Calcifer: Greetings, one and all! This is your author speaking! I've got a long chapter for you today! W00T! Very long! I think it's my longest yet… and it's kinda depressing toward the end… really depressing… I'm cryin' here! T__T Well good news, bad news time. Bad news: Really icky cliffhanger coming up! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Good news: I can't just leave you there, so I'll be uber quick to update for the next chapter! I love all you reviewers! Thank you so much!!!!!!!! Please keep reviewing! And if you're a new reader then please review as well, and welcome to "So Happy Together!" ^_____^ I'm sorry this is such a sad chapter… anyway! Byebye!
Joey walked home from his bus stop on a Friday afternoon. He had had a good day, and was looking forward to his weekend. He let himself into his apartment and flopped on his bed. The Water and Power Company had stayed true to their word, for after a few days, the power and water had been shut off. He sighed, now he had nothing do.
He thought about the gang meeting that was going to take place that night. He had already decided not to go, and Tristan had decided to follow his lead. Joey liked being free of that world, though he knew they wouldn't be happy about his quitting. He heard the front door open, and his sister's sweet lilting voice call out to him.
Joey darted out of his room and helped her carry her large backpack inside. She grinned at him.
"Thanks, Joey." She said smiling. He grinned at her, and then checked his watch.
"Damn! I've got to go to the shop now. Wanna come?"
"Sure!" She said happily, the batted her eyelashes sweetly. "Can I have a piggy-back ride?" Joey stared at her.
"C'mon, Serenity… I used to give you those when you were like four." Serenity's lower lip trembled.
"But, Joey…" She sniffed. "You haven't given me one since then, and you're still the same amount taller than me… and well… I guess if you don't want to…" She turned away from him, sniffling to her self and pretending to cry. Joey made helpless protests, but she shrugged them away, shuffling toward their room. Joey sighed; she was the only person in the world who could control him like this. He laughed and ran up to her and swung her onto his back.
"There! Happy now?" He said, in mock annoyance. Serenity burst into laughter and hugged him so tightly around the neck that he nearly choked. He carried her all the way to the dingy "Wheeler Automotives."
Joey sighed as he looked at the line of cars needing repairs. As usual, his father was no where to be seen, so all the work was left to him. He began changing the tire of the first car, while Serenity entertained him with stories of her school, and handed him various tools. After she finished a story of another one of her obnoxious suitors, Joey slid out from under the car he was fixing, wiping grease and sweat from his forehead.
"Remind me to kill that guy, won't you?" He said, jokingly. Serenity giggled, and stood up.
"Look, we have a customer." She said, pointing at the driveway to the repair shop. Joey stared at the shining car being slowly driven in.
"Wow. That's a nice set of wheels…" He said, whistling. He was already counting the money in his head. Maybe he'd be able to buy that new booster pack after all… His plotting ceased as soon as he saw the owner of the car.
"KAIBA?!" He shouted in horror. Kaiba stepped out of the blue convertible, and gave Joey his signature look of disgust.
"Just fix it, Wheeler." He said, sneering. Joey looked at him suspiciously.
"Why in the name of Lady Luck are you bringing your car to me? You have a personal mechanic!" Kaiba shrugged.
"I was in the area when this old rig broke down. Besides I thought it would be good to aid the local… talent. The scenery is nice too." He finished, glancing at Serenity.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Joey said, looking around at the graffiti-stained neighborhood in confusion.
"Never mind, Wheeler." Kaiba said sighing. "Can you fix it or not?"
"Sure I can fix it, smart mouth!" Joey said, angrily.
"What wonderful customer service they have here." Kaiba said, sneering. Joey sighed with annoyance, but thought of all the stuff he could do with the money they would get. He proceeded to open the hood of the car and see what was wrong. After a few minutes when he looked up, Kaiba and Serenity were no where to be seen.
"Serenity? Kaiba?" He said to the air. "That's kinda weird." He shrugged, and went back to working on the car's engine. After an hour of work, he went inside to give Kaiba the bill. When he went indoors, he saw Serenity pouring Kaiba a coffee. He handed Kaiba the bill. To his humiliation, the tall boy burst into laughter.
"That's all?" He said between spasms of laughter. "I've had more expensive haircuts."
