Topic: Confiding in a Friend

Jonathan Granger

Date: 2011-10-02 13:48 EST
It had been a long time since Mataya had had any excuse to hang around a childrens' playground, but since Juno had come along, she'd discovered it was one of the few things the little girl really enjoyed. She was due to meet up with Jon today, so the choice of playground had been made solely because there was a cafe right next to it. Mataya was particularly difficult to miss today, having given into the urge to wear bright yellow and black, giving the impression of a more attractive than usual wasp. She was sitting at an outdoor table near the edge of the playground, watching as Juno braved the jungle gym while she waited for Jon.

Jon made a less than discreet arrival in the Bentley, which was kind of hard to miss, since there were so few of the shiny, black things around Rhydin. Stubborn to the core, he wasn't willing to give up his independence and hire a driver just yet. Anyway, everyone knew he loved the Bentley and couldn't bear to part with it. He wasn't quite sure why Mataya wanted to meet at a playground, but assumed it had something to do with the mysterious child under her charge, which he as yet knew very little about. As such, he was dressed somewhat casually, at least for him, in muted tones of tan and brown, not nearly as bright as Mataya's yellow and black. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets as he wandered up the path to the playground, watching the kids at play and wondering if he was ever that carefree and happy.

Of course, 'Taya was on the look out for him, as well as keeping an eye on Juno, so as soon as Jon made his muted appearance, she put paid to any attempt to keep himself incognito. "Jon!" Standing up, she waved wildly at him, a huge smile on her face for her friend.

He heard her call his name and turned his head that way, smiling and waving a hand back, not nearly as wildly as her, though he was happy to see her. He made a beeline for the table and wrapped her in a hug. "Hey, Tay. Thanks for meeting me."

Flinging her arms around him, she squeezed warmly, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Are you kidding" Anything for you, Jonny, you know that." She chuckled, releasing him to step back. "You want a coffee or something?"

He smiled and hugged her back, waiting for her to claim a seat before doing the same. "I'd love one, if you have some."

"Like I'd ever say no to caffeine," she laughed. "Just a sec. Oh ....the little one in the stripey cardigan is Juno, in case you're wondering." She pointed to a very high slide, where the girl in question was contemplating the ride down quite seriously. "Be right back." With her usual provocative sway, she walked into the cafe to grab a couple of coffees.

He nodded an acknowledgment and turned to watch the children at play, the little girl Mataya pointed out, in particular. He shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun as he watched her contemplate the slide, wondering what her story was and how she'd come to be under Mataya's care. He barely noticed his companion's provocative sway, as used to it as he was, the little girl holding his attention.

As Juno came to the bottom of the slide, shooting off the end and landing on her backside with a giggling thump, 'Taya reappeared with two mugs and a bottle of water, sliding back into her seat and patting the table. "Sit down, Jon, no one's gonna tackle you to the ground here."

He glanced back at Mataya when she returned, a slightly embarrassed smile on his face. "Sorry, I was just watching and wondering if we were ever that young." Yeah, he's all of twenty-five. Ancient. He claimed a seat across from her and waited for her to hand him a mug, trusting she'd made his coffee to his liking.

"Oh, don't you start getting old on me," she laughed, shaking her head. "'Cos if you start getting old, that makes me older, and I'm not ready yet." Wrapping a hand around her own mug, she lifted it, taking a sip and groaning happily. "I saw you on Ned last night. Why did you agree to those questions?"

He frowned when she mentioned Ned, scowled really, not happy about how that had turned out. "I didn't. I'm an idiot. I should never have agreed to that....fiasco."

"You're not an idiot, Jon," 'Taya told him firmly, her eyes completely serious for once. "You're not the one who came out of it looking bad, either. He made a fool of himself. You came out of it with dignity, and that's pretty huge, you know?"

"I thought I'd come clean, you know" I thought maybe someone could learn something from my mistakes, but he made me look like an ass." He wrapped one hand around the mug, staring at its contents. "And then Lelah was on my lap and everything just turned into a big mess. I don't know what that game was all about."

"Geez, Jon, you gotta stop doing this." She leaned over, her fingers wrapping about his wrist. "Stop focusing on the negative, and take the positive away with you. You held your head up and you kept going, without giving anything too personal away. And if you want to set the record straight about your time in rehab and everything, set up an interview with the Post. They're good at that sort of thing."

He lifted his head toward her. "I did an interview with the Post. I told them ahead of time that I wasn't going to discuss anything about my personal life, and they respected that. I'm clean, Tay. Why does this keep following me around" Why can't they just let it go?"

