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[Daria Fallen]

Daria smiled for two reasons. Ian had taken notice of what she had said to more than just hearing it and because he said they were friends. "That's good. I'm glad to have you as a goat." She told him, smiling. She continued to eat her chocolate bar, her eyes darting up and down the shelves to make sure there were no spoons around. She wanted to ask him why he didn't like the spoons. But he started talking again. About Jon. "Who's Jon, hun?" She asked, not realizing that it was a bad memory. She watched as the Butterfinger fell to the floor.

(That's not right ... ) From what she knew of schitzophrenics, they never let anything like that happen to something they liked as much as Ian seemed to like Butterfingers. I mean, he'd snatched that one up from her hand so quickly it was like he had to protect it. "Not good? What's not good?" She asked. She knew he wasn't talking about the discarded chocolate bar. It couldn't be. She reached out a hand to the man's shoulder. Now she was really concerned and set her own chocolate bar down on the shelf.

[Darian Patterson]

His brain seemed to click into full gear as he thought about Jon.

One memory came rushing back to him like water as if a dam had just broke in his mind. The memory of the last time he saw Jon. Back in the present, Ian clutched onto his stomach in the exact spot where Jon had kicked him. He didn't scream or sob out, he just cried salty tears. Why was he remembering all of this now? He'd felt perfectly happy for the last 17 years of his life, not remembering this exact memory.

He didn't like how it was making him feel. Not one bit.
"It didn't really happen. You're just imagining it," Mikey said calmly to Ian.
For once, Ian didn't listen to him. "Shut up!" He hissed at the leash.
"Jon never liked you," another voice said. Ian identified the voice as a Hershey's bar sitting on the rack.
"No! He did! He did!" Ian took the chocolate and threw it at the store window with enough force to crack the glass a little bit.
"Jon wasn't real, Darian. He's only your imagination. He's not real like I am. I'm real. I'm your friend, remember?"
Ian put his hands to his ears again, hoping to block out the two of them talking. He could still hear the Hershey's bar talking. Jon was real; very real. Ian somehow knew it.

[Daria Fallen]

Daria watched in near horror as her new 'goat' seemed to relive an apparently suppressed memory. (Oh, great. The first person you've met in severa weeks that's alive and you gotta go and do this to him!) She berrated herself silently. When Ian told Mikey to shut up, her brows jump to her hairline. (Wow ... ) Her jaw drops when he throws the chocolate bar hard enough t crack the window. She wrapped her arms around the man, trying to comfort him. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Please, tell me what's wrong. You're making me worried." She said to him, trying to be calm.

[Darian Patterson]

Not soon enough, Jon's face and memory blurred away, replaced by several other shifting thoughts that were part of his normal every day lifestyle. The terror from the past few minutes kept Ian shivering, though.

However, he seemed to still be able to talk about the event. "Jon hurt me. No good, no. Bad. But still good." Well, at least what he said made sense to him. Jon had been mean to him, yes, but that really hadn’t kept Ian from loving him. Not all these years. Not while he’d slowly been losing his mind to paranoia and schizophrenia. And not even now. “I left, yes. I left and never see him.” Ian was almost completely calm now. His gaze slowly moved to Daria. “He gone, yes. All gone.”

[Daria Fallen]

Daria listened intently. (Jon?) Somehow, she understand w hat Ian was saying. She couldn't explain it, but she understood. Even though he looked calm, she knew that this was hurting him. It had to have been very dramatic for him to remember it. It sounded as if whatever it was happened a long time ago. Perhaps before his illness had taken full effect. "DO you want to see Jon again?" She asked, wanting to know more about this man.

[Darian Patterson]

Darian thought about this for a very long time. It was incredible that he'd even listened to Daria. Why had he listened to her? He wasn't sure. Maybe it was because she listened to him. And was nice to him. Not many people were like that in Ian's eyes. As for her question...

"Yes," replied Ian at last. He did want to see Jon again. Maybe only to see how much he'd changed. Would he remember everything about him if he saw him? Ian really didn't even remember what he looked like. Only his eyes; those haunting green eyes. "Yes, see Jon again. I miss Jon. Jon was before Mikey."

Ian lokoed down at Mikey who had his back turned to him, sulking. "Mikey...I'm sorry. You wasn't right though. No."
"Fine."
Ian was still frowning, though. He let out a long sigh.

[Daria Fallen]

When Ian says he wants tosee this Jon person again, she nods. But suddenly is overwhelmed by this horrible feeling. What if Jon was dead? It was quite clear that this ... Disease had taken out half the planet. Moreso. But instead of voicing her fears, she just wraps an arm around the man. "We'll try to find him, then, okay?" She promises him. (Before Mikey?) This made Daria really wodner about his imaginary friend, Mikey. Mikey must have been the replacement for Jon. Jon must have meant a lot more to Darian than he was letting on.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Daria asked, frowning a little when Ian sighs. "What was Mikey wrong about?" She needed more information. Only hearing half of the conversation made things a little difficult.

[Darian Patterson]

"Okay. Okay. We find him, yes. Very good. Yes, yes. Thanks. Yes." This was the first time in who knows how long that Ian had actually said thanks to anyone. It was a rare thing for him. He rarely even said it to Mikey.

