Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters present in the film The Breakfast Club, they belong to the very cool Mr John Hughes, so no suein' my ass.
A/N – This chapter is kind of slow but it gets better so please keep reading. Also, there is a lot of swearing, I even surprised myself when I wrote it! Lol! Sorry if that offends! PLEASE REVIEW! But only constructive criticism, I'm really sensitive about my work! Be nice!
A/N2 – This happens just after Bender has finished his two months of detention. TBC have managed to pull together and are getting along well. It focuses mainly on Bender, (because I love him) and includes a lot of OC's though few in this chapter.
Bender stared at his reflection in the cracked and grimy mirror that hung lopsided above his sink. He screwed up his eyes trying to stop the tirade of unpleasant things running through his head; when had he last eaten something substantial, when had he last had this bad a hang over, when had he last seen Claire. With that last thought he reached up and began to play with the diamond in his ear lobe.
"Fuck!" Bender stared at himself in the mirror. He had a gash running the length of his face and a series of bruises on his neck which could only be made by a large hand gripping the throat so tightly that the person nearly chocked. He felt the anger beginning to swell in him again.
"JOHNNY, GET YOUR FUCKIN' ARSE OUT OF THAT BATHROOM; STOP BEAUTIFYIN' YOURSELF IT'S A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME YOU LITTLE FAGGOT!"
It wouldn't be a total waste of time, thought Bender savagely if you didn't keep trying to bust my face up. He stared at himself and suddenly before he could control the impulsion to do so he slammed his fist into the cracked mirror, shattering it into hundreds of pieces, several of which lodged in his hand creating red rivets down his wrist.
"Fuck!" He grabbed the towel off the floor and wrapped it around his hand. He staggered back to his room, head spinning, and slumped back down on the tattered mattress on his floor. It creaked dangerously. He was just beginning to regain his focus on the room when the phone started ringing, a piercing scream of a ring that drilled into his skull.
"JOHNNY…"
"I'm gettin' it Dad!" he snatched up the phone and snapped at the person on the other end, "The Bender residence, which lowlife do you require, mother, father or sons?"
"Erm… is John there please?" he smiled as Brian stammered down the phone.
"It's me you moron"
"Oh well, I was told to call you and say that as we have this Friday off, that's today, I mean, we are going shopping and you are required."
"Oh I am, am I, well, what if I don't want to go shopping?"
He heard Brian whisper to someone at his end, "He says what if he doesn't want to go shopping!" Bender heard several people groan then Andy say "Tell him he's totalled if he doesn't!"
"You're…"
"I heard dweeb" Bender cut him off "I'll meet you there at, erm…"
"Eleven" Brian suggested helpfully
"Sounds good, meet ya outside Frankie's. Say hey to the others Brian." He slammed down the phone. Not exactly what he needed right now but an excellent excuse to escape the house, not that he really required one. A sudden sting when he moved his hand snapped his attention back to his 'accident'. The blood was beginning to soak through the towel. He grabbed an old shirt from the pile on the floor and ripped it into strips carefully wrapping them around his hand hoping they would stop the blood flow.
He checked his clock; he had half an hour to get to Frankie's. He sighed. "Fuckin' impossible!" He took a swig out of one of last nights beer cans only to discover it was full of cigarette ends. His head still spinning he slipped on his jacket and clambered out of his window sliding down the drain pipe and began to wander down the road. When he reached the park he dug in his pockets, wincing as the material caught his hand, and discovering a ten dollar bill had an internal fight with himself, dope or lunch. Dope won, he could scrounge lunch off one of the others. He stalked off into the park to find Morris, who would hopefully have a fresh supply of the heaven sent plant.
When Bender finally reached Frankie's restaurant on the east side of Shermer Mall he was over an hour late but feeling much more prepared for the day of shopping ahead. He smirked to himself when he saw the rest of 'The Breakfast Club' standing outside the eatery looking extremely worried. Claire, he was pleased to see, looked beside herself.
"Sorry I'm a bit late guys"
"You moron, what happened, I was so worried!" Claire looked as though she was torn between hitting him and hugging him. He was relieved she went for the hugging.
"Yeah sorry, but I erm, needed a quick pick me up and well it is a hell of a long trek from my end to here" he grinned.
Andy shook his head "Now were all here" Bender saluted, "we should work out what were doing. I suggest…"
"Lunch!" Brian cut in.
"I'm starving" Allison grinned at Andy and even Claire agreed that lunch sounded good so they wandered into Frankie's and found themselves a table.
"What'll it be babes?" asked the waitress eyeing Brian and sliding her gum nosily around her mouth.
Brian turned pink and hid his face behind his menu. "Erm, just a cheese burger with fries and a coke"
Claire and Allison order chicken sandwiches with fries and cokes and Andy, after much deliberation ordered two double cheese whoppers, three lots of fries and a extra large strawberry milkshake.
"That it?" drawled the waitress.
"What about Bender?" Allison asked "he's been gone for ages!" They all looked at Claire who sighed and ordered an extra fries and coke.
