Chapter 31: How I Met Juno

I suppose you might need a bit of explaining since where I last left off. In late February of 2012, Robin told me about the worst time of her life that was happening that month, and I felt it best that I admit the backstory that brought me a lot of regrets for me and why it made me estranged from my own family.

One by one I told each and every member of the gang, with each reciting becoming a bit easier to re-tell. Finally, I told Kevin. He had wanted to know my story for months, so I did. I told him everything I told the others.

After telling Kevin my story, I sat Juno, Cindy, and Casey down about a week later to tell them. They were the most curious since that game 6 months ago. Juno was the most interested in what happened, and even wanted to see where the bullet hit. It was a long mark right down my left side, around my chest.

After seeing the scar, Juno insisted that there was to be no more running. She would be taking me home to Washington that week in June, and I would reunite with my family. So that took me to seeing Lucy again, and then heading back to the house.

Dad had never been so happy to see someone in his life. He was crying just as much as he was smiling. Juno and I were soon sitting on the couch in the living room as he called for Mom.

"Jane! Jane! Get in here!" He was laughing like a lunatic. "And bring in some drinks!"

"Alright!" She screamed. She sounded really angry. This was because, as Dad later explained, that things had become really distressed and tense after I left so many years ago. I guess things really did go to shit just as much as it did for me.

"God, Shaun! You keep asking for me to get you stuff! You'd think I was your-" she had just walked into the living room with a tray, and suddenly dropped it when she saw me. The drinks spilt all over the floor.

"O-Oliver...?"

I stood up slowly. "Mom." I replied.

She started sobbing as I came over and embraced her. "My boy! All grown up!"

Finally, after cleaning up the mess of the tray, Dad spoke up.

"You never came back." He said, sadly.

"I know. After I left, the next few months were hell. I had to go through it without much support from anyone."

Juno then looked at me with realization. "It all makes sense! Why you were like that when I met you!"

"Oliver, who is this?" Said Mom.

"Oh! Where are my manners?" Said Juno. "Mr and Mrs. Blake, I'm Juno."

She shook hands with both of them.

"And what is your relationship with our son, Juno?" Dad gave her a certain look. A look that suggested something on their minds. We both looked at each other, and figured it out. We both laughed.

"What? Oh, no! No, no, no, no!" Juno laughed. "No, Ollie and me? No, no, no, no. Sorry! No, no, no. We aren't together. No, no. Sorry, no."

I looked at her. "I count sixteen Nos. You doing ok there, J?"

"Yeah. Is there anything to drink?" She said.

Dad nodded, and got up for the drinks.

"So if you aren't together, then what is the connection with you two?"

"She's my best friend, Mom. We've been neighbors in New York for more than 9 years."

"And how did you two meet?" Said Dad.

Juno nodded. "Ollie was going through a rough time when we met. Now I understand why"

Dad brought out the drinks as we told the story. We both knew it off by heart. It's like how Marshall and Lily know the story of how they met off by heart, but instead it was us as best friends. It all started 2 months before I met her. 2 weeks after I left Washington.

July 4th 2003

"Independence day. This is stupid." I said. "And why are we having a goddamn drink, now?" I was still upset over what happened less than a week ago. I guess that's what most people would do when their father shot them. I was now in the bowling alley's basement bar with David. I hadn't been there in over a month.

"Because, Oliver." Said David. "You ran out on me over a month ago, and you missed your graduation."

"What? I thought we were still training."

"Nope. Your training is complete. Training was to end on your birthday." Said David. "Now I presen' to you two things." He handed me a laminated card, and a familiar keychain.

"Your license, and your keychain." He said.

"I remember this! Carl gave this to me to present to you when I started."

"That's correct. This righ' 'ere is what you've earned as my student. If you see someone 'oo you think is worthy to learn from me, then give it to them, and the address of this place so they can learn from me."

"I always wondered what happened to Carl's keychain after I gave it to you."

"It was sent back to him. It will for you, too, if you give it to them, and they give it to me."

I looked at the silver disc. There was the raindrop engraved in it.

"Is that a raindrop?" I asked.

