Fic: "Life In Slow Motion"- Chapter 1
Title: "Life In Slow Motion"
Rating: R
Summary: Sometimes life can feel like it's passing you by in slow motion. Reactions to a tragic event can have life-altering repercussions. Sequel-fic to "Because You Were Home" (Read It Here: http://jack-frosty.livejournal.com/1511.html)
Characters: Obscurus Lupa, MarzGurl, JesuOtaku, Nash, Diamanda Hagan, Nella
Warning: Rated R for angst, discussions of violence, and dark subject matter.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these people, the characters they portray or any other trademark properties therein.
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Chapter 1 - All Along The Watchtower
"Yeah, Jes. Yes really. Really. I'm on my way now."
The conversation, such as it was, rambled on. Marzgurl was engaged currently, not only in driving her car through the thick Texas rain, but in trying to calm down her hysterical friend JesuOtaku. Jesu, as most anyone who met her would tell you, was, at best, a flitty, ADD-addled, Japanophile with a penchant for crazy antics and sugar-induced all night anime review sessions. At her worst Jesu, as her friends would say, was a fucking cunt. And this was Jesu at her worst. Vehemently tounge-lashing the woman she often considered one of her better professional friends and partners.
"Why the fuck are you going to see her alone?" Jesu stammered, her voice muffled and roughly distorted through Marzgurl's hands free device. "Lupa would've called me before she ever called you!"
Marzgurl ran a hand through her dyed-blue hair and rubbed her tired eyes. Hours of driving. Five and a half hours of bitching. She considered her words slowly before answering.
"I don't know. Lupa called me. She wanted me to come to Arizona to see her."
Cars zipped around Marzgurl, foregoing their personal safety to get somewhere in an apparent hurry. Dangerous on any highway but especially so in a Texas thunderstorm.
"But why?" Jesu pleaded. "We fucked."
Marzgurl's eyes widened, her knuckles went white as she gripped the wheel tighter. "You did what?" Marzgurl responded. She realized momentarily that her question came out a little angrier than she would've liked.
"We..." Jesu started, but paused..."we fucked. Each other. At that one Con a few months back."
Marzgurl concentrated on finding her exit and pulled off. She could scarcely control herself, and was trying to drive carefully. The last thing Lupa needed after all her trouble was to have her friend die in a car wreck on her way to see her.
"You told me you weren't into that, Jes." Marzgurl barked bitterly. "You know how long I've wanted you? I finally work up the courage and you practically bitchslap me for it."
"It didn't feel right, Marz. It just didn't. With Lupa it felt natural. She made me feel okay. She made me feel good."
"I could've made you feel good too, Jes." Marzgurl said. Her thoughts floated to Jesu's boyfriend Nash. All this shit. She wondered what he'd think of it.
"I gotta go Marz." Jesu went awkwardly silent.
Jesu ended the call just as Marz rounded another corner. She was very nearly off the highway and driving into the night she shuddered. She had nothing to keep her company now but her radio and the dead air of the cold night ahead of her.
It didn't matter. Lupa needed her and that's all that mattered.
Marzgurl shook in her seat. The night air was cold. "I'd better pull over somewhere. I need something to eat."
Finally reaching surface roads, Marzgurl began looking for a reststop or a conveinance store. Somewhere to grab an easy snack. Her thoughts swirled through her head. A snack. The chance to stretch her legs. Maybe even some time in a bathroom stall with her "little friend". Anything to break up the tedium and give her some time to think.
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"Hey babe, wanna be on the show tonight? " Nash Bozzard, the long-haired internet radio show host was referring to the lovely Jesu Otaku. He was in the process of making a few last-minute adjustments and gathering a few stories. His co-host Tara would by skyping in shortly.
Jesu hefted a travel bag behind her as she walked out of her and Nash's shared basement/recording studio. "Nash, I gotta go. Lupa needs me."
"Lupa? Why'd she call you? She hardly even knows you." Nash questioned.
Jesu stammered, trying to invent a good reason; "Because she couldn't get ahold of anybody else."
With that Jesu walked out with hardly a goodbye for her own boyfriend.
Under his breath Nash whispered "What the fuck is wrong with you?" as he heard a car door slam and Jesu's car pull out. Something had to be going on. Lupa's home-invader and near murder. Now Jesu was acting different. Way different. And who was that she was yelling at earlier?
