Resurfacing
A/N: Happy Easter everyone! I'm sorry I took so long to update the story, I was just stuck in a writer's block rut for the past few weeks.
This chapter contains a little more humor and just a touch of angst.
Special thanks to my Beta, Harmony Valenka Smith for the inspiration and much needed help through the chapters.
I want to thank everyone who reads/reviews/favorites/follows and everything in between. Though they aren't an absolute must, the reviews I have gotten are so incredibly amazing. Thank you guys, even the guest reviewers who I can't really reply to, I'd like to thank. I'm really happy I can share this story with other people and that people actually enjoy it and it's not just an idea festering in my head that I've been too afraid to put to paper. lol.
Enjoy.
Three months later
Daffy made his way down the busy halls of the school, trying his best to get to his office as soon as possible. Normally, he would stop to converse with his students or wave to anyone whom he happened to pass by, but recently everything just seemed to remind him that something was missing. Something or rather someone he only allowed himself to think about late at night in bed, alone in the dark, where he could lament in peace.
He shut the door behind him as he slipped into his office, closing his eyes and just letting himself enjoy the silence, the stillness, the calm…Until someone cleared their throat and propelled Daffy out of his serenity.
Sitting before him, behind his desk were Porky and Tina.
Daffy blinked and then forced himself to smile at his friends. "H-hey guys. What are you doing here?" He inquired, keeping his hands on the door behind him in case he needed to bolt.
"How you doing, Daffy?" Tina asked. She was still wearing her work uniform and name tag despite the fact that it was hours before her shift ended. What was the occasion?
Daffy didn't like this. He was becoming so uncomfortable he felt himself beginning to sweat.
Porky didn't greet him. "Take a seat, will you Daffy?" He offered, though it sounded more like a command.
Daffy wanted to run, he didn't know exactly what this was but he knew nothing good could come of it. They were going to make him talk and he wasn't good with talking, at least not anymore.
"I-I can't." He stammered.
"Daff." Tina pronounced in that way of hers that meant this was serious.
Reluctantly, Daffy sat in one of the leather chairs he usually reserved for skittish students and their pretentious parents, and faced his closest friends.
"Daffy, we're worried about you." Porky spoke but his usual happy voice was heavier, sadder. It caused Daffy to raise his head and look at his friend, actually look at Porky and see that his voice wasn't the only thing that was out of place. Porky was pale, his cheeks were no longer as pink as a French rose but white as a lily.
He chanced a glance at Tina, who didn't seem better off than Porky. Her eyes looked tired but they also shone with empathy, she reached a hand out to Daffy and he took it.
"You don't have to be worried about me. I'm working harder lately, so I've been busy—"
"Dammit Daffy!" Tina cried, tightening her grip on his hand. "We know it's more than that. You haven't been yourself lately."
Daffy looked to Porky for a denial but Porky just shook his head. "She's right. If something is going on, we want you to tell us."
"Nothing's going on."
Porky continued. "You've been hanging out with Rex as if he's your new best friend, ignoring us and acting like a ghost. None of this is like you."
"I told you. I've just been working harder lately. Dean Plasse thinks I should work with Rex, get him into the proper work ethics and that stuff. I don't mean to ignore you guys. Trust me."
Neither of them looked convinced. Daffy was telling them the truth, but it wasn't everything. If he were honest with himself, then he could say that it was only a quarter of the truth. He wasn't acting distant because he was spending more time with Rex, it was the break up with him that was running Daffy ragged. But how could he tell his friends he spent the last three months mourning the loss of a relationship with a biker boy who had also been his rich student and the man who brought out the best in him? The answer? He couldn't.
It was Tina's turn to speak. She rubbed circles into the back of Daffy's hand gently; it was uncharacteristic of her, to try to comfort him like this. Usually she would slap him on the back and tell him to buck up. "Did somebody die?"
Daffy gawped at her. "N-no. Nobody died. I don't want to talk about it okay?"
"Is this about a boy then?" She asked, ignoring Daffy's request.
Daffy fell silent and studied his hands. He bit his bottom lip and tried to ignore the both of them, suddenly finding his decent sized office claustrophobic and cramped.
"Oh my god." Porky was on his feet in seconds, leaning across the desk and trying to get Daffy to look back up. "Daffy, you know Tina and I will fix him for you. Just tell us who he is."
