Against All Odds - Prequel to Affirmation Part 2
I hope everyone's enjoying the new year so far. I've pretty much finished Against All Odds and have already started typing up the third instalment, which is currently titled "Truly, Madly, Deeply". This part will be set in early-mid June of 2007 and the main focus is Ryan and Colin's wedding. The date when it'll be released is unknown at the time.
Anyways, here's the next part of Against All Odds, in which Paul has a prophetic nightmare about Tony and makes his choice in what to do to save him.
Many of you WLIIAlove users may recognize most of this from the preview post I made on Halloween. I revised it since then and here it is in it's full form.
Title: Against All Odds
Author: Shinigami518
Rating: PG-13, but with some bits of R in it.
Main Character(s) and/or pairings: Tony/Paul (starts as friendship, turns to "?", and ends with solid love), Josie/Richard, Paul/Caroline (kinda rocky, but established), Josie/Greg friendship, Stephen/Tony Friendship, Richard/Paul Friendship, Ryan/Colin at end
Summary: In late 1996, after a taping of HIGNFY, Paul is told by Greg and Josie about Tony's downward spiral into darkness. This is what happened to Tony and Paul before Affirmation with some angst, some fluff, some H/C, some horror, and a happy ending that'll lead to the sequel to Affirmation.
View the last parts here:
prologue
part 1
View Affirmation here:
Epilogue, but with all parts linked
Part 2 - You're the only one who really knew me at all
Running.
Paul was running.
Endlessly running. Everything was pitch black - a velvet darkness that cloaked everything within its path. Only a few specks of light shone from small cracks through the walls of darkness.
He had no idea why he was running, or even where he was running from or to. All he knew was that there was no way out. There was also complete silence, except for the metallic echo of his feet on the floor every time his foot made contact with the invisible floor.
Paul finally stopped running when a new sound joined the echo of his footsteps. Something sounding like a warm and soft, but melancholia melody being played on the violin began playing in the darkness. He had no idea what the music was, nor did he know where it came from.
Then, a voice broke from the darkness, sounding so distant, so far away…
“Paul…, help me…”
Paul felt a chill run up and down his spine. He recognized the voice instantly.
“Tony?” he whispered back.
A beam of white light shot down from the heavens in front of Paul’s eyes, blinding him temporary. Once it dimmed, he saw he was now not alone. A person, a young man, stood in front of him, his back to him. The man turned to face Paul…
It was Tony. Younger, much younger, like when he first appeared on Whose Line almost ten years ago. He even had on the same outfit from the first episode. His eyes were bright and filled with youth. He smiled mischievously, the smile that meant he was thinking of something risqué and very naughty.
Paul glanced down at himself, noticing that he, like Tony, were wearing the clothes they had on during their first episode together.
“Paul…so nice to meet you…” Tony smiled, saying Paul’s name so casually, so calmly, and yet, so hauntingly sexy.
Paul remembered their first episode, the first time they met. He never forgot their first game as a pair together. He knew that Tony was a bit nervous, but once they were given their first style, he started to show his cleverness and brilliance, plus his naughty side.
He reached out to touch Tony, but the second his fingers grazed Tony’s shoulder, he vanished liked smoke dispersing into the air.
“Paul… I need you…” Tony’s voice whispered in Paul’s ears, making the hairs of the back of his neck stand up on end. So haunting, so desperate…
Paul spun around, frightened by the tone of Tony’s voice.
Tony was there again, under a similar beam of light the last one was under, but this time he was different. Now he looked older, like the last time they had worked together on Whose Line in season 5, about three years ago. Tony gave a cheerful, yet devious smile. He was even wearing the same outfit from their last taping, down to the cowboy-esq bowtie. Paul noticed that he, too, was also dressed differently, in the same horrible blue suit from that taping.
Paul then noticed something slightly different about Tony’s appearance.
Tony’s fly was unzipped.
