Finally, a lot more insight on A.D./Adrian and his past, his thoughts, and more importantly- his problems and his friendship with GoGo. Everyone has a breaking point and it seems A.D. has reached his. Please review!

~CWA


OMAKE/BONUS III


A.D.

I pace behind the counter of the gym, running my fingers through my hair, wondering what day it is and just how long I've gone without sleep this time. At least two days, I'm sure, but after that, I tend to loose count. My heart's beating rapidly in my chest and I feel my skin grown hot as sweat drips on my brow. I take an uneasy seat in my usual chair, hunching forward with my eyes wide. The quiet hours of the gym, the times that people rarely show up, are upon me leaving me to my own devices. And damn it, I've never hated my own alone time this much before. I just want someone to walk in and distract me, get my mind on something else. But my mind keeps drifting to Danny and Tadashi.

I can't help but worry for those crazy kids- I say kids, but in reality we are the same age…. Tadashi being blown up, more or less, and being hospitalized isn't exactly good news to put someone at ease. Having a tendency to burn myself on multiple things- matches, fireworks, ovens, and just about anything- I know how much just one little second degree burn can hurt. But to have multiple ones of varying degrees all over? To be that close to the brink of death? It makes my stomach twist, but what makes it even worse is knowing how much Danny cares about Tadashi and knowing that with Tadashi being in that bad of shape (and with Danny running in to save him, no less) must be killing Danny.

I don't have to be going to a college like SFIT or be a genius to know that Danny has a bit of a heroic complex. One that can put Superman to shame. I'm honestly a bit surprised that not many others have seen it, to be honest. How he holds himself, evaluating each threat, taking a step toward a threat to put himself between said threat and others. And I've seen some of the stuff he's actually done. Little things. Catching falling weights or other equipment and putting them back up- quick enough that it's rare for someone to see him, but slow enough for me to notice. Helping little old ladies cross the street. Offering a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold when someone is upset. Knowing just what to say to make someone feel better. It's one of the many things I love about him.

I groan, throwing my head back and rubbing small circles on my temples. Love is such a strong word- a word I don't really like, not in that intimate sense anyway. But do I like Danny? As in want to date or at least fuck his brains out like? As in like-like? As in God he's so cute he should be with me and not Tadashi? Yeah. I do. And I hate myself for it because I've seen how happy he is with Tadashi and how much they love each other. And Tadashi is such a nice guy so it's hard to be mad at him. But I can't help the way I feel and the simple fact is that I do like Danny. In a romantic sense. Which is strange and new for me since I rarely feel such connections, but I do.

Which, ya know, is killing me inside because it's not as if he's been at the gym lately so I can't even see him. His number's gotten lost or accidentally deleted so I can't even send him a text asking if he's okay or if he wants to hang out sometime. And what's even worse is that he's in love with another person, yet here I am daydreaming about him- not just going on dates with him, but thinking about his skin, his touch, his body. The scars that litter his torso are etched in my mind, taunting me to touch them.

I've tried so hard to hide it, but there comes a point in everyone's life where they reach their limit and I'm so close to reaching mine. The stress and guilt and frustration is just building up inside like a bottle ready to explode and I just pray that when I do finally explode that I won't do something I regret. Hell, I was so close to just breaking when that Christine girl used the wrong pronouns for me and I typically don't even get upset about that (usually it's just a polite correction or some shady comment to get them to realize their mistake), yet when she did it, I just… snapped. And thank God for Hye (or rather GoGo) being there to correct Christine before I did something bad.

I let out another frustrated groan, plopping my head on the counter, my arms lazily stretching out in front of me, resting on the counter as well. My fingers twitch and tap against the counter and a part of me just wants to go work out, release all this stress and pent up energy, but that would not be a good idea right now. I hardly have the energy to stay awake, nevertheless actually workout.

God I'm so tired, my eyes flicker open and closed as I drift in and out of reality, I just want to sleep. I want to just… forget all of this. Just when I'm almost completely asleep, I hear a familiar voice.

"Yo, Adrian," Hye/GoGo calls out and I lazily glance up to see her as she begins to approach me, "I know you're all into that spooky stuff like Casp-," she stops, crinkles her nose, and snorts before correcting herself, "-Danny. What's the best way to ward off ghosts?"

She pops her bubblegum and sits on the counter, inches away from me. She looks almost as tired as I am, as if being haunted. I've never seen her look so worn and tired and I eye the bags under her eyes (that are almost as dark and baggy as the ones under my own eyes) with a quirked eyebrow in question.

