Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.
…
Dear Sherri,
You are my moon and shine like the stars,
The way you move seems to stop time.
Maybe my mind should return from mars,
It seems you make my heart fly?
I sometimes fear the moment will kiss,
But I'm not afraid to feel your lips.
There isn't a moment with you I'd miss,
Cause you'd always be the one.
Sherri Squires, please be my Valentine.
Love, Jonathan Crane
…
Margret and Antony Peck were the names on his adoption papers. Jonathan stared up at his new home from inside his case workers car. The house was painted a light blue with a white picket fence and matching shutters. He cringed.
They hadn't lasted long as his parents.
Neither did Alexia and Jeremy Brinton, Stephanie and Chris Longport, or Lily and Eddy Banner. Every couple he was sent to ended up returning him to the agency. It wasn't his fault that he was interested in experimenting on the neighbor's pets with his newest pheromone dust. It wasn't his fault that he liked to scare his new "mother" with her kitchen knives. It wasn't his fault his latest "father" had a heart attack when he found Jon's special chemical concoction...
Too bad the man lived.
You see, within a year of his Great Grandmother's mysterious disappearance, Jonathan was shipped over to the city of Gotham to his Grandmother. Not wanting the child, Eleanor Keeley sent Jonathan to Gotham Orphanage and Homeless shelter. It was there that he spent the remaining four years of his middle school and high school career. Of course the shelter kept trying to find a suitable family for Crane, however, when he turned fourteen they stopped.
...
Fourteen was a special number for Jonathan.
At fourteen in the eighth grade Jonathan Crane met the first love of his life. Sherri Squires.
She was different than the other girls. Showing him to his first classes and always saying hello to him. Sherri wasn't as smart as he was, but he was glad for it, because she always asked for his help on her homework at lunch.
There were days where he'd wait for her outside her locker and carry her books to their science class. She never spoke to him much, in fact if he had taken notice, Jon would have realized she'd ignored him most of the time. Crane was always aloof when around Sherri; she was the only girl that, on occasion, paid him any mind.
He truly felt she liked him.
So the fourteenth of February was an important day for Jonathan.
One which he had circle in the cheesy calendar the orphanage had given to him. He'd stare at it and day dream of Sherri. His heart would speed up as panic gripped his chest when he tried to think of what their first kiss would be like. The fear was a rush.
All too soon the special day was upon him. Now understand, Jonathan wasn't an artist, in fact the only subject in school that interested him was science, but the Valentines card he'd made Sherri could have been the Mona Lisa. Within it held his deepest feelings and undying love for his first crush. The poem wasn't as great as Poe, but he was sure the words would earn him Sherri's heart.
The card was made from a hard stock, wrapped in layer of red silk. He'd stolen the lace curtains from the visiting room to make its border. Using his thin hands he threaded the lace onto the fabric covered card. The stitches were neat, almost seamless. Sewing was a skill he had to learn in the orphanage since new clothes were few and far between. Not to mention he was always getting bullied so they always tended to have a multitude of colorful patches.
It was on the fourteenth that Jon was going to give his card to Sherri.
Little did Jonathan know that his future bad luck would strike him so early in his life.
...
Bo Griggs.
Jonathan's personal bully and he was sure lifetime tormentor. The sandy blond seemed to find it hilarious to make fun of his lanky frame or second hand glasses. Jonathan hated walking home from Gotham Middle School. Bo and his gang always found it fun to throw rocks, making him run home in a torrent of fear. Griggs favorite past time, however, was to call him a scarecrow. Though sometimes he liked to compare him to the fictional Ichabod Crane; even thought Bo had probably never read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
But it was on the fourteenth that Bo did the most unspeakable, mind shattering, despicable thing anyone could do to him at this point in his life.
As Jonathan laid there on the ground getting kicked and teased he'd lost grip of his things. Bo and his gang had taken his lunch, as usual earlier, but this day the blond bullied really wanted to torment Crane. He watched as one of his fellow football teammates gave Crane wedgies and picked up the geeks backpack.
When it was all said and done Bo threw Jonathan his backpack. No one would ask about Jon's black eye, and he always made sure to wear long sleeves and pants so none of the other bruises could be seen. Bo smiled; everyone knew Crane was a bit of a klutz. Griggs laughed as he pocketed the "scarecrows" money and took out a pen.
...
February fourteenth the nurse at Gotham Middle School gave Jonathan the usual lecture about learning to control his long legs better and to stop walking into things. She told him he had to remember he was taller than most his age, and that he needed to sharpen his senses because of it.
Jonathan held the ice pack up to his bruised eye and with his other hand went to pull out his card. His heart was pounding; there was only a ten minutes till his science class started. Then a familiar feeling spread through his mind making him drop the bag of ice.
Fear.
Where was his card? Jon searched his bag frantically, trying to see out his swollen eye. Finally he dumped out the entire contents onto the floor and found nothing. No red silk covered card with delicate lace and pink hearts.
