Evergreen

[Kotorikun]

Declyn couldn’t help but muse over how, sort of, adorable Adonis’ suggestions were. A heart with an arrow through it? Very generic but hey, some people liked it and he wasn’t one to judge others’ tastes. Same with names, which were a more risky matter because fact is a lot of them get covered up at one point for one reason or another, though number one being a break-up. “So, no Emmett tattoo?” He flashed Adonis a rather cheeky but playful smile. They had talked about this but their relationship was a rather interesting one which seemed to be working out well.

Good for them.

Next thing he noticed was that Axel was standing.... really close to him on his left. And he didn’t mind one bit. His eyes wandered over to glance at Axel’s expression but he seemed focused on Lorenzo. Declyn didn’t want to stare too much so he looked down quickly, moving his shoulder bag a little bit more to the back so it wouldn’t be in the way. “If it’s going to be skulls and the like—,” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I saw a couple of cool designs the other day.” Declyn checked the time first, then swiped a couple of Discord notifications out of the way with his thumb (he'd have time for them later and it probably wasn't important), as well as a message from his dad. From the small preview window, it looked like he was asking if Declyn was going to have dinner at home.

The answer was no but he didn't reply right away.

Swipe up, swipe right — why was it so hard to find the gallery app when needed? — oh, there it was.

Declyn had long decided that he wanted to get a tattoo, so whenever he stumbled upon an image that inspired him in some way, he tended to save it. He didn’t want to rip them off and would let the tattoo artist of his choice design something for him, but it was nice having some ideas. To him, an important or deep philosophical meaning was not a necessity, but simply a nice plus. Finding it aesthetically pleasing was good enough.

“Something like this would suit you.” He tilted his phone to show it to Lorenzo while making sure the others could see it too. Well, skeletons with flowers around them wasn't the most original thing either but this was a different take on it. After a couple of seconds, Declyn tapped the screen to show another one. He'd show more but that's not what they were here for.

"Axel." Declyn said his name to get his attention, then pointed at his own neck with his free hand. "Did it hurt?"

The answer seemed almost obvious, but Declyn was still curious.

[Fenris]

Maybe it was just because he wasn't used to seeing Lorenzo outside of certain, very specific circumstances, but he was kinda surprised by the ease he had in this situation. Dealing gracefully with a whole group of people, including one he clearly didn't know very well—okay, maybe gracefully was the wrong word, but he sure was doing it with an ease Axel himself was totally incapable of. He was good one-on-one, or with people he already liked, or intoxicated, but situations like this one pretty transparently left him spinning his wheels. He thought it was pretty transparent, anyway, though he had no idea how stupid the other boys actually thought he looked right now. Seemed safe to assume pretty stupid. He watched Lorenzo's face scrunch a bit as he thought, and he tried to hide his face a bit, and, hey, was he finally embarrassed? Like, at least a little? That was a win, sort of. And also pretty cute.

And then Lorenzo turned it right again and made the heat rise to his face again and Jesus, did he do this on purpose? Would he get arrested if he punched him? Lorenzo would probably just see it as foreplay, all things considered. Fucking hell. Whatever, though. He was on edge, still, but he was starting to get over it. There was no one here who was gonna say shit about it. Just the four of them.

He listened idly to Adonis's ideas, dismissing them internally as trite while retaining just enough self-awareness to not actually be a douchebag and say that out loud, and glanced over at Declyn for his response. And, oh hey, apparently he'd been putting some serious thought into this? The pictures he had handy still weren't, like, the most original things in the world, but neither was a fucking chain tattoo, so where was he getting off judging? The skull/rose thing was pretty sick, actually. Not really his style, but Hel would probably like it. Declyn turned his attention back to Axel, and Axel's hand moved straight back to his neck, reflexively, remembering. It hadn't been all that long ago he'd gotten the tat and honestly, the memory was at least half the reason he hadn't gone to get another yet.

