Another Day

[Magnum 0pus]

To be completely honest, Claude was grateful that Chester decided to willingly go for a walk; he didn't want to put his friend through such embarrassment, but he would have done it regardless if it meant the best for his friends. He ignored the reaction that Bisette gave as he watched him go back up to his room before waiting for him as he got dressed.

Now was as best time as any to head back to the front door so he wouldn't have to spend anymore unnecessary time in the mansion which could be spent outside.

When Chester finally got back wearing what Claude presumed were the first pieces of clothing he got ahold of, he chuckled at his grumpy friends remark before responding, "If it means nothing but the best for my friends, so be it!" Claude followed close behind Chester, walking back outside through the front door.

The tall teenager brushed past his shorter friend, not looking back as he expected him to follow, "Let's get going!"

[SharkyTGirl185]

Bissette wrinkles his nose as he followed Claude down the street of the comfortable suburbia. He places his hands his pockets, shifty eyes across the landscape. He wondered if his neighbors were watching from their windows. The Bissette kid finally getting out, call the entire neighborhood!

He grumbled, keeping his head down as he walked beside Claude “Hope you’re enjoying this.”

[Magnum 0pus]

This type of thing from Chester was something Claude has grown used and numb to. Beneath that tough exterior of his was someone who truly cared, that much he was certain of. So, despite how his friend acted, he didn't dare to frustrate himself or yell or belittle him, for that wasn't what true friend like Claude did. All of the stares and looks from the neighbors that were aimed at Chester that had him keep his head down made Claude feel bad, which then made him decide to reason with his friend in hopes of brightening his mood.

"Oh come on, Chester, we're only going to walk around the neighborhood a single time–it'll be no longer than twenty minutes!" Twenty minutes. Even as his friend he knew that it would be too much for him, so he reasoned with him some more, "After this, I'll leave you alone for the day so you can rest and enjoy the start of new year with your house mostly cleaned up, how's that sound?"

[SharkyTGirl185]

Bissette glanced away. Great job. You made him frustrated now he won’t talk to you for the rest of the day. Great going Chester.

He sighs, nodding “Alright alright…sure.” He conceded tilting his head to look ahead as they walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the nice Nevada day.

Bissette glanced around, just making no one’s watching him. He sighed again, glancing at Claude “So uh….what have you been doing?”

[Magnum 0pus]

"Surprisingly not much, if I'm going to be honest with you." The past few weeks of Winter Break weren't all that eventful like he had hoped, Claude thought so, at least. He had visited many of his friends and his sister had come back from her travels and was going to stay for a while until she had to leave to travel to another country again, so there was that.

"That was a lie, my sister, Lucie, is back from her travels, and she's going to stay for a while. Christmas was pretty good, she brought back some souvenirs and such from Japan. Lucie got me a physical copy of the 1954 release of Gojira, and I plan to show that in a later horror club meeting..." A smile creeped up on Claude's face as he remembered that Christmas morning. "Guessing things haven't changed all that much for you, huh?"

[SharkyTGirl185]

Bissette simply nodded from Claude’s story.

Japan. 1954 Gojira. Kinda cheesy film. Claude’s sister? He didn’t really ask Claude about his family life. Jesus Christ, he was a shitty friend. Why did Claude even hang out with him?

He sighs a bit “Yeah, I guess not. Dad got me a signed copy of a Kill Bill poster. That’s cool I guess.”

[Magnum 0pus]

A Kill Bill poster? Now that Chester mentioned it, Claude remembered seeing one in his room when he first walked in a while ago. Good film, Claude's sister Lucie enjoyed it. To him, the film was pretty good, but he didn't enjoy it as much as her.

"That's awesome, Chester. It was a good movie, but what do you think?" It was a question completely out of left field that would've made his friend feel like he was being interrogated, but Claude really was just interested and wanted to know more from his friend.

He enjoyed talking with people, no matter what the topic was, so long as everyone was contributing.

[SharkyTGirl185]

Bissette seemed momentarily stunned over the simple question. what do you think?

‘I mean…the film? Uh, well. I suppose you’d consider it good, people love the shit outta the film and people consider it Tarantino’s best. I personally found myself thinking, objectively Reservoir Dogs as a better experience but I’m not discrediting the duology, different genres and styles. They were doing a love letter for those cheesy old Japanese films, and the action was just amazing, and Uma Thurman sold the role. I mean, the taste is kinda sour when looking into the accident with Tarantino that got her injured, it’s not as bad as the shit with Kubrick and Shelley Duvall but you can definitely-”

Bissette stops in his tracks, glancing at Claude. Immediately, Bissette clammed up, looking back ahead as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued walking.

“It’s a good film. I liked it.” He simplified, kicking himself for being incessant with his talking.

[Magnum 0pus]

Claude walked and listened intently as Chester talked about the film, showing clear interest in it, before stopping. Baby steps. He was glad he got his friend out of his shell for a brief moment, and he was willing to show his appreciation so that his friend would talk some more whenever they hung out.

"Happy to hear you consider the film that way, my friend!" Flashing him a bright smile before wrapping his hand around shoulder to bring him in for a side hug, "Go ahead and keep on sharing, I don't mind, Chester!"

He let go of his friend and continued to walk while looking at him, practically inviting him to keep on talking about the subject.

[SharkyTGirl185]

Bissette feels surprised over Claude’s reaction, furrowing his eyebrows and looking around for a second and scratching his neck. The sideways hug made him flustered as he looked down and cleared his throat.

