Like a strike of chocolate thunder.

"This is how it's supposed to go, right?"
"No, not quite."
"Was it like this?"
"Uh, no."
"How about this?"
"Nope."
"Well fuck me, THIS has to be it."
"Yep, that's it."
"Really?"
"Nope."
"SON OF A BITCH."

Rigging the wiring in cars is tough. Rigging the wiring so your mother's car won't start is pressuring work. Rigging the wiring because she's going to make another beer run in a ten or fifteen minutes is nervewracking. Stopping her from doing it while she is drunk is a service to the local public. I'm serious, my mother would drink, and when there's nothing left to drink, she would get in her car and get more to drink. No downtime to let that sobriety come creeping back in, oh no. She grabs the keys, she stumbles out the door, and she's gone. Not for good, because that would save me a lot of trouble. But long enough to make me concerned how many pedestrians she might've ran over in the process.
Back then, I didn't know shit about cars. Hell, I don't know anything about them now. When people start talking about cars, my mind tends to start trailing off and I start thinking about breasts and sex and meat and fucking and other manly things to compensate for my ignorance in the fields of automobility. The short blonde next to me, on the other hand, knew enough about them to get by. All of this despite her family not owning a car. At least not anymore. I hear cars sell pretty well to them young teenagers looking for that first beat-up jalopy to take for a few spins around town to the local malt shop an--fuck, wrong time period. But yeah they sold their car, but whenever her father drank too much, her mother showed her how to wire the ignition so it wouldn't start, meaning the crazed man couldn't go out and get his drunken-manslaughter on. She was attempting to teach me that art and was failing miserably.

"Damn, we aren't going to make it." I said.
"Nope, probably not."
"Hurry and go hide in the yard, she'll be coming down the stairs soon."
"Always with this, huh?"
"You're not seeing that woman and she's not seeing you. God-forbid what kind of shit would ensue if she knew of your existence, and really... you don't want to meet her."
"Still..."
"So, when are you going to introduce me to your dad?"
"...Fair enough, I'm going."

My lady friend scampered out of the garage down the apartment complex's streets out of sight. She would never meet my mother. Or my brother for that matter. I was a bit secretive about the relationship. I wasn't ashamed or anything, God no. If anything, I was proud that a (then) ugly bastard like me got a girl, but she didn't need to be pulled into my disgruntled family, at least not until things calmed down and subsided. They never did, but so it goes. She had her own reasons why I never met her family, either. It was like Romeo and Juliet, except that there was no family feud, everybody was drunk and abusive, and there's no suicide at the end, only a few attempts.

Well fine, it's nothing like Romeo and Juliet, but you get the idea.

So if a third wheel showed up, who the hell would they be considered? Roseline or what? I guess I didn't think this simile out clearly enough. But there are those occasional moments where you're with your girl and she just impresses you. Some of you people might know what I mean. I don't mean one of those "D'AWWWW ISN'T SHE PWECIOUS, SHE'S SO SWEET AND ENDEARING AND LOVABLE I JUST WANT TO RAPE AND CORRUPT HER INNOCENCE" kind of impressed moments. I mean one of those moments where you're literally speechless of what you just witnessed, and there's a newfound respect of that person there. And no, it's also not one of those kinds of moments where "She arranged this entire party for me? That must've been hard, and I love her hurr durr" either. What I'm talking about are those kinds of moments where you witness her do something that is both impressive, endearing, but malicious enough to instill unadulterated fear into your spine. You will love and worship this woman. Or else.
And these kinds of moments usually come when you're with the kind of girl that's submissive and quiet and soft-spoken and a little boring. Why? Because they're always the ones you least-expected. You might say "Okay, she's tougher than she looks",but you know you've spotted this particular moment I'm describing when what you say is along the lines of "Okay, so there's a dark side here that I've clearly glossed over." It's almost like sucker-punching a masochist. It's shocking, horrifying, and just smacks you across the face out of nowhere and yet it hurts so good that you might just need to change your pants.

***

"So she's really your girlfriend?"
"Is it surprising?" I asked.
"Eh, I guess you would say that..."
"I find it surprising, too. But it's not like I'm going to question it."
"Why?"
"......Is there a reason I should?"

The unfolding conversation was with a girl in one of my classes. I can't particularly recall, but it was during the second semester of my freshman year. In fact I can't really recall what ANY of my classes were during that time period save English with a woman I held at great contempt. Usually I can just make some shit up and make a safe or accurate assumption, but nothing comes up. But yes, I was talking with a particularly attractive girl during lunch who approached me at the lunch table. I was immediately on the defensive because... well, WHAT WOMAN IN HER RIGHT MIND WOULD TALK TO AN UGLY MOTHERFUCKER LIKE ME JUST TO SHOOT UP FRIENDLY CONVERSATION? Well that's the hitch; the girl I was going out was for a lack of better term completely out of my league. Seriously, she could've gotten anybody given her looks but chose a disgusting little grease monkey like me. It didn't make any fucking sense to me, either.

"Well... it's just..."
"Out with it, sweetheart." I was getting a bit irked. She had something to say that probably wasn't kosher, but I was getting impatient and I wanted to eat my shitty pizza that tasted like a locker room laundry bin.
"Just wondering... why she would go out with somebody like..."
"Like...?" Then came that thing that every young adolescent hates. That sound that will do a mix of terrible things to a young man. It will infuriate them, it will humiliate them, it will irritate them.

The bubbly High School giggle. That little giggle they seem to fight to keep in. That conniving little snicker that punctures every man's pride like a stray nail on the ground. They cover the smiles on their mouths and frantically look around almost like they're getting ready to shoplift something. It was the laugh where they were going to torture whatever poor bastard they were locking their sights on. And god-dammit, the kinky bitch will enjoy every moment of agony and let every excruciating syllable shoot out of her mouth and burn like drops of acid.

"I mean... look at you." she had a slightly coy smile.
"Piss off and rot, you cunt."
"What? I didn't even say anything." She was stifling her laughter. Bitch, I knew what you were implying, don't pull that shit. She knew that, that's why she left. And when she left, I heard more of those cackles from that pack of hyenas she retreated to. That's the second kind of laughter you hear. Where you hear uproarious guffaws behind you, and you can practically feel the fingers pointing at you in the process. It almost makes a man want to pull a box cutter on a girl's throat and make that laughter immediately evaporate into life-threatening terror.

