|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:18 pm
Barnaby Price was on a mission.
This was fairly unusual for our redheaded sidekick, as he usually lacked most forms of motivation, especially when it came to goal setting. But today was different. Today was the day to take action! Get messy! Make mistakes! And all that jazz. Today was the day he was visiting Jude's apartment.
Normally, he wouldn't have gone. He had always given Jude whatever time and space he needed, partially out of respect for him as a friend and partially because he never really knew where the bluenette was half the time. That hadn't changed much, even now that he had a phone and an apartment, but at least now he had somewhere to start. But, getting back to the original point, Barnaby liked to leave things well alone until they sorted themselves out. That was just how he rolled.
But things had changed; rather, Jude's cat had changed. One cat had miraculously become give – though not that miraculously but it had still been rather surprising – and the redhead had been trying for several days to alert his friend of the changes. Trouble was, he wasn't picking up. That left only one option.
"Juuuuuuuude! Open up man!"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:36 pm
Jude Lawson was on a mission, too.
A mission to rot away in his apartment until he lost everything and died on the streets, it seemed.
Barnaby hadn't known it, but he'd called in and told Larry to replace him; he wasn't coming back. The money his brother had lent him would pay for rent for this month and the next, but after that...
After that, he didn't care.
He knew he was going to make things worse--already was--but the willpower it took to give a damn was out of his reach now. He couldn't even care that he didn't care, and what that meant was Aries had been right: he'd completely forgotten who he was.
Psh. As if he'd ever known. With pieces and bits of memories missing in action, how could he be sure Jude Lawson was real? What if all of it had been some fake story made up and substituted for his real memories? Barren Pines had managed it, so what was stopping someone before that from doing the same thing?
When he could, he slept. It was the easiest thing to do. But sometimes he couldn't force himself to anymore, and when that happened he thought about self-destructive subjects. He'd eaten, drank, done other things being human required. All of it was just going through the motions, doing what he had to. He didn't have to answer his phone, so the phone didn't get answered. He didn't have to check his messages, so the messages didn't get checked.
He didn't have to answer the door, so the door wasn't going to be answered. The person standing by it, however...
"What, Barnaby?" Dramatic though it may be to say, Jude sounded as broken as he felt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:51 pm
Had it been anybody else, Barnaby may have sighed dramatically and slipped a note under the door. But this was Jude, and if Jude was having emotional issues then he had to at least try to be there for him. It was what friends did, and he'd made it clear to the bluenette that they'd be friends as long as Jude wanted it. Since he hadn't been laid off, as it were, he had a duty to perform.
"Just open the door. I've got something you should see." Not to mention he owed him for just disappearing off the planet without any kind of warning. Couldn't he pick up his damn phone sometime? It wasn't like he actually had to talk to the redhead. He could have just texted him. You know, brb going to drown myself in the toilet.
"I swear to God I'll sing that damn Jude song if you don't let me in. I have all day."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:55 pm
Jude guessed that 'something' was probably a frog that beat out size record for their latest catch. The huge one they'd found down by the river that was proclaimed the biggest frog ever found and they'd swore to track an even larger beast; except Jude had skipped out on their outing. He'd meant to show Hero that stupid frog at some point, but--
Oh, God damn it.
This was really pathetic.
The down-and-out youth mumbled something Barny couldn't hear, rolled to face the back of the couch and covered his head with a pillow. He stubbornly refused to acknowledge that threat. (Yes, threat.)
Barnaby wouldn't dare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:08 pm
....
"I'm warning you..." The redhead threatened, before staring down at his watch. Jude had five minutes to get his butt to the door before the war began. He was going to make the bluenette regret not answering the door when he knocked. Four minutes to go. Three minutes and if he didn't open the door…
Oh hell, why was he giving him five?
Clearing his throat, Barnaby put on his best British accent and started "singing" (we use that word rather lightly). Truthfully, he was pretty much belting the song out at the top of his lungs, with the added bonus of being incredibly off tune. "HEY JUDE DON'T MAKE IT BAD~ TAKE A SAD SONG AND MAKE IT BETTER~ LALALA TAKE HER INTO YOUR HEART ******** THE WORDS~ AND MAKE IT BETTER~"
Somewhere down the street a cat was probably yowling in response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:18 pm
No matter how much changed, one thing stayed the same: Jude hated that song with every fiber of his being, more than anything in the world.
