Through My Eyes
By: Voice4TheMute
Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.
A/N: As always, thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing my story! It's been a tough month with real life duties to fulfill and school to study for so sorry that this update is coming a bit late compared to the other updates. I have the story planned out, just haven't found time to write it. So hope this is worth the wait, please read and review, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.
It was September 27th and we were all over my place to celebrate a friend's birthday. Our small group consisted of Ramona Flowers, Stephen Stills, Julie Powers, my roommates Joseph and Hollie, me, and the birthday boy Scott Pilgrim. Hollie finally came out of the kitchen, holding up a cake with twenty-four candles lit all around the rim. The design in the middle was an icing drawing of Scott's face. Not my kind of design, but I guess it was nice and thoughtful since his girlfriend did it. But seeing it for more than ten seconds makes me want to punch it for some reason…
"Happy birthday baby." Ramona said to him as Scott look like he was about to freak out in any moment.
"How does it feel to be positively ancient?" I asked him, resting my head on my hand. It was a running joke I had with him in the past. With our birthdays being only a month apart, me being the youngest, I would like to joke about how much older he was. I saw Scott turn his head towards me, well, more like towards everyone and pointed his index finger at us.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make!" Scott said really loudly as Ramona leaned away from his thrusting finger. I smirked as I continued to watch him.
Oh this will be good…
"I, Scott Pilgrim, will be the best twenty-four year old…EVER!" He said to us as he turned to his cake and blew out his candles. I felt my stomach churn as I saw a combination of air and spit fly out of his mouth.
Yeah…I guess I'll pass on the cake this year…
Ramona helped Scott cut the cake and passed it to everyone. I humbly declined as looked over at Scott, who was already digging into his own cake.
Whatever happen to not having your cake and eating it too? Oh whatever… I sighed as I watched everything that was going on around me. Stephen and Julie seemed to be back together…though it would seem that Stephen wasn't too thrilled with the idea. Joseph was sitting in silence, eating his slice of cake. Hollie was doing her best not to make eye contact with me, probably because of the whole 'sleeping-with-her-roommates-boyfriend' thing. As for Ramona, she was wiping away the thick coat of frosting that was developing over Scott's mouth. Another birthday…another year…come and gone like the wind. And what a year it has been. From playing at our first big gig, opening for a famous band, meeting people from the past, remembering horrible things in the past…it definitively has been a year to remember. Or at least a year for the records. A lot has changed… I though as I looked over at Ramona and Scott. People have changed. Life as I knew it has definitely changed since I came here…but most importantly, I have changed. Not sure if it's for the better…
"Come on Kim, eat some of my cake!" Scott said to me as he handed me a slice. I cringed at the slice he offered and what I thought was spit on the icing.
"T-That's ok Scott. I'm not much of a 'cake' person…" I said to him backing away.
"Come on! Please! For old time's sake?" He pleaded as I glared at him. I always hated when he played that card on me. 'For old time's sake'. It's a cheap guilt trip to make people do what you want. What's worse? It always works on me when Scott does it. I begrudgingly took the plate and fork and broke myself a piece, far away from the icing on top. I saw Scott's anticipation grow as I brought the forkful to my mouth and ate it, chewing it slowly.
"Mmm…there. Happy?" I asked him as he nodded.
Urg….coconut. Who the hell orders a coconut cake?
Voice4TheMute Presents…
"Hey Kim, when did you cut your hair?" Ramona asked me as we both were walking back to my place. She was just going to see me halfway before heading back home. I, myself, just got off my night shift and manage to catch Ramona at Second Cup, so it was nice to have a traveling partner back to my house. I looked up at my short red hair and ran my fingers through it.
"I got it cut awhile ago Ramona…" I said to her as I looked at her hair. I've see her hair change color more times than a chameleon but for some reason…her hair color hasn't changed in the last couple of months. In fact, her hair started to get longer and wavier. Was this the natural hair style of the mysterious Ramona Flowers? "What about you Ramona, you're hair is getting longer and you haven't changed color." This caused Ramona to reach up to her own hair and weave her hands through it.
"Hmm…I guess you're right. I've been too busy nowadays to change it." She said to me as we continued to walk.
"I guess Scott's been keeping you busy. I always thought that you were the one that kept Scott on his toes with your exes…but I guess it's an equal partnership right?" I joked as Ramona continued to play with her hair. I waited for some kind of response from my statement but never got it. "Hey Ramona, you ok? You're zoning out on me."