"Hey."
"..."
"HEY, LUCAS."
"Huh what?" It was Amelia.
"You're bothered."
"Eh?"
"What has you flustered?"
"Huh? I'm fine."
"You're clearly bothered."
"No, not really."
"Your hand." My hand was covered in milk. My grip tensed up around my milk carton and crushed it. Okay, so maybe I was a little upset. But it wasn't her business. WHAT KIND OF MAN DOES IT MAKE ME IF I CAN'T HANDLE THIS ON MY OWN? I didn't say much of anything. I nonchalantly continued to drink my milk despite making a complete mess of myself.
"I have no clue what you're talking about. You're acting hysterical."
"...Hmm." But I think she noticed. She glared over in the direction of the laughing pack of girls and immediately saw the one who was mocking me earlier. Ami knew it was her because as soon as he made eye contact, her laughter immediately stopped, and the smile was quickly pulled off her face. I personally didn't think much of it. I mean, what was I was supposed to think? Ami wass a malnourished, four-foot ten-inch girl compared to a large buxom brunette who ran track. If something broke out between the two, who do YOU think would've won?

Well, that was a stupid question to ask.

Everything was kind of sort of fine the following day. It was burger day at the school, and let me tell you those burgers KICKED FUCKING ASS. Remember when eating Gas Station food wasn't considered a felony in most states? Neither do I, but if there's one thing I have fond memories of, it was the hamburgers at AM/PM. Those things were fucking delicious. Then one day they changed the meat they were made of or lost the secret formula rights to McDonalds or something and one day they became disgusting and selling them should've been classified as assisting customers in attempted suicide. But one theory I like to support is that my school stole all of them, and now serve them at our School every Wednesday. The same ones AM/PM had. They couldn't make new ones, so they're selling all the backstock AM/PM had. Don't worry; they're fine to eat. If there would be any organic matter still intact after a nuclear war, it would be cockroaches and these burgers.
It was business as usual. We were eating outside near the overhang in the yard. My lady brought up the Dreamcast, which to be fair, sounded like a kick-ass system when it came out nearly 6 years ago, but it wasn't God's gift to humanity. Discussing Phantasy Star Online was always interesting, though. She even managed to get my brother and I some sweet weapons she had no use for. But that conversation halted when she noticed that girl from yesterday go into the bathroom.

"I'll be right back." she said as she stood up.
"Hmm?"
"Bathroom."
"Oh, alright."

I knew she wasn't going to use the bathroom. Although I didn't really know what to expect, nor did I care. If she was going to aggravate a situation and possibly make it worse, all the better for me to have something to lord over her head after the whole incident with the fire and the mormons at the Hollywood Video. It was a bit unnerving, though; she was in there for a long time. A very long time. The brief 30-minute lunch period was almost over. She eventually came out and sat back down, a bit disgusted that her food was cold.

"You were in there long enough, weren't you?"
"Don't ask."
"I don't think most people would ask what a woman does in the bathroom."

But I didn't have much time to talk, as the warning bell rung and henceforth told me to get ready to get my ass to class. We talked about meeting up after school at the Rite Aid, but I had to get home quickly so that was out of question. Oh well. She left and I made my way to class. Before I did though, I saw that girl from yesterday leave the bathroom. She looked different. I couldn't quite describe it. It might've been the pale skin, the lifeless eyes with no hope left in them, or the look on her face that seemed to project the message that she just watched a loved one get raped. I didn't much care, so I headed to class. She stopped me.

"Oh, Lucas, about yesterday..."
"Hmm?"
"Sorry about that, I shouldn't had said something like that."
"Oh." It caught me off guard. "Uh, err, thank you?" Her solemn expression didn't change. She just left, and that was it. It was actually pretty fucking creepy; I wasn't aware if I was even talking to somebody alive just a moment ago. What the Hell did that short little woman do?

* * *

It got even more unnerving the next day. That girl was in my second period class. It was hard to not notice the girl was in clear distress for the entire class. Almost like she had a fever. She was breathing heavily, sweating a bit and having a bit of trouble speaking. Even the teacher asked her if she was sick. She said she was, but she didn't want to miss class. Oh, it was almost admirable. At some points she almost seemed like she was going to break out into tears.

"Alice, are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"I-I'll manage..." she weakly uttered.
"You should consider going to the nurse."
"No, I'm f-fine..." Her voice cracked a bit. As soon as the class was over, though, she was out of there. She fucking bolted to the bathroom at the speed of a lightning strike. I saw Ami sitting at the lunch table eating today's disgusting meal, salad with lard and vinegar vaguely disguised as dressing.

"......"
"Hmm?"
"....You."
"Hmm?"
"......What did you do?"
"Hmm?
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"
"Nothing of importance."
"......Really." I said. She stood up.
"I need to go use the the bathroom." She said. I sighed.
"Alright." And so she walked off into the bathroom. It was for about ten minutes before she walked out. She sat back down and started eating again without saying a word. Minutes later, the girl walked out, in tears and made her way straight for the school office.

"I guess she's going home early." I said.
"I guess."
"She's been acting odd for the past day or so."
"You don't say." There was a long pause. Then something rare to cross my girlfriend's face showed up. It was a smirk. A slight remnant of a smile. A vaguely smug look. If she had a mustache, she would be twisting it in some Machiavellian or sinister manner.

"......You're a sexy bitch, you know that?" I smiled.
"I know." She said it in a monotone voice, but that look was still on her face.
And that girl never talked to me ever again. It was like a funny game because whenever she was being spunky and loud and obnoxious, it would be like somebody unexpectedly knifed her in the back whenever Amelia walked by her from that point on. She was like a diabolical shadow always hovering nearby.
And as much of a turn-on as it was to know my girlfriend got revenge on my behalf and did it with cold and psychotic precision, it did one very important thing. And I believe is that it made me more afraid of Amelia than that girl was. She put the fear of God into me, because I had no clue what this woman was capable of.

And I never figured out what she exactly did, either. I asked, she wouldn't respond. It was something that didn't happen in her book. And honestly, I think that was best. I think some things are just best left unknown.

I prefer the term "self-aggravated mercy-killing."

There's a funny story at my High School that I always found ironic. There's a football stadium outside of it; it's nothing fancy, but it's certainly nice and it's something a lot of schools around there didn't necessarily have. It had a track, a football field, big bleachers, lights and everything. Considering the dirty little town it was in, it was pretty snazzy. What always upset me though, was that it was named after somebody who died. Now now, hold your horses. I don't have anything against honoring the dead, so keep your silly conclusions to yourself. If I was against honoring the dead, I wouldn't be here writing; I would be out in the local cemetery knocking over tombstones and shitting on coffins.

Actually, that sounds like a pretty interesting pastime. I should go out and do that later. But right, my point.

He was a football player. Completely appropriate, right? Tragic how he died, though. His parents said he got into a car accident when he hit a coyote in the middle of a mildly suburbanized town in the California Central Valley. ......Read that again. Read it again. READ IT THE FUCK AGAIN. THERE'S NO FUCKING COYOTES IN THE MIDDLE OF A GROWING TOWN IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY, WHO THE FUCK DO THE PARENTS THINK THEY'RE FOOLING WITH THAT CROCK OF SHIT? NOBODY, THAT'S WHO. IT'S A LIE. A LIE. A FUCKING LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE.

