A/N: Just dabbling around with the idea. Trying to write non-sucky, realistic Mary Sue is quite difficult, and I'm not sure if I pulled it off. You tell me.
Just Like a Pill
"Is she gonna be okay, D?" Kissa pulled into the empty parking lot.
Karen's boyfriend, DJ looked up from the backseat. "She should be fine. We got her away in time. Karen, honey, you wanna go up to the room yet?"
The girl clung tightly to his sweater and shook her head no. The pummeling fists were still fresh in her mind. Her father's yelling, her mother's helplessness, Karen trying to stop him, and then black. She'd woken up in a hospital with her right eye swelled shut and bruises and welts all over her body. Kissa had been crying, DJ had been holding her hand, and Alexia had been pacing back and forth with murder in her steel gray eyes.
"She doesn't want to, and we're at the hotel, anyway. Why don't you all take a walk?"
Alexia was obviously against the idea, but the two needed to be alone. Kissa parked and they slowly got out. DJ helped Karen inside and convinced her to go up to her hotel room while Kissa decided to wander aimlessly in the large hotel. Other ideas came to Alexia.
She stopped the younger girl before she could get far. "Where are we, Kissa?"
"Not far from home, don't worry. Did you call my mom and tell her why we took-"
"Yeah, yeah, but Kiss, where did you get the money to pay for this hotel? Where did you get the car? Why did you bring us here?"
"This isn't twenty questions, goddammit. Her dad can't find us here, that's the only thing that matters."
Alexia saw through the fake exterior of strength to the fear in the girl one year her junior. "You're losing it, Kiss. You need to pull yourself together for-"
"Look Lex, back off, okay? I need to be alone. Just back off." People were starting to stare. Two teenagers in the middle of a grand resort, five star hotel wearing all black tended to stand out. Especially with Alexia giving the impression of a serial killer.
Instead of fighting back, the girl turned on Kissa, shaking her head.
Kissa didn't follow, but pushed a hand through her all raven-colored hair, minus long, distinct streaks of brilliant blue. Pain racked her body and she soon found herself wandering in the general direction of the bar. Unwilling to stop herself, she continued on until she was seated at the marble countertop, staring at shelves littered with as many alcoholic substances one could think of. Her fake ID passed and she walked right out with a bottle of cherry Schnapps, and a Corona. Where to, she didn't know. She didn't care, she had to get away from all this.
The room she found was dark and empty... and locked. Using a hairpin, she slowly, deliberately clicked it open and went in. Learning how to unlock things had been one of her talents since she was little. It infuriated her older sister when she got home to find her diary hidden, her clothes tried on and ripped, and Kissa sitting in the living room, innocently eating Frosted Flakes out of the box. The memory made her laugh for a second, then she stopped. Her sister was dead. She would never see her again. The pain came back quickly and a swig of Schnapps barely dulled it.
"Shit." Her tolerance for alcohol had never before gotten on her nerves. In fact, she'd quit years ago. "But then again, you can't quit alcohol. You can just not drink it again." Her sister had told her that. More pain. More drinking.
God, she hated Karen's dad. She hated Karen's family. They didn't deserve a person like her best friend. The alcohol was having it's angry effect. The moment she heard Karen's yell, she, Alexia, and DJ had run down the hall. It was simple destiny that the four had grown up in the same apartment building. DJ had tackled Karen's dad and Alexia had to stop him from killing the man. If that's what he was.
"That bastard... I hate that whole goddamn family." Kissa knew her own mother wasn't a saint, but she would never stand for letting her children get beaten. "Dammit..." Kissa stood up with some effort. The image of that pathetic woman that dared to call herself Karen's mother screaming while her child was being killed. She let him beat Karen. "You didn't even try to stop him, you cheap whore..." She told no one, finishing off the Schnapps. The blood... so much blood...
It reminded her of the car crash. The car crash where she should've died, but no, her sister did instead. She let her sister drive, knowing that she had had too much to drink. Knowing that, she let her sister get in the car. And dear Jesus, when she and her mother arrived at the scene... The blood on her sister, the blood all over...
Tears ran down Kissa's cheeks faster than she could wipe them away. A punching bag came into her line of sight, waiting for her to take out her anger on it. Her muscles coiled and she jumped at it, kicking and fighting it, waiting for it to bring some relief. It did nothing except take the hits, making her hit it harder. Like her English teacher used to hit her. Except he had tried to rape her. If it weren't for Karen coming to her rescue, he would've done it. Karen, who was being beaten by her dad, every... single... day.
