Hi... this is chapter 4... as usual, sorry for the delay... university sucks my brain and doesn't let it go...
Disclaimer: TT are owned by DC Comics, Pink Floyd is owned by Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Whright...
Shine On!
The room was almost in a total darkness; the only source of light that you can see is provided by the computer monitor, a faint white and indigo light… if you got some sort of night vision goggles you'll see that is some sort of bachelor room (and I mean it not for the lack of hygiene), it's just because the room has no real furniture, just assorted PF posters, a bed, an electric and acoustic guitar and a computer… never mind, the lights went on and a figure appeared, a 21 years old long brown haired guy, he looked like a relic of the seventies, old jeans and a black tee, that was Dave, Gar's friend from the Eclipse club… and that was his apartment
He sat on the floor of his bedroom and turned the computer on, and then he started to write on his digital journal
"Date: Oct. 30, 2005
Subject: A Fleeting Glimpse on His Life
Sometimes life can be a bitch… it makes you believe that everything is "ok" but in a sudden turn of fate… it kicks you and lets you sobbing and praying that the beating stops in one minute or another… well, I haven't had the "luck" of been beaten up by karma… but I know someone that is in the process of been regurgitated by destiny… You should know him by the pseudonym of "Beast Boy", the green shape shifting teen of the City's own superheroes group "the Teen Titans"… as someone said, you know nothing of him… I have the pleasure of being one of his closest friends… I still remember how we met…"
-FLASHBACK-
It is a normal evening in the downtown of Jump City… people was busy minding in their own business; everyone was looking out for themselves and it's shadows... but in the eclipse everything was swell, you see, this place might be looked as a cavern for it's gloomy exterior… but in the inside you'll get a different and new point of view, this is our sancta sanctorum… our sunshine in the artic… here we can be who we really are, without the pressure that the world puts on our shoulders… and what better way to do it, with music. Everything was in tune until that kid entered by the door… I still remember his face.
"… Hello, this is the eclipse…?" asked a dusty blonde haired guy with green eyes
"Nope… this is the legitimate businessman club… and you can piss off" said Glenn, the bartender in an angry tone…
Yeah, that was a face of pure disappointment… It reminded me the first time that I got here… same lovely treat from the home crowd… but he seems to be a good kid, so I intervened in the matter "Hey, Glenn, don't be so harsh on the boy… he is not a tourist… he probably got here 'cause someone told him about the club" then I called the new kid "hey, come here … take a seat… let me introduce myself…I'm Dave, and what's your name, stranger?"
"I'm Garfield" he answered with a shade of doubt in his voice… I took notice of that and tried to lighten up the situation "Garfield, like the big fat cat?"
"Kinda…" he gave a little smile "so, this is the Eclipse. An old, beaten up… to the point of collapse joint…"
"Yep, this is our lovely place" I added, I don't know… but I think that I've seen him in another place "and tell me, how did you get here?
"I get here because a friend of mine told me to come here… he told me that here is the only place in town where Pink Floyd is played" he answered… and he looked as a kid waiting for an answer about if he is going to be ok…
"Then you've come to the right place… and tell me, Gar… oh, where are my modals… do you want a beer? I invite…"
"… no, I don't drink, underage, crap… but thanks for asking… by the way… that's a coffee machine?" he uttered as he point to the espresso machine that was abandoned in the right end of the bar… "It seems that no one uses it… "
"So? Let me guess, caffeine addict? Am I right?"
"You're right… can we ask to the bartender if he can make it work?
"Ok, let me convince old Glenn to make you some coffee"
-END FLASHBACK-
Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar / You're gonna go far, fly high / You're never gonna die / You're gonna make it if you try / They're gonna love you / Well I've always had a deep respect / And I mean that most sincerely
"And that's how I met Gar… well at first I didn't notice that was him, cause he was using a pair of hologram rings, that gives him the possibility of look like any regular Joe (although his holographic persona looked as he should look without the green in his body, he told me that…) after that day he became a regular customer of the Eclipse, well, except when he was fighting for justice, and he was the only one reason that the coffee machine was operating… we had good times, but then about 3 months ago I received a phone call in the middle of the night. It was him and I can say that I have never heard or see him so wrecked… that day he resigned from the titans… he sounded like a person ready to die…"
-FLASHBACK-
There's an unusual sound in the room, of course, a phone call at 3 in the morning isn't part of a healthy sleep, you can try to evade it… but it just keep ringing and ringing, until you just have to pick up the phone and talk… and keep talking
"Who is it?" asked a grunt voice from one end of the line "do you know what time is it?"… But he got no response "c'mon, I know that there is someone there, so talk"
"I… I'm screwed… I don't know what to do…" answered a little thread of a voice in the other end of the line… it seems that his voice was gone…
"Gar, are you okay, what happened?" Dave asked with worry in his voice… it was his friend and he sounded like all his nightmares became true "tell me, what happened?"
