Dramedy ch.2 Advice from an enemy..

Pam was quickly rushed to the hospital, which was luckily less then five miles from the school. Her head spun as she drifted in and out of consciousness, and finally everything when black. Eventually, after what seemed like only seconds, Pam began to come to, and awoke in the cold bed near the window.

"Pam..wake up.." Pam opened her eyes to see Darren standing above her hospital bed, "Pam, how you feeling?"

Pam blinked her eye's, squinting because of the light shining on her face from the open window. She felt a bit nauseated, "Okay-I guess? what happened? The last thing I remember was I was walking into the auditorium to perform, and then..what happened, did I do my ruitene?" She looked around confused, trying to focus her eyes and figure out why she was in a hospital bed.

"You don't remember? It's probably best that way, Staci didn't catch you when you were coming down from being thrown. I heard from Stephan who heard from Flo who said he heard from the cheer-coach, that If they can prove she did it on purpose then she will be kicked out of the team and her ASU scholarship will be null and void!"

"Well, good luck proving that, every day there is a cheerleader who falls and hits their head, it will be impossible to tell if it were purposeful or not." Pam looked at Darren and smiled, "I'm glad you're here..Where's Flo?"

"I don't know? Do I look like his keeper?" Snapped Darren bitterly, then realized that this might not be the time to be vendictful towards her looser boyfriend- after all, Flo did set up that date with the producers for him. "Actually I think he might be coming later, he said something about finishing some business he had started or something."

"Okay Darren." Pam smiled, "I feel pretty nauseated, and my head hurts. Will I be let out soon? I need to practice for my senior speech. I can't possibly be hurt that bad?"

"I thought I heard someone say concussion, but I can't know for sure, let me see if I can find a doctor for you." Darren got up and looked out the door, eventually a nurse noticed him and entered the room.

"You will be just fine, we believe it's a concussion that should heal on its own, just to be sure we're going to run a few tests at around five pm. After that you most likely we be allowed to go home. Do you have someone to watch you at home, like a parent?" The nurse looked at Pam, who paused and then answered.

"I can find someone."

"Good!" said the nurse, and she walked out.

Pam's parents divorced when Pam was only six months old, and it was probably for the best because before the divorce her parents would fight back and forth from sunrise and sunset, breaking lamps and punching wall's (though they never actually hurt each other). For a short time, right after the divorce she would go back and forth, living part time at each house, though mostly at her mom's.

Then during her fifth year of her early life, without warning, her father moved out of town and decided to travel the world in a cheep used RV that smelled of ciggeretes, beer and cheep wine that he had bought at an auction. With his trashy RV he planned to roam the country and live the life of a nomad. This was the last time she saw her father, and because he was always traveling, he lost all contact with Pam and left Pam's poor mother to support her daughter all by herself.

From that moment Pam's mother knew she wanted to give Pam the life she deserved and needed. She didn't want to be another single mom with two job's and a child at home feeling less that all the other children at school. She wanted Pam to have everything any other child would have, and more. An admitted workaholic, Pam's mother would spend eighteen hours a day, perfecting whatever skill she was perfecting at the time. Completing college, and eventually becoming a part of a large law firm based off the shore of Hawaii. By the time Pam had turned twelve, Pam only saw her mother on the weekends, then by the age of fourteen she saw her mother about once a month. The money was excellent, and Pam could have everything she could have ever wanted in the whole world and more- except for one thing, the one thing she really yearned for, a family. This was around the time Flo started hanging around. He being a foster child his whole life, needed a family as well, so it was a quick bond between the two young adolescents.

What finally gave was when Pam's mother took a position that required her to live overseas, Pam's mom bought a beach house and moved out, believing it was for the best. She knew that her Pam didn't want to move, and she also knew that this position was what was best for the family. She left Pam at home alone, Pam would receive a check in the mail on a weekly basis and all utilities and bills for Pam's home were forwarded to Hawaii. Pam's mom believed this is what Pam wanted, and that she had given Pam the life she deserved. But Pam, she was all alone, and now she didn't have a father or a mother.

"Pam, can I ask you a question?" Said Darren nervecly.

"Sure Dar, what's up?" Said a groggy Pam.

"I was wondering on how to ask this girl to prom? I was thinking that you could maybe help me?" Darren looked at Pam waiting for advice.

"Darren!" Pam began laughing, her face reddened, "Why would you want take a girl to prom? You're silly! You;ve never even had a girlfriend, why would you want to start out with prom? That's a girls most fantastic night, she wouldn't want to go with you, she would want to go with an experienced dater! How about you come with Flo and I, you don't need some girl to keep you company!" Pam smiled; Darren sank, he was afraid that was the answer he was going to get.