"Yeah. Guy I went to was pretty reluctant to give it to me, since it was my first and all—" this was just sounding like an innuendo wasn't it "—and I kinda had to convince him that I was like, super sure, it was really meaningful to me, yes I wanted it to be on my neck, blah blah. Was actually the second shop I went to, first place straight up refused. But he warned me it would hurt like hell, and I was like, whatever? Got decent pain tolerance an' all. And then it hurt like hell. Wasn't lyin'." He shrugged. "That's just cause it was on my neck, though. Don't let it discourage you. Just don't be a stubborn motherfucker like me and you'll be fine."

He scratched the back of his neck as he turned to look at the chains again. They were... pricey, but not that pricey. He'd have to pull a bit out of his prom fund to buy one, which he'd rather not do, but he could afford one. Felt like kind of a narcissistic gift, giving Hel something to match him, but he was pretty sure they'd go for it. He glanced back over at Lorenzo. He'd said he knew one of the jewelers here, yeah? Could get him a discount? That'd be a big help. That'd also mean he'd owe him one, and he'd be real, real surprised if he didn't already know what he'd be asking for in return. But there was still no one was in the store besides the four of them and the staff, and if he could fluster Lorenzo back for even a second that would be hella worth it.

"Oi, Lorenzo." He raised an eyebrow. "Swing me a discount on this silver chain here." He paused for half a second before his mouth cracked into a cocky grin.

"I'll make it worth your while."

Subtlety? He didn't know her.

[Tonyksin]

Watching Axel squirm as all the eyes in the group turned on him was pretty enjoyable, to say the least. Axel’s face red with embarrassment was one image that Lorenzo would have to save to memory, because it was absolutely the cutest thing he’d ever seen out of the ruby-haired boy. Lorenzo turned his attention back to Adonis as the brunette rattled off some suggestions as to what kind of tattoos may suit him. Honestly, none of his suggestions were remotely in the realm of what Lorenzo would consider as a first tattoo, but he appreciated the input all the same. Adonis then warned him not to get a tattoo of the name of someone he was dating, and Lorenzo chuckled a bit at that. There was no chance of that happening, even if he did decide to date someone one day. The sheer idea of getting someone’s name permanently placed on his body made a chill run up Lorenzo’s spine, it was that alien to him. Declyn teased Adonis about his own relationship, and Lorenzo recognised the name of Adonis’ boyfriend vaguely. Declyn then also offered some input as to what kinds of tattoos he thought would suit Lorenzo, with pictures to boot. Lorenzo smiled warmly at the pastel-haired teen, but kept his thoughts to himself. Not that the designs were particularly bad, per se, but they really didn’t fit his idea of something he’d want to get on his body. He couldn’t bring himself to say that to the adorably innocent looking boy holding out his phone to him, however.

“Hmm… I dunno, those are pretty cool, but i still have to do some real thinking before i decide what my first one’s gonna be.” He smiled brightly at Declyn and winked.

Declyn then turned to Axel and inquired about how bad the pain was when he got his neck done. Lorenzo was surprised to hear a pretty honest and thoughtful response from Axel. The two rarely got a chance to interact in a sober light, so seeing this side of Axel was pretty new to him. Lorenzo had to admit, Axel was pretty damn cute when he was sober and talking about things he liked. He wanted to see expressions like this one on Axel’s face more often. There was something about it that was purer than most of the times he looked at the other boy. Like he was seeing the real Axel for the first time. He kind of liked it. Lorenzo was pulled out of his thoughts again when Axel called out to him. Lorenzo locked eyes with the boy and the cocky smirk on Axel’s face made that little problem he still hadn’t taken care of from earlier come soaring back to the forefront of his mind, and made his jeans feel just a little bit tighter. He’ll make it worth his while, huh? Lorenzo licked his lips and grinned back at the other boy as he stepped in closer. He leaned in close and reached past Axel to grab the chain off of it’s hanging display, but paused as their faces were close enough to almost touch.

“Wasn’t that the plan from the beginning? But hey, I'll gladly collect on the prize you’re offering for giving you a hand.” As he said the word hand he discreetly hooked a finger in the belt loop of Axel’s jeans and tugged at it lightly. As quickly as he did it he released his finger from the loop and leaned back with the chain in hand. He directed his next comment to his fellow green-haired teen, but kept his eyes locked with Axel’s and his smirk plastered on his face. “Declyn, have you found anything that tickles your fancy? I wanted to try to get you a discount as well.” Finally, Lorenzo broke eye contact with Axel and turned his full attention to Declyn. “You said it’s for your dad’s girlfriend right? Want to see if maybe my lady here can help you find something that fits?”

