Chapter Text
Ever since Spamton took the job with Tenna people have been asking nonstop about it, and about him. The rest of Cyber City may not know about TV Time yet, but many of the mansion residents were there for the job offer. It’s all the talk around the manor. Those that attended the dinner boast what few details they know about the studio, the deal with Queen and Spamton, and about The Lord of the Screens himself. When Spamton first arrived at the mansion he was outright ignored, then accepted but still pretty much left alone, now he can’t leave his room without being bombarded with questions from the other tenants.
‘What’s the Screen Lord like?’; ‘Is he really a TV show host?’; ‘I heard he pulled a whole dinning room out of thin air!’; ‘Do you think he’ll ever come here?’; ‘Is it true that his height rivals Queen’s?’; ’Are we really going to stream shows from TV World?’ It’s exhausting, having constant attention without really having any of it. No one’s really interested in Spamton or what his part in everything is, they just want to ask about ‘Mr. Tenna.’ It should be a good thing that they’re all excited about the partnership with TV World since that means a greater chance of success airing their shows, but it’s just frustrating. Despite the ‘attention’ Spamton is practically being ignored again, but it’s completely different at the studio. There Spamton is still the new guy who might bring them success. Some still don’t know him but they’re all friendly and helpful and they don’t ignore him to his face. They also give him space. He doesn’t have to hide from them in order to have some kind of peace like he’s been having to do at the mansion lately. Today everyone seems to be staying in, which means that they’re all bothering Spamton as soon as he steps out. On days like this when more Darkners are in the mansion than usual, Spamton kind of wishes he had more days at the studio. It’s odd to think that such an unfamiliar place has become comfortable so quickly.
Spamton makes his way down to the first floor for lunch at the Color Café. He hesitates just before leaving the upper floors, knowing that this is the last bit of peace he’ll have till he returns to his office. For a moment he thinks about calling ahead and telling Sky that he can’t make it after all. Spamton even considers having one of the Swatchlings bring her up for lunch instead, but Spamton told Swatch he’d be there and they haven’t gotten to talk for a while so he has to go down today. Spamton sighs and makes his descent, preparing for the worst. The second Spamton’s spotted by the other residents, they swarm him asking the same questions he’s answered a million times before. He’s not sure if they aren’t listening or if he’s lost track of just how many people live there. No one knows for certain.
After a few questions Spamton starts to get exasperated. He glances down at his watch, he only has so much time to spare for lunch and this is eating away at it. “Alright people, I’ve gotta see to some important business so I hafta go but I’ll be around to answer questions later.” He pushes through the crowd and they trail behind him as he makes for the café. When Spamton enters the Color Café he gives a signal to the Swatchlings who intimidate the group into leaving.
Thank goodness, I thought I’d never get outta there.
“Good afternoon Spamton.” Swatch says from behind the counter, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you for a little while longer.”
“That’s alright Easel,” Spamton approaches and leans against one corner of the counter, “my baby sister’s comin over to catch up for a bit. Should give you plenty a time.”
“Very well. By the way, how is the new partnership with the Lord of the Screens fairing?”
Spamton’s teeth grit in a harsh smile. “It’s fine, things are fine.” How many more times am I gonna hafta have this conversation today?
“You’re not worried about him then?”
“Nah, he might be a tad overbearin but we get along fine.” Spamton turns his attention to the pastry case as if he were deliberating on what to get, but Swatch knows that Spamton will just get one of the two things he usually gets.
“That is good to hear.” His tone is as measured and even as always. Spamton has learned to take him at his word, since trying to read into him is more work than it’s worth.
Behind Spamton a high-pitched voice calls out. “Has anybody seen a lost Addison around here?”
“Sky.” Spamton says with a smile.
She leans in to hug him. “It’s good to see you Spam.”
“It’s good to see you too.” He says, returning the greeting. “Oh, this is Swatch by the way—the owner of this cafe.”
Sky smiles warmly. “And head butler to Queen. I’ve heard a lot about you, all good things though I assure you.”