Blind rage exploded in Kissa while she screamed, attacking the bag, seeing so many people's faces on it. So many who she would have killed to have her sister back, so many she'd have killed to keep Karen from harm.
Why was the world doing this to her? The punching bag swung, on the brink of breaking while she fought it and fought it. Soon she'd be too tired to move. Still, she fought it. Fighting it had to solve something... anything...
****************************
Jeff was dead tired. He'd never been this tired after a show and he had a sick feeling he would burnout. Would Vince buy it? He had to, the dangers of wrestling on burnout were too great and too many. He rubbed the back of his neck and decided to head up to his hotel room. A door on his right stood ajar, and he would've passed it without a thought. Except someone inside sounded as if they were in trouble. He shoved opened the door, expecting to see some movie-esque crime, but no. It was just a girl, just a girl fighting a punching bag like it had stolen her first born.
Before he could get out a "hey", the chain on the bag snapped and the thing fell to the floor. The girl dropped to her knees, too drained to continue her fight, she just cried. Jeff was unable to move, petrified by her sobs of anger and defeat. A small burst of strength brought her swiftly to her feet and she pitted herself against the concrete wall, ridiculously hoping it would give way like the punching bag. Finding it immovable, she froze there, fists against it, holding her eyes shut, though not stopping the tears. He watched as she sank to the ground, miserable, reaching an alcohol bottle that he hadn't noticed. An empty bottle of Schnapps lay on the floor, a drop of the drink that had been splattered on the floor, which was trekked boot marks form the girl's shoes and wet tears.
"What do you want?"
Jeff jumped.
"Yes, you." She was drunk. Her words slurred and he wasn't sure if she could sit up straight without wobbling. The wall offered her a lean-to, for which she was grateful.
Jeff stepped fully into the room. "I just... I heard you in here... You sounded like you were in some trouble."
The girl nodded, not looking at him, but staring off into the darkness of the room. She licked the salt tears from her lips but didn't say anything.
"Are you okay?"
She slowly turned to look at him, as if just realizing he was real. "Of course I'm okay. Okay people sit in dark rooms drinking themselves stupid and fighting inanimate objects," She snapped. A look of apology came into her eyes moments later, she didn't usually bark at people like that. "My friend... her dad was beating her... My friends and I are keeping her out of town for a little while. She's my best friend... she almost died." The girl had stopped looking at him and stared down, remembering every sick detail.
"I'm... sorry." said Jeff, for lack of anything else to say.
"It's alright," she replied, a small laugh in her voice. She looked at him again. "You didn't do it." She tried to smile, but it was plainly killing her inside. She popped open a Corona she had with her and took a taste, then another before she went back to staring into oblivion. Jeff stepped in more, she barely looked eighteen. "Close the door if you're coming in."
"Why?"
"I don't want to talk to any other freaks wandering hotels at night, thank you."
He laughed. "What makes you think I'm a freak?"
"You look like me." She said seriously, taking a longer drink of her Corona.
He obligingly shut the door. "Should you be drinking that?"
"Should you be not minding your own damn business?" The tint of anger was in the snarl, but she immediately took it back. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I'm not usually such a bitch," She said, trying to stand up. He went to help her, seeing her legs would no way in this world hold her up.
A foldout chair was pulled up and he sat her down in it. It wasn't until she noticed he'd taken her Corona that she spoke again.
"Can I have my drink?"
He frowned but gave it to her. He wasn't her mother, he couldn't tell her what to do. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen." She mumbled, sipping the beer savoring the last of it. The bottom of the bottle looked back at her. Knowing he'd offer to throw it away, she threw it against the wall, just to watch the glass shatter. "So... How's hell treating you?"
Jeff felt like laughing again, but settled with just an amused smile to match the one on her face. "Hell?"
"Oh, right, forgot that's just me. I get my own, personal hell." The words made her laugh with no humor.
Curiosity took over the man's mind. "What's your name?"
"Kissa," She told him flatly. He repeated it to be sure he's heard it right. "Friends and family call me Kiss. They're the only people worth while in this God-forsaken world."
He smiled. "Rarely do you find a person with some common sense."
"Then shouldn't it be called uncommon sense?"
"There's an idea."
Kissa smiled, genuinely this time. It lit up her face like a bright light. "What about you?"
Jeff sat back in his own chair. "What about me?"
"Who are you? And do you always talk to depressed girls in dark rooms?"
"I'm Jeff, and no I don't. So you must be special."
Just the way he said it made her laugh. "Eh, I'm different, that's for sure." She yawned and tried to stand, but the alcohol still had a grip on her.
"You okay? Do you need anything?"
