__________________________________________________________________________________
My eyes bulged out as Claire tore through the front yard of her brother's house, tears falling freely from her eyes, the wind whipping her hair wildly over her head, like an untamed animal. She ran fast, really fast. I dont think I've ever seen her legs move that quickly. What I was feeling that exact moment was... well.. a strange collage of emotions. First... I was hurt. Emotionally, and ESPECIALLY phsyically... then, I was confused...
'What did I say to make Claire so angry?'
...a little sad...
'Great... I've ruined her life...'
...and perhaps a little confused...
'I'll never understand women...'
So I was left in that kitchen, standing there, my mind going a mile a minute. The pain in my lower face pulsated, and intensified. Claire REALLY knew how to punch... I guess Chris wasn't kidding when he told me "not to piss Claire off." She was mad at me. But why?
' I had told her I liked Jill... then she just flipped out...'
It all made perfect sense. She liked me. CLAIRE liked ME. Claire Redfield! She'd told me several times before she doesnt go for 'pretty boys like myself', but... dammit... confusion came over me again...
Within moments, Chris hopped downstairs.
"Hey Leon? Is Jill back?" he asked me, but when he took one look at my face, I saw his brow furrow, "What happened? I think I heard someone yelling..."
I didnt answer, instead, I just continued to stare at a crack in the floor. I didnt want to say anything, to embarass myself or Claire, so I just kept my big trap shut.
"Hey, where *is* Claire?" confused, Chris did a 180 turn, eventually realizing that nobody was there but himself, Sherry, and I. He walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and toward the living room. I heard them talk about the 'wicked game' Sher was playing, so I decided to go see... besides, I *am* the master of everything polygonal.
There, Sherry had just finished watching the ending and credits of the dumb game she was playing. She told me later it was called Bio...hazardous... dangerous... hazard... 2. Or something like that. Her rank came up on the screen, (against a picture of a cute red-headed girl with a ponytail and some 8 year old punk on their motorcycles) which consisted of:
Total time played: 1 hour 10 minutes 8 seconds
Number of Saves: 0
Use of Special Weapons: None
Use of First Aid Kids: None
Rank: S
Sherry, for the 3rd time that day, jumped up into the air, screaming "YES! YES! WHO'S YOUR DADDY?! WHO'S YOUR DADDY?!?!" I blankly stared at the girl, who eventually calmed down, saved the game, and started Larry B/Scenario 2nd.
"Now I'm gonna play as Larry! He's really cute! He kinda looks like you, Leon, but not really!"
Chris tried to ask Sherry where Claire went, but she shushed him.
"Quiet! The opening FMV is coming on!"
And here is what we saw:
Monotone Narrator: Amidst the P-Disease outbreak in Squirell Town, a college girl named Clora Bluefield attempted to find her brother, Christopherson, a member of Special.Tactics.Under.Frequent.Faking.Squad, or STUFFS. She, along with Harry Firkin, who's family worked for Raincoat, escaped successfully... but Clora was not the soul survivor...
"Special Tacticts Under Frequent Faking Squad? That doesn't even make sense..." I blurted out, but I got the evil-eye from Sherry in return.
The opening shot of a police car driving down a barren, empty road played on the television screen. It stopped, and a bumbling rookie cop steps out, upon seeing a dead body lying in the middle of the road.
"Huh?! WHAT'S THIS." the cop said in the silliest, over-acted voice over I've ever heard.
Chris rolled his eyes, "The voice-acting is so lame."
"SHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The FMV continued. At a gas station, a zombie-like creature took a huge bite out of some redneck trucker's arm. He punched the zombie in the face, and rab into his truck,clutching his arm.
"Ow! That GUY is A maniAC. WhY did HE just bite ME?! WHY?!?!"
I couldn't believe how lame the FMV was. And that Larry guy doesnt look ANYTHING like me, I'm telling you. Sure, it looked kinda familiar... but still. LAME.
'Larry' became surrounded by zombies. He shot them off one by one, until he nearly shot a pretty brunette girl who burst out of a diner. A zombie was persuing her from behind. She kinda looked like someone I knew... but I couldnt put my finger on it on that exact second.
"DONT shoot!" the girl shrieked.
"Get DOWN!" Larry shrieked back.
He blasted the zombie that was shambling towards her. He offered her a hand, overacting once again, "Lets HEAD to the Squirrel Police Department, its MUCH safer THERE."
