On the contrary, Barry was pretty sure everything he did in high school was to piss someone off. With a mother who fed his ego nonstop and a group of friends who built him up into somewhat of a god, it was no surprise that in the end, much like the gods themselves, he fell too. Granted the alcohol and drugs and plenty of teen angst had made him into a raging prick the moment he graduated high school, Barry liked to think there were parts of himself that had always been worth redeeming. Parts of him that Helen loved him for, parts that she still loved him for… at least he could only hope. Ever since his unflattering exit from the public a few years ago, Barry had done a lot of growing. He wasn’t a man seeking redemption, that somehow seemed beneath him in a lot of ways, the only thing he was seeking was being able to sleep at night knowing he wasn’t all bad. That while his actions may have been foolish and in poor taste that in the end he never had any intention of true malice. Which he didn’t. That much he would go to the grave defending despite whatever Ray and Julie felt about it. Barry wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, he was just was just chasing a good time. Those good times had slowly become toxic and these days he was glad that he had a rude awakening otherwise he probably wouldn’t even be alive right now.
“Oh come on, I wouldn’t let her smother you with a pillow… maybe I’d let her scare you with a butcher’s knife though” He joked with an inkling of a smile. Truth be told, as much as Barry loved his mother, even he could admit the woman was out of her mind when it came to expectations she set on the women he dated. His mother hadn’t liked a single girl he had ever mentioned to her. Her dislike towards Helen wasn’t personal, it was an unconditional love that told her no one was good enough for her golden boy. Barry nodded when Helen asked him to stick around for a bit longer, just enough for her to get ready and feel a little more comfortable. He agreed, of course since he imagined she probably had a lot of fears right now and he was there to protect her, even if that meant from her own sinister thoughts. He took a seat on the bed, scrolling through the several messages his mother had already texted him. After sending her a message ensuring that he was fine, Barry’s attention went to Helen as she exited the bathroom door. “You don’t have to thank me for anything, Helen” He said, almost amused since it seemed at least a little funny to him that she still felt like she owed him despite how badly he wronged her in the past. Slowly sitting up, Barry still couldn’t quite take his eyes off of Helen as the familiar floating feeling returned to his stomach –– a feeling he hadn’t quite felt in years. “You know even after all the stupid pageants I’ve gone to for you, this is probably still my favorite look” He said with a kind smile. In high school, Barry had always loved showing off and supporting Helen in whatever way he could, and for the majority of high school that meant showing up to her pageants to cheer her on. As great as she always looked when she was dolled up, it was fake. It was a side of her that she slapped together so people would like her, a fact that Barry had figured out fairly early on. In that respect, they both seemed to have a connection. While Barry was’t putting on pretty dresses and makeup, he often succumbed to peer pressure, whether that meant joining in on his douchebag friends bullying or indulging in drugs and alcohol because everyone else was doing it. Still, this side of Helen –– when she was stripped bare of the superficial had always been the moments where they had their deepest conversations and really got to know each other and, dare he say it, love each other. Over the years they had both forgotten that, but considering Barry was living a sober life, now those memories were much clearer to him now.
Helen chuckled knowingly, looking at him with slight skepticism. Barry’s mother was just another thing on the long list of obstacles the two of them had run into while dating. They joked about it, but his mother hated her. Helen being Helen never stopped trying to win her over, but it was clear now that it was a lost cause. No matter how much she loved Barry, his mother would never think she was good enough for him. “That’s worse, you giant asshole. If your mother ends up murdering me, I’m coming back to haunt you and I won’t be anything like Casper the friendly ghost,” she warned with a playful smile, nudging him gently. “I wish your mother could see I’m not trying to steal her precious boy away from her. It kind of sucks that she never warmed up to me.” She almost added that it didn’t matter much anymore, but they both knew that was a lie. That it was never really over between then, even now when she had just run away from her fiancé.
“Of course I have to thank you. I don’t know many girls who can say their ex-boyfriend would save them from their soon-to-be ex-fiancé and their crazy family.” Most girls probably didn’t have ex-boyfriends like Barry too, ex-boyfriend that they still loved very much, ex-boyfriends that were part of the reason the fiancé was a soon to be ex. And even after all these years, it was still impossible for her to hide her blush when he complimented her. “I call this the runaway bride look. Might have to be my new thing. Not that I get much of a choice in the matter.” No one but Barry and maybe her family saw her like this. This Helen was exactly what her mother had taught her not to be. She was meant to have makeup on at all times, pretty clothes. This no-makeup, baggy shirt look she was sporting would give her mother nightmares. “My mother is already pretty pissed at me, I’m sure, so I can only imagine what she would say if she saw me like this.”
