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noladyme · 4 years

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Skip To My Lou, My Darling - Chapter 4, Hunted Hunter II

The road so far…

3 years after having said goodbye to him, Dean Winchester drops back into Lulu’s life – leviathans hot at both the Winchesters and Lulu’s heels. She skips town with the brothers, narrowly avoiding being eaten by a creature none of them know how to kill yet; and must now face her feelings for the eldest brother – feelings she does not completely trust.

Our story continues in season 7

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We made it to a motel outside Seward, and checked in to a room with twin beds and a pull-out couch. The woman at the reception gave me a hard look, as if she was seriously judging my life choices. As it was, I was questioning them myself.

Having taken small roads, it was well past time for lunch, and Dean’s eyes lit up when he noticed a combined bar and restaurant across the street from the motel. Inside, a young waitress pulled her shoulders back to perk out her chest, when she saw Sam and Dean enter. Clearly not having counted on me being with them, she almost seemed surprised when I followed them all to a booth in a corner; sitting myself beside Sam, with Dean across from us. Giving me a dissatisfied look; she quickly turned on a sweet smile, and pulled out a pad. “What can I get you guys?”, she asked. “What’s the biggest burger you have?”, Dean smiled. “That’d be our XXL-Whomper”, the waitress said. “Give me that with fries. And a beer. Whatever you have on tap”, he winked at her. She seemed enthralled by his gesture, and I didn’t blame her.

After taking Sam’s order of a salad and a diet coke, the girl turned to me. “And the lady?”, she said; her smile not reaching her eyes. “Cheeseburger and jalapeño poppers. Ranch on the side”, I muttered. “To drink?”. I considered ordering a row of shots, but halted myself. “Bud… or whatever you have”. “Coming right up”, the waitress smiled at Dean.

I looked towards the bar, where a tired looking tender was taking orders from truckers. “Considering a dance?”, Dean smirked. “Seriously, I could give you boost, and get you right up there”. “Maybe later”, I grumbled. I shifted in my seat. “I need clothes”. Dean shrugged. “You’re dressed”, he said, and looked over my outfit, consisting of my least favorite jeans – they were too tight – and t-shirt, under my jacket. “I didn’t exactly bring a spare set of underwear, when you kidnapped me”, I said. “And I don’t have any money either, so I’m thinking that laundromat we passed might be my next stop. Must be something I can snatch up”.

The waitress sauntered back towards us with our drinks; swaying her hips as much as possible. She set down the drink; leaning forward to give Dean full view of her assets – ignoring Sam and me completely. I supposed this was because we sat next to each other, and she thought Dean was available. Which he is, I reminded myself.

“You can’t go alone. And you don’t need to steal”, Sam said quietly, as the waitress walked away. “We have cash”, Dean said, and took a sip of his beer. I shook my head. “I can’t take your money”, I muttered. Dean smirked, and pushed a black purse across the table. “I snatched the other me’s wallet, while you were busy grabbing your jacket”, he said. “He won’t miss it”. I frowned. “Is he dead? The guy he’s possessing, that looks like you?”. Sam shook his head. “They don’t possess people, they become them… sort of”. “And they don’t die easily… We haven’t figured out how to gank them yet”.

I raised my brows into a worried expression. “That sounds disconcerting”, I said. Sam smiled at me. “We just have to steer clear of them for now”, he said. Dean reached out and took my hand. “You’re gonna be fine, Lou”. I snatched my hand back, a bit more abruptly than I had planned. Dean narrowed his eyes for a second. “I’ll check out the second-hand store down the street, then”, I said. “And the Walmart. I’m not wearing other people’s underwear”. Sam chuckled.

“How did you guys know to come get me?”, I asked, and took a sip from my beer. “We know a guy with a computer”, Dean smirked. “Apparently Sammy decided to ask him to keep track of you”. I shook my head. “No, that was Bobby”. Dean narrowed his eyes at me. “Huh… Well, he must have kept it up after Bobby died, because he called us. Said there were irregularities on your accounts. Like they had been logged into from a different computer, than the one you’d usually use”. I frowned. “That’s enough to have you kick down my door?”, I muttered. Sam shrugged. “These days, yeah. The leviathans have been tracking all our fake cards and movements”. “It’s why we’re stuck driving that suburban-mom nightmare out there”, Dean grunted with distaste in his voice. “I miss my baby…”. Sam rolled his eyes. “We figured they’d be coming for you as soon as they could find you. Maybe change into you, and get to us like that”.

“So, what happens now?”, I asked. “You’re still working a case. Ghosts don’t quit because leviathans decide to go on a rampage”. “We set you up in the motel; and then Sam and me go talk to the widow of the electrocuted guy”. Sam clenched his jaw. “We should probably take Lulu with us”, he muttered. “As long as we don’t know if they’re still on her trail, she’s safer around us”. Dean looked at his brother incredulously. “Hunting? No”, he said; and looked up at the waitress who was returning with our order. “Thank you”, he smiled at her; making the girl blush.

Once she was gone, Sam leaned in over the table. “It’s not hunting. It’s… groundwork”, he said quietly. “When was the last time groundwork turned out to just be groundwork for us, Sammy?”, Dean grunted. “It’s never safe out there”. “You think I’ll be better of in a motel room, on my own?”, I muttered. Dean smiled at me. “You have that .45 and your angel sword. That wallet I gave you has quarters for the magic-fingers. Knock yourself out!”. He took a big bite of his burger.

---

Two hours later we pulled up at a generic looking house, with a white picket fence. In the back of the car stood a bag of fresh clothes for me – but at the moment, I was wearing a black t-shirt, slacks and a grey blazer.

“This is so stupid, Sam. She should not be here!”, Dean grumbled. “She can hear you; and she’d prefer it if you didn’t treat her like a child”, I sneered. He turned and looked at me; his eyes ablaze, and the red stripes on his tie matching the redness of his flushed cheeks. “You, stay in the car”, he said menacingly. “Nope”, I smiled. He cursed below his breath, and got out of the car; Sam following him, after having given me an apologetic look.

I tried to open my own door, but couldn’t. “Child safety lock”, Dean called; before slamming his door shut. “Oh, come on!”, I yelled angrily. Dean waved at me, and walked up the small path to the house.

I rolled down my window, and put my arm out of it; opening the car from the outside. When he heard the door slam, Dean turned around, and gave me a frustrated look. Sam simply stifled a grin. “Shut it”, Dean grunted; as I joined them in front of the door.

Sam rang the doorbell, and a slight mousy looking woman opened the door. “Yes?”, she said. “Mrs. Harper?”, Dean said. “My name is Mick Green; and this is my partner – Doug Sandom. We’re with the insurance company”. The woman frowned. “I already talked to you people earlier this week”, she muttered, and began to close the door. “Ma’am, this is just to cross the t’s and dot the i’s”, Sam said; going full puppy dog in his expression.

The woman looked towards me. Dean clenched his jaw. “This is our… trainee…”, he muttered. “Joan Larkin, ma’am. I’m so sorry for your loss”. I stretched out my hand to shake hers. “Please, we’ll only take a moment of your time”. I smiled softly at her. She looked tired and sad, and I felt sorry for her. She stepped aside. “Please, come in”.

After some preliminary pleasantries, Mrs. Harper went into the kitchen for some drinks. “She has hair”, I whispered smilingly, from my seat between the brothers. Dean rolled his eyes.

Once the woman was seated in front of us, Sam smiled comfortingly at her. “I understand this is a difficult time, ma’am. We just need to clear up some things”. “Then – after – will you pay out his life insurance?”, Mrs. Harper asked. Dean smiled. “We’ll try to get things in motion”, he lied.

“Now, your husband died in the bathtub, as I understand?”, Sam said. The widow nodded. “It was the weirdest thing. One moment I’m grabbing him a towel in the hallway, and the next, he’s screaming bloody murder… and then everything smelled like boiled ham”. I winced for a second. Dean looked at me, and cleared his throat. “And… there was a toaster in the water?” Mrs. Harper nodded.

I looked over the room. There were numerous pictures of the woman herself alongside a burly looking man with a receding hairline. The widow took a handkerchief from her pocket, and patted her tear stained cheeks. “I know what this looks like. The police came by, and even they thought…”. Sam took a deep breath. “Ma’am, it’s not our place to judge; but were you and your husband having any issues? You mentioned your life insurance”, he asked softly. Mrs. Harpers eyes widened. “No! Not like that. We needed money, but I would never…”, the woman sobbed. “Rob was my world”. She blew her nose fiercely.

“Have you noticed anything weird around the house?”, Dean asked; his voice dark. “Any… cold spots?”. Mrs. Harper frowned. “Why would there be cold spots?”. Dean seemed surprised by the question. “Well, I…”. “It’s a normal insurance question, ma’am”, I intruded. “Cold spots may indicate electrical issues in the walls”. The woman’s eyes widened. “Really?”, she gasped. “Yeah, really?”, Dean muttered. I stepped on his foot. The woman looked around her, and shrugged. “I-i don’t think so”, she said.

“May I use your facilities, Mrs. Harper?”, Sam smiled. The woman shrugged. “There’s only the one upstairs; where Rob…”. She sighed. “Go ahead”. Dean downed his glass of water. “Do you mind?”, he smiled, handing Mrs. Harper the glass. “It’s been a long drive”. She nodded, and went into the kitchen, leaving Dean and me alone in the room.

“You, don’t talk!”, he hissed at me. I made a huffing sound. “I saved your ass. Just like when you were in Yankton”. He looked straight into my eyes menacingly. “Just, keep your mouth closed”, he muttered. I narrowed my eyes at him, and smirked. “Then, give it something better to do”, I whispered.

I only realized what I’d said, when Deans eyes widened, and his lips parted. “I’ll go wait in the car”, I croaked, and left the house as swiftly as I could.

I leant against the car, and took a deep breath. I hadn’t meant to say what I had – or maybe I had. Dean had talked about choosing to be together or not; but I didn’t know if he meant it, or felt compelled to mean it.

A few moments later, the brothers joined me outside; Sam looking questioningly at my flushed face. “You ok?”, he muttered. “I’m fine”, I whispered. Dean looked everywhere but at me. “Lulu…”, Sam began. “She said she’s fine. Let’s go”, Dean grumbled.

---

Back at the motel, I grabbed some clean clothes; and sprang for the bathroom – getting into the shower. I turned on the cold water, and let it flow over my body, as I took deep breaths to calm myself. I felt so embarrassed.

When I met Dean, I was a kid, just out of college; working my first adult job. Even as I had stood in front of him then, I’d felt a deep connection – one that seemed important, and older than time. Two years later, when he’d informed me that angels had put us together – and not true emotion – I’d been destroyed. I’d even decided that I didn’t care; that I wanted him in my life. But he’d made it clear the he believed what we had wasn’t real – and we shouldn’t be together. And I’d moved on – at least I’d told myself that I had. Now he was in my life again, not only as my protector; but also with the door to his heart ajar – as if he wanted me to step inside again.

But I didn’t know if I wanted him. Not truly anyway. Because if it wasn’t real, what was the point? But then, why did I flirt with him?, I asked myself. And in such a juvenile way?. I put my hands against the wall, leaning my forehead to the cold tile.

There was a knock on the door. “Lou, don’t use up all the hot water”, Dean grunted from the other side. “Taking a cold shower”, I called back. Crap! Shut up!, I told myself. “Sounds… refreshing. Sam’s grabbing dinner”. “Ok. I’ll be right out”, I croaked.

I got dressed in clean underwear, a tank top, and a pair of comfortable sweatpants; which made me look frumpy enough to be comfortable with being in a room with Dean alone. I stepped outside, and began drying my hair with a towel.

“Sorry I was riding you so hard”, Dean said quietly. I forced myself not to think up any jokes about riding. “I get it”, I muttered. “You’re the professionals”. I added the s to make the sentence about both of them, and not just him. He nodded. “Yeah… You did good though”. “I didn’t say a lot”, I whispered. “No, but you did get me out of a tricky question”, he admitted. “Caught me off guard, is all”. “Sorry”, I said.

He sat down next to me: “I’m trying to say thank you”, he muttered. “Welcome”, I whispered. “When is Sam back?”. Dean shrugged disinterestedly. “He went for Chinese. Hope that’s ok”. “It’s fine”, I said, and stood up to hang the towel over a chair.

I heard him stand up behind me. “Lou… are you uncomfortable being alone with me?”, Dean breathed. I didn’t know what to say; but turned half way around, and looked at him from the corner of my eye. “I’m not gonna… do anything”, he said. “Unless you want me to”, he added with a nervous smirk.

I sighed. “Look… What you said back on that road… It was just a lot”, I said. “I know”, he muttered. “But I meant it. I need you to know that”. “Dean… I don’t know what to do with that information”, I responded. “You told me what we had wasn’t real. And I didn’t care… for the longest time, I just didn’t care. Even after Pete…”. His expression grew sad. “But?”. I chewed my lip. “You didn’t come back for me. And I didn’t really have any way to get into contact with you. Bobby wasn’t exactly forthcoming with your whereabouts while you were with… Lisa”. He looked down. “She and Ben… they picked me up from the ground. Helped me regain sanity again”, he said. “But they were never mine. And I wasn’t theirs”.

Our eyes met, and his lips parted. I wanted to run into his arms – and I wanted to run out of the door. “Because of me…”, I whispered. “Yeah… because of you”. I took in a stuttering breath. “Because I was made for you. Forced upon you”. He shook his head in frustration. “No, Lou…”. “That’s what you said”, I breathed. “The perfect mate, right? All I need to do now, is wait for Michael to gain entry; and then get to the business of popping out a few Nephilim, isn’t that it?”. “What’s a Nephilim?”, Dean grunted. I shook my head. “Read a book”, I muttered.

Dean clenched his jaw, and put his hands on the back of one of the chairs, leaning against it. His whole body was tense; and everything inside me screamed for me to take him in my arms, and comfort him. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I know you’d never say yes”. He shook his head. “It’s fine… It’s in the past”.

He ran his thumb over his lower lip, and chuckled to himself. “If someone had told me a year ago, I’d be alone in a room with you like this, I would have slapped them silly…”. “Why?”, I half smiled. He took a step towards me. “Because I wanted to forget you”, he said; letting go of the chair. “Up until Fate”. “When you found out you still had free will”, I whispered. “And what do you want to do with it?”.

He looked at me with warm eyes. They spoke of us, together. “Oh…”, I muttered. “You don’t…”, he said grimly, and looked down again. “I don’t know what I want. I’m… confused”, I admitted. “I want something real… Even if I choose you; is it really a choice? If I was made to feel the things I do?”. He nodded. “I get it… It’s was I was thinking back then”, he said. “But you do feel it… don’t you?”. “Yes…”, I whispered. “I just wish I believed it was real”.

He stepped over to me, and placed his hand on my cheek. I leant into it, and closed my eyes as his thumbs gently stroked my temple. I put my hand on his chest, and he leaned his forehead to mine. “Please believe”, he whispered through slightly parted lips. I tilted my head slightly upwards, and felt his warm breath against my face, just before his lips brushed mine. I drew in a short breath, and closed my eyes as we pressed our lips together; as in quiet understanding, that this was the time.

Deans arm snaked around my waist, and he pulled me close, and I felt him smile against my lips. I screamed at myself to accept it. Accept that what was happening between us was real emotion – true feelings – but his words from years before still rang in my head. It’s too perfect… You’re like made for me…

I pulled back. “I’m sorry”, I whispered. “I can’t”. He instantly stepped away from me, giving me space. “I’m so sorry”, I croaked.

Sam stepped through the door with a large paper bag. “Hey. Got food”, he smiled. I slid on my boots, and grabbed my coat. “I need some air”, I muttered, and walked out the door, closing it behind me.

---

I walked down the road; avoiding the streetlights as if they were spotlights searching for me. “Cass… if you’re out there… Please help me. I need to know the truth”, I whimpered to myself. As I’d expected, no angel came to my rescue. I was alone – and by choice.

My phone rang in my pocket. I looked at the screen, before picking up the call. “Pete…”, I croaked. “Hey, Lulu… You sound sad”, he said. “What’s wrong?”. “I’m… I don’t know. I miss…”. I didn’t know what to say. Bobby. Castiel. Dean. “I know, I miss you too”, Pete breathed. “Where are you?”. “Nebraska”, I said. “I didn’t know you had family in Nebraska?”, he said. “I don’t have…”, I began. “A lot of family, I know”, Pete said. “You don’t really have any family; do you…? You’re all alone in the world”. I shook my head, and stopped just before a ring of light under a street lamp. “What are you talking about?”, I said. “Who really cares about you, Lou?”. His voice became deeper – more gravely. It was Deans voice now. “No one really loves you. Not with their own free will, anyway…”. My breath hitched. “Who is this?”, I asked. “Someone who knows the truth… Your purpose in life. To belong to someone else… not truly your own. Do you think he would choose you if he wasn’t compelled to?”. “I-i don’t…”, I whimpered; tears beginning to stream down my cheeks. “Are you crying…? Of course, you are. It’s hard hearing the truth. I know what he really feels. He wishes he didn’t want you. He knows he’d never care if he wasn’t forced to”. “Why are you saying these things?”, I croaked. “To keep you on the line, so we can track your phone…”.

I hung up, and threw my phone down on the road; stomping on it until it broke into pieces.

I ran back towards the motel; seeing the station wagon driving towards me. It halted a few yards from me, and Sam sprang out of the driver’s seat. “Lulu!”, he yelled. “You can’t run off like that. It’s not safe…”. “They tracked my phone. They’re coming for us!”, I yelled, and threw myself into the passenger’s seat. Sam sprang in after me, and drove back to the motel.

Inside the room, Dean was seated on one of the beds, drinking from a bottle of beer. When he saw me, his eyes instantly diverted. “Pack up. They tracked us”, Sam growled. Dean jumped up from the bed, and grabbed his things. I snatched my new second hand backpack – filled with my new and old clothes – and all three of us ran out the door.

“Call Garth. Have him take over the case here”, Dean growled. “We go west”. “Where?”, Sam asked, as we were all seated in the car. Dean started the engine. “San Francisco”, he grunted; sending me a look in the mirror. It was just a second, but his eyes spoke a thousand words; some of which I knew where I’m sorry. You’ll never have to see me again. He sped down the road, and out of town.

I closed my eyes, and sighed. “Just get me to a bus station”, I said. Sam turned to look at me. “Lulu, no! We can’t do that”, he retorted. “I’ll be fine. Stay out of sight… I know the deal”, I grunted. Sam shook his head. “Look, we’ll find somewhere else. Go on lockdown…”. “They’re using me to get to you!”, I yelled. “I’m no safer with you than anywhere else; but you’re in more danger if I stick around”. “Lulu…”, Sam began.

“She’s right, Sammy”, Dean said calmly; eyes still on the road. “We’ll take you as far as Iowa. Get out of the state; and find a bus station”. Sam looked at his brother incredulously. “And then she just goes to San Francisco?”, Sam asked. “No”, I muttered. “I can’t put that on Raul… Not now”. Sam looked back at me. “Where, then?”, he growled. “Better if you don’t know. I’m a weakness”, I said. “You’re protecting me because you think you have to”. Dean looked at me again in the mirror. This time his expression read as disagreeing, but he didn’t say anything.

Sam grimaced in frustration. “I’ll call Frank. Have him wire some money”. He grabbed a map from the glove compartment. “Rock Port. We’ll take you there”, he grunted.

---

Five hours later I was standing in a bus station in Iowa; my backpack at my feet, and my head full of all the information the Winchesters could give me on leviathans. Sam handed we a wad of cash, a map; and a credit card in the name of Keith Moon. “Only use it in emergencies. They tracked most of our cards”. He pulled me into his arms, and held on to me tightly. “And this…”. He pulled a flip phone from his pocket. “There’s only one number on there. Jody Mills”. “The sheriff?”, I asked. “She knows how to get a hold of us if needed”, Sam muttered, and gave me the phone. “And remember what I told you about Borax”. “I’ll be fine”, I lied. He pulled me in for another hug; and I buried my face in his shoulder – having to stand on my toes to reach it. “Thanks”, I whispered, and pulled away from him.

Dean was stood a few paces away; looking at us. Sam wiped away a tear I hadn’t known was there; and I realized I was crying as well. Sam walked back towards the station wagon, and Dean came over to me.