I groaned, "Sherry... just turn it off... it's giving me a bigger headache than I already have..."
"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Larry and the girl ran into an SPD squad car that just HAPPENED to be right there. Larry drove it through the empty streets... of what I suppose was 'Squirel Town'.
"What's HAPPENING? I come looking for MY BROTHER, and I MET UP
with a ZOMBIE instead!" Clora said in the most impossibly-cheesy voice ever.
"GreAT! The radio IS out!" Larry shot back.
"You're a COP, RIGHT?"
"Duh. First DAY on the JOB. Great, HUH? My name's Larry. LARRY S. KERNY."
"My name's Clora. Clora Bluefield. I'm LOOKING for my brother, Christopherson."
The car continued to drive down a road, Clora and Larry made small talk, until the truck with the infected redneck came barreling towards them. And 'suddenly', a zombie in the back of Larry's car attacked them. How unexpected. They both let out emotionless screams.
"AAH."
"AAH."
They crashed the car, and the truck flipped over a couple of times, before landing on the squad car itself, emitting a powerful explosion. Clora and Larry both escaped the car before-hand, now seperated.
"CLORA. I'm alRIGHT. Head FOR the SPD."
"oKAY."
The screen went blank, and there was a tiny caption, "At the same time, at the same pla-"
I turned the Playstation off, my headache was seemingly throbbing inside my cranium. I had to go out and find Claire.
"Hey!! Leon!"
"Leon!" even Chris protested, "It was getting really good!"
I was about to say something really nasty to them, when the voice of an angel interrupted me...
"I'm back!" Jill yelled out at us from the foyer.
"JIIIIIL! LEON TURNED OFF MY PLAYSTATION!" Sherry screamed, as she ran toward her.
I was, of course, shit-excited that Jill was finally back, but strangely, I was more concerned about Claire. Where was she? Was she alright? Was she gonna hate me for the rest of my life?
As I walked up to Jill to help with the groceries, Sherry was half whining/half sobbing.
"...and Leon didnt even ask to turn the Playstation off!"
Jill looked up at me, giggling. "Leon, that wasn't very nice of you."
"I know," I said, just to see Jill smile again, "I'm sorry Sherry."
"No you're not. But... enough of this. I HAVE to play Larry's B scenario."
And with that, she ran back into the living room, and I heard the tune of the Playstation's start up screen bounce from the living room to the kitchen. I turned back to Jill. She took a step closer to me, and put her hand on my chin. I nearly fainted.
"Oh my god, Leon, what happened?"
"Huh?" I had nearly forgotten about what had happened 5 minutes before, "Oh... I uh... I walked into a door." Jill looked at me, her face unreadable. "A door?" she looked around "Where's Claire?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was something about me that never let me quit. I dont know what you call it... but my mom said it was determination. She said it was that that made me better than the other girls. I often scared people with my relentlessness, I even scare my brother.
So when I punched Leon and ran out of my brother's house... I found it hard to stop running. Even when I wanted to quit, to take a break, to catch my breath, I couldnt stop running. I was crying so hard and loathing Leon so much... my senses became entangled with one another... and nothing made sense anymore. I couldn't help but be sad... and jealous... and angry... (REALLY angry)... but it's healthy. There are some people who bottle up there emotions deep inside of them... and I dont think that's good at all. You need an outlet. You need to have some proverbial punching bag. And I guess that's what Leon, the poor sob, turned into.
I think, eventually, I stopped running when I was about one block away from Barry Burton's house. Barry was the wisest person I knew, 'Maybe he could consolidate me somehow.' I thought to myself.
I walked up his well-kept lawn, approached his door, and saw a note on it applied with tape.
"On Vacation. If you're a burglar... uh... I'm home. And I have a shotgun."
UGH! This was probably the most inconvienient time for Barry and his family to be on vacation.
I was hopeless. I was helpless. The man of my dreams is in love with... JILL. I mean... it's not that I hate Jill.. but it seems that each day her wardrobe gets a bit smaller. Get some CLOTHES, woman. Jeez.
'But wait... maybe that's why Leon likes her. Because she dresses like a slut. Great. Just great.'