[Primrosette]

Geez, Lorenzo! Could you make it any more obvious that you want to put it in Axel's butt?

Adonis shook his head at the sexual thought that had just gone through his head. Then he couldn't help but laugh a little at the scene that had unfolded in front of him and he felt like he was in dangerous grounds. But he was really okay if Lorenzo and Axel had some unfinished business with each other and he was hoping that they would sort out whatever it was that was going on between the both of them. Now all he really wanted to wonder about was....

Declyn....

He glanced at the boy beside him and he was about to say something flirty. But he stopped when he noticed a necklace that caught his eye and he moved around Declyn to pick it up. It was a silver necklace that was shiny and it had a clear green stone in the middle of it. It looked like a woman's necklace and he wondered if Declyn would like it for the lady. If not, he was going to buy it to have for him.... Because why not?

He stepped in front of Declyn and made sure that he was facing him, putting the necklace around his own neck. "Hey, Declyn~~" He whispered in a soft, sexy voice and he gave the other boy a flirty wink. "Do I look pretty?~"

[Kotorikun]

Was no one thinking of the children? Anyone? Then again, this was not Claire’s, so a little flirting and very subtle PDA should be fine? Though Declyn didn’t really want to go down that route with the jewelers around them.

He had never been a jewelry person, but he appreciated it on other people (a lot). Just not on himself. It included piercings, but again, someone like Axel or Lorenzo pulled it off perfectly. Zen had crossed his mind as well, along with Cecil. Declyn had never bothered to count the amount of ear piercings he has but now he eagerly scribbled it on his imaginary list of things to do.

He gazed at Lorenzo when he asked whether or not he had found anything, while he noticed that Adonis moved around him, which made him shift his weight to one side to give him more room. “I’ll take anything that goes best with black hair at this point--”

Then, his field of view was cut off by Adonis who came back with some loot and very Adonis-like expressions that brought a laugh out of Declyn.

Alright, a fair question.

“Pretty and.... absolutely irresistible.” He teased, touching the green stone around his neck. He offered a happy grin when their eyes met before Adonis handed it to him.

“Honestly, I’m not sure if she’ll like it. We’re not close. She and my dad, they’ve been together for—” He tried to do the math but his headache was still present. It did feel like it had gotten better though. “—a year and a half now? She moved in at some point and now I'm basically living with my great aunt.” His fingers moved along the chain of the necklace. “But I’m not here to find the perfect gift because it would take forever. And that is not how I want to spend my life.” He was now holding it in front of him with two hands, letting it dangle. This time Axel was in his focus as he imagined the necklace being around his neck since his hair length matched the one of his dad’s girlfriend.

“Is it really okay to ask her for more discounts?”

[Fenris]

... Okay, so, noted: trying to beat Lorenzo at his own game was a stupid fucking idea. Which maybe he should have known, he definitely should have known, but hey, he took a risk and now he had to own it. Or he could do what he actually did, which was take a big, obvious step back and very nearly crash into a rack of bracelets that probably cost more than his house. Luckily Lorenzo's attention seemed to have shifted, so it wasn't quite as hideously embarrassing as it might have been. But like, still pretty fucking embarrassing.

Not that Axel was taking back the implied offer, but Jesus, this was like, sort of in public?

Anyway. Moving past it. He slid the silver chain that had piqued his interest to begin with off the rack, giving it a quick once-over. His tattoo was a thick, heavy chain; the necklace in his hand was delicate by comparison but still surprisingly sturdy, like a shrunken down version of his ink. Made of real silver, too, which shot the price up into the "uncomfortable but affordable" range but definitely made for a more impressive present. He hadn't gotten Hel anything actually, like, legit before. Fuck, he'd been planning on a gag gift like half an hour ago, and here he was being serious. Was this too boyfriend-y? It was probably too boyfriend-y. Kara would see it and ask about it and either Hel would lie about it (and they were kind of a shitty liar, at least to her) or tell the truth and deal with the resulting shitfit. This was probably a bad idea.