"Oh, sorry about that. I guess I was lost in thought." She said. Something I said got her thinking, but I didn't want to pry into her mind. I'm sure she gets that a lot with Scott. We reached our midpoint and stopped to say bye.
"I guess I'll see you later Ramona."
"Yeah, I'll see you later Kim." She said as she started walking towards her house. "Oh! Kim! Are you going to Julie's party?" She called out to me.
"Julie is having another party?"
"I believe so…It's her Halloween party. And I believe she's having a Day of the Dead party as well." She said as I scratched my head.
"Maybe. Julie's parties are becoming more….frequent haven't they?"
"I guess…Kinda makes you wonder what we're doing with our lives." Ramona said to me before she continued to walk home.
"I guess I'll go. I'll give you a call when I'm about to go." I said to her as I walked towards my own apartment.
Never thought life would bring me here. I thought I would be more settled in life. A high paying job…possibly married…but where am I now? Almost twenty-four, partying every chance I get, and in a band that's recording their first record. Not something that I thought was an option…but I guess I'll settle for it. Though the cheating boyfriend did mess up my ideal future a bit… I thought to myself as I made it to my place and opened the door. I didn't see it right away, but when I looked up I saw Hollie and Jason in each other's arms, as if they just finished kissing. My sudden entrance was too fast for them to react as if nothing happened. So they were stuck in their awkward position with me staring right at them.
"Well speak of the devil…" I said to myself as they both stared at me, horrified and scared of what was going to happen next.
A story based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim"…
"Kim! Oh my God Kim…i-i-it's not what it looks like!"
"Kim. Please! It's not what you think. I-"
I felt my world start to spin as Jason and Hollie tried to plea with me about what I just walked into. Here I thought I was fine with it…but when I'm actually confronted about it…
What's going on…what's happening to me? I thought I was ok with this but…but… I felt my hand ball up in a fist. Stupid Hollie…why did you have to date HIM? And JASON! What the hell? Why would you go for my roommate? Arg! I just wanna…
"Kim please! Listen to me." Hollie said to me. But I felt a driving force take over me. Something took hold of my actions. Something dark and sinister…
"Why? So that you can use that information to sleep with my boyfriend?" I snapped back at her, glaring her down. She instantly shut up, speechless to my sudden remark.
"Kim…I…"
"Kim. Please. Let's go outside and talk-" Jason tried to get me to calm down but I turned my head towards him, glaring at him with the same intensity I gave Hollie.
"Why? So that you can sway me with empty words while you continue to bang my roommate?" I said to him.
"Kim, calm down…" Jason said as he reached and held my shoulder. His sudden touch made the beast that was thrashing inside me break loose. I swatted away his hand with my entire arm.
"Don't touch me! Don't you DARE touch me you lying, cheating, bastard!" This caused Jason to back away from me. Hell, if I was able to see myself right now, I would back away from me too. This persona of me…I've only experienced it once before…and even then I was afraid of who was really in control. Was it me? Or was it this darker side of me that existed but never unleashed. But what scared me the most was that this anger, this hatred…this is not the darker half that has been haunting me… "You." I said as I looked at Hollie. "You used the information I gave to you about Jason and me. You used the things that I thought you weren't going to tell anyone. I told you my worries about the relationship, what things that we like to do, the things that we don't like…you used that information to get Jason into bed, didn't you?" I said to her, not raising my voice in anger, or in sorrow…just a monotone and dark voice. "And you…" I turned my head to Jason. "You knew I'm usually away from the house and that I get home late. So you had the window to come in and out without my knowing…In fact, my hours changed because you wanted more time together…" I said to the both of them. I felt the anger that was building in my chest was about to erupt. I didn't want to be near either of them when it did. "Well you two got what you wanted. I hope you two have wonderful, retarded, children in the future." I said as she turned around and walked out the door, slamming it behind me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to go. I just couldn't stay there with those two idiot backstabbers still in the house. I had to go somewhere….but where? With Scott living with Ramona and my best friend Lisa Miller living in the States, I had no one close to talk to. But then it hit me. There was one more person I could go to. I walked to the street and called a cab to come pick me up. I knew this person would still be awake. Afterall, he's always been there when I needed him. Hopefully he's not asleep at this hour.
