...And a Happy New Year

December 20, 2014

“Wow, are you sure you really have to leave?” Kelly complained as she watched Chaney pack up the most of her painting supplies.

Chaney shot her a sad smile. “I’m afraid so. I mean, it’s not like I won’t be back in here before the year ends,” she chuckled.

“I know, but I’m gonna miss having another girl in the studio. I’ve enjoyed hanging out with ya, but do you really have to go?”

“I’m afraid so. Bigger and better things are calling my name,” Chaney sighed.

“Well, you best believe that I expect to hear updates from you. You’re not rid of me yet.”

She laughed, “I wouldn’t expect anything less. And uh, you keep me posted on you and O’Callaghan.”

Kelly’s eyes went wide. “What. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“C’mon. You have a small crush on John. Admit it.”

Kelly’s cheeks only turned red, further confirming Chaney’s suspicions.

“Case and point. You have to keep me posted on that front. He takes some time to warm up to you, but once he does, he’ll be your friend for life.”

“Well, I don’t see anything happening there. It’s just a silly school girl crush anyway. I just find him attractive and too charming for his own good,” she chuckled.

“Girl, you and just about every other female across the world. Join the club.”

The pair laughed at her words as Chaney continued to pack up the bigger items in her studio.

“Do you need help carrying this stuff out?” Kelly asked.

“No, John’s actually supposed to be helping me out,” she mused as she looked around the room for her phone. “Actually, he should be here by now…”

About that time Chaney’s phone went off and she saw it at her workstation. She hastened across the room to get it and with a chuckle held up her phone so Kelly could see it, “Speak of the devil. Hello John.”

“Hey Van Gogh, you about ready?”

“Yeah, are you almost here?”

“Yup. I’m parked outside. I’m coming up. Let me in when I get up there.”

She laughed and hung up her phone before turning to Kelly. “Loverboy is on his way up. Make sure you look presentable,” she chuckled.

Kelly’s face grew red. “I’m gonna be in the back. Let me know if you need any help,” she muttered.

Chaney chuckled and returned to packing up her larger items. She heard a knocking on the door to the studio and smiled as she made her way over to open the door.

“Happy birthday Van Gogh!” he greeted with a childish grin.

She blushed, “Who told you? I thought we had an agreement that we didn’t celebrate m birthday.”

“A little birdie told me. Now where’s your stuff? We need to hurry. I left the studio real quick to help you load this stuff up. I need to head back and finish up this project. We’re in a groove right now and I hate to interrupt that.”

“Dude, if you were busy all you had to do was tell me. I could’ve found someone else to--”

“Nah, it’s fine. So where’s your stuff?”

Chaney motioned him over to the other side of the room where her station was and they began to gather her things.

Kelly heard John come in and was waiting until she thought they had left before returning back into the studio. She didn’t hear any more talking so she figured they had left. She made her way out into the main room and was shocked to see them silently gathering Chaney’s materials.

John looked up from where he was and smiled. “Hey Kelly! I didn’t know you were here today. How are you doing?”

She just blushes and tries to bite back the smile on her face. “Um, I’m g-good. Just helping Chane out here,” she nervously chuckled.

“Very nice. Well, we’ve gotta head out, but I’ll see ya soon, yeah?”

She vigourously nodded. “Uh, y-yeah. S-sounds good,” she stuttered.

“Right on,” he chuckled. “We’re having a Christmas party next week at the offices. Get a ride with Chaney. We’d love to have ya.”

Kelly’s blush deepened and she nodded. John waved goodbye to her as he made his way out the door. Chaney shot Kelly a wink and a smile as she then followed John out the door.

They loaded her stuff in the back of John’s Jeep before getting in. They both buckled their seatbelts and made their way to the studio. The drive was silent and Chaney would occassionally glance over at John to see him sporting a cocky smirk.

“John?” she asked accusingly, “what are you so smug about? What do you know that I don’t?”