“I’m sorry”, he said earnestly. “Seems all I do is steamroll into your life, and turn it upside down”. “My life in Kansas City wasn’t exactly picture perfect”, I replied. “And you had to, right?”. He shook his head. “I don’t care if I did…”, he breathed. “But you do… And I get it. Maybe some day you’ll…”. He let out a deep breath. “Just be happy, ok?”, he said. I tried for a smile, but it turned into saddened frown. “You too…”, I croaked. “I really wish…”. “I know”, Dean whispered.

I took his hand, and put it to my cheek. “If this was real, I’d kiss you right now”, I breathed, and looked into his warm eyes. He raised a brow at me. “If you’d just believe this was real, I’d have you naked in the nearest motel room”, he smirked. I glared at him. “Sorry…”, he smiled more softly.

“I’m gonna miss you, Fred”, I smiled. “Goodbye, Velma”, he replied. I leant in and kissed his cheek; when his arms folded around me, and he leant in to whisper into my ear. “Save a dance for me, Lou… I’ll lie awake”. He kissed my temple, and let go of me; walking away.

---

I went east for a while, moving towards Chicago; and leaving a trail of credit card receipts. At a diner outside Des Moines, the tv showed a news report about grave robberies in Seward, Nebraska. An insurance agent from the 60’s had been dug up, and for some strange reason, his bones had been burnt. Whoever Garth was, he wasn’t very good at covering his tracks.

On a bus towards Cedar Rapids, I noticed a car trailing behind; taking the same stops and turns as the bus. As I’d planned, they’d tracked me. At the next stop, I dropped the credit card in the lap of a guy who looked like he’d probably use a stolen card. I ran for the station’s bathroom, and hid out for a while; before going back outside, and hitching a ride south.

Nowhere, Oklahoma. The name sprang into my eyes as I looked over the map my giant of a friend had given me. It was tiny. Perfect. I’d needed to disappear, and what place better than a place where the name was literally an answer to where I was. Where is she? You’ll find her Nowhere.

I had to take several busses, and hitched another ride with a creepy looking trucker, who ditched me on the side of the road, when I wouldn’t put out. In the end, I made it to Nowhere. In my backpack I had my clothes, a bottle of ready mixed Borax, a toothbrush; and some drugstore makeup and hair dye.

With no motel in the town, I searched out the nearest bar. The eager looking bartender greeted me cheerfully. I asked about work in the area, and he instantly offered me a job as a waitress – his former one having skipped town the week before. “You don’t need experience. Just don’t trip over your own feey when you serve the beers”, my new boss had smiled. There was a small room above the bar; and I accepted a pay cut to be able to stay there.

I lined the windowsill and the bottom of the door with salt, and stuck my gun into the back of my jeans – before grabbing an apron, and getting to work.

---

3 months later.

The stretch of road in front of them looks like every other they travel. At least he’s back in his baby; who is purring beautifully from under the hood. His brother is there next to him, as usual – their relationship somewhat good at the moment. Having the angel reappear in their lives was a surprise; one that he’s not sure how to feel about yet; but he’s at least happy he’s alive. Counting out the Dick made of black goo; things would be all right, if something wasn’t missing.

There is a hole inside him – one that only one person has been able to fill – and she’s gone.

Sam’s phone rings, and he picks it up. “Yeah… Jody? Give me a sec…”. He presses a button. “You’re on speaker”. “Hey guys… I just got a weird call from someone claiming to be your friend”, the sheriff says. He frowns, and looks at the phone. “They give you a name?”, he asks. “No, nothing. She just said to let you know there was a Borax incident in Nowhere”. “Nowhere?”, Sam asks. “Yeah. Nowhere, Oklahoma. She sounded like she was in a rush. She said; Keith Moon went to Chicago. Velma washed floors in Nowhere, when a guy’s feet started melting… Does any of this make any sense to you?”. Dean and Sam send each other a look. “Yeah, it makes sense. Thanks, Jody”, Sam says, and hangs up.

Dean clenches his fingers around the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turn white. “She wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important”, his brother mutters. “I know”, he grunts. “How far is Nowhere?”. “Oklahoma City’s about 10 hours away, if we skip breaks for food”. He steps down harder on the pedal, and the engine roars; speeding up down the road.

8 hours later they are standing in a bar in a small town about 40 miles outside Oklahoma City. A waitress brushes up against Dean with a bright smile, as she nabs a tray of drinks from a tired looking bartender, who is answering their questions. “No, sir. No deaths or accidents around here. Unless you count me losing my favorite waitress, as an accident”, the bartender says. He looks with tired eyes at the waitress, who is now on her way to serve some patrons in a booth. She trips over her own feet, and drops the tray on the floor. “Whoopsies!”, the young woman smiles. She bends down as seductively as she can, and looks over her shoulder at Dean. If it hadn’t been for... He dismisses the thought. The last time he tried to use a one night stand to get over her, he’d ended up a baby-daddy to a monster.

The bartender rolls his eyes. “Good help is hard to find”. He frowns at the man. “She go missing?”, he asks. The bartender shrugs in response. “I think she just skipped town with some guy…”.

Sam clears his throat in that worried way he does, when he thinks something is terribly wrong. Dean can’t help but feel the same way. “What makes you think she skipped town?”, Sam asks. “Well, she was a good enough girl, but she never seemed really happy here; you know?”, the bartender says. “Three days ago, she was helping me close up – washing the floors – when this guy comes in, and walks over to her”. “What did he look like?”, Dean asks. “Fedora, leather jacket…”, the bartender begins. “Too tight jeans?”, Dean interrupts. The bartender nods. “I went to put away some bottles out back, and when I returned, they were both gone”.

Sam’s eyes catch something on the floor. “Excuse me; but what is that over there?”, he asks; and points towards two foot-shaped markings on the floor. The bartender shrugs. “I have no idea. It was there when she left. Looks like something melted into the floor, right? I haven’t been able to get it off”. Sam goes over to look at the markings; and pokes at them with a pen. Dean joins his brother, and instantly recognizes the goo. He swallows hard. “Try Borax”, he says over his shoulder to the bartender. The man chuckles. “That’s what Velma always used”.

Dean turns around, furrowing his brow. “That was her name?”, he asks. The bartender nods. Sam stands up, and walks back to the counter. “Where was she staying?”, he asks. “Just upstairs”, the tender responds.

They go up to a small rom with a single bed, a wardrobe and a table. “What was that thing about what the guy looked like?”, Sam asks. “What does it matter?”. Dean frowns. “He was impersonating the ex… Pete”, he responds. “You worried she’d believe it? Go with him?”, Sam says. “She’s too smart for that”, Dean grunts, with a crooked smile. “But she might have tried to fight”. The thought of this sends chills down his spine. She’s smart, knows so much – but he doesn’t think she’s strong enough for a fight like that. He knows she’s not.

They begin searching the room for any clue as to where she might have gone, or the leviathan might have taken her. “Dean…”, Sam says. He joins his brother by the bed. There are what looks like dried blood on the sheet; which has been shredded. He swallows hard. “She might be…”, Sam begins. “Don’t”, Dean says. “She’s not…”. He feels a mixture of rage and sorrow build up; just as it did when Bobby… But this is different. Bobby was a hunter. Lou… He brought this on her. They used her to get to him.

He turns around, walks over to the small wardrobe, and slams his fist into the door – the wood of it breaking from the sheer force. “We’ll find her”, Sam says quietly. “At least give her a hunter’s burial”. Dean closes his eyes, and lets out a deep breath.

“Uhm, fellas’?. The waitress is standing outside the door; holding up a phone. “Is one of you John Osbourne?”. Dean opens his eyes. “Why?”, he calls. “I got a phone call here for you. Some lady…”. She smiles sweetly at him, and bites her lip, as he nabs the phone from her. She walks down the stairs again, swaying her hips.

“Hello?”, Dean breathes. “Dean…”. He lets out a sigh of relief. Her voice still makes his heart leap, and sends warm waves of joy through him. “Lou…”. Sam’s eyes light up. What?, he mouths. “Are you ok?”, Dean asks. “I’m… yeah”. “There was blood… I thought…”. “Just a scratch. I found someone to stitch me up. Don’t worry”. He can hear the smile in her voice, reminding him of the face she’d make every time he kissed her. Except for the last time… “Where are you?”, he demands. “I can’t tell you. You know that…”. She sighs. “Dean, I left something there… I didn’t know what to do with it”. He frowns. “What?”. “In the wardrobe… There’s a box”. Dean gestures towards the broken wardrobe door, and Sam goes to open it. He grimaces in confusion, as he pulls out a cardboard box; which seems to have some weight to it.

“Don’t open it around anyone…”, she says. Dean closes the door to the hallway; and walks over to the box; which Sam has placed on the bed. Dean gently opens the lid of the box, and lets out a short breath. Sam’s expression is one of pure marvel.

“Can you�� get rid of it for me?”, she asks. “How the hell did you manage this?”, Dean asks, as he looks down into the box; meeting the eyes of a fedora hat wearing head. “I picked up some tricks along the way”. This time he hears her smirk; that annoying, yet endearing expression that always sends heat straight to… Another time, another place, Dean, he thinks to himself. He clears his throat. “We’ll take care of it”, he says quietly. He closes his eyes, and sees her face in front of him. “Please tell me where you are, Lou…” “No, Dean. I’m sorry. You and me… I can’t. Not if it’s not real”.

He clenches his jaw. “What are you gonna do now?”, he asks. “You wouldn’t like the answer…”, she responds. He opens his eyes. “No, sweetheart. That’s not an option”, he grunts. “You’re way out of your league there…”. He hears her chuckle. “A few salt and burns here and there for practice”, she says. “I’ll be fine. And you can focus on the leviathans”. “Lou, no!”. Sam looks at him questioningly. He looks at his brother with hard eyes. “Kick their asses for me, ok?”. “Lou!”, Dean yells. She’s hung up.

He throws the phone on the bed in frustration. “What happened?”, Sam mutters. “Where is she?” Dean lets out a deep breath. “Lou’s on a hunting trip… and she won’t be home in a few days”.

---

#dean winchester #dean winchester x oc #dean x oc #dean winchester fic #supernatural fic #supernatural #sam winchester

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silent-era-of-cinema · 4 years

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Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s.

Arthur had feature roles in three Frank Capra films: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), films that championed the "everyday heroine". Arthur was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1944 for her performance in The More the Merrier (1943).

James Harvey wrote in his history of the romantic comedy: "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur. So much was she part of it, so much was her star personality defined by it, that the screwball style itself seems almost unimaginable without her." She has been called "the quintessential comedic leading lady". Her last film performance was non-comedic, playing the homesteader's wife in George Stevens's Shane in 1953.

Arthur was known as a reclusive woman. News magazine Life observed in a 1940 article: "Next to Garbo, Jean Arthur is Hollywood's reigning mystery woman." As well as recoiling from interviews, she avoided photographers and refused to become a part of any kind of publicity.

Arthur was born Gladys Georgianna Greene in Plattsburgh, New York, to Protestant parents, Johanna Augusta Nelson (1871–1959) and Hubert Sidney Greene (1863–1944).[7] Gladys' Lutheran maternal grandparents immigrated from Norway to the American West after the Civil War. Her Congregationalist paternal ancestors immigrated from England to Rhode Island in the second half of the 1600s. During the 1790s, Nathaniel Greene helped found the town of St. Albans, Vermont, where his great-grandson, Hubert Greene, was born on September 1, 1863.

Johanna and Hubert were married in Billings, Montana, on July 7, 1890. Gladys's three older brothers—Donald Hubert Greene (1890–1967), Robert Brazier Greene (1892–1955) and Albert Sidney Greene (1894–1926)[8]—were born in the West. Around 1897, Hubert moved his wife and three sons from Billings to Plattsburgh, so he could work as a photographer at the Woodward Studios on Clinton Street. Johanna gave birth to stillborn twins on April 1, 1898.

Two and a half years later, Johanna gave birth to Gladys Georgianna. The product of a nomadic childhood, the future Jean Arthur lived at times in Saranac Lake, New York; Jacksonville, Florida, where George Woodward, Hubert's Plattsburgh employer, opened a second studio; and Schenectady, New York, where Hubert had grown up and where several members of his family still lived. The Greenes lived on and off in Westbrook, Maine, from 1908 to 1915 while Gladys's father worked at Lamson Studios in Portland, Maine. Relocating in 1915 to New York City, the family settled in the Washington Heights neighborhood – at 573 West 159th Street – of upper Manhattan, and Hubert worked at Ira L. Hill's photographic studio on Fifth Avenue.

Gladys dropped out of high school in her junior year due to a "change in family circumstances". Presaging many of her later film roles, she worked as a stenographer on Bond Street in lower Manhattan during and after World War I. Both her father (at age 55, claiming to be 45) and siblings registered for the draft. Her brother Albert died in 1926 as a result of respiratory injuries suffered during a mustard gas attack during World War I.

Discovered by Fox Film Studios while she was doing commercial modeling in New York City in the early 1920s, the newly named Jean Arthur landed a one-year contract and debuted in the silent film Cameo Kirby (1923), directed by John Ford. She reputedly took her stage name from two of her greatest heroes, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) and King Arthur.[citation needed] The studio was at the time looking for new American sweethearts with sufficient sex appeal to interest the Jazz Age audiences. Arthur was remodeled as such a personality, a flapper. Following the small role in Cameo Kirby, she received her first female lead role in The Temple of Venus (1923), a plotless tale about a group of dancing nymphs. Dissatisfied with her lack of acting talent, the film's director Henry Otto replaced Arthur with actress Mary Philbin during the third day of shooting. Arthur agreed with the director: "There wasn't a spark from within. I was acting like a mechanical doll personality. I thought I was disgraced for life." She was planning on leaving the California film industry for good, but reluctantly stayed due to her contract, and appeared in comedy shorts instead. Despite lacking the required talent, Arthur liked acting, which she perceived as an "outlet". To acquire some fame, she registered herself in the Los Angeles city directory as a photo player operator, as well as appearing in a promotional film for a new Encino nightclub, but to no avail.

Change came when one day she showed up at the lot of Action Pictures, which produced B westerns, and impressed its owner Lester F. Scott Jr., with her presence. He decided to take a chance on a complete unknown, and she was cast in over twenty westerns in a two-year period. Only receiving $25 a picture, Arthur suffered from difficult working conditions: "The films were generally shot on location, often in the desert near Los Angeles, under a scorching sun that caused throats to parch and make-up to run. Running water was nowhere to be found, and even outhouses were a luxury not always present. The extras on these films were often real cowboys, tough men who were used to roughing it and who had little use for those who were not." The films were moderately successful in second-rate Midwestern theaters, though Arthur received no official attention. Aside from appearing in films for Action Pictures between 1924 and 1926, she worked in some independent westerns, including The Drug Store Cowboy (1925), and westerns for Poverty Row, as well as having an uncredited bit part in Buster Keaton's Seven Chances (1925).

In 1927, Arthur attracted more attention when she appeared opposite Mae Busch and Charles Delaney as a gold digging chorus girl in Husband Hunters. Subsequently, she was romanced by actor Monty Banks in Horse Shoes (1927), both a commercial and critical success. She was cast on Banks's insistence, and received a salary of $700. Next, director Richard Wallace ignored Fox's wishes to cast a more experienced actress by assigning Arthur to the female lead in The Poor Nut (1927), a college comedy which gave her wide exposure to audiences. A reviewer for Variety did not spare the actress in his review: "With everyone in Hollywood bragging about the tremendous overflow of charming young women all battering upon the directorial doors leading to an appearance in pictures, it seems strange that from all these should have been selected two flat specimens such as Jean Arthur and Jane Winton. Neither of the girls has screen presence. Even under the kindliest treatment from the camera they are far from attractive and in one or two side shots almost impossible." Fed up with the direction that her career was taking, Arthur expressed her desire for a big break in an interview at the time. She was skeptical when signed to a small role in Warming Up (1928), a film produced for a big studio, Famous Players-Lasky, and featuring major star Richard Dix. Promoted as the studio's first sound film, it received wide media attention, and Arthur earned praise for her portrayal of a club owner's daughter. Variety opined, "Dix and Arthur are splendid in spite of the wretched material", while Screenland wrote that Arthur "is one of the most charming young kissees who ever officiated in a Dix film. Jean is winsome; she neither looks nor acts like the regular movie heroine. She's a nice girl – but she has her moments." The success of Warming Up resulted in Arthur being signed to a three-year contract with the studio, soon to be known as Paramount Pictures, at $150 a week.

With the rise of the talkies in the late 1920s, Arthur was among the many silent screen actors of Paramount Pictures initially unwilling to adapt to sound films. Upon realizing that the craze for sound films was not a phase, she met with sound coach Roy Pomeroy. It was her distinctive, throaty voice – in addition to some stage training on Broadway in the early 1930s – that eventually helped make her a star in the talkies. However, it initially prevented directors from casting her in films.[19] In her early talkies, this "throaty" voice is still missing, and it remains unclear whether it has not yet emerged or whether she hid it. Her all-talking film debut was The Canary Murder Case (1929), in which she co-starred opposite William Powell and Louise Brooks. Arthur impressed only a few with the film and later claimed that at the time she was a "very poor actress ... awfully anxious to improve, but ... inexperienced so far as genuine training was concerned."

In the early years of talking pictures, Paramount was known for contracting Broadway actors with experienced vocals and impressive background references. Arthur was not among these actors, and she struggled for recognition in the film industry. Her personal involvement with rising Paramount executive David O. Selznick – despite his relationship with Irene Mayer Selznick – proved substantial; she was put on the map and became selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1929. Following a silent B-western called Stairs of Sand (1929), she received some positive notices when she played the female lead in the lavish production of The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929). Arthur was given more publicity assignments, which she carried out, even though she immensely disliked posing for photographers and giving interviews.

Through Selznick, Arthur received her "best role to date" opposite famous sex symbol Clara Bow in the early sound film The Saturday Night Kid (1929). Of the two female leads, Arthur was thought to have "the better part," and director Edward Sutherland claimed that "Arthur was so good that we had to cut and cut to keep her from stealing the picture" from Bow. While some argued that Bow resented Arthur for having the "better part," Bow encouraged Arthur to make the most of the production. Arthur later praised her working experience with Bow: "[Bow] was so generous, no snootiness or anything. She was wonderful to me." The film was a moderate success, and The New York Times wrote that the film would have been "merely commonplace, were it not for Jean Arthur, who plays the catty sister with a great deal of skill."

Following a role in Halfway to Heaven (1929) opposite popular actor Charles "Buddy" Rogers (of which Variety opined that her career could be heading somewhere if she acquired more sex appeal), Selznick assigned her to play William Powell's wife in Street of Chance (1930). She did not impress the film's director John Cromwell, who advised the actress to move back to New York because she would not make it in Hollywood. By 1930, her relationship with Selznick had ended, causing her career at Paramount to slip. Following a string of "lifeless ingenue roles" in mediocre films, she debuted on stage in December 1930 with a supporting role in Pasadena Playhouse's ten-day run production of Spring Song. Back in Hollywood, Arthur saw her career deteriorating, and she dyed her hair blonde in an attempt to boost her image and avoid comparison with more successful actress Mary Brian. Her effort did not pay off: when her three-year contract at Paramount expired in mid-1931, she was given her release with an announcement from Paramount that the decision was due to financial setbacks caused by the Great Depression.

In late 1931, Arthur returned to New York City, where a Broadway agent cast Arthur in an adaptation of Lysistrata, which opened at the Riviera Theater on January 24, 1932. A few months later, she made her Broadway debut in Foreign Affairs opposite Dorothy Gish and Osgood Perkins. Even though the play did not fare well and closed after twenty-three performances, critics were impressed by her work on stage. She next won the female lead in The Man Who Reclaimed His Head, which opened on September 8, 1932, at the Broadhurst Theatre to mostly mixed notices for Arthur, and negative reviews for the play caused the production to be halted quickly. Arthur returned to California for the holidays, and appeared in the RKO film The Past of Mary Holmes (1933), her first film in two years.

