Disclaimer: I do not own JTHM! I'm just a mere slave to the almighty J.V.!

Warning: Rated T (Maybe M due to future content and language.)

Note: Nny gets a family! Enough said…er…read.

Free to Keys Chapter 3

Young Johnny walked along a damp sidewalk as it had rained recently the night before. The boy couldn't help but jump into every puddle he saw and smile as cool droplets pelted his face . He was five, almost six years after all. It made him feel better and the constant fire that seemed to be burning in his body was momentarily gone. With his splashing done Nny decided to settle down for the night. He turned into a dark alley, looking for somewhere safe to sleep as the bunny told him to do so. However, the little boy was sure alleys meant the opposite of safe and he cautiously walked down to the end of the ally. It was dirty with much debris scattered about and it didn't help that trash water was leaking from every corner. He stuck his tongue out in disgust but soon found comfort next to a somewhat dry dumpster. He then set his backpack aside as a pillow and lied down on the cold concrete. Not long into his nap Nny was awaken.

"Hey kid! Have some of…of this…"
Nny shrieked as he tasted something vile and he opened his eyes to see a hand holding a glass bottle up to his lips. He wiped the liquid off of his lips with his sleeves and pulled away from the hand. He knew the taste well, it was alcohol. The figure backed away quickly and Johnny stood up to bolt but before he could move the hand returned and pulled him sharply back.

"Hey hey, kid calm down! No need to be afraid as old Jeff won't hurt yah." The figure held up its hands and Johnny now saw it was human, a bit tipsy. Nny took a step back as the mystery man spoke again.

"Now what is a little scrap like you doing out on the streets? Not running away from your folks I hope."

The boy could do nothing but vigorously shake his head 'no' and hold on tight to his plush bunny. The man saw this and chuckled. He held out his right hand in greeting.

"What's your name son? My name be Jefferson Huckle."

"Uh…well um…my name is…uh…Johnny…Johnny C…something…oh, and you can call me Nny for short…"

"Nny, huh? Well, then I guess you could just call me Jeff." The man then stepped into the light of the street lamps and Nny could now see him clearly. He wore a trademark leather hobo jacket dotted with moth holes and a dusty leather hat. The man also sported a beard and a crooked smile.

"So what are you doing out here?"

"Just uh… I will just be going home now…"

"You're lying."

"Huh?"

"You are…I see it in your eyes."

"How did you-"

You learn lots of things here out on these here streets…it's not safe here kid…lots of bad fellers running about at this time. Here, come with me and we can go meet the others." The man continued to hold out his hand, giving no signs of being hostile. Johnny stayed silent for several seconds to see what his friend bunny would say but the plush didn't say a word.

"Oh okay, Mr. Hobo…er, I mean Jeff."

Nny cautiously stepped forward and gingerly grabbed Jeff's offering hand. They shook hands, Jeff gave a nod and a smile but Johnny just stayed stiff, no sure how to react. The hobo then led Johnny along the dark streets and took many cuts and corners. Nny feared that he may never find his way home again but then the bunny quickly remained him that he didn't have a home any more. The boy began to tear up at the thought but no, he had to be strong, for bunny.

After a good few minutes of traveling Nny and the hobo came to a small group huddled around a fire burning from within a trash can. The group contained four other hobos of all shapes and sizes and they eyed Johnny as if he was prey. Jeff then gestured to the group then to Johnny.

"Fellas this is Johnny-"

"Nny…Nny for short."

"Right…this little feller is called Nny and he is a guest see?"

The group seemed to relax and their once suspicious expressions vanished into more welcoming ones. Jeff then sat down at the other end of the fire and Johnny reluctantly sat down beside him with the bunny in his lap. Jeff then pointed to a skinny stoned looking man that smelled strongly of cigarette smoke.

"This here be Scott, say hello Scott."

"Huh…wha-why oh yah, hello there Splee." Scott then waved ever so slowly at Nny and tried to smile but he seemed simply out of it, like he was never sober in his life. Next Jeff pointed to a man equal to Scott's shape and size but he seemed to be the exact opposite. The man seemed to shake with every breath and his right eye was constantly twitching.

"This here is Chip, got anything to add Chip?"

"Well, uh I like crack…oh, cracker jackers...you know, those little popcorn things that have a crappy prize inside…?"

Jeff seemed to sigh and he then gestured to a young women who had too many wrinkles then normal for her age. She had dull red hair with split ends that was slightly curled. The women simply smiled and waved her hand, she seemed the most sane.

"Well hello Nny. It's always nice to have a new member to the group."

"Whoa Heather, he is only a guest remember?" Jeff snapped.

"Sure, sure, guest, member, it doesn't matter."

"Anyway, Nny this is Heather."