Through My Eyes 5a
"You know Kim…not that I don't like having you over but why do you come over when it's three in the morning?"
"Sorry Stephen…" I said as I sat on the couch of Stephen Stills, balled up in my usual corner. I watched as Stephen disappear into the kitchen and reappear with a pint of ice cream and a spoon. "It's just…I had nowhere else to go."
"It's alright Kim." He told me as he handed me the ice cream and spoon. I took it and started to scoop myself my first spoonful of comfort. Stephen sat down next to me and sighed.
"That's pretty heavy though…you caught your boyfriend and your roommate together? That will do numbers to your psyche."
"I thought I was ready." I said to him as I chiseled away at the ice cream. "I mean…I already knew that he was cheating on me so…"
"Wait, you KNEW he was cheating on you?" Stephen said to me, a combination of shock and confusion was mixed in his voice. I just stared into my ice cream and stabbed it a couple of times with the spoon.
"Kinda sorta. I came home early one night and I found Jason's car parked outside our house. He was up in Hollie's room laughing and giggling and….I don't want to talk about it." I cut myself off as I scooped another spoonful and placed it in my mouth. "When I found out I actually wasn't that mad. In fact I was actually planning to break up with him that same day. Funny how life works I guess. But that's the thing…I was the one that was going to break up with him. You would think I would react in a less…bitchy way." I said, admitting to myself that I may have overreacted back there. "I knew what was going on and I accepted it, but when it was actually staring at me in the face…I acted as if I discovered it at that moment." Stephen sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
"I guess it's hard to figure out how we will react when the time comes. I mean, you can spend hours and hours practicing for a show but it does not take away the nervous feeling you get before going on…you know?" He said to me as I nodded. I'm always nervous when we play in front of crowds. Even in high school, whenever we played in front of the school, I would still get nervous. There was some truth in what Stephen said afterall. "So don't beat yourself up too much. You acted now any girl would react when they discovered that their boyfriend was cheating on them. Actually you reacted a little less. Normally they would have stabbed the girl or the guy…or both." I shook my head as I ate more of the cookie and cream ice cream.
"Thanks Stephen…" I said as I placed the carton and the spoon down. "Thanks for talking to me."
"No problem, Kim. You know you I'm always available to talk. Just do your best to catch me when I'm awake, ok?" He said to me as looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Aw come on. Don't you like staying up all night? Besides, I'm surprised that you're here and not with Joseph working on the Sex Bob-omb album. I think I see you more there than back here."
"Yeah…Joseph and I had a little fight last night so he's not talking to me." Stephen said to me.
"You had a fight with him? What the hell? So what's going to happen to the album?"
"It'll be done…just gotta give him time to cool down…"
"Oh…"
For some reason the air around us was a bit awkward. I wasn't sure why…but I just needed to change the subject and fast. "S-s-so…how's Julie?" I said, maybe switching the topic to Stephen's old new girlfriend would brighten the mood.
"We broke up."
"You gotta be kidding me…"
"Yeah…it was a mess. I think she's still at Sneaky Dee's drinking." I punched him in the arm for that answer.
"What the hell man! Why do you keep stringing that poor girl along?" I yelled at him as he balled in a defensive stance when I hit him. "You guys are on and off more times than a light switch. Will you two either stay broken up or just marry each other already?"
"Hey hey hey! It's a lot more complicated than that ok?" Stephen defended himself. "Trust me when I say that what you're seeing on the outside isn't what is happening in the inside."
"Julie is still a girl! You have no idea what's going inside our minds when a guy breaks up with you." I tried to reason with him. It was a weak argument, and I wasn't too sure why I was defending Julie, but even she doesn't deserve to be strung along like this. "I mean, what could possibly be so complicated with your guy's relationship?"
"…I think I'm gay."
I blinked a few time, trying to register what Stephen just said to me.
Well…that certainly complicates things…
Julie's New Apartment…a few days later…
"Y'know, I never through I'd say it but…" I heard Scott started as he, Ramona, and I were at another one of Julie's parties. "…I think maybe I'm getting sick of themed parties."
"Tell me about it." Ramona agreed as I took a sip out of my beer. Probably the only good thing about Julie's parties is that the booze is decent…and free.
"Okay, underwater pimp and ho party, Canadian politics circa 1972 but you're secretly batman party, then the last one…"
"That one was Halloween, so I think it gets a free pass." Ramona said to him.
