AN: Thanks a ton to Lulu bell for an awesome idea ^_^ I was waiting for something to hit my brain to keep my writing, but I just couldn't think of anything – so thanks SOOO much for helping me with my story! It'll lead to a few more [good] chapters! Yay! All right, have fun reading, and thanks for reading. Please review! And feel free to send ideas to blckdrkdragoon@aol.com if you have any ideas! Thanks and good reading! Oh, PS – Cal kinda seems to be mean to Two-Bit here the first few paragraphs, but she's just playing – if it's humanly possible, she's sort of out for char for a bit at the end… can you say, physco?
I sat on the Curtis' couch with my legs crossed and propped up on a chair in front of me, my arms crossed over my chest with the T.V. controller held tightly in my right hand so Two-Bit couldn't get to it.
"Just one quick glance," he said in a begging voice, reaching over slowly towards me.
"No!" I snapped for the fiftieth at him and shoved him back with my left hand. I glared at him as he gave me a pleading look. "Don't even try it. It didn't work this morning, it won't work now," I looked back at the T.V. and received a sudden yelp from Two-Bit as I changed over Mickey Mouse and stopped on a talk show. "Hold your peace."
"I'm holding it… no, I'm squeezing the life out of it…" he was grinding his teeth together and trying his hardest not to pound me, reminding himself out loud that I wasn't one of the guys and he could easily squash me.
"I'm gonna wash your mouth out with soap." I shoved him back again, this time by his face instead of his chest.
He gasped and grasped my hand. "How dare you touch my face!"
"Oh almighty goddess, don't kill me!" I said in a high, squeaky voice. "I didn't mean to!" I slapped him hard and he fell to the floor.
"Foul! FOUL!" Two-Bit shouted from the ground.
Darry looked into the room and glared at us. "Are you two fighting again?"
"Define: again." I said as I pushed Two-Bit back by his chest with my foot.
Darry shook his head and disappeared into the kitchen again.
I smirked madly at his back and slowly turned my head to look at Two-Bit.
He was staring up at me like I was about to do something out of this world. "Don't, you, dare…"
My lips curled into a wide smile to show my teeth. "Are you su----re?"
"YES!" he jumped away before I could slam my foot into his head. "Darry! Darry! Violence! Arrest her!"
Dally almost screamed as he entered the living room. "Would you two just SHUT UP?!"
I frowned and slumped in my seat. "Jerk."
He shook his head, turned, and left with the phone in his hand, which made me chuckle.
Two-Bit looked up at me and stuck out his tongue. "Meany."
I leaned forward. "Jerk."
"Stupid."
"Butt-head."
"Idiot."
"Butt-munch."
"Butt head!"
"Bastard."
"Bitch."
"Fa…"
"Hey, hey!" Two-Bit suddenly snapped. "None of that now!"
I smirked. "Well, looks like I won the name calling contest. Shall we start on the shouting contest?"
"Sure." He winked with a large smile. He knew what I was thinking when I suggested it – annoy the hell out of Dally as he was on the phone with another of his many 'girlfriends'. "Would you do the honor of starting?"
"JERK!"
"BUTT HEAD!"
"BUTT-MUNCH!"
"BITCH!"
"BAS…"
"I'M GOING TO SLIT YOUR THROATS!" Dally's voice screamed from upstairs.
I burst out laughing. "I'd like to see you try!"
Suddenly the front door burst open and Ponyboy camp romping in like he had just gotten won the lottery – maybe four of them. Behind him followed a slum and glum Johnny.
"Yo, Johnnycake! Why the long face buddy? Is Pony not sharing his winnings with you?" I laughed as I curled into a ball to keep Two-Bit away from the control which he had renewed his pursuit over.
He shifted uneasily on his feet like they were on hot sand. "I don't think he can – and I don't think I'd want him too," he added in a whisper.
I blinked and sat up straight.
Immediately Two-Bit grabbed the control from me, and started laughing in triumph.
"Shut up," I snapped him, and conked him on the head. "I want to hear this."
