[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/hD8KSmh/cooltext437920183166088.png[/img][/center] [color=808080] [hr] At first, he did not hear the swearing man and kept to his own thoughts as he looked at the ice bobbing up and down in the water below. It was something that distracted him for the time being. Distracting till he heard a louder noise that sounded like a forced laugh at first and it caught his eyes. A familiar face. [i]A familiar face…[/i] It felt like a semi-truck hit the man full force right in the chest. An uneasy feeling altogether. There was a fine line between wanting to hug the man and punching him. Then he felt sick to his stomach when the thought came to his mind, [i]Nixie…[/i] and for some reason, he looked around the festival quickly to see if he could spot the red-headed woman. She was nowhere in sight for the moment and his eyes went back to Levi’s face. Watching as the man approached and stood up in line to throw the softballs. It might not have been obvious but Tommy was purposefully trying not to look at Levi for the first part of realizing that he was approaching. Then he had to. He wasn’t going to leave. Why did he want him to leave? He didn’t. Did he? His heart was beating so quickly in his chest, he felt like the organ was playing his ribs like a piano. Frozen in thought while his eyes scanned up to Levi’s and locked on. All of this emotion and Tommy was not projecting any of it. A stoic expression. [i]Hey there, old friend.[/i] Those words stung when he remembered how Levi never returned any of his calls, text messages, or emails the whole time he was gone. His brows furrowed and he stayed quiet while letting that mischievous tone ring in his ears. [i]Remember me?[/i] This caused him to panic internally. Remember me? Those words stung in so many different ways he didn’t know which mental and emotional location to lock onto. Thomas remembered all the good days and all the bad times within seconds. Every time he and Levi got in trouble together or did something stupid. When they were climbing trees and playing tree wars Tommy fell and broke his arm and Levi ran to get help. Every time they got caught skinny dipping. Talked to by the police. Got into fights in school with other kids. Everything. [i]Everything[/i] was flooding back in and then he remembered Nixie. All those memories. Each time he stayed up late with her on or off the phone. Each tear she shed for the man in front of him. How her face would get red and her eyes would be puffy. How she would pour everything out on the issues they were having and how they affected her. How Levi thought his behavior was nice and kind. Every good memory with Levi had a corresponding one that was bad in Tommy’s eyes. A part of his chest stung while he thought about how upset Nixie would get over their mutual friend. His best friend. He wasn’t sure if he was happy to see him or not. His hand began to shake a little and he hid the shakiness with his other. Holding onto himself as he was trying to cope with all these emotions at once. “[color=66946b]Aah…[/color]” Was the only thing that Tommy could get out of his lips before he felt the shock of ice water. Gasping from the initial shock his body went completely under and everything became soaked with the hose water on his body. For a second, he didn’t force himself up right away like the average person would since he felt like he needed to cool off and not be seen by Levi. He wanted to hide for some reason. Then he stood up and the ice water was up to his lower chest. Hearing how the water moved and the ice clashed together and against the metal tank. [i]Oh god…[/i] This was a shock. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, and he could only pray that the man wouldn’t be back in town leading on Nixie. Stroking a handful of fingers through his hair as he reset the dunk tank. “[color=66946b]Aah didn't reckon ya would ever come back to town,[/color]” Thomas climbed back up onto the seat and looked over to his old friend with a warmer smile than he thought he could offer. He was happy. He was. It… It… What was it… “[color=66946b]Aah thought ya were too cool for us after ya left,[/color]” Referencing how the man never tried to keep in contact. It was disappointing. He wished they did. If they did, he probably wouldn’t have gotten so close to Nixie and so protective, especially with all those memories. The only thing that he truly knew was that he didn’t know if he could handle seeing Nixie cry over Levi again. What was it one might ask? Thomas Fischer wasn’t the pushover he was when he was a kid. He already felt a small fire inside at the thought of Levi playing with the heartstrings of Nixie’s like a harp without any care. He was somewhat angry about the past. [i]I hope he has changed…[/i] [hr] [b]Location[/b] Sitting in the dunk tank at the police department booth [b]Time[/b] Festival Time [b]Mood[/b] Mixed feelings [b]Interactions[/b] [@The Muse] [/color]