He chuckled and feigned innocence. “I have no idea what you’re on about. I know nothing.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you better than that O’Callaghan. You’re a terrible liar.”

John only shook his head and laughed. He soon pulled in front of 8123 and hopped out of his Jeep. Chaney reluctantly followed him and couldn’t help but skeptically watch his every move as he casually made his way up the drive and into the house.

They walked through the doors and she was greeted by Tim and Tanner. The pair were working on some paperwork. John discreetly ducked out of the living room and joined Halvo, Pat, and Jared in the next room.

John hadn’t been lying. They were working on a project when he left, but what she didn’t know was that it was planning how to celebrate her birthday. When Halvo realized that Chaney had returned with John, he tuned out what the guys were saying and craned his ears to listen into the next room.

“So Chane,” Tim asked, “have any gift requests for Santa?”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Santa? Really Tim?”

“What? I’m just saying!” he held up his hands in defense.

She shot him a playful glare.

“Alright, alright. So anything that the 8123 Santa can get you?”

“Hmm,” she contemplated, “I won’t lie, if you have any of the duffle bags lying around I wouldn’t be opposed. My travel bags aren’t in the best condition and I’ve been meaning to get them replaced.”

The smile on Tim’s face grew. “I’ll make sure to pass the word along,” he smiled with a wink. “Why don’t you head out back? I think the guys are all chilling out there.”

Chaney nodded and started making her way back there.

“Oh, and Chaney?” Tim asked, causing her to pause and turn back towards him. “Happy birthday.”

She smiled and made her way outside.

When Halvo heard Chaney coming, he quickly sat up and turned his attention back on the trio sitting around him. He knew he had an 8123 duffle at his apartment and knew for a fact they were currently out of stock because he was going to get an additional one. He figured he would gift it to Chaney as she seemed to need it more than him and he could always get another once more were made.

“You uh, a bit distracted and flustered there Halv?” Jared teased.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Psh, no. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he defended.

“Alright, then mind telling us what we were talking about?” John asked with a teasing smile.

Halvo’s cheeks flushed as he mumbled, “Let’s just get back to it alright?”

The three of them laughed as they tried to figure out what to do for Chaney.

“S-so any news on w-what to d-do?” Pat asked.

“Well, she said she didn’t want to celebrate it, so we would need to keep it low key. Keep the guest list small. Alex is out back with Garrett, Kennedy, and Sean and it sounds like Chaney just went out back to join them,” John supplied.

“So who all she would ask over?” Jared inquired.

“She hates having an ordeal made over her, so like John said, keep it small. Maybe get Joel and Ryan over here, and that’s about it. Besides the girls of course.”

The others nodded in agreeance to Halvo’s suggestion.

“Gare and I are gonna make her cake, right?”

“Yeah, and Jared, Halvo, and I are going to get the food for tonight,” John added.

They all got up now that they knew what their responsibilities were and went to get supplies.

***
“No but really, guys…John,” Chaney shot a look over to him, “I told you not to make a fuss over me.”

“We’re not. We all just wanted to get together and chill out. So what if it happens to be on your birthday and there just happens to be a cake involved?” John laughed.

Chaney just rolled her eyes. “Anyway, she emphasized, it was completely unnecessary, but thank you just the same. I appreciate you all immensely,” she said with a smile.

“Alright, alright. Enough with the mushy stuff, let’s get back to the beers and party!” Jared chimed in.

Chaney moved to go to the kitchen to grab another beer when she sensed another presence in the room.

“H-hey Chaney. H-happy birthday.”

She turned to her right to see Pat sheepishly standing there with his hands in his back pockets while rocking on his heels.

She smiled warmly at him, “Aw, thanks Pat.”

“Hey um, th-this m-m-may not b-be the be-be-best t-time, but c-can we t-t-talk?”

Her brows instantly furrowed in worry because she could tell that Pat was nervous about whatever he was wanting to talk about. She bit her lip and nodded her head. He immediately turned on his heels and started walking towards another room in the house. She silently followed behind him and he lead her into the studio room, before closing the door behind him.

