Strangetown: Chapter Twelve
Warnings: language, sexual situations, drug use, excessive use of powerballad lyrics
Chapter Twelve
Since Ripp was away for the evening, Johnny and Ophelia had rented a movie, and had planned to take the opportunity to spend some time alone together. They'd both been fairly busy, and with their different class schedules, they were often passing each other on the way to class. Ophelia saw Ripp a whole lot more than she saw Johnny, since he spent way more time at the apartment. He never seemed to go to class, and lately, he only left to go practice with his band.
Johnny had been thinking about telling Ophelia about Jayne. Not everything, of course, but just to tell her about her, that they had been hanging out. That's all they were doing, anyway. He was feeling guilty about it, and he thought that bringing it out in the open would solve that problem. Since he wasn't actually doing anything intimate with Jayne, Ophelia shouldn't have a problem with it. He could still hang out with her, while he tried to make his decision. It wasn't something he'd be able to decide for quite some time, and he did have until the end of college, really.
"So, what's up with you lately, anyway, Ophelia? You've been pretty distant."
"Have I?"
"Yes. I'm beginning to think that maybe you don't want to be my girlfriend anymore."
"It's not that, Johnny..." She sighed. "I just..." She had decided that it was time to be honest with him.
"Listen, Johnny. A while back, I had some serious concerns at home. I thought that Olive was... well... I thought that she wanted to kill me."
"You thought she wanted to... kill you?" Johnny arched an eyebrow.
"Yes, I know, it sounds like a bit much, but you just had to be there, to see and hear what I did."
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"Well, I did..." She took a deep breath. "Just not to you." Johnny could tell immediately what her implication had been.
"You told Ripp?! And not me?!"
"Johnny, I'm sorry... but..."
"That's what's going on here, isn't it? You and Ripp..."
"What?! No... There's nothing going on, Johnny." Ophelia frowned. "How could you even think that?" Oh, I don't know, thought Johnny, the fact that Ripp would mount anything that moves?
"Are you sure?"
"Look, at the time, I didn't want to drag you down with me. I'm really sorry about leaving you out, and telling you would have at least let you know what's been up with me lately. I'm still really bothered by it, and I'm still really afraid, even though I'm away from her now. The feeling just doesn't go away." Johnny felt really bad for accusing her.
"I'm sorry, Phi."
"I'm sorry too." Ophelia said. "I should have told you. It's not good to be dishonest with each other. We should tell each other everything." Johnny thought about that, but somehow, this really didn't seem like the best moment for him to mention Jayne.
"I don't want you to be afraid, Phi." He placed his arm around her. He felt terrible for spending all that time with Jayne, while Ophelia clearly needed him more. He pulled her closer.
In his arms, she did feel less afraid, just as she always had.
They were in the middle of a kiss when the door flew open, and Ripp stormed into the room, stopping only when he noticed them on the couch.
"Oh, shit! Sorry..."
"Why are you back so soon?" Johnny said, as he adjusted himself.
"Oh, nothing... just the fact that my entire fucking life is falling apart! Nothing to fucking worry about at all." He continued up the stairs, and left Johnny and Ophelia just looking at each other.
"Should we go see what's wrong?" Ophelia asked.
"No. If he wanted to tell us, he would have, I'm sure." He sighed. "Maybe we should just go to bed too. I'm going to go on upstairs and get ready. Do you want to come in with me for a while?" Ophelia nodded.
"You go ahead. I'm going to grab a snack first." Johnny went on up the stairs, and she went about her business.
After she cleaned up, she finally went upstairs too. Johnny had gone on to his bedroom, and she wondered if he would be asleep yet. As she passed Ripp's room, she stopped by the door and listened. She thought that she could maybe hear him crying. Should she go inside? Considering Johnny's accusations, she didn't want to give him any more fuel for that fire, so she went to check Johnny's room first. He was asleep. She went back to Ripp's door and whispered to him.
"Ripp? Are you okay?" He just coughed a bit. He was definitely crying. "What's wrong?"
"I'm okay, Phi. Don't worry about it, please." Ripp said. "I just had a fight with the General."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No... and please don't come in here."
"Okay." She said. "Let me know if you change your mind." She walked back towards Johnny's room. She could just go in there and crawl in next to him. It would nice to sleep next to someone. She'd be less afraid. But at that moment, she decided against it, and went to her own room. She felt like being alone.
