Summary: It'll turn out alright if we just stick with each other, I'm sure of it. Well, I can't say I ever saw myself in this situation when me and Judee became friends. I'm standing here, holding my hand out to the mother of the woman that destroyed so many lives, waiting for her to shake my hand. When Stella told me Fang's mom was writing about her life since the shooting happened, I winced, thinking it'd be a similar read like the one book by that old bitch who was in a similar situation. But, Stella was adamant that Fang's mom will take responsibility for what she did, even if it means people would hate her...like there aren't already enough people that'd want to hang the old ptero if they knew where she lived. Both Stella and Judee insisted I do the lonely old crone a solid and try to get my Dad's publishing company to sell her memoirs. Honestly not a bad idea, especially if there's a chance people could learn from the old ptero's fuck ups and not be like her. My Dad's been waiting for practically anyone to write about the shooting, not because he's looking for a 'big seller', but because he wants people to know about the experiences people involved had regarding the whole thing. He actually showed some genuine interest when I told him about Fang's mom, but I'll hold off on letting this tiny former matriarch know about that for now. "Well?" I say, growing a bit impatient with her analyzing of my gesture. She stands there, thinking for a moment. And then she grasps my hand, hesitantly "O-okay, you got a deal" She removes her hand pretty quickly "Though, I'm still in the early stages right now. Might take a while before I have something to show for it" Well luckily for her, Dad's pretty patient with budding authors "Ah, don't worry, my dad will understand" I pull out my old man's business card "Just call this whenever you're ready to publish your autobiography" Fang's mom takes the card and inspects it before pocketing in in her loose dollar store shorts. "I'll keep that in mind" A light bulb seems to go off in her head, as she realizes something "Oh! My name's Samantha, by the way" "Leo. Last name Turner" I glance back at Judee "Though I'm sure she told you that already" Judee simply awkwardly smiles and waves at Samantha. ... Yeah, this is awkward as shit. We might as well head out, gotta help out with that costume party. Just as I was about to say goodbye, I heard a throat clear to my left. I look towards the source and find a human woman dressed as...that green haired pop idle chick Stella told me about. The dead pan expression on this woman does not match the flamboyance of the Japanese Idol outfit. Samantha peaks her head outside and looks at the human inquisitively "Jill? What are you doing here?" 'Jill' retorts "Why are you not ready?" she turns her attention to me "And who is this Reservoir Dogs reject?" "Okay, first off, rude. And second off, I'm Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction. Can't you tell with Marvin's brains all over me?" I gesture a circle around the fake blood on my face. Jill scoffs "Smooth. Especially considering the shit the boss' fiance' went through numbnuts" Judee speaks up "I-It was my idea! S-Sorry if it's not appropriate..." I turn to Judee and lean over a bit "Hey, it's alright, you didn't do anything wrong" I glance over my shoulder at the pig tailed menace "Not my fault some people can't appreciate some fine art" Jill looks quite annoyed "Oh, you did not jus-" "WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING NOW!?!" ... Oh, right... Samantha is pinching the bridge of her snout in hopes that it'll mellow her out. Then she starts as she looks at Jill. "Again, what are you doing here Jill?" Jill shrugs "Making sure you're ready for the costume party at the bar?" The tiny ptero looks bewildered by this statement "Costume party? What are-" She cuts herself off as she looks around, lost in thought. "...You forgot, didn't you Sam" Samantha now has a tint of red on her face, embarrassed "Y-yes" She then face palms "Fuck me, I can't believe I forgot. I didn't even get a costume ready" Jill chuckles at the old ptero's dismay "Hey, don't worry" She walks over and pats Samantha on the back "You got any old costumes from when you divorced?" Samantha looks up "Well, yes" Her face gets a bit red at the thought "B-but it's from so long ago! It probably doesn't fit anymore!" I chime in "Ah, c'mon, it can't be that bad. Right?" ...Me and my big mouth. Judee, Jill and I are stunned as we look at...some blue skin tight leotard or something that comes with matching boots of the same color. Samantha's face is bright red as she holds it forward. "T-There!" she swiftly hides it behind her back "You saw it! Now can we just come up with something else please!" Me and Judee are puzzled, but Jill. That little human has the most devious grin I've ever seen on anyone. She moves towards the blushing ptero and starts teasing. "Sam" "Uh, yes?" "Did you wear that when you and Ripley-" Sam immediately cuts Jill off "NO! I mean-" As the ptero searches for words Jill starts howling with laughter "NO FUCKING WAY! YOU AND HIM-" "JILL! NOT IN FRONT OF-" "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "...ohmygodicantbelievethisishappening" Samantha has her face in both of her hands as she shakes her head in embarrassment like a school girl. ...It's hard to hold back my laughter. Especially since Judee still looks confused as to what any of this means. Oh Judee, you sweet summer child, don't change. After a few more snide remarks from Jill about what Samantha and her former husband did behind closed doors, the little ptero went into the bedroom to find something other than the 'sex outfit'. My eyes wander around the place for a bit, before meeting with...that shelf. The shelf that made my blood boil just for reminding me of what happened and what I had lost. What Judee lost. What everyone that day lost, because of that white ptero in all of those pictures. The difference between my gazing from then and now is I don't feel any rage or sadness just...curiosity. How on Earth could a kid playing some sort of pirate game at a playground in one picture, turn into the punk menace that's flipping the bird in another? How did 'Lucy' become 'Fang'? As I think this over, I'm also reminded of the question I asked Samantha when I first met her. 'Do you know why she did it?' It was an attempt to push the old ptero to the edge back then, but now? I'm legitimately curious. I know that the gun was her dad's. Hell, someone leaked to the press that the gun was his and that resulted in him being forced into 'retirement' as the mayor put it. But as far as motive for the killer in question? The public never found out. Probably because Stella's fiance' never talked to the police. I'm still in shock over that. The fact that Fang's old skinnie boyfriend is engaged to sweet little Stella. Wonder how that happened too. Though from what my stego friend has said, he's not a bad guy, just misunderstood...like Fang I guess. I never really knew her or 'them' as that purple demon would be sure to remind everyone that dared to misgender her friend, but I always got the impression from Sage that Fang was 'never really happy'. Certainly still makes me feel like a dick for all the trouble I caused that year. "Um, L-Leo?" I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Judee looking at me with concern all over her face "Oh, uh, what is it?" The little troodon shows further concern "You've been s-staring at those pictures for a few m-minutes. Are you okay?" I flash a weak smile to try and reassure her "I'm fine, just" I look back at the shelf of pictures and my smile is gone "thinking about things, is all" "You better not be thinking about yelling about how my daughter is a 'cunt' again" a voice pulls at my attention and-WOAHWHATTHEFUCK? It's Samantha...wearing that suit from before and her hair is now in a ponytail, with her bangs hanging at the side of her face and covering her forehead. Sure enough, that suit of hers does not leave much to the imagination... "Take a picture, it'll last longer" Samantha says pulling my mind out of the gutter. Jill is snickering at this and Judee is just giving me a look of disapproval. "No thanks, not into MI-" I feel a small elbow jab my abdomen and sure enough Judee is glaring at me "Leo! That's very inappropriate! Tyhmä mies..." Both Jill and Samantha have a good laugh at my expense. Yeah, I deserve that I guess. As long I'm here, might as well ask. "So, S- Ms. Aaron?" The old ptero scoffs "You can call me Samantha, Leo" I rub the back of neck "Uh, sure. So, I've been meaning to ask since we got here" Samantha cocks an