A/N: Well, guys… This is it. The final chapter.
Holy shit. I've been writing this for… Going on two years now, I can't believe it's done.
I've got a lot of thank you's to say, but, as always, I shall start with my reviewers, you're all brilliant!
AshtrayTragedyM.D - Thank you. So much. You've been reviewing since almost the very beginning, so thank you for sticking with me. And thank you, I'm glad you think my characters and plot lines were good, it means a lot. Also, I have to agree, last chapter was very difficult to write, it wasn't fun imaging Gerard like that, let me assure you. But yes, much smirking from myself at the end also ;)
Stellar Zombie - Oh man… You realise you reviewed this just a few hours before I found out about MCR splitting up, right? Man… I was so happy with your review, really, you made me smile so much! I'm glad you thought it was a good chapter. Thank you for calling it perfection! And as for Poison and Ghoul… You'll get a bit of an answer to that in this chapter, but I think the question of if they're ever gonna have sex will take a little longer to be answered (hint- I totally just gave away my plans!) Thank you for all your reviews, they always seemed so well thought out, and they mean a lot.
Gasoline Diamond - Just… I fucking love you. Thank you, thank you thank you for all the enthusiasm. You're awesome. And see, Jimmy finally got what was coming to him!
Thank you to you all, and to everyone who has read this story, it means so much.
A big, big BIG thank you to Jo, again. Without you this story wouldn't even be online, and, honestly, it wouldn't have been anywhere near as good as it is. Thank you for all the encouragement and advice.
A huge thank you to my friend Hollie (who won't read this online, but I gotta send it out there anyway) You were the first person to read this, ever. So thank you for not laughing, and thank you for being so enthusiastic. Also thanks for saying you'd like to see this as a film. I have a feeling there's a few people who really wouldn't want that though! ;)
And, of course. My biggest thank you goes to the people I pray to God will never read this story (as I doubt they'd be impressed by a few things…!)
Ray Toro, Mikey Way, Frank Iero and especially Gerard Way… Thank you. I very clearly remember the day I was watching the video to Na Na Na (again) and I think somewhere between Frank's wink and Gerard taking off the Mousekat head I realised I had an idea for a story.
Thank you for keeping me inspired throughout, and thank you for so, so much more.
The band may not be a band anymore, but you're all still there, as is the music. I can't thank you enough for that, as I know you'll keep on inspiring me.
And, if you ever find this story, I'm very sorry Gerard, I love you immensely and I wouldn't actually wish you any harm in the world!
Now then… On with the final chapter… This is how the story ends… (hence the title, taken from 'Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back')
Thank you all, once again, now hold on tight, and don't look back… I think this'll be emotional.
Disclaimer: Surely it's clear by now. The boys do not belong to me. Just the girl and the storyline.
(p.s. there's gonna be a sequel)
Chapter 31 - How The Story Ends
That night was hard. Everyone wanted to sleep, but no one could bring themselves to go into the bedroom. Not after what had happened.
In the end Rave went in, taking Jet Star with her, instructing him to help her gather up some of the bed sheets, the pillows, and take them through. Neither went near Party Poison's bed, didn't look at it.
They laid out the pillows and sheets on the benches, which were thankfully comfy enough.
Kobra Kid thanked Rave, and went to the nearest one immediately. Needing the sleep badly.
Then Rave went over to Fun Ghoul and Party Poison.
Ghoul looked up at her, but said nothing.
"I've got some beds set up, you'll both be more comfortable if-"She stopped short when she saw Poison shaking his head.
Ghoul glanced back down. "He doesn't want to move, Rave. I think… I think he can't." Rave simply nodded, went to fetch two pillows, two sheets, and brought them over.
"So you can at least be more comfortable where you are." She explained, then leaving them.
They left that safe house the next day. Leaving everything that'd happened there behind them, or at least, that was the idea. Jet Star drove, with Rave up front with him, while Ghoul and Kid watched over Poison, who slept more on the journey, leaning against Ghoul as he did.