Being a bad idea had never stopped him from doing something before, though. He wrapped it around his wrist so he wouldn't drop it and like, scratch the metal or whatever.

Man, the sexual tension in this jewelry store could be cut with a knife right about now, which was such a weirdly specific anime-ass sentence that even thinking it felt weird. But it was pretty difficult to ignore the eyes Adonis was making at Declyn, and he was flirting back, and didn't have Adonis have a boyfriend?, but like, he was literally buying a grossly romantic gift for a friend that definitely had a girlfriend, so pot, kettle, etc. Whatever. Let the boys have fun. He glanced back over at Declyn as he posed a question and shrugged in response.

"Hey, if Lorenzo says it's fine, it's fine. They probably make bank off of rich fucks anyway, the rest of us deserve something nice every once and a while."

He looked at the necklace in Declyn's hand and grinned. "Sure you don't want that one for yourself? Matches your hair. It'd look good."

[Tonyksin]

Lorenzo grinned at Declyn, waiting for a response. Before Declyn had a chance however, Adonis appeared from behind him to offer a suggestion for what he should buy, as well as do some heavy-handed flirting of his own. Lorenzo’s grin widened at the sight. It was cute, he couldn’t deny it. The sexuality of this group was rising by the second it seemed. Was that potentially his fault? Maybe, but hey, what was a guy supposed to do when he found himself surrounded by attractive boys? Lorenzo wasn't one to let an opportunity to push the buttons of guys like these pass him by. No sir, he relished in his own ability to take people out of their comfort zones and push their boundaries. It didn’t have to mean anything, it was just a fun game to play. A game where only he knew all the rules, and he could make anyone play. Did that make him a bit of a bastard? Perhaps. Even so, it was all meant in good fun, it wasn't like he was out here trying to ruin lives. Well… not today at least. It was just something fun to occupy his time until he inevitably had to head home. Why shouldn't he try and spice up his life, just a little? It wasn't as if he had anything else going on to make it interesting. So yeah, maybe he was using these guys just a bit. And maybe that was wrong. But whatever, he was just doing what people expected of him. People saw him as the asshole who’d fuck anything with a dick, so he acted accordingly. It was easier to let people see the mask rather than see what’s behind it after all.

His thoughts were interrupted by Declyn’s question regarding weather asking for the discounts was okay. Before Lorenzo could respond, Axel jumped in to say it was okay. Lorenzo smiled wryly at the ruby-haired boy and threw his arm around Axel’s shoulders, pulling the other boy in close.

“Yeah Declyn, don’t worry it’s all good. I’ll go talk to my girl now, and you guys can get what you need.” Lorenzo released his hold on Axel, chuckling at the other boy’s expression, and began to walk off to find where Esther was located, leaving the three other boys behind for a moment. Lorenzo’s eyes scanned the area until he saw the older woman, and he quickly made his way to her register. Her gaze caught him as he was approaching, and she gave him a questioning look.

“Little green boy, back again for the second time? Unusual, no?” She dryly questioned. Lorenzo grinned and leaned his hands on the display leaning in slightly.

“Yeah, I just couldn’t stay away.” he chuckled. “Hey listen Esther, I need a favor.”

“Oh my, sounds important.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him a bit. He stood his ground and kept his grin in place.

“So I ran into a few people I know, and they’re looking to get some affordable stuff, but I kind of said I’d try and swing them a discount since me and you go way back.” He gave his best puppy dog eyes, which she returned with a frown. “It would mean a lot if you could do me this favor, for old times sake?” Esther sighed and too off her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose for a moment. She put them back on and gave Lorenzo a tired look.

“So long as they are not expensive pieces, I can offer them maybe fifteen percent off, but not a dollar more!” She drummed her fingers on the case she stood behind. “You are lucky I like you green boy, just have them come over here when they are ready and I will take care of them, but you owe me, yes?” Lorenzo nodded thankfully and happily.