eyebrow at my statement, but motions me to ask away. Okay Leo, here we go. Breath in. Breath out "Did Anon tell you why Fang shot up Volcano High?" --- ...July 8th, 201M2021, One Year After The Shooting, Judee's House "So, uh, like this?" "Um, k-kind of...not really" "Judee, I have literally no idea what I'm doing here. I need more feedback then just 'kind of" ... Shit, did I hurt her feelings again? "H-Hey, I didn't-" Laughter erupts from the behind the little theater stage "I finally got you! I finally got you!" That smile is enough to make me feel alright about getting faked out. Boy, where to begin with my current situation? It's been about a year since...yeah that. About three months afterwards, Stella just showed up at my place and told me to come with her. I was confused at first, but she talked about Judee, this troodon I'm helping out with her now blooming YouSnoot channel. She started it around the end of last year, doing these puppet shows of children's fairy tales and puppet versions of famous movies and TV shows. It's gotten popular in the short amount of time it's been up and she needed help with her next video, a bad recap of my favorite Tarandino films, Pulp Fiction. She's never asked me for help before, I wonder if now would be a good time to...no Leo not now. Think Pulp Fiction! ...I just hope the scenes with guns don't set me off like last time... Anyways, back to three months after the, uh, incident that shall not be named. Stella wanted me to come with her to see Judee. Apparently she'd been keeping herself locked away in her room for three months, only coming out to go to the bathroom or get something to eat and her mom was getting worried. I asked why Rosa wasn't Stella's first choice, but Stella said the anklyosaur was too busy with missionary training to come along. I never really knew Judee like Stella did and even then, I only saw the troodon at lunch. Every other time, she was trailing behind...that compy girl, Wendy. ... Well, to make a long story short, Judee and me have become friends of sorts after that day of checking in on her. Truth be told though, my feelings have been...more you could say. I dunno what to say. Judee's one of the sweetest girls I know, aside from Stella and Rosa. The passion she has for her puppets and especially her handicraft regarding said puppets, is infectious as Hell. Her cute mannerisms, like when she sways her tail left to right when a video is doing well or when the face she makes when I tease her with my height. The way she looks at me and others she cares about with concern when we feel down. Her light blonde hair that almost covers those big eyes. All the adorable freckles dotted across her little snout. Everything about Judee just made me feel... God, I've gotta tell her, otherwise I'm gonna burst like a bubble! "H-Hey, Judee?" I manage to squeak out, sounding as nervous as her. Judee peaks her head up from behind the mini theater "Hm? Is s-something wrong?" Dammit, she's too cute for her own good... Focus chuckle nuts! It's now or never! "I've been meaning to say something for a while now" Judee crawls around to the side of the theater to my side "I-Is it about Sage again?" She removes the puppet from her left hand and then proceeds to place her hand on mine. "I'm always willing t-to talk about those things with y-you" she says beaming a warm smile my way. Right, we both got closer after sharing a bit about the ones we lost. Her about Wendy and me about Sage. When I first told her about Sage and that she...she killed herself some time after the incident, Judee didn't do anything but hug me. She just held me tight as I let out all of my frustrations and sadness about it. I did much the same for her when she talked about how much she missed Wendy. Judee even said she wished, even just a little, that it was her instead of Wendy that day...I also gotta tell about what I saw that day...but another time, I have to get this feeling off of my chest now. I take in a deep breath and begin "Judee, this past year that we've been hanging out. It's made me feel like life's worth something, y'know?" Is that enough? Judee smiles at me even more "Aww, Leo. I-I'm happy to hear that. Is t-that all?" Well shit, I guess I got no choice but to be a bit more direct "No, what I mean is-" My throat stops me from speaking. Must be those damn butterflies in my stomach I keep hearing about. C'mon Leo, it's just three words! "Judee, I-" "Oh! Leo! Y-you look a little p-pale!" She quickly removes the puppet from her other hand and rests the back of it against my forehead. She looks puzzled after this. "Huh? I-I thought-" ...Guess this'll have to do. I quickly move in towards Judee and kiss her lips. Though it's short lived as she almost immediately reels back, shock plastered all over her face...not a hint of red though. "I- what- you-" Judee scans me up and down like I'm some complete stranger that just broke into her home. ...Ooookay, now I'm confused and worried "Judee?" As I move closer, she crawls further away. Then, she gets a disgusted look on her face and speaks to me with not a stutter in her voice "I think you should leave Leo" ...Huh? "Judee, what's wrong? Did I do something-" I'm interrupted by a puppet flung at my face. "PAINU VITTUUN! JÄTTÄKÄÄ MINUT RAUHAAN!" She continues yelling at me in her native tongue, while throwing puppets and miniature props my way. The troodon has eventually gotten me out into the hallway with her barrage of puppets "JUDEE I DIDN'T MEAN TO-" I'm once again cut off by a puppet to the face and then... *SLAM* ...The fuck just happened? I look at the last puppet that hit me. It's the little puppet version of me Judee made...I fucked up. Just wish I knew what I fucked up with. I walk down the hallway to the living room, looking at the mini-me all the way, hoping it'll magically tell me what went wrong. "Hm? Leo?" Judee's Mom looks at me with a worried expression "Onko jokin vialla? I heard yelling" I rub the back of my neck "I don't know" After that Ms. Toivonen tried to press me on what exactly happened. I just shrugged it off as best I could and told her to ask her daughter. That seemed to be enough, as I was able to slink out of the house, into my car and be on my way home. But really, what did I do wrong? Does she not like me back or is it something more...complicated? Fuck, I don't know. I should call Stella, she should know why Judee reacted that way...at least I think she should, it was Sage who suggested inviting Judee to lunch all those years back. Well, whatever, it's worth a shot. I drive into the large parking complex, finding a space to park relatively quickly, due to it still being somewhat early in the morning. I search through my contacts, get to the S section and tap on Stella, hitting the green call button. Not a second has passed and she's picked up. "H-Hey, Leo" She sounds exhausted. "Hey, Stella" God I hope now's not a bad time "Is something wrong? Did you and Anon have a fight or something?" I say, still not used to that revelation from a few months back. She sniffles a bit "Oh! No no, nothing like that. Though, he did find out something recently and I've just been helping him through it, best I can" Probably referring to that fire at... "It's okay, I can call another time if it's not-" "Leo, it's clear somethings up with you" the stego says a bit more stern now "Just tell me what's wrong, okay?" Oh, boy, here we go. "...and that's what happened. So here I am, in parking complex, calling you to try and figure out what the hell I did wrong" It's silent, almost deathly silent as Stella processes all of what I just said. It's a solid minute before she lets out a frustrated breath and mutters something in French. Was now really a bad time? "Stella?" She sighs "This is my fault, I should've said something sooner" The fuck? How is any of this her fault? "Stella what do you mean?" She takes in a deep breath and lets it out "Leo. Judee...doesn't swing that way if you know what I mean" At first I'm a bit lost on the meaning of the phrasing of 'doesn't swing that way'. Then suddenly, it hits me like a semi truck speeding into building in GTA V. "...Fuck me." I say slumping in the driver's seat and placing my free hand over my eyes. Judee's a lesbian, no fucking wonder she reacted the way she did "Man, I really screwed the pooch on this one, huh?" Stella lets out an annoyed sigh "Leo, I already told you, it's my fault. I knew and I didn't say anything" I can hear get up from the seat she'd been sitting in. She's pacing, I can hear the creak of the floor "And I knew you felt that way! But again, I didn't say anything and-" "Stella breath!" I say trying to get her to settle down. The