The Plane
Joey was tied to a chair when she saw Johnny fly forward and attack Philipe Loren. Urging them to run, Johnny had pinned him down and yelled at them to find parachutes. Joey knew that Johnny was fine. Johnny always was fine. He was superman, for fuck sakes. He saved himself so many times, he could do it this time around. Right? Joey stood up, untying herself. "We're not leaving without you, Johnny!" Shaundi exclaimed, grabbing for him. Johnny looked up, smiling that smug smile and holding a struggling french-sorry Belgium- man under his around 250 mostly muscle gained weight. "Just go, Shaundi! I'll see you two down in Stillwater. I promise!" He yelled. Johnny was right in these kinds of situations. He made sure he was. "Shaundi..." Joey said softly, walking towards her and grabbing her arm. "He'll be down there. Trust me." Shaundi nodded and ran out to the exit. Joey sighed, "You better be down there, Johnny! Or so help me god, I'll-" She heard shooting, cutting her off. "Shit! Shaundi!" She glared at at Johnny and made a run towards the exit. Throughout the search for parachutes, they heard Johnny fighting off the group of Morning Star. Shaundi even was worried when she heard Johnny doubt himself. "We have to go back! We can't leave him!" But Joey held onto her, sighing. "Johnny is fine! He can take care of himself, Shaundi!" Shaundi sighed as she ran towards the door. When she found a parachute pack, she took to the intercom. "Johnny! We're about to jump!" Joey was right behind her, waiting for the call. "Great! See you back at Still-" Shots were fired and silence was it's follower. Shaundi went wide-eyed with fear. "J-Johnny?" She said softly. Joey felt every ounce of fear rush through her. Johnny was Not fine. He was not ok. She started sweating while Shaundi waited at the intercom for his voice. "Shaundi..." Joey stared at the broken lieutenant. Their time was interupted when shots fired throughout the area. "We have to go!" Joey yelled, grabbing Shaundi's arm and jumping out. Catching her was easy, it was the fighting that caused her to take too long. There are moments in life where each one of us have to take risks. Joey was now starting to second guess that saying.
Joey stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours now. She was dead, inside and out. Why? She thought, lighting her joint and taking a drag from her lips. Just when things were getting better, she had lost her best friend. Her only friend. Johnny was her rock. Her gangbanger. She wasn't going to leave his side because she knew he would protect her. They've been through everything together since the beginning of her gang days. She was there when Aisha was killed, and she was there when they found the bastard who did it, burying him alive. Johnny trusted her more than he trusted anyone else. Now their gangbanging days were over. Today, at least. Today was the funeral of Johnny Gat, and Joey was home getting high. She remembered when Aisha died. The day of the funeral was a day she would never let go.
Johnny sat on the couch in his house. The coffee table sat right in front of him and he was fighting the urge to place his feet up there. Not when the funeral was in an hour. Joey watched him while she sat there quietly. "Johnny..." she finally said, her dreadlock ponytail was out. She had dressed up for the occasion finally. Wearing a black formal dress, her hair was curled and her lips were cleaned from the stupid lipstick she wore. She watched Johnny open another beer and sighed. "No more. You had enough and it ain't even time yet." Johnny glared at her. "Fuck you! I can drink as much as I wish! It ain't like you just witnessed a death!" Joey gasped at him, feeling pained since her best friend had hit her with the worst punch. "I witnessed several. Johnny... I had to kill Carlos. I'm still somehow ready for anything." Johnny scoffed. "Jo, I'm not talking about this. Let me drink." He said, growling at his best friend. "Fine. But I'm saying this before you take a sip of that shit. You need to be sober to remember this!" Joey sat down in front of him, sighing. Johnny stared at her, noticing that she actually looked decent for his late Aisha. "She didn't die because of you. It was Jyunichi. It was those fuckers from the Ronin that killed her. You were there for her everyday and she was grateful! For fuck sakes, Johnny... this was not your fault." She did it. Johnny had put the bottle down. She was relieved. He looked at her as tears started to form. Something only Joey would see in him. Joey smiled and hugged her friend close while Johnny cried. "I'm such a fucking pussy..." He said in her shoulder, laughing. Joey shook her head. "You're just human..." Johnny looked at her. "Yeah, don't fucking tell that to anyone." He said in a threatening tone. She laughed, giving Johnny a reason to smile. For that whole day, she stayed there. She allowed him to hug her. She even had him sleeping on her until the funeral was almost starting. Joey knew that this was their friendship. They were real, they didn't hide feelings from eachother like most friends did. And for that she was grateful.