"I told … I told them to fuck off… I told to my friends and to my little sister to… (sob) I know that it was for their good, but it hurt like hell…I left the team… I bail…"
Have you fell into the bottom of the grave, so deep that you just have to wait and wait until there is nothing more than despair? If you have done it, you could have an idea of what Garfield Logan is feeling…
"YOU DID WHAT?" shouted Dave "how… why, what for did you do that?" he asked with concern in his voice
"I can't tell you… god, I feel like crap… I've lost them… I don't know…" Gar repeated that phrase like if his life depended on that action… like if that mantra became his last resort…
"Ok… calm down… relax, where are you right now?" Dave asked while he tried to conceive what the reasons to such abrupt resign were
"I'm in Arnold Layne's coffee…" Gar said, while he was thinking "what am I going to do… nowhere to go… I'm going nowhere"
"Great… Arnold's is about 10 minutes by walking from my place" Dave thought as he told to Gar "ok, Gar… don't move from that place, I'm going to pick you up… ok?"
"Don't worry; I have nowhere to go… Dave, I'm screwed… I don't know that to do…" he uttered, he was devastated… but that little light gave him hope… it's not that much… but it's something
10 minutes later
Arnold's cafe was open…it has to be the only place in downtown that sells good coffee after midnight… and it was Gar's other favorite place to be in town besides the Eclipse… when Dave got there he saw him… he looked as a rag doll… no sign of the happy guy who once lived in that body… just a shell… nothing else and nothing more
"God, Gar… what happened" Dave inquired, if he was worried while he talked with him on the phone and while he waked to the café, now he was terrified… his friend lost his life… Gar didn't say a thing… he just hugged Dave… and hoped that everything will end soon…
-END FLASHBACK-
Goodbye, all you people / there's nothing you can say to make me change my mind /Goodbye.
Dave didn't say a thing; he just remembered how disturbing that week was… he took Gar to his apartment… gave him the bedroom while he slept in the couch… forcing him to eat, talking to him, trying to discover what was the main reason to his departure of the Titans and trying to recover his friend
"Later I discover that he was forced to leaving the titans… either that or something horrible would happen… I can't write that here… but believe me, it is horrible… but he recovered… it took me 2 weeks to recover him from the ashes… it was tortuous and heart wrecking… but now I can say that he had come back to living… he is a new persona, but that's enough for one entry… see ya…
Dave01"
And he shut down the computer… what time it was? 9 PM, time to eat something… he was starving, but in that precise moment, Gar arrived… with food
"Hey, are you ready for…" he searched in the bag "some Thai food?" he said as he made a big grin…
"Ok, that stuff is spicy… but with some beer it will pass…"
"Dude, you always pass everything with beer…"
"Guilty as charge" and both men laughed…. Until Dave broke the laughter
"So… Syd" when he was recovering… Beast Boy changed his identity… from Garfield Logan to Syd Gilmour… he always says that their parents were Floyd fans, and somehow everyone seemed to believe it "how was your day?"
"Like always" he answered, he had a work on Arnold's café, for him it was the dream job… free coffee and they pay you to serve it and for preparing it… but as usual, there is no perfection on this earth… he had to take care of the minor labors… "Today was a bitchy day… so many people gathered in the café… believe me, it looked like it was the only place on earth that had good coffee on stock…"
"Too much people… but I guess that Jasmine made your day happier" Dave added in a yenta like tone of voice "you know… it's good to turn the page, to live a life that was taken to the background…"
"Yeah… Jasmine was there… I don't know how she makes me laugh when I feel like crap… just like my sis…"
Jasmine was the newest employee at Arnold's café; she wasn't your typical kind of girl… brown hair in a ponytail, almond eyes that looks you to the deepest place inside you, a well formed little body, and a happy way of living the life… she was the human incarnation of "Carpe Diem", live the day… squeeze it … she and Gar/Syd made a connection at the first sight, but they remained in a "I like to hang out with you… and doing some other things" status, and they always try to make laugh to the other half… something that Gar enjoyed and need it… but as usual, he was hiding the whole truth to the girl that he cared about, just like his little sister… but as usual… fate always likes to play with you… even if his game is good for you… and the game begins with a phone ringing…
"Hello…?" Gar Asked… "Jasmine how're you…"
A cloud of eiderdown draws around me /Softening a sound sleepy time, and I lie/ with my love by my side /and she's breathing low.
A sullen figure waits in the city park… its 7:15, he has been waiting for 5 minutes, they are going to walk and talk about nothing and everything, and he is nervous and impatient, of course, his friend invited him to hang out… but everything fades away with her presence
"Syd… did I make you wait too long?" Jasmine asked "I hope not… Because tonight you're mine for about… 6 hours…"
"That's what I love about you, you live… and nothing else matters… no pun intended…" and they walked…
Life it's always easy, the trick is not thinking much about it, just relax and enjoy the ride, but sometimes the road is bumpy… and you can't really know what will happen in the next second… like for instance, an alien princess destroys with her body the sidewalk that you're walking…
"Crap… it's Kori, is she ok... damn…"
And what about if certain people founds something that could destroy you entirely
"ok, as I told you, Garfield… I will not accept "no" as an answer… let the hunt begins…
Sometimes the road is bumpy… and a bump can lead you to a crash… you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride…
End Of Chapter 4