Pleasantries - Chapter 2 - Part 2
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Chapter 1
Part 2
Part 3
Chapter 2
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
* * *
If you haven't already please read: The Future Of Pleasantries
Continued from Part 1
Pleasantries - Chapter 2 - Much Ado About No Thing - Part 2
5:15 PM Thursday, April 10
Darren closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. He could get through this. It wasn’t a big deal. Just a quiet little corner table in the back of The Fine Print Café, he wasn’t likely to run into a lot of people here. It helped that the usual clientele of the place was also quiet and reserved, or at the very least respectful of those who were just looking for a place to think and didn’t want to be disturbed.
Feeling his pulse begin to quicken and his palms grow sweaty he sighed. Who was he kidding? Just the thought of being around groups of people made him nervous. What was he doing here?
“You came,” the musical voice pulled him out of his musing, “I didn’t think you would.”
Turning his head toward the new arrival, Darren couldn’t help a smile. Of course. That was what he was doing here.
“I wasn’t sure I would either,” he admitted watching her make her way toward the table. This was why he was here, but it still begged the question of what in hell he was doing. He was not ready for this.
“Well I am glad you did,” she told him taking her seat at the table.
Heaving a sigh Darren braced himself. Time to lay it all out for this girl.
“Haley,” he began hoping his voice wasn’t shaking as much as it sounded to him like it was, “I am really not sure why I did come. I am not ready for this. Not even close. It wouldn’t be fair to you. It isn’t fair to me and it certainly would not be fair to my son.”
Haley stared at him for a moment before she spoke, “I don’t follow. What wouldn’t be fair?”
“I’m still in love with my wife,” Darren stated as if that explained everything.
“Well of course you are,” Haley agreed, “You don’t stop loving someone simply because they died. Why in the world would you think I expected you to not be?”
“I just …” Darren’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“You think if something doesn’t happen right now I am going to lose interest?” Haley asked cocking her head to one side.
“Well …” Darren hesitated before answering, “You’re young and …”
Haley cut him off, “Young, not stupid.”
“I think you are a very attractive man, Darren,” she said bluntly, “and I think you think I am not that bad to look at either.”
Staring at an imaginary spot on the wall Darren blushed while he fiddled with his glass to keep his hands busy, “You are not one to mince words are you?”
“Not usually no,” she acknowledged with a small laugh, “It saves a lot of confusion don’t you think?”
At his slight nod she continued.
“So I think you’re hot and you think I’m hot and that’s great; but it doesn’t mean anything if we can’t be friends first does it?” she asked.
Darren pondered this for a moment, still staring at the wall, “Friends huh?”
“Yeah,” she nodded, “Friends, and if sometime later we happen to become more than friends that is good too. If not, then you can still be my sexy guy friend, who is just a friend. Every girl has one.”
“I think,” Darren shot her a timid smile, “I can do that.”
“Good,” she nodded picking up her menu, “Now relax. Just two friends having an early dinner together, and it’s Thursday, so not even the day of the week makes this a date.”
Darren blinked at her, “The day of the week matters?”
Haley nodded, “It would be more official if it was a Friday or Saturday wouldn’t it?”
Darren sighed, “I am so out of practice.”
***
5:20 AM Friday, April 11
“Cal, you think I could get a coffee?” the blond in the handcuffs queried.
“Don’t see why not,” Cal replied, “After we get everything else taken care of.”
“Nathan,” Anto reprimanded, his tone low, warning.
“Sorry. I mean Officer Villega,” Nate corrected with a slight chuckle, “Come on man, I see you guys enough. Do we have to be all formal?”
“As long as you keep getting yourself arrested,” Anto told him, “Then yes, we do.”
“Oh hey, Officer Wall,” Nate called as they entered the lock up, “Didn’t expect to see you stuck on this desk.”
“Mr. Fischer!” Wall chuckled, “Haven’t seen you in almost a month. What did you do this time?”
“Eh, the usual,” was the disinterested response.
“Cal, you okay handling this yourself for a few minutes?” Anto shot his partner a questioning glance.
“Absolutely,” Cal nodded, “You’ll behave won’t you, Nate?”
“I’ll be good. I won’t even try to jump you or nothin’,“ Nate assured solemnly before a sly grin spread across he face, “‘Course that last part is awful tempting. You’re pretty tight for an Alien.”
“That is not behaving, Nathan,” Cal told him, stepping up behind him to undo the handcuffs, though he couldn’t help a small chuckle. He liked the kid.
“I can’t help it,” Nate shot him an innocent smile over his shoulder, “Hot men in uniforms, even ugly ones like they put you guys in, is like every fantasy I ever had. It’s the cuffs talking.”
“Sure it is,” Cal retorted, disbelieving, “Settle down if you want these things off.”
