"Happy January 8, Glynnie!" Marian yelled into Glyn's bedroom, then slammed the door shut. She opened the door again. "It's a Friday!" The door closed once more, and opened. "How are you Glyn?"
"Mari? It's ... um... three in the morning." Glyn sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm fine. Are you happy, Marian?" Marian hadn't acted this joyous for a long time.
"No! Not at all!" Marian said cheerily. "I had a crush on this guy but he is in a serious relationship with someone else. You know what's funny? Sometimes I even thought he liked me too! But that's okay! How's your life going?" She skipped across the room and sat on Glyn's bed, bouncing giddily.
"Sucks. Have you gone to bed yet??" Glyn turned a light on.
"Yesss!!! I just woke up!" Marian grinned. "Then I realized it's Friday, January the 8th so I came to tell you." She yawned. "You seem sad, Glyn."
"Oh. ... AJ asked me to be his girlfriend the other day..." Glyn didn't even try to pretend she didn't care.
"That's good, isn't it?"
"No. I really like being single, ya know? I like AJ too. I told him I needed to think about it."
"I think that was a good thing to do. So much has been happening lately.... Maybe it's better to let some of this stuff settle down." Marian referred to the at least daily phone calls from newspapers and magazines requesting any scrap of information on AJ (Since Maggie Robinson had grasped that AJ had a friend named Glyn, she had apparently tracked down every Glyn in the phone book and was relentlessly harassing her).
"I hadn't even thought of that," Glyn realized. "I guess I'm being pretty selfish."
"Not at all! Glyn, stop it!" Marian hated it when Glyn acted depressed. "You've been in stifling relationships all your life. If AJ deserves you he'll understand that and give you some time."
"But I feel like I'm toying with him or something. It was like... we almost were a couple until he brought it up. I don't know why I'm so screwed up about that. It's not like I want to go hop in bed with another guy, I need lots and lots of space or something. I just... I don't know!" Glyn slapped one of her pillows angrily. Marian snatched another pillow and started beating it savagely.
"Take that! And that and that! You are going down!" Marian shouted at the pillow.
"And whom are you talking to?" Glyn wondered.
"I don't know." Marian gave the pillow a final punch and sat it down. "This all sucks for everyone and it's no one's fault. Well I mean, Audrey was driving but it isn't really her fault. And Nick was drugged out but he wasn't driving. And then the group broke up. That made it worse but there was nothing else to do! At least Brian and Audrey are happy. I mean, she lost an arm. She deserves that much. Maybe they'll get married and have lots of kids." Marian clenched her fists and then started strangling the pillow again.
"Happy...." Glyn pondered what AJ had said the previous week. "Brian feels really guilty, Mari. I'm kind of supposed to keep quiet about this, but anyway... He thinks it's all his fault or something."
"He does?" Marian looked at the battered pillow in her lap.
"Yeah... He's convinced that if he and Audrey had stayed together they would have been together on Christmas and Audrey wouldn't have been driving and Nick wouldn't be in the car with her and therefore in Brian's mind if he hadn't broken up with Miss I-Look-Like-Miffie she would still have both arms and Nick would still be here." Glyn tried not to be bitter about Audrey but it was very hard.
"Oh...." Marian smoothed the pillow and sat it back at the head of Glyn's bed. "I haven't talked to him since he left. Oh well, I hope he's happy." Marian stressed 'he.' It was obvious she had no affinity for Audrey.
"I am trying to tell you something! Damnit Mari, you must be really tired." Glyn smiled hopelessly. "Brian's happy because Audrey's happy because they're back together. So yeah, I guess he's happy, if that's what you wanna hear."
"I see." Marian looked out a window. "I'm bored, Glyn. We should go get coffee somewhere."
"Sure! Why the hell not." Glyn jumped out of bed and started brushing her hair.
"Tomorrow is your birthday, ya know Glynnie." Marian commented as they left.
"So?"Glyn scowled at the sidewalk.
"So.It's your birthday and you'll be twenty and one year short of legal drinking age!" Marian said gleefully.
