Overland Park, KS, Late Late Monday Night
It was all good on Oak Avenue.
Kate's family kind of really liked Bod. Even Max had warmed up to him, even after Saturday's little incident (and the lecture Kate had subsequently received). It helped that he was consistently polite. Way better than that kid with the weird hair. And somehow more trustworthy than that Leto guy.
So, there hadn't been many problems, though that could have also been down to the fact that Kate and Bod hadn't been spending a huge amount of time actually in the house. Sunday had been mostly about walking around, getting Bod accustomed to the area and how it looked, but today Kate had managed to convince her mother to give them the Green Hornet so they could drive around and she could show Bod all the places she used to hang out at. Her old school, the mall, even the Barnabeez she used to work at, though she only pointed that one out while they were driving past it.
It had been an enjoyable day, but also pretty tiring. The sneaking around after bedtime so Bod could sleep with Kate when he was supposedly sleeping on a mattress on Marshall's floor was still working for them, so they were all cuddled up and quiet, slowly drifting off to sleep.
Yes, all good on Oak Avenue.
That is, until there was a gunshot that rang through the sleepy suburban neighborhood.
...
Some time later, the police and the paramedics and, eventually, the people from the coroner's office, had arrived, and the house next door to the Gregsons had been surrounded with yellow tape. It was necessary, since it looked like half the neighborhood had come out to see what the fuss was about, the Gregsons and Bod included.
Kate was sleepy, and the flashing lights hurt her eyes, and the grass was damp under her bare feet, and she held on to Bod's hand as they watched policemen and paramedics (or whatever the hell those guys were) going in and out of the Hubbard house. Around them, the neighbors were quietly discussing what had happened. Suicide, they were saying. How could this happen on our street? they wondered. Such a tragedy.
"Well isn't this fabulous," Kate said, quietly, so only Bod would hear. And probably Marshall, too, standing on her other side.
For all the death that Bod had been around, he hadn't actually seen how people reacted to it outside of a graveyard. Of course, he'd seen emergency vehicles, accidents and the like but nothing this close.
"There's a lot of commotion," he said like that wasn't obvious. Mostly, he was just trying to wake up a little and acclimate his brain to what had just happened. "Nothing is ever boring."
Kate rubbed at her eyes. She felt groggy and kind of numb. "It was supposed to be boring here."
Marshall glanced at her, then looked at the house again. "You guys picked the wrong time to come if you wanted boring." The street hadn't been this busy in years.
"Yeah, of course this is the week Hubbard chooses to off himself." Kate shook her head, mostly looking mildly annoyed at the whole thing. She added, under her breath, "Get enough of this elsewhere."
It didn't look like Marshall heard her.
Bod did hear her and gave her hand a small squeeze at that. His eyes wandered back to the house and the yellow tape. He wondered if there was a ghost lurking now, watching everything or if he was just gone.
"We're just cursed with bad luck," he said, quiet enough so that only she'd hear. At least they were a little more removed from it this time. He wasn't going to worry about dying and she wouldn't have to wait.
"It'll be all right," he added, trying to be comforting and calm for her.
Neither did she have to be the one calling the ambulance this time. Still, this fucking sucked. And yet she couldn't bring herself to even feel all that freaked out.
"Not like it's our problem, anyway," she replied flatly, keeping her voice low. "Someone else's."
"Yes," he said and rubbed his thumb along her hand, giving it another squeeze. "It's an unfortunate situation but there's really nothing anyone can do besides...do what everyone is doing."
Which was stand around, discuss it and wonder what had happened to make someone take their own life. Bod pursed his lips and made himself look back at her because he didn't want to think about that.
"I'm sure the commotion will abate soon," he said even if he wasn't sure. "It can't last forever."
Kate just shrugged a shoulder, looking around at Hubbard's front yard without saying anything.
She didn't react even when her father spoke. "Hey, are we, uh, sure this was a suicide?" Max wondered suddenly. "Hardly knew this guy, but I think Hubbard was a --"
Tara had been looking around too, but her attention had been on the people gathered around the yellow tape. She wasn't really listening, and she interrupted her husband rather abruptly. "Why does this feel like a small victory?"
... Apparently Kate wasn't the only one who was taking this all a little weirdly. Luckily, Max had a highly eloquent reply ready. "Huh?"
"Bet everyone thought I would be the one to off myself," Tara replied, sounding almost a little smug.
Now that got Kate's attention, and she turned to look at her mother. So did Marshall.