He instantly sank onto the couch and instantly buried his head in his hands.

Chaney hesitantly sat beside him; debating on whether or not to try and comfort him. She and Pat hadn’t been super close, but they got along and talked enough to be pretty good friends.

She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Pat? What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

He shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hand from his hands; now propping his arms on his knees as he sat hunched over.

“I uh...I h-h-have s-s-some inform-m-mation th-that you might n-not like to h-h-hear,” he stuttered out.

She grew worried as Pat never seemed to let anything bother him. Not to mention she’d never heard him stutter this bad and knew he only got that way when he was nervous or excited about something. She was able to establish that he clearly wasn’t happy about whatever he was going to say, so she could rule out excitement. A knot in her stomach formed at what news he could possibly be telling her. Hadn’t she been through enough this year already?

“B-b-before I s-s-say this, I-I-I g-gotta admit th-th-that I’ve known about th-this for a while n-now, s-s-so p-please don’t h-h-hate m-m-me.”

“Aww Pat, I couldn’t hate you. Just, go ahead and spit it out. What’s going on?”

He took a deep breath and kept his gaze focused on the floor. “I d-d-don’t know the f-f-f-full details, but b-back on W-w-warped, I h-h-heard Halvo talking to s-s-someone. A g-g-girl. I knew y-y-you guys w-w-were dating, b-but I d-didn’t w-wanna jump t-t-t-to conclusisons.”

“What did you hear….?” she skeptically asked.

“H-halvo was t-t-talking to S-s-s-steph. Sh-sh-she’s pregnant and h-h-he’s gonna b-b-be the g-g-godfather…”

Her face softened as she was somewhat relieved that she knew about this already. However she did feel bad that Pat had been carrying around the burden of this information for months.

Her hand was still perched on his shoulder and she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Thank you for telling me Pat. I wish you didn’t have to carry the weight of this information for as long as you did.”

“I j-just...H-h-halvo d-d-didn’t want me t-to say anyth-th-thing. I didn’t w-wanna hide th-that from y-you b-because you’re my friend. B-b-but it wasn’t m-my s-s-s-stuff to t-tell.”

“I know that, and I’m thankful for your loyalty. Really. Halvo did eventually tell me. Right after Warped actually,” she muttered bitterly.

“He didn’t….” Pat trailed off, his gaze now focused on Chaney’s bowed head.

“Yeah...well, what can I say? It explained his weird behavior.”

“S-so….how are you guys?” he hesitantly asked, the nerves in his voice disappearing.

She chuckled darkly. “We’re alright I guess. We’re starting over and are just being ‘friends’ for now. Whatever the hell that means. I don’t know anymore. We agreed to work things out, yet he’s been avoiding me for the last month. I’m at a loss, and honestly, I’m tired of waiting around for him. I have other things that require my attention. I won’t be here to work through his feelings no matter how fickle they are.”

Pat’s eyes widened at her words. To his knowledge things were fine between the pair as Halvo wasn’t acting any differently towards Chaney. He didn’t even know they had split.

“Ch-chaney...I’m s-s-so sorry, I--”

“Honestly Pat, it’s fine. I have better things waiting. Like um...well, I can trust you right?”

His brows furrowed and he nodded his head.

She exhaled and tried to hide her grin. “So I used to paint a long time ago, and John, over the last few months, has been encouraging me to get back into it. Doors have been opening left and right. I got a call a couple days ago. I have a job teaching a painting class in San Francisco and will get to have my own gallery showings every quarter.”

A wide grin spread across Pat’s face as he heard his friend’s exciting news. “Chaney! That’s s-so great! I’m so p-proud of y-you!”

Chaney’s grin now spread across her face. She was excited to share this news with someone. So far Kelly was the only one that knew, and she wanted to keep it that way. However, she felt like Pat would be a good choice to tell. She knew she would have to tell John at some point, but refused to talk to Halvo about it. After a month of him ignoring her, she was over it.