"Oh yay. I'm so excited I think I'm going to scream." They entered an all-nightcoffee/café thing and ordered stuff, then sat down.
"So what do you want to do for your birthday?" Marian persisted.
"Um, I don't care. Sit around and stare at the wall. Yeah, I think that's a great idea. Maybe I'll splurge and get myself some Godiva chocolate." Glyn shrugged and stirred her cappuccino. "Do you see what I see?"
"What?"Marian tried to look in the direction Glyn seemed to be looking.
"I see a happy couple over there. Mmhmm." Glyn was watching someone intently.
"Who? What?"
"I see a Backstreet Boy and his.. friend." Glyn nodded to herself.
"What? Is it AJ and one of his little buddies?"
"Nope.Kevin. Kevin and the one-armed thing." Glyn bit her lip and looked away.
"What? What?!" Marian saw them. "Glyn, do you have your camera?"
"What camera?" Glyn laughed bitterly. "I don't need one anyway. Look over THERE." Glyn pointed to a man at a table, discreetly snapping photos of the very friendly Kevin and Audrey.
"Haha.Well this makes my day soo much better!" Marian sighed. "Shall we go?"
"Sure."Glyn finished her coffee junk and stood up. They left, Marian a little happier and kind of pissed,Glyn still kind of dead.
Glyn wondered if AJ would call her. Sure, she'd said SHE would call, but… She sighed, looking at the phone. She looked at the clock.. it was now six am. It wasn't fair! Marian had gone right to sleep after they went out and SHE was still awake. Damn it! Damn AJ. And Brian. And Kevin. And all of them! Why couldn't they all just go their merry ways and never see each other again. Glyn felt guilty, she certainly didn't want to not see AJ ever again. And if Marian never saw Brian … things could get ugly. Poor Marian. She was just too far gone for her own good. Glyn closed her eyes and thought for a moment.
Was the phone ringing? Who would be calling at this hour? Terrible, terrible, to wake someone up at six am. Why would anyone wish to do that to either her or Marian? Oops, it had stopped ringing.Too bad. Glyn wondered why she hadn't gotten the phone.
"GLYN!" Marian yelled angrily. She didn't LIKE answering the phone this early in the morning. "PHONE. Pick it up or I'll kill you." Glyn sighed and picked the phone up gingerly. She heard Marian slam it back down in her room. Glyn looked at the phone in her hands for a few moments, then put it to her ear, listening. Someone was there. Hmm. She was reminded of this weird book she'd read when she was a little kid about a girl who was being stalked by some dude who kept calling her and breathing and then hanging up. Glyn wondered if she should say something. Probably. Damn it.
"Glyn?"AJ asked quietly. She had figured that it was him, maybe that was why she hadn't answered it. No one else ever called her anyway. "Are you there? Please don't be mad, I'm sorry."
"I'm not mad." Glyn assured him, whispering for no reason. "Sorry."
"I know it's early but I really need to talk to you.."
"Oh…"Glyn chewed on one of her knuckles. She almost wished AJ had waited to call until later, she was so tired and thus it was very likely she'd say something stupid.
"How are you?" AJ asked concernedly. Maybe it was the phone, but she didn't sound so great.
"Umm.."Glyn didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want to seem like she was trying to get his sympathy. So she settled for 'umm,' which she hoped would be good enough for him.
"Yeah, me too." AJ smiled to himself. "I'm calling from Brian's. I think Maggie Robinson found out where I live and I'm here until Fred and John and the other guys chase them away."
"That sucks. Wait... Who's Fred? And John?" Glyn wondered if they were bodyguards. If so, where was Barnaby?
"New bodyguards. Barnaby... he was mostly always around Nick, so ... now that.. Ya know."
"Oh..." Glyn tried desperately to think of something to say. "So.. Why are you up so early?"
"The hybrid woke me up. It stole one of my pillowcases and hid it in the kitchen." Glyn couldn't help laughing. "Any reason you're up early?"
