Hey Man, Nice Shot [COMPLETE]

[Ryan Shane]

Prompt List

• Mirror
  
• Autumn
  
• Break
  
• Stuffed Animal
  
• Last Hope
  
• Sacrifice
  
• Dread
  
• Tears
  
• Breaking the Rules
  
• Two Roads

[Ryan Shane]

Mirror

This thread takes place in the past.

  Really, it had all been a bad idea from the start. The problem therein was that the words "Don't do that" didn't really register on Ryan's brain until it was too late - like right now. He sat on the uncomfortable cot-like thing that the doctor had him on, watching as the nurse diligently sewed his hand back together. He glanced up as he watched his brother try to calm his parents down, and just rolled his eyes, a sneer curling onto his lip.

  "You're pretty lucky you didn't cut any tendons or anything, kid," the nurse said, admonishing him with a final snip of the thread. "What the heck happened, anyways?" She sat back in her chair, looking up at him for a brief moment before she dabbed antiseptic onto smaller cuts that vined down his hand.

Ryan shrugged a little. "Got into a scuffle at a bar," he said.

  "Really?" she asked, one brow flat as she surveyed him. "You aren't even old enough to be in a bar, kid. What were you trying to prove?"

  "I got nothin' to prove. I went in with some friends to shoot pool, some guy started to get up in my face about how I didn't know nothin'. I took a chunk of his money at the table and then he decided he wanted to try and play hide and seek in the bathroom to take it back. I took a bad swing, that was all," he said, looking back up.

  "Seven years back luck," she chastised softly, and then patted him on the knee, rolling her chair back. "You're good. Ryan, try not to put your fist through any more glass." She pointed at him, rolling her eyes as he waved her off, snatching his coat off of the bed.

He ducked his head down again for a second before walking into the mess of his parents and his older brother. His hand was throbbing, but he knew he had some percocets at home that he would definitely be taking to alleviate his suffering, which was only about to get worse, because he heard Christian intake a sharp breath before the lecture began.

[Ryan Shane]

Autumn

This thread takes place in the past.

  Ryan couldn't explain it, but every time he saw Angela and Jared together, it made him want to kick Jared in the teeth. He walked behind them, hands thrust into the pockets of his jacket as he watched them walk ahead of him, chatting about stupid shit he didn't even bother trying to listen to. He tapped his fingers lightly to the beat of the Mudvayne song on his MP3 player he'd stolen a few weeks ago, pretty pleased with himself that at least that had gone right.

He had stopped paying attention to them entirely, blue eyes drifting up towards the clear blue sky. He hated school. He hated how much he had to sit inside, to sit still. He felt like the world was passing him by, and it made him grit his teeth together when he thought of how much shit he was missing when he was stuck inside not doing anything except listen to a teacher drone about shit nobody cared about, least of all him.

Something hard slammed across his chest, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He blinked a few times and then had a brief moment of shock when his jaw dropped as Jared ripped his earphones off of him.

  "The fuck, man? You trying to die young and pretty?" his friend demanded, giving him a shove.

Ryan looked down to where Angela stood, poised. She was so still that it was almost inhuman, her arm still out across his chest. He shifted back uncomfortably, resisting the urge to rub his sternum, where he was pretty sure she'd just sent a bone fragment off into his body. He frowned, and then the strange moment had passed, and she was just... herself again, facial expression no longer trained, but just as shocked as Jared.

  "Damn, Ryan. You scared me. I thought you were done. I'm so glad I tripped, or I'd never have been able to stop you," she said with a laugh, ducking into Jared's arm as he tucked it around her.

Ryan realized he'd almost stepped out into a busy intersection during his daydream, but he knew for a fucking fact that bitch hadn't tripped. She was hiding something. He knew it. He could feel it down in the marrow of his bones, and he looked at Jared again with a nod. "Thanks," he grunted out. "Good thing you didn't crack your head on the sidewalk, or we'd both be ass out," he said to Angela, though his tone was less than friendly.

