Richard, Ringo Langly was a naïve, young, hatchling of a conspiracy theorist. He loved the Ramones, and REM. He favored Doritos over Fritos, and John and Mel were his bestest buds in the entire world. The only folks they trusted with everything they owned and knew were Mulder and Scully. Ringo and Mel were far more advanced and technologically educated than Byers, but John brought his own brand of esoteric expertise to their corporation of conspiracy theorems. The trio, cryptically known as the Lone Gunmen, was a conglomeration of hidden strength, genius and peculiarities, seldom rivaled.
With their line of work, disagreements often surfaced, but routinely ironed out, sooner or later. John and Ringo were usually the ones to sulk whereas Mel used his short stature to sneak around them, plotting, resolved to getting the job done. Of course, they all assumed they were masters in sussing out and keeping a vault load of secrets; they trusted one another with their lives. They were family, and all families had their quirks and liabilities.
So, when Mel accidentally stumbled upon an unfamiliar pill bottle with Ringo's name printed on the label, he naturally became curious and concerned. Even moreso when a quick search of the medication's name proved telling. Why was Ringo taking brain enhancing pills? He always seemed to always come across as a man who didn't need beefing up, or pharmaceuticals of any kind. What was he hiding? How long had he been taking these? Mel certainly wasn't stupid. He had to find out what was up with his blond, long-haired associate and long-time friend and ally. Was it ethical to just ask him out right about it?
Shrugging, Frohike set the bottle in the medicine cabinet back in place where it had obviously fallen from. He left the bathroom, figuring out a way to approach Ringo non-obtrusively later on. Right now he needed to shower, then do some extracurricular funky web-surfing. He crossed the hall to his bedroom, not hearing Ringo duck into the bathroom quickly right after him. He cleared his search history, not wanting Ringo to find evidence that he knew anything about the medication yet. Showering completed, Mel, now smelling like a fine fresh scent, left his bedroom just in time to spot Ringo stepping out of the bathroom. Mel spied the white cap of the medication bottle in Ringo's fist.
Time to seize the opportunity, Mel reasoned, or at least nudge the gate open a crack. "Hey, buddy, are you all right?" he fished, nodding toward Ringo's hand covering the bottle. "I saw that's yours. Forgive me for having eyes, but I didn't know you went to see a doctor."
Suddenly flustered, Ringo paused, sneaking a swift, guilty look at the bottle. "Oh, just something to take care of a bit of radiation overload; they're iron pills is all." His lie, smooth, but clunky, nonetheless. "You and your uranium, you know. A precaution."
Frohike nodded and decided not to press him any further. "Feel better if I threw some chocolate your way?"
That made Ringo laugh a little. The promise of unexpected chocolate. Score. "Yes, please," Ringo accepted, gave Mel a quick flash of teeth, then ducked back into his his room, underscoring the rapidity of his disappearance.
Mel scrutinized his friend's odd behavior while boring visual holes into the door of Langly's bedroom. Then, he moved off, intending to go out to their creepy, old, old school van. The type which parents warned their children to run away from. Their Volkswagen bus was borderline psychotic. He went through the office on his way to the locked, bolted front door to their new digs and headquarters for tactical snooping, a doublewide trailer situated in a lowkey trailer park that suited their clandestine needs.
Before Mel actually set foot outdoors, he sat himself down to hunch over his computer and began typing almost madly. Working on another scathing article for their website was endless, tireless work. With a grin, and led by inspiration, he finished the thought that demanded being completed. This came first, then the chocolate he'd promised Langly. Wait, Mel thought. While it's on the tip of my brain; I gotta do snooping of a more personal kind. What's the kid taking? The hairs on the nape of Frohike's neck rose once he'd finished looking up the technical name for Ringo's pills along with all side-effects.
In the furthest bedroom down the hall, Ringo lay loose-limbed on his bed; his medication bottle had absent-mindedly rolled out of his hand. The bottle now rested at his fingertips on its side. He was certain Mel had seen through his lie and he knew that the one thing he had never shared with either of his two cohorts and best friends time had come. The one secret he knew they might fail to ever understand.
He hadn't breathed a word of what he had in mind. If he told them, would they understand? He was thinking long-term, planning for a future that might come sooner than anyone knew. The web was his salvation...and one day...come what may...he planned on making it his permanent home.