The first day at the new safe house was a strange one, nothing felt settled, but things did feel a little better, a little easier.
There was more than one room again, and while the other three settled in, Poison and Ghoul took themselves to one of the other rooms.
"Ghoul."
Fun Ghoul started slightly. They'd been sitting in silence in this small, unfamiliar room for what seemed like forever. Poison had barely said anything since the night before. Hearing him now, so clear, was a shock.
"Thank you… For not leaving me."
Ghoul laughed, pulled Poison in closer. "As if I would."
Poison smiled, and it was the biggest relief to see it. But then it faltered. "Do you still… After what happened… Do you still want…?" Poison couldn't finish the sentence, but Ghoul knew anyway.
"What? Us?"Poison nodded.
"Well holy shit, Poison! I've only waited years you know?!" At that Party Poison laughed, nodded. "Okay." He said. "Good." But, again, he faltered. "I'm not… I'm not going to be great… Boyfriend material, for a while though. I can't- I can't-""Would you shut up your goddamn worrying?" Fun Ghoul interrupted. His hand on Poison's cheek, guiding him to face him. Ghoul looked at him, steadily. He saw fear and pain in Poison's eyes, but then he also saw something else, something he had a feeling he, and the other Killjoys had put there, just as much as Poison had dug it out himself.
He saw hope.
"Now. You listen to me, Gerard." Both hearts beating fast at the sound of the name. "I do not want a relationship where we just fuck, that's what ruined it last time. We concentrated on that and paid no attention to anything else. So. Fine. You tell me you don't want to have sex, fine by me. We'll work on the important stuff instead."
And that time, finally, Poison's smile stayed in place.
"I think…" He said, cautiously. "I think I can manage this though…" Then he leant forward, and tentatively placed his lips on Ghoul's. Finding it easy, and good, he pressed harder, grateful to feel the pressure reciprocated.
##~1 Month later~##
Rave had felt something was off for a while now, a nagging feeling she was finding hard to ignore.
Was some of it jealousy? Perhaps. But mostly it was just the notion that things had changed so drastically, she was unsure of her place.
She watched as Party Poison and Fun Ghoul got steadily closer. She smiled when she saw Poison reach for Ghoul's hand, hesitate, only to have Ghoul know what he wanted and take his hand first. Fingers entwining together perfectly.
They'd started sharing a bed at night, and Rave moved to Fun Ghoul's vacated one.
She knew they'd been uneasy about this at first, certain the others were watching them, how it must feel strange that it was alright to fall asleep together and not worry about who knew about it.
A few nights in, when it was her turn to keep watch, Rave stopped for a few seconds, looking at both of them, curled up close, Fun Ghoul's head tucked neatly under Party Poison's chin.
But it hadn't escaped the boys' attentions that Rave wasn't as happy as she was pretending.
Poison was too afraid to bring it up with her. Jet never liked interfering. And Kid didn't know what to say.
So, once again, it ended up being Ghoul who talked to her.
Rave was sat, outside, the sun was just setting and she was staring out. The car wasn't far away, but she wasn't looking at that. She wasn't looking at anything really, just the sun and the sand. Lost in memories.
Fun Ghoul sat next to her, and she didn't even notice him until he eventually spoke.
"You're not alright, are you?" Rave turned her head slightly, but didn't look at Ghoul. She didn't say anything for a while. Ghoul wondered if she was going to say anything at all. But then she sighed, shook her head.
"I'm not." She admitted.
"If… If it's because of me. And Poison I- We can…" Rave shook her head, vigorously. "It's not." She insisted, then frowned, thinking. "Not really anyway. I think…" Rave looked up then, looked right at Ghoul, who was, as always, watching her, listening, patiently. "I think. I need to leave." Her eyes were wide, like even she was shocked by what she was saying, like the revelation had only just come to her, which was entirely true. She realised the nagging feeling she had was the urge to leave, to go.
Without them this time.
