What Might've Been (Cricky)

Introductions and Claims (Dear God, This Band is the Mafia)

A/n: Update 2/4. Re-introducing those long, emo-as-fuck chapter titles.

11 Years Prior:

It was my first day in this new band. Despite only being the bassist, everyone had seemed to take a particular liking to me on a personal level. I wasn't the kind of guy who made friends with people after one conversation though, so I still felt like a stranger to these people. They didn't intimidate me, mostly because they looked, talked, and acted like me, but I was sure to keep myself guarded. 

Despite the fact that I myself had no opinions on who was my favorite, who would be my best friend, boyfriend, et cetera, that didn't stop them. By 'them' I mean this one particular guy by the name of TJ, who'd seemed to be under the impression that I was his. 

I'd recently moved out here to Louisiana, and really hadn't bothered to unpack any of the things I'd taken with me. My clothes still sat unfolded and discarded in two suitcases, all my chargers a tangle of white and black, and what little cookware and dishware I had was all still in boxes on the counters of my small kitchen, begging to be unpacked and used. I guess I could stop using paper plates and having leftovers from whatever takeout I'd had two days ago, but it just seemed like so much work. In fact, the only things that I actually had bothered to unpack were my guitars, bass guitars, and all of the gear I owned that went with them. I was ready to play songs at any given moment, but I wasn't ready to feed myself or change into a different outfit. 

I don't know why it matters at all though. I live alone, and I don't get any visitors, mostly because the only people I know here I don't even really know. I rummaged through one of the two suitcases until I found one of my belts. I was just threating the metal through one of the holes when my phone rang. "Hello?" I answered, picking it up as my belt came loose once again.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" A voice replied. I recognized it, but I just couldn't put my finger on where I'd heard it.

"Who is this?" I asked. I didn't have their number in my contacts, and I don't give mine away. How did this person get it? 

"Oh, right. We're not- Listen, you might remember me from yesterday?" 

Only one name came to mind, despite the fact that I should know four others. "TJ?"

"So you do remember. Great! Can you answer my question then?"

"No, of course I'm not doing anything tonight. I don't know anyone here."

There was a chuckle at his end. "Well alright then. Do you want me to show you around town?"

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not just asking me to be friendly?"

"Hey, you said it, not me." I could practically see him raising his hands in defense. "I'll be at your place at eight?" He suggested.

"You don't know where I live."

"Which is exactly why I need for you to tell me. Hang on a sec-" There was shuffling, which I can only assume was him getting out a pen and piece of paper. 

"I never said yes," I told him, once the shuffling was over with.

"So then you don't want me to show you around town?"

I sighed. What else was I going to do tonight? Sit around by myself, playing video games until the Sun came up? "I guess it's okay." I told him my address, five times because he couldn't remember anything. He hung up after saying that it would be a date. I wasn't able to get any other words in before that. 

When I'd mention before that TJ had sort-of marked me as his property, I meant it. What I didn't know was just how serious about that he was. If anything, me telling him that he could show me around town made it worse. I wasn't uncomfortable because I was gay, but the amount of space between us as we walked, or the lack thereof, was a little bit too showy for my taste. No one around here really knew exactly who he was, but it seemed clear that the two of us were most definitely together in a more-than-friendly way. 

"You do realize that I'm not yours, right?" I asked, moving away from him a bit while we walked on a dark sidewalk. 

"I know," He said casually. "That doesn't make me disinterested."

"I barely know you."

"What do you want to know?" He looked genuinely ready to pour his heart out and tell me everything. 

"What's your sexuality?"

He chuckled. "You don't kid around when you interrogate. I'm bisexual."

"Why did you show me around tonight?"

"Well my true intentions are to kill you." His expression hardened for a moment, and I thought he was being serious. "No, not really," He laughed. He bumped his hand to my elbow. "I'm just kidding."

"Alright," I sighed. Note-to-self, don't think about guys with a dark sense of humor under any circumstance, ever. 

"To answer your question though, I thought you might have some trouble adjusting, what with moving nearly halfway across the country and all."

"You're right about that," I sighed. "Last question, should I trust you?"

He thought for a long time. "Probably not. Everyone who's ever trusted me in the past just gets hurt." TJ paused. "But I'll let you be the judge of my character. Or you could ask someone else." He gestured around him, changing the subject. "What do you think of town?"

"It's boring."

"Oh, yes, because Rainy City is the greatest place in the world," He said, mocking Seattle's weather patterns.

"It's better than here."

"Nope."

"What makes you so sure? Have you ever been there?"

"As a matter of fact, but also one other thing," he wiggled his eyebrows up and down, "it can't be so great if I'm not there."

"You cocky little shit!" I was taken aback. 

He laughed again, this time it made me feel like we were old friends. "You'll get used to being here though. It'll slowly become more and more like home."