Screenwriting An Apology

[Shannon]

I was sitting in a back corner of Rath and Ruins. Today was pretty slow. They didn't have a band booked for tonight and the only music was Hawthorne Heights playing on the speaker system. This town was new to me so this was the most comfortable place I had found. I kicked my chair back to lean against the walls which were painted black with neon stripes and splatters. I rested my feet against a nearby chair, keeping my chair tipped back. I picked at my jeans which were knife slashed horizontally all the way down to halfway below my knees. I was wearing a black t-shirt with a band logo on it. I had a short chain leather necklace on and both my wrists were wrapped in leather bracelets. My wallet chain clanked loudly on the chair leg as I shifted in my seat.

I was thinking again. I almost felt guilty for leaving Jase. At the same time, I would have felt guilty for staying. I didn't know which was worse, being in his way or not being there to help out. I sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose before running my hand through the hair at the back of my head, making it spike even more than it already was. A waitress came over and asked me if there was anything I wanted. I shook my head and went back to staring at the thin stripes of my skin that I could see through my jeans.

[Izzy Morris]

I casually strolled into the club, the hood of my jacket up, concealing my face in the shadows that seemed to be ever present as a result of minimum lighting to set the mood of the establishment. With the lack of live entertainment the club was not as ‘jumping’ as it could be or usually was so finding the one I was supposed to meet was easy. I pulled up the sleeves of the oversized hoody so that my hands could see what little light there was.

When I got to the table I pulled out one of the chairs and flipped it around so that I was sitting on it backwards. “Howdy stranger, and what may I ask brings you to these parts?” I reached up and pulled down my hood to that my face could be seen more easily, On top of that it was hiding my blonde hair which I firmly believed made me look like a man.

[Shannon]

I looked up when I saw the movement. I leaned one elbow on the table. "I don't know, maybe because it's the only place where I actually feel like I belong. I don't have to worry about becoming a body in a lake." I knew I was being overly callous about it but I could tell from the other kids I had seen around that they didn't exactly welcome me here.

I tangled a finger in the necklace, twisting it around in small circles. "What about you? What draws you here?" I smiled crookedly.

[Izzy Morris]

I scooted back just the slightest bit in the chair when I gauged his reaction to my question. When it was my turn to answer I had to pause a moment to make sure that I didn’t sound as taken aback as I felt. “Well I’m here to see a friend whom by the sounds of it hates it here.” I looked around for a moment trying to think of a witty remark that might bring more of a smile to his face, but alas there was nothing to terribly funny about the current situation so I decided to look back to Shannon with the best smile I had and left my answer the way it was.

[Shannon]

I bit my lip and thought for a second. "I don't hate it here. It's just some of the people... they make you feel threatened." I glanced momentarily at a guy who was sitting by the bar. He was looking at me like he wanted something I had. My gaze narrowed as I glared at him, hoping he would get the hint and stop staring.

"Anyway... what have you been up to?" I changed the subject, hoping she hadn't noticed my momentary lapse in good nature. I felt kind of off today, like a CD trying to play upside down.

[Izzy Morris]

I smiled when the change of subject came. For a long moment I was looking at my hands and using nails on one hand to clean the underside of my nails on the other. I finally decided to look up so that I could answer this time a more lentamente look of happy on my face. “Well I actually spent most of today trying to pick out what I was going to wear when I came here. And after all that time all I could come up with was a baggy hoody and a worn out pair of jeans. I guess that shows how in touch I am with my feminine side huh?” The question was more rhetorical but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t interested in his opinion. “And yourself? What have you been up to today?”

[Shannon]

I weaved a finger through the ragged threads of my jeans. "Don't get me started on worn out jeans."

I thought about her question before answering. "Well, I've spent a lot of time in here today since it's so hot outside. This building is built slightly underground, so it's cooler in here than it ever could be at my apartment." I chewed on a thumbnail, thinking momentarily. "Other than that, I've been... sitting..." I lifted up my arm which had winding patterns drawn in pen. I had sat here long enough to doodle all kinds of things on my arm. "I did this too..." I pulled the pends out of my pocket. They only came in black, red, blue, and purple.

[Izzy Morris]

A simple glimpse of his art was not enough, especially not in the light of this club, so I stuck with my first thought reaction and took a hold of his arm so that I could pull it towards me. For the first half a minute or so I guess I didn’t realize that Shannon was still attached to his arm. I released my grip quickly and looked up, a shade of red taking over my cheeks. “Sorry I got excited and momentarily forgot that you were attached to this piece of art.” I rubbed the back of my head while hiding my urge to laugh.

[Shannon]

I smiled gently. "I don't mind. I'm quite used to being manhandled." I grinned crookedly and bit my lip, hoping she wouldn't knock me out of my chair for that comment. I looked at my fingernails and grimaced for a second. The black nail polish was coming off again. I was just too lazy to fix it. Summer was definitely not my favorite season. The heat and humidity tested my patience.

[Izzy Morris]

I looked at him with an almost challenging look on my face. Had that been anyone else I might have raised a bit of hell, but it was Shannon, which just made it amusing. “Is that so? Well then now that I’m aware you can most certainly expect more ‘man handling’ only Izzy style.” I brought my arms up to flex my non-existent muscles to perhaps bring more humor to the evening. I figured the more he smiled the better off the night might be. I really couldn’t stand to see him so upset.

[Shannon]

"Ooh, so scary. I'm trembling in my chains." Sarcasm seemed to be my strong point today. "You know, Jase used to toss me around a lot. You really think you can match him?" I smiled at her devilishly. I tapped a finger on the table, making the captive hoop ring rattle rather loudly. I stared at it before looking back at her.

[Izzy Morris]

I almost snapped back but then he gave me a grin that made my skin rise in little goose bumps. Not having any snappy comment on the draw I just stared for what seemed like a whole minute. I had to take that time to re-focus on the topic at hand. “I’m not so sure I could, nothing trumps brotherly abuse.” With that I playfully punched his art-covered arm.

[Shannon]

I caught her wrist quickly before she could pull her hand back and smiled at her mischievously. "That sounds about like it." I shook my head. "He handcuffed my foot to a chair once. It was a heavy chair too... And then he promptly left to go set up for a show." It was strange. Jase and I were really close but our pranks were almost inhumane.

[Izzy Morris]

I jumped only a little at the sudden contact, and made no attempt to pull away. His fingers were cool on my arm and it felt rather nice. I tried to focus on the story but out of it all I got was cuffed to a chair and left. That was enough to get a reaction out of me. “Umm how did you manage to live this long exactly?”

[Shannon]

I looked down at my hand and rubbed at my thumb. It had a long scar running diagonal across it from a knife blade. "That's a good question. I'd like to know myself." My voice was quiet though easy to hear since no one else in the club was speaking.