He was known to be a jock and a partygoer according to some people who knew him, like my brother. And he drank a lot. It was apparently a Friday or Saturday night when the accident took place. You do the fucking math. That black woman with the enormous fro he was racing towards in his car to make love with turned out to be a tree that was closer to him than he expected. Of course I'm adlibbing here because like all interesting car accidents I'm going to assume he was killed on impact and we couldn't get that exact quote from him. Although that would be awkward if we did; the paramedics are using the jaws of life to pry his bleeding, dismembered body from the vehicle, but they're going to be too late. The paramedic puts his face close to his, listening to his last trickling breathes... "Damn... I thought that chocolate woman's hips looked to be a little to wide too be human..." Then his eyes close, and the paramedic caresses his face, and tears start rolling down his cheek. It starts to rain, he looks up, and dramatically screams into the air, "DAMN YOU, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR, DAMN YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!"

Okay, it was sad that he died and all. Really, it was. But are we honestly going to honor somebody's death when a good lot of people know the real circumstances that led up to it? The man essentially killed himself. You do something that's entirely within your control, you induce these circumstances upon yourself for no reason other than stupidity, and FUCKING DIE. This isn't a choice like "Well I could've avoided going to war, but instead I'm fighting for my country!" or a GOOD reason. The reason is more along the lines of somebody whoring themselves out for money or pleasure or boredom, and yet when they finally have an STD or AIDS that they're eventually going to succumb to, it's now a tragedy. When that festering pit taints the rest of the well, it's not a surprise.

"I can't believe I have AIDS..."
"I can."
"THAT'S INSENSITIVE!"
"I didn't say it wasn't sad, but come on..."
"THAT'S HEARTLESS!"
"YOU'VE TAKEN IN ENOUGH FLUIDS TO RID YOURSELF OF NEUTRAL BOUYANCY. I COULD THROW YOU IN A LAKE AND YOU'D SINK."
"JUST SHUT UP!"
"BITCH THAT'S NOT A RUNNY NOSE, YOUR BODY'S JUST RUN OUT OF PLACES TO STORE IT."

It's essentially suicide. It's just a indirect commitment to the ritual induced by one's own stupidity. Granted it's not immediate, although it's an entirely different beast if you do it on purpose, then shit gets serious. You don't do things in honor of somebody's suicide. Unless it's the backwards realm of Nippon and committing suicide is considered to be honorable because apparently it's a glorious display of self-control to drive a knife into your squishy interiors and disembowel yourself. It just doesn't make sense when people openly go out of their way, looking everybody they ever loved in the eye, and then mutter "This emotional burden is too much for me to bear. SO LONG, SUCKERS! NOW THIS SHIT'S YOUR PROBLEM, HAR HAR HAR! SEE YOU IN HELL!"

And seriously, they're all in Hell. They aren't around long enough to see how badly they really fuck up things when they commit suicide. They have the arrogance and ignorance to actually think "Well, Hell can't be as bad as this. FUCK IT!" and pull the trigger. I guess they're expecting when they get there, they'll be in a line, Interlude With Ludes playing over the intercom, and Satan will be there in a smock at a barbeque, waving people in. "Ooh, what's for lunch?" the recently deceased ask. Then they act surprised when he responds with "Oh, well, you." and shanks them so they become a delicious meal for the rabid monsters of Hell to feast upon, then they're turned to shit and flushed down to Super Hell, and I don't even want to begin to explain what goes on down there. All I can tell you is that it involves reliving a farmer's life somewhere in a infertile dirt patch in Wyoming with The Grateful Dead's greatest hits constantly playing on loop.

I get into arguments over this a lot, and it upsets me that they think it's somehow disrespectful. It's like I'm disrespecting a prison inmate for raping a child, despite it being his own damn fault that he's in there. He's depriving his family of himself while he's in there. He's tainted his family's reputation with a terrible stigma that will stay with them for a good long while. He's committed something AWFUL (unless the child had it coming), yet it's okay to judge him for it because he's still alive. I explained this to people when I was at school, and they got all upset. Then I told them, "If I die tomorrow by putting a gun to my head and blowing my own brains out, I want a shooting range built for JROTC and I demand that it be named in my honor." Ha, how's that for irony?

Unfortunately that never particularly happened. My own attempt at ending the game was far less exciting. It was Christmas time, which makes it alright. Because that's when Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected a week later on Christmas day or some shit I don't know, I don't read the bible. My life was in the shitter, I was considering dropping out of High School due to my tanking GPA and my inability to care, my father left us screwed, my mother was binge-drinking and destroying the house, my birthday ended with me wandering the streets in a fever-induced delirium after buying myself something nice because I was the only one who bothered to remember, and the only person that managed to keep me sane during those Hellish times walked out of my life for good. So being an ignorant little shit, I figured that now was a good time to call it game, set, and match on life at the ripe old age of 16. But not in a manly way, no. I didn't have the balls to do it in a manly way. I also wasn't a pussy who was slitting my wrists, hoping I would slowly bleed out, either. If I was going to cut myself, at least I would cut myself in a way that I know would assure death. Like across the jugular. But choking on my own blood sounded unpleasant, so I opted against it.

Instead I had a nice idea. Where I would lull myself into a nice sleep and never wake up from it. It'll be like how my grandparents died. Or two of them, at least; one of them died of an agonizing heart attack because God hated him and he hated God. Piled upon this horrific depression and total lack of caring was a 103 fever, an empty stomach from not eating for two days, and the strength to barely stand. Nobody was home and I was supposed to be at school, but I didn't go. I was feeling pretty shitty in both the emotional and physical sense of the word, so in my delusions I figured, "Fuck this, I'm done." I went to my medicine cabinet, and got my vicodin prescribed to me by my doctor for pain. Using smart thinking, I figured I would need to take a lot to make all the pain go away. So I took about 12. It was like swallowing a bag of chalk. Not being one to half-ass things, I washed it down with some delicious beer sitting out on the counter. About two or three cans.

Being the underweight, malnourished shlop I was, I figured "This should be more than enough to kill me. Otherwise Google's LYING TO ME." And I would say it certainly was. I never figured out though, because after a few minutes, upon retrospect downing over 6000mg of vicodin with a bunch of liquor on an empty stomach that hasn't digested anything for a few days while I'm sweating bullets and nauseous from a fever wasn't a smart idea. I slumped lifelessly in the bathroom, and realized about 5 minutes in "Actually, maybe this might not have been a good idea," which is an epiphany that seems to contradict the intentions of suicide in the first place. It makes me wonder how many people who killed themselves jumping off a high place realized it was a bad idea about halfway down.

