad. Rory told his dad about it and all Rei said was, "If he has to steal food from us, you have no right to stop him. He obviously needs it more than we do, and it isn't like we don't have the money to go buy more. Let that be a lesson to you, Rio. Never judge a person without understanding their story first." He didn't seem phased by it, yet at the same time, he obviously didn't seem to know who Spixter was, either, which hit Rory's radar as "concerning". Rory's dad was too nice of a man, Rory had decided.

              So there Rory was, watering his garden while Spixter gathered goods, whining about how the plants hadn't regrown all the food he had previously plucked. Rory watched as he played with the strawberries' leaves, seemingly pruning some dead ones and dropping them on the dirt.

           "Look- You can take what you want, but leave some of those strawberries," Rory muttered, watering his bean plants with care. Spixter looked up, before rolling his eyes.

          "Aww, does the whiny baby like stwabewwies? Is that what would make him stop pouting so much; I just leave his bewwies alone?" Spixter mocked Rory's voice, causing Rory to pout further. This man talked an awful lot for someone who was entirely an outsider. 

             "Well, if you need to know, I'm very much allergic to them. But, they're my dad's favorite." Rory responded, rolling his own eyes so hard, it hurt. Spixter's eyes lit up, and Rory could see the mischief flicker in his eyes. "Ohhh so the baby's allergic to berries? Seriously? What, do they make you die or something? How do you go about your day like that; acting all strong and tough, when deep down, a single berry could end your life." He laughed so loudly, so mockingly, that Rory winced.

               "Oh, shut up. I just can't eat or pick them, I won't die- I don't think. My dad loves them though, so I grow them just for him- Hell, why am I even telling you this. I'm only giving you more leverage, aren't I?" Rory hissed, as Spixter waved a strawberry awfully close to the gray-haired boy, causing him to take a step back. Spixter laughed loudly again. It's a strange laugh; like he's audibly saying, 'Hah hah hah". It's positively dreadful.

             "Relax, I won't go killing you with your arch nemesis, Mr. Berry, anytime soon. Look, if it makes you feel any better, or whatever, I'll pick them all when they're ripe, and put them on the table over there. For your father, of course." He smiled, but it's a much different smile than the one Rory was used to. It's almost- Genuine. Disgustingly genuine.

                 Rory's eyes widened, despite it. "Earth to moron, are you there, Lieutenant Idiot? Since when have you started thinking of others?" He asked grinning as Spixter pushed him back with his knuckles, before standing up to rub his hands free of the pink residue the fruit left behind.

              "Since I don't have anything bad against your father. After all, I saw him this morning as he left for work." He responded, shoving Rory out of the way with his palm, as he dragged a half-empty watering can towards the tomatoes, which seemed to be doing slightly better, given that the weather warmed up briefly, before dropping just the night before.

            "Really? My father?" Rory asked, following Spixter with the hose, as he began to water the flowers.

            "Yes, Rory, your father. Unless there's another man who looks almost identical to you living in this town. Another super good-looking guy- Mm, somethin' about his 5 O'clock shadow and those pretty, golden eyes." He shook his head, a pleasant smile playing on his lips- One that was definitely teasing, Rory could tell by the way he started to chuckle with mischief. Rory shuddered regardless, joke or not. The way he raised his brows suggested that he was teasing, but Rory wouldn't put it past him.

           "You are disgusting. He's twice your age- is that why you're so nice to him? Because you have a crush on my dad, you pervert?" Rory teased back bitterly, looking Spixter up and down, slowly smiling, (He'd hate for Spixter to take him seriously, especially since Rory figured that was the meansest thing he had officially ever said to anyone in his life). Somehow, in the few days he had known the pink-haired guy, he had managed to warm up enough to say things like that to him, knowing what did and didn't offend him. Don't get him wrong, Rory hates Spixter, but it had grown to become more of a Love-to-Hate friendship.

             Spixter was one of those friends you kept away from your other partners, in fear that they'd contaminate them. He mentioned him to his father, sure, but that was as far as that would go. Needless to say, Spixter certainly hadn't met Iyo yet- at least not under Rory's accord. 

           "Of course not, moron. Your dad's just a nice guy. He sure treats me better than you do- 'friends', the hell we are. You're damn lucky you got his looks. Without them, you'd truly be hopeless." He shook his head, before pulling Rory's hat over his eyes. When Rory pulled his hat back up, Spixter was already walking away, dropping the watering can to the ground, and taking the hose from Rory, to begin refilling it.

            "So, you admit to having a crush on me at least then. Good to know. I hope you know I don't like guys." Rory huffed, walking away to turn the hose off before the can could get too full. He could hear Spixter start to laugh that stupid laugh again. "You are so full of yourself, it's adorable! I said you were good-looking. I think lots of people are good-looking, but that doesn't mean I want to date any of them. Plus, it's awful bold of you to assume I'm a guy, in this economy, isn't it?"

            He wagged his eyebrows playfully as if to imply something, but Rory shrugged it off. "You are a guy, aren't you?" Rory asked, only to have Spixter smirk. "Sometimes. I'd explain, but you seem like the type of guy who thinks people only fit into two categories: Girls or boys, and straight or gay." He responded, and it was hard for Rory to tell if he was being called either homophobic or stupid. He wasn't either, obviously; His best friend liked guys, but then again, Iyo also liked girls, too, he thought. People were too confusing for him to comprehend.

            "Yes?" Rory asked, but it was a genuine question. His father didn't necessarily raise him to think so, and Rory was aware that some people could change their gender if their own self-hatred became too much to bear or something. But his father did raise him that "No matter what you think of others, it isn't any of your business what they do, and you don't have the right to judge them."

           Spixter looked back at him, studying the gray-haired boy's expression. "No, but it's fine that you think that. In case you wanted to know, I'm a little somethin' called 'gender-fluid'. I use she/her and he/him. You better watch yourself making accusations like that." He laughed a little, but Rory couldn't help but cock his head in confusion. Rory never understood why people used terms for who they were. He personally enjoyed it when people referred to him, whilst in conversation, as 'they/them'. It always made him feel giddy; feel right.

             When people put terms behind their identity, and who they are, it always felt funny. Like if you were to introduce a friend and say, "Hi, this is my friend Iyo, who is a human, by the way."

              So, to hide his confusion, he responded simply with, "Ah. I see."

         Even though he didn't.

   Sometimes it was best to just let things be.