Fitz & Rose play a writing game

What the title said.

NOTICE: This piece was written by both myself and Fitz Roberts. We did not plan the plot ahead of time. We took turns adding up to five sentences or so. 

Chapter One: Twisted Rose Statue

John dialed the 9, the 1, and the 1 again. But then he hesitated. If he called this in they gave up all chances of getting away with this.

He hit the send button and the phone rang to life. Maybe he still had a chance of getting away. There's always chance. Just in his case, it would be slim. But it's not everyday that genius and insanity are born to create what they were doing.

"Braxton 911. What is the location of your emergency?" said the dispatcher.

"Uh .. kinda near exit 41. I don't know."

"Can you see any signs or can you tell me the names of buildings you are near?"

"Uh, yeah. There's some statue of some silly rose thing, I don't know. Can't you GPS me or anything? I mean you're the cops, or at least, so you say.”

Step one 'piss of the dispatcher' accomplished. Now for step two.

"Thank you for permission to track your phone." said the dispatcher.

That was not part of the plan. S**t. That's what spontaneous does to plans, it randomly pushes them off a cliff. Step two 'picking up the evidence' needed to happen faster.

"What is the nature of the emergency?" said the dispatcher.

John walked the scene, destroying prints left from his boots. It would've looked odd to passersby. He obscured the footprints, only to leave another fresh ones. Cussing, he picked up a branch and made quick work of the footprint, but now he had to do something with this branch.

"Sir are you OK? You're breathing pretty hard. Help is almost there,” said the dispatcher.

John hung up. There was no point talking to the dispatcher. He heard sirens. There was no time to get away. That's when a radical idea hit him. He grabbed a low branch and lifted himself into the tree. By the time the cops arrived, he was concealed by the foliage.

"The GPS ping is over that way" he heard an officer say.

"Dang," he whispered to himself as he threw the phone. It landed by the statue of the twisted rose. He held his breath as that same officer walked under him, shining his flashlight everywhere but up.

"I found someone!" shouted a cop. Thank goodness they found her.

"Why isn't the ambulance here yet?" said another cop.

"You did the right thing," a voice said in his ear.

Chapter Two: Legends to Be

John flinched, almost falling out of the tree.

"Jesus, Tommy! What are you doing in this tree?"

Tommy swiftly swung himself onto the same branch as John. Luckily all the shaking he made on the branch went unnoticed. Tommy had always been whispering in his ear about this and that. That's what had gotten them into this situation: Tommy and his plans.

"Be quiet Tommy, you'll lead them right to us." He had to get out of this tree or soon they would find him too. 

The EMTs walked under him with their stretcher, but he couldn't see them helping her. When the ambulance drove away, he could only hope that meant she'd be alright.

"Let's go", he said to Tommy, but Tommy wasn't there. As usual Tommy had vanished. If he didn't know any better he'd have thought Tommy was a ninja. But he did know better. Ninja's weren't real.

He might have been surprised Jessica had made it, but he knew she would.Even if she ruined part of the plans to trash the statue, he couldn't just leave her.John slid down the back of the tree while everyone was focused on the girl. He slipped into the crowd that was forming to see all the commotion. Acting as if he was just another face in the crowd was natural for John. Tommy walked up next to him.

"You're right. You couldn't just leave her. Seems she'll have a role in this too," said Tommy.

"Don't you think maybe we should just call the whole thing off?" John said.

"I'm just as shook up about Jessica as you are," Tommy said. "But what we're doing is more important."

He was starting to doubt how much Tommy really cared about any of them.

"I'm calling a meeting." John said. "We should vote or something."

"Now's not a good time. If anyone's watching us we can't let them know everyone whose involved," warned Tommy. “Go home to your family and act like everything is normal.”

He turned slowly, nodding to Tommy. Every part of him wanted to run, to be away from the lights, but still he walked slowly. He didn't cause a scene; they'd likely pick up the first person they saw running. How did this happen? A couple days ago everything was normal.

The mile walk home gave him time to think. A couple days ago he had assumed Tommy's plan was a joke. When Tommy wrote a shopping list he still thought it was a joke and played along. When their group started gathering items for Tommy, it started to hit John that this was really happened. When he found Jessica unconscious by the statue a few hours ago, the reality of their plan fully sunk in.

If it succeeded they would go down as legends. If it failed, well at least he wouldn't be the only one to blame. 

Was it worth being legends even at the risk of getting caught and doing time? You bet your a*s it was, not to mention the pay out. Jessica was the beginning, the start of their insane scheme, another piece of the puzzle that made Tommy's masterpiece. They were just the players.

Chapter Three: Casserole for Everyone

John turned the corner onto his street and was glad to see there were no cars in the driveway. He grabbed the mail on the way in and locked the door back up behind him.