------
The rain fell like teardrops outside, wetting the desert landscape all around Obscurus Lupa's modest Arizona home. Lupa never liked the rain, much less the thunder and the lightning that lit up the sky, but now it simply terrified her. She, despite her best efforts to do otherwise, still lived alone. She'd gone from a rising star reviewer to a depressed, inconoclastic shut-in. Sure she'd had her share of roommates in the ensuing months since her attack. All of them female. All of them awkward on some level and fairly short-lived. Hell, she even had her friend and former Channel Awesome co-worker Diamanda Hagan show up on her doorstep un-announced. Hagan came all the way from her native Haganistan, leaving her minions behind, just to see if Lupa was alright.
That was the best. It was also the shortest stay. Hagan, fortunately for Lupa, was willing to indulge her in what she really needed; with Hagan snuggled next to her. With Lupa wrapped around her she slept better than she had in months. She felt protected. Even "safe" with Hagan in bed next to her, constantly within arm's reach.
When Hagan left Lupa went back to jumping at shadows all night. Every night. Lupa's next temporary roommate was probably her worst. Nella, The Nostalgia Chick's so-called BFF came down on behalf of Team Nchick, but mostly on her own.
Things didn't work out. Lupa tried to coerce Nella into Hagan's previous bed buddy role. Not the best idea, as it would turn out. Nella seemed to be up for it at first, but one kiss on the back of the neck later and Nella was practically running out the door.
And now she was alone again. Lupa did everything she could to get to sleep, but nothing seemed to help. Alcohol, prescription sleep-aids, even masturbation. Her senses were dulled, her body ached, her clit was wet from manufactured arousal.
She needed Marzgurl. She could help her. She'd know what to do.
------
The rest stop visit had been an uneventful one. Despite the oblique and rather obvious stares at her striking blue hair the stop had been quiet. Fortunately enough the place was relatively empty, allowing for Marzgurl to be alone with her thoughts. She ate at a little no-name burger joint that was nestled into the back of the rest stop, staffed by a few disenfranchised looking teens. The average college kids and 30-something lifers everyone's likely to see. Zombified and going through the motions, waiting for the boring nightshift to finally end.
Quietly Marzgurl stood and emptied her tray, her wet shoes squeaked loudly as she walked back outside. The storm was still raging outside.
In her car Marzgurl grabbed her phone from her handheld cradle and began typing
Her text read: "Lupa, its Marz. I'm getting a hotel room. I should be at your place tomorrow."
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Rating: R
Summary: Sometimes life can feel like it's passing you by in slow motion. Reactions to a tragic event can have life-altering repercussions. Sequel-fic to "Because You Were Home" (Read It Here: http://jack-frosty.livejournal.com/1511.html)
Characters: Obscurus Lupa, MarzGurl, JesuOtaku, Nash, Diamanda Hagan, Nella
Warning: Rated R for angst, discussions of violence, and dark subject matter.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these people, the characters they portray or any other trademark properties therein.
-------------
Chapter 1 - All Along The Watchtower
"Yeah, Jes. Yes really. Really. I'm on my way now."
The conversation, such as it was, rambled on. Marzgurl was engaged currently, not only in driving her car through the thick Texas rain, but in trying to calm down her hysterical friend JesuOtaku. Jesu, as most anyone who met her would tell you, was, at best, a flitty, ADD-addled, Japanophile with a penchant for crazy antics and sugar-induced all night anime review sessions. At her worst Jesu, as her friends would say, was a fucking cunt. And this was Jesu at her worst. Vehemently tounge-lashing the woman she often considered one of her better professional friends and partners.
"Why the fuck are you going to see her alone?" Jesu stammered, her voice muffled and roughly distorted through Marzgurl's hands free device. "Lupa would've called me before she ever called you!"
Marzgurl ran a hand through her dyed-blue hair and rubbed her tired eyes. Hours of driving. Five and a half hours of bitching. She considered her words slowly before answering.
"I don't know. Lupa called me. She wanted me to come to Arizona to see her."
Cars zipped around Marzgurl, foregoing their personal safety to get somewhere in an apparent hurry. Dangerous on any highway but especially so in a Texas thunderstorm.
"But why?" Jesu pleaded. "We fucked."
Marzgurl's eyes widened, her knuckles went white as she gripped the wheel tighter. "You did what?" Marzgurl responded. She realized momentarily that her question came out a little angrier than she would've liked.
"We..." Jesu started, but paused..."we fucked. Each other. At that one Con a few months back."
Marzgurl concentrated on finding her exit and pulled off. She could scarcely control herself, and was trying to drive carefully. The last thing Lupa needed after all her trouble was to have her friend die in a car wreck on her way to see her.