"You know, it doesn't matter, I don't want to go with you and Flo, I wanted to have a date, I don't want to be the third wheel! I don't even like Flo! Why would you think that would be a good idea? Why do you always try to hold me back?!" Darren shot Pam an angry glare.

"Darren, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.." stammered Pam as Darren stormed off and walked out of the hospital room. He couldn't believe she just said that! But why should he be surprised? She had always controlled him.

It started back in grade school, if he made a new friend, Pam would find a way to destroy it. If Pam found out he liked a girl, she would find a way to make sure the girl didn't return the affection. If Darren had some how done something that gave him more attention than Pam had, Pam would copy Darren and grab that attention back, except she would do whatever he did one hundred times better. She was always in competition with him, whether it was with making friends, having dates, or becoming someone.

She also competed with everybody else, she wanted to be Darren's one and only friend. After years and years of Darren being on the receiving end of a toxic friendship, she eventually got what she had wanted, Darren eventually became referred to as: "that scary kid from first block", that "weird kid at the back of the class who wears a cape and hisses at popular kids", that "freak who pretends he's a vampire dresses in all black and stocks random students". Most of the damage he did to his image was done in junior high. And even though he didn't wear a cape anymore, he now baths, and dresses in other colors besides black, the damage was already done, and was irriversable.

Darren finally arrived home and stomped up to his room, pushing Stephen out of the way in the process. Once up in his room, he tightly locked the door, closed the windows and cranked his stereo full volume. Why would she do this to him? Again and again! Why couldn't he have one normal conversation with her, and not feel like he should always be on the defense? Why couldn't she just say, "maybe a girl will like you" or "go for it Darren! You are cute!" and blah blah blah!

BANG! BANG! BANG! His mother slammed her fists on his locked door. "Darren, whats wrong?!" yelled him mom outside his door BANG! BANG! BANG!, "Darren, let me in I can help!" BANG! BANG!

"No mom! Go away! I want to be alone!" Yelled Darren, "I don't want you help! I don't want any body's help!" Darren began to cry in his pillow.

"Let me in now! Or I swear I will break down the door! I don't want to see you like this!" Yelled his mom as he heard his door shake some more.

"If you don't want to see me like this then go away! Why do you insist on ruining my life! I hate you! Go away!" Darren fell on his bed and buried his face in his pillow, covering his ears to try to drown out the noise of the stereo and his mom and his banging door. He wished he hadn't attempted suicide back at the beginning of his Freshman year of High School. After that dark night spent in the hospital pumping his stomach, his mother never wanted to leave him alone again.

"Let me in Darren or I swear I'll call 911!" Yelled his mom again, "I don't want a dead child!"

Angry, Darren got up off his bed and unlocked the door, "There, are you happy?! You want to look at me and see my pain? Fine! Look, here I am! Look at my pain!!"

His mom turned around and began to walk downstairs, "Oh, so dramatic! Just remember to keep your door open when you are freaking out! I know you'll tell me your problems when your ready."

"Like hell I will!" screamed Darren, he never told her anything, and never wanted to. She was too dense to ever understand. His mom actually thought that him and Pam were a "thing", even though they never even liked each other in that way! Also, she was so clueless about what was really going on around her that she didn't even realised that Stephan, her other son, heavenly used drugs. His other brother Stev had weight problems not from over eating, but because of unresolved emotional trauma! (At least thats what Stev told everybody). The only child in the family that didn't have secrets was Natalie, but why would she? Straight A popular, innocent Natalie! Never could do any wrong! He resented her. He wasn't about to tell his mother or father anything, they just wouldn't understand.

He went back on his bed to mope. He did plan on inviting Sammy to Prom, he just didn't know how to ask her without looking like a com pleat idiot. Sammy was the only girl he knew besides Pam who actually gave a crap about him. Darren was clueless when it came to girls, probably the only senior boy that had never even been out on a date, not even one, not even a group date! He did think about asking Flo for advice. Darren hated Flo, but he did have to admit that even though Flo could be a jerk, he was good at attracting girls. Also, him and Flo had been getting along better for at least a month or two with out incident.

Eventually he worked up the courage to go across the street and see what Flo thought about the situation. He braced for the worst though, not knowing how Flo would react when he told him he wanted to find a date for prom. He went down stairs and out the door, he could tell his mother was relieved that Darren wasn't pouting anymore.

Flo's home at the moment was a piece of trash, as soon as Flo turned eighteen he moved out of his last foster home and bought his own place. At first it was a nice cute little suburban house on the corner of two little roads across from Darren's. But after six months of working it in, the place had become a bit of a dump on the outside, the lawn was dead, odd weeds growing everywhere, and random cardboard boxes in the yard from who knows what.

Inside though was another story, it had expensive tacky furniture, leopard print, neon and velvet seats. It looked like a 70's porn flick, or as Flo referred to it as his "pimp pad". Flo loved it, and of course, that was all that mattered.