They continued walking, and Ryan managed to fall back again, counting the cracks on the leaf-covered sidewalk 'til he reached the chain-link of the gate in front of his house. "I'll see you guys," he said, heading for the door.

  "I thought we were all going to grab some pizza?" Angela asked, brow knitting - confused.

  "Eh. Not really hungry. I'll catch you guys around," Ryan said. He gave Jared a nod, and then went inside, slamming the door behind him. He needed to think. He needed to figure out how that bitch operated, and what her plan was, and why she'd decided to steal his best friend in the process.

[Ryan Shane]

Break

This thread takes place in the present.

  There was something to be said about the amount of drugs Ryan did, or the amount of alcohol he drank. Even he didn't understand it sometimes, but days like today, it was the only thing he could think of to make everything better again. He sat down on his bed, kicking back a glass of scotch on the rocks - Jared had called it an "old man" drink. Ryan listened to the ice swish around in the glass, and gritted his teeth, biting back emotion forcibly, making it go back down into the pit of his stomach where it remained. Jared had been gone for a while, now. Months. He had to accept that his friend was just... not coming back.

He dropped a few pills into his mouth, chasing them with a warm bottle of Mountain Dew that he had sitting on his floor, and grimaced at the taste of it all. It was flat, and the syrupy citrus liquid paired with the bitter taste of the pills was a hard act to enjoy, but he forced them down in a handful, knowing that in about ten minutes, he would be getting his well-earned break from reality.

He rolled over onto his stomach, kicking off his shoes, and picked up his Playstation II controller. This was a routine - his blue eyes slid to his alarm clock, and he took note of the time. 5:56 PM. It would take him about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes at the most, and then he'd be riding the dope roller coaster, and he could finally get some fucking sleep. He'd been having the most fucked up dreams, lately. His brother, Jared, Angela, lots of yelling. Even his parents had been in a few. He didn't know what any of it meant, but he was running himself ragged in between all of the speed he was doing to try and keep his eyes open at work.

Jared would have laughed if he could have seen it. Ryan actually had a 'legit' job at a basic auto shop. He was doing tune-ups, mostly, but he was looking at ways to get ASE certified, and that meant a lot in the industry. He might even be able to do more with it, if he stuck to it, but it was so fucking hard to try and just do what he was told. He hated it, every last minute of it. He buried those thoughts behind him, though, and concentrated on his video game.

Right at about 6:14, Ryan saw the video game screen tilt suspiciously to the left. His head followed, and then it went back to the right. The controller suddenly felt heavy in his hand, and it landed on the floor with a useless thump as he rolled over onto his back and yawned. The sound echoed in his head for what felt like miles, and he reached over, grabbing a shoe and hurtling it at the wall, successful when it hit the light switch and darkened the room.

He threw a pillow over his head and closed his eyes, his heavy and numb body finally able to relax for a precious few hours while drug-induced sleep claimed him.

[Ryan Shane]

Stuffed Animal

This thread takes place in the past.

  Ryan held the small stuffed duck in his hands gently, sitting alone after school. He'd taken Camille to the fair two nights before, and he'd won her the duck. It was plush, soft against his rough hands, brilliant greens and browns. He'd never seen a Mallard in real life, but he imagined the stuffed animal was probably more pleasant to look at with its big, cartoonish and friendly eyes.

The conversation kept replaying over and over in his head, and he closed his eyes.

  "Ryan, I'm really sorry. I like you, I do, but my parents..." she'd trailed off, looking at the ground. She held the stuffed duck to her chest for a moment, and then thrust it into his hands.

Ryan had stared back at her, dumbfounded. He'd been dating Camille for several months now, and while he'd known her old man didn't like him, he didn't really realize that it was so... finite. "So," he said. "It's like that, huh?" He couldn't control the icy tone in his voice. He was bitter, like  rotten fruit, and he didn't care. It left a bad taste in his mouth, and it was her fault.