Ian's eyes darted around the room, as if he were starting to look for Jon that very second. He didn't see anything, just for the record. "Mikey says Jon not real. He's very real. Real like Mikey." You have to keep in mind that Ian thought that Mikey was 100% real. "Real like goats. Jon was goat. Very very very good goat. Yes. Backpack. Jon was backpack." 'Backpack' was his term for something that he actually loved. Like Ian's raggedy old backpack that he wore that very moment.

He stood up, pulling away from Daria. Ian strode over to the candy rack and started taking random bars. He sat down on the floor and started making them into a castle, looking like a little kid. It was almost like he'd forgotten Daria was there, again. "Hm, no. No work." Ian set a Kit Kat bar aside.

[Daria Fallen]

Daria smiled at the man. (Jon's real like Mikey?) At first Daria was tentative about this until she realized that for Ian, Mikey was real. Still, this made her wonder. But most schitzophrenics weren't always this bad. Maybe this Jon person really was real? It would make sense. In some weird way. Daria chuckled a little as Ian looks around the store, seemingly for Jon. But instead, she finds him on the floor making a castle out of chocolate bars. "Oh, that looks like fun!" She says. She really meant it. She'd always liked building sand castles. And Jenga. Jenga was a blast. This would be fun, too. She sits herself down on the floor by Ian and picks up Ian's discarded Kit Kat bar. "Can I help?" She asked, knowing that some people in Ian's state of mind didn't like help, and often reacted badly when something happened that they didn't want t ohappen.

[Darian Patterson]

Darian's tongue absentmindedly stuck out the side of his mouth as he worked. He didn't mean to do it nor did he do it just to be funny. It was just...what happened. Don't worry, though. He always does this when he is concentrating really hard on something. Which he was at the moment.

He looked up at Daria for a long time, supposedly pondering the consequences of her helping him build his castle. Ian just then seemed to notice that she had picked up the Kit Kat bar. "No no. Not fit." He took the Kit Kat out of her hand and flung it across the floor so it was a good 15 feet away from them. He reached up on the candy rack and picked out a Reeses. Then handed it to her. "Fits. Yes. There. Do it right, yes?" He picked up another chocolate bar and put it on top of a stood up stack of other similar ones.

[Daria Fallen]

Daria grins, absolutely fascinated by Ian. She was quickly finding herself feeling very protective of him. Like a child, or younger brother. Yes, more like a younger brother whom she loved dearly. Daria made a promise to herself right there that no matter what, she would protect this man. Be it spoons or spools, nothing would hurt him.

She watched as the Kit Kat flew through the air and hit the floor, sliding to a stop nearly twenty feet from them. "You should be a basebal pitcher." She comments, grinning. She watches carefully, noting what kidn of chocolate bars would fit properly. "Okay, I will do it right this time. I promise." She assures the man. She reaches for another Reece's peanut butter cup package and places it next to the one Ian had jsut sat down. Then she realizes she has no idea what they're building. She glances at Ian, then quarks her lips. "So uh ... How is this going to help us find Jon?" She asks, wondering if he'd forgotten about Jon already.

[Darian Patterson]

Darian's arm stopped midair, trembling slightly from his muscles working to keep it up there. Baseball? He knew what that was... but he always got it mixed up with football. One of them had a small round ball and the other had a long pointy one. He couldn't quite put his finger on which one it was. In both of them you had to throw, though, right? He smiled contently at this and let his arm fall down slowly and put the candy bar in place.

He was surprised at just how much he listened to Daria. Normally he listened to maybe one sentence out of seven when people were talking. But with her, almost all of them was heard. Granted, he hadn't payed attention to her 'Okay, I will do it right this time. I promise' sentences, but he'd heard the second one.

"Jon?..." Ian had to think of who she was talking about. Finally he found the 'Boy's' face in his mind. Thankfully it didn't come with any unpleasant memories this time. "Oh. No help find Jon. Its for Godzilla." He stood up from his work and looked down, all the while admiring the castle building. "Ha! Okay. Good now. Yes.." Ian's eyes shifted another time around the building. He picked up Mikey's leash which he'd set down. He'd had to let Mikey sulk for a bit. It was 'good for him'.

[Daria Fallen]

Daria watches Ian's arm go up, wondering what it was he was thinking about. She would never have guessed it was sports. She had noticed that he hadn't reacted to her promise. Which probably meant that he hadn't heard her. Which kind of disappointed her since she wanted him to hear a promise from someone who would actually keep it. She just smiles, a little sadly, and makes a mental note to make sure that any promise she gives him, she keeps.

(Hmm ... Maybe I'm going to need to keep him on track?) Daria wasn't sure about this. He seemed to have the memory of a hummingbird; loses interest in things quickly, but remembers the important stuff when he needs to. She chuckled. "Godzilla?" She asks, wondering what he was about to do. She stands with him in case he decides to take off. She looks down at the end of the leesh where she assumed Mikey was. "How's he doing now?" She asked Ian.

[Darian Patterson]

Seeing that there wasn't any one else there to blame him for what he was about to do, Ian looked back down at the castle and smirked his trademark crazy man smirk. "RAAAWWWRRRRRR!!!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Ian then jumped up into the air and fell down onto the castle, his little buttie smushing all of the once good chocolate bars.

He sat there in content, smiling widely. He looked up at Daria and giggled. "Godzilla," he explained simply.

"Mikey no talk. Nope nope. Mad like hatter." For some reason, he remembered about the Mad Hatter. It was a small childhood thing to hold on to.

“Now we…we go now. Yes.” Ian stood up and wandered to the door and walked out without glancing back at her. In all truth, he’d forgotten she was there.