Chapter eight
When Paula did come back to the living room, things had cooled down a little bit -though Yakko was still snickering from time to time and me, I felt embarrassed. I can’t picture being like my brother, that… I wouldn’t even call it “boldness” and I honestly felt bad for poor Paula.
Also, I wished she wouldn’t punch him again, although this time, at least she’d have an actual reason to.
Dot walked in the living room first, giving us a stern look; I had no clue why she’d be mad at me, I did everything right this time -clearing her throat, our sister said:
“Now, when she walks out, don’t make a fuss. Don’t tease her, don’t laugh, don’t joke, try and pretend it didn’t happen. And Yakko-“
“Yes, sister sibling?” he asked with a small grin, resting on the sofa casually:
“Don’t make ONE comment about her body, not ONE, or her looks, in general. Just… don’t.”
“Dot, I was just kidding, I-“
“Please listen to me for once, you know a lot less about girls than you think.” The female Warner finished, then walked outside, I could hear her voice from the corridor in a gentle whisper “It’s ok. And if he makes you mad, just slap him over the face, no one will blame you.”
I could hear Paula stutter something in response. Apparently, she was either still very embarrassed or it was just her way around pretty girls; she felt uncomfortable. When Copycat entered the room, I fought back a deep sigh, then noticed Yakko’s eyes lit up slightly, as he gave her a look-over, but kept to himself. It’s one thing getting beaten up by a tiny teenage girl and a whole other to have your head screamed off by Dot.
“So, ready to go?” I could see my brother was trying very hard not to laugh and felt almost afraid that Paula would consider it as him laughing at her; from what I could find in his eyes, it was quite the opposite, he seemed to approve of her current look -but again, who can say, really?
Nice and clean, she was in all black this time, with the bad make-up and much to my horror, that hideous lip-ring was back. However, the black clothes made her figure strike out even more and she did have a nice body -which why, I assume, Yakko felt like commenting eventually:
“You clean up good, Snow. I mean, that rug looked nice on you, but -“ he dared say no more, after the glare both females shot him, only wiggled his eyebrows and repeated “So, all set, then?”
“….I want. To. Kill you.” Paula hissed at him, resembling a wounded animal, and he took that into consideration:
“Ahhhhh, then, maybe re-scheduling? I have a dentist appointment next week and I kinda need to be alive for that, how about… the week after?” my friend seemed like she was about to blow, while I interjected:
“Uhm, maybe we go bowling some other time, or, y’know… uh… you look great, Pau!”
“Thanks. And yes, we’re going.” I noticed she was wearing long boots with very pointy heels and gulped, instantly picturing those sharp spikes going up my brother’s jaw. However, he didn’t seem so bothered; perking up, my brother jumped to his feet and rushed to the tower door, opening it, mimicking a small bow:
“After m’lady!”
Paula was twitching her hands so harsh, I was afraid her knuckles would break -yet, lifting her head up high, she walked ahead, while he kept checking her out from behind, muttering comments to himself I do NOT feel like repeating… but wanted to slap him over the neck for:
“….not a way to speak about a friend!!” I hissed, while Yakko just shrugged:
“Hey, now, you have your way of complimenting, I have mine. But someone’s gonna have to help her down that tower on those pipes she calls shoes… YO, Snow Princess…” -he walked after her, and what followed was a scene I couldn’t quite see, but heard:
“GET OFF ME!!”
“You’re gonna snap your neck like a twig.”
“GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, I CAN-“
“Oh don’t pretend like you dislike it, besides, I’m just trying to help! You know what a fall from here could do to ya??”
“…your hands should NOT be there…”
“Oops, my bad, I know, ladies make the first move-“
“I’m gonna kick you into a week from next month’s Tuesday and you’ll wake up asking yourself why it’s not snowing in December…”
“Must it be so rough? It’s only our first date…”
“WAKKO!!!”
I turned to Dot, who just sighed and shook her head:
“Do we have clothes for a funeral?” I wanted to know, while my sister pondered:
“…wonder if I’ll look cute in all black?”
Once all four of us were on the ground, unharmed (I guess there’s very little you can do to someone if you’re hanging in the middle of the air; I found no bruises on Yakko at all. But I like I said, I didn’t exactly see the situation, so I’m unsure) we walked on and made small chit-chat, but I could notice, from time to time… Paula was actually looking at our eldest sibling out of the corner of her eye and a small shade of pink would form on her cheeks and neck whenever she did so. Yakko paid no attention, pretended to not acknowledge it at all -but I knew he saw that, too. Gritting my teeth slightly, I touched Copycat’s hand -she instantly jumped, as if I had run a piece of glass trough it -yet, turning to me, I smiled sweetly once more:
“Ever been bowlin’ before?”
“Yep, I have. Not the best, but -“
“Cause y’know, I can teach ya a few tricks. It’s really easy. Hey, you can be on my team, and Dot can team with Yakko.” I went on, pretty much speaking gibberish; just to keep her mind on something else. Clutching her hand, I noticed her whole body trembled; so fast, in fact, she almost lost balance -but she held my hand back, which shook in mine and once more, I felt so bad… so sorry… why was she so scared of me, it was just a simple gesture…
“I, uh… sure…” Paula gave an awkward, embarrassed smile, still holding onto me, while I tried to calm her down in a whisper, hoping my siblings wouldn’t hear:
“Hey! It’s ok. I’m here, right?”
“….that’s what I’m afraid of.” I heard her mutter and I blinked in confusion, walking on ahead with her:
“What? Why??”
“No offense, you’re my favorite, bestest friend… but I just have a weird feeling that every time we get together and that smartass is involved it turns into a complete train-wreck…” at least she was honest and… well, she did have a point. Pretty much all I wanted was for them to hate each other, so a train-wreck worked ok, too.
“Don’ worry, I won’ let him do anything bad to you!” I promised, frowning, trying my best to make a scary face. That just made her laugh and caused Yakko to yawn and state with his usual subtle irony:
“We’re not deaf, but thanks, Wak. Talk about biting the hand that feeds.”
“…if we have to be perfectly honest.” Paula spun on her heels, causing her hair and dress to twirl around and me to slap my face and sigh deeply “It wasn’t HIS fault about what happened in that shower, AND-“
“Accidents happen.” Yakko smiled at her, the corner of his mouth lifting in a sly smirk “Watch the wind there, Monroe, we’re going to a public place…”
Copycat froze up completely, then tugged on her dress as hard as she could, clutching my hand painfully and pacing forward, in a state of shock and horror:
“I-it’s not… I mean…”
“He was kiddin’! The dress looks, uhm…” I was never really good with clothes, never cared for fashion, either, so I just shrugged and repeated “He wanted to make you uncomfortable.”
“I’ll show him uncomfortable!” was a promise made with a shaking, yet threatening voice and I threw a glance from behind my shoulder at Yakko, who just gave me a little wave:
“Careful with our starlet, now, Wakko. She twist her ankle… oh, I’d just HATE to have to carry her all the way back home…”
“Oh you’ll be going back home in a body-bag…”the human girl told herself quietly, while Dot concluded:
“Why can’t we be back yet?”
“Don’t worry, sister sibling, we’ll have lots of fun!” Yakko comfort her, patting her shoulder lightly
“Will you be too offended if I, while you’re being buried, rip-off some of the lines from “Titanic”? There are a few I always wanted to work with.” Was the answer he received, while I, once more, lost my trail of thought. Tugging on Paula’s wrist, I asked:
“D’ya watch “Titanic”?”
“….n-no! And I most certainly did not cry when Leo Di Caprio turned into an ice-block of a corpse for the woman he knew he could never have…” she gave me a weird look, but it was me who was staring at her oddly, now:
“…oookay…”
For some reason I was hoping she’d hate it, so we could have something to discuss, since, although I know it was based on a tragedy, the movie itself was hardly anything I found likeable. I kept forgetting Copycat was a girl and probably liked a lot of feminine things -that thought made me shudder, since I never, ever wanna imagine her swooning over pink boa-tied curtains and tiny puppies that for some reason went in your purse.
Actually, I hope she never even buys a purse. Ever.
At first, bowling didn’t seem… half bad, it was actually kinda fun. It did start off as a bit awkward; especially when it was Paula’s turn to bowl. Yakko’s constant comments on her pose, or her posture, or dress, or even the occasional whistling, which he denied instantly, didn’t help her at all and had us both losing badly; she managed to hit two or three pins out of so many tries, and all my brother would do was laugh and say:
“With those skinny arms, I’m surprised you can even lift the ball!”