What could have happened to it? Jonathan's hands began to pull on his hair as he wracked his brain. He was sure he'd packed it that morning. The only time he could have lost it would have been when Bo...
The nurse just then decided to walk into the small waiting room. Jonathan stood stock still, his hands at his side. She went over and picked up his ice pack and touched his shoulder. Crane jumped up, his one eye wide & the other swollen shut. Wordlessly he took the ice pack, picked up his things, and left the office.
Jonathan's mind kept replaying the scene in his mind. He tried to remember what had happened during his most recent beating. Crane came to one conclusion.
It was a Bo who'd taken his Valentine card.
Jonathan rushed to his science class, his long legs giving him an advantage; it was with grace and speed that he made it just in time to see one of his worst nightmares. It seemed as if someone had timed Crane's arrival perfectly. He stood, seeming to haunt the classroom doorway, and watched Bo give Sherri his card.
Slowly hope bubbled up in his chest. Surly the dumb ape would have been too stupid to look inside the card. Jonathan began to move into the classroom and made his way towards Sherri. His steps slowed as Sherri turned to his enemy; she was smiling and blushing. The bottom of Jonathan's stomach seemed to drop out at the realization.
It was Bo who'd scribbled out Jon's name and wrote his own.
Jonathan's world shattered as he stood there watching Sherri give his rival a kiss on lips as a thank you for the beautiful card with the poem he'd created for her. It was sickening to watch and from that moment on Jonathan promised himself that he would hate Bo Griggs from the bottom of his soul.
Because it was Bo who'd given Jonathan's Valentines card to Sherri.
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The card had swayed his love like Jon had predicted. Sherri began to date Bo and within a month they were going steady. Every time they kissed the urge to kill Bo, to use his grandmother's special dust, became stronger. It ate at him like a sore, a canker that began to fester in the one rational part of his mind, his sanity.
Sherri began to change after that.
She no longer said hello, and she no longer asked him for help. Instead she went out for the cheer squad and became a cheerleader; spending most of her time with her boyfriend. Slowly she was becoming something hollow and shallow. But Jon still liked her; he never looked at anyone else.
Crane was always kept hoping for a shot at her.
...
Three years later...
...
It was the fourteenth of February once again and he was seventeen. By now he'd gotten used to the dirty streets of Gotham. He understood that if he was spotted they would beat him, tease him, and maybe this time they'd hang him up like they did the last time. Hang him up like a scarecrow for the other students to gawk at.
Skittish, Jonathan made his way to the crumbling High school.
Carefully he snuck in through the chain link fence and past the teachers parking. Normally Bo didn't prowl this area, but the fear still made his heart pound and kept his eyes wide. The doors and salvation loomed only a few feet in front of him. Jonathan made a break for it.
His slender hand was just about to grab the door when he felt a sharp tug on the back of his shirt. Jon gasped for air as his shirt collar tried to choke him. Turning around he seen his attacker. It was Griggs along with two other boys, and... Sherri.
Bo had on a particular smile this day; a mix between maniacal and sinister. Crane didn't know what to think. Slowly the blond brought up a shiny black gun to Jon's temple and Crane could taste his own fear, felt as it became palatable in his mouth. Bo's smile became a frown; apparently fear wasn't enough for this bully.
So instead he aimed at Jon's crotch and shot. Crane let out a shriek of fright expecting to feel pain. However, he only felt his pants become wet.
Water.
It was a water pistol Bo had shot him with.
Bo let go of his shirt and Jon fell to his knees, his pants soaked, making it appear as if he had an "accident". Griggs let the pistol fall in between his legs as he pulled Sherri into his embrace snickering.
Jonathan looked up at her.
Her petite hand covered her mouth and Jon thought she was appalled at what had happened to him. But little did he know she was in fact smiling trying to hold back her laughter at his expense. The group of students left him just as the school bell rang.
Jonathan looked down at the gun.
It was a 14mm water pistol, a homemade replica.
Picking it up Jon dropped it into his book bag and made his way to science class. Today they were studying chemistry and making smoke bombs. His hopes lifted, maybe Sherri would ask to be his partner like she used to?
First was a trip to the nurse's office for a change of pants. Changing in the small bathroom was a trick but he didn't mind it. He was left alone to think for a moment.
Crane's face darkened as he looked at his wet pants. If it wasn't for Bo Sherri would be his. He squeezed the strap of his back pack as he pushed the clothes inside. The glossy shine of the gun caught his eye. Crane smiled wickedly. Maybe there was a way to fix his problems. Sherri could be his if his tormentor was out of the picture.
Jonathan began to laugh, and didn't stop till he left the nurses office. Slowly he walked the halls towards his class with a skip in his step. Crane was delighting in the ideas that were forming in his head.
What a wonderful day the fourteenth of February was...