#aboveeveryone

[comservarmy]

- Saturday Spray Day! Have you seen the newest piece from our boy @think426? Come say what's up, we're here til 8pm! 📷 by: @mr_anani_ #spraydaily #think426 #denvergraffiti #wildstyle #portraits #graffiti #ComServ #comservbackwall #ironlak #montanacolors #mtn94 #rusto #communityservice #doyourpart #MileHigh #aboveeveryone #supportlocal #Denver #Colorado #englewood #southbroadway (at Community Service Apparel)

[blue-mood-blue]

Above

Everyone had a story about Hyperion.

They were fairy tales, almost all of them. They were the kind of narrative that promised something, a reward for the intrepid and the bold - staggering treasure, fantastic technology, a utopia of the best and brightest of humanity living perfect, unseen lives. There was no way to prove any of it. There was no way to disprove any of it. And as long as the dark, metal dome stayed closed, as long as there was no proof positive of anything about the reality of Hyperion, the reality of Hyperion could be anything. That was the draw, right? The sealed city was somewhere else, greener pastures, the lottery win - the improbable fix for whatever was wrong in a person’s life. If the stories said more about the teller than the truth, that was hardly new.

Sarah Steel had a story about Hyperion. It took a whole two sentences to recite: “Hyperion is a dead city. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave it alone.”

That wasn’t the story Benzaiten wanted to hear before bed when he, hopeful, had recounted a schoolmate’s wild playground exaggeration. He pouted and Sarah smiled, kissed him on the forehead, and handed him his pill and a glass of water.

“Not even a little bit of treasure?” He took the medicine.

“Not even.” She took the glass from his hand when he was done.

“No cool robots at all?” Treasure, Benten decided, he could take or leave. An absence of cool robots when his classmate had practically guaranteed them seemed a step too far.

His mother’s smile was very still. “None.”

“Guess that means not everyone’s happy all the time there, either,” he grumbled, burrowing into his blanket while Sarah tucked him in. He wouldn’t be happy all the time in a place that couldn’t even keep its own promises - what a letdown.

It wouldn’t occur to him until later - years and miles later - that Sarah was quiet that night. Her answers were as small as she could make them, and in hindsight she’d seemed smaller, too. Diminished and struggling with something that a younger Benten never even noticed. “No one’s happy all the time, sweetheart. Not anywhere.”

Ben was never good at leaving well enough alone, though, and it wasn’t the only time the lost city came up. He couldn’t have said then or later what he was really looking for by pressing the issue; maybe he was just curious because he couldn’t get a real answer. Maybe he wanted to know what Sarah Steel would look for in a fairy tale. Maybe he just knew that she would tell the story best.

She was more patient about it than he had any right to expect, with the way her temper could get. Benten would ask, Sarah would grimace, Benten would tease, Sarah would tease back just on the right side of too sharp. It was the push and pull between them that he was used to; one of those weird things she decided to dig her heels in over. And then he asked again, because Benzaiten Steel was contrary by nature. He was pretty sure that was something about him she appreciated even when it annoyed her - he was pretty sure he got that from her.

Benten never did get a real answer. Social services showed up at their door before Sarah had the chance to change her mind, and then there were so many more important questions to ask.

Living in the group home meant he was too old for stories. No one said so; it was more that bedtime stories stopped happening and the caretakers told him he was very grownup for taking the change as well as he did, and the thoughts mixed and melded in his head somewhere. He didn’t think about Hyperion again until years and two roommate changes later, when a wispy kind of boy with dark eyes and dark hair was pushed in front of him and introduced.

He didn’t want anything to do with Benten at first - he didn’t want anything to do with anyone, ever, spending long hours by the door like he was waiting for someone to remember they’d left him there and come back. That wasn’t all that strange; everyone thought the group home was just temporary until it wasn’t anymore. Benten sat close enough to be heard and prattled away like the annoying little shit he was good at being, and eventually - probably to slow the deluge of words - the kid answered.

No one ever came back for Peter Nureyev.

Benten wouldn’t tell him he was fine with that because whoever would leave Peter behind didn’t appreciate him enough to begin with; it was a nice thought that wouldn’t heal that hurt. Time - in general and together, specifically - was much better medicine. Peter taught Benten to steal, sneaking trinkets from the caretaker’s desk drawers, and Benten taught Peter to dance, up on the rooftop where it really felt like flying. They both dreamed about where they would go if they could go anywhere, and the list was tacked onto their wall with pages of additions.

Hyperion made the list. Peter wrote it in himself.

Benten had been skeptical when he spotted it. “Ma always said it wasn’t worth thinking about.”

“Has she ever been?” And he had a point - Sarah had not been. Sarah and Benten had never so much as stepped foot anywhere within a planet’s distance of Mars. “Nobody knows what’s in there. Nobody’s been able to get in since they closed the dome.”

Benten narrowed his eyes at Peter from where he was laying on his bed across the room. “Is this a nerd thing.”

“It’s not a nerd thing.” Peter tossed a paper ball at him from where he sat with a huge, nerd book spread open before him, not even trying to hide the smile on his face. “It’s interesting. I know you think so too, you stayed up to watch that conspiracy theory show about it.”

“Do you want to unearth some relics.”

Peter snorted. “It’s not old enough for relics. It closed when you were four - unless you’re trying to call yourself an ancient antique?”