"Marian woke me up at three for no reason and we got coffee then came back..." Glyn left out the part about Audrey and Kevin. "And I couldn't go back to sleep."
"Ah. It's great being up at six, hm." He sounded rather sarcastic.
"Yeah. And at three." Glyn added.
"Any idea why Marian was up so early?"
"Oh... Yeah, actually. She's pining for someone, betcha can't guess who, and she's just gotten a bit psycho. Ya know, waking up for no reason and such. Umm..." Glyn couldn't stop thinking about Kevin and Audrey. She had a mild suspicion that AJ already knew about their 'friendship.' "Not many people are out at three in the morning."
"Yeah, I guess not. Only freaks like you, right?" AJ loved talking to Glyn, even though their conversation was kind of dead.
"Freaks like me and some other people..."
"Are you trying to say something?" AJ thought it seemed like Glyn was trying to get at something and he hadn't understood it yet.
"Umm... Yeah," she admitted guiltily. "But I don't know if I should tell you or if you already know."
"What? Tell me! Tell me!" he said eagerly. Glyn didn't say anything. "Please Glyn? Please??"
"I don't know if you want to hear..."
"You brought it up. You obviously want to tell me."
"Yeah, I was just hoping you'd guess it or something... Can you think of any people who would be out at three in the morning?" AJ thought about it.
"No, only you and Marian."
"Did you hear something?" Glyn abruptly remembered that a Loreena McKennit CD was playing quietly and turned it off.
"Um...." AJ listened. "No."
"I did! Damnit, I'm as crazy as Mari is." Glyn was about to give up and turn on her music again but she heard a barely perceptible laugh on another extension. "Marian??"
"Yup" Marian said guiltily. "I'm sorry. I was gonna hang up soon. Or say something about your music. Like please turn it down or something. You're not crazy as me, Glynnie." She laughed again then wondered if Glyn was going to tell AJ about Audrey and Kevin. AJ wasn't listening to Glyn and Marian's short conversation. He had heard a slight yawning noise that wasn't either of the girls.
"Good morning Marian." Glyn and Marian wondered why he sounded amused. "It's been lovely. Now both of you hang up."
"Excuse me?" Glyn didn't understand.
"Not you Glyn."
"What??" Glyn was still a little confused.
"What's going on?" Marian assumed she was lost because she was tired and thus was stupid.
"God says hang up the phone Brian."
"Oh." Glyn smiled.
"If God says" -[click]- "Um. If God says so. Sorry." [click]
"Okay.... That was weird. We're surrounded by lunatics." Glyn wondered how much both of them had heard.
"Yeah. Lunatics. Both of them. Complete stark raving mad dangerously insane-"
"Right. That's enough, I get it." Glyn laughed.
"Tell me."
"Are you sure? You're making me tell you and I don't want to, right?"
"Whatever. Tell me already."
"Um... Okay," she said nervously. "But wait! What if you already know then I feel stupid?"
"It's not a big deal, Glyndalyn. I'm dying of anticipation."
"I. Um, I saw Kevin and Audrey... ya know. They looked really cozy and I'm pretty sure I wasn't imagining it."
"Oh. Wow, big surprise. Sorry you saw it though."
"You know about it?" Glyn said disappointedly.
"It's been going on under our noses for a couple weeks now. You had to notice Audrey's ... feelings for Kevin even before this, though-"
"Under your noses... as in Brian knows about it?"
"I think he's in denial. Audrey and Kevin both disappear at the same time on a regular basis and she's always hanging off him...."
"Ugh! I hate that rat-dog girl. Sorry. I should really have more sympathy," Glyn said bitterly.
"I think she has more than enough sympathy from Petrie here. So... can I ask how you're doing again?"
"I'm... uh. I'm not tired any more." Glyn didn't want to say anything else. She knew exactly what AJ was really asking and she was too confused to answer. "What are you doing today?"
"Nothin'. I don't have much to do these days, since Brian's always waiting on Audrey and Kevin's hanging out with them."
"I don't have much to do these days since Marian still has her job... Wanna go somewhere?"
"I'd love to." AJ grinned.
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