The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 1 Chapter 2
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Ink legacy! Last time we introduced our founder, India, and watched her as she started her life in Riverview! After being depressed over her lack of advancement, she was cheered up by a passing medical student, Leonard Kaplawski. As it turns out, sometimes doctors do have good advice! So, without further ado, on with the story!
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India was feeling much better about everything - her guitar playing, her job, and her house. In fact, her recent promotion to stagehand afforded her a closed in bathroom (finally) and a kitchen table of sorts. Now if it got cold, she could at least take her blankets inside and sleep on the heated floor.
India had tried several times to get a hold of Leo to repay him somehow, but his phone always seemed to be off. She guessed that being a medical student was harder than she could have imagined. Whenever she caught a glimpse of him at the store or library, he always had bags underneath his eyes.
She had once even found him sleeping on a bench outside on her way back from a midnight shift, a book on the ground beside him. When she went to pick it up for him, he woke up with a start.
"Urgh...what...? Shit, what time is it?"
"Morning to you too." India replied dryly, handling the book to him.
He blinked up at her, trying to focus his eyes. "...India?"
"The one and only. Hey, are you okay?" she asked.
He gave her a tired smile. "Yeah, sorry. I was studying for my paramedic exam and must have crashed. Seriously though, what time is it?"
India checked her watch. "About 7:30 am."
"Good, I have an hour and a half then."
India laughed and grabbed his arm, pulling him up. "Well, you're gonna eat breakfast at my place. Seriously, you're a stick."
If Leo found anything strange about her lack of a house, or the fact that they were eating cereal in the dark, he didn't say. He merely scarfed down his cereal, every once in a while nervously glancing at his notebook. India took a look at it - it was filled with medical jargon of all kind. It was incomprehensible to her.
Trying to distract him from his studies, India took up pointless conversation.
"So, uh, sorry about my lack of a house. It gets kinda cold in the mornings." she laughed uneasily.
"It's not that bad. Nice view of the trees, at least." he replied cheekily.
India slapped him playfully, retorting, "You would say that, Mr. I-live-in-an-underground-apartment. Do you even have a window down there?"
"One, after we punched out a cement block."
Leo found himself much more at ease after talking with India - she seemed to have that effect on him. He even believed her when she sent him off with a cheerful, "It'll be fine! You're smart, you know!" And, true to her word, he could answer question after question with relative ease.
When it was finally over four hours later, he couldn't help but call.
"Hey - guess who's a paramedic now?"
"Oh, so you're never calling 911 again? Very funny, Ms. Ink."
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The days continued to pass. India found herself being noticed more and more by the band members as she played in the quiet hours after concerts. One day, the band manager pulled her aside.
"Listen India. You have potential, I'll admit that. But you're too...well, cute to be a rock star, really. You need to prove to the band that you're made of the right stuff."
"And how will I do that?"
He smiled. "Have you heard of a club called N3c+0?"
So that's how India found herself here, in a noisy club in unfamiliar clothes and an unlit cigarette in her mouth. To be honest, she hated the smokes and the tacky visor she was wearing, but everyone had agreed that she looked "edgier" this way, whatever that meant.
India sighed heavily, looking at herself in the mirror across the wall. She hardly even recognized herself.
Of course, the technicolor lights and alcohol weren't exactly helping.
"Too cute..." she grumbled to herself. "I'll show you cute."
The tray of drinks in front of her emptied quickly. The room started to get a little hazier, the music a little louder. Somewhere between her third and fourth apple martini, a hand steadied her shoulder.
"Whoa, slow down there hun! Don't want to ruin the party this early, do you?"
India wasn't really looking at the woman though. Instead her eyes focused on a very familiar redhead in the far corner of the club. Was that...?
It was! Leo was standing in the corner of the room, awkwardly trying to maintain his personal space from a very drunk Roxie Lin. He held up his hands defensively as she pawed at him, laughing loudly.
"Sheesh, you don't want to end up like my sister, there..." muttered the woman. "Wait...h-hey, where are you going?"
India had stood up abruptly and weaved her way through the crowd naturally, losing the concerned stander-by. After interrupting a few wild dancers, she nudged Roxie away and came face to face with her friend.
"Well if it isn't Leon." India said. "Funny seeing you here. Doesn't fit your image."
"India?! What are you doing here?" he replied, shocked.
"I'm more surprised about you, Mr. Paramedic. Gonna have a drink before taking out the ambulance, eh?"
"Actually, I'm here to watch for alcohol poisoning. This club sends an average of three people to the ER every night."
He put a hand to her forehead, which she swatted away - his hands were like ice. Actually, the whole club was getting too hot for her. She giggled absently - a real disco inferno.