Swatch gives a brief bow. “It is good to meet you ma’am.”
“Well,” Spamton starts, “why don’t we grab a seat.”
The siblings take Spamton’s usual table and place their orders. With Queen’s work for him, his own projects, and now Tenna, it’s been a while since Spamton has actually been able to sit down and enjoy a long lunch. It’d be really nice if it wasn’t for the fact that Spamton knows he’s going to end up having to answer questions about Tenna again at some point. Even though Sky shouldn’t know about the job, she’s going to ask about work eventually and he’ll have to decide whether or not to tell her the truth.
“Well you seem to be in a good mood today” Spamton says as the menus are taken up. “Any particular reason?”
“Absolutely. I’m finally getting to take an actual break and have lunch outside of my workplace.”
“I know the feelin. Things haven’t stopped movin around here. I feel like I’m always going-going-gone.” He puts a funny voice on for ‘going-going-gone’ like a sports announcer.
Sky laughs, “I bet so. We’ve both been so busy since the stream, it’s a miracle we were able to find the time to schedule this.”
Spamton nods. “You’re not wrong, that’s not a bad thing though. Booming business means good ad revenue.”
“True, but it’s nice to slow down once in a while.”
“I’m still upset that you ditched me at that party by the way.”
Sky gasps dramatically, “Yes you’re right. How could I? How could I not wish to be stuck in a cramped room full of sweaty strangers for hours?” She says sarcastically.
“How dare you is right. I had to be stuck in that mess without you.” He points, “You could’ve come upstairs, they would’ve let you in since you helped.”
She shrugs, “Didn’t think about it. I just saw the amount of people and thought ‘there is absolutely no way I’m dealin with that.’ I’ll definitely be at the next one though since it’ll probably not be as crowded.”
Spamton scoffs, “Yeah right.”
The Swatchlings come over a few minutes later with their food: Sky’s spaghetti code and spin cake, and Spamton’s CD bagel and Java cookie. They dig in, bringing a few minutes of actual quiet. The only time there was ever anything akin to silence in the Addison household was when they were eating. Their mother has a very strict ‘no talking with your mouth full’ policy that was probably created for the very reason of fabricating some semblance of quiet in a 5 kid house. It didn’t work very well though because they would just continue to talk in between bites so there was always at least one conversation going on. Here though with just the two of them, there’s no one else to fill the silence they leave.
Spamton finds himself eavesdropping on nearby conversations to avoid the absence of their own. He hears others talking about new business ventures or local gossip and of course, Tenna. Internally Spamton wants to roll his eyes. Everybody just loves Tenna and he seems like a decent enough Darkner, but there’s no way he’s as perfect as everyone else seems to think—he just has status. Well, Spamton’s gonna be just as big—no bigger—than Tenna. Then people will talk about him the same way they talk about Tenna.
Sky seems to have caught on to Spamton’s train of thought, that or she’s just continuing their earlier conversation. Either way she brings up that dreaded topic. “Speaking of business, what’s this I hear about a new gig you’ve got goin on?” Sky asks as she cuts into her cake.
“How did you know about that?” Spamton asks but truthfully, it’s not too surprising. The Addisons have contacts everywhere, it isn’t unheard of for their family to find out information before the public does—all part of the job. Come to think of it, maybe his benefactor has some connection to them besides Spamton himself.
“I have my ways,” Sky says teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows. “But seriously, that Micah girl from the band we booked at Queen’s party said somethin about it. Apparently she’s got a relative out there in TV World.”
Oh right, Mike. “Yeah, I’ve met him. Word sure does travel fast.”
Sky scoffs, “You have no idea. I bet it’s nice bein away from it some, heard it’s much quieter out there.”
It is much quieter out there, literally and figuratively. Don’t misunderstand, TV World is busy and bustling in its own right—but things are just different there. Cyber World is much more cut throat, a stranger on the street would just as soon run you over as buy something from you. In TV World people wave at you as they pass, say ‘good morning’ in friendly tones. The whole place somehow manages to feel like a small town despite its size. Even when things get busy, the business isn’t quite the same. All of that, though, is too difficult to accurately express—and too close to himself to mention—so Spamton opts for a simple answer instead.