Back on Broadway, Arthur continued to appear in small plays that received little attention. Critics, however, continued to praise her in their reviews. It has been argued that in this period, Arthur developed confidence in her acting craft for the first time. On the contrast between films in Hollywood and plays in New York, Arthur commented:

I don't think Hollywood is the place to be yourself. The individual ought to find herself before coming to Hollywood. On the stage I found myself to be in a different world. The individual counted. The director encouraged me and I learned how to be myself.... I learned to face audiences and to forget them. To see the footlights and not to see them; to gauge the reactions of hundreds of people, and yet to throw myself so completely into a role that I was oblivious to their reaction.

The Curtain Rises, which ran from October to December 1933, was Arthur's first Broadway play in which she was the center of attention. With an improved résumé, she returned to Hollywood in late 1933, and turned down several contract offers until she was asked to meet with an executive from Columbia Pictures. Arthur agreed to star in a film, Whirlpool (1934), and during production she was offered a long-term contract that promised financial stability for both her and her parents. Even though hesitant to give up her stage career, Arthur signed the five-year contract on February 14, 1934.

In 1935, at age 34, Arthur starred opposite Edward G. Robinson in the gangster farce The Whole Town's Talking, also directed by Ford, and her popularity began to rise. It was the first time Arthur portrayed a hard-boiled working girl with a heart of gold, the type of role she would be associated with for the rest of her career. She enjoyed the acting experience and working opposite Robinson, who remarked in his biography that it was a "delight to work with and know" Arthur. By the time of the film's release, her hair, naturally brunette throughout the silent film portion of her career, was bleached blonde and would mostly stay that way. She was known for maneuvering to be photographed and filmed almost exclusively from the left; Arthur felt that her left was her best side, and worked hard to keep it in the fore. Director Frank Capra recalled producer Harry Cohn's description of Jean Arthur's imbalanced profile: "half of it's angel, and the other half horse." Her next few films, Party Wire (1935), Public Hero No. 1 (1935) and If You Could Only Cook (1935), did not match the success of The Whole Town's Talking, but they all brought the actress positive reviews. In his review for The New York Times, critic Andre Sennwald praised Arthur's performance in Public Hero No. 1, writing that she "is as refreshing a change from the routine it-girl as Joseph Calleia is in his own department." Another critic wrote of her performance in If You Could Only Cook that "[she is] outstanding as she effortlessly slips from charming comedienne to beautiful romantic." With her now apparent rise to fame, Arthur was able to extract several contractual concessions from Harry Cohn, such as script and director approval and the right to make films for other studios.

The turning point in Arthur's career came when she was chosen by Frank Capra to star in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Capra had spotted her in a daily rush from the film Whirlpool in 1934 and convinced Cohn to have Columbia Studios sign her for his next film as a tough newspaperwoman who falls in love with a country bumpkin millionaire. Even though several colleagues later recalled that Arthur was troubled by extreme stage fright during production, Mr. Deeds was critically acclaimed and propelled her to international stardom. In 1936 alone, she earned $119,000, more than the President of the United States and baseball player Lou Gehrig. With fame also came media attention, something Arthur greatly disliked. She did not attend any social gatherings, such as formal parties in Hollywood, and acted difficult when having to work with an interviewer. She was named the American Greta Garbo – who was also known for her reclusive life – and magazine Movie Classic wrote of her in 1937: "With Garbo talking right out loud in interviews, receiving the press and even welcoming an occasional chance to say her say in the public prints, the palm for elusiveness among screen stars now goes to Jean Arthur."

Arthur's next film was The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936), on loan to RKO Pictures, in which she starred opposite William Powell on his insistence, and hoped to take a long vacation afterwards. Cohn, however, rushed her into two more productions, Adventure in Manhattan (1936) and More Than a Secretary (1936). Neither film attracted much attention.[44] Next, again without pause, she was re-teamed with Cooper, playing Calamity Jane in Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman (1936) on another loan, this time for Paramount Pictures. Arthur, who was De Mille's second choice after Mae West, described Calamity Jane as her favorite role thus far. Afterwards, she appeared as a working girl, her typical role, in Mitchell Leisen's screwball comedy, Easy Living (1937), with Ray Milland. She followed this with another screwball comedy, Capra's You Can't Take It with You, which teamed her with James Stewart. The film won an Academy Award for Best Picture with Arthur getting top billing.

So strong was her box office appeal by now that she was one of four finalists for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). The film's producer, David O. Selznick, had briefly romanced Arthur in the late 1920s when they both were with Paramount Pictures. Arthur re-united with director Frank Capra and Stewart for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), with Arthur cast once again as a working woman, this time one who teaches the naive Mr. Smith the ways of Washington, D.C.

Arthur continued to star in films such as Howard Hawks's Only Angels Have Wings (also 1939), with love interest Cary Grant, The Talk of the Town (1942), directed by George Stevens (with Cary Grant and Ronald Colman, working together for the only time, as Arthur's two leading men), and again for Stevens as a government clerk in The More the Merrier (1943), for which Arthur was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress (losing to Jennifer Jones for The Song of Bernadette). As a result of being in dispute with studio boss Harry Cohn, her fee for The Talk of the Town (1942) was only $50,000, while her male co-stars Grant and Colman received upwards of $100,000 each. Arthur remained Columbia's top star until the mid-1940s, when she left the studio, and Rita Hayworth took over as the studio's biggest name. Stevens famously called her "one of the greatest comediennes the screen has ever seen," while Capra credited her as "my favorite actress."

Arthur retired when her contract with Columbia Pictures expired in 1944. She reportedly ran through the studio's streets, shouting "I'm free, I'm free!"[46] For the next several years, she turned down virtually all film offers, the two exceptions being Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair (1948), in which she played a congresswoman and rival of Marlene Dietrich, and as a homesteader's wife in the classic Western Shane (1953), which turned out to be the biggest box-office hit of her career. The latter was her final film, and the only color film in which she appeared.

Arthur's post-retirement work in theater was intermittent, somewhat curtailed by her unease and discomfort about working in public. Capra claimed she vomited in her dressing room between scenes, yet emerged each time to perform a flawless take. According to John Oller's biography, Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew (1997), Arthur developed a kind of stage fright punctuated with bouts of psychosomatic illnesses. A prime example was in 1945, when she was cast in the lead of the Garson Kanin play, Born Yesterday. Her nerves and insecurity got the better of her and she left the production before it reached Broadway, opening the door for a then-unknown Judy Holliday to take the part.

She did score a major triumph on Broadway in 1950, starring in Leonard Bernstein's adaptation of Peter Pan, playing the title character, when she was almost 50. She tackled the role of her eponym, Joan of Arc, in a 1954 stage production of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, but she left the play after a nervous breakdown and battles with director Harold Clurman.

After Shane and the Broadway play Joan of Arc, Arthur went into retirement for 12 years. In 1965, she returned to show business in an episode of Gunsmoke. In 1966, the extremely reclusive Arthur took on the role of Patricia Marshall, an attorney, on her own television sitcom, The Jean Arthur Show, which was canceled mid-season by CBS after only 12 episodes. Ron Harper played her son, attorney Paul Marshall.

In 1967, Arthur was coaxed back to Broadway to appear as a midwestern spinster who falls in with a group of hippies in the play The Freaking Out of Stephanie Blake. In his book The Season, William Goldman reconstructed the disastrous production, which eventually closed during previews when Arthur refused to go on.

Arthur next decided to teach drama, first at Vassar College and then the North Carolina School of the Arts. While teaching at Vassar, she stopped a rather stridently overacted scene performance and directed the students' attention to a large tree growing outside the window of the performance space, advising the students on the art of naturalistic acting: "I wish people knew how to be people as well as that tree knows how to be a tree."

Her students at Vassar included the young Meryl Streep. Arthur recognized Streep's talent and potential very early on and after watching her performance in a Vassar play, Arthur said it was "like watching a movie star."

While living in North Carolina, in 1973, Arthur made front-page news by being arrested and jailed for trespassing on a neighbor's property to console a dog she felt was being mistreated. An animal lover her entire life, Arthur said she trusted them more than people. She was convicted, fined $75 and given three years' probation.

Arthur turned down the role of the female missionary in Lost Horizon (1973), the unsuccessful musical remake of the 1937 Frank Capra film of the same name. Then, in 1975, the Broadway play First Monday in October, about the first woman to be a Supreme Court justice, was written especially with Arthur in mind, but once again she succumbed to extreme stage fright, and quit the production shortly into its out-of-town run after leaving the Cleveland Play House. The play went on with Jane Alexander playing the role intended for Arthur.

After the First Monday in October incident, Arthur then retired for good, retreating to her oceanside home in Carmel, California, steadfastly refusing interviews until her resistance was broken down by the author of a book about Capra. Arthur once famously said that she would rather have her throat slit than do an interview.

Arthur was a Democrat and supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.

Arthur died from heart failure June 19, 1991, at the age of 90. No funeral service was held. She was cremated, and her remains were scattered off the coast of Point Lobos, California.

Upon her death, film reviewer Charles Champlin wrote the following in the Los Angeles Times:

To at least one teenager in a small town (though I'm sure we were a multitude), Jean Arthur suggested strongly that the ideal woman could be – ought to be – judged by her spirit as well as her beauty … The notion of the woman as a friend and confidante, as well as someone you courted and were nuts about, someone whose true beauty was internal rather than external, became a full-blown possibility as we watched Jean Arthur.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Jean Arthur has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6333 Hollywood Blvd. The Jean Arthur Atrium was her gift to the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

On May 2, 2015, the city of Plattsburgh, New York, honored her with a plaque in front of the house where she was born (94 Oak Street).

On October 9, 2019, Plattsburgh unveiled a large commissioned mural of the actress by artist Brendon Palmer-Angell on a wall behind the bank building at 30 Brinkerhoff Street.

As of 2019, the Adirondacks Welcome Center near Exit 18 on the northbound lanes of the Northway (I-87) in Queensbury, New York, featured a ground plaque of Jean Arthur, among other famous persons connected to the Adirondacks region, as part of the Adirondacks Walk of Fame, similar in style to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

#jean arthur #silent era #silent hollywood #silent movie stars #golden age of hollywood #classic movie stars #classic hollywood #1920s hollywood #1930s hollywood #1940s hollywood #1950s hollywood #1960s hollywood #movie legends

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beclynn-herondale · 4 years

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Carstairs siblings.

( for my fic I am writing called the next gen of shadowhunters and downworlders) ( Mina Carstairs and the world belong to Cassandra Clare)

Name: Wilhelmina Yiqiang Ke Carstairs.

Age: 19

Nickname/s: Mina, Min Min, Mina Mine, Silly Melon, Little Mina by jem and family and friends. Badass warrior woman by some. Terrifying Carstairs by some. The Future of Women by Charlie Herondale, The Beautiful Mina Carstairs by Charlie Herondale. Babe by Charlie Herondale

Parabatai: Charlie Herondale

Gender: female

Sexuality: Heterosexual/Bi curious

Personality: She is sarcastic at times and serious at others, She can be Reckless which makes her and her parabatai and dangerous combination sometimes, she isn't afraid to say what she thinks whatever it may be. She is a free flower some say. She isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in or the people she cares about and loves. She will show Affection to those she loves and cares for, she will angst out with her parabatai. She can be Calm as well and Is very kind and loving. Though often fears her powers seeing how they are demonic. And she can be Hateful towards herself for her demonic powers. Even though Charlie, her Mom and Dad and others Assure her there is nothing wrong with her powers and that her half brother James Herondale once felt the same about his. With Charlie she feels comfortable her Parabatai was her best friend and more, but also had powers even if they are angelic but she is still not like the other shadowhunters. She loves to read with Charlie and Charlie often falls asleep on Mina's lap or shoulder she Cherishes these moments with her Parabatai. She is the kind of person you want to have on your side in a battle, she is smart and is talented. She is Quite at times and Is Extremely supportive of the ones she loves and care about. She has a sword and she's not afraid to use it. She can see Ghosts including her half siblings who she often Talks with nobody but Charlie and her Siblings know about this though. She loves her Parabatai so much it hurts sometimes everyone Thinks her Parabatai to be Unintelligent or A Bimbo as the modern age would call it but She knows her Parabatai and will Fight those Fuc***s if she has to. Her Father Jem Carstairs often says her and Charlie's relationship reminds him of His and His Parabatai's Will Herondale relationship, she has to admit that's one of the best compliments she could receive to live up to even a fragment of what her father was and is. She cares for her siblings like a second mom, She wants to travel all kinds of Places and learn as much as she can. And she knows who she would travel with it would be Charlie and Charlie's Girlfriend Marisa Helen Rosales-kingson-Blackthorn or as they call her Mari, and Mina's Boyfriend Max Lightwood-Bane the best People for Traveling Mina thinks. Mina can seem like she's overconfident but she's not she just knows what she can do and is capable of. She will talk with her uncle Will aka Will Herondale and he will make her laugh and cheer her up, and will tell her she is a very special girl who has amazing parents who is proud of, and loves with all he has.

Physical description: Mina has Dark Grey eyes and long unruly Black Hair, she is pale like her Mother and has the Slender features of her Father but has her Mother's Chin, she may be slender but is strong and has muscle. She is skilled in the ways of fighting and hand to hand combat basically she can kick your ass but won't unless you push her to. She is very beautiful. She has a kind looking face. She has Almond shaped eyes that are sharp. She is said to be Muscular as well not extremely but she has muscle. She usually wears Jean's and tshirts. She'll wear suits and blouses. She wears shorts and tank tops. She wears sneakers and combat boots and shadowhunter gear. She loves to wear pjs. She loves leather jackets and hoodies. She also has a necklace that belonged to Cordelia Carstairs and she holds it dear. It has a Sapphire in it with. Ruby and has a gold Chain.

Name: Jonah Alastair Carstairs ( I will add a Chinese name as well once I do research. )

Age: 15

Nickname/s: Jone, Jonah love, baby boy, sweet Jonah by family and jem and tessa, Jo Jo by Mina, Jone Bug by Charlie don't question this Charlie has interesting mind. My Precious Twin by Cecy Carstairs, (might add on later)

Parabatai: Future Parabatai Vivanne Blackthorn-Panhellow

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Personality: he is sweet and quiet, he is often described as all that is good, he is loved by almost everyone who meets him. He is kind and will often those who are in need. He has deep respect for his older siblings and hopes to be as great as them he says, Even though he is great in his own ways. He cam be curious and adventurous. He is extremely loving and will hug you if you're having a hard time, he loves books and instruments. He also plays the violin very well like his father and enjoys the same books as his mother. He has a little crush on Charlie Herondale his big sisters Parabatai but he finds Tessa Maryse Herondale Clary and Jace's Second daughter one of the most beautiful people has ever seen, the poor boy is conflicted by the beauty of the herondales. He often talks to his half brother James Herondale who is a Ghost and Asks for advice, in which James replies with just because I married Cordelia Carstairs doesn't mean I know how or why she choosed me. I didn't deserve the kindness she always gave me. And Jonah gets more confused. And so he asks his other half sibling Lucie Herondale who is also a Ghost and she says follow your heart little Joan and never let them tell you what your heart holds. And he starts to cry because he's an emotional babe ok. And will cry at the littlest things a affectionate moment between someone or dog commercials where they are asking for dogs to he adopted, and yes he does ask Tessa and Jem if they Can get a Dog and they end up getting a Corgi who they name Gabe after years of asking their parents. Jonah sneaks Gabe into bed with him because the dog is extremely snuggly and loves his family very much. And when they visit the Herondale Family who have a golden retriever named Em Em , they bring Gabe so he can play with her and you can find Tessa Herondale and Jonah Carstairs playing with the Dogs with dorky smiles on their Faces. Something Jonah loves is how he's one of the only people who cam make Tes as he calls her laugh unconditional it makes him feel strange but happy. He doesn't know what the feeling is but he doesn't care as long as he can hold onto their friendship it's enough.

Physical description: he has light brown hair and Dark eyes like his Father, he is slender but strong, he looks like his mama in the face except like his father around the eyes. He is tall for his age but some say he may just grow fast and stop early, although seeing as how his parents are tall they expect him to be tall. He and his twin sister Cecy look almost identical except she has black hair and blue eyes. He may be skinny but he has muscle as well. He is often described as beautiful and very handsome. He has one of the kindest faces. His eyes are filled with kindness and lovingness. His smile is beautiful. He has think lips. And almond shaped eyes that are sharp. He has hands of a musician, they are slim and long, and look delicate. He often wears Jean's and tshirts. He will dress up In suits if he has to. He wears sneakers and combat boots. He usually likes tshirts with sayings on them or vintage tshirts and music band tshirts. He likes to wear ripped Jean's usually black or grey but will wear blue. He likes jackets and hoodies. He wears a bracelet that belonged to Lucie Herondale as a way to carry his half sister with him even when though she is dead and is a ghost but she can't always be with him so he carries it with him. It is silver with emeralds in it, it is beautiful.

Cecily Jessie Carstairs ( again I will add a Chinese name to her when I find one )

Age: 15

Nickname/s: Cecy, Little Fighter, Wild Child, Baby Girl, Little Girl with a big Heart, by family and friends. Ce Ce by Charlie, a force to be reckoned with by Charlie. Old Soul. Twin of Mine by her twin Jonah Carstairs.

Parabatai: Becky Lightwood.

Sexuality: Bisexual

Personality: She is stubborn and is not the type to back down, she teases the people she's close with but it's her way of showing affection. She is kind, and Always does the Right Thing. She loves deeply and fiercely. She often reminds men and boys that girls and women are strong as well and can kick ass. She is skilled in fighting for her age but has put countless hours into training to achieve it. Her and her Parabatai Sophie Lightwood are a great team and have an amazing friendship, they have a close bond which Cecy cherishes. Whenever she needs someone to lean on Sophie is there, and if Sophie needs someone Cecy is there. She loves the herondales they are some of her best friends. She is also friends with the blackthorn children and the Rosales-Kingson-Blackthorn family and one in particular is someone she is interested in, his name is Andrew Rosales-kingson-Blackthorn and he is lovely she says and she teases him of course. She is sarcastic and she is when times are awkward and need a little lighting up. When she smiles it lights up a room but very few get to see that smile that lights things up. She likes to find beauty in the imperfections and is often the one who tells others they are beautiful because they are them and no one can be like them or have their beauty. She enjoys talks with her namesake Cecily Herondale who is a ghost and they often talk about how similar Cecy is to Cecily and that Cecy will do amazing things. She talks with uncle Will as well, they often make sarcastic remarks together and talk about books and music, and how beautiful Jem playing the violin is, yes cecy loves hearing her father play the violin and says it's one of the most beautiful sounds she's ever heard. She has a close relationship with her Mama and Dad but hangs with her Dad a lot. Jem taught Cecy to play the Violin at a young age cause she begged him to. She loves to Visit and watch Clary Herondale cause she loves painting and Clary taught her how to and she must admit Clary is like an Aunt to Cecy and she loves visiting her. She also loves to visit uncle Julian and he has taught her stuff to, the funny thing is Clary and Julian never minded the other teaching her stuff they always respected each and even took tips from each and fangirled over art together. Cecy loves anything art and to read books and fill her head with information. She loves her older siblings who she calls the meme team, Kit always includes her and Mina as well they are amazing and she can't explain how much she loves them. And her twin Jonah of course who she loves more then anything.

Physical description: She has long Black hair and Blue Eyes, she has Jem's high cheekbones and slender features and looks like her mama around the chin and eyes, she is tall for her age like her twin. She is beautiful and has a sweet but kinda blank looking face. She is Slim and lean but strong. She has a scar on her arm from a deep cut she got as a little child, she loves the scar though it reminds her of who she is, that she is a strong girl who can overcome and be a badass shadowhunter. She has slight freckles along her face. She wears her hair in ponytails and braids often and on special occasions will wear it down. She often wears Jean's and Leggings, Tshirts and Tank Tops, she loves Sneakers and Combat Boots, she Wears a necklace that detects when demons are around that magnus had made for her similar to the one Isabelle Lightwood had and passed down to her daughter Sophie Lightwood. It has a black chain with a Amethyst in it. She holds the necklace dear. Magnus is someone she looks up to and very much enjoys his company.

Name: Gabe Carstairs the corgi

Age: 2 years.

Nickname/s: gabby, gab gab, GG, sweetheart, sweet boy.

Gender: male.

He is like most corgi's on the looks and his personality is very energetic and sweet and he is snuggling and loves his family. He is protective of his family. And will try to cheer them up when they are upset.

