Private Dealing with Gin Blossoms

It had been almost a week since Gabe had cut off just about all contact with Yuki.

It had been difficult, but necessary. A lot had happened between them in the short time they'd known each other. They had each comforted the other during moments of weakness and that seemed to be what friends do in moments like that, right? But then it had gotten a bit closer than it should have. Gabe knew, he knew, that physical contact was a weakness. It made him dependent and clingy and he craved that closeness. Yet, he also hated the feeling of being restricted or having his personal space invaded through touch. It was a double-edged sword that had clung onto him for far too long.

But he had a plan.

Well, Captain Morgan had a plan. And the good captain's plan was to drink the night away so he didn't have to think about it! After fiddling with the keys for a few minutes, the plant manipulator was finally able to get into the family flower shop and set the bagged bottle onto the counter. It had been easy enough to acquire the bottle and smuggle it to the shop, so he was going to savor it. But savoring a fine bottle of rum alone was terrible! He needed company! He could always call Yu-

NOPE. Nope, that person doesn't exist at the moment. Things had to be dealt with first before he could think about him again. Who else, who else... Diego? Disappeared. Xavier? Apparently a delinquent. Angelo? He was a goody two shoes too perfect for miserable ol' Gabe. But maybe, just maybe, he'd have loosened up in the past six months and would be down for a fun time! Quickly pulling out his phone, he opened up his contacts and sloppily pressed his thumb onto the screen. The phone rang twice before that ever-familiar click rang out to let him know that someone answered.

"Heeeeeey, buddy!" Gabe bellowed in a 'quiet' voice, "I neeeeeeeeed to talk to you~ Come swing by the shooooooop. Hehehehe, it'll be fun!" He hiccuped, shakily holding the counter. "I wouldn't ask if it was... wasn't impor-... impor... needed. See you soon~" He hung up the call, then slumped onto the floor giggling. Everything was going to be juuuuuust fine. Angelo would know what to do. Angelo always knew what to do.

That is, if he had called Angelo.

@Mint

Gabe had been enjoying his silly stupor when he heard a gentle tapping on the door. A guest! How exciting. He heaved himself up off the floor and, despite a few stumbles, made his way to open the door for his mystery guest. Was it Angelo? It should be Angelo. Angelo got his perfectly reasonable phone call. Opening the door revealed not a blonde hunk with a metal arm but was actually a small bundled up plant boy who was older than Gabe!

"CARMIN!" Gabe exclaimed, pulling the guy in and shutting the door with a gentle kick. He quickly dragged the boy into a hug and spun around, although stopped quickly and held his head as the room spun long after he had stopped. "Ooh, that's rough. Hehehe... Carmin! Hello! My favorite customer and good friend! It has been so long since I saw you! What are you doing out here so late? It must be so cold!"

Gabe grinned like he didn't have a care in the world but it was clear something wasn't right. The plant user's face was flushed a deep red and any attempt to keep his eyes focused on Carmin clearly failed after a few moments. "I'm so glad you're here! I need friends. Friends are important but... but... not too close. If you get too close, you don't stay..." He giggled, then let out a small sob, then took another swig out of the bottle.

"...I did?"

Gabe blinked at Carmin, squinting at the boy for a solid minute. Was he telling the truth? Carmin didn't seem like the type to lie to Gabe. But would he be willing to keep secrets for Gabe? Carmin would. Carmin was a friend. He wouldn't leave because he was only a friend...

"Carmin!" Gabe yelled after his long moment of quiet, "I trust you. I have... I have a secret to tell you. And you can't tell anyone! No no no telling. Especially not the guy that doesn't exist right now!"

He paused again, looking down at the two-thirds full bottle. Then back to Carmin. "Psh, nothin' I can't handle. I'm the big tree! I can take it on! ...you want some?" He slurred, holding out the bottle with a very loose grasp.

"You can? Great!"

As soon as Carmin had agreed to keep a secret, Gabe had already stumbled across the room and slapped his hands on the plant boy's shoulders. "You're a great friend, Carmin. But you know the rules. If you get too close, we fall apart! That's what always happens."

Gabe's tone immediately shifted into something much more dark than usual mood, but bounced back almost instantaneously. "What were we talking about?... right. Secrets! But remember, you can't tell that person what I'm saying! It'll be bad, bad, bad!" He giggled, falling onto the floor.

"There was someone, who will remain nameless, who told me that they wanted to kiss me. Me! How crazy is that! And because I know they had wanted to kiss me, I can't be near them! It would be baaaaaaad."

Gabe began to roll on the floor, just saying 'bad' over and over. "Can you guess why it's baaaaad?"

"Ding ding ding! You got it!"

Gabe threw up his hands excitedly and waved them around. A shower of poorly formed petals rained down on the teen as he flailed. But when questioned by Carmin on how he knew, Gabe immediately sat up, then flopped back down with a groan.

"Of course I know! It happens... eugh, still dizzy... it happens every time! It happened with Diego, it happened with Xavier, even Angelo! Everyone I open my heart too ends up tearing another piece off!"

A small sob escaped him, followed by two more little hiccups. "And it keeps happening! I just magically get enamored by people, get smitten, then heartbroken. I would have let him too. He said he didn't feel it after the initial moment, but I know that if he walked in the door right now and asked, I'd probably do it! Because I'm a... damned moron."