Chapter 10:

….

Johnny Vincent was pretty much an emotional wreck,

That had been the Dr.'s initial thought of him during their first meeting. Evidently he had been having trouble with his longtime girlfriend Lola Lombardi and despite her infidelity he refused to let her go. Not only that but during his brief stay there at Happy Volts he had clearly not received the best treatment available. Looking at him it was painstakingly obvious that he had sustained more than one severe beating, chances were though that it hadn't been by the orderlies because usually they wouldn't hit the patients anywhere that left a easily spotted mark.

His face was badly bruised and his left eye was nearly swollen shut, he was also sporting an unsightly dark purple ring around his neck indicating that he had possibly either been choked or perhaps tried to hang himself.

He scowled heavily even when he wasn't looking at anybody, and clearly had a lot on his mind. According to the orderlies they had deemed it necessary to place him in strait jacket because he had a tendency to be very violent and uncooperative. Wanting to make sure the boy was okay Dr. Bambillo first sought to discover the source of his injuries.

"How are you Johnny?" He greeted him kindly,

"I'm fine!" Johnny snapped at the man who had barely said four words to him.

Dr. Bambillo sighed just a little as it had already been a long day. He could tell that there were most likely going to be some communication issues with him and Johnny.

"Well Johnny I can tell that you're not too happy about being here in the asylum or about talking with me, so let's get straight to the point shall we?" The Dr. suggested, hoping to show the angry battered teenager that he meant him no harm, and was out for his best interest.

"Sounds good," Was Johnny's reply after staring him down.

"How has your stay here been?" Dr. Bambillo questioned him, he didn't want to come straight out and ask him about his injuries because the boy was already on edge so he thought it best that he approach the subject in a more delicate manner.

Slowly turning his eyes to look at the man, Johnny again stared him down before finally deciding to say something.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" He replied angrily, clearly under the impression that the Dr. was being sarcastic and trying to poke fun at him.

Recognizing the fact that Johnny misunderstood him Dr. Bambillo sought to correct the boy and keep him calm. Even though he was currently restrained he still didn't want him to get upset and spaz out.

"Now Johnny just relax, I didn't mean any harm okay? Looking at you it's obvious that there have been some problems during your stay here. You've been here for two months already so even if you arrived here injured like you are now those bruises would have faded by now."

Johnny's face seemed to soften just a little as he listened to the Dr. explain.

"I can tell that you are the type that can easily read between the lines so instead of beating around the bush how about you just tell me what all has happened since you have been here."

Dr. Bambillo sat and waited patiently for the boy to tell him what all had happened to him.

Johnny looked away trying to decide whether he should or shouldn't tell the man what had happened to him. He was angry, that much was obvious, but he was clearly hurt as well on an emotional level and that right there let the Dr. know that there had been more to his story than just a random physical altercation.

"I…" Johnny started but paused, his expression seemed to grow fiercer as he attempted to say something.

"I just… got into a fight with some of the crazies here is all" He stated rather firmly.

Anyone else may have bought it but Dr. Bambillo did not, he had clearly made that up on the spot, and it was understandable. Had he have been involved with any form of abuse chances were he wasn't going to admit it. Usually victims are too embarrassed to admit that someone else hurt them and being the hard core leader of the greaser clique he was well known for it was no surprise that he had decided not to come clean.

"Johnny listen," Dr. Bambillo began in an effort to reach out to him and try to help. "I understand that you may think that me and all the other employees here are all good friends but that's not the case. Don't think that if one of them did something to you that I would try to cover for them because I'm not."

At this point Johnny seemed to loosen up just a bit and made eye contact with the Dr. The remark seemed to serve as a form of relief to the boy but only for a brief moment. His look of relief was promptly replaced with his previous frown.

"You're still just a child whether you want to admit it or not, yes adulthood is on the horizon but legally you are still a minor and considering that I'm not just going to sit around knowing that you or any other child is being abused by people who are supposed to be taking care of them. If any of them decide to step out of place I will make it my business to put them back in their place as far as the legal system and their job goes."

There was a momentary pause as Johnny seemed to consider the Dr.'s words,

"Thanks for the offer but I can take care of myself!" Johnny replied with a strain in his voice, he was clearly trying to play the tough guy who didn't need assistance and could take one the world alone but little did he realize he was doing a terrible job at it.

Dr. Bambillo found himself a bit disappointed by the boy's refusal to accept help, taking a moment to survey him even further he noticed several pinprick marks near his collar bone and neck area as the gown he wore hung a bit low on his shoulders.

