Six Degrees To Her Heart (Warning, REPOST!) (1019 hits)
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Submitted by erosion_rules (View user info) at 2006-04-15 23:52:38 EDT
This story was previously posted as eight installments, the most recent weighing in yesterday. This reposting is merely my attempt at throwing everything together. A title has been added, as it was previously only called "The example of why I shouldn't write."
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If you asked me a year ago how I'd spend my prom night, you can bet your ass I wouldn't have said I'd be spending it sitting outside this asshole's house, waiting for the lights to go out. I should be at Mitch Dweyer's prom party, knocking back some Jager shots with Jessie Gliebold, followed by a few bong hits in Mitch's garage. This blatant display of underage substance abuse would undoubtedy have led to inebriated intercourse with otherwise reserved pillars of the local educational institution.
But as it is, I had to move. Home was 1800 miles away. I was preparing for my senior year, and I had finally broken into everything I had wanted Years of being the nerd of the class had been stripped away at last year's prom party, when I downed a quart of Bacardi Gold along with a few Bud Lights and some other concoctions I created myself as I dared others to try it. All I remember from that night was jthe stinging taste of alcohol coating every inch of my innards, and a girl from another school named Jennifer taking an interest...then losing interest the moment I opened my mouth. It went something like this:
Jennifer sat down next to me at the picnic table. This was on the edge of the river, right next to a flagpole, about a foot from the cliff that led down to the water. When she sat down, she spoke.
"Hi, I'm Jennifer."
"I'm Gary...Wanna fuck?"
I don't remember ever seeing Jennifer again. However, according to everyone at the party, I spent s good amount of time hanging over the river from the flagpole by one arm, of my own free will, delivering the most perverted pickup lines to every girl that passed. I also apparently smoked weed for the first time at this party. I don't remember it, but the next day, I really wanted to get high, so I guess maybe it's true.
If I ever have kids, I'm going to wait until they've had seventeen years to become comfortable with their surroundings, and pull up stakes at the last minute. I'll move across the country just as they're about to start their senior year. I'll make sure to "surprise" them with it just a week before the move, allowing them zero time to say goodby, except for a few awkward sentences to the people they most care about, and it will allow almost no time to adjust to the fact that they will have to adjust to an entirely alien environment after seventeen years of comfort.
No, I would definitely not have said I would be creeping around in the bushes to make this son of a bitch pay.
I moved into a cookie cutter house, perfect for midieval invasions. It was a hurricane proof building. One story, about a quarter the size of my old house. Our movers were lazy douchebags, so I had to move most of the heavy shit.
"We have to enroll you in school here later today" mom said, as if nothing was wrong at all.
"This school is a little bigger than your last one, think you'll be okay?" Dad was such a pussy about the move.
"Sure, dad, this is definitely better than graduating with everyone I know. Being the new kid is the highlight of everyone's life."
Mom and Dad exchanged a nervous glance. They knew they had fucked up everything I had hoped for in life.
"Relax, dad. I'm not a fucking cinfant."
"Gary! Not in front of your mother!"
The enrollment was pretty uneventful. Miss Spies, my guidance counselor(which was pretty overwhelming in itself, considering my last school had one guidance counselor for all the students, and roughly twenty teachers for all 360 students) was pretty hot. I'd say she was about 23 at most, and the pictures on her desk gave me the impression that she was single.
My first day was also my eighteenth birthday. What a grand day to spend as the unknown. I should have been out, getting fucked up and buying my first legal pack of smokes. Instead, I was being scrutinized like I was a perpetrator in the Roswell incident.
First period was all right, I had an economics class with a fairly young teacher, Mrs. Seward. She was fairly attractive. She openly told me that complementing the photo of her son would give me some extra credit points, as would a Starbucks Frappacino. In this class I met Anne, who sat directly in front of me. Anne could get the best acid around, and she occasionally threw insane parties. Her parents spent a lot of time out of town, so she pretty much had free roam. I kind of liked Anne. She was a cool chick, and looked kind of like Julia Styles.
Second period was pretty awkward. The guy next to me was Jewish, and he had an accent I couldn't understand. I found out he was born and raised in this town, but when he spoke, it sounded like bastardized Italian. The only thing I really knew about him was that his name sounded like it started with an "a." During this class, I noticed a guy from first period sitting next to another guy, John, that was just staring at me. When someone stares like this, you can't help but stare back. It was actually very unnerving.
Our teacher in this class, Creative Writing, was Miss Finne. From the start, I got the dyke vibe from Miss Finne. She just seemed like the type of woman that would embed her face in a vagina. Since I thought she was a dyke, she was cool in my book.
Third period was the most fun I'd had that day. It was a philosophy class, taught by a portly older man. That day, we did nothing but watch The Matrix. Apparently, entertainment is the best way to get into philosophy. The girl sitting in front of me, Tina, was amazing. I can honestly say I instantly fell for her. Directly to her right was the guy from second period, the one who was staring at me. When he spoke with her, he seemed like one of the friendliest guys in existence. I took a chance and butted into their conversation, whcih was going a bit like this:
"What you need are tassles to hook to your bra."
"You think? It would be too hard to control where they're going."
This was my chance: "Not if they were battery powered."
They both looked at me for a second, and that was all it took. I was accepted.