“Thanks,” she smiled.

“S-so when do you become a per-per-permanent West C-c-coaster?”

“January 1st,” she grinned widely.

“Th-that s-s-soon?”

“Yeah, they want me to start as soon as possible. Even though I don’t have a degree to teach, they’re wanting me to work in this after school program for high schoolers.”

“S-s-sorry, but who are you working f-for?”

“Oh! Just a local high school there. The art teacher they currently have has other obligtions and somehow he found me and my work and asked if I could help out. It doesn’t pay much, but it could lead to big things. Jason, the art teacher there, has connections with a popular art gallery there and has a deal with the curator to let me show some of my pieces in exchange for helping him with this after school program. The deal seemed too good to pass up.”

Pat leaned over and engulfed her in a hug. “That’s so good to hear. I’m glad you’re doing something you love. Keep doing it dude.”

She leaned back from their hug. “Thanks. I appreciate it. Also, while I’m gone, you better not be a stranger. I may have you and John come to a couple of my shows if you can.”

“Of course! J-just let us know wh-when they are.”

“I will, thanks again.”

They both stood up then, and Pat motioned for her to exit first so they could rejoin the rest of the group.

John spotted Pat and Chaney coming from the studio and he made eye contact with Chaney and gave her an intrigued look. She motioned that she would tell him momentarily. He made his way over to her with a goofy grin on his face.

“C’mon Ms. Antisocial. We’re about to draw names for Secret Santa. Christmas is this week!”

“You’re waiting until now to draw names for this?” she laughed.

“Yeah! We always wait until the week of Christmas to do this. Adds to the challenge. Not to mention, what better time to do this but on your birthday when we’re all here,” he shrugged.

She joined them all in the living room as Tim shook up a hat with all of their names written on folded pieces of paper.

“Alright guys no peeking,” he shot a glare towards Halvo, “and no swapping names. You can only swap if you draw your name. Birthday girl, you’re up first.”

Tim walked over to her and shook the hat up a bit more to mix the names up before she drew her piece of paper. She opened it up and was relieved to find Pat’s name. She had a couple ideas of what she wanted to get him.

The rest of the guys drew names out of the hat, each time throwing around mischievous smirks to everyone else in the room. Chaney had the feeling that this would turn into a sick version of Dirty Santa.

Halvo was the last one to draw from the hat and was praying to get Chaney’s name. He drew the paper and he got John. Naturally. He would have to find out who had Chaney so he could swap with them. He had to make sure that she got a gift from him. It’s not that he didn’t want to give her a gift, but he wanted it to be anonymous. That way she’d be more apt to open it. He had to admit he’d been a pretty shitty friend to her over the last month. He was too bummed about only being friends because he was almost certain she wanted to be more than that.

His attention had been consumed by Stephanie and the little Peanut over the last month. She was getting further along, and it was getting increasingly harder for her to move around and do everything she used to. Halvo was having to help her out more around the apartment in terms of getting around. Not to mention being constantly paranoid about Stephen, even though he was in jail.

Chaney had turned her attention away from talking to Garrett and Jared as she was hoping to spot Halvo. She found him. Perched alone against one of the walls in the back. On his phone. Texting. With a huge smile on his face. It was no mystery to her who he was talking to. Her suspicions were confirmed when Halvo made an announcement.

“Guys! Stephanie just felt the baby kick!”

The room fell silent as everyone turned their attention to Halvo. He looked as excited as if the child were actually his. Chaney’s heart sunk at the thought, and she quietly dismissed herself from the party as Halvo continued to go on about “the little Peanut”. Her stomach churned at the name and she snuck out the back to get some fresh air and a bottle of beer.

John looked around and noticed her absence from the room so he went to go look for her. He was surprised to find her sitting out back alone, nursing a bottle of beer.

“Van Gogh? You alright?”

