4
On Saturday I drove to Roxbeth's water fountain. I parked my car in the lot, and stepped out to see a large white fountain with a dolphin statue spouting water. The floors were white stone, but matted in dirt and shoe prints. I instantly felt the hot rays of sunlight that would likely make me sweat within seconds. I took a deep breath to just relax, biting my fingernails as I reluctantly smelled the dull scent of cigarettes.
'Matt.'
I saw him sitting on an old bench with Mello. He blew out a cloud of smoke. Mello seemed to jostle him as he pulled out a chocolate bar. As usual they were dressed in the same clothing, while I came in black jeans and a grey T-shirt. I hid a gun in a holster under my top in case anyone tried to hurt me.
"Hey guys," I greeted Mel and Matt.
"Hey Juno."
"So which gang am I gonna meet?" I tried sounding calm and confident.
"They call themselves the Ripped Daggers," Mello replied.
"Ripped Daggers?" I rose an eyebrow. "They sound sweet."
Matt chuckled, taking a snip of chocolate from Mello's bar in a swift motion. I saw Mello's blue eyes locked elsewhere. In curiosity I looked the same way, only to see a gang already in back of me. All young men except for one woman dressed in signature colors of silver and black. Some had their eyebrows cocked, some stood with attitude, and one up front stared at me hatefully with the outline of a gun noticeable in his pocket.
"You talkin' 'bout us?" he barked. I stood frozen in fear.
"Yup," Matt replied casually. I glanced at him, wondering how he could be so calm. He nudged me to say something.
"Remember they can't see us," Mello reminded me. "Or hear us, for that matter."
I nodded and stuttered. "N-no. I-I mean-"
"Tell them what we want," Mel commanded.
"H-hey, you guys have something I want." The gang moved in closer to me.
'I probably look like such a wimp.'
"Which is?" one gangster snapped. His eyes narrowed, and he seemed irritated.
"A notebook," I replied, "called a Resurrection Note."
"That crappy book?" the woman said, cocking an eyebrow. "It's a load of shit. Tch, power to reincarnate the dead."
I wasn't sure what to say next. I began biting my nails again, glancing at Matt and Mello.
"Why the hell would you even want that?"
I didn't know how to answer.
"Tell ya what, we'll give you the notebook, but you'll have to pay up with 2 grant," he bullied me with jeering eyes.
"We've got enough," Mello assured me, "the money is right under this bench, Juno." I stared at him with wide eyes.
'How the hell did you get 2 grant just for this?... Ah well,' I lifted a rough brown sac from under it. 'I'll ask later.'
"Alright," I said to both the man and Mello. "I've got the money right here." The gang looked at the sac in surprise. I couldn't blame them- I didn't even expect we'd have that kind of money ready for them. Regardless I was still quivering, but I'd lightened just a little.
"Oh..."
"So anyways, I won't give you the money unless you give me the book first." After a few sighs and grunts from the Ripped Daggers, all our attentions were drawn toward a police car driving in. It parked, and out stepped two officers. They both looked serious as they boldly walked to us in a confident stride.
Sweat covered my forehead in stress. I promptly wiped it off, stepping back to Matt and Mello in failed attempt to feel safer. They could do nothing to help me; I'd have to face this one on my own.
"You all are the Ripped Daggers?" the officer said fervently.
"Yup," the gang woman clutched my wrist, ripping me off the bench.
"Ow!" She shoved something into my back pocket. "What are you-"
"Shut up. I'll shred you if you say anything to bust us, little bi-"
"What are you doing, Juno?" rang another voice from the group.
"Hm?" Both the woman and I turned.
"Shut it," she whispered. I realized she had the same name as I.
"We're here for Juno Johansen?" the policeman said.
Juno and I simultaneously snapped our heads up to look at them. We caught each other's eye; I could see the same confused look radiating from her green eyes.
"Which one of you is Johansen?" he inquired in complete seriousness.
"We got her right her right here," Juno said, pushing me to the ground.
"You're under arrest for the robbery of the Brinks Ba-"
"What!" I snapped at him, wincing away from the cuffs they tried to clank on my wrists.
"Robbery of that bank?" the gang leader said. He ripped the sac of money from another's hands, showing it to the police as if it were a prize. "She brought us this. I think it's more than enough proof."
"No!" I practically jumped at him to get the money. "That's not- I mean-"
I didn't know how I could defend myself. There I was being accused of robbing a bank and holding a sac of money that was brought for the Daggers. It couldn't have been a more obvious who'd been the robber in the eyes of a passerby.
"Is that a gun?" the officer questioned to make it all worse.
"..."
'Schieße. That sneaky bitch framed me.'
"Let me see your gun license," he commanded.
"I don't have one," I confessed. No way I could fake I did.
"Robbing a bank is already enough," the police woman said, "cuff her."
"No! But I didn't do it! It wasn't me! Just take a look at your evidence again!"