Much like him, it would never really die. It would live forever through movies focused around it, TV shows that used it inappropriately just because it was a 'classic', and through people like him unlucky enough to be named Jude.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
He wouldn't have told you he wasn't ready to drop dead, but bleeding through the ears was not his preference of ways to go. Torture and self-loathing were two very different things, and he wouldn't wish the yowling of that horrible song on his worst enemy.
The door opened and Jude stared him down. "The accent, Barnaby?" How cruel. "Get in here before someone calls the damn cops." He grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him inside, shutting the door just in time to avoid the nosy old woman across the hall opening hers and peering out to see what all the fuss was about. Not that it mattered; she'd have her own version of what happened regardless of what she saw.
What Barnaby saw was a formerly cozy apartment resembling the scene of a tornado. Everything that could be thrown about or knocked over was thrown about or knocked over. No tornadoes, just one mighty temper tantrum from the guy next to him with messy hair, bloodshot eyes and no shirt.
The carved ZODIAC across his back was still vibrant and red. Hadn't healed just yet.
"What's so important I have to see it right now?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:25 pm
"It's my natural accent," Barnaby countered smoothly, already grinning at his apparent success. He could take being pulled into the apartment like some cheap date the bluenette didn't want his posh neighbours to see. That was cool. At least he was in the apartment and not singing outside of it. Because he wasn't sure he could have kept the song up for much longer. He didn't know many more words after the first verse, save for the "na na na" part, but that was hard to forget.
Somehow, he hadn't been expecting the tornadoed apartment. He really should have expected something, judging from Jude's voice and his reluctance to answer the door. Why he would think Barnaby would care what his apartment looked like the redhead would never know, but he wouldn't say anything. He would just pretend that everything was cool and—woah Jude's eyes were pretty bloodshot. Trippy.
"This." And he shoved his phone in front of Jude's face. On the screen was a picture of the Hero-cat (which Barnaby refused to call Hero and had renamed) with five little fuzzballs. "There are five of them. She didn't get knocked up at my place, swear to God, but she's a hell of a lot skinnier now."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:32 pm
Five of...?
Oh.
Oh s**t.
Jude had taken the phone and moved it away from his face enough he could actually see what was on the screen. Kittens. He'd forgotten all about them until now. Hadn't that been explained to Barnaby? "I thought I told you," he whispered tonelessly, but going back through what memories life allowed him to have, he couldn't find one that supported that.
He rocked back a bit, staring at this one picture with some dazed look of wonder for reasons he didn't know. Too much sleep, too much beer, too much or too little of something was to blame.
"They're so small," he added. "There's a runt?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:39 pm
The redhead shook his head, biting his lip to avoid grinning any wider at Jude's reaction. "Naw, I must have missed that memo. Sorry about that." It was probably his fault anyways. He'd probably been too caught up in the whole 'be an emotional rock' business to hear the bit about the cat being pregnant. Or Jude had just forgotten to tell him. Regardless, there were kittens, and it was imperative that Jude knew they were born. Knowing him he'd probably want to name them.
Wait, scratch that. He was not naming any of them. Barnaby would not have five Hero Jr's running around his house. That was just lame.
"Yeah, there's a runt. Tiny little sucker. I didn't think he would make it, but there he is. Cute as …" Oops. No need to gush about the kittens. Barnaby cleared his throat and stuck his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. "There's more pictures. You can scroll and look at them. I took lots."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:47 pm
"How do you know it's a boy?" Jude wasn't talking very loudly at all, but he was talking none the less. He kicked whatever was in his way well out of it on the long strides to the couch. He sat on one end, leaning forward to examine the gallery of photos so that Barnaby got a clear view of at least the "Z" sprawled across his flesh by an eerily steady hand.
"I think it's a girl." Jude didn't know anymore about how to accurately estimate the gender of newborn kittens than Barny, but he knew all about runts. They reminded him of himself, for one thing; he, too, was a baby too small no one thought would make it.
The people who raised pigs and hunting dogs tended to kill their runts for the 'good of the litter' back home. Eventually, he'd ended up with a reputation for taking them under his wing as more merciful alternative. They almost never made it, but the ones that did were reminders as to why he bothered trying.
"They're cute." His face was something almost a smile when he looked back up at his friend. "Thank you. For watching them."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:59 pm
Barnaby, too, made his way over to the couch and settled on the opposite arm. "How do I know? I dunno. I just guessed. I'll have to have the vet look when he checks them out or something." Right, that needed to go on his to do list. He had a feeling Jude might never forgive him if he let one of the kittens die, especially now that he knew of their existence. That and he probably wouldn't have been able to forgive himself.
