Chapter 9

Chapter 9: No In Between

     After William had taken off, Brian was left behind with Stan at their booth.
There was silence between them, as Stan didn't even seem to care Brian was there.
Brian looked over at Stan, and attempted to start a conversation with him. "Been a long night, hasn't it?" he said. Stan didn't respond at all, in fact he ignored him, and kept staring off into the distance. "Maybe we should of accepted that invite", Brian said again hoping for some kind of acknowledgement. "It's dull here without William". Just then, Stan looked right at him with a cold stare. "Let me make one thing clear", he snarled. "I don't like you, and I never will, so maybe it would be in your best interest to leave me alone?" Brian was in shock never had he expected such a cold retort. -"Sorry", Brian uttered. "I also think that you're a lost cause, and that William would be better off without you", Stan added. "But he's my friend", Brian replied. "And for some reason, I thought you were as well". -"I was never your friend", Stan scoffed. "I only put up with your shit because William did, but he's not here is he?"

     Something in Stan's voice sounded so inhumane, that Brian felt his entire body turn numb. He wasted no time in getting up and leaving as well, he didn't care to hear another heartless remark out of that man's mouth. And just as he was heading out, he passed by the bar where Justin was still sitting, but with his back facing him and his head lowered as if he were upset. Seeing this made him remember the first time William Sterling had talked to him, and for the moment, he had finally felt what it was like to be in someone else's shoes.

He approached him slowly, but Justin turned around and saw him. "What do you want?" he asked. -"Nothing really", Brian told him. "I just saw that you looked upset, thought I'd find out why". "Oh", Justin replied as he downed another shot of moonshine. "Well if you must know, I was supposed to be tonight's big winner", he explained. "But I didn't want William to embarrass himself, so I switched cards with him when no one was looking". -"I saw", Brian said.
"And I thought that was really nice of you, no one else would of done that". -"Eh", Justin uttered. "If I did such a good deed, then why do I feel like hell?" Brian shrugged. "I guess when you give up something for someone else, that feeling is normal?" -"Yeah", Justin nodded. "Maybe I've just got to tell myself that, and move on". "There will be other games", Brian told him. "There will be plenty of opportunities for you in the future, this isn't that big of a loss". -"That's true", Justin nodded. "You know, you're not as bad as I thought, and by the way I'm sorry for all the rude shit I've said in the past". -"It's alright", Brian replied. "I know you didn't mean any harm". "But I found out that Stan doesn't like me, in fact he openly admitted it tonight". -"I don't like Stan much at all", Justin replied. "There's something very odd about him, and it bugs me". Brian nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I find his behavior strange too".

     At that very same moment, Victoria and William had arrived at the main doors of the complex. William looked up, his jaw agape once he realized just how tall the building was. "This is your home? he asked. -"Not the entire building", she laughed. "Just the room on the Twenty-Third floor".
"T-Twenty-Third?" he stuttered nervously. -"Of course", she replied as she led him to the elevator.
"I'm rich, but not that loaded". During the elevator ride, William was silent, but Victoria could hear him breathing loudly. "You sound nervous as a cow around a hot branding iron", she commented.
"I am nervous", he admitted. "There's nothing to worry about", she assured him. "You've already shown that you can talk the talk, and walk the walk". -"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

     "You played a mean game tonight, honey", she said. "You had a lot of guts to stand up to the tournament blottos. You showed them up and sent them on their way, packing. Not just anyone can pull that one, but you did". William let out a low sigh as the elevator stopped and its doors opened.
"Just stick with me", she told him. "They won't be as tempted to single you out". -"Sounds great", he uttered as he walked along side of her. She paused as she stood in front of her front door, then she knocked on the door and waited. It didn't take long till someone opened the door, and William wasn't surprised when he realized it was Maxwell. "Nice of you to---YOU BROUGHT HIM?! Maxwell exclaimed in fury. -"Shut it", she ordered. "He's on my special guest list, the one you aren't in charge of".

     "Nice to see you too, jerk", William mumbled under his breath. Maxwell gritted his teeth and opened the door for both of them. "Come right in", he grumbled. -"That's much better", Victoria told him. William froze as he noticed the large crowd in the living area. "That's a lot of snobs", he thought.
One of the women came trotting out of the crowd and greeted Victoria with a hug. "You look lovely tonight, Miss Thompson", the woman said. -"Thank you, sweetie" Victoria replied. "And who is this dapper looking fellow?" the woman asked. "This is my good friend, William", Victoria explained.
-How do you do?" The woman asked him. "Uh", he muttered. "Fine".
"You look like a sharp business man", the woman continued. "What company do you work for?"
-"He's the head manager of my fashion company", Victoria interrupted, as an attempt to cover for William.

