Beautiful Disaster - Chapter 1
Concealed
Rated: T
Story Summary: After midnight, Johnny shows up to the Moon Theater bloodied, battered and bruised. There he is shocked to see Ash, who has problems of her own. Perhaps together, they can come up with a solution…
This plot has been in my head for awhile and I suddenly just had to write it out. It's going to be fairly short (depending on how it goes down) perhaps 3-5 chapters. I hope you enjoy this random plot bunny because I had way too much fun writing it. ;-p
It was already well after midnight on this ordinary Thursday night - or Friday morning technically.
The sky unbearably dark; thick clouds blocking any light that would be provided with the barest hints of a crescent moon and the glimpse of ethereal stars. Yet, it was just inky blackness. The bright lights of the city providing any light visible outside; and it was a rather quiet night aside from a few road raging cars, chattering and arguments from nearby bars, and the humming of lights above her.
High in the theater, Ash sat alone in one of the main areas near the practice rooms; pacing around and singing a few scattered lyrics from new song she was the midst of writing - or rather struggling to write. At first, she'd left her normal practice to go to the bathroom, stretch her legs and relieve her sore ass after sitting on the hard wooden floor for the last seven hours. Yet another hour had passed and she hadn't returned to the room since; preferring the more echoing acoustics the hallways offered (and the change of scenery) as she paced near the staircase.
Since the theater group as well as Buster and Miss Crawly retreated to their homes hours ago, Moon Theater had been almost eerily quiet yet it didn't daunt Ash in the least for this was not the first time she'd stayed this late. Nocturnal instincts withholding her from sleep and the lyrics and music flitting about her mind was keeping her going well into the night.
Yet if Ash was at all honest with herself, the reason she was refusing to leave is that she really dreaded going back to her apartment.
Since the rebuilding of Moon Theater was finished and her seemingly on the fast track to an incredible music career, Lance had been showing up all damn hours of the day and night and driving her up the fucking wall. No, she never answered the door (she wasn't that stupid), but he was always knocking and asking for her to talk to him, apologizing profusely through the wood and pathetically begging for a second chance to prove just how sorry he truly was.
The fucking liar.
Ash didn't want to hear his excuses - once a cheater, always a cheater.
Animals who cheat on their girlfriend of five years with some cheap slut from high school did not deserve redemption. It was all because she finally did something against his wishes - continuing the competition for them. Her reasons were not selfish whatsoever but yet to Lance, it was the highest form of betrayal and gave him enough of an excuse to trade her in.
The very recollection of catching him about to kiss Becky (in their shared apartment nonetheless) caused her gut to clench uncomfortably. Ash poured years of her life into him and he tosses her away like a used tissue. So, no, he didn't deserve to be heard out; didn't deserve another chance to just rip her beating heart out of her chest.
She may have fallen for it once, but she would never make that mistake again…
Hearing him knocking at her door in the middle of the night a few times a week for months on end, Ash finally broke. Bellowed out a flat out - "NO!" - when he yet again begged her for another chance.
Yet Lance wouldn't be deterred.
Ash regretted even answering his muffled requests because, if anything, it just made him more determined…and it all went fucking downhill from there.
For the past week, Ash was kept wide awake every night; Lance knocking, talking to her through the door and begging for her to at least hear him out but Ash refused. For two days now, she hadn't sleep a wink and damn, it was showing. She was moody, tense, and falling asleep in the practice room (which Buster did not appreciate whatsoever). Figuring out quickly that the excess caffeine and jitteriness it caused was not great for her health. She couldn't keep functioning properly like this so Ash thought staying late at the Moon Theater instead of returning to her apartment was a good idea.
It being the first night she attempted something of the sort and so far so good…
…well, at first…
"Dammit!" Ash muttered, scratching out some freshly written lyrics with gusto.
"That doesn't even make sense! Ugh!" she grumbled, plopping herself down onto the stairs and reworking the lyrics over and over in her head as she nervously clicked the pen over and over again. A sudden desire to fling it into the wall was ridiculously tempting... Yet she held it back with a sigh, reasoning that her severe lack of sleep making her mind crazy and nothing she did was coming out right because of it.
It was beyond frustrating yet still, she didn't feel like sleeping.
Instead, she remained lost in her head, humming out the tune she already worked out when she was suddenly and unpleasantly greeted by a slamming down the hallway. A powerful punch of wood that had all of her quills and fur standing up on end. Fear she never experienced was showcased; plastered all over her face and echoing throughout every nerve of her body as she stared at the direction it came.