Actually, that one where everyone was secretly batman was kinda fun. Unnecessarily specific, but fun.
"Then what's this?" Scott asked before that familiar smell of someone who obviously splashed around in a vat of their own perfume came towards us. It was enough to taste it in your mouth.
"It's my Mexican Day of the Dead party, you retard." Julie said, sophistically holding a glass of wine.
"Dia de los muertos!" Her female lackey said.
"Man, Julie, ever since you moved over here it's been non-stop." Scott said to her as she started to walk away from us, giving us some much needed oxygen.
"Yeah, well, next time I'll think twice about inviting your ass." She said as she left us alone.
"Whatever…her outfit is barely even theme-appropriate. This party sucks."
"Imagine she didn't invite you, though? What would you do?" I said sarcastically as I took another sip of my beer. "No horror-themed Mexican food, no slutty dead people…you'd be missing out on a real cultural bonanza."
"Ehh, at least she's trying. Or something. I guess." Scott said as I shook my head, obviously not picking up the fact that I was being sarcastic.
"Trying to run us into the ground." Ramona added.
"I need some air." I said, rubbing my head. "The stupidity in here is making me feel faint."
"Hold that thought…I see ex-boyfriends." Both Scott and my attention suddenly perked up when she said that to us.
"Plural?" Scott asked.
Over in the direction that Ramona was looking at stood two Asian guys who clearly stuck out in a themed-costume party. The one on the left was bleach blonde, wearing a white button down collar shirt with matching white pants. His bangs were unbelievably long for a guy, reaching almost to his chin. The other guy had black hair with, what looks like, a sleeveless Japan themed shirt and black pants. If they weren't standing next to each other I would assume they were unrelated…but there was something about those two that didn't feel right.
"Kyle Katayanagi and his brother, Ken. The twins." Ramona said as the light bulb in my head suddenly turned on.
Oh! They're twins…got it. Wait, twins? Ramona dated twins? ….at the same time?
"What are they doing here?" Scott asked.
"Maybe you should ask them." I said to him, arms folded. Ramona told Scott's hand as they both walked to the twins. I decided to tag along as well, just to see how this will develop.
"…hello, boys." Ramona said to them as they both turned to her at the same time. A creepy smile across their face as they looked over at the two.
"My goodness. It's Ramona Flowers." Kyle said as his twin brother spoke right after him, almost completing Kyle's train of thought.
"How lovely. Are you here alone?" Finished Ken.
"She's with me!" Scott yelled at them. This only amused them.
"And that would make you…Spot Pilgrim." I slapped the palm of my hand to my face as I heard that.
"Uh…it's Scott."
"'Spot' isn't even a name, Ken." Ramona informed him. "Unless you're, like a dog."
"Please forgive me. English isn't our first language, you see."
"So are you guys here to fight, or what?" Scott said, stepping forward with his fist already clenched to knock one or both of the twins all the way back to Japan or China or whatever the hell they came from.
"Fight? What are we, barbarians?" Kyle said as I raised an eyebrow at them.
They're not going to fight? But if they're evil ex's…what are they doing here?
"Okay…I'm confused." Scott admitted as Ken pulled out what looked like a remote control. With a simple push of a button, a mechanical noise was heard from the door that leads to the balcony. We all turned our heads as the door slid open, revealing a three foot robot pointing at Scott.
What in the…
"Hey-" Scott started but just as it came in, it made a lunge at Scott who took its initial blow head on.
SCOTT!
"You've got some style these days, Ramona. Very avant-chic." Kyle said as the robot continued to pummel Scott.
"It's Halloween." Replayed Ramona as my attention shot back and forth between the fight and Ramona's conversation. ((A/N: It says Halloween even though it's a Day of the Dead party…either it's a mistake in the book or I didn't understand something…~V4tM))
"You look…healthy." Ken said, in a rather sleazy way.
"Settling in nicely? I don't think we've ever seen your hair this long, either." Kyle added as Ramona was a bit lost of words. I decided to step in, not wanting her to reside in her mind for too long. The influence of people around you, especially around ex's, can make you do or say things you might regret later.
"Well, I still need to breathe some air, so we'll speak to you gentlemen some other time." I said as I placed a hand on Ramona's shoulder. She slowly got the hint as we both started to walk towards the balcony.