( thank you to @daisyherxndale for all the help with the characters)

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angrylizardjacket · 5 years

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people change {Vince Neil}

@champagneandspice asked: hey! I adore your writing!!! could u please do a one shot but in the form of an article ? you’d be writing it as if you worked for people magazine or something like that. could u pls write ab the “speculated rumors” ab vince and I dating are true?? u could insert pictures or whatever u like. thank u <3

A/N: 2065 words. I love!! This style!! Of Writing!! also probably not what you were asking for, but i had fun and i hope you do too. i really sort of like this world/reader persona i’ve built?? i even added a few pictures for effect lmao. hope it’s enjoyable. i don’t usually do tags for one-shots but @cosmicsskies and @crazylittlethingcalledobsession asked and im too giddy to refuse.

WHAT THE F*** DO YOU THINK? - Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts newest guitarist Y/N Y/L/N spotted getting cosy after Crüe’s Atlanta show last Saturday? Does this hint at a collaboration between two bands, or is this more personal than professional? [Read more on Page 10...]

“What the f*** do you think?”

If you’re a woman working in or around the rock and roll music scene in the past half a decade, you’ve probably heard these words, or some variation of them, if you’ve come within a ten foot radius of the glam metal juggernauts Mötley Crüe; Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, and their blonde, boyish singer Vince Neil. They’re crass by reputation, however this is unsurprisingly true to life, though if you were interested in reading an expose regarding the number of gigs they’ve done while high, or how many hotel rooms they’ve set fire to, there’s innumerable gossip rags and magazines covering those particular scandals, including at least two Rolling Stone articles in the past two years, and we’re not here to retell old stories.

When attending their concert in Atlanta last week, which I highly recommend; if given the opportunity, and you enjoy their music, see Mötley Crüe live, they give an almost unparalleled live performance, in my humble opinion as a music journalist of almost a decade, I was fortunately privy to the moment that sparked debate and controversy within the rock music gossip sphere. After the show, while I was made to wait at the stage door, their manager Doc Mcghee was kind enough to invite me to the afterparty. There, at the stage door, restless fans were held at bay, young men in black leather pants, emulating their idols, young women in barely anything at all, there to catch attention and garner the same invitation that I had received, and when the band themselves appear, it’s as if the gates of Hell had opened; the screaming I heard, ladies and gentleman.

First through the doors is Mars, already looking like he needs a shot or a nap, and he dodges more than one bra thrown his way, giving me a longsuffering look as he passes. To be that exhausted by fame is on a level I can’t even begin to comprehend. He’s on the tour bus which will take us to the hotel bar for drinks almost before anyone else is even out of the building.

Next comes what the fans have affectionately dubbed ‘The Terror Twins’, Sixx and Lee, both carrying a beer each, followed by several very pretty women who head to the bus whilst the musicians take the time to say high to their fans, signing various body parts and generally taking the time to interact with the more hardcore of their following who were waiting in the cold night air. They’re enough of a distraction that one might have missed the final band member, Vince Neil, laying uncharacteristically low, and who had actually been preceded by a surprising figure; Y/N Y/L/N, the most recent addition to Joan Jett & The Blackhearts as their rhythm guitarist.

And this, dear readers, is the moment I decide to write the first gossip piece of my life.

As someone who regularly set fire to the copies of Hollywood Star my then-housemate had been getting delivered to our apartment back when I first began my journalistic career, the idea of writing an article based on speculation about the sexual conduct of celebrities was an idea I rejected out of hand. I’d told myself I had integrity.

But then my proto-punk loving heart betrayed me, as I recalled Y/L/N’s lyrics from my favourite song of her’s, Sucker Punch, ‘speculate / scream my name / my heart, my love, baby it’s a game / they call me heartless, fancy-free / as if anyone’s meant something to a girl like me’. Y/L/N has been credited as the sole writer for the single, under her band at the time, Nuclear Patricide, who had garnered a cult following that has been credited as an idol for Joan Jett herself. After the Nuclear Patricide’s split in early ‘83, it’s been relative radio silence from the writer and lead guitarist until Joan Jett & The Blackhearts announce her as their newest addition, and she’s been with them for almost two years since.

[ID: Stills from Nuclear Patricide’s music video for Sucker Punch, 1980, known for the appearance of then-break out star Jamie Lee-Curtis. Editor’s Note: Y/L/N did not appear in the music video herself.]

So, upon seeing Y/L/N trying to keep a low profile whilst exiting a gig she clearly was not playing at, without any of her own bandmates to keep her company, I must confess I began to wonder, to speculate about the nature of her relationship with Mötley Crüe. She’s adamantly and publicly denounced romantic relationships in her work and in her public appearances up until her split from her original band, so has anything changed in the past few years?

Back at the hotel, I find myself weaving in amongst groupies and fanboys. My dark jeans and leather jacket act as a camouflage in this den of debauchery; I’ve worn professional clothing to this kind of thing before, and it usually doesn’t go over well; if the band sees a reporter there’s a sense of immediate hostility in what’s meant to be a safe space, relatively speaking, however, I’ve found that blending in, and making it clear I’m not on the offensive makes them drop their guard enough that they’ll give an honest interview.

At least until a pretty girl walks past.

Neil and Y/L/N are nowhere to be spotted as I finally take a seat with a table that has neither cocaine nor a woman on it, and once I’ve ordered a drink and looked over my notes, someone actually joins me of their own accord. It’s Tommy Lee, who, to my surprise, recognises me from the last time Crüe had played in town.

He talks about the tour, about how exciting it’s been and how he loves Atlanta, but he’s losing focus very quickly, not surprisingly since his name is being called by other tables every few moments, and there’s a faint dusting of telltale white powder around his nose. He promises ‘see you ‘round’ [sic] and then he’s off again. However, it’s as he leaves that I spot Y/N coming from a room by the back of the bar, and I make my move.

Mars has, as I’ve been told, already retired for the night, Lee is up to his eyes in cocaine, Sixx already has his dick out under his table judging by the look of him, and Neil is surprisingly MIA, so Y/L/N is easy to spot as the odd one out.

Not nearly as f***ed up or strung out as the rest of them, I watch her order a jack and coke, and down the drink mere moments after receiving it, before she turns to me. It takes her barely a second before she correctly identifies me as a reporter. I ask if she remembers meeting me, back in ‘82, she says no, but that she can pick a reporter from a mile away.

People still fawn over her, pretty girls and pretty boys alike, her aloofness drawing them in, and I’d forgotten how overwhelming it was to be this close to her. She kicks a fanboy and a groupie who are messily groping each other out of a booth and we take their seats.

This is meant to be about Mötley Crüe, and I try to tell her as such, but she just gives me a thin smile.

“Then why did you come find me?”

And she gives me that stare, you know, the one from the cover of Nuclear Patricide’s final album, Treason Is A Girl’s Best Friend. It’s that piercing stare of hers that makes you feel like she knows everything you’ve ever done wrong in your life.

I ask about her relationship with Mötley Crüe, and to my relief she looks away.

She’s candid about admitting she’s travelling with them, but not touring, right up until I ask her about her relationship with each member of the band specifically.

“Mick’s fun; he’s very talented and easily riled up. They’re all very talented of course, but Mick’s dynamic, [because] of his age and everything, is interesting within the group [sic] and I enjoy watching it all play out. He’s smacked Tommy a few times.” I’m assured that nine times out of ten he deserved it.

She’s filled with glowing praise for both Sixx and Lee in turn, and even Doc Mcghee, but Neil she is oddly silent about. He’s the first of the band she’d met; he’d seen her play a few times with The Blackhearts and has admitted to enjoying her work in previous interviews when she’s been brought up, as the pair have been spotted together before. Well, she’s been spotted with the band before. Here is where she starts, to my surprise, to get antsy. So the rumours, which I had thought to be incredibly false given her history and general attitude, have more basis than she likes to let on.

And then she gets defensive.

He’s like cocaine; everyone’s doing him, it’s just the industry; no-one’s going to judge her for a fling. She does not appear to take comfort in the sentiment.

“People change.”

I ask her what she means. She refuses to clarify and leaves. Perhaps I pushed too far, but now I feel like a detective, and like I only have one more person I need to talk to. But perhaps I should have eased myself into talking about Y/L/N to Vince himself, but I’ll have to admit, between Y/L/N leaving and finding Neil, I may have done a bit of socialising with Sixx, which I recommend recreationally, and also if you have a high tolerance for most things.

“I don’t think we’re any of your f***ing business.”

Neil does not mess around, and apparently she’d already spoken to him about our earlier meeting. I leave it be, spend the night enjoying the festivities with Sixx and Lee when I can, leaving just before the sun comes up.

Some of you may be thinking this is dissatisfying, that you came into this article wanting me to confirm or dismiss the speculated relationship between Vince Neil and Y/N Y/L/N, but I can’t. Neither of them would speak to me, and I can only leave you with a list of things I saw that night, and you can make up your own mind.

- The room Y/L/N had exited from when I first spotted her is the same room Neil left less than five minutes later as we were talking. I went to investigate later; it’s a supply closet.

- After my encounter with Neil, and I’d stayed clear of them, whenever I would spot either of them, the other was almost always within arm’s reach. Make of that what you will.

- He definitely did a line of coke off her thigh at about three in the morning.

- I asked both Sixx and Lee about it. Lee’s response was ‘loud’ with something akin to a knowing smirk, and Sixx’s was ‘he’s a lucky bastard’ and when I ask him to clarify he just says ‘flexible’ and climbs to the next booth over where they’ve been asking him to do a line; I’m not even sure what to make of it, but personally I think it’s pretty damning.

- Readers, they were all over each other, I apologise for throwing my professionalism out the window for a moment, but if I’m being honest I couldn’t look to a secluded corner of the room without there being a 40% chance of seeing Vince and Y/N. It got worse as the night went on. Believe me.

So, while I don’t believe there is set to be a collaboration between Joan Jett and Mötley Crüe, I do come baring good news for those fans who had been speculating regarding Y/L/N’s relationship with the hair metal band’s lead singer. So are they together? Are they dating? Though neither party will publicly state anything, I’ll leave you with my thoughts, my observations, and the oft spoke words of the man himself;

What the f*** do you think?

#vince neil #vince neil x reader #vince neil imagine #motley crue #the dirt #the dirt imagine #motley crue imagine #nikki sixx #tommy lee #mick mars #the angry lizard writes

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ambrose-d · 5 years

Text

We’re all having fun here!

Words: 3181

Murder Mystery human au!

Don’t look in the tags if you don't want to be spoiled for who the murder is!

“So...it was you..?...”His voice broke as he said it, emotion and heartbreak bleeding through his words.

“Mhm! But don’t you worry, you’ll meet them again soon enough!” As he said that...

He lunged.

It was Roman’s idea to go to an abandoned amusement park. Roman Prince was 21 years old, and was full of idiocy. He had green eyes and tan skin, along with dark blonde hair. He always wore a white shirt with white jeans and a red ascot tie, you know, like a cartoon character. He was the perfect boy, being athletic, pretty, and having an angelic singing voice. Girls flocked to him like moths to a flame. Except Roman wasn’t a fan of any of them. He just wanted to be an actor in Broadway, being famous for his acting and singing, not his appearance. Roman had a twin. The twin’s name was Remus Duke, as their parents wanted to give them different last names. Remus was less than a cute baby, and they hadn’t wanted their perfect, cute child to seem related to Remus. Remus was able to grow a mustache, purely to annoy Roman. Remus had green eyes and super pale skin, sometimes wearing toxic green tight tube tops and very short shorts. That is what he was wearing right now. Remus had dark blonde hair as well, but had dyed a streak of it in the front gray. Objectively, he was an on-fire garbage can. Figuratively, of course. Remus was very much alive and not on fire. He was all for going to the theme park, thinking that he could do all kinds of stupid and gross stuff. Speaking of big words such as objectively and figuratively, the only person in the group that actually comprehended how much of an idiotic idea it was to go to the park. Logan Croft was his name, and he was 22 years old. He had ultramarine blue eyes and black, slicked-back hair. He wore a black polo and a blue tie. In addition to that, he wore square glasses and khakis. He was kind of stuck up and knew more words than you could even imagine. Logan was also best friends, though he begged to differ, with a man named Patton Hart. Patton was a bubbly kind of guy and was 20 years old. He wore circle glasses and a light blue polo shirt with a gray cardigan wrapped around his shoulders, in addition to jeans. He had light blue eyes and curly light blond hair. He was the innocent type, the kind of person people want to protect. Everyone liked him, even people who usually hated everyone. Emile Picani was the innocent type as well, in the same way. Emile was 23 years old and was studying to become a therapist. He was already very empathetic, so it was easy. He wore a beige cardigan and a baby blue tie. Joan Marco and Talyn Blattea were almost inseparable. Joan was 21 years old and wore an orange beanie, a t-shirt, and jeans. Talyn was 20 years old and wore a sweatshirt tucked into some jeans. They both were in love with each other, though would never admit it.

Damien Mendax was a pathological liar. The left side of his face was burned and scarred, making him blind in his left eye. This was caused by a house fire, and he went back inside to get his pet snake. Damien wore a long sleeve, black shirt, and long black jeans. As the eight entered the park, Logan was looking very unimpressed by this whole thing. As it was stated, Logan was very stuck up and serious, so it was no wonder that he was not enjoying this trip. It was Roman that noticed it first. “What’s gotten on your mind in a freak, Bill Nye the Science Guy?” Roman asked, taking a break from spinning Patton so he could talk to Logan in clarity. Also, something else about Roman’s character. He can and will call the others nicknames that he thought of. The others don’t mind, so Roman continued to do it. “Oh, I am just contemplating how much it is an injudicious proposition it was to do this,” Logan said dryly. “In English! You know I don’t understand the big, fancy words you use,” Roman complained. “I was thinking about how much of a stupid idea it was do come here,” Logan corrected. “Well, I think it’s a great place to be! It’s fun and we’ll be able to explore what was once here! Don’t you like looking around old places, Logie Bear?”Patton chimed in, making a sour face. As he said that, a single magpie flying above them and cawing. “Ooooooo, that’s a pretty bird!!”He exclaimed as he pointed at the Pica Pica. Logan sighed at how scatterbrained Patton was. He looked up at the bird, deciding to just go with it. “Ah, yes, a Eurasian magpie. It is a lovely bird. Very intelligent, too.”As he said that, the gates of the amusement park swung open. That was because Remus pushed them open. Logan simply rolled his eyes. Only Remus could be that immature, wanting to be the first person to be inside the theme park. “Oooo!! It looks super duper spooky in there!!”Remus exclaimed, grinning. Remus was very immature, “Remus, if you want to explore it, go ahead and explore it,” Damien said. Damien spent the most time with Remus, so he was used to Remus’s immaturity. It did get tiring after a while, so when he got annoyed with it, he’d just send him off to annoy Roman or Logan. The task was easy enough, and Remus loved to annoy them both, separately or together. Remus went inside the theme park, a huge grin on his face. Damien and Logan simply sighed. “Let’s go inside, alright?”Talyn asked Joan, who they had been walking with and was trailing behind the rest of the group. “Which ride do you want to try and ride first? The rides may still work, by some miracle luck.” Joan thought for a couple moments. “The rollercoaster seems fun,” They said, shrugging. “I always like the rollercoaster. It is so exciting and fun.” As they said that, Patton looked at the two of them. “Joan, could I talk to you for a bit? And Talyn, you can’t listen to this, sorry.” Talyn and Joan looked very confused by this, but they both nodded. “Thanks!” Talyn caught up with the group, still looking confused. “Do you guys know if Patton has any beef with Joan? He wanted to speak with them privately...Emile, do you know anything? You’re a therapist, so maybe you could’ve seen something?”Talyn asked, looking at Emile. Emile simply shook his head. “No, I didn’t notice anything. Sorry. Maybe Joan borrowed some money and never returned it?”Emile suggested, shrugging. He honestly did not know of anything happening, thinking innocently about it. Logan pursed his lips before saying, “It is most likely something personal, so I suggest that we do not question it anymore. At any rate, shall we explore the park more? Perhaps the rides and the park still have electricity going through the wires, but it hadn’t been turned on.” “Joan said that they wanted to go on the rollercoaster, so why don’t we find it and wait for Patton and Joan on the coaster?’ asked Talyn. They all nodded, setting off to find the rollercoaster. They found it after a while, boarding on to the cart. They waited a couple minutes for the two before the park sparked to life like the night sky on the Fourth Of July, lights turning on all around them. “Ah, it appears I was right. But that would mean that the roller coASTER-” Logan began to say before being cut off with the coaster turning on and starting to move. “Put on your safety measures, everyone!!”He yelled, clearly panicking at the rollercoaster turning on by itself. Who wouldn’t, though? The rollercoaster hiked up a hill before going steady on a level surface. The people in the front, Roman and Logan, saw something in the middle of the tracks...or should I say..someone.

It was Joan, tied up and hopefully unconscious. The roller coaster was going to run straight through them.

The scene seemed to go in slow motion, Logan and Roman trying to stop the cart and failing while the others looked so very very confused. The sickening crunch of bones and the gushing of blood, freely flowing from the now open wounds. The sounds of Joan’s death were so loud, even against the sound of the coaster. It was screaming from Joan, probably instinctually. Talyn was the third person to realize what had happened, just after Logan and Roman. Talyn was sobbing, and the others realized like a domino effect. First Emile, then Damien, and finally Remus. It was not a pretty sight, them all coming to the understanding that their friend was dead. The ride was silent except for the sound of the ride and Talyn crying. They all got off the ride and tried to comfort Talyn, though it was very hard because Talyn’s closest friend just got run over by a roller coaster. Death wasn’t really something that you could fix, especially like that. If you had a heart attack or something along those lines, fine. But not like that. Just as they were comforting the person, Patton came strolling up like nothing. “Hey, kiddos! What’re you all doing? Talyn, why are you crying? What happened?”Patton asked, cocking his head to the side innocently. “Jo-Joan’s DEA-DEAD!!”Talyn howled out, burying their face in Roman’s shoulder. Roman ran his fingers through their hair to potentially comfort them. “That’s horrible! I was just talking to them, and I said that I would be right back, and when I came back, they were gone! I guess I know where they went to!”Patton said, his grin turning to a frown. “Logically, we should contact the police and get out of here. If someone killed Joan, they have the potential to kill other people,” Logan said. Damien took out his phone and tried to dial 911. He waited for an answer from authorities, though it never came. “It appears that we cannot reach the internet, which means that whoever the killer is most likely made it so there is no internet in this area,” Logan conspired, shrugging a bit. Talyn sniffled, pulling away from Roman. “Tha-Thanks, gu-guys..I-I’m gon-gonna g-go wa-walk arou-around to tr-try a-an’ cle-clear my he-head,” Talyn stuttered out, shuffling away from the others and towards the game section. The others decided to head their separate ways for the time being.

After a bit, Remus was just going around, seeing if anything was in the claw machines. He saw something large in one of them, so he walked over to that claw machine. What was in that machine chilled him to the bones, something that made him scream.

It was Talyn’s head.