"You guys sound just like Carrie." Daffy stated, rolling his eyes. "For the record, I broke up with him and you can't really fix him, I have no idea where he is."
"Daffy, I'm sorry. If there's anything, you know we're here for you." Tina's familiar Jersey accent was comforting.
"I know guys and I'm grateful, really. I just need to be alone."
"What you need," Porky began, coming over and pulling both Tina and Daffy into a group hug. "Is a drink and I know just the place."
The garden party was going fairly well as far as Bugs could tell. It was a lot of stiff people in stuffy clothing eating finger food and talking about how great their lives were. The kind of party his parents were proud to throw.
He, on the other hand, was bored as hell. Not one person was remotely interesting or captivating enough to hold his attention. He couldn't even drudge up any excitement to talk to anyone longer than a minute.
He was lonely and missed the boys, his rowdy bunch that would've turned this soiree into something more hardcore.
He refused to allow himself to think of Daffy. He was one aspect of his old life that Bugs knew he needed to forget but remembered the most. He didn't want to think of the beautiful red that would creep up Daffy's neck at times when he was nervous or the way he'd chew his bottom lip or the way his laugh would turn Bugs' world on its axis and it would make Bugs want to hear that laugh everyday, would trade all the music in his playlist to hear that laugh again.
But it wasn't meant to be. And the sooner Bugs got it through his head, the better.
He should have been the happiest man in the world right now. His parents were over their divorce and working things out, he was finally back with them at a fabulous party with dozens of party guests. Then why did he feel so hollow?
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that someone had joined him on the balcony.
"Lovely view isn't it?" A petite brunette asked him, giving him a small smile before looking at the sight ahead of them.
Bugs shrugged. "I've seen better."
The girl or woman, rather, peered at Bugs with huge amethyst eyes. "Really?" She asked. "I mean, I suppose it would be nicer if the ocean were closer."
Bugs nodded. "No, then his victims would escape."
The woman studied Bugs quizzically before laughing so hard the guests below them glanced up at the sound.
"I'm sorry." She giggled while she tried and failed to recover her composure. "Why do I get the impression that this isn't your scene?"
"It isn't." Bugs deadpanned.
"My name is Clarisse." She extended a dainty hand to him. "I'm guessing you are Ashton O'Hare." Caring little about proper etiquette, Bugs took her hand and shook it as if they were any where else besides his father's garden party.
"When did you get that? The fortieth or forty-first time my father mentioned it?"
Clarisse giggled again. "I suppose he was a bit excessive in introducing you."
"Yeah, a bit." Bugs smirked.
"Don't worry Babs I'm sure he's up here somewhere." Maltheus' voice resounded from the balcony doors before he was stepping out of the room and joining Bugs and Clarisse.
Clarisse curtsied upon seeing his father but all Bugs did was nod.
"Ahhh, Bugs I see you've met Clarisse." Maltheus declared, giving them both a warm smile. "I hope everything is good with you both."
"Everything's wonderful, sir. Your son here was just delighting me with his sense of humor." The pretty brunette said, giving Bugs such an adoring smile it was beginning to make the rebel uncomfortable.
Maltheus' eyes narrowed. "Well, just be assured Clarisse, he doesn't get it from me. Anyways Ashton, Clarisse is single and she's a Penderghast. I believe you two will enjoy each other's company much more as the day progresses."
Bugs looked at Clarisse before looking at his father. "Dad, Clarisse and I are friends. That's all."
Maltheus smirked, his forest green eyes holding a blend of something darker than innocence. "We'll see son, we'll see." He nodded at them both before returning to the other guests.
"I'm sorry about him." Bugs watched his father's retreating form before meeting Clarisse's eyes.
"Please, there is no need. I'm guessing he acts like this most of the time?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You have no idea." He sighed. It was going to be such a long day and an even longer night. "Do you, by chance, have a cigarette on you Clarisse?"
Her amethyst eyes grew to the size of golf balls. "Um no, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't smoke."
Bugs smiled. "It's okay. Would you care to join me as I raid the old man for the secret stash I know he's got hiding somewhere?"
For the first time since he met her, Clarisse seemed to relax. "Actually, Ash O'Hare, I'd be delighted." And she curved her arm in the arc of his and walked away with him.
Clarisse thought of Ash blowing all her other suitors out of the water while all Bugs thought about was after he found the cigarettes, he was going to find a way to ditch his stuffy suit and tie.
