Chapter IV

Jamie and Walter walked to the pub after work as they did sometimes. Usually when Walter was feeling down or overly excited which happened to be his only modes of living, so they went to the pub a lot. Jamie elbowed Walter. "That was the fastest close ever. "

Walter rolled his eyes and threw his arm over Jamies' shoulder and drew his face in close. "Yeah, I did all the cleaning yesterday."

Jamie turned his face away. "Yeah, true."

Walter grabbed Jamies chest. "So, what happened with you and Priscilla? Why Priscilla? Rory is definitely hotter and she's alway all on you."

Jamie grabbed Walters hand and removed it and looked up at him unflinchingly. "But I'm more of a quiet girl type ya know. They usually have a better story."

"A real man likes to work for his meals, huh?"

"Maybe. Seriously it's not like that. I don't think Priscilla is capable of that stuff ya know. Not with me at least."

"Hey Wally!" Baptiste was an over sized man in the areas needed to be intimidating, but shallow everywhere else. His face was sunken in above his tight jaw. Underneath his dirty drab coat wasn't filled out as it should be for a man his size. His voice made up for all of that unfulfilled potential. "I heard you were too busy to hang out with friends but here you are. What's wrong with this picture? Oh, you seem free as a bird."

Walter turned and upon seeing him slid his hand down and across his face. Walter shrugged his shoulders in defeat. It was bound to happen one day. He had been lucky was all. "This is a friend from work. It's a work thing."

"Hey." It was all Jamie could say. The air was so tense all of a sudden. He wasn't sure he was allowed to introduce himself.

Baptiste wasn't going to let him come up with some grand excuse about saving a princess or whatever. He caught him in the open with no where to go. "So what! Do you or don't you have time for friends."

Walter was facing a crushing defeat that could turn fatal. "Do you want to go for a drink?"

"Of course. See how easy it is? For friends to communicate when they try. But that place is trash." He raggedly through his shoulders around in what he perceived to be a cool shrug.

"it's okay right." Walter asked Jamie, putting and ungodly amount of pressure on him. It was unavoidable. He just couldn't see a way out.

"It's fine." Seeing the guilt of having to ask in Walter's eyes, he nodded and said as if it was his idea.

"Alright! A night out just what the boys need. I'll just call up Gavin, Safari, and Clément." He hooted as he searched his pockets for his phone.

Walter could only take so much rowdy Baptiste. When they were all around each other there was no pub that could contain them. "Wait. Just us Baptiste."

Baptiste looked at him side ways. "I can't find my phone? Why, why shouldn't I call them? They're your friends right? We are all friends right?"

Walter placed a hand on his hip and another on his face to massage his temples. "Hmph. Yes but I'm trying to have a quiet night. Those guys only have two levels, sleep, and the other won't fucking shut up. As soon as we get inside they'll be yelling at the bartender, talking 10 volumes above the rest of the room and shooting every asshole in the room a dirty look."

Baptiste put his hands on Walters shoulders. Eyes gleaming with false promises. "Wally?"

Walter took one look, shook his head and clicked his tongue. "If it's you, and only you, I know you can wind down and relax. But they just can't, not tonight."

Baptiste face was glib and unconcerned now. The ease at which certain unconscionable people can cycle through opposite emotions, makes rational people uneasy, and so it did. "Oh I see. And how long has it been since you were in their shoes huh. Your high too! So high now you forgot what it's like. To be so low and hopeless, to feel like no one sees you, you're nothing. You'd do anything to get a little attention even blow off some steam. I can't count how many guys I had to pull you off of, cause you took it too far."

Baptiste had closed in. He wanted a fight as he always did. When he woke up, when he walked down the street, and especially around his friends. Walter stepped back.

"That's why I can't be around that. Not cause I'm not like them but because I am. I'm doing good for myself now, Baptiste."

Baptiste raised his head and straightened up. "So you forget about everyone else who was there for you?" Baptiste grabbed Walters shirt. "Like we're just around for as long as you need us like fairy god parents. Do you see any fucking wings on my back or fairy dust."

Walter didn't jostle a bit. He was stiff and planted. "No, but don't act like you did it for me. You were by yourself too."

Baptiste lost it and punched Walter in the face. Walter jumped at him and they fell to the ground. Baptiste reaching for parts of Walters shirt, pushing him away. Walter squeezed tight against Baptiste, face shoving it into the curb. Baptiste struggled to turn his head to make sure Walter could see him and he did. Lunacy in his eyes, frantically shaking. Violent winds on the outside, and deathly cold on the inside. He saw what he knew.

"Admit it. You were lonely. What would you have done with yourself, had you not found me. In that market, what would you have done with all that rage, Baptiste?"

Gavin, Safari, Clément walked up and tried to assess what was going on. Gavin got down and pulled Walter off of Baptiste. Safari went and grabbed Jamie and Clément stopped Baptiste.

Gavin dusted Walters shoulder off. "Who the hell is fighting here?"

"Walter, you okay? You want to fight so bad you can fight me." Safari always the martyr.

Clément knew that look. He helped Baptiste up but made sure he stood in between him and Walter. "Baptiste?"

Walter looked around at his old friends. "See what I mean. How about that drink now?"

Baptiste eyes hadn't changed, he didn't feel any different, or anything. "Come on."

Gavin stepped to Walter. "Need a hand. I can finish what he started."

Baptiste checked through the hair on the back of his head for blood. There probably was, but he couldn't tell if it was from tonight or the last. He shrugged his shoulders, it was more rare to see a demon cry for a baby. "Leave him. Let's go boys."

Safari opened his hands and Jamie stepped away. He could still feel Safaris grip. He looked up at the man.

Safari looked down at the knife in Jamie's hand, he was ready to doll out some pain of his own. Safari put his hands up and looked him in his eyes. "Mercy."

Jamie could feel his insouciance. Detached and uninvolved, in anything. A cool breeze. Safari turned and tipped his hat at Walter. "Alright."

TO BE CONTINUED...

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