This chapter also starts a little differently, from the perspective of the title character of this chapter... hang in there, guys. Trust me, it's worth it... Layne and Jerry are in this chapter a lot so don't fret!!
***
Yesterday...
In a bustling, crowded, cubicle-filled office sits a man named Rodney Stark.
Unfortunately, he doesn't really have any friends... and he's regarded as the loser of the office; they call him Roddy, a name he despises.
He works for the local newspaper, sometimes editing articles for magazines.
He's always dreamed of his first big break, the first story of his to be featured... he's never even had a paragraph of his own showcased on any piece of paper since his useless college days.
"Roddy!"
Groaning, he stares down at his keyboard, typing away in an effort to ignore Silas, his annoying-as-fuck, fuckboy coworker.
Why did the jacked guy have to get all the girls? Why couldn't anyone fall for big-boned, balding Rodney?
What? He had a nice face...
Silas grabs one of Rodney's pencils, leaning against the side of Rodney's desk as he twirls the unsharpened yellow stick in the air with his fingers.
"What's on the agenda today, bro?" Silas grins.
Rodney rolls his eyes. "I'm almost done with your paper. Great article today."
"Why, thank you kindly, Rodders."
Ah, yes: 'Rodders'- another nickname of his that Rodney hated.
"Hey, so..." Silas starts, scratching the back of his head. "Did you find your 'first big story' yet?"
"What's it matter to you?"
"Well," Silas chuckles meanly, "the guys and I have a bet, you see: Gerald's money's on you making your way around here in, let's say, the next ten years. Bob's money's on you quitting, or getting fired for pure incompetence. And my money's on... sometime in the next five years." Silas puts his hand on Rodney's shoulder. "I have faith in you, man. So... get on with it."
"Fudge off," Rodney sneers, a quiver in his voice.
"Fudge?" Silas laughs. "Just say fuck, man, God..."
As Silas walks off, Rodney fumes at his desk.
"Breathe," he whispers to himself, pushing his horn-rimmed glasses up on his nose with his middle finger.
He turns back to his desk, looking around as he unlocks the drawer on his desk.
Truly, a sight to behold.
Pictures, notes... all for the perfect first story.
You see, Rodney's got more potential than he seems. He could make quite a living in Hollywood writing for gossip magazines, and he knows that. People like Silas just keep stealing his ideas.
But no one will find out this time...
He's going to write this story. People are going to read it, especially since he's in Seattle where the story begins...
***
March 16, 1994: Seattle, WA, USA
Moonlight softly streams in through the curtains in Jerry's apartment, the dead of night mixing with a bright silver fog outside.
Wearing nothing but boxers, Layne and Jerry lie in bed together, with Layne on his back and Jerry lying between Layne's legs with his head turned to the side on Layne's chest.
YOU ARE READING
Even Now
Fanfiction**Discontinued :( The year is 1993. Heroin addict Layne Staley of Seattle rock band Alice In Chains has just had the fear of God put into him following a bandmate's overdose. When faced with a simple decision, the butterfly effect comes into play...