"Mom, dad, I'm home," he said, knowing no one would answer. He found casserole in the fridge and heated himself a plate. One could chastise his mother for never being around, but no one could say a word against her casserole. He crammed his dirty dish in what little free space the sink had left and took a second plate of casserole up to his room. Earlier he had dumped the contents of his backpack onto his bed, and now he pushed it all onto the floor. 

He sat on his bed, took a bite of the casserole, and looked at the contents of his backpack. It was a bunch of nothing really. His real phone, green scotch tape, spray paint and few random candy bar wrappers. Being without a nagging mom left him the chance to make his own diet with the money his parents left him. Still, his mom's casserole was more filling.

“John,”came from outside his window followed by a stone. "John what the heck are you doing its time for phase two."

John opened his window to see Lucas below.

"Come to the front" he called down. Looks like Tommy hadn't bothered to tell their group phase two had been delayed. 

The first thing Lucas did when John let him in was to head to the fridge and heat himself up a plate of casserole. 

"Phase one was a bust," explained John. "I found Jessica there and we couldn't move forward."

"What was she doing there?" asked Lucas.

"I don't know. She was unconscious so I called the cops."

"You what!"

"It's okay, they didn't find anything."

"What does Tommy say we should do?" asked Lucas.

"Tommy just said not to meet for awhile. So maybe you should go."

"But I'm already here. Besides, two friends hanging out after school is the opposite of suspicious."

The doorbell rang.

Kristy let herself in and came bounding into the kitchen. She followed suit heating herself up some casserole. This is why John ate so many candy bars. His friends killed his supply of casserole at least twice a week.

"Phase two?" asked Kristy.

John had the biggest crush on Kristy. so he just sat there nodding his head with a smile.

Lucas interjected "John said Tommy delayed phase two.”

A knock came from the door, followed by the doorbell. By the time John opened the door, Charlotte had rung the bell five more times.

"Are you having a meeting without me?" accused Charlotte as she pushed her way in. "I live across the street. If you're trying to exclude me you should have meet somewhere else. Hey Kristy. Hey Lucas. Where's Tommy?"

John waited a second to make sure Charlotte was really done talking before he answered.

"Tommy said not to meet. You should all leave," said John.

"Don't be such a bad host," said Kristy.

John hesitated. He didn't want Kristy to think badly of him. 

"Yeah, I haven't even had a plate of casserole yet," added Charlotte.

"We're here already, you might as well let us stay," said Lucas. 

"Fine fine. As long as you're all staying there's something I've been meaning to bring up. Are we sure we should even be doing this?" said John.

"What do you mean?" asked Lucas. 

Tommy stormed through the door. "What are all rejects doing? You're supposed to wait on my signal."

John looked at Tommy, his face was beet red with frustration. John wondered if perhaps everything wasn't going to plan.

"Lucas go get your bag," Tommy ordered and pointed outside.

Charlotte edged over to make room between her and Kristy. John hoisted himself onto the counter, but held himself a couple inches above the counter top for a few seconds before easing himself down. Kristy smiled and set her hand on the counter within John's reach.

Tommy glared at the empty casserole dish on the counter. "Thanks for saving me some guys,"Tommy said sliding the empty dish over so he could sit on the other side of Kristy. John tensed.

Lucas returned with his bag.

"Since we're all here." Tommy paused to glare at John. "I figure we can go through all our roles for phase two, so we don't have another screw up like phase one."

"Are we going to redo phase one or skip it?" asked John.

"I took care of it," said Tommy. "Now, Kristy first. Have you been practicing?"

"What do you mean you took care of it? By yourself?" asked John.

Kristy started hyperventilating. Her hands began to shake. A look of horror spread across her face. She collapsed onto the floor and thrashed about for a solid minute before she became still.

Chapter Four: Show and Tell

"Well done Kristy," praised Tommy. "That should do nicely."

"Thanks," said Kristy as he helped her up.

"What do you mean you took care of phase one?" repeated John.

"I mean I took care of it," Tommy shot John a glare. He looked around at them all. "As I was saying, Lucas you got the distant ions?"

Lucas nodded and dumped out a bunch of bottle rockets and black cat fireworks."This better be worth it Tommy, I've been saving these for three summers now."

Tommy smiled, "Oh, it will be."

"Charlotte?" called Tommy. 

"I've got it. It took me a couple nights and I'm way behind on the diorama project, but I've got it."

"School projects won't matter soon," said Kristy, her smile a mile wide.

"Show us," said Tommy. 

Charlotte took a pad lock out of her pocket and set it on the counter. Next she pulled a bobby pin out of her wavy hair and a paper clip off of her back pack. Next she set to work. The group all crowded around to watch. It wasn't immediate. It took a solid minute before the pad lock clicked open.

"You need to be faster," said Tommy.

"That was impressive," said John.

"John's turn," said Tommy.

John hesitated. Then he remembered Kristy was watching.

