It was one of those moments that stuck with him. Peanut had forgiven Lola long ago for what she said, she was angry. Johnny had crossed a line and she tried to reply as coolly as she could, she didn't mean it, but it still hurt.
She said it back when they were juniors. Back when it was either her and Johnny or all three alone. Back when fighting was a weekly (as opposed to a monthly) thing. Lola had been seen hanging out with one of the preps again and Johnny had pulled her to behind the auto shop to 'talk'. As if that made it harder to hear them. Especially since they left the door open.
All the guys pretended to be busy fixing bikes. All but him hoping that this would be it. That Johnny would break it off with her permanently. Sure the fighting was bad, but he was selfish when it came to them. Sure he saw how bad their relationship was for them, but he also didn't want to have to choose between his friends.
For the most part the argument was routine. Lola was making excuses, saying she was innocent and they were just talking or studying or whatever. Johnny was calling bullshit and calling her a slut and every variation thereof. Then he went a bit off script. Peanut really wished he hadn't.
"One of these days you're gunna come up ta me and tell me you're pregnant. How am I even gunna know if it's mine? I'm not gunna raise no bastard child Lola! I want ta know my kid is my kid!"
The gangs' ears perked up at that. Lola tried to keep a straight face, they couldn't see her, but the hurt of that moment could be felt. There was silence for a few moments while Lola tried to think up a response to hide the hurt. So she said the first thing she came up with.
"Why would you want a kid Johnny? We already have Peanut."
Peanut froze. He could feel the uncomfortable glances in his direction although he didn't look up.
"Don't talk about 'im like that! He's a sensitive kid! Stop try'in ta change the topic I know you-"
He stopped listening at that point as he started to freak out in his mind. Is that really what his friends thought of him? He cared about Lola and Johnny more than anyone else. He respected them, looked up to them. He wouldn't have said it back then, but he loved those two explosions of people. Sure he ran to them when he was hurt, or upset, or for any reason really. He always expected them to be there for him. He was a year younger, but that never seemed like a problem before.
So that's what they really thought of him. As just some stupid sensitive kid who follows them around.
"Hey Larry, you alright?" Vance clamped a hand on his back. Vance being Vance just had to figure out his situation before Peanut even did.
"What? Yeah. I just gotta get a different wrench." He didn't sound convincing, but they all let him leave. Even though they all knew he had the right wrench. Even though they know they'd have to clean up his work space for him.
Thinking back it was definitely not the right move to prove he wasn't sensitive, but all he wanted was to head back to his dorm. Well, he wanted to go to Lola or Johnny to tell them about it, but that wasn't really an option.
The next few weeks he distanced himself from the couple. They allegedly broke up a few minutes after he left, but were back together within four days. He started to get in more fights. Mostly nerds, a few preps if they were by themselves, and one of the bullies. Couldn't remember who. He never once asked Johnny for help. Even when he lost.
It was after a loss that when things picked up again. He had gotten his ass beat by Chad in the park. He wasn't sure why he thought he could take on the boxing and highly athletic prep alone, but he tried. It was late and he managed to wobble to the Tenements fully intending to pass out on one of the mattresses and skip his morning classes. Probably also puke out a lung, but he'd see here the night would go first.
He opened the door careful not to brake its old hinges. He was considering the risk taking off his shoes on the splinter filled floor when he ran into Lola. She was only wearing pajama shorts and a t-shirt while holding two sodas.
"Larry! What happened to you?" He looked pretty banged up. His lip was bleeding and he had a few bruised, but overall nothing two bad. Nothing broken. It looked worse than it was.
"Ran into a prep. I'm ok Lola just head'in to bed." He was fully intending to leave the girl behind when she grabbed his thankfully untouched shoulder as best she could while still holding a soda.
"Which prep was it?"
"Chad. I coulda taken him, but I was tired is all. Plus he did all those fancy boxing moves which is like cheating." She made a hmm sound as if taking a mental note. Peanut was staring at his shoes and was about to continue looking for an empty room.
"Come here." She pressed the other soda to his black eye. In all honesty it wasn't that cold seeing as all they had to keep them in was a cooler that was always filled with more water than ice.
"Hey stop, come on I can take care of myself." He stepped back pushing her away lightly. She stared at him in confusion, then a bit of annoyance. He never denied her help before, and even though they were in rival clicks both her and Pinky had a problem with the word no.
"Yeah I'm sure you can tough guy, but I said come here." Peanut was preparing to block his face again when instead she grabbed his other wrist while tucking the first Soda under her arm and pulling him with her.
She pulled him to one of the ground level rooms. Where Johnny was sitting on their dirty old couch in front of the small tv. No one really knew why the electricity still worked in this old place or who paid for it. It had no water or heating, and all it could really do was turn on some ground level lights and power the tv, but hey you take what you can get.
Johnny seemed to have picked out a vhs and popped it in, waiting for Lola to come back. Peanut, with a healthy sense of mortification, then realized he walked in on one of their dates.
"Hey Johnny, look who I found." Peanut started trying to pull his hand out of Lolas death grip.
"Tell 'em to fuck off, I thought I told everyone we needed privacy toni-" Johnny turned and stopped his sentence when he saw Peanut, his eyes running over the beaten greaser. "Larry what the hell happened to you? What did you do?" He sat up a bit on the couch.
"Chad attacked him." Lola said before Peanut had a chance to speak up. Her face seemed calm, but their seemed to be some venom in Chads name.
"That dog fucking trust fund fairy?" Johnnys back was straight. He sounded angry. Peanut had to cut this off now before the entire click was informed and a rumble with the preps were scheduled. He'd look like he needed Johnny to fight his battles for him. He finally managed to get his arm back from Lola and took a step away from her sounding frustrated.
"No I attacked him." They turned to him surprised. Whenever he lost he was supposed to run to one of them, eyes slightly wet, and a whine in his voice for comfort. "I was in the park and I saw the preps stupid blue vest and decided his face needed some new scars. It's not a big deal. I'm a big boy I can handle myself."
A few beats past before Johnny let out a loud laugh. "Good job Larry! Teaching those trust fund babies their place!" Peanut was put at ease at Johnnys laugh, he almost felt comfortable before Lola hooked her arm around his and started pulling him to the couch.
"Still you look like you need to relax Larry. Sit down with us we're going to watch- what are we watching this time Johnny?"
He looked at his girlfriend in confusion. "Grease."
"What again?" She finally let go curling into Johnnys side as he wrapped his arm around her taking one of the sodas.
"It's a classic!" He seemed distracted enough not to protest Peanut sitting down as said boy stood next to the couch looking awkwardly at the doorway.
"Come on, sit down already. I haven't seen you in forever anyway. Have you Johnny?" She nudged her boyfriend.
He looked as if he was playing the last few weeks in his mind. Sure Peanut had been around, but they hadn't really hung out. "Wow yeah. Sit down man." He nodded at the empty spot beside Lola.
"Well, ok, sure boss." He sat down shrugging off his jacket.
That night actually went well as the tension left the room. They badly sang along to some of the songs, Johnny assured Lola was his Sandy and she assured him he was her Danny and they both dubbed Peanut Kenickie. Lola promised to find him his Rizzo as she playfully poked his stomach with her foot as she eventually went from cuddled up with Johnny to laying across their laps.
Peanut eventually woke up alone on the couch with a blanket. Johnny and Lola apparently got it for him before they went off to 'have their own fun'.
To this day he still considers that their first date. Even if in their current dates Lola and Johnny would never dream of leaving him on the couch to miss the end. He was sure now they didn't see him as a little kid. Although the terms 'mama' and 'daddy' were said a lot.