DT Serum, Primary Testing In Progress

Tramp waved a hand.  "Meh, she was just upset.  She's always ridden a pretty high horse.  She's not so bad, just didn't expect you to be as apparently horrible as you were."

"It's just.... half of what she was telling me seemed illogical." Ashton said with a sigh. "I mean, I get you should treat the girl nice, but she made it sound like I should have been tripping over myself to please her, and maybe down the road get return for it." He shook his head. "That didn't make any sense, and my nerves weren't helping.... and she kept making me feel uncomfortable... and then insulted you and didn't really approve that my best friend and I honestly don't really chat much because he isn't that chatty, unless he's swearing at my stupidity, but only because it scares the bejeezus outta him..."

Tramp gave Ashton an odd look as he turned down an alleyway, apparently heading toward a destination.  "I have no idea what you're going on about, but okay."

Ashton sighed and followed. "I guess I still just want to apologize. You... you probably did a lot to do that for me, and I completely screwed up, and wasted whatever time you put into that."

Tramp shrugged.  "Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  It's never a waste to attempt to invest.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't."

"Still...." Ashton stubbornly insisted. "Is there a way I can repay you for a failed investment?"

"You can't refund a used favor," Tramp said, rolling his eyes.  "I knew you were a risk, I gambled, and I lost.  Maybe next time I'll win.  I think I just started too high a level with you.  Hmm..."  He shook his head.  "More on that, later."  He'd reached an abandoned store front and lifted the metal barricade enough to slip inside.

Ashton peered in curiously. "Uh, can I help with.... whatever you're doing?" He offered.

"Come in, stay out, just please stop drawing attention to my place!" Tramp pleaded from inside.

Ashton slipped inside. "Sorry." he apologized quietly and looked around.

The place was completely bare except for a large box filled with ragged blankets and some old clothes even the homeless wouldn't wear and two bowls with food and water.  Tramp was on his knees, hugging and stroking a very excited Bobo.
"See?  I promised I'd come back.  I always keep my promises to you, Bobo," he crooned happily.

Ashton smiled a little and looked around. "Not a bad place. Got some good bones."

"I just use it for Bobo," Tramp shrugged, standing.  "And great drink!"  He went behind the counter and pulled out a six pack.  "That girl pays good money for a jealousy trip."

Ashton's eyes veered away from Tramp when he mentioned the girl. He still felt... weird about that whole fiasco. "I wouldn't know. Never touched alcohol before."

"Well, someone has a happy life that they never want to soften," Tramp snorted.  He went to sit in the box bed, Bobo hopping in with him.  Tramp, already tipsy from the club, opened a bottle and drained half of it without pause.  He wiped his mouth and snuggled in with Bobo.  "I don't get you,"

"Who said I was happy?" Ashton asked him. He sat in front of Tramp and watched him once more. "What do you not get?" He asked curiously. "Maybe I could clear some things up?"

One arm around Bobo, Tramp gestured at Ashton with the half empty beer bottle.  "You.  You got a great thing.  You've got a home and some sort of family and a brother.... or is he your friend?  Dunno, whatever, you got it all.  And you want to mess it up by bringing a relationship into things."  Tramp giggled hysterically and upended the bottle, draining.  "By themselves, girls ain't so bad, but then you try to put them in a relationship setting, and all goes to hell.  You saw what happened.  Why would you want that?"  He shook his head violently, clearly drunk as a skunk by now.

"Because I've seen how girls can make guys happy." Ashton said with a sigh. "My one brother is so determined to do anything, even moving the sky because of her. Doctor Dad looks like he's finally completely happy and relaxed since he proposed to Geena and she said yes. Even my best friend is happier than I've ever seen him because of Layla." He sighed again. "I guess... I am a little jealous, and want to be happy like that too."

Tramp fished out two more bottles and handed one to Ashton.  "Ashy, my love, let me tell you a little secret about girls," he drawled, trying to get his bottle open.

Ashton accepted the beer, although he didn't know if it'd make him sick or not. He opened Tramp's before his own, and discovered that the alcohol burned enough to not have the taste bother him so much. "Yeah?"

Tramp touched the center of Ashton's chest with his bottle.  "They will make life miserable."  He sat back and waved his bottle.  "Sure!  Life is all roses and happiness and unicorns farting rainbows at first, but then they get bored in the day to day to day.... day... and they nag and harp and men shut them out which makes them nag and harp some more, and no one is happy!  So they go looking for someone new, and it's all over again!"

Ashton nodded, hanging on to Tramp's every word. His bottle was almost empty already. This beer wasn't so bad. He hadn't know he could drink alcohol with seemingly no hiccup! "How d'you break the cycle then?" He asked Tramp.

"Ya don't," Tramp told him, already half way through his bottle.  "Peeps that actually make it work... for real... them's rare.  Most that even look like they're working?  It's just that.  Looks.  Never judge a house by its front door."  He threw his empty bottle away, but instead of breaking, it bounced and rolled away loudly.

Ashton frowned. So everyone in his house was rare then? He finished his own bottle and looked at the label. "This stuff isn't s'bad." He told Tramp before he hiccuped. It was Ashton's first time having alcohol.

Tramp nodded, falling over against Bobo.  "It's de-lushes!"  He picked up his third and managed to get it open after a couple of tries.  "There's no such thing as happily ever after."