"Could use a cigarette," The girl muttered faintly.
"You smoke?"
"Not at all."
Jeff stood up and helped her, wrapping one arm around her waist and using the other to hold her hand. "Come on, I'll take you to the front desk."
"What for?"
"Gotta get your number," He replied. She immediately laughed and he realized his mistake. "Room number! Room! Rooooom!" She was still giggling when he finally dragged her up front.
"Jeff... I don't feel so good."
"I know, hon, just hang on a moment," He assured her, putting her arm around his neck so he could hang onto her with one hand. The front desk worker was half-dead with sleep. He didn't take it personally when she didn't notice him. "Excuse me, miss?"
She jolted awake and smiled at the cute guy before her. "Can I help you?" The smile shrank when she noticed the girl who was hanging onto him for dear life.
The way the woman stared at Kissa made him apprehensive, but he continued. "Um, I need to get my friend to her room... but I don't know what it is..."
"Have you asked her?" The woman asked, knowing the girl was in no shape to even remember her room number.
"Look..." He squinted at her name tag. "Janee-... Janoo... Jan... Look lady, I need to get her to her room."
"Well, what's her name?"
"Kissa."
"Last name?"
"Marqèe."
The woman clicked though her names, not really looking at them. "Sorry, don't see it."
Jeff knew she was bullshitting now. "Well, check again."
The woman fought her smirk. "Sir, she's not there."
"Come on, she's gotta be-"
"She's not."
Kissa groaned. "Jeff... I-"
Janee/Janoo/Jan was not hiding her enjoyment now. "I suggest you make her an appointment with the AA."
This brought Kissa to reality for a moment. Long enough to vomit all over everything on the the front desk, and the woman's pressed, red dress. "I wish I could say I'm sorry about that... but I'm not." She laughed before passing out in Jeff's arms.
***********************
Jeff was beyond amused and would've been on the floor in hysterics at what Kissa had just done, if he wasn't holding her dead weight in his arms. "Don' worry, I'll find something to do with ya."
Unable to think of anything else, he took her to his room and let her sleep in his bed. He knew he couldn't undress her, though he'd rather not have her throw up all over her clothes. He put some baggy pants and shirt next to her, hoping she'd change herself when she woke up.
He laughed. What would Matt think? Some girl asleep in his bed with her clothes still on. Not tired just yet, he flopped on the couch and groped around until he found the remote. Even with his favorite cartoons on, Jeff couldn't focus. He stared mindlessly at the screen, hoping sleep would take over and get his mind off the girl he'd found in an empty room.
***********************
Kissa groaned and rolled over. She didn't know where she was, but a digital clock flashed red numbers at her. Her brain jumbled them together to form 12:07.
"So, it's 12:07 in some strange hotel room. What's the time in the real world?" Being sardonic didn't help her anymore than lying there in a puddle of lax desolation did. "Hello?" She called, she needed to hear a friendly voice. No one replied. "Must be DJ's room. His lazy ass never could wake up." She sat up and looked around. This was not DJ's room. Clothes, magazines, and random CD's lay scattered over the floor, but they weren't hers. A pair of baggy pants a Pearl Jam concert t-shirt lay folded neatly beside the bed, for the obvious reason. A nasty feeling came up in her stomach and she barely made it into the bathroom. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough.
"Dammit," She swore and removed her soiled shirt and sweatpants. The clean pants by the bed were at least three sizes too big, so she helped herself to a belt on the floor. Examining the t-shirt carefully before she put it on, she knew whoever owned it must have been to a recent concert. The logo wasn't even fading yet. "Who knew? Me wearing Pearl Jam merchandising."
Sounds of a television came from the room outside the bedroom and Kissa's dull senses sharpened. Confident that whoever it was wouldn't hurt her, she creaked the door open. The man on the couch brought back the memory of why she was even in a hotel and she winced. She recollected her thoughts but his name lay beyond her reach. What was his name?
"Um, hey dude, are you awake?" Her head was throbbing a little, but it didn't bother her much. Hangovers were never awful for her.
The guy on the couch spun around. "What are you doing up?"
"Wearing a Pearl Jam t-shirt, which amazes me to no end," Kissa replied, feeling the pain of her slight hangover leaving and a serious case of munchies replacing it.
"You don't like Pearl Jam?" The idea looked like it rocked him into the next age.
Kissa shrugged. "Not exactly. I've just never listened to them that's all." He raised his eyebrows. That thought was obviously new to him as well. "Listen, thanks for the bed and the clothes from a band I've barely heard of but, who are you?"
He finally smiled. "Forgot me that quickly, huh?"