Nate nodded briefly, fidgeting slightly while Cal rummaged for the key.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Anto announced, making his way around them toward the door. It wasn’t exactly procedure to leave like this; what he was about to do wasn’t exactly procedure either. But then if procedure worked every time they wouldn’t have people like Nathan Fischer would they?
“You think I can get that coffee when you get back?” Nate asked quietly, interrupting Anto’s progress out of the room.
Anto paused, his eyes snapping to the face of the boy beside him. For just a moment Nate let the mask drop as their eyes met and Anto saw the wariness, the bone deep exhaustion reflected in the green depths. Heaving a sigh Anto nodded.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he agreed after a moment.
“Thanks,” Nate’s grateful reply was barely more than a whisper, almost lost in the click of the cuffs being unlocked.
“You know the routine,” Cal stated leaning a hip against the desk, “Stick to it. I don’t want to put the cuffs back on you.”
Nate nodded holding out his hands, “Print me, Officer Wall,” he said, his usual cheerfulness back in his voice.
“Relax kid,” Wall sighed, rising from his chair, ‘There’s no rush. You’d think you missed the ink stains or something.”
“I kind of do,” Nate admitted, “You get used to them after a bit.”
A small, disconcerted smile curving his lips, Anto made his way out of the room.
By the time he’d reached the other side of the building and entered the locker room his smile had turned to a scowl. The kid got to him.
Kids like Nathan Fischer were all too common. Either kicked out by their parents or choosing to leave for their own reasons. Anto had his suspicions that in Nate’s case it was the former, probably when his parents found out he was gay. There were always at least a dozen kids at the shelters with the same story, and those were the lucky ones. Mommy and Daddy’s pride and joy, until the day they found out their prodigy liked other boys or other girls. How so called loving parents could turn on their own children like that he couldn’t comprehend and just the thought made his stomach churn.
Pushing those thoughts aside Anto opened his locker and began rummaging around inside.
Nate was different though. The system seemed to have something of a revolving door policy where he was concerned. He was barely nineteen and over the past few years he’d been arrested almost more times than it was possible to count. Yet none of them resulted in more than a slap on the wrist. Technically, nothing the he ever did was illegal. It might require that he be brought in, processed and held overnight, but he was usually back out on the streets by the next afternoon.
The problem was the kid was smart. He knew how to work the system. There was a joke going around the station that Nate only got himself arrested when he wanted a warm place to sleep for the night, but Anto wondered if maybe it might just be the truth.
Having found what he was looking for, Anto closed the door.
Nathan Fischer was definitely a smart kid, and all other things aside, a good kid. Anto was willing to bet all he really needed was for someone to give him a chance. The question now: was Nathan Fischer smart enough to take the chance when someone gave it to him, before it was too late?
“You are an angel,” Nate declared a few minutes later as he gratefully accepted the offered coffee cup.
“I’m just doing my job,” Anto dismissed the claim.
“Like it was your job to lend me your sweater too?” Nate snorted arching a brow.
“What makes you think it is my …”
“It’s clean, it smells nice, it’s soft and it isn’t hideous,” Nate cut him off, “It’s yours.”
“You look like shit, Nate,” Anto told him, choosing to change the subject, “How long do you think you can keep this up?”
His question was greeted with a cold glare.
“We’ve known each other for a few years,” he continued dropping his voice to be sure he wasn’t overheard by anyone else, “You’re a good kid in a bad situation. I’d like to help. I can put you in touch with …”
“Spare me the bullshit, Anto,” Nate snorted; taking a sip of his coffee, “You like to think you’re the good cop, playing at being everyone’s friend, when really what you are is an asshole. You don’t give a fuck about me.”
“You’re right, I’m an asshole and I don’t give a fuck about you. Which is why you are standing there wearing my favourite sweater and why I am always relieved when we bring you in one piece instead of scraping you up out of a gutter somewhere,” Anto shrugged, doing his best to keep his voice impassive, “You should see how I treat the people I really hate. Its tea cosies and crumpets for those dickheads.”
Nate stared at him for a moment, blinking, a slight smirk playing about his lips, “I promise to return the sweater, but you’re still an asshole.”
“I’ve had practice,” Anto acknowledged with a dismissive wave, “If I give you the number will you call when you get out of here tomorrow?”
“What kind of place is this number for? Some sort of touchy, feely, group hug therapy shit?”
“Would you go to therapy?”
“Fuck no,” Nate snorted, “I’d rather slit my wrists.”
“I didn’t think so. It’s a job.”
“I have a job.”
“Turning tricks is not a job,” Anto sighed, “and one of these days we are going to be picking you up in a body bag. I really don’t want to do that.”
Nate didn’t respond right away, seeming to turn the idea over in his mind, “Leave me the number,” he said at last, “I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you,” Anto let out a relieved breath.