I was nothing compared to Jill. She had a more slender body, prettier face, and a fuller chest (which I speculate is the result of plastic surgery... but I'm not implying anything. Wait, yes I am). BUT SHE IS SO DAMN MODEST ABOUT IT. That's what really got to me. She even told me she was still a virgin! Shya, and monkeys fly out of my butt.
I drew in a deep breath, pondering my next move. It was starting to get dark, and I saw people heading for Milliken Park, where the Valentine's Day Fireworks Comittee began to set up.
"Maybe Leon will be there."
As much as I hated him at that moment, some strange feeling within me needed to see Leon again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didnt say much, as we rode Chris' car to Milliken park. He was driving, I was in the passenger car, and we were holding hands. Sherry was in the backseat, trying to beat the final boss in Pokemon Silver. Or gold. Or red. Or yellow. Whatever. Leon seemed really depressed, and I knew that it was about Claire. He pulled me aside, making sure Chris and Sherry didnt hear us, and told me he said something to Claire that really set her off... then she ran away. "Jill, I'm really worried about her..." he had said to me.
Now, Leon is a really sweet guy. And Claire is a really... um... interesting girl. They seem like a really good couple... after all, they HAVE been through a lot with each other. Leon, Claire and Sherry all helped each other in escaping Raccoon City... Sherry had told me the terrifying account they had with the "G-Type" in the train... they all seem like a nice family... but all three of them refuse to acknowledge that.
"Something on your mind, Jill?" Chris said to me, in his really cute over-protective tone.
"No..."
"You sure?"
"Yeah..."
But I wasnt.
Leon and I told Chris that Claire went to the park early, and we'd meet her there. I hate lying to Chris, because I know that he'd never lie to me, but Leon really insisted that Chris shouldnt know why his sister wasnt with us.
I turned the car radio on, and that really, REALLY annoying Britney Spears song came on. You know which one I'm talking about... it has that music video where she's dressed in hardly anything? Oh, my mistake, that's EVERY Britney Spears music video.
But something else was on my mind. Leon always smiled when he looked at me. That wasn't a bad thing... but... it's that kinda smile that says "How YOU doin'?" in that really sultry Joey Tribbiani voice. But no matter. I'm sure it's nothing...
Little did I know that the Valentine's fireworks display we were all about to attend would be both a blessing, and a curse.
My eyes bulged out as Claire tore through the front yard of her brother's house, tears falling freely from her eyes, the wind whipping her hair wildly over her head, like an untamed animal. She ran fast, really fast. I dont think I've ever seen her legs move that quickly. What I was feeling that exact moment was... well.. a strange collage of emotions. First... I was hurt. Emotionally, and ESPECIALLY phsyically... then, I was confused...
'What did I say to make Claire so angry?'
...a little sad...
'Great... I've ruined her life...'
...and perhaps a little confused...
'I'll never understand women...'
So I was left in that kitchen, standing there, my mind going a mile a minute. The pain in my lower face pulsated, and intensified. Claire REALLY knew how to punch... I guess Chris wasn't kidding when he told me "not to piss Claire off." She was mad at me. But why?
' I had told her I liked Jill... then she just flipped out...'
It all made perfect sense. She liked me. CLAIRE liked ME. Claire Redfield! She'd told me several times before she doesnt go for 'pretty boys like myself', but... dammit... confusion came over me again...
Within moments, Chris hopped downstairs.
"Hey Leon? Is Jill back?" he asked me, but when he took one look at my face, I saw his brow furrow, "What happened? I think I heard someone yelling..."
I didnt answer, instead, I just continued to stare at a crack in the floor. I didnt want to say anything, to embarass myself or Claire, so I just kept my big trap shut.
"Hey, where *is* Claire?" confused, Chris did a 180 turn, eventually realizing that nobody was there but himself, Sherry, and I. He walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and toward the living room. I heard them talk about the 'wicked game' Sher was playing, so I decided to go see... besides, I *am* the master of everything polygonal.
There, Sherry had just finished watching the ending and credits of the dumb game she was playing. She told me later it was called Bio...hazardous... dangerous... hazard... 2. Or something like that. Her rank came up on the screen, (against a picture of a cute red-headed girl with a ponytail and some 8 year old punk on their motorcycles) which consisted of:
Total time played: 1 hour 10 minutes 8 seconds
Number of Saves: 0
Use of Special Weapons: None
Use of First Aid Kids: None
Rank: S
Sherry, for the 3rd time that day, jumped up into the air, screaming "YES! YES! WHO'S YOUR DADDY?! WHO'S YOUR DADDY?!?!" I blankly stared at the girl, who eventually calmed down, saved the game, and started Larry B/Scenario 2nd.
