Updated 12/31/2018
Johnny looked at his watch, rolling his eyes at how slow time seemed to be passing as he and five other idiots were crammed into a tiny caravan, feeling every rock and stick they hit along the way to the train station. He sighed, leaning his head back against the wooden wall, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Damn hangover. Damn alcohol.
"You wouldn't be so miserable if you would lay off the whisky," the blonde woman — what was her name, what was her name? — said, her voice as ever piercing and annoying as usual. He raised a brow,
"I wouldn't be so miserable if you weren't always such a pain in the ass," Johnny replied, smirking as her face turned a vicious shade of red. "Nadi, you never told me you ran around with such a — what's the word I'm looking for? Pretentious? Arrogant? Demanding? Little girl."
Nadi crossed his arms over his chest, staring out the window behind his friend's head. "She has a point, you know. You've been on a bender for the past few weeks. It's time to slow down," he said.
Minori coughed into her shoulder at the gardener's comments, hiding her growing grin. "Don't pretend like he knows the meaning of 'slowing down.' He's drunk like this since we started college — personally, I blame it on that pretty boy Wayne and his syrupy sweet southern drawl Johnny likes to imitate," Minori chuckled to herself, shaking her head and trying not to notice the exasperated groans from Raeger.
"Guys, please, I don't think this is the time or place for an intervention," the chef said, pleading with the four of them to stop bickering. "I know our situation isn't ideal —"
"Ideal? Raeger, my mother is trying to throw Nadi and I in jail to cover for my murderous, lying bastard of a brother. Nothing about this is ideal," Elise interjected, her fierce green eyes narrowing as she turned her head to level with the chef.
"Ooo, a lovers quarrel," Johnny wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, cackling as the blonde swiftly punched him in the arm.
"Stop egging her on, honestly Johnny, grow up!" Minori seethed, grinding her teeth, "All you've done since we've gotten into this caravan is cause a problem where there doesn't need to be one. Goddess, were you really this much of a child three years ago?"
"You'd like to know, wouldn't you? Too bad you opted out of that!"
"Why are you here? These are my friends you're messing with," Minori spat, "Don't you dare think me coming on this trip means I'm going near any hospital with you!"
"Oh, your friends, huh? Nevermind that Nadi is my best friend — never-mind that he was the best man at our wedding!" Johnny snapped, "You really are so selfish you can't see reality for what it is." He shook his head, "I'm here to support my friend — not everything is about you."
"Enough!" Raeger growled, "That's enough, both of you. Actually, no, all four of you! If you don't stop with the petty arguing, so help me goddess I will turn this caravan around and then you'll all be sorry when Nadi and Elise are arrested for failure to appear!" Johnny raised his hands in defense,
"Fine, fine, I'll stop," he said, rolling his eyes as he returned the back of his head to the wall.
Elise sighed and threaded her arm through Raeger's. "I'd lose my damn mind if you weren't here to make sure everyone was on their best behavior," she whispered in his ear, earning a small smile from the chef.
"I'm just praying to the goddess that we're almost to the station," he whispered back, chuckling under his breath as he ran a hand through his copper locks. It seemed, as time passed, the chef continued to take on more of a parenting role than that of a friend. He couldn't deny the fact that he was one of the only people making sure Minori and Johnny weren't at each other's throats, making sure Fritz wasn't losing his damn mind about the double-identity crisis, and making sure Elise wasn't going to end up being murdered by some common goons hired by her crazy brother. He was sleeping less, probably losing hair due to stress, and unfortunately putting his girlfriend on the back burner while he tried to hold everyone together.
And yet … he wouldn't have it any other way. While there seemed to be a new crisis brewing around every corner, everyone, himself included, had seemed to be different. Different in a good way. The chef could still picture the weeks before the accident, when Minori would spend hours at the bar laughing and joking around with Fritz, who followed after like a lost puppy. And, in the evenings, Elise would arrive to have a few drinks with the brunette and belittle the other redheaded farmer as a form of entertainment, resulting in Raeger losing his temper.