"Think about it. All you really need are some motors to hook to the bra, then you could have robotic booby tassles."
This resulted in hysterical laughter from both John and Tina.
"Then you could get more inventive, and give them some A.I. You could free up your hands while driving, or beat the shit out of someone while you finish your fries."
That first day in this new town passed over and over through my mind as I screwed the suppressor onto the end of my pistol. Finding acceptance, joining a large group of friends, genuine good people, immediately... And Tina. Jesus, that's what this is all about anyway.
About a week passed and I still didn't know much about Tina. She liked a lot of bands I hated, but that didn't bug me. It allowed me to act like an eight year old by picking on her about one of her favorites. "Two down, two to go, Tina. Which one's next, is it Paul or Ringo?" This would usually end in her tackling me, in these instances I would have a blissful moment of her on top of me, her breasts pressing against my forearm. It was well worth the kick in the shins with the heels of her Hot Topic boots each time.
Tina generally wore a dark green jacket over a black babydoll shirt with some band logo on it...usually Metallica or the Beatles. Her pants were almsot always skin tight jeans, that sort of went to a bell bottom over her high heeled boots, the kind you see all the dumb goth chicks wearing. She had dark brown, curly hair and big brow eyes. The obscure feature that truly got to me was her braces. There's something about a little bit of metal in a girl's mouth that makes my jingozzles tingle.
Don...what an asshole. I hated him from the moment I met him. He had this long hair, he looked like a fucking character in the gay version of MacBeth. Of course, he thought he was the most likeable bastard on the planet. He tried to make himself seem like he was Van fucking Wilder. Well he was no Van Wilder. This bag of living shit ended up hanging out with all of us through lunch.
"Who is that asshole, anyway, man?"
"What, Don? He's Tina's boyfriend." John had to drop what should have been painfully obviously from the start.
Of course Don was Tina's boyfriend. The biggest douche always has the perfect girl. He wasn't even a good looking guy, but he sounded like a cult leader when he talked. I guess that had to be it. Girls, being female, are mentally weak, and open to suggestion. Misogynistic? You bet. Good reason for it? Regina.
Regina Webb was a sophomore in my last school. I was a junior. I may have been in love with Regina. I may have just wanted to get in her pants. I'll never know the truth. I was Regina's lapdog for over a year, since she was a freshman. During study hall one day, we somehow got on the subject of horror movies. I found that she and I shared a common interest, and a big one at that. I had several of her favorites, and she wanted to borrow some of them. She said she'd stop by Friday afternoon. I had the movies waiting, and I handed them to her. She looked me in the eye and asked, "Do you have any condoms?"
"Huh...? Wha...? Yeah!"
"What kind are they?"
"Trojans...Umm so..."
"Well?" That was all the prompting I needed. I ran to my room and grabbed my profilactic treasure chest, and held it open before her like I was Long John Silver. The tightness of my jeans was convincing me of this further. She grabbed one from the top layer, thanked me, and walked out the door...and got in her boyfriend's Mustang. It was that moment I was no longer able to trust females.
So Don had Tina. She deserved an asshole like that, right? If she doesn't have the good sense, then to hell with her. This frame of mind lasted about seven minutes. I decided maybe I'd give Don a chance. Maybe he can prove he deserves her. And if not, better to keep your enemies close, right?
"Jesus Christ!" I had just seen one of the most unnerving things in a couple of months.
"What's wrong, dude?"
Danni and Nikki Piffkin... Twins, equally horrible. They were blonde, and not unpleasing to the eye...for most. Everyone has the type of person in their past that they want to forget about completely. Mine was Ashleigh Emerson. She was my girlfriend just before I had moved, and she wanted to make it a long distance relationship until I graduated. She finally convinced me to go along with it, and the day I moved, she lost her virginity to my friend Rick. The Piffkin twins looked exactly like her.
"They're whores." Tina was always good for a moment of clarity. Basically, in Tina's mind, anyone who had ever flirted with Don in her life was a whore. Apparently, one of the twins had asked him out in middle school. She didn't know which one, so they were both eternally branded as whores, though she hadn't even met Don at the time. But that's what life must be like, dating a cult leader hopeful.
Either way, I had eventually dubbed the two as the "Jesus Christ twins." I based that on the words that would come out of my mouth every time I saw their faces. I had to make it a point to do little shit to piss them off.
My second period class, creative writing, was becoming interesting. We had to write a short script with our group. John already had started writing his with Alex, kind of a creepy anime fiend, so I settled for Abe and Andy. Abe was Jewish, and he had this weird accent. It was sort of a bastardized Italian accent, I think, though he was born and raised in this town. Andy was a wiccan and a decent guy, though he was in the JROTC. We ended up writing a script about a kid who reveals to some people in his school, which was mostly Catholic, that he is a wiccan. We sort of based it off a guy Andy knew, since it ended with the main character's father killing him with a shotgun when he gets home from school. If was perfect. We make something sad, and I use it to work on Tina some more. So I spoke up.
"We should actually film this, you know?" I said it loud enough for the teacher to hear, of course, and she loved the idea. We had the rest of the semester to finish the movie.