He scowled as he rubbed the top of his head. "Oh yeah, thanks, make me the…"
"She said yes!" Pony burst like a rocket.
I lifted an eyebrow. "She? She? She said… yes? A lot of people say 'yes'. A lot of…"
"Cherry! I asked Cherry to the school dance and she said yes!"
A sudden silence swept the room.
Two-Bit blinked at Ponyboy like he was insane and then turned to me as if to see me broken like a dropped china plate. "Uh, hey Pony…" he turned back to the boy, but he was running up the stairs yelling 'she said yes!' which received him a sharp yell from Dally.
I looked around the room slowly, avoiding Two-Bit and Johnny. "Well, let's see…" I pulled my feet off the chair and pulled them against my chest.
"Man, I'm sorry Cal…" Two-Bit said quietly.
"Hey, what's there to be sorry about? We weren't going out or anything…" I blinked and my eyes were blank when they opened again. Round black pupils covered the red colored part of my eyes. I looked at the ground and started rocking back and forth on the couch. We weren't ever attached – it was just some infatuation thing. We never really got to know each other. Nothing held us together – so then, why does it hurt so much? To hear he was going out with another girl? Is it because I think he's that cute? Because I hat Cherry Valance's guts enough already before he announced this horrific news? Or… no…
Johnny slowly walked towards me, closing the span of the space between us. "It'll be okay, Callisto."
"Yeah… I guess." I slowly loosened my grip around my legs and stood up. Two-Bit stood up with me. "I'm… I'm gonna go home. I'll catch you guys later." I walked past Johnny without a thought and left the house. I walked down the pathway and stopped at my car. I glanced down at my open palm and tilted my head. Why is my vision so blurred? Are these… my tears? I wiped my eyes and threw up my Lamborghini door. I jumped in and pulled it back down beside me. I started the engine and blared up the Mudvayne CD till the turn dial for the volume wouldn't turn anymore. My ears were killing me, but maybe it would help keep me from hearing my thoughts. I drove down the streets like I was running from Godzilla, and took the runs at the same speed – tires squealing, people on the sidewalks squealing ---.
I slammed on the breaks when I got up to Ted's driveway and parked the car. I locked the doors behind me and went into the house. It was a pigsty, as usual. I went up the stairs to my room and closed the door behind me. I didn't bother with the lights – I left them off and sat against the door in the complete darkness.
Pony had been devastated when I said I was going to leave, but when he found out I was staying, half because of him, he just decided to run off with my worst enemy.
I felt so betrayed; I thought being stabbed would hurt less. I feel like Julius Caesar… I put my head in my hands and cried. Cried more than I had in my whole life. When the day was over, maybe this pain would be, too… someone, something had to help me feel better in the morning.
The sun rose late in the afternoon, but none of the light filled my room.
I blinked my dry eyes open and looked up at my glowing red clock. "Eleven? Why didn't Ted come to wake me up…?" I pulled myself to my feet and heard my bones cracking. I groaned and yawned at the same time. "I must have fallen asleep before I got to my bed." I left my room after a quick change of clothes and trotted down the stairs to the kitchen. I pulled on my dagger belt around my waist and checked to make sure all three knives were secure inside their sheaths.
Ted wasn't home, but he had left a note telling me he had gone to work early.
"Eh, whatever." I grabbed something to eat (an apple, which I would end up just throwing away anyway, since I hated apples), and must not have been thinking clear for some reason… I got into my Lamborghini and went for a long cruise. After an hour drive, I parked by the beach and got out of the car. I put on my headphones, locked my car, and strolled down the sidewalk with the System of a Down CD blaring in my ears. Why did this seem so familiar?
Not long later I found Johnny throwing rocks into the ocean.
I watched from behind him as he pulled his arm back with a larger rock in his hand. I quickly reached up and grabbed it. "Shouldn't do that, you know,"
He was immediately turned around and staring wide-eyed at me.
"You could hurt something." I made him drop the rock and pulled my headphones off. "What are you doing here alone?"