"No, I remember you. Just your name got away from me." She sounded sincerely apologetic, like she had broken some unwritten law.
He kind of felt sorry for her. "I'm just Jeff."
"Thanks for your help, Just Jeff." She smiled in a detached sort of way. Then she saw the TV. "Freakazoid!" She shouted and launched herself over and onto the couch.
"You like Freakazoid, but not Pearl Jam?"
She nodded vivaciously, making her hair bob up and down in a girlish way. Jeff couldn't help but laugh. Even if she wasn't wearing her own clothes, her chipped black nail polish, dyed hair, and yes, Pearl Jam t-shirt took away from whatever "girly" image she had. His laugh made her smile wider, her problems were slipping quietly out the back door of her mind. She still had to take care of Karen, of course, but the old wounds that had been opened by the incident were closing up.
"Are you hungry?" Jeff asked, surprised and happy to see her spirited demeanor.
"Starving," She replied, hopping up from the couch.
He followed her example. "I'll fix you something or blow this whole place to ribbons trying." There wasn't much in the kitchen, but there was enough. "Okay, there's some leftover Chinese. I hope you like- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Kissa was outside on the balcony, sitting comfortably on the wall keeping her from falling thirty floors to the ground. "What? What'd I do?" She asked, looking around, then leaning over the edge to see if she'd knocked something down there.
He sat the food on the countertop and ran over to her. Last time his heart was beat so fast, he was hanging from a tag title belt twenty feet in the air. Even then... "That's not safe." As soon as the words left his mouth, a little voice inside him screamed HYPOCRITE.
"Oh, come on, JJ."
Involuntarily, one eyebrow rose up. "JJ?"
"Just Jeff."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Will you please get down?"
"Yes, mom," She smirked and jumped down. An image of her mom popped up in her mind and the sparkle went out of her eyes.
Jeff noticed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing... nothing, I'm fine. Where's the food?"
He handed it to her, but didn't believe she was fine. "Is it about your mom?"
"You wouldn't understand... can you just drop it?"
He couldn't, the way her eyes began to cloud over made him worry too much. "You can tell me. I think I may know a little about mom problems," He assured her, helping himself to some sesame chicken.
She laughed and shook her head. "Not like this..."
"Try me."
She stared into the jade green eyes of the stranger who'd helped her. Could she trust him? "Well, he fed me. That's a good sign."
".... look a little green."
She jumped. "Oh, did you say something?"
The look of feigned exasperation on his face reminded her of DJ. "Come on, don't zone out on me."
"Bit late for that." She smiled, swallowing the Lo Mein noodles in her mouth.
Jeff paused. "Do you really not want to tell me?"
Kissa silently bit her lip. She wanted badly to tell him. More than that, she needed to tell him. Her hands flew up to her face, resuming that annoying habit they had of running themselves through her hair. "My mother... she's in a hospital."
Despite himself, Jeff didn't think that sounded so bad... But he didn't know WHY she was in the hospital. "What happened to her?" He wanted her to keep talking. If she stopped now, she might never tell him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Kissa opened her mouth, barely holding the words in. Just say it, say it. "My mom tried to kill herself." There was an incredibly pressing silence. Jeff stared at the girl across from him, his throat going bone dry. The words shocked him, but he didn't process them right away, he just couldn't. Kissa wasn't done. "My dad just divorced her a month or so ago, and my sister's dead, and with me going to college, I guess she felt like she'd lost everyone. And when I found her... right after Karen... I wanted to run... I didn't want to help her. I didn't want to accept it... But I had to help her... I had to... had to help..." She couldn't look at Jeff anymore, and walked over to the couch, just to hide her face from him. Tears clouded her vision and she felt that crushing weight on her whole body, dragging her knees to the ground.
****************************
"Want some more noodles?"
"If I eat anymore noodles I'm gonna puke," said Kissa, shoving the noodles he offered away.
Jeff smiled warmly at her. "That's okay, I've seen that already."
She smiled back and leaned her head so she could see the clock. "1:29."
"And you still aren't tired?"
She shook her head. "Nahh..." A guitar leaned against the wall and Jeff followed her eyes to it. "You play?" He nodded, feeling more relaxed than he had a while ago. Kissa was a strong person, she just needed to talk about things like everyone else. Still, not everyone else had been through some of the stuff she had. "Do you mind if I..."
Jeff shook his head. "Go ahead, I didn't know you played."
Once the instrument was in her hands, it was obvious she played and obvious she enjoyed it. It wasn't anything mind-bending, but a soft tune that may have been a lullaby. A thin sparkle of silver appeared around her eye. She wasn't crying again... it was a tattoo.
