Five years (Chapter One)
Title: Five years
Author: Me, Rebecka (jesuisunalien )
Chapter: 1/4
Summary: Five years to the very day since I had last seen his stupid smiling face...
Disclaimer: Never Happened.
A/N: Set five years after the end of Simple Plan.
ONE
Five years to the very day since I had last seen his stupid smiling face. Five years since I had touched his rough hands. Five years since we had been in the same room. Five years since my dreams had come true, and then utterly turned to nightmares. Five long years, but still I was standing. I had survived Pierre Bouvier and I was going to be okay.
Or that was what I'd been telling myself since Chuck had practically dragged me to the apartment he now shared with Pierre. He'd promised me that Pierre wouldn't even be home from work while I was there, which gave us plenty of time to work on his project.
I had spent every day at Chuck's apartment and house for the last three weeks without any detection. I was almost certain I'd make it through the ordeal without him knowing I had ever been in his house, surveyed his current life, and criticised his eating habits. The fact that he wanted to see me didn't even matter. I had left him in my past five years ago, and there was no point in even trying to bring our friendship back.
The only reason I was helping Chuck was because he had knocked up some girl and she was pregnant and having his baby in a couple weeks. The problem was that she didn't want to keep the baby, or stay with Chuck anymore. He was going to be a single father of a newborn with no where to put it. If I had been anyone else, I would have just walked away the day he called me.
“David, please! I need someone's help...I can't do this all by myself. I have no idea where to even begin with a baby!”
“Chuck, look...I'd like to help, but I'm just...I'm not even in Montreal anymore.”
“You're not?”
“No. I moved to New York a long time ago...”
“But...David, please! You're the only one smart enough to help me, and Pierre doesn't know what to do either...Neither of us do.”
“Get a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, good idea. Get a girlfriend just days after my infant child is born!”
“I just don't want to be in the same house as Pierre, okay? I'm not ready for that yet.”
“Just come. For me. Please. The other guys will be here simultaneously. But I'll schedule it so you never, ever see Pierre. Okay? Please!”
I had agreed, obviously, because, one, I had nothing better to do, and two, I really, really missed my friends. New York was great, don't get me wrong...but something about my best friends not being with me just made it all feel so much more different.
Chuck had bought a house somewhere a couple miles from the crappy apartment he and Pierre shared. It was a nice house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The type of house normal people lived in, not ex-famous people whom no one even remembered anymore. It was in a nice neighborhood on the nice side of town, the place Chuck had always wanted to buy but never had time. I was certain his kid would like the place almost as much as I did.
The bad part was packing all of Chuck's crap and taking it two miles down the road, in seeing distance from the apartment roof on a good day. He had a lot of crap, let me be the first to tell you. Clothes, shoes, random drum sticks, random drums, cymbals, stands, microphones, guitars, keyboard, an entire music studio locked in his closet, more clothes, more shoes, more music stuff, and my list went on.
Chuck borrowed Pierre's truck every Wednesday to bring all his baby items from random places he'd stored them. His baby was one lucky kid, I had already decided. It had everything anyone could ever want, or at least I thought everything was pretty cool. Chuck had at least a thousand copies of “How to be a good dad” and “Single parenting for Dad's.” I felt bad for the guy.
The baby's room was painted green with lots of yellows and blues. I thought it looked nice, but Chuck worried that someone might think he was trying to have a gay child. I argued that a billion babies came out normal and they all had green rooms with yellow and blues. Chuck swore that he didn't care if his child was gay. I just shrugged. Whatever he said.
“Hey David,” Chuck called from the baby's room.
“Yeah?”
“How long can you stay?”
“Probably until you want me to go, why?”
“Well...I just didn't want to be alone with a baby. I was hoping you would stay for a couple more weeks?”
“Sure. Whatever you want,” I agreed. I had no where else to be, and the only responsibility I had was a pet fish, but my New Yorker friend was house sitting for me and I had no worries.
“Good! I'm so glad!”