“You’re one to talk, you walking licorice stick!” Copycat snapped back, raising the ball high above her head, to prove she did have some physical strenght, while he just smirked:
“Wonder what you could do with two…?”
I didn’t understand why, but she smacked him across the neck, then sat down, trying to shrink under the table, again in such a crimson color, it almost looked like steam was about to come out of her ears.
But, eventually… I can’t even explain why… the two started to…. Get comfortable? I mean, Yakko was ALWAYS comfortable around girls, anytime, but… they almost started to… bond? I had no clue. It began with him sharing some French fries, then pretty much shoving his Soda in her hand, just so she could, in fact, eat and drink something -apparently I wasn’t the only one noticing how skinny she had gotten - then it was actual easing into his jokes, with her giving out a few giggles and joking back, and finally, it turned into an “Anything you can do, I can do better”:
“Betcha I can hit that sign” Yakko would claim, picking up a straw “Way uuuuppppp there, with just this gum drop.”
“I can hit the clock” Paula pointed, which was several centimeters above the claimed sign “With nothing more than just this spoon and a little paper AND make it give out a loud crash.”
“Bet I can twirl this french-fry around in five knots…”
“Seven knots AND it’ll be dipped in ketchup…”
“Hey Pau, bet I can get THAT waitress to give me an extra soda…”
“I can get a free hotdog, just you watch…”
“Well now I KNOW you can’t do this…” Yakko smirked, leaning over her “Bet I can twist my tongue faster than you can…”
“Hah. I can tie mine in a knot.” Paula claimed, while my brother crossed his arms, amused:
“Show me.”
Me and Dot stood away, realizing we were the only ones out of the four that were actually bowling.
“Are they going to bicker like little pre-schoolers all night? Ughhhh… I think I am going to be sick…” The Warner sister picked up her ball, then scoffed “I didn’t come here to watch Yakko’s pitiful attempts to score with some extra…”
“Hey! She’s my friend, I don’ insult yours!” I argued, though I had to agree. The whole thing was disgusting me as well, while Dot interjected:
“I’m not insulting her, I just hate being the third… no, forth wheel… isn’t this your cue to try and stir something up, so they’ll start fighting, hate each other and then you end up feeling so bad that a scene is caused and we all go home?”
I wanted to, but had no idea since they were both right there, in front of me. It’s easy to turn people against each other when they’re apart; not when they were trying to tie cherries and straws in knots with their tongues.
“Hey! Paula, it’s your turn!!!” I yelled out, aggravated. It was actually mine, but she had skipped at least five by now. At this point, she was rolling a penny at the tip of her tongue, then flipped it over and managed to land it in an empty soda cup:
“Beat that!-Huh, I’m sorry, sweetie, did you say something?”
“I say… you still can’t roll your tongue faster than I can. But do go, and try and hit a strike this time…” Yakko punched her on the shoulder, playfully, while seeming very much pleased. The color-bound girl walked over to us and I handed her a blue bowling ball, then huddled close to her:
“What’re you doin’??”
“Hey, no fair, don’t help her out!!” Yakko yelled out, while Dot sat at him, poking a finger at her throat, pretending to puke. I scoffed my face and shrieked back:
“She’s on my team, I can!!” then turned to Paula, again, whispering practically in her neck (though I had to lift myself up on my toes to do that) “What’re you doin’??”
“Kicking your brother’s ass, why?” was the reply, but I hissed back:
“He’s just makin’ fun of ya, can’t you see that??”
“…then why’re you letting him?” my friend turned to me, confused, while Yakko, once more, felt the need to voice out:
“Heyyyyyyy, baddddaaaaa bada badaaaa, don’t have all night, shoot for it, Snow, while we’re still young and at least somewhat attractive! Sheesh!!”
“He’s my brother, I can’t start a scene on here.” I answered in a much calmer, quiet voice “Just avoid him, from now on. I’ll deal with him, I promise!”
“Ok, let’s just-“
“And do try and hit something, ignore `im, you’re doing fine… maybe… place your elbows a lil lower…” it was hard to adjust her hands, considering they had gotten so bony, but I managed “And, lean forward, a lil bit… don’t aim for the middle one, aim for the middle three, you’ll have a better chance at a strike…-“
“Don’t worry, I’ll just imagine the pins are your brother’s pointy heads. That’ll get us a strike for sure.” Copycat grinned, but I still felt worried. It was the first time when I felt like she didn’t completely trust me and wouldn’t take my advice by heart; did I have to lie and tell her Yakko insulted her again??
“Baloney! Here.” Shifting his hand roughly over her lower back, Yakko placed a hand over hers and tightened it “You have a terrible grip. It’s like you’re scared to break it; don’t worry, your hands aren’t THAT strong… and your hips, when you’re swinging, too stiff. It’s like you’re embarrassed, NO ONE’s staring, everyone HAS to shift their hips a little bit to hit anything. Now, roll…”
“…let go first?” I could see her tremble in his arms, but he didn’t let go, actually, his playfulness seemed to disappear for a moment. He appeared strict and stern:
“No. Come already, what’s the point of bowling if you’re no competition?”
“But your clutching too hard-“
“What, you’re gonna faint now, since beautiful ole me is touching your pretty white skin?” this was mostly sarcasm, but a slight grin perked up his features once more. Trusting her head and biting her lip so hard, Paula tried her best to regain composure… my brother leaned in and whispered in her ear “Don’t do that, you leave the lip biting to me…”
Slam! Or if that is the closest thing to a sound that makes when a bowling ball pretty much flies off your hand and hits a bunch of pins; Copycat almost got a strike. That should’ve made me pleased, since we earned some points, but now it was back to more giddiness I didn’t feel like watching, or even letting occur, ever, in any lifetime.
“Hey!! You helped `er, that’s cheating!” I rose to my feet and walked over to them, while Yakko shrugged:
“Why’re you mad? You got points too, right?”
With that, they both took a seat, now she was in a pleasant color of magenta, kinda going for purple, apparently from the contact of the loudmouth’s breath and her ear. However, now it was Dot’s turn, and as I stood aside, it was back to more “I dare you to” between the two, since Paula somehow managed to quickly shake it off:
“I-I need a drink…”
“Oh, oh noo… no drinking with the kids, rule number one, Purple Princess.” My brother noted, frowning slightly “And DO YOU drink alcohol?”
“…water would do fine.” She avoided the question, while Yakko seemed to approve:
“Very well. Wakko, give our nice lady friend some water…”
I pretty much gaped at him, then couldn’t handle screaming:
“What am I, your waiter?? You get `er the water if you want to!!” now I was really mad. He was getting it back, just for that comment alone, while Paula tried to make some time of compromise:
“T-t-that’s ok, I’ll, uh… oh, look, there’s some ice left, and…” gulping lightly, she shoved an ice block from her empty soda cup inside her mouth, remaining silent and trying to calm herself down.
Yakko turned to me, while I was fuming, in internal, and possibly visible to outsiders rage:
“You ok sib?”
“I didn’ come here to sit around and watch what you guys can do with your-“
“Strike!” Dot came back, seeming very proud, and beamed at us “Did ya see me?? I didn’t even try hard! We’re winning, Yakko!”
“That was amazing, sister sibling, very nice!!” the eldest of us encouraged, while poking me lightly on the shoulder “Isn’t it your turn, Wakko?”
Scrunching my face at him, I walked away, while Dot took my place:
“Something wrong? She seems flushed.”
“Oh, you mean our Snow White? Yeah, just thirsty…but the waiter’s being really mean, he won’t take time enough to get our next order, aaaaahhhh I guess we’re just not cute enough.” Yep, he was good, since now, Dot stood up:
“I’ll get us something! Who wants what?”
“Nothing for me, sister sib, just something cold and sweet for our guest, here.” Yakko smiled, and as Dot walked off, he turned to Paula “So… still haven’t seen you twist your tongue.”
“….that was kinda a cheap shot. I could’ve gotten up and-“
“More twitching, less talking, zombie girl.”
Twisting her lips at one side, apparently aggravated by being called “zombie girl” Paula flicked her tongue out and curled it up; Yakko kept laughing, but that just seemed to encourage her, and finally, he “joined in to show her how it was done”.
All in all, they kept sticking their tongues at each other, until, of course, Yakko’s, somehow, imagine how? -clicked with her and went over her lips, to a point where he reached the tip of her nose:
“Ooops. Sorry. It’s a little bendy, but you understand, I get a lot of practice done.” Now his smirk was huge and poor, poor Paula was about to pass out, I could tell. Throwing the ball randomly (and actually hitting a few pins, I think) I rushed to her aid, just as Dot came back with four cans of Sprite:
“Three of them were free…” she claimed, but her tone changed completely, once taking a glimpse at Copycat “Hey… she looks sick… maybe we should go home?”