"I don't think we've been properly…introduced." I heard one of them say but I didn't bother to turn around and answer. As we headed to the door, we ducked once to dodge the robot sailing across the room from Scott's right hand.
"So I guess you've dated some real jerks, eh?" I said to Ramona as she reached into her pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. She took one out of the box and placed it in her mouth.
"Yeah, but who hasn't?" She replied as I thought back a bit. To my surprise, the first person I thought of was Jason then Scott. I guess that breakup really did affect me.
"Tell me about it." I said as I looked over the balcony.
"You want a smoke?"
"Nah…I'm good."
We both stood there in silence as we looked out from the balcony. Something was bothering Ramona but I didn't want to pry it out of her. After what seems to be five minutes, she finally opened up. "Is he okay in there?" I raised an eyebrow at this.
Does Ramona doubt Scott? He's one of the best fighters I know. Scott can turn that robot into scrap metal with ease. But how interesting…She never once thought that Scott could lose a fight. If Ramona doubts Scott's skills now, then something is going on inside her head.
"C'mon. He's Scott Pilgrim." I said to her, trying to rebuild her confidence in her boyfriend. I heard the sliding door open and we looked behind us. Julie popped her head out and yelled out at all the smokers and air breathers,
"A tiny robot is kicking this guy's ass, if anyone wants to watch." She said to us. "Oh, and then the band's gonna play."
"Wow…live music." I said, slightly impressed by Julie's party hosting skills.
"Yeah, man. And the band is dressed up like skeletons and stuff." Said some random, eavesdropping guy. Suddenly the respect I had for Julie and her party planning flushed down the toilet.
"Clearly no expense has been spared."
"Hey, didn't you guys used to be a band?" Ramona asked as I stared at her with dead eyes.
"What, you didn't hear? We're recording now." I said as I brought two fingers and pointed them to my head, mimicking a barrel of a gun. I then proceeded to shoot myself and lay down on the balcony railing, dead.
"Tell me about it."
"I used to play the drums, three times a week. My life had structure. And now…recording for months." I said as rubbed my head in frustration.
"Maybe you could take up kickboxing, or something." She said to me. "Caber toss."
"Yeah, or I could just go on a murderous rampage!" I said as I heard Ramona's phone vibrate in her bag. She took out her phone and flipped it open. My spirits rose a bit.
"Tell me that's an excuse to get out of this hellhole." I pleaded as Ramona looked over at me, not amused by the text she just received.
"Ehh, no…it's a text from Wallace Wells. I'm like the personal secretary for his little mash notes to Scott." She said as she showed me the text.
From: Wallace Wells
Hey budddddy! Im a drunk 4 u. (U = scott)
Fri, 11:19 pm
"Aww. That's adorable." I said sarcasticly.
"You think so?"
"Uh, no."
Why can't people know when I'm being sarcastic? I mean…seriously…
Kim's Place
"I can't hear the hi-hat." Stephen complained as Sex Bob-omb was holding another late night recording session. Both Scott and I were on Joseph's bed, brain dead and tired as Stephen and Joseph listen to the track for hours on end.
"Then your ears are retarded."
"Don't be a bitch, bitch!" Stephen said back to Joseph.
"Can we hear the song?" Scott said, drowsily.
"In a minute."
"You've been saying that for an hour." Scott groaned as I laid on the bed and rolled over to look at the two huddled at the computer screen.
"I don't' even want to hear it. I've heard it five thousand times." I said, remembering all the recordings that I had to listen to of me drumming. It was always 'you're drumming too loudly' or 'you're drumming too softly' even 'can you hit that hi-hat a little harder'. So enough was enough. I didn't want perfect. I just wanted it done. "Why isn't it finished?"
"I want her out of my house." Joseph said to Stephen.
"Uh…she lives here."
"Uh-huh" was Joseph's reply to Stephen's remark. He quickly removed his headphones and turned to us.
"Okay, let's take a break. Emergency band meeting gang." He said as Scott and I groggily got up and walked out of Joseph's room. Stephen led us back to my room where all of our equipment was. I took my spot behind the drum set while Scott unconsciously picked up his bass and sat on my bed.
"I was thinking maybe we could practice for a bit…" Stephen finally said to us as he sat on my desk.
"You want to have band practice?" I said, rather surprised.
"We're a band, aren't we?"
"Oh my God. I'm hallucinating." Scott suddenly yelled. Stephen and I both looked over at Scott then back to each other.
