Fanon:"What Do I Do?" (A Pleasant Story)

Dustin and Mona had gotten engaged May 2017 and were planning to wed in March the following year. Meanwhile, Ripp and Leona had entered their final college year, and were making the most of their freedom before adulthood.

9th January 2017

Ripp and Lee were relaxing in the evening. As the months passed by, Ripp started to look more relaxed, and his appearance changed over time. Right now, he was sporting and short-haired, unshaven look. Lee was glad she allowed him to stay. In short, Ripp was an awesome dude. He kept things fair, and cheered everyone up. "Well," Ripp started "I've got a busy day tomorrow. I'm heading off to Strangetown to see Ophelia and Johnny!"

"Awesome! I wonder how all my old friends are doing." she said in a sarcastic way "They haven't even contacted me... what's the date tomorrow?"

Ripp thought briefly. "The tenth of January."

Leona's face fell. Ripp stayed quiet. He knew what was going to happen tomorrow. He decided to postpone his Strangetown visit for the weekend. Johnny and Ophelia would understand why.

The following morning...

The first thing Ripp did that morning was go straight into Leona's room. He saw she had been crying. He also noted the time: 08:16. He sat down on the bed and gave her a hug. "I can't believe he's been gone for five years..." she whimpered. The thoughts inside Ripp's head were racing. "What do I do?!?!" he thought. When Leona looked up, he did the only thing he could think of- he kissed her.

The next thing Ripp saw was the carpet of his room. He sat up to see himself in a tangle of sheets on his bedroom floor. He checked his clock for the date and time...

08: 02 am, 10 Jan. 2017 

Ripp scratched his head for a moment and realised he had a dream. Poor Lee... he had to go and talk to her.

He rose up from the tangle and gently opened her door. "Lee... hey, it's OK, I'm here..." he sat down on her bed and gave a hug. "Every year it gets harder, Ripp..." she whispered.

"Lee, I'm going to tell you a secret only Johnny and Ophelia know." Lee looked up at him. "Six years ago, my parents went through a messy divorce. My mum moved out, and Tank, Buck and I got birthday cards and presents in the mail. We also got phonecalls, you know, the usual.

"Then three years after that, we lost contact with her. Only last year I found out what happened." Ripp looked at the floor, unsure of how to continue without bursting into tears. "Ophelia found her gravestone in her aunt's back garden. She had converted it into a miniature cemetery." Lee gave him a wide-eyed look, before resting her head against his shoulder. Ripp looked down to see Leona's hand slip gently into his.

Ripp felt himself start to sweat "What do I do?!?!" he thought in a panicky tone. He did nothing. Instead, it was Lee who knew it was the right timing. She gently kissed him on the cheek. Ripp felt his face heat up. His face looked like a tomato. Lee noticed this and laughed quietly. "Ripp, you can always cheer me up."

And for the rest of the day, those two remained where they were- in a tight embrace, not saying a word, waiting for 10 January to be over for another year.