Bod, apparently deciding that this might be a family matter, didn't look towards Mrs. Gregson when both son and daughter did. He couldn't very well move away because his hand was in Kate's but he could look like he wasn't trying to eavesdrop.
It helped that he didn't really know how to react to that either. He could almost understand the smug feeling after the things Kate had shared with him. Bod looked down at the grass and then at Kate but stayed quiet.
"Well guess what, Oak Avenue?" Tara continued, not bothering to keep her voice low. "The lady with all the personalities is not the most fucked up person on the block."
That, at least, was something Kate knew how to react to. "You are now."
Tara just snorted, amused. "Well I'm gonna run with it," she said, nodding decisively. "I'm gonna freak people out. Dress like Napoleon." The look on her face was almost mischievous now. "Pee on everyone..."
She laughed, but her family was most definitely not amused. "Tara!" Max hissed. "So not funny," complained Marshall.
"Moooom," Kate whined, making a face and turning to glance at Bod, as if to say she was sorry, or to see whether he was just completely grossed out. The sad thing was that she could even explain the whole... pee thing. She'd just refrained from ever mentioning Gimme to him. Or to anyone.
Bod wasn't grossed out. He was still looking down but he'd half smiled at the pride in Mrs. Gregson's voice. He was strange in his own right and didn't much get bothered by hearing someone taking pride in their eccentricities.
When he realized Kate was looking at him, he looked back up and shook his head to show he wasn't bothered. Considering the scene in front of them, he could wait for an explanation if she felt like telling him.
At least he didn't mention that he'd known someone who'd served under Napoleon, right? He was getting better at thinking before speaking.
Later, Kate would be boggling at just how openminded he was. Maybe when she'd be a little more alert. Right now, though, she was going to say something else.
But she didn't get to say it, because someone else leaned past Bod a bit to give Tara an amused smile. Kate recognized him as one of the gay guys from down the street, and could catch a glimpse of his partner standing behind him. "I went through that phase in the eighties," he said.
Tara laughed again, but had the decency to look just the tiniest bit embarrassed. Soon enough no one cared, anyway, because Mr. Hubbard's body was being brought out of the house.
"Oh, there's the body," Kate said, her tone a mix of something that was almost awe and... something else. Something far darker.
There was a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, and her gaze was fixed on the gurney and the black bodybag on it. So was everyone else's, though.
Even though she'd never out and out told him anything, Bod assumed this wasn't the first time she was seeing someone that was dead and he held onto her hand a little tighter. It wasn't a first for him either and the half smile disappeared quickly.
He wondered, again, if his ghost was floating somewhere, trying to find a resting place but didn't allow himself to think too long on that. Instead, he glanced at the stretched for a moment longer before looking down again.
Bod didn't even know the man but he still felt a little sad that he'd been that desperate. He squeezed Kate's hand again.
Kate barely realized he did that. She was almost mesmerized by what she was seeing. Death was supposed to stay in Fandom and now it was here, right next door to where she lived, and she felt a little dizzy with it.
Beside her, Marshall fidgeted. "I don't wanna see it," he said, changing his weight from one foot to the other every time he changed his mind. "Yes I do. No I don't..."
Kate made the decision for him. "Yes you do," she breathed, reaching for her brother's arm so she could pull him along with her, closer to the curb where the coroner's van was, where what remained of Mr. Hubbard was headed so he could be taken away.
Kate had almost forgotten about Bod for the moment, but her hand was still in his, so he'd get tugged along unless he put up a fight or let go.
He did neither. He followed behind her, pretty certain that she was almost on automatic pilot and that he was just getting tugged because they were still holding hands.
He didn't necessarily want to see either but he'd seen worse. At least Mr. Hubbard wasn't on fire and Bod shivered with that memory. It felt wrong to say this was almost easier but it was. There was no screaming or crying and he couldn't see blood or broken flesh.
Still quiet, he stood a little behind Kate, her hand in his, and watched the continued commotion on the street and near the van.
This was so much easier. Kate would have seen nothing wrong with saying it. It was just a fact.
No screaming, no crying, no blood. No one she cared about hunched over anyone's lifeless form. No one she cared about responsible for this death, either.
Just a body in a bag. They couldn't even see him.
Kate just stood there, one hand in Bod's, her other arm still linked with her brother's, and she watched as the stretcher was loaded into the van, numbly wondering at how easy it seemed to be. It took practically no time at all.
It felt weird. She wasn't sure why.
It did seem rather easy. Really, Bod didn't think much time had passed at all between the actual sound of the gun and what they were watching now. It was all being cleaned up quickly.