"Are you having some ghost problems," my voice is a bit more raspy and tired and I don't make any signs of moving as I just look to her for an answer.

Danny and I share many things in common- shared kinks, aside that is- and one is our shared love for everything spooky. What can I say? Being a Wicca has its perks. Plus it doesn't help that dear ol' daddy was a ghost hunter. Not the good kind either. Just the good old fashioned speak clearly into the device kind of ghost hunter. Like a less glamorous Zak Baggins from Ghost Adventures.

"Something like that," Hye narrows her eyes slightly, but not so much at me as it seems to be aimed more toward whatever it is that's making her upset and losing sleep, "So? What do you have for me A.D.?"

She leans forward slightly, resting her elbow near my own and putting her chin in her hand, waiting for my answer. I falter slightly, my chest puffing as if I'm a bird with ruffled feathers. A bit of irritation causing my hands to twitch as I sit up straight a bit abrupt, leaning back into my chair, taking off my glasses to pinch the bridge of my nose. I sigh deeply and glance back at her with a bit of a small glare, blinking due to the slightly blurriness that surrounds her without my glasses. Does she ever come in to just talk to me about how I'm feeling? When was the last time she's even asked if I was okay? Or if I wanted to go hang out with her and her friends? Am I just a source of amusement and information? Without thinking, I snap as I feel the metaphorical bottle within me begin to bubble over.

"You know, I'm not just a human wikipedia," I snap, "Do you ever think about someone other than yourself, Hye? Do you even care about how I'm feeling or what I'm thinking anymore? Being as best friends as long as we have, can you even tell me my middle name? My favorite color? Where I'm from? My cat's name? Or hell, even where I live? Or why I hang out in the gym and sleep here instead of my own damn apartment?"

I'm seething, I can feel it roll of me in waves and even as the words flow from my mouth, I regret them, but I can't seem to stop. I just glare at her, narrowing my eyes at her blurry form. She returns the glare, even if it's hard for me to see how her eyes narrow. She doesn't get a chance to retort as my cell phone goes off, vibrating against the counter, its small red heart phone charm shaking with each vibration.

"~I scream, you scream, we all scream cause we're all terrified of what's around the corner~"

I don't move for a full second before I tear my gaze away from her, quickly snatching up my phone with a tight grip and answering it without glancing at the caller ID. From the corner of my eyes, even if she's blurry and barely even recognizable without my glasses, I can still see Hye sitting on the counter. She appears to have her arms crossed, but it's clear she's still glaring at me as I speak into my cellphone.

"Adrian speaking, how can I help you," I try to keep my voice calm, though it still comes out a bit harsh and sharp.

"Don't you dare use that tone with your mother," a familiar voice snaps.

Mother. Mom. Mom's actually… calling me? I freeze for a moment, a whispered mom escaping from my lips as the grasp on my cellphone falters slightly. Every previous emotion, every emotion that I've ever felt, leaves me, being replaced with a fear and a surprise I can't even explain. Not knowing who else to turn to, I look back at Hye with wide, slightly wet eyes that threaten to release tears as my trembling, free hand, raises to my lips. I'm shaking and I don't know what to say or what to do and even though Hye has every right to leave me after my snappy comment, she stays. She's close enough for me to see her a bit clearer as her gaze softens, tilting her head slightly as she pops her bubblegum once more, waiting to comfort me if needed.

I move my phone so that my voice won't be heard through it and whisper to Hye,

"...I haven't heard from her in years, Hye," I admit softly, my voice trembling as much as my body.

Years. That's an understatement. Last time I heard from Mom, she was kicking me out of the house and demanded to not come back until I was a 'proper young lady.' She just shoved a bag of my belongings into my arms, slammed the door in my face, and I never heard from her again. I'm not even sure if I should be mad or happy to hear her voice again. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about this as a whole. Do I yell at her for kicking me out? Do I beg for forgiveness? Do I ask her if I can come back home? Do I hang up without another word?

Hye leans in closer to me and I lower the phone slightly so we can both hear what my mother says.

"Well, it's a good thing you never changed your number, though how you're affording to pay your own phone bills, I'll never imagine. I wanted to know if you finally came to your senses, young lady, and when exactly you plan on coming home as such… Hello? Jenny? Jenny are you even listening to me?"