Later on, while sitting down for lunch, I noticed that Tina had just finished crying. Don acted like he was consoling her, but I had a gut feeling he was the cause of her tears in the first place. I waited for him to go get some food, and asked her what happened. She told me that he threatened to cheat on her with his ex, and it got her crying. An asshole thing to do, yeah, but she didn't need to get THAT emotional about it. Maybe I was wrong about Don.
I thought that way for about three and a half minutes. Don came back, and "accidentally" hit her in the head...three times. Well, that did it. I knew at that moment that I would have to vandalize his car.
During a break from filming, we got on the subject of girls at school. John played the awesome friend card and started giving me shit about Tina. I said nothing, since he was keeping his mouth shut about the fish sewn into the bottom of the driver seat of Don's car, still not found. As it was, I knew this drama would best be ended, so I added that I was planning on another pursuit, the foreign exchange student, Altinay. Andy speculated my chances with her, while Abe merely chucked.
"You nevair gait Altinay, Gary. You're not moe-slem." I asked him to repeat it a few times, because I still couldn't understand him that well.
John spoke up. "I thought she was Korean."
"She is, but she's lived in the Czech Repulic her whole life." Suddenly, Andy's the expert.
"Let's just go back to filming, okay? John still can't get that 'fother and mather' line right."
A few weeks passed, and our movie was finished. We held what we liked to call our private screening in the classroom, during lunch. We dragged Tina away from Don, and John's bitchy pseudo-girlfriend Connie came along too. She, of course, hated it, because it took more thought than childrens' programming on PBS. I saw a tear run down Tina's cheek, and I saw my chance. Because the shoulder to cry on. It's a risky business, since a step too far will send you careening into friend zone, where you rot for eternity, your own personal hell. She pressed her face into my shirt for a good five minutes before Connie, sensing that I may have a chance to have something good in life for once, decided to loudly yell at everyone in the room because she missed 20 minutes of her lunch break. This distraction took Tina out of her sensitive, suggestive state, and gave me a violent metaphorical shove, leaving me pinwheeling for balance over the edge of friend zone.
Abby Wells' parents spent a good amount of time out of town, Usually a week out of every month. She was also one of the best people to get weed and other controlled substances from. Needless to say, there were many parties. For one such function, I had convinced Tina to come along. We were waiting in Abby's living room, watching the Exorcist, when my phone rang. Tina. She can't come, Don is having his own party. Grand. Just fucking wonderful, here I was, at a party with all the metal kids, when I myself was an '80s and early '90s alternative kid. I was down with the sickness thanks to all the Disturbed being blared. A party like this needed some different tunes. A high school party shouldn't be laden with sounds that should be coming out of an angry pizza delivery boy's car. The air should have been filled with Third Eye Blind, Savage Garden, and maybe a little Marcy Playground. Stuff that would put the finishing touch on a party scene in any teen movie. I was getting ready to leave when John and Connie came in the door. Well, at least I couldn't complain about boredom anymore.
"God, it's so loud in here! They need to turn this down." Fuckin' Connie...
I agreed with her for once, but no way was I going to let her know that. "Hey Abby, turn it up!" I turned to John. "Dude... Drinkin'?" I waved a bottle of vodka in front of him.
"No, dude. Driving."
"All right, then I guess you're the next one to challenge me." I handed a shot glass to Connie, not waiting for her to answer. I made her down eight or nine shots, and she wanted to slow down. She wanted a wine cooler. When John went to the kitchen, I followed.
"Why do you still hang out with her? It's like, a rule of life. You don't hang out with your ex. And she's a fuckin' BITCH, dude." John didn't reply, but it was obviously a silence of agreement. "Dude, wanna fuck with her?"
"How?" John wasn't much for talking about his problems with Connie, but when subtle revenge reared its head, John was usually helping it along.
I poured out half of her wine cooler, and refilled it with vodka. She was already drunk enough to not have much of a sense of taste, so I knew it was on til the break of dawn, in this case literally. She took the bottle and downed it in seconds. Five minutes later, she was passed out, and James was driving to the nearby park where we would always chill after one of Abby's parties.
"So you just wanted to get her really drunk? I don't think she minds much, dude."
"No, man. Here's the beauty. Who does she hate most right now?"
"Uh...Steph."
"Okay, what GUY does she hate most? I'm guessing it's me."
"I don't know about hate, bu-"
"Eh, whatever. But still, here's what we do. She woke up before we got to the var, and she was all over me. She wouldn't let up, so we threw her in the back seat, and I took the front. She spent most of the night basically trying to rape me." I could tell by the way his face lit up that this was an awesome plan. She had never been really drunk before, and we knew she wouldn't remember much. And if she did remember, she wouldn't know she remembers everything, because she'd never been that drunk before. Either way, we win.
"So why did you get to the party so late?" I decided it was grilling tim.
"I was over at Don's party."
"Who was there?"
"It was Don, Tina, Mary, me and Connie."
"So basically the only real people there were you and Tina? Sounds like a blast. No offense, but without me, you're boring as fuck, dude."
"Fuck you, bitchass. Anyway, Tina's really unhappy with Don, and she knows you want her. You should go for it... Don knows too, now. He might do something rash, like write something bad about you on his livejournal, oh NO!"
Cult leaders have this way of convincing people that everything will be okay if they tell them everything on their minds, or that things will be better if they donate all their posessions to the cult. They're also amazing at interrogating their followers almost instantly, even if the follower is about to leave the cult. Just look at Jim Jones, and David Koresh. I think deep down, all women are ready to hole themselves up in a small building and drink some kool-aid, oh yeah. And Tina was no different.
