Curt Remembers

Synopsis: Picks up where VG ends. Curt leaves the New York bar and walks downtown; thinking.

Don't own. Don't sue

Curt walked out the bar into the chilly New York night. He passed a string of fan-girls; mascara running from too much sweating, glitter swirling about the air as the talked quickly and in low voices, laughing ever few seconds. Curt smirked and shook his head, crossing to the other side of the road.

Who was that? Curt thought to himself. He seemed so familiar. Not so…giggly. I swear I know him.

He passed another Tommy Stone poster. He'd past so many by now. Not just tonight, but ever since the start of the recent decade. It was always "Tommy Stone!" this, or "Tommy Stone!" that. He was sick of it. Sick of being reminded. Sick of what it brought to his mind.
At least by now it'd been ten years. It all didn't hurt so bad. More an uncomfortable sting; a brief pang in his stomach, then it left. Guilt? Regret? Maybe even sorrow.

"What the fuck ever." He said aloud and to himself as he passed a homeless man peeling a Tommy Stone poster off a building.

"Hey, what's your problem?"

"Nothing." Curt said quickly. "Sorry." He lit up another cigarette.

Who was he? A reporter from the Herald? He thought to himself again. A Reporter…

"Huh." He took in a drag and blew it out.

He passed another poster.

Must have been a reason why I gave him the pin. He thought to himself. It felt right. I'd had it too long. Someone else needed it. Deserved it. Maybe I just didn't want it anymore. Oh, Brian.

Now he was Tommy. Curt thought of the fan girls. Heh, if only they knew. Would they still be screaming his name? Fuck. Probably. Then he'd be even more famous. "Dead Star Rises Again!" Like he needs even more of an ego boost.

Curt thought about the concert. Yeah, it'd been good. Good for Tommy Stone. Not for Brian Slade. Maxwell Demon was to good for Brian Slade…or was it the other way around. "Fuck!" Why am I thinking about this?

Then it hit him. He flashed back that night on the roof at the Rainbow. He laughed out loud.

"Fuck! And then he wanted to interview me!" Shit, small world. He thought. Small world.