Fun Ghoul stared at her, trying to figure it out. "You- Rave, why? I don't-""Ghoul. Think about it, I have spent almost half my life depending on other people. I shackled myself to Saint Jimmy, and almost destroyed myself when I was separated from him. Then, when Poison came along I… I've depended on him so much. And, I know it wasn't the same, Poison wasn't the same, he was better for me but… I think… I think it's about time I tried… Standing on my own, for once."
Ghoul laughed, disbelieving. "Rave I- No. No. You can't. You can't just-""Ghoul. I need to." Rave told him, steadily. "I can… You know that feeling you get, that pull, when you have to do something, when you have to act, because it hurts if you don't?" At that Ghoul nodded, yes, he knew that feeling well.
"It's that. That's why… I need to do this."
Fun Ghoul didn't like it, but he couldn't see any point in arguing, not now. The time to convince Rave otherwise had long gone, if there had ever been a time to do it at all.
"Okay." He said. "I guess… I'll go and find the others." Rave nodded. Ghoul had read the one thing she hadn't said out loud.
Now she'd made her decision, she wanted to leave as soon as possible.
So, while Rave went to gather her things, Ghoul found the others, telling them to head outside.
Fun Ghoul refused to tell them what this was all about, said Rave wanted to talk to them, but he was leaving it to her to say what.
"You talked to her, didn't you, Ghoul? You found out what's wrong? She- She's okay, right?" It was hardest not to say anything to Poison, he sounded so concerned, but all Ghoul did was nod. "Yeah, she's fine. Don't worry just… Come with me." When they were all gathered, Rave told them she was leaving.
Jet Star nodded. "I had a feeling you weren't as happy here anymore." "It's not that Jet. I promise it's just-""You're leaving?!" Kobra Kid looked furious. "Kid, I-""After all that? After all this shit we've all been through, all this… This… Fucking craziness to try and get us all back together, to communicate like we used to, you're just… You're just gonna leave?!"
"Kid! Please, let me explain, I-""I'm sorry." And with that all attention turned to Party Poison, whose head was down. He looked even sadder than he had for a while. Worse, he looked guilty. Rave shook her head, and went to him. "Don't you dare." She told him. "Don't you dare blame yourself. This is my decision, for myself."Poison looked up, looked at her now. "There's still a place for you here, Rave. Why- Why are you-"
And she explained it all again, to all of them now, why she was leaving, and in particular stressing to Party Poison it wasn't his fault she was leaving.
Eventually, they said they understood, but they didn't, not really.
They were shocked when she said she was leaving now. But none argued, they, like Ghoul, could tell there was no point.
Rave hugged them each in turn, found Jet Star hugged her tighter than she'd expected. "I'll miss you." He admitted. "You were always stronger than you thought you were… Maybe now you'll find that out for yourself." Rave smiled. "That's what I'm hoping."
When she went to Kobra Kid, he folded his arms over his chest, turned his head. "No. If I don't say goodbye, you won't go. I know you, Rave, you won't go without saying goodbye." She laughed. "Stop being a kid, Kid." He turned his head slightly, narrowed his eyes, and he was trying not to laugh. "Who you calling 'kid'?" Then, giving in, he opened his arms, hugged her tight. "I thought… I thought you'd never leave." Kid said, quietly, so the others wouldn't hear. "You always said you'd stay… With him." Rave squeezed Kobra Kid slightly, having to contain her emotions. "He'll be okay. He doesn't need me like he did.""Yeah… But I… We're family, Rave." She nodded, still not breaking away. "Exactly." She said.
Rave could barely look at Fun Ghoul. It'd been easy to talk to him, to tell him she was going, but now it came to goodbye… She found she could barely stand it.
Ghoul moved towards her, knowing she couldn't bring herself any closer, and pulled her in tight. "You'll be okay." He told her. She couldn't answer, her throat had become tight, and she closed her eyes that'd started stinging. "And we will always be here, alright? Whenever you want to come back, you can always find us and we will gladly welcome you back and-""Ghoul." Rave interrupted, her voice strained, but clear enough for him to understand. "Shut up a second, would you?" He laughed, knowing he'd been rambling, and just held her.