Now, things were different. Fritz didn't follow Minori around like a lost puppy and they didn't pull as many pranks as they used to. Elise traded in her bad attitude and Minori was coming to terms with the terrible things she'd done.
"We still have a decently long train ride after … at least it won't be as cramped," Elise said, shifting in her seat to look out the window behind her head. She watched as they passed trees upon trees and ponds surrounded by flowers in the distance. "And, more comfortable seats …" she trailed off, just as Fritz snored loudly from his seat on the edge of the bench, head resting in the crook of Nadi's neck.
"Ah, apparently the seats aren't as uncomfortable to some as they are to others," Raeger snickered, keeping his voice low as to not disturb the sleeping beauty across from them. "How he managed to sleep through that five minute debacle escapes me." Elise stifled a laugh, hiding her face behind the palm of her hand,
"At least no one's thrown any punches," she said, shrugged her shoulders, unable to rid herself of the goofy grin on her face. "To be honest, Fritz could probably pass out anywhere anytime and it'd take a little more than Johnny and Minori screaming at each other from across the caravan to wake him."
"One time he passed out right in front of the restaurant. I had no idea what to do or how to move him …" Raeger smiled up at the ceiling, "I made some food and brought it outside for him. The smell alone was enough to wake him from his slumber."
"Are you sure he passed out from being tired and not from being able to afford anything to eat?" Elise asked, worry in her eyes. Raeger bit his lip — he had meant to keep that part of the story to himself.
"Don't worry, Fritz always has good friends who make sure he keeps a nutritional diet. Between Minori and I, Fritz has never gone too hungry," Raeger explained, carefully eyeing the others in the caravan who seemed to be engrossed in a new conversation and not paying any attention.
"I-I never knew. Well, I guess I did. But I … Never took any of it so seriously. Not until we started hanging out more, that is," Elise blushed, staring at her feet. "I'm sorry I've been such a pill these past few years."
Raeger snorted, "A pill? More like a royal pain in the ass," he laughed, patting the top of her head. "Don't worry, we've put all of that behind us. Everyone grows up sometime. Let's just hope that the next few people to grow up are in this very caravan."
"I think we're almost there," Elise nodded. "Metaphorically, and … physically. I think that's the train station we're approaching."
"Thank the goddess," Raeger said as he stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "Guys, we're here."
Nadi shook his shoulder, waking Fritz from his nap.
"W-what's going on? What did I miss?" the redheaded farmer asked, rubbing his eyes as he held back a yawn.
"Oh, man, you missed this really cool thing that we saw outside running along the caravan!" Johnny said, smirking as Fritz's brown eyes widened in surprise,
"Really?" he asked, whipping his head towards the window in excitement, "What was it?"
"He's messing with you," Minori said, not making any attempts to hide the annoyance in her voice as she grabbed Fritz' arm and pulled him up out of his seat. "C'mon, you're sitting next to me on the train."
Fritz' shoulders dropped as he slunk out of the caravan, following after her with a slight pout on his face. Shaking his head, Nadi followed closely after them. Even though the two of them had just made up that morning, it seemed as Fritz and Minori were back to being best friends again. Nadi had almost forgotten what they were like when they weren't fighting or constantly on edge, and he had to admit that it was a relief to see them talking to each other again.
"Guess you're stuck with me, huh?" Johnny laughed, clapping his hand on Nadi's shoulder as they stepped outside, stretching their limbs. "The two couples can go have their fun. The bachelors here have to stick together."
Nadi raised a brow, "What are you talking about?" he asked curiously, slowing his pace as the rest of the group sped into the station to board the train they were surly late for.
"Nothing, nothing," Johnny said, "C'mon, it looks like everyone's trying to leave us out here in the dust." Nadi paused as Johnny stumbled slightly forward before catching himself and making his way into the train station. Was it true what Minori had said earlier? Had Johnny always behaved in such a way? Nadi couldn't remember the last time the two of them had hung out before the gardener skipped town a few days before the wedding without leaving much more than a letter in the mail.
