Chapter Text
Johnnie Guilbert was fifteen years old when he started working a merch stand. He can’t remember how he found it or got the job, but he’s appreciative he got it anyway. There’s one other kid who works with him, he’s about seventeen years old and failing at being emo. Johnnie thinks he wants to be emo but he can’t because of family based on some of the things he says. Johnnie doesn’t pay him a lot of attention, though. They switch shifts and don’t work with each other much outside of someone needing to man the register and someone needing to stock merch. It was a pretty good gig for Johnnie. And the guy who ran the stand was pretty nice. He seemed pretty fond of Johnnie.
One night, Johnnie was left to man the stand all by himself, the other teen having gotten involved in some kind of accident, he’s not sure. At the start of his shift, he got a call from the older teen telling him he would either be late or unable to make it because he was on his way to the hospital. Johnnie felt bad for him, he had learned that his mom was in critical condition and he wasn’t too good himself. He hadn’t interacted much with him but he liked him nonetheless.
Johnnie felt a little frazzled. It was the final day of the tour and many people were trying to buy as much merch as possible. He’s pretty sure no one even knows whose merch they’re buying, just wanting something to show off. He’s trying to restock the table while also handling transactions. A few people hadn’t had their payment method ready or didn’t have enough and had to bum off a friend who always seemed to be on the other side of the venue. By the time the venue closes, Johnnie is surrounded by empty boxes, hat askew, and on the verge of a panic attack he had been fighting off. Bryan, the owner of the stand, finally comes to his side after finishing up backstage. Johnnie vaguely remembers what he does and why he has the stand in the first place. Something about interviewing bands.
“Hey, Johnnie boy. How’d the sales do tonight?” He stares directly at the black-haired boy, not helping with his impending panic attack. Johnnie takes a deep breath before responding in a shaky voice.
“They did, um, well. Completely, completely sold out.” His eyes are glued to the table in front of him, his heart is racing and he feels trapped.
“Are you ok, bud? You seem a little stressed. How about we take a step outside, yeah?” Bryan wraps an arm around Johnnie’s shoulder to lead him out the door to their left. Once they're in the fresh air, Johnnie feels the tightness in his chest ease a bit. He tries to shrug off the blonde’s arm but it doesn’t work. They stand side by side for a few more minutes until Bryan breaks it again. “Feeling better?”
Johnnie nods, he does feel better. His lungs don’t feel like they’re completely useless and he can actually look at the man beside him. He manages to give a small smile to him. Bryan returns it with a wide grin of his own. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and offers one to the teen. “Here, this should help calm you down.” Johnnie nervously reaches for one and takes it. He’s not sure if he should but he doesn’t want to tell his boss no. He goes to grab the lighter but instead of letting him take it, Bryan leans forward. “Let me.” He guides Johnnie’s hand to put his cigarette into his mouth before leaning forward to press his cigarette into Johnnie’s, lighting it. It takes a second but it does get there. Johnnie doesn’t know how he feels about the proximity but he shrugs it off. “So, what happened at the stand? Why’d you get so worked up?” He asks the teen.
“Um, I just got a little overwhelmed with all the people. And worrying about Leo. He seemed pretty beat up earlier.” Johnnie shrugs halfheartedly. He doesn’t want to get much into it with the other but he figures he could share a little bit.
“I’m sure Leo will be fine. He’ll most likely make a full recovery.” Bryan’s voice seems to become a little strained. “Were you two close?”
“Uh, no. We hardly talked.” Johnnie’s voice is small.
“I bet you’ll be glad to put this job behind you. Y’know, I’ll miss you. You were a pretty great merch man.” He smiles at the other, tension leaving his body at Johnnie’s words. He wraps an arm around Johnnie’s tighter, pulling him more into his side. Johnnie looks away. Bryan continues talking about how great Johnnie was working the stand. Eventually, he notices the parking lot has completely emptied. “Hey, Johnnie do you need a ride home?”
“I was just gonna catch the bus.”
“Nonsense, I’ll drive you.
“Ok.” He smiles up at the blonde. Bryan drops his cigarette and stomps it out. He pulls the black-haired boy away from the wall and begins the trek to his car. “My car is just over here.” It only takes about five minutes to make it behind the venue to his car. He leads them over to the passenger door, and opening it. Johnnie gets in, Bryan closing the door behind him. He clambers into the driver's side. “Put in your address.” He hands over his phone opened to GPS and Johnnie enters his address as Bryan begins to pull out of the parking lot.
The car ride is filled with music and conversation. Johnnie learns more about Bryan and what he does for work. Johnnie actually starts to feel more comfortable with the man. He finds himself laughing at his jokes and telling more about himself. When they pull into Johnnie’s driveway, he finds himself putting his phone number into Bryan’s phone. “Bye, Johnnie. Feel free to text me whenever about whatever.” He smiles as the teen gets out of the car.
“I will. Goodnight, Bryan.” He smiles back before jogging up to his front door. He waves as the car pulls away. He finds himself sporting a small smile as he closes the front door behind himself. His mom looks at him from the couch.
“Hi, sweetheart. Who was that?” She asks calmly.
“Oh, it was my boss. He wanted to take me home since it was late and I was gonna be riding the bus.” He says. He walks over and hugs her. “I’m going to bed. Good night, Mom.”
“Good night, baby.” She kisses his cheek and then he’s on his way up the stairs to his room. Once he’s in his room, he leans against his bedroom door smiling. He really thinks that Bryan can be his friend. It’ll be his first friend since before his dad died. He walks over to his bed and sighs contentedly before plugging in his phone. His phone lights up and a good night text from Bryan. He falls asleep with a smile on his face, phone resting beside him, and heart light.