Then, finally, he kissed her forehead, let her go.
This was always going to be the most difficult.
After he'd let Rave go, Fun Ghoul turned to Jet Star and Kobra Kid, the latter of whom was angrily swiping at his eyes. "I think…" Ghoul looked nervously at Rave and Party Poison, both of them still stood apart, eyes still on the ground. "I think maybe we should go inside."
Jet Star nodded his agreement, and Kobra Kid practically ran inside.
Ghoul was last to go in, he paused at the door, took a final look at the Killjoy who was soon to leave them.
And then looked to the Killjoy who this was hurting the most.
Ghoul just felt glad that he knew that this was best for Rave, really. And that he would be able to be the one to help Poison accept that, eventually.
She still couldn't make herself go to him, she hadn't realised this was going to be so hard, though she should have, she knew she should have.
"I'm sorry." Poison repeated. And Rave shook her head. "Poison. No. I told you why, and it's not-""I'm still sorry." He insisted. "I still feel like… Like there's something I should've done… Is there something? Is there something I can still do?" Poison looked up now, slightly hopefully. But Rave shook her head. "Surely you, of all people, understand what it means to want to run." She said.
"So you're running from us?" Rave shook her head, God. Why wasn't he listening? "Or just from me?" "No!" She yelled. "No! I'm running… Running to something, Poison. I- Isn't that what you always said?" Her turn to raise her head, glad this time to find Poison looking back at her. Gladder to, finally, see him nod. "I guess you did listen, huh? Good to know someone does.""They all listen, Poison. All of them, and all the Killjoys out there. They all listen." Poison laughed, lightly. "Sure, maybe they do now. But if that footage ever-""Screw the footage, Poison! Screw what Better Living did, screw what Jimmy did, because you know what? You're fucking better than all of it. You're still here, aren't you? They'll still listen, Poison, you keep talking, and they'll still listen." Party Poison laughed, again, this time actually sounding like he meant it. "You sound like Ghoul, you know that?" "Good. At least that means I can leave knowing there's someone who can keep telling you that, until eventually you believe it."
Poison nodded, he'd lowered his head again, now he looked up, and Rave saw he was crying. She hadn't realised until then that she was too. "You're really going, aren't you?" He said.
Rave didn't reply, she didn't have to.
"Then you'd better say goodbye to me." And with that, Rave suddenly found it easy to go to him.
The others had all hugged her tight, Ghoul most of all, but Poison… He held her in a way that was both tight and yet achingly gentle.
They said nothing more, stayed that way for what felt like hours, though really it was only a few minutes. Taking each other in, knowing this could easily be the last time they saw each other, though, when they finally broke away, Poison made her promise to come back, to find them sometime, even if not permanently.
Rave had promised, but they both knew the dangers and uncertainties of the zones.
Poison hesitated, then kissed her, very gently on the lips.
Rave left on foot, though Party Poison didn't worry, he knew she knew how to pick up a car or vehicle of some kind.
He went back inside, feeling drained. Found only Ghoul waiting for him inside, the other two had obviously made themselves scarce.
Ghoul looked at him, no questions made verbal, but plenty on his face. Poison shook his head, he didn't feel like talking.
"Can we just… I need to sleep." Ghoul nodded, pushing himself up off the table he'd perched on. He offered his hand to Poison, the question of whether or not he wanted Ghoul with him not needing to be asked.
##~2 Months Later~##
It finally felt like things were getting a little bit easier. Both Party Poison and Fun Ghoul felt like they could relax a little. They could look at each other and smile without feeling conscious of the others seeing. They could hold hands when they wanted, which they did, a few times. If they'd wanted to they could kiss without having to find some secret place to do it. Though that came with a brand new problem, one they should've expected. The one time they'd kissed when Kobra Kid happened to walk by he teased, "Get a room!" Thankfully, Fun Ghoul had been quick to respond, "We had one before you showed up!" Kobra Kid grinned, flipped him off, a gesture which Fun Ghoul returned, happily.