Almost immediately, the others came running. They all looked worried and panicked, Damien and Logan appearing to already know that another murder took place. Why else would Remus of all people scream at something that wasn’t major? Once they were all there, it was dead silent. Patton covered his mouth, Roman felt tears going down his cheeks, and Emile sobbed silently. Logan and Damien remained stoic, but you could see the despair in their eyes. You could see the despair in their expressions. Pairs, they had decided. Pairs of people to explore. Logan and Patton, Damien and Remus, and finally Roman and Emile. Logan and Patton went around to the kiddie games and rides, much to Logan’s displeasement and Patton’s enjoyment. Patton was humming a joyful tune as they walked, Patton keeping Logan’s hand in his own. Logan kept his face stoic and emotionless as always, pushing up his glasses with his free hand. Suddenly, Patton released Logan’s hand and pointed in the direction of a ride. “Imma go over there and see if that still works! Stay here, Lolo!”Patton said, skipping over to the ride. “That defeats the purpose of pairs- okay he can’t hear me. I minus well stay here,” grumbled Logan, looking forward and not at the ride. Suddenly, someone pushed him from behind, his glasses coming off in the struggle. The person stepped on the glasses as the two moved, and his attacker pushing his head down. They were right in front of a rubber duck pond, where little children played games to try and win prizes. He struggled to breathe, though the person kept his head pushed under the water. The world started to spin as he was forced to inhale the murky water. He didn’t know how long he was under the water, but it was about a minute from what he remembered from his books. His books didn’t matter anymore, he was drowning. After the minute was up, the world faded to black... A scream rang out through the park. Everyone came running like it was Black Friday and there was a really important and really good sale. They all showed up to see Patton looking terrified, standing at the exit of a kiddie ride, pointing at the rubber ducky pond. Bent over the pond was Logan, deathly still. His glasses were about a foot away, shattered like they were garbage. “I wa-was jus-just goi-going o-on th-the rid-ride bu-but h-he did-didn’t wan-want t-to g-go o-on th-the ri-ride s-so h-he wai-waited ou-out her-here an-and no-now he-he’s de-dead!”Patton babbled. Roman went over to comfort the man. “Shh...It’s alright, Padre. It isn’t your fault..it’s okay,” The twin said, soothing Patton’s hair. “Bu-But i-it i-is m-my fau-fault..! I-If I-I had-hadn’t go-gone o-on th-the ri-ride..h-he’d b-be he-here no-now!”Patton sobbed out, clutching Roman’s shirt. So now they had two groups, Roman and Patton, then Emile, Remus, and Damien. Damien would switch groups so each group had three members for equal amounts of time. But, in the present moment, Roman and Patton were walking around the game section, looking for something to play. If the rides still worked, maybe the games still worked. They came across a high striker game, commonly known as the strong man game. “Do you think I can hit the bell?”Roman asked as he picked up the mallet, or, well, tried to. The mallet wasn’t there. Roman turned around to see the hammer swinging straight for his head.

Damien was walking around the game section, humming. He was looking for Roman and Patton so he could join their group and make it equal. Despite the situation they were in, it was peaceful. He was enjoying this peace. No one to disturb him..oh..oh no. He looked at a strong man game, seeing Roman, bleeding from his head and thrown over the lever like the dead man was the mallet. From the bloody mallet beside Roman, it was safe to assume that the hammer was the murder weapon. He could never, ever tell Remus this. He did question where Patton was, though that wasn’t his biggest concern.

Damien walked back to his group, ushering Emile away from Remus. “Roman is dead,” Damien whispered, making sure that Remus could not hear him. Emile’s face turn from bright and bubbly to terrified. “You-You’ve got to be joking..? Please tell me you’re joking,” Emile asked quietly, utterly petrified for his and the other’s safety. Damien simply shook his head. “I wish I was joking...You go with Patton, I’ll go with Remus,” Damien suggested, receiving a nod from Emile as a response. He turned back around to Remus. “Alright, you’re going to explore with me and Emile will explore with Patton,” He explained. Remus nodded. Damien and Remus set off to explore the food shacks, coming across one for fries and pizza. “Ten bucks that I’ll eat a slice of pizza!”Remus giggled as he said that. Damien just looked tired, pulling out a ten-dollar bill and nodding. “Go for it, buddy,” Damien said with so much enthusiasm that it should’ve belonged to a dead man. Remus was idiotic. That was very apparent based on the fact that he was eating God knows how old pizza for $10. Remus ate the whole pizza and Damien gave him his ten dollars. However, almost immediately after, Remus lost consciousness. Damien caught him and checked for a heartbeat.

There was no pulse against his hand. Damien freaked out. Remus, too? Why Remus? Remus already suffered from dumbass-ery, so why exaggerate that fact by doing something to the food? Who knew that Remus was going to actually eat the food? It had to be the murder. Damien felt hot tears start to leak down the sides of his face. Remus was the only one that would actually give him a chance. Someone had to take that away, but why? What did the murderer have against them? The man let Remus fall out of his arms, standing up. He wiped his tears away and went to go find Patton and Emile. Once he had found them, they were just preparing to get on a drop tower. “Why don’t you join us?”Asked Patton, offering Damien a seat right next to him. Damien agreed. How bad could it be? As they all boarded the drop tower, his seat wouldn’t lock. Before he could change seats, the ride suddenly shot up, leaving him glued to his seat because of gravity. Once they reached the top, he panicked. The only reason he was still on this was because gravity was working. The ride let itself free fall, basically pushing Damien off of it. Damien’s body hit the ground with a splat. Once the ride had finished, Emile got off immediately and went to go check on Damien. Damien, of course, was very much dead. Emile stood up and looked at Patton with terror in his eyes.

“So...it was you..?...”Emile’s voice broke as he asked it, emotion and heartbreak bleeding through his words.

“Mhm! But don’t you worry, you see the others again soon enough!” As Patton said that, he pulled out a broken off carousel pole. There were jagged and rough edges, perfect for murder.

Patton lunged at Emile, the pole right in front of him.

Patton was faster than Emile, because of course he was. Patton was almost immediately in front of Emile, holding the jagged pole to his neck. “Say hi to Roman for me, he was always my favorite!”Patton chirped before running the sharp part of the broken off pole against Emile’s neck, blood filling the therapist’s throat and mouth. “Sorry ‘bout that Emile, it was necessary!” Patton let Emile’s limp body fall to the ground as he walked away.

Patton was gone, leaving behind all his past friends that had passed on. He couldn’t say he was sorry, either.

#unsympathetic patton #logan sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #deceit sanders #thomas sanders and friends

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how-to-survive-a-factory-tour · 5 years

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How to Survive a Factory Tour - Chapter 5

A Sanders Sides / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory FanFiction

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I am so fucking exhausted. And hungry. Well, I always am, but recently I’ve been more so than usual.

For the past few days, a lot of my co-workers have been off for Christmas. This meant little old me had to pick up god knows how many extra shifts. For the past few days, I’ve had to skip out on proper meals, only having a quick snack when I got home.

And, no, by snack, I do not mean the Wonka bar. Still haven’t eaten it. No one has.

Two days after Roman Prince won a ticket, I expect Remy to say the fourth ticket’s been won. You know, since there’s been a pattern of them being found every two days. However, when Remy comes in, he simply orders his drink, chats a bit and leaves. It’s honestly surprising, especially with the tour being in five days.

Anyway, I continue working for the next few hours, praying the tips at the end will be worth it. Then, finally, my manager comes out and dismisses me, but not before dividing my share of the money in the tip jar. I hang up my apron, pull on my hoodie and leave the shop.

If there’s one good thing about being poor in Florida, it’s that you never have to worry about freezing. With winters of 75°F, it doesn’t matter that my thin, patched-up hoodie is the warmest thing I own.

It doesn’t mean the walk home is perfect, however. My stomach’s being as loud as an earthquake. Shut up, will you. Just wait until Mom comes home and hopefully she brings some dinner.

I soon arrive at our little shack, gently opening the front door and stepping inside. “Thomas, I’m home!”

I pause, waiting for my brother to reply. There’s no response. “Thomas? Hello?” Nothing. “Thomathy? Thomas the dank engine?”

Still nothing. I feel my heart rate picking up. Oh god, what if part of the ceiling collapsed on him... o-or the lack of food in the house caught up on him and he starved...

All the worst possibilities come to mind. Thomas is supposed to be here, he always is when I come home. Something’s wrong, he’s hurt, I just know it. I can’t breathe. Everything’s going blurry. My heart’s thudding too hard.

Suddenly, everything’s black.

...

”Virgil! Virgil, wake up!”

I come back to my senses to find myself led on our lumpy couch, and someone leaning over me.

”Th-Thomas...? You’re okay?”

”Virge! Thank god you’re awake! I was so worried... What happened?”

I sit up, Thomas helping me adjust. “I... You weren’t home. I got scared something had happened, and...”

”Panic attack, huh?” Thomas asks. I nod. “I’m really sorry, Virge, I should’ve left a note so you knew I was heading out...”

It was only then I notice a shopping bag at Thomas’ feet. “What’s that?”

Thomas takes a deep breath. “I have a confession. While I have put most of the money you earned for me towards college, I’ve also been saving up for something else.” He reaches down into the bag and pulls out...

”A video camera? What do you need a camera for?”

”I felt bad that you and Mom were doing so much for me but I wasn’t doing anything in return. I’ve wanted to get a job for a while, but I didn’t know how to get one that fit around my school schedule. I decided I needed to do something where I can organise my own hours and I didn’t need to get a whole lot, so I figured maybe...I could do YouTube. I’ve got the camera, and Remy said I could record at his and edit and upload on his computer. Hopefully, I’ll get enough viewers to monetize and get some money to help us, all the while making fun content.”

”Thomas... that is fucking brilliant.”

Thomas smiles. “Thanks. But none of that matters right now. You literally just passed out, you need to get your strength back.” He gets up and leaves the room, heading to the kitchen. A few moments later, he comes back and pushes something into my hand. “Eat.”

I look down at the bar. “I... I can’t.”

”Why not?”

”The money was meant to be for you...”

Thomas rolls his eyes. “It’s okay! It was only a dollar or so for this. You deserve a reward for everything you’ve done for me. Now, open it and eat.”

I sigh, knowing Thomas won’t give in. He can be really stubborn if he needs to be. I start peeling back the wrapper.

HO. LY. SHIT.

GOLD. FUCKING GOLD.

Thomas and I both stare at the ticket. He breaks the silence.

”This is gonna make a great first video.”

I pause before holding it out to him. “You have it.”

”What?! No way in hell! You won it and bought it with your own money. And as I said, you deserve a reward.” Thomas pushes the ticket back into my hands. “Virgil, you’re going to Willy Wonka’s factory.”

”FOURTH TICKET!”

I practically slide into the room upon hearing Emile’s yell. I plop next to him on the sofa and watch the TV screen.

There are three guys there, and I can’t tell which the winner is. One is wearing sunglasses, a white t-shirt, a black jacket, black jeans, and has an arm around the shoulders of the person in the middle.

The one in the middle has brown hair, and is wearing a purple shirt, ripped black skinny jeans and a patched black and purple hoodie. He looks pretty uncomfortable at all the attention.

The third looks identical to the second. He looks more comfortable on camera than who I presume is his twin brother. He was wearing a grey shirt, an old brown jacket, and jeans.

As I watch, they’re revealed to be called Remy Sleep, and Virgil and Thomas Sanders. Virgil’s the one who won the ticket. He seems so shy! Well, I’ll make sure to make him feel welcome during the tour.

Speaking of the tour, Virgil lives in Florida, and in the same town as the Wonka factory! That’s awesome! He’s sooooo lucky. Imagine being able to buy Wonka bars nice and fresh. I bet they’d be even more delicious then.

Oh boy, four out of five tickets have already been won with five days to go! I can’t wait to find out who wins the last one!

It seems my predictions have been proven right yet again. The next ticket was found in Florida. Just the one in Australia left now.

There’s not much else to say about the ticket being won, really. Nothing worth saying. Robert still blames me, so some things never change.

Joan and Talyn have been trying to find a way to hide a camera on my person so they can see the factory for themselves. It’s rather funny to hear their extravagant ideas, though I doubt I’ll try any. They’ll have to settle with my explanation.

They’re going to be coming with me to Florida, though. Of course my family aren’t, but Joan and Talyn didn’t want me to be alone, so got tickets for the flight too.

I totally didn’t beg them to come because I have a fear of flying...

Okay, I watch Air Crash Investigation too much. It’s educational and very intriguing, if slightly anxiety inducing.

But the point is, they’re coming with me. We’re arriving the day before the tour and leaving the day after. Joan and Talyn are going to be heading up to Orlando the day of the tour to go to Universal Studios. They’re going to meet up with me once the tour’s over. Everything’s arranged, and I’ve even written up schedules for us all so no one will be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Some may call it excessive, I call it efficient.

But I digress. The point is I’m fully ready and prepared...

To wipe this in my brother’s face.

Oh, how perfect! An emo nightmare just won the final ticket and is coming with us on the tour! How wonderful!

That was sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell.

Call me quick to judge, but I’m not too fond of those edgy, melodramatic, dark emo types. They just seem to always bring down the mood. I’d rather my time at the greatest factory in the entire world didn’t be ruined by some moody, angsty, and by the looks of it, very socially awkward guy.

But I guess it’s too late now. He’s got a ticket, he’s going. Fun.

However, lets brush that aside for now. There’s more interesting stuff than ‘Virgil’ or whatever his name was winning a ticket.

The day after I’d won my ticket, my dads were out so I hosted a party at my place to celebrate my victory. It was great. We played spin the bottle and I got to kiss none other than school heartthrob Nate Christopher. It was probably one of the greatest moments of my life. Valerie even took a picture and sent it to me so I could “treasure the moment I could pretend Nate was gay and into me”.

Why are all the best guys straight? Let’s hope I’ll find the one in Florida and he’ll actually be gay, or bi, or pan, or just likes dudes in general.

Anyway, in the middle of the party, I got a call from Pa. He said he and dad had arranged, not just flights and hotels, but a two-week holiday in America. First, a week and two days in Florida, two days in the town with the factory, then the morning after the tour we’ll drive up to Orlando to go to Disney World. Then, we’ll fly up to New York, which is where we’ll spend the rest pf the two weeks, because Dad managed to get us all tickets to see Be More Chill on Broadway! I’m so excited, it’s going to be the best two weeks of my life.

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Tags: @clone-number-1, @pumpkinminette, @i-have-n0-idea-what-im-d0ing

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mxrainbowsheep · 5 years

Text

Music to My Ears

Chapter 1: Patton Herz

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

He rubbed his eyes as he woke up, wiping the grime away, he looked up at the clock and with one hand, and reached out to turn off the clock that was still beeping in the background, with the other.

Getting up, and putting on his thick framed glasses. He stretched and got up to take a shower. He was absolutely ecstatic about today, but he was also getting butterflies in his stomach just thinking about the event going on later in the next several hours.

He turned on the water and took a shower. After cleaning himself up in the shower, he stepped out and patted himself off. His burnished copper colored hair hung over his eyes sopping wet, quickly he took the towel to his head and shook his hair basically dry.

He brushed his teeth, and applied smell goods. Dressing in a teal shirt with some khakis, which made him look like a suburban dad, not that he minded. He put on his glasses, they were black, thickly framed. Behind his glasses were a pair of golden eyes that shined in the light and a face that was littered with freckles.

Walking out of the bathroom he walked to the kitchen getting an apple and a handful of trail mix. Chomping on his breakfast he scrolled through his phone liking cute photos of dogs and cats or other cute animals, and reblogging them.

As his hair dried it became more wispy and more curly. It just looked messy but he didn’t mind.

Patton Herz was a man who enjoyed puns. He also played guitar and he wrote silly and educational songs for kids online, he never really expected to get big, and he was not disappointed when he didn’t. Having been on Youtube for maybe three years he only had 167 subscribers. Which to him, was a whole lot. He didn’t get many hate comments actually it seemed that it was mostly parents and teachers thanking him for making such songs, and those types of comments always made him happy! Because at least some kiddos were being helped learn.

Because if there was one thing that Patton had learned while taking children’s psychology during college, (he minored in music theory) it was that children retained more information and ended up with better hand-eye coordination through song and dance.

But, he didn’t just sing on his channel he also showed kids how to make there own different kinds of slime, and would play with it on camera. Those tended to have more views upwards of 500 views, that had always surprised Patton. He also made challenge videos, doing a bunch of silly and harmless challenges, just in case little kids wanted to copy him.

Patton walked out of his apartment, guitar case in hand, he walked down the stairs, it was an odd process, as usual. Putting the guitar in front of him and stepping off one foot at a time, taking his time, he got down the stairs, it went faster each day as he already knew how to maneuver it. He walked out into the parking lot and got into his car. While he sat in side, he drew in a deep breath, to try and ease his nerves. It was his big day after all! A paid gig that had been planned months in advance!

It was his first paid gig, and his first time having a decently sized audience! He never played in underground bars where most wannabe singers did, mostly because he was sure that most of the drunk bar patrons didn’t want to learn about homophones through song.

He was finally going to play his guitar, on a stage! Well.. it wasn’t really a stage.. more like a mat, in the corner of the room, in the library. But before he got to the library he needed to stop and get some coffee, from his favorite coffee shop down the road.

Patton walked into the Dream Bean Coffee Shop, in this little town he lived in. He went to this shop often to write songs. Over the last three years he had made good friends with the staff, giving them as good of tips as he could. He walked to the door and pushed it open. Or well… he meant to. After wrestling with the door, for a few moments he walked inside.

Inside smelled of coffee beans and candy. He walked up in line and waited until it was his turn.

He examined the different items on the chalkboard menu.

A Flat White, a Caramel Macchiato, Caffe Mocha, a Caffe Latte... and all the stuff he wouldn’t be buying. He moved forward when the line did.

A small wait for the best coffee in the world, Patton thought to himself.

The building was small and made of stone, but it had been accented with a bright orange, and with a bright yellow. It made the place feel like a warm home. He liked that feeling. It made him feel happy and safe.

Soon enough he was standing in front of the register. In front of him stood a short Taino woman, with her hair in a bob, wearing an apron and the store branded headband.

“Hey music man! Let me guess, the usual?” she smirked.

“Aw! You know me too well Valerie!” Patton laughed

“I mean, you do order the same thing every time you’re here.” She smiled and turned around and gave out the order to the barista, Joan, who was behind her mixing the drinks.

“Well, that, that is Gru…” Patton giggled at his own Despicable Me pun.

Everyone in hearing range groaned.

“Thanks Val!” He called out turning away to sit down.

“No problem Pat!” Val smiled.

As Patton turned, he bumped into someone.\

“Oh! Uh super sorry!” He looked down at the man that stood in front of him.

He had black hair with a dyed purple fringe. He wore an oversized hoodie and dark jeans. The other man was looking at the ground, and it seemed like he was shrinking into his hoodie. It didn’t help that Patton was nearly 6’1.

To Patton, he seemed vaguely familiar. But Patton didn’t ask and just moved out of the man's way.

The man only nodded in response. Patton scratched the back of his head as he turned around to sit down, but he just couldn’t get over how familiar that man was, so he spun right back around and walked back towards the man.

“Hey! Aren’t you that singer for..” Patton paused taking a moment to think, “Oh what’s the name.. Pry.. pry something..” he looked away, mumbling to himself trying to figure it out.

“Uhh. Oh! Um! Pryder!” Patton looked back at the stranger, smiling widely because he remembered that name.

The stranger simply shook his head, then moving his hands in the air, he signed.

No, My name is Virgil.

Patton face palmed, “Oh! You’re deaf! I am so sorry!” Patton said and signed the words.

Virgil laughed and shook his head.

I’m not deaf, I’m just mute! He signed back, I’m surprised you know ASL.

“Oh! Yeah! I write music for little kids! So.. I taught myself asl, for the little kiddos that can’t hear!”

Virgil smiled. That is a very kind of you to do.

“It’s the least I could do!” Patton returned the smile.

The barista behind the counter called out an order, Virgil raised his hand and walked over to the barista to get his coffee. Patton stood awkwardly, waiting for his drink to be called.

Virgil walked back to him and waved, and motioned Patton to sit with him. Patton nodded and walked over to the two seater table tucked in between the two large windows.

I should be getting to the tour bus soon, but I haven’t talked to anyone who knew ASL, well besides for my brother, in so long!

“Aw! Well I’m glad we met!”

Yeah! Virgil smiled.

“Cotton Candy Frappe?” one of the barista’s called out, Patton looked up, then rushed up to the counter, and was given his drink.

“Thank you Terrance!”

“No problem, see ya next time Pat” he said as he turned back around and started the next order.

After sitting back down Patton thought over what Virgil had signed.

“Wait.. did you say uh..” He looked around, before deciding to sign, Tour Bus?

Virgil nodded.

So you are the singer for Pryder! Patton didn’t want to alert anyone in the cafe so as not to bother Virgil.

No, I’m his brother. Virgil then took a sip of his coffee.

“You two look so much alike!”

Twin brother.

“Ohhh I gotcha.. So do you..” Patton stopped, “Ah! Uh.. I’m bothering you aren’t I.”

No! No! It’s fine!” He paused looking for something to talk about, So you said you write music? Virgil asked.