Oh yes, Don knew about my feelings for Tina. He also knew that Tina was starting to realize what a piece of abusive shit he was. Furthermore, he knew that I was pointing most of this out to her. The only real victory on my part, however, was the fact that he reeked of rotten fish every day now.
A month or so before, I had taken Tina aside and asked her why she put up with the way he treated her. She gave me sort of a confused, but slightly knowing and hurt, look. We went over it for some time, but she didn't want to believe that all the "accidents" that ended in her pain were anything more than coincidence. She insisted that Don was just clumsy. He just didn't watch what he was doing. He would accidentally hit her in the back of the head, accidentally botch a high five, connecting with her face. And he accidentally threw her into a wall a few times. Then he accidentally forced her to change the diaper he wore for sexual pleasure. I had enough at this point, and told her right out...
"If you don't fucking wake up, he's going to do something serious to you, and ruin your fucking life." I didn't wait for a response, I just walked away. That ran through my head for the rest of the day, along with my killer hangover, and Connie's tearful "realization" of how she had behaved the night before.
When I got home from school, a familiar white Grand Prix was parked in my driveway. Shit, I forgot my knife in the house. No one was in the car, so I figured something bad was up. I saw a swish of the curtains, and I knew for a fact things were going downhill from there, so I decided what the hell, I had nothing to lose. I jumped on the hood of the Grand Prix, and kicked the windshield as hard as I could. It cracked a little, but that little "plink" wasn't nearly satisfying enough. I gave it another forceful thrust with my heel, and sure enough, there was a loud shatter, instantly swallowed by the alarm. And god damn if it wasn't one of those talking alarms, too. Quickly as if I had fired buckshot into his ass, Don came flying out of my house. He had a kitchen knife, the wide blade glinted dully with its aged steel. I couldn't think of anything else to do but pick up the nearest object, which happened to be a cardboard box.
Great, paper loses to scissors, but this was fucking survival. There had to be a way to beat him. He thrust the blade forward, and I held the box up. As the blade was still entering the corrugated cardboard, I had a dawning moment of clarity. Instantly, I twisted the box. This action disarmed him somehow, and I was left holding the knife and the box. I held Don off for a moment, and ran inside. I locked the door behind me, and noticed the key was gone from the rack by the door. This bastard had thought of everything...
I ran back into my parents' room, and a moment later I was sitting on the couch, waiting for him to come in. He didn't disappoint, but I believe I may have. He came in ready to beat the shit out of me, but was faced with two cobalt barrels loaded with buckshot. He quickly took off, dropping my key on the porch. No sense calling the police, I suppose, since they would likely find my stash. I just had to make sure all the glass was out of the driveway before my dad got home.
Don left me alone for some time after that attack, and Tina was looking less bruised. I thought it was all well and good, until I found out she hadn't left him, he had just gotten distant. He started spending the occasional night in her driveway, watching her window, and she was sufficiently creeped out. But still, this was not enough to convince her that someone else might be better for her, someone who continually watched out for her, and, though he didn't speak much of it, had done some incredibly sweet things for her. He picked her up from Don's house when he locked her outside in the rain for saying Brendan Fraser was attractive. He spent every weekend with her at the mall, in Hot Topic, places he hated. He put up with her psychotic sex fiend mother grabbing his ass while he consoled her in her living room. He was me, and I couldn't take it any more. I confessed it all to her, about how Don had been acting, about the encounter in my driveway, everything. I finished it off with what would have changed everything for the better in any movie. I told her I loved her.
She sat silently for a few minutes, and slowly began to speak.
"Gary...You have to understand...I'm with Don. I'm his girlfriend. I know you feel this way about me now, but..."
"Wait, what? Don't talk to me like I'm a FUCKING CHILD! I've put myself through fucking hell for you, and this is how you fucking treat me? I wonder if you actually deserve the way he fucking treats you. If you had brain one in your skull, you would have sent his ass packing months ago."
That had done it. She was crying now. I'd accomplished everything I had condemned in Don's behavior. I had hurt the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
"Oh my god, Tina, I'm sorry... I didn't mean anything, really. It's just so frustrating, and you deserve better than that piece of shit. I really am sorry...Please don't cry any more, just leave him, and you'll never need to cry again..." I was hysterical at that point. I didn't know what else to do. All I knew is that some time would pass before she would speak to me again. Luckily, the perfect time of year to deal with that was fast approaching. Prom.
About a week passed before Tina would even speak to me. She showed pure disgust for the first couple of days, and she grew less and less anxious around me day to day. Finally, on Wednesday that week, I managed to get her talking during our philosophy class.
In this class, I spent most of my time goofing off. I had taken the extra office style desk chair, complete with well oiled wheels, and whenever I felt bored enough, I would kick off the wall and go spinning across the room. Mr. Addison never minded this, or my blatant misuse of school supplies, such as tape, for my creation that lulled Tina into a sense of comfort once again. I had stolen a giant wooden spoon from the home ec room, a class I didn't even attend, yet still entered from time to time to snake some snacks. I taped it to my wrist with about half a roll of masking tape, and confronted the giant Frankenstein's monster cutout in the corner of the room. "You're no match for me, Frankenberry, not with the breakfast gauntlet!"