Joey watched the clock as she curled her hair upwards. Back then, all they had to do was run a gang. Now here they were running a goddam franchise. What made it even worse was that she didn't even notice how much they've changed till now. Johnny's death made her realize that this gang was now worth fake tans and gross ass energy drinks. Joey looked at the ground before her and sighed. Why is it always her fault? Why couldn't she just have a break from all of this. A small melody played in the background as she stared at the clock in her bedroom. 7 am. Dammit. Johnny's funeral was in an hour. She opened another bottle and sighed. Guess we are alike, Gat. She said softly, drinking her whiskey. When the door in her room started rapidly banging, she sighed. "I'm coming! Fuck, calm down!" She yelled, standing up before sitting back down. Damn alcohol. When did I become so weak? She tried again, this time gaining her stance as she worked her way to the door. "Who the fuck is it?" She yelled, downing her bottle like it was nothing. "Boss..." Joey heard Shaundi on the other side. "We have to leave. The service starts in an hour." She said softly. Joey growled. "Go the fuck away. I'm not going anywhere until I am done here." Shaundi looked down. "I knew you would say that." She said. Her voice was hard, as if she had just finished crying. Joey could see that happening. She was crying the night before too. God I'm such a pussy. She remembered Johnny saying when he was drunk over Aisha's death. "Just means we're human." She said softly. Tears about to fall, but she fought them and opened the door. "Boss... Pierce said we have to go." Joey nodded, walking towards the car. "Fine... but I'm not dressing up. Gat would be much better off not seeing me at his funeral in a dress." No he wouldn't. She thought, remembering when they went to Aisha's funeral. He kept complimenting Joey on how girly she looked. Jo. He said. I still am not use to you like this. He was a wonderful smartass and Joey understood why. Johnny was a charmer. He knew it too. He could charm ladies just by saying nothing. He did it to her. Multiple times. He did it to make her change her mind a lot. She remembered one time he did it.
They were just sitting on the porch talking about how they were going to expand on the gang's new found business. "I could sell it." Joey said softly, looking down at the cigarette while Johnny stared at her, smoking a joint. "or you could restart. Let go of everyone and start all over." Joey rolled her eyes. "I'm not rebooting my gang, Johnny." Johnny sighed and sat close to her, knowing that she was freezing. The blanket of snow reflected off of her eyes, and Johnny had been staring at them for hours now. "You could leave it and start a new life." He said softly. Joey glared at him and gave a look a shock. "You know I would never. This gang is my life now. My family. You'd have to kill me to get me to leave." Johnny sighed and looked down in shame. "Joey... I can't see you waste away with these fucks." He finally admitted. "I'm fine, Gat." Johnny watched her lie to his face. "You are most definitely not, Boss. You aren't close." He said softly, grabbing her hand. "What about Aisha?" Joey asked, grabbing her hand away. "Jo... It's been a long time since she was here... I don't want to stay stuck on her. As much as I wish I could, I can't." He stared at Joey, but watched as Joey pulled her hand away. "You never act like this around the group." She said, staring at her best friend. "Because the reputation needs to be solid. I can't just say lovey dovey shit and try to seem like a badass. It's not cool." Joey smiled a bit before looking down. "I think we should continue the franchise... just until we have enough cred." She started to say. "Then we should think about dropping out of the group. But until then..." She stood up and went to the door to her apartment. "We are just friends." Johnny nodded. "It's safer. Last thing we need now is a relationship." Joey agreed. "But what if I can't take that chance, Joey?" He said, trying not to lose his respected cool. "Then you would have to forget about it. Johnny..." She sat next to him again and sighed. "What if a rival gang appears and we do something to piss them off? I'm not that strong. Although I seem it, I wouldn't be able to take on what Carlos did. If we were together... I would be strapped to the end of a car and dragged across Stillwater just like Carlos was." Johnny looked down. "You bring him up alot, Jo. It makes me think that you two weren't exactly just friends." She laughed. "He was family. In my eyes at least." She said, smiling at him. She stood up and started for the door again. "Jo..." Johnny said, looking at her. "Promise me you won't be a dumbass." She glared at him. "What's that suppose to mean?" Johnny sighed. "Promise me you won't make a fool out of our gang, then I'll think of staying around for the brand to grow." She sighed and looked at the floor. "Fine. You win. I won't be an asshole."
Joey sat in the car with Shaundi driving. It was obvious that Shaundi had been crying. "You fucker." Joey whispered softly. "Excuse me?" Shaundi raised her eyebrow, ready to pull the car over so she could whip her boss's ass. "I said 'you fucker' Want me to repeat myself?" Shaundi stopped the car. "Just cause I'm in a gang doesn't mean I can't cry. Our friend died, Boss... Johnny's...gone. And I'm not ready for this to happen." Joey rolled her eyes. "When I joined the Saints, we couldn't afford crying. It was hell everyday and if one person caught you pussying and sobbing... Let's just say, they would shoot you without mercy." Shaundi shook her head. "Fuck. You. Johnny's dead and you are sitting here telling me that I'm next. Fuck. You." Joey looked down, realizing what she said was probably unnecessary being that Johnny was dead. Nothing could bring him back even if she pretended the day never happened. Lost in her own thoughts, Joey sat back and looked out the window. Her shades covering her eyes as tears formed.
