Author's Notes; Low and behold, it's a Johnny Vincent chapter! Plus Gary Smith does make his devious re-appearance. Thanks for all the story traffic! I'm amazed at how many people are reading this story! Chapter 31 has been written...But I'm currently stumped on chapter 32. Anything you want to see in the story? Feel free to let me know.
Chapter 29 – Jealousy
"What're you doing 'ere Smith? Did the Asylum finally let you out?"
Johnny Vincent was casually leaning against the dirty bricks of the Greasers club house having a cigarette and he was accompanied as usual, by Hal and Norton. Gary Smith had appeared from out of the alleyway and had approached them apprehensively, staring at one Greaser to the other with a cautious, unblinking expression. He did not retaliate to the snide comment Vincent threw at him, he simply shrugged it off and proceeded to explain his reasoning as to why he had stepped even a foot in to New Coventry.
"Trust me; I don't want to be in this place. But I have an idea that revolves around that loser, Jimmy Hopkins…I understand he's been giving you and your…Friends…Some trouble."
There was a brief moment of silence as the Greasers regarded his statement, and Johnny Vincent continued to look Gary Smith up and down with distaste.
"And why should I follow what some crazy sociopath has to say? I can deal with Jimmy myself…"
"Because it also involves that promiscuous girlfriendof yourstoo…Call it revenge. That and you can get one up on Jimmy; knock him down a peg or two off that high horse he seems to be riding."
Regarding this, Johnny felt only a pang of anger at the fact that he had insulted Lola but a part of him realised it was true. She had been all over Jimmy ever since he had won the race around New Coventry and all he wanted to do was humiliate and beat the kid down.
"So what's this idea?" Vincent said, his eyes narrowing whilst his two cronies looked at him in confusion. Johnny wasn't one to follow orders from someone else; whether they had covered the entire thing by saying it was an 'idea' of his or not. However, things had become a little weird ever since Johnny had found out Lola was cheating on him with about five other students…
Gary looked as though he had just won the lottery, his expression changed almost immediately and he approached Johnny Vincent, still glancing cautiously at his two bodyguards.
"Well you see, Jimmy has a very close friend whom you've already met."
"That girl, Chantelle? The one who spends all that time hiding in the library?"
"The very same one…See Jimmy used to have feelings for the girl, and if I'm not mistaken, he still does. He's messing about with your girl to piss you off, but when she's strutting around with other guys he gets just as jealous as you."
"Where you goin' with this Gary?" Johnny said impatiently, taking a final drag of his cigarette and flicking it to the ground. He crunched it underneath the heel of his boot and then took a few intimidating steps towards Gary.
"You get Chantelle down to the underpass when Lola and Hopkins grace New Coventry with their presence, get her down here and pretend you're together. Kiss her, hold her, do whatever you want to prove she's yours…And just watch the sparks fly."
Johnny smirked and nodded his head in approval, "You know, that idea doesn't sound half bad. Norton, Hal, get the gang together and keep an eye out for that slut and that weasel. I want to know if they're in New Coventry right away…And bring me Ricky. I need that girl's cell number."
Noticing that his business was done, Gary slipped away whilst Johnny was busy ordering his bodyguards around.
"What are ya waiting for! Get moving!" Johnny added angrily.
Hal and Norton glanced across at each other once more before doing as they were told. When Johnny turned around to thank Gary for his brilliant idea, he was somewhat stunned to notice he already disappeared.
"Is this Chantelle?"
Chantelle raised an eyebrow and pulled the cellphone away from her ear to briefly check the number again. It was one she couldn't recognise, and neither could her phone so she pressed it to her ear again.
"Yeah, why who's this?"
"It's me, Johnny Vincent."
Looking quite astonished, Chantelle mentally kicked herself for not recognising the distinguishable Greaser accent sooner, but she probably would've just assumed it to be Ricky…Not the leader of the Greasers clique.
"How did you even get my number?" Chantelle said in complete surprise, now glancing out of the window almost as though she was expecting him to be stood there waving at her or something ludicrous like that.