They hadn't pushed themselves any further than kissing though. Weirdly enough, though they'd done it all before, this was like starting over, and, wanted to do it right this time. No rushing into things.
There was the other reason too, of course.
Once, when Ghoul had tried to push things on just a little bit, though Poison had said he wanted to, he started shaking. Barely noticeable at first, but steadily it'd got worse.
They couldn't push things too far, too fast, and they knew it. Not unless they wanted to push Poison's mind at the same time. He couldn't cope with it, not yet anyway.
Poison had finally got to the point where he didn't feel like he was having a mini panic attack whenever Ghoul touched him. He could let Ghoul's hands touch his skin, though only above the waist. He'd still have brief flashes. Memories of his shirt being pushed up, of being exposed, hands grabbing and nails scratching and-
But he could shut that out a little quicker now. He could deal with that, mostly.
Anything else… He couldn't handle. Though he tried. And he wanted to.
They kept trying.
The others were all elsewhere, none due back for hours, and they decided to try things out, see how far they could go.
On their bed, just kissing, then Ghoul started playing with Poison's belt. A signal he'd used before, asking if it was okay. And as before, Poison pushed his hand away, a gentle but definite 'no'. Fun Ghoul opened his eyes, saw Party Poison's already open. "I'm sorry." Poison mumbled. Ghoul kissed him. "It's fine. I'm not going anywhere."
"I wouldn't blame you if-""Stop." Poison suddenly looked up as Ghoul cut him off, his eyes, face and voice all serious. Poison looked away again.
"Listen to me." Ghoul insisted, and Poison nodded, he was listening. "I've told you already, I do not mind waiting, I am not going to rush you." Then Ghoul sighed, reached his hand out, his fingers pushing through Poison's hair, brushing it back. Not for the first time Ghoul wished he could see that hair red again. It would be… A step to having things alright again. But it'd been brought up a couple of times, Poison didn't want to. And the more someone pressed him on the issue, or asked him why, the quieter he got, until finally he'd snap and just walk away. Ghoul knew it was a lot of things. That the subject of his hair reminded Poison of what had happened at Better Living,
"But if you dyed it back you wouldn't have this constant reminder of it!" Kobra Kid had argued one of the many times he'd tried to convince his brother.
Poison's argument was that he didn't have to see it, so he was only reminded when someone brought it up.
"We have to see it though." Kobra Kid had said, quieter, sadder.
That had been the point where Poison had walked away. Ghoul knew there was another reason though. The red was bold, bright, demanding attention. Everything the Killjoy leader was.
Had been.
He wasn't so bold anymore. And he didn't want the attention.
Not yet, anyway.
Ghoul had got sidetracked though. And he sighed, there was another issue completely going on right now.
He knew Poison felt like he was useless, that Ghoul was frustrated with him. Maybe he thought Ghoul would get bored waiting?
Ghoul shook his head, how could he get it through to him? "Fuck." Ghoul breathed, "You're so beautiful, you know that?" Poison closed his eyes, tight, shook his head. "You fucking are." Ghoul insisted. "And, I'm not going to lie to you. Yes. Of course I want to have sex with you." Poison flinched slightly, but Ghoul carried on. "But Gee… I fucking love you. And I don't want to hurt you, or rush you or do anything that'll upset you. Shit, what kind of heartless bastard would I be if I forced you into sleeping with me? I'd be no better than Jimmy if I did that." Poison shook slightly at the name, pressed himself closer to Ghoul. "I'm sorry." Ghoul said, quietly. "I shouldn't have brought him up. But he's there, isn't he? All the time? He's there in the back of your head… I hoped… I hoped, when you won, when you fought back and you won you… I hoped you'd got rid of him. I hoped you'd stop doubting yourself. Because you did win, you do see that, right?" Poison stayed silent. Ghoul sighed. "God. Gee. I love you so much. I wish I could fix this. I wish I could help you."
"You are helping." Finally, Poison raised his head. "I love you too. And I will… I will get better. I know you want a good boyfriend, I know the you all want a good leader.""You are all of those things." Ghoul interrupted. "And so much more. You're a great leader, and a perfect boyfriend. How many times, Gee? I don't care about waiting, I just want you." Poison didn't reply.