“Oh no, we’re having the time of our lives! Aren’t we, Paul?” Yakko wrapped an arm around her, while she shuddered, then shift away slowly:
“I-I’m gonna go… get something to eat, I’m…. hungry…” then rushed to the snack bar, while I shot my male sibling a deadly glare, then followed:
“I’ll come too, I’m starvin’!”
At the snack bar, I wasn’t sure what exactly I should say -it felt as if I’d get in a huge dent with both of them, if I spoke up, so I thought about it carefully. She ordered a bunch of cheeseburgers and I assured her I’d help carry them back -but couldn’t find words for the entire situation.
“Are you ok?” I asked her finally, while I noticed her hands and knees trembling:
“Y-you think that was an accident…?”
Grabbing a plate and placing all the food on it casually, I went on with my unfair ways:
“Yep.”
“O-okay…”
“I’ll go take those to the table, you wait for the rest, I’ll just be a sec.” I promised her, while Paula, taking a deep, deep breath, managed to nod her head. At our table, Yakko was talking with Dot and I really couldn’t say much in front of her, so I just let it go and tried to rush back to my friend, before she passed out, as quickly as possible. I noticed that she was talking to someone, however, which seemed… odd. Not that I… don’t consider… but Paula hardly communicated with people when she was sober.
Her companion seemed even more unorthodox, if anything -a giant reptile, a turtle, with a bright red headband. I figured it was one of her co-workers, but what struck me as weird was… why was he all the way over here, he didn’t work for Warner Brothers?
“Uhm… hey there, uhm… Moses was it…?” Paula seemed to be just as shocked as I was, while the turtle rolled his eyes:
“It’s Raphael. Really. You could use that little space between your ears sometimes, it’s not so hard to do….”
“…right, that… other historical guy, uhm… what are-“
“What’s a turtle doing in a bowling ring?” I blurted out, approaching, as he shot me an unimpressed look:
“The same as four dogs are.” He gestured to our table, and as I tried to fire back, Paula kept a hand on my shoulder, her glare turning cold:
“Look Van Gogh…”
“Ra-Pha-El.” He empathized, as if he were talking to someone with a very slow mentality “Really, is it THAT hard for you to remember? Geez, buddy, how’d you ever run by a script, do they paint it for you on cue cards with huge pretty letters?”
“We’ll just go now…” Paula trust her head at him and as we began walking away, Raphael placed a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to bother her -I could see her eyes flitch, but he spoke:
“Wait, while we’re having this pleasant conversation, I have a few things to deliver to you, first off, from the studio-“
“Wakko, just go take the food to the table, I’ll be right back.” The pale girl told me softly, yet I hesitated:
“But…”
“It’s fine!” she assured, although it didn’t seem like it. However, I could agree now, the turtles were major jerks.
I walked off, keeping a small distance, so I could hear and defend her, if necessary. Whoever he was, I didn’t want him bringing her down -although he did look pretty big, so I was considering that my options wouldn’t be that good, not one bit.
“Donatello’s better.” Raphael claimed, rolling the plate with his pizza around, giving it a suspicious look
“….who?”
“Donatello, the guy you dubbed?” the turtle gave out a huge sigh and reached for the ketchup bottle “Honestly, sometimes I wonder why they even put up with y-“
“Oh, purple dude. Yeah, I’m glad to hear that.” Paula was about to walk away, while Raphael stopped her once more:
“Yeah, he’s cool now, but Leonardo’s lost it, this time. Turns out it’s some kind of virus… so they wanna know if they can keep you for a little longer, although I honestly don’t know why anyone’d even want you in the first place, but hey… office orders. Passing along.” Raphael finished his speech and took a small slice off his pizza, while Paula was clearly trying to remember who Leonardo was:
“….allllriiighty then. If that’s all, have a nice evening, I’m gonna go back to my table…” her companion snorted, looking her over:
“What, you’re so desperate you’re following around those little Warner pups? Must be sad to not have friends.”
“For your information…” she tip-toed, so she could hiss in his face “…they invited me… well… the one with the long pants did, anyway…”
“Oh, really? Then out of pure curiosity, why’s he flirting with that purple chick over there?” at this point, both me and Paula looked back, only to notice that… Dot was busy chatting with a few of her friends, while Yakko was in fact talking to Fifi le Fume… out of the worst, worst luck of all, and… well, Fifi was clearly flirting and Yakko was being… Yakko, I can’t know… but at this point, it took me one quick glance at Copycat’s face to hear my own voice, saying no too long ago:
“He thinks Fifi’s the prettiest girl in purple ever…”
I heard a slight squeal, the sound of tennis shoes clashing with lousy polished floors and before I could even blink, Paula was gone. The turtle was still there and didn’t seem to care less; he took his pizza and walked away, while I rushed off, hoping she had just… ran of for a second, that was an impulse thing, that she’d come back, slap him again, anything…but…
As I walked back, Yakko parted ways with Fifi, even though she seemed hesitant to and had to exclaim:
“Paula, Paula’s-“
“Hey bro, what happened to the rest of the food?” he cut me off, but I just shook my head:
“This isn’t about food, at all!”
My siblings exchanged terrified glances, as the male concluded:
“…you were right all along, Dot, our boy has lost it… not about food?... That’s…impossible, Wakko, are you feeling ok?”
“This, this is why I kept you away from Paula!! Why, why were you flirting with Fifi???” I practically screamed at him, while he lift his hands in defense:
“Woah, woah, woahhh, back up here, buddy! She’s here with her boyfriend, she just came over to say hi! Will you relax? What happened? And what do you mean, what does Zombie girl have to do with it?”
“Stop callin’ ‘er that!!”
“….but I mean it as a little nickname, you know I like the gi-“
“HE happened!!” I gave up and pointed at Raphael, who was currently sharing his pizza with some of his own friends, a huge company, surprisingly, none of his colleagues seemed to be there, though. Rising up to his feet, it didn’t take long for Yakko to put two and two together:
“….just keep an eye on Dot…” he claimed, but both me and our sister followed him anyway, as he turned Raphael by the shoulder roughly “Hey, swamp weasel! Funny seeing your vomit flavor face in a place like this…how come you’re not in New York’s sewers, trying to peek inside April O’Neil’s shower??”
“Oh, the big baloney boy from Warner Brothers. I’m trying to eat here, which is apparently something you haven’t been doing…” Raphael stood up and at that moment, I admired my big brother so much. The turtle was huge and seemed like he could kill us all with just one punch; however, Yakko seemed unimpressed:
“You buggin’ my friends, buddy?”
“Friends? All I see is your looney tooney little siblings, now, if you would just-“ Yakko rose up on his chair and reached for his neck:
“The girl. The one with the lip-ring and multi-colored hair. Paula. What did you say to her?”
“Oh, you mean your ugly charity case? I actually helped her off, she’s better by herself than being someone’s swine fest, really… you want that skunk chick, you’d be better off letting the hideous chalk girl g-“ at that point, my brother lashed out on him, but the two were held back; Raphael by his own peers, while Yakko by several people, myself included, who really did care for him and didn’t want him to end up as an ink spot:
“Are you crazy?? He could kill you!!” Dot screamed, sincerely afraid, almost begging “Yakko, please!”
“She left…” my brother huffed, breathing heavily “… because you, you and so many people keep putting ridiculous ideas in her head… this isn’t over buddy…”
“Yakko!” I joined Dot, pulling him towards the exit, while Raphael just shook his head and gave out a snort “Let’s just go see if she’s ok, she’s prolly back in her car, c’mon…”
“You’re…. you’re right, that was… stupid, beyond stupid, it wouldn’t have solved anything…” my brother inhaled, as the three of us walked outside, looking for Paula “She’s… it’s gonna be fine. I don’t know what that creep told her, but he’s the last creature on this Earth who can give out beauty tips…”
“Let’s just calm down. Like Wakko said… she probably went back in her car.” Dot spoke, much calmer, although still trembling a bit “Don’t ever do that! He was huge, he…”
“I know, but it’s jerks like that…” Yakko didn’t finish, just frowned and looked around “Alright, let’s split up. Wakko, you and Dot, you check some of her hang-outs…me, I’m going to the parking lot, if she’s there, better I talk to her one on one, she must be feeling hurt… huge lizard sewage freak…”
We did as told, but had little places I could pick, seeming as most places Paula spent her time at were bars and clubs, places you’d agree I couldn’t take my little sister to. We walked the streets randomly, calling out her name, then decided to go look at the parking lot anyway; if Yakko and Paula needed their space, we wouldn’t butt in, but at least we’d know they were both safe.