That made him frown a bit and his thoughts wandered elsewhere, wondering if this was how it'd been for his parents. If they'd been cleaned up this quickly. He shut his eyes and shook his head. No. Not for now.
He stepped up closer to Kate again, brushing his arm with hers and trying to both give her space and make sure she knew he was there still.
Kate did know he was there, but it took her a while to react, too fascinated still by the van's doors being closed and the whole thing driving off with Mr. Hubbard whose mailbox Buck had once backed into.
She gave his hand a squeeze, but it was very light, hardly even happened.
As the three of them had stood and watched, Tara and Max had been talking to the neighbor couple. And now that the van had pulled away and the show was over, Tara called out to them.
"Marsh, Katie, Bod? We're going in now, guys."
Kate blinked a few times, but didn't move. Not yet. Marshall tugged on her arm. "Come on, Kate."
"Kate," Bod said, trying to get her attention by both saying her name and giving her hand a tug. "Come on. There's nothing else to do now."
And he suspected that getting her inside might wake her up a little more. He didn't know exactly what was going on with her but it didn't seem good.
"Come on," he said and gave her hand a tug. "Come on."
"Jesus, all right, will you guys just stop?"
Well, they managed to break her out of her daze, at least. She shook both their hands off, mostly annoyed at having been caught up in a moment of complete disconnect from everything around her.
She turned around towards their house, sighing. "Let's just go in."
Marshall raised his eyebrows at Bod behind her back.
Bod didn't know quite what had caused that so he pursed his lips at Marshall and shook his head, trying to express that even he didn't know exactly what happened.
He let his hands fall slack at their sides and kept behind her, walking mostly beside Marshall so she wouldn't feel too crowded again.
Marshall shrugged his shoulders and just followed Kate. Nothing they could do about it, and at least she'd acted like herself for a moment there, right?
Meanwhile, it seemed like Kate switched back to autopilot after her little outburst. It was the easiest thing to do while she led them back into the house.
Easier than showing them just how utterly weird and disconnected and raw and numb she felt right now.
Worst Monday ever.
[ooc: NFB due to distance. Warning for off-screen character death and discussion of suicide. Parts taken and tweaked from United States of Tara S02E01 'Yes'. Preplayed with the splendid there_was_life. To be continued in the comments.]
Kate's family kind of really liked Bod. Even Max had warmed up to him, even after Saturday's little incident (and the lecture Kate had subsequently received). It helped that he was consistently polite. Way better than that kid with the weird hair. And somehow more trustworthy than that Leto guy.
So, there hadn't been many problems, though that could have also been down to the fact that Kate and Bod hadn't been spending a huge amount of time actually in the house. Sunday had been mostly about walking around, getting Bod accustomed to the area and how it looked, but today Kate had managed to convince her mother to give them the Green Hornet so they could drive around and she could show Bod all the places she used to hang out at. Her old school, the mall, even the Barnabeez she used to work at, though she only pointed that one out while they were driving past it.
It had been an enjoyable day, but also pretty tiring. The sneaking around after bedtime so Bod could sleep with Kate when he was supposedly sleeping on a mattress on Marshall's floor was still working for them, so they were all cuddled up and quiet, slowly drifting off to sleep.
Yes, all good on Oak Avenue.
That is, until there was a gunshot that rang through the sleepy suburban neighborhood.
...
Some time later, the police and the paramedics and, eventually, the people from the coroner's office, had arrived, and the house next door to the Gregsons had been surrounded with yellow tape. It was necessary, since it looked like half the neighborhood had come out to see what the fuss was about, the Gregsons and Bod included.
Kate was sleepy, and the flashing lights hurt her eyes, and the grass was damp under her bare feet, and she held on to Bod's hand as they watched policemen and paramedics (or whatever the hell those guys were) going in and out of the Hubbard house. Around them, the neighbors were quietly discussing what had happened. Suicide, they were saying. How could this happen on our street? they wondered. Such a tragedy.
"Well isn't this fabulous," Kate said, quietly, so only Bod would hear. And probably Marshall, too, standing on her other side.
For all the death that Bod had been around, he hadn't actually seen how people reacted to it outside of a graveyard. Of course, he'd seen emergency vehicles, accidents and the like but nothing this close.
"There's a lot of commotion," he said like that wasn't obvious. Mostly, he was just trying to wake up a little and acclimate his brain to what had just happened. "Nothing is ever boring."
Kate rubbed at her eyes. She felt groggy and kind of numb. "It was supposed to be boring here."
