"Technically, this isn't allowed, but I don't care for unnecessary paperwork. Be grateful, Miss McFarrow."
Uzu heard the voice of Officer Griffin and perked. She was so bored. "Yo, Nicole!" she yelled. "Thanks for tha visit!"
Officer Burkhardt, who was sitting outside Uzu's cell, also in boredom, rolled his eyes and unlocked her cell. "Come on, Miss Bito. You have a visitor."
"Naw, really? Couldn't tell." Uzu turned and put her hands behind her back. "Hurry up an' cuff me. I got places to be, people to see. Ain't got all day."
"Right, right." The officer pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and put them around the skater's wrists, then led her to the room used for visits. Nicole was already in there, sitting on one side of the table. Uzu sat across from her, and Officer Burkhardt took his place in front of the door.
"So, how's life?" Uzu asked casually. "Anythin' fun happen? Go out for tacos or anythin'? Burkhardt and Griffin wouldn't get me a taco the other day even though they were going for tacos anyway."
A snicker could be heard from the cop, but it was dismissed by Nicole as she said desperately, "Tell me why Kyoya hates me. Please. You know, don't you? I've got to know. He really hates me and I don't know what I did to make him feel that way."
"Hates you?" Uzu had a confused look for a moment. "What happened?" Nicole explained the scene on Kyoya's porch, a tinge of irritation in her voice. "He doesn't hate you, stupid."
"Excuse me?"
"He doesn't hate you, stupid," the skater repeated. "He'll kill me if he finds out I told you, but he couldn't hate you if you killed his puppy."
It was Nicole's turn to be confused. "What puppy?"
"I thought I was supposed to be the dumb one. There isn't a puppy. It's a figure of speech. I mean, it's practically impossible for him to hate you. He hates that fact, not you. He hates that he can't hate you. That's why he's upset." Uzu looked over to Officer Burkhardt. "Do me a favor and give her a little punch in the shoulder. I kinda can't use my hands."
"I have to say, you're probably one of my favorite murderers that I've helped bring in, Bito." He lightly punched Nicole's shoulder and returned to his spot at the door.
"Gee, thanks." The prisoner rolled her eyes and looked back to her friend. "Anyway. Let me clue you in. A long time ago, also known as four years, in a land far away, also known as across town, there was an aspiring actress and her doctor-wannabe boyfriend. This chick was hired by some fancy actor place in London and told all her friends and the doctor-wannabe she was taking the job.
"I don't remember why, but the doctor-wannabe and the actress chick got in an argument about it. She stormed out and was gone the next day. The dude wanted to apologize, but he found out that she had already left. He was heartbroken. Contracted a literal case of lovesickness and was bedridden for two weeks. He ate like ten cartons of ice cream. Took a while, but he got over it."
Nicole was listening intently to Uzu's story and absorbing the information she hadn't know. Was that really what had happened while she was gone? She couldn't remember a time where Uzu had lied about something this important, so it had to be true.
"Soon after, he started smoking. He doesn't do it every day, which is good. The doctor-wannabe's awesome skater-psychologist friend kept an eye on him. He tried dating once, two years ago. It never worked out as well as it did with the actress chick.
"He had mental breakdowns sometimes. The awesome friend and this weird French guy they were also friends with had to calm him down. He'd call one or both of them whenever he got lonely and they'd meet for a meal. That happened probably twice a week. More if there were big car wrecks or anything that week.
"Then, four years after that actress chick left, she came back into town with a new boy, an actor dude. They were engaged, and the awesome skater had to tell the doctor-wannabe. A few days ago, the night you were doing a show, she climbed into the doctor-wannabe's window. He'd been crying. I knew he'd been crying. He devoured the ice cream I'd brought him when he thought I was gone. Comfort food, man. Great stuff right there. I'm proud of him. Really proud that he's been so strong."
"Wow, Bito," Officer Burkhardt interrupted, "that's probably the smartest sounding story I've heard come out of your mouth since you got here."
"You're ruining the moment, Burkhardt. Get it together, man. I only act stupid because I'm too lazy to show people how smart I really am."
"Are you serious…?" Nicole asked tentatively.
Uzu cocked her head to the side. "About what? Being lazy or the whole story?"
"The whole story, Uzu."
"Yeah, I'm serious. He's been torturing himself the past four years because he loves you, and he was heartbroken at the thought of you and," Uzu paused to shudder, then spat out, "Blake as a couple."
"Thank you so much, Uzu. Any ideas on how to make it up to him?"
"Not a clue. I've been too busy talking Burkhardt's ear off to think about romantic crap. Try after my trial. I dunno if confirmed murderers get visitors, so you'll have to hope the judge decides I can go free if you want my opinions," Uzu replied. "Now get going. Come up with some ideas yourself, actress chick. Ay Burkhardt, I think we're done here. Let's head back to my cell and we can trade war stories over the donuts Griffin brought back."
Burkhardt rolled his eyes and said, "Bito, neither of us have ever been to war."
"Ever had a paper cut? It's practically the same thing."
A little while later, Nicole had left and Uzu was uncuffed in her cell with Burkhardt sitting outside.
"Bito, I've told you before that confirmed murderers can get visitors."
"Yeah, I know, Burkhardt, but she don't, an' I hope she likes me enough ta try an' help me walk. Now, I can have one a them donuts, right?"
Burkhardt chuckled and handed one through the bars. "So, war stories, right? Well, just a few days ago, I was looking at your file, and I got this nasty wound…"