creaking of the floor stops, as takes another deep breath and lets it out. She does this for a bit and then starts again. "Sorry, I just-" I cut her off "We both fucked up, Stella" I pinch the bridge of my snout as I let out a frustrated breath of my own "How long have you known?" She's silent again, but speaks up after a moment "S-Since high school" I sit up in my seat at this "Stella are you fucking kidding me? You knew since high school and didn't think to-" my rage is cut off by her rapidly increasing breathing. Shit. I lean back in my seat and let out a tired sigh "Sorry. I shouldn't blow up you like that" I run my hand through my hair to the back of my head "But seriously, why didn't you say anything?" Stella's breathing evens out slowly as she starts again "I-I don't know! I thought it was obvious?" Maybe to you, but to a smooth brained jackass like me, not really "How so?" I ask, mild frustration clear in my voice. "Well, whenever we were at lunch, Judee would talk about Wendy a lot, you know?" Yeah, Judee did talk about Wendy quite a bit. Damn near every conversation with was almost always about Wendy and how great she is...well shit, now I really feel like a dumbass. Especially since even when I saw those two walk in the hall, Judee always trailed behind Wendy and looked at the compy like she was this bright gem she just had to have. That and I could've sworn the troodon's gaze went...downwards a few times. I sigh, just as exhausted from all this as Stella was when I called her "So, what now?" My stego friend doesn't speak for a minute or so, sorting her thoughts. Then she speaks "Give her some space to sort her feelings out. I'm sure she doesn't hate you Leo" I look over at the passenger seat, giving the puppet me and unsure look "We'll see. Thanks for listening Stella" "No problem Leo. I hope it works out with you and Judee. Bye" "See ya later" I hang up and prepare to drive out of the parking complex. Before that I take one last look at the puppet. It just slumps over like a ghost is taunting me over my fuck up. God I hope Judee doesn't hate me. I don't know if I can stand losing anyone else for a third time in my life... --- ...Halloween Night, Soaring Angel Jill opens the door to the bar and a bell above rings. "IS THAT YOU JILL? COME ON IN, WE'RE SETTING UP THE KARAOKE MACHINE!" Should Stella be yelling that loud since she's pregnant? Ah, what do I know. We make our way downwards and into the neon bar bellow. So this is the place Judee's Mom frequents. Still don't know how a doofus like Anon ended up owning the place, but it's not the weirdest pairing I've seen. That has to go to him and Stella being a thing since the shooting. I don't know why neither of them haven't filled me in on how and why that happened. I remember Stella telling me in school that Anon practically ignored her most of the time. I shouldn't worry about it too much, they both look happy together and I guess that's what matters in the end... "YEAH IT'S ME STELLA! JUST PICKED UP SOME LOSERS!" Ouch, rude much? As we make our way down, I see a green stegosaur in pretty snazzy looking white Chinese dress with blue patterns on the front flap and right sleeve. Her hair is neatly tied up in yellow ribbons and her legs covered in blue tights. I think that's one of those fighting game characters she was talking about? "Jill, what are you- Oh!" Stella stops her berating of the tiny human when she sees the aforementioned 'losers' us. "Leo! Judee! Samantha!" We're hugged in the order our names were called out "How have you all been?" Stella's smile fades as she remembers my last encounter with Samantha, that I told her about. The old ptero waves Stella off before she can say anything "Don't worry Stella, we're good. I think" I give a thumbs up in response "Yeah, we're good. I'm gonna convince my dad to publish her stuff" At this Stella's eyes widen and she squeals in excitement "Oh. My. GOSH! That's so good to hear!" The stego shakes both mine and Samantha's hands in unison. She then turns to Samantha with a compassionate smile "I just know this will do good, sharing your pain like this" Stella then takes the ptero's hand in both of hers "But, are you sure you're ready for this now? You can take however long-" Samantha shakes her head, giving Stella a soft smile "It's fine Stella, really. And besides, I still have a ways to go before I'm actually ready to publish it" Stella nods "Okay. Whatever you say Sam" She frees Sam's hand "Me and Anon are just worried you're stressing yourself out over it is all" "I sure hope she isn't" A voice catches the attention of everyone in the room. It's Anon and... Is this motherfucker dressed up as J.C. Denton? It's a great costume, but bald J.C. is kind of cursed honestly. He leans down towards Stella and pecks her on the lips. He then turns his attention to Sam. "You aren't stressing yourself over the book, right?" he says, concern visible behind his sunglasses. Samantha relents almost immediately "Yeah, a little" she seats herself in a booth "It's about what I told you. When I let-" She stops herself and looks at me and Judee. I scoff and shake my head "It's not like we don't know, Samantha" Anon steps in "It's something else relating to that" The fuck does that mean? Judee notices my frustration and chimes in "M-Mom said Ms. Aaron heard a v-voice before she let Fang go" My eyes widen at this and I turn over to Samantha who just has her face in her hands. Judee just slinks back behind me wordlessly. This ptero let her daughter leave...because of a fucking voice in her head? We sure she doesn't need help? Like, professional help at a psych ward? Wonder what those voices are saying now. Are they telling her to bolt out of here now that I know or are they berating her for- wait, why is she reaching for her wings? --- ...July 11th 201M2021, Volcaldera National Park, 1:24 P.M. "¡IDIOTA! ¿EN QUÉ ESTABAS PENSANDO? ¡APUESTO A QUE NO LO ESTABAS EN ABSOLUTO!" Yeah, I definitely deserve the wrath of an angry latina woman. Though I'm at least glad she isn't slapping me with that dreaded slipper. I swear, Rosa just has a spare in her back pocket or something specifically for beating stupid people like me. She then turns her attention to Stella. "And you, chica!" Stella jumps and looks like she just got caught in headlights. Rosa deflates and her anger is replaced with sad disappointment "I thought you knew better than to keep secrets like this!" Stella goes on the defensive "I-I was gonna tell Leo! I swear!" I scoff at this "Yeah, sure you-" *SMACK* "OW! WHAT THE FU-" "Cállate, estúpido" Rosa says after smacking me upside the head. Ah, there's that slipper. Hurting like hell as always, thanks to Rosa's muscles. Were do I begin with this? Me and Stella were pretty adamant on keeping away from Judee for a while to let her cool down after I kissed her. That changed when Judee ended up telling Rosa about what happened. The latina anklyosaur was pissed at how we decided to handle this. Pissed at me for not immediately apologizing and for once, pissed at Stella. Rosa said Stella should ultimately know better than to keep secrets since her own boyfriend did that to her for so long. That was a low blow. I didn't know the full extent of Stella and Anon's relationship, but even I felt that was a bit much. Rosa looks between the both of us and lets out an exhausted sigh "Dios, dame fuerzas" She rubs her temples with one hand as she takes a seat across from us. She looks to me with a stern gaze and speaks "You truly did not know this about Judee?" ...Are you fucking kidding me? "Yes! That's what I've been saying since we got here!" I point at Stella "I didn't know because she wouldn't tell me for some fucking reason!" Rosa turns to Stella, holding her stern gaze "Stella..." Stella's on the spot now. She fidgets in her seat while twiddling her thumbs about "I-I thought Leo would be smart enough to figure it out. Honest" Tears start rolling down the stego's face as she continues. "I never meant for it get like this" She looks at me pleadingly "Please Leo, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to get bad or anything and I-I-I-" "Shhhhhhh, it's okay Stella" Rosa says as she holds Stella's hand and gently rubs the roof of it with her thumb "We all make mistakes, even terrible ones such as this" Heh. I guess you could call what I did a mistake. But I know how I felt then and now? I don't even know anymore. Rosa turns her attention to me, probably noticing my sulking. "Mi amigo, speak" I suppose I should "Stella said she thought it was obvious that Judee is into girls" I plant my face into one hand and let out a frustrated breath "Apparently not obvious enough for my dumbass to notice" Stella starts "I did think it was an open secret of sorts, but I didn't expect you to know right off the bat Leo" Stella places a hand on my shoulder "It was wrong of me to expect you to just, figure it out. Especially since you really didn't get to know Judee until recently" Y'know, come to think of it, I really had no way of knowing. Still though. "Doesn't excuse you for not giving me a heads up. 