A part of her wanted to bail because seriously, fuck that. She would happily deal with Lance's knocking and pathetic ramblings than whatever the hell this was…
Ash wasn't stupid - even with a head and back full of spines, she was really no match for some monstrous animal coming in to rob the joint (even if Buster never kept more than $200 bucks in the theater at any one time). Yet as the tense seconds passed without another sound, her more logical side reasoned that perhaps something fell over - it wouldn't be the first time and she doubted it would be the last. Even after the renovations, there was still creaking from the shifting building and things falling from time to time. It could even be the poltergeist of some long deceased theater performer angry about the building being knocked down and rebuilt over their remains or something…
Hell if she knew but Ash wasn't crazy about the idea of finding out.
Mind made up, Ash made a grab for the sheets of music she dropped and her guitar leaning on a wall nearby, Ash was full on ready to bail and head back to her apartment (even though she really didn't want to) when a sudden muffled voice came form the same general direction.
"Oh bollocks!" she heard what was a very obvious (and heavily muffled) British accent; a voice she knew far too well.
Johnny…
Ash's tense shoulders fell; Johnny was slightly less threatening than a fly with one wing so she was relieved it wasn't a murderer but it still made her feel slightly antsy.
A sudden sense of anger that the gorilla would come here so late and interrupt her time to practice alone and away from her ex-boyfriend infested apartment. When he left earlier that night, she texted him back and forth and the gorilla gave no hint as to he intended to return to the theater. Now, that he was definitely here, she really didn't want Johnny to know how pitiful she was hiding out here (and secretly hoping to sleep here to get some kind of respite tonight).
Johnny was a very close friend and she hadn't even told him about her problems - although he did notice she hadn't slept and his comments about how 'feisty' she'd been lately were ignored. Ash made up some excuse about insomnia from her songwriting because she intended to keep Lance's midnight visits a secret. Never wanting him to find out because she really didn't want him to worry. Ash would rather deal with it herself than worry Johnny about something that was strictly her own problem…
The guy was dealing with an imprisoned father, lawyers, prosecutors, trial dates, as well as the possibility of his dad spending life in prison so her own ex-boyfriend issues could be handled on her own. She didn't want Johnny to have anything else on his already overfilled plate…and that included him not knowing about her avoidance of her apartment.
Resolutely, Ash quietly reached for the music sheets she dropped and was about to bail without seeing him.
Yet Ash froze for a second, suddenly grateful for this twist of fate. Perhaps Johnny was just like her; couldn't sleep and came to practice (as she was aware he did at times) and this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. If she played her cards right, maybe she could convince him to crash on her couch. The thought of it having her heart hammering slightly for reasons she didn't care to ponder long but more importantly, Johnny's presence in her apartment could possibly scare off Lance for good with Johnny's sheer size alone (even though it was a nice thought to think of Johnny drop-kicking Lance to the next town over - she'd give her next three paychecks to see that).
Mind made up along with the slight curiosity as to why Johnny would show up so late, Ash approached the direction of the noise.
Looking up, she saw this part of the theater that wasn't normally frequented; extra unused dressing rooms and bathrooms with a few pieces of furniture scattered in an adjacent room. A hint of doubt still lingering, Ash reached for the door and silently pushed it open; beyond thankful when it didn't squeak and give away her position.
Looking into the lamp-lit room, she immediately took in the statuesque Johnny standing by an window he was closing behind him. She smiled lightly at his turned back that faced her. Mouth agape, Ash was about to speak out to hopefully scare him a bit but before she could utter a "boo!", he suddenly turned around.
Ash's heart lodged in her throat and tongue frozen in her mouth.
Praying that what she was seeing was merely side-effects of her severe lack of sleep or too much damn caffeine but what was in front of her was brutal reality and Ash could scarcely believe her eyes.
Johnny was completely fucked up.
Hair and fur mussed up and matted in places with a dark substance which she refused to believe was blood, right eye nearly swollen shut, gray cheeks battered and bruised with horrifying traces of smeared blood on the edges of his wide lips and nostrils, lower lip swollen, hairy knuckles bloodied…and that was the parts of his body she could see. Who knows what the hell was going on underneath his green sweater and leather jacket?
The strong desire to pinch herself was stronger than she could ever recall.
This couldn't be happening…
This was Johnny - the kind, sweet, shy, soulful, gentle giant that she considered her best friend. Someone who was always there for her and a shoulder to lean on ever this whole crazy competition happened…and now, he was hurt. Johnny - the gentlest guy you could ever hope to meet was horrifically injured. The questions of 'Why' and 'How' predominant in her mind as she stared at him. None of it made sense! Just what the hell happened!?
Icy blue eyes were now blurring with sudden tears she didn't even care to pay attention to, Ash abruptly screamed out in horror, not caring how poor Johnny shook; utter fear filling his eyes (well, the one that wasn't swollen shut anyway) and jumping a few inches in the air at her voice and announced presence.
"What the hell happened to you?!"
