Sequel: Black & White ›
Status: Complete! Check out the sequel Black & White!
...And a Happy New Year
Chain Gang
February 28, 2014
Chaney arrived at work the next morning, still a bit miffed about Halvo’s strange behavior as of late. She figured she would call him later in the morning and try to make plans with him. They never went this long apart from each other, even before things changed between them. She didn’t understand why he was now being so standoffish.
Stephanie arrived to her cubicle shortly after Chaney with a renewed purpose. She didn’t know how she would get John and Chaney together, but she was determined to make it happen. She had a gut feeling that Halvo wasn’t the right fit for Chaney, and she wasn’t sure why. It was strange to her, because initially, she was a strong proponent for them to get together. However, after hearing about how he had treated Chaney, she needed to get Chaney’s mind off of Halvo and onto John.
Stephanie didn’t realize that she was putting projections onto Halvo that rightfully belonged on John. John was genuinely the one that deserved to be ousted for the dreadful way he treated Chaney, however Stephanie had no clue he was the instigator. She was now becoming as determined to get John and Chaney together as Halvo had once been.
The morning went by uneventfully, which was surprising considering the massive amounts of work they’d had all week. Taking her lunch break early, Chaney decided to take lunch alone in hopes of making plans that night with Halvo.
Chaney left the office, and walked down the block to the small deli to get a sandwich and enjoy the weather while she ate. Upon getting her sandwich, she found her usual table for whenever she ate here, and sat down. She pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts until she came across the familiar number she’d dialed so many times over the last 15 years.
“Hello?” Halvo asked confused.
“Halvo?”
“Wait, Indy?”
“Yeah…where are—what’s going on? I haven’t seen you in a while. Not since…”
“Oh, uh, well I’m kinda busy at the moment actually.”
“I uh, didn’t realize that. Wait, where are you? What’s all that noise?”
Chaney heard something cover the receiver end on his phone along with some mumbled yelling before she heard it get drastically quiet.
“Sorry, I had to go out in the hallway.”
“Go out in the hallway where? Halvo, where are you? What’s going on? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all week and you’ve completely blown me off. That’s not like you.”
“Well, I’m kind of in California right now…”
“California?! What the hell Halvo! What are you doing there?”
“Uh, going on a mini tour with Chain Gang…”
“And you couldn’t have told me that before?”
“Why does it matter so much?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe because I kinda thought we were something. I thought you might decide to tell me that you weren’t in the same fucking state instead of just outright blowing me off.”
“Indy chill. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not that big of a deal? Seriously? I can’t believe you right now. Here you were the one to try and convince me to work on this new relationship between us. First thing you do is completely blow me off with no explanation. It’s not like I would’ve cared that you’re in California; you can do what you want. I just hate that you felt you had to lie to me about it, and wouldn’t tell me.”
“Indy look I’m—”
“Forget it Halvo. Call me back when you want to see me.”
Chaney then hung up her phone and threw it on the table, suddenly losing her appetite. She picked up her sandwich, lunch now ruined, and walked back to her office, and put her sandwich in the fridge for later that afternoon. She anticipated eating it later in the day as she was sure her appetite would return.
Unfortunately her conversation with Halvo only put her in a sour mood the rest of the day, and after a couple hours, Stephanie gave up on trying to figure out what was going on.
For whatever reason, Chaney was refusing to talk about what was bothering her, and the one person she would turn to with these things, was the person she couldn’t stand to talk to at the moment. Times like these made her loathe how introverted tended to be. She wished she had someone she could talk to, but couldn’t think of who to talk to. Stephanie was out of the question because she seemed a little too interested in her relationship with Halvo, and she couldn’t risk her finding out about it.
Her saving grace came soon enough as John’s name popped up on her screen, notifying her of a text he’d just sent her.
Heard something was up. Wanna talk?
She debated whether or not to talk to John about it or not. Things could become super complicated were she to talk to him. An idea then formed in her head to help solve that problem. She replied back:
Actually John, this is gonna sound weird, but could you have Jared text me?
Baffled by her request, but obliging, he passed word along to his bandmate, and within a few minutes Chaney had a new text message from an unknown number.
Sup Chaney. Jared here
She didn’t know why, but something about Jared seemed to put her mind at ease when it came to Halvo. He was able to calm her down from when they were helping her move into her apartment. Jared knew exactly what to say without knowing what was going on. She trusted him, and knew whatever she told him would be kept in confidence.