Well despite being in agonizing pain and praying for death, God decided to deny me that privilege, and punched me in the gut and called me a pussy. I'm serious; It might've been the delusional agony, but I almost visibly heard the man say "Oh suck it up, you bitch. Satan said he's not ready for you yet, he's renovating the apartments in Hell right now. Try again later, if you're so eager to get there." I threw up all the liquor and all the half-dissolved pills into the toilet, but still suffered some serious shakes and twitching and other creepy shit I don't want to recall as I laid there on the floor for a couple hours. I didn't sleep, I didn't cry, I didn't do anything. There was just nothing there for a while. Nothing more than complete emptiness.

My brother brought home a pizza that day after he got off of work. It was real food for the first time in three days. And as greasy and bad on my stomach as it was, it was pretty damn tasty. And it helped get the taste of pills and beer out of my mouth. Of course he didn't know a damn thing about what happened; the only sign was my mom wondering where the Hell all the vicodin went. Unfortunately it didn't kill her, either. And she drank more than I ever could. I went to school the following day, considering it was the final day before Christmas break and I felt a vague obligation to be there. And when I did, I looked out at the field near my JROTC class, muttering "I'll get you eventually. Just to prove my point." Of course it never happened. Like they would care enough if an ugly little nerd offed himself in the first place. Ha, what a bloated sense of self-importance. It's completely ironic since most people who off themselves don't give two shits about themselves, BUT MAYBE IN DEATH, SOMEBODY WILL.

Well it certainly won't be you. Because you'll be dead. The worms might care, it just means free food for a while. And the environmentalists might care because apparently it would be bad to have my ashes put into a plane and spread over the city to rain down upon everybody. Or maybe the publicists would care, because somebody doing a reverse crucifixion on the top of Half Dome might make a good story.

But you won't know or care. BECAUSE YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD. SO DON'T THINK YOU'RE IMPORTANT IF YOU BRING YOUR OWN DEATH UPON YOURSELF.

So much for the reverse crucifixion at Half Dome.

I actually have memos I've handed out to several friends of mine that in my will I've asked them to read at my funeral at the event of my sudden yet predictable death or suicide. Let's look at one of them right now.

"I'm here today to mourn the loss of one of my closest friends, _____ ______, or as some of you may know him, Deoxic, Deo, Johan Von Copperfield, Dracula Vladstibitz Marconi Maximburbageoppenheimer Tesla Von Zeppelin, or most imfamously Pimpshit Asseater Confucius McGee, Professional Lolicon Peddler and Donkeycock Slapper of Venezuela. Ah yes, those crazy adventures he had in Venezuela. I remember when he and I were selling smut to the schoolchildren after school, and they challenged my friend to a blow-sniffing contest. They got two massive barrels of cocaine and made them leak a bit off the back of a truck that was driving down the road. He and some filthy Somalian immigrant had a bet to see how long they could keep following the truck. The boy gave up after 100 yards, but damn it all if this incredible man didn't follow that car for three miles snorting all the cocaine out of that barrel. We almost were going to follow him, but then we noticed he just followed the cocaine trail back to us that the losing dead child didn't snort up. Ha ha, those were magical times, weren't they?

But he's gone now, you know? I mean, that's what the funeral is for, right? .....This IS his funeral, right? Because I've been drinking all day, and honestly, this is the fourth church I've wandered into while looking for his funeral. Just tragic, tragic shit, is what it is. ...Oh, so it IS his funeral? Thank Christ, I can't feel my fucking legs so I don't think I could afford to walk any more after all of this. I'm just wasted out of my head right now. The guy just left me a shitload of booze in his will that he's been hiding and gathering underneath the floorboards of his house, so I've just been going to town since he kicked. This Peach Schnapps is really good shit.

But on the topic of churches, I felt it was disrespectful to him to bring him here to hold his services. I mean, I know he's dead, but you guys shouldn't do whatever the fuck you want. I've read his will; he didn't want to have his services held in a church. He hates churches. Good Christ, did you people hear about those series of arson scandals on religious institutions? I mean it, he really fucking hates churches. We might as well open his casket and just piss on him whenever we walk by. He's probably looking up at us right now, saying when we get to Hell he's going to kick our asses.

I mean of course holding it at the Hooters or the Bowling Alley like he originally wanted to might've been a bit much, and it would've been a hell of a stretch cremate him and to have his ashes mixed into cake frosting to be smeared on and licked off of the Hooters girls, but we really need to honor his last requests more. The man didn't save our country for nothing. I mean, it was a shitload of zombies he managed to fight off by himself. And despite destroying half of the middle east in the process and singlehandedly crippling the oil market, sometimes a man needs to make sacrifices. I think that's what he truly believed in. Sacrifices. Or some stupid shit, I don't know. He was a racist, so he was probably happy to bomb those filthy sand-niggers halfway to Sunday. And the Sunday of our CHRISTIAN God, not their hullabaloo Allah God of bombing the fuck out of anybody unlucky enough to be born near a tangible body of vegetation or freshwater.

But yeah, reception starts in half an hour. We're all getting drunk, and as per his will, we'll have enough hookers to create a concentration of enough STDs to make anybody HIV positive immediately drop dead the moment they walk into the room. Sorry Uncle Phillip, you're going to have to party outside. VIVA LA ALCOHOL! WE DRINK IN HIS MEMORY!

Also that dumbslut of a wife he happened to marry, you didn't have to walk here. He told you the keys were under the fucking couch. God-damn."

Rustic showmanship.

As a man, I believe I have a constitutional right to beat the living Hell out of anybody as long as they have it coming. Whether it be man or woman, black or white, adult for adolescent, sometimes a person just needs a good smack in the jaw. And I think this is certainly what our forefathers had in mind when writing the constitution for our wonderful country back in the days when wife-beating and instilling Christianity into oppressed minorities weren't just friendly alternatives to meeting new people, they were traditions. I mean, they were pretty one-sided back then when they wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; there were always exceptions to the statements and rules in there, just look at the fine print.

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.*

* - Unless you're a woman or a nigger."

American men retained ownership of their wives after defecting from Great Britain unless they were otherwise paid a settlement to allow Britain to have property rights. AND IT WORKED. What happened to the glory days of early America when somebody was able to sock his wife for mouthing off while he goes to the slaves' rooms and starts getting some jungle action? You call it racist and sexist NOW, but back then if you didn't do it, people would find you possessing human empathy and we'd have you burned for witchcraft.

"So Johnathon, did you rape your slaves today?"
"No Jebediah, I frankly think it's disgusting and wrong."
"Well your wife must be busy then."
"What, why?"
"Don't you vent your anger and tension and rape your wife instead?"
"NO. I don't believe in that."
"Well damn, Johnathon. If you don't believe in raping your slaves and you don't believe in raping your wife, what kind of rape DO you believe in?"
"I don't believe in any kind of rape!"
"............WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!"