"No. It's supposed to be a drop of alcohol. If you didn't know it, the keychain also has a secondary use. Find the latch on it."

I looked around, then found a little hook on the side of the disc. I unhooked it, and, like a bottle cap, the top came off. The base had a little bowl on it.

"Now flip it upside down." Said David.

I did, and the bowl then collapsed into a taller cup.

"It's a collapsible shot glass. I have them made only for my students. But I'm in negotiations to patent them to a website."

I just looked at it.

"Are you okay, Oliver? You seem kind of down."

"I'm in a kind of rough patch in my life. At least getting my license is some upside."

David and I then spent my last night in his bar doing shots out of the keychains. It was a good night. This time I drank a lot less, thinking back to the embarrassment my family had gone through. Maybe they were right in a way that my drinking affected them.

"Before you leave, Oliver. I got you a job."

"Great! I could use more good news."

"The place is McGee's Pub, and you start next Saturday nigh' , a week from tomorrow. Don't be late. The owner's a good friend of mine."

"I remember that." Said Juno. "We met not long afterwards."

"It was a hard time I was going through. After June, I just wanted to find something to forget that whole thing. I had no friends, no family, and after going through all the paperwork and getting the mess sorted out from June because of my missed graduation, I graduated Columbia with a degree in Economics."

"Do they need that in bartending?" Asked Mom.

"Yeah, as it turns out, it doesn't hurt. Bartenders want people that can help with the financial side of businesses, and I was one to do it. But things were still bad. After 2 months on the job, nothing really changed. My job was okay, I made plenty of money for my apartment, but I still was only known as a quiet bartender that spent the nights taking people's drink orders without a word. That's when I met Juno."

September 10th 2003

I felt miserable. My life hadn't changed for the better after my new job. Cole, my boss asked many times if I was okay. I just brushed it off like it was nothing, never once telling him how bad it was for me. I often wondered what my family was doing. If things had gotten better after I had left.

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Oliver. No. Things were around your level at that time for us. We tried talking with Alex and Terri more, but it was too hard after both of our kids left our lives." Said Dad.

"I know. And if I had a dollar for every time I thought of you guys, and how much I missed you, I might have the same amount of money you wanted me to make in Wall Street."

My Dad smirked as I continued.

I was still sulking over a bottle of scotch when Cole came up.

"Oliver, I don't know what shit is going on in your life, but I don't really care, either. it can't affect this place. Some of the customers are making comments about you. Shape up, or there may be some consequences."

"Fine." I mumbled.

"I'm not kidding, Oliver. Look the hell alive." He scowled at me.

I shrugged Cole off as I took another shot of scotch.

"Oh, that's smooth." I said to myself.

"Hi. You okay?" Said someone. She had just walked up to me and took up a seat.

I noticed first that she was small. She was small. Petite, in a way, and had dark hair and eyes. She had a big smile that made me feel a little better. I could tell she was quite friendly for being a New Yorker, because you barely see a smile like that in this city. She was quite pretty, and I think I was a bit enamored by her. But maybe it was because I was drunk.

"How can I be of service?" I asked, trying to switch to a professional manner. I didn't want to come across as a drunken bartender down on his luck.

"Mind if I have some of that?" She asked. She pointed at the bottle of scotch; 10-year Glen Mckenna. I had bought it today, and was now drinking it while working. Cole didn't mind us drinking during jobs. As long as we were sober enough to maintain good manners for our customers. And that was something I was finding hard to do for the past few months.

"Sure thing." I replied. I grabbed her a glass and poured her some.

"Cheers." She said and we drank.

"Whoa!" She gasped. "That *is* good."

"You have good taste. I'll give you that, miss."

"I have a name, you know."

"Oh yeah? May I ask what it is, sweetie? Maybe when you come back to my place?"

That I wouldn't have said at all, but as most people know, alcohol makes you someone you're not.

"Drop the act, buddy. Don't get me wrong, you're cute. But I don't get with guys who are as drunk as you are. Plus I can see you're going through a rough patch. I'm just gonna pay for my drink, and go."

