along the middle path they tread

Donnie smiled back at Mal as best he could and nodded in agreement, and then let him go. He watched him leave, not daring to move until the door had closed behind him. Immediately he wanted to scream, to cry, to break anything within reach, but he did none of those things.

Instead he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before starting to move around the room and gather the things he knew he would need.

In the hallway, the boys were still huddled together, murmuring amongst themselves; though Chris was notably absent.

Tommy looked up first, and frowned when he saw the expression on Mal’s face. “We’re gonna have to bail, aren’t we?” 

The door was pulled open almost the instant that Mal’s knuckles made contact with it, and Chris was on the other side; albeit sans his trademark shotgun. “Thank God you’re here,” he muttered, before seizing Mal by the shoulder and hauling him into the house.

“See?” Tommy’s voice said, from further down the darkened hallway. “I knew he’d show!” He jogged forward, until he was close enough for Mal to see him more clearly. “It’s good to see you, Mal. Come on, you’re just in time.”

The two men began to usher Mal down the hallway, making a beeline for Donnie’s study. As they drew closer, they could see Ian and Gary waiting for them on either side of the doorway. 

Simon laughed brightly in reaction to Mal’s remark. “Thankfully, Donnie here has four left hands,” he replied without missing a beat, gesturing over Mal’s shoulder towards Tommy, Ian, Gary, and Chris. “Lord only knows where we’d be without them.”

The four men were all receptive to Simon’s joke, clearly well acquainted with his sense of humor and overall demeanor. Tommy was the one to laugh the most and smile the widest. “Watch yourself around this one, Mal,” he teased. “He seems like a real charmer now, just wait until you get on his bad side.” Simon only laughed off the statement. 

Mal’s quip made the man laugh as he happily shook his hand. “I’m Tommy,” he introduced himself brightly. “Nice to finally meet you, Mal.” His voice was lilting with the dregs of an Australian accent. As he straightened up again, he and Donnie shared a surreptitious smile.

The next to come forward was the gaunt-looking man of indeterminate ethnicity, who looked significantly more comfortable now that he was no longer standing menacingly on the mezzanine. (To be fair, the man hadn’t exactly been doing well at being menacing to begin with) The way he moved was almost as if there was an invisible link physically tying him to Tommy.

“My name’s Ian,” he chimed in, offering his hand to Mal to shake next. “We’ve all heard quite a bit about you, Mal.” This remark made Donnie crack an even wider smile, in spite of himself. 

Donnie noticed the subtle change in Mal’s expression; not about to call attention to it but definitely storing it away in his memory for later reference. Instead, for the moment he focused on giving each of his friends a grand introduction.

When Donnie called them down, the burly man immediately dropped the facade of intimidation and starting bounding down the stairs from the mezzanine like a giant Saint Bernard. The other three men followed after him with varying degrees of enthusiasm, until they all appeared to join Mal and Donnie in the sitting room area.

“Sorry about the hovering, man,” said the muscular man when he entered the room, giving Mal a wide smile. Now that he was closer, it was easier to see that he had a kind face. “We’re used to trying to scare the new meat, you know how it is.”

“Am I?” Tommy wondered, giving Mal a reassuring smile. “Hopefully that’s a good thing.” Mal’s words once again were a reminder to Tommy, and he briefly glanced at his own phone to make sure he got all the digits in his own number right. “Oh, yeah, no problem,” he told Mal, before reciting the digits so he could easily tap them into his phone.

“Sure, that would be great!” Tommy replied brightly, one hand casually rubbing at his cheek as if that would dispel the blush. “It’s cool, man, I didn’t think so; I appreciate the reassurance, though.”

“Yeah, kind of playing it safe, I guess,” Tommy admitted, smiling sheepishly. The beginnings of a blush might have been subtly lurking around the edges of his face and around his ears. Inwardly, he was wondering if Donnie wasn’t straight, but if Mal’s response was any indication, it was probably safe to assume he was in the clear as far as that area was concerned. 

“Okay, awesome,” he responded, his smile growing a little bit wider still. “We’ll have to wait and see how things go, right?” And whether or not he’d be able to work up the nerve to actually text the guy.

“Yeah?” Tommy asked, once again pleasantly surprised. “That’s pretty cool; I mean, I usually only prep it if it’s a weird question, though.” Mal’s slow, knowing grin made Tommy a bit sheepish, though he was still smiling all the while. “Maybe,” he admitted. “I mean, I haven’t even talked to him yet, so…I’m gonna go with maybe.”

“The resemblance is really striking!” Tommy agreed with a laugh. “Get outta town, is he, actually? That is amazing; you’re right, he’s totally a doppelgänger. In the best way, though.” His smile grew a little bit wider, noting the affection in Mal’s eyeroll. “Everyone’s a nerd in some way, I think. Yeah, number, absolutely!”

Tommy turned his attention back to his own phone, tapping the digits into the contact box as Mal recited them. “Thanks, man,” he told him. “Weird question time, but, uh…is he single?”

Tommy sat back patiently as Mal selected a picture that he deemed suitable, and peered over towards the screen when he finally turned the phone around to show him the one he’d chosen. A smile once again spread across Tommy’s face as his gaze scanned the image. Donnie definitely looked like a rocker; with the leather jacket, coiffed hair, and the sunglasses that were visibly tucked into his front jacket pocket.

What stood out to Tommy the most was Donnie’s smile. That was a genuine, joyful smile, and that in itself was a sign of a genuine, kind personality. “I can see why,” he admitted, glancing back up towards Mal. “He totally looks like a rocker; and a lot like the guy from the Arctic Monkeys, you know? He looks super cool.”

Tommy could agree with that logic, and smiled by way of agreement. As Mal began to sift through the necessary information on his phone, Tommy opened up his own phone, opening up the window necessary for setting up a new contact.

“Donnie, gotcha,” he echoed a loud, tapping the name out into the right box. “Cool name. Oh, sure, yeah, I’d like to see him! Might help to match the face to the name and all that.” Seeing Mal’s enthusiasm was refreshing, and brightened Tommy’s spirits even further by proxy. He was definitely looking forward to meeting Donnie, seeing if they were similar in personality as well as interests.

The water was a pleasant surprise, and Tommy accepted the bottle that Mal offered him with a nod and an appreciative smile. “Thanks, man,” he told him in gratitude. He unscrewed the cap off of it, and took a moment to take a swig from it before he replaced the cap. “Ah, that is nice,” he mused once he’d swallowed. “Really hits the spot.” With his free hand, he reached into the pocket of his khaki shorts and pulled out his own phone, which he assumed would be needed in this whole process.

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind,” Tommy affirmed with a nod, his smile filling out again. “No worries, man, I’ll be right here!” He leaned back where he was sitting, bracing both of his hands against the rock to prop himself up. He briefly considered finding a receptacle for the water bottle, but decided against it, just in case Mal returned before he did.