  "Ryan, please understand where he's coming from. Listen, I had a good time, but let's be honest. I'm not kidding myself into thinking you're serious about me. Come on. I hear what you go do on the weekends from upper classmen. I know what sort of girl you want, and let's face it, I'm not it. I accept that. It's shitty, but, you know, whatever," she said with a shrug. She didn't seem to look as accepting as she said, but she kept her amber eyes carefully down at the ground, and not at his face. She didn't want him to see her about to cry.

Ryan's jaw dropped when she said that she "knew what sort of girl he wanted". "What the Hell are you talking about? Camille, talk to me," he said, lowering his voice and reaching out to grab ahold of her arm before she could make a beeline for the parking lot. He didn't care if people were listening as they walked by, not really. He just cared about what was happening at the moment. "Camille, I haven't been seeing anyone else. I don't know who you've been talking to, but they're full of shit," he snapped. "I don't want any sort of girl. I've kept my end of the deal up here, okay, so why are you bein' like this? I don't think I'm getting the full story," he said, tugging her as she tried to leave.

  "Ryan, please. We have nothing in common. Our friends have nothing in common, and in fact, each side alternately hates the other one. I can't go anywhere with you without them staring me down, and vise versa. It's shitty, because I want to like them. I want my friends to like you. I want my parents to like you. I want a lot of things that aren't going to happen." Ryan couldn't help but notice she'd dropped the 'other types of girls' defense, which satisfied him and angered him at the same time.

He wanted to shake the living shit out of her. He could hear the friends voices that she did have in her own. He knew they ran their mouths about him. Uppity rich bitches, all they did was talk down to everyone else around them, including Camille, but she still bent over backwards for them. Ryan wondered why she couldn't see that she had something right in front of her face, but he just let her arm go, and took a step back from her.

  "Fine. Fine, Camille. You listen to your asshole old man about how I'm from the 'wrong side of the tracks' and your bitch friends, but let me let you in on a little secret - those girls? They don't even fucking like you. They just hang out with you because your parents have as much money as theirs. They make fun of you when you aren't listening, and I guess it's because they think you're "too nice", but after this, I'll go ahead and let them know you're just a stuck-up, shallow bitch like they are. You should fit right in. You're calling this off because you're worried about what everyone else on the fucking planet thinks. As for my friends not liking you, yeah, Jared sure as shit doesn't like you, and he's gonna get to tell me a whole mess of 'told you so's because when we first met he told me that you'd do this, and that I should have just hit it and quit it. But I didn't, did I? No. Because I don't CARE what he thinks," he said, shouting the last part at her.

Camille flinched a little as he raised his voice, and took a step back from him. "There you go, Ryan," she said softly. "I wanted to just do this and not have to make some sort of confrontation out of it, but you, like always, just want to turn it into a shit-slinging contest. I'm not doing it." Her voice wavered.

"Shit-slinging contest? Oh. I'm sorry, Camille. I was just being honest with you. Sharing my feelings. Isn't that what you girls are into nowadays? Fuck, if I'd have known that I was dating you and your fat rich bitch friends, I'd have been hitting them all on the side, too. Think they would have bought me nice things? I damn sure could barely afford all the shit I bought you - maybe they could have been my sugar mama's," he sneered.

Camille jerked back like she'd been slapped. "Please don't try to call me anymore," she said firmly. She turned on her heel and ran towards the parking lot, jumping into the red BMW 5-Series that had been waiting for her.

Ryan blinked as a hand was on his shoulder - the memory fizzled and faded away, and he looked up to warm brown eyes. Angela Arun's brow was knitted in concern as she watched him space out, and she knelt down a little to bring herself to his eye level. "Hey, space cadet. You're about to rip the head off of the duck. I thought you gave that to Camille?" she asked, brow raised.

Ryan shrugged her off. "She gave it back," he said simply.