"Hey... is that a tattoo?"
She stopped playing at looked at him as if he's gone crazy. "Hmm?"
"There, by your right eye."
"Oh," She cracked a kind of crooked smile. "The guy from Godsmack had one, so I just thought... you know... live for the moment." The phrase caught him off-guard and Kissa saw it quickly. "Did I say something wrong?"
Jeff shrugged. "No... I just... I didn't think you knew who I was."
She was strumming the guitar again, playing a tune that sounded vaguely familiar this time. "I don't."
That he had no response to, so he just studied the small tattoo. It was a silver teardrop right near the corner of her eye, somehow it set off everything about her. It sparkled like her eyes when she was happy and glittered like a real tear. Gently, he reached out a hand to touch it, and held her warm face with his thumb brushing the silver droplet.
Kissa had stop strumming out whatever tune it was she was playing and gazed back at him. "Jeff?"
He jumped at the sound of his name. "Oh God, I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," She beamed and set the guitar down. "Come on, let's go."
He stopped. "Go? Go where?"
She pulled on some sandals laying on the floor. "I don't know. Anywhere, The night is young… or old but young at heart."
"Spur of the moment girl?"
"The one thing my friends hate about me."
**************************
Jeff didn't expect anything to be open in this city. It was just another city on his list, not a place to have fun, but Kissa was determined. Knowing Karen was safe with DJ, and now with Jeff knowing something about her without trying to commit her, she felt a lot better and freer than if she had just gone up to her room and cried herself into a rut.
Neon was flashing and people were talking and everything was moving so quickly, they would've walked right on by a carnival if Kissa hadn't darted off just to annoy Jeff.
Not one to pass up a fair, Jeff followed his blue-haired new friend right over the fence. "Why do I have a feeling I won't be getting any sleep until morning?"
"Because you won't?" Kissa suggested, her eyes twinkled and the silver tear shined in the festival lights. Her smile was much better than her sad sulk Jeff decided, and trailed after her through a mass of people.
**************************
"Come on, Jeff, you don't wanna play that, do you? It's rigged."
Jeff couldn't hide his amusement. Kissa had no idea of his profession, but tests of strength, rigged or not, were not a problem. "Do you want the pink teddy bear, or the blue one?" He asked, seeing the oversized stuffed animals.
She laughed. "I can't hold another animal, Jeff. I'll be juggling them in a second."
"Pink or blue?"
"Blue," She replied skeptically, but smiling anyway.
The man practically bounced over and took up the large hammer. The guy running the game was sweating. The game was going to be fair, Jeff was going to make sure it was. Kissa could've sworn he winced as Jeff nearly knocked the whole thing over. Sure enough...
"I think I'll carry this for you." The big blue bear was more than half his size, no way could Kissa carry it. The crowds were thinning, it was nearing three am, and all the rides they'd planned on riding a second time were closing. "We better head back-"
"Hey Jeff!"
The voice wasn't visible, regardless Jeff spinning in a large circle. Not that it mattered, he'd know that voice anywhere. "Matt, where are you?"
"Behind you."
Kissa split up into rich laughter when Jeff jumped six feet in the air, holding a monstrous, bright blue teddy bear. "Friend of yours?"
"My annoying older brother," Jeff explained, giving his brother the best hug possible with a four-foot teddy bear present. "We were just heading back to the hotel. What are you all still doing out?" All meant Amy and Shane who approached a few seconds later.
"I could ask you the same thing," Matt countered, looking pointedly at Kissa.
Jeff blushed. "No, no, I'm not-... This isn't what it looks like. I just met her." That didn't help at all, and now Shane looked doubtful.
"I'm just a friend," Kissa amended, the smile on her face had reduced to an rather incredulous look.
On other terms, the three would've easily welcomed the girl, but now they were unsure. Jeff wasn't one for infidelity, if she was just a friend... "He has a girlfriend," Shane said insistently. "Don't you, Jeff?"
Jeff sighed, wanting desperately to get out of the situation. "What are you doing, Shane?"
Kissa didn't seem mind and just glared pleasantly at them. "And that has what to do with me?" She asked, shifting her many stuffed animals. There was an uncomfortable pause that she seemed to enjoy. After a few minutes, the place was nearly closed and Karen came to mind. "Well, look, I've gotta get back to my room, anyway. Jeff, I had a great time. And I'm sure, under less suggestive circumstances, it would've been nice meeting the rest of you."
Jeff shook his head. Why did they have to mess this up? "Kissa, wait-"
"Goodnight, JJ."
