Fruits of Chaos 2
By: Hotaru
Notes: Well, I had hoped I'd get more than five reviews, considering my sister gets like...fifteen per chapter. ¬_¬ Anyway....at least people like it, so here ye go:
No one said anything for awhile.
"I think the thing I'll remember most about Brian is his laugh...and his ability to laugh at himself." Allison remarked, taking a small sip from her large mug of beer.
"I think I'll remember his innocence." Claire said.
"His innocence?" Andy questioned.
"Yeah. I just keeping seeing him there at detention...just innocent and naive.I don't know. What about you?" She asked, turning to Bender.
"That kid..there was something odd about him. You can't pinpoint it, really. I won't lie and say he's this great guy or whatever. I didn't really know him. We talked a few times, but he seemed cool enough. A nerd, but still cool." Bender replied.
"He wondered...I guess I should actually explain why this happened." Allison said. She was the only one who could explain and clear things up. "After graduation, Brian tried to get into Dartmouth, in New Hampshire. They rejected him. And I kept telling him to try again, that they'd take him. He applied three times and got rejected all three times. I think he started to do drugs shortly after his first rejection. He said he could concentrate more, stay up later, stuff like that. I knew that he smoked pot...but he moved on to the heavy stuff." She began. Bender took a gulp of beer.
"He came to me out of the blue one day and asked for some pot. I gave it to him, and he kept coming back. Pretty soon, he started asking for something else. He mentioned crack, heroin...something to 'keep him going'." He started.
"And you gave it to him?!" Claire exclaimed.
"Hell no!" Bender retorted.
"Bullshit." Andy added over his beer. "Why wouldn't you?"
"That kid actually had a future. I don't care if some dead beat needs some shit, that's fine. But not the dweeb."
"Then where'd he get it?"Andrew questioned.
"How the fuck should I know? He asked, I said no way, he asked if I knew where to get some, and I said no. I did know, but I didn't tell him. And I can give two shits if you believe me or not."
"I believe him." Claire said nonchalantly.
"Load off my chest." Bender replied sarcastically.
"He's telling the truth." Allison said quietly. "Brian told me that...he thought Bender considered him a friend, because he wouldn't give him the drugs." Allison continued, picking up her mug of beer and gulping from it. The other three at the table stared as she finished the pint off. "He finally scored some crack from some guy in Chicago. I told him not to use it, and that he should get rid of it before he did. Brian said he was in control, and that I didn't have to worry about him. I guess he was wrong."
They were silent again and drank their beers, wondering what else they could say to each other. Claire was about to speak when a angry voice behind them shouted. "You have some nerve coming here!" The four turned to see what the commotion was. Brian's mother Janet was pointing angrily at a woman who has just walked into the tavern. "Who's that?" Andrew whispered.
"Brian's girlfriend. She cheated on him." Allison replied quietly.
"I just wanted to--" The girl began, before she was cut off.
"Just wanted to what? Apologize for leading my son to kill himself!? Get out of here, get out!" Janet screamed. A few people tried to calm the woman down, as Brian's girlfriend slowly backed toward the door.
"Wow. I never knew Brian's mother was such a psychopath." Bender commented, finishing off his beer.
"She wasn't like this until after he died. She blames Pam, his girlfriend for driving him over the edge." Allison replied.
"What happened, exactly?" Claire inquired.
"Well, she and Brian got together after high school. They met actually when Brian went to Dartmouth for his interview. He told her that he'd be going there eventually, and they started dating. I guess she thought the relationship was too long distant or something cause Brian wasn't at the same school as her. He went to surprise her at her dorm one day and found her with someone else." Allison said.
"That's horrible." Claire said, shaking her head.
Allison nodded. "And the part that really pisses me off is that he forgave her, and said that he'd apply again, and if he was accepted, that they could start over. She agreed, and that's when he started with all the drugs. He really loved her."
"So, he never got in?" Bender questioned.
"Nope. He tried.."
"So what about the girl, did she still see that other person behind his back?" Andy questioned.
"I think so. He called me up one night, saying that he messed up, and that he wasn't trying hard enough cause Pam didn't keep her promise. He just kept doing more and more for that skank."
"Poor guy really loved her." Claire said sadly.
Bender snuck a glance at Pam, who was pressed up against the wall, practically afraid to move. "She's hot. Why are the hot ones always bitches?" He asked, turning to Claire. She wrinkled her brows at him and crossed her arms.
"Did she know about Brian's drug problem?" Claire asked, choosing to ignore Bender.
"I don't know, actually. He never said that he told her about it." Allison replied, grabbing a handful of pretzels.
"Well we should find out." Bender said, sliding the chair back, and standing up.
"John, don't." Claire said. He looked down at her.
"Why not? Afraid for her sake? Don't forget who we're mourning over here." He retorted, before shuffling over to Pam.
"We should go with him...just in case he says something stupid." Andy said, getting up. Allison and Claire followed behind, and Bender ushered Pam outside.
"Who are you people? What do you want?" Pam asked, slightly scared.
"We're old friends of Brian's. Been hearing a lot of shit about you." Bender started.
"L-like what?"
"How you cheated on the poor guy, and made him a drug addict, for one." He offered. From her reaction, she had no idea about Brian's drug problem.
"That's a lie! He wouldn't use drugs!" Pam argued.
"He'd do anything for you." Allison piped in, staring at the floor.
"But..he was too smart to do drugs. I don't believe any of you." Pam said, turning to leave.
"Hold it." Bender said, clamping his hand on her shoulder. "He died of a drug overdose. He just kept trying to impress you, shooting up more and more just to impress you."
Pam pulled away from his hand. "Shut up! I don't know any of you! Just leave me alone!" She shouted.
"You killed our friend. Aren't you even going to apologize?" Claire asked, pursing her lips.
"I don't have anything to apologize for!"
Allison brushed past the group, and shoved Pam against the wall. "That's where you're wrong. It was you that made him do drugs. He wanted to impress you by getting into Dartmouth. He felt bad because you didn't want a long distance relationship. And despite being rejected three times, he still kept trying so he could be with you because he stupidly thought you loved him!"
Andy, Claire and Bender all looked at each other like "Wow". Andrew took hold of Allison's shoulders and pulled her back gently. "It's okay...she gets it now." He said.
"You....all of you...you're a bunch of freaks!" Pam screamed, before tearing down the street faster than anyone would have imagined.
"That was fun." Bender said, shoving his hands in his back pockets.
"So what now?" Claire asked.
"I haven't eaten all day." Allison mumbled, tugging on her hair.
"I haven't eaten much either...you wanna get some dinner or something?" Andy asked her.
Claire snuck a smile at Bender. "Want to try sushi?" She asked him.
"Not really." He replied.
"Too bad." She grabbed his arm, and walked towards her car after saying a quick goodbye to Andy and Allison.
tbc
