Multifandom Oneshots

haha : sad clown stories ~ apology ~ bartelby/phil

A/N : Yesterday I got a nice day with my biological father, my half brother and his mom, and while we were out we went to a comic store. At the comic store, I got a comic called Haha : Sad Clown Stories. Technically it was a multi-issue comic, but I got the one that collects the 6 issues into one book because I hate having separate issues of comics. This takes place post chapter/issue 1

A knock at the door shook Bartelby out of his daze.

Brenda had finally left him, taking the kids and dog with her. He got to keep the house, but it's not like he could afford the bills. Hell, he could hardly afford the rent with the few birthday parties he got to work got. Kids nowadays just didn't appreciate clowns anymore, so work was harder to find. So, he just sat alone at the table, in his full clown outfit, hoping for a job offer.

Because he couldn't pay the bills, that meant that he had no lights on. No water. No electricity. He just kept some bottled gallons of water in the corner, and candles around the house for light. No one visited him nowadays. After all, his one friend had mugged him and the other clowns from Funville went elsewhere after the business went under... And yet, the knock at his door persisted.

He walked up to it, attempting to look through the little peep hole, but that had collected. He sighed and opened the door, surprised to find...

"Phil?"

"Hey, B" the chunky clown said. He was in full makeup, and had a guilty expression on his face. He silently handed Bartelby the wallet he had stolen. The skinny clown raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Y-You're..." he stuttered out. "You're returning this to me?" Phil nodded. "But... Why?"

"It was shitty of me. Besides I uh..." He nervously scratched at the back of his neck. "I may or may not have already used the money I needed. Still, it's important that you have your ID and whatnot... And, I'm sorry" Phil sighed. "You didn't deserve the violence or the betrayal. I care about ya, B... Even if I displayed otherwise"

Bartelby let out a light chuckle. "You wanna know something, Phil?" he asked with a weak smile. Phil reluctantly nodded. "You mugging me... That wasn't even the worst thing that happened to me that day"

"Shit, B" Phil said, both in shock and concern. Bartelby just nodded before continuing what he was saying. "Yeah" the skinny clown laughed. He had to laugh. He couldn't process the trauma any other way. "You know, you'd think that losing your job and getting mugged by your friend on the same day would be it but no" he laughed again, pulling up his wig to reveal the now healed scar on his forehead. "I got shot in the head too"

"Jesus fuck, B" Phil breathed out, gently reaching to touch the scar. He hesitated, waiting for permission, which was granted with a small nod and smile. He smoothed his white glove over the circular scar, which he was still able to feel even through the padding of his glove due to it being a sort of dent. "Yeah" Bartelby chuckled. "I must be the luckiest guy in the world, huh?"

"Where's Brenda?" Phil asked, peeking over the skinny clown's shoulder into the dimly lit house. "Divorced me. Took the dog and kids" Bartelby replied, still keeping a weak smile on. "Holy shit, B" Phil said for what felt like the hundredth time. "I didn't realize... I'm just... I..."

"It's alright, Phil. I'm not angry with you" Bartelby reassured. He would be very justified in being pissed at his friend, but he really wasn't. The betrayal had hurt, but a part of him had to admit that he would've probably done the same thing if he was desperate enough... He just preferred not to.

"Can I... Come in?" Phil swallowed. Bartelby smiled and nodded, opening the door and allowing his friend to come in. "Of course" he permitted.

"I need the company anyways... No one comes by nowadays"