As we approached however, screams were heard, mixed voices, harsh, horrid laughter:
“Let me go!! What’d I even do to you???”
“Not so tough now, are you, bitch??”
“I said, put me-“
“I’ll smash your face in, you’re going bald, you piece of mold, you’re gonna-“
“Leave her alone!”
By the time we did go there, I figured, for once in a very long time, I was right… it was horrid…
Paula was lying flat on her back, while some woman, knife in hand, and a few more figures… two males, one holding a small child… were apparently trying to harm her, and, once more, my brother just stood there, while the apparently insane woman had that knife clutched in her hair:
“Awww, is the little girl scared?”
“I said, get off her!!” Apparently, my brother managed to push the other woman off, while one of the males kept watching from afar, screaming at him… things I couldn’t completely hear, something on the line of “If I pushed you, would you like it?”
Eventually, they were broken off, as more people came along. I had pushed Dot behind myself, but couldn’t believe my sight… Paula was bright yellow, crying, and a huge chunk of her hair was lying in her feet, as Yakko tried to hush her down. Hugging my sister tightly, I ran over to them, both of us shivering, while Yakko just said:
“Take Dot to Minerva. I’ll get an ambulance. Just go, go!”
I noticed that Paula’s car was crashed -possibly from the fight- but a huge red paint sigh, on the front window, glowed in the street lights, claiming:
“Wakko’s too good for you!!”
“No!! Don’t touch me, leave me alone, you did this!!!” Paula was screaming, as I just had to rush away, while Yakko took it, trying to calm her down:
“No, it’s all ok, everything’s fine-“
“You wrote this, you hate me, you fucking hate me, you made them do it!! You did!!!”
“No, Paula, calm down…” he was trying to hold her and dial on her cellphone at the same time; luckily, someone else had already called 911. Last thing I heard was my friend’s terrified, desperate screams:
“WHY??? WHY?? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU??”
That, and ambulance sirens….
I talked Minerva Mink into taking Dot in for the night, although the cute little one complained; then, immediately reached Hello Nurse and asked for Paula, a room number, anything… after finding out which hospital she was in and most of my demanded information, I ran there, as fast as I could, still shocked and terrified over what had just happened…
At the door, I stopped, hearing voices -I recognized them both, but they were calmer now, and quieter:
“…my poor hair, oh God…I loved my hair, I don’t get it…”
“What did they do? Apart from those few punches, did anything else happen, did the guys hurt you?” it was Yakko, he spoke so calmly, and I took a peek, looking at them, sharing her hospital bed. Shaking, Copycat said:
“N-no, but… sh-she just… she just stopped me, on my way, saying I should… if I wanted to… blow someone, I’m not even sure, she called me a whore, I don’t even…”
“And then what?”
“I called her out for it, she said that if I didn’t blow her husband she’d beat me to a pulp and cut me up, make me bald…”
“Why the fuck didn’t you just walk away!!” I could almost hear him sigh, but he also seemed scared. She was in hysterical tears, so he couldn’t afford being accusing “It’s ok…shhhh…you didn’t get hurt, and that’s what counts…I…” he reached out a hand to her, while she kept insisting:
“You-you did this! Why, I never wanted anything from anyone, why, why’re you doing this to me…”
“I swear to whatever you believe in, I had NOTHING to do with this… please… please…” gulping lightly, he noticed Copycat crumbling in a small ball, then added “If I had a problem with you being friends with my brother… would I let him see you, ever? I… those people were crazy, Paula, you were supposed to run, not fight with them…”
“B-b-but… why would she call me out, I didn’t even look at her, I was just walking by-“
“They were sick crazy people, that’s why… but it wasn’t me… please… just calm down…” eventually, she dropped flat on her back, sobbing so loud, you could barely make out a word she spoke:
“It’s because I’m so ugly, so hideous… that people just try and hurt me, so much, it’s unfair…”
“…are you kidding me? You honestly believe that… God, you ARE obsessed…Paula…I feel like I’m telling you “the sky is blue” here, but… that had NOTHING to do with what you look like, it was a bunch of messed up creeps picking on a small girl for fun. It could’ve been anyone. Don’t you watch the news? Read papers? People get massacred, disfigured, killed, mauled… in daylight, for everyone to see, just because…there are sick people out there…you…” he leaned a little closer, and she trembled “I’m not gonna hurt you…these people-“
“…what if they come back??”
“They can’t and won’t.”
“What if they hurt you, too??”
“Then I’ll die saving a beautiful girl, beast death ever… but Paula, joke aside…they can’t… they were random people we will never meet again, who don’t know us….calm down, baby…” Yakko finally found the courage to touch her hair lightly, almost afraid, as her eyes shot at him, still moist with tears:
“You… stood up for me…”
“If you weren’t stupid enough to stand there like a punching bag…”
“….you’re hurt…” she pointed at a small scratch on his chest, but he waved a hand casually:
“When I was getting her off you, the knife sorta… it’s not important, apparently, she had no intention of making me go bald. It’s alright, I wasn’t gonna let this go on…”
“I-I know she didn’t wanna hurt you, but-“
“Yeah. But it’s not about you, either. There’s nothing wrong with you….”
Swallowing hard, her eyes so huge and bulged, she managed to choke out, while fighting back more tears:
“But…you could’ve-“
“Know what I think? That… lady… though I can’t call that freakjob a lady… that thing, you saw her? Fat and her skin… it was deep brown, the way I see it… she saw this tiny, defenseless, weak girl… with a petite little figure she’d never have and beautiful pale skin….and just thought “target”. Or, second option -the whole family was on drugs… or, third, she was just crazy…” somewhat relaxing at his words, Paula managed to speak more clearly:
“Neither of them looked high or crazy…”
“Yeah, most serial killers or drug addicts just have it written all over them. You know they always say that… about psychos who hurt others…. That it’s the least you’d expect.” Yakko resumed talking reasonably, while Copycat seemed, although calmer, now conflicted:
“…she was carrying a child…”
“I pity the kid, can’t wait to see what it’ll grow up to be with a mom like that… and dad…” Yakko rolled his eyes, then tried his best to smile down at her “Hey… don’t you worry about it. I think I know where you can live, too, so nothing like this will ever have to happen…”
“…I’m scared, I’m scared to even be alone, what if-“
“Shhhh…. No more “what if”… we forget this whole fucked up situation, and life goes on…. And hey, tomorrow…fix up your hair and have tons of fun, they think they can mess up our lives…” there was something here that I just couldn’t put a finger on. Was it just pity, or was there…I could sense a type of softness in his voice as he spoke, warmth…I know he barely knew her, but he took care of her as if she was his child.
“I miss my hair…” Paula admitted, while Yakko shifted closer to her:
“It’s just the bang, and we’ll even the other one out… and, you know… you seem like you like rock music… you could get a whole Joan Jett hairstyle, try something new…besides…I always thought girls with bangs are pretty cute.”
She laughed. She actually laughed, and I noticed, her eyes were starting to go dim:
“….that needle, they stuck in me…”
“Just something so you can go to sleep now. To relax, you got pretty scared. Anyone would.” He explained, while Paula reached a hand to touch her hair once more:
“….I think I might like a different hairstyle.”
“That’s my girl.”
Pausing for a minute, she lay back, her eyes half-closed, while he just looked down on her, not saying a word. Finally, Copycat spoke once more:
“…but who would’ve written that on my car?”
“No clue; probably some obsessed Wakko fangirl. It can happen; don’t worry. Police will take care of everything. And if they don’t, well, tough… since… whoever felt the need to do something that lame is not good for anyone, not even the one-eyed homeless person down the block….”
“….why did you stick up for me?”
Yakko smirked lightly and flicked her nose:
“Obviously because I hate you and rejoice in your pain, right?”
“….obviously…” she tried to laugh once more, but apparently the medicine they gave her was kicking in
“Because I like you, Snow. I really do. And all the same… I wouldn’t let anyone get hurt if I could help it, though I would’ve just called the police right away… I guess I like you… a lot more than I thought I did before…”
With that sentence, her eyes closed and all Copycat could mutter was:
“….you like me…?” before falling in a deep sleep, which I hoped… was calm and erased a lot of those memories, most that I thankfully did not witness.
Turning on the side, she slept peacefully, while I took a seat outside, to wait. Before that, however, I noticed Yakko laid down next to her, lightly pressing his hand on top her hers, leaning his face on her back; Paula clutched his fingers tightly and the two remained there, eventually, surrendering to slumber.