“It’s alright. Slower paced in some ways.” Spamton says before chewing the last slightly over toasted piece of his CD bagel.
Sky leans forward on the table as if she were about to say something secret or conspiratorial. “So,” she whispers, a smile spreading across her face. “Is he hot?”
Spamton chokes as the bit of bagel tries to go down. “Stars above Sky” he manages to say between coughs.
Sky shrugs, “What? I’m curious, we don’t hear a lot about the other Dark World kingdoms. The other Addison branches don’t exactly like to share information.”
“And that’s what you decide to ask about?” Spamton questions after recovering from his near death-by-bagel.
“Hey, what’s the matter with that?” Sky defends, sitting back in her seat “You’ve got connections with him, right? Maybe you could set us up.” Her tone is serious but the expression on her face tells Spamton this has to be a joke of some kind—at least he hopes it is.
Spamton snorts, “Yeah maybe in your dreams. You two are not compatible.”
“Oh yeah?” Sky crosses her arms, feigning offense “Well let’s hear it then, what’s this Screen Lord like?”
“Well he’s freakishly tall for one.”
“Big deal, so is Queen.”
“Not like him. He’s even taller than her. When he came out to see us, her head was at his shoulder.”
“No kidding?” Sky takes another bite of cake.
“Nope. He’s also always dressed to the nines, but his clothing’s a bit dated. Don’t get me wrong, it looks nice—it really suits him—but it’s nothing like what you see here in the city.”
“Alright so he’s hot—“
“I didn’t say that—“ Spamton protests.
“But what about his personality?” Sky asks, pointing with her fork. “What really seals the deal is how someone treats you, so…what’s he like around the office?”
“I mean I’ve only just met the guy but it seems like he’s always busy runnin around and getting stuff done. Always goin out of his way to help or offer help. Anytime somebody seems upset or needs somethin, he’s there.”
“He sounds awfully dreamy Spam.” Sky rests her head on her hand.
Spamton’s face reddens a shade in embarrassment. Here he is complimenting the guy he swears is putting on a front. “What he sounds like is somebody who can’t trust.”
“And what if he’s being genuinely caring?” Sky offers, “What if that is just how he shows it?”
“Then I’ll know soon enough.”
Sky puts her fork down on the now empty cake plate with a sigh. “I guess so. Well if you find out he’s real, send him my way would you?” She says with a wink.
“Ha ha, very funny.” Spamton says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Not happenin.”
“Come on Spam, what makes us so incompatible?” Sky questions.
“Well for one…He’s always the center of attention and you can’t stand that kind of attention.” Spamton says pointedly. “It’s the whole reason you advertise something you don’t have to be the face of. Someone that close to him would end up in the same spotlight as him, or originate from it.”
“That’s not so bad, I can handle it.” Sky insists, “The main focus would be on him anyway.”
Spamton rolls his eyes, “Find your own boyfriend.”
“Why? Is this one taken?” She says it teasingly, like she’s trying to get a reaction out of Spamton.
“You’re not dating my boss, Sky.” He replies flatly.
“And you’re no fun.” Sky blows a raspberry at him. “So if I can’t ask about your hunky boss, then how are the ads doing?”
“I uh, I don’t know yet.” Spamton turns to look at some decorations on the wall, Swatch’s own paintings. He pretends to be preoccupied with examining one particular piece of art he’s seen a hundred times before. It’s a depiction of an angel that has a striking resemblance to the Lightner creation in the basement—though its asymmetrical coloration can be contributed to a trick of the light.
“You don’t know?” Sky asks, implying an additional question: ‘How don’t you know?’
“Not yet, TV ads work differently than sales. With sales you can see pretty much right away that what you’re doing does or doesn’t work. In this line of advertisin it’s a huge waiting game. I won’t really know anythin until the end of the quarter and maybe not even then.” Spamton’s still not really looking at her. It’s much easier to sound convincingly confident when you’re not looking in the eyes of someone trying to pry for your true feelings.