Daffy knew the responsible thing to do would have been not to step into the crazy bar with the gaudy neon lights that he was being dragged into by his equally crazy friends. He knew the responsible thing to do would have been not to have the first drink or the second or the fifth. After that, he wasn't really sure what was responsible any more nor did he care.
In the taxi going home, the only bit of information he spilled about Bugs was that from this day forward he was no longer going to talk about him. And to Porky and Tina that meant they were at least getting somewhere on the road to Daffy's recovery.
When he got home, Carrie was lying on the couch watching a movie. Feeling drunk out of his mind but in the need to pour his heart out to someone who knew his deepest, darkest secret already, he told her all about how crappy he'd been feeling for the past few months.
She wrapped a loving arm around him. "Oh Daffy! It's so good to hear you speaking again. I don't know if you've known this but you haven't said more than two words to me in a while."
"I'm sorry Carrie. I've just been out of it." He admitted honestly.
After a few moments of simply staring as Godzilla chomped the head off of a poor citizen, Carrie spoke. "I know you don't want to hear this Daffy, but while you were in your fog, I was doing some extensive research for you."
Daffy paused to remove his glasses. "For the last time Carrie, typing words in Google does not qualify as 'extensive research'."
"No Daffy. I mean I found out where Bugs is."
The sound of his name sparked something in Daffy. "What?" He asked, perking up.
"He lives in Malibu with his parents. My friend Zach showed me this newspaper article saying the illustrious Ash O'Hare had returned to the O'Hare Manor. I looked at it and realized it looked like that Bugs guy you were dating. And Malibu isn't that far away, I could drive you there…"
It was a lot of information for Daffy to take in but one thing threw him off. His parents? Weren't Bugs' parents divorced? Or was that just another lie?
"Bugs' parents are together?" He asked feeling a lump form in his throat.
Carrie nodded. "They are now. The article mentioned they were working out their issues."
"Carrie, we can't go and see him. I don't even think he may want to see me again." Daffy sighed because it was true. Why would Bugs ever want to see him again? Maybe it was for the best that they were apart.
The fiery red head scoffed as if she was personally offended by Daffy's words. "We're not going to see him." She clarified. "We're going to kidnap him and bring him back here so you two have no other choice but to work it out."
Daffy got up from the couch, laughing at his sister's craziness. "I thought I was the one who was drunk."
"Think about it Daffy, it is crazy enough that it just might work and it beats spending another day working with that Rex guy or staying up all night willing yourself to sleep."
Daffy paused. "How do you know—?"
"A girl just knows. Now are you with me or—"
"I'm against it. Now, goodnight Carrie." Daffy murmured turning around and mostly stumbling his way up the stairs.
The next day however, Daffy woke up to a hangover and a sickening feeling in his stomach after having a nightmare about being married to Rex, while Bugs was off living the life of a young bachelor all the while unaware of Daffy's true feelings.
It occurred to Daffy that he'd be damned if he let that happen. At breakfast, he gave Carrie an encouraging smile, feeling inspired.
"What are you so happy about?" The redhead asked, pouring cereal into a bowl.
"I'm in." Daffy said, smile growing bigger.
Carrie screamed and threw her hands around him. "That's great, Daffy!"
"Mission: Kidnap Bugs so I can reveal my true feelings for him, it's perfect."
"I swear Daffy you are such a nerd but I love you. We need a shorter name for our mission. How about you leave them to me? We'll call it Mission: Capture Malibu's Most Wanted."
Daffy rubbed his hands together, trying to emulate the maniacal bad guys on t.v. "I love that."
That morning, with the sunlight gleaming through the windows of the kitchen and bathing everything in a golden glow, the two siblings formulated a plan that was sure to be foolproof.
A/N: Clarisse is another OC of mine. Her first name is based off of The Fairly Odd Parents' Anti-Cosmo's constant "Is that you, Clarisse?" And her last name is reminiscent of Olive's in Easy A.
Bugs may be a rebel but he is still a total dork lol.
And Daffy is a little reckless in this chapter while Porky and Tina are probably the worst friends ever but I don't know, lol, I guess they care for him in their own weird way. ^_^
The only song I will recommend for this chapter is Rock N Roll by Avril Lavigne but it's not really a must. This chapter is mostly music less. Hope you liked!