Marshall glanced at her, then looked at the house again. "You guys picked the wrong time to come if you wanted boring." The street hadn't been this busy in years.
"Yeah, of course this is the week Hubbard chooses to off himself." Kate shook her head, mostly looking mildly annoyed at the whole thing. She added, under her breath, "Get enough of this elsewhere."
It didn't look like Marshall heard her.
Bod did hear her and gave her hand a small squeeze at that. His eyes wandered back to the house and the yellow tape. He wondered if there was a ghost lurking now, watching everything or if he was just gone.
"We're just cursed with bad luck," he said, quiet enough so that only she'd hear. At least they were a little more removed from it this time. He wasn't going to worry about dying and she wouldn't have to wait.
"It'll be all right," he added, trying to be comforting and calm for her.
Neither did she have to be the one calling the ambulance this time. Still, this fucking sucked. And yet she couldn't bring herself to even feel all that freaked out.
"Not like it's our problem, anyway," she replied flatly, keeping her voice low. "Someone else's."
"Yes," he said and rubbed his thumb along her hand, giving it another squeeze. "It's an unfortunate situation but there's really nothing anyone can do besides...do what everyone is doing."
Which was stand around, discuss it and wonder what had happened to make someone take their own life. Bod pursed his lips and made himself look back at her because he didn't want to think about that.
"I'm sure the commotion will abate soon," he said even if he wasn't sure. "It can't last forever."
Kate just shrugged a shoulder, looking around at Hubbard's front yard without saying anything.
She didn't react even when her father spoke. "Hey, are we, uh, sure this was a suicide?" Max wondered suddenly. "Hardly knew this guy, but I think Hubbard was a --"
Tara had been looking around too, but her attention had been on the people gathered around the yellow tape. She wasn't really listening, and she interrupted her husband rather abruptly. "Why does this feel like a small victory?"
... Apparently Kate wasn't the only one who was taking this all a little weirdly. Luckily, Max had a highly eloquent reply ready. "Huh?"
"Bet everyone thought I would be the one to off myself," Tara replied, sounding almost a little smug.
Now that got Kate's attention, and she turned to look at her mother. So did Marshall.
Bod, apparently deciding that this might be a family matter, didn't look towards Mrs. Gregson when both son and daughter did. He couldn't very well move away because his hand was in Kate's but he could look like he wasn't trying to eavesdrop.
It helped that he didn't really know how to react to that either. He could almost understand the smug feeling after the things Kate had shared with him. Bod looked down at the grass and then at Kate but stayed quiet.
"Well guess what, Oak Avenue?" Tara continued, not bothering to keep her voice low. "The lady with all the personalities is not the most fucked up person on the block."
That, at least, was something Kate knew how to react to. "You are now."
Tara just snorted, amused. "Well I'm gonna run with it," she said, nodding decisively. "I'm gonna freak people out. Dress like Napoleon." The look on her face was almost mischievous now. "Pee on everyone..."
She laughed, but her family was most definitely not amused. "Tara!" Max hissed. "So not funny," complained Marshall.
"Moooom," Kate whined, making a face and turning to glance at Bod, as if to say she was sorry, or to see whether he was just completely grossed out. The sad thing was that she could even explain the whole... pee thing. She'd just refrained from ever mentioning Gimme to him. Or to anyone.
Bod wasn't grossed out. He was still looking down but he'd half smiled at the pride in Mrs. Gregson's voice. He was strange in his own right and didn't much get bothered by hearing someone taking pride in their eccentricities.
When he realized Kate was looking at him, he looked back up and shook his head to show he wasn't bothered. Considering the scene in front of them, he could wait for an explanation if she felt like telling him.
At least he didn't mention that he'd known someone who'd served under Napoleon, right? He was getting better at thinking before speaking.
Later, Kate would be boggling at just how openminded he was. Maybe when she'd be a little more alert. Right now, though, she was going to say something else.
But she didn't get to say it, because someone else leaned past Bod a bit to give Tara an amused smile. Kate recognized him as one of the gay guys from down the street, and could catch a glimpse of his partner standing behind him. "I went through that phase in the eighties," he said.
Tara laughed again, but had the decency to look just the tiniest bit embarrassed. Soon enough no one cared, anyway, because Mr. Hubbard's body was being brought out of the house.
"Oh, there's the body," Kate said, her tone a mix of something that was almost awe and... something else. Something far darker.
There was a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, and her gaze was fixed on the gurney and the black bodybag on it. So was everyone else's, though.