"So you know that they can do you a huge favor by setting the record straight and abiding by your wishes at the same time," she pointed out, a smile making itself known gently on her features. "Ned's an ass, and everyone knows it. Seriously, Jon, it wasn't that bad." She squeezed his wrist fondly. "They're journalists, it's what they do. You either hold your line, or you give one a full interview with all the facts. That's just how it's done, and you know that."

"I can't, Tay..." There was that frown again. He was going to have to come clean with her. He couldn't stand living a lie. If he didn't tell her the truth, he felt like he was going to burst open at the seams. "Half my life is a lie. The other half....I don't remember."

She frowned curiously, tilting her head in concern. "I thought you said you were getting therapy for the memory thing," she said quietly. "That it was working for you."

"It wasn't....therapy exactly. I mean, I tried. I've been to doctors, healers....I've tried everything. It's just....gone."

Her frown deepened with further concern. "What do you mean, not exactly?" she asked with worrying suspicion. "Jon, what have you been doing?"

He sighed. "You sound like Lena." He rested an elbow against the table and raked a hand through his hair, scratching his head nervously.

'Taya leaned forward on her elbows, eyeing him with sardonic amusement. "And you're acting guilty," she pointed out. "I live with Max, I know guilty a mile off, Jon. You don't have to talk to me about it, but you need to talk to someone."

Jonathan Granger

Date: 2011-10-02 13:49 EST
"You're not gonna like it," he warned. It had started out innocently enough but had quickly gotten out of hand. Too quickly.

'Taya smiled faintly, shrugging one shoulder. "Jon, this is me. I might not like it, but I'm in no position to judge you for anything. So tell me."

Both hands went to the mug, his eyes on the dark liquid. "I was doing research for the movie..." he started, not quite sure how to explain what had happened without sounding too melodramatic. "I wanted to know what life was like for vampires....real vampires. I wasn't planning on doing anything stupid. Just ask them some questions."

"Okay," she said slowly, glancing toward the playground to check on Juno briefly. "Well, the sun is shining and you're not a small pile of ashes, so I'm guessing you didn't follow through all the way. What did you do?"

"I'm not a vampire, if that's what you mean." He shrugged his shoulders, furrowing his brows in thought. This was where it got a little foggy. "There was this woman....a vampire....She....read my thoughts somehow."

"Okay. Just take your time and walk me through it," 'Taya suggested as calmly as she could, wondering if this was going to be painful to listen to.

"I think she....put some sort of....spell on me or something. She read my thoughts, told me she could give me my memories back, but there would be a price."

"What sort of price?"

He lifted his head toward her again. "What do you think?" It seemed kind of obvious, at least, to him.

Never try to avoid the issue when you're talking to another former addict. 'Taya's brow rose pointedly. "What I think doesn't matter, does it?" she said quietly. "It's you vocalising it that matters."

"Blood, Tay. She said she wanted to remember what it felt like to be alive. She said she'd give me back my memories, if I let her..." He frowned and looked away, unable to say the words - feed, drink - ashamed he'd let it happen, almost feeling like he'd been forced into it somehow, seduced. "What sane person would let that happen, Tay' Am I that desperate?"

"No, you're not. And you're not insane, either." She sighed, rubbing a hand through her hair. "Look, I know I haven't been in Rhy'Din as long as you, but there are some things you pick up pretty quick. Like not walking down certain streets after dark, and how some vampires hunt. Some of them can dominate minds, Jon. If you were already feeling vulnerable, then wouldn't it have been easier to get into your head and sort of nudge you into agreeing to something you wouldn't normally even consider?"

He already knew all that, but it didn't make him feel any less....violated....or stupid. Like his mind had been raped or something. He blew out a breath. "It was working. I was starting to remember."

"And then what happened?"

"There was this girl....a younger vampire. At least, she looked younger. She was there a few times, I think. Some of it is a little....foggy." He shoved a hand through his hair, mussing the curls. It was, for some reason, easier to tell Mataya than it had been to tell Lena, but maybe that was because she understood him better. Or maybe because he didn't want Lena to think less of him. Either way, it was still hard.

"Jon, they didn't try to turn you into one of them, did they?" 'Taya asked worriedly. "I mean, you didn't drink their blood or anything?"

"Yeah, I did....I don't even know what made me do it, but when I drank their blood, mixed with mine, I started remembering things."

Her worried expression sharpened. "That last relapse wasn't a relapse." It wasn't a question; she'd made an intuitive leap and was hoping like hell that her suspicions weren't true. "Something happened with this blood sharing thing, didn't it."