Angela was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Ryan," she said softly. She said it with such a weight behind her voice that for a second, Ryan almost panicked - it was like she knew how much he'd actually been hurt by the entire ordeal. He was always trying to measure up to some impossible fucking standard, and if it wasn't his brother, it was his girlfriend - ex-girlfriend's rather - friends. No matter what he did, someone would just keep setting the standard so high that he didn't even want to bother trying anymore at all. He set his expression into a scowl and stood up.

  "Whatever. She was a bitch anyways. I just dated her because she was a good lay," he snapped. He ripped the duck's head off and threw it at the ground, and then stormed off, leaving Angela alone.

Gently, she scooped up the duck body and head, and stuffed it into her bookbag. She looked up as Jared approached, and zipped it quickly. "Hey babe!" he exclaimed, reaching around for inappropriate ass-grabbing. Angela greeted him with a kiss, and then a particularly long hug.

  "Whoa, what was that for? Did you do something wrong?" Jared teased, looking down at her. The situation was usually reversed, although he couldn't say he minded her 'punishments' much.

  "No. Just glad I have you around. You un-fucked my life," she said with a smile. She glanced over her shoulder at Ryan, who was leaning against a tree, arms folded tightly at his chest. He was waiting for them to start moving so they could walk home, as usual.

  "Camille dumped him," she explained finally, given Jared's clueless expression. Ryan always looked pissed off. Wasn't anything new to him.

  "Oooooh," he said, nodding. "Yeah. She was a bitch, anyways. They all are. Except you, but you're also not so rich you can't see passed your fucking nose," he added. He didn't see what the big deal was, really. Ryan never talked about it much, so he'd just assumed he was using her for... whatever he could get.

Angela shrugged a little. She let it go as Jared did, thankful that as they approached Ryan they seemed to come to an understanding that neither of them would bring it up. Ryan kept catching Angela staring at him all the way home, and he found himself ducking out again, unable to stomach their stupid interactions with eachother. He wanted to kick something. Hard. Why was it that Jared had found such an amazing girl, and he was stuck with... nothing? Was it something he did? He rolled his eyes at the thought as it crossed his mind, immediately feeling stupid for asking.

Of course it was. It was everything that he did.

Later that night, Angela swung by the house. In her hand was the stitched up duck that she'd saved from absolution. Ryan took it from her, wordlessly, and looked down at it. She had only shrugged. "If you rip its head off again, I guess I'll understand, but... I figured I'd do it anyways. See you tomorrow." He stood on his porch, dumbfounded. How was it that Angela was the only person who seemed to know how hurt he actually was on the inside?

He kept the duck all the same. It was a survivor, like him.

[Ryan Shane]

Last Hope

This thread takes place in the future.

  Ryan put his hands over his head, trying to think straight. When he opened his eyes, the scene was too real. Camille was bleeding badly, Jared had been severely wounded by Angela, and there were two hunters after them. He watched his friend squeezing his eyes shut as Camille tried to put pressure on the bite wound that she'd received from the wolf shifter, but it wasn't working.

  "Fuck. FUCK!" he screamed.

  "I don't mean to be a bastard, man, but you gotta get that bitch away from me. I need to eat and she's not helping me any. All due respect, because I can read your mind and I know you give a shit, but get her the fuck out of my face or I am going to rip her throat out," Jared said through clenched teeth.

  For a second, Ryan wanted to point the gun at him, but he knew that Jared meant what he'd said with a less diabolical spin on it than someone else may have interpreted. In fact, Ryan knew him well enough to know that he was warning him more or less because he gave a shit - not about Camille, but about Ryan. "Yeah, absolutely," Ryan said, shoving the gun into the back of his pants. He knelt down by the blonde, whose hair was stained red and matted, and put a hand on her shoulder.

  "We need to try and get out of here. Can you move?" he asked. She nodded a little, and he jerked his head back toward the door. "I got a truck out there. I know it's daylight, but it's got pretty good tint on it. You can ride in the back seat and we can try to..." he trailed off. They really only did have one alternative here that didn't end with all three of them being dead.

