(AUTHOR'S NOTE!) I have decided to officially add romance into the plot, and this is the chapter where it all starts… so, if you don't want any romance, TURN BACK NOW, or fear your WORST fate.
(4:00 P.M.)
(MADELEINE'S POV)
The brisk, temperature hung calmly in the air; small, white flurries fell upon the pair as they walked to the car. Madeleine kept her head down as she clutched her personal pair of skates while a notebook was shoved under her arm as she unlocked the doors to her 2007 Toyota Prius. Tossing her skates in the trunk, she signaled for Johnny to do the same before shutting the hatch and returning to the driver's seat.
Maddie tugged at the black and white woven beanie on her head as Johnny opened the door of the passenger's seat. "I'll take you back to your house to let you add on another layer of clothes or whatever you need; it's fucking FREEZING outside, and I don't think you're gonna like it when you come back, sick."
Backing out of the parking lot, Maddie carefully drove to Johnny's residence, wary of the ice clogging up the streets and glanced at Johnny in the corner of her eye. "Do you mind if I put in one of my CD's? I'm getting kind of tired of the usual Christmas crap on the radio."
"Go ahead. It's your car, your music, you shouldn't have to ask for my permission." Johnny continued to stare out the window, fixed on the unknowable thoughts in his head. Pressing the power button to change the radio to CD media, the first song started to play.
It was from Nickelback; her number one, personal favorite band. Far Away:
'Cause you know, you know, you know;
I love you; I loved you all along,
I miss you; you're far away, too far too long.
I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you never go…
Start breathing if I don't see you anymore…
Blushing from the sudden realization of the song, she glanced at the radio, and tried to push away the memory when Johnny had left her… STOP IT!
Stop it. He's here; he's alive, I'm alive, we're both here together-
You useless piece of shit… Resentment crawled through her skin as she looked through the window.
She fought the raging static in her head and clenched her hands around the steering wheel, noticing that they we're one house away from Johnny's home.
Pulling up to the curb, she placed her hands in her lap and messed with her grey, trench-coat sleeve as Nny got out and headed to his house.
(JOHNNY'S POV)
Opening the wooden door to his house, Johnny tripped over a pile of rubble and debris. Picking himself back up, he took a deep breath and headed to the closet, but paused in mid step as a familiar voice sounded through the room, "out all night…? What is keeping you busy; a woman perhaps?"
Johnny narrowed his eyes, and looked to the plastic decoration sitting several feet away from him, "met an old friend. She is nothing but a friend…," Johnny's voice trailed off as a frown fell onto his face. Opening the door to his closet, he let his eyes scan the individual coats, sweatshirts and long-sleeved t-shirts. "I don't understand how she could be so… so… I can't comprehend why I feel like this."
"Pitying remorse… let yourself feel for the human; emotions are the key to life. Hunger; long for the input in which you hide yourself from. Let yourself experience LOVE."
The plastic burger boy smiled, lining his pointed, plastic teeth together and put on a sincere look on it's face.
"Meaty… thing, I have no need or time for feelings." Johnny lied through his teeth, thinking back to the moments he had shared with Madeleine… was that…queasy, static feeling… no.
Love was emptiness… meaningless. After Devi… he wouldn't let himself feel physically or emotionally for a woman like that…
"The facts are lying right before your very own eyes, and yet you curse yourself by not returning the affection of someone who keeps you sane. TOUCH it; HOLD it, CARESS it. You might have lost your chance with that other insolent tick, but you have learned the wrong-doing of your actions. Let yourself be free; you are the only thing that is keeping you chained to yourself."
Johnny sighed as he exited his coat closet, adding another purple, long-sleeved top to his torso before grabbing a pair of gloves. Nny felt as if he was going to projectile vomit onto the floor, but nothing came up his throat. Emotions… were… needed.
Forcing these words into into his head, Johnny shrugged his long, black coat back onto his skinny body before taking himself over to a specific area on the floor, picking up his own hat from the floorboards. Brushing it off with a hand, Johnny clutched the grey beanie in his hand before looking at the Bub's burger boy warily.
Nny was speechless. He couldn't argue against the truth.
Johnny tugged the pair of gloves onto his hands; he repeated the phrase back to himself as he opened the door, anxiety pricking through him as he opened the door to the passenger's side.