I just rolled my eyes and continued hanging Chuck's clothes on hangers and putting them into his closet. This was supposed to be Sebastien's job, but he had gone to get Pierre's truck for Chuck, since I didn't want to be left alone in the house by myself. Jeff was somewhere in the living room arguing with the television set. Even Patrick had made an appearance, more to see me than to help Chuck. I frowned slightly to myself, realizing that I had been missed more than I'd thought.
I finished with Chuck's clothes and joined him in the baby's room. He had already decided on a name-Casey, boy or girl-and I thought it was suitable. It was displayed on several quilts nitted by his mom and grandmothers from both sides. Casey Comeau would be spoiled.
“When's Natalie supposed to be here?”
Chuck made a face. “Two. What time is it?”
“Two thirty.”
“I guess I'll call her...”
Natalie was Chuck's almost ex-girlfriend, also the mother of his child. She had made it clear that as soon as Casey was born she was leaving and never wanted anything to do with either of them. Oddly, Chuck was okay with that. He had been planning on breaking up with her just days before she'd told him the news. He hadn't had the heart to do it afterwards, though, hence why he was still with her.
As Chuck was in the other room on the phone, Sebastien returned with Pierre's truck and met me in the baby's room. He sat down in the rocking chair and rocked himself back and forth a couple times before sighing loudly.
“What's up?”
“Nothing. I just missed you, David.”
“Yeah, I guess I missed you guys too.”
“Why don't you move back? I'd love to hang out more often.”
“I'm staying with Chuck for a while after Casey's born. I've got nothing better to do.”
“I mean stay here. Forever. It's not the same without you.”
I shrugged my shoulders. Though Sebastien didn't know why I had left, he had an idea of who it involved.
“H-Have you spoken to him since?” Sebastien asked quietly.
“No.”
“Do you want to?”
“No. It'd just turn into an argument. And I'm not ready to give my forgiveness.”
“I know.”
“But I do miss him, Seb, I miss him like hell.”
“That's a contradiction, but okay.”
I rolled my eyes. “I'm pouring my heart out and you're correcting my grammar?”
“That's what happens when you become a tenth grade English teacher.”
“Ew.”
“What about you? Did you go back to work?”
I smiled. “For a bit. Like...two weeks. I just couldn't cut it in the real world.”
“So what do you do?”
“I don't do anything...”
“But where does all your money come from?” he asked me, his eyes going wide.
“I helped write this song for my friend's record, and then I played bass for it, and every time it gets played I get a quarter. Lets just say I got a big bonus, and it gets played a lot.”
“Wow. That's cool. So you still do music?”
“Nope. It was once.”
Sebastien nodded. “I want to play...but it's just not the same without you guys.”
I sighed, understanding completely. I did miss them terribly. Maybe moving back to Montreal wouldn't be so bad. But then I'd risk Pierre seeing me, and that was something I couldn't handle. No. I'd go back to New York. That was the way it had to be.
“Natalie's on her way,” Chuck said, entering the room again.
“That's good.”
“Yeah. She was in the hospital again. False alarm. They keep saying any day now.”
“Wow...I can't believe you're going to be a dad, Chuck!” I laughed.
“It's crazy...” Jeff said, coming in behind Chuck. “I still can't see Chuck ever being the dad-type.”
“How's Maya?” I asked.
“Good. She's almost seven now. Huge!”
“Like fat?”
“No, dummy!” Jeff said, smacking my arm lightly. “Big as in all grown up.”
“Kidding, kidding.”
“What about you, David? Any plans for kids?” Sebastien asked jokingly.
“Nah, one fish is enough.”
“Which you are neglecting,” Jeff reminded me.
“Oh shut up. I left it with the babysitter.”
It didn't take long before we were all laughing and cracking jokes, being funny and enjoying our time together. I knew it would all come to an end soon, in a month, maybe two, but it would go back to normal. I just wanted to remember them as they had once been, before the children, before the band split, before everything. Laughing with them made it easier to remember the good times.
Someone knocked on the front door and Chuck left the room to answer it. He came back two minutes later with a frown.
“What's wrong?” I asked.
“Um...I know you're not going to be happy...but Pierre's here.”