     "You must be honored to work with such a talented young lady", the woman commented. William froze again and looked over at Victoria. "Just nod", she told him. "He sure is young for a manager", the woman remarked. "Oh no, honey", Victoria chuckled. "It's just that everyone is younger than you". -"She's a regular ol' face stretcher", Victoria whispered to William.
He started to sweat as he noticed all the strangers looking in his direction. He was afraid they would get to curious and start asking him more personal questions. "Can we get away from these people?" he asked Victoria as he tugged on her arm. "Sure thing, sweetie", she replied as she had him follow her to another room. Maxwell had been standing in the far back, but he noticed the two of them sneaking away from the crowd. "son of--", he muttered.

     Relieved to get away from those people, William took a seat in one of the lounge chairs.
"Thank you for saving me", he sighed. "I didn't feel like being interrogated by a bunch of snubs all night".
-"It's no trouble, sweetie", Victoria replied as she opened the doors of the liquor cabinet, but only to find it was empty. "Horsefeathers!", she said aloud. "I've been cleaned out".
William tilted his head back against the chair and relaxed. "That's okay", he said. "I'm not much of a drinker anyway". aggravated, she shut the doors of the cabinet and then thought to herself for a moment. "Aha", she exclaimed. "Aha what?" William asked her. "I've got a secret stash Maxwell doesn't know about", she replied as she headed into the connecting room and looked under her bed. "Just where I left you", she smiled as she grabbed and pulled out a bottle of wine.

     She returned with a couple of wine glasses and began pouring one for William and herself. "No, it's alright", he told her. "I'm not really the wine type". -"Nonsense", she laughed. "This is the best stuff, and besides it's not like I'm going to get you plastered, it's just one drink". He let out a sigh and accepted the glass from her hands and took a small sip. "You like card games don't ya?" she said all of sudden. William made a sour face and set the glass down. "Card games are fun", he replied.
"What games have you played?" she asked him. There was a moment of silence before William blurted out "Not many". She pulled out a deck of cards and began shuffling them. "How about a game of go-fish?" she winked.

     Meanwhile, Brian had been tagging along with Justin Church at the local arcade.
He just stood and watched as Justin played one game after another, turning down any opportunity to join in. "William will be mad", Justin laughed as he beat one of his high scores. "Why's that?" Brian asked. "He loves this game", Justin replied. "He's very obsessive and competitive when it comes getting the high scores". -"I never would of guessed", Brian shrugged. "Yeah, he will kick my ass when he sees this", Justin chortled. "I'm hoping, that's just a figure of speech", Brian remarked as he gave Justin a funny look. "Yeah, yeah", Justin nodded. "He'll just play this game over and over till he tops my score".

     Brian began to feel dizzy and looked for a place to sit down. He started rubbing his eyes and yawning, while watching as Justin continued playing games. "You should really go home and sleep", Justin suggested. Brian rested his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling, trying to keep from passing out. "That's the last thing I want to do", he groaned. Justin suddenly decided to stop playing, and headed over to sit next to Brian, in hopes of talking to him about his problem. "Why are you so against getting rest?" Justin asked him. "It's as if you're afraid to sleep or something".
"Just can't sleep", Brian lied. -"Oh hooey", Justin snapped. "There's something more to it, you aren't fooling me now spill it. "Where have I heard this before?" Brian thought to himself as he nodded off.
Justin grabbed him and shook him to keep him awake. "I'm sorry", Brian said. "I just started zoning out there for a second". -"Just exactly what nightmares are you having?" Justin asked him. "I heard you mention it earlier tonight".

     "Shit", Brian thought. "How am I going to explain this?" -"I'm waiting?" Justin demanded.
"I've just been having nightmares that confuse me", Brian explained. "You know those dreams where nothing seems to make sense, yet it makes you wonder? It's one of those alright".
-"I guess", Justin shrugged. "But what are yours about?"
"War, death, aliens", Brian muttered. "Does that answer your question?" Justin was quiet, but he gave Brian an odd stare. "I know that look", Brian sighed. "You think I'm crazy right? That I'm losing it, which is the reason I prefer not to tell anyone".
-"That's just weird", Justin said. -"No shit", Brian remarked. "I never asked to have those kinds of nightmares either, it just sort of came to me, out of no where".