So as I waited outside, I had to ponder…
….would they be so terrible together after all?
Also, I wished she wouldn’t punch him again, although this time, at least she’d have an actual reason to.
Dot walked in the living room first, giving us a stern look; I had no clue why she’d be mad at me, I did everything right this time -clearing her throat, our sister said:
“Now, when she walks out, don’t make a fuss. Don’t tease her, don’t laugh, don’t joke, try and pretend it didn’t happen. And Yakko-“
“Yes, sister sibling?” he asked with a small grin, resting on the sofa casually:
“Don’t make ONE comment about her body, not ONE, or her looks, in general. Just… don’t.”
“Dot, I was just kidding, I-“
“Please listen to me for once, you know a lot less about girls than you think.” The female Warner finished, then walked outside, I could hear her voice from the corridor in a gentle whisper “It’s ok. And if he makes you mad, just slap him over the face, no one will blame you.”
I could hear Paula stutter something in response. Apparently, she was either still very embarrassed or it was just her way around pretty girls; she felt uncomfortable. When Copycat entered the room, I fought back a deep sigh, then noticed Yakko’s eyes lit up slightly, as he gave her a look-over, but kept to himself. It’s one thing getting beaten up by a tiny teenage girl and a whole other to have your head screamed off by Dot.
“So, ready to go?” I could see my brother was trying very hard not to laugh and felt almost afraid that Paula would consider it as him laughing at her; from what I could find in his eyes, it was quite the opposite, he seemed to approve of her current look -but again, who can say, really?
Nice and clean, she was in all black this time, with the bad make-up and much to my horror, that hideous lip-ring was back. However, the black clothes made her figure strike out even more and she did have a nice body -which why, I assume, Yakko felt like commenting eventually:
“You clean up good, Snow. I mean, that rug looked nice on you, but -“ he dared say no more, after the glare both females shot him, only wiggled his eyebrows and repeated “So, all set, then?”
“….I want. To. Kill you.” Paula hissed at him, resembling a wounded animal, and he took that into consideration:
“Ahhhhh, then, maybe re-scheduling? I have a dentist appointment next week and I kinda need to be alive for that, how about… the week after?” my friend seemed like she was about to blow, while I interjected:
“Uhm, maybe we go bowling some other time, or, y’know… uh… you look great, Pau!”
“Thanks. And yes, we’re going.” I noticed she was wearing long boots with very pointy heels and gulped, instantly picturing those sharp spikes going up my brother’s jaw. However, he didn’t seem so bothered; perking up, my brother jumped to his feet and rushed to the tower door, opening it, mimicking a small bow:
“After m’lady!”
Paula was twitching her hands so harsh, I was afraid her knuckles would break -yet, lifting her head up high, she walked ahead, while he kept checking her out from behind, muttering comments to himself I do NOT feel like repeating… but wanted to slap him over the neck for:
“….not a way to speak about a friend!!” I hissed, while Yakko just shrugged:
“Hey, now, you have your way of complimenting, I have mine. But someone’s gonna have to help her down that tower on those pipes she calls shoes… YO, Snow Princess…” -he walked after her, and what followed was a scene I couldn’t quite see, but heard:
“GET OFF ME!!”
“You’re gonna snap your neck like a twig.”
“GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, I CAN-“
“Oh don’t pretend like you dislike it, besides, I’m just trying to help! You know what a fall from here could do to ya??”
“…your hands should NOT be there…”
“Oops, my bad, I know, ladies make the first move-“
“I’m gonna kick you into a week from next month’s Tuesday and you’ll wake up asking yourself why it’s not snowing in December…”
“Must it be so rough? It’s only our first date…”
“WAKKO!!!”
I turned to Dot, who just sighed and shook her head:
“Do we have clothes for a funeral?” I wanted to know, while my sister pondered:
“…wonder if I’ll look cute in all black?”
Once all four of us were on the ground, unharmed (I guess there’s very little you can do to someone if you’re hanging in the middle of the air; I found no bruises on Yakko at all. But I like I said, I didn’t exactly see the situation, so I’m unsure) we walked on and made small chit-chat, but I could notice, from time to time… Paula was actually looking at our eldest sibling out of the corner of her eye and a small shade of pink would form on her cheeks and neck whenever she did so. Yakko paid no attention, pretended to not acknowledge it at all -but I knew he saw that, too. Gritting my teeth slightly, I touched Copycat’s hand -she instantly jumped, as if I had run a piece of glass trough it -yet, turning to me, I smiled sweetly once more:
“Ever been bowlin’ before?”
“Yep, I have. Not the best, but -“
“Cause y’know, I can teach ya a few tricks. It’s really easy. Hey, you can be on my team, and Dot can team with Yakko.” I went on, pretty much speaking gibberish; just to keep her mind on something else. Clutching her hand, I noticed her whole body trembled; so fast, in fact, she almost lost balance -but she held my hand back, which shook in mine and once more, I felt so bad… so sorry… why was she so scared of me, it was just a simple gesture…
“I, uh… sure…” Paula gave an awkward, embarrassed smile, still holding onto me, while I tried to calm her down in a whisper, hoping my siblings wouldn’t hear:
“Hey! It’s ok. I’m here, right?”
“….that’s what I’m afraid of.” I heard her mutter and I blinked in confusion, walking on ahead with her:
“What? Why??”
“No offense, you’re my favorite, bestest friend… but I just have a weird feeling that every time we get together and that smartass is involved it turns into a complete train-wreck…” at least she was honest and… well, she did have a point. Pretty much all I wanted was for them to hate each other, so a train-wreck worked ok, too.
“Don’ worry, I won’ let him do anything bad to you!” I promised, frowning, trying my best to make a scary face. That just made her laugh and caused Yakko to yawn and state with his usual subtle irony:
“We’re not deaf, but thanks, Wak. Talk about biting the hand that feeds.”
“…if we have to be perfectly honest.” Paula spun on her heels, causing her hair and dress to twirl around and me to slap my face and sigh deeply “It wasn’t HIS fault about what happened in that shower, AND-“
“Accidents happen.” Yakko smiled at her, the corner of his mouth lifting in a sly smirk “Watch the wind there, Monroe, we’re going to a public place…”
Copycat froze up completely, then tugged on her dress as hard as she could, clutching my hand painfully and pacing forward, in a state of shock and horror:
“I-it’s not… I mean…”
“He was kiddin’! The dress looks, uhm…” I was never really good with clothes, never cared for fashion, either, so I just shrugged and repeated “He wanted to make you uncomfortable.”
“I’ll show him uncomfortable!” was a promise made with a shaking, yet threatening voice and I threw a glance from behind my shoulder at Yakko, who just gave me a little wave:
“Careful with our starlet, now, Wakko. She twist her ankle… oh, I’d just HATE to have to carry her all the way back home…”
“Oh you’ll be going back home in a body-bag…”the human girl told herself quietly, while Dot concluded:
“Why can’t we be back yet?”
“Don’t worry, sister sibling, we’ll have lots of fun!” Yakko comfort her, patting her shoulder lightly
“Will you be too offended if I, while you’re being buried, rip-off some of the lines from “Titanic”? There are a few I always wanted to work with.” Was the answer he received, while I, once more, lost my trail of thought. Tugging on Paula’s wrist, I asked:
“D’ya watch “Titanic”?”
“….n-no! And I most certainly did not cry when Leo Di Caprio turned into an ice-block of a corpse for the woman he knew he could never have…” she gave me a weird look, but it was me who was staring at her oddly, now:
“…oookay…”
For some reason I was hoping she’d hate it, so we could have something to discuss, since, although I know it was based on a tragedy, the movie itself was hardly anything I found likeable. I kept forgetting Copycat was a girl and probably liked a lot of feminine things -that thought made me shudder, since I never, ever wanna imagine her swooning over pink boa-tied curtains and tiny puppies that for some reason went in your purse.
Actually, I hope she never even buys a purse. Ever.
At first, bowling didn’t seem… half bad, it was actually kinda fun. It did start off as a bit awkward; especially when it was Paula’s turn to bowl. Yakko’s constant comments on her pose, or her posture, or dress, or even the occasional whistling, which he denied instantly, didn’t help her at all and had us both losing badly; she managed to hit two or three pins out of so many tries, and all my brother would do was laugh and say:
“With those skinny arms, I’m surprised you can even lift the ball!”
“You’re one to talk, you walking licorice stick!” Copycat snapped back, raising the ball high above her head, to prove she did have some physical strenght, while he just smirked:
“Wonder what you could do with two…?”
