I think I was on something when I thought of this…
Anywho, I know it's a bit Ooc, but you have to admit, it is rather cute.
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"Merry Christmas!"
"Happy holidays!"
Holiday greetings. That's all anyone seemed to say nowadays.
But no one really minded. No one but the occasional grinch. Not that anyone paid much attention to him.
This year however, was rather depressing. With all the killings that had taken place that year, no one was in much of a mood to celebrate. Yes, it was the holidays, and yes, the holidays are supposed to be full of joy and laughter, but how does one celebrate when the ones you loved were all brutally murdered?
The only one who didn't seem to mind merely ignored the sob stories often heard at local cafés about how Christmas will never be the same again after the death of a certain loved one.
All they're looking for is pity… they don't really care, so long as people are offering shoulders to cry on and actually glancing at them for more than five seconds.
Johnny smirked as he listened in on yet another tragic story. The woman burst into tears as she cried to her friend about how her fiancé disappeared one night and was never found again.
As her friend gently patted her hand and tried to assure her that she felt sorry, Johnny tried not to giggle. He remembered that man- he remembered how rude he had been when he asked Johnny for a cigarette. Johnny merely looked at him and said, "No, I don't smoke." The little encounter with him would have been all right if only the man hadn't turned to his friend and harshly whispered, "Did you hear that? Pussies don't smoke."
But Johnny decided to ignore the woman- who was now screaming about how much she loved him.
Instead, he walked out, leaving the agonizing woman and nearly the entire café staring at her.
"MOMMY!"
A little boy screamed, clutching his raggedy teddy bear. His normally huge eyes were even larger as they darted back and forth.
He was searching for his mother, who had left him standing in the middle of the mall not too long ago. It seemed she hadn't even noticed him when he walked beside her as she left the house and went into various stores.
The mall was particularly full that day as people rushed in and out of every store for some last minute Christmas shopping.
Little Todd Casil simply looked down at a gum wrapper lying at his feet.
"Mommy." He spoke softly.
"Hello, little boy. You look lost." A voice spoke. Todd looked up and saw a man looking down at him. He looked old and the eyes behind his glasses had a strange look in them. He smiled, exposing his crooked teeth.
Todd explained to him that he couldn't find his mother. He hugged his bear as he wondered why everyone was carrying bags.
The man crouched down and told him he knew where his mother was. After Todd told him that he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, the man simply just grabbed his hand and walked towards an exit.
"Holy shit! Nooo!"
A boy of about eighteen screamed as he tried crawling away.
"No, no, no- I don't believe we're through yet."
The boy winced as a pair of skinny hands grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away from a door.
He then felt something piercing through his gut- he looked at his stomach and saw a dagger sticking in to him.
"Oh my god…"
He heard a smirk and looked up. "I don't think God can help you now."
Eyes full of hatred and anger were staring down at the boy.
"W-what do you want?!" He whimpered as the dagger was slowly removed from his gut. He trembled when he saw a stream of blood flow slowly from the wound.
"You know why you're here."
The boy glanced around the empty bathroom. Of all the times for there to be no people in here, why now? He thought, looking at the exit he was unable to reach.
"Or have you forgotten the incident that happened not two minutes ago?"
"Just please… I'm sorry… let me go.." The boy could barely speak now.
"I don't think so."
Cold, bony hands picked up the boy. He cried in pain as he was thrown into a wall. He lifted his head up slowly, his head pounding.
"My boot and your face should meet." He heard a voice- it sounded as if he were trying not to laugh.
Suddenly, the boy felt something hard slam against his head. His screams were muffled; he tried moving but it was too painful.
The heavy object moved away- he looked down and saw a boot covered in gore.
"Oh, look, you're all covered in blood."
The cold, skinny hands dragged the boy towards a stall. His eyes blinked slowly as he stared down at the toilet under his head.
"Let me clean off all that blood for you!"
He felt the hands grab his head and push down, trying to drown him.
"Let's get one thing straight here." The boy heard a voice. He tried screaming, but just choked on water.
"My name is not, as you incorrectly assumed, faggot."
His head was quickly lifted. He found himself looking into those anger filled eyes.
"My name is Johnny."
The boy tried to mutter something, but his head was immediately dunked into the toilet. He was crying, choking. He wanted to drown out the sounds of the screams.
"My name's not faggot, it's Johnny. MY NAME'S NOT FAGGOT, IT'S JOHNNY!"
He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the excruciating pain but failed. He felt something hit his head and everything went black.
Johnny stood back, observing the sight before him. The boy's body seemed to be crouching over the toilet, blood spilling out where his head was.
He cleaned the daggers he was holding, put them in the black bag he was carrying and walked towards the sink.
"Poor little ignorant being…" Johnny spoke to himself as he wet a paper towel and wiped the blood off his boots.