"You'll see it eventually Gee." Ghoul promised. And at that, finally, Poison nodded.
Ghoul kissed him once more, glad to have Poison kiss back, not quite passionately, but lovingly.
Small steps… But they'd get there.
##~3 months later~##
Rave spun around, catching the Drac off guard, knocking it down. Gun to it's head and Rave finished it off quickly.
She looked around, checking for any more, checking to see if the others were okay.
As it always did, her heart skipped when she saw the flash of red hair.
She knew it wasn't him. Though she dreaded the day when that would finally drive home for her.
"Rave." The voice beside her jolted her out of her memories, bringing her squarely back to the present.
She turned her head and smiled at the Killjoy beside her. A tall, oddly pale boy, with bright blue eyes and hair dyed to match, who went by the name Lightning Trick. He was frowning at her, concerned. "You know you're gonna have to stop getting involved with the fights soon."
Rave rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah Trick. I will.""I mean it!" Trick insisted. "You're being too careless as it is." Then, lowering his eyes, Trick reached out his hand, tentative, as always, and laid it on Rave's stomach. "Can't go risking the little one." Rave smiled. "I know. He's too precious.""He?" "I know it's a boy. I can just… Feel it." Rave explained, with a small smile. "Gonna be a survivor though, this one. Like his dad."
Then Trick let his hand drop. "Are you ever gonna tell us who the father is, Rave? I know the others are curious, and I know I sure as hell am." Rave just smiled. She didn't want to say, not yet. It was almost as if, though she wanted to tell people, she felt like if she told anyone, it would all just disappear, all be a dream.
Lightning Trick rolled his eyes, he was used to this answer by now, but it didn't stop him asking.
Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, Rave sat awake, hands once again resting on her stomach.
It'd been a miracle, without doubt. They had been sure she could never become pregnant, but, somehow, here it was. She guessed there was some explanation behind it, but it wasn't one she understood, or that she even really cared about.
Rave wished she'd known before she'd left her Killjoys, but then, would it really have changed her mind?
She did feel bad though, this baby was going to grow up without his father, but would it really have been any easier if she'd stayed with the others, the way things were now?
One thing Rave did hope though, was that one day he'd get to meet his father.
She had every intention for that to happen.
One day.
####
One thing that had certainly not become any easier, were the nightmares that plagued Party Poison.
He'd been bad before, but since Saint Jimmy… He'd got worse.
Often, when they got to a new safe house, Ghoul would check out the rooms first, and, if possible, find a room for just him and Poison, so as not to disrupt the other two.
Ghoul had pretty much got in the habit of sleeping lightly, so that when Poison needed him or woke him, he didn't have to drag himself out of a deep sleep.
And Poison needed him, a lot. He'd often wake up screaming or crying, or both.
Though of course it was worse when he was crying while still asleep, always sounding choked and panicked, like he was stuck. Sometimes Ghoul could hear him talking in his sleep. Not really talking clearly, but that kind of sleep talking. He had a feeling he should be grateful he couldn't understand.
As a result of all this, Poison tended to stay in bed late, he seemed to sleep more peacefully in the daytime.
He was only just coming to when he heard the knocking on the door. At first he thought it was the bedroom door, and was about to call out a sarcastic comment when he realised it wasn't his door that'd been knocked on. It was the main door.
That… Wasn't normal.
He dragged himself out of bed, retrieving his gun from under it.
He found Fun Ghoul hurrying down the corridor to him, he looked surprised to see Poison up, but relieved.
"Poison, there's-""Oh my fucking God!" Ghoul was interrupted by an overly excited exclamation coming from the doorway. Both Killjoys looked in that direction, seeing Jet Star holding the door open as a scrawny, fair haired Killjoy stepped inside. There was a huge smile on his face and his wide eyes were staring straight at Party Poison.