Those college days, the ones where Nadi, Johnny, Wayne and Ford seemed like they were just yesterday, and yet it had been nearly four years since the last time they were all together. Probably for the best, Nadi decided, remember the trouble they used to get into. Usually it was due to some kind of antic planned out by Johnny and Wayne, who were like two peas in a pod. Nadi and Ford were the ones to keep them all reigned in, but they usually got pulled into it all. In fact, Nadi remembered one particular night they were almost arrested for skinny dipping in the lake a few miles away from the university. Johnny and Wayne had convinced everyone that it would be a great idea, something funny to talk about, and besides, the summer heat was brutal, even in the evening. So Nadi and Ford foolishly agreed to the plan.
They almost got away with it, and would've if Johnny and Wayne didn't get absolutely plastered while they were out there. Underaged drinking. Skinny dipping. It was the college thing to do, but the authorities weren't to excited about it, and the four of them barely made it out of the lake with half their clothes on in time to hide from the cops. Apparently, some elderly lady didn't like all of the commotion happening in her backyard. Figures.
But, that was before Johnny was engaged to Minori. Nadi had thought, or maybe he pretended, that his friend had grown up for awhile after that. He began taking his studies more seriously and wasn't getting totally drunk every single night like he used to. Wayne grew up a little, too. He stopped flirting with girls so much and him and Ford got a lot closer after that. The two of them even ended up moving to the same small town after graduation – Ford as the local doctor and Wayne as the … what was he again? A mailman. A true calling for a pretty boy like him. But, the point was that Nadi had thought they were all growing up and out of the university together.
But, maybe he was wrong. Maybe Nadi didn't see Johnny's immaturity they way he could now, or maybe the doctor had regressed. Whatever it was, the gardener knew it wasn't good. Drinking as much as he was now, going on a bender, it wasn't the Johnny he knew. Or was it? Could Nadi have been the only one who had truly grown up since then?
Nadi shrugged his shoulders and followed after him, pushing his concerns of his friend's mental well being and boarded the train with the others. Like Johnny had predicted, the gardener took the seat next to him, and settled in for what was chalking up to be an extremely long ride.
…
The smell of something burning wafted through the air, assaulting Nadi's nostrils as he slowly opened his eyes. Head pounding, the silver-haired man pushed himself up from where he had passed out on the floor the night before, hand barely missing the still open box of pizza. Goddess. He looked around, squinting through the dark, smoky room. What happened. Nadi stood up, legs wobbling as he took his first few steps, reaching for the wall, the window sill, the table – anything to catch his balance. It seemed as if he wasn't going to get very far, not with his legs acting like they were broken and his head spinning like he had just gotten off the teacup ride at the carnival.
Plastic, red cups were scattered across the apartment, some half filled, some filled to the brim, and others discarded and crushed in a pile. Some had lipstick stains around the brim — various shades of red and pink smeared from sloppy drinking. Others had cigarettes floating in the mysterious liquids that still filled them, giving the air a stale, smokey scent that made Nadi want to vomit. Just as he was beginning to put the pieces of the night before back together, the smoke alarm started going off.
"Shit," Nadi winced, glancing around the room for the source of the smoke. Gagging, he moved around the apartment until landing in the living room, where Johnny was passed out upright on the couch, a half-lit cigarette burning in his hand that dangerously close to catching something on fire. "Goddess, Johnny," Nadi groaned, taking the cigarette from his friends hand and dropping it in the cup of beer on the coffee table. "Get up. You set the smoke alarm off."
Johnny furrowed his brow, refusing to open his eyes, "Push the button, then."
"No."
"Nadiiiiiiiiii," Johnny whined. "It's so easy — you just press the little button and it stops."
"I'm not the one who set it off because I fell asleep while smoking," Nadi shook his head and nudged Johnny's leg with his foot. "You stupid idiot, get up and take care of the mess you made." Johnny whimpered and opened his eyes.
