Fear and Loathing in Baltimore COMPLETE

Disclaimer: I do not own Cry-baby or any of the characters in the film. They belong to the brilliantly twisted John Waters.

This story take place ten years after the movie ended. Based on the historical facts in the movie I figured it took place around 1958. So this story takes place in 1968.

This is also a work-in-progress and more will be coming. Please please please read and review. I live for reviews and they motivate me to write more.

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“Walker, move your ass. I don’t pay you to sit and listen to the radio all day. Now go make yourself useful and change that flat tire on the Chevy that came in an hour ago.” The voice pulled Wade out of a trance he would have preferred to linger in. His mind was anywhere but the present and his ears were filled with electric guitars and Mick Jagger.

Wade got up from the chair and clicked off the radio, sending The Stones back into the stratosphere. He didn’t mind working for Al. He was a good guy and never gave him too hard a time. He just hated how Al seemed to impose at the most inopportune moments. Was a second of free thinking really so hard to give? At least it was a nice day and he could work outside without freezing to death. Winter was tough and he was more than ready for the spring. It felt good not to have to wear a jacket outside, especially when he was on pump detail. Even the garage was more comfortable when it was warmer out. He didn’t have to wear any gloves and it made the job easier.

Wade walked out back and began changing the tires of the mint green convertible. He tried not to sneer but the color was blinding. Who chooses to paint cars these ridiculous colors, he thought. And worse, who are the chumps who actually buy them? But it the end, it never mattered. They all had the same wheels and looked the same once you lifted the hood. He had come to learn a thing or two about cars working at Al’s Gas and Muffler. Not that it really did him any good, seeing as he didn’t own a car of his own.

The sun was already setting and the late afternoon felt like a blessing. Wade had been at the station since 8:00 am and was desperate to get out of there. He was already high off the fumes and he really needed another smoke. He worked fast, letting the heat of the sun warm the back of his neck and wondered if this was how vegetation feels, when it’s hungry for sunlight. Perhaps if he stayed out here for a few more hours he’d grow another few inches. The idea made him smirk and he finished the job with a strange smile on his face.

Punching out, grabbing his bag, and heading out the door, Wade went through the mediocrity of his evenings. He smoked as he walked down Main St. thinking how it would soon be light this time of night in a few weeks. That was the best part about summer, the shorter nights. He longed for them. Nights were the worst and the darkness just made it even more difficult. As long as the sun was out he could get through. But with the night, he was lost in his thoughts and couldn’t break out of them.

He walked into his apartment and threw his bag on the old beat-up couch. He took a quick glance around the shithole he called home, feeling that familiar anxious pang of worthlessness. The apartment was clean but that was mostly because he didn’t own much to clutter it with. He needed to get out of the mindset, so he walked over to the run down fridge in the kitchen and pulled out a cold beer. He pressed the bottle to his cheek, letting the icy dampness wake him from oblivion. He popped the cap on the edge of the counter and took a long swig, letting the cool liquid rush down his throat, ridding himself of his worries.

Lighting another smoke, he leaned against the counter and looked at the single photo he had hung on the fridge. What a bunch of annoying misfits they all were, he thought, staring at the black and white picture of his high school friends, the Cry-baby gang. He had sworn he had hung up the photo to pay homage to a good circle of people and not to try and relive some kind of old glory days. But who was he trying to kid? Those were the only glory days he knew. Back then he was a god with a hot car and sexy voice. Women wanted him and men wanted to be him. No one had figured out that there was a whole other world out there and that in the larger scheme of things, he was really a nobody. Even he had come to believe he was invincible. With a little bit of talent and his bad boy image he would be able to rid himself of his families bad history and make the whole world forget who he really was. And he had that great gang to help convince him.

He scanned the faces smiling back at him in the photo as they leaned against the black car. They all looked so happy and young in their tight clothes and black leather jackets. In the photo he had his arm around his sister Pepper. She was pregnant with her third at the time and was hugging her stomach like a beach ball. Wade remembered how happy she had been and wondered what the PTA would think of her if they knew the life she used to lead. Pepper was the only one besides Wade who had stayed in Baltimore after graduating and her husband had gone on to become a politician. Wade went to their home about once a month for dinners and such but he often felt like it was out of charity. Pepper had somewhere in the last ten years become mother of the year with a house full of kids. She sat on the school board and made cookies for the kindergarten class. She coached her two eldest in soccer and sent out their college applications. Wade looked at the picture of the Pepper he remembered and wondered what she would think of the Pepper of today.

Next to Pepper was Wanda, trying her best to scowl unsuccessfully. Despite her desire for a bad reputation, Wanda could never hide the fact that she was really a good girl at heart. After graduation she had run off to Hollywood with a kid she was seeing and the gang hadn’t heard from her since. A few years later, while working at Al’s, Wade came across one of Al’s girly magazines and noticed Wanda on the cover, painted up like a movie star. Wade had to smile. Even done up to look like a common whore, Wanda’s eyes gave her away. She was still a good girl.