I didn’t understand why, but she smacked him across the neck, then sat down, trying to shrink under the table, again in such a crimson color, it almost looked like steam was about to come out of her ears.
But, eventually… I can’t even explain why… the two started to…. Get comfortable? I mean, Yakko was ALWAYS comfortable around girls, anytime, but… they almost started to… bond? I had no clue. It began with him sharing some French fries, then pretty much shoving his Soda in her hand, just so she could, in fact, eat and drink something -apparently I wasn’t the only one noticing how skinny she had gotten - then it was actual easing into his jokes, with her giving out a few giggles and joking back, and finally, it turned into an “Anything you can do, I can do better”:
“Betcha I can hit that sign” Yakko would claim, picking up a straw “Way uuuuppppp there, with just this gum drop.”
“I can hit the clock” Paula pointed, which was several centimeters above the claimed sign “With nothing more than just this spoon and a little paper AND make it give out a loud crash.”
“Bet I can twirl this french-fry around in five knots…”
“Seven knots AND it’ll be dipped in ketchup…”
“Hey Pau, bet I can get THAT waitress to give me an extra soda…”
“I can get a free hotdog, just you watch…”
“Well now I KNOW you can’t do this…” Yakko smirked, leaning over her “Bet I can twist my tongue faster than you can…”
“Hah. I can tie mine in a knot.” Paula claimed, while my brother crossed his arms, amused:
“Show me.”
Me and Dot stood away, realizing we were the only ones out of the four that were actually bowling.
“Are they going to bicker like little pre-schoolers all night? Ughhhh… I think I am going to be sick…” The Warner sister picked up her ball, then scoffed “I didn’t come here to watch Yakko’s pitiful attempts to score with some extra…”
“Hey! She’s my friend, I don’ insult yours!” I argued, though I had to agree. The whole thing was disgusting me as well, while Dot interjected:
“I’m not insulting her, I just hate being the third… no, forth wheel… isn’t this your cue to try and stir something up, so they’ll start fighting, hate each other and then you end up feeling so bad that a scene is caused and we all go home?”
I wanted to, but had no idea since they were both right there, in front of me. It’s easy to turn people against each other when they’re apart; not when they were trying to tie cherries and straws in knots with their tongues.
“Hey! Paula, it’s your turn!!!” I yelled out, aggravated. It was actually mine, but she had skipped at least five by now. At this point, she was rolling a penny at the tip of her tongue, then flipped it over and managed to land it in an empty soda cup:
“Beat that!-Huh, I’m sorry, sweetie, did you say something?”
“I say… you still can’t roll your tongue faster than I can. But do go, and try and hit a strike this time…” Yakko punched her on the shoulder, playfully, while seeming very much pleased. The color-bound girl walked over to us and I handed her a blue bowling ball, then huddled close to her:
“What’re you doin’??”
“Hey, no fair, don’t help her out!!” Yakko yelled out, while Dot sat at him, poking a finger at her throat, pretending to puke. I scoffed my face and shrieked back:
“She’s on my team, I can!!” then turned to Paula, again, whispering practically in her neck (though I had to lift myself up on my toes to do that) “What’re you doin’??”
“Kicking your brother’s ass, why?” was the reply, but I hissed back:
“He’s just makin’ fun of ya, can’t you see that??”
“…then why’re you letting him?” my friend turned to me, confused, while Yakko, once more, felt the need to voice out:
“Heyyyyyyy, baddddaaaaa bada badaaaa, don’t have all night, shoot for it, Snow, while we’re still young and at least somewhat attractive! Sheesh!!”
“He’s my brother, I can’t start a scene on here.” I answered in a much calmer, quiet voice “Just avoid him, from now on. I’ll deal with him, I promise!”
“Ok, let’s just-“
“And do try and hit something, ignore `im, you’re doing fine… maybe… place your elbows a lil lower…” it was hard to adjust her hands, considering they had gotten so bony, but I managed “And, lean forward, a lil bit… don’t aim for the middle one, aim for the middle three, you’ll have a better chance at a strike…-“
“Don’t worry, I’ll just imagine the pins are your brother’s pointy heads. That’ll get us a strike for sure.” Copycat grinned, but I still felt worried. It was the first time when I felt like she didn’t completely trust me and wouldn’t take my advice by heart; did I have to lie and tell her Yakko insulted her again??
“Baloney! Here.” Shifting his hand roughly over her lower back, Yakko placed a hand over hers and tightened it “You have a terrible grip. It’s like you’re scared to break it; don’t worry, your hands aren’t THAT strong… and your hips, when you’re swinging, too stiff. It’s like you’re embarrassed, NO ONE’s staring, everyone HAS to shift their hips a little bit to hit anything. Now, roll…”
“…let go first?” I could see her tremble in his arms, but he didn’t let go, actually, his playfulness seemed to disappear for a moment. He appeared strict and stern:
“No. Come already, what’s the point of bowling if you’re no competition?”
“But your clutching too hard-“
“What, you’re gonna faint now, since beautiful ole me is touching your pretty white skin?” this was mostly sarcasm, but a slight grin perked up his features once more. Trusting her head and biting her lip so hard, Paula tried her best to regain composure… my brother leaned in and whispered in her ear “Don’t do that, you leave the lip biting to me…”
Slam! Or if that is the closest thing to a sound that makes when a bowling ball pretty much flies off your hand and hits a bunch of pins; Copycat almost got a strike. That should’ve made me pleased, since we earned some points, but now it was back to more giddiness I didn’t feel like watching, or even letting occur, ever, in any lifetime.
“Hey!! You helped `er, that’s cheating!” I rose to my feet and walked over to them, while Yakko shrugged:
“Why’re you mad? You got points too, right?”
With that, they both took a seat, now she was in a pleasant color of magenta, kinda going for purple, apparently from the contact of the loudmouth’s breath and her ear. However, now it was Dot’s turn, and as I stood aside, it was back to more “I dare you to” between the two, since Paula somehow managed to quickly shake it off:
“I-I need a drink…”
“Oh, oh noo… no drinking with the kids, rule number one, Purple Princess.” My brother noted, frowning slightly “And DO YOU drink alcohol?”
“…water would do fine.” She avoided the question, while Yakko seemed to approve:
“Very well. Wakko, give our nice lady friend some water…”
I pretty much gaped at him, then couldn’t handle screaming:
“What am I, your waiter?? You get `er the water if you want to!!” now I was really mad. He was getting it back, just for that comment alone, while Paula tried to make some time of compromise:
“T-t-that’s ok, I’ll, uh… oh, look, there’s some ice left, and…” gulping lightly, she shoved an ice block from her empty soda cup inside her mouth, remaining silent and trying to calm herself down.
Yakko turned to me, while I was fuming, in internal, and possibly visible to outsiders rage:
“You ok sib?”
“I didn’ come here to sit around and watch what you guys can do with your-“
“Strike!” Dot came back, seeming very proud, and beamed at us “Did ya see me?? I didn’t even try hard! We’re winning, Yakko!”
“That was amazing, sister sibling, very nice!!” the eldest of us encouraged, while poking me lightly on the shoulder “Isn’t it your turn, Wakko?”
Scrunching my face at him, I walked away, while Dot took my place:
“Something wrong? She seems flushed.”
“Oh, you mean our Snow White? Yeah, just thirsty…but the waiter’s being really mean, he won’t take time enough to get our next order, aaaaahhhh I guess we’re just not cute enough.” Yep, he was good, since now, Dot stood up:
“I’ll get us something! Who wants what?”
“Nothing for me, sister sib, just something cold and sweet for our guest, here.” Yakko smiled, and as Dot walked off, he turned to Paula “So… still haven’t seen you twist your tongue.”
“….that was kinda a cheap shot. I could’ve gotten up and-“
“More twitching, less talking, zombie girl.”
Twisting her lips at one side, apparently aggravated by being called “zombie girl” Paula flicked her tongue out and curled it up; Yakko kept laughing, but that just seemed to encourage her, and finally, he “joined in to show her how it was done”.
All in all, they kept sticking their tongues at each other, until, of course, Yakko’s, somehow, imagine how? -clicked with her and went over her lips, to a point where he reached the tip of her nose:
“Ooops. Sorry. It’s a little bendy, but you understand, I get a lot of practice done.” Now his smirk was huge and poor, poor Paula was about to pass out, I could tell. Throwing the ball randomly (and actually hitting a few pins, I think) I rushed to her aid, just as Dot came back with four cans of Sprite:
“Three of them were free…” she claimed, but her tone changed completely, once taking a glimpse at Copycat “Hey… she looks sick… maybe we should go home?”