John sighed, climbing off the counter.

"My paints are upstairs, all I have to do is mark the spots."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "That's not all you have to do. Do it John."

John took a few steps back and bounded at the counter in two steps. He jumped, landing on the counter between Kristy and Charlotte. Knees bent, he pushed off and landed his back flip.

"There Tommy, I did it."

Tommy was way better at parcour, but John had learned a few things.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, bright and early," said Tommy ignoring John's sarcasm. 

"Nice moves John," said Kristy as she headed for the front door.

The front door opened. John's mother's keys clinked as she tossed them into the bowl next to the coat rack. 

Charlotte scooped her padlock and picks into her pocket. Lucas zipped up his back pack. Tommy was nowhere to be seen. As usual.

John's mother turned the corner.

"Oh," she said, startled to see four teenagers instead of just her one. "Darling, who are your friends?"

"Uhh,” John hesitated. Tommy wanted to keep their connection unknown, but it would be more suspicious not to introduce the team. “This is Lucas and Kristy and you know Charlotte. She lives across the street."

His mother smiled and waved to all of them. "Nice to meet you. Say hello to your mother for me, Charlotte."

“Okay,” said Charlotte, rolling her eyes once she had turned away John's mom.

Noticing the empty casserole dish, John's mom looked at her son, shaking her head. “How can you eat that much and stay so skinny? And don't think I don't know about the candy bars."

John moved to his mom, pushing her out the kitchen as he motioned for everyone to leave with his head. "Don't embarrass me in front of my friends mom," he whispered. Lucas, Charlotte, and Kristy slipped out the front door.  Without following up about his diet, John's mom plopped down in the living room and had her work laptop open before he could even ask how her day went.

After the door closed behind his friends, Kristy popped back through. 

Seeing John's mom wasn't in sight, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

John blushed. He was so happy he couldn't move.

"For luck. I know you have the hardest job." Kristy flashed him one of her beautiful, to kill for, smiles and ducked out the door.

"Honey," John's mom called from the living room. "Come here for a minute. We need to have a talk."

How strange, thought John as he took the two steps he needed to reach the living room as slowly as he could. His mom didn't look up when he came in the room. She didn't even take her fingers off the keyboard.

"John, I don't mind you having friends over. Just leave a message with my receptionist Celia so I don't catch making out with your girlfriend. What was her name, Charlotte?"

“No, Kristy and she's not my - .” John stopped himself. She was fishing for information. Personal information John did not feel she had earned the right to know. On that note, he kissed his mom on the cheek.

"Night mom. Good to know I can always talk to your secretary when I need someone,” said John.

His mom laughed, "That's what I pay her for son." She kissed his cheek and he made his way up to his room. Just because she wasn't around didn't mean she didn't care about him. But just because she cared, didn't mean John had to care back.

Tommy sat on his bed eating a candy bar out of John's bag.

 

Chapter Five: One Last Run

"You ready? We gotta practice for tomorrow," said Tommy between bites.

"Wouldn't it be better to rest?" said John.

"No," said Tommy. "Just because Kristy was impressed doesn't mean you're ready. We have work to do." And with that Tommy threw himself out the window. 

John peered down after him, half hoping Tommy had injured himself and there plan for tomorrow would be canceled. Tommy was already walking away, not waiting to watch John descend. 

Maybe Tommy wouldn't notice if John walked out the front door instead of jumping, thought John, but he knew better.

He swung himself out of his window. His stomach clenched in fear as the ground approached, but a tuck and roll was able to keep him safe after the one story jump. 

Tommy was waving him on as he darted off down an alley. The wooden privacy fences lined the sides and back of the houses creating an alley. John took off after him. Why the hell did Tommy insist on giving John the athletic job? John wasn't un-athletic, but he wasn't on five sports teams like Lucas; John wasn't on any teams. In fact, their newly formed little group was the closest thing to a team John had even been a part of.

Tommy jumped but ran along the side of the fence on one motion. He pushed off, springing clear over the seven foot privacy fence. John followed suit, but didn't have the same grace Tommy did. John had to slap the top of the fence to make it over safely. At least he stuck the landing.

"Here seems good for a rest,” said Tommy. “You have come a long way. Tomorrow when you're up, it's going to be the most important part of the plan, John. But you can do it. That's why I ride you so hard, bro. Because I know you can do it."

"I get it," said John. 

"See you tomorrow?" asked Tommy. 

John could tell what Tommy meant. Tommy knew John was uncertain.

"Yeah," said John. "You'll see me tomorrow." He forced a smile despite his fear for what could go wrong tomorrow. 

Tommy slapped him on the back and took off. 

There was no going back. John shook off the slap, he wondered if Tommy made it too hard on purpose, and walked home. 

Reviews

[fitz Roberts]

I like how we've built a story just cheater building lol

[fitz Roberts]

Character ^not cheater