'Specially since you knew how lonely I've been since-" I pause for a moment remembering the cause of my loneliness. Sage doing that to herself. I still can't believe her of all people would just...give up. Sage never really struck me as the type to feel that down about anything, even with stuff at home not being the most ideal. No matter what she greeted every day with a confident smile and made sure it was infectious as all hell. Still remember when we met, it was the first day of that year. I had to take senior year again because of me just sulking at home after my Mom had killed herself. Me and Dad still don't get why she did it. Just happened one day while I was at a swim meet and Dad was busy with some deals for the company. I thought Mom was happy, but I guess she just...fell apart or something... Anyways, Sage. She first greeted me with that bright smile of hers. I thought it was cheesy for the most part, but now? I think back to it as the most beautiful fucking smile that's ever graced the planet. She just wanted me to be happy, though I told her I was repeating senior year, conveniently leaving out the part about Mom. All Sage said in response was; 'That's nice! You get a second chance to make this year the best one it can be!' Don't know what it was about the way she said it, but...that actually made me smile for the first time in a long while. Again, I know it was some cornball shit, but like I said, Sage's cheeriness was infectious. And then almost out of nowhere the track team captain, Naser, showed up and invited me to some sort of concert. I feel like that was the first sign this year was gonna be something else. And not entirely in the good way... My thoughts are put on hold as I see both Stella and Rosa looking at me with the utmost concern. Enough about that, back to Judee. "Let's not dwell on that now. Judee should be our focus, yeah?" Here I am, back at her house. Rosa insisted I apologize now. Not only that, but she thought I should tell Judee about my pain. Not just the pain with Sage and my Mom though... Oh boy, this isn't gonna be fun in the slightest. But I have to. I can't lose Judee like I did Mom and Sage, especially over something like this. I take in a deep breath and let it out as I reach for the ornate door knocker. *KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK* As I step back, the door opens and there she is. Judee, looking at me, almost expectantly. I know she what she wants from me. "Judee, I-" I'm cut off by the sudden familiarity of Judee's small frame against mine. She removes her face from my chest and looks at me, sorrowfully. "I-I overreacted Leo. I'm s-sorry" Judee steps back, letting me go from her hug. I shake my head, still reeling in from the hug "Judee you're not the one that-" She cuts me off almost immediately "No! This only happened because we didn't talk about things more!" She grabs me by the hand and pulls me inside "Come on! We're talking more about Wendy and Sage!" "W-What?!? Judee!" It's too late. By the time I protest we're already almost to the couch in the living room. "Mom isn't home, we can t-talk here" Judee says this as she sits on the red velvet couch and pats the cushion next to her. An uncharacteristically steely look of determination painted across her face as she does this. I stare at Judee a little unsettled by this sudden shift in her character "What's up with you Judee?" I cautiously take my place in the cushion next to her "Was what I did really that bad?" The troodon clasp her brow as she clicks her tongue "No, t-that's not it" she looks up at me sorrow back on her face "Stella filled me in on how you've f-felt about me" Oh "Uh, she did?" I ask nervously. Judee nods "Yes. I should've said something since she didn't" she looks to the side at our reflection in the TV screen "T-that's why I apologized" she turns back to me "This only happened because I didn't t-tell you that I just wanted to b-be friends" I'm stunned. Why? Why do they all keep apologizing to me? I'm the one that overstepped boundaries God dammit! So why the fuck are they apologizing?!? "L-Leo?" Judee is looking at me with the same concern Stella and Rosa were earlier. I clasp the sides of my head and look down towards the ground "It's the same as before" I can just barely hold back my tears if I don't look at her. It's futile as Judee places her hand on my shoulder "What do you mean?" Fucking... "IT'S THE SAME SHIT SAGE WOULD DO!" I scream, causing the troodon to jump back "Every time I fucked up and acted like a piece of shit, instead being disgusted and pushing me away, she'd just-" Oh God, I don't know if I can do this. "She'd tried to understand?" I look up, tears starting to fall from my eyes and see Judee with a warm smile on her face "I-I may not feel the same way about you like she did" She takes hold of one of my hands and gently caresses it. "But, I'd still like to understand w-why you're hurting" I shake my head in bewilderment "Why though? Why do you want know how a shitbag like me is-" *SMACK* ...She slapped me. Though Judee still has that smile despite the mean look in her eyes "Because we're friends shitbag!" Almost immediately after that, Judee covers her mouth upon realizing she cursed. I laugh at her child like mannerism and she proceeds to pout at this. "W-Why are you laughing? Stop it!" I just barely stop my laughter to answer "B-Because. You always act like a six year old when you fucking swear!" I continue laughing to her dismay. She berates me in Finnish and does nothing but add to my amusement. I don't know for how long that went on for, but eventually we both settle down and decide to get to the real hard part. Talking more about our previous relationships. Judee started talking about Wendy or 'Schizo' as she put it. I questioned why on Earth she'd call someone she loved that, but Judee said that Wendy insisted on being called that instead of her real name, saying that 'a schizo like her doesn't deserve a real name'. Raptor Jesus, that's depressing... To my surprise Judee and Wendy weren't actual in a relationship. Makes everything that happened with Wendy all the more tragic, especially since Judee said she was going to confess to Wendy at the end of the semester. I could see it was hurting her a lot to recount what happened that day, even though she was sick. Judee told me she even thought about... I gotta tell her. "She died in my arms that day" Judee's eyes widened through her tears "W-What?!?" I nod, looking at the shelf with Finnish knick-knacks on it "I was mulling over some things between me and Sage, when I saw Fang the second time that day" I sink into the couch recounting it all "And I saw Wendy, following her" I glance at Judee "From what you told me about your stalking habits, I guess she was doing it in your steed right?" Judee doesn't look my way, but solemnly nods in response "Y-yes. I asked her to do it for t-the story" I cock an eyebrow at this "Story? For what exactly?" The troodon turned to me, with a pained expression on her face "F-for the p-puppet show I w-wanted to do" tears are forming in her eyes as she looks down at the ground. "I-I-I wanted t-t-to do a s-s-show about A-Anon and F-Fang's r-r-relationship" she just barely got that out as she starts sobbing "I-I thought what t-they had was great but-" I cut her off "You can't really know how two people are together just from what you see on the surface" Judee looks at me with surprise on her face as she sniffles "Y-You really t-think so?" I shrug, not really confident in my choice of words "I dunno. I never really knew Fang" I lean forward in my seat and look at my hands, now clasped together. "Didn't really know that Anon guy either. Still kind of don't, even though I've seen him and Stella together" Judee speaks up "Didn't you s-see what happened a-at the presentation? In the a-auditorium?" Wow. Compared to what Fang did after prom, that shit her purple friend did to Anon seemed like a happy memory "Yeah of course I did. Everyone did, we all had to go remember?" I say looking at Judee with a smile. She doesn't look amused though as she asks "Leo, did you laugh at Anon for that?" She says, no longer stuttering, an accusatory look in her now narrow eyes. This makes me sit right up and run my fingers