"Well yah wasted your money; nothing would make that stuff look nice. So, yah want me to raise the price?!" Joey said, his cheeks flushed.
"Well, I just hope the work you did was worth more, or else I'd barely be able to drive a block." Kaiba said, still grinning wickedly, and pulling some money from his wallet. Joey frowned, and snatched the money from him.
"Thank you for your business, sir." He said, as his father had always trained him to. Kaiba smirked and left the small shop. Joey stuck his tongue out at Kaiba's back, muttering various curses.
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Sitting in her hotel room, Mai was worried. True, Joey always acted like his life was okay, but he shouldn't have to live with someone like his father, especially not with Serenity there. She had looked his number up in the phone book, but after calling she found that the number had been disconnected. She sighed with annoyance. He didn't seem to care about what happened to him, but she cared. She knew many stories of people with abusive parents. They usually turned to drugs or drink, became abusive themselves, or… she didn't even want to think about suicide. She knew that Serenity and Joey's friends kept him going, but what if something happened… She shook her head violently. She would never call the police about it, even though she knew that was what she should do. Joey's bruised and lonely face kept flashing before her eyes and she couldn't keep still.
She just wanted to hug him tight; to comfort him and let him know that she'd always be there for him. She laughed to herself as she imagined his face: the horrified look that he would get. She wondered if he still believed in 'girl cooties,' he certainly was immature enough. He still seemed like a kid to her, but then she thought of his weary face after she had found him thrown out of his apartment building, and the way he dealt with the terrible live that he was forced to endure. In a way, he was more grown up than any of them. He didn't have anyone to go to when he was hurt; he didn't have someone to take care of him, or to wipe his tears away. He had to live as an adult; he took care of bills, his sister, food, and his drunken father. Her musings brought her back to the woman… girl rather… that she had met the other day. That Christy. Mai couldn't really explain why, but she felt a terrible loathing for her.
'Maybe she's really great to him. Maybe she helps him deal with his dad. Maybe she hugs and comforts him and kisses the tears away.' That last thought made her feel violently sick. The idea of Joey kissing someone was just plain odd. But the idea of them together… she quickly turned on the TV and began watching a ridiculous soap opera to take her mind off it. But her mind kept on being turned back to Joey as the dashing blonde hero (who kept starting to look like Joey to her) went off to Prussia to save the young woman who he met at a party (who was really a princess) from the evil clutches of Lord PostMortem. She turned the TV off. It didn't matter at all. The princess could turn into a flying monkey for all she cared, but she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was sure something bad was going to happen, though she didn't know what. She tried calling Joey's phone number again but nothing had changed. It was still disconnected. What else had she been thinking? She was angry at herself for acting like a mother hen. She decided to go out to a movie for a bit, at least she could take her mind off it with a good comedy. She was sure to pick one with no blondes…
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Joey and Serenity walked home together happily. As he entered Joey looked around for a sign of his father, but wasn't anywhere to be seen. He made some dinner for himself and Serenity, and they sat together talking and laughing. They goofed off after dinner, playing Duel Monsters and just having some nice time together. Around ten they decided to go to sleep, and curled up on their beds in the room they shared.
"Joey?" Serenity said quietly.
"Yeah?" He said in the middle of a yawn.
"You know I love you, right?"
"Course I do. I love you too. Now go to sleep."
"Okay. Thanks for everything, big brother!"
"Fugetaboutit. Now go to sleep, or I'll do a Bugs Bunny and drop and anvil on your head to make you sleep." He rolled over and fell asleep almost instantly. Serenity grinned into her pillow, and fell asleep soon after him.
A few hours later Joey was roughly awoken by his father dragging him out of bed. Serenity was sleeping quietly, and wasn't woken up by the sound of Joey hitting the ground with a loud thump.
"Dad? What on earth… it's one in the morning!" He complained. His father didn't say anything but went out to sit in the kitchen, with Joey following him.
Zachary Wheeler sat at the small table and opened a bottle of beer. He took a long swig, but spat it out instantly.
"This stuff's warm!" He said in disgust, throwing the bottle across the table at Joey, who easily dodged it.
"Yeah, our powers been shut off, don't you remember? They need five hundred dollars, and… um… we haven't had any money lately." Joey said nervously. His father merely shrugged.
