(very likely discontinued) TEXTURE [Dead Plate || RODENT]

Manon

"Hey, you!"

As he heads home, a blond guy approaches Rody. It startles him, and he almost drops his basket of recently washed clothes.

"Me?" He points to himself.

"Yeah, aren't you the waiter at La Gueule De Saturne?"

"Eh... who are you?"

"I'm Vincent's friend."

Rody thinks about the conversation he had with Vincent tonight. He asked specifically if he had many friends when he was little, which means that he doesn't necessarily have to be lonely now. He relaxes his posture.

"Yeah, I'm the waiter," he responds. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really, I was just wondering how you managed to become so close with Vincent, in such a short amount of time." He puts his arms on his hips.

Rody feels like he's a criminal who's being interrogated by a scary police officer. "Ehhh~? What do you mean?"

"He's nice to you, and I've only seen you working in his restaurant for a week or so. I wanted to ask you about this a long time ago, but I figured that if Vincent saw me talking with you about him, he wouldn't appreciate it." The man is clearly not trying to be discrete about this.

"What, are you scared of him or something?" Rody replies rudely. "You shouldn't talk about your friends behind their backs like that regardless. What's so weird about me being on friendly terms with him anyway?!"

"A lot," the man responds to the last question, which was meant to be rhetoric. Rody stands still again, after trying to walk away from him, and stares at him in distrust.

"You're close with him, aren't you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just... weird." He sighs. It's obviously forced worry. "Vincent never talks to us the same way he talks with you. We've known him since college, and he treats us like air, meanwhile you, a mere waiter at his restaurant, get all of his attention."

Before Rody can respond, he continues: "Besides, you seem to really enjoy his cooking. What does it taste like? Isn't it bland?"

"Shut up, will you? Quit talking like that about your friend. This is exactly why he treats you like air. Now get out of my way–" The man stands in front of Rody, stopping him from walking away. "It's not like that. Listen, I–"

"Seriously, leave me alone. If you want him to stop ignoring you, maybe have an honest and calm conversation with him. Just a suggestion. Get lost."

Rody leaves the man speechless. He walks away with peace of mind.

Once he gets home, he receives a call. "Who is it?"

"Vincent. Tomorrow morning, at 8 a.m., will you come to the park by the beach?"

"Wha– Huh?! I-I mean, sure..."

Vincent hangs up.

"...What?" Rody is losing his mind. Is this a date? Is it just a meet-up? He's confused.

But he goes to sleep soon after the call has ended.

Morning comes, and Rody, unsure of what to do, just wears some of his casual clothes and cologne and leaves his apartment. He's still confused, but more than excited. when he arrives and locks his bike, he starts walking around the park, looking for Vincent.

"Rody? What are you doing here?"

He stumbles upon Manon, who's just as confused as he is."I'm... actually not sure myself. What about you?"

"...Vincent invited me here."

"You too? That's weird... is he going to come?"

Manon seems upset. It startles Rody. "Don't tell me you asked Vince to arrange us here!"

"No, I swear I didn't! Vince randomly invited me here. I'm just as confused as you are!"

"Then... Why did he do that?" They look at each other in worry. Rody shrugs.

The two wait a little longer, to see if Vincent is going to come. He doesn't, so they start walking around the park together, to see if he's waiting somewhere else.

"So... how's life?" Rody asks.

"Eh... I'm alright. What about you?"

"Not sure." Rody is looking straight forward, not investing much energy in the conversation. Manon also seems distracted.

"Nice dress, by the way."

"Thanks. My... friend tailored it for me."

"I don't think Vince is coming."

"Me neither."

They stop walking. 

"Manon," Rody turns to her, "I'm... sorry. I know you're disappointed I came, instead of Vince."

A fragile smile appears on his face. "But... I suppose I've found someone else to love, and I won't be trying to get in your way, even though I... still love you.

"Don't worry, I'm not disappointed. I didn't expect Vince to come. He would never." She sighs. "I've also found someone else."

They laugh. "I'm happy for you!"

"I'm happy for you too! So, who's the lucky lady?"

"Bold of you to assume it's a lady..." Rody smirks, but feels guilty for sharing this. "What about you, who's the lucky gentleman?"

Manon gasps. "Bold of you to assume it's a gentleman," she whispers.

They stare at each other in surprise, before rody jokingly says: "Is this why you left me?"

"Ahaha! No, don't say it like that... I did it for your own good. ...Partially."

They laugh.

It's no longer awkward between them. Manon is happy, and Rody is... still unsure. He did indeed just come out to his ex-girlfriend, but... he's still not convinced. Does he really love Vincent? Or, at least: love him in a romantic way?

There's a large age difference between them. Vincent is just a young man. Besides, what are the chances of him reciprocating his feelings? Surely he'll laugh at him and fire him...

Suddenly, Rody feels really anxious. He gives Manon a ride home on his bike, and goes straight to his own apartment.

He keeps repeating "No, no no no," to himself on the stairs. "I don't love him that way. I do love him, but not in a romantic way."

He barges into his apartment, still panting heavily from running up here. "Why did I say that to Manon..."

He shakes his head, and remembers Vincent's words, from back when he was showing him how to play the cello.

"You won't break anything. Don't worry."

He collapses on his couch and tries to regulate his breathing. "It'll all be okay. Nothing can go wrong."

He calms himself down, and gets ready to leave for work. He wants to talk to Vincent, to make some things clear with him.

☂