Sure, I had made a complete ass of myself, but it was for Tina. This one little thing had erased all the damage I had done the week before. I should have known, with the shit she puts up with, I'm nice like Christ.
After philosophy, it was the end of our school day. Tina was prepared to go to Don's house, but John convinced her to hang out with us for a while instead. We spent the afternoon at John's house, watching Mallrats and Dogma. I had always secretly identified with Brodie, and I took it a bit too much to heart when she said she loved Brodie. I've always been a little unrealistic about things like that, sort of a six degrees to her heart.
In that instant, I decided maybe there was something I could do. I already knew she was going to the prom with Don. But I also knew I had a lot of people on my side in this battle. Apparently, most of the school secretly hated him for everything he had done to Tina, but no one cared enough to do anything about it. Until I came along. I didn't know exactly what I could do, but I knew with all those people behind me, it would be something.
Right when Brodie yelled "Not you, asshole, the girl!" something slammed against John's front door. He went to check, and found a brick with a note attached. Apparently the tosser had bad aim, as the window was about eight feet to the right. And had a penchant for cliches. He examined the rectangular dent in the door, and went to get a bucket of paint from the garage. I began rolling the rubber band off the note, and before even opening it to see who had written it, I looked at Tina.
"You're boyfriend's a real asshole, you know that?"
"He did not do that, you're just being an immature, dumbass, cock smoking little--"
"'Dear John. You have betrayed me once again. I'm watching you. Regards, Don.' Really, I am, Tina? Tell me more about me, it turns me on when you get mean."
I guess she wasn't in the mood for my jokes. She took off running before John got back from the garage with the paint, and I followed her. She kept running, down three streets, and turned a corner into a long driveway. Don's driveway. Marvelous, now I had to deal with this shit. And this time, he might be the one with a gun, but I couldn't let her put herself in more danger than I had to. She ran up the stair to his room, which was separated from the house, above the garage. He referred to it as his apartment, his little way of trying to make himself seem better than everyone else. I had never been inside until that point, and when Tina threw open his door, I realized we were alone. Don was nowhere near home. He must have thrown the brick as he was heading off for more diapers.
It was such a strange place, so sterile until you got to the counter over the mini-fridge. It was covered in dirty dishes and moldy patches that were at some point fruit. The mold had taken over so much that no smell emanated. The pennicillin must have killed all odor causing bacteria, like Lysol.
"We have to get out of here, Tina. Seriously, NOW."
"Not until I find out for sure it was him!"
"Look, you have to face it some day. He's not perfect. He's a fucking piece of shit, and that will never change."
"Fuck you, Gary. Fuck you, all you want is to get in my pants anyway. That's what this is all about. You've turned my fucking life upside down just because you want a quick fuck."
I stood silently, stunned. I had no idea how to respond to this. She had verbally cheapened everything I had done in the past nine months into an attempt for some pussy. I turned, and walked back to John's house. I didn't say another word the rest of the day.
John and I went to get fitted for a tux the same day. He went for the standard look. Black tie, white undershirt, boring as balls. I went a little more festive. I took the same jacket and pants as John, but I needed something to spice things up. I took the red vest, and red tie. I felt like a god.
I put the tux on reserve, planning to pick it up the morning of the prom. If I took it with me, I'd be tempted to wear it more, and I couldn't risk any damage. I needed my money for my post prom celebratory bong loads.
While exiting Sacinos, we saw Buelah, the school's token 'fat girl with a fat girl name.' Every school has at least one. She was on the school newspaper, and she was also a gigantic nerd. There was a special scholarship prize for anyone who would make her prom dress entirely out of duct tape, so of course she hopped on that bandwagon. At least she'd have an excuse for being dateless this year, other than she is a fat tub of goo. She told us that Don was in the mall too, and we should find him to say hi. She really had her finger on the pulse of current events.
We tried pretty hard to avoid Don, and we were successful until we got to the parking lot. We saw a dented hood on the car facing John's, and I recognized the dents instantly. They were, of course, in the shape of my boots. I stepped closer, and trailed my finger across one of the impressions I had left over a month before, and suddenly felt the world tilt, and an explosion behind me, sending the world into blackness.
Days later, I woke up. I was still next to John's car, in the same parking lot, with my left leg underneath Don's car. I shook my head and looked at my watch. I had hit the ground less than five seconds before. Anyone who has sustained a hard enough blow to the skull will understand why it was days later, though only mere seconds. I saw a bloodied face near my heel, dirty blonde hair trailing off to one side. Don. He was shaking his head, obviously trying to clear his eyes. I stood up, and looked at John, expecting he had booted Don as I fell, but John still hadn't realized we weren't alone.
"What happened, man? Trip on your dick?"
"Yeah, yeah, I brag about my cock, I get it. Listen, Don's under his car, and he just yanked me down. I think I kicked him in the face when I hit, he's bleeding everywhere."
John stared at me for a second in disbelief, then bent to look for himself.
"Oh shit, fuck..." He pulled Don out from under his car, blood pouring from his nose. "Dude, you didn't kick him, he gets these crazy nosebleeds, and then he passes out. You okay, man?"
"Oh, what the fuck. You're gonna look after him, when he just fucking attacked me? For all you know, you were next!"