"Wait, what?" I was puzzled. "How do you know about that?" I swear, I thought this chick was psychic. That's what's so special about Juno: she can always tell how someone really feels.

"Last time I was that level of drunk was when my boyfriend gave me the worst birthday present ever: admission to cheating on me, and then breaking up with me for that girl." She said.

"That prick!" I spat. "But how can you figure out I'm drunk because of a crisis I'm going through? I could be shitfaced for no good reason."

"Trust me, bro." She replied. "Whatever rough patch you're going through, it gets better."

I nodded. "I guess so. But it ain't getting better anytime soon. Until then, I'm just gonna do whatever I can to forget it."

"Not the right call, buddy." She replied. She nudged the bottle away from me. "Drinking's gotten me into tough spots. Don't make the same mistakes I did."

All of the sudden, someone else walked up. This guy who looked to be about twice my size and as drunk.

"Damn, girl! You looking fine!" He sniggered. Asshole. Anyone who treated a girl like that had another thing coming.

"Leave me alone, you creep!" She snapped.

I set down my keychain.

"What happened next was not because of impaired judgement. Even though Juno and I had only just met, I would've still done that sober." I said.

"Aw. Thanks, Ollie." She replied.

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to vacate this bar. You're disturbing this nice lady's night."

"Back off, motherfucker." He smirked.

"I'm not gonna ask again, prick." I snarled. "Leave this girl alone, or there will be hell to pay."

"Back off, bro. Let a real man show this lady a good time."

I sighed. "Miss, could you please step aside?"

She did as I asked, and I stared the guy down.

I looked at the 10-year-old Mckenna. I sighed. "It's a shame this has to go to waste."

"What do you mean by that, bro?" He asked.

I replied by taking a good swig of it. I then capped the bottle, tossed it up into the air, grabbed it by the neck, and smashed it over his head. The girl shrieked a bit while the other guy fell down. Bits of glass littered the area. My face, I could feel, was soaked in booze.

The guy got up and did what I expected him to do, but didn't like all the same. He socked me in the jaw, and then came what was the first bar fight I was ever involved in. Other rowdy customers got involved, and a small riot ensued. I got punched by 4 different people, and I left it with a cracked nose, and a black eye. Things got worse from there, as well.

"Oliver! I told you that there needed to be improvement, and this is what I get." Said Cole, not long after the bar fight had been sorted out.

"So what? Are you firing me?"

"No. As much as I wish to set your little ass up in flames, you didn't reach your first warning out of three before dismissal. I'd be breaking regulations on our employees if I fired you. But that bar fight is worth at least two warnings. Slip up again, and you're out of here."

The girl accompanied me on the way out. She handed me a cloth to stop my nosebleed. "I hope after blowing off some steam you feel better."

I groaned. I sounded funny, like most people do when their nose is in that state. We all know what it sounds like. "Not even close. Things are getting worse and worse for me. I'm gonna have to find a new place to bartend at before I get fired from here."

"Everything gets better. Trust me."

"You seem too optimistic for your own good. Some might find that annoying. So what's your name, pretty stranger?"

She laughed. "You're cute. Juno. My name's Juno."

I laughed back. "Like the Roman Goddess?"

She shrugged. "I guess. What's your name?"

I almost said Oliver. But then I remembered Lucy. She always called me Ollie, but I never liked that nickname. It was time for a change.

"I'm Ollie. Short for Oliver."

She then gasped. "I remember you! You came in second place a few years ago in a stock game that my class was playing. The winner was my roommate!"

"Oh, no way! Cindy's your roommate?" I remembered her from the coupon we split after the game.

"One and only. We don't really have a lot in common, but we get along okay. You should stop by and have a drink with us. Just try to take it a little easier next time."

"You have my word." I replied.

"After meeting Juno, she helped me get back up onto my feet. It turned out that we had been neighbors for 6 whole months, and we didn't even know. Cindy and Juno helped me out of my drinking problem, and now, despite the fact that I still bartend every night, I've never passed out in the gutter since."

"We've missed you, Oliver." Said Mom, suddenly.