Author: Me, Rebecka (jesuisunalien )
Chapter: 1/4
Summary: Five years to the very day since I had last seen his stupid smiling face...
Disclaimer: Never Happened.
A/N: Set five years after the end of Simple Plan.
ONE
Five years to the very day since I had last seen his stupid smiling face. Five years since I had touched his rough hands. Five years since we had been in the same room. Five years since my dreams had come true, and then utterly turned to nightmares. Five long years, but still I was standing. I had survived Pierre Bouvier and I was going to be okay.
Or that was what I'd been telling myself since Chuck had practically dragged me to the apartment he now shared with Pierre. He'd promised me that Pierre wouldn't even be home from work while I was there, which gave us plenty of time to work on his project.
I had spent every day at Chuck's apartment and house for the last three weeks without any detection. I was almost certain I'd make it through the ordeal without him knowing I had ever been in his house, surveyed his current life, and criticised his eating habits. The fact that he wanted to see me didn't even matter. I had left him in my past five years ago, and there was no point in even trying to bring our friendship back.
The only reason I was helping Chuck was because he had knocked up some girl and she was pregnant and having his baby in a couple weeks. The problem was that she didn't want to keep the baby, or stay with Chuck anymore. He was going to be a single father of a newborn with no where to put it. If I had been anyone else, I would have just walked away the day he called me.
“David, please! I need someone's help...I can't do this all by myself. I have no idea where to even begin with a baby!”
“Chuck, look...I'd like to help, but I'm just...I'm not even in Montreal anymore.”
“You're not?”
“No. I moved to New York a long time ago...”
“But...David, please! You're the only one smart enough to help me, and Pierre doesn't know what to do either...Neither of us do.”
“Get a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, good idea. Get a girlfriend just days after my infant child is born!”
“I just don't want to be in the same house as Pierre, okay? I'm not ready for that yet.”
“Just come. For me. Please. The other guys will be here simultaneously. But I'll schedule it so you never, ever see Pierre. Okay? Please!”
I had agreed, obviously, because, one, I had nothing better to do, and two, I really, really missed my friends. New York was great, don't get me wrong...but something about my best friends not being with me just made it all feel so much more different.
Chuck had bought a house somewhere a couple miles from the crappy apartment he and Pierre shared. It was a nice house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The type of house normal people lived in, not ex-famous people whom no one even remembered anymore. It was in a nice neighborhood on the nice side of town, the place Chuck had always wanted to buy but never had time. I was certain his kid would like the place almost as much as I did.
The bad part was packing all of Chuck's crap and taking it two miles down the road, in seeing distance from the apartment roof on a good day. He had a lot of crap, let me be the first to tell you. Clothes, shoes, random drum sticks, random drums, cymbals, stands, microphones, guitars, keyboard, an entire music studio locked in his closet, more clothes, more shoes, more music stuff, and my list went on.
Chuck borrowed Pierre's truck every Wednesday to bring all his baby items from random places he'd stored them. His baby was one lucky kid, I had already decided. It had everything anyone could ever want, or at least I thought everything was pretty cool. Chuck had at least a thousand copies of “How to be a good dad” and “Single parenting for Dad's.” I felt bad for the guy.
The baby's room was painted green with lots of yellows and blues. I thought it looked nice, but Chuck worried that someone might think he was trying to have a gay child. I argued that a billion babies came out normal and they all had green rooms with yellow and blues. Chuck swore that he didn't care if his child was gay. I just shrugged. Whatever he said.
“Hey David,” Chuck called from the baby's room.
“Yeah?”
“How long can you stay?”
“Probably until you want me to go, why?”
“Well...I just didn't want to be alone with a baby. I was hoping you would stay for a couple more weeks?”
“Sure. Whatever you want,” I agreed. I had no where else to be, and the only responsibility I had was a pet fish, but my New Yorker friend was house sitting for me and I had no worries.
“Good! I'm so glad!”
