The drive to the shop was mostly quiet. Tommy thanked Mason for the pancakes that came from the diner his mother and Sasha worked at — Mason chastised him on the fact he was wearing a baggy long sleeve shirt under his mechanics shirt. Apparently, it was going to snag on everything, get dirty for no reason, and he would overheat in it. The car went into complete silence when Tommy replied to all of that with the "don't worry Mom I'll remember to do my laundry when I get home and drink a lot of water, so I don't get too hot and dehydrated." It's not like Tommy was about to tell him or show him why the long sleeve was necessary. It was bad enough to show Christian.
Tommy had come to the conclusion that he did not like Mason, that sure he had a nice face to look at, but that is as far as the attraction going. Thankfully the drive was short, so he didn't really need to create small talk between himself and the older Hartford sibling. Unfortunately, they pulled up to the shop before Tommy really had the chance to prepare himself. He still felt extremely exhausted and just wanted to go back to the couch for another few days — he knew that he looked like absolute shit to thanks to the mirror in the bathroom.
His natural sun-kissed skin was a milky shade of pale white that accentuated the bruising bags under his ocean green eyes. His usually light blond hair even looked dull in comparison to how it often looked. He'd definitely lost weight over the last month, he had a hard time at Ben's because of the place he was before finding him — it meant that he hardly slept because of the nightmares or the fear someone would get him in the middle of the night, and his appetite slowly disappeared because of it.
"Tommy —," a hand clasped his shoulder and instantly pulled him from the daze he had slipped into.
He flinched violently away, his shoulder smashing against the door of Mason's sleek black dodge challenger and his seatbelt locking hard against his collarbone and neck. He frantically searched for the source of the touch to find Mason, sitting completely still in the driver's seat. They were parked were outside the shop, and Tommy hadn't even realized that he had started spacing out until Mason touched him. He took a deep breath and scrubbed his trembling hand over the side of his face.
"Sorry," The words slipped from his lips without thinking.
His brother hated when Tommy would flinch like that around him, he knew that Mason wouldn't beat him for it as his brother did — but he still clenched his jaw, waiting for the impact. He glanced up at Mason to see that his hazel eyes were again watching him cautiously, his hand hovering over the centre console. Tommy could see Mason putting something together in his head, but he was missing a lot of pieces, and it was obviously frustrating him. No kid who just ran because his parents were going through a rocky divorce was afraid to be touched like he was.
"Let's go, we're already late," Mason said, turning and getting out from the car.
Tommy didn't know what he expected, he didn't think Mason would be the type to call that out right there and then. Maybe he would let himself compile up all the information he could get on Tommy first before calling him out for it. Tommy followed Mason out and stayed a couple of strides behind him as they went straight through the reception and into the garage. Tommy buried his still trembling hands into his jeans pockets and watched Mason go towards Christian's office, leaving Tommy standing awkwardly in front of Nicky and Harry who was now smiling up at him from the open hood of a Ford Subaru.
"Look who finally decided to show up, please tell me that Mason had to drag you out by the scruff? I have money riding on it," Harry grinned stupidly.
"What is with you all and using animal innuendos when it comes to me?" Tommy rubbed the back of his neck as if he could feel what it would be like to be dragged by the scruff of the neck. I guess he had been close to it before. Nicky just chuckles like it should be evident as he rubs his greasy hands on his jeans, leaning back against the bonnet of the car.
"You have that sad, lost puppy look about you, it's hard not to compare you to a stray animal, especially if Sash found you," Nicky pointed out.
"Well thanks," Tommy grimaced slightly at his own blunt tone. He didn't want them to pity him, he didn't think he'd be able to handle it if they all looked at him the way Mason had looked around at the state of his gloomy house.
"Anytime. Well, I'm Harry, Sasha's better counterpart, and this here is Nicky — our token Asian," Harry chirped, slapping the back of his hand against Nicky's chest who didn't look the least bit offended.
"Well you lost the bet, guess that is what you get for being racist," Tommy exclaimed, his eyes flicking over to the closed office door that Mason disappeared behind.
"Okay, someone definitely doesn't like us, Nicky," Harry said overly sarcastic, a mocking pout forced to his bottom lip.
"I don't know you," Tommy replied to that before Nicky could cut in with an equally obnoxious remark.
"And we don't know you, but we like your wit even if Mason doesn't," Nicky says, winking at Tommy as if to encourage him to keep going if his deadpanned remarks.
Before Tommy can answer the office door opens again, and Mason walks out and towards the other two boys, his expression unchanging even by those he likes. Tommy can't help but stare back at Christian, his fists automatically clenching in his pockets and his jaw setting. Christian leans against the door frame and stares right back. Tommy doesn't care to look over when Harry laughs at the obvious tension.
"Oh good, look Nicky it's not only us he doesn't like, but it also seems as though he really doesn't like Chrissy," he continues to laugh even when Christian shoots him a warning look.
"Tommy, you look like shit," Christian put it bluntly enough.
"Yeah, I really love being woken up by a brooding asshole and forced to come here to another brooding asshole and his little minions." There's a hint of a grin that plays over Christian's face at Tommy's words and he can hear the others laughing at him calling Mason a brooding asshole.
"Glad to see you haven't changed a bit, but I highly doubt your insomniac ass would be asleep when Mason showed up anyway," Christian said. Anger coiled in Tommy at the fact his uncle was bringing personal things that only he would know into the conversation.
"If you want to reminisce about old times do it elsewhere, I won't have any part of it," he bit back.
"Wow this guy is seriously just a mini version of Chris," Nicky said under his breath, Tommy did not want to see the look on Mason's face at that comment, he had a feeling that Mason was putting together his real identity as they spoke, either that or it was just Tommy's paranoia playing up.
"Office, now. We gotta go through your pay and shop rules," any hint of that grin that was there on Christian's face is now faded.
"Should be fun."
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