ghostytrainer | voice mail

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voice mail

Oh hey, what's up?

[There's a pause, perhaps you should tell him why you called. At least until he interrupts...]

Hey, that's cool, but guess what?!

[Another short pause, perhaps you should guess what is so important that John felt the need to interrupt your surely riveting story.]

I am not actually here right now! So leave me a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

[You cannot hope to beat John Egbert in a prank-off. He is simply the best there is.]

Hehehehe...you totally fell for it, didn't you?

[Beep!]

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sudden urge to stop putting my shoes on.
thinking maybe i should just crawl back into bed...

[He's joking, of course. He's tying his last lace at the moment.]

i swear to god.
if you do that im taking your present back and giving it to the neighbor kid.
gets your ass to that pc boy.

it was a joke, i'm already out the door as i type this.
hahahaha!

[You are such an annoying little shit sometimes, he swears to god.

Wait, sometimes? He means all the time. Yeah.]

good.
lemme know when you get there.
im just gonna sit here with bated breath.
the anticipation is killing me.

[That's our John!]

[His response doesn't come until several minutes later, once he finally made it out of the hotel and over to the center. Luckily, since it's fairly early in the morning, the center isn't too crowded and he's able to get a PC quickly.]

alright, at the center and loading my pc. you said item storage, right?

sure did.

[And when John checks his items, there's going to be a Pokeball there. But when he takes it out, it's not just any Pokeball. It's handpainted- and done really well, with a smooth and glossy finish, as if it was custom made in this print. And it's not just any print. It's painted to resemble a piano, with white and black on the top and a black bottom.

If John opens it, there's a note inside that says;

happy birthday.

this is a once in a lifetime 'cut the bullshit' card.
to be played whenever you feel like or need to.
you ever want me to stop giving you a hard time or take shit seriously just play this card.
use it wisely.

And then on the back of it,

seriously i mean it this is a fuckin once in a lifetime thing.
i never even did this for dave.
feel special.

Bro just sits there waiting for John to get back to him. He's got a reason for being so damn nice- he knows OF and John were close and that the dude is gone. The Pokeball has been in the works for a while now, but the little note was a last minute addition. It's his way of saying 'You ever need me, just lemme know.' Since John doesn't really have any other adult type guy he can go to, as far as Bro knows. So yeah. He figured he'd be nice.]

[Well he's going to be waiting a while...because Bro has managed quite a spectacular feat. He's rendered John completely and utterly speechless. The pokéball was gorgeous and wow, talk about cool but...]

[That note.]

[After about five minutes, John gathers his wits enough to realize that, wow he really should say something to Bro, huh? He switches over to audio.]

Thanks, Bro. I realize there's more I should probably say than just that but...I don't... [Words. They are failing him.]

[Man, he didn't realize it'd have such an effect on the kid. He doesn't even really know why he's taking so long to respond, but he has an idea. Unless he just didn't like it, but Bro's pretty sure he made the right decision. So when John switches to audio finally, he isn't terribly surprised to hear the surprise in his tone.]

Nah, don't mention it. You ain't gotta say anything. I had a feeling you'd appreciate it, considering I heard back in our world from your pops that you were pretty damn good at playing the piano. I figured it'd be right up your alley.

[...he shouldn't have switched to audio. He should have left it on text. If he had any idea that Bro would bring up his dad, he most definitely would have because there sure is a golf-ball sized lump in his throat right now.]

[He gives a choked-up chuckle.]

Heh, well he...has a habit of embellishing the truth a bit...when it comes to me. But I was more talking about the note. Though I really do love the ball too...it's a real work of art.

[Oh. Honestly he didn't know the note was that big of a deal. Heh. The weirdest things turn out to be the most meaningful, apparently. But that chuckle makes him think- it's John's birthday, he just lost OF, and... Well they're on the subject...

So why not try and give him something even better than a stupid, hand painted Pokeball. ]

Are you kiddin'? To hear him tell it, there ain't nothin' you can't do. And trust me, when he talks, it sounds like the fuckin' truth and not just embellishment. Man I just wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up, but he just kept going on and on about what a fuckin' awesome kid you were.

[He sounds amused as he speaks, and he's recalling when this actually did go down, though he can't remember a specific date. He just knows it was pretty fucking annoying at the time. Still, he thinks it's something John might need, or at least appreciate hearing.]

He'd be proud of you, y'know. And I don't mean like... the usual kind of proud. I mean the real, stop and think and maybe even tear up a little, kind of proud. The kind of proud that you just makes you wanna hug 'em. I think he'd be like that. If he were here, he'd be fuckin' hugging the shit out of you and telling you he's proud of all the shit you've accomplished here. Like something out of a Lifetime movie.

[...Man. Saying all this suddenly makes him think of Dave. Suddenly he has the urge to let Dave know that he's proud of him, since... John's dad doesn't have the chance to do it with John. He's seeing how lucky he is right now to actually be in a position to do that, to let his kid know how proud he is. And he suddenly feels pretty fucking bad that John's dad can't do that for John right now.