“Wow. That seems pretty stressful to deal with.” Sky sounds a little worried and Spamton is too, but she doesn’t need to know that. He needs to reassure her that he can handle things on his own—don’t want her reporting back to the family that he might be struggling.
Spamton shrugs, “It’s just how it is.”
“The end of the quarter huh? That’s coming up in a few weeks. I guess you’ll just have to put your head down and keep doin what you’re doin until then.”
“That’s the plan. Can’t really do much else.” He says nonchalantly.
Sky checks the time and sighs. “Well it’s been nice gettin to talk with you but I’ve gotta go.” Sky and rises from her seat. “We’ll catch up again soon okay?”
“Yeah, as long as our schedules let us.” He jokes.
When Sky leaves Spamton moves her empty plates over to his side of the table to clear the way for Swatch to join him. Swatch moves to sit gracefully, already holding his lunch.
“Before you say anythin, can we please talk about something not involvin TV World?”
“We can, as long as I can ask the rest of my questions first.”
Spamton sighs, “Fine, what are your questions.”
“You said the Screen Lord is someone who doesn’t trust, what do you mean by that?”
“Were you eavesdropping on us?”
“It was not intentional, but you Addisons do converse quite loudly. Plus, you commented that he is ‘a tad overbearing’.” Swatch uses air quotations for emphasis.
Spamton sighs. That’s fair. “Tenna’s involved in everythin and constantly steppin up to take on difficult work rather than have someone else do it. I know he’s in charge of the studio, but shouldn’t that mean he has enough to deal with already? Shouldn’t he be offloadin these things instead? He also has a tendency to ‘just happen’ to pop in durin filmin for a few minutes and he always meets me in the editing room afterwards. I don’t believe for a second that it’s a coincidence.”
“Have you considered that he just likes your company?” Swatch offers.
Spamton scoffs. “Yeah sure, he’s keepin an eye on the new guy because he thinks I’m neat.”
“Is it that hard to believe? I am your friend after all, and so is Queen.”
“That’s different. The three of us have somethin in common, and we work closely together.”
“As do you and the Screen Lord now. I do not think that you and he are as different as you seem to think.” Swatch says this while looking down at his food, as if the statement needed no elaboration. However, it does.
Spamton raises an eyebrow. “How would you know, you’ve never even met the guy.”
“Perhaps not, but you call him ‘Tenna.’ First name basis is a sign of closeness.” He states.
Spamton crosses his arms. “It’s his last name. He just has everyone cut the ‘Mr’ off the end. I’m not callin him anything any different than everybody else is.”
“I see. However, that does not necessarily mean that he does not like to have you around.”
Spamton laughs, “You are really determined to think this guy favors me huh?”
“You are a likable person.” Swatch looks into Spamton’s eyes as he says it, giving him no privacy from the statement.
“Yeah whatever.” Spamton deflects, looking off to the side. “Any other questions?”
“Do you like it there?”
Spamton blinks. These are not the kinds of questions he expected. The answer comes immediately, he doesn’t even really have to think about it. “I. Yes, yeah. So far I do. It’s…nice.”
“Good. Than that is all that matters.”
With that, Swatch moves on from the topic. Spamton is grateful, if not a bit perplexed, but he’s glad to be once again talking about town gossip rather than Tenna. Swatch shares a few things that Spamton has missed on his days away from the mansion, like a new resident and a rumor about two of the other residents being in a relationship. Spamton shares some of his own gossip from TV World once he’s in a lighter mood. He divulges a hunch about the weather duo being more than just friends and colleagues but isn’t 100% certain yet since he doesn’t get to see them all that often. Swatch makes Spamton swear to keep him updated on that front. For a little while, it is good to forget that the end of the quarter is both slow moving and rapidly approaching. Only a few more weeks until he will finally know the fruits of his labor.