through my hair in shame "I-" she stares into my soul. Fuck. I let out a heavy sigh as I fall into my seat "Yeah I did. Fuck Judee, everyone did!" I sit back up in my seat throwing my own accusatory glare her way "Don't act like you didn't" Judee doesn't flinch as she keeps glaring daggers into my very soul "I didn't. I only t-thought about how awful i-it must've been for Anon" She then scoots close to me and jabs her finger into my chest. "How would you feel if people started m-making fun of Stella for her similar interests again?" I open my mouth to say something, but close it shut immediately. God dammit, she's right. Way to continue being a hypocrite Leo, even to this day. Honestly, if Trish dredged up any embarrassing shit about Stella? Fuck, I probably would've made sure that trigger didn't have horns anymore... Wait, is it okay for me to think that? Since about a month ago she...dammit. I glance at Judee as I sink further into the couch. "Why'd you bring that up anyways? Are you a bit scared to hear how Wendy died?" She reels back from me and sinks into the couch much like me, a sad look on her face "Y-Yes. I don't know i-if I'm ready" I can't think of anything to do. Except grab her hand and hold it gently "It's alright. I'm afraid of the memory itself honestly" I say looking at the silent black screen of the TV. Judee follows my gaze and looks at our reflections. God, we both look like we've been through a lot. Even with what little can be made out in the reflection, it's obvious how much we've been crying just off of memories alone. I see Judee's face go through a multitude of emotions. Worry, fear, shock and then determination. As her face reaches that last one, I feel her grip on my hand tighten. "Tell me" She turns her gaze towards me and I mirror her actions "I'm ready Leo" I nod "Okay" ...Volcano High, Day of the Shooting Man, this sucks. I really did this time, Sage is fucking pissed. She has been ever since I drenched that crazy ptero bitch in punch at prom. I don't get it, why does she care? Aren't they just partners in science or some shit? Whatever, I should find the punk terror and apologize, especially if I want to keep being with Sage. Which I absolutely do...I guess it was a stupid thing I did. Fuck, at least in the auditorium concert I just said some nasty shit I thought would be funny. This though? Can I even be forgiven for this? And to think I did it just because that fucking douche canoe of a football team captain said I had a clear shot... Yeah that's me, Leo the crowd pleaser...fucking hell, what is wrong with me? I was gonna apologize this morning when I saw the ptero walking in through the front entrance, but she passed by me, ignoring me completely. It was strange though, I got a glimpse at her face and I saw...nothing. Her motions in general were almost robotic, like she was just going through the motions. I think I saw her head up this way, to the second floor... ... There's some compy following her. What's with that hat? I try to sneak up behind her, but she whips her head around to look at me "Hey! Keep quite!" she says in a hushed tone. "Jeez, sorry" I whisper back at her "What are you even doing?" The compy rolls her eyes before speaking and returning her gaze towards the ptero "I'm doing this for a friend. She's home sick today and wanted me follow her" This puzzles me "Why? This friend got a crush on her?" I say looking at the ptero, now standing in front of a classroom door, just...staring into her bag, looking lost in thought. The compy ignores my question as she takes notice of the same thing I did "That's weird. Why's she just-" Before she can finish her thought, the ptero quickly pulls something out of her bag, kicks the door open and... *BANG* ...W-What? Was that a gunshot? I look at the compy and she looks at me. There's fear in her eyes as we both look at each other with the same thought: Please let this be a dream. Our shared hopes are shattered as we hear a masculine voice cry out, asking one question among the students that have started funneling out of the classroom, screaming. "WHY?!? FANG, WHY DID YOU-" I can't make out the rest as the male ptero tries to wrestle the gun out of the female's hand. It doesn't last long though... *BANG* Any kids that didn't get what was happening now understand as one of the pteros fall to the ground. More kids scream and run away in terror, as the white ptero starts firing more shots. I see bodies fall and go limp. I look back the compy beside me. She's just as stunned as me, her eyes darting around as she's muttering something and curling into a ball. I look back at the ptero and... Now the gun is pointed my direction. It's almost like time stops. I want to move out of the way, but...I can't. All that's going through my head is one question. Why? Why is she doing this? Was this really because of what I did at prom? ... ...I guess this what I deserve. I pushed her to edge and I'm paying the price for it. Do it. I'm probably better off dead anyways... ... ...That way I can see Mom again at least...I close my eyes, ready for the sweet release. Everything is silent as my vision is darkened... Am I dead? Is this what it's like to die? ...No. I'm not dead. I'm alive somehow. I'm afraid to open my eyes. Especially since the first thing I hear is labored breathing to my right. And what I feel...something wet. It's below me, I think. I open my eyes. I'm greeted by the light of ceiling. I shoot upwards and feel around myself. There's blood, but...I don't have a wound... ...No. No, that... I look to my right hoping my fears aren't true. ...Reality is cruel like that I guess. The source of labored breathing, is the compy I was talking to not a moment ago, now staring at the ceiling clutching her stomach as red keeps pouring out of it. She's bleeding out. She's gonna... NO! "HEY!" I yell grabbing one of her hands. This causes her eyes to stop darting around and settle on me. That fear is still there, but it's different from before. She coughs up blood as she tries to start speaking "W-Why'd I-" she coughs up more blood "I-I push y-you?" ...What? She pushed me out of the way? "I-" No matter how hard I try, I can't find the answer she so desperately wants. I'm not her after all. She just look back up towards the ceiling, still breathing somehow "W-Who the hell e-even are-" her words are interrupted by another violent bloody cough. I don't need her to finish to give her answer for that question. Maybe, it'll ease her mind a bit. Give her some closure before... "M-My name is Leo" I manage to get out, despite the knot in my throat "W-What's your n-name?" "Sch-" she stops herself. Tears start welling up as she closes her eyes "W-Wendy" I give her a weak smile as I start to lie "We'll get out of here" Both my hands are clasping her left hand now "Okay Wendy?" Her tears only keep coming. She knows I'm lying. She knows she won't make it. But she smiles anyways "Y-Yeah. We will L-Leo" she says before coughing again. I don't know for how long I stayed there, just holding onto to this poor girl... ... ...However long it was came to an end, when a hand touched my shoulder. It was Spears. Why is here? "Leo, it's time to go" I look up at him, still holding Wendy's hand "What?" Spears continues "I stayed behind in case there were any students still alive in the halls. You're coming with me outside" "B-But what about Wendy?" Spears just looks away. I turn to Wendy... ...She'd gone. No. No! "NOOOOOOOO! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT! WHY? WHY THIS PERSON I NEVER FUCKING KNEW UNTIL NOW?!?! SHE DIDN'T DO A GOD DAMN THING TO YOU! FUCKING PTERO BITCH!" "...Leo, please" Spears' voice snaps me out of my sorrow "Let's just leave. There are people worried about you outside" "I can't just leave Wendy like this" I protest "It's my fault" Spears shakes his head "I can't leave you here" He looks towards the stairwell leading to the roof "Not while the shooter is still present" ...That bitch! She's up there? I get up and start making my way towards the stairwell. Only for Spears to grab me with both of his gigantic arms. "NO! THAT BITCH NEEDS TO PAY FOR WHAT SHE DID! LET ME GO!" I keep protesting but to no avail. The big guy's grip doesn't loosen as he takes me out of the building. I can only cry out in frustration as Wendy's lifeless body exits our view. ... It should've been me... IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME GOD DAMMIT! ... ...It's deathly quiet after that. Judee isn't saying anything and I just have my eyes in the palms of my hands, trying desperately to hide my tears. "Judee" I break the silence and bring my head up to look at her. She's crying with her hands over her mouth. "I-I'm so fucking sorry. It really should've been me, not Wendy" I return my eyes to the palm of my hands "But for some reason, she fucking pushed me out of the way!" I remove my hands from face and they start to curl into fists "ME! SOME FUCK UP NOT WORTH THE EFFORT!" "L-Leo that's not-" I get up and walk away not wanting to hear it. I move into the kitchen and slam my fist on the counter top. "What? It's not true?" I glance over my shoulder at the troodon "Is that really what you were gonna say? After what else I told you during that trip down memory lane?" Judee doesn't speak. She has nothing to say. I scoff as I look into the counter top "See? I'm not worth shit anyone" I close my eyes and shake my head "I wasn't then and I'm sure as shit not worth anything now, so why even bother with me?" It's silent again. I just don't get it. Why do they keep doing this? Stella, Rosa and now Judee? Why do they think I need any affection at all. I'm just not worth it. None of it. I get up from the counter and turn around to face Judee, looking at me with baited breath. "I'm gonna go. Don't bother calling me okay" I start to leave, but Judee stands in my way "C'mon, just get out of the way" I try to side step her, but she's one step a head. This goes on for a bit, before Judee shakes her head and looks me in eyes, that look of determination returned to her tear stained face "I'm not letting you leave Leo" Oh for the love of "Why the fuck not? You don't have to waste your-" Judee practically screams at me in frustration with how loud her next sequence of words are. "Because like I said before! We. Are" She gets incredibly close and pulls me down to eye level with her "YSTÄVIÄ, SENKIN VITUN IDIOOTTI! FRIENDS, STUPID! YES, YOU FUCKED UP, BUT I DON'T CARE! YOU KNOW WHY?" I'm taken a back by her sudden shift from meek and mousy to angry and explosive. So much so all I can do in response to her question is shake my head. She lets go of me and pinches the bridge of her snout while shaking her head and letting out a frustrated breath "Senkin tyhmä mies..." She then looks back at me, now looking tired "Leo, if anything" she pauses for a moment to compose herself before continuing "I-I'm happy about what you d-did after Wendy saved y-you" I look at her with bewilderment "But, what I did to Fang-" "I don't c-care about Fang anymore" She says holding my hand tightly now "I-I stopped caring t-the moment I s-saw what she did!" She's tearing up again. "It's w-why I locked myself a-away in my room for s-so long! To t-think about why I w-was so obsessed with h-her and Anon!" Judee then pulls me into a hug, burying her face into my chest "If anything, it's m-my fault that W-Wendy is-is-" I hold her, brushing her hair "Hey, no it's not, you couldn't have known Fang would do something like that" As I say that a thought crosses my mind. Neither of us really knew Fang. Not just me, but Judee didn't really know her either. This doesn't excuse me being shitty, but, at the time I legitimately couldn't have known that Fang would... ...I face palm mid hug "God, I feel like an ass" Judee looks up at me puzzled "W-What do you mean?" I look back down at her "Neither of us could've seen that coming from Fang. We didn't even really know her" The little troodon gives me an accusatory glare. "I-I'm not saying I didn't play a part in her doing it!" I throw my hands up in defense "Just, that shit was so sudden to us. Fuck, if anything I should've went right to her house and apologized the day she called in sick" "S-She called in sick?" Judee asks inquisitively "Yeah, the day before, uh, y'know" I rub the back of my neck awkwardly "Students kept joking that she killed herself and honestly. That's actually when I started to feel bad about the shit I did" Judee pulls away from the hug "Then w-why didn't you g-go apologize?" "Fucking Chad" I lean my side against the counter as I continue "Ever since I started that year, since I missed out on it due to-" Judee cuts me off "Your Mom, right?" I'm a bit shaken by this, but I sigh and go on "Yes, my Mom. The fucking shark kept pressuring me into all this shit I missed out on" I look at Judee with shame on my face "Even teasing other students here and there. He called it 'showing school spirit' but I fucking knew what it really was" The troodon seems confused by my confession "Then w-why didn't you just c-cut ties with Chad?" "I-" I pinch the bridge of my snout "Fuck, I dunno. I guess I was afraid of being shunned by the others. Being made an outcast" I look back up as I drag my hand across my snout "I know, it sounds stupid" "No it isn't!" Judee says with frustration back in her voice as she grabs my hand again "L-Leo, did you say anything to anyone about this? Did you t-tell Sage?" I shake my head "Never, I was too afraid to for so long. And because of it, here we are now" God, it was painful to admit all of that, but at the same time I...feel good? Not better but... Judee hugs me again "I-It's okay Leo. You're not a b-bad person" She looks back up at me, a warm smile on her face "N-Not anymore, if you ask m-me" I shake my head again with a chuckle "I don't buy that. I think I still got a ways to go before that can be said about me" Judee sighs sadly "I-I guess" I feel a smug smile grow on my face "Got you back for that one" Judee looks at me confused at first. Then her eyes widen as she realizes I'm fucking with her. "Y-You!" she punches lightly in the ribs, her face now red with embarrassment "I-I was trying to be nice! Paskiainen!" I laugh. Slight pain is worth it to be able to tease her like that again. Eventually she drops her anger and joins me in laughter. I don't know for how long we laugh, but it feels great after all the crying. I'm glad to have my one friend back. As our laughter subsides, Judee speaks up, wiping a tear away from her eye "W-Well, let's go finish f-filming that s-show!" I look at her in surprise "You didn't finish without me?" She just smiles at me again "Of course not! You're my friend and my camera man!" Oh joy, I get to make sure the already perfectly aligned tripod is perfectly aligned again. Though, the puppet show reminds me. I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out puppet me. "You threw this at me, want it back?" Judee shakes her head "Oh no! Y-You can-" She pauses as she thinks about something "H-Hold on!" She runs into her room and and comes back out in a flash, holding something behind her back. "What do you got there?" "Close y-your eyes!" I roll them instead "Judee, if after all this you decide to ki-" "It's not that tyhmä mies! J-Just close them and h-hold oy your other h-hand!" I sigh. Guess I'll play along. I close my eyes and hold out both my empty hand and the one holding the puppet me for good measure. I feel something of similar weight and texture to puppet me lightly set into my left. "O-Okay! You can o-open them now!" I open my eyes. Judee is smiling at me. What I see when I look down... ...Is puppet me now joined by a puppet version of Sage. It's her. It's not her, but it's her. "Now the p-puppet you won't be l-lonely!" That causes the damn to burst. I even fall to my knees because of it. "L-Leo! Are y-you alright!" I nod clutching both of the puppets "Y-Yeah. I'm alright" I look up at Judee smiling past my tears "Thanks for this, Judee. It means a lot" I pull her down into a hug. "Fuck, I don't deserve a friend like you!" Judee just pulls away from the hug and smiles at me again "Of course you do L-Leo! You deserve to have f-friends after all you've been through!" After she said that, we went and finished that video. Even if I still don't think I'm deserving of kindness, I'm glad someone like Judee is there to give it to me, regardless of how I feel. I'm so fucking lucky to have a friend like her. I'm sure Wendy was happy to have someone like her around too. I don't know how, but I swear Judee, I'll repay you for what you've done for me. No matter how long it takes, I will. That's just what a good friend does. --- ...Halloween Night, Soaring Angel "I-I-I didn't mean i-i-it! S-S-Samantha, p-p-please-" The old ptero just holds Judee tighter and brushes her hair "It's okay Judee, I know you didn't. And besides, I didn't even touch my wings because of Anon" Raptor Jesus, I'm still processing what almost happened. Samantha almost fucking preened! And she's just walking it off like it's nothing! The fuck is this? "Relax, it's fine Leo" I look behind me and Anon is looking at me with this dumb smile on his face. "Yeah, but-" Anon stops me "But nothing, I stopped Sam from doing anything" He takes a seat next to me at the bar, taking off his shades to reveal that his eyes are in fact, not