The police held silver cuffs. The Ripped Daggers backed away, smiling that they had gotten away from being jailed. I could have sworn I saw two give each other a high five, and I squirmed around to break loose from the officer's grip. I panicked, desperately whipping my head from side to side to see where Mello and Matt were.
"Calm down!" They almost got one wrist into the cuff.
Thankfully I heard the boom box-like voice that instead of dreading me this time, brought me relief.
"You know what! Run!" Mello suggested shouted.
"Mello!" Matt grunted. "That's a horrible idea! She's gonna be a fugitive! Use your head man!"
But when Mello told me to run, it was like a trigger. I found a way to twist my arm like a windmill and untangled my arms from the officer's, racing for my car. I was a fast runner, and swiftly rounded the curves of concrete to jump in my car seat.
Mello followed me, meeting me in the passenger seat.
"Shit, shit, shit!" he growled, hitting the window.
"What!" I panicked.
He stared at me for a millisecond, and then commanded, "drive!"
"Where!"
Mello's blonde hair was a mess of gold locks that crowned his head when he turned to me. His face was red as he commanded me to drive to an address I'd never heard of before. I put my trust in him.
I kept panting along the drive. What'd just happened was a fog of bewilderment in my mind.
"Schieße..."
Mello quietly stared at me, pinching his forehead annoyingly. "You're German?"
The thought of my family flooded my thoughts.
"Gah!" I exclaimed. My driving looked like that of a maniac's.
"My parents are going to kill me!"
I broke into tears.
"Juno, stop it!" Mello shouted.
I began telling myself to toughen up, but numbing what I felt only made it worse. What was only 15 minutes felt like hours until I finally arrived at the address. My cheeks were coated in wet tears; it felt like hell. A clutter of confusion, fear, and feeling utterly lost.
Out the window was an old abandoned hospital. Vines of green leaves had grown up the walls. It's beige walls were matted in dirt, and chips of old paint looked ready to wither away from the building. I continued to cry on the steering wheel. Mello hesitated to speak; he ultimately just patted my back.
"P-please stop crying. We'll sort things out inside."
'What could we possibly sort out with what just happened?'
"Park in the back lot," Mello said.
"W-why?"
"You want your Nissan easily visible outside? If the police come to find you, your car would easily give away your location."
I parked in the back lot with no reply. I repeatedly tucked and brushed my loose dark hair behind my ear. 'I'm a fugitive' the thought rang in my ears. '...And what happened to Matt and the notebook?' I realized the redhead hadn't come with us. Mello moved as if we were spies on a mission. It felt like he was coaching me on what we were going to do.
"We're in trouble," he said with a serious expression. "But if we don't start by making a plan then we're really screwed. Let's go inside."
"Ok," I whimpered. My muscles felt weak with how much I was quivering. When I stepped out, Matt caught me by surprise by standing right in front of me. Instead of gasping, I screamed with the fear I already had.
"Woah, are you okay, Juno?" he casually smoked his cigarette.
"No."
"Matt! What happened to the book?" Mello asked excitedly. His blonde eyebrows furrowed against his light blue eyes.
"Tch. You'll never believe this- they sold it to the Mafia." Matt was so calm you could think he was a robot. Mello was a polar opposite in the situation, and he immediately threw a fit.
"What do you mean they sold it!" Mello shouted.
"When I came back to get the book, they were already carrying a suitcase of money they got for a trade. And it was Dane Adams, too."
"Dane Adams? Why does that name sound familiar to me?" Mello asked himself. Then his eyes widened. "Adams! I remember him. Great. I know where his Mafia hideout is."
"That Juno girl said he was leaving the country, though," Matt informed. Annoyance pestered my body when he said her name, although it's my name, too.
"You're kidding me."
"No."
"But I remember their Mafia hang out was moved in a nightclub in Vegas," Mello said.
"Vegas?"
"...Mafia? You're involved... with the mafia?" I was ready to slap Mello and Matt across the face.
"No, Juno." Mello's tone threatened me. I could sense he was trying to get me quiet- to not nag or rant about it. But I did anyway.
"I don't believe you." I crossed my arms untruthfully.
"Dammit, Juno. I'll explain later." "Later!"
"Why don't we talk this out inside?" Matt nervously pulled my arm.
"No! Let's talk this out- Wah!" Matt raced me to the emergency department of the old hospital. Another trait I assumed of being a ghost- you could swiftly run (or more like fly) anywhere quickly.
"Juno, uh," Mello looked down at his boots, unsure of what to say. "Don't cry..." he mumbled.
"Maybe she should just turn herself in," Matt suggested. "She could convince the police she didn't do it."
"Yes!" I nodded enthusiastically. "They have to realize it wasn't me."
"Then again, we could use your being a fugitive as an excuse to run off to Las Vegas," Mello crumbled up the foil from the chocolate bar in his hands. I slowly stared at him, questioning his sanity.
