"Ah man...that was..quite the experience." Gano said as he rubbed his eyes in surprise; as soon as Douglas had reached to help him up his eyesight had returned. 

'That's strange. This has hardly  happened before.' Gano thought to himself 'Is Douglas..' "Gano! Gano!! Gano!!!" Douglas yelled his name as he was shook out of his stupor "Hey man are you alright!? Can you fill me in on what the hell happened....please. I'm not gonna lie man..I'm pretty fucking scared." "Fine." Gano sighed as he made his way to sit on the park bench "You're gonna will expalin this though.. I'll keep it short. We don't have time for a long story." "Alright." Douglas said as both men took a seat "Go head and shoot it to me." 

"Alright. You're not going to believe this, but well, here I go, I've got two 'hard to believe things I've got to tell you: One-I'm from an alternate and possibly parallel dimension and two- in the world I'm from humans have been granted the access and ability to use psychic powers. I'm sorry about what happened here tonight cause it's very likely my presence " There was a slight pause as Gano gave Douglas some time to take it all in "Okay. That makes sense." Douglas responded "Whhhattttttttt!?" Gano almost fell forward in disbelief at the other man's answer "You're taking this in pretty damn well! Didn't you just pass out for a few minutes!? What's with the Mr. Cool Guy Act now?" "Yeah Dude, anyone's going to pass out  if  they feel like they're looking death right in the face. Ever seen Jaws? If I knew you had special powers that could stop bullets I wouldn't have been scared at all." 

"My bad." Gano gave a sheepish grin "It's fine dude. I'm just grateful you saved my life back there. That's all. Pretty shitty explanation you gave me though. Ironically I think your answer only raises more questions." Douglas noted as Gano groaned "I knew you were gonna say that. " Gano gathered himself with a deep breath before he continued "Douglas I'm going to be real with you. The whole truth is something I'm not comfortable telling anyone right now-including myself. When I do-I promise to tell you. In the meantime, you have my word that from this day on out I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise to be by your side; you should've never been dragged into this mess." "Why do you say that?" Douglas asked a bit worried "Well," Gano started "Now that that guy's seen you, that means the day has come that you've officially entered my world. Whether you're a psychic or not, you have the knowledge that he's one.

 That's more than enough for him to come after you. A criminal is a criminal-" "-psychic or not." Douglas finished "Exactly." Gano smiled "You catch on quick." "Well" Douglas smiled in return "I've kind of been waiting on this moment my whole life. I always had a feeling deep in my heart that out there, somehow, somewhere, a realm and possibility beyond our reality existed. You, just by being you, and being here, means more to me than you know." "Thanks. I guess." Gano raised his brow in confusion "No. Thank You!!" Douglas insisted with a laugh "I'm not gonna lie though, once the adrenaline wears down, I'm still pretty concerned with how this is gonna affect my friends and my family. Will they be safe as well?" "Hm." Gano furrowed his brow as if he had suddenly remembered something important, but wasn't exactly sure how he was going to go about handling it, then, as if it shouldn't of even been a concern in the first place, shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and relaxed "You know, I wouldn't worry about that either. If push comes to shove, I'll look out for them too." "You sound a bit too sure of yourself saying that. You know something I don't?" Douglas eyed Gano suspiciously as Gano laughed in response "Well, I'm not going to tell you what my power, or how it works, if that's what you're getting at. What I will tell you is that my psychic is broken and when I'm around you're in pretty great hands." "As you can see. I'm so  convinced."  Douglas spat as Gano chuckled 

"Fine. Fine. Fine. You have a point. Words are only worth their weight in gold after all. I see you're both a critical thinker and a dreamer, a skeptic and a believer rolled into one, I won't let you down Douglas. I saved your life once and I'll do it again...if necessary." Gano flashed a smile and pointed to himself "You can count on me!!" "Alright man. Alright. You've convinced me. Now stop with the cheesy smiling and posing stuff. This isn't some shounen anime. I believe you." "Whew." Gano relaxed his shoulders "That's a relief. Thought I was gonna have to pull out some of my best stuff!!" "Really?" Douglas stifled a laugh "You mean that wasn't it. I don't think it really gets much better than that." "Hardy har har. You're a very funny man. A real Steinfeld. Uhhhh...but getting serious for a minute..." "Who? You mean you?I was serious the whole time dude. I almost died. Remember??" "Anyways...how are we getting home?" "Home?" "Your house!! You know what I mean! I mean, I don't mind sitting on this bench and gazing into your eyes while dreaming about long walks on the beach,but we really need to get going at some point. You know anyone we can call? Probably'd   be a  really stupid  idea to go with another Roadie."  "Yeah. You're right. IIIIIIII....got one person I can call." "It's not your Mom is it?" "No!!Shut Up! I"m not mama's boy!! Jesus Christ." "You say so." 