THE SHAME. If our forefathers could persecute us now, the entire country would be a charred mass of holy justice at this point, just like how their own forefathers from centuries past conducted the Crusades. ...What? That doesn't make any sense because it didn't happen? Fuck you, I saw it on Wikipedia.

Now in this day and age, I can understand how a Jeffersonian methodology might be frowned upon. Now that those women and darkies are roaming free and everybody's alright with it, there are a few people who are looking around going... "Us men are getting screwed, aren't we?" And we are. Men, we are getting screwed, and not in the pleasant way that involves a damp hole and a man's justice flogger. Who are the ones who lose the kids during the divorce settlement? The men. Who are the ones who can't flash an officer their dick while crying to get out of a ticket? The men. Who have to spend their hard-earned money to buy drinks to get the opposite sex wasted enough to take advantage of? The men. Who are the ones more frequently convicted of rape? The men. And that's not because men are more prone to raping people. Women are just more prone to being raped. IT'S THEIR DAMN FAULTS.

Before, things were simpler. In the yesteryears, you could be bastards to women and it'd be alright, and if a woman insulted a man it would be sexism and you'd be hung from the gallows. Now that women have rights, we're suffering from more than twice as much sexism in our Country, the argumentative bitches. Our country has seen a skyrocketed jump in sexual harassment suits and rape reports ever since that fateful day... uh... shit, I don't know. A long-ass time ago. BUT IT'S AN EPIDEMIC THAT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. FOUGHT FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS, AND I CAN FIGHT TO TAKE THEM AWAY AGAIN.

...Wait, he didn't? That was just Black rights? Well it just goes to show you that he was sexist, too.

This particularly offended me at school the other day when some irritating girl from my English class was following my friend and I around for whatever the fuck reason I don't know. Now I have a tendency to swear a lot. Like a drunken sailor who just stubbed his toe. While this girl was intruding on my friend and I, she said this.

"Uh would you mind not cursing so much? I just don't really like hearing those words, they offend me." Or something to that effect, I was doing my best to ignore her.
"Then you might as well leave." was all I said. This was a mistake. For one, it didn't drive the point home well enough. If you're going to follow people around and bother them, you're the excess baggage. If we ask you to do something, you do it. It's not the other way around. It's a motherfucking college campus and I'm twenty-one fucking years old. I am allowed to use adult words in a casual setting of adults where the general populace won't get offended.
Only a woman would really do this. When a woman is around, she expects some courtesy from men around her. You wouldn't see a man expecting this from a woman. You wouldn't see a man asking a group of women to clean up their language or discussion. Mainly because the rest of the men have probably already killed him in order to purge the gene pool.

So in order to really hit this point home next time I'm there, if she complains about my cursing, I'll stop. I won't use any swear words. Instead I'll borrow my friend's laptop, turn up the speakers and start singing Skin on Skin while doing pelvic thrusts in her direction.

And if a woman did that to me, I probably wouldn't stop her. There's another double standard for you.

A tiny french otaku thinking too much about love.

So right, there's been some brainstorming for a new mini-series of sorts that I'm interested in starting. For everybody reading It's A Beautiful World, do not fear as that will not change anything regarding its slow-ass monthly release. Now that I calmed the three of you down, I think we need some sexy schoolgirls murdering each other. That's what life needs more of, right?

The name of this particular project as it stands is called My Dear Little Remi. The titular heroine of the story is a small sweet girl named Remilia Delousei. She's enrolled at a boarding school for delinquents. Of course the timid young girl was enrolled there by accident; SHE'S FRENCH, SHE SHOULDN'T BE CAPABLE OF ANYTHING VIOLENT. She's a blonde french girl obsessed with anime and manga who upon transferring schools out of state got accidentally swept into there and now she's terrified every night and day of being in the place. She becomes friends, and soon after falls in love with one of the more popular students at the school. A real stand-up guy in a terrible place. But the truth is, Remi isn't the only one after him.

"BUT DEOXIC, THIS SOUNDS GAY AND STUPID, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WRITING SHIT LIKE THIS?" This is ME we're talking about. Do you really expect this to go a nice and sweet route? Well it sort of does. I'm writing this for a few reasons, though. For one, writing for a female protagonist is something I haven't particularly done or focused on before. It should be an interesting experiment to try out. And more importantly, I want to write something slightly less depressing or heavy like A Beautiful World might be, or some of my later writing pieces. I won't necessarily call it family-friendly, though; this is still very much a dark piece of work you'd come to expect from me.

And here's the hook. Remi is a bubbly and timid girl that doesn't seem to belong there, but in reality she's probably the most dangerous person in that school. She can be a bit... uh... obsessive in her pursuit of the young man that has her heart. Obsessive to the point that when the other girls start playing particularly dirty in keeping her away from him and sabotaging her in some of the cruelest ways possible, she often ends up retaliating in overzealous acts of revenge. Like torturing them or murdering their families. Like a true otaku, she's obsessive, somewhat reclusive, and socially awkward. And she has no capabilities in exercising social restraint. Of course this doesn't necessarily stop her other enemies from fighting back with the same psychotic efficiency she utilizes, so there's a lot of love at this school to be found. Proper use of the word 'antisocial' goes here.

Sweet girl though once you get to know her. And if you don't make her particularly angry.

Absurd humor and almost cartoonish violence are what I want this story to be about. Nothing particularly deep, nothing particularly grand and nothing particularly heavy. Just some light-hearted dark comedy about a sweet girl going through High School, making friends and falling in love. With a lot of nutcases trying to kill each other at the same time.

Expect a prologue of sorts in the next month or so.

My love prognosis.

Regret? You pussies don't know what regret is. Here's a REAL story about regret, with sadness and sorrow and ninjas and canned yams.

There once was an ugly boy in High School. That ugly boy was ME. I WAS UGLY. UGLIER THAN ANY OF YOU. YEAH, THAT UGLY. Then I saw a girl. She was a cute girl. WHAT CHANCE WOULD AN UGLY BOY LIKE ME HAVE WITH THAT GIRL? But I didn't care. My resolve was harder than the erections I had in the morning whenever I woke up and thought about her. It was love at first sight. At least for me, I don't know about her. I didn't care what that bitch thought about me, she would be mine whether she liked it or not. I became obsessed with her. One could call it stalking, but stalking is usually creepy. THIS WAS OUT OF LOVE. A POWERFUL LOVE THAT WOULD NOT BE DENIED. I WAS GOING TO SMOTHER HER WITH IT FOREVER AND EVER.

ALSO FOREVER.

Eventually I found her out near the bus stop after school. I couldn't tell you how nervous I was to be basking in her splendor, her regal radiance that emanated through the sleazy bus stop. It was intoxicating. It was like whenever I breathed around her I was having orgasmic sex that only the most potent aphrodisiacs from a backwater town in Brazil could provide.

