Day four: meet the family.
It's kind of unclear how it happens exactly. The Activity Club has been very uncaring of Max's hat plight today up to and including the detention part. Given that Johnny's friends weren't caught for the distraction they made and he told them not to wait around, he doesn't have anyone else to hang with once detention lets out either. And he's still been – it's maybe just the gradual realization that he's had fun hanging out with Johnny this afternoon, but Max kind of doesn't want to say goodbye just yet.
He doesn't plan on doing anything about it exactly, but then they get on the same bus home (Johnny shoves Max all the way down the aisle into the very back, then plunks down directly next to him even though there's enough space for four kids back here) and they're getting very very close to Max's stop. He knows that he ran into… onto… Johnny fairly close to his house on his first day, and they've met on the way a couple times since then, so it's not crazy to assume that they live nearby each other. And it's not like it should be too far out of the other guy's way, if he could make the trip to Max's house in the middle of the night so easily.
Plus, he hasn't really said much since Max stole his hat back. He doesn't seem mad at all, more like he's in this kind of quiet mood with a lot of casual shoving involved, and it feels kind of companionable.
Max is a sarcastic cynic, okay, but he's not antisocial. With Isaac currently on his petty-list, and Isabel and Ed almost always completely wrapped up in goofy spirit shenanigans, and his phone still broken in any case, Max's other social prospects for the rest of the day are limited to his family and PJ. Which is fine, but Johnny's been mostly all right today and apparently cares a lot more deeply than Max thought about being friends so why not, and why does he even have to justify this to himself, geez.
"Hey," Max says, when they pull up to his block. "Um. I think we sell ice cream at my house. I mean. Store."
Johnny's head swivels around towards him slowly. The look on his face is weird.
"G-good for you," he says.
"…You said you wanted to eat ice cream before."
"SO. Can't a guy want a delicious frozen dairy treat?! I ain't gonna pay you for it!"
"I – I didn't say you had to –" Max stops. Puts a hand over his face. Why is everyone in this town so weird. "Okay, Johnny. I'm going inside. I'm gonna eat some ice cream. You can come in too or not. Bye."
He's tempted to escape out the window, but there's probably already been enough bus-jumping in his life already, so instead he just climbs over Johnny and walks up the aisle. He doesn't look back once as he trudges inside the store and straight over to the freezer section.
"My son!" Dad exclaims from behind the counter.
"My father," Max mumbles back, sticking his head inside to get a closer look at the available brands and not because he feels dumb and wants to hide. He's just choosing his ice cream.
Behind him, the doors whiz open and then shut again.
"AH! YOU!" Dad shouts. Max doesn't stand up, he's way too engrossed in deciding between vanilla, chocolate, or cherry tornado whatever that is, but he smiles. "The secret snugglebuddy!"
Max's smile drops off his face in an instant.
"DAD," he snarls, spinning around with two random ice cream bars in his hand. It's kind of hard to point dramatically without dropping them, but he manages sorta. "I've never had a snugglebuddy in my life!"
"Muahahahaha… Is that so…" Ducking down behind the counter, Dad emerges moments later holding – oh geez – "Then I guess you won't recognize this fuzzy duck!"
Bird Eagle is not a duck and Dad knows that. But Max is not gonna rise to the bait.
"Quack quack quack," Dad hops him along the counter. He stops to peck him at the register keys.
"RRGH GIVE HIM BACK," Max shouts, flinging the ice creams at Johnny's face and rushing to the counter to get his property back. Not like he sleeps with Bird Eagle anymore, but, uh –
"Why did you even have him under there?" He tucks Bird Eagle into a perch on his cast, where the stuffed animal actually fits really well.
"Ehh, to throw him at your face in the morning?" Dad says. Max wishes he were still holding projectiles.
"Just for that, we're taking some ice cream and not paying," he says instead, gesturing at Johnny. The bully managed to catch the ice cream bars, it looks like, but it also looks kind of like someone has pressed his pause button, because he is just totally frozen in place.
"Yes. We. Tell me, child of mine, who is this young man who appears in the night yet vanishes come dawn?" Dad steps out from behind the counter, doing his best to loom. "Boy. What is your name?!"
Ugh, his dad is so dumb.
But Johnny seems to be buying it, weirdly enough. Or, at least, when he swings stiffly back into motion (Max would add a squeaky hinge sound in post-production), it's to walk forward with an innocent smile, holding out his hand.
"Hello," he says robotically. "My name is Johnny Jhonny. It is nice to meet you, mister Puckett."
"Oh god are there aliens too," Max blurts before he can help it.
They both ignore him. Dad reaches out and, rather than shake Johnny's hand, lifts it up with two fingers and inspects it all over, humming thoughtfully. Johnny just stands there and lets him with a blank smile, what is this.
"Stop," Max pleads. "Both of you stop, you're embarrassing me in very different and confusing ways right now."
"A worthy palm… This hand is no stranger to hard work… Yes. I believe you are one with whom I can entrust my heartling's safety. Johnny Jhonny, do you swear to prot–"
Max bursts forward, grabs Johnny's hand, and drags him up the stairs, chanting, "Stoppit stoppit stoppit stoppit stoppit," the whole way.
"DO YOU SWEAAAAAR," Dad bellows up the stairs after them, and Johnny actually starts to turn around like he's gonna answer, nope, nope nope nope Max grabs on tighter and yanks him up into the apartment.