"We were hallucinating when we started a band in the first place." I said, sad on where we currently stood. We were a band that didn't practice, didn't have any shows, no gigs, no fans, nothing. Oh how Sex Bob-omb went from zero to zero in almost two years.
"Settle down, we have a show, okay? There, I said it." Stephen blurted out. I turned to him, wanting a verification of what he just said, but Scott starting to ramble again.
"Guys, I think I'm hallucinating."
"It's at Sneaky Dee's and it's on Sunday. Big deal." He said to me as I raised my eyebrow at him.
"This Sunday?"
"I had nothing to do with it, alright?" Stephen said. "I think Julie set us up in a petty act of revenge." I shook my head.
"What did you DO to that girl?"
"We broke up." He said to me, but I already knew that.
"For like the fiftieth time!" Scott yelled. I sighed and picked up my drumsticks. I looked at the beaten pair of wooding sticks, and all the memories of how each of the notches was made.
"Can we be a band for a minute? Can we, like, play a song, maybe?" I said, twirling the sticks in my hand as muscle memory soon took over.
"Hell yeah! Let's play 'Kim's song'!" Scott yelled obnoxiously.
"It isn't my song! Learn the freakin' titles already." I said to him
"But…you made up the beat for it."
"Just cout us in before he moment passes!" Stephen yelled at me as I nodded at him. I raised my sticks in the air and took a deep breath.
"LIVE! FROM MY BEDROOM! WE ARE-" I took another deep breath. "SEX BOB-OMB! ONE! TWO! ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"
And so we played…
…for two and a half minutes…
…two and a half sucky-ass minutes…
"Okay, we're doomed." I said to them, now depressed on how far my skills have dropped from our recording session.
Something like 18 hours later…at Sneaky Dee's
"Do we have a plan?" Stephen said to us as we were in the men's restroom, trying to get Stephen Stills OUT of the bathroom so we can set up backstage.
Stephen Stills' stage fright is legendary. At least when it comes to shows we're not prepared for. One example was when we opened for a small commuter campus. They asked us to perform a day before so we didn't have a plan or a set list made up yet. Stephen Stills, thinking of the popularity it'll generate for the band, accepted the offer. And what happened when we got there? Stephen spent two hours lost on campus, occasionally throwing up in trashcans because of his nervousness. I didn't expect him to hold it together so well here…by now he would have ran out or vomiting uncontrollably…oh, as for the campus gig? We manage to get him to play three songs before calling for a break for him to settle down…his strumming and singing was twice as fast as normal so it was a pain to keep up.
"Of course not! Oh my god. I'm dreaming. Wake up, wake up, wake up…" Stephen said to himself over and over to his reflection in the mirror.
"Oh you're always like this." I said to Stephen, as I sat on the bathroom counter. "Once you're on stage, you'll be fine. Doomed." I added.
"We just were on stage for sound check and the sound guy hated us and we shouldn't even be here!"
"It's just nerves, man! Pre-show jitters! People love us." Scott said to him, trying to reassure him. I scoffed at his comment though.
I wouldn't say people love us…it's been what? Three months since our last show? I'll be surprised if people still remember that we're together…
A few minutes later…backstage
"We're doing 'Herself' first, right?" I asked Scott as I sat on his bass amp. Scott was drinking his water before turning over to me.
"Uh…yep."
"Is Ramona coming?"
"Yeah, for whatever reason." Scott said, a little irritated. "I mean, it's not lie she likes our band." I gave Scott a swift smack to the back of his head.
"Dumbass, she likes you. She's supporting your lousy endeavors, don't knock it."
"…you're right. I guess I should be grateful or something." Scott admitted as I drank my cup of water, prepping my throat. The song 'Herself' involves me singing as well and the last thing I wanted to do was parch my throat.
"You're damn right I'm right." I said. I saw Stephen on stage already and he signaled Scott to come over. I watched as Scott leave and went back to drinking my water.
You sure seem supportive of Scott and Ramona. But is that a lie Kimberly?
I told you already…I'm over Scott. Ramona is my best friend and Scott and I are on equal terms now. Lisa has forgiven me about the whole 'Scott' incident and I'm no longer mad at her for being the bearer of bad news.
Sure…but what about Scott?
I'm not mad at Scott.