Benten tossed the paper ball back. “I am unknowable.”

“You’re a nuisance is what you are,” Peter muttered, and as long as he kept using words like ‘nuisance’ in casual conversation, Benten would keep calling him a nerd. Peter looked across the room, and his glasses made his eyes big and bright. “Don’t you want to know what they’re hiding?” And then, hastily tacked-on. “It could be worth a fortune.”

Fortune wasn’t Hyperion’s draw for Peter; it was the draw he thought he should have, that he thought other people would expect him to have, but Benten knew better. Hyperion’s draw for Peter was the same as Benten’s: curiosity.

A dangerous thing, Benten thought. Curiosity killed, or so they said, and Benten didn’t have a history of getting satisfying answers. He looked up at the handwritten name on a list of places that all seemed fantastic and otherworldly from one half of a room in a group home. Maybe that’s why Sarah tried to warn him - but Benzaiten Steel had always been contrary by nature.

“I could be talked into it.”

[comservarmy]

Final Friday is this week! Come by for live art, music & Denver's dopest streetwear! Bring your art & bring a friend! #ComServ #FinalFridays #think426 #denvergraffiti #comservbackwall #liveart #hiphop #dinkc #denversfinest #MileHigh #aboveeveryone #supportlocal #Denver #Colorado #englewood #southbroadwaydenver (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

Friday is in full force & we have tons of new summer stock! Stop by, say what's up & let ComServ kit you up for the season! #ComServ #denversfinest #graffiti #handstyle #streetwearfashion #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

Memorial Day weekend Sale! Buy2, Get1 - 1/2 OFF (1/2 item is equal or lesser value) *SALE thru 5/28 - 5/29 #memorialday #weekendsale #ComServ #denversfinest #streetwearfashion #mensfashion #lifestylebrands #boutique #graffiti #denvergraffiti #englewood #southbroadway #MileHigh #aboveeveryone #supportlocal #shopsmall #Denver #Colorado #emitdf #tukeone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

Comin' in hot! This Friday we are gettin' down with live art by @tukeone & @emitdf, as well as a movie screening of @wastedland2 + FREE beer from @zephyrbrewing! Don't miss out! #ComServ #denvergraffiti #denverstreetart #streetculture #graffiti #FinalFridays #englewood #southbroadway #cypherurbanarts #mcginnisandsons #supportlocal #shopsmall #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

Hoods up Colorado! We're not done with the cold just yet.. - V/SUAL | Photo Copy pullover - $68.00 #ComServ #visual #pullover #hoodie #vanstyles #streetwearfashion #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- Just when you thought the cold weather was over...Don't stress, we just marked a grip of jackets 15% OFF! The Hundreds Swim Parka - $144.00 (reg.$170.00) #ComServ #streetwearfashion #colddays #winterisntover #jacketsale #MileHigh #aboveeveryone #mensfashion #thehundreds #swimparka #denverstreetwear (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- Keepin things rollin' with a solid line up of deliveries thru the week from @primitiveapparel, @blackscale & @thehundreds! #ComServ #denversfinest #graffiti #streetwearfashion #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- Only a few select items left from our "HUNDREDS x MFDOOM" collab! Better late than never... #thehundredsxdoom #mfdoom #metalface #lifestylebrands #thehundreds #thehundredsishuge #collab #exclusive #limitedrelease #denversfinest #streetwearfashion #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- Hump Day at ComServ is all about the ladies! Roll thru for yourself or get her something nice! Lady Crooks is Spring is here! #Humpday #eve #ladiesfirst #ComServ #denversfinest #streetwearfashion #MileHigh #ladycrooks #streetwear #crooksfemme #crooksandcastles #crookslife #medusa #versace #springfashion #sportsbra #nolove #aboveeveryone #englewood #southbroadway (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- Time to get "Crookin" ladies! We are expecting a massive order to arrive any day! 💯 #ComServ #crooksfemme #crooksandcastles #ladycrooks #fwu #streetwearfashion #denverstreetwear #denverfashion #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- We're up and running, ready to serve up the freshness! Stop by for a "taste" of Denver's Finest Streetwear Boutique! · · 3356 S Broadway Englewood, CO 80113 · · #ComServ #denvergraffiti #comservbackwall #MileHigh #aboveeveryone #tasteburns #streetwearfashion #mensfashion #communityservice #lifestylebrands #boutique (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- Get in where ya fit in! Brand new LRG in stock for all the lifted heads in the ComServ Nation! #denverstreetwear #ComServ #lrgclothing #lrg #spring17 #streetwearfashion #staylifted #denversfinest #streetwearboutique #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

- Winter isn't over yet! We still have a few fresh pieces to keep you dipped in the illest gear for the season! + more on the way!! @lrgclothing | Nomad Sweater - $125.00 #lrgclothing #nomadsweater #ComServ #winterapparel #streetwearfashion #staylifted #denverstreetwear #denversfinest #Colorado #MileHigh #aboveeveryone (at Community Service Apparel)

[comservarmy]

#ComServ #thehundreds #thehundredsxdoom #dadhat #mfdoom #doom #exclusive #limitedrelease #denverstreetwear #streetwearfashion #hiphop #metalface #denversfinest #MileHigh #aboveeveryone #mensfashion #lifestylebrands