Bender had been standing at the door to the men's restroom willing the waitress away from their table for about five minutes. "If Andy didn't take so fuckin' long with his order I could have just missed her coincidentally." He sighed and made his way back to their table.
He saw the looks on their faces and his heart sank. "What?"
"We don't mind paying if you don't have any money" Andy ventured knowing this was a touchy subject best left alone.
"I dunno what you mean" Bender snapped plonking himself down next to Claire and casually running his hand up her thigh to see how high he could get it without her smacking him. Not very.
She shot him an evil look and he raised his hands above his head in mock surrender and grinned. "Sowy Chewy" he apologised in a babyish voice. She smiled and as he opened his mouth to say something else she shut him up, in the best way she could think of, with her own mouth. Bender ran his hand up her back to the nape of her neck and entwined his fingers in her hair whilst she twisted the hem of his shirt both pulling the other deeper and deeper into the kiss until they were forced to separate and gasp for air. Andy raised an eyebrow at Bender, who shrugged grinning,
"What can I say; she knows how to punish me"
Brian had been studying the gash on Benders face for some time and was wondering if he would sustain any injuries if he asked if it was alright. Bender smirked at him. Brian jumped and stammered with horror when he realised Bender had clocked him.
"Beauty ain't it!"
"Your father?" Andy threw Bender a 'we'll know if you're lying' look.
Bender begrudgingly agreed that the gash was of his fathers making. He smirked and pulled back his jacket sleeve.
"I made this one all on my own!"
The others gasped and Claire grabbed his hand and began to peel back the soaking strips of cloth. She looked in horror at his cuts and when she met his eyes he could see tears beginning to form. Great just what he needed.
"Its nothing" he jerked his hand away wishing he'd never shown them. Why had he shown them? Some peculiar need to look macho in front of them?
Claire looked at him, eyes wide, suddenly she slid her arms underneath his jacket and hugged him like he would disappear before her very eyes if she let go. After sitting motionless and stunned for a while Bender wrapped his arms around her and gently kissed the top of her head. She sighed into his shirt and her breath felt comfortably warm on his chest. He could quite happily sit there like that forever, he felt safe when he was with Claire, like nothing could penetrate the world she inhabited and while he was in that world nothing could get him either. He felt her begin to pull away and reluctantly loosened his grip. She smiled and reaching up brushed her lips gently against his. He felt her reach for his hand under the table, entwining their fingers and throwing him a small smile as she turned back to the others who had begun to talk about some concert Allison wanted to go to.
Benders head was beginning to spin again as he sat silently listening to the others jabber about nothing of interest. Claire and Allison were discussing the party that Claire was planning for a few weeks ahead and Brian and Andy were discussing the finer point of basketball.
"There you are my darlin's" their masticating waitress plonked their food down and wandered away without another word. Bender looked down and felt his stomach clench. Food. He wasn't opposed to food, far from it in fact, but he hated the fact that they paid for everything he ate when he was with them. He had been planning on just stealing a few of Claire's chips, she never minded and it meant he didn't have to lose face by letting them pay, for fucks sake that was the point behind the "If she comes just order without me" thing. Now it came to it he wasn't hungry, in fact he felt sick, his stomach had begun to churn violently and he swallowed, acutely aware of the lump progressing up his throat.
Claire squeezed his hand under the table and shot him a look of concern. Bender smiled weakly and started on the fries with an inward sigh. He didn't know what was wrong with him, he was hungry all the time until it came to eating and then he just felt sick. "Get a fuckin' grip Bender, you're fuckin' pathetic" The little voice in his head taunted. "Not only am I pathetic I'm totally friggin' nuts!" he smiled.
"So what's everyone up to later?"
Everyone shrugged and mumbled vague nothings.
Suddenly they heard a shriek behind then and turned to see Joanne and Carle standing in Frankie's doorway shrieking and waving theirs arms around. Bender cocked an eyebrow and Andy and Allison stifled their laughs. Claire went beetroot. To think, she used to act like that! Brian patted her hand comfortingly and she smiled. As the two walked passed their table with their noses in the air Andy caught Benders eye. They both threw their arms in the air and screamed in falsetto voices. Claire went, if possible, even redder, Brian shrank into his seat and Allison laughed so hard her coke came out of her nose.
Carle and Joanne looked at them in disgust.
"Can we help you?" Andy smirked as Bender injected as much false concern into his voice as possible.
The girls scoffed "I don't think so?"
"Well, think about it a bit longer, I know it must be hard for your brain to work with all that peroxide seeping through your scalp" Brian looked at Bender surprised he knew what peroxide was never mind what it did.
"How, like dare you" Carle flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, "This is natural!" Andy and Allison collapsed and Bender snorted into his coke. Claire, desperate to avoid a scene, spoke up.
"So, are you going to Jefferson's party next week?"
"Are you?" the two girls smirked and raised their eyebrows at Claire
"Yes" Claire breathed
"Then we definitely aren't!"