"S-s-s-so..." I was really fucking nervous. I SAID THAT ALREADY, DO YOU DOUBT ME?
"Hmm?"
"H-h-how's your day g-going?" I asked.
"Oh, it's going fine."
"That's n-n-nice."
OH RAPTURE! The conversation was so sweet it was better than fucking in public. And I've fucked plenty of times in public, so let me tell you that this was saying a lot. Fucking in public was awesome. Damn, I wonder if she would like to fuck in public. I'd like to fuck her in public. I should ask her if she would like to be fucked in public.

I'm not too obsessive, am I?

This continued for a while. Not the fucking in public, but that would be nice. The brief conversations at the bus stop. Every day the conversation would just a bit longer. Like sex, practice means you can hold it longer, and I'm a master of prolonging conversation like a pornstar is the master of faking really boring sex. But I didn't care. Her chestnut brown hair would dangle in the wind whenever a vehicle drove by. Her modest and reserved posture punctuated her cuteness. I WANTED TO CHERISH AND LOVE HER FOR HOW PURE SHE WAS. So eventually I got up the courage to ask the infamous question.

"Sorry, I have a boyfriend." It was like a dagger into my heart. A SERATED DAGGER COATED IN SORROW AND AGONY, SLOWLY BEING TWISTED WHILE MY LOVE BLED OUT ONTO THE FLOOR.
"What, WHO?" I asked.
"Charles Finnegan, if you know him."
"THAT PASTY-ASS ALBINO!?"
Charles Finnegan wasn't an albino. He was actually anemic, and I was surprised the poor bastard was still alive at his age. Renal failure will do that. His kidneys wouldn't be the only thing to suffer a slow and agonizing death. I wouldn't let him take my love away like that. SHE WAS MINE, NOBODY ELSE'S.
Eventually I caught him after school walking home. As soon as he got into the empty insurance firm parking lot, I decided to make my move.
"Hey there, Chuck." I said while reaching into my backpack.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
"You should. Since I'll be the last person you'll ever see alive."
"Wha--" He got cut off mid-sentence because his throat was cut out by a machete. Why a machete? Because everybody has at least one friend who owns a machete. Mine happened to belong to a short little blonde girl I didn't pay much attention to. She was a little crazy. BUT I WOULD COVER IT IN THE REVENGE OF MY LOVE. I also hacked his legs off so he couldn't run. He started to scream and gurgle out blood a lot, and I didn't want there to be any evidence of his existence. That's where the gasoline came in. But being one who doesn't know much about pyrotechnics, I wasn't aware that such a large black husk would remain after it would be finished burning. This was amplified by the fact that I didn't bother removing his charred corpse from the parking lot, but that didn't matter. THEY NEVER CAUGHT ME, HA HA HA! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR FUCKING WITH MY LOVE, YOU ANEMIC LITTLE BASTARD.

I saw my angel crying at the bus stop the next day. AH, SUCH BEAUTIFUL TEARS.
"What happened?" I sympathetically asked.
"M-m-my boyfriend was murdered yesterday."
"WHAT? How?" I started to smile a bit.
"He was cut up and set on fire." she wept. "And they believe he was sexually assaulted, too." Don't look at me. Somebody must have a sick fetish or something. The disgusting pig. I'm so glad my sweet little girl is so pure. IT ALMOST MAKES A MAN WANT TO LOSE HIS FUCKING MIND.
"So that means you're single again, right?" I asked.
"W-w-what?" Her beautiful tear-soaked eyes looked at me.
"Does that mean I have a shot?" I turned to face her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "It means I have a shot, right?" I believe I might've been a little too aggressive, I was starting to scare my little angel.
"You're starting to scare me."
"You've scared me more than once with talk of that disgusting little albino. Jeopardizing things between us."
"I never even got your name, I just talked to you because you were kind of a creep hanging around me."

WHAT? A CREEP? AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW MY NAME. IT'S LIKE SHE'S TRYING TO DESTROY OUR BEAUTIFUL LOVE. WHY WOULD SHE DO THIS? Ah, but I wouldn't let her. No no no. I don't have much left. I won't let her get away. Never again would I do that. No sir. I would force her to love me.

And that's what I did.

"If you want me, I'm yours." And even if she doesn't want me. What I proceeded to do would be what one might call aggressive pursuit, but in the face of securing that everlasting love, one must take any and all measures. And it paid off, because there were such beautiful tears of joy afterwards. And during. And before. WONDERFUL EMOTIONS EVERYWHERE. And I couldn't be happier.

Until the next week. I didn't see or talk to her at all those following days. And it was heartbreaking. After making such passionate love, I needed to see her again. And I got my wish, but it was as if it was granted by some malicious genie that twisted my wish into some kind of abomination.
"Let's do it, right here and now." she said.
"We're at the bus stop."
"I know, just like last time. Come on, I need it."
"W-w-what?"
"COME ON AND FUCK ME HERE, ARE YOU NOT A MAN?"
The unthinkable had happened. My beautiful angel had become corrupted. Used goods. Deflowered. SULLIED AND TAINTED.
"THIS WAS NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!" I obstinately shouted. "YOU'RE NOT PURE AND ANGELIC. YOU'RE EMBROILED IN LUST, YOU VILE SUCCUBUS!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, WHEN WE WERE HERE YESTERDAY YOU RA--"
"I WILL HAVE NO MORE OF YOUR HABBERDASHERY AND LIES!" I pulled out an aerosol can and a lighter. "BEGONE TO THE UNDERWORLD, SUCCUBUS!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOI--" Her speech was stopped because it's hard to talk when there's high heat going into your lungs. But it wasn't difficult to scream. She screamed a lot. It was tempestuous watching her burn, but almost harmonic. Her voice was like a chorus or angels, but it was deceptive like the Succubus's despicable tune. So I set her on fire and sent her back to Hell where she belonged.

IT HURT TO WATCH THOUGH. When you thought you loved somebody so much and then you learn they're a vile urchin feeding off of others because they want your canned yams. I WON'T BE LED ASTRAY AGAIN, BUT IF ONLY I COULD'VE SAVED HER. Such beautiful innocence. That smoking black mass of what was once a human being almost tempted me again, but it wouldn't be so. NO, IT WOULDN'T BE SO.

And there were no ninjas. I LIED.

Never knows best.

This is a story about being a good Samaritan.

My High School years sucked. I think we've clearly established that what with the divorce and the deadbeat abusive mother and the bouts of alcoholism and binge-drinking I stumbled in and out of because I was a embittered little shit. And really, who the hell hasn't been there? You know, the grim dark cavern somebody crawls through and it's filled with mud and piss, and there's insects and bats latching onto them while sound clips from Alfred Hitchcock movies echo throughout the humid disgusting cave, and I want to turn this into a dirty joke about sex with your decrepit old mother but this shit is serious business. And that person is just desperately clinging to life just struggling to make their way towards that dim light at the end of the long and narrow tunnel. I think we've all been there. Hell, some of us are there right now.