For the next little while, Ripp was pretty scarce.
Johnny and Ophelia weren't really sure what he was up to, but it certainly wasn't going to classes.
Ophelia's class schedule was really hectic, and she even had a couple of evening classes that semester. She didn't mind, since it took her mind off other things, but it was a lot of work. She came home one evening from class, and was getting ready to work on one of her assignments. She thought she'd take a look at some of her flowers first, so she headed to her room.
Her bedroom was the largest. That was one of the benefits of being the only girl in the house, she supposed. She couldn't complain, though Johnny and Ripp often ended up hanging out in there as a result. As she topped the stairs, she noticed that someone had left her stereo on. That was typical. They often turned it up so they could hear it from the bathroom. Maybe Ripp was finally home and taking a bath.
She entered the room and stopped dead in her tracks.
The room was clearly already occupied.
"Yeah, tell me you want me..." Ripp was saying, and then realized that he was being watched.
"Oh, fuck!" He jumped up. "Shit, Phi! You're home? Can't you knock?!"
"It's my bedroom, Ripp!" She ran from the room, completely embarrassed. He ran after her.
"Wait! Phi!"
"Look, Phi - I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell at you. You just scared me." Ophelia didn't say anything. Ripp reached out to touch her. "I'm sorry."
"What were you doing in my bedroom?"
"Yeah... I didn't really plan that. I just ended up there." He decided against telling her where else he had been.
"Well, you'd better go get dressed, get her out of my bedroom, change those sheets, and for god's sake, do it before Johnny gets home."
"I'm sorry."
"Okay, Ripp."
"No, I'm really sorry, Phi..."
"Really, Ripp. It's okay." She said. "Just, maybe try not to do it again."
"It won't happen again, I promise. God, I'm so sorry, Phi. I'm such an asshole."
"I'm going to have a cup of coffee before I start studying. You look like you could really use one too." She wasn't sure if he was sleeping elsewhere, but she knew that he hadn't spent a whole night in his own bed for weeks.
"Okay. That sounds good." He touched her arm. "Thanks, Phi."
Neither Ripp nor Ophelia said much while they drank their coffee, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They both felt a lot better afterwards.
Pascal and Lola stood in the bedroom that Kristen and Erin shared, and observed Kristen as she lay on her bed. "How is she feeling?" Pascal asked.
"Well, she's pretty much in shock, you know? She hasn't been speaking to any of us."
"And she still has no recollection of what happened at all?"
"Nothing. And also nothing before that either. She seems to have lost all of her long term memories. She has no idea who any of us are, and no idea who she is either." They both sighed.
"I can't believe they did this." Pascal said, morosely, but of course, that was only half true. He didn't expect any better from the Beakers, but he also truly hadn't seen this coming.
Kristen stared off into the distance, seeming to look right through Lola and Pascal. After several days, she had remembered her own name, but that was as much progress as she had made. She would get frustrated quite often, and sometimes woke up very confused and agitated. They had been taking care of her, trying to keep her calm and rested. Lola had even taken a couple of weeks off from her job. She figured that it was the least she could do, since Kristen had been forced to quit her own job. She hoped that this would only be temporary.
"How could we let this happen, Paz?" Lola was stricken.
"We knew it would be a risk when we took it on, Lola. So did Kristen."
"I know, but this?" She felt consumed by guilt. "I didn't think about something like this."
"We're going to do the best we can for her, Lola. She'll be okay."
"Those damn Beakers! I can't believe we have to let them win."
"Well, we can't exactly risk that again, Lola! But we're not going to just let them win. I have to rethink this."
"What can we do, Paz? I'm at a loss."
"Well, as for the Beakers, I have no idea. I'll have to think about it some more." He considered. "For Kristen, I might have something."
"I've been working on this invention. It's still in the prototype phase, but I am running trials on it. It's a helmet that can help to focus your thoughts and clear away any unwanted disturbances. When combined with normal therapy, it has the potential to remedy a number of mental conditions, or at least improve them." Lola listened intently.
"Do you think that could work for Kristen?"
"I have a client right now that I'm testing it on, and it seems to be going fairly well. She was referred to me by the hospital, and she is also suffering from amnesia."
