A little on how everyone's doing!
Creation
Ted picks up a piece of white paper.
They've been in this place for an hour and as the counselor had told him too many times that they have to draw a picture of what they feel they look like to each other and the only reason that they're there is because Cody thinks it's fun to just do everything they could do at ten o'clock in the morning and with the sun shining and the birds chirping away at a melody, Ted looks at his boyfriend who has his legs on a chair and has a black notebook on his lap, his hands drifting to the crayons in front of him and Ted just hopes that it's not a figure stick. He chuckles under his breath. Cody's well known for drawing figure sticks and as for Ted, Ted doesn't know how to draw anything to save his life. Even a figure stick proves to be too hard for the Priceless boy.
After four hours of just trying to draw, Ted finds himself hungry and his picture is in his hands as he traces along the lines and he hears Cody's chuckles, Ted looks up at Cody who gives Ted his picture while Ted exchanges with his own. Ted stares at the picture for a moment before laughing, "why the hell am I a squirrel, Cody?! A teddy bear, I understand! But a squirrel?"
"What? I wanted to be creative."
Ted rolls his eyes as simple as that as he catches Mike sitting there, legs on table, a picture in his lap as he films with a video tape and Ted chuckles under his breath. Looks like Mike's just being Mike right now. It doesn't take a while for Cody to laugh, "what am I, Ted? I thought you were the teddy bear!"
"Hey, it's the only thing I can draw!"
"Teddybear can only draw teddy bears!" Cody laughs, hugging the picture close to his chest as Ted rolls his eyes once again.
"Yes, Teddybear can only draw teddy bears…" Ted shuffles out his own laughter now, "but seriously, a squirrel?!"
"From what I remember, drawing a squirrel as you means that I see you as a playful person. Because you are, Teddy. And squirrels can solve puzzles and they change direction quick and they plan the future and the balance in giving and taking and they have the ability to warn people when something's wrong and they change a lot to avoid danger by climbing to a higher place than they're already living-"
"Cody, I get it!" Ted stands up and walks towards his disabled friend, running his finger down his cheek, and then kissing him as quickly as possible, "what does a teddy bear mean?"
"It means comfort…love…innocence…"
Ted just laughs by that point, "innocence?" He continues to laugh, clutching his stomach because his sides are just hurting from too much laughter.
"Ted!" Cody giggles, taking Ted's chin so that they're both looking at each other and the silence sinks in as Cody's grin turns into a frown, "I know that I'm like a dolphin…" his voice fades.
"Dolphin? What's that?"
"Never mind, Teddy. Never mind…"
That night, as Cody sleeps in their hotel room, cuddled into his sheets, drool seeping from his mouth and landing onto the open comic book of his and Ted doesn't even remember what issues he has or doesn't have anymore as his hands type away at Cody's laptop, not saying a word in case he wakes Cody up but Ted knows that Cody's a heavy sleeper. He goes to a page and reads the symbolization of Dolphins…
Dolphins usually symbolize wisdom (intelligence), melodic balance in life, communications as a healing voice, trust in others…
Ted raises his eyebrow. Dolphins? Why is Cody so sad when he describes himself as a dolphin? There isn't anything wrong with dolphins. He hears a grunt slipping from Cody's lips and before Ted can shut the laptop down, Cody moves towards him and reads from Ted's shoulders. "Cody, why are you so…sad…when you mention dolphins? I mean, wisdom, melodic balance, communications, trust…what's so bad about dolphins?"
Cody's voice cracks in his throat. "Ted…do you know that dolphins are sex-obsessed? Like me? That they're cruel to their children? That's me!" tears are threatening to fall out of his face.
Ted stares, no sound coming out of his mouth. "Cody…you-you love kids."
"I can't take care of one, Teddy! I know you want kids ever since you saw Randy and Alanna, and I can't give you that—I'm sorry—I'm horrible. I-"Ted puts the laptop down onto the floor and holds Cody as Cody buries his face into Ted's chest and sobs sadistically and soon, Cody's asleep but Ted can't help but remember those words, over and over and he knows that he does want children but not at the expense of Cody—
Cody's his everything.