After getting situated, Madeleine drove carefully down the icy streets; a determined look was sprawled on her face and a small crease lined between her eyebrows in concentration.
Looking away from her, Johnny slouched in his seat, glancing out the window. Passing Squee's house, he noticed a small snowman built up on his lawn, making the corners of his mouth tug into a smile. He was such a nice, innocent little Squee; he didn't deserve the torment that his parents gave him.
Madeleine spoke, her voice like a remedy, "I'm going to the NERVE building to drop off a piece of work before we go to the lake; I hope you don't mind."
Johnny shook his head as he watched the houses pass by, trying to get the sound of Reverend Meat out of his head. It was just a whisper now, but the silence between them helped the voice sound dominant.
"No, no it's fine." Johnny breathed out, leaning his head against the side of the window.
(10 Minutes Later; Author's Note: I find these time frames easier to do than to fill a whole paragraph with unimportant things.)
(MADELEINE'S POV)
Pulling into the overhead of the building, Madeleine parked her Prius before getting out and smoothing out her grey coat which crossed over her chest and buttoned up the side.
Her black converse crunched through the snow as she walked to the side of her car to retrieve her booklet of sketches and designs before heading into the two-story building.
After pushing her way through a large set of glass doors with iron handles, she went up to the front desk and to the female assistant sitting at the computer, typing away on her plastic keyboard. She had blonde hair pinned up while she wore a red, long-sleeved shirt which was tucked into a formal, black pencil skirt.
Setting the sketchbook on the counter, she said, "deliver this to Mr. Nerve as soon as possible. It is the assigned sketches he wanted, specified, and needs. Tell him I need to take the next few days off as well."
"Yes, right away Ma'am. Merry Christmas," the woman took the pad and set it beside her pile of files before continuing typing.
Turning away from the woman, Madeleine popped her neck, realizing how tense she was inside of the Nerve Production building. But then again, she didn't like socializing with people she didn't know or disliked.
But, all the same, she was happy to get a breath of fresh air as she opened the glass doors, walking to her car, ready to teach Johnny how to skate.
(15 Minutes Later)
(JOHNNY'S POV)
The parking lot was deserted as they parked the small car in the slot, nearest the lake.
Pursing his lips in suspicion, Johnny slowly got out of the car and carried his pair of skates with one finger, finding them surprisingly heavy. Following Madeleine, Johnny looked at the shoes in his hand before walking farther along the worn away path toward the lake.
Finally, they came to an end in their path, relatively close to the shore, and sat down on a nearby picnic table. "So… how the Hell do you do this," Johnny asked as he tugged off his classic, steel-toed boots and exchanged them for the smaller, but heavy skating shoes.
"I'll show you; I'm sure you're perfectly capable of skating, but it's hard at the beginning." Madeleine looked over to him as she laced up her own pair of skates. Her hair hung in her face, but she ignored this, and Johnny continued to lace up his as well until both of them were finished.
Being only several feet from the icy shore gave them a slight advantage so they wouldn't have to walk awkwardly on the snow.
Madeleine got up, walking oddly as she made her way to the edge of the lake. Gracefully, she set both feet onto the bluish-silver ice and she gestured to Johnny to follow along.
Getting up, Johnny almost toppled over from the blades under his feet, but after regaining his balance, he slowly walked to the shore, hesitant to slide onto the ice.
Finally, after a few moments of consideration, Johnny slid easily onto the ice before him, flailing his arms in the air. Immediately, before Johnny could lose his footing, Madeleine appeared behind him in a flash, steadying him and keeping him on his feet.
"Follow my lead," Madeleine pushed him a little, making Nny slide across the ice slowly.
"I'm not perfect at ice skating either, but I know the basics; watch how I angle my body and the direction my legs move," Maddie bent herself forward slightly, bending her knees and moved her legs accordingly, before she straightened her spine and legs and continued to slide in that direction.
Imitating Madeleine's move as she had informed him to do, Johnny slid foreword successfully with no harm done. A victorious light shined in his eyes as he skated foreword just a little more before looking back to Madeleine who was recording his move.
