We Need No Introduction

I ran my hand down my face, feeling the stress of all the yelling. Quickly walking over to my nightstand, I pulled out my pack of cigarettes. With a shaky hand, I took one out and lit it, inhaling quickly.

“Go away!” I said to the person knocking at my door.

“B, it’s Johnny,” he said.

“Which one?” I asked, annoyed.

“Knoxville.”

“Go away!” I yelled.

“Please, just let me in, I just want to talk to you.”

“How the hell did you get here so fast?” I asked, walking over to the door.

“Your Dad called me when Bam got here, apparently.”

I sighed and unlocked the door. I hesitated before opening it, but did anyway.

“Well?” I asked.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

I nodded and stepped aside. Knoxville walked past me and I shut the door, locking it.

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked, walking over to put my ashes in a pop can. I sat on my bed, looking up at him. Knoxville sat across from me and looked at me for a moment before talking.

“Well, let me just get this all out before you say anything.”

I rolled my eyes. “This is going to be bad isn’t it?”

“Possibly.”

“Go on.”

“I know about your second chance thing. I know how much you despise Bam right now and I know you’ve been crying.” I wiped my cheeks and looked away, puffing on my cigarette. “Just… I hate seeing two of my best friends fighting. It’s not a very nice sight. Would you ever consider to stop fighting with him and just be friends?”

“No,” I replied bluntly and quickly.

“I can see it’s hurting both of you-”

“Johnny,” I said with a sigh. I stood up after putting out my cigarette and went over to my closet. “If this is what you want to talk about with me, I’m not going to have it.” I pulled out a pair of jeans and slipped off my pajama pants.

“B, just hear me out.”

“Whatever you’ve got to say, I’ve heard it all from Bam.” I put on my jeans and picked out a tank top to put over my camisole.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I don’t believe you have the right to know,” I said.

“If you’re going to hurt yourself, I believe I do, Blair. Tell me.”

I stayed silent for a moment while I walked over to put on my shoes. “I’m going out,” I said plainly.

“To where?”

“Why should I tell you?” I snapped. “You’ll tell Bam and then next thing I know Bam’s knocking at Zack’s door.”

“You’re going over to Zack’s?”

“Yes. I need to get out of this house and talk to Zack about a few things.”

“Talk to me, I’m right here!”

“I don’t know if I can trust you,” I said, standing up.

“What is so precious you have to say… does Blair not want someone knowing something?!”

I glared at him. “That’s not it-”

“Then why can’t you trust me?”

“Because… maybe for once in my life I don’t want Bam to have access to something that could break me.”

“What is it? What are you so afraid of?”

“Nothing,” I told him as I grabbed my ID and a couple dollars.

“Blair, please talk to me.”

“I’m leaving,” I said. I walked toward the door but was grabbed by my arm by Knoxville, stopping me in my tracks. “Let me go!”

“We’re going to get over this problem and we’re going to get over it now. I’m fucking fed up with you two in this fighting mode. You’re angry all the time and he’s depressed all the time. I’m going to solve it right now!”

“You don’t need to!”

“Yes I do!” he said. I was nearly thrown on my bed and was in shock. Knoxville put his head out of the door and said some words. Bam came right in. I scoffed and rolled my eyes while I crossed my arms. Looking down to the floor, I shook my head in a continuous ‘no’ manner.

“No,” I said. “I’m not doing this. I’m sick of all this fighting too, you know. The only way to solve it is to keep him away from me, Knoxville.”

“That’s not the only way,” Bam countered. “You’re the one that isn’t listening and you’re the one that’s being stubborn and you‘re the one that doesn‘t want to do anything!”

I physically glared at him for a moment before Johnny started talking. “Blair, what’s it going to take for you to stop fighting with Bam?”

“Him dead,” I said quickly.

Bam’s mouth dropped. “Why the hell would you want me dead?”

“You’re one of the meanest people out there to me, Bam,” I replied with my arms crossed. I took a couple steps to him. “You’re the vilest person I know. You have done so much shit to me and I’ve done nothing but take it to you.”

“So that means you want me dead,” he said matter-of-factly. He as well took a couple of steps toward me.

“Yeah, it does,” I replied. “Why do you have to be a little bitch to me and only me? What the hell have I done to you?” Surprisingly, neither of us has yelled.

“I thought I’ve told you this. But in case I haven’t, Blair, let me say it again. I’ve been, quote ‘a little bitch’ to you and only you because I knew how fast you fell for me the first time. When you found out that I liked most of the same things you did, I could tell how you felt toward me. I could tell the moment where you fell in love with me. I could tell because you wear your heart on your sleeve.”

“Good, then I don’t have to explain how much I hate you.”

“It’s not all as much as you think. If you hated me like you say you do, then I wouldn’t be walking right now.”

Knoxville chuckled. “He’s got a point.”

Bam’s eyes never left my glaring ones. “As I was saying, I was trying to push you away. Not only for my sake, but for yours. I didn’t want to hurt you again.”

“So you tried to make me hate you so I wouldn’t love you?”

“Pretty much.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “You are such a difficult person.”

“As are you.”

“Get out of my house.”

“No!” he nearly yelled back.

“Keep the voices down,” Knoxville urged.

“No,” Bam repeated. “I’m not leaving until we are on good terms.”

“Looks like you’re sleeping on the couch then,” I said as I walked pass him.

“You’re not going anywhere, Blair,” Knoxville said bringing me back.

“I’m nineteen fucking years old!” I screamed. “I’m an adult!”

“Then solve this problem and act like one!” Knoxville told me.

“What will it take to make us stop fighting?” Bam asked Knoxville’s question.

“Don’t talk to me for the rest of your life.”

“I’ll do it! So long as it stops us from fighting. I’m willing to do anything!”

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.

“Anything?”

“Yes! Anything!”

I smirked. “Okay, go jump off abridge and kill yourself.”

“Blair,” Knoxville groaned. “He’d get to the point of where he’s about to jump and you’d tell him not to.”

I huffed, sitting on my bed.

“I’d do it though,” Bam said. “But only cause you want me to.”

I turned to him. “Bam, first of all, I’d never tell anyone to go kill themselves and mean it honestly. Knoxville is right. I couldn’t live with that kind of guilt. No matter whom it is.” I paused as I crossed my legs. “I may say shit like that, but if you actually die because I wanted you to, that’d be the worst feeling in the world.”

“So we know Blair cares about you, Bam!”

“I never said that, Knoxville.”

“Yes, but you insinuated it.”

“Stop putting words in my mouth!”

Blair just stood there with a goofy grin on his face. “What’s so funny?” Knoxville asked him.

Bam shrugged. “Blair cares. It’s the end of the world!”

Knoxville nodded as I dropped my jaw. “Just because I care about something doesn’t mean the world is gonna end!”

“How do you know that?” Bam asked with a laugh.

“Because it never has before! I care about a lot of stuff and there are no churches burning down!”

“Blair! Blair!” Leana cried, throwing open the door.

“What?” I said.

“The St. Marks Cathedral up the street is burning down! Some guy lit it on fire, they think!”

“Oh snap,” Knoxville said. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped even more.

“See?” Bam said. “It’s all your caring in the world that set the Cathedral on fire.”

“Bam!” I whined. “Don’t! That was just figurative speech!”

Bam laughed and Leana went out.

“Can I trust you two alone?” Knoxville asked.

“Yeah,” Bam said.

I shrugged. “My throat hurts from the yelling.”

“Okay,” Knoxville said. “If I hear yelling, screaming, or gunshots, I’m coming up here.”

I laughed. “Okay.”

Knoxville went out of the door and Bam looked at me.

“What?” I asked.