"Now I'm gonna play as Larry! He's really cute! He kinda looks like you, Leon, but not really!"
Chris tried to ask Sherry where Claire went, but she shushed him.
"Quiet! The opening FMV is coming on!"
And here is what we saw:
Monotone Narrator: Amidst the P-Disease outbreak in Squirell Town, a college girl named Clora Bluefield attempted to find her brother, Christopherson, a member of Special.Tactics.Under.Frequent.Faking.Squad, or STUFFS. She, along with Harry Firkin, who's family worked for Raincoat, escaped successfully... but Clora was not the soul survivor...
"Special Tacticts Under Frequent Faking Squad? That doesn't even make sense..." I blurted out, but I got the evil-eye from Sherry in return.
The opening shot of a police car driving down a barren, empty road played on the television screen. It stopped, and a bumbling rookie cop steps out, upon seeing a dead body lying in the middle of the road.
"Huh?! WHAT'S THIS." the cop said in the silliest, over-acted voice over I've ever heard.
Chris rolled his eyes, "The voice-acting is so lame."
"SHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The FMV continued. At a gas station, a zombie-like creature took a huge bite out of some redneck trucker's arm. He punched the zombie in the face, and rab into his truck,clutching his arm.
"Ow! That GUY is A maniAC. WhY did HE just bite ME?! WHY?!?!"
I couldn't believe how lame the FMV was. And that Larry guy doesnt look ANYTHING like me, I'm telling you. Sure, it looked kinda familiar... but still. LAME.
'Larry' became surrounded by zombies. He shot them off one by one, until he nearly shot a pretty brunette girl who burst out of a diner. A zombie was persuing her from behind. She kinda looked like someone I knew... but I couldnt put my finger on it on that exact second.
"DONT shoot!" the girl shrieked.
"Get DOWN!" Larry shrieked back.
He blasted the zombie that was shambling towards her. He offered her a hand, overacting once again, "Lets HEAD to the Squirrel Police Department, its MUCH safer THERE."
I groaned, "Sherry... just turn it off... it's giving me a bigger headache than I already have..."
"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Larry and the girl ran into an SPD squad car that just HAPPENED to be right there. Larry drove it through the empty streets... of what I suppose was 'Squirel Town'.
"What's HAPPENING? I come looking for MY BROTHER, and I MET UP
with a ZOMBIE instead!" Clora said in the most impossibly-cheesy voice ever.
"GreAT! The radio IS out!" Larry shot back.
"You're a COP, RIGHT?"
"Duh. First DAY on the JOB. Great, HUH? My name's Larry. LARRY S. KERNY."
"My name's Clora. Clora Bluefield. I'm LOOKING for my brother, Christopherson."
The car continued to drive down a road, Clora and Larry made small talk, until the truck with the infected redneck came barreling towards them. And 'suddenly', a zombie in the back of Larry's car attacked them. How unexpected. They both let out emotionless screams.
"AAH."
"AAH."
They crashed the car, and the truck flipped over a couple of times, before landing on the squad car itself, emitting a powerful explosion. Clora and Larry both escaped the car before-hand, now seperated.
"CLORA. I'm alRIGHT. Head FOR the SPD."
"oKAY."
The screen went blank, and there was a tiny caption, "At the same time, at the same pla-"
I turned the Playstation off, my headache was seemingly throbbing inside my cranium. I had to go out and find Claire.
"Hey!! Leon!"
"Leon!" even Chris protested, "It was getting really good!"
I was about to say something really nasty to them, when the voice of an angel interrupted me...
"I'm back!" Jill yelled out at us from the foyer.
"JIIIIIL! LEON TURNED OFF MY PLAYSTATION!" Sherry screamed, as she ran toward her.
I was, of course, shit-excited that Jill was finally back, but strangely, I was more concerned about Claire. Where was she? Was she alright? Was she gonna hate me for the rest of my life?
As I walked up to Jill to help with the groceries, Sherry was half whining/half sobbing.
"...and Leon didnt even ask to turn the Playstation off!"
Jill looked up at me, giggling. "Leon, that wasn't very nice of you."
