"Do you ever learn, mate?"
John Zacchara cracked open an eyelid as he sank into the plush pillows of his couch and shifted the wet towel on his forehead. Ethan Lovett stood outside in his hall bellowing angrily as the sun began to descend from the sky. John didn't know what the hell his problem was but today wasn't the day for him to find out. His head was pounding, his lip was bleeding, and his mood was skewered.
"Open the door, Johnny! We seriously need to talk right now!" As Ethan knocked and pushed against the door in an attempt to forcefully enter, Johnny groaned while pushing himself into an upright position. Slumping back down against the couch, he mumbled to himself quietly, "Well…that wasn't a good idea."
"JOHN!" The son of a bitch refuses to even open the door now? Something's wrong. After an afternoon of worry-free stress, Ethan was beginning to slip into a false sense of security. The thought that nothing could go wrong was just too good to last. The arrival of Kristina Davis, the reluctant self-proclaimed "Mob Princess of Port Charles", was enough to put an end to the bright and sunny conclusion Ethan planned out for his day. Her excitement at his presence unnerved and flattered him all at once.
"Ethan!", she called out almost breathlessly. Rising from the table, he dropped the paper he'd been perusing and gave her a soft smile. She was a child under the illusion that he was in love with her. It annoyed him and yet…she had something that kept him from cutting her off completely. "Hello there, lovely. How's your day?"
Rolling her eyes in an exasperated manner, she sank down in the chair opposite to the one he'd just vacated and huffed. "My dad. No…Sonny. He's such a bully. A no good, low life gangster." And so her usual ritual of bashing her father had begun. Clearing his throat softly, he grinned politely and nodded, "Yes, yes. As fascinating as that all sound, Kristina…I really have somewhere important to be."
Her tense presence was even more disturbing when her large doe-like eyes turned up to him and the malice practically controlled her voice. "What could be more important than this, Ethan? My father is a monster. Do you know what I caught him doing? Ordering Max and Milo to "teach Johnny a lesson". Believe me now?"
Staring at the still enclosed door, Ethan shook himself from his memories and continued to bang his hand against the wooden frame and call out to Johnny. "Open the damn door, Zacchara! Now!" Shifting to ram his slight build against the door, he froze completely as John's voice, full of familiar dry wit, rang out into the hall.
"You can always try turning the knob completely, Ethan. That always works for me."
The noisy rambling of that Aussie son of a bitch was starting to annoy him. As the door was flung open, John winced as the sound rang out throughout his head and set every sense on edge. He was partially sure he had a concussion but no doctor would be able to check him out. He wanted to keep this incident quiet so he'd have to call in Dr. Niles. She wasn't very focused if it didn't come to Patrick but he was certainly sure she wouldn't report it to the cops.
"I take it from your somewhat…harassed appearance that you've heard about my little run-in with Sonny's goons?" Ethan's harried appearance fueled Johnny's speculation. The young man was a breathless mess. Chucking quietly while wincing once again, Johnny forced himself to sit up straight. "Nice of you to run over and check on me, sweetheart. But I'm just fine."
Watching the anger rise within Ethan caused Johnny to arch a brow and freeze in shock as Ethan bellowed out, "DON'T! Don't give me any of your cheeky bull! I thought there was a truce, Johnny! Peace between you and Sonny!" Any other time, Johnny would have laughed but noticing the agitation in Ethan caused him to think again as he rose stiffly from his spot on the couch. "There is…or was. Depends on how you see my current state."
Shock coursed through Ethan's mind as he stared at John blankly as he let his response sink in. "I-I'm sorry. I could have sworn you said there is now not a truce. No, wait. Alright, man. J-Just start from the beginning." Johnny shrugged as he released a quiet gasp of pain to pour himself a badly needed drink. "There is no beginning. I'm strolling along the docks, minding my own business, and here comes Sonny with his goons. Boom, bam. Next thing I know, I'm staggering home."
"So you don't even remember what happened?" questioned Ethan. There was something missing in this equation and he wasn't going to stop until Johnny spilled it all. "Yes, I remember. Look…Sonny spouted off this crap about me being a danger to his kids, especially Kristina. I guess she said something about us hanging out. Ethan, just let it go. It doesn't matter." Dragging a hand across his weary features, Ethan shrugged and lowered himself to the couch.
"Fine. Where do we go from here? I mean…what's going to happen now?"