“Sure uh….yeah.” Bissette nodded as he began to speak this time quieter “I mean you know, people don’t really think about what goes on behind the scenes in films and movies. I mean, that’s how shitty directors get away with abusing their staff and stars, but it isn’t like, everyone is an abusive asshole, a lot of them can just be careless over the well-being.”

He goes on like this, rambling as the two turned the corner and continued walking through the neighborhood, Bissette feeling more and more comfortable as he spoke.

[Magnum 0pus]

Just the fact alone that Chester was getting comfortable with expressing himself made Claude proud for his friend. Even if he was whispering, he listened without getting bored or annoyed. There were so many things he enjoyed doing with his friends, and he really never got tired of any of it.

As they walked, Claude stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, the frigid air getting the best of him while he continued to listen to Chester talk to him about the film industry as a whole.

Even though it was possible Chester didn't notice, Claude would notice when the both of them had walked halfway around the neighborhood. If things went as they seemed to be going, then it was possible that they would get back to Chester's mansion in a few minutes flat.

Meh!

Claude just wanted to continue enjoying this time he was spending with his good friend, he didn't want to think about how much longer this stroll they were on was going to last–that was selfish!

And if one thing's for certain; Claude isn't selfish.

[SharkyTGirl185]

Bissette’s discussions on the film industry somehow began devolving into another topic as Bissette flailed his hands around was focusing on talking. He then spoke about criminals on the film industry,

“……You get guys like Roman Polanski, and Harvey Weinstein who use their authority against others and….”

And in a few minuets he discussion then began to move into talking about criminals in history, and the corruption that kept them from facing the consequences. He looked pissed, but not angry angry, more so passionate speaking.

“Like, you get Operation Paperclip, granting amnesty to Japansee war criminals in World War 2, don’t forget the shit with Kissinger, like. People like these will always let shitty people do shitty things as long as they keep…”

Bissette stumbles on pauses as he glances around, seeing just how much time they spent out, glancing around in surprised and then sighing “Man, now you have me ranting out in public.” He grumbled a bit as he rolled his eyes “This is what Weed does to me, you took advantage of that.”

He said while having an halfway amused smile on his face, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

[Magnum 0pus]

Was it really the weed that got Chester to rant on and on, or was it Claude's impeccable Charisma that did the trick? Truly seemed like it was either or, but Claude liked to think that he would've been able to get Chester to talk comfortably all the same, regardless of the effects of weed, "Oh sure it was the weed..." He responded before chucking loudly.

Once he finished chuckling, he patted his friend on the back with a smug grin on his face, "You have to admit that it felt nice to really just talk about whatever came to mind with someone, didn't it?" Claude took his hand off of Chester's large back, shoving it back into his pockets to warm it back up. "Wait a minute, wasn't there a hole in one of the walls in your house?" A flashback hit him violently as he remembered having seen a hole in a wall when he walked into his friends house earlier, "Hold on, ain't that your parents' car?"

He slowed down as he noticed a car pulled up into the driveway, they had both walked a fair distance and were almost done–time really flew by with friends, doesn't it?

Anyway, Claude wondered if Chester's parents were going to be all that mad about a hole in a wall, but hey, at least they cleaned up most of the trash that previously littered the floor when he first arrived earlier.

[SharkyTGirl185]

Chester’s half smile slowly faded as his parent’s shiny car parked in the drive-way, and he immediately got an annoyed, exhausted look on his face “Ugh…great.” He muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they walked over.

Marguerite Bissette walked past them, talking loudly on her phone as she was holding several bags from luxury stores like Gucci and Banana Republic, entering the house without a work. Jean stepped out, looking down at his phone as he scrolled absentmindedly. He glanced up and smiled, walking over and focusing on Claude.

“Oh, hey! Claude! There you are! Heh, you finally got the big guy out of the house?.” Jean periodically glanced at his phone as he talked, chuckling.

Bissette stepped to the side as his dad spoke to Jean, turning away and stuffing his hands inside his pockets, clearly annoyed.

[Magnum 0pus]

Claude noticed how Mr. Bisette only ever periodically looked up from his phone to greet him, and that pissed him off a bit, but he wasn't going to make a whole mess out of it. Instead, he had something else in mind. The young man casually grabbed the hand of Chester's father that he held the phone with and yanked it to give him a very firm, and slightly painful, handshake, "Mr. Bisette, hello, it's a pleasure to see you again!" Claude maintained the same friendly expression on his face while practically crushing the living hell out his Jean's hand and phone with his vice grip that was comparable to that of a Silverback gorilla or the the claws on heavy machinery, "Your son and I had a good time hanging out, he got to start the new year right while I was here; no fuss, no buts, no coconuts!" The smile on his face didn't fade even as he still held the nearly bone breaking handshake with Chester's father, but once he pulled away, it was like Jean's hand was like that one scene in the SpongeBob episode where he cracked his knuckles and all his fingers broke!

Not really, it just hurt a lot, but Claude's friendliness made it seem as if he didn't realize his own strength and went a bit too far with his handshake, "Welp, I better head on home, my sister is probably worried sick about me right now!" Claude gave Chester a parting shoulder pat, "See ya, dude!" And then gave him a light punch in the shoulder before turning around and walking off.

But then he stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder, "Tell Mrs. Bisette I said hi!" He called out before walking off once more to his mansion.