augmented. "Besides, it's not like a majority of people here didn't know about that voice" I just place my hand on my head in bewilderment "Yeah, but, a voice in her head? Don't you think that requires some form of professional help?" Anon shakes his head "Not really. Why?" ...He's joking. He can't be this retarded. He notices this and turns to face me "What I mean is, it's not schizophrenia or anything like that" Wow, that makes it so much better Dr. Anon, thanks for clearing that up. "The way Sam described it, it honestly sounded like a fucked up version of her conscience, if that makes sense" I look back at the booth, where Samantha is still comforting Judee as Stella watches from across the table "So, what? Her conscience just gave her shitty advice?" Anon shrugs "Something like that. She said it teased her about 'becoming her grandmother' or something like that" That...doesn't really answer my questions but okay then "Her grandma? Whatever happened there I hope she doesn't think-" Anon waves off my words "Nah, don't worry. I already talked to her about that and she knows she isn't innocent" He turns to look at the booth with me "Though, I just hope it means she'll stop pushing people away. God knows I got nowhere fast trying to do that with Stella" I turn to Anon with a question in mind "Did you know Stella had the biggest crush on you high school?" Anon looks at me like I just told him who killed that Epstein guy "No shit?" I shoot him my smuggest smile "No. Shit. She would always talk about how sad, but happy she was that you and Fang got together though" I look at Stella, saying something to Judee "She really did think you and Fang would be together forever. At least until that concert at Moe's" Anon looks at the ground and mumbles "...fuckinginvertedempressshould'veknown" Wow, Inverted Empress? Talk about irony. "Heh. Yeah, pretty ironic I guess" ...The fuck? Did I just mumble that? Judee walks over and takes a seat at the bar next to me. "Hey, you okay?" Judee nods and sniffles "Y-Yeah. I'm okay n-now" Anon claps his hands together and stands up "Good! This is supposed to be a party and we should all be having fun! But first" He looks towards Jill leaning against the jukebox and nods. In response to this, she turns off the synth pop that's been playing the whole time and...wait, this is that one song from that anime Stella recommended me. What the fuck? Stella looks at Anon with a smile on her face that speaks a thousand words. Holy shit, is this... "Their song? I suppose it is" I look to my right and Samantha is in the seat that Anon was just in. "And yes, you mumbled that dear" She says in a snarky tone "You now have Anon's curse" "Quite the price to pay for hanging out with the guy" I retort to her, being just as snarky. She scoffs at this "Oh hush and watch" I take that advice and keep my mouth shut. I watch as Anon continues saying a whole lot about Stella and how sweet she is and how he doesn't deserve her...wait a minute is this- "So, with a child on the way and all, how about we make it official?" Anon pulls out a small box and kneels down in front of Stella "And have an actual wedding this time around" Anon opens the little box and...it's a sapphire ring, matching Stella's eyes-WAITDIDHESAYTHEYHAVEA- "What do you say Stella Baudelaire? Will you make me the happiest man in all of Volcaldera Bluffs and marry me?" Our laughter is reaching far and wide across the tiny bar as Jill just hides her head in embarrassment. "Ah, c'mon Jill" says Anon in a cheeky manor "I just want one drink from Dana's bar. A Bad Touc-" Jill cuts off Anon still holding back laughter "B-boss! With all due r-respect please shut the fuck up!" This does nothing but make the everyone at the party laugh again. Who would've thought Jill would giggle over the simplest things. This is definitely ammo I'll use to tease her later, like the whole thing about name actually being Julianne that Stella told me about. I wonder if there's anything else I could use against pig tails here? Hmm, I think there's something that Anon said both him and Stella placed a bet on. "I think Leo and Judee should meet Fore, how about it Jill?" Leo and Judee look at me with curiosity, but Jill not knowing any better looks at me like I'm her savior "YES! I, uh, mean-" She clears her throat "Y-Yeah, good idea harpy. Just let me go get him from the boss' office" She quickly weaves around the bar and into Anon's office "HEY BOSS, IT ALRIGHT IF I LET HIM OUT OF HIS KENNEL JUST THIS ONCE?" Anon replies "ALRIGHT, BUT YOU'RE CLEANING UP ANY MESS THE FUR BALL LEAVES!" After that, Jill walks out with Fore in tow and places him on the bar. The black cat gazes at the two new people in his life as Judee is trying not to die from a heart attack at the sight of him. "Awwww, look at him, he's so adorable" Judee says, entranced by the cat's presence. Fore seems to take a liking to Judee as she pets him and he curls up next to her. Leo cocks an eyebrow at Jill though "I thought black cats had green eyes?" Jill smiles "Yeah, but Fore is special" She looks at the creature getting belly rubs from Judee "Isn't that right?" "Yeah, I'm special" ... Jill's face instantly grows red as she realizes the grave mistake she's made. It's too late now pig tails. I can't hold it in any longer. I fall out of my seat and I'm dying of laughter as I squeak out my words. "HOLY SHIT! I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO TRICK YOU OR ANYTHING! YOU JUST FUCKING DID IT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I'm able to make out Anon looking at Stella with a monster of a shit eating grin. Stella can't do anything but hide her face, cursing in French, while Anon eggs her on. "Ooooooh, Starlight. You know what this means right?" "Putain de merde..." "YOU. OWE. ME. THIRTY BUCKS!" "AAAAAH FUCK! FINE!" Stella goes towards the booth with her purse and fishes out thirty big ones and slams it on the table in front of Anon. "There you go, Moonlight" Stella says with defeat and annoyance in her voice "Thrity dollars" She then glares at Jill. "Parler à votre chat devrait être la dernière chose embarrassante à votre sujet." "Taisez-vous, s'il vous plaît..." Jill says, not looking up from her hands. "Jeez, what'd you say to her Stella?" Leo chortles out. Stella takes a side glance at him, still upset over losing the bet "I said that talking to her cat better be the last embarrassing secret she has hidden away" Leo snorts "Why?" The stego slams her hands on the table "Because my fiance' now husband, has robbed me of $200 in cash" She points at Jill "all because of her embarrassing secrets!" Anon just flips through the stack of cash he has that I assume is his $200, with a smug look on his face "Worth it" Stella just responds 'hmph' as she keeps pouting. Anon stops counting the cash and turns to her "Hey, you're not actually mad about this are you? You can take the cash back if you want" Stella snickers and turns around "It's okay Moonlight, you can keep the cash. I could never be mad at you over something so trivial" She places a hand on Anon's cheek as she says this "Besides, you got me this lovely ring" she says stretching her arm towards the ceiling, admiring the sapphire beauty that matches her eyes. Leo chimes in "So you guys are having a baby?" The conversation after that was just nice. Anon and Stella talking about how they can't wait to see their baby. Anon almost let info about his and Stella's sex life slip out, but I stopped him before that could happen. Poor Stella, she was red as an apple when that info nearly became public. We also had some fun with the karaoke machine...though it was all songs in Japanese and every single one of us butchered at least one of us each. God forbid someone that knows the language hear about that, I think we'd all be hung out to dry on Tokyo Tower. I say we butchered some of songs, but Anon actually nailed a few of them which surprised everyone...except Stella who mentioned they were songs from a karaoke mini game in one of Anon's video games. Leo called Anon a 'smug son of a bitch' and said he played us all 'like damn fiddles'...I don't know if that's a reference or...whatever. I'll admit, I forgot this party was even happening because I was nervous about how it would go. But even with surprise guests in the form of Leo and Judee, it was nice, just having fun and shooting the shit with people again. Even if everyone else was much younger than me, I still had fun. The evening was coming to a close as midnight approached and I was surprised how well I handled my booze. Wish I could say the same for Anon and Jill, they got absolutely wasted. Stella is talking them both up the stairs to drive