"You mean the mess we made," Johnny grumbled. "Fine, I'll turn off the alarm," he said, rubbing his eyes and stood up, grabbing a wooden chair to climb on and turn off the alarm. "You do realize you're walking around in just your boxers," the blonde teased, eyeing Nadi mischievously from across the room. "Who was the lucky woman?"
Nadi rolled his eyes, waving off his roommates ridiculous comments. "Her name was Captain Morgan and she tasted great with a glass of cola. At least I didn't fall asleep in my clothes," he chuckled, running a hand through his shoulder length hair before turning his back to Johnny and looking out the window. "Did you … Did you leave and then come back in through the window?!"
Johnny froze, hand still reaching upwards to turn off the fire alarm, "Not that I remember …" he said, raising a brow and finally pressing the damn button for the fire alarm. "Why do you ask?"
"Because it looks like you jimmied the window open with a damn crowbar, that's why," Nadi groaned, shaking his head as he surveyed the yard. "Goddess, our yard is wrecked. There's toilet paper strewn everywhere and — what the hell? My landscaping looks like someone drove a car through it!" Johnny stumbled back as he hopped off the wooden chair, grasping for something to catch his balance.
"Woah, I'm a little more hungover than I thought," he murmured, inhaling deeply and placing his hands on his knees to keep himself steady. "What do you mean it 'looks like someone drove through' your landscaping?" Johnny stood up and returned to the window to see for himself what Nadi was talking about. And, surely enough, there were tire tracks through the landscaping Nadi had done a few weeks after they had moved into the rental house to "spruce" things up and make them not seem like a bunch of "reckless, messy college kids."
"Johnny," Nadi said quietly, eyes squinting through the sunlight. "Is that your car in our yard?" Johnny peered over Nadi's shoulder, looking towards where his friend was pointing.
"Ah, it appears that is the case."
"Did you … Did you leave the house, drive somewhere drunk and then crash your car into that tree and use the crowbar to get back in?" Nadi asked, his voice dangerously lower than usual. Johnny swallowed the lump in his throat, mouth running dry.
"W-well, you see, I don't remember?" He laughed, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck as he took a few steps back. Nadi pinched the bridge of his nose,
"Look, I know you really like this girl or whatever and she's, like, not into it, but that doesn't mean you can act so recklessly!" Nadi chastised, shaking his head in annoyance. "And Wayne's not helping the situation out much."
"Oh, c'mon, Wayne's our friend," Johnny pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I didn't do this because of Annie, I did it because it was fun."
"Driving while drunk isn't fun, it's stupid. Don't be such an idiot, I know you're smarter than that," Nadi said, sighing as he bent over to pick up a crushed, red plastic cup from the floor. "Look at this mess … it house smells like a bar in here." Johnny chuckled and bent down to pick up a few more cups that had been knocked off the window sill,
"Ah, well at least the party was a success," Johnny smiled, nudging Nadi in the arm. "I saw you and Ford talking to a few cute ladies last night."
"Was that before or after you and Wayne kicked our asses in beer pong and I had to chug all the beer because Ford refused to help?" Nadi asked, rolling his eyes as a slight smirk worked its way onto his lips. "I think Ford left pretty early last night, actually."
Johnny shrugged his shoulders as the two of them continued picking up cups and other various forms of trash around their house. "I dunno, I lost track of Wayne pretty early on."
"Probably because you skipped out and went on a drive somewhere," Nadi joked just as they heard a groaning coming from the kitchen. Johnny locked eyes with Nadi, raising a curious brow, "The hell?" The pair scurried into the kitchen to find the source of the noise only to find Wayne passed out on the kitchen floor, groaning next to the trash can.
"Goddess, Wayne, are you still alive?" Johnny asked a little too loudly, causing Wayne to groan even more and clamp his hands over his ears. "You okay buddy?"
"I need water," Wayne groaned, "and maybe some bread." Johnny laughed, shaking his head,
"Fresh out of bread, but I can get you some water."
"I thought everyone went home," Nadi said, glancing around the kitchen, which looked like a tornado had passed through. "People really aren't considerate at parties, are they?"