"That's Bella, right?"
"Lola! That's supposed to be confidential!"
Bella was a fairly new arrival in Strangetown, and nobody, not even Bella herself, knew where she had come from. After she was treated by the hospital about her head, she was given some government assistance and an apartment in the low-income housing area of town to help her get herself on her feet.
Bella seemed to be doing fairly well for herself now, working as a secretary in the one of the offices for one of the largest corporations in Sim City. Pascal thought that she seemed to have more money than someone with her salary should have, with her rental payments and everything, but he also knew that she used her looks to get whatever she wanted.
Pascal was fairly unnerved by Bella's stories about her voracious sex drive. Not that this deterred her from sharing them. They did have a confidential client relationship, but Bella would have told him anyway, he was sure. He wondered if her behaviour was somehow related to her memory loss, and perhaps it was just a way for her to validate her existence. Bella herself thought that Pascal was reading way too far into it.
"I just like sex, Mr. Curious." She smiled at him with her most coy gaze, but Pascal remained serious. He knew that Bella also liked the expensive things that her lovers bought her.
By counselling Bella, he was also privy to a lot of local gossip that he really didn't care to hear. Bella's apartment complex was like an epicentre for all the local dirt.
"I'll bet you hear lots of stories from her, don't you, Paz?" Lola, of course, was all ears.
"Well, yes. Not that I care to repeat any of it."
"Oh, Paz. You're so virtuous." Lola smirked. "Genesis Lam lives there too, doesn't she? She works as a maid all over town, so she must see and hear a thing or two. I've also heard that she's been involved with General Buzz Grunt."
Pascal had heard much more than that, but he wasn't about to tell this to Lola. He tried not to let on that he knew anything, and feigned shock. "Dear god! Where do you get all your gossip, Lola?"
"Oh, I have my sources." Chloe being the primary one.
Chloe's exact words had been, "Genesis Lam is polishing the General's brass."
"So, what's the deal with Bella anyway? Do you have any idea where she came from?" Lola asked.
"Lola! That supposed to be confidential! I can't tell you that."
"Oh, come on, Paz! It's just me. I won't say anything." Pascal arched an eyebrow. He knew what Lola was like. She thought she was better than Chloe, but she really wasn't.
"It's confidential, Lola."
"You're too good, Paz. Of course, I love that about you, but it still irritates me sometimes."
"By the way, I like your new glasses, Pascal. And your hair is different too, right?"
"Oh, that. Yeah, I keep forgetting about it. Lazlo's girlfriend, Crystal Vu, was fixing us all up. You should see Vidcund. And Lazlo cut all of his hair off. I could hardly believe it. Now he's moving out to live with her."
"Wow. That's pretty quick. Didn't she just move in with you guys?"
"Yeah. It wasn't that long ago, was it? I hope that he knows what he's doing."
"So, how are the twins?"
"Oh, they're wonderful. Just wonderful." Pascal's face lit up whenever he talked about the children.
"I still have to go see Jenny's too. I can't keep up with all these babies."
"I dropped by the other day. There's quite a resemblance to P.T." Pascal smiled as he thought about his growing family, but he was finding it very hard to smile for long.
His thoughts would always turn to Nervous Subject eventually, and that left him sick with worry. He hoped that he wasn't in pain, or lonely, or afraid. He was counting on Loki's ambitions to be their saving grace, because he knew that Loki would need Nervous to further his research. As long as he was working towards a breakthrough, Nervous should remain relatively unharmed.
That didn't protect him from their many cruelties, however, and there was the nature of the testing itself to worry about too. Pascal was tired from spending so much energy on his concern, and he had Mint too, so he was feeling pretty run down. All he could do was hope for the best, and keep moving forward.
As for Nervous, he was becoming pretty adjusted to his predicament, and lately he was a lot less lonely. That is, it was hard to be lonely since the new voices in his head had arrived. Recently, he had been able to identify four distinct voices, in addition to his own.
The voices didn't concern him, not really. They seemed nice enough. They didn't say anything frightening either, and just asked questions, mostly. Questions about Loki and Circe, and what existed beyond the cold stone walls. Things like that. They wondered about each other, and whether or not they were even separate entities. Nervous wasn't sure about that himself.