**************************
"YOU! I'm going to slaughter you, ya hear me? SLAUGHTER! ... what the hell is that?"
Kissa sat down her varied array of stuffed animals and a giant blue bear onto the bed. "It's a teddy bear, you've seen a teddy bear before.'
"That's a monstrosity, not a teddy bear," Alexia grumbled under her breath.
"I heard that."
"Kissa, enough. Where have you been? ... You weren't drinking were you?"
"No," Kissa lied, grabbing the remote off the couch and flipping to cartoon network. Alexia was in the background, shifting something and examining the stuffed animals.
"Okay, who is he?"
"Who's who?"
"Don't who's who me, young lady."
Kissa laughed. "You're worse than my dad."
Alexia smiled. "He must really be something, you said the word 'dad' and didn't even flinch."
"I was not out with a guy."
"So who's clothes are you wearing?"
Realizing she'd let too much slip, Kissa gave a stern, "Shut up, Alexandria" then turned back to her cartoon. Freakazoid.
**************************
"Kiss, there you are, girl." DJ's voice was a blessing on Kissa's ears when she woke up the next morning, changed out of her borrowed clothes and back into her own. "Where were you all last night?" Leave it to DJ to ask the one question she didn't feel like answering.
"I was just around."
"She was with a guy," said Alexia, determined to add her two cents.
DJ actually smiled. "A guy?"
Kissa didn't answer him but instead got up. "I'm going to take a walk." She knew she couldn't stay if all she would get from it was an interrogation.
Alexia tossed her hair, impatiently. She hated to do it because it made her look stuck-up, but it was a habit. "Do you intend on coming back?"
Kissa smiled and picked up the Pearl Jam T-shirt, pants, and sandals and put them in a bag. Without another word, she snatched her bookbag, left the room, and trudged into the lobby.
**************************
Doubts were beginning to swim in her mind. Maybe I imagined all that stuff last night. She stepped into the light of day, shielding her eyes from the strength of the sun. She knew she couldn't have imagined it. If she had, where had she gotten the animals, and the clothes? Why did she feel so refreshed on only two hours of sleep?
Her thoughts got away from her and she gave herself a mental slap. "Oh, stop it. You're not going to see him again, anyway."
"Really? Well, that sucks..." Kissa looked up and smiled at the playful green eyes of Jeff. He returned the smile with a hug and a laugh. "How've you been?"
"Much better," She sighed. "Brought your stuff."
"Oh, thanks, but I'd like it if you kept the shirt," He insisted, handing it back to her. "It may motivate you to one day listen to them and realize them as the greatest band of all time."
Kissa's response was a roll of the eyes. "Let's not go nuts."
"All right, we'll see what you say after you've listened to them."
"Yes, we will." She replied, unwilling to believe it for a second. "So, how did the rest of your night go?" Kissa asked, hunkering down on a curb while cars flew by.
"You mean after my brother and his friends behaved like total assholes?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Well, after I flipped out and stormed back to my hotel room, I watched Freakazoid all night until I fell asleep. Then I woke up and decided to find you."
"Sounds like fun... only boring."
Jeff laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. What about you? How's your friend?"
Kissa shuddered involuntarily. "She's seen better days, but me and DJ'll help her through it." She almost laughed when she saw the look of disappointment on Jeff's face, but bit it back and continued. "Alexis will help, if she gets her mind off murder."
"Those your friends?"
"My only ones."
"So, DJ's not-... I mean, you don't have a.... thing with him, do you?"
Kissa couldn't hold her laughter in anymore. "Me? And DJ? I doubt it. Not only is he like my brother, but he's Karen's boyfriend." Warm, rushing relief swept over Jeff and he relaxed considerably. "So.. tell me about your girlfriend."
He jolted as if she'd shocked him with something. "Well, there's... not much to tell... I've known her a long time. She's pretty, but not the way you're pretty-" He stopped, noticing her snort of disbelief. "What?"
"Nothing, keep going..." She mumbled, rubbing her silver tear.
"Well... You've thrown me off track now."
Kissa smiled and looked at him. "Well, now what?"
"You want to go grab a bite to eat?" Jeff stood up and extended a hand to her.
She smirked in her usual way and took it. "What would your girlfriend say?"
He tilted his head slightly, grinning with a simple innocence that became him. "Why would she say anything? I just wanna feed you."
**************************
"Okay, I'll have a large quarter pounder meal with a root beer, a big mac with supersize fries and a coke. Two oreo McFlurries and two of those big cookie things." Kissa glanced back at Jeff. "What are you having?"