"Of course not, it's a party," Wayne grumbled, sitting up slowly as Johnny handed him a glass of lukewarm water. "So, Johnny, have you heard anything from Annie since last night?" Wayne asked after taking a small sip and cringing. Johnny paled, glancing between Nadi and Wayne, who was still sitting on their kitchen floor.
"What do you mean? Did I talk to her last night?" He asked, his voice rising with panic. Wayne smirked, holding back a laugh,
"Oh, you don't remember," Wayne said, looking up at Nadi for support. "Looks like we all made a few mistakes last night, but the real winner has to be Johnny." Nadi bit his tongue, holding back a few choice words he could say and chose to hold out his hand instead, helping Wayne up.
"C'mon Wayne, tell me what I did," Johnny whined.
"It's more like: what didn't you do. I'd be surprised if that girl ever decides to talk to you again after everything you said," Wayne shook his head, feigning sympathy. "You should be ashamed."
"Goddess, Wayne, don't mess around with me! Just tell me what I said to her!" Johnny pled, his blue eyes filled with worry. Wayne laughed, taking pity on the poor kid and ruffled his shaggy, blond hair.
"Relax, I'm just messing around. All you did is call her and tell her how much you miss her," Wayne shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not a big deal, I mean, doesn't she already knows how you feel?"
Johnny shook his head, "Not exactly … I haven't — She's been one of my best friends since childhood. I don't want to lose her."
"Well, you never know unless you try," Wayne tossed his head back, smiling up at the ceiling. "Boys, I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting year." Nadi nodded his head in agreement — it already seemed as if things were starting to kick into gear, and he was worried about the absolute disasters the three of them would be causing in the near future.
…
Nadi opened his eyes as the train sped over a bump, jerking him awake. It was just a dream, huh, he thought to himself, glancing out the window. I wonder how long I've been asleep…
"Ah, sleeping beauty has finally awaken, huh?" Johnny teased, nudging Nadi's arm. "Did you have a good dream? You were smiling." Nadi blushed, shying away from his friend.
"It was fine," he said. "Where are we?"
"Somewhere out in the boonies," Johnny shrugged. "Hey, when we get back to the city, and we get this thing sorted out, do you want to get everyone back together for a bit? Go to the bars, eat some food … It will be just like the old times." Johnny nodded to himself, staring out past Nadi and watching the trees fly by the window. "I could use some guy time."
Nadi smiled, "I think that would be fun." Just like old times. "Have you heard from Wayne or Ford recently?" Johnny nodded his head,
"Sometimes I visit them when I have a few days off just to get out of the city. You know, I kind of see why you like Oak Tree Town so much. It really has character … It's really open and accepting," Johnny sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sometimes I forget how noisy the city is until I go somewhere like Oak Tree Town. Mineral City is great, but it can feel suffocating at times. The streets are always crowded, my office is always packed. There's so many people that at times I don't know what to do. So, I drink. Or I go visit Wayne and Ford."
"You know, you really shouldn't drink so much. It's not healthy," Nadi said, his tone softening. How could he have forgotten what it was like to talk to his best friend? Why did he allow himself to shut all of his friends out for so long? "Not like I know anything about what's healthy and what's not. I've let myself shut everyone out … You, Wayne, and Ford. I haven't talked to any of you in so long."
"Nadi, I know you left because of what happened with your parents, but why did you never come back? We were all supposed to graduate together and I … I needed you," Johnny shook his head. "Goddess, we sound like a bunch of kids in a soap opera. Listen, when you beat this, and I know you will because this is the most asinine court case I've heard about in years, promise you'll still visit me."
"Are you not coming back to Oak Tree Town with us?"
"Annie doesn't want to go through with the operation in the city," Johnny explained. "If she won't come to my office in Mineral City, then there's really nothing I can do for her." Nadi frowned, heat rising in his face.
"Why won't she go through with it? What is she thinking?" He asked, confused and angry. Johnny rolled his eyes, patting his friend on the shoulder.