  "We can try to get to Frost. Christian will know what to do," he grunted finally. He hated to admit it, but he needed real help, not this weird cowboys and Indians bullshit he and Jared had been doing.

  "Who? Christian? Your brother? Wait, why is he at Frost?" Jared demanded, snatching at another gun he'd discarded when he'd slumped to the ground previously, still reeling from the hole Angela had drilled into him with a .50 caliber. Thank fuck for fast healing.

  Ryan grimaced. All this time, he'd never told anyone, not a soul. Now, it seemed, the cat was out of the bag. With a small laugh that caught in his throat, he scooped Camille up into his arms, turning to kick the door open to the back of the small abandoned house they'd taken temporary refuge in to avoid the hunters. "He's the leader," he replied, glancing back just in time to see Jared's black eyes bulge out of his head.

  "Trust me, Jared. He's going to help. He has to." And Ryan prayed he would.

[Ryan Shane]

Sacrifice

This thread takes place in the past.

  Ryan had been cutting class for a while now. It wasn't that he didn't understand the material, it was just that it was completely fucking boring to him. He read ahead the entire lesson, and then just put his head down most of the time, or played on his game boy until it got confiscated. Now he just roamed the campus, which thankfully was pretty big. At least in the spring Ramsa was nice. He had to admit, it could have been a lot worse.

He stopped when he saw another boy at the base of a tree listening to a CD player, and shoved his hands into the pockets of his light jacket. Who the fuck was in his spot? He strolled over, all prepared to kick the face in on some AV geek who'd selected the wrong tree to camp out under, when he paused. He didn't really recognize him, and then frowned. No, he did. They'd had detention together before.

  "Hey," he said, doing the little chin-lift nod thing that was manly and not something so lame like shaking hands.

The other boy stared at him for a second, and then lowered his headphones. "Hey," he said warily. "What do you want?"

Ryan paused, and then scowled. "You're sitting in my spot. I've been cutting class every day for the last like, three weeks. Go find another tree," he said finally, folding his arms. The boy just gave him an 'are you serious' sort of expression, but instead of standing up and taking the bait for a fight, he just shrugged.

  "Well, I guess you stayed too long in Mrs Thompson's riveting reading of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, then, 'cos I beat you by about twenty minutes. Pansy."

"Actually, I sit right behind Camille Farrell. It's always cold in that class, and her bra is super thin," he offered, a Gallic shrug and a pleased expression all he gave the boy as ammunition in return.

After a moment of silence, something seemed to pass between the boys. "Okay. You can have the spot," he said finally, grabbing his CD player. Whatever sort of inspection Ryan had been under, he had passed.

"Hey, wait," Ryan said, holding up a hand. "It's cool. I'll just sit on the other side. Hey, you know what's really fun? Check this out," he said, pulling a slingshot from his backpack. "From here, you can shoot an acorn into the courtyard. I been hitting kids every day when they come out of class," he said. "I don't mind giving up my spot, but you'd better be as good a shot as I am."

"Oh, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," he said, snatching the slingshot from him. "I'm Jared. Who the fuck are you?" he demanded, examining it carefully, and then nodding once in approval.

  "Ryan Shane," Ryan replied, plopping down on the other side of the tree. "Just promise me no gay shit, alright Jared? I know I'm pretty, but Camille wouldn't approve." He began digging in his bag for his other slingshot, suddenly glad he'd brought two.

  "Pft. That stuck up bitch? You have no taste. There's a brunette girl in my first class that...."

 

[Ryan Shane]

Dread

This thread takes place in the future.

  When Ryan thought of his youth, he often thought of how many times he'd fucked up - and how many times he'd gotten another chance. A gentle hand on his shoulder broke him from thoughts like those, and he glanced up to look at his wife with bloodshot eyes. She offered him a wavering smile, and reached in to give him a swift, strong hug - as if to say that she knew he could be strong. He reached up and gently put his finger under her chin, giving her a small kiss.

  "I don't know if I'm ready for this, darlin'," he said honestly as she straightened his tie.