Hey Jared. Um, are you free to talk on the phone? Preferably where no one else is around?
Shortly after she sent that message, her phone began ringing. She stepped out of her cubicle, and made her way onto the balcony off their office floor.
“Chaney? Is everything alright?”
“Honestly, not at all. I’m so confused, and angry, and hurt and I’m not sure what to do right now.”
He hummed in contemplation.
“Lemme guess, Halvo is the cause.”
She blushed, thankful he couldn’t see, but wondering if she had become that transparent.
“Is it uh…that obvious?”
He laughed lightly, “Nah, but he seems to be the root of your anxiety as of late. What’s going on? Don’t feel obligated to tell me details or anything, but I am here as a spring board if you need me. And don’t worry, our conversation will stay between us.”
Chaney sighed in relief at his words, affirmation now set in that she could indeed trust him with what was going on.
“Alright, well in order to explain what’s going on, you need some background. However what I’m about to tell you is for your ears only. No one else knows about this.”
Chaney then proceeds to tell him about what was going on between her and Halvo. She knew Jared was one of his best friends as well; maybe not as close as John, but still close. She knew Jared had known Halvo for about as long as John had, and that fact alone relieved her. Maybe he could shed some light on what was going on.
After hearing what Chaney had to say, he sat there in meditation dissecting the situation.
“Well, I’m not really sure what to tell you. Like you said, this is all uncharacteristic of him. I don’t know why he wouldn’t tell you. Hell, he’d be doing all he could to make sure he didn’t screw this up. He’s been waiting for the day he’d finally get to date you for about 10 years now. Why he would make such an underhanded move so soon is weird.”
“Woah wait, he’s liked me for 10 years?!”
The color drained from Jared’s face.
“Shit. You weren’t supposed to know that…”
“That idiot. Ok, I’ll have to deal with him when he gets back. Thanks Jare. I knew I could count on you. Just…please don’t breathe a word about what’s going on with Halvo and me.”
“Don’t worry, I got your back.” He smiled into the phone.
Chaney smiled back, glad to have someone else she could talk to about this; one whom she hoped would give an unbiased opinion on situations. She was hoping this was no exception. She was about to say something else to him, but heard loud screaming and shouting in the background on Jared’s end. The next thing she knew, she heard this strange, high pitched, gravelly voice speaking from the other end.
“Ahhhhh, Lord Micheal is here.”
“Lord Micheal? Who the hell is that?”
“I am your Savior. I am the god of rock and roll.”
She was completely puzzled and was about to question further, but Jared’s voice soon came through the phone.
“Sorry about that. This is a rare occasion, he doesn’t do this often…at least compared to how much he used to do that in the past.”
“Wait, what? Who was that?”
Jared laughed, not realizing Chaney had no idea of Pat’s other personas.
“Ah, you just met the newest member of the family, Micheal Christ.”
“And who is that?”
“That would be Pat.”
“You mean, the long-haired, stuttering, beast in the kitchen Pat? Like, quietly friendly Pat.”
Laughing again, Jared replies, “Yeah, one in the same.”
“Wow,” Chaney expressed at a loss for words, “I’m not really sure of what to do with that information.”
“Don’t worry, most don’t. Pat goes through these phases of being different ‘characters’ if you will, and they rarely come out. However on the rare occasions they do, he acts like a complete fool. Sorry about that.”
Chaney could only laugh. Somehow, that didn’t surprise her. Out of them all, Pat seemed the most likely to act out the way he did, and she couldn’t pin quite why that was. Pat was always surprising her, much like the rest of the guys the more she learned about them.
Jared quickly passed the phone to John, who had just entered the room Jared was standing in, and motioned for the phone.
“Hey Chaney.”
“John?”
“Yeah, uh, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Stephanie had texted me saying that something had happened because you were acting strange. She said she couldn’t get you to budge, and wondered if I could get you to crack, or at least cheer up.” He laughed a bit at the end.
“I appreciate the gesture John, but it’s ok. I’m fine now, just trying to sort things out.”
“I get that. Just…shit I don’t know. Just know you can call on me or any of the other guys anytime. We’ll always be there for ya, unless we’re performing. It would make answering our phones a bit more difficult…” he chuckled.
