everybody wants to rule the world | tom's 80's au

"Carter fucking Laws, get over here! Now!"

Mitchell's voice echoes in the streets of neon lights and broken hearts. The sound of a party muffled in the space of some guy Mitchell was friends with behind them both. The chaos of it all being too much for someone like him. A dork who spent more time at the arcade than around others, except people were too afraid to call him that. Jack beat up the last guy to have called him some nasty name behind his back. Broke the guy's wrist like it was nothing while the guy begged for forgiveness. Carter Laws was the baby to his brothers, unable to care for himself and needing someone watching over him, despite the fact he kicked Keeni's ass for calling his cards bullshit.

That's how he found himself outside this party, ignoring the sound of Billy Joel serenading a crowd of shitfaced teenagers. Keeni spilled a beer across his shirt, leaving the smell of putrid alcohol wafting up through his nose. Jack having jumped immediately into Keeni's face and Mitchell chasing after Carter into the streets of California, leaving behind some boy or girl Mitchell likes to flirt with all night. No coat upon his shoulders as Carter pushes his fingers through the mess of his own hair, ignoring Mitchell's protests for him to come back to the party, despite Carter knowing he'd have to head back in eventually.

"Yeah, yeah, Mitch the bitch, I get it. No leaving the party by myself. I could get hurt. Whatever, asshole."

Ignoring the bright eyes staring back at him with that caring sensibility and frustrating oldest brother isms; there's the sound of his own anger bubbling at the edge of his own lips. A ringing in his own head from the amount of people who tried to talk to him all night and the loud music blaring across the room from a stereo. Teens shoved into a tiny space where the mixture of sweat, alcohol, and sexual tension fills the space. Mitchell stares at him with a taut jaw and the smell of cigarette smoke sticking to the old worn out jean jacket he swears by for getting him laid. If Carter were a fire, Mitchell would be the wind that stokes the flame.

"Carter, I'm just-" The words stop. A sigh comes forth as Mitchell shuffles his feet against the concrete steps, not really nervous, but almost as if he's walking on glass around Carter. Eventually, he watches his oldest brother cross his arms leaning onto the railing of a pillar keeping the porch's roof up. Eyes of blue reaching Carter's own fire, almost with a guilt that Carter can't quite name. Being the baby was the hardest job, all he wanted to do was walk off along the curbside to the park where he could sit and watch the stars. A chance to ignore the exhaustion of people and the game of popularity that their school played. "I just want to make sure you're safe. I-I don't want to mess up again, okay?"

Carter knew that. The moment since the wreck where he took a turn on his first drive in dad's Bentley too fast, crashing it hard into the ditch off of Rockie Rd. Alone in the forest outside of town, where the moon meets the trees, someone told him afterwards that he had died for a minute or so, until someone drove past him with fear of what more they could do, but he lived. Lived to tell the tale of teen angst and a mistake where he felt as if he were one of those zombies on the big screen. Fists clenched together as the breeze chills his skin once more, the memory of the crash living in the past where it belonged, slowly coming back from the rumors and assholes of High School.

"Whatever, Mitchell." Almost daring to stare at himself in the window, red faced and annoyed, Carter shuffles past his oldest brother with a twisted feeling of annoyance in his chest. He wasn't just some kid anymore who had to be driven everywhere. Mitchell had gone through his own close call. Despite that, there's still the eyes of his brother who watch him with almost a worry that lingers in the room like a wave of the sea crashing into Carter. Fingers taut around the door frame as he speaks back to his brother, taking in the now obnoxiously loud music coming from inside. "You might want to go stop Jack from killing Keeni though."

Mitchell curses back at him, pushing past Carter with a new focus as Carter breaths in the smell of liquor, sweat, and teenage hormones. Disgusted with the sight of teens moving to the beat, almost too close and uncomfortably so for Carter, he moves towards the kitchen, pushing past people whose names ring in his head. Everyone knew everyone in this town after all. Winchester telling a story. Lange looking as lost as Carter feels sometimes. Voices filling the air with laughter as he can see the Einfallen brothers joking about. Enzo Krearns tips back a cup of the alcoholic punch and slurps from oyster. Silently, Carter pushes through the crowd of people, pulling up his own cup of punch, sipping from it lightly before making a face of disgust.

Before, he can even dump it, Larceny Theft passes in front of him with Nixton nearby. A gentle wave to his one of his best friends in high school since Max left as Carter smiles softly at the duo, knowing Lars had told him a little too much about Ollie days ago. Feet dangling from the top of some park equipment for kids as they laughed and laughed about the days before. He didn't want to interrupt his best friend's time with Ollie. Ollivander didn't get out much, but that's because everyone knew the Nixton's father was overprotective about his kids. Softly, Carter hums past Lars, moving towards the backyard where there's less people and quieter places. Words slip from his lips as he speaks to Larceny, holding the sliding door open.

"Stay safe, Theft. Don't wanna hear any rumors about you tomorrow."