  "I know, sweetheart," Camille said softly, her lupine eyes rimmed with tears. She kept her voice firm, though, and gave him a swift kiss on the lips. "I have faith in you. You've worked hard for this. You cleaned up, turned your life around - and he helped you do it. His offer came from his heart, and because he knew that you were finally ready to step up to the plate. Honey, he was so proud of you - and I am, and so are Andrea and Evangela, even though this is hard. He never would have done any of it if he didn't think you weren't capable, so please don't doubt yourself." As always, reason came from his wife.

Ryan grabbed Camille and hugged her so tightly that he felt like he might break apart. Christian, in the last ten years, had been everything to him, but was he really ready to say goodbye and do what needed to be done? He didn't know if he could, but he kept it to himself. She'd squashed any attempt for him to doubt himself aloud, and he knew that she'd only grow upset if he'd pressed on with it.

A gentle tap on the door alerted them that there was someone else present, and Camille turned back towards it. "Come in, Andrea," she called, practically gliding to the door herself. Ryan smiled a little as she hugged the twenty-six year old Shane girl tightly, rubbing her back a little. She'd adapted to the lupine form and senses so quickly - she'd been one for ten years, true, but she wore it so well, like it was meant to be. It was fate, he decided - fate had brought them to this point.

  "How's your mother holding up?" she asked gently, pulling away from her. Ryan rounded them and embraced her as well, before returning to look over his notes. Giving this speech would be the second hardest thing he'd ever have to do in his life.

"Oh, she's okay," the petite Uncia replied, nodding. "For now. I am handling it better than she is, but I suppose I'm just trying to remain composed. Dad wouldn't like for me to get super emotional when it won't help the situation," she said, voice becoming soft.

Camille nodded a little. "I understand, sweetheart. Come on, let's go get seated. It's almost time - Ryan? I'll see you out there," she said. She put her index fingers together, and then drew a small heart in the air to him, and retreated with Andrea to the central part of the Guildhouse. They'd had a formal funeral for Christian where public family and friends could attend, but this was the real one.

Several minutes later, Ryan stood at the podium, facing the sea of attendees from the three Guilds. He spoke mostly of Christian in fond memories, but touched on some of the recent things that had been happening. Ryan was a decorated member of Frost by this point, and was able to speak from his heart as a brother. "Christian saved my life - and not in the way that one can simply do for another. I was headed the wrong way, and he wouldn't give up on me. He would never give up. He made me see that there is a bigger point to everything than just mindless fighting and drugs. He made me understand that there are people in this world who deserve to be loved, and to have love in their lives - and he made me understand the fundamentals about responsibility and being a man."

He paused. "Before he died, as many of you know, there was talk on whether or not I would assume his place as the head of the Guild. I had initially declined, because I didn't want that hanging over my head - I didn't want the responsibility. Now, I know better. I know that he never would have offered me his place if he didn't think I was capable of it. I know that even as much as I dread the next coming years, I have learned from him to embrace life every moment, because you never know when it might end. He lived longer than anyone running a Guild should, and I only pray that I can do the same, and do right by him, for my Guild. For our Guild."

His heart was thundering in his chest. He'd done a lot of things, and fucked a lot of things up, but Christian had made him understand that life was too short to sit around and waste away. He'd gotten off of drugs, gotten back to school, had the courage to find Camille and tell her the truth about his feelings, about how much he cared for her-- and he had the courage to accept his brother's spot as leader of the Frost Guild.

[Ryan Shane]

Tears

This thread takes place in the future.

  Ryan woke up in a groggy state of mind, pushing back the covers as he ambled to the room next door where the sound was coming from. Everything was black around him, a sea of it swimming in and out of his vision, illuminated only by lightning as it casually cascaded across the sky, lighting the home with rain-streaked windows. The noise got louder as he got closer, and finally he pushed the door open, getting hit with the full extent of it.