He picked up his bag, giving the dead boy one last glance before stepping out.
Johnny laughed a minute later when he heard a scream coming from the bathroom.
Poor little stupid being…"Hmmm… she'll be along in a little while. She told me she'd be here. Yeah, we'll just wait."
Todd decided to just sit on top of a box and wait. He hugged his bear as he stared blankly at the walls of the alley, only to find himself staring face to face with the old man.
He crouched in front of the little boy, smiling. "Mmm… well, since I helped you… don't you want to do something nice for me??"
Todd barely heard what he said- he was too busy searching for his mother.
"Just close your eyes, and stay quiet, okay? Okay little boy?"
Little boy… he decided to let him know that he did have a name.
"Todd." He quietly blurted out.
The man then grabbed Todd, stood up and shook him vigorously. "What?! I didn't want to know your name. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TELL ME YOUR NAME?!!"
All of a sudden, the man dropped him, crashing against the wall. Todd picked himself up and stared in shock- the man was lying against the wall, a blood stained pole denting his head.
"Todd? I like 'Squee' better."
Todd turned around only to find his next-door neighbor standing behind him. His expression was rather dull as he walked over to the groaning man and picked up the pole he had attacked him with.
"Aren't malls revolting places?" Johnny spoke again. He glanced over at the old man, walking over to the black bag he was carrying.
He continued speaking but Todd barely heard him. He watched Johnny search his bag, afraid that there might be something dreadful in there for him.
"Not a monster, not a bogeyman. Nothing but another reason to feel better about yourself. Understand that it's just a person- not worth devoting any nightmares to."
With that said, Johnny took out one of the daggers he had used earlier in the bathroom.
Todd flinched slightly, but merely watched as his neighbor walked over to the old man and crouched beside him.
"Observe, and I'll prove it."
Todd almost screamed in repulsion when Johnny sliced the man's hand off.
"See!! Bones and tissue, tubes and fat!!"
Johnny threw the severed hand near Todd. He jumped back and let out a small squeal. The hand sat there, a puddle of crimson blood oozing out.
Todd barely listened to Johnny- he could only watch as his neighbor cut open the top of the man's head, exposing his brain.
"And look!! It has a brain!!" Johnny screamed and ranted. Todd wanted so desperately to run, but found himself frozen to the spot.
Johnny then tore out the man's brain and lifted it high over his head for Todd to see.
"Revel in the superiority of your perception!!"
He threw it against a wall- the blood splattered everywhere. Todd moved back, but found himself covered in bloodstains.
He trembled as Johnny walked over, wiping his hands on his shirt.
"Hmm.. Of course, these are my opinions- likely to be as flawed as anyone else's. Um, really, I guess you should assume everyone's speaking out of some external….."
Todd only stared, shocked. He clutched his bear tightly as he tried to listen to his neighbor.
Johnny then looked up at the dark night sky. "Whoa… I guess all this excess was sort of pointless, then, wasn't it? Um, well, you better get going, it's Tuesday, and you know what that means- U.F.Os!! RUUUN!!"
Johnny then ran off, Todd running away in the opposite direction. He ran and screamed all the way home- so horrified that he didn't even notice when he dropped his bear a few blocks from his house.
Later that night, Todd tried to sleep, but noticed his bear was missing. He sighed as a few tears ran down his face and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Johnny was still running home when he noticed something on the ground in front of him. He was only about four blocks from his house but decided to stop and see what it was.
"Hmm…" He picked up what appeared to be a tattered teddy bear.
"Shmee…" He remembered the bear- the bear Todd would constantly carry, the bear he had once tried to kill.
As he ran his thin fingers across the stitch he chuckled slightly, remembering his first encounter with Todd.
"Fuck you… you lint infested bastard." Johnny shook the bear. He was about to throw it aside and leave, hoping that a dog would come along and hideously mutilate it, but he thought about how much the boy loved the tattered old thing.
He sighed and continued running, the bear's head held between his bony fingers.
After a few more minutes of running, he stopped in front of his neighbor's house. He slowly walked over to a window, trying not to wake anyone.
Fortunately, the window was unlocked. He opened it quietly and stepped through, making sure not to make any noise.
His boots barely made any sound as he softly stepped over to the little boy's bed.
Johnny watched him for a moment. He looks so innocent…
He then took the bear, stared at it for a second, and gently placed it near Todd's arm.
As much as he despised contact, he softly stroked the boy's hair, a small smile forming across his face.
To be innocent again…Before leaving, he slowly placed a blanket over the little boy. Johnny walked over to the window, glanced back at Todd, and jumped out the room, landing on a pile of dirt.
Closing the window, he took one last look at innocence, walked to his house and softly whispered "Merry Christmas."