I just rolled my eyes and continued hanging Chuck's clothes on hangers and putting them into his closet. This was supposed to be Sebastien's job, but he had gone to get Pierre's truck for Chuck, since I didn't want to be left alone in the house by myself. Jeff was somewhere in the living room arguing with the television set. Even Patrick had made an appearance, more to see me than to help Chuck. I frowned slightly to myself, realizing that I had been missed more than I'd thought.
I finished with Chuck's clothes and joined him in the baby's room. He had already decided on a name-Casey, boy or girl-and I thought it was suitable. It was displayed on several quilts nitted by his mom and grandmothers from both sides. Casey Comeau would be spoiled.
“When's Natalie supposed to be here?”
Chuck made a face. “Two. What time is it?”
“Two thirty.”
“I guess I'll call her...”
Natalie was Chuck's almost ex-girlfriend, also the mother of his child. She had made it clear that as soon as Casey was born she was leaving and never wanted anything to do with either of them. Oddly, Chuck was okay with that. He had been planning on breaking up with her just days before she'd told him the news. He hadn't had the heart to do it afterwards, though, hence why he was still with her.
As Chuck was in the other room on the phone, Sebastien returned with Pierre's truck and met me in the baby's room. He sat down in the rocking chair and rocked himself back and forth a couple times before sighing loudly.
“What's up?”
“Nothing. I just missed you, David.”
“Yeah, I guess I missed you guys too.”
“Why don't you move back? I'd love to hang out more often.”
“I'm staying with Chuck for a while after Casey's born. I've got nothing better to do.”
“I mean stay here. Forever. It's not the same without you.”
I shrugged my shoulders. Though Sebastien didn't know why I had left, he had an idea of who it involved.
“H-Have you spoken to him since?” Sebastien asked quietly.
“No.”
“Do you want to?”
“No. It'd just turn into an argument. And I'm not ready to give my forgiveness.”
“I know.”
“But I do miss him, Seb, I miss him like hell.”
“That's a contradiction, but okay.”
I rolled my eyes. “I'm pouring my heart out and you're correcting my grammar?”
“That's what happens when you become a tenth grade English teacher.”
“Ew.”
“What about you? Did you go back to work?”
I smiled. “For a bit. Like...two weeks. I just couldn't cut it in the real world.”
“So what do you do?”
“I don't do anything...”
“But where does all your money come from?” he asked me, his eyes going wide.
“I helped write this song for my friend's record, and then I played bass for it, and every time it gets played I get a quarter. Lets just say I got a big bonus, and it gets played a lot.”
“Wow. That's cool. So you still do music?”
“Nope. It was once.”
Sebastien nodded. “I want to play...but it's just not the same without you guys.”
I sighed, understanding completely. I did miss them terribly. Maybe moving back to Montreal wouldn't be so bad. But then I'd risk Pierre seeing me, and that was something I couldn't handle. No. I'd go back to New York. That was the way it had to be.
“Natalie's on her way,” Chuck said, entering the room again.
“That's good.”
“Yeah. She was in the hospital again. False alarm. They keep saying any day now.”
“Wow...I can't believe you're going to be a dad, Chuck!” I laughed.
“It's crazy...” Jeff said, coming in behind Chuck. “I still can't see Chuck ever being the dad-type.”
“How's Maya?” I asked.
“Good. She's almost seven now. Huge!”
“Like fat?”
“No, dummy!” Jeff said, smacking my arm lightly. “Big as in all grown up.”
“Kidding, kidding.”
“What about you, David? Any plans for kids?” Sebastien asked jokingly.
“Nah, one fish is enough.”
“Which you are neglecting,” Jeff reminded me.
“Oh shut up. I left it with the babysitter.”
It didn't take long before we were all laughing and cracking jokes, being funny and enjoying our time together. I knew it would all come to an end soon, in a month, maybe two, but it would go back to normal. I just wanted to remember them as they had once been, before the children, before the band split, before everything. Laughing with them made it easier to remember the good times.
Someone knocked on the front door and Chuck left the room to answer it. He came back two minutes later with a frown.
“What's wrong?” I asked.
“Um...I know you're not going to be happy...but Pierre's here.”