She sighed and shrugged. “I was, but I don’t know…”

John walked over and took a seat in the chair next to her. “It’s this whole thing with Halvo and Stephanie isn’t it?”

“Was I not enough for him?” she turned to look at John. “I mean, surely something about me wasn’t enough or he wouldn’t be clinging so tightly to Stephanie.”

“Maybe he just feels obligated to protect her. I mean, she did go to him for help.”

She glared at John.

“I’m not defending anyone or taking sides,” he said as he held up his hands defensively. “I’m just trying to see things from his perspective.”

“It just doesn’t make any sense to me John. I’m sick of feeling like second best with him.”

“You don’t deserve it. You deserve better. And you deserve to do something for you,” John supplied.

“Well...funny you should mention that...I’m actually about to move…”

“You are? When? Where?”

“Yup. Jaunary 1st. San Fancisco.”

“Wow...that’s uh, that’s great Chaney,” John said through a forced smile as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

“I um...I got a painting gig out there. Doesn’t pay much, but I have connections.”

“That’s really great Van Gogh. I knew you were on your way to making a name for yourself.”

“Yeah, but I’ll miss our talks and random hang outs,” she admitted. “Life in San Fran won’t be the same without you.”

John let out a breath. “Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s gonna be weird not being able to call you up to go on a drive or something.”

“Just promise me you’ll come visit me when you’re in town?”

He smiled, “Of course. And tour dependant, I’ll be at every one of your shows. Just give me a time and place, and I’ll be there.”

She leaned over to nudge his shoulder with her own. “Ya know, you’re not too bad of a dude O’Callaghan.”

He chuckled, “Yeah, so I’ve heard. I’ve been known to be a nice guy every once in a while. If the mood hits ya know. Can’t have people thinking I’m a softie, I’ll lose my street cred.”

Chaney burst out laughing. “You? Street cred? You talk like you were born on the wrong side of the tracks.”

John sighed dramatically and placed the back of his hand across his forehead. “The price of beauty, love.”

That caused the two of them to start laughing uncontrollably. When their laughter had finally died down, Chaney looked back over at John.

“John, I know this year has been….one of the most crazy years ever. But I wanted to thank you for your friendship. It’s meant a lot to me and I don’t know where I’d be without it.”

“Of course! Ya know, I’m glad to finally know who this ‘mystery girl’ is that I grew up hearing about,” he chuckled. “I won’t lie, I honestly thought Halv made her up. But you’re definitely better than any girl I could’ve thought up,” he mumbled.

Chaney looked back over at him and saw his gaze focused on his folded hands. She gave a small smile and leaned over to give him a small, friendly kiss on the cheek. She backed away slightly, but kept their faces close.

“Ya know, you’re a lot better than I imagined for most of my life that you were. I’m so glad I know you. I know you and the guys are gonna do great things and I’ll be there supporting you every step of the way.”

John couldn’t help the goosebumps that crossed his skin or the shiver that went down his spine as her whispered words etched themselves against his ear. The smile that had been waiting to break across his lips, appeared and he turned his head to thank Chaney and flinched back when he realized their faces were merely inches apart.

He swallowed thickly and gave a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks. You know I’ll always be there for you too; just say the word.”

Chaney released a slow breath through her lips to calm her nerves down; the air escaping her mouth lightly hitting John’s face. She meekly nodded and tried to rid herself of the nerves currently making residence in her chest. Coyly biting her lip, she forced her eyes away and took a long swig of beer, finishing off the bottle and claiming to need another one.

Once she got inside, she made her way to the kitchen to grab another bottle and collect her wits once again. Things were happening all around her but her mind couldn’t process a single one. The world seemed like a blur to her as her mind could only focus on the fact that she was leaving in just over a week and a half for who knows how long. She wouldn’t deny that she was scared, but she would certainly miss the friends she had made here. However she knew bigger and better things were on the horizon for her and she couldn’t wait to find out how her life would pan out.