"Johnny, listen to me I'm just trying to help you, I'm not trying to embarrass or belittle you or make you feel weak or anything I just want to help but I need for you to tell me what happened…"

"I SAID I'M FUCKING FINE! OKAY!?" Johnny shouted at the man a quiver in his voice and poor attempt at hiding his pain plastered onto his face.

"I don't need your help! Nobody beat me or anything! I got into a fight with one of the other inmates here and that's the end of it!"

Dr. Bambillo folded his arms and sat back in his chair, and for a few moments neither of them said a word.

"Alright fine Johnny, we'll let this go for now but I am going to come back to it later." Dr. Bambillo informed him.

"Now as far as you being committed here goes it's my understanding that you and your girlfriend have been having some problems lately, is that true?" Dr. Bambillo asked.

Johnny furrowed his brow slightly, "Yeah we have but so what? Don't all couples have their problems!?" He was clearly already on the defense now that Lola had been mentioned.

"That's true," The Dr. replied back, "Why don't you tell me what recently happened between the two of you."

Johnny was silent for a moment as he seemed hesitant to speak of the issue but decided to do so anyway,

"Oh god the slut!" He growled out clearly upset as he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to suppress his own anger.

"Well we had gotten into an argument over something's, recently she was messing with some trust fund fairy by the name of Gord Vendrome and I found out about it, she claimed it was innocent and nothing serious but I couldn't let it go. When I brought the issue up again she made a smart remark about some other guy named Chad, I got angry and said some things I shouldn't have said and we ended up splitting up! A short time later, some of the local dropouts said they had gotten together with her, when I heard it I went a little crazy and ended up in here!"

Johnny abruptly ended his briefing there and stared at the Dr. again with a scowl on his face.

"When you say you went a little crazy what exactly do you mean?" The Dr. questioned wanting to get a clear idea of what he thought.

"I just got really angry you know, I just smashed a few things around the house and punched a few walls here and there, nothing too serious!"

The Dr. could tell that as before he wasn't being entirely honest but decided to move on,

"There's nothing wrong with venting your anger after a bad breakup, but when you overreact that's when your behavior could start to be considered a little abnormal or perhaps even crazy." The Dr. informed him.

Johnny narrowed his dark eyes at the man. "I love her, that's not crazy! Even if she is a whore I still love her!"

"You're right there is nothing crazy about being in love with someone. The only problem with being in love though is if the person you love doesn't love you back" Dr. Bambillo explained to him.

Johnny's expression faltered for a mere fraction of a second revealing a heartbroken, frightened teenager underneath his tough exterior but he immediately hid it under another fierce scowl and said nothing.

"Was this the first time she cheated on you?" The Dr. asked attempting to gain more insight on Johnny's relationship with Lola.

Johnny again sat silent for a moment and as before he seemed hesitant to answer the question, when he didn't respond the Dr. pressed on, "It's okay Johnny, just be honest, I'm not out to judge you or Lola."

Johnny took a deep breath, "No…" Was his only word, and the Dr. nodded his head in understanding.

"Have you ever cheated on her?" With that questioned proposed a brief shiver of fear coursed through Johnny's body as incidents that he had found himself unwillingly participating in since arriving at the asylum surfaced in his mind, but being the natural rough neck that he was and far more concerned with Lola than himself he suppressed the thought and gave his answer,

"No! Never, I would never cheat on Lola, I love her too much to do something like that to her!"

Listening to him insist on his undying love for the girl and admitting that she was the more free flying type Dr. Bambillo began to understand where the boy was coming from.

"It's very thoughtful and loving of you to feel that way about her but being that she has been unfaithful to you on more than one occasion don't you think it's possible that perhaps her feelings for you aren't as strong as your feelings for her?"

Johnny looked down at the floor before slowly starting to shake his head no, "No she loves me I know she does!" He protested clearly getting upset at the idea that his feelings for Lola may very well be one sided.

"Johnny, I'm sorry to say this but I feel like that's not the case, If she keeps seeing other guys behind your back and running back to you don't you feel like she is in a sense making a fool out of you?"

"Ain't nobody making a fool of Johnny Vincent!" He halfway shouted. "Besides it's not her fault that so many other guys flock to her like they do she's so beautiful it's only natural that they would want her!"

The Dr. let out a deep sigh, he was a bit taken aback by the boys fixation on the girl.