Yes, they kept him company, but they also caused him to grow ever more restless. The Beakers had noticed his increased agitation too, and Circe had upped his dosage of sedatives, but it didn't seem to really help any.
Sometimes he just wanted to shut his mind off completely. He really, really needed a rest.
He had also noticed something different about Circe. She was growing increasingly hostile, and had been puking her guts up every morning for days now. Nervous didn't know a whole lot about pregnancy, just what he had been told by Pascal, but he did know enough to conclude that Circe had to be pregnant. The thought made him shudder with fear.
A pregnant animal was one of nature's most dangerous creatures.
"Oh, good! You're here." Johnny had arrived back at the apartment one evening to find Ripp waiting for him in the kitchen. With a bottle of wine. "You're just in time for a drink."
"Ummm, what's the occasion?"
"Oh, no occasion. We're just going to drink this." Johnny was confused. "It is Saturday night, you know. You need to just chill out for once and have a good time. I can't remember the last time we fucking did anything together."
"Okay... sure. Why not?"
"That's the spirit."
"Drink up, Johnny!"
They were already well on their way to drunk by the time they jumped in a cab and arrived at Midnight Flows. Upon entering, Ripp noticed the karaoke machine and flipped out like a child who wanted to ride the merry-go-round at the fair.
"Johnny! Johnny, we have to do karaoke!"
"Forget it, Ripp."
"Oh, come on! It’s fun, Johnny! You know… remember fun? You have to fucking lighten up, my friend!" He rushed over to check out the options.
"Oh sweet fucking llama brains!" Ripp exclaimed. "Too perfect. We’re so singing this!"
"What?! No, Ripp! Just no!"
"But it’s the greatest song ever written!"
"I absolutely refuse to sing a ridiculous powerballad with you."
"Don’t be a pussy, John! It’s funny. I'll sing the woman's part, if that's what's bothering you. You’re going to sing this, and you’re going to fucking like it too! You can thank me later…"
"No! Ripp, I said no!" But Ripp was already starting the karaoke machine.
He cleared his throat a tapped the microphone. "Ahem. Is this on?" It was. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My friend, here, and I are going to sing you a special little number. Isn't that right, Johnny?" Ripp grinned.
"That's right, Ripp." Johnny said with his best fake grin.
"Why don't you go ahead and give him a little hand, folks? He's pretty shy." He laughed.
While maintaining his forced grin, Johnny leaned closer to Ripp and whispered. "I am really going to kill you for this later."
"We'll see about that." Ripp smiled.
"And I would do anything for love, I'd run right into hell and back. I would do anything for love, I'll never lie to you and that's a fact..."
"As long as the planets are turning, as long as the stars are burning. As long as your dreams are coming true, you better believe it..."
"That I would do anything for love, and I'll be there 'til the final act..."
"And I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love. Oh I would do anything for love, but I won't do that, no I won't do that..."
"I would do anything for love, anything you've been dreaming of. But I just won't do that..."
"Some days I pray for silence, and some days I pray for soul..."
"Some days I just pray to the god of sex and drugs and rock and roll..."
"As long as the wheels are turning, as long as the fires are burning. As long as your prayers are coming true..."
"YA BETTER BELIEVE IT!"
"That I would do anything for love, and you know it's true and that's a fact. I would do anything for love, and there'll never be no turning back..."
"I would do anything for love, anything you've been dreaming of. But I just won't do that..."
"...I would do anything for love. But I won't do that. No I won't do that..."
"Will you raise me up, will you help me down? Will you get me right out of this godforsaken town? Will you make it all a little less cold?"
"I can do that! I can do that!"
"Will you cater to every fantasy I got? Will ya hose me down with holy water, if I get too HOT? Will you take me places I've never known?"
"I can do that! oh oh now, I can do that!"
"I know the territory, I've been around. It'll all turn to dust and we'll all fall down. And sooner or later, you'll be screwing around..."
"I won't do that! no I won't do that!"
"Anything for love, oh I would do anything for love. I would do anything for love, but I won't do that, no I won't do that!"
Ripp had been right, of course. Johnny did have fun by the time it was all over. They managed to clear a couple of spaces at the bar in the process too, so they decided to take them.