"Ricky gave me it. I told you, that guy has his uses. I need you to do me a favour."
"And what would that be?"
"I want you to come down to the underpass at New Coventry, there's a little meeting going on and I want you to be there to see it all go down." Johnny Vincent responded, and it sounded very much like he was wearing a smirk or a smug grin on his face.
"And if I don't?" Chantelle responded quickly, pushing the curtain back across the window and reseating herself on the edge of her bed.
"Well that would be your loss wouldn't it…Just don't go expecting your boyfriend Jimmy to be able to walk for a while."
There was a brief moment of laughter before the call was cut off and Chantelle was listening to a repetitive beep instead. With a sigh she placed the cell inside the pocket of her jeans and quickly got her winter gear on before leaving the confines of her dorm room. It was a good job Christy was being distracted by Davis again or she probably would have gotten an earful for going to Jimmy's aid once more.
She exited the Girl's Dormitory and set of at a quick walk, it would be foolish to start running when it was so icy still, the one thing she didn't want to happen was to end up breaking something from falling over on the ice…Or seeing Jimmy get beaten to a pulp of course.
The thought of getting a bike crossed her mind briefly as she left the campus and moved quickly along the snowy pavements, passing a returning Angie who looked dismal and tired. Chantelle made very quick work of the journey to the underpass, where her eyes were immediately drawn to the graffiti Jimmy had sprayed about a week ago. Then they surveyed the area, only to register the fact that she was quite alone.
"Well isn't this just great," Chantelle muttered to herself, turning full circle and still seeing no signs of Johnny or Jimmy. Believing this was just a set-up and somewhat expecting someone like Lola to ambush her, she turned away and began walking in the same direction she just arrived from.
That was until a voice called out her name.
Chantelle turned around once again and saw Jimmy walking under the underpass with none other than…Lola Lombardi. The immediate disgust was plastered across her face, and pretty much mirrored in Lola's too. There was still some bruising around Lola's nose, and this at least brought Chantelle a small bit of satisfaction.
"What are you doing down here?" Jimmy asked, looking slightly anxious that the two girls were already eyeing each other up menacingly.
Chantelle was just about to reply when someone decided to do it for her. Johnny Vincent came into the middle of the road, flanked by Norton and Hal. He was wearing the smug grin that Chantelle had predicted. Jimmy and Lola both turned round to stare at the sudden arrival of the Greasers.
"She's here with me Hopkins, aren't you Chantelle?"
Looking completely flabbergasted, Chantelle chose not to answer and instead remained rooted to the spot whilst Lola looked back over her shoulder, giving her a vicious glare. Johnny gestured her to come towards him, and she found herself doing just that. She did not look at Jimmy as she passed, even though she could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head, but continued to eye Johnny with confusion.
When she was within reaching distance, Johnny snaked his arm around her shoulders and turned her round so they were now both facing Lola and Jimmy. He forcefully pushed her closer to him and then lowered his arm so he was holding her by the waist instead. Chantelle's cheeks flushed scarlet as she tried to tug away, but without much success…Or much enthusiasm.
The response was immediate.
Jimmy started forward, but at the same time so did Norton and Hal making him reconsider. Lola's face contorted with rage as she tried to bite down on the retorts and insults she was intent on hurling not just at Chantelle, but Johnny Vincent too. It would do no good to lose her temper in front of the scheming bitch that had hit her just days previous…Not when getting revenge was even better.
Placing her hand on Jimmy's shoulder, Lola pulled him back away from the two burly Greasers and instead she planted a kiss on his lips (having to lean down a little to do so), and then eyed Johnny and Chantelle as secretly as she could. She saw the expression change on the lead Greaser's face ever so slightly, giving her some pleasure, and perhaps giving the entire game away. This was probably just an attention-seeking plot to try and make her jealous. Well Lola Lombardi never got jealous! She always got what she wanted in the end, no matter what the cost…
When she pulled away, she flipped her hair back and interlocked her fingers between Jimmy's own, believing that the battle had been won. Chantelle was staring at Jimmy in revulsion whilst he was trying to look everywhere but at the girl in front of him.