     "All dreams have some type of message", Justin told him. "Even the ones that confuse us, perhaps yours is simply showing you what you fear". Brian shook his head. "I don't know what mine are trying to tell me, all I do know is I want them to stop". -"They will", Justin added. "You just have to confront your fears". Brian shook his head in confusion. "How do you confront something that doesn't exist?" -"Well", Justin continued. "What is it you really fear?" Brian looked away for a moment, as if he were pondering the thoughts himself. "I don't know", he sighed. "I guess everything I'm seeing in my dreams". "Tell me more about what you've been seeing", Justin said. Brian stopped for a moment and quickly glanced at him. "Why do you want to know? Are you planning on analyzing it all or something?" -"Or something", Justin replied. "It just helps to get it out in the open, rather than letting it eat away inside you".

     "I guess", Brian shrugged. "But if I tell you all this, you better swear to me you won't tell another soul". -"You have my word", Justin assured him. "I promise I won't tell anyone".
"The dreams always start out the same", Brian began to explain. "I'm running through the remains of Atlantis city, searching for familiar faces, but I see no one. All I can see are the demolished buildings, and scattered fires, but off in the distance I can see an alien ship". Justin suddenly stopped him, and started to ask him to describe the alien ship. "What does it look like? he asked.
"Well, it's black with red lights all around it, and it resembles one of those UFO's our old ancestors used to have numerous sightings of". "Do you ever see the aliens?" Justin asked him.
"Sorta", Brian replied. "They always appear as mysterious silhouettes, but one of them actually comes after me, and I can almost see his face". -"But do you ever try to fight him?" Justin asked again.
"No, I actually back away, and sometimes I fall to the ground and watch as he tries to kill me".

     -"Has he killed you in the dream yet? Justin asked. -"No", Brian shook his head. "He tries to, but in the background I can see another figure, a female just standing there looking back at me. For some reason he stops when I see her, as if she is protecting me from him".
"I'm gonna stop you right there", Justin said. "It sounds to me like you're in love but afraid of going after her". -"No", Brian replied. "You don't get it, I've never seen her before in my entire life, and she looks like an alien herself". -"Then what do you think your dream is telling you?" Justin asked him.
Brian shrugged. "I don't know, it doesn't make sense, neither do the words the alien warrior murmurs as he approaches me". -"What's he say?" Justin asked again. "I don't know, but it sounds like some kind of old language". "Hmm", Justin began thinking to himself. "I don't know what to tell you, really", he said. "Maybe you should take some sleeping pills? Something to help put these nightmares of yours to rest".

     It had only been one hour and William Sterling hadn't realized how many glasses of wine he'd consumed. He and Victoria were sitting on the floor, playing a game of cards, just laughing and joking with one another. "I'm surprised your chaperone hasn't come barging through the door yet", William snickered. -"Give it a minute", Victoria replied. "He'll come crashing through, he always does".
"Always?" William exclaimed. "How many men have you played drunken card games with lately?"
-"Just you, sweetie", she replied. "I've been with too many dew droppers in the past to realize none of them were right for me". -"And I am? he smiled. "Hey now", let's not move too fast, Sir Casanova", she replied. "Speaking of which, I wonder whatever happened to that secret admirer of mine, he stopped leaving me roses. And I'm a bit worried he might of found someone else".

     "Or maybe he got tired of hiding", William added. "And is actually trying to pursue the one he admires". She looked at him for that moment, a puzzled expression across her face, as she lowered the cards. "I've got a confession to make", he said as he scooted closer to her. "First of all, I'm no winner, in fact the only reason I am here tonight with you is because of my friend, Justin. And second, I just wanted to say that--". Maxwell suddenly burst through the door, and saw both of them sitting together on the floor, with an empty wine bottle and a deck of cards. "What's this?" Maxwell erupted. "You decided to ditch your guests to fool around with him?" She stood up and shook her fist at him. "Fool around?" How dare you insult me like that!" He knelt down and picked up the empty wine bottle. "My, aren't we clever?" he remarked. -"Nothing happened", William tried to explain. "I have nothing but respect for Miss Thompson". -"It's not you I'm worried about", Maxwell sneered.

     "Oh lay off", she exclaimed. "Nothing happened, you just want an excuse to butt in".
"Not necessarily", he snapped as he chucked the empty bottle at the wall, causing it to shatter.
"Now see what you did?" She scolded. "You broke it! You plan on cleaning that mess up any time soon?" -"The president of the Petite Cola Company is on the phone and has requested to talk to you personally", Maxwell informed. "But if you'd rather flush your career down the John, then be my guest!"