He laughed. "Cute. Real cute."
"I thought so." She smiled, taking the food from the confused cashier. "What do you do for a living anyway? Wandering psychologist?"
Now was his opportunity. "Actually, I wrestle."
"Wrestle... what?"
"People."
That stopped her. "... Um... okay... Like in the Olympics?"
"Not exactly."
"Wow, that cleared everything up SO well."
He laughed again, his voice was deep and it reminded her of how her grandfather used to laugh. "I'm a "professional" wrestler. You know, staged wrestling?"
"Never heard of it." She said between bites of french fry.
"Really? Well, maybe you should come see the show tonight."
She shook her head. "Don't have the money."
"I'll take care of it."
"Oh no, don't. I couldn't ask you to-"
"You didn't ask me. I offered, you took."
"I don't seem to recollect that last part."
"Come on," He insisted with a crooked smile. "It'll be like boredom... only fun."
In her mind, Kissa was seeing a small amount of people around a little ring in some nowhere arena. She could probably push Alexia into it, but Karen wouldn't want to go, and DJ wouldn't do it if Karen wouldn't. "Fine, but I'll probably only get one of my friends to agree."
"That's fine. Two tickets. Got ya covered." The doubtful look on her face made him snicker. They all looked like that right before they saw their first show. Speaking of which, he knew he'd better get to work if he wanted her to have those tickets. "I'll see you later."
She actually put down her food. "When?"
"Meet me outside the Continental Airlines Arena at seven."
"Where's the show?"
"At that arena," He said smugly, before half-waltzing out of the fast food restaurant.
**************************
"What have you talked me into, Kissa?" Alexia asked, staring up at the arena with awestruck eyes. The imposing place seemed three times bigger with all the people surrounding it. A big sign flashed loudly "RAW TONIGHT! SOLD OUT!"
Kissa shook her head in wonder. "I have no idea."
A burly man wearing a big black T-shirt reading SECURITY in bold letters approached them. "Are you Kissa Marqèe?"
"That's me," She squeaked, trying to find her voice in front of this huge guy.
He raised an eyebrow. "That your friend?" Alexia nodded. "Come with me."
**************************
"You guys think you can lay off the girlfriend trip long enough to MEET her?"
"Jeff, we're sorry about last time. But you can't say you wouldn't be jumped up if you saw Shannon out with a girl who wasn't Crystal."
Jeff sighed and rubbed his hands through his hair. "I know what I'm doing. I love Carmen, you guys know that. But I can't talk to her about everything. I feel like I can talk to Kissa."
Amy placed a comforting hand on Jeff's back. "It's cool, Jeff, we understand, we'll back off, okay?"
**************************
"Jesus Christ!"
"Knock it off, Lex. Please?"
"Did you see that guy? He was seven fuckin' feet tall!"
The guard, finally glad to be rid of the blue-haired girl and her talkative friend, rapped on the Hardy Boys dressing room. "Room service."
A blonde head appeared in the doorway. "Room-... OH! Kissa!" He wrapped her in a hug that could've crushed her.
"Jeff… Human beings need oxygen…" She rasped, trying to pry him off after a few minutes.
He let go, smiling. "Sorry. Who'd you bring with ya?"
"Oh," Kissa looked at Alexia as if she were an amusing afterthought. "This is my friend, Alexan-"
"Say it and I'll kill you." Alexia snapped quickly before Kissa could get out her full name.
"Alexia. If she likes you, she'll let you call her Lex. Just don't call her-"
"Kissa..." Alexia warned.
"Al-"
"Kissa, I'm not playing with you."
"Ex."
"Kiss, cut it out!"
"An."
"KISSA!"
"Dria."
Alexia lunged for the girl, but Kissa dodged behind Jeff and used him as a shield.
He held up both hands. "Relax, I won't call you Alexan-"
"HEY!"
Jeff laughed with that easy tone of someone who was totally relaxed. "Sorry."
Matt watched the whole show play out with a small smile. Not used to being the quiet one, he was more than ready for Jeff to bring him into the conversation.
Hesistant as he may have been, Jeff turned to his older brother. "Uh, Alexia, this is my brother, Matt and my friends, Amy and Shane. I think Kissa knows you guys already." He said with more of a sting than he intended.
Kissa laughed. "Jeff, come on, you're not one for holding grudges. It doesn't suit you." She was right. The look on his face made him look rude and unfriendly. He was anything but that.
Matt smiled, even though he felt like throwing himself out of a window. She wasn't so bad, he and Shane just HAD been acting like assholes. "We are sorry about the other day."
