The drink was definitely taking effect. The kid's body was doing that slinky, marionette thing that only comes from a high blood alcohol content, where his joints were all replaced with rubber bands and every movement was slow and careless, as if he could hardly bother to fight the oppressive forces of gravity.<br/><br/>Eddy refused to examine why he liked the look of it.<br/><br/>Freckles mentioned an aunt and it was very clear there was no love lost between them. Eddy immediately assumed it was because the kid was gay, but then forced himself to backtrack. For a religion that promotes goodwill towards their fellow man, Christians had plenty of reasons to hate, from kissing out of wedlock to liking Harry Potter. Anything could be a sin to them, not just homosexuality.<br/><br/>The kid didnt offer an explanation and Eddy wasnt crass enough to ask.<br/><br/>But now he knew there were no parents in the picture, no significant others, maybe not even friends. That made him incredibly sad. Even though he was pretty much good on his own, Eddy still believed everyone needed someone. Especially Freckles.<br/><br/>Then the kid got contemplative and shared a dream dressed up as a passing fancy, and Eddy had to pretend very hard not to panic. Because he was Edwin Yeoman, world renowned contemporary of the fine arts, internationally famous for his work in modern sculpture. If Freckles had taken an art class, Eddy's work would have been in his textbook, he probably would have to write an essay on Eddy's influence on the art world and his abrupt disappearance from it. There were still running headlines wondering where Eddy had gone.<br/><br/>Hell, one of Eddy's statues was the main tourist attraction downtown.<br/><br/>It was too much of a head trip to contemplate so Eddy dismissed it entirely, shoving the complicated tangle of thoughts and emotions to the darkest depths within himself. Because he felt like a fraud, standing here in front of a hopeless kid, chewing on the urge to encourage him to follow his dreams.<br/><br/>What the kid said was true. Artists starved. The fact that Eddy had become an exception felt like a betrayal.<br/><br/>He wasnt going to do that, so he latched on hard to the subject change.<br/><br/><i>"...they all got stories...?"</i><br/><br/>Eddy looked down at his tattoos like a dumbass, as if he didnt seem them every damn day.<br/><br/>"Some of them," Eddy answered, "some of them are just because. Got lots more where you cant see."