"Dude, there's a time and a place. Shut the fuck up and help me get him in the back seat, he needs a doctor."
We should have left him under his car to die, right then. He would have much more dignity that way.
Walking home, I had time to reflect on the changes in my life. Mostly the fact that I had to leave my car behind when we moved. I thought about how I had acted toward Tina, and how I should have handled things. Deep down, I regret nothing. If I had sat idly by, just hoping she see what I felt for her, she would never wake up. Sure, she was mad at me now, but if she thought about it long and hard, she would realize there was someone out there better for her.
I was left to walk home, of course, because I openly refused to be in a vehicle with Don. Maybe it was a little unreasonable for me to object to his...survival. Maybe I just didn't want to see Tina cry any more.
John called me later that night, letting me know that Don was okay, and he was released after an hour in the hospital. Just a minor nosebleed, and he fainted at the sight of it. Fucking pussy. I felt fine when I saw him bleeding. Even he should see that when a piece of shit as big as himself is bleeding, it may be a good thing.
There had to be more to this whole thing. I could have gotten a concussion, or even died, which I think was Don's ultimate goal. I was an open threat to his control over Tina now. And when a cult leader loses control over his people, he generally resorts to desperate tactics. Don had tried many different things before, from Sun Myung Moon's insistence that the only master of a man's penis is that man himself, and any woman with whom he enters a relationship should just get used to it, to drugging her Flavor-Aid with some mild sedatives, making her much more susceptible to suggestion. I wouldn't have been surprised if he decided to imitate Asahara, but I highly doubt some random kid could get ahold of nerve gas. The proof was all there, but as much as some people can control others, Tina was ready to be controlled. She had never known anything but Don's overbearing psychoses, so it was seated deep in her mind that that was how things should be. It was my duty to prove to her that she could have something far greater.
I stewed in my anger for the next week, only showing up for school one of the days. I spent most of that solitary day in classes I had never attended, taught by teachers I didn't know. I just walked around, and picked a room. It didn't matter anyway. I had checked in ten minutes late in the office at the beginning of the day, and wandered from there. It was like a dream. I mediocre, eight hour dream. Earlier that week, I had taken up smoking for the first time since I was fifteen years old. I spent lunch sitting in the outdoor patio like usual, and finished four cigarettes in that short time.
Mr. Murdoch, the assistant principal, had a look to match his name. He looked like a cop that was kicked off the force for excessive use of force. He walked up to me to talk about my smoking, but I got up and walked off school grounds, ignoring him completely. In my time in this large school, I had realized that you can't get caught if they don't know your name, and I had melted into anonymity long before that day. I honestly don't know what had come over me that day. I came back about twenty minutes before the end of the day, and waited for Tina to come out.
The conversation with Tina was a blur. She said something angry. I said something apologetic. She said something that praised Don, which was followed by me saying something about her weaknesses. She said something that gave me the impression she was going to cry, and I dropped a bomb.
"Why can't you just leave me alone, Gary?" Her voice cracked with the impending sobs, the tightness in her throat growing almost visibly.
"Because I'm fucking in love with you. You knew that for months now, and you just don't give a shit. I'm obviously nothing to you, so goodbye."
I started to walk away, and I felt her hand grasp mine. Before I could turn, she let go again. Her indecisiveness had won once again. If I had any sense, I would have turned around right then, and I wouldn't even be telling you this. As it is, I'm a fucking moron.
That Saturday was Prom. I knew there was more chance for me now than ever, with Tina's reaction outside school. I bought a single rose, and went over to John's house to meet up with him, along with Connie and Dana, who was Don's ex. I didn't know her well, aside from a passed word here and there, but I knew that John and Tina both knew her well. Tina hated her, and John pretended to hate her until Tina wasn't around. What I didn't know until this point was that Dana had been keeping tabs on me thanks to my pursuit of Tina. Dana wanted her to get out of the hell of Don's grasp, and she also knew that everything I had said and felt was genuine, though most others still saw it as infatuation.
I had grown a little nervous around Dana, simply because it's hard to trust anyone who knows that much about you without ever spending more than thirty seconds at a time with you. She was unnerving at first, but she also had the most coherent ideas for how to handle the situation. Apparently, she was now my prom date. She didn't explain the details to me, but apparently they would come naturally in time when we were there, as long as I gave Tina the rose. I was working on blind faith for the first time since I was six years old.
We spent quite a bit of time at John's house before the limo showed up. When it finally didn arrive, we all took our seats. Being somewhat obnoxious, I made sure to secure the seat under the sunroof. There was no way I was going to let the night go by without hanging out of it, screaming and waking up denizens of every nearby neighborhood. It also afforded me just a little more "lookout" time to spot Tina. Even the slightest glance would improve my mood.
Apparently, Dana knew every detail of the situation with Tina, myself, and Don. She even knew that earlier that week, I had dropped the big one, the words that can make or break any relationship. She also explained Tina's personality before she met Don. Her explanation gave me hope, namely because she always had a thing for romance. I never considered myself to be romantic, but I knew how to imitate movies, and where else would I find the most romantic ideas?
When we walked into the doors of the hotel, the chapperones tried to deny my entrance, because they didn't recognize me as a student. There goes my anonymity, biting me in the ass again. I had to wait for about twenty minutes, just to get one of my teachers to confirm me as his student.