“I didn’t say I’d do it,” Nate snapped, “I said I’d think about it.”
“I know, and keep the sweater. It looks better on you anyway.”
* * * 8:20 AM Friday, April 11
Damon stared thoughtfully at the students trickling by into the school as he leaned against Tybalt on the bench. Something was different.
He was used to the occasional frown, even the odd scowl. It went with the territory and usually he would just smile innocently, silently daring them to make a scene. He liked it when people made scenes. He probably shouldn’t but it amused him. Not everyone was accepting, but then he doubted they ever would be, and any that weren’t, well they weren’t worth his time. After awhile most people simply stopped noticing them or pretended they didn’t exist and that was fine with him too.
Today though, something was not right. There were less frowns and every so often there were smiles. Not just smiles though, wide grins and even giggles; mostly from girls and that was, quite frankly, a little disturbing.
“Hi Damon. Hi Tybalt!” Melody Tinker called cheerfully as she wandered past the bench with her friend. She shot them a knowing grin before turning to her friend, both girls bursting into a fit of giggles.
Lilith glanced up sharply, “What was that about?” she asked arching a puzzled brow.
“I have no idea,” Tybalt told her looking worried, “but it is getting damn annoying.”
“They’ve been doing it since yesterday,” Damon added, “Different girls, acting creepy. It’s starting to freak me out.”
Tybalt scowled as he spotted two more girls pointing in their direction, “That’s it; I am getting out of here.”
Damon nodded as they both got to their feet, “We are going to go hide in the library until class starts. Lil, you coming?”
Lilith shook her head, “No, I am going to stay here, finish this and wait.”
“He’ll be okay,” Tybalt said, while Damon gave her a small, reassuring smile, “He always is.”
She nodded and turned her attention back to her homework as the boys made their way inside.
A few minutes later she looked up again as a shadow fell across the paper.
“Funny thing about being stuck in all night,” Ripp said quietly, “You get your homework done on time.”
Lilith jumped to her feet and pulled Ripp into a tight hug, “Are you okay?”
Ripp nodded, managing to hide a slight wince, “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“What happened?”
“He found my MP3 player,” Ripp explained with a sigh, “He says it’s a ‘frivolous waste of time’ but Mom used to listen to music all the time. I guess it is just one of those things that reminds him of her so he doesn’t like music in the house. I remember him burning the stereo after she ... left.”
Lilith blinked at her friend, “You’re kidding me?”
Ripp gave a small humourless chuckle, “You’d think wouldn’t you?”
“Damn,” Lilith sighed, sinking down onto the bench.
Ripp shrugged, taking the seat beside his friend, “I knew he’d freak if he found it.”
“Still though …”
Ripp shook his head, “Nah, not a big deal.”
Lilith frowned, “You coming to FM this afternoon?”
“Yeah.”
“Good,” she nodded, “We will stop on the way and get you a new one.”
“Lil, don’t,” Ripp protested, “Just leave it alone okay?”
“Ripp I want to help,” she insisted, “You can’t just…”
“You’re right I can’t” he snapped, “I can’t seem to do shit, never could and never will. Just leave it the hell alone, alright?”
Lilith stared at him, eyes wide. This was not the Ripp she knew and suddenly she was not just worried for him, she was terrified.
“Alright,” she murmured at last.
“Thank you,” he said quietly staring down at his shoes.
Lilith just nodded, unsure what to say. She needed to talk to Winston.
* * *
On to Part 3
Author's notes:
Hi!
So, we are about halfway through what I have planned for Much Ado at this point. The next half of this chapter is in the works and will be up as soon as it is completed. For my own sanity though I needed to get this part out and "committed to". I have replanned, reworked, and rewritten it four times already and it was just getting to the ridiculous stage.
Why so many "re"s?
Nate.
Dear Nathan was only supposed to be a bit character. His total involvement in the story was supposed to end after about six slides. He was a plot element, nothing more. That was my plan anyway. Nate had plans of his own! He has manged to worm his way in and single-handedly toss out my neat tidy little plot line. I honestly don't know for sure what is going to happen anymore.
Don't panic! (said more for my benefit) The story is still over-all going where it was originally intended to go, and key characters (Lilith and Company) are still going where they were intended to go for the most part. How they get there though, yeah, that is now something of a mystery. It is working itself out though.
So I know I said I planned updates once a week before, and when I had a good deal of it all pre-written that wasn't a problem. With the rewritting, I don't have that buffer anymore. So in future, updates will be on an "as completed" basis. Might be two in a week, or it might be two weeks between.
Over-all though, I am psyched. The new developments that are going on are really good! I can't wait to share them with you guys. I was happy with the story before but now there is a whole new level! I hope I can do it justice.