The words get an eye roll from Lars as Carter laughs, stepping out into the backyard where a pool glows in front of him. Eyes focused on his own cup of red liquid and the lights glowing at the sides where the water and light mix into a clear view. The cold air is almost sobering, but Carter wasn't here for that. All he wanted was to be away from it all. The loudness of the party makes his ears ache a little too much. Alcohol wasn't really his whole thing. Mitchell and Jack were running around in their cliques, pretending that their popularity was important and Carter knew they would end up drunk, high, or in someone's bed. A single second passes before Carter quietly sits down, taking off the shoes and socks covering his feet before he puts them into the water, where he watches the light fade in and out with his movements.

The arcade wouldn't open until late tomorrow. Mr. King had told him to come by early for the new shipment of cards that Carter's been waiting on since high school had started up once again. Where Mitchell hides it like a secret, Carter still practices what his father once showed him. Magic tricks meant for kids to distract them and keep their wonder in the world. Mom told him once his father had been a magician throughout college before sticking to business for good. Mr. King supplied him with the best of the best since Carter worked there over the summer, taught workshops for the kids who came by. The youngest Izar-Krane having watched him with both disappointment and amazement during the hot summers, talking in spanish behind his back.

It's quiet outside in the backyard. Everyone's left this place as soon as he decided to rest from chaos of high school popularity and the unknowingness of the future. Fingers tighten around the edges of the pool's edge as a small breeze hits him a little more. The heat of the summer gone, left with the chill of fall beginning to set in more and more by the day. A chattering of his own teeth before he can hear the sound of the sliding glass door, assuming it's Jack coming to apologize. Carter let's his words fall fast and hard from his lips.

"You don't need to apologize, Jack."

Except, it wasn't Jack. Leather jacket pulled off of the other's shoulders as it's placed around his own. Eyes breaking through the night sky to reach the one and only Nico Thorne, boy of Carter's dreams. The chill leaves his body from the warmth as the red blush bites around his ears. It was definitely just the cold, he would tell Lars that later. Nico Thorne was different from other boys, whether anyone was really paying attention to it or not. Carter always noticed the difference in Nico compared to Jack who was apart of a similar clique. Silently, Carter opens his mouth trying to speak, but immediately shuts it in his nervousness. Max had left not too long ago, leaving an emptiness in Carter's chest.

"Sorry, Nico." The words leave his lips as he stares up at the other, noticing the way the stars glitter just as beautifully as he does. Bundling in a little tighter to the leather which smells of cigarettes and cologne, Carter feels himself cringe at the way his words sound in the open air. A little dumb, despite knowing everyone probably saw what happened with Keeni even Nico Thorne. It's quiet for a moment before Nico nods to him in that cool guy kind of way that always makes Carter's hands feel a little more clammy than before. Slowly, Nico rolls up the jeans, pulling off the shoes and socks he wears, slowly sitting next to him, unlit cigarette between his lips as Carter can feel the craving for nicotine pull at his stomach.

"You're fine, Carter."

Fine. As if the word could describe him perfectly, maybe he was fine, but most days he didn't feel fine. A small smile pulls at his lips as he leans into the belief, ignoring the way he had screamed at Mitchell before. Dumb teens with no issues, they tried to be that way to everyone, but under it all, the Laws were fucked up in their own ways. Carter's accident, Jack's real parents, and Mitchell's codependency. A silent hum fills his lips as he almost wants to fight it, go on the defensive to the guy who makes him want to smile more, except he's tired. He's tired of being upset with everything. People used to say he was a lot more fun before he got a stick up his ass after the accident, but people still spread rumors, told others how Carter Laws deserved to die in that ditch.

Maybe he did, but he was still fighting against that.

A year or so of therapy had helped as did his friends who stuck by him. Poppy had been the one to leave him letters on his hospital bedside about the jerks she told off or whatever was happening at school. Lars and Auto had showed up with a boombox and plenty of stories about Vandal in New York City, painting the walls of the city. Even Nico Thorne would show up on the occasion with a pack of cigarettes and a book from the library that was three months overdue. A softness fills Carter once more as he lets out the anger and sorrow in one deep breath, letting the chill of the pool fill his feet, nudging himself a little closer to Nico out of warmth.

Cigarette smoke lingers as the nicotine glows orange in the stars, where two boys with difficulties of their own lingers. A comfortable silence between the two of them as Carter looks upwards to the sky, counting the stars like Maxwell used to count his freckles. The sound of Whitesnake lingering behind them, knowing that Jack or Mitchell must have changed it to something harder. A sigh from his lips as Nico lets out smoke from his lips, almost waiting for Carter to be the one to break the silence, so Carter does the only thing he knows.

"Mind if I take a puff?"

Nico's eyes read Carter's for a second before handing it over with a smile as Carter brings the nicotine to his lips, letting himself breath in the smoke before letting it flow through his lips, the orange glow of the tip leaving behind ash between them. Handing back over the cigarette, letting his fingertips linger a little longer than normal at the soft touch of Nico's own hands. Leaning in closer to Nico Thorne, feeling the alcohol under his skin and the nicotine on his lips, he lets himself speak freely.

"I might be a little too drunk right now. I keep thinking about the future and how I don't think I have one."