The almost smile came as a bit of a surprise, but it sparked a tiny flare of relief in the redhead. Jude looked terrible, but at least he was still talking and smiling. There was some life left in him, at least, or the kittens had brought some of it back. Must have been one of the magical powers of cute furry animals. "It's not a problem. Never a problem. You know that."
Trying to sound offhand – and avoiding looking at the marks on his back by picking at a corner of the sofa – Barnaby said, "You look like s**t, man, not gonna lie. What've you been doing?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:05 pm
The vet probably wouldn't be able to tell what they were this young, Jude thought. How many weeks would it be before he could? He was trying to remember everything he knew about puppies and piglets to aid him when Barnaby asked what needed to be asked.
Jude had a lot of friends here and there, and they would have offered him some sympathy. Some of them might have even taken in his cat if he asked. But Barny was a real friend, and as a real friend, he said what needed to be said even if Jude didn't want to hear it. Or talk about it. Or think about it with him there.
"Got in a fight with Captain Aries over some stuff." Did he dare go on? "Captain Aries and Hero are the same person." He did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:13 pm
Barnaby winced, grimacing as he pulled a little too hard on a loose string. Girlfriend troubles. Great. Had he said something like 'the Colts lost again' or 'I accidentally flushed my iPod down the toilet' the redhead would have been able to offer him some kind of advice (or at the very least, beer so they could drink away their sorrows together).
As it stood, the best thing he could come up with was a very apologetic, "Tough luck, man. That's not cool."
It sounded super lame, even for him, but what else was he supposed to say? There are other fish in the sea? Something told him that was about the last thing Jude wanted to hear from him. For several moments there was nothing but a semi-awkward silence. Finally, Barnaby's eyes darted up to Jude, traced the line of the 'Z' on his back and then casually made their way back to his friend's face. "I can go pick up a six pack." There was an unsaid 'if you want' at the end.
He wouldn't bring up Jude's back. Hell, it was something he didn't really want to touch with a ten foot pole, but he hoped that his look would at least convey his willingness to help Jude deal in whatever way he could.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:27 pm
Tough luck or no luck. That's all the Lawson boys get. Don't whine like a girl, Jude.
Looking back on that conversation, he had to consider the possibility calling his brother was unwise. He'd helped him, given him shelter and food and, of course, the money to help maintain the first two. But he'd also given him a heavy dose of honesty-as had Samantha-that he wasn't ready for.
He'd never be ready, and he had to face the music sometime. (But it better not be that song or he'd throw himself out the window. Nevermind he lived on the first floor. He'd find a way.)
"What would your mother say if she heard that, Barnaby?" Jude reached to the side of the sofa and picked up the six pack there like he'd just summoned it from thin air. He hadn't. The beer bottles clanked together as he plopped them on the table, followed by both feet. "I'm still good far as that goes, but I appreciate the offer."
Friends who get wasted together, stay together.
Er... yeah.
Talking to someone so simple-minded (and he meant that in the most broffection of ways) about your problems could be as frustrating as the problems themselves, but alas, Barny was all he really had since he and Leo had clearly misunderstood one another. "No, that was for the better. Hero is... rich."
Yes, rich. That alone was why it wouldn't work. Because she was rich.
"And smarter than me."
Somewhat more true.
"And her friends hate me."
Very true.
"And I was ruining her life, I think."
Painfully true.
"That's not even it, it's just... there's something wrong with us."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:38 pm
"My mother would tell me to make sure I had a designated driver or I was staying over somewhere." The redhead snorted softly, though not entirely disdainfully, parroting the words that his mother had told him when he'd turned fifteen. Be responsible with yourself. And he had been, if only because he knew what losing her only son would do to his mother. Not that he hadn't done his share of stupid things in the past, but he liked to think he was smarter now.
Leaning against the back of the sofa, Barnaby let his gaze slide to the ceiling while Jude talked, not wanting to put him on the spot by staring at him. He was listening, of course, just not looking and listening. There was a distinctive difference.
"Wrong enough to make her do crazy s**t?" Like your back, the redhead wanted to say, but he didn't. Don't directly touch the taboo topics unless Jude brings them up first. That was how he was playing this ball game. Pillowing his hands behind his head, he shot his friend another look before he asked, "You like her that much, huh?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