Even thought the "pimp pad", Flo wasn't wanna be gangster-like, and he had good taste in clothing. Flo dressed in mostly black, usually long sleeve black designer dress shirts, and expensive slacks and shoes. He wore top of the line watches, and he usually wore a thick gold 18 kt gold ring. His nails were painted black, never chipped, and done so nicely that you could tell he probably paid someone to paint them for him. His hair was medium long, died jet black, and he often tried to spike it, but it usually just ended up all over the place because it was too heavy. Pale skin dark eye's proffesionaly whitened teeth, sometimes had some eyeliner around his eyes, but not always, he usually let Pam put it on him if he could find her before class.

Darren was actually extremely afraid of Flo. He wasn't scared of him because he was strong and he worked out, or that Flo knew people that would be willing to hurt Darren badly if he willed it to be done. Or that Flo abused drugs and would sometimes blank out day's at a time. Or even that Flo was some how receiving great somes of money, and that with using the money, he could compleatly derail Darren's life. That was all frightening, but that wasn't what scared Darren the most.

What scared Darren about Flo was that Flo was destructively intelligent. He was intelligent to a fault, and even with many brain cells being destroyed over the years of drinking and drug use, he could still think circles around Darren. Flo was calculating, and manipulative, and with a few words, he could some how seem to get everything that he wanted. He knew that if Flo lied, you wouldn't see it.

Flo opened the door half asleep to see Darren standing there, "What the hell do you want?" asked an annoyed Flo, pissed to see that Darren was the one he bothered opening the door for.

"Well, I was thinking of going to prom, and I was wondering.."

"Don't swing that way!" blurted an irritated Flo, and proceeded to try and slam the door on him.

"Wait!" Chirped Darren, as he stuck his foot and arm in the door blocking it from closing all the way, and pushed in a little bit, "I need girl advice, you know more about girls than I do!"

Flo calmed down for a second and looked at him thoughtfully and then sighed, "Girl advice? So you are into girls? I guess I can help you, come in." An unenthusiastic Flo lead Darren into his "pimp pad" and motioned him to sit, Darren took a seat on a tiny automin, the only piece of furniture in the room that didn't look like it was out of a dirty flick. He glanced down at floor, which was purple shag carpet, he could tell it wasn't laid down by a proffetional, it was kind of lumpy, and he guessed that Flo probably laid it down himself. Flo went into the kitchen to grab an energy drink, "You want anything Darren? I've got Pepsi? Red bull? Vodka?" Flo looked around the corner at Darren who was still eying the lumpy shag carpet.

"No thank you..So you a fan of Austin Powers?" Asked Darren.

"Huh? Never saw it, why?" Asked Flo as he came back into the room with a redbull for himself.

"No reason, your carpet just reminded me of the 70's" Darren kicked it.

Flo looked at his floor, "Really? Why? Never mind, So what's this "girl problem" your having?"

"I can't get a girl, that's the problem. I want this girl as a date for prom." Pouted Darren.

"Hmm, I see..First off, stop pouting, stop whining, stop acting like an immature looser..Girls like sensitive guys, but not guys that are more emotional than they are! Sometimes it's hot to just not give a crap."

Darren then pulled out is blackberry, and began taking notes. Flo rolled his eye's, then laid back in one of his velvet chairs and began picking his nails not even really acknoldging Darren's existence.

"Also, you need to be 'sexy'..it sounds odd for a guy to be or wanna be sexy, but it's more of a state of mind..kinda like, I know you want me, everybody wants me!" He continued to ramble on like this for about a minute or two until Darren finally interrupted.

"Be sexy, got it.." repeated Darren impatiently. Flo shot Darren an annoyed glare, slightly insulted, but then continued on.

"Okay, and you have to be in control, not controlling, but defentitly in control. Girls like it when a guy knows what they want and aren't indecisive, don't be afraid to say, "I like that prom dress better than that one" -(oh, be sure they think they looked great in both, even if they don't)."

"Be in conroll, I can do that."

"Now to ask her out, do something cute, like ask her in a creative way, you can figure that one out, your creative enough. If you can't think of anything creative, buy her something expensive and that should do the trick just as good. I think that's about it, any other questions? Make it quick I got somewhere to go."

"Nope, I think I got it..Great advice.." Darren said as he put his Blackberry away.

Flo sat up, and looked at Darren "I don't know about great advice, but it worked for me..Let me know if it works for you.. Oh, by the way, this conversation never happened. If Jon knew I resorted to giving love advice in my free time to you, I wouldn't hear the end of it.."

"Sure no big deal..Oh yeah, I told Pam you were going to visit her at the hospital! You'll want to stop by there later." With that Darren bolted out of the pimp pad to go clean up and get ready to ask out the girl of his dreams.