Even though she'd never out and out told him anything, Bod assumed this wasn't the first time she was seeing someone that was dead and he held onto her hand a little tighter. It wasn't a first for him either and the half smile disappeared quickly.
He wondered, again, if his ghost was floating somewhere, trying to find a resting place but didn't allow himself to think too long on that. Instead, he glanced at the stretched for a moment longer before looking down again.
Bod didn't even know the man but he still felt a little sad that he'd been that desperate. He squeezed Kate's hand again.
Kate barely realized he did that. She was almost mesmerized by what she was seeing. Death was supposed to stay in Fandom and now it was here, right next door to where she lived, and she felt a little dizzy with it.
Beside her, Marshall fidgeted. "I don't wanna see it," he said, changing his weight from one foot to the other every time he changed his mind. "Yes I do. No I don't..."
Kate made the decision for him. "Yes you do," she breathed, reaching for her brother's arm so she could pull him along with her, closer to the curb where the coroner's van was, where what remained of Mr. Hubbard was headed so he could be taken away.
Kate had almost forgotten about Bod for the moment, but her hand was still in his, so he'd get tugged along unless he put up a fight or let go.
He did neither. He followed behind her, pretty certain that she was almost on automatic pilot and that he was just getting tugged because they were still holding hands.
He didn't necessarily want to see either but he'd seen worse. At least Mr. Hubbard wasn't on fire and Bod shivered with that memory. It felt wrong to say this was almost easier but it was. There was no screaming or crying and he couldn't see blood or broken flesh.
Still quiet, he stood a little behind Kate, her hand in his, and watched the continued commotion on the street and near the van.
This was so much easier. Kate would have seen nothing wrong with saying it. It was just a fact.
No screaming, no crying, no blood. No one she cared about hunched over anyone's lifeless form. No one she cared about responsible for this death, either.
Just a body in a bag. They couldn't even see him.
Kate just stood there, one hand in Bod's, her other arm still linked with her brother's, and she watched as the stretcher was loaded into the van, numbly wondering at how easy it seemed to be. It took practically no time at all.
It felt weird. She wasn't sure why.
It did seem rather easy. Really, Bod didn't think much time had passed at all between the actual sound of the gun and what they were watching now. It was all being cleaned up quickly.
That made him frown a bit and his thoughts wandered elsewhere, wondering if this was how it'd been for his parents. If they'd been cleaned up this quickly. He shut his eyes and shook his head. No. Not for now.
He stepped up closer to Kate again, brushing his arm with hers and trying to both give her space and make sure she knew he was there still.
Kate did know he was there, but it took her a while to react, too fascinated still by the van's doors being closed and the whole thing driving off with Mr. Hubbard whose mailbox Buck had once backed into.
She gave his hand a squeeze, but it was very light, hardly even happened.
As the three of them had stood and watched, Tara and Max had been talking to the neighbor couple. And now that the van had pulled away and the show was over, Tara called out to them.
"Marsh, Katie, Bod? We're going in now, guys."
Kate blinked a few times, but didn't move. Not yet. Marshall tugged on her arm. "Come on, Kate."
"Kate," Bod said, trying to get her attention by both saying her name and giving her hand a tug. "Come on. There's nothing else to do now."
And he suspected that getting her inside might wake her up a little more. He didn't know exactly what was going on with her but it didn't seem good.
"Come on," he said and gave her hand a tug. "Come on."
"Jesus, all right, will you guys just stop?"
Well, they managed to break her out of her daze, at least. She shook both their hands off, mostly annoyed at having been caught up in a moment of complete disconnect from everything around her.
She turned around towards their house, sighing. "Let's just go in."
Marshall raised his eyebrows at Bod behind her back.
Bod didn't know quite what had caused that so he pursed his lips at Marshall and shook his head, trying to express that even he didn't know exactly what happened.
He let his hands fall slack at their sides and kept behind her, walking mostly beside Marshall so she wouldn't feel too crowded again.
Marshall shrugged his shoulders and just followed Kate. Nothing they could do about it, and at least she'd acted like herself for a moment there, right?
Meanwhile, it seemed like Kate switched back to autopilot after her little outburst. It was the easiest thing to do while she led them back into the house.
Easier than showing them just how utterly weird and disconnected and raw and numb she felt right now.
Worst Monday ever.
[ooc: NFB due to distance. Warning for off-screen character death and discussion of suicide. Parts taken and tweaked from United States of Tara S02E01 'Yes'. Preplayed with the splendid there_was_life. To be continued in the comments.]