“Oh no, we’re having the time of our lives! Aren’t we, Paul?” Yakko wrapped an arm around her, while she shuddered, then shift away slowly:
“I-I’m gonna go… get something to eat, I’m…. hungry…” then rushed to the snack bar, while I shot my male sibling a deadly glare, then followed:
“I’ll come too, I’m starvin’!”
At the snack bar, I wasn’t sure what exactly I should say -it felt as if I’d get in a huge dent with both of them, if I spoke up, so I thought about it carefully. She ordered a bunch of cheeseburgers and I assured her I’d help carry them back -but couldn’t find words for the entire situation.
“Are you ok?” I asked her finally, while I noticed her hands and knees trembling:
“Y-you think that was an accident…?”
Grabbing a plate and placing all the food on it casually, I went on with my unfair ways:
“Yep.”
“O-okay…”
“I’ll go take those to the table, you wait for the rest, I’ll just be a sec.” I promised her, while Paula, taking a deep, deep breath, managed to nod her head. At our table, Yakko was talking with Dot and I really couldn’t say much in front of her, so I just let it go and tried to rush back to my friend, before she passed out, as quickly as possible. I noticed that she was talking to someone, however, which seemed… odd. Not that I… don’t consider… but Paula hardly communicated with people when she was sober.
Her companion seemed even more unorthodox, if anything -a giant reptile, a turtle, with a bright red headband. I figured it was one of her co-workers, but what struck me as weird was… why was he all the way over here, he didn’t work for Warner Brothers?
“Uhm… hey there, uhm… Moses was it…?” Paula seemed to be just as shocked as I was, while the turtle rolled his eyes:
“It’s Raphael. Really. You could use that little space between your ears sometimes, it’s not so hard to do….”
“…right, that… other historical guy, uhm… what are-“
“What’s a turtle doing in a bowling ring?” I blurted out, approaching, as he shot me an unimpressed look:
“The same as four dogs are.” He gestured to our table, and as I tried to fire back, Paula kept a hand on my shoulder, her glare turning cold:
“Look Van Gogh…”
“Ra-Pha-El.” He empathized, as if he were talking to someone with a very slow mentality “Really, is it THAT hard for you to remember? Geez, buddy, how’d you ever run by a script, do they paint it for you on cue cards with huge pretty letters?”
“We’ll just go now…” Paula trust her head at him and as we began walking away, Raphael placed a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to bother her -I could see her eyes flitch, but he spoke:
“Wait, while we’re having this pleasant conversation, I have a few things to deliver to you, first off, from the studio-“
“Wakko, just go take the food to the table, I’ll be right back.” The pale girl told me softly, yet I hesitated:
“But…”
“It’s fine!” she assured, although it didn’t seem like it. However, I could agree now, the turtles were major jerks.
I walked off, keeping a small distance, so I could hear and defend her, if necessary. Whoever he was, I didn’t want him bringing her down -although he did look pretty big, so I was considering that my options wouldn’t be that good, not one bit.
“Donatello’s better.” Raphael claimed, rolling the plate with his pizza around, giving it a suspicious look
“….who?”
“Donatello, the guy you dubbed?” the turtle gave out a huge sigh and reached for the ketchup bottle “Honestly, sometimes I wonder why they even put up with y-“
“Oh, purple dude. Yeah, I’m glad to hear that.” Paula was about to walk away, while Raphael stopped her once more:
“Yeah, he’s cool now, but Leonardo’s lost it, this time. Turns out it’s some kind of virus… so they wanna know if they can keep you for a little longer, although I honestly don’t know why anyone’d even want you in the first place, but hey… office orders. Passing along.” Raphael finished his speech and took a small slice off his pizza, while Paula was clearly trying to remember who Leonardo was:
“….allllriiighty then. If that’s all, have a nice evening, I’m gonna go back to my table…” her companion snorted, looking her over:
“What, you’re so desperate you’re following around those little Warner pups? Must be sad to not have friends.”
“For your information…” she tip-toed, so she could hiss in his face “…they invited me… well… the one with the long pants did, anyway…”
“Oh, really? Then out of pure curiosity, why’s he flirting with that purple chick over there?” at this point, both me and Paula looked back, only to notice that… Dot was busy chatting with a few of her friends, while Yakko was in fact talking to Fifi le Fume… out of the worst, worst luck of all, and… well, Fifi was clearly flirting and Yakko was being… Yakko, I can’t know… but at this point, it took me one quick glance at Copycat’s face to hear my own voice, saying no too long ago:
“He thinks Fifi’s the prettiest girl in purple ever…”
I heard a slight squeal, the sound of tennis shoes clashing with lousy polished floors and before I could even blink, Paula was gone. The turtle was still there and didn’t seem to care less; he took his pizza and walked away, while I rushed off, hoping she had just… ran of for a second, that was an impulse thing, that she’d come back, slap him again, anything…but…
As I walked back, Yakko parted ways with Fifi, even though she seemed hesitant to and had to exclaim:
“Paula, Paula’s-“
“Hey bro, what happened to the rest of the food?” he cut me off, but I just shook my head:
“This isn’t about food, at all!”
My siblings exchanged terrified glances, as the male concluded:
“…you were right all along, Dot, our boy has lost it… not about food?... That’s…impossible, Wakko, are you feeling ok?”
“This, this is why I kept you away from Paula!! Why, why were you flirting with Fifi???” I practically screamed at him, while he lift his hands in defense:
“Woah, woah, woahhh, back up here, buddy! She’s here with her boyfriend, she just came over to say hi! Will you relax? What happened? And what do you mean, what does Zombie girl have to do with it?”
“Stop callin’ ‘er that!!”
“….but I mean it as a little nickname, you know I like the gi-“
“HE happened!!” I gave up and pointed at Raphael, who was currently sharing his pizza with some of his own friends, a huge company, surprisingly, none of his colleagues seemed to be there, though. Rising up to his feet, it didn’t take long for Yakko to put two and two together:
“….just keep an eye on Dot…” he claimed, but both me and our sister followed him anyway, as he turned Raphael by the shoulder roughly “Hey, swamp weasel! Funny seeing your vomit flavor face in a place like this…how come you’re not in New York’s sewers, trying to peek inside April O’Neil’s shower??”
“Oh, the big baloney boy from Warner Brothers. I’m trying to eat here, which is apparently something you haven’t been doing…” Raphael stood up and at that moment, I admired my big brother so much. The turtle was huge and seemed like he could kill us all with just one punch; however, Yakko seemed unimpressed:
“You buggin’ my friends, buddy?”
“Friends? All I see is your looney tooney little siblings, now, if you would just-“ Yakko rose up on his chair and reached for his neck:
“The girl. The one with the lip-ring and multi-colored hair. Paula. What did you say to her?”
“Oh, you mean your ugly charity case? I actually helped her off, she’s better by herself than being someone’s swine fest, really… you want that skunk chick, you’d be better off letting the hideous chalk girl g-“ at that point, my brother lashed out on him, but the two were held back; Raphael by his own peers, while Yakko by several people, myself included, who really did care for him and didn’t want him to end up as an ink spot:
“Are you crazy?? He could kill you!!” Dot screamed, sincerely afraid, almost begging “Yakko, please!”
“She left…” my brother huffed, breathing heavily “… because you, you and so many people keep putting ridiculous ideas in her head… this isn’t over buddy…”
“Yakko!” I joined Dot, pulling him towards the exit, while Raphael just shook his head and gave out a snort “Let’s just go see if she’s ok, she’s prolly back in her car, c’mon…”
“You’re…. you’re right, that was… stupid, beyond stupid, it wouldn’t have solved anything…” my brother inhaled, as the three of us walked outside, looking for Paula “She’s… it’s gonna be fine. I don’t know what that creep told her, but he’s the last creature on this Earth who can give out beauty tips…”
“Let’s just calm down. Like Wakko said… she probably went back in her car.” Dot spoke, much calmer, although still trembling a bit “Don’t ever do that! He was huge, he…”
“I know, but it’s jerks like that…” Yakko didn’t finish, just frowned and looked around “Alright, let’s split up. Wakko, you and Dot, you check some of her hang-outs…me, I’m going to the parking lot, if she’s there, better I talk to her one on one, she must be feeling hurt… huge lizard sewage freak…”
We did as told, but had little places I could pick, seeming as most places Paula spent her time at were bars and clubs, places you’d agree I couldn’t take my little sister to. We walked the streets randomly, calling out her name, then decided to go look at the parking lot anyway; if Yakko and Paula needed their space, we wouldn’t butt in, but at least we’d know they were both safe.