“Yeah! This is where I normally come to write songs” Patton rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, “But singing funny songs for little kids doesn’t really get you anywhere! I mean, the library gigs are great and so are the school gigs!! The kiddos really enjoy them! But.. ah, it’s just a dream I’ll never achieve,” he laughed.

Virgil’s face dropped to confusion, and he looked down, in thought. Then his face lit up.

How about I give you the information to contact my manager!? He nodded excitedly.

“Wait really?” Patton was surprised, “I mean, you haven’t even heard me sing my songs, what if I sing terribly, and besides I don’t think your manager would want my childish songs!” he spoke quickly letting his insecurities show, “Oh! I’m sorry..”

“Don’t let him lie to you he’s got a voice of an angel,” Terrance had called out from over the counter.

“I second that,” Valerie called out

“Oh stop it!” Patton was flustered by the comment. “Both of you!”

“It’s true,” Terrance shrugged.

Virgil smiled amused, making a face like he was laughing.

Well, You’d be surprised, I don’t necessarily like my manager but, I mean, everybody has heard the name Pryder at one point and knows what I do because of him.

“You do drive a good point..”

“Do it Pat! Go chase your dreams!” Valerie said.

“Aw heck! Why not!” Patton smiled widely.

Alright! He paused, Do you have your phone on you? So you can write down the number?

Patton nodded before fumbling for his phone and pulling up his notes.

Vigil then signed a long string of letters and numbers.

“Thank you Virgil really!!”

Please call me Verge! Virgil smiled in response.

Patton smiled then looked down at his watch.

“Oh! Shoot! I have to get to the library!” Patton stood up grabbing his frappe, and his papers,

Sorry I kept you so long! Virgil looked alarmed.

“No! Don’t apologize! It’s alright! Uhh.. see you?” Patton spoke quickly, then bolted to his car, got in and started driving.

Terrance walked up to Virgil.

“Don’t worry too much! Patton is just nervous. He’s having his first concert at the nearby library, and he’s really nervous,” he informed Virgil. “Not that he hasn’t done the gig before, but this is the first time he’s getting paid to do it. The library is sponsoring him actually.”

Virgil nodded and grabbed his phone, he quickly wrote out a thank you. Terrance nodded and went back to work.

He debated for a moment what he should do, taking a sip of his coffee, he put down a tip, and got up sending his brother a text.

Chapter 2: Just a little bit Nervous…

Quickly rushing through the old hickory doors of the library, his guitar case beside him, He looked at his watch, and sighed a breath of release, he wasn’t late.

He looked around and took in the smell of books and coffee beans, then he walked up to the lady behind the check in/out counter.

“Um, I’m Patton Herz, I’m here for the musical educational… uhh, concert?”

“Oh! Yes! Please follow me!” she got up from behind her desk and quickly started shuffling towards a smaller room that was walled off as to not disturb the readers in the rest of the library.

He waited patiently for the kids and their parents to come into the library, and sit in the room with their parents. Tuning his guitar, as small groups of two or three wandered in. There was a soft rumble of rambunctious children.

Patton liked performing for children, as they were brutally honest, but that wasn’t just the honesty he appreciated, he also they were easier to entertain, but much more fun, if you could get them involved. It was the adults and teens that got dragged along that he was nervous about. Judgy eyes made him far more upset than a child’s honest opinion.

In due time he would get a teaching license for music and perhaps even special ed, and use his talents there. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he saw a librarian to the left of him he give him a thumbs up, that let him know they were ready for show time.

He strummed a G chord, it rang out, silencing the audience, he tapped the mic a few times. Patton took a deep breath.

“Hiya folks! How are you doing this fine morning?” Patton spoke into the mic

The children and some parents holding onto their littler ones, shouted out their response. It seemed that they were good.

“Seems to be a good morning for some of you doesn’t it! Say, I have a question, why did the scarecrow win an award?” Patton bawled his hands up and placed them on his hips, leaning forward.

A small chorus’s “what’s” came back to answer.

“He was outstanding in his field!”

The kids laughed and their parents groaned, some of the children repeated the joke to their parents.

Patton smiled, then grabbed a pick, and put his hands on his guitar. Patton thought it would be a good idea to play a few songs the little kids knew.

“Let’s start this concert off! Hmm.. what song should we be singing? Does anyone have an idea?”

Once again several shouts, Patton could barely hear one voice from another, but he did hear several shouts

“Did I hear a Head and Shoulders?”

Several shouts to confirm, and off Patton went, singing song after song, joke after joke, and he got to sing a few originals.

He had gone over his whole schtick several times over, he knew what he was doing, and the nervousness he felt was gone.

He finally ended the show with a bow.

“Thank you! Thank you for coming out and supporting your children’s wants to learn!! If you want your children to learn more or if you’d like to support me, and want your children to learn, all my songs are all free online on my Youtube channel! Just look up Patton Herz!”

After the show, several Mom’s came up to Patton thanking him, and complimenting him. Some of the little kids hiding behind their parents. He got on his knees and waved to the kids,

“Hi!” He said cheerfully, “Do you guys want a hug?” He opened his arms wide.

One kid peaked out behind his mother and then he hugged Patton, then a girl and another child ran over and they all gave him a quick hug.

“You dress funny! But you sound really pretty!” One of them said,

“Sarah!” The child’s mother said in a warning tone.

“No it’s fine!” He looked up to the mother, “Thank you Sarah!” He looked back at the girl. “Children are brutally honest it’s fine!” He stood up and patted her head.

He made eye contact with the hooded figure in the back, then the hooded figure started to walk away. Patton quickly made an excuse and walked towards the unknown figure.

Chapter 3: Virgil Pryder

Virgil Pryder was always shy, but as he grew older his anxiety started to become more and more prominent. It seemed the only way he could drown out the world, was through music. When he discovered he could make his own music, he never stopped there, each song he made, he posted on Youtube, some animators found a few of his songs, and made angsty animations from them. Every so often his songs would pop up on a lip syncing app. He got popular, gaining hundreds of subscribers every week.

Virgil's twin Remy found out about him making music and then begged Virgil to let him sing for him. Together they decided to be a band, Remy would sing and speak for Virgil, as he didn’t have a voice for himself. Not that he wanted to sing anyway. He was happy hiding behind the name he had chosen for the two, as if it were his mask.

The origin of the band name simply came from the fact that it was their last names. Well, one day Remy planned on changing his last name, but soon it was agreed upon that Virgil wasn’t going to show much of his face, so that-away he didn’t get a panic attack from any group that decided to swarm him. This meant that it had also been decided that Remy would be the face of the band, he would go to interviews, and talk about the band’s success.

One day, after months of convincing from Remy, he finally went out to get a manager, no sooner had he gotten one, he then ended up with a record label, several songs on the radio, and now he was one of the most well known dubstep/edm artists out there. Everyone had heard his music, and if they hadn’t listened to his it, people had heard of him vaguely.

But here he was. Listening to a stranger he had only met only ten minutes earlier, sing to a bunch of children and their parents.

He had his black hoodie on, and the hood was over his head, when he caught Patton’s eye. He pulled panicked and started turning away.

Patton ran after him. Not ran after in the sense of say running, but fast walking towards a person. Patton was quietly and quickly excusing himself from the different groups of people who approached him.

“Virgil?” Patton called out, walking up to him.

Virgil stopped and turned around slowly, he waved his hand shyly at Patton.

Patton smiled softly at him, “What are you doing here?”

Came to see the show. He paused a minute looking around. You do sound like an angel.

“Oh stop it!” Patton smiled. “I can’t believe you came! I thought you had to catch your bus?”

Yeah we have enough time. Besides the concert isn’t until a lot later, and it’s like 3 pm.

“Oh, I wish you luck for your concert, I’m sure it’s nothing like mine, haha, if you’d even call this a conc-“

“Oh my god, are you the lead singer, Remy, from Pryder??” A woman came up to them and interrupted their conversation. Her voice was annoyingly high pitched and nasally.

Virgil could only shake his head in response. Not only because he couldn’t speak but also because he wasn’t his brother.

“Oh my god you are! You have to be!! The likeness is uncanny! Can we take a picture, please, please!!! Oh my god, I’ve never met a celebrity before,” and she continued on and more people started to crowd around them. Then out of the corner of Virgil's eyes, Patton moved in front of him.

“Leave him alone. He isn’t Remy-dy or whoever. Now back off and go away before I report you all for harassment.” Patton spoke firmly. His arm outstretched in front of Virgil.

With some grunts and groans of disappointment, the crowd dispersed.

Patton turned around and smiled.

“I think they got the point!” As he said point he poked Virgil.

Virgil giggled.

Thank you. He mouthed the words as well.

“Aww shucks, You’re welcome!” Patton rubbed the back of his head.

Hey, take this, it’s a ticket for the show. So we're even. Virgil smiled.

“Aww thank you! I will try to stay as long as I can, I’m just sensitive to loud noises so I might not stay the whole night.

I understand. Virgil nodded. Don’t feel obliged to come if you can’t handle it.

Patton smiled.

“Thank you.”

🗤

But Patton decided to go and see the show anyway. It was later, almost five o’clock. He quickly ran down the stairs to get to his car. The Arena where it was at was almost an hour away and Patton wanted to be there a little bit early. So he got into his car drove himself down to where the concert was at.

He got out of the car and went to go stand in line. After a period of waiting, he finally got into the arena and got to where the concert was at.

Remy was on stage introducing every person who was working in the background. Patton knew it was Remy because he looked exactly like Virgil, except he was talking.

Soon the show started to run and music played Remy sang, and Patton got overwhelmed super quickly. After about an hour Patton had to leave the concert.

Chapter 4: Nervous, Again

Patton came home after the concert, absolutely wiped out because of the energy he had to expend to keep up with the crowd and the music. His head ached. He body ached. He opened his door after a minute of fumbling with keys.

He pushed his guitar in first then himself. Setting down the guitar he turned around closed the door. His feet practically dragged across the carpet. He kicked off his shoes and fell right into the couch landing on his back. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a note, the one Virgil had written him, with the number to his manager on it.

Patton sat up straight, and fumbled around his coat looking for his phone, briefly having a panic attack, before finding his phone in his back pocket. He quickly dialed the number Virgil had given him in.

He was there, sitting in his apartment, it was very small, but so was the couch he had been sitting on, another thing that played into the smallness, was mostly due to the fact that it was not at all bare, it in fact was very crowded with small trinkets.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

The phone began to ring. Patton looked around the room, there were shelves filled with movies (some on VHS, others on dvd, he even had some that were blu-ray not that he had a blu-ray player),

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

There were also all sorts of music on the shelf or at least near it, (the music ranged from 45’s to 33’s, on the vinyl records, some were CD albums, others were cassette tapes),

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

There were some succulent plants on a few shelves, and other miscellaneous items. Such random items included, a guitar stand next to the said shelf, a few guitar picks on the coffee table in front of him, cups that were placed randomly around his room. Not all of them on top of coasters.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Pattons leg bounced with anticipation, to guess, it had to have been going about 500 bpm.

updownupdownupdownupdownupdownupdownupdownupdo-.

Click.

His leg stopped.

“Hello, thank you for calling MNDScapes this is Quill, how may I place your call?” the voice spoke sweetly over the phone.

Patton was so shocked that he couldn’t respond fast enough.

“Hello?” the voice called out. “This better not be a prank call.”

“No, Yes, Hi! Um, Sorry. I was given this number by Virgil, was told to request an appointment to get a manager? Uh, specifically Dillian Falsa?

“Ah! Virgil and Mr. Falsa! I’ll get you connected. Just a few moments please!” the phone clicked and there was elevator music.

It went on, and it went on, and it went on. It seemed to go on forever. Patton's breath got caust in his throat. He didn’t pay attention to it though, focusing more intently on the music playing in the background.

It clicked.

“Yesss?” a voice hissed over the phone.

Patton let go of a breath, he had forgot he had been holding. It took him no time at all to figure out that this Mr. Falsa.

“Hi!” His voice shone brightly, even through the phone, the man on the other line could tell that not only was he was a bright ball of sunshine, but that he was also another low life wanna-be famous guitarist, or something of the sort.

“Please, tell me what you are doing on the line, before I hang up.” he said coldly.

“Oh, uh, I met Virgil from the band Pryder, he gave me your office number, and he said you could manage me? Get me where I need to be?” Patton’s voice was soft as he questioned. He didn’t realize how tense he was. Had he been standing, people probably would have mistaken him for a plastic mannequin. He tried to relax, but his attempt failed miserably, as wherever he tried to move to get relaxed he just ended up winding back up again, like a wind up toy that a child kept winding up every time it started slowing.

“Ah, Virgil. He told me you might be calling, I assume this is Patton?” Mr. Falsa, said, his voice changing to a lighter tone. Patton could almost hear the soft smirk that landed across this mans face on the other end.

If it hadn’t been for Virgil, Dillian Falsa, would have hung up on this man who had telephoned him, and hadn’t even introduced himself or done anything that was considered “respectful”, well, at least not in the eyes of ethical business concerns. Not that Dillian followed said business ethics. Or any ethics. If Dillian wanted to follow ethics he wouldn’t be where he was now. He used the system the way he had wanted, and got exactly what he wanted.

Dillian was the type of man who had 20 different thousand dollar watches, and solely wore them according to the occasion. He was also a man who saved his money, invested it, and got more money.

He was also the type of man who could walk into a fancy and expensive store, let’s make one up now.. A stupid fancy made up brand like… Gucci.

He could walk into this said make-believe store, and make all of its inhabitants feel poorer as soon as they laid eyes upon him. Which wasn’t hard to do, considering a good chunk of the people who did see him were only and would only ever, window shop. Another small group he made feel poor were the workers, they may have gotten paid more than minimum wage, but where still not paid much more than that.

He had helped make several people famous, and by famous he meant, he got them lots of money. Some of his gems were, well, obviously Pryder, but also Logan and Roman Errege. Knowing his rates of success, he figured he could make Patton a superstar. If not a superstar, at least a one hit wonder.

“Ah! Yes sir! I am indeed Patton!” He smiled knowing that Virgil had put in a good word for him.

“Alright. Find a piece of paper and pen, and write down this address.” Dillian said, well, it was more commanded than it was said.

Patton fumbled along clumsily, grabbing the items requested and got ready to write. He nodded his head to signal Dillian to tell him the address. It Patton took about .5 secs to realise what he’d done, and then, with a sigh, a little piece of his soul died.

“Ready when you are, sir,” Patton said and no sooner had he said it Dillian spouted out the address, and Patton wrote it down like there was no tomorrow.

“Uh, what state would I be traveling too?” Patton asked, his voice was practically shaking.

“California.” he answered, “Can you make it there?” he asked in a deadpan voice.

“In about three days, driving anyway.”

“No, no, no. That isn’t good.” Dillian muttered to himself in response,

“Then I’m sorry I’m wast-”

“Quiet. I am thinking.” Dillian said sternly, abruptly interrupting Patton. “I want to see you succeed. I will personally see to it that you will.” he spoke again after a moment of thinking, one thing that he left off from telling Patton was the reason why, it’s because Virgil has never been wrong about someone having a good shot at being famous, and that he trusted Virgil’s word and didn’t need to hear Patton sing or anything, to know that it had Dillians most successful client’s seal of approval was all he needed.

“Tell you what, as long as you agree to what I say, I will pay for your trip here and your residence, I will probably ask Logan to spare you a room.”

Pattons eyes widen.

“Wai-wait... You’re just.. gonna spend a thousand dollars on me?” Patton was completely blown away by this act of kindness.

“It won’t cost a thousand dollars,”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, but yeah! Sure, I’ll do what I feels right!”

Dillian’s face curled into a crooked smirk.

“Perfect.” He said. “But first I will need an email so you can get the ticket digitally,”

Patton nodded to himself. “Right, yeah! Uh,” he listed off his email address.

“Thank you, now go get ready, and I’ll take care of this ticket.” Dillian took the phone away from his face and hung up.

“Thank you so much sir!” Patton said into phone. He didn’t get a response the line had gone dead. Patton shrugged to himself and grabbed a suitcase, and started piling all sorts of clothes into it. Polo’s, Khaki’s, you name it, he threw it in. He ran all the way around the house gathering smaller things.

Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Shampoo, Mouthwash, Pens, Chargers, Picks for the Guitar, the Guitar.

This took up the whole rest of the night. Grabbing all the things he believed he would need. He looked up lists on line, he watched videos on how to store more stuff into a small suitcase. He folded clothes, he washed and dried the dirty clothes.

Eventually he turned off the lights when it started nearing ten o’clock. He set himself in bed. Believing to have had everything he needed. Knowing he had everything he needed.

Patton laid in bed and thought to himself in awe. The moon peeked through the window in Patton’s room. Shining a window shaped.. shape.. onto his covers. It excited him knowing he was starting to get to where he wanted too. Or was he? Getting a manager is exciting at all, but this might mean, he has to give up teaching little kids stuff like math and science, and that’s all Patton wanted to do. Was help the little kids with learning. He supposed it didn’t matter, as long as he was making music, he figured he’d be happy.

He took a moment and absorbed the last little bit of his surroundings. His room. He had already called his friend Terrance earlier to house-sit his apartment while he was gone. So he didn’t know why he was nervous. Well, he did he just felt foolish about it, maybe he was just scared to leave, or maybe he was scared of flying on an airplane.

He continued on thinking these things until his brain finally decided to shut off for the night, and he fell deep into a slumber.

Chapter 5: Logan Aivot

Once again it seemed, Logan Aivot, was up at late night, writing the lyrics to the music he had made earlier that day.

This was certainly not the first time that he had been up this late writing music.

He banged his head against a wall trying to come up with something. He needed something now. He needed something quick, but he also wanted his next song to be meaningful, he wanted it to impact people no matter what they identified as. Just like the last few. But nothing would come to his mind.

Not a singular, word.

Just the idea of what he wanted to portray. It was an awful feeling. Knowing what he wanted to write, not knowing how he wanted to write it. It kept making him feel incompetent, it made him feel like he couldn’t do anything.

Because to Logan, all music needed meaning, or else it wasn’t really music. Everything needed at story. Everything needed a meaning. If it didn’t have that, if it didn’t have cryptically inspiring messages, then to him, it was a waste of 3 and a half minutes of someone’s time. He didn’t want that. He felt that people weren’t creating good music anymore, and he sought to fix that problem. To fix that gap.

He was just stuck.

Thunk.

His head hit the wall at the same time inspiration struck.

I got it! He thought to himself

“I can just write about being stuck! I know every fanfic writer hates being stuck.” He spoke out loud to nobody in particular.

He also had no idea where that last bit had come from. Probably the delirium of having stayed up way later that was one, necessary and two, healthy.

He was alone in his room. He was days away from getting on a plane to see his manager and discuss the advertisements for a new album, and he needed new songs, or else how would he stay relevant? That was one of the many very pointed questions that his manager had asked him. It was also one of the only questions that had stuck with him. It was his dream and his passion was to share his words with the world.

He had debuted his first album, “Words” last year, and it had been quite a hit with a small group of people, and he did have one of his songs on the radio. He was most proud of it. He just hoped it wasn’t played out.

He started scribbling down words and it flowed out of him.

Once he finished writing, he looked at it and cringed, but that didn’t stop him, because the greatest thing he learned was to not negatively criticize his art and he drew it. He instead focused this energy into writing corrections and making sure the rhyme structure was sound, and that sentences flowed correctly. He spent extra time on the chorus making sure it was perfect.

After the last period had been placed he barely blinked and he immediately fell asleep against his wall, pencil still in hand, snoring softly.

🗤

Later in the morning he awoke to a call from his friend Joan. He cast away the pencil that had managed to stay in his hand the whole night while he had slept, Logan picked up the phone and answered.

“Hey man, how’s your song-writing going?” they spoke over the phone.

“Uhh,” Logan paused, his brain still foggy from sleeping so late. Looking over at the paper in front of him, re-reading the words he wrote.

“Not good?” they asked over the phone.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s not good, objectively it does need some more fine tuning, but I don’t want to cheap out like most modern artists and repeat the chorus to, you know, death.”

“I understand that, do you need any help? Need any ideas? You know I’m always down for helping you out man.”

Logan took a second to assess himself. He couldn’t much assessing right now, because he hadn’t had a cup of coffee, and his brain was still fogged over.

But if there was one thing that Joan was best at, it had to have been that they were an amazing friend. Logan probably would have lost his sanity years ago if it hadn’t have been for Joan helping along the way.