My eyes swell up at her words and my hands tremble. I suppose that answers my question. She hasn't changed at all. She's not calling to apologize. She's not even calling to make sure I'm still alive or if I'm well-fed or to make sure I'm not even living on the streets. Some mother. I take a deep breath and Hye looks at me with an apologetic, sad expression before she takes the phone from my hands, and I let her, not trusting my voice to speak as I struggle to gain control of my rapid heart beat. Hye pops her bubblegum once before she takes it out of her mouth and sticks it to the, thankfully clean, counter.

"Yo," she speaks, her voice is oddly calm considering the situation, "Adrian is still here, but frankly, you don't really deserve to speak to him. Learn your kid's preferred name, respect his identity, and then maybe you can talk to him. Till then, chio."

She hangs up as if it's the easiest thing in the world to do before she eyes the decorative fish tank behind the counter and its open top. She tosses my phone into the tank easily, flicking her wrist as if she's dunking a basketball into a hoop, before she picks her gum back up and sticks it in her mouth and opens her arms toward me. My eyes swell with tears as I look up at her, almost like a lost puppy, before I collapse into her, much smaller, arms, crying into her collar bone. Tremors shake my body as I sob, my throat quickly becoming sore and raspy. My chest feels confined and tight as I hold onto Hye with all my might, not wanting to let her go. Not ever wanting to let her go.

She doesn't let me go either. She just rubs comforting circles on my back as my sobs slowly subside into shaky hiccups. As I begin to slowly calm down, she speaks up,

"Your middle name is June, you told me that when we first met- you ranted about how much you hated your first feminine name, but you couldn't bring yourself to change your middle name since it's from your grandmother, the one person in your family who always accepted you. Your favorite color is purple, but you don't think that purple hair would look good on you so you settled for blue. You're from West Virginia, United States, but moved to San Fransokyo because you wanted to get as far as you could from your past and your family. Your cat's name is Professor Thor Von Scooper because you love naming your animals with long, ridiculous names, but you also love just short, human names that don't belong on pets which is why your other cat's name is Bill. You live at an apartment in one of the best, most expensive places in town because you actually get a very hefty income from the gym. You hang out and sleep here because you don't like feeling lonely in such a big, spacious place, and the only reason you ever return back to your apartment is because you love your cats. I know all that because we're best friends, don't forget it and don't question it, dipshit…. And when you're ready to talk about your still-on-going crush on Danny, because you bet your ass I've noticed that since you haven't exactly slept with anyone else since him, I'm here."

She pats my back a bit hard and roughly before she pulls away from me briefly, grabbing my glasses and placing them back on my face. I give her a tired, but happy grin as I let out a teary chuckle, rubbing at my eyes before I fix the glasses on my face. I sniffle a bit more and this time, I'm the one pulling her into the tight, almost suffocating hug. A goofy grin stretching across my face as I chuckle with a tear-stained, flushed face. Though the flush is from a mix of all the crying, emotions, and the embarrassment since she apparently does know about my crush on Danny.

"Thanks Hye," I whisper, "...I'm sorry I was a jackass."

She squirms out my grasp, grumbling a bit under her breath, but her eyes shine in amusement as she gains her freedom once again. She gives me her classic smirk and a shove on the arm before she hops down from the counter, popping her back as she stretches,

"Don't mention it and don't question our friendship again, asshole- if I didn't care about you, I wouldn't exactly be here, now would I?"

I give her a sheepish, flustered grin as I scratch behind my neck, embarrassed about how I snapped at her and how I put our friendship into question.

"Understood loud and clear…. And about Danny-"

She puts a hand up to cut me off, a small playful glare on her face,

"-I won't tell. I never do. But when you want to talk, I'm free anytime…. Smell ya later, Adrian."

She turns on her heels without another word and starts to head out, a saunter in her hips as she stuffs her hands into her pockets. I watch her for a moment, hesitating on my next words as I bit at my bottom lip. It takes a moment, but just as she's about to exit, I speak up,

"Hye," I call out her name loudly and looks over her shoulder with a quirked eyebrow as I speak, "Black onyx should help with your spirit problem and iron may also ward them off and harm them…."

Her gaze softens and she gives me a small, thankful smile as she nods before disappearing out the door. The second she's gone, I wince and curse as I remember a small little problem. I turn my gaze to the now broken, useless phone that flutters through the water of my fish tank. Damn it, I eye the heart phone charm that floats a bit above the cell itself, that was my favorite phone charm too. Now it's just gonna smell like fish shit. I grumble a bit under my breath, but stick my arm into the tank to take out the cell,

"Goddamnit, Hye," I mumble and curse, though it's not as if she can hear me now, "You owe me a new phone..."