"Hey, relax. It's just who she is. She's stubborn, I thought you knew that about her? Goddess, I used to talk about her all the time. But, anyways, there's nothing I can do if she's being irrational," Johnny explained, studying Nadi's face curiously. "I can see that you're unhappy. I didn't mean to cause a riff between the two of you, especially since you seem to be getting along well enough. I mean, that's all I ever wanted when we were in college was for you guys to be friends."
Nadi glanced up at him, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"What? You don't remember? You two practically hated each other's guts. Something about you and Wayne being a bad influence on me and you hated that she always 'toyed with my heart,'" Johnny chuckled. "It was such a stupid feud, but the two of you could barely stand to be in the same room as each other. I thought you'd get along quite well after I introduced you guys that summer, but after the car crashing incident and I called her about a hundred times, she never trusted you guys again. Said you were making me into a raging alcoholic."
"You introduced us?" Nadi asked, unable to hide the surprised tone in his voice. Johnny raised a brow,
"Of course I did. I wanted you guys to be friends."
"I don't remember … I don't remember much about that," Nadi said quietly, rubbing his chin.
"Well, I might've exaggerated a little. The hatred was mostly one sided — as in, Annie couldn't stand to be around you guys and you couldn't've cared less," Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "Strange that you don't remember anything about it. I always thought it was a little odd that she managed to fool you, my best friend, with her fake name. It must be those eyes — ah, who am I kidding? It's always the eyes. Don't tell me she managed to make you fall for her too?"
Nadi's eyes widened in panic as his heart began to race, "W-what are you talking about?" He asked, trying to act as calm and as normal as possible. Does he know? Does he know I stayed at Minori's instead of Fritz' house? Does he know that it's happened more than once?
Johnny cackled, smacking Nadi on the arm, "Kidding, kidding. Jeez, don't act so … nervous. I know you would never do anything like that to me." Nadi nodded his head. Yes, of course. Johnny was his best friend and he would never ever under any circumstance ever do anything like that to him. Of course, of course. "But, uh, can you tell me what the deal between her and Fritz is? He follows her around like a lost puppy and totally freaked out when he saw us kissing the other day. Are they dating?"
Kissing? Nadi felt his heart drop into his stomach. What is he talking about?
"You guys were kissing?" Nadi asked, trying to hide the sudden disappointment he felt. Goddess, why am I acting like this? This is my best friend and his ex-fiance we're talking about, but why do I feel so … weird? What is this feeling? "I thought you hated her."
Johnny frowned slightly, "It's not that simple — you of all people should know that. She's my childhood best friend and I was in love with her. Of course there are going to be dormant feelings popping up. Stuff that I thought I had moved past years ago. Same goes for her."
Right, right. I'm being … stupid. Nadi cleared his throat, "Erm, yeah, of course. I understand, sorry I didn't mean to sound so surprised. A-anyways, Fritz is one of Minori's best friends. I guess he had a really huge crush on her, but for a number of reasons she doesn't feel the same way."
Johnny nodded his head, "Interesting, interesting. What about Raeger? What's his deal?"
"What do you mean? Raeger has a girlfriend and I've … I've never heard anything about there being anything more between Raeger and Minori."
Johnny laughed, "Oh, shit, no, no, of course. I don't mean him and Minori, although I do question his motives at times. He seems quite fond of her, and I had suspicions in the beginning, but now it seems like more of a brotherly kind of thing. I'm talking about his deal with Elise," Johnny explained, unable to keep a straight face. "Raeger isn't really Minori's type anyways."
Nadi looked up at him, smiling curiously. "You called her Minori," he said, cocking his head to the side. "Twice." Johnny felt his face flush,
"The name is rubbing off on me. Besides, it's hard when all of you also call Annie by that name," He stuck out his tongue playfully. "So, there's nothing going on between Raeger and Annie, but what about him and Elise? They seem close."
"Raeger has a girlfriend, but he does a lot for Elise. I've picked up that they became really close after Minori's accident last Fall," Nadi said, curious to know himself. He was never under the impression that there was something more going on between Elise and Raeger, but he had to admit that they were close, and Raeger did seem to spend more time with her than his own girlfriend, which was interesting enough. "Ah, listen to us gossiping like a couple of hens."