"You told me you weren't into that, Jes." Marzgurl barked bitterly. "You know how long I've wanted you? I finally work up the courage and you practically bitchslap me for it."
"It didn't feel right, Marz. It just didn't. With Lupa it felt natural. She made me feel okay. She made me feel good."
"I could've made you feel good too, Jes." Marzgurl said. Her thoughts floated to Jesu's boyfriend Nash. All this shit. She wondered what he'd think of it.
"I gotta go Marz." Jesu went awkwardly silent.
Jesu ended the call just as Marz rounded another corner. She was very nearly off the highway and driving into the night she shuddered. She had nothing to keep her company now but her radio and the dead air of the cold night ahead of her.
It didn't matter. Lupa needed her and that's all that mattered.
Marzgurl shook in her seat. The night air was cold. "I'd better pull over somewhere. I need something to eat."
Finally reaching surface roads, Marzgurl began looking for a reststop or a conveinance store. Somewhere to grab an easy snack. Her thoughts swirled through her head. A snack. The chance to stretch her legs. Maybe even some time in a bathroom stall with her "little friend". Anything to break up the tedium and give her some time to think.
---------
"Hey babe, wanna be on the show tonight? " Nash Bozzard, the long-haired internet radio show host was referring to the lovely Jesu Otaku. He was in the process of making a few last-minute adjustments and gathering a few stories. His co-host Tara would by skyping in shortly.
Jesu hefted a travel bag behind her as she walked out of her and Nash's shared basement/recording studio. "Nash, I gotta go. Lupa needs me."
"Lupa? Why'd she call you? She hardly even knows you." Nash questioned.
Jesu stammered, trying to invent a good reason; "Because she couldn't get ahold of anybody else."
With that Jesu walked out with hardly a goodbye for her own boyfriend.
Under his breath Nash whispered "What the fuck is wrong with you?" as he heard a car door slam and Jesu's car pull out. Something had to be going on. Lupa's home-invader and near murder. Now Jesu was acting different. Way different. And who was that she was yelling at earlier?
------
The rain fell like teardrops outside, wetting the desert landscape all around Obscurus Lupa's modest Arizona home. Lupa never liked the rain, much less the thunder and the lightning that lit up the sky, but now it simply terrified her. She, despite her best efforts to do otherwise, still lived alone. She'd gone from a rising star reviewer to a depressed, inconoclastic shut-in. Sure she'd had her share of roommates in the ensuing months since her attack. All of them female. All of them awkward on some level and fairly short-lived. Hell, she even had her friend and former Channel Awesome co-worker Diamanda Hagan show up on her doorstep un-announced. Hagan came all the way from her native Haganistan, leaving her minions behind, just to see if Lupa was alright.
That was the best. It was also the shortest stay. Hagan, fortunately for Lupa, was willing to indulge her in what she really needed; with Hagan snuggled next to her. With Lupa wrapped around her she slept better than she had in months. She felt protected. Even "safe" with Hagan in bed next to her, constantly within arm's reach.
When Hagan left Lupa went back to jumping at shadows all night. Every night. Lupa's next temporary roommate was probably her worst. Nella, The Nostalgia Chick's so-called BFF came down on behalf of Team Nchick, but mostly on her own.
Things didn't work out. Lupa tried to coerce Nella into Hagan's previous bed buddy role. Not the best idea, as it would turn out. Nella seemed to be up for it at first, but one kiss on the back of the neck later and Nella was practically running out the door.
And now she was alone again. Lupa did everything she could to get to sleep, but nothing seemed to help. Alcohol, prescription sleep-aids, even masturbation. Her senses were dulled, her body ached, her clit was wet from manufactured arousal.
She needed Marzgurl. She could help her. She'd know what to do.
------
The rest stop visit had been an uneventful one. Despite the oblique and rather obvious stares at her striking blue hair the stop had been quiet. Fortunately enough the place was relatively empty, allowing for Marzgurl to be alone with her thoughts. She ate at a little no-name burger joint that was nestled into the back of the rest stop, staffed by a few disenfranchised looking teens. The average college kids and 30-something lifers everyone's likely to see. Zombified and going through the motions, waiting for the boring nightshift to finally end.
Quietly Marzgurl stood and emptied her tray, her wet shoes squeaked loudly as she walked back outside. The storm was still raging outside.
In her car Marzgurl grabbed her phone from her handheld cradle and began typing
Her text read: "Lupa, its Marz. I'm getting a hotel room. I should be at your place tomorrow."
----------