He nodded, his face betraying feelings of guilt, sadness, remorse, failure. "It's like a drug, Tay. Worse than anything I've ever had before. Worse than cocaine, maybe even worse than heroin."

"But you got through, right?" she asked pointedly. "I mean, you didn't give in and go back for more. Did you?"

He winced, and that was almost answer enough, but now that he'd started the story, he thought he might as well finish it. "I went there one night when I was upset about something." He glanced over at her, wishing someone, anyone would understand. "Do have any idea what it's like to not know who you are anymore" People tell you who you are, but they can only tell you what they know. You search your memories, and there's nothing. Just a big blank. People ask you questions about things and you pretend to know the answer, but you don't. It's just lines you've learned from a script. And sometimes you wonder who you really are."

One thing Mataya had never done was lie to Jon, and she wasn't about to start now. "No, I don't," she agreed solemnly, glancing toward the playground once again. "But I know a little girl who does. I can't imagine what it's like, Jon, but ....there's gotta be a point where you stop looking backwards and start making new memories. Hasn't there?"

"If people will let you. Some will, some won't. Some talk about things that happened, things you're supposed to remember. What do you say to them?" He looked over at Juno, curiosity piqued, especially now that he knew they had something in common. ?Sorry, I don't remember that. Sorry, I don't remember anything. I don't remember how we met. I don't remember what we were to each other. I know we're friends. At least, I know that."

"You tell them that you don't remember, and you'd appreciate not being reminded that you don't remember," 'Taya suggested mildly. "The people who care about you won't mind at all." She followed his gaze toward Juno with a faint smile. "She doesn't talk about her past much at all, but from what we can work out, she remembers living at the theater, and nothing before. Don't know why. Jon, we slept together once when we were both riding high," she chuckled. "It didn't mean anything then, and it doesn't mean anything now. You're my friend, and I'll be here for you when you need me."

He was watching the little girl, a well of sympathy for her. "She has you and Max. She'll be okay." And he knew he would, too, in time.

"And you've got Lena, and your family, and Lelah, and me," 'Taya pointed out. "You'll be okay, too. But you need to deal with this. As long as you're connected with these vampires, you're always gonna want what you shouldn't have."

Jonathan Granger

Date: 2011-10-02 13:51 EST
"I'm okay now. It's over." But was it really' There was still one roaming around out there somewhere. He'd gone through a hellish withdrawal, one that had made cocaine withdrawal look like a walk in the park, and he wasn't going through that again.

"Well, if you ever feel the need ....I think Fiora's got a supernatural pest control thing at the Plaza," Mataya offered quietly. "They did a next of vampire harpies for her a while back."

His eyes were still on Juno, watching her at play, envying her innocence and wondering where she'd come from. He turned back to Mataya with an arched brow. "A nest?"

"Yeah, apparently Fiora gets all sorts as squatters in the houses she buys and does up, and there were a load of vampiric harpies in one of them," 'Taya shrugged, not entirely sure of the details. "She just handed the address over to these guys at the Plaza and they kicked 'em out and killed 'em, I think."

"There's one left," he admitted, unsure how much he should tell her. He chewed his lip, thoughtfully. Had the two vampires been part of a bigger group" He wasn't sure, but if that was true, there might be more than one vampire to worry about.

"Do you want rid of it?" 'Taya asked curiously. "Because they're obviously pretty good."

He didn't want to tell her how serious it really was, probably more serious than he wanted to admit. He was having thoughts and dreams that didn't feel like his own, that belonged to someone else. "I'm told there's only one way to break the connection."

"And that is?"

"Someone has to destroy her," he said quietly, not wanting to admit that harsh reality, but until and unless she was destroyed, he had a feeling he'd never be free.

She held his gaze for a long moment, trying to read the expression in his eyes thoughtfully. "And do you want that to happen?"

He looked back at her, meeting her gaze, a look of determination on his face, the will to survive, the desire to have his life back. "I want my freedom."

"Then you need to go to the Plaza," she said simply, with a slow nod. "Or someone else needs to. But either way, it's gotta be done."

He didn't give himself enough credit. Considering everything he'd been through, he was a lot stronger than he gave himself credit for, surviving things that might have destroyed weaker souls. "Who do I ask for" Buffy?" he quipped.

She snorted with laughter, shaking her head. "You should ask for Shen Lei and Rufus Bennett."

Jon made a mental note of that information, and the conversation took a turn away from his problems to other matters. It felt good to confide in a friend, one who understood him so completely and who didn't judge or condemn him. The ball was in his court again, and he knew what he had to do.

((Many thanks to Mataya's player for this scene, which has been adapted from live role-play.))