She giggled a bit, “Yeah it would. Thanks though. Really.”
“No problem. Always happy to help out a friend.”
Chaney arrived at work the next morning, still a bit miffed about Halvo’s strange behavior as of late. She figured she would call him later in the morning and try to make plans with him. They never went this long apart from each other, even before things changed between them. She didn’t understand why he was now being so standoffish.
Stephanie arrived to her cubicle shortly after Chaney with a renewed purpose. She didn’t know how she would get John and Chaney together, but she was determined to make it happen. She had a gut feeling that Halvo wasn’t the right fit for Chaney, and she wasn’t sure why. It was strange to her, because initially, she was a strong proponent for them to get together. However, after hearing about how he had treated Chaney, she needed to get Chaney’s mind off of Halvo and onto John.
Stephanie didn’t realize that she was putting projections onto Halvo that rightfully belonged on John. John was genuinely the one that deserved to be ousted for the dreadful way he treated Chaney, however Stephanie had no clue he was the instigator. She was now becoming as determined to get John and Chaney together as Halvo had once been.
The morning went by uneventfully, which was surprising considering the massive amounts of work they’d had all week. Taking her lunch break early, Chaney decided to take lunch alone in hopes of making plans that night with Halvo.
Chaney left the office, and walked down the block to the small deli to get a sandwich and enjoy the weather while she ate. Upon getting her sandwich, she found her usual table for whenever she ate here, and sat down. She pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts until she came across the familiar number she’d dialed so many times over the last 15 years.
“Hello?” Halvo asked confused.
“Halvo?”
“Wait, Indy?”
“Yeah…where are—what’s going on? I haven’t seen you in a while. Not since…”
“Oh, uh, well I’m kinda busy at the moment actually.”
“I uh, didn’t realize that. Wait, where are you? What’s all that noise?”
Chaney heard something cover the receiver end on his phone along with some mumbled yelling before she heard it get drastically quiet.
“Sorry, I had to go out in the hallway.”
“Go out in the hallway where? Halvo, where are you? What’s going on? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all week and you’ve completely blown me off. That’s not like you.”
“Well, I’m kind of in California right now…”
“California?! What the hell Halvo! What are you doing there?”
“Uh, going on a mini tour with Chain Gang…”
“And you couldn’t have told me that before?”
“Why does it matter so much?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe because I kinda thought we were something. I thought you might decide to tell me that you weren’t in the same fucking state instead of just outright blowing me off.”
“Indy chill. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not that big of a deal? Seriously? I can’t believe you right now. Here you were the one to try and convince me to work on this new relationship between us. First thing you do is completely blow me off with no explanation. It’s not like I would’ve cared that you’re in California; you can do what you want. I just hate that you felt you had to lie to me about it, and wouldn’t tell me.”
“Indy look I’m—”
“Forget it Halvo. Call me back when you want to see me.”
Chaney then hung up her phone and threw it on the table, suddenly losing her appetite. She picked up her sandwich, lunch now ruined, and walked back to her office, and put her sandwich in the fridge for later that afternoon. She anticipated eating it later in the day as she was sure her appetite would return.
Unfortunately her conversation with Halvo only put her in a sour mood the rest of the day, and after a couple hours, Stephanie gave up on trying to figure out what was going on.
For whatever reason, Chaney was refusing to talk about what was bothering her, and the one person she would turn to with these things, was the person she couldn’t stand to talk to at the moment. Times like these made her loathe how introverted tended to be. She wished she had someone she could talk to, but couldn’t think of who to talk to. Stephanie was out of the question because she seemed a little too interested in her relationship with Halvo, and she couldn’t risk her finding out about it.
Her saving grace came soon enough as John’s name popped up on her screen, notifying her of a text he’d just sent her.
Heard something was up. Wanna talk?
She debated whether or not to talk to John about it or not. Things could become super complicated were she to talk to him. An idea then formed in her head to help solve that problem. She replied back:
Actually John, this is gonna sound weird, but could you have Jared text me?
Baffled by her request, but obliging, he passed word along to his bandmate, and within a few minutes Chaney had a new text message from an unknown number.
