branch angst

vodka

jules' pov:

i watched from around the corner as both branch and clay made their way up the elevator. i could tell they were both catching onto me.. this may be the only chance i have to enact my plan.

hi, i'm jules. i didn't really introduce myself!!

i'm sure branch has probably told you loads about me. but if i'd have to guess, i'd say only half of it's true!!

maybe i might want a little bit of revenge.. but i have good reasons!! i'm not evil or anything. i have my reasons, like i said.

.. he made me lose my family for christs' sake!! i might as well repay the favor.

starting with john.

he was so naive. i could make him do anything, and he wouldn't complain or question it at all.

geez thats such a crazy thing to say. trust me, like i said, i'm not evil. just hurt. hurt people hurt people i guess??

anyways, lets get back on track here. i didn't want to kill john!.. just not yet. but if i made him disappear for a little bit i think that'd get my point across.

but how would i do that??

i knew he owned a bar. he never told me. but when you have nothing to do all day, following people kinda becomes a hobby.

maybe i could blackmail him into leaving for a bit.

but i still need him to trust me so that wouldn't work..

i could tell him about a party. it'd take him hours to realize that i was lying!!

but i need more time..

then it just clicked. i had the perfect plan!!

so i took action immediately; skipping off and into his room.

"johnny?" i called out in a mushy voice while knocking on the door.

no answer. i pressed my ear softly against the door. nothing!

now i swung it open only to reveal my suspicions were right; john wasn't in his room.

i growled out loud and slapped my hands against my face.

i should have remembered he'd be at the bar right now!!

"are you okay??" floyd gasped while jumping out his room.

he must of heard me.

"oh- uhh.. just looking for john." i sighed hastily.

maybe i could hide floyd instead..

no wait that's perfect!! it's obvious that floyd is branch's favorite brother. hah!! should have thought about that sooner.

i raised an eyebrow. "you want a drink? i bought some yesterday.."

he chuckled awkwardly. "oh uhh, no thanks.i only drink with my brothers."

"awh c'mon.. it'll be fun!!!" i giggled.

he looked hesitant.

"well alright." he sighed; smiling.

this man just didn't know how to say no. perfect.

i lead him over to the kitchen. he sat at the couch while i poured both of us two bottles of pure vodka.

"don't you think that'll be a little strong?" he questioned worriedly.

"just drink it you wuss." i giggled while shoving the drink into his hands.

"well alright.." he hesitated before taking a small sip.

i rolled my eyes; prompting for him to continue.

he looked at me with one last pleading expression before throwing the rest down his throat.

"want another one?"

branch's pov:

i was sat criss-cross on the ground with clay.

everyone was taking turns reading out their favorite lines from a book we had all read together. not the whole thing, of course. just a few chapters.

to be honest.. i was invested!! i never knew i could be so happy reading a book. i'll be sure to come back next time.

the whole atmosphere was kinda moody and somber. everyone was either already in tears or trying their best to hold them back out of embarrassment.

i watched as clay read out a few lines from the book; a few tears dropping from his eyes. "but you left me howard.. you left me for that no good rat petunia!!- i could never forgive you.." he read out dramatically.

everyone clapped for him.

now it was my turn.

i flipped to page 36; looking at the lines i wanted to read. these words truly did mean a lot to me. but i didn't need these trolls to know that!!

i hesitated. "forgiveness comes with time, howard. you can't forgive without forgetting."

even i felt a little saddened by the whole thing. clay gave me an approving smile. i nodded my head; smiling back.

he was right. this wasn't so bad after all.

45 minutes later.

me and him were heading out of the pod; chatting away about how the meeting went.

"wasn't that great?" he yawned while stretching out his limbs.

sitting in one place for so long gets really uncomfortable.

"yeah!! actually.. i think i might go again." i smiled energetically.

his eyes widened. "really?? that's great branch!!! i could just-"

he scooped me up in a brotherly hug. i giggled before hugging clay back. awhhhh.

"you want to grab a bite to eat?" clay questioned while setting me down.

i hesitated. "we've been gone from the bunker for so long.. could we check it just in case?"

he nodded understandingly. "yeah of course. let's go little bro."

i giggled one last time before following him down to the bunker.

the walk was long. luckily their meetings were always in new places. so it wouldn't always have to be so hard to get home.

the whole time there me and clay were in a spirited conversation about what happened in the book, and what we thought would happen next.

our conversation came to an end once we had reached the bunker.

i stopped for a second. "do you think their okay?"

"there's only one way to find out." he sighed while pulling the lever.

we were lowered ominously to the ground.

my ears twitched nervously as we hit the bottom.

in front of us stood the living room and kitchen.

worry filled my mind as my eyes found the multiple empty glass bottles

with a half drunken glass of vodka on the side.

thats the end of the chapter!! if you couldn't already tell, floyd's my favorite.