"Nice… very nice, actually," Madeleine scratched her neck, a puzzled expression laid on her face before she shook her head and continued, "step 2: learn how to stop." Maddie accelerated toward Johnny, before angling the side of her body towards him, shaving the top of the ice and sending a small shower of ice bits towards Johnny. "When you angle your body like I just did, be sure to add pressure to the ice so your feet don't fall out from under you." Madeleine skated off to another patch of ice on the lake, watching Johnny intently.
Repeating Madeleine's move, he failed, slipping and falling on his stomach. "Fuck…" Gathering himself up, Johnny straightened his back before narrowing his eyes and trying once again, but with a small smile on his face.
Skating toward another place on the ice, Johnny tried the move once again, and correctly stopped this time.
"Exceptional! This is amazing since you're a beginner. Now; onto step three," Madeleine skated up to him and angled her body like she did with the previous technique, and got the result of gliding around him, "changing direction; try it."
Johnny did as he was told, biting his tongue as he tried, and failed, falling onto his butt.
"You can get up by yourself right?" He heard Madeleine's skates and a low chuckle sound behind him as he steadily lifted himself off of the ice. Turning around, Johnny glared at Madeleine before trying to angle himself once again like Maddie had, and only got the same response; falling on his ass again.
Johnny heard Madeleine trying to stifle her laughter, making Johnny laugh a little as well.
Trying yet once more, Johnny got up and accelerated with a speed that he could not control, flailing his arms; looking up, he found Madeleine turned around, standing still on the ice… oh shit oh shit oh shit "OH SHIT! MAD-"
Maddie turned around just as Johnny toppled onto her, both of them landing in the snowy bank beside the lake.
Looking up, Johnny noticed that he was lying halfway on top of Madeleine, both staring at each other, embarrassed smirks on their faces.
Hesitating, Johnny gazed into her eyes, forgetting the fact that they were in an awkward position. Her eyes were so perfectly clear… a gorgeous, soft set of blue…
That unmistakable feeling within turned to white-hot liquid; a desire that Johnny forced himself to ignore several times before… love.
Hunger; long for the input in which you hide yourself from. Let yourself experience LOVE…
Reverend Meat's voice rang back into his ears as he got onto his knees, now hovering over Madeleine.
I have no need or time for feelings….
Resisting the urge to plant his lips on hers, Johnny tore his eyes away from her, and swallowed the emotional lump in his throat as he slid off of Maddie.
"Sorry about that…," Johnny chuckled as he looked over to Madeleine who broke into a fit of heartwarming giggles and laughter.
They continued laughing, lying in the snow beside each other, while Johnny pushed away the guilty pleasure; the longing for love.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE:)
I worked on the ending for SEVERAL HOURS, wondering if I should… let Johnny express himself, or not. But… unfortunately for those of you expecting a lovey-dovey kissy chapter, you will need to read further on. But I promise you, you WILL get your wish granted. SAPPINESS! SAAAAAPPY!
I AM CHANGING THE STORY NAME: I will change it in between the next chapter and the chapter after that, so you readers out there have the time to know this.
It's new, reformed name is:
Never Gonna Be Alone
(FIRST PERSON WHO FIGURES OUT THE BAND'S NAME, GET'S A FREE BRAINFREEZY!)
The lyrics in this chapter belong ONLY TO NICKELBACK. And I am sorry if you do not really care for his music if you have heard of him… I find it pretty good. But… my opinions are just as flawed as anyone elses… so…
I'm off topic; …. Awwwh. Johnny feels love and gooeyness! You have GOT to love these mushy Christmas loooooove stories. HOORAY FOR JOHNNY'S OOCNESS!
And, yes, Madeleine DOES work at the same company that Devi D. works at. I'm not adding her into the story… at least I'm not considering it.
Disclaimer N' Stuff…
Johnny C. and any JTHM characters belong to Jhonen Vasquez. I own Madeleine in the story.
So… now what? Are you guys gonna review, or just sit there like idiots? (hah, no, I just kid) Please, please please tell me your view on the story through a review or personal message. It warms my heart and brings tears to my eyes knowing I have pleased you or disgusted you through my writing. Tell me what you THINK!
"You flaw. At least I'm under the delusion of doing something productive."
-Johnny the Homicidal Maniac/ Jhonen Vasquez