"Mrs. Blake, his name's Ollie." Said Juno.

"It's okay, Juno." I replied. "It'll take time for them to get used to it. I mean I'm back here for the first time in years."

"So now that I know you're doing what you love, how is bartending going, Oliver?" Asked Dad.

"It's amazing. I'm now an assistant manager at this nice Irish pub in the Upper West Side called Maclaren's. I'm not anywhere close to starting my own bar, but I love working there. I can't really see myself moving on from that place any time soon."

"I'm glad you're doing this, Oliver." He said. "I can only imagine what kind of hell you'd be put through if you became a Wall Street guy."

"Funny thing: one of my friends, this guy Barney, is like the exact opposite of me, and we're really close friends. He only wears suits, and he's a...a...um. Huh. I actually don't know what he does. Every time I ask him, he always says 'Ha! Please!'"

"That is funny. Making friends with your opposite." Said Dad. "Listen, we're wondering if we'd be welcome to visit you in New York. I know it's a lot to process in this short amount of time but-"

"Absolutely, Dad. I've wanted nothing more than to be with you guys again and be a part of the family again."

"Then you might want to know something." Said Mom. She looked like she was hiding something. Smiling with it.

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No! God, no. We always said we'd stop at you, Oliver." Said Mom. "You'll see when Terri and Alex visit tonight.

Dad insisted to Juno that he and I give her a tour of the town. This I agreed on, knowing that I wanted to do it for so long. We got into Dad's old pickup, and we drove off to the town.

"So tell me about yourself, Juno. What do you do?"

"There's a bit to tell." She admitted. "I'm a bass player in a band. But there's stuff going on right now I'm trying to figure out better."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Mandy had a falling out with Joe, and quit. We have no guitarist."

"Well, what are you gonna do?" I asked.

Juno shot me a look. She didn't say anything further than the look. Eventually I put two and two together.

"You want me to do it?" I asked. "Why me?"

"No one else I know plays guitar, Ollie."

"I played one song in the bar a few years ago, and I was drunk that night."

"This is our only option, Ollie. Our next gig is lined up in two months. If I can teach you the songs by that time, you get Mandy's cut of the profits."

"What am I looking at?" I asked, just out of curiosity.

Juno whipped out her phone, and showed me a long string of calculations, with the grand total at the end.

"Wow. That is a lot of money." I breathed.

"I can teach you the songs, but ultimately we need a guitarist, and a bassist. As you have experience in guitar, even though it's small, we need you. I can't play both guitar and bass."

Dad took me and Juno out to a beach near the ferry dock. There one could take a ferry to either Victoria, or Seattle.

Juno ran down to the water and started skipping rocks, leaving my Dad and I to talk.

"Son, about the-"

"Dad, no." I replied. "The way I see it, I got that scar in a bar fight. It never happened. You don't need to apologize. I feel just as bad that I left."

"So if Juno isn't your girlfriend, have you found one yet?"

"Nah." I replied. "I'm just trying to find the right girl."

Dad sat down in the back of the pickup, and pulled two beers out of the cooler. "I realized we never did this when you were younger. Us two, sitting down with a couple beers." He said. "No time like the present."

I took it from him, and we toasted.

"Aw, man! This Molson kicks ass!" I replied. "Gotta tell Robin how awesome it is."

Dad just sat, looking out across the water as the sun started to set. "Did I ever tell you how I met your mother?" He asked.

"No. I don't think you did." I replied.

"It was a great story. When I was working for the hunting store your grandfather formed, your other grandfather and grandmother came in, with their daughter. I was 17 at the time, and she 16. The family wanted a deer skin throw rug for their house. I was so smitten with your mother, I ended up going out, finding the deer, and making the rug myself. Her father was impressed, but she just shrugged me off. I wanted her to get to know me better, and kept pestering her for a date. Eventually she cracked. And, well the rest is history."

"Nice, Dad." And I meant it. It didn't feel like it took 8 years to tell the story. Just short and sweet.

"Just know, Oliver. When you find that girl, you let us meet her. We missed 9 years of your life. We don't wanna miss anymore. You matter to us."