Jill home and go back to her and Anon's home. "Well, it's been fun, I'll see you three later! You remember how to close up the place, right Sam?" I nod at Stella "Yes, I'll be fine, just get those two home" "HEY. I'm fffffffffine" Jill slurs out, waving around Fore in his kennel, scaring the poor thing half to death. "We...are all...fine. RIGHT FINLAND!" Anon drunkenly yells at Judee who jumps a bit at this. "Um, I-I think you should g-go home and rest, A-Anon" Judee responds as calmly as possible while shaking. Anon throws his arms in the air "FINLAND! ...thassaspongebobrefrenceyousposedtalaugh" Stella pushes them both out the door "We're going home Moonlight!" She waves back at us "Goodnight! Happy Halloween!" The green stego vanishes into the night with the drunk humans and leaves me alone with the liopleurodon I punched in the face and the troodon I thought I sacred away with my admission of guilt. Not who I wanted to be stuck with last, but sometimes life just deals you a shitty hand. "You could say that again Sam" Leo smugly says in response to my mumbling I thought was kept inside. "I don't think you've earned the right to call me 'Sam' yet, Leo the Lio" That makes Judee giggle a bit, but one look at Leo makes her stop. Leo then takes a step forward as I start trying to put away some of the decorations "Hey, I really am sorry you know. About the whole calling your daughter a-" I cut him off without looking his way "Yes yes, I know. You're sorry about calling my daughter a 'cunt'. I don't really blame you though, especially after what she did" Judee then chimes in "B-But he still shouldn't have s-said that! It w-was wrong!" I sigh, climbing down the step ladder and dropping the decorations in the box "No. He really isn't" I say looking down at the near empty box solemnly "It is because of my Lucy that people like Wendy died and I have to accept that and take responsibility for it" Leo grabs me by the shoulders and turns me around to face him "Hey! Just because you let her leave with that gun doesn't mean you directly told her to do that shit! She made that decision herself okay!" I break from Leo's grasp and grab the step ladder to get the next set of decorations. Leo stays on me as I climb up the ladder. "You heard what I said right?" He asks. "Yes I fucking heard what you said!" I angrily shout back "It doesn't mean I'm not responsible in some way!" Leo erupts at this "You think I don't know that?!? You're not the only one at fault! I FUCKING DRENCHED YOUR DAUGHTER IN PUNCH ON PROM NIGHT!" What he says causes me to rip one of the decorations apart. I slowly turn to face him "You. WHAT?!?!?" I jump down from the step ladder, glaring at Leo, practically shooting laser beams through him with my gaze. "Yeah! That was my fault! And I'm also the guy who said 'NO ONE WOULD WANT TO FUCK YOU, BITCH' at the auditorium concert like the fucking retard I am!" There's tears forming in Leo's eyes "ALL BECAUSE SOME DOUCEHBAG WAS GONNA TEASE ME ABOUT MY DEAD MOM!" ...What? "Yup, that's right! I let myself get pressured because this fuck in Chad's clique of friends, Marvin, decided it'd be funny to joke about my Mom!" Leo turns around to the bar and slams a fist on the counter top "Who'd killed herself by the way! And I just let this son of a bitch walk all over me..." Leo starts sobbing and slides down the side of the bar onto the floor. Judee is cautiously making her way towards Leo "W-Why did you lie about this t-to me back t-then?" Leo hitches a breath as he sobs "I-I didn't want y-you to see h-how pathetic I-I am J-Judee" he buries his face in his hands "I-I d-didn't want a-anyone to know..." ...Jesus, Leo. I don't know what I can even say to that. It doesn't excuse how he treated my Lucy at all but...I can't help but see a bit of myself in his plight... ... Something Anon said to me during that night we talked popped up in my head. It was something he heard from Spears at that same auditorium concert Leo mentioned... 'Everyone is fighting their own battles' ... Heh. Leave to old Spears to say something like that to a loser like Anon. I make my way towards the liopleurodon and crouch down in front of him, before speaking. "I guess we're both pathetic, you and me" I say with a smile on my face. Leo looks up at me, his sobbing having halted at my words. "That voice in my head, when I let Lucy go that night, I'm pretty sure it was my conscience" I look at him and the he isn't too surprised to hear this. No doubt Anon told him about this when they were talking. "Yeah, he said something about it giving you bad advice" Leo said, his voice hoarse. I look to the side at nothing in particular as I let out a shameful sigh "Yeah, I know. Pretty pathetic, huh?" I look back at him, sorrow in my eyes "It teased me to no end about my bitch of a grandmother and how she tried to control all the little things in my life" "Like what?" Leo asked. I stood up and made my way over next to the liopleurodon and sat next to him "Well, she never liked how much I loved comic books instead of 'normal girl things' or whatever the fuck she said" Leo chuckles a bit "What? Next you're gonna tell me you wanted to get into the Air Force because you read 'Lylat Wars' and it inspired you?" ...How the- I look away my face getting red at the thought that's true. Leo laughs at this "Really? That's fucking amazing!" "I-It's nothing, really" I said, flustered like a school girl. "Oh let me guess" Leo stared at me pondering a bit before speaking up again "You were a Falco fan girl weren't you?" "HOW DID YOU-" I catch myself, my entire face bright red as this young man, far younger then me just absolutely pushes me into a corner I can't escape from. God dammit Leo, I'm supposed to be helping you! He just starts howling in laughter again at my expense. Eh, whatever, he's not sad anymore at least. I just end up talking to Leo and Judee about my grandmother for the rest of the time I'm closing. Eventually though, they both have to go. Apparently Judee has a YouSnoot channel and it's pretty big at this point. She said she couldn't afford to be on 'hiatus' anymore and needed to get to work on something for the channel pretty soon. "S-See you later Ms. Aaron! And I'll tell Mom you said h-hello!" I roll my eyes "Judee, she's a regular, I see Tarja every other night" Judee's eyes widen a bit "O-Oh! Yeah..." I shake my head "Don't worry your little head about it. Now off you go, it's late!" "Hey Samantha! We're adults, we'll be fine" Leo says in a sarcastic tone. "True. But you're still kids to this old woman" I say with a smug look on my face. Leo scoffs "Alright, alright, we're going" he waves goodbye as him and Judee leave out the door. They really are good kids, I hope they both do alright. Hey, wait a minute... I reach into my jacket pocket and take out the business card Leo gave me for his father's publishing company. Hmm, I'll have to keep that in mind, but for right now I gotta finish up wiping the counter top and then it's off to a good night- *Sweet Child O' Mine blares through bar* Ugh, who the fuck could be calling me at this hour? I take out my phone to see who on Earth has the nerve to- ... This is some number I don't recognize? ... Despite common sense telling me this is most likely one of those Indian scam call centers Anon told me about, I decide to answer anyways. I tap the green button and put the phone up to my ear hole "Hello, this is Samantha speaking" "Hey, how's it hanging Ms. A? ...Why does this voice sound familiar? "Um, do I know you?" I hear a overacted gasp on the other end of the line "Ms. A! I'm shocked you don't remember me" he's still not ringing any bells- "I mean, I know you kept saying behind my back I 'wasn't right', at least that's what Fang said back then" ... Wait a minute... "...Reed?" "The one and only Ms. A" I push my shock aside to ask the important question "W-Wait, how did you get my number?" "Oh, I was able to convince an old friend to hand it to me, but that's not important now-" "Wait no, I think that is important. Is this 'old friend' a John Blacksad?" John had better hope it isn't him. "Yeah, actually. The old dude gave me some pointers when I was still in law school" ...I'm sorry, what? Did Reed, the stoner friend of Lucy's, say he went to law school?!? "What's the matter Ms. A? Cat got your tongue?" I shake my head in disbelief "Reed, what do you want?" I hear the creaking of an office chair before he speaks again. "Well, I wanted to talk to my old amigo, Anon. And John told me you were my best bet since I didn't have his number" "What do you want to talk to him about?" I hear the creaking of an office chair again. "I wanna know, exactly why Fang shot up Volcano High"