The Jokester

Chapter 6: Finally

Trigger Warnings For This Chapter: Cursing, Suggestive Material, Gun Violence, Blood, Mental Illness Traits, Hallucinations, And Death

    Brain sat on the bench by the tracks, tapping his foot impatiently. He looked at a watch he had on and frowned. It was 4:01. He looked left to right and then at his feet. Did he change his mind?

   Brain decided to give it another 10-15 minutes before he'd get up and leave. These extra minutes gave Brain plenty of time to let his thoughts wander and race. From best-case scenarios to worst-case scenarios.

He forgot.

He slept in.

He lied.

He hates you.

He knows you're gay.

He's just running late.

He got jumped....

He's dead...

He's... He's...

   "Brain!!" The cockney accent echoed off the walls. Brain twirled around in time to see Pinky tumble down some steps and then pop right back up with a grunt. "Hiya, Brain! Narf!" Pinky rushed over to him and caught his breath. "Sorry, I'm late! The clock at work is the one with the needles, and I don't know how to read those ones."

   Brain was at a loss for words. "P-Pinky, I-". Pinky was dressed in a casual jacket, white shirt, and very slim jeans. His hair was combed nicely, and he smelled... like bubblegum. Everywhere.

   Pinky wrung his hands together. "Poit. I'm really sorry, Brain. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. You still want to go with me, right?"

   Brain shook his head and found his words. "Of course! And don't worry about it. I was just scared you maybe changed your mind." Or got hurt.

   Pinky smiled. "Oh heavens! I'd never change my mind about today!" Pinky sat down next to Brain. "So, Brain, how was your day today?"

   Brain felt heat creep up into his face. Within a matter of seconds, Pinky had made Brain feel happy. "It was okay. A little dull, but otherwise good. How was your day, Pinky?"

   "It was... alright. Zort!" He got in trouble at work, and that one mean voice had bothered him quite a bit, but he didn't want his and Brain's conversation to go negative so fast.

   Brain noticed the pause in Pinky's response and pried. He didn't want Pinky to think he had to lie to keep his interest. "Are you certain? You know, you can be honest about your day. I want to genuinely know."

   Pinky's mouth hung open. He wants to genuinely know? Pinky shuffled his feet. "Well,... okay. My boss yelled at me for scaring a little boy today. I didn't mean to. The boy was scared of clowns, so there wasn't much I could do about it. Then there's a voi- person who's constantly saying mean things to me. The things they say are getting harder and harder to ignore. Poit."

   A train pulled in, and the two men boarded. "I can't believe someone would have bad things to say to you. Sorry to hear, Pinky." And he was. Pinky still had a smile and light in him, but he didn't like that people were testing it.

   They sat down in the back where there was room, but they had to be rather close to each other with how packed the cart was. Their shoulders were firmly pressed together, and their hands were nearly touching. Pinky looked away from their hands and took a controlled breath before continuing the conversation. "Oh, it's okay. Unfortunately, there are quite a few things bad about me. Poit."