This particular story has no ties to any other events or situations I've discussed in the past. It stands on it's own, which is nice to not be bound to some kind of continuity bullshit I seem to be weaving into these stories. Although for some context, this takes place a particular time in 2005, after I said my last goodbyes to my lady and some time before I say it to the rest of my school. Middle of July. School's out. It's hot as hell. Sweltering hot. "Let me take a hot shower to cool down" kind of hot. Because of this I predominantly enjoyed going out at night when it cooled down, but I could only do it when my brother was working Graveyard because after taking over the parenting role my dear old parasite of a mother forgot about, he wouldn't necessarily approve of me going out at 11pm or midnight or 4am.

While wandering the streets binge-drinking. Yeah he probably wouldn't like that, either.

Now this was one of those nights. After waking up at 3pm to peel off my clothing and take a shower, my brother was working nightshift and my mother was stuck at home in her own little world where the rivers run beige with liquor. Guess who would be suffering all by his lonesome that night? Well it sure as hell wasn't me, because as soon as my brother left I fucking bolted out of that place faster than I would out of an AA meeting. And like escaping an AA meeting I would reek of alcohol while tripping and stumbling to grab the walls as often as I could, screaming in my head "BEING HERE IS A BAD IDEA, LET'S GET OUT AND GO KICK SOME ASS."

Of course there would be no ass-kicking as I was drunk enough that my legs lacked the coordination to properly aim and propel themselves into one's unsuspecting posterior. It being late at night, down the road a good mile or so was the last bastion of hope for some late-night grub; a Foster's Freeze burger joint. And it's usually empty to boot, so I can just literally sit in there and attempt to soak up the alcohol in my body with a spongy burger sitting in my gut while I ask myself why I can't eat actual food like this at home. Granted it was a hell of a walk and I often never had enough money to go there, once every couple of weeks it was a brief glimpse of Heaven through a crack in the ceiling of Hell.

Until that particular night in July.

My usual trek had its beautiful dead silence interrupted by a girl behind me talking on a cell phone. Mind you, this was about 9pm in the evening, and she was roughly my age, I would guess. Maybe slightly older. She didn't sound particularly enthusiastic either, so being out at this time one could probably guess she wasn't discussing the weather. She wasn't really loud or obnoxious, but when your ears are ringing and you just want the sound of passing cars to occupy yourself with, somebody 5 yards away talking on a phone doesn't help the mood. I picked up the pace and hoped to out-walk her to my sanctuary where I can get some peace and quiet.

As my luck would have it, she ALSO went to the Foster's Freeze. How fucking unpleasant. The one night in two weeks I have to stumble out of my house for a breath of fresh air and I get stuck listening to another woman weeping into a phone. Now she hung up eventually, just in time for my food to show up. But you still heard her. Like before, she wasn't particularly loud or intrusive, but it was just that stifled sniveling and occasional hiccup that you heard escape her mouth. If it was loud and ear-shattering at least I could've opened that door inside my head and lock myself in there to shut it out, but no, I have that unsettling silence where it's occasionally broken by the fact that you know somebody distressed is right across from you.

I don't even know this person, why the hell should I be taking note of this? I guess when one's put into that high-alert status for so long, it's hard to shake it off even around strangers. Of course that high-alert went into code maroon or blood-red or whatever the terrorist color for "FUCK THIS SHIT, BAIL OUT MAN" is when the girl was making her way for the door. "Thank God," I thought. "Some precious alone time."

The woman tripped and fell. She fell. THE BITCH TRIPPED AND FELL IN FRONT OF ME. FACE PLANT. RIGHT FUCKING THERE.

Now poses the moral conundrum. If I help her up, I'm certainly going to be forced to talk to her. In which case there's a good chance she's going to just snap and dump whatever the hell has her so upset on the next random stranger to help her. I'm the only one in the diner aside from the people behind the counter. She tripped in front of my table. What the hell was I supposed to do? I contemplated leaving my food there and just sprinting the fuck out of the place as quickly as possible since I was probably sober enough at this point to run, but then there's the chance I could trip on the way out and then the situation would look worse. Or I could continue to nonchalantly eat and ignore her, which would be nice because I honestly didn't feel like helping this girl.

"Eh, you alright?" I asked. God-dammit, you puss. You look like a heroin addict when you're wearing an oil-stained green sweatshirt with sunglasses while it's dark out. You're in a dirty little burger place when it's 10 o'clock at night while you smell like cheap beer. You shouldn't be helping people, you can't even help yourself. That angry voice inside my head that wanted nothing more than to be left alone just kept yelling that at me. And I knew that little fucker was right. But given the situation I suppose it was just a twitch reaction, tis all.

"I... fucking... HATE this night." was all I heard while I stood up and attempted to walk towards her.
"That makes two of us," I said as I grabbed her hand. "Come on, on your feet." Her trembling legs lifted herself off the ground as I helped her up.
"Uh... thanks, I guess." was all she really kind of said. Clearly shaken, she sat back down in a nearby booth, my booth and one would have it. I sighed and sat on the other side. She rested her face on her palms while the sleeves from her hoodie that was one size too big drooped down her arms. It was just kind of an awkward silence. While I hated the noise, I wasn't particularly fond of silence when there are two or more clearly uncomfortable or distressed persons in the room.
Of course I wasn't one to be talking right now either; I was still clearly drunk and in a situation that requires intense thinking and social interaction skills beyond "Where's the bathroom? I think I'm going to hurl" and "Dude when I get enough beers into her I'm totally gonna rail her".

"Oi." I tried to get her attention. Her hands parted from her face. "Hungry?" I held out my box of fries. It took me almost a second to notice it was missing and that they were in her hands as she shoved them into her gullet. I guess she had trouble walking for reasons different than my own.
"Where's the ketchup?" she asked as she shoved fries into her mouth.
"Uh, hang on I think it's over on the counter. And don't talk with your mouth full." It's a disgusting habit, and not even tragedy should excuse you from doing it. As I stood up and made my way to the counter, I seemed to follow suit with the night's trend of tripping. This time thought my head hit the side of the counter as I hit the porcelain floor with a loud crack.
"I'm okay."
I wasn't, but being tipsy and on at least a thousand milligrams of vicadin sure does wonders to avert that slightly agonizing head trauma.
"I got the ketchup at least." I said as I sat back down. It was already gone from my hand before my ass returned to my seat. "You are extremely quick, you know that?"
"Sleight of hand works wonders." she said. "I think I also took your watch."
"I don't have a watch."
"Not anymore, at least."
"I don't own a watch." I replied.
"Huh, I took SOMEBODY'S watch, then."
"That's not nice."
"You stop worrying about that after a while." she said with a slightly coy smile. "If it helps you get by, then that's how it goes." I laughed. Whenever somebody gets caught doing something that won't necessarily lead them down healthy roads, that's what you hear, or at least something of that general nature. It was terribly ironic, but I had no room to talk.

