Gavin couldn't understand it; Geoff was always disappearing, vanishing into thin air at the drop of a hat. Mostly it was when they were at home, filming a let's build with a couple of beers in hand, but it seemed to be happening more and more during the work day as well. Geoff would be browsing reddit or one of the local Austin news sites, and suddenly leap from his chair and rush out of the Achievement Hunter office like a man possessed. He'd tried asking Griffon about it, but she had always responded with a simple "He has his reasons" and refused to answer any more of his questions. To make matters worse, it always seemed to be just before the television would become ablaze with the newest exploits of Austin's own super hero; the Green Lantern. Ever since the Lantern had saved Gavin's life during the filming of his exploding car episode of his youtube show The Slo Mo Guys, when a large section of debris had sped straight at his head, only to be caught in an enormous, transparent green catcher's mitt, he had idolised the hero to an almost obsessive level. He had even taken to collecting newspaper clippings about the Green Lantern's adventures, hidden from prying eyes in the hole in his desk that Ryan had made.
Michael and Ray, the younger of his co-workers at Achievement Hunter, thought that his obsession was stupid, and yet retaliated with playful fists whenever Gavin brought up their love of My Little Pony. Jack, Lindsay and Caleb however, agreed with Gavin, dividing the room into camps of pro-Lantern and anti-lantern fanboying. It only seemed as though Ryan and Geoff had no opinion on the matter whatsoever, avoiding Lantern related conversations as though they carried herpes.
"Please, just stop it guys!" Geoff pleaded, his voice carrying the exasperated tone of a person with a serious hangover. "We have to have this let's play done by today if it's going to be edited in time for Monday."
"Oh who cares about some dumb game, the Green Lantern just stopped a runaway train with his bare hands, now tell me that's not amazing," Gavin replied, rocking gleefully in his chair as CCTV footage of the rescue played on a loop on his computer screen.
"It's not just some dumb game you asshole!" Michael shouted, throwing a lollipop square at Gavin's head. "It's the new Splinter Cell, remember? The game you have had on pre-order since it was announced. Hell, you have a fucking statue of Sam Fisher on your desk right now!"
"Well… yeah, but come on! That was a badass rescue."
"Wow, you really just need to find this guy and suck his dick don't you?" said Ray from the corner of the room as he searched through a pile of cables. "Hey, where the hell is my mic?"
"Why don't you guys get it? He's Austin's first ever super hero. I mean, think about it. How many other super heroes are there?"
"In Australia they have about four super heroes per capital city," Jack chimed in, handing Ray his mic from the mess beside him.
"Shut up Jack, no one cares about Australian heroes."
"GAVIN! Seriously, if you can shut the fuck up about the Green Lantern and get this let's play filmed, I promise to pay for all your booze when we go for bikie bevs tonight, alright?" Geoff shouted, going back to his pleading. Gavin nodded once, smiling stupidly at his boss' offer. Free alcohol was a sure fire way to get him to do anything.
"Okay, fine. Splinter Cell: Silent Assassin it is then."
"LLLLLLLET'S play!" Ray shouted, continuing with his efforts to bring back his old catchphrase.
That evening, as the sun started to set, painting a strange orange glow over the city of Austin, Gavin and Geoff set out on their bicycles for a local bar they frequented. Gavin, having had some recent trouble with the staple holding his testicle in place, was forced to ride standing up, making pedalling a more exhausting experience then he wanted. It was a longer ride that night, as they first had to swing past Michael's apartment and meet him. Winter was starting to come on, sending a noticeable chill throughout Gavin's entire body, making him regret wearing his loose shorts and t-shirt on the ride. But he reasoned it was all for the safety of his bollock, and therefore entirely worth it. He shot a look over to Geoff, who was lazily swaying from side to side on his bike, whether from simple contentedness, or from the half bottle of whiskey he had downed before the ride; it was unclear.
They eventually reached Michael's and after a short chat as the curly haired young man finished pumping up his tires, they set off for the bar.
"My boi, I have an awesome bet for you when we get to the bevvies," Gavin said to Michael, riding alongside him like a schoolboy doing bike ed.
"And what is that Gavin? Did you find another weird drink on Reddit?" Michael asked happily, smirking at the thought of another easy way to get Gavin's money. In between his Green Lantern obsessive study, Gavin had taken to looking up strange and unusual drinks from all over the world, with the intention to either make stupid bets with his friends, or tricking someone into trying something disgusting.
"It is indeed Michael," the British man said gleefully, a mischievous smile beginning to contort his face. "All the way from lovely Australia. It involves a reverse Jaeger bomb being bombed into a whole pitcher of stout beer, so let's say Guinness."
"So let me get this straight, you want Michael to put a shot of Red Bull into a schooner of Jaeger, and then for him to put that entire fucking thing into a pitcher of Guinness? That is hardcore. I want in," said Geoff from behind them.
"No worries Geoff, I'll even pay for those drinks. But if you can't finish them, you both have to pay me two hundred dollars each. Deal?"
"Deal," said Geoff and Michael simultaneously. Gavin laughed, ecstatic at the idea of his friends drinking something so foul sounding.
'This is going to be a great night' thought Gavin, pictures of four one hundred dollar bills dancing in his head.