“Thanks so much Esther! I knew you were the best!” She smiled and waved him off. Lorenzo began to walk away from the counter to try and return to the three boys when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was a text from his sister Marina.

Marina: Where are you? Can you come home ASAP?!

Lorenzo looked down at his phone in confusion and quickly typed out a reply.

Lorenzo: at the mall
Lorenzo: what’s wrong?

He went to shove his phone back in his pocket, but another text came in quickly and he opened it again.

Marina: Just come home. I need your help.
Marina: get here before mom and dad come home
Marina: Please im begging you

Lorenzo’s brows furrowed in confusion. His stomach felt odd reading his sister’s words. What could have happened? He wasn’t sure, but he knew he had to get there as soon as he possibly could. He sighed roughly as he typed out another reply. Guess he’d have to collect on Axel’s offer another day. What a fucking drag. But he was worried about his sister, and that was way more important.

Lorenzo: Ok be there soon

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Lorenzo quickly made his way back over to the others. He smiled as he approached, and when he was within arms-reach he quickly explained the situation.

“Hey all, sorry to run out on you guys so soon, but something’s come up and i need to jet. I took care of getting you guys your discounts, just head over to that lovely lady over there and she’ll take care of you, I promise!” He quickly pointed in the direction of Esther and smiled apologetically at the guys.

“But yeah, I gotta run. See you later.” He began to walk off. “Oh, and Axel?” He turned to wink at the red-head. “I’ll have to collect another time, sorry.” He chuckled. “Hope your dad’s girlfriend likes that necklace, Declyn!” He shouted over to the pastel-headed boy. “Bye, boys!” He finished as he made his way out of the store. As disappointed as he was that his fun little play-date was over, he was more worried about what was going on with his sister to care too much. Family was more important, so he had no choice.


[Lorenzo Tavares Continued in Teen Idle]

[Primrosette]

Hot Lorenzo was gone from the hottest foursome of boys ever....

Adonis was kind of disappointed that he had to leave but hey, if he had some business to take care of; then Adonis didn't mind. Also, bonus to being able to get a discount and not actually buying anything for him. He had to do something in return for Lorenzo one day. Maybe bake something delicious for the guy. Now he could just concentrate on the two guys that were left with him. Axel and Declyn.

Adonis couldn't help but smile at Axel a bit slyly. "So...." He stopped himself from trying to tease Axel about Lorenzo and he shook his head a little, glancing at Declyn beside him. "Shall we go ahead and buy your gift, Declyn? Lorenzo really is the best for doing that for us. We will have to do something in return for him in the future."

He chuckled softly and touched Declyn by his arm, lightly tugging the precious boy towards the lady who would help them out.

((Adonis Cohen continued elsewhere))

[Kotorikun]

Declyn waved Lorenzo goodbye as he left the store and then let Adonis drag him closer to Esther who was awaiting them. He was thinking about Axel’s compliment he had just thrown at him too. The necklace would suit him? Probably. It was just that wearing them made him feel uncomfortable and all itchy, so he preferred to not have anything around his neck no matter how good it would look on him. He appreciated it though and shot Axel a happy smile.

“It would be boring without you guys.”

When Adonis let go off him, he quickly pulled his phone out to leave Lorenzo a message. It said:

Thanks
Let me know when you’re free so I can buy you lunch

He looked at the green stone of the necklace.

Mission complete.

[Declyn continued in Engraver]

[Fenris]

"Yeah, yeah," Axel grumbled at Lorenzo as he made his escape. All that buildup for nothing, huh? He wasn't blind, he saw the expression on Lorenzo's face as he looked at his phone. Obviously something was up, and he'd be the dickhead here if he protested. Whatever. He'd have plenty of opportunities to come collect. At the very least he did what he'd promised; it looked like he'd gotten a pretty sizable discount on the silver chain.

He eyed it before Esther wrapped it up for him, let it flow between his fingers. It really was gorgeous, huh?

He had another five seconds to reconsider. It might mean too much.

He paid.

"You're not wrong," he shot back to Declyn as he headed out. Not how he expected to spend the afternoon, but hey, he'd lived.

>> Axel Fontaine continued in The History of Wrong Guys