He can't let that go away.
No.
Randy's fingers are entwining with his own picture.
They've been in this place for two hours and as the counselor had told him too many times that they have to draw a picture of what they feel they look like to each other and the only reason that they're there is because John has nothing else to do but this and even if it's ten o'clock in the morning and John and Cody are both too hyper in the morning because of their daily dose of sugar, he goes along anyways. Randy has his picture in his hands and he's ready to cry because of his stupid creation. His eyes look at the crayons in front of him and he takes out a black color, shading in the object before giving it to John.
"A black cat?" John laughs and folds the paper into a paper plane, "you think I'm a black cat? The thing that superstitious runs away from in the street?"
Randy nods his head before he peeks into his drawing, of a feline cat, cinnamon colored paws and ears and cinnamon stripes laying around his body and the cat's white. "Black and white?"
"That's the best combination ever," John says, smirking at him and Randy stares at him for a while before returning to the neatly drawn picture. "Why'd you pick a black cat, Randy? I wanna know!"
"Fine," Randy sighs, his eyes never leaving that bloated pale face of John's that he's grown attached too. "You know that black cats meant bad luck in superstition, right?—well, that's what I thought you were. A black cat. I didn't want any bad luck from you…I thought you were there just to fuck up my life…but then… that 'bad luck' turns into 'good luck' all of a sudden and it's teaching me not to be superstitious about this all…to believe what I want to believe…not what some stupid theory tells me to."
John nods his head and Randy shows him John's picture all over again and he nods his head. "Feline. You're feisty, aren't you? I've never seen so much confidence in a man when he walks into the ring! You always know what you want and you'd claw your way towards it. I love that about you."
I love you.
John's tongue curls in his lips. No. He's not going to break both of them by saying those three words and cause confusion all over again. No. He'll just have to hold back his own needs. He'll have to think of Randy first. Their relationship—it's over. It's all over. Randy puts his piece of paper in his backpack and John does the same, and it doesn't take them more than ten minutes to get out of the room to get some lunch.
I really love you…
Mike Mizanin doesn't like drawing.
He lives for drawing and he loves finger painting and he's such a child but he doesn't care and neither should the rest of the world.
Couples have to draw their pictures to each other and Mike grabs a blank white paper and goes off to the corner of the room where no one's and he steals a book from the cubby before he puts the paper on top of it and he just starts drawing what animal he feels John Morrison's like.
He lets his felt-tip pen wonder and when he looks back down at the drawing, he realizes that he's drawn a bat.
He stares at the picture for what feels like hours and hours on end.
"We're closing."
He picks up his picture and lets the felt-tip pen fall and he walks towards the cab with the picture in his hands as he tries to understand why he's chosen John Morrison as a bat and in the middle of the cab ride, he tries to think of things that symbolize a bat.
Death…
His dead John Morrison. Tears are threatening to spring from his eyes.
"You're not dead, Johnny. You're not dead. You're just away…yeah, away…to a better place…I'll be there soon, Johnny…I-I'll be there soon…"
Regeneration…
There was no new start between them. Just a tragic end.
"Why did it have to be you, John?" sobs dragging from his lips. "Why couldn't it be me…? I'd die for you…I'd…John…"
Cleaner…
Laughter escapes his lips.
"Clean? You made a fucking mess when you stabbed my heart in two…"
Guardian of the Night…
Just then, Mike realizes that he's been talking to himself and stops talking but the sobs don't stop as he curls into the corner of the cab and the cab driver doesn't care and the rest of the world doesn't care.
"Are you watching me now, Johnny…? Are you watching me…? I'm talking to you…I'm-I'm crazy…John? John…?"
His sobs erupt too violently and his tears are shedding too quickly and his hands are burying his face from the world.
And—
"John…"
Next chapter will be 'Childhood'.
Glimpse of everyone's childhood.
We've seen John/Randy but let's see it again. XD.
X Sam.