“Yes, I do know, I thank you for the offer, though right now, I just need to fine tune these lyrics that I wrote last night. Wanna hear what I’ve got?” Logan asked,

“Sure! Let’s hear it!”

Logan didn’t bother singing it, even though he was friends with Joan, and even though he had already made one album before, he was still shy singing to just one person, besides he didn’t like to sing, not that he couldn’t. Just that he’d rather say it or perhaps rap it. He continued with the lyrics. Another reason that he said it was because Logan didn’t have a specific tune for these lyrics yet.

“Yeah, definitely sounds like it needs a tune up, but otherwise? I like it, I totally hate feeling that way as well!” Joan gave their criticism.

“Agreed, thank you Joan, you are once again, amazing help!”

“It’s what I’m here for!” Joan laughed “Alright man! I’ll check in next week, text me if you need me pal!”

“I always do.” Logan couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright. Uh, Take care man!”

“You too Joan!” Logan responded, and with that they both hit the “End Call” button. Neither of them say goodbye, because to both of them, there never really was a need to say bye. Bye meant you were leaving for a while.

Ah! He thought, another bit of inspiration filled his head.

He grabbed a spare piece of paper and wrote it down. Logan looked down at the other paper that was in front of him, all wrinkled from it being twisted in the blankets Logan slept under.

He started analyzing it.

That wasn’t grammatically correct. He grabbed a pencil and started erasing. And rewriting. That could be said better. Erase, rewrite. Oh! Alliteration! Nice. he thought to himself. This could rhyme better with this word, and so on and so forth.

Logan looked over to his phone to see just in time that his manager was calling.

“Hello Mr. Falsa, I didn’t expect that you would call today.”

“Neither did I Mr. Aivot, but Virgil found some new talent, his name’s Patton, and I was wondering, if you would give up a room to let him stay awhile, perhaps meet him when he gets here and help him get adjusted to city life?”

“Wait, why do I have to be put on babysitting duty? I have work to be doing!” Logan looked up at the wall, as if he was actually talking to Dillian face to face. his face scrunched up in confusion.

“It’ll only be for a little while, besides you’re both fresh talent, so I also expect you two to do a collab.”

“Collaborations are difficult you know, besides I’ve already done one.” Logan said, he put his phone on his shoulder, holding it down with his head. He continued rereading and rewriting the lyrics.

“Yes, but you’ve never done one with another person singing with you, and it will help him get out there.”

Logan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew there was no winning with Mr. Falsa. Especially if he had already decided on the course of action before ever even thinking about asking any of the people involved.

“Alright. Fine.” Logan let go of the bridge of his nose, and went back to fixing up the lyrics. “I will let him stay, but he’s only staying until he can afford his own apartment and then he’s out. I don’t need someone barging in on my stuff and messing everything up,”

“He won’t. I know he won’t. He doesn’t seem like the type.”Dillian spoke evenly. Dillian knew how to talk to all of his clients, each one had specific tones they responded to better with. Logan was typically not one for drama, so Dillian almost always cut out any drama that was involved with anything.

“Well that certainly is a plus. Is that all you wished to talk about?” Logan erased something again.

“Yes, that was it for today.” Dillian paused, “He should be here later in the day. I’ll give you a call before he arrives.”

“Until then Mr. Falsa.” Logan said flatly. This was only because he was trying to find a rhyme for the word rut, that made sense in the actual context of the song.

“Until then,” With that Dillian hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

Logan lifted his head letting the phone drop in front of him. He sighed. Logan wasn’t looking forward to having to make friends with someone new. New people meant problems. New people meant that he had to deal with their naïvness, and teach them everything that they didn’t know. Sure he had only been in the game for two years, but that didn’t mean anything. To Logan at least.

Logan looked at the time. He figured he’d get some coffee and then get back and start writing out that other idea. Maybe he’d make it into a duet with this Patton person.

He got up and walked into the kitchen humming random little tune as he went and made himself some coffee.

Chapter 6: New Faces and New Places

Patton woke up a few minutes before his alarm went off. Quickly he turned off the alarm before it went off, he grabbed his glasses and put them on, moving slowly he put his hand on the wall and it up, soon enough his hand caught the light switch turning it on. He looked around for the clothes he set out and went off to take a shower.

Soon after he got out he checked his phone. Checking the time on the ticket, he thought it to be best if he left at nine, so he could get through TSA and wait a little bit before he had to board the plane, which was at 11:15 am.

Patton sat his phone down and started making himself some breakfast. He made himself a bowl of oatmeal, and filled the bowl with all strawberries, bananas, and some peaches. He also grabbed the last apple in his fridge, biting down, but not all the way through, he held it in his mouth, holding a spoon in one hand and a bowl in the other, he walked into the living room, he sat his bowl down on the coffee table, he set the spoon into the bowl, then grabbed the apple and finished biting it all the way through, set that down and got to eating.

When he was done eating, he checked the time.

Eight twentynine am.

He washed his dirty dishes quickly and put them away. He grabbed his suitcase and headed out the door. He was going to meet Terrance who was going to drive Patton’s car back from the airport. With his suitcase he pulled a similar maneuver that he did with his guitar case.

Once he made it down the stairs he placed the suitcase in the trunk of the car. Running back up the stairs he went back into his apartment looking around making sure he had gotten everything.

After he had decided that he indeed was not leaving anything behind, he went outside, closed the door behind him, and went down the stairs to his car. He opened the front seat car door, and sat inside it.

The inside of Patton’s car smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, with only the faintest of hints of a used car. He looked behind him and backed out of the parking lot, he then shifted gears, and he headed that way, to his friends house.

After driving for ten or so minutes, he arrived at Terrance’s apartment, he called Terrance on his smartphone, and then out his friend ran and jumped in the front seat with him. They talked all the way to the airport, and when they got there, Patton grabbed his suitcase, with the help of Terrance. Then Terrance shut the trunk and escorted Patton to the inside of the airport, while Patton’s suitcase trailed behind them.

“I’m so glad you’re here, I don’t know what I would have done without you, you’re literally the greatest human being on this planet!” Patton smiled weakly, his nerves were getting the best of him.

“No problem! That’s what friends are for Pat!” He smiled, ‘Wow, I still can’t believe it, I’m friends with someone famous.”

“Well, not yet..” Patton said, “Hopefully though!” Patton gave a half smile in return.

“Hopefully, but you better get going, getting through TSA sucks. I’ll see you another time!”

“Alright,” Patton opened his arms for a hug, and Terrance hugged him, gripping him tightly. A bear hug. Patton smiled and hugged back tighter. After a moment they let go and Patton let out a nervous laugh, as he started going forward. He waved a hand at Terrance. Then Patton turned around and started making his way through the airport.

Once Terrance lost sight of Patton he went back outside and drove Patton’s car back to his own apartment.

It took Patton a little longer than he expected to get from TSA to the main boarding area but when he arrived he only had to do a max of 15 minutes. That was, until the plane got delayed an hour and a half, due too, “Technical” issues. Patton didn’t mind the wait. He thought it to be a small price to pay when you didn’t pay for your ticket.

As time passed eventually he got on the plane and there he began his journey to California. It would take four hours of sitting in a plane forty thousand feet in the air. Yay.

🗤

When Patton exited the LAX airport in California, he saw two men wearing all black outfits with security guards. Looking around and waiting. They made eye contact with Patton and started walking towards him.

Patton gulped.

“Are you Patton Herz?” the guard on the right asked.

“Ye, uh, yeah. Yes I am.” He said unsure of what was happening.

“We are here to escort you. Apparently you’re important.” the other one said.

“Hired by Dillian Falsa.” the other one added.

Patton was most certainly not expecting to be escorted by bodyguards hired by Dillian.

“Uh, oh, that’s very kind of him.” Patton said, mostly to himself. “Just let me get my suitcase and then I guess we’ll be on our way..”

“We’ve taken care of that. It’s already being sent directly to the house you will be staying in.”

“Oh. Oh!” Patton exclaimed he was even more surprised and also relieved.

He certainly didn’t expect that his suitcase had already taken care of by these people. It was already in the limo that Patton was going to be riding in.

“Well I guess we better get going then..” Patton said.

The guards nodded and turned around Patton in tow behind them.

If Patton didn’t know any better he almost thought that he was being kidnapped. He followed the bodyguards to the VIP section of the airport. Patton reached for the back door, but quickly, a guard opened the limo door for him instead.

“Oh, alright,” Patton said aloud. “Thank you kindly!” Patton grinned at him, and the guard just nodded in response. He then got into the back of limo, the guards sat up in front and drove off.

Inside the limo was more room than Patton thought there needed to be for any moving vehicle. The interior was a pale butternut color pleather, the handles looked like they were made out of mahogany. There was a TV in front of him, he believed that to be unnecessary. As he continued looking around, he sat in awe.

Best not to touch anything. Patton thought to himself, incase he broke something.

Just one question popped up into Patton’s head. Why couldn't he have just taken a taxi like normal people did? This seemed way too fancy and over the top for Patton and it just didn’t make any sense to him. Was Dillian trying to gloat about his wealth?

🗤

When the limo rolled to a stopping point and the guards had let Patton know they had arrived, he got out of the limo. He turned around and waved the guards goodbye.

When he turned back around he noticed that in front of him were two large spinning doors.

That’s.. Odd… He thought to himself.

He walked into through one of these doors. He made sure that he didn’t get caught in the door frame. He walked right into the main lobby. He looked down at the floor, he saw linoleum flooring it was different shades of grey streaked along the floor. His eyes started to rise up surveying the rest of the room.

A few empty chairs lined the white walls. The walls were a pearlescent white, which made it feel like he was in a larger room than he actually was in. He didn’t like the way it made him feel like he was exposed. Not that he had ever done anything bad in his lifetime.

He walked up to the person at the desk, he assumed they were Quill.

“Uh, hello, Patton Herz here to see Mr. Dillian Falsa?”

“I’ll tell him you’re here.” they clicked a few buttons and spoke over the phone.

“Alright I’ll let him know.”

This was it, Patton thought. Mr. Falsa wasn’t even going to see him, he was just gonna send Patton back. He hadn’t even done anything but Mr. Falsa already knew Patton would amount to n-

“Mr. Falsa wants you up in his office. It’s on the third floor, the second door on your right!” Quill’s voice disrupted the negative thoughts that had erupted in his mind.

Patton nodded and smiled, wishing them a good day, Patton ran off to the elevator. He pressed the third floor button.

Ding

The elevator door closed and after a second, the elevator started going up. Patton’s stomach started doing flips and tricks as the elevator lifted itself up.

Ding.

First floor was already beneath him, and Patton started to take deep breaths. Trying to soothe himself from the big bundle of nerves that wrapped around his stomach.

Ding.

The doors swept open, and Patton stepped out. He felt like an alien stepping out of his spacecraft in a new forgien land. The cream colored carpet spread beneath his feet, down the depths of the hall in front of him. He looked around and noticed that in front of him was a three way.

He could continue forward or he could go left or right. He chose to go right. Going down the hall, not very far at least. There it was, the second door on the right.

That’s the door that would decide his future. Patton wanted to run and flee. But underneath all of the nerves, there was some part of him that was curious. Curious of what would happen once he opened that door. Curious to who he would meet, what they would discuss, and how his career might go from there. He was curious as to whose voices he heard on the other side.

He put his hand up to the door. He took a deep breath and rapped his knuckles against the fake wood door.

“You may enter.” A smooth voice came from the other side. He recognised it as Mr. Falsa’s.

Patton took the hand away from the door, and it fell to the silver door handle. He pushed the handle down and pushed open the door and saw a tall man standing in front of the desk. He held himself with a certain type of dignity. His arms were behind him and his shoulders squared out. Behind a pair of glasses that were so thick they could rival Patton’s, his eyes were a piercing dark blue. Patton could have gotten lost in the waves of an ocean that were his eyes.

The man sitting down behind the desk also held himself with a certain kind of dignity, but it was somehow a different kind of dignity. He sat with a more refined look about him. Where one reminded him of a professor at a college, the other reminded him of a man of power. When Patton got a good look at the man sitting down, something immediately told him that he was Mr. Falsa, and something else made him feel so much more poor than he already felt that he was.

He exhaled.

Dillian was the first to say anything, as an odd crooked smile fell across his face,

“Come sit down,” He lured Patton in, he was almost hypnotising, the way he spoke, Patton found himself walking forward, “We have a few things to discuss between the two of you.” he motioned to the chair.

Patton looked around, the slate colored walls made the few plants that were near the wall stand out. Dillian’s desk was a light honey, that also seemed to stand out from the wall. It seemed like it forced you to look at him. He looked back at the man he presumed was Logan and held out his hand to shake. Logan took it and shook firmly. Then quickly let go.

“Patton, Logan. Logan, Patton.” Dillian introduced them.

Patton turned to Dillian and held out his hand for a handshake. Dillian took it. His hands had gloves on them. Patton couldn’t figure out, for the life of him, why.

“A man of manners…” Dillian drawed out, “That will get you far you know?” He raised an eyebrow at Patton. Patton let go of the shake and shook his head.

“No I didn’t know that.” Patton shook his head and tilted it.

Dillian continued smiling, well you really couldn’t call it a smile. It hardly deserved the title, it really was more of a smirk. On one side of his face there seemed to be a scar, traveling from the corner of his mouth, up to and ending at his cheek. Dillian was dressed head to toe as a businessman.

“Please sit down.” Dillian motioned to the chair that was behind Patton.

Patton nodded again and sat down in it. As he sat in it, he realized it was a lot shorter than the desk. It made an illusion, one easily perceptible to tall people. Because when Patton sat down it appeared that Dillian was taller and bigger than him. As if he had dominion over Patton.

“May I just say that, it was super kind of you to fly me out and let me ride in that limo.”

Dillian didn’t say anything, because to him that wasn’t kindness. To him it was simply a risk to make back all his money and some more, that he spent on him. A risk he was willing to take.

“Tell me, what do you do music wise?” Dillian asked.

“Oh, me? I just sing silly little songs to help some kiddo’s out there learn! Ya know, trying to spread happiness and joy through learning and music!” Patton smiled widely. It had always been his personal goal to help others.

He didn’t know how he’d do it. But it knew he would try to help them. Patton was always squeamish, so doctor, vet, and surgeon were out. But he liked talking and often found himself always being asked for advice on things and how to deal with them. So at one point he just figured naturally he would do psychology.

“Then why didn’t you become a teacher?” Logan asked curiously. Patton was an oddity is Logan's mind.

“Because why would I? That’s not what I went to college for. Besides I would have had to have taken an education course, and I would have had to have gotten a license. There’s a lot of steps that it takes for becoming a teacher, other than getting just one degree.” Patton explained.

Logan nodded, as did Dillian. They were both taking in Patton, in person.

“So you know how to write music and compose lyrics I’m assuming?” Logan asked, this was a very important question to Logan because if he could get Patton to write the music, Logan would only have to focus on the song lyrics, which cut song production down by half. Or at least it did in Logan’s mind.

“Yes sir! I minored in music theory in college and I write pretty much everything on my own, except for covers.” Patton smiled brightly.

Dillian almost moved his hand to shield his eyes from the amount of light this man was beaming.

“Interesting. So you would have no qualms doing a collaboration with Logan here?” His voice was even.

He was clearly sizing Patton up figuring out ways to make him respond the way he wanted him too. Patton took notice of being sized up and didn’t let himself waiver even though his stomach was flipping itself into knots.

“No! None at all!” Patton flashed a smile at Logan.

“So here’s the deal right now, you work on getting an album ready, I’ll work on getting you a contract with a producing company, and I’ll help you start getting money”

“Oh really? That’d be Fantastic!”

Logan groaned at the mere implication of a pun, because of course this great big ball of sunshine also had to love puns.

“Did… Did you just make a Fanta pun?” He asked.

“Yes. Yes I did.” Patton said chuckling to himself.

This is going to be impossible. Thought Logan to himself. He didn’t know why, he just had a hunch that either Patton wouldn’t be cut out for this line of work, or that Patton would end up ending his own career before it even started.

Logan called it right then. Virgil might be good at spotting decent talent. But was he was extremely poor at judging someone’s character. He continued to think to himself.

“It doesn’t matter the jokes he makes in private, it matters that he knows how to work, and how to not rely on songwriters, because that means that he has to pay them.” Dillian said smoothly to Logan mostly, but that last part was most definitely aimed at Patton.

“You do realize that it’s a three percent chance you will amount to anything in this industry, don't you?” Logan asked looking at Patton.

“I am aware of that and I am willing to accept whatever comes my way.” Patton responded quickly.

Logan looked impressed the response, but that didn’t matter to Dillian, what mattered was that Patton knew what he had to be doing.

“You understand your job right now, correct?” Dillian said.

“Yes. Work on putting together an album and work with Logan here to create a song together.” Patton repeated back.

Dillian nodded. “Good, Good. Well. That’s it essentially. You’re both free to leave.” With that Logan got up and went to open the door. “Logan, do be kind to Patton.” Dillian called after.

“Planned on it sir.” he opened the door with one hand and vaguely gestured at Patton to follow him with the other.

So Patton did, he got up gave Dillian a smile, a nod, and a wave, Dililan returned the nod. Then Patton turned to Logan and followed followed him out.

They walked in silence. The air around them felt like a cage. Patton was so nervous he could hardly talk. The back of his throat had gone dry a long time ago. But Patton couldn’t stand the silence. So he spoke up.

“So, what do you do?” he asked, trying to match pace with Logan.

“I make music. Same as you.” His voice was flat and monotoned, he stopped at the elevator, pressing the button on the wall.

“Oh right.” With that Patton knew he that it would be a long and awkward trip to where they were going.

🗤

Logan parked the car and got out, Patton quickly followed suit. He followed Logan through the winding parking lot, then through the lobby, then to the elevator, where they waited till they got to the floor Logan was on, then he followed Logan until they got to a door and Logan and to fish for his keys.

Sticking the key into the lock he said,

“Here we are. It’s no pent-house but it is home.” Logan finally got the door open to his apartment.

Patton walked in first. He looked around. The apartment was so much larger than Pattons. It was also much more barren than his own. He suspected Logan liked it that way. He saw a couch in front of a TV, he also saw a small bookshelves with all sorts of smart people books on them.

“Go ahead. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be in my room.” with that Logan walked off and left Patton alone.

🗤

The sun no longer hung in the sky like the beautiful painting that it had been earlier. Instead the moon glowed over the city. No stars in sight. Patton had been staring out the window when he had finally noticed why the night sky had looked so off to him. He sat in his new room, he had gotten ready for bed ages ago, and yet here he was one am and he couldn’t sleep.

It was dark in his room. Aside from the outside light that lit up different parts of his room. His bed was in the corner of the room, underneath a window which caused a square of light to be cast onto his floor. It was also quiet in his room. Except for the honking, the loud music, and the people shouting that was all going on outside.

He finally sat up, and decided to get something to drink. Water perhaps. He pulled the covers off of him and got out of bed as quietly as possible. He shuffled through the dark, looking for his phone, but instead he felt a pain shoot up from his foot because he had stubbed a toe on the nightstand. He reared his head back and he bit his lip as he was trying not to shout. If he didn’t have a filter he would have said some very colorful phrases that night.

After a moment the pain passed enough to where it was bearable, and he grabbed his phone, turned on the flashlight and made his way out of the room. Slowly he creaked open his door just enough so he could get through, then he walked into the living room and straight into the kitchen, Patton surveyed the cabinets looking for the glasses. But something was off.

Everything seemed a whole lot fuzzier than he remembered it being earlier that evening when he had first arrived there. He continued to look for a cup. For whatever reason Patton’s throat was parched.

Glasses… glasses… Oh! Glasses! Patton rolled his eyes as he thought, Ughhh I left my glasses in the bedroom. No wonder I can’t see anything. Without his glasses Patton couldn’t see anything up close. He had to get thick frames so that they could fit the glass part of the glasses in it. Not that Patton didn’t like thick frames, he actually thought they suited him better.

“The glasses are in the top cabinets, two over from the right.” A familiar voice said from behind him.