Paul’s face got hot as he blushed in remembrance. Tony’s sultry Chippendale dance from Party Quirks certainly made its impression on everyone, including the blue-eyed man. The way he moved to the music inside his head, the way he did that sexy strut, the way he flirted with him…
The fact that after all of that, he told him that he had no underpants on, even though he unzipped his pants during the performance.
“I’ll show you mine… if you’ll show me yours…” Tony smiled, making a quick gesture to pull down his trousers, making Paul’s already red face redder.
“Tony, don’t-!” Paul exclaimed, reach out to grab Tony once more. And like before, the apparition of Tony vanished into thin air.
Once again, Tony’s voice whispered into Paul’s ear, “Paul…, where are you?” This sent another chill up Paul’s spin; Tony now sounded very desperate and terrified.
Frantically, Paul began to search around for any more Tony apparitions or even Tony himself. Sweat trickled down his face and his eyes were now wide in panic and fear.
“Tony!? Tony, where are you!?” Paul called out, his heart racing.
That was when he felt whatever he was standing on in the darkness vanished from under his feet. He lost his balance and fell backwards down an endless pit, screaming his lungs out in total fear.
Paul had no idea how long or how far he fell, but he did know when he stopped when, with his back downwards, he felt something hard hit the back of his head, making him to lunge forward. He finally landed face first on a cold, metallic floor.
He could barely move his arms and legs once he finally came to his senses. The floor underneath his body was cold, sending chills through his body.
Moving very slowly, he managed to lift himself onto his elbows, and gave a look around the area.
It looked like the living room of someone, but it was so dark and there was hardly any furniture as well. Only a threadbare sofa, a dirty rug, and a rusty looking metallic coffee table adorned the room. Like before he fell, there were hardly any lights, just a dim glow coming from overhead, softly giving light to anything within five to ten feet away from Paul.
“Tony?” Paul whispered, hoping to hear Tony’s voice once more. Nothing. Not even a whisper. Even the music was gone, only the sound of liquid dripping onto the floor caused a monotonous echo through the deadly silence. “Tony, Tony, where are you?! Please say something!!” Paul’s frantic cries echoed in the silence like before.
Another beam of light flashed before his eyes, shinning down on a figure, a dozen feet away from him. It was a body, male, sitting slumped with his head hanging forward, his jet black hair obscuring his face. His clothes consisted of a grey denim jacket over a faded black t-shirt and jeans that were threadbare, rips in the knee areas. They were dirty, stained and wrinkled.
Paul grunted and began to crawl, a bit painfully since his body still ached from his fall, over to the body. He had a feeling of dread as he had an idea who the body was.
“Tony…” Paul whispered, managing to get in front of the body. He pulled himself up onto his knees and leaned forward. He raised a hand to touch the side of Tony’s face, to see if he was ok, but he paused. The last time he saw Tony in this dream, he hadn’t been real and vanished by the small touch of his fingers. Paul lowered his extended hand in defeat…
That was when Tony fell onto his side. And Paul saw why Tony hadn’t responded, making him gasp in horror.
Tony’s face was almost an ashen grey. His eyes were open, but his usually bright almond brown eyes were soulless and his lips were cracked from lack of hydration.
And there was blood soaking and staining the sleeves of his jacket at the wrists, where two deep cuts marked his wrists.
Paul recoiled back, falling onto his rear end. Tears threatened to escape his blue eyes.
“No… NO! Th- This can’t be happening!” Paul exclaimed in unadulterated horror, holding his head in his hands. As before, his cries echoed through the empty room.
“Why didn’t you help him?”
Paul paled, hearing the new voice echo through the shadows. Two floating balls of pure white smoke swam through the air, circling around his body, then over Tony’s prone form, and finally stopping several feet in the air.
“We told you to help him and you didn’t!” a second echoing voice, male, accused. The two balls of smoke began to take human shape. Paul recognized both the voices and the people the smoke formed into.
“Josie. Greg.” Paul whispered.
Dressed in what they had on when Paul last saw them, Greg and Josie starred coldly at Paul as they floated a few feet in the air, both standing behind the fallen Tony.