"He's in my third period philosophy class. Let him in." Mr. Addison was always on the lookout for the younger generations. "Good luck tonight, Gary. Don't let her get away."
Great. Was there no one who didn't know yet? There was more privacy in my home town, with only thirty kids to each class, less than 400 people from the ages of five to eightteen. Suddenly I was talk of the prom, and the pressure was mounting.
Tina was across the room, sitting at a table and staring at her hands, which were resting in her lap. I made my way over to her, dodging Charis, a mildy retarded girl with a crush on me. I ducked under the view of her left eye, and deftly maneuvered out of the line of sight of her lazy eye. Or maybe it was the other way around, I'm not sure. Rumor had it she could see perfectly out of both of them, and move them independantly, like a chameleon. But this was no time for biology. I had to make myself known to Tina once again.
"You look beautiful."
"She looked up at me with tears already welling up in her eyes. "Thank you. Have you seen--"
"Wait. This is for you." I handed her the rose. "I want you to know that I'm here for you, no matter what. I can't make any of your decisions for you, but I still love you, whatever happens."
At that moment, something struck me, shoving me hard, away from Tina.
"Don, what the fuck is wrong with you? He wasn't hurting anyone."
He turned to me and apologized almost silently, like a child being forced. It must have been a ploy to control her again, because there was no way he would have bent to her will in any other instance. I knew that I would have to bide my time for now, since there was no use talking to her with Don around. I walked away and sat down at the table next to Dana.
"She knows it isn't right..."
I stared blankly at her for a few seconds.
"She knows that she deserves better, but she's gotten used to things. She's afraid of change."
"Fuck..." There was really nothing I could say any more. I had run out of words. The only thing running through my mind was telling her I loved her again and again.
"Don't worry. Let's dance."
A swing number was beginning to play, and a lot of people had left the floor. This afforded me room to jump and jive and wail. I had never danced to swing before, but I had love on my side tonight. I started off small, then I saw Don spin Tina a bit. I couldn't hold back any longer.
"Dana, let's show this bastard how it's done." Hell, I would have liked to know "how it's done." I spun her around me a few times, and before I knew it, she was in the air over my head. I caught her and spun her like a staff around my waist, then set her back on the floor. If imitation is the severest form of flattery, than great flattery was done to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies' music video. For the first time in my life, I had an audience on the dance floor. Tina had even stopped dancing, sending Don off to his table to sulk. I finished the whole thing off with an epic slide. I ran forward, let my legs tuck under me, and slid forward about ten feet with only the tops of my shoes touching the floor. My moves were magnificent for once, and I felt it as well.
Then I was blinded by pain. My legs were on fire. I couldn't believe that slide, and I couldn't believe the muscle tearing it had caused. I got up and limped to the table again. Dana walked away to talk to Tina.
A few minutes later, Tina was standing in front of me. She asked me to dance with her, and I couldn't say no, no matter how bad the pain in my legs. We made our way to the dance floor, and I saw Don stare at me with hate in his eyes. I also saw Dana, arms around him, swaying to the music.
"She held him off for you."
"Oh...Uh...so what did you think of the rose?" It was a stupid question, since it was pinned to her dress in place of the expensive corsage she had been wearing earlier. She didn't say a word, she just rested her head against me and sighed. Instinct kicked in, and I ran my hand down her cheek. She looked up at me, and the next few moments would have been the perfect time to freeze for eternity. I managed to kiss her, somehow. Faithful Tina, servant of Don, was making out on the dance floor with this random new kid. Moments after our lips parted, she took a huge step backward and yelped.
Don stood behind her, her hair in his hand.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" His hand was poised for a slap. I didn't wait for confirmation that he was going to follow through. I let my foot rocket forward, effectively mashing his testicles against his thigh. He dropped to the floor, clutching his injured scrote, and gasped like a trout.
Tina and I walked toward the door, motioning for John and Dana to follow. We went out to the parking loop and waited for our limo to arrive, since there was only fifteen minutes left. And if anything started out there, security would step in, and Don would be escorted to the nearest law enforcement officer.
Don didn't come out.
When the limo arrived, Tina seemed reluctant at first. She waited a second, then got in with me. Almost as soon as we were moving, she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder. Everything was well, for the first time in years. Then the limo swerved. Tina awoke, and we all looked out the window. A white Grand Prix was on the road next to the limo, the driver screaming "You're fucking dead, Gary! I swear you're fucking dead!" before speeding off into the night.
When we were all safely returned home, I walked Tina to her door. She gave me another quick peck and thanked me for everything. I still see her face that night when I close my eyes.
When I was dropped off at my house, I quietly went inside. Mom and Dad would be asleep at this hour, so I got Dad's pistol out of the den closet. I found the supressor and took it along with me, and made my way to Don's house.
This brings me back to our starting point. I screwed on the supressor, and made my way up the stairs to his "apartment." I knocked, and waited. I knocked again, and waited again. Then I tried the knob. I had my pistol in hand as I opened the door, and the room was dark, except for a sliver of light in the closet.
I expected Don to be waiting anywhere to jump out at me. I didn't hear anything. No breathing, no fidgeting sounds of someone waiting anxiously. Nothing.