As we approached however, screams were heard, mixed voices, harsh, horrid laughter:
“Let me go!! What’d I even do to you???”
“Not so tough now, are you, bitch??”
“I said, put me-“
“I’ll smash your face in, you’re going bald, you piece of mold, you’re gonna-“
“Leave her alone!”
By the time we did go there, I figured, for once in a very long time, I was right… it was horrid…
Paula was lying flat on her back, while some woman, knife in hand, and a few more figures… two males, one holding a small child… were apparently trying to harm her, and, once more, my brother just stood there, while the apparently insane woman had that knife clutched in her hair:
“Awww, is the little girl scared?”
“I said, get off her!!” Apparently, my brother managed to push the other woman off, while one of the males kept watching from afar, screaming at him… things I couldn’t completely hear, something on the line of “If I pushed you, would you like it?”
Eventually, they were broken off, as more people came along. I had pushed Dot behind myself, but couldn’t believe my sight… Paula was bright yellow, crying, and a huge chunk of her hair was lying in her feet, as Yakko tried to hush her down. Hugging my sister tightly, I ran over to them, both of us shivering, while Yakko just said:
“Take Dot to Minerva. I’ll get an ambulance. Just go, go!”
I noticed that Paula’s car was crashed -possibly from the fight- but a huge red paint sigh, on the front window, glowed in the street lights, claiming:
“Wakko’s too good for you!!”
“No!! Don’t touch me, leave me alone, you did this!!!” Paula was screaming, as I just had to rush away, while Yakko took it, trying to calm her down:
“No, it’s all ok, everything’s fine-“
“You wrote this, you hate me, you fucking hate me, you made them do it!! You did!!!”
“No, Paula, calm down…” he was trying to hold her and dial on her cellphone at the same time; luckily, someone else had already called 911. Last thing I heard was my friend’s terrified, desperate screams:
“WHY??? WHY?? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU??”
That, and ambulance sirens….
I talked Minerva Mink into taking Dot in for the night, although the cute little one complained; then, immediately reached Hello Nurse and asked for Paula, a room number, anything… after finding out which hospital she was in and most of my demanded information, I ran there, as fast as I could, still shocked and terrified over what had just happened…
At the door, I stopped, hearing voices -I recognized them both, but they were calmer now, and quieter:
“…my poor hair, oh God…I loved my hair, I don’t get it…”
“What did they do? Apart from those few punches, did anything else happen, did the guys hurt you?” it was Yakko, he spoke so calmly, and I took a peek, looking at them, sharing her hospital bed. Shaking, Copycat said:
“N-no, but… sh-she just… she just stopped me, on my way, saying I should… if I wanted to… blow someone, I’m not even sure, she called me a whore, I don’t even…”
“And then what?”
“I called her out for it, she said that if I didn’t blow her husband she’d beat me to a pulp and cut me up, make me bald…”
“Why the fuck didn’t you just walk away!!” I could almost hear him sigh, but he also seemed scared. She was in hysterical tears, so he couldn’t afford being accusing “It’s ok…shhhh…you didn’t get hurt, and that’s what counts…I…” he reached out a hand to her, while she kept insisting:
“You-you did this! Why, I never wanted anything from anyone, why, why’re you doing this to me…”
“I swear to whatever you believe in, I had NOTHING to do with this… please… please…” gulping lightly, he noticed Copycat crumbling in a small ball, then added “If I had a problem with you being friends with my brother… would I let him see you, ever? I… those people were crazy, Paula, you were supposed to run, not fight with them…”
“B-b-but… why would she call me out, I didn’t even look at her, I was just walking by-“
“They were sick crazy people, that’s why… but it wasn’t me… please… just calm down…” eventually, she dropped flat on her back, sobbing so loud, you could barely make out a word she spoke:
“It’s because I’m so ugly, so hideous… that people just try and hurt me, so much, it’s unfair…”
“…are you kidding me? You honestly believe that… God, you ARE obsessed…Paula…I feel like I’m telling you “the sky is blue” here, but… that had NOTHING to do with what you look like, it was a bunch of messed up creeps picking on a small girl for fun. It could’ve been anyone. Don’t you watch the news? Read papers? People get massacred, disfigured, killed, mauled… in daylight, for everyone to see, just because…there are sick people out there…you…” he leaned a little closer, and she trembled “I’m not gonna hurt you…these people-“
“…what if they come back??”
“They can’t and won’t.”
“What if they hurt you, too??”
“Then I’ll die saving a beautiful girl, beast death ever… but Paula, joke aside…they can’t… they were random people we will never meet again, who don’t know us….calm down, baby…” Yakko finally found the courage to touch her hair lightly, almost afraid, as her eyes shot at him, still moist with tears:
“You… stood up for me…”
“If you weren’t stupid enough to stand there like a punching bag…”
“….you’re hurt…” she pointed at a small scratch on his chest, but he waved a hand casually:
“When I was getting her off you, the knife sorta… it’s not important, apparently, she had no intention of making me go bald. It’s alright, I wasn’t gonna let this go on…”
“I-I know she didn’t wanna hurt you, but-“
“Yeah. But it’s not about you, either. There’s nothing wrong with you….”
Swallowing hard, her eyes so huge and bulged, she managed to choke out, while fighting back more tears:
“But…you could’ve-“
“Know what I think? That… lady… though I can’t call that freakjob a lady… that thing, you saw her? Fat and her skin… it was deep brown, the way I see it… she saw this tiny, defenseless, weak girl… with a petite little figure she’d never have and beautiful pale skin….and just thought “target”. Or, second option -the whole family was on drugs… or, third, she was just crazy…” somewhat relaxing at his words, Paula managed to speak more clearly:
“Neither of them looked high or crazy…”
“Yeah, most serial killers or drug addicts just have it written all over them. You know they always say that… about psychos who hurt others…. That it’s the least you’d expect.” Yakko resumed talking reasonably, while Copycat seemed, although calmer, now conflicted:
“…she was carrying a child…”
“I pity the kid, can’t wait to see what it’ll grow up to be with a mom like that… and dad…” Yakko rolled his eyes, then tried his best to smile down at her “Hey… don’t you worry about it. I think I know where you can live, too, so nothing like this will ever have to happen…”
“…I’m scared, I’m scared to even be alone, what if-“
“Shhhh…. No more “what if”… we forget this whole fucked up situation, and life goes on…. And hey, tomorrow…fix up your hair and have tons of fun, they think they can mess up our lives…” there was something here that I just couldn’t put a finger on. Was it just pity, or was there…I could sense a type of softness in his voice as he spoke, warmth…I know he barely knew her, but he took care of her as if she was his child.
“I miss my hair…” Paula admitted, while Yakko shifted closer to her:
“It’s just the bang, and we’ll even the other one out… and, you know… you seem like you like rock music… you could get a whole Joan Jett hairstyle, try something new…besides…I always thought girls with bangs are pretty cute.”
She laughed. She actually laughed, and I noticed, her eyes were starting to go dim:
“….that needle, they stuck in me…”
“Just something so you can go to sleep now. To relax, you got pretty scared. Anyone would.” He explained, while Paula reached a hand to touch her hair once more:
“….I think I might like a different hairstyle.”
“That’s my girl.”
Pausing for a minute, she lay back, her eyes half-closed, while he just looked down on her, not saying a word. Finally, Copycat spoke once more:
“…but who would’ve written that on my car?”
“No clue; probably some obsessed Wakko fangirl. It can happen; don’t worry. Police will take care of everything. And if they don’t, well, tough… since… whoever felt the need to do something that lame is not good for anyone, not even the one-eyed homeless person down the block….”
“….why did you stick up for me?”
Yakko smirked lightly and flicked her nose:
“Obviously because I hate you and rejoice in your pain, right?”
“….obviously…” she tried to laugh once more, but apparently the medicine they gave her was kicking in
“Because I like you, Snow. I really do. And all the same… I wouldn’t let anyone get hurt if I could help it, though I would’ve just called the police right away… I guess I like you… a lot more than I thought I did before…”
With that sentence, her eyes closed and all Copycat could mutter was:
“….you like me…?” before falling in a deep sleep, which I hoped… was calm and erased a lot of those memories, most that I thankfully did not witness.
Turning on the side, she slept peacefully, while I took a seat outside, to wait. Before that, however, I noticed Yakko laid down next to her, lightly pressing his hand on top her hers, leaning his face on her back; Paula clutched his fingers tightly and the two remained there, eventually, surrendering to slumber.
So as I waited outside, I had to ponder…
….would they be so terrible together after all?