"Pardon?" Bender heard the venom in his own voice as he spoke.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I upset your lap dog Claire, he seems a little annoyed" Joanne simpered smugly
"What did you mean?" Andy shot Bender a warning look but he took no heed, he was sick of people who were supposed to be Claire's friends treating her like she was some sort of social disease. His eyes darkened as he stared at the two girls who looked slightly nervous at his reaction.
"Jeez it was like, a joke" Carle twisted the strap on her purse.
"Well I didn't find it very funny"
"Ok, like, noted" Carle sang and was then dragged away from the table by Joanne as Bender began to rise out of his seat. He turned and looked at Claire, she was bright pink and he could see a tear glistening on her cheek.
"Claire…"
"Oh fuck off Johnny!" Claire knew she was going to break down at any moment and she wasn't going to let them see how upset she was. In a flurry of movement she dodged out from beside Bender and practically ran to the women's bathroom. Allison rolled her eyes and grabbing a handful of fries followed Claire.
Bender looked down at his attempted fries and sighed. He surreptitiously slid the fries into Andy's carton and lent back against his seat.
Allison pushed open the door to the rest room and walked slowly over to the end cubicle which she could tell from the sobs contained a distraught Claire.
"Claire?"
"Go away Allison please!"
"Not until you tell me what's wrong"
Claire pulled the door inwards and Allison slipped inside closing it again behind her.
"Why does John have to rise to everything?" Allison was surprised Claire never called Bender 'John'.
"He just gets annoyed that people treat you like that" Allison sat down in front of Claire. Claire sighed shakily.
"I know but he just makes it worse!"
"He's only trying to look out for you"
"I know" Claire sighed "it's just; I wish everyone would just disappear and it could just be us so I wouldn't have to put up with all that crap"
"Are me, Brian and Andy included in the 'everyone?"
Claire smiled, "I don't think so, do you?"
"Well, thats something!" Allison smiled but frowned when Claire sank back into her depression.
"Okay I have a Bender joke for you; this will totally cheer you up.
He told me this when I was really pissed off one day. A man is in a
hotel lobby. He wants to ask the clerk a question. As he turns to go
to the front desk, he accidentally bumps into a woman beside him and
as he does, his elbow goes into her breast.
They are both quite
startled. The man turns to her and says, "Ma'am, if your heart
is as soft as your breast, I know you'll forgive me."
She
replies, "If your dick is as hard as your elbow, I'm in room
436."" Allison smirked at Claire who giggled and shook her
head in disbelief.
"He does come up with the weirdest jokes!"
"You should hear the other one he told me…" Allison was warming to her theme.
"I think we'll save it for another day!" Claire smiled hastily and stood up, helping Allison to her feet. "Thanks"
"No problamo, I'm good at this sort of thing, maybe I should become a shrink, take over from Mr Hashimoto."
"Please do, two weeks ago I had Narcissistic personality disorder, last week he diagnosed me with Social Anxiety disorder, this week it was Schizoaffective disorder, next week I'll probably be clinically insane and he'll have me sectioned!" Claire smiled weakly. "Do you think I am Narcissistic?"
"I dunno! What's it mean?"
"I show a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy."
"Yes!" Allison grinned at Claire's horror stricken face "Sorry, I think you probably used to be, slightly, but you've changed" Claire felt so much better having Allison tell her that.
"Let's go before they begin to worry about us!" Claire let Allison slide put of the toilet first then followed, carefully re applying her make up in the mirror then leading the way back to their table where the three boys sat waiting.
"Hey, sorry about that guys, we needed a girly chat"
Allison rolled her eyes and plonked herself down next to Andy; she pulled a section of her half eaten chicken sandwich off and dipped it into Andy's strawberry milkshake. Andy smiled slightly and pushed the milkshake towards her.
"You can finish that"
"Aww, thanks!" she smiled innocently.
"Claire, I" Bender never got to finish
"I'm sorry I was a total jerk, it's just I hate that you have to protect me from my friends, it isn't how it should be and I hate that they are such shallow minded bitches that they can't accept me and you as 'us'" she babbled and when she finally stopped to breathe she looked up at him expectantly. He smiled at her and cupped her face between his hands brushing his lips against hers, she responded hungrily, pulling him towards her by the front of his shirt. Andy and Allison smiled, happy that another crisis had been averted and Brian turned slightly pink and busied himself searching for his wallet.
When order had been restored they returned to what remained of their meals.
"I was thinking, I'm supposed to goin' out with some mates tonight, to a club, I wondered if any of you fancied coming along, if you've got nothing better to do" Bender looked down at the table to avoid meeting any of their eyes.
"Cool, which club?" Andy sounded genuinely interested.
"The Marquee, it's not in that bad a part of Shermer" he added hastily
"Sounds ace, me and Brian will definitely show, right Bri?"
Brian wasn't given much opportunity to object so just smiled and nodded wondering how on earth he was going to persuade his parents to let him out that late at night.
"Yeah, we might grace you with an appearance", Allison giggled nudging Claire, who smirked at Bender.
Keep goin' it gets better! Lol!