"Absolutely, Dad. I promise."

Dad looked at his watch. "We better get back home. Alex and Terri will be coming for dinner."

"Got it." I cupped my hands over my mouth. "Juno! C'mon! We're going."

Juno waved back at us, before skipping one last rock. It skipped 7 times before falling in.

We were soon pulling up to the house. As Dad walked in, Juno stopped me.

"We need to talk." She said.

"Ok." I replied. "What is it?"

"I've been seeing someone." She said.

"Oh, wow." I said. "That sounds nice. How is he?"

"He's amazing." She replied. "His name's Louis. We met through class, and I've been seeing him for the past few months. I was just worried you'd-"

"J, if he makes you happy, then I'm happy. We're like brother and sister. You matter to me in that way. As long as this guy is the guy that makes you happy, then I'll stay out of it."

Of course I hadn't met Louis yet. Then I would be eating those words. Because I later found out that he was a real jackass.

"And then he ends up stealing the pineapple right from the apartment!"

"Now that's drunk!" Said Juno. We were telling my parents the story of how we met Ted. Juno had actually forgotten that I knew Ted personally. I never had told him how we really met because I would expect him to think I was lying to him. I mean, how would you react if one of the friends you thought you met only 4 years ago told you the secret to one of the biggest mysteries of your life?

There was a knock at the front door. Mom ran down the stairs to the foyer while Dad asked more questions.

"Do you have any idea where that pineapple went?" He asked.

"I would expect that he ate it." Said Juno. "I know I would have."

"What the-?" said someone behind me.

I turned to see Uncle Alex. He had his thick beard back, but with just as much grey as my Dad. He and Auntie Terri just stared at me. They were the ones who I think I left Port Angeles with on the least bad terms. But I still felt horribly guilty for what happened.

"What is it, Mom?"

I looked beside Auntie Terri to see something amazing. A little girl holding her hand. She called Terri "Mom". But it wasn't Lucy.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Uh, I um- I." I was trying very hard to say something. I was asking the exact same thing in my head.

Juno got up from the table and kneeled down so she was at the same eye level with the little girl. "Hi there, sweetie. I'm Juno. What's your name?"

Uncle Alex looked at Juno like anyone would if a stranger said exactly what she said to the girl.

"My name is Britney. Britney Blake."

Hol-ee shit. All this time since I left Port Angeles, and I had a cousin this whole time!

After getting settled in, I finally found my voice to talk to Britney.

"I'm Ollie, Britney. I'm your older cousin."

"That's funny. Uncle Shaun and Auntie Jane never said anything about having kids."

I understood why she never knew I existed. I left without saying goodbye. Whatever they said about me after I left was what I deserved.

"I live on a different side of this country. I live in New York City."

"I've always wanted to go there!" She grinned. "But Mom and Dad didn't want me to."

"Britney," said Auntie Terri. "Why don't you go with Aunt Jane and make some cookies? We need to talk to him." She gestured to me.

"Ok, Mom." She got up from her seat and walked out.

There was an awkward silence as Britney left. Then came the harsh words.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" She snapped.

"Terri-" said Uncle Alex.

"No, Alex! *I'm* talking now!" She looked back at me. "You leave for 9 years and don't come back until now?! How dare you!"

I would've normally called Auntie Terri a few words I picked up in New York if she was any normal person, but whatever she said I felt I deserved. There was no reason for me to fight back.

"You brought so much embarrassment when Lucy died. Now you have the stones to show up here?!"

Still no reason to fight back. I deserved this.

"Terri, you don't get to speak like that to him!" Said Dad. "Whatever his faults, I'm to blame for him leaving!"

"Don't take the blame, Shawn." She said to him. "He left because he couldn't show his face to us! Now he's doing God knows what in that shithole of a city. And he brings someone like her with him out of the blue!"

I looked over at Juno. She looked like she was going to cry. Okay, *now* I had a reason to fight back.

"Shut up, Terri! Just shut the hell up!" I snapped.

She did, looking at me with shock. Guess she didn't expect me to be a bit of a fighter now.