Sup Chaney. Jared here
She didn’t know why, but something about Jared seemed to put her mind at ease when it came to Halvo. He was able to calm her down from when they were helping her move into her apartment. Jared knew exactly what to say without knowing what was going on. She trusted him, and knew whatever she told him would be kept in confidence.
Hey Jared. Um, are you free to talk on the phone? Preferably where no one else is around?
Shortly after she sent that message, her phone began ringing. She stepped out of her cubicle, and made her way onto the balcony off their office floor.
“Chaney? Is everything alright?”
“Honestly, not at all. I’m so confused, and angry, and hurt and I’m not sure what to do right now.”
He hummed in contemplation.
“Lemme guess, Halvo is the cause.”
She blushed, thankful he couldn’t see, but wondering if she had become that transparent.
“Is it uh…that obvious?”
He laughed lightly, “Nah, but he seems to be the root of your anxiety as of late. What’s going on? Don’t feel obligated to tell me details or anything, but I am here as a spring board if you need me. And don’t worry, our conversation will stay between us.”
Chaney sighed in relief at his words, affirmation now set in that she could indeed trust him with what was going on.
“Alright, well in order to explain what’s going on, you need some background. However what I’m about to tell you is for your ears only. No one else knows about this.”
Chaney then proceeds to tell him about what was going on between her and Halvo. She knew Jared was one of his best friends as well; maybe not as close as John, but still close. She knew Jared had known Halvo for about as long as John had, and that fact alone relieved her. Maybe he could shed some light on what was going on.
After hearing what Chaney had to say, he sat there in meditation dissecting the situation.
“Well, I’m not really sure what to tell you. Like you said, this is all uncharacteristic of him. I don’t know why he wouldn’t tell you. Hell, he’d be doing all he could to make sure he didn’t screw this up. He’s been waiting for the day he’d finally get to date you for about 10 years now. Why he would make such an underhanded move so soon is weird.”
“Woah wait, he’s liked me for 10 years?!”
The color drained from Jared’s face.
“Shit. You weren’t supposed to know that…”
“That idiot. Ok, I’ll have to deal with him when he gets back. Thanks Jare. I knew I could count on you. Just…please don’t breathe a word about what’s going on with Halvo and me.”
“Don’t worry, I got your back.” He smiled into the phone.
Chaney smiled back, glad to have someone else she could talk to about this; one whom she hoped would give an unbiased opinion on situations. She was hoping this was no exception. She was about to say something else to him, but heard loud screaming and shouting in the background on Jared’s end. The next thing she knew, she heard this strange, high pitched, gravelly voice speaking from the other end.
“Ahhhhh, Lord Micheal is here.”
“Lord Micheal? Who the hell is that?”
“I am your Savior. I am the god of rock and roll.”
She was completely puzzled and was about to question further, but Jared’s voice soon came through the phone.
“Sorry about that. This is a rare occasion, he doesn’t do this often…at least compared to how much he used to do that in the past.”
“Wait, what? Who was that?”
Jared laughed, not realizing Chaney had no idea of Pat’s other personas.
“Ah, you just met the newest member of the family, Micheal Christ.”
“And who is that?”
“That would be Pat.”
“You mean, the long-haired, stuttering, beast in the kitchen Pat? Like, quietly friendly Pat.”
Laughing again, Jared replies, “Yeah, one in the same.”
“Wow,” Chaney expressed at a loss for words, “I’m not really sure of what to do with that information.”
“Don’t worry, most don’t. Pat goes through these phases of being different ‘characters’ if you will, and they rarely come out. However on the rare occasions they do, he acts like a complete fool. Sorry about that.”
Chaney could only laugh. Somehow, that didn’t surprise her. Out of them all, Pat seemed the most likely to act out the way he did, and she couldn’t pin quite why that was. Pat was always surprising her, much like the rest of the guys the more she learned about them.
Jared quickly passed the phone to John, who had just entered the room Jared was standing in, and motioned for the phone.
“Hey Chaney.”
“John?”
“Yeah, uh, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Stephanie had texted me saying that something had happened because you were acting strange. She said she couldn’t get you to budge, and wondered if I could get you to crack, or at least cheer up.” He laughed a bit at the end.
“I appreciate the gesture John, but it’s ok. I’m fine now, just trying to sort things out.”
“I get that. Just…shit I don’t know. Just know you can call on me or any of the other guys anytime. We’ll always be there for ya, unless we’re performing. It would make answering our phones a bit more difficult…” he chuckled.