But Johnny still had another trick up his sleeve, and his smug grin came rebounding back. He relinquished the arm from around Chantelle's waist and instead, used it to push her against the brick wall of the tunnel, right against the purple graffiti of 'Jimmy wuz here'.
Chantelle's eyes widened with the Greasers sudden aggressiveness and she tried to slip sideways to avoid being pinned up against the wall, but she was too slow and there was a sharp intake of breath, probably from Lola as they all appeared to wait to see what was going to happen. The two Greasers even looked a little taken aback, expecting maybe for Johnny to just completely lose it and possibly strike a girl.
That wasn't what Johnny Vincent had in mind. Instead he placed one hand above Chantelle's head, using it as support as he stared down at her. The other was pressed lightly against her shoulder, giving enough pressure to ensure she wasn't going to just high-tail it and run. The next second he had leaned towards her and was pressing his lips against hers. It wasn't just an average peck either; Johnny was being extremely forceful and rather passionate. Chantelle felt his tongue trace her lower lip and she felt her legs almost seeming to tremble in response.
Lola let out a shriek of anger as she too started forward, but before the Greasers could restrain her away from their leader, Jimmy had her wrist in a tight grip and he was pulling her back. Lola tried to tug her wrist out of his grasp, but he continued to hold on, expecting her to turn on him at any second.
Johnny looked over his shoulder, still leaning over Chantelle who had turned a pleasant shade of pink (and who had been quite disappointed when the kiss had ended), and sneered at Jimmy who was glaring back with supressed anger. Jimmy had never expected the clique leader to have gone that far, not when he claimed he was just so in love with his dear Lola whilst Johnny hadn't expected Chantelle to have responded to his call either, but here she was…And was it that she actually enjoyed all of that?
Her dream-like expression was revealing enough.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Jimmy called out, his voice loud enough to drown out Lola's continuing string of insults. "I thought you were on my side Chantelle! I thought you were trying to help me! Not running about with this jerk!"
At this, Lola quieted down and stopped struggling against Jimmy's slackened grip on her wrist. Everything had gone silent and Norton and Hal were looking from one couple to the next, almost as though they were following some short-distant tennis match. Chantelle tried to move away from Johnny but his hand was still pressed against her shoulder, so instead she cleared her throat to answer but Lola talked right over her.
"I already told you why," She said coldly, glaring from Johnny to Chantelle with pure hatred. "Because she's an evil, vindictive little bitch, a compulsive liar, and you know what else? She's a damn whore! Going around trying it on with every person she can find…First there was you Jimmy, then Parker…But she got pretty bored of him didn't you Chantelle? So then you moved on to your little study dates with that weird kid, Kowalski before he ditched you. But it doesn't stop there does it! You just can't let things lay, I heard you trying it on with Ted Thompson too? I mean, I hate Mandy…But you! You're even worse than that snob."
Chantelle's face dropped and she stared at Lola in disbelief. She had tried so far to not let anything she said get to her, but that just seemed a step too far. And the fact that Jimmy hadn't even tried to defend her made it even worse.
"And yet you running around trying it on with every loser student at school makes you some sort of Saint?" Johnny said, finally letting Chantelle go and turning fully round to glare at Lola. He stood in front of Chantelle, almost as though he was protecting her from view. He was actually defending Chantelle, a girl he had only just met a few days ago in the library, a girl who had started off as a simple messenger.
"Everybody's been laughing at me! All of you at me!" Johnny exclaimed, jabbing his thumb at himself and shaking his head to further emphasise the point. "Everybody's had her, that…That slut!" He continued, his voice growing with anger. Lola's expression changed within an instant of Johnny calling her such a name, especially considering she was within earshot.
"What did that Gord kid have that I ain't got Lola? Huh? You all think it's funny don'ya?" His rant continued, oblivious to the reactions around him. Chantelle had now moved to the side and was trying to get as far away from the scene as possible, but all that was going to do was to put her into New Coventry, and she didn't particularly want to be in that part of town.