Patton basically screamed, and dropped his phone from his hands when they came up to protect his face. His chest rised up and fell back down quickly, he was breathing in deep breathes as a way to try and calm himself, as his heart nearly beat out of his chest. After he had gotten himself in more control of himself he turned around to see a figure that no doubt had to be Logan.

He seemed to be leaning against the wall then with a small chuckle he turned the kitchen lights on making Patton close his eyes and groan.

“Agh!” Patton rubbed his eyes “You scared me!” Patton opened one eye letting it get used to the bright light, then opened the other to do the same thing for it.

“I do apologize, I figured you had heard me exit my room.”

“Nope, sorry, I was too busy in thought.” He said answering back. I can’t believe I left my glasses in my room and instead grabbed my phone.”

“Happens.”

“What are you doing up this early?” Patton asked, then scolded “You should be in bed.”

“Could ask and say the same to you.” Logan responded as he walked to the refrigerator and opened it and looked inside for a few minutes before grabbing a gallon of milk.

“Fair point,” Patton nodded. He watched Logan as he opened a cabinet and pulled out two cups. He filled one with milk and left the other one empty. Patton assumed the other one was for him.

“Are you also an insomniac?”

“No, No I’m not I’m afraid. I think it’s a new place and my body isn’t quite used to here yet.”

Logan nodded.

“That is very possible.” he sipped on his milk, then he gestured vaguely to the other cup. “What’ll it be?”

“Uh.. water please!”

“Ah that’s good at least you drink water. But I wouldn’t suggest drinking the water around here. Tastes nasty compared from home. Bottled water here is the best option. After a while you do get used to it, but, once you visit home again, you’ll start drinking that water by the gallon. Happens every time.” Logan said all this while he walked over to the fridge, and pulled out a water bottle, he then tossed it at Patton, who had very poor reaction time, so by the time Patton’s hands went up to catch it, the bottle had already caught his face, however at least the bottle fell into Patton’s hands.

“Sorry,” Logan simply said

“No, not your fault I’ve always been more of a thrower than a catcher.” Patton giggled out as he opened his bottle and took a sip.

They drank in silence for a little bit. Patton couldn’t help but look out the window and again peer into starless sky once more.

Logan saw this and nodded to himself. He had, had the same reaction when he had moved here.

“It’s a shame isn’t it. Not a single start in the sky. On most nights you can hardly see the moon.”

“Really?” Patton asked still looking out the window, well looking wasn’t the right word. Squinting was, as that’s all he could do.

“Yes. It’s sad really, back where I was from, once a month we’d go out to the mountains and look at the stars. You��d never seen anything more dazzling in your life. You could hardly make out any constellations that’s how many stars were crowded next to each other.” He reminisced, nostalgia flowing out like an open gate. Planned on becoming an astronomer. Didn’t think my music career would have picked up the way it did.”

“Really?” Patton asked wistfully

“Yeah, I know big surprise,” Logan chuckled to himself.

“Where I’m from you could sometimes see some of the bigger constellations. Like Orion.” Patton said he was still squinting.

“You’ll get used to it too, ya know the missing stars. If you stay here that is.” he said

“What do you mean?” Patton looked back at Logan.

Logan looked directly at Patton.

“I’m not trying to be cruel in anyway, but do remember this is a 3% change you will blow up big. Hell, I’ve hardly grown big. I just have a decent following. In a few more years maybe then I’ll make it big.”

“Oh. Well” Patton said. “Thank you for your honesty.”

“I’m one of the few people you’ll get it from.” Logan took the last swig from his glass and set it down in the sink, “Good night Patton..” he paused. “And good luck.” and with that Logan walked off.

“Good night.” Patton called after.

He waited until he heard a door close then he grabbed his phone off the floor, then fumbled his way to the light switch, flipped off the lights, and then he went to bed himself. He knew in the morning they would start working together on the song.

Chapter 7: Roman Errege

“You’re going to be on Broadway,”

Those were the words that Roman Errege had been told a total of five years ago, back when he was only 25 years old. Those words circled again through his mind as he sat on the stage after he had gotten himself out of costume and hung it up for the last time that night. He scanned the empty seats as he sat in front of them. In the distance he saw the custodians cleaning.

That night had been the last time he would play the part that brought him fame all those years ago. He sat and remembered each ending of each show, each time he almost slipped out of character, each mistake, he hardly made any mistakes in the show, but he will admit, even he wasn’t perfect. He thought about how earlier that evening at the finale, they brought flowers for him, and how he bawled like a baby.

Those words were what changed everything for him. They echoed over and over again, ringing in his ears, no matter how hard he tried they wouldn’t leave his mind.

After smashing his first lead role he soon rised as a well known Broadway singer. His hopes and dreams were achieved, but like all good things, things must come to an end. For Roman, that was ending his time as lead role in Sweeney Todd, and he was upset over that. He felt like a lost puppy. He felt like a sad puddle of water. One of those puddles that were too shallow to splash.

He hopped off the stage, He had played on that stage 8 shows a week for the last few years. Sometimes he played different characters in between shows, but he was mainly known for his performance in Sweeney Todd.

He walked out of the theater, and headed home for the night. In the morning he would try and talk to Dillian and see where he would go next.

🗤

Roman walked into the office, Completely drained after his literal, last, performance. He closed the door softly behind him, and made his way to the chair in front of the desk. He sank down into the chair.

“Roman! Good to see you! How’s the show go?” Dillian smiled, but it wasn’t genuine, it’s one of those smiles that fall flat because the eyes aren’t shining brightly behind the smile. One that tells you the person is annoyed or sad, but doesn’t want you to know.

“Hey Dillian. I assume you know why I’m here?”

“To look for plays to audition for?”

“You got it.” Roman said glumly. Roman had always hated this feeling in his chest. Normally he felt it during the summer breaks between school plays. Where something just felt lacking. There was hardly ever anything to do during the summer, and he could never afford to do drama during the summer.

“Well, you’re in luck,” Dillian said, “Because it looks like a nearby theater is doing auditions for Urinetown.”

“Excuse me, what?”

“Urinetown, you know, the one abou-”

“Yes I know what it’s about. I’ve seen it. You..” Roman paused looking for the right words to say. He was appalled to say at the least. “I’m talking about what you’re asking me to do. What you’re asking me to go from.” Roman stood up, his temper began to rise. He could not be seen that way, a man who entered his career doing something very serious, immediately dragged down to do a lesser known, satirical comedy show. Roman was practically offended at the meer implication.

“Roman. Be reasonable. Unless you want to remain jobless for, until, oh I don’t know, a new show pops up, which is rare, by the way, or a different show is available, then I suggest you take you attitude and stick it where it belongs. I helped get you that job, I can make damn sure that you’ll never get another good one again.”

“Be reasonable? Be Reasonable??” Roman scoffed, “You should be reasonable, any self respecting man would rather do something, anything, else than jump down that low!”

“It’sss a job.” Dillian hissed out angrily, trying not to raise his voice as he dealt with the man in front of him. “Something to put food on the table for you.”

‘No! An insult it what it is!” Roman stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him. He slammed it so hard the door vibrated in the frame.

From behind the door Dillian sighed. He knew he would have gotten that reaction, He just wanted to get it out of the way first off.

Roman walked down to the lobby. He was furious. He was outraged. He stomped his way down the hall and with a huff he sunk down in a random chair.

He hated that he was acting like a child, and that was making him even angrier. He felt like he was about to burst into tears, when he felt a hand on his shoulder, it soft and gentle, barely any weight to it.

If Roman didn’t know any better he almost would have ignored it, thinking that it was nothing, but he didn’t ignore it, he looked up, and he saw a man with the thickest pair of glasses you’d ever seen, and a face that was speckled with freckles. Roman was surprised, he thought that the hand must’ve belonged to a woman, and he had almost started saying that she was barking up the wrong tree.

“You okay?” He asked, his voice was soft and low. A smooth voice that sounded like he had wisdom beyond his years. Which was odd all things considered. The man looked no older that he was.

Roman nodded and smiled. Tears welling up behind his eyes, as if to tell the kind man that he was, in fact, not okay but instead was lying in hopes that he wouldn’t disturb this kind man’s day.

“You sure kiddo?” he tilted his head, he tilted it the way a kind father did, one that listened and understood you. Roman wished his actual dad was like that.

Roman exhaled an empty “ha” and looked away, and then looked back, biting his lip the way you would if you were stressed out, he shook his head, not making eye contact with the man next to him.

“Well, just take some deep breaths, okay?” his voice was calming, Roman was glad he met someone kind.

Roman nodded and did as he was told. He inhaled deeply, then let the air out, already feeling better, he gave the man a weak smile.

“Do you want to talk about what’s troubling you?”

Roman inhaled and let out a slow,

“Hooo boy,” he looked down, “You promise you won’t think it’s stupid?” he quickly glanced up at Patton.

Patton looked at Roman surprised, it almost looked like Roman had asked Patton to be mean.

“Why would I laugh at something that’s bothering you?” he said, his voice was strong, but it was also soft.

Romans eyes shot up to meet Pattons, and quickly fell back to the spot into the floor where it seemed like his eyes were boring a hole into it.

“Well uh, the other day was my last performance as Sweeney Todd, in, well, Sweeney Todd, and my manager wanted to see me about getting into a new show soon, and when he suggested I audition for Urinetown, which is a fantastic show, don’t get me wrong, it’s just..” Roman paused, “and I don’t even know why I got super upset about this, but,” he sighed, “I just, was insulted I guess, heh” he gave an unsure chuckle, “I’m sorry, I, this is really just stupid and I’m wasting your time aren’t I?”

“No! Not at all kiddo,” Patton shook his head, shocked that Roman would imply such a thing, “I don’t exactly understand, but I do empathize with you! Being told to go from something of a serious thriller, to a satirical comedy, it must feel like an insult!”

A tear ran down Roman’s cheek.

“And hey, keep your head up, okay? A prince can’t wear a crown, if it keeps falling off.” The man smiled, and wiped an escaped tear with his thumb.

Roman smiled and grabbed this kind man, and hugged him.

“Thank you for your words of kindness, … um.. sir.”

“Oh! Sorry, uh, I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Patton!” He smiled widely, hugging Roman back.

“Oh! Right, um, I’m Roman!” he sputtered out, pulling away from the hugs!

“I hope you don’t mind if I go Romaning around some puns!” Patton smiled proudly.

Roman rolled his eyes, and chuckled.

“Good one,” he smiled.

Patton seemed to glow, the pride on his face for sticking the landing of the pun.

“Say, you’re not that dashing broadway star are you?” he tilted his head.

Roman smiled widely and posed. His head was lifted upwards and arms flourished with his head, one hand just above his head, the other just below his shoulder. His classic pose.

“Why yes, yes I am!” He smiled proudly.

Patton smiled back.

“Well that’s good, you just remember one thing, it’s okay to feel the way you do. Emotions are human. Take good care of yourself okay?

“Patton Herz, Mr. Falsa is ready to see you.” said a person from behind the counter.

“I’m afraid that’s my que to leave.” Patton said smiling, he gave Roman a pat on the shoulder then got up and made his way to his manager’s office.

Chapter 8: Decisions Decisions

It had been four days since he had landed in California. For the past three of then Patton had been getting songs ready for his first album, and had also been working on the collab with Logan.

Patton assumed the contents of his album was why he was being called in by Dillian that day. He followed along the same path he had followed when he had arrived the first day. He reached the door and knocked, the newly familiar voice rang out from behind the door.

“You may enter,” it said.

Patton opened the door, walked inside and closed the door behind. He then walked over to sit in the chair, just as Dillian gestured.

This had been Patton’s second time in Dillians office. It now reminded him of a principal's office at school. Not that he had been to the principal’s office often at school. Just on the occasion when he talked a little to much.

Just like the first time he had been in there, due to his surroundings he was forced to look at Dillian. Dillian today wore a similar outfit to the one he had worn when Patton had first met him. But this time he wore a bowler hat.

“Patton, I have something to ask of you.” he started.

“What? What’s happening?” Patton started to panic again, thinking he was going to be sent home.

“Nothing, terrible, I just, I need you to try.. Something else,” he said he put a lot of emphasis on the word ‘this’.

“What do you mean? I just want to educate the kiddos!”

“Patton,” Dillian said in a tone that was a mix of soft and stern, it was odd but that was the effect it had. “There are a lot of low talent lowlifes, who want to educate children as well. Let them do that for you. Because I see a star in you. All you have to do, is do something different, something with substance.”

“But..”

“But nothing, Patton do you want to be known as “That-Guy-Who-Sings-Little-Kids-Songs”? Do you? Do you really?”

“I.. I guess not..” Patton looked away, ashamed and confused.

He swore he was sure what he wanted to, was to sing to kids, but, would singing for kids really get him to where he wanted to be?

“So what is it that you want to do? If you stay on the path you’re on, I will make sure that you are still with the record label you have now, but if you don’t, I can get you signed on with a different and better record label. What will it be then?”

“I.. I..” he looked back up at Dillan. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, “I’ll have to think about it.” as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted it instantly.

The words left a bad taste in his mouth. Like he had just swallowed a spoonful of iron. Those words meant he actually had to come up with an answer, he would probably have to produce one by tomorrow.

“Aww you don’t seem to happy, what’s wrong?” he paused and watched as Patton shook his head. “You should be.” Dillan said darkly, but then he continued in a completely different tone, “You know I should give you a, Patt-on the back, most wouldn’t have guts.”

“Heh,” Patton smiled slightly, “That joke was Dillame,”

“See that’s what I like about you Patton, never too far from a smile or cracking a joke. But if you do choose to stay and do something more serious, that’s gonna have to stop.”

“What?” Patton’s smile faded into a confused look.

“You’ll have to stop making jokes. Besides you’re bad at them, once I can get you an important interview, if you make those types of joke, people will think you’re annoying.”

“But, I love dad jokes!”

“Ah, another thing I’m going to have to ask you to drop if you decide to make the right choice. The dad act? Drop it. You’re not a dad.” He paused dramatically. “Do you understand?” he spoke coldly.

Patton nodded.

“Good. Not to say you can’t do that in the privacy in your own home, just not out in public.”

“Okay..”

“Oh Patton, do cheer up. Trust in me, I am only trying to help you.” Dillan his voice wavered up and down, then he continued his voice now leveled out, it was as smooth as concrete, “You will thank me later, for this.”

He examined his nails then looked up at Patton.

“Well.. Alright, I guess, you are trying to help me, so.. I will give it a good thought!” Patton’s spirit lifted and he smiled. “Thank you.”

Dillan didn’t say anything he just smiled, there was something about this smile though, it almost seemed as if there was something malicious behind it, Patton just shook it off as he then stood, and nodded at his manager,

“Oh! Before you go, I want your official answer by tomorrow,” he grabbed a sticky note, and wrote something down, “If you do decide you don’t want this.. Then I want you out of Logan’s before the end of the month.

Patton nodded. “Will do,” He said dryly, he did not like the threat of homelessness on his back. He felt a lump form in his throat, it was in that annoying spot, that spot behind and slightly under the tongue.

Dillan only tipped his hat in response. As quickly as he had entered his manager's office, he left, going out the door he came in. Closing the door, he now understood exactly where Roman had been coming from. But this time was different, his situation was the exact opposite of Patton’s. He walked back to the elevator, and made his way back to the apartments.

When he got there Logan was waiting for him on the couch.

“What’d the boss man want with you?” he called out from the couch.

“He wants me to stop doing what I’m doing, and drop the ‘dad’ act, whatever that means.” Patton shrugged walking over to the couch. Logan shrugged back.

“Did you agree to anything?” he asked looking up at Patton.

“No..” he leaned on the couch looking at the TV that wasn’t on.

“Smart. I assume he threatened you with homelessness?” Logan got up and started his way to fridge.

“Yeah..” Patton turned around and watched Logan.

“He does that, don’t worry, I’ll spot you a ride home if you decide to go.” Logan said opening the door to the fridge.

“Lunch?”

“Sure.”

Chapter 9: Final Decision

Patton walked into MNDScapes, he knew exactly what he was doing and where he was going. He didn’t even bother to say anything to Quill, he just walked over to the elevator and waited.

Ding.

He entered the elevator and waited as the doors closed behind him. He had made up his mind that night. He decided he didn’t like the way California didn’t have any stars in the sky, how it always smelled of distant smog. He didn’t like how loud it was, and he most certainly didn’t like how expensive everything was.

Ding.

He took that time last night to really reflect on what he wanted to do. He realized he never wanted to make an album. Honestly he didn’t even know why had come here. He didn’t even know why he called Mr. Falsa that very first night that all of this had begun.

Ding.

The elevator door slid open once more, and Patton walked through it. Days ago his stomach had been filled with knots. Now those knots had gone away, and were replaced by a gut feeling. A gut feeling that he was doing the right thing.

He marched down the hallway to the second door on the right. Knocked briefly.

“Who’s there?” Mr. Falsa called out from behind the door.

Patton didn’t even bother responding verbally he just opened the door.

“It’s me and I’ve made my decision,” Patton shut the door behind him and stood behind the chair that was in front of Dillians desk.

“Oh, well, very well, then sit.” Dillian said a smile creeping over his face. It was one of his smug smiles. One that often times deserved a punch to the face.

“No, I don’t think will.” Patton said, he remembered how the last few times he sat in that chair he felt powerless beneath Dillian, well this time, he was above Dilian, being tall had its perks.

“Fine then. What’s your decision then?” Dillian eyed down Patton his smirk turning into a sneer, his beady eyes really sold the look. If a rat could look angry, It would probably end up looking like Dillian.

“I don’t want fame.” Patton said, flashed another smile, “Fame is not what I ever even wanted. I’m so sorry I wasted your time and money, however, if you’d like to know I will be recording the song with Logan before I take my leave, so you will get some money off of my talents.”

“Fine. That’s your mistake.” Dillian spat coldly at Patton.

“Or is it?” Patton retaliated, he truly was surprised by how he was acting. It was truly such an odd rush of confidence.

“You’ll come running back to my office in a year.” he paused, “I just know it. He added through barred teeth. “And when you do, just know, I won’t be here to give you a helping hand, or a starting ssspot.” He had hissed out those last two words for dramatic effect.

“Good I won’t need it. I’ve realised my voice isn’t meant to be heard on radio’s, isn’t meant to be sold in mass, and most certainly isn’t to be used as a way for others to get their paycheck off of me.” Patton stated.

“Then get out of my office before I have you forcefully taken out of my office by the hand of my security.” Dillian’s eyes narrowed.

Patton shrugged, and walked to the door, opened it, and closed it. He continued back down the same path he had done several times before.

When Patton got into the lobby he had to stop and take a breather. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were shaking badly.

Oh, he thought to himself, That wasn’t confidence, that was adrenaline.

He took some deep breaths in and some deep breaths out as a way to try and calm his nerves.

“Are you alright Sir?” Quill looked up from behind the counter.

“Yes, just, just the aftermath of running on nothing, you must know how it goes! Have a good life now.” Patton immediately started heading for the door.

“You too sir!” they called after Patton.

He stopped and smiled, then exited the building. He reached the edge of the street and grabbed a taxi ride home. Like normal people did.

🗤

“No way, you actually said that?” Logan asked handing Patton a plate of food.

“Yeah, I know, I was surprised myself. But after it happened I realized my hands were shaking and how I was actually running off of,”

“Adrenaline?” Logan questioned

“Yeah, haha. I still can’t believe it. But at least I met some pretty awesome people!”

“But, you haven’t gone around the city at all, these past few days.” Logan pointed out.

“Well yeah, but, I think Tuesday I met that broadway prince, uh, Roman I believe he said he was and I got to meet you!”

Logan smiled, “You think I’m cool?”

“Yeah! Of course!” Patton smiled stupidly.

“Oh, well.. Well thank you.” Logan smiled back proudly.

Chapter 10: The Finale

It had been a week since he had been home. He had gone right back to how he had been functioning before. Doing different gigs around town, except now he went around the state and now each gig was paid. Just like this library gig.

Today he was performing at the same library that had given him a very interesting vacation just a week before hand.

He drove up to the library, guitar in hand. He made his way to the little room and watched as the parents came in their little ones somewhere near.

He looked out in front of him. The small gather of little kids and their parents. He smiled. He was right back where he always wanted to be.

#ts-storytime 2019 submission #sheepy writes #sanders sides #keep an eye out for the art piece that does with this!!

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