She giggled a bit, “Yeah it would. Thanks though. Really.”
“No problem. Always happy to help out a friend.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Hey y'all. I know this is super short. I'm sorry. I'm really trying hard to keep this story up to date between the story line and real life. Just bear with me. Also, I thought y'all should know, that your comments as a whole absolutely make my entire day. Seriously. I enjoy interacting and talking with y'all about this story or whatever else. I look forward to that just as much, if not more so, than this writing process. (which is saying a lot because I'm in love with writing this story.) Anyway, I'd love to hear your lovely comments on this seemingly mediocre chapter. I promise things are picking up. Leave your predictions and comments. Always a joy to read and converse about. Love you guys and as always, thank you for continuing to read, subscribe, and comment. :)Replies:
recycledsweaters thanks for the well wishes :) things aren't too terrible, but senior year of college, as you can imagine, is absolutely kicking me in the butt. just a lot of work, and little time to do it....but i'm managing. may can't come soon enough. haha. and yes, F.R.I.E.N.D.S....best. Chandler is my spirit animal. the end. Here's more Team Maine stuff for ya :) Working on gradually making the rest of the guys part of the story. They'll play pivotal roles later on, but they're just not that integral yet. Also as predicted, Nurse Jared came to the rescue :) Won't be the first time. And your comment about the Ken and Garrett being candy stripers made me laugh so hard. I kept picturing them in the like, traditional girls red and white candy striper uniform...hats and all, and i lost it. Then I got to thinking, due to Pat's tendency to wear dresses, maybe he'd be the best for candy striper?? haha idk. As for Halvo...well, you know now (sorta) what's going on....(muahahaha) and I've never seen Love Actually, so I have no idea what that relates...haha. whoops. :P
And ok, glad we're all cleared up because guess what, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE FOR YOU, TOO. glad we're on the same page there.
Oh, and I missed this before, I actually LOVE Philly rolls. They're my favorite next to yum-yum rolls, california rolls, crunchy shrimp rolls, and alaskan rolls. (notice a theme? haha) I'm quite a fan of sushi, and now you have me craving it at 4 am. (that's what time it is now...haha) so bravo. I'll need to get my sushi fix now. What kind of sushi do you like?
useyourtelescope firstly, your comment made me insanely happy for the simple fact that the way you wrote it, is pretty much how i react to things...slowly, then all at once. (sorry, couldn't resist the John Green reference...lol) but seriously though, for some reason, the way you wrote your comment made me smile. haha. but besides that, i'm glad you were able to catch up. I get the whole "college getting in the way" thing...haha. totally sucks. And Stephanie...well, I'm just gonna leave that. More will happen later. That's all I can say right now. ;)
dreamingyouhere don't deny it, yes, you ARE that witty. haha ;) embrace it. fake it till ya make it. idk. it's late and i'm sleep/caffeine deprived. hahaha. so sorry if this seems really random. I'll try to address as many of your questions as possible w/o giving any spoilers so here we go. As for Halvo and his actions, you now know (in part) why he has been ditching Chaney. (more to be revealed soon regarding that...obviously). As for the art thing, you'll also find out about that pretty soon...if not next chapter, then definitely the one after. Also, I appreciate all your questions/ramblings/whatever. Many times I'll look to the comments as inspiration for various small events that help fill out the build up to where I want this story to go. (I mean, remember yours and others' hardcore Halvo/Chaney shipping? Yeah...though part of the original story line, I brought it in a little earlier due to popular demand...haha)
jvlienne oooh! hesitation! *dun dun DUUUUUUN* haha. always exciting to hear everyone's point of view on this. Stephanie will surprise you, that much I will say. I've hinted a bit in previous chapters about her past/current situation, but have yet to delve into it. Let me just say this, I can almost guarantee you'll not figure out her backstory. kudos if you do. But it will definitely make sense as to why she acts the way she does, and will really explain her character more. As I was developing her character, I took particular interest in her backstory, and though a bit shocking, it's one of the most interesting ones I've written and I can't wait to reveal that to everyone. I think you'll appreciate it, knowing you love her character so much. She's got a lot up her sleeves. There's a lot of....interesting things coming up for her and other characters. Buckle up is all I have to say. You'll never see it coming. :)