"It wasn't my fault that Lucy died. You can't blame me for it. That's not fair. It was a shit hand that fate dealt us, and yet you turn on me because of what I did to cope with her death. You can yell at me all you want for the drinking, and leaving for several years, though. I'll never be proud of what I did. But you don't get to torment Juno! She has nothing to do with this! I came here because she wanted me to see me reconnect with my family. You can yell at me all you want, but my friends are off limits!"

I had stood up halfway through my yelling, and then felt Juno pulling me back down into my seat by my hand. Terri got up and walked out of the living room.

"She doesn't mean it, Ollie." Said Uncle Alex. "She blamed you for a lot of things after you left."

"And you?" I asked.

"Me? I'm just glad I have my nephew back. We've missed you so much."

"So who's the girl?" I asked.

Uncle Alex nodded with understanding. "About a year after Lucy passed away, we felt lonely. We understood this was because we had the absence of a child in our house for so long. We decided we could try again, so we had Britney."

"She said she never knew her Uncle and Aunt had a son. What gives on that?"

"It wasn't because we pretended you never happened, Oliver." Said Dad. "Terri demanded that we never tell Britney about you. She said you'd be a shitty influence on her with the drinking. Her words, not mine."

"She can't blame me for everything." I growled. "That's not fair."

"She lost her daughter, and her nephew resorted to drinking to solve it. She felt someone needed to be blamed." Said Dad.

"Despite Terri's words, we really are glad you're back, Ollie. And could you introduce me to your friend?" Said Uncle Alex.

"This is Juno." I said. "She's my best friend."

"We're not together." She said, in case the question was asked again. "We're just friends."

I just smirked. Most guys hate to be in the friend zone. I considered it a luxury, because after following Barney's blog for a few months, I firmly believe in the Platinum Rule. It would never work between us.

"We were saying to Oliver that we'd love him back here for Thanksgiving and Christmas, if you'll agree to it, Alex." Said Dad.

"I agree completely. Hopefully I can talk to Terri about you coming home. I assume you're staying for a while?"

"Actually, no. Juno and I have to get back to New York. I'm an assistant manager at Maclaren's and she has her job in her band. We came for one job to do, and I'm glad to say it was accomplished."

Mom came in. "Terri's taken Britney and left with the car." She announced.

"S'okay, Jane." Said Alex. "She just needs a while to cool off. I'll call a cab."

"No need, Mr. Blake." Said Juno. "We rented a car. We'll drop you off on our way to Seattle."

"Thank you, Juno. I hope you can forgive my wife for those words. She's just built up a lot of anger to Oliver."

"With good reason." I admitted.

"No, Ollie." He said. "What she's fixated on for years is unfair to you. She should learn to be more forgiving."

"Does she even know the other half as to why I left?" I asked.

"No. All she accepted was that you left the family out of shame. Shaun told me the whole story, but she called us the only victims here, and you deserved to be shot."

I stood up. "You know what, I better not come back for the holidays. If she hates me that much, I'll just never come back."

"Absolutely not, Oliver!" Snapped Mom. "You may be 30, but as your mother, I forbid you to run away again. You will come back to us regardless of how Terri feels about you. We've missed you. Don't leave us again."

I hugged Mom. "Ok, Mom. I'll come back. But now we have to leave if we want to catch our flight."

Before leaving, Dad and I quickly showed Juno the trophy room. None of the kills I made in my life had been taken down, thankfully. Juno nodded, impressed.

"You're like a regular Katniss, Ollie."

"Seriously? Whatever happened to Legolas, or Green Arrow?"

We returned to New York the next day. I didn't realize it yet, but the universe was now in motion. After the miracle of bringing my family back, more miracles would be happening soon. Because in less than one year from that day, two of my friends would meet. A meeting that could only be described as fate. A meeting that I could never see coming.

A/N: A few notes. First, David's keychains are inspired by ones you can find on . Check them out. Second, the "sixteen Nos" is a dialogue exchange with Barney and Robin in "How I Met Everyone Else". Third, there will be a resolution for Ollie's conflict with his aunt. Just not for a while.