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Post by Brittany Barnes on Feb 8, 2010 11:25:39 GMT -5
Brittany had spent most of the day moping around. She'd laid around with her dog, who spent most of the time sleeping on her feet. She'd thought a lot about stuff...the snakes...Evan...if what he did counted as cheating...why he'd lied to her about Dare...there was just so much to process and Brittany was still working it all out.
She really had been okay that morning...with Evan...even after he'd told her. But it had only been temporarily okay. Once she'd had the chance to think about it more...and after her run in with Syn, it just felt all bad again.
So Brittany was really glad when Ian had agreed to come over and hang out for a bit. Brittany had been working on some songs anyway that she wanted to share with him and she wanted to tell him about the benefit that Dare wanted the demo for. Brittany didn't really want to bother with Dare right now--sure she felt sorry for him, but she now associated him with Syn--but the opportunity was just too delicious. It was a good thing for the band, so she'd at least talk it over with Ian and see what he thought and then they could go to Zac and J.J. and figure out what they all wanted to do.
Brittany's mom let Ian in and sent him down to the basement where Brittany had been hiding out. "Hey," she said. "I have some movies we can watch," she offered, "also thought we could work on some songs--up to you--what do you want to do?" she asked her best friend, wondering if she could manage hanging out without going off about all of her boy issues again.
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Post by Ian Baxter on Feb 8, 2010 15:41:43 GMT -5
Ian hugged Brit tight, she looked like she needed it. "Can we do both?"he asked, feeling a bit whiny as it had been a long time since he spent quality time with his best friend and things weren't going well for him. "Are you ok Brit? You look like you've been crying." He had loved Brit forever it seemed and he was sensitive to her moods. If he had the money, he would have ordered pizza to cheer her up, but he was seriously busted. He was dressed in old jeans and a flannel shirt. He tended to feel the cold and the rain had sent him diggin in his clothing for warm and snuggly flannel. It was his favorite clothing. He went down stairs and paced the room, eager for Brit to join him.
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Post by Brittany Barnes on Feb 8, 2010 15:52:11 GMT -5
So her emotions were see through. Brittany didn't exactly like this about herself. When something was wrong, it tended to show. She wasn't really good at hiding it. "It's kind of a long story," she said when he asked if she was okay. She hugged him back, looking up at him. "You seem kinda...down too," she pointed out. She also knew Ian well enough to know his moods. "Is everything okay? Is it Zac?"
Zac was the first thing on her mind because she knew he was still having issues...moved to rehab...but still not at home. She sat down on the couch and grabbed her guitar and some DVDs. "Pulp Fiction or Fight Club?" she asked. "Or something else...you can pick something else too," she offered just in case Ian was in the mood for something different.
"I've kind of been working on a new song today...did the lyrics and the music and everything...I know we usually work on them together...but it sort of just happened..." It was about Evan...she didn't say that, but she was pretty sure it would be obvious. She wanted to tell Ian about what had happened, but he seemed upset too and if something was wrong with Zac or something, obviously that was more important."
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Post by Ian Baxter on Feb 9, 2010 3:04:53 GMT -5
Zack's doing good, he'll be able to come home soon... if he has a home to come to. i haven't been able to find another room mate and I don't have enough to pay rent. Gudgins has been looking for a reason to throw us out so I don't think he will be patient if I ask him to wait. I think this time they will get us into a foster home or separate ones more likely." Ian hid his face in his arms as he was on the verge of crying. Zacks was his only family and they were inseparable. The only alternative was to go back to their abusive father. He had almost killed Ian before they left so that wasn't an appealing solution. Besides he wouldn't let them practice which was almost as bad as being beaten. "Pulp Fiction I think. Great what is it about?" he asked. He normally wrote lyrics first and then they worked out the accompaniment. But Brit worked differently and was more talented, he admitted to himself.