Kissa shook her head. "Forget it. I have."
Matt stood up and Alexia cursed again. "Why is everyone so tall around here? I feel like a midget."
"Oh, get over it."
*~*~*~*
Kissa smiled when she saw their seats. "He really got us up close." She remarked, smiling slightly.
"Yeah, um, you still haven't told me what this is." Alexia reminded her as people packed in on all sides.
"It's wrestling."
Alexia remained confused. "Wrestling what?"
"That's what I said." When she saw that didn't help, she added. "People."
"Like in the Olympics?"
"Okay, stop it. I'm having an extreme case of deja vu."
"Sorry."
The first fireworks went off with a heart-jumping bang and the crowd around them roared.
"WHOO!!!" Alexia joined in.
Kissa shook her head. "What are you doing, Lex?"
"Just getting into it. WHOOOO!!! YEAH!!"
She shrugged again and waited for the first man to come out. His entrance music said something about smelling his cooking. He was really loud and egotistical. Kissa recognized him.
"Isn't he that Rock guy? He was in that movie we saw!" She jumped up and began clapping and screaming. Alexia pretended not to notice when Kissa joined in the chant of "Ro-cky! Ro-cky!" After that, the whole show revolved around The Rock's visit to RAW and Kissa was far from complaining.
"When's he coming out again?" She nagged Alexia whenever someone wasn't wrestling.
"At the END of the show, Kissa!! GEEZ!! Shut up already! Look, here comes Jeff." The girl pointed down the ramp at a seizure-having figure by the big black curtain. "Question."
"Shoot."
"What the hell is he doing?"
"Dancing... In some weird, warped way." Kissa didn't know what he was doing, but she decided that it wasn't bad. He finally arrived in the ring, posing on the ring-post, but winking in an obvious way in their direction.
Several girls around them squealed and screamed. Kissa laughed at them, but immediately tried to cover it up with a sip of her soda.
The match started slowly, gradually building with the introduction of ladders to the fold. The opponent, some guy named RVD, was really impressive. Kissa was just starting to like him until he kicked Jeff off the ladder.
"HEY! He can't do that!"
"Why not? Jeff did it to him." Alexia smiled. She'd never admit it, but she was kind of taken with the man with the educated feet.
Kissa voiced no more protest but winced as Jeff fell twenty feet to the ground. "Only the Rocky match is left, right?" Alexia nodded, then screaming in barely contained excitement as RVD seized the hardcore title belt. "Oh, shut up."
*~*~*~*
Kissa and Alexia returned backstage to find Matt sitting in a steel chair beside Jeff and Jeff's chiropractor. There was an unsettling snap as one of Jeff's bones got jerked back into his place.
"What'd you think of the show?" Matt asked, trying not to sneer so much at Jeff, who wanted to ask, but couldn't while his neck was being cracked around.
"It was great, I'm gonna have to watch this stuff more often!" Alexia launched into praises, but Kissa took a seat beside Jeff. By the time her absence was noticed, she was deep in conversation with him. Matt and Alexia went to find the rest of the crew, and Jeff was still lying on the floor, perched on his elbows, long after the chiropractor left.
"Hey, where'd everybody go?" Jeff stood up, with some help from Kissa. "I better get changed, they close up the arena soon."
Kissa nodded and opened her mouth to say she was going, but Jeff didn't let her get that far.
"Will you wait just a moment? I'll be right back, then we can leave." He dashed out of the room, not waiting for an answer.
"Where's your car?" Jeff asked, after finally realizing Matt had ditched him to go party somewhere else.
"Out back," Kissa said, pulling up it's location from the recesses of her brain. "There it is." She pointed to a very well kept, vintage BMW. "My dad gave it to me for my 16th birthday."
"It's nice." Jeff squeaked. It was more than nice, it was priceless. The silvery paint wasn't even scratched and the tires had to be brand new. This was a well-loved car. "And- and your dad just... just gave it to you?"
Kissa nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't he?"
"Um, because... it's absolutely perfect."
She actually blushed at such praise of her vehicle. "Yeah, well... He gave me a trial period with it first, but I've always loved this car." She had. She used to sit the garage and watch her dad clean it. Although he offered, she never helped because she was frightened to touch it. Her mother even brought her dinner out to her when she refused to come inside because dad wasn't done. When she turned 14, her mother finally convinced her to start helping when he cleaned the car, and when her dad wasn't home, she was in charge of it. So little by little, the car became hers.
At present moment, Jeff was scared to touch it. He stared at it for a few moments until Kissa assured him it wouldn't fall apart once he got inside.