"Holy shit, it's really fucking you!" Then the boy frowned. "What happened to your hair?"Poison still hadn't dyed his hair back to it's red, and it was currently growing out, dark roots showing. His hand went to it, pushing back the longish strands nervously.
The unfamiliar Killjoy didn't dwell on the point long though. He was now looking around at each of the other Killjoys, that smile back in place again, eyes still full of wonder.
"Well. Fuck. Looks like I finally came to the right place."
"Depends on what you were hoping to find." Poison said, darkly.
"The Killjoys, of course!" The boy said, grinning, apparently unaware of the looks he was getting from all of them. "Fuck, you guys are fucking hard to keep up with, you know?" He laughed.
"And just why were you trying to find us?" Fun Ghoul asked, he stepped closer to Poison, an automatic impulse, protective.
The boy shrugged. "What else is a lone Killjoy to do?" He said. Then, with the sign of faltering creeping in, he continued, "And… I heard. I heard someone hooked up with you guys… I might be wrong, but… I've been looking for him a long time and I hoped-""Who were you looking for?" Kobra Kid asked, though everyone knew already.
"Saint Jimmy." The tension in the room suddenly crept up a notch. Party Poison immediately backed away, his hands clenching, he could feel the colour drain from his face.
He felt a hand reach for one of his, felt his fingers being uncurled, letting the other persons fingers lace with his, a tight squeeze. Fun Ghoul pulled him forward again, leaned in slightly to whisper, "You're okay. It's okay." Poison nodded, though not convinced.
The boy had obviously noticed the tension go up too, as he looked around the room, taking in the reactions of each of the Killjoys. "Oh. Yeah." He said, nodding. "Jimmy's been here alright."
"Who the fuck are you?" Poison demanded.
At that the boy smiled again, and walked toward Party Poison. "Well. Some call me Idiot Son, some call me Suburban Jesus, but I kinda like to go by my real name these days so…" He stuck out this hand to Poison then, "My name's Johnny. Pleased to meet you."
####
The cells at Better Living weren't really that bad at all.
Yes, they were blank, white, sterile. But at least that meant they were clean. And also fairly comfortable. More often than not, these cells were used purely as holding bays while Better Living figured out what to do with the captives.
Most of those in there truly believed they were getting out at some point. Or perhaps they had to make themselves believe that.
There was, however, at the very end of the long, white corridor, a door unlike the others. The others had thick clear plastic, so the inmates could be seen, but this one at the end was just pure white. There was a slot in the door for food to be passed through, but it wasn't enough for someone to see in.
The other inmates weren't even sure anyone was there, except for the fact that everyday food did get pushed through.
There was someone in there.
He'd been brought in, in the middle of the night, while the lights were off and black replaced the usual white.
Korse had been true to his word.
"You will die alone, in the dark, and no one will notice."
Only problem was.
Saint Jimmy had no intention of dying.
He sat in the corner of the room, staring at the door. He wasn't really trying to think of a way to escape, not just now anyway, he knew he'd figure something out.
Right now he was a lot more lost in the thoughts of what he was going to do once he got out.
He twirled the beads in his hand, grinding them together just slightly, he didn't want to break them, they contained such memories.
Jimmy closed his eyes and thought back to the night he'd got them.
He thought of Party Poison, struggling beneath him.
Oh him complying, letting Jimmy have his way.
Jimmy drew in a harsh, but happy breath and he remembered how good he'd felt.
Then he thought of seeing the once great leader, still and silent, half naked, bloodied by the forcefulness (and, if he wanted to falter himself, which he did, size) of Saint Jimmy.
While unwinding the wire he'd used to bind the Killjoy, Jimmy hadn't been able to help himself from taking an extra prize. He'd slipped off the wooden beaded bracelet around Party Poison's wrist, and stuffed it in his pocket.
Then everything had gone so wrong.
He stopped then. Clutched the beads tightly, then slipped them back on his own wrist.
And, though no one was there to see it, Saint Jimmy grinned. And went back to thoughts of what he was going to do once he got out.
He had no intentions of dying.
He hoped the Killjoys didn't either.