  "You've got your mother's lungs," he whispered softly to the baby, picking her up and sitting down in the chair with her. Grace only made a gurgling noise to him in return, followed by a string of gibberish that he couldn't understand. He suspected Camille could, in her own way, but he was still shell-shocked even four months later that someone had ever thought it would be a good idea for him to have a child.

  "Damn man, you're old as fuck," a voice from the corner said.

Ryan glanced up, hackles not even raising as he narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well being human will do that to you. You'll look like a teenager forever, which should give you some satisfaction. High school girls, oh yeah," he commented sarcastically. He paused. "How long you been there?"

  Jared emerged from the darkness, brows furrowed. The dynamic duo was giving him a headache, but he'd endure it for the moment. "Eh, few minutes. I didn't make her cry, though. She did that on her own. Kid can scream," he acknowledged. He sat down in a fixed chair, and propped his elbows on his knees, leaning forward.

Ryan only smirked at him. "So what brings you? Came to check out the family life?" he teased, shifting positions with Grace. She'd been squirming and reaching for Jared, but Ryan figured his head might explode if he handed her over to him. That and, yeah, Jared didn't like babies, so it worked.

  "In the area, thought I'd swing by. Heard about Christian. Sorry and all. If it's any consolation, the vampires who did it are in thousands of pieces right now," he admitted. Jared wasn't a hero by any stretch, but he did appreciate the beauty of revenge and violence, and he'd gladly participate in any part of said violence. "Heard you were a family man and had to come see it for myself. How's the Guild life?"

Ryan shrugged. "It is what it is. Evidently I'm a little less friendly than my brother, but that will change when the ice has thawed. I'm still bitter, and everyone knows it. Thanks, though," he said after a pause. He didn't want to talk about it; he didn't want to think about it. "So, this is Grace Antoinette," he said, holding her up so Jared could see her.

  "That's a big name for such a little girl. What is she? She smells funny, and not in the weird baby way,".

  "Ah. Wolf. Camille - you remember, you were there. Well, she passed it along. I'm still human, though. Figures. It's like we're some sick joke of a version of my brother's family," he said. He looked away for a second, but Grace began to squirm again, so he directed his attention down to her. "She's quiet. I think she likes you," he taunted.

  "Pft. Your kid is making my head fucking throb. I almost didn't even swing by because you're all 'good guy' now, but I figured, what the Hell. You're the only friend I really have anyways. Everyone is is a bunch of d-bags."

Ryan laughed at Jared's phrasing. "Yeah, I can feel that. Listen, if you ever need anything, you can come to the Guild. You're safe there, despite how many enemies you manage to make. Benefits of being the boss; I get to have unwelcomed houseguests," he said with a smirk.

  "Heh. Maybe if I piss off enough people, but until then, I hope you won't blame me for not wanting to be the only bird in the snake's den," he grunted. He glanced up, looking towards the door. "Camille is awake. Tell her I said hey. I'm going to take off. Dinner time," he said. He threw a little nod to Ryan and vanished.

Ryan looked down at Grace as she began to cry again. "Don't worry, muffin. Your uncle Jared is just an asshole to everyone. He likes you as much as he can," he told her, giving her a gentle rock. "And as much as he can is an awful lot."

[Ryan Shane]

Breaking the Rules

This thread takes place in the past.

  Hotwiring cars had been one thing. Breaking and entering was another. Ryan was only eighteen, but he knew that he wouldn't want to lead a long life in the way of crime if it meant having to rummage through old people's shit when they weren't home only to find something valuable, which was usually silverware. Why spoons were so goddamn important, he'd never know, and he expressed it to his best friend as he dumped them into a backpack.

  "Because, idiot. They're made of real silver. That's worth some shit nowadays," he said, slapping him on the head.

  "You always get to raid the jewelry," Ryan whined, trying on a necktie that was gaudy as hell in front of the full-length mirror in the closet of the house that they were robbing. People on vacation were his favourite.