The three gamers wheeled themselves to the bar, laughing and joking as they grew more exhausted with every passing block. But as they arrived, their jovial attitudes dropped like stones in a pond.
"Closed for renovations? What the heck?" Gavin exclaimed, pounding on the door in the hopes that it was just some cruel joke someone was playing on them.
"Makes sense really, that place has been falling apart for ages. Although I bet that guy getting thrown through the wall of the men's room was the last straw," Geoff reasoned, sounding devastated.
"What are we going to do now? Bikie bevs is ruined," Gavin proclaimed dramatically, complete with child-like stamping of his feet.
"What's the big deal? So we'll go to a liquor store and get drunk at Geoff's house, right Geoff?" Michael suggested, trying to salvage the situation. Geoff shook his head, giving them a sigh.
"Afraid not, because while we may not have work tomorrow, my daughter still has school."
"Then we drink in Gavin's little shack thing out the back, it's far enough away from the house that we should be pretty quiet to the others," Michael replied, smiling dopily as Geoff and Gavin looked at each other in confusion.
"That never even occurred to us before…"
"That could be all of the alcohol we had before we left though Geoff," Gavin smiled, nudging the older man in the side.
"Then it's settled, let's go to the fucking liquor store, get a few forties and head back to yours, too easy my boi!"
"Quite right my boi! But can we wait a bit before we go, my legs kill from standing up on the bloody bike," Gavin groaned, rubbing his thighs."
"You know who whines about sore legs on a bike ride?" Geoff asked, looking at Michael.
"Babies Geoff," replied Michael, not missing a beat.
"Babies."
Much to their chagrin, the closest liquor store to them was three blocks away from Geoff's house, and in turn, thirty blocks in the opposite direction. But they pushed on determined to have a night of drinking. The sun had long since vanished behind the horizon, casting the shroud of Texan night over the city. The chill had increased, turning Gavin a pale blue colour. But he was thankful that they were getting close, as he was certain some honey whiskey would warm him up.
They arrived at the liquor store in next to no time, each of them laughing weakly through their sweat and exhaustion. Gavin all but sprinted into the store, revelling in the warmth of the heater.
"Let's see, where did they put the whiskey?" Geoff asked himself, strolling past Gavin, who had taken refuge under the gentle touch of the heater.
"I'm in a more vodka-y mood tonight Geoff, any recommendations?" Michael asked, stroking his chin like the wizard he secretly wished he was.
"None that you can afford, not with what I'm paying you," Geoff joked as he picked up three bottles of whiskey, cradling them in his arms like a mother holding a baby. Gavin left the warmth of his sanctuary and made his way over to Geoff, sidling up slyly.
"So uh, so Geoff… Remember when you said you would buy me all of my drinks tonight?" said the Brit, nudging his older friend.
"Yes Gavin, I remember, what the fuck do you think all thi-" he started, before a tremendous bang rippled throughout the store. Two large men, black balaclavas covering their faces, burst through the glass doors, shotguns levelled at the old man behind the counter. One of the men, sporting torn jeans and a leather jacket, made a beeline for the three of them, shotgun aimed directly at Michael.
"Get on the fucking ground!" he shouted, all of them immediately dropping to the floor. Gavin grabbed the back of Geoff's jumper, and was surprised to see that the older man looked more annoyed than scared.
"God damn it. I really didn't want to have to do this in front of you and Michael," he whispered, slowly reaching into the pocket of his trousers. Gavin's eyes went wide as from the tan coloured pants Geoff pulled out a green ring.
"Geoff, is that?"
"I swear, if you tell anyone about this, I will beat you to death, same goes for Michael," Geoff warned as he slipped on the ring. Bright green light exploded from his hand, blinding both Gavin and the masked man. When the light had subsided, Gavin looked up to see Geoff, standing above him, garbed in a green and black outfit. It had a completely Green torso, aside from a white circle on the chest that framed a stylised green lantern, green boots that blended seamlessly with the green stripes down the side of the pants, white gloves and a sleek-looking domino mask that completely whited out his eyes.
"Oh for fuck's sake," said the robber by the counter as soon as he spotted Geoff. "Terry, let's get the hell out of here!"
"Yeah, not happening, you almost made me sober up," Geoff, and with the barest flick of his hand, a massive fly swatter hit the closer man in the side, sending him flying into his friend and over the counter. One of the robber's jumped to their feet and fired at Geoff, who barely reacted beyond a yawn as the pellets from the shotgun melted harmlessly on contact with his aura of green light. A long tendril dropped from Geoff's ring, hitting the linoleum floor with a solid thud. He have his wrist another flick, and the tendril snapped towards the shooter, beaning him right between the eyes and sending him down without another sound.
The tendril retracted, going back inside of the ring as thought nothing had happened. Gavin got shakily to his feet, still staring at Geoff in awe.
"G-Geoff, it's you're the Green Lantern!"
"Uh, yeah, sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"Hell, at least its Achievement Hunter green," laughed Michael, his head popping up from the other side of the shelf.
"Huh, I never noticed that. Achievement Hunter green… Strange coincidence don't you think Gav?" Geoff asked. Gavin nodded once, then fainted.