"Aren't we all?" he muttered as he looked around for a smaller rock.
I watched where his eyes traveled. "Yeah, sure. Uh, listen… I wanted to ask you something…" I looked back up at him and wondered how he ever got along like this. All alone in the world, no family… He has friends. NATALIE! My brain came to a stand still.
Johnny turned his back to me. "Yeah, sure. Go…"
{AN: This is when I was listening to System of a Down, Linkin Park, Mudvayne, and Disturbed REALLY loud on my boom box with my headphones on – so therefore I was going nuts and decided to make a slightly demonic section}
His voice was cut off as my brain started going haywire. Natalie! Where could she be? Why do you care? I suddenly thought. She's a total bitch to you. No, she's not…
Johnny turned and blinked at me. "…." His mouth moved but I didn't hear a single word.
I gotta find her. Something could be wrong! No, don't do that. She's going out with Sodapop, Ponyboy's brother! If you go look for Soda, you'll find him. I shook my head and put my hands on my head to stop hearing the voices. "Stop it… stop it! Leave me alone!"
Johnny grasped my shoulders and shook me hard. "Cal! Callisto, what's wrong? What is it?"
This is why my mind is so messed up! I was trying to remember why my world had changed. Pony… that bastard! But, look at the guy in front of you… SHUTUP! "STOP IT!" I yanked on my headphones and blared the CD. "Block the thoughts, block the thoughts, block all the mother f*cking thoughts out of my…" I screamed and collapsed to my knees. "STOP IT!" the music continued rolling on, but it wasn't loud enough. The instruments weren't high enough, they weren't screaming… I needed Mudvayne or Disturbed to scream at me and blare the guitar and drum and bass. I needed to play it in my car so I could get it to maximum volume. Not this, this wasn't making my eardrums thump like they were going to burst! Why could I still hear my thoughts?!
Johnny suddenly threw the headphones off my head and I found he was knocking my back against a fence screaming at me. "Callisto! Wake up!"
My eyes dulled and went blank. He was… was he? His eyes were wavering – I must have been sick. "Johnny, stop it – I'm gonna hurl."
He let go of me and half glared half stared at me. "Callisto, what's wrong? You just, blanked out… you're eyes were just black pupils and you weren't moving – I hardly saw you breathing!"
I looked around and leaned over to look at the ocean. "I need to forget this. All of it." I turned to him and ran my hand through my hair. "Johnny, I have to forget yesterday. I have to forget about Pony."
He swallowed and turned away like the word stung him worse than it stung me.
Huh, yeah! Like that were possible.
"Let's go for ride," I turned my back to him and walked stiffly to my car. I unlocked the door and pushed it up. I watched Johnny follow and get in the other side. I jumped into the car, started the engine, and kept the CD blaring loudly, to keep myself from hearing my thoughts, and Johnny didn't seem to mind.
I kept the car to normal speed as I went down random streets and finally got onto the freeway.
"Where're we going?" Johnny asked as he shifted in his seat.
"No where."
He blinked at me.
"I'm not going anywhere – I'm just going around randomly. That okay with you?"
"It's, it's fine with me," he looked out his window.
Look at him, he's all innocent and just sitting there – he's vulnerable. I blinked at my thoughts and shook my head roughly. "Shut up," I grumbled under my breath. "Let's go for food."
"All right."
I took a deep breath and got off the freeway. "Hamburgers. If I see a Soc, I swear there's gonna be blood split." I pulled up the a fast food restaurant, parked the car, and got out. "Want anything?"
"Hamburger and fries," he said quietly.
"K." I turned and went into the restaurant. I ignored all the feasting Soc's, ordered, and went back to the car with the food. "Here ya go," I said after lowering the noise of the CD.
We sat in the car and ate our lunch. We were quiet the whole time – and I thanked him mentally for that. I smiled when I noticed my demonic thoughts were gone. Thank you God! I looked sideways at Johnny and smiled. Thanks Johnnycake.