"What do mean an excuse to run away, Mel?" I crossed my arms.
'How inconsiderate can you get?'
I didn't even hear what he said next. I was engulfed in a mass of anger. It took me a minute to be calm enough to reply without rage.
"Guys," I sighed. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Matt said casually as he stared at my eyes. "We would have to cover those eyes with contacts or something, though. They could easily give away who you are."
I turned my face so he wouldn't stare at that green spot that always made me self-conscious. I hated it. It was birthmark that had never, and probably would never fade away. And when Matt kept trying to take a look at it, I snapped.
"You guys! Consider my feelings! I have a life and family, I can't just run off to get a freaking notebook in Las Vegas from the mafia!"
"Consider our feelings," Mello replied. My face instantly flushed to beet red.
"We've died young with no chance no chance of getting that book ourselves now! There's no other dipshit that can help us now!"
Mello took a moment to grab and squeeze the counter edge until his knuckles turned white. He growled like a lion, eventually snapping back to me in irritated response.
"Juno… I'm actually going to beg you for this…"
I was poker-faced in surprise.
He placed his hands on my shoulders and stared at my eyes. I let out a grunt, wondering if he was just playing sweet so I would give in. An unhappy rainy look came to his blue eyes.
"This is our only chance at getting another shot at life. I can honestly promise you this time nothing will happen. We'll be prepared. Just please do this for us, it'll mean the world…"
"…"
I glanced at Matt, who was quietly leaning against the door frame. His solemn dark blue eyes brought tears to my own. Even if Mello was just putting on an act of sweet talk, I cared for Matt. And it crushed me to see him forlorn like that.
"…Fine… I'll get you the book," I finally surrendered. I widened my eyes a second after saying so.
'I'm insane. I wasn't thinking straight!'
Matt already had me in an embrace. I was getting claustrophobic in the redhead's bear-hug… or "bro-hug" as he called it.
"I freaking love you!" His hand ruffled my wispy hair, now messed up in a mass of waves from his wrap.
"Whew," I blew my bangs. "Ok, it was no problem."
I can honestly say that was the biggest lie I ever told.
"So first we're gonna have to dye your hair." Matt clasped his hands together with a large smile. I narrowed my eyebrows, displeased.
"Can't I just get a haircut? I mean my hair is already too long anyway." It stretched down to my waist since I hadn't gone to a salon in a while. I never felt up to going, and I liked having long hair.
"We're gonna cut it regardless," Mello stated.
I sighed.
"Would you rather go to prison?" Matt said.
"No, but what about food and water? And how are we gonna get to Vegas? I guess I should use an alias if we're going on a plane."
I still felt like a lunatic to go along with them, but after a while I grew a gut feeling that it was the right decision.
"You want me to go get some?" Mello offered. "I could go right now."
"You do that," Matt replied, and jumped on the hospital bed. He stretched, and constricted in a way that reminded me of a sloth.
"Thanks Mel." He darted out the door.
The room grew silent. I was growing bored until I saw Matt turn on a Gameboy. I tried catching a glimpse of the small screen in curiosity, but he wouldn't stop shuffling around the mattress. He caught my gaze, and lifted up his goggles. He had night sky blue eyes framed with dark brown lashes. His skin was whiter where the goggles were than the rest of his fact.
I laughed a little and asked, "Matt, why do you always wear those goggles? Don't you get a little irritated seeing everything orange?"
"Nah," he replied. "I just like them." He tilted his torso as he repeatedly pressed a button.
"That doesn't really answer the question," I chuckled. He was possibly the quirkiest guy I'd ever met. Instead of answering me again, he evaded the question to talk about a plan.
"You know, June, I'm kinda surprised you're doing this for us. You handled the situation better than I thought you would."
I smiled, and said "Matt have you ever been to Vegas?"
"No. I'm guessing you haven't either."
"Nope. When are we going there?"
"Slow down, Juno, we'd first have to see what flights are available. Start thinking of an alias to go by. Make it something common, and I'll make the fake ID."
"...Ok..."
Most of the first names I thought of were German.
'Analise, Auberon, Johanna…'
I'd been born and raised in Berlin, Germany until I was 13 when I moved to the US. But this was the UK, and I had to think of more British names.
"Ok, I got it! I'll be Sophie Brown," I told Matt for approval.
"Perfect."
I always imagined Matt would be the loyal, affectionate type of person- whereas Mello would have a bad temper and dirty mouth. I would expect him to drop a lot of F-bombs in this chapter, but I didn't want it to be so vulgar, so I kept it to… milder words? Oh well… And just so you know, schieße is kind of like the German way of saying "crap!"
So I'm wondering what you guys think of Juno? And how about how I portrayed Matt and Mello? Remember I'm open to constructive criticism~ ^.^
Also, there's another canon DN character coming next chapter ;)