John had gone out of town for as long as he needed to be away. Some aunt had left him a lot of money, and he'd be a fool to just let it go. Besides, staying in San Francisco was no hardship. The city had always held an iconoclastic ilk of fascination for him, something therapeutic in connection with being close to the bay, and Sausalito, an enclave that held many a fond memory for him. Mel was back at the computer, digging deeper into Langly's mystery medicant and black book information. From what he'd found, the blond was taking some very disturbing stuff.
As if the smarty-pants wasn't smart enough... But there was a strong element of weird science surrounding the compound Ringo had decided to ingest. His pills would weaken his immune system, cause his flesh to attenuate, and destroy his appetite, over time. What was he doing, for goodness' sake?
Mel crushed a nearby Styrofoam cup, curiosity eating him alive. He stood, determined to get to the bottom of this withholding of vital, alarming information. With a giant-size Hershey's bar in hand, he knocked on the slightly ajar door before peeking in. He spied Langly still sprawled out on the bed like a limp ragdoll with a head of too much hair, bizarrely electrified. Mel set the candy bar down on Ringo's chest, stirring the lanky geek out of his head as he sat down on the bed.
Ringo peeked out at him from under his arm that was across his face with a little startled snort. Promptly, he calmed when he saw a peculiar sensitivity lodged in Frohike's eyes. He surmised he wasn't about to be pounced on. Langly sat up against the headboard, quietly contemplative. When he spoke, what he said came out a bit hoarse, laced with a croak. "So, finish the article?" he asked as he began unwrapping his candy. Surprisingly, once he mostly had it unwrapped, the milk chocolate was mildly soft, just how he preferred it.
With a shrug, watching Ringo as he munched his treat, Mel replied, "Well, Marfa and all that jazz is a lock. Hey, ever notice how Mulder laughs like Woody Woodpecker sometimes?"
Ringo nearly spit out a mouthful of chocolate with a laugh, wiping some melted goodness off his lip with a flick of his tongue. "Not as annoying as Scully rolling her eyes when he does." Ringo shook his head. "Gleebo knows how hard it is for her to cut him some slack, man."
Mel reserved comment; his sweet spot for Scully was alive and well and made his heart pound harder whenever she crossed his mind. "Blondie, get real. Scully's got it bad for Spooky. That's just her way of being in denial."
That made Ringo smile again too. Even Mel could see that Langly wasn't immune to the lady F.B.I.'s potent charms. The black eyeglass-framed one was totally all closemouthed about his true feelings. He saw no need to broadcast how big he would crush on her too. He and Mel were dancing around the subject still unspoken. Ringo had the itchy feeling again, wanting to confess and tell Mel the total truth about himself and his hope for the future, but he kept quiet. That unshakable fear kept his mouth shut. He wanted to come clean. Was this the time to? He was preparing himself for that day when he would bequeath his intelligence to the web, no regrets. He'd be the one to decide before more sinister powers that be used his gifts for their own malicious purposes.
He had just recently started taking the medication, finally finding information online and a source for a little bit of help. But still, he forced himself to keep quiet. Speak...the word resounded in his hyperactive brain. But, instead of speaking up and letting everything out, he picked up the remote and turned on his T.V., a refuge when facing reality was too hard. Finding a cheaply made sci-fi movie to watch with Mel, Ringo embraced the fair distraction in an effort to keep himself out of his head. They made fun of the nutty movie's cheap special effects and the "re-donkulous" storyline.
"If you make me watch Sharknado with you again, I'll fake senility," Mel threatened playfully, getting another trifling laugh out of Ringo. He was all talk, no action. Once that hyped movie ended, another equally hilariously lame offering followed, Shark Attack 3: Megalodon. Mel, went right along with viewing it too, glad that Ringo wasn't distancing himself, pulling himself away emotionally. It wasn't like Mel, since he had a no hugging rule with generally everyone; he hated being hugged, but the urge to hug Ringo rose and took its time about going away. Mel hoped Ringo felt how hard he was emotionally hugging him right now. The situation truly warranted it. Right?
Mel had zero filter when it came to apologists on the wrong side of what he thought should go down. Come on; he needed to say something. Didn't he? How was this helping his obviously emotionally-cramping friend by keeping silent at a strange time like this? But, despite Mel's internal prods, he didn't say anything, opting to maintain 'radio silence.' If and when Langly felt like giving up what was going on with him, and uncorked what he was holding back, Mel would have his say.