"You all just think I'm some big joke! Well not anymore…No way. I'm the king around here and I'm gonna teach you a lesson…"
Lola took several steps back as Johnny approached her and Jimmy, Norton and Hal were looking at one another, feeling quite uneasy, unsure about whether to back him up or hold him off. It wasn't Lola he had his eyes set on however, it was Jimmy.
He knew from the very start that he was outnumbered, but his desire for wanting answers from Chantelle had left him within this bizarre confrontation, and now Johnny had had enough waiting around.
Without a second thought, he left Lola stood in the middle of the underpass and ran towards the run-down motel. Chantelle stood transfixed watching as Johnny too picked up speed, but his reactions were a little slower than he intended. Jimmy was seated on his bike and pedalling like crazy before Johnny could get anywhere near him, and the next minute he had disappeared from view.
Lola took this distraction as a sign to leave, and she quickly pushed passed Norton and Hal who still looked doubtful on what they were supposed to do. She gave Chantelle another poisonous stare and quickly changed direction, heading towards her instead.
"You've had it bitch…" She started, but Norton shoved her back.
"Go and be a slut somewhere else you tramp."
"Yeah…We always told Johnny you were no good for 'im!" Hal added, backing Norton up.
Chantelle looked at the two with gratitude, which seemed to go unnoticed by the both of them. Lola huffed loudly and stormed off, stamping her feet on the frosted snow in exaggeration.
By the time Johnny Vincent returned from his rant with a Jimmy who had long since fled, Lola had also disappeared and the two Greasers were having a quiet discussion together in the middle of the road. Chantelle herself had started off in the direction of the Motel, but once again she was stopped by Johnny's arm.
"I just want to say…Well I mean…Thanks." He said bluntly, scratching the back of his head before immediately flattening it down again. "I didn't think you were gonna show up,"
Johnny shrugged his shoulders, making it clear that he was certainly not used to this sort of behaviour. He was still flushed from his angry outburst, and the expression on his face was one of a person still fighting to keep his temper under-wraps.
"I didn't expect something like that to happen." Chantelle responded flatly, still thinking back to the kiss, to the way his fingers dug into her shoulder, the way his tongue traced her lip and her legs seem to tremble…
"It's just Lola she makes me crazy!" Johnny said, his voice regaining some of its anger from before. "I'm going crazy over some broad…" He shook his head and then leaned against the wall of the underpass next to Chantelle. "She's just a slut and here I am, standing here an' giving a damn about her."
Chantelle looked away and remained silent. How was she supposed to reply to that? She didn't want to offend him, she saw how easily angered he was and how quick to get aggressive he was too. Telling him to ignore Lola and move on probably wasn't the best way to cheer him up. In fact, it seemed impossible to cheer this guy up.
"I'm sure she'll realise her mistake soon enough…Unless she's as stupid as she looks…"
Johnny, who had been pacing, stopped and turned round to look at her. He didn't appear angry, and that gave Chantelle a little bit of comfort at least.
"Ya think?"
"Maybe…That's all I'm saying. I'm useless in these sorts of situations and with girls like Lola…" She shrugged. "It's hard to predict what they're gonna do…"
"Yeah, well I thought me and her…I thought we were good together. I thought she felt the same way…But then that Jimmy kid comes along and…"
"It's not all Jimmy's fault."
Johnny rounded on her and Chantelle felt herself almost recoiling away from him. He seemed to be as unpredictable as Gary, but his aggression levels were far higher which only made him more intimidating.
"He was all over her! Winning that damn race for her, getting all her stuff from the tenements and saving those bastards that had their paws all over her…He's gonna get a bruisin'"
"I should go," Chantelle said quickly, realising that nothing she could say would stop Johnny and his boys from attacking Jimmy, admitting defeat. "I have things to do."
Calming himself down, Johnny nodded his head, "Yeah sure. I owe you one…You helped me out today."
With that, Johnny whistled to his Greasers and the three of them headed back into New Coventry, whilst Chantelle turned in the opposite direction back towards Bullworth Academy, her mind buzzing.