Gano shrugged "Ya know. I think I'm reeeeeeallllly  starting to hate you" Douglas shook his head "Anyways I could call my friend Tess, but she might be in the middle of something...I kind of don't want to interrupt. It's date night."  "You might not have a choice. Sounds like she'd come through in case of an emergency-and well-" Gano looked up to the sky "I'd say this counts as an emergency. But what do I know? I'm a rude sort of guy. I don't really think of things like interrupting." "You know they have a word for guys like that who have no qualms being a 'rude sort of guy.' " Douglas sighed and pulled out his phone  "Oh? Do tell me the word?"  "Asshole. They say that in your dimension? Oh man. Here  we go. Phone's ringing." Douglas was sweating in apprehension after the number was dialed "Please pick up. Please pick up." the phone continued to ring "...............Hey Douglas?"  'Shit!' Douglas thought to himself  'Sounds like she was sleep!!'  "Hey Tess...you know you're my best friend." Douglas started  "Hey Doug. Wassup?" Tess said as she rolled over and sat up on the side of the bed "Are you okay? You do know how late it is right??Douglas? You there?" "......Yeah? I'm.." Douglas spared a glance to the side "..really sorry. IIIII...kind of lost my wallet at the bar, and I really need a ride. I'm super sorry bout this Tess. This is the last time I ask you for a favor like this. I promise. Can you come through?" There was a pause and Douglas' heart dropped as he waited for a response on the other line "....Fine. I'll come through." Tess relented as she rubbed her eyelids "This is the last time I'm waking up this late to do you some crazy favor at this time of night though!! I can't keep caring more about someone more than they do." Douglas sighed as he avoided a lecture "...I'm not gone lecture you. But I will get you back for this later." 

Tess paused to yawn and roll her neck "Let me wake up Brook and take my hair down. I'll be there soon." "As possible?" "Don't push it glasses."  "Okay."  "You know, you must be pretty good if you put him to sleep. It's only three. It's barely night in some places."   "Nevvverrrr heard that one before." Tess yawned "Unfortunately you'll never find out. Go head and drop the PIN number so I can find your location. If I can't find you then you'll be straight outta luck." "Yes your highness. Your wish is my command." "You might want to drop the attitude. This isn't exactly my idea of fun at 3'o'clock in the morning." "I know." Douglas said "Chin up Doug. I'm just playin' around. You know I got your back friend. Since fourth grade.  On the way now. Don't soil your shorts" Douglas couldn't help but smile "Thanks Tess. And that only happened one time!" "Whatever you say. See you soon."  "See You soon. Bye." "Bye."  "Aw2222hhhhhhh" Gano sounded after it was clear Douglas hung up the phone  "Oh c'mon. You didn't hear any of that. Did you?" Douglas asked "Nah." Gano chuckled "I'm pulling your leg. I can be a bit of troll sometimes. Don't mind me." "You still have the energy for that. At this point, I just want to go home and take a nice hot bath." Douglas exhaled "Bath?" Gano gave him a puzzling look "Yes. A bath?" "Hm. Haven't taken one of those in forever. Mind if I take one too?.....That sounded kind of weird..you know what I mean! Stop looking at me like that."  

"Chill. Chill. Chill Gano. It's fine. Tomorrow's Saturday. It's the weekend. Plenty of time to recover, relax, and take a bite. " "You know Douglas, you're right. Not gonna lie, thought you were a little weird at a first, but for some reason, I kind of like you. You're a pretty cool guy." "Uhhhhh...Thanks...I guess." Douglas replied "Not sure if that was a compliment. You  know you're not that normal yourself right? Psychic powers?? Green hair?" "Hmmm. Never thought about it." Gano mused  "Anyways. We need to go over our story. Tess is  top of her class, wheich means she's pretty damn smart. If we tell her something that sounds like a bunch of BS she'll be quick to catch what's going on. She wouldn't rat us out, but she couldn't help herself from helping either. I don't want her getting involved. You kind of get what I'm saying?" "Yeah. Yeah.I get what you're saying. Relax Doug. I won't let that happen. Trust me I know exactly where you're coming from." "Well. Long as you understand." Douglas sighed in response "Everything'll be fine, but if it puts your mind at ease , we can go over our story." "Alright... so here's what we're gonna say.." Douglas started to explain as a girl standing on the opposite curb caught his eye. "Hey Gano? Do you know that girl over there??"  "Huh." Gano looked over where Douglas was motioning "Huh? What girl?? You sure you're not seeing things? It's pretty late. This is the time of night when people start getting a bit delusional. Plus you've been drinking."Douglas rubbed his eyes and took a second look to be sure of himself. When he looked again, the girl was gone "Yeah...you're probably right. It's been a realllll long  night.  I was probably just seeing things. Alright see here's what we're gonna say......"