I slowly stepped over to the closet, and paused. Maybe I did hear something. I looked around again for a minute, and realized I heard a light creaking sound. It was coming from the closet.
All sorts of things went through my mind. He could be waiting in there with a knife, a gun, anything. I aimed my piece with my right, and pulled the door open with my left. What I saw brought me close to vomiting.
There was a rope tied to the bar of the closet, and clothes were knocked off, still on their hangers. The other end of the rope was tied around Don's neck. His face was blue. The most disturbing image, however, was the fact that he was completely nude. My first impression was that he killed himself after seeing me kiss Tina. Then I noticed a few more details, and all was clear. It all added up. He was naked. His penis was still in his hand, and there was semen drying on the floor. I couldn't help but laugh. He sucked so horribly at life that he died trying to masturbate.
I went home, and put away the gun. I went to bed still chuckling to myself.
The next day, it was all over the news. His brother found him dead, and told the press the truth. Usually when someone dies in that sort of situation, the family covers it up and makes it look like a suicide. No one wants the embarrassment of the world knowing your son can't even properly rub one out. Don's brother, on the other hand, was far too honest to let it go. He called it all in to the proper authorities, and they checked the evidence. It all pointed to someone who won the Darwin Award.
To this day, I still think about Tina. I let her get away. She found a new guy, who treated her well for a few months, and then became a prick. He dumped her, and I made amove. She didn't see it, and she found yet another boyfriend. There was nothing I could do about any of it. I'm quite sure she'll marry him someday, and maybe that's not such a bad thing. As long as she's happy, I can't rightfully object.
Tina got what she deserved, a guy who loves her, who treats her the way I would.
I just wish it was me.
================================================================================
{Author's Note}
This story is basically an extreme spin on real events, which took place five years ago. Many parts are completely true, while others are exaggerated. Truth tends to be much less exciting than life in my case.
I have finally decided on a title, however unfitting it may seem. I chose "Six Degrees to Her Heart" as my title because I am a big fan of the Kevin Bacon game. It also holds some personal meaning with my relationship with the girl herself.
It seems a bit emo, I know this, but the main reason I wrote this is for her. I just posted it here for my outlet. Whatever my rating will be on ubersite, I will be proud of this story, simply because of what it means to me.
User Reviews
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2006-04-26 01:33:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I logged in just to +2 this.
(and I am a girl)
Submitted by georgemichael (user info) at 2006-04-24 22:21:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 well deserved
Submitted by Doodles (user info) at 2006-04-24 22:12:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Great series
Submitted by erosion_rules (user info) at 2006-04-18 21:07:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Technophobe (user info) at 2006-04-17 16:24:36 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by erosion_rules (user info) at 2006-04-16 23:58:30 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Technophobe (user info) at 2006-04-16 11:22:34 (#)
Ranking: 2
I honestly liked this, but then again I am a girl,(therefore my opinions don't really count)
=============================================
Hey, shouldn't you be in the kitchen?
Actually, I was hoping to get some more female insight on this. I've forced this story on most of my friends, and most of my friends are also girls. (Stuck in friend zone for life)
=================================================
Dear erosion_rules
To be honest, you are a great guy and a fab. writer and I want to have your babies (once I free myself from the kitchen), I sat and read ALL of your story in one go, and I REALLY enjoyed it, I don't tend to read or rate shite, I just write it.
XXXX
Luv Ya!!
Your Future Stalker
============================
Too bad you're not my inspiration for Tina...
If you were, I'd be forced to play your vagina like a violin.
Submitted by Technophobe (user info) at 2006-04-17 16:24:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by erosion_rules (user info) at 2006-04-16 23:58:30 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Technophobe (user info) at 2006-04-16 11:22:34 (#)
Ranking: 2
I honestly liked this, but then again I am a girl,(therefore my opinions don't really count)
=============================================
Hey, shouldn't you be in the kitchen?
Actually, I was hoping to get some more female insight on this. I've forced this story on most of my friends, and most of my friends are also girls. (Stuck in friend zone for life)
=================================================
Dear erosion_rules
To be honest, you are a great guy and a fab. writer and I want to have your babies (once I free myself from the kitchen), I sat and read ALL of your story in one go, and I REALLY enjoyed it, I don't tend to read or rate shite, I just write it.
XXXX
Luv Ya!!
Your Future Stalker
Submitted by Grimm (user info) at 2006-04-17 08:41:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked the jumping around style. The story kicked ass, and there's too many excellent sentences in here to pick one I like.
Submitted by erosion_rules (user info) at 2006-04-16 23:58:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Technophobe (user info) at 2006-04-16 11:22:34 (#)
Ranking: 2
I honestly liked this, but then again I am a girl,(therefore my opinions don't really count)
=============================================
Hey, shouldn't you be in the kitchen?
Actually, I was hoping to get some more female insight on this. I've forced this story on most of my friends, and most of my friends are also girls. (Stuck in friend zone for life)
Submitted by extacy_red (user info) at 2006-04-16 19:25:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i never read the series portion,
just read this.
and holyfuckshit its good.
the end.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-04-16 11:49:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Read the other ones except the last one, so I just read it from where the others left off.
Good stuff.
Submitted by Technophobe (user info) at 2006-04-16 11:22:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I honestly liked this, but then again I am a girl,(therefore my opinions don't really count)