Hatchet Face sat on the car next to Wanda, smiling with a mouth full of crooked teeth. She had disappeared with her parents after graduation and last Wade heard she was caring for them somewhere in Miami. He wondered if people still gave her a hard time about her looks and if she was able to blow it off. It was easy for her to feel good about herself with a gang. Hell, it made them all feel good about themselves. But when the gang disappeared, was there still someone there to tell her she was beautiful?

Finally, next to Hatchet, was Milton, the closest friend he’d ever had. No one ever knew it but Milton and Wade had been friends long before Wade would be known as Cry-Baby. Milton had been his friend through the hardest times, better than any brother. After high school, Milton did what everyone besides Wade thought he’d do. He was finally convinced by his parents that the priesthood was the only life for him. He joined the seminary after graduating, occasionally writing to Wade about his studies. It seemed crazy at the time but Wade was certain it wouldn’t change their friendship. However, the letters became shorter and shorter and soon they were fewer and far between. About a year ago, Wade actually got a call from Milton. He was working in a church in Memphis and he sounded happy with his life.

“How’s your chosen path been treating you Wade?” he had asked, not trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“I’m getting by,” Wade had answered him. He wasn’t going to let too much slip.

“Listen Wade, I’m going to be performing a community baptism at my church in a few months. It would make me very happy if you would come and participate. It’s never too late to accept Jesus into your life.”

Wade couldn’t believe what he had heard. Did Milton really think that he could bring Wade over to his insanity? Wade was never religious. He didn’t even think he believed in god.

“Sure, Milton,” he joked. “Only as long as I can be baptized under the name Cry-Baby.”

There had been a long silence and finally Wade heard Milton sigh. “Come on Brother. Does anyone even call you that anymore?”

Wade didn’t know what hurt more. The truth of the statement or the fact that Milton still thought they were brothers.

Wade took a final long drag on his cigarette before flinging it into the sink. The picture of his smiling friends stared back at him with contempt and he could feel them laughing at him. He had given those kids so much. They all came from different backgrounds and all they ever wanted was to belong. Without the Cry-baby gang, they would have had nothing. But none of them seemed to remember that now, after going their separate ways.

Wade turned on the small radio and fell on the couch, letting the sound of The Beatles fill the emptiness in the room. He felt lonely and scared and he wondered what was left for him now that he truly had nothing. He thought of those precious years in high school when it seemed like he had his whole life ahead of him and all the possibilities were open. He thought of his friends and the way they had idolized him. He wondered what they would think of him now, if they thought about him at all.

And then, in the midst of the sadness, he thought about the one person he saved for the darkest of nights. He thought of the sweet blond hair and the innocent eyes. He thought of the sweet lips that had kissed him with tenderness and love. The hands that had touched him with nervousness and doubt. Allison had been the only girl he had ever loved and losing her was the worst part of leaving those teen years behind. She had gone off the college and, like everyone else, had just disappeared. Wade tried not to think of her but when the sadness set in, she was the only one he could think about. And he fell asleep, longing for her and the happiness she brought him.

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Wade sat in Al’s office flipping through a six month old issue of Car & Driver. The day was moving slowly and the hands on the clock never seemed to move. It was almost 6:00 and he was counting the minutes until he could go home. He stood up to put his jacket on when he heard the motor of a car as it pulled up to the pump. He tried to ignore it as the driver honked the horn. Maybe if he just stood there, pretended like he hadn’t heard anything, Al would take care of it. But the car honked again and he realized that Al wasn’t going to come. Dammit, he thought. Knowing his luck the guy would want an oil change and his windshield washed as well. All Wade wanted was to go home and take his shoes off but now he was stuck.

He walked outside towards the sound of the running engine, the smell of gas fumes mixed with the smell of late afternoon. It was an odd combination and Wade silently cursed, wishing he could just escape. He came up behind the red convertible. He had to admit, she was a cherry. The car was new and still had the waxed shine of fresh paint. He quickly glanced down at the license plate. New York. Excellent, he thought. Just what I need. He ran his finger along the car as he slowly made his way up to the driver.

“She is a bute, I’ll give you that,” he said, taking in the sight of car.

“Would you please just fill it up,” the female voice demanded irritably. Wade hadn’t noticed the driver was a woman and looked up to see her back to him. Her hair was covered by a kerchief and she wore a tight black turtleneck. Another New York hippie coming to check out Industrial America. She was just missing her beret and cigarette.

“Alright, but you should learn to take a compliment,” he answered, matching her irritation. He was tired and annoyed and wasn’t in the mood to be ordered around by some socialite rich bitch. He walked up to her door as she sat staring forward, her face hidden by thick dark glasses.

She sighed as she rolled her head to him. “If I wanted your opinions I would have…” Her voice trailed off and she stared at him for a moment. “Cry-Baby?”

He was taken off-guard. No one had called him that in years and he wasn’t expecting it from this woman. He looked at her as she lowered her glasses and stared at him in amazement. The face was thinner and the features more pronounced but he knew who it was in an instant and he blinked in disbelief.

“Allison?”