"I know," I said, just to see Jill smile again, "I'm sorry Sherry."
"No you're not. But... enough of this. I HAVE to play Larry's B scenario."
And with that, she ran back into the living room, and I heard the tune of the Playstation's start up screen bounce from the living room to the kitchen. I turned back to Jill. She took a step closer to me, and put her hand on my chin. I nearly fainted.
"Oh my god, Leon, what happened?"
"Huh?" I had nearly forgotten about what had happened 5 minutes before, "Oh... I uh... I walked into a door." Jill looked at me, her face unreadable. "A door?" she looked around "Where's Claire?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was something about me that never let me quit. I dont know what you call it... but my mom said it was determination. She said it was that that made me better than the other girls. I often scared people with my relentlessness, I even scare my brother.
So when I punched Leon and ran out of my brother's house... I found it hard to stop running. Even when I wanted to quit, to take a break, to catch my breath, I couldnt stop running. I was crying so hard and loathing Leon so much... my senses became entangled with one another... and nothing made sense anymore. I couldn't help but be sad... and jealous... and angry... (REALLY angry)... but it's healthy. There are some people who bottle up there emotions deep inside of them... and I dont think that's good at all. You need an outlet. You need to have some proverbial punching bag. And I guess that's what Leon, the poor sob, turned into.
I think, eventually, I stopped running when I was about one block away from Barry Burton's house. Barry was the wisest person I knew, 'Maybe he could consolidate me somehow.' I thought to myself.
I walked up his well-kept lawn, approached his door, and saw a note on it applied with tape.
"On Vacation. If you're a burglar... uh... I'm home. And I have a shotgun."
UGH! This was probably the most inconvienient time for Barry and his family to be on vacation.
I was hopeless. I was helpless. The man of my dreams is in love with... JILL. I mean... it's not that I hate Jill.. but it seems that each day her wardrobe gets a bit smaller. Get some CLOTHES, woman. Jeez.
'But wait... maybe that's why Leon likes her. Because she dresses like a slut. Great. Just great.'
I was nothing compared to Jill. She had a more slender body, prettier face, and a fuller chest (which I speculate is the result of plastic surgery... but I'm not implying anything. Wait, yes I am). BUT SHE IS SO DAMN MODEST ABOUT IT. That's what really got to me. She even told me she was still a virgin! Shya, and monkeys fly out of my butt.
I drew in a deep breath, pondering my next move. It was starting to get dark, and I saw people heading for Milliken Park, where the Valentine's Day Fireworks Comittee began to set up.
"Maybe Leon will be there."
As much as I hated him at that moment, some strange feeling within me needed to see Leon again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didnt say much, as we rode Chris' car to Milliken park. He was driving, I was in the passenger car, and we were holding hands. Sherry was in the backseat, trying to beat the final boss in Pokemon Silver. Or gold. Or red. Or yellow. Whatever. Leon seemed really depressed, and I knew that it was about Claire. He pulled me aside, making sure Chris and Sherry didnt hear us, and told me he said something to Claire that really set her off... then she ran away. "Jill, I'm really worried about her..." he had said to me.
Now, Leon is a really sweet guy. And Claire is a really... um... interesting girl. They seem like a really good couple... after all, they HAVE been through a lot with each other. Leon, Claire and Sherry all helped each other in escaping Raccoon City... Sherry had told me the terrifying account they had with the "G-Type" in the train... they all seem like a nice family... but all three of them refuse to acknowledge that.
"Something on your mind, Jill?" Chris said to me, in his really cute over-protective tone.
"No..."
"You sure?"
"Yeah..."
But I wasnt.
Leon and I told Chris that Claire went to the park early, and we'd meet her there. I hate lying to Chris, because I know that he'd never lie to me, but Leon really insisted that Chris shouldnt know why his sister wasnt with us.
I turned the car radio on, and that really, REALLY annoying Britney Spears song came on. You know which one I'm talking about... it has that music video where she's dressed in hardly anything? Oh, my mistake, that's EVERY Britney Spears music video.
But something else was on my mind. Leon always smiled when he looked at me. That wasn't a bad thing... but... it's that kinda smile that says "How YOU doin'?" in that really sultry Joey Tribbiani voice. But no matter. I'm sure it's nothing...
Little did I know that the Valentine's fireworks display we were all about to attend would be both a blessing, and a curse.