Johnny laughed, "Okay, okay, I'll lay off on the gossip. I'm just curious about these new people you're hanging around. They seem … nice."
Nadi smiled just as the train lurched to a stop, "They really are."
"Hey, you two, let's go! We don't have all day. My sister and her fiancé are outside waiting to take us to the court house. Let's go!" Elise commanded, practically sprinting past Nadi and Johnny's seats. Nadi glanced at Johnny, locking eyes just as the burst into a fit of laughter at the girl. "What's so funny? C'mon, Nadi, we have to go or we're going to be in a lot of trouble."
Johnny stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "After you, good sir," he said, letting Nadi pass by him. Nadi brushed passed him and made his way out to the platform where Abigail and their lawyer were waiting.
"Nadi, Elise, it's been too long," Abigail smiled sweetly, dropping her pink briefcase on the ground as pulled them in for a tight hug. "I was worried you were going to be late, but it's a good thing that these trains are as fast as they are. Thank the goddess for this ever changing technology," the woman sighed contently, taking a step back to survey the group.
"I'm just happy we made it all in one piece," Raeger joked, running a hand through his hair.
"Oh, Rae, you shouldn't say things like that," Abigail giggled. "Ah, it looks like you have a new friend tagging along. Johnny? Is that you? I haven't seen you since college." Johnny nodded his head,
"Abigail," he said curtly, "Gray. Didn't think I'd be seeing a Montgomery so soon. Isn't Mineral City supposed to be, you know, a city? Thousands of people and yet, somehow, we still manage to run into each other. How quaint." Minori smack his arm hard enough to leave a bruise,
"Johnny, you absolute shit! Don't talk to Elise's sister like that!" She growled, "Can't you put your stupid family feud behind you for once?"
"What? This is Elise's sister? I thought I was talking to a witch. Huh, well I guess I'm not surprised that you're the ones who got Nadi into this mess, then," Johnny shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Really, Elise, you should've told me you were a Montgomery."
"And let me guess, you're a Blackmore. Should've guessed seeing as how you drink like a fish and smoke like a chimney. No wonder we don't get along," Elise shot back. "Listen, I don't want a full on family feud right here in the train station right before our court appearance. Please, just behave yourself."
"Don't even try with him, Elise. They're all the same," Abigail scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder,
"Abigail, Elise, this is neither the time nor the place," the man, Grey apparently, said. "Johnny, it's good to see you again."
"You too. I'd ask how Mary is, but seeing as how you broke her heart, I won't bring it up," Johnny said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Good to see that you're all doing well."
"I wouldn't say we're doing well," Abigail rolled her eyes. "Our mother is trying to throw us in prison for goddess's sake, and you're out here trying to start a fight. Anyways, let's get you all changed into something more appropriate for court. Those clothes are … atrocious. C'mon, we're due at the Courthouse in two hours. Might as well make the most out of the time we have and prepare for the long, uphill battle ahead of us."
Hey everyone! I'm back for a quick update. Sorry it's been so long, this year has been really crazy for me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Hopefully there will be another one soon, but I don't want to make any promises. My schedule is very tight, and I just now was able to find the time to churn this out. That being said, thank you so much for sticking with me for this long. I know I make a lot of grammatical errors (I often type while I'm super tired and no matter how many grammar checking websites, spell check, etc. I use, I never catch everything). Your comments mean everything to me and help keep me motivated! Let me know what you think about this chapter detailing Nadi and Johnny's friendship (I felt like it needed fleshed out a little more). Everyone in this story can be super immature at times, but growing up is half of the fun of figuring everything out. Maybe someday Johnny will grow up, what do you think?
Anyways, this was titled after a song that I feel Johnny would identify with (especially in his college days). Everyone was a mess back then, and maybe they are a little messy now, but there's still hope! This was super fun for me to write. I love writing about silly college antics.