"Is that what you guys practised to say?." Tess shook her head while driving " You expect me to believe that-" she said gesturing towards him "-and this guy over here.  Who I don't know by the way.What's your name again?" "Gano." he answered from the backseat "Strange name." Tess noted" " - green hair over here got soooooo shit faced while drinking that Frank-who basically lets you close the place down weekly - kicked you both out the bar?? Two paying customers?b" "Yes. That's right." Douglas nodded meekly "Dumbest fucking story ever. Excuse my language. I respect you two making the effort to  try to line up your stories,  but it's obviously bullshit. Butttt, it's for and the morning, you're both alive and well,  who cares. I'm just glad you're okay." "Damn. You guys got off pretty easy." Brook looked on surprise "Back in the room she was so pissed off she said she was going to cut off somebody's balls." "Brook..I had to take my hair down!! I was kind of mad" Tess whimpered in shame 

" It's cool babe. It's nothing t be embarrassed about. Everyone gets mad."  Brook reassured her "Thanks babe. That's why I keep you around." Tess said kissing his cheek "Anyways. It's cool guys.  It's no big deal. This little double date car ride is fun?" "What did you say?" Gano narrowed his eyes "The hell you mean 'double date'?" "Well..." Tess almost sung " it's a pretty compromising situation I found you guys in. Late at night, leaving a bar, going back to the same apartment, not to mention Douglas  and I are best friends and he's never mentioned you before." "Wait!? What are you implying Tess!?" Douglas sat up  in his seat "Welllllll...it's kind of obvious." "What's obvious!?" Gano spat "Don't be shy Gano. I know that you and Douglas are loversL It's fine. I got a gay cousin who went through the same thing. It's cool with me." Tess said as she adjusted the front view mirror  to make sure they both were in  sight "I gotta say. You guys are cute together!" Brook could help himself no longer and had proceeded to laugh his ass off  "WHAT!!" Douglas and Gano protested in unison AS Tess giggled " See. Already in sync!" She exclaimed in a saccharine voice "Tessssss."Douglas groaned  "You know I'm just playin' Douglas!!" she started laughing " I'm sorry!! I just had to!" "Not cool Tess." Douglas muttered under his breath  "You know, I've known you for only twenty minutes and I don't like you." Gano was fuming as he folded his arms  "Alright babe. That's enough teasing. Give em a break.  These guys look absolutely exhausted. Let's get em home and get em get some rest." " I know babe. It's kind of late...Couldn't help myself." Tess gave him a wink  "What am I gonna do with you." Brook  leaned in and gave her a peck " What am I gonna do with you?" Tess kissed him back."Oh my god. I think I'm gonna be sick." Douglas held his stomach "Whatever Doug. Get over yourself. This is not the first time. "No. ...not that." "Oh shit. He's serious guys." Gano remarked "Hey babe. I don't think he's kidding. You better open up the window." Brook urged here "What!? No! No! No! No!No!! No! No!! Douglas hold it in! You are not throwing up in my car!!" Tess instructed as she quickly rolled down the window "I think you might be too late!"   Gano laughed "Now this is what I call karma!!" Douglas started gagging as Tess rushed to stop the car "Douglas Hold it for a minute!Please!Just give one sec!!" Now it was Gano's turn to laugh "Bllllllarrgggghhhhhhh!!" "Ah shit."

"All right. Here we go." Tess announced as they arrived outside of Douglas' apartment complex  "You may now unload your luggage and disembark. Flight 82 has arrived." "Tess. Don't take this the wrong way cause I just met you. You are one weird chick." Gano said with a yawn "Don't worry. I'm not offended. That's not your natural hair color. Why would I be?" "Wait..Wha..." "Anyways!" Douglas interjected "Thanks for the ride Tess. Um...sorry I almost threw up in your car." "It's fine Douglas. Just glad to get you back safe and sound. Still surprised Frank threw you out. That's not like him." "Well, everyone has one of those days." Douglas rubbed the back of his neck "We really got to be going. I got use the bathroom super bad. I'll call you tomorrow." "Mhm." Tess eyed him suspiciously "I'll hold you to that. Guess I'm headed off. This one's fallen back to sleep already." Tess gestured to the snoring Brook "By the way. It was nice to meet you green hair." " My name's Gano." "Whatever. Make sure you call me Doug. I don't want to have to come find you. You know that that means..." "You don't mean?" "Uh huh." "Hey!! You have no right to snitching to Aunt Rain!" "You know I would." she smirked "Ah man." Douglas was exasperated "Damn. You know Tess, sometimes you really don't fight fair. Not cool. Not cool at all. I'll call you first thing noon." "Yeah. It's pretty late. That's probably when I'll be getting up to." They stood there for a while neither saying a word.  Tess yawned "Yeah. Well... I guess this is goodnight." 

They both settle upon exchanging  a short hug "Goodnight Tess. Have a safe drive. Thanks..for everything." "You don't gotta think me Douglas. That's what friends are for."  Tess said with a smile before she drove off "You know" Gano started " that's actually a pretty nice ride. Shame about the driver though. Kind of a bi-" "Gannnoooo. Could you maybe try not to dick around  this time of night.Morning. Whatever." Douglas groaned "Yeah. I know.  I'll cut it out. I'm pretty beat too."  "Thank you."Douglas smiled in appreciation as they made their way to his room Unsuspected by both of them, a young woman watched in the distance naked to the human eye "So. that's the assignment" she couldn't help but give a chilling smile as dawn started to break"If that's the case it'll be too easy....they're good as dead."