  "Yeah? And when you get a girl that's worth two shits, you can steal her a pretty ring, too, but for now, all this is for my boo, and what she doesn't like, I'll sell on Ebay," he snapped. He held up a particularly large diamond ring, and shook his head. Too much like an engagement ring for his taste.

  Ryan looked up as he heard something, and frowned. "Dude. Did you hear that? I think somebody's here," he hissed. They immediately stopped their illegal activities and crept down the stairs, primitive weapons consisting of a piece of rebar and a baseball bat their best friends at the moment. They both had guns, but this was a job where they didn't bring them.

  "Fuck, there it was again. The hell is that noise?" he asked. Jared shrugged, and then Ryan focused on something in the kitchen. "Shit, the door to the backyard is open. Fuck, there's someone else in the house," he snapped.

  "Yeah? Not for long," Jared replied. "This is our fucking treasure trove, and I don't feel like sharin'."

He dissappeared into the next room, and then there was a loud yell and... barking. Ryan was just about to go after him when Jared tore ass through the kitchen and out the backdoor, screaming, "DOG!" at Ryan. Ryan ran, too, but the large Rottweiler was faster, and got the loose leg of his jeans as he tried to scramble over the fence.

  "DUDE, IT'S GOT MY FUCKING LEG!" he screamed. "PULL HARDER!"

  "DUDE, I'M FUCKING TRYING!" Jared screamed back.

The dog jerked and growled and yanked back, making Ryan into some massive toy, but finally, he managed to get free. He fell ontop of Jared across the fence, and when he stood up, Jared shoved him off. "Ew! The fuck? Get the fuck off of me, Tony Homo! I'mma call you Chief No-Pants from now on, because that dog just fuckin' jacked your shit!" And he laughed.

  "Why the fuck are we friends?" Ryan demanded as he walked back to Jared's apartment in a t-shirt and boxers.

  "Because you like how I do, princess," Jared shot back, grinning broadly. "Hell, if I'da known you were a fairy, I'da let you have some of them necklaces after all."

"I hate you so much right now," Ryan hissed.

[Ryan Shane]

Two Roads

This thread takes place in the past.

  "Dude, I forgot the map," Ryan said suddenly as Jared spun the old fastback Mustang out of the gas station. They were in New Mexico, working their way to California for some sort of vacation that had gone horribly awry. Summer plans had been shot to shit when Angela went to stay with some aunt for a month, so Jared and Ryan decided to drive across the US and see how much trouble they could cause.

Jared glanced back over at Ryan and shrugged. "Don't need no fuckin' map," he said with a smirk, brows raising from behind his dark sunglasses.

  "Wow. You are so Mexican that it hurts me. Hey, let's go see some of your family," he cheered. "Look, there's your uncle Pepe!" he said, pointing to a man on the side of the road. "Holy shit, he's even selling pottery! JAJAJAJA!" He got a sharp punch in the arm from Jared who was simultaneously driving and lighting a cigarette, and he settled back down in his seat.

About an hour later, they were off of the interstate and just driving aimlessly around. They'd accepted that they were going to stay the night instead of crossing through, but finding a motel was becoming increasingly more difficult. They came to a fork in the road, and Ryan looked at Jared.

  "I think we go left," he said. He didn't sound very sure.

  "Yeah, well, you don't sound too sure about that. I think it's right," he said. He put it in first and idled forward a few feet, but even he didn't know.

  "No, dude. I remember the map. I think it was left. Left to 75 South, and then there are a few motels right there," he said, nodding. He flicked his cigarette butt out the window, hitting a cactus.

  "Okay, what are you, fucking Magellan now? You lost the fuckin' map in the first place, so you don't get to give directions. I say right. We go right." Jared nodded once, and then pulled towards the right.

By sunset, they were back at the fork. Right had taken them in roughly a thirty mile circle. "Do you believe me now?" Ryan asked snidely.

  "Fine, bitch. You drive. I'm takin' a fuckin' nap." Jared got out and walked around the car, muttering about beer and cheap cigarettes and how he had to take a shit.