Leo frowned at her, concerned. "You might be next on that list, actually. How much have you had to drink tonight?"
"Who the hell cares? It's a party, isn't it?"
"You're drunk."
"And never better. Now come on you prude, dance with me."
"Wha?"
With that, India grabbed Leon by the shoulders and dragged him onto the main dance floor. He looked extremely uncomfortable while India freely wheeled to the music.
"India, I'm not the dancing sort..."
"Aw, just shut up and move. Here, copy me."
India tried to teach Leo to dance, but between her drunkenness and his general incompetence, they really weren't getting anywhere.
"You're boring, Leo. Boring, boring, boring! I'm...I'm thirsty..."
"India, wait -!"
But India had already melted back into the crowd, losing Leo completely. He looked around for her in a panic, but couldn't spot her through the mass of bodies.
India made short work of the remaining alcohol and was feeling quite good about it. Well enough to scout out the dance floor again, at least. She quickly singled out another familiar face - the lead guitarist, Jon Lessen.
Jon was much better at dancing than Leo and easily kept up with India's moves. They dances so naturally together that quite a few people stopped to stare at them.
"You dance quite well, Miss." Jon chuckled. "Just look at the crowd you're gathering."
"I am quite certain they are staring at you, Mr. Lessen." India drawled in reply.
"Well, that's true." Jon said. "I am quite popular. You, my dear, are the mystery though."
He leaned in closer to study her face, but was obscured by the lights flashing off of her visor.
"You look a little...familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"
India wanted to scream. She was only the girl that cleaned his guitar everyday. You know, the one that called 911 after his stage diving incident? The one who had to forge his autographs for several hours a week? The girl that sat next to him on the tour bus for nine hours last Saturday on their way to a gig? Just now he was noticing her?
"I...I gotta go." she said weakly, stumbling back into the crowd.
Her head was spinning and pounding while her stomach churned ominously. Guess you can't drink without consequence, huh? She stumbled blindly through the crowd, attracting a few angry shouts but little pity. She needed to get outside, to get some fresh air...
She suddenly bumped into a white shirt, glad for the hands that steadied her shoulders. She looked up into the familiar face - it was talking, but she couldn't quite...
India slipped forward, her arms reaching for something, anything solid.
She was barely in his arms before everything went black.
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India was vaguely aware that she was moving, her face pressed against cool glass. It was quiet save the muted classical music that drifted towards her. She struggled to open her eyes and was surprised at what she saw.
No multicolored lights or bright brick walls. Just Leo, driving a car to god knows where. This was much more comforting than most alternatives, she supposed.
"Leo?" God, her voice sounded weak and pathetic even to her. "Leo, where are we going?"
He glanced up at her through the rear view mirror, trying to decided whether to be angry or worried. Probably both, at the moment.
"I'm taking you home."
"O-oh. Okay. Thank you."
He gripped the steering wheel tighter. "You should be thanking me. You...you weren't breathing when you dropped."
"I wasn't?!"
"No, and I panicked. Forgot all of my training. Luckily the shock of hitting the ground stared you up again." he exhaled, still clearly upset. "You seriously don't remember the ER?"
India tried to think back but only got bright lights. "No."
She started to cry, curling up in her seat. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, Leo. I'm sorry. Really."
He sighed. "...Let's just get you home."
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"India, do you have any ice packs in...your..."
Leo trailed off as he glanced over at the bed.
He had just laid her down there not seconds before, yet there she was, sound asleep, visor and all. Sleeping despite not having a house to protect her. Sleeping despite nearly dying hours before.
With a sigh, he removed her visor and the unused cigarette, tossing them both in the trash. No more clubbing for India ever, he would make sure of that.
Leo laughed to himself for that last one. Make sure of that? How, exactly? He and India were only loosely what you could call friends. Yet somehow they kept getting drawn together by the most bizarre circumstances - a failed stage dive. A mistaken suicide attempt. Passing out in front of the store. They were even in the same club on the same night for the same reason - work. It seemed almost...fated.
Now Leo really laughed. Fated? To what, fall in love with her?
That would be bad. India was precisely the type of girl that would draw him in effortlessly and never let go. A perfect balance to his odd tendencies. He could talk to her about anything, and even worse she seemed to accept these things. Embrace them even. Falling hard for such a sweet, absent-minded girl would be the end for him, he knew it.
No, he should not fall in love with India Ink.
With a sigh, he brushed a strand of hair away from her freckled face.
It was probably already too late.
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And that's it for this chapter folks! Note - Leonard is a Riverview townie - just an NPC. A made over NPC, but still. I might have bent the rules a little to snag him, but in all honesty, the fact that he will add a grand total of $0 to our household makes up for that. XD