Of course, there's still the boss monster to deal with.
"Who's your friend?" Zoey asks straightaway. "He looks like a greaser."
"You've never seen a greaser in your life," Max retorts.
"-I'm worse than a greaser," Johnny interjects, "I'm –"
"Greasiest?"
"…Hey, is that ice cream?" Zoey asks, interrupting the evil eye Johnny is giving Max. "I want some!"
"Get your own, small child." Max starts to drag Johnny along to his room, but the bully digs in his heels as they pass Zoey.
"Hey," Johnny grins down at her. "Cool hair."
Zoey lights up. Max's entire body breaks out into a cold sweat.
"Thanks!" she says with a huge gaptoothed grin. "I got the ginger genes. Redheads are the best."
Johnny wordlessly holds out a fist, Zoey bumps it with her own, and Max succumbs to the sweet embrace of death. He can hear them still conversing faintly in the distance as he follows the light.
"I'm Zoey, I'm his sister."
"Johnny. I like ya. I'll beat somebud up anytime, just ask."
"Whoa."
Max's spirit returns to his body through pure indignation.
"Johnny! Do not beat up small children for my sister!"
"Who says I'd ask him to beat up kids? I could do that myself." Zoey crosses her arms over her chest and pouts at him. "Maybe I want him to beat you up, Maxwell."
Johnny bursts out laughing. This is worse than Max's worst nightmares. Why why why did he let this happen.
"Too la–"
"FUNNY JOKE, ZOEY. BUHBYE NOW," Max shouts, pulling with all his might to get Johnny inside his room where he can lock the door and never let him ever talk to Zoey again.
"Yer family's fun," Johnny grins at him, leaning on the door right next to Max. He looks so… not-evil that it actually stops Max's panic short. His smile looks genuinely happy instead of murderous, his eyes are soft and nice and, just, really close.
Max abruptly remembers that he's still holding Johnny's hand.
As soon as he lets go, Johnny looks down, then his face goes bright red and he drops the ice creams to clutch the wrist of the hand Max had been holding like he needs to strangle the cooties out of it or something. Max is a huge fan of this overreaction because it allows him to bolt over to his bed, hiding his own very hot cheeks.
Once he feels relatively certain he's capable of talking without his face catching literal fire, he turns around, leaving Bird Eagle on his pillow.
"Hey, the ice cream's probably melting," he says. Cool. Slick. Calm.
"HRGnaaamnnfl," Johnny splutters, still a little less so.
Max gets up and grabs the ice cream bars off the floor. Johnny jumps about a mile when he brushes past him to sit back down on the floor next to the bed.
"Oooohkay, so we've got chocolate or–" Max squints down at the label of the second one suspiciously, "…dairy flavor. Hm."
"Uh, dairy's good," Johnny says, finally clearing his throat and approaching. He still seems a little flustered, sitting down kind of close to Max then shifting away, then back a little closer. "I, uh, I like, yeah 'scool."
"Well, can't say I wanna try it, so knock yourself out I guess," Max says, handing it over. He uses his teeth to rip open his own ice cream bar, and takes a big bite.
Which of course, is the exact moment Johnny blinks and says, "Oh hey, you have a little brother too. 'Sup, kid."
And waves nonchalantly at PJ, seated in Max's desk chair.
In the next few seconds, three things happen very quickly:
Max's mouth falls open, and his bite of ice cream falls into his lap.
"I'VE BEEN SEEN," PJ wails, and drops through the floor.
"CRIMINY WHAT MAX I'LL SAVE YA," Johnny yells, climbing into Max's lap along with the fallen ice cream and kind of clinging to him in direct opposition to his words.
"Y- Johnny you're a spectral?!" Max shouts, then abandons talking in favor of hanging on to Johnny's waist when PJ pops back up cautiously and Johnny starts scrambling after him with a fist readied. He is unceremoniously shucked to the floor. "No no wait JohNNY WAIT DON'T –"
Lefty zooms to the rescue, flatly blocking Johnny's punch before it can hit PJ's nose.
"YAAAAAAH," Johnny roars, punching rapidly with both arms. Lefty blocks each one, until finally Max scrambles around in between them.
"STOP! Johnny, it's okay!"
"T-thes're your floating friends?" Johnny pants, wild-eyed, fists still at the ready. "Max?"
WE KNOW flashes into Max's head. Along with… the doctopus doodle on his cast, and Johnny getting stuck on the stairs when it was a spirit blocking the way, and Johnny also shushing the jock ghost in detention, and. Oh man. He's been a total idiot.
"Y-yes," he says, grabbing Johnny's hand and lowering it. "Yeah. They're okay. They're ghosts. This is PJ, he's like part of my family. Don't hit him, okay? And Lefty's a friend."
"F-family," PJ sniffles, then flies forward to hug Max. Johnny flinches, but his breathing is starting to slow down.
"Max," he says, staring at PJ's ghostly lower half. "What's goin' on?"
"I. I can explain everything!" Max says. "…Um. Some things. I'm sorta new to this myself."
Johnny looks up at him, and with a deep breath, Max begins.
To answer your questions: yes, Bird Eagle is named after Shred Eagle. Yes, he has a backwards baseball cap. Sadly, his sneakers were lost in a tragic washing machine accident.
(and yes: I could never write a chapter for this prompt that didn't include MAX'S SON)