Are you sure? I mean…he didn't tell you that he was leaving. You had to learn through the grape vine. Wasn't this the man that you were thoroughly convinced that he would-
I'm not mad at Scott! It's not his fault that his parent decided to move! Or that he's an idiot that can't man up for once and tell me what's going on in his mind!
That sounds like hostility, Kimberly.
The only thing that I'm hostile about…is your constant butting in my life. I don't know who you are, and really, I don't care. I just want to be left alone alright?
I can't do that Kimberly. You and I are the same person. If you can't accept me for who I am, then you'll forever be haunted by your own self. I'm here to help, believe it or not.
Yeah…helping me find the nearest cliff to jump off of…
You can't keep denying your feelings. Whether you're mad at Scott or in love with him is how you really feel.
I'm not mad…
Just…?
"Just…a little disappointed that he didn't come to me and tell me he was moving…" I said softly to myself as I stared into my cup of water.
"Kim! We're going on!" Scott yelled at me as I snapped out of my trance and headed on stage. Both Scott and Stephen were already set up and ready to go. The crowd was pretty big, but most of them were looking in Scott's direction for some reason.
As long as the eyes weren't looking at me, that's fine. I thought to myself. Ok… 'Herself'. That's a decent speed and tempo. Let's get this started. "WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB!" I yelled, getting ready to count ourselves in for 'Herself'. "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!"
There was a clash of notes, and I heard Scott and Stephen start to play. As I kept drumming to the tempo and speed of 'Herself', I noticed something that was off. Something that was extremely off. What the hell? Why are they strumming so damn fast? I tried to speed up my drumming but no matter how I altered the timing, it seemed that Scott and Stephen were both off time. Compared to each other though, they were on time. It was just me who was off. What the hell? Why can't I get this right? It should be slower…'Herself' isn't suppose to be done that fast…and why hasn't Stephen start singing yet? …oh God dammit…I'm playing the wrong song! I realized as I tried to listen to what Stephen and Scott were playing. It took me awhile to realize that the song they were playing was 'Erasmus' not 'Herself'. Son of a bitch! Dammit Scott Pilgrim! Let's see… I though as I tried my best to pick up the beat but before I could correct myself something landed on stage. Something heavy and metal. I looked up to see that a robot just came on stage and it had its sight set on Scott.
"Uh…Scott…"
The robot threw back a punch and swung at Scott at full speed.
"SCOOOOOOTT!" I yelled as he finally stopped playing to see a metal fist coming right at him. Almost skillfully he dodged at the last minute, only taking a small fraction of what could have been a devastating blow. Scott rolled on the stage his bass still in his hand as he starting to breath hard, using up a lot of his energy just to avoid the attack.
What the hell is a robot doing here? The last time I saw a robot was…wait… I desperately starting to look around and there, in the front, stood Kyle and Ken Katayanagi. I instantly turned to Scott who was staring down the robot. "Scott! It's a trap! The Katayanagi twins are here! This entire thing was a setup!"
"The Katayoga twins? Who are-OOF!" Scott exhaled as he was caught off guard again. The robot landed a left punch to the chest which caused him to fly backwards into the wall.
"You idiot! The Katayanagi twins! Kyle and Ken! Ramona's evil ex's!" I yelled at him as he was slow to get up.
"Kyle and Ken?" He coughed as he looked around and notice them too. I saw the fire in his eyes light up as he got up, bass in hand as he held it upward like an axe. "Stephen…" Scott said, as if something took over him. I knew that look. I've seen it plenty of times. He was fighting for a reason. More specifically, he was fight for Ramona.
"Yeah?"
"Get Kim offstage…." He simply said. I walked over to Stephen as we both made some room, but didn't fully get off the stage.
"Scott!" I yelled. He looked at me with those determined eyes and I nodded at him.
"Give it hell." I said to him as he smiled at me before charging at the robot in full force. With a horizontal slash of his bass, he made the first attack on the metal monstrosity. It jumped backwards and lunged at him again with another right jab. Scott manage to fully dodge it this time and threw is right knee into the chest of the machine.
"OW! DAMN! That's hard!" I heard Scott yell as I cupped my hands to my mouth.
"It's a robot you idiot! Of course it's going to be hard! You gotta break it somehow!" I yelled at him as he continued to play defensively, dodging and evading the attacks of his metal opponent. Scott thought about it, and then looked at his bass.