Before Heather could add anything else Jeff gestured to the last person of the group, huddled in the corner. He was a very large black man, build like a tank, seemed like the type who was more bronze then brains, and who would snap a person in two for the slightest insult. But soft chocolate brown eyes gave away the fact that he only attacked when provoked and that he had a kind heart under all that muscle.

"Now this tank is Milkbone. Don't let his size fool yah, he is all bears hugs is all."

Milkbone chuckled loudly and then leaned forward to come face to face with Nny. The man then ruffled Nny's hair and smiled so strongly is seemed his teeth would rip through his gums.

"Nice to meet...Nny is it, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Don't worry I'm a gentle giant!" The man then chuckled loudly and Nny couldn't help but feel a little startled. Jeff then clasped his hands together and made an attempted at being cheerful.

"So Heather, what's on the menus for tonight?"

"Dog food, duh! It never changes…" Said Heather and she crossed her arms in a mocking manner.

"No shit!" Scott shouted and held up a bottle of booze, promptly spilling some onto Chip but the fellow didn't flinch.

"What? We all outta cat food?" Choked out Chip.

"I got some dog biscuits left…" Stated Milkbone shyly as he held up a box of dog treats up.

After a bit of a scuffle Nny ended up nibbling on a dog treat well the others ate canned dog/ cat food, using Milkbone's dog biscuits to spoon the meat paste out.

"Sooo...were yah from kid?" Asked Heather, looking up from her can of food.

"...here I guess..."

"No, like, what is your backround.?"

"Huh?"

"You life in a nutshell." Pipped up Scott after a quick sip of booze.

"Oh that...well uh...if I told you, you may not like me much..." Nny looked down in shame and hugged the plush bunny close to his chest.

"You don't have to tell us anything...was just asking." Heather nervously stirred her biscuit in the now empty can and bit her lip.

"Nah, that's okay, I will tell you. Uh...well let's see...my mom doesn't...uh didn't like me so much and sometimes would try to strangle me but I always got away. My dad or at least I thought he was my dad until...anyway, he would drink and smoke a lot which I didn't like..."

Scott looked down at his bottle of booze for a moment then took another sip.

"Well, one night…well trying to sleep I heard a loud scream and lots of spooky sounds yah know? So I get out of bed and I walk down the hall...and *gulp* I see blood everywhere. I see a dark scary figure ripping my parents apart and then it turns towards me. I try to run but I was just so scared and the figure turns out to be a man. He threatens to kill me but my friend Bunny-" Nny pauses to hold up the bunny. "-told him that I would kill him. He laughs and gives me a bloody knife then holds my hand up to his neck then...I don't know what really happened but next thing I know it uh he was dead...and I left and came here..."

Johnny was now shaking from the trauma of the memories. Of course there were more details then just that but he felt he should be the only one to know he killed his own father and that he kept the knife, his protection. The group grew silent. Jeff was gawking, Heather had a hand cupped over her mouth, Milkbone seemed on the verge of tears, Scott just stared, and Chip just kept on eating the scraps left in his can.

In the end, little Nny ended up staying with the group after convincing them he really didn't have a home and together they taught Nny everything they knew. Jeff was the unofficial leader of the group and the one Nny trusted the most, possibly because he cared enough to take Nny in the first place. Heather became Nny's naggy adoptive mother or aunt and always seemed to have a wise saying to crack when the mood was right. Scott ensured Nny's overall reading and writing skills were up to date and also would tell outrageous tale tells of fishing trips gone wrong or morbid versions of nursery rhymes. At first Scott's bedtime stories were things Nny would piss his pants over but then he learned to love them. Nny silently swore that if he ever was to have any kids he would tell them the exact same stories.

Then there was Chip. Nny never really liked Chip as the man would always spit out some random comment or bore Nny with nonsense but Chip refused to become the useless one of the bunch. He would teach Nny how to grow hemps, their price values, and how to snort properly then quiz him on it. The rest of the group detested Chip's teachings but often backed off when Chip claimed it was for mathematical purposes, and it in ways it was. Nny learned how to add and subtract small numbers from Chip and though Nny didn't like him much he was thankful for the knowledge.

Then Milkbone was there when Nny needed advice onto how to throw a punch properly or simply a friend to talk to. In Nny's heart the bunny was becoming less of a friend and more of an object with less meaning. The boy began to learn how to live on his own and was beginning to rely less on the pale bunny. Though the group did many bad things like Heather was a half time prostitute and Chip sold drugs when ever money was slim they did their best to only take what they needed and not what they wanted.

They taught Nny morals on how not to steal for things he wanted and only the things he needed and to respect all forms of life. They became Nny's closest thing to a family and the boy couldn't be happier…

Sorry guys! I had to change some ending paragraphs of this chapter as it would have interfered with a slight plot change. Again, my sincere apologies.