The future. A concept everyone was afraid of handling. Many of his friends have figured out what their future holds for them. Mitchell's already been working on a college application to Chico to really hit the party scene. Jack's been focusing on classes and improving his grades to be able to apply for colleges. All Carter's been able to do is maintain his grades and ignore the feeling of being left behind and the world changing around him within the next year. Nico is the first to react with a blank stare, words leaving his lips as he leans back into Carter's space this time.

"It's the same here. Isn't that what every high schooler is thinking about?"

A hum on the tip of his lips as Carter lets himself ponder what a future for him looks like. Magic wasn't a viable option, despite knowing he'd make a killing on Venice Beach if he went south. Video Games weren't popular enough to really earn anything other than the five bucks he got from Lars after destroying his last record on space invaders. The future was still so far away from him, but far too close for comfort, so instead he nods, plays with Nico's jacket's zipper. Silence fills them once more as Carter cna feel himself biting the side of his cheek.

"Did Poppy tell you to deal with me?"

The words linger in the air as Thorne actually laughs at his own words, huffing in the last of the nicotine, smushing the orange glow with one of his shoes. Fingertips lingering on his own as Nico stares back at him for a second. Carter's own eyes reach the hands before he gives a small smile, letting himself ignore the feeling of his own little crush on Nico Thorne rise through his body. It's quiet out there, but the muffled sound of drums and guitar ring behind them. Poppy Hart has made it her mission to set them up, despite Carter begging her to not to. She backed off, but still had ways of going about it.

"Nope. Though she seemed pretty pleased when I left her to check if you're okay."

Silently, he lets himself breath. Imagining the way Poppy probably winked at Nico from inside as he left, but knowing Poppy it was probably more direct than that. A laugh leaves his throat as he feels himself get up as Nico follows him. The pool's water feeling cold against his skin that's exposed to the cold air. For a second, Carter can remember all of the romantic teen movies that Poppy would have him sit through with her as she talked about this and that on the weekend. For a second, it's almost as if he's hit with a realization that Nico Thorne cared about him, but he already knew that. Instead, there's something bubbling under the surface as he thinks about the way Poppy would laugh on the weekend at his antics. Lars and Auto taking him out to the diner on the edge of town at four o'clock in the morning. Mitchell telling Carter that he'll be only a drive away. Jack's invitation to smoke cigarettes by the beach. Izar-Krane's amusement at his card tricks. Maxwell still calling every month or so. The feeling bubbling on the edge of his mind as he already knew that he needed to stop overthinking and just live in the moment.

Carter does the only thing he can think of, which is laugh into the cold air, letting the smell of cigarettes and cologne and leather fill his senses. Eyes glancing to Nico knowing that others care about him and the now and he just needed to live in it instead of worry about everything else. A hard task to do, but the alcohol was giving way to a desire to ignore all of the melodramatic drama of being a teenager and focus on the now again. Maybe it was the way Nico's eyes glisten in the night sky or the way he can catch Poppy's eyes through the window of the house. Carter lets himself breath for once before he looks to Nico with a soft determination.

"Uh, good. Uhm, would you like to hang out tomorrow? I gotta get some new cards and the arcade opens at noon, but we could do whatever you want?"

A silence fills them as the sound of a party muffled next to them fills the air. The glowing of the pool fills his vision and Carter swears there's a shooting star, but he takes in Nico's outfit, watching with curious eyes as the other boy smiles back. It's a moment that lasts in Carter's head for too long, a moment that he'll be stuck thinking about for the next four days, but Nico speaks up softly.

"Yeah, sounds like fun, Laws."

Poppy is the one to open the door, breaking the moment as Carter shuffles out of the leather jacket, stumbles away a little further with a red blush that he knows Poppy Hart can see. A knowing look sent his way before she is already laughing. Carter laughs back nervously, avoiding eyes contact with Nico Thorne as he plays with the side pocket of his jeans. Nico Thorne looks about the same as always, cool, collected, and maybe a little too observant for Carter's liking.

"Sorry to interrupt. Carter, c'mon, Auto wants to do some shots with you before she has to go."

Eyes glance from Poppy to Nico as he shakes his head, letting himself stare back to Poppy who shuts the door once more. Fingers lingering on the edge of this leather jacket, knowing things were complicated, but Carter's always been complicated. The stars glitter and he can see the neon of the pool fill the space before Carter pulls himself forward, getting the guts to do something dumb. Alcohol laced breath as he shoves gently Nico's jacket into his hands. Words a whisper on his lips.

"Guess that's my cue. T-Thanks for checking up on me, Nico. See you tomorrow."

For a second, Carter isn't thinking about the future. No reason to think about it, except when it hits him hard in the chest. Mitchell would be gone by the spring of next year. Jack the year after. Himself the year after. All he could do was breath and push forward through the door. Leaving Nico outside with his own promise of tomorrow on his lips. The next day would come. Nico and him would hang out and have a good time. The future could wait because he wanted to be here.

Carter Laws was going to live these last few years to the best of his abilities.

The night ends with laughter, tequila shots, and a promise of tomorrow.

And Carter loves every second of it.