Once seated, with another drink in hand, Ripp started talking about the situation with the General. "Buzz is dating this woman, and now he wants to get re-married. What a stupid fucking idea. He told us over dinner, and then expected us to be happy about it."
"Well, he must be pretty serious about her..."
"Johnny! He never did get divorced. My mother's legally dead, but that doesn't mean she's not alive, does it?"
"Well -"
"Yeah, I know. I know. She's not coming back. I'm not a fucking idiot. But how can he just move on?! I never did! I never stopped loving her - none of us did! She was his wife - our mother! How could he just get over her?"
"But, Ripp... didn't your mother leave him for another man?"
"Of course she went fucking around on him! What else was she going to do?! It's a basic fucking necessity of life! If someone was denying you food, you'd somehow find some, wouldn't you?"
"Well..."
"He married her, Johnny! He made a fucking vow to her to love her forever, and he didn't keep it! He was the one to break it, not Mom! He stopped loving her!"
Johnny just frowned, and began to think about marriage. It was a really big deal, and not something to be taken lightly at all. How was he supposed to make such a huge decision? He pondered his situation until Ripp continued.
"I would never do something that fucking selfish! He never should have married her. I would never, EVER, make a promise like that if I couldn't keep it!"
"But, Ripp..."
"Yeah, I know. I sound like a fucking idiot talking about monogamy - but, Johnny! I'm not fucking stupid enough to think that I could ever promise anyone that! I wouldn't lie about it. To myself, or anyone else. Let's face it. I'll never get married."
"That's weirdly romantic of you, Ripp."
"And now, he's going to try it all over again... and he expects us to just welcome the new girl with open arms. Well, fuck that!"
"I'm feeling pretty messed up, Ripp. You must be completely loaded by now..."
"You can't hold your liquor for shit, Johnny. I guess your alien ancestors probably didn't even know what the fuck alcohol was, so it's okay. Of course, being bred from generations of military dickheads, I hardly have that problem. I mean, yeah, I'm getting pretty fucked up too. I won't lie about it. But I've also been trying a whole lot fucking harder than you have."
"Well, time for another drink..." Ripp said. Johnny tried to steady himself with the handles on the faucet.
Back at bar, Ripp turned to Johnny. "I'll get this one. What do you want?"
"Another gin and tonic?"
"Good choice... better make mine a double, sweetheart."
Things degenerated quickly from that point onward. Like any soaring high, it was destined for a crippling low. It ended in tears.
"God, Johnny." Ripp said. "I didn't drag you out here to get all fucking depressing on you. I just wanted to forget about it."
"It's okay, Ripp."
"I can't deal with this. Why can't my family be more like yours? The General hates me. Tank fucking hates me. Nobody really talks to each other..."
"You can talk to me."
"Well, thank god! I'd go fucking insane. I have Buck, but I hate to burden him. He hates to see us all fighting."
"Say whatever you need to say..."
"It brings me down, Johnny. I thought it would be better once I left home, but no... it doesn't all just fucking disappear. Tank is here, judging me. The General still judges me. I was never fucking good enough for him! I'm a failure. A wasted effort. They think I'm just a burden on them. I can't remember the last time Buzz showed some fucking interest in something I did... I don't think he ever said that he loved me."
"Surely, he did, Ripp -"
"No! God no, Johnny. He didn't. He doesn't... Fuck! Fuck him."
"Ripp..."
"I don't deserve to be loved, Johnny. I'm a fucking terrible person."
"That isn't true."
"It is! I'm awful. I can't even stand myself. I know you think it too..."
"Ripp, no. Yes, I do get irritated sometimes, but I wouldn't be your friend if I didn't think you were worth it."
"Really? You mean it?"
"Sure, I do. And you do deserve to be loved. Don't say that. I love you. You're my best friend."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Thanks, Johnny. I... love... you too. I..."
And with that, Ripp had passed out.
It was surprisingly easy for Johnny to lift Ripp up off the floor and drape him over his shoulder, his long hair trailing down Johnny's back, even with the dead weight of his unconscious body. He carried Ripp to the cab, with his breath heavy on Johnny's neck, and his day-old stubble scratching him uncomfortably. What was much harder for Johnny to shoulder was the dawning knowledge of how deeply troubled his friend really was.
And this was before the General had even disappeared.
( Continue to Chapter 13...)