"Five hundred? That's nothing. Which reminds me, how much money do you have stored up, kid?" Joey thought for a second.
"I had eighty a few days ago, then I got ten from the paper route, so ninety." His father sighed.
"So no where near five thousand?" He asked sarcastically. Joey jumped.
"Why do you need five thousand?"
"Because I borrowed that much, and the debt's been called in. I have to go pay it tonight." Joey looked horrified.
"But, dad! We don't have that sort of money! When did you borrow it? What did you do with all of it? How're you going to get it by tonight!?" His father shrugged, and stood up resolutely.
"I borrowed it a few weeks ago, but I spent it all on some booze and on a damn horse that can't run straight. And, we're going to have to tell them we don't got it." He said matter-of-factly. Joey nodded, but then a thought crossed his mind.
"Um, Dad? Who exactly did you borrow this money from?"
"The Stephanovs." He said, and Joey's face blanched.
"The Stephanovs?! Dad! You can't weasel out a debt with them! They're the toughest gang in town. I heard they actually are part of the mob! They've killed more people than..." He trailed off at a look from his father. Zachary grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him toward the door.
"Shut up, kid. I know. Come on. Let's go try to reason with them, shall we? You can be my back up." He said, laughing humorlessly. Joey allowed his father to drag him to their car, but his heart was beating with fear. The Stephanovs were a huge underground organization; they traded illegal drugs and imports, and were more cruel and ruthless than any mob or mafia group he had ever heard of. He had heard so many stories… he even knew people who knew people who had been killed by them. They dwelt in the shadows; secretive and deadly. As his father drove toward the meeting place Joey began to feel cold sweat trickle down his brow. He was rarely scared by anything but the super natural, however the people he and his father were about to face were as close to demons as the living could get.
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After an hour of silent driving, his father parked on a deserted dock, far away from Domino City. As he and Joey got out of the car, nothing could be seen but the moonlight shimmering on the ocean. Joey's father looked around apprehensively, while Joey shivered as the icy sea breeze caked his hair with salt.
Suddenly, out of the shadows, a tall, muscular, tattooed man stepped in front of them.
"Do you have the money, Mr. Wheeler?" He asked in a quiet, thickly accented voice, but Joey could hear the danger lurking behind it.
"No. I've been having a hard time lately. Can you gimme a few more weeks? That's all I need." Zachary stood his ground, looking the ominous man in the eye.
"You… don't have the money?" He asked, his slit like eyes narrowing. Joey felt the hairs on his neck raising; he had the eerie feeling that someone was watching them.
"Well, Mr. Wheeler," The man continued, "I don't like your answer. Don't like it at all. I'm sure you know what happens to those who don't repay their debts…" He lit a cigarette casually, blowing a column of smoke into the air. A signal. Joey's eyes scanned the darkness and suddenly he saw a sight that paralyzed him with fear. The glint of metal, buried in the shadows. He yelled to his father,
"Dad! Look out!" But it was too late, a shot was fired from the darkness, and he watched the bullet speeding for his father's chest. Joey felt his body lunging forward; he had lost all control of himself, as he screamed "DAD!" to the night. Then he felt pain; unbelievable agony that clouded his vision until all he could see was his father's wide eyes.
"Dad…" He murmured as he fell to the ground, the bullet lodged in his chest. His father stared down at him, aghast. Joey felt blackness threatening to surround him; he made one last effort, and raised his hand to his father, like a lost child. "Daddy, help me…" It was barely a whisper. Zachary stared at the pool of blood coming from his son's lean body. He made a chocking noise, then turned and ran. Joey's eyes widened. His father hadn't helped him; he hadn't tried to save him in any way. Now when it really mattered, he didn't care about him at all. His eyes began to close in despair and pain, and the blackness completely enveloped him. The last thing he was aware of was the sound of a car, yelling voices, and one calm, forceful one… then his eyes went dark, and he knew no more.
In the middle of the night, Serenity sat up in bed with a small scream. Her eyes widened, feeling a terrible coldness fill her body.
"Joey…" She felt the bond that had lasted between them since infancy grow thin. She stared out the window, horror filling her large eyes. Somewhere out there… her brother was dying.