There wasn't any talking for a bit after that. I managed to get a good look at her for once, and despite dressing like a degenerate she was moderately attractive. Very dark, ashy brown hair that rested on her shoulders. Somewhat of a clear complexion with a few traces of acne starting to fade out over a thin nose. I couldn't gauge her figure particularly well since she wore jeans and a zipped-up hoodie. That rubbed me the wrong way since it reminded me of somebody else best left forgotten. Eventually that persistent silence came creeping back into the diner, and I wanted none of that. So I was going to leave.

"Hmm? You leaving?" she asked.
"Yes, didn't you just hear the internal monologue?"
"If it's internal, how could I hear it?"
"Touché."
"Ugh, I really don't want to leave." There was a twinge of hesitation in her voice.
"I don't believe I asked you to."
"I don't believe that I implied that you did." she responded. My mind was not in the proper condition to be shooting rhetorical jabs back and forth with somebody. It was like trying to play tennis while there's a bullet wound in your leg. And you were high off of LSD. And blindfolded. And were being ra--
"FUCK IT, THEY GET THE POINT!" I snapped back into reality.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Her eyebrow was raised as I yelled at the imaginary voices in my head.
"I don't really know anymore." My head was starting to spin.
"What are you, drunk?"
"It would be a stretch if I said I was sober." I sighed and sat back down in the chair.
"Don't you think you should probably get home?" I was slightly exasperated at this point.
"Why the hell should I?" she muttered.
"Beats the piss out of me, I just asked that."
"I really, REALLY don't want to."
"That's not a good answer."
"They probably wouldn't even notice that I was gone." I started laughing a bit. I think she found it a bit insulting since her lips puckered up.
"What's so funny?" Despite her flustered voice, I only started laughing harder.
"Heh heh, THAT'S WHY I'M HERE!" I shouted with a smile on my face. "Fuck all if the bitch knows I'm not even home." A smile started to creep onto her face and she started to laugh a bit, too.

"Ha ha," I sighed as I calmed down a bit. "Parents, am I right?"
"Damn straight."
"What'd you get stuck with?" I asked.
"Divorcing parents." she snickered.
"Well no shit, small world."
"What'd your parents do?" she asked.
"Got drunk and racked up a bunch of debt. You?"
"Gambled and racked up a bunch of debt."
"This is California, where the fuck do your parents gamble?"
"Lived in Nevada."
"That explains it."
"Lost the house, moved in with relatives out here."
"Shit, that happened to me about 6 or 7 years ago."
"I guess it really is a small world." she said while laughing a bit. That kind of talk went on for, well, I can't remember. Probably an hour, maybe longer. Just two kids who met in a diner in the middle of the night and had nothing better to do than bitch to each other about how hard God was trying to fuck them in the ass.

"Hmm..." She started pondering to herself.
"Eh?"
"I probably should get home." she said.
"Meh, same. If my brother gets off of work early and doesn't see me home, that might cause some problems."
"Yeah, my dad might notice I'm gone if he wakes back up." After we both finished talked, we stood up and left the Foster's Freeze.
"Hey." she said. I glanced over.
"What."
"Mind walking me home?" she asked. "It's not far from here, and these streets are kind of unsettling alone at night."
"...That means I would have to walk them alone on the way back since I live on Union."
"Shit. That's quite a walk."
"Hmm... actually I'll do it under one condition." She blushed.
"I'm not doing that."
"Not THAT, you idiot." I pointed across the street to the liquor store. "You said you're good at sleight of hand, right?"

* * *

"Good lord, this stuff is going to knock me on my ass." I'm being serious here. The liquor she got out of that store was potent shit. I would tell you what it was, but frankly after two drinks I couldn't see straight enough to read the bottle or bother to remember the name. The best liquor's the name you can't recall because it's just that good.
"You're not supposed to drink scotch."
"Well shit, that explains a lot." I'm slurring my speech at this point, but I'm not putting in the effort to write it as such. If I wrote any of my dialogue in accordance to how much I've been drinking, most of it would be illegible.
"Well, this is it." she said as she zipped up her hoodie. To answer the earlier question regarding her figure after catching a glance, voluptuous and an ass that could cushion and stop a car. Also about a head shorter. After I managed to pull my eyes away from her ass, I looked on at the dingy apartment complex in which she inhabited.

"Well..."
"I'll be on my way. I can barely fucking walk." I started to make my way back towards the road.
"Um..." I stopped and looked back at her.
"Hmm?"
"Uh... thanks for that."
"S'aright." I started walking again.
"Wait hold up, I never got your name." she said. I turned around and laughed a bit.
"Well to be frank, I'm too drunk to remember it at this point."
"Really."
"Let's just say you're better off not knowing." She laughed.
"Heh, what? Are you some shady phantom of my past?"
"Shady? Absolutely. A phantom? Well, a man can dream."
"That sounds like a really bad cliche."
"Hon I'm drunk enough that I probably won't remember this in the morning." That was a lie since I'm clearly writing a story about it now. "Trust me, it's for the best if you don't end up getting involved with somebody like me."
"Meh, I could say the same."
"So we're in agreement then."
"I guess we are."
"Then good night, and good luck."
"You stole that from that movie."
"Fuck, when is that coming out? I want to see it." I never saw it, by the way.
"Uh... September?"
"You're stalling, you should get back inside and I should get home."
"Dammit, you caught me." She sighed in a sardonic tone. "You know, if you wanted to do THAT before I went back in, I cou--"
"I CAN'T EVEN FEEL MY LEGS!" I'm serious, that booze was fucking strong.
"Alright alright." She trotted up to her apartment and ever so gently opened the door. I saw her whisper "Thank you" before slipping behind the door and closing it.

And that was it.

I managed to stumble my way three miles back home. Or not. I actually got lost for a bit and just gave up the idea of going home and finding a bench to pass out on for a few hours or so before waking back up with a hangover strong enough to hemorrhage the brain of an infant.
"God-damn, it hasn't even been a few hours and I feel like shit." I sat up and threw the bottle into a nearby dumpster. "Fuck this, that's where I draw the line."
I had no clue where I was, but I figured I should probably get home before the sun starts to rise. As I walked past a small local skate park across the train tracks, my thoughts were just loud enough to be heard over the screeching of the hangover.
"Hmm... I wonder if she was serious and I could've..." The smile on my face was immediately wiped off as I shook my head. "Bah, I don't need to be swept up in something like that again, at least not for a while." And that was true. I don't think I was ready to start a clean slate. I still needed a bit of air to breathe before that would happen again. But hell, maybe it could've gone somewhere.

Probably not, but a man can dream, even if it might be unhealthy. As long as it helps you get by, then that's how it goes, right?