"Johnny, I understand that you love her and don't want to think down on her and I understand that it's not her fault if she is very attractive that men feel compelled to come to her but at the same time, just because other guys flock to her all the time doesn't mean she has to take them up on any offers. If she truly loves you like you claim she dose don't you think she would ignore all the other guys who make passes at her?"

Johnny stared at the Dr. clearly starting to grow angry with what he was saying,

"I feel like you are refusing to acknowledge the fact that she is the problem and not the other guys." Dr. Bambillo went on.

Johnny felt his blood start to boil at the Dr.'s statement about Lola, "Don't talk trash about Lola!" He warned the man even though there was nothing he could do to him while being confined to a strait jacket and still feeling rather shitty thanks to the sedatives that had been administered to him earlier that day.

"I'm not trying to talk bad about Lola," Dr. Bambillo told him,

"I'm simply trying to get you to see things from a more reasonable perspective, no one likes to acknowledge or accept the fact that someone they are madly in love with doesn't love them back, and I'm not saying that she doesn't love you back but that is clearly the issue here, we know you love her but does she or doesn't she love you?"

Johnny sat silent letting what the Dr. had just said sink in,

"Doesn't that bother you?" The Dr. continued,

"Doesn't what bother me?" Johnny questioned pretending like he didn't know what the Dr. was getting at, he was a bit desperate to stall the pending question even if only for a few seconds.

"Doesn't the fact that you may be in love with someone who doesn't love you back scare you? Or are you more afraid of being alone than you are to remain in a relationship that is one sided?"

There was a long pause,

"W…why would I be afraid to be alone?" Johnny questioned.

Dr. Bambillo sat quiet for a moment, "Well if I'm not mistaken loneliness is something that you have experienced before."

Johnny's fierce scowl lightened for a moment before he spoke,

"How'd you know that?" He asked in the calmest tone he had spoken in since the beginning of their meeting and wanting to know where the Dr. had gotten his rather accurate information from.

"Well with you being a ward of the state at one point in time those records were automatically granted to me when you were admitted here." Dr. Bambillo informed him.

"So of course with both you parents being incarcerated for quite some time now…."

Dr. Bambillo cut his sentence short as Johnny had begun to shake his head in acknowledgement of the Dr.'s explanation. There was no need for him to go on, Johnny had heard all he needed to hear in reference to his estranged parents.

There was another brief moment of silence.

"Is that your reason why?" The Dr. questioned him a second time concerning his refusal to let go of Lola.

Johnny again shook his head no at the Dr.'s remark and Dr. Bambillo found himself feeling sorry for the teenager, it was obvious that his parents absence in his life did play a role in his attachment to Lola.

"No!" He shouted at the man, but again fell silent.

Dr. Bambillo was a bit hesitant to continue as it was obvious that Johnny had been through quite a bit in the past few weeks but he had to get to the bottom of his issues.

"Has she come to see you at all since you've been here?" The Dr. questioned in a gentle manner,

Johnny blanched at this question,

"Has she made any effort to get into contact with you and make sure you are okay?"

Johnny's mouth fell open, as he was forced to confront a fact he had tried his hardest to ignore or make up excuses for. Lola had made no effort to get into contact with him and see if he was okay or not, the only people who had come by to see him were Peanut and a few of the other Greasers but he had turned them all away not wanting to face them and waiting for Lola to show up but she never did! He had been there several months now and there had been no sign of Lola. The other clique members had written him numerous letters but he had ignored most of them, keeping only a few random ones here and there but they all had yet to be opened. Growing increasingly frustrated he made one last attempt to defend the woman he was in love with.

"No!" He yelled again, "I love her and she loves me! She just…."

He paused not really knowing what to say in Lola's defense, there was nothing for him to say when he really thought about it, fact of the matter was Lola was a slut whether he liked it or not and chances were that was never going to change. She hadn't been faithful to him for a single day they had been together, he had given her everything he had to give and then some, yet she still seemed to wander on a daily basis and play with him like he was last season's hottest toy. Sitting there pondering this Johnny suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and let out a frustrated growl as tears began to stream down his face.

"….Why do you have to be that way Lola….Why?"

Authors Note: Alright people this is the last chapter! However I do have several other characters who I may or may not go back and add a chapter for but as for now this story is complete! Thank you to all of those who reviewed and even to those who may have stopped by to read any single chapter! Now that this fic is finished I will began posting a series of short stories most of which are associated with the various chapters in this fic! Again Thank you all!

-Akemat Lynn