[ rip to my imagination // song is by twenty one pilots

this is a rewrite from the last book

warnings: language, mentions of drugs and alcohol and lewis' old friends

concept: during an off day on tour, lewis revisits places in his hometown

stay safe,
lew. ]

————

He's been dreading today for a long time.

It's that weird mix of reluctance and excitement that makes you sick to your stomach. It's reasonable; the last time he was in this city was three years ago, when he was up to his eyes in problems that could've easily been avoided.

His friends pick up on it, and it's the singer of the band that calms him down the most.

Logan's as soothing as always, letting Lewis cling to him as much as he needs to, letting him ramble through his disjointed thoughts and the entire plane ride.

When they get to the hotel room, Logan lets him do whatever he needs to in order to relax, and that just happens to be curling up in his friend's arms, his steady heartbeat serving as the metronome that pulls the elder into a deep sleep.

Logan's somewhat productive even as he's tethered to the bed by one hundred pounds of guitarist. He fields questions from Jon and Spencer, as well as a phonecall from both Harry and the band's manager.

But it's okay. Lewis is sleeping better that he had in the entire time Logan's known him.

——

The next morning, Lewis gets up with an agenda in mind. He's got a list of places he needs to visit, from the florists to the apartments to the old bar, plus he's already agreed to taking the guys out to lunch.

But he makes one grave mistake when getting up: he wakes Logan.

Logan insists on going with him. He should expect it: he rarely shares things from his time in this town, and this is the perfect opportunity to get that info.

Plus, it's difficult for Lewis to tell Logan 'no' in the best of times, but especially since that one night, Logan's been nothing but sweet, at least in Lewis' eyes. Something within their dynamic has shifted since they started this affair, and it's been so weird.

"Why are you up so early?" Logan groans, burying his face further into the pillow.

Lewis freezes in the middle of the room, having already been down to grab breakfast and coffee for the both of them. "I got shit to do today, sunshine, early start. Gotta check up on stuff here in my hometown, y'know? I brought food."

"Breakfast in bed?" He replies warily, rolling over and pushing himself into a sitting position against the headboard.

He shrugs, a shy smile on his lips as he hands over Logan's normal breakfast choices. "If that's what you want it to be."

"Thanks, babe. Are you gonna show me around?"

"If you want me to... I guess?"

——

Less than an hour later, the two of them are standing in front of a small green building, the side emblazoned with the words 'Addams Avenue Floral'. Lewis' hand finds its way into Logan's as they enter the store.

The older woman behind the counter is nothing but smiles, but somehow, the smile grows at the sight of Lewis. "How's your mama doing, little guy?"

"Uh, she's doing good, I guess. Haven't seen her in a month or two- my band's on tour right now," he manages to stutter out. "Can I show my bandmate around?"

"Of course, honey. Be careful on that storeroom step, you hear? I don't need you almost busting your forehead open again," she replies, still grinning.

Lewis pulls Logan into the storeroom, where the younger boy just looks absolutely confused. "What just happened?"

"That lady apparently knows my mom and recognized me," Lewis tells him, shrugging. "Anyway, here's where I spent a lot of time as a kid. It's nothing glamorous, but I remember Mom having a fun time trying to teach me to say flower names up here."

Logan doesn't say anything at first, busy taking in the scenery. The place is bigger than it looks, the giant coolers taking up a substantial amount of space among the boxes of ribbon and floral tape, wires, and foam.

It isn't exactly like he remembers, but it's close enough.

When they leave the shop, Lewis buys a peach colored rose, that he hands to Logan soon after.

Lewis pointedly avoids the empty lot beside the shop. Logan doesn't ask.

The next place is a walk to the corner, then across the main road. The tiny apartment building shouldn't be this intimidating, but the memories from within those walls are a mountain of guilt and shame and bad decisions.

"Why are we here?" Logan asks, warily eyeing the building. It doesn't look sinister by any means, but from the way his bandmate is almost hiding behind him, you'd think it was a rundown cabin in the woods, not a relatively well kept apartment complex.

It takes Lewis a few moments to stammer out, "This is where my old band lived. I met them here, got fucked up here, almost overdosed here, and a lot more. It- It's really intimidating, honestly."

"You're okay, Lew. Nothing bad is gonna happen this time," Logan soothes.

And of course, that's when one of the doors opens.

As soon as Lewis sees the person's face, he's tugging at Logan and trying to walk away.

He's expecting to get hit by this guy, to get screamed at, but instead, he's pulled into a hug. Just like that, Lewis returns the embrace, and yet again, Logan doesn't know what to make of this.

"I missed you. And I broke my phone right after I moved, so I lost your number," Lewis mumbles, not even feeling ashamed for the tears that soak into the other guy's shirt.

"It's okay, sweet pea. I got tickets to the show tomorrow," the man replies, rocking them back and forth slowly. "Is that your singer?"

Lewis pulls away from the hug, wiping at his eyes with a smile bright enough to rival his best friend's. "Yeah. This is Logan, my best friend. Logan, this is Alex. The guitarist for that old band, and... one of my ex-boyfriends."

The two old friends catch up for a few moments, then Lewis gives Alex his phone number, as well as a promise to get him backstage at the show. Logan's left to just wait, becoming increasingly annoyed, though Lewis can't pinpoint the reason.

Once they've parted ways and Lewis starts pulling Logan towards their next destination, Logan stops in the middle of the sidewalk and asks, "Can we head back to the hotel?"

"I mean... if you wanna go back, we can. I don't really mind either way," Lewis replies, even though he looks a bit bothered by the request. "I gotta take Jon and Spence out for lunch, though. I told 'em I'd find somewhere good."

"We could do dinner instead," he suggests, "I just want to go back and get some more sleep, I'm tired."

——

"Sorry for dragging you outta bed so early," Lewis murmurs, practically pacing around the room, a product of nervous energy. "I just wanted to get some of that over with."

"It's okay. Just be quiet, or come lay down with me."

And that's how they spend the rest of their day. Dozing off and avoiding the growing number of calls and texts piling up on both of their phones.

———————

[ idk that was really long and unnecessary but still

merry christmas!! i hope you had a great day!!
and if you don't celebrate it, i hope you had a great tuesday!!