“We told you! He needed help and you were our last hope! And you did nothing!” Josie snapped coldly, her words echoing in the barren room. Paul got back on his knees, trying to ignore the returning pain in his neck.
“Josie, please, I-.” Paul began, almost pleadingly.
“SHUT UP!!” Greg snapped, anger in his echoing voice, “You failed us, Paul! Tony was like our brother, our dear friend, and you let him DIE!” Greg sounded so cold, dark and vengeful; it sent chills up and down Paul’s spine.
“Greg, I-I’m sorry! I- I wanted to-!” Paul pleaded, tears finally beginning to roll down his face. He didn’t care if he was crying; all Paul just wanted was for the bleakness to end.
“Ha! ‘Sorry?’” Josie repeated, mockingly.
“Sorry won’t bring Tony back!” Greg stated harshly, one hand on his hip and the other pointing at Tony’s body.
“I’m sorry!” Paul cried, more tears falling from his blue eyes.
“You let us down, Paul! You let us down!” Josie and Greg repeated coldly, the words echoing endlessly as the two spirits began to float higher and started to circle Paul, repeating what they said mercilessly.
Paul once again held his head in his hands, his eyes closed as tears rolled down his face, trying to block out the cold repeating words beating down on his heart and soul.
“Paul…”
Paul’s tired blue eyes shot open. He looked back down at Tony uncertainly, lowering his hands as he did.
Tony stared up at Paul from the floor with soulless brown eyes.
“Why couldn’t you save me?” Tony asked, softly, darkly, and soullessly.
That was it.
Paul threw his head back, tears streaming down his face, and let out a horrific and terrified scream. A scream that echoed forever into the darkness...
“PAUL!!”
Paul’s eyes shot open, tears staining his pale face. Caroline’s worried (and tired) face was the first thing he saw.
“Paul, are you all right?” Caroline asked, her eyes shinning with concern. Paul sat up, hands over his face as he breathed heavily.
“Oh God, what a nightmare.” Paul groaned.
“I’ll say. You were tossing and turning so much you fell out of the bed and bonked your head on the nightstand. I’m surprised that didn’t wake you up.” Caroline nodded, kneeling on the bed, looking down at her husband.
Paul removed his hands from his face and noticed he had been sitting on the hardwood floor. Adding to the fact that his neck and the back of his head ached, he realized one of the reasons why he falling in his nightmare and the blunt object that ceased his fall, which caused the pain he felt.
That’s when Paul remembered why he had screamed in the first place.
“Tony…”
“Right, you were calling out his name, asking where he was, and…,” Caroline paused, looking a bit closer at Paul’s face, “My God, were you crying, Paul?” she asked, alarmed. Paul ignored her question and stood right up.
“I gotta go.” Paul stated determinedly.
“Go? Go where?” Caroline blinked in confusion. Paul turned to face his wife.
“Tony. He needs help. I’ve gotta save him.” Paul told her. Caroline looked at him in disbelief.
“Paul, its 5:30 in the morning, can’t this wait for a few more hours?” Caroline asked, almost moaning out the question. Paul walked quickly away towards the door.
“Can’t wait. Tony might be killing himself right now. I’m the only one who can save him before he does so. I’m not gonna lose him…,” Paul paused, looking down at the floor, “Not this time…” he added in a whisper.
Caroline sighed, brushing some strands of hair out of her eyes. “At least put some clothes on before you leave in only your underpants.” She stated, pointing down at Paul’s lower body. Paul followed her gaze and looked down at himself.
His only attire was a beat-up old grey t-shirt and a pair of off-white briefs, plus a pair of socks.
Paul blushed before running off to put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt over his clothes.
“Alright, I’m outta here.” Paul stated, exiting the room. Caroline followed him as he ran downstairs.
“Paul, please be careful!” Caroline called out as Paul slipped on a pair of shoes and ran out of the house. Her only answer from him was the sound of his footsteps and the slamming of the front door. Silently, she sent a small prayer to help Paul on his mission.
And hoped that everything would soon be alright…
Part Three will be up shortly, so stay tuned and please read and review.