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Post by Brittany Barnes on Feb 9, 2010 4:24:48 GMT -5
"That's great!" Brit started when Ian mentioned that Zac would be able to come home soon, but her face dropped as he finished his sentence...didn't have enough for rent. Brittany should have known...they'd always just barely scraped by with the two of them working and now with Zac in the hospital, Ian was pretty much on his own...and the mention of needed a roommate...Brittany should have tried harder to help him. She'd been such a terrible friend. She reached over and grabbed Ian's hand and gave it a squeeze. "How much do you need?" she asked. "I mean...I don't have a ton of money...but I have some saved up. Whatever you need, you've got," she told him, making eye contact so he knew that she was serious. It was just money anyway--Brittany didn't need it. She had her mom and step-dad to support her. Heck, even Aly would probably lend her a few bucks if she was in a bind. "As for a roommate...did you put an ad in the school paper? And on the bulletin board? Maybe you should try craigslist...I know that's a little shadier but I know there are tons of people who find roommates that way," she offered. "And there is no way that you and Zac are going to go into foster care, I'll smuggle you down here in this basement if I have to...till you get on your feet again." Okay, maybe she was getting a little ahead of herself. She knew that the Baxter boys would be allowed to stay a few nights if they ever needed maybe even a week or so if they had something else lined up but she knew it could never be a permanganate situation. Brittany got up to stick Pulp Fiction in the DVD player and started to strum the guitar a little. "Its...just about stuff," she said vaguely. She didn't want to get into her Evan issues...not after what Ian was dealing with. But she did think that a song would be a good distraction for him. "It's called Pressure," she told him. "The first few versions were much more emo but I think I got it to a pretty good place right now...let me know what you think..." Brittany started to play and sing the words.... Tell me where our time went And if it was time well spent Just don't let me fall asleep Feeling empty again Cause I fear I might break and I fear I can't take it Tonight I'll lie awake feeling empty I can feel the pressure It's getting closer now We're better off without you I can feel the pressure It's getting closer now We're better off without you Now that I'm losing hope And there's nothing else to show For all of the days that we spent Carried away from home Some things I'll never know And I had to let them go I'm sitting all alone feeling empty I can feel the pressure It's getting closer now We're better off without you I can feel the pressure It's getting closer now We're better off without you Without you Some things I'll never know And I had to let them go Some things I'll never know And I had to let them go I'm sitting all alone feeling empty I can feel the pressure It's getting closer now We're better off without you Feel the pressure It's getting closer now You're better off without me www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3zvt40ADl8 |
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Post by Ian Baxter on Feb 10, 2010 20:18:39 GMT -5
Ian listened and did his best to not put himself into the song for he knew he would start squalling if he did. It was hard now that Brittany was in a relationship. He knew that there was no way now that she would ever fall in love with him. The words to Brit's song hit him hard. Lately he had been feeling he was a failure and he was justifiably being ignored by his friends. "That was really moving Brit, a real good one," he said hoping he sounded as enthusiastic as it deserved, instead of how he really felt. "As for the money, we are short $125.00 but I will only accept it for Zack. He doesn't need to be worrying about this stuff right now. A week and he will be leaving rehab so he should be looking forward to it instead of dreading it." Ian was so relieved he felt like he might faint. The tension had been all that was keeping him moving. "Now what's going on with you? Why am I here instead of Evan? It's Saturday night. I am used to being alone on the weekends but that's not normal for you."
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Post by Brittany Barnes on Feb 10, 2010 20:47:41 GMT -5
Brittany was kind of surprised when Ian didn't pick up on her song being about Evan, but she supposed he was too into his own issues to notice. She didn't mind so much though. His issues were bigger. Yeah her boyfriend had been a jerk, but at least she had somewhere to live. "Thanks. I actually wanted to tell you...um...you know that kid Dare with the long blonde hair. Well I guess his dad is in that band Toxic Religion and I guess they're doing this like benefit thing that that Bree girl is throwing. She's like a cheerleader, friends with Aly or whatever, but I guess she put Dare in charge of music and stuff and they want like local bands and asked if we'd be interested. I wanted to make sure that Zac would be okay first but if he'll be out of rehab...we should do it. We'll need to put together a demo, but Mal has like a ton of videos of us so we can probably use that," she explained. "What do you think? You think its a good idea?"
Okay, so Dare was Evan's friend and apparently the link between Evan and Syn, which made Brittany sort of want to stay away from him...but she had to do what was best for the band though.
"Yeah, $125, I can do that," she said. She had about $350 saved up so far, but she didn't mind giving some to Ian and Zac. They were really important to her. "Seriously, don't worry about it. You guys don't even have to pay me back. You've made me sane enough times that the least I can do is help you make rent," she said.
Brittany looked down when he asked about Evan though. Maybe she hadn't been as coy as she thought. "Well...um..." she trailed off not really saying anything. "I know I haven't been around much...I kinda suck as a friend," she sighed. "Let's just agree to hang out more," she said with a big cheesy grin but she could tell by the look on Ian's face that he wasn't buying. She sighed again. "Oh fine," she said. "Evan...cheated on me," she mumbled. "He wants to come over tomorrow to talk and stuff...I dunno..." she trailed off again, kind of staring at her knees.
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Post by Ian Baxter on Feb 17, 2010 21:47:28 GMT -5
Ian was normally very even-tempered, but upon hearing that Evan had cheated on Brit, he began to feel like he could easily ambush his classmate in an alley and leave him for dead. Of course ian's imagination had taken him to the full monty cheating, Bed, sex and then cigarettes after. "You want me to teach him a lesson Brit? Maybe distract the girl away from him?" he asked, not sure if his meager charms were up to the second part, but he would do anything for his bestfriend/crush.
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Post by Brittany Barnes on Feb 18, 2010 0:21:20 GMT -5
Brittany watched as Ian's expression turned to anger. She supposed she should have expected that. While both Eddie and Aly had been on her side, Ian was probably the only one who would actually try and get back at Evan for it. Okay, maybe Aly would too, but not in the same way that Ian would.
Brittany nibbled on her bottom lip when Ian asked her about getting even. "I dunno," she said. "Evan wants to come over tomorrow...don't know why really...I'm pretty sure he saw her again today," she sighed, slouching down into the couch a little more that she had been. She pushed her bangs off of her forehead and let out another sigh, this one more audible.
"I'm not saying yes...but what do you have in mind?" she asked, glancing over at Ian sort of side ways. She could at least hear out his plan...right?
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Post by Ian Baxter on Feb 18, 2010 0:47:21 GMT -5
"Well for Evan... I could beat the crap out of him and make sure he knows why. You could treat him the same way. I would volunteer," he offered with a hopeful glint in his eyes. "As for the girl... I could try to ask her out, but I don't really have game if you know what I mean." Ian blushed, wishing that weren't true. If he did maybe Brit would be his girlfriend and she wouldn't be hurting right now. He would never cheat on her.
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