"Scott look out!" I heard Stephen yell as the robot went for a right hook. Scott managed to duck underneath the punch and took a side step so that he was positioned off the robot's right side. I saw him lift up his bass in the air and in one fell swoop, threw his bass downward in a vertical slash. The body of the bass connected with the neck of the robot and its entire head severed off, cutting off all of its power. As the crowd continued to cheer for the carnage that took place on stage, I found myself taking a sigh of relief.
Whew…nice work there Scott. I knew you could do it. I haven't seen Scott fight like that for awhile….haven't seen him so serious to defend someone….haven't seen him so concerned over me…
"What the hell is going on here?" Ramona said as I saw her emerge from the woman's bathroom. Her voice was slightly aggravated, but curious nevertheless.
"Oh man! You missed all the action!" Scott said, looking up at Ramona.
"Did I?" She said as she look at the flyer that was next to her. As I looked around, I saw the same flyer design pinned up on the wall backstage.
A Robot will kick Scott Pilgrim's Ass while u watch!
Sneaky Dee's, November 14th
Robots Provided by
K&K Katayanagi
"Yeah, apparently this whole gig was a setup! This robot was supposed to kick my ass." Scott said to her as Ramona continued to look at the flyer.
"How did you guy snot notice these flyers?"
"So do we finish our set now, or what?" I asked, a little bit curious.
Were we really playing to a crowd or was it indeed just a whole setup for Scott. I mean….we have the instruments here already. All we need to do is…oh God…
Both Scott and I glanced over at his bass and saw that it was broken right at the neck. There was no possible way to repair it either. And by the looks of it, no one in the crowd is carry a bass on them…meaning…
"I think the show is over…" I heard Stephen said.
"You think?" I replied as I turned around and started to head backstage to get my stuff ready to go.
"That may actually have been the worst show ever." I said as we were walking from Sneaky Dee's.
"It wasn't your fault, Kim." Stephen said to me as Scott patted Stephen in the back.
"It wasn't anyone's fault!" He said to him as his eyes narrowed at him.
"Yes it was. It was your fault."
"C'mon! At least we had a good time!"
"Please die now, Scott." I said to him as we continued to walk in the cold.
"Hey, do you have your keys? I totally forgot mine again." Scott said to Ramona. I felt my curiosity go up as Scott and Ramona started to argue with one another.
"Again? Didn't I say I wouldn't let you in next time that happened?" Ramona said to him.
"Yeah, but…you're right here. I mean, it doesn't count if I'm with you. Does it?"
"I dunno…gotta stick to my guns, right?"
"Are you kicking me out?" Scott yelled as I felt my inner self cheer a bit. For some reason I found myself liking the idea that Scott and Ramona were fighting again.
"What? No! C'mon. I just…I need some me time, y'know?" She said to him but it didn't change his reaction of shock. "It's a small apartment dude."
"No, yeah…good idea. Take all the time you need." Scott said to her. "I'll just sleep over with one of my many friends who don't hate me." He said as he looked over at Knives, who hates him for breaking her heart, Stephen, who blames him for ruining their gig, and me, who hates him for being him.
…needless to say the odds of him sleeping over at any of our places were out of the question.
So what happened back there Kimberly?
"Nothing happened…now go away. I'm about to go to sleep." I said out loud as I started to undress and get ready for bed. I felt my darker half form on my desk and watch my movements as I paced back and forth in my room.
Are you sure? When Scott was fighting that robot you were pretty concerned about his safety.
"If you saw one of your friends fighting a robot, wouldn't you be concerned as well?" I said to her as I slipped into my pajama bottoms. I saw her cross her legs and lean back against the desk board.
True…but I felt it. And I know you felt it too. That feeling of want…that feeling of security. Only one man was able to make you feel like that…
"It was a moment of weakness. I told you that I was over him…" I said as I looked in my drawer for my pajama top. "Man I really hope Hollie didn't take my-"
Yes you did. And you were over him…but seeing him again like that. That determination to protect. That burning passion he had….the fact that he was concerned about your safety and didn't want you getting in the middle of the fight.
"like I said…it was just a small moment of weak-"
Not to mention the fight that Scott and Ramona are having right now. Tell me, why were you so curious about it? Why do you like the idea that they're fighting right now?
It was a question that I couldn't answer when I asked myself back then. But after talking to my other self, I soon realized the answer. And it was exactly what I feared all along.
"I still have feelings for Scott…" I said, in unison with my darker self.
To Be Continued…