     -"I think I'm going to head home", William announced as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Thanks for the drinks and game, Miss Thompson". "I'm sorry you had you see this", she apologized to him. "Some people just don't have any manners". Maxwell just rolled his eyes at her, and crossed his arms. "Have a good one", William said to her as he left. As soon as he had gone, she turned to Maxwell and glared at him. "Why, you no good gatecrasher", she protested. "He was about to tell me something real important, before you popped in and started flappin your gums!"

     Meanwhile, Brian and Justin had just walked out the arcade's doors and started heading to a nearby coffee shop. "I need a good cup of Joe", Justin said to Brian. "Especially since I've got some busy plans". -"You're insane for not getting any sleep", Brian told him. -"Ah Applesauce", Justin remarked. "I could say the same about you, couldn't I?" Suddenly Brian caught sight of Stan Winston across the street, heading into the city Council's main headquarters. "Hey, do you see that?" Brian stopped Justin. -"Oh shit!" Justin exclaimed. "Quick, let's hide behind this pillar", Brian suggested.
Both of them jumped behind it and carefully peered out, watched as Stan gained access to the security system, and let himself in. "What the hell?" Brian uttered. -"There has to be some logical explanation for this, right? Justin said. -"I'm just hoping he didn't see us", Brian replied.

     Justin was bewildered. "I don't understand what he would be doing, going in there", he said. "Unless someone at the AMF base asked him to go?" -"Or maybe he's a traitor?" Brian added.
"He already told me he hates my guts, and he's been acting really weird". "Oh forget the coffee", Justin remarked. "I'm wide awake now!" -"Yeah, so am I", Brian nodded.
"You know", Justin began to say. "For some reason, this kind of puts things in perspective".
-"Say what?" Brian replied with a confused look. "What I mean is", Justin continued. "I just have a feeling about something, and now I'm determined to find out if I'm right".
"Don't take any wooden nickels now", Brian remarked. -"I won't do anything stupid", Justin replied. "You're talking to a guy who can build an atom bomb out of household chemicals". Brian shook his head. "Way to be a braggart". -"Hey, I'm serious", Justin exclaimed. "I'll even show you some time".
-"No thanks", Brian replied. "I'd rather not die at such a young age"

     "Well suit yourself", Justin shrugged. "It's not like I would blow up the city with it".
-"I don't know", Brian remarked. "I'd rather not take that kind of risk". Justin stopped and peered in the window of a nearby shop to check the time. "ah shit, I'm late", he frowned. "I was supposed to meet up with commander Williams and the rest of the tech team, over an hour ago". -"You should probably get going then", Brian suggested. -"Yeah, I'd better", Justin nodded as he stopped by a small garden and snatched up a couple of flowers. "Hopefully these are pretty enough to get me out of this one", he said. -"Either that, or she'll think you're stuck on her", Brian added. Justin suddenly burst out with laughter. "Heck no, she's not even my type, she's too serious and strict". -"So then who is your type?" Brian asked. Justin began to blush a little. "Well, that's my own personal business", he grinned.
"Anyway, I need to get going, so I'll see you later". -"Maybe you will or maybe you won't", Brian replied. -"Yeah, yeah", Justin muttered. "See ya".
     
     

     Alley Sterling sat, slouched in her chair while playing a quick game of solitare. The other three girls were busy chatting about last night's tournament. "It was certainly interesting", Lucy said. "Just a shame we got all dressed up for nothin". -"I wouldn't say that", Mipsy giggled. "There were sure a lot of fine looking fellas to look at". -"Oh yeah?" Lucy remarked. "But none of them even looked our way, I was so sure I'd cast a kitten". -"There were certainly plenty of swells", Grace joined in. "Uh huh", Mipsy and Lucy nodded. Alley rolled her eyes and turned up the volume on her radio.

Suddenly the bridge door opened and Justin walked through. "Good morning, corporal Church", Lucy smiled as she noticed the flowers in his hand. "Are those for me?" -"Nope, sorry" he replied as he walked over to greet Grace. "Ms, Hanes these are for you". "I'm flattered, really", she replied with a smile. "But I'm afraid I'm too old for you". -"Wha?" Justin exclaimed. "No, no baby, age is just a number!" "Find someone your own age, sweetie", Mipsy teased. -"I would" Justin replied. "But you see, I'm not into girls, I'm more into women", he winked. -"Oh my", Lucy laughed.
"And I'm sorry sweetie, but I'm into men, not little boys", Grace replied. -"No, no baby, you're just playing hard to get", Justin winked. "By the way, is commander Williams in a good mood this morning?"
-"You're in luck", Mispy replied from her station. "She's in a very good mood, and would like to see you right away". -"Thanks doll face", Justin replied. "I'll show myself out, you ladies have a good morning".