And... recalling all of that? It's enough to make him realize something else, too.]

And y'know... For as much shit as I give you all the time, you really ain't a bad kid. You're actually pretty goddamn alright.

[On the other end of the line, John screws his eyes shut tight and tries swallowing that lump in his throat. Of course, this does absolutely nothing. But at least he's not crying. As much as he wants to, he's not really crazy about the idea of having a breakdown in the Pokécenter over this. And then having to walk all the way back to the hotel on top of that.]

[At least it's out of happiness? Sort of, at least. It's kind of a weird, bittersweet mixture. John hasn't seen his dad in over two years now. That's exactly 818 days without a single fatherly note about how proud Dad is, and it's times like these that John realizes just how much he misses those silly little things.]

[And how bad he feels that he never took them seriously.]

[Despite the fact that this is a phone call and not a video, John nods, making one of those entirely-too-obvious-inhaling-sniffly noises a person makes when they're trying their hardest not to just break down.]

Yeah he...he's something else. Alright.

[Oh.

Oh shit. Good job Bro. When he hears that sniffing noise, he honestly feels like a complete and total asshat. He hadn't meant to make the kid cry. That was the last thing he meant to do! But... well, he supposes he can see why, since it is a lot to handle and not having your dad here must really suck. But... ugh, that just wasn't what he meant to be.

Seriously. Good job, Bro. You made a kid cry- or at least nearly- on their birthday. Best adult, it is you.]

Yeah...

[Shit he doesn't know what to say anymore. Fuck.

Oh yeah! There was something else he'd given John, too. Yeah. Just tell him about that and move on. He probably doesn't wanna talk about that anymore. So Bro just... takes a moment to push away the guilt so that he can go back to sounding normal.]

So anyway, uh. I got you something else-- for whenever you're ready, that is. You can... Uh. Take the time to appreciate that ball and stuff, if you need to.

[Or, y'know, go cry if you need to do that too, he's trying to say.]

[Yeah he...definitely doesn't want to talk about this anymore. Because he doesn't want to cry on his birthday and he DEFINITELY doesn't want to cry on his birthday in his workplace. No sir.]

[But for the record, he was happy to hear that. Even if it also made him sad. He's not sure if Bro has ever actually spoken to his dad or if he's just making this up but either way...it's something he both wanted to and never wanted to hear simultaneously.]

[He swallows, taking a deep breath as he forces himself to regain his composure. Today is going to be a decent birthday for once and he's not going to kick it off by crying here at the beginning.]

Heh, three presents? Man, you are really trying to get in my good graces today, aren't you? [The way he says it is kind of half-hearted though, it's pretty obvious that it's a joke.]

[Bro lets out a small chuckle at that, and it's more sincere than he usually sounds. In a way? It feels like a relief to be getting along with John after so long of being so damn pissy with him. It's... actually enough to make him wonder if maybe he's been approaching this whole thing between them in the wrong way. He's starting to think he has. So caught up in his conflicted feelings regarding Rose and being a father, it's as if he targeted John simply because he was there and was a good scapegoat for his frustrations. Funny how it's taken something like this to really make him realize that.

Better late than never, he guesses. Being able to talk openly with John and getting along with him is going to go far better at resolving any problems than antagonizing him and fighting with him. So... John, consider this starting over. He's realized he's been a jackass and he's gonna work towards that. For everyone's sake.

Who knew you nearly crying would be such a fucking eye opener. Good job.]

Maybe I am. Is it working? Anyway, check your Pokemon storage now.

[When John does, there's going to be a new addition inside of it.

A little birdy told him that John might appreciate it, and he never uses it for battle, so why not? John would appreciate it far more than he does.]

[Good. Now let's just hope he doesn't shove his foot down his own mouth again and undo all this. Because John would actually like to get along with Bro, even if he is kind of a huge weirdo.]

[...and sometimes kind of more than just a weirdo I mean wow that milk thing...]

[BUT EVEN SO...]

Maaaaaaybe. I mean who can r-- [John cuts off as the Pokémon storage finally opens up and he scrolls through it to find the newest addition.]

Is that...

[Yeah, Bro? It totally worked. Just in case you can't tell by the stunned silence on John's end.]

[Have another chuckle, John. This one is more of a pleased with himself chuckle though, because he's getting the feeling he did another thing right, and it's a pretty nice feeling after nearly making him cry.]

Sure is. It's yours. I don't really train it much anymore, figured it'd be happier with you, y'know?

[You done good, Bro. You done good.]

[John is still quiet on the other end, staring at the screen and the final piece of his collection.]

Heh, well I will certainly do my best to make that happen. Thanks, Bro.

Yeah, you're welcome.

[There's a small pause, before he breathes a sigh.]

Alright, well I'm sure you have a lot of important birthday shit to get to, so don't let me keep you from that. So go get on that. Have a killer birthday, man.

[Man, as opposed to kid. That alone says a lot about the new road they're traveling on.]

Heh, I will certainly try. Thanks again, Bro. Talk to you later.

[Click!]

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