Chapter Thirty-Eight
Thomas patted John on the back, raising an eyebrow to him as they left the house. "be back by ten, and no fooling around." He warned, laughing at the hurt that John faked.
"Sir, I'm shocked that you would think such a thing of me." He smirked, opening the car door for Claire before jogging around to the other side of the vehicle. "Don't worry Tom. I'll keep her safe."
John plugged his guitar into the amp that the school had supplied for him, testing the volume as the first few couples entered the gym. He loosened his fingers up, hoping to shake out some of his nerves. God, he needed a drink. He watched as Claire nibbled on a cookie at the snack table, shaking his head as she dropped a crumb into her cleavage and attempted to dig it out without anyone noticing. He helped her out by starting into the first song of the night, strumming a loud chord to distract the growing crowd of teens. "Whose ready to rock?" He asked, leaning into the mic, and smiling at the cheer that erupted from most of the crowd. He didn't miss the queen of the Bitch Squad flipping him off though. "Alright!" He launched into the lyrics of one of his favorite songs of all time. "It was late at night on the open road,
Speeding like a man on the run," He shook the memory of he and Sid, sitting in an ally and listening to the song for the first time, out of his head, "A lifetime spent preparing for the journey; He is closer now and the search is on, Reading from a map in the mind, Yes there's the ragged hill, And there's the boat on the river. And when the rain came down, He heard a wild dog howl,There were voices in the night, "Don't do it!" Voices out of sight, "Don't do it! Too many men have failed before, Whatever you do," He took a short breath, preparing for the next verse. "Don't pay the ferryman, Don't even fix a price, Don't pay the ferryman, Until he gets you to the other side" In the rolling mist, then he gets on board, Now there'll be no turning back, Beware that hooded old man at the rudder, And then the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared, And people calling out his name ,And dancing bones that jabbered and a-moaned On the water." He licked his lips, wetting them for the end. "And then the ferryman said, "There is trouble ahead, So you must pay me now, " "Don't do it!" "You must pay me now, " "Don't do it!" And still that voice came from beyond, "Whatever you do, don't pay the ferryman, Don't even fix a price, Don't pay the ferryman, Until he gets you to the other side." He looked over the crowd, catching the eye of Vernon, a surprised look on the older man's face as he nodded at John's talent.
"Alright, next up, is an oldy but a goodie." He strummed the opening, leaning into the mic. "Jesus Left Chicago." With that he started into the lyrics, noticing Claire move toward him.
She jumped on stage, starting to sway and dance to his music, beckoning him to do the same.
He smiled, matching her movements with his own while playing every chord correctly. "Took a jump through Mississippi Well, muddy water turned to wine Took a jump through Mississippi Muddy water turned to wine Yeah, yeah Then out to California through the forests and the pines Ah, take me with you, Jesus." He started the guitar solo, jumping into a full dance with Claire. He even got a little moonwalk in there before he had to get back to the mic.
John tipped a glass of water to his lips, sipping on the drink that Claire had brought him when she'd noticed that his voice was getting rough. "Alright, this next song is supposed to be a duet, but it's just me tonight." He picked up his acoustic guitar, playing a couple strings before the first lyrics left his throat. "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout, We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went out. I'm goin' to Jackson, I'm gonna mess around, Yeah, I'm goin' to Jackson, Look out Jackson town." He heard something move to his left, turning to see his girl with the extra mic in her delicate hand.
She smiled, her voice like a breath of spring air, as she sang the lyrics into the microphone. "Well, go on down to Jackson; go ahead and wreck your health. Go play your hand you big-talkin' man, make a big fool of yourself. Yeah, go to Jackson; go comb your hair!"
John jumped in with his vocals. "Honey, I'm gonna snowball Jackson."
She finished her verse. "See if I care."
He smirked, playing another round of chords, before he started the next verse. "When I breeze into that city, people gonna stoop and bow."
Without missing a beat, Claire hit the backup vocals for him. "Hah!"
John attempted to ignore her, but couldn't hide his smile. "All them women gonna make me, teach 'em what they don't know how, I'm goin' to Jackson, you turn-a loose-a my coat. 'Cause I'm goin' to Jackson.
""Goodbye, " that's all she wrote." Claire piped in.
The crowd all started to dance, as Claire and John's voices melted together. John's grit and gravel mixing with the airy tones of Claire's vocals and the twang of the old beat-up guitar.
He took another sip of water, leaning over to Claire. "You got some pipes there, Cherry." He grinned, wiping a little bit of sweat from his brow. "You're not too bad, June." He smirked, knowing the comment that would come next.
"Not bad yourself Mr. Cash." She giggled, watching as most of the students started to file out of the prom their curfews coming to an end.
John started to pack his stuff up, taking the cup of punch that Brian handed him.
"That was great!" Brian congratulated, patting John on the back. "I didn't know you could sing Claire."
She shrugged, watching John down the punch in one go after taking a sip. "I guess I never really thought about it."
John looked down at the bowl of punch on the snack table, knowing that familiar taste in the drink. His mind told him to get more, to get that buzz he'd missed for so long, but the part of his brain that had gotten him sober in the first place told him to ignore the craving. He went back and forth for a moment, before standing to take his stuff to the car. "I'll be back in a minute." He smiled, kissing Claire as he started for the door, passing the punch bowl to get another drink.
vodka. That's what it was. It wasn't the cheap shit either, this was the high-quality stuff. The kind that only one-person John knew could get. He slipped his stuff into the back of Claire's car, then headed for 'the spot' a little strip of pavement that no one dared to go because it was 'burner territory.' "Luke." He called out to his old friend following the scent of booze and pot. "What's up man?"
The blond looked up at him, smiling when he recognized his old smoking buddy. "Hey, it's Johnny!" He clapped him on the back as John took a seat on the curb. "Wanna hit man?" He asked, offering him a half smoked joint.
John shook his head, though he was craving anything he could get a buzz off of. "Nah. Just give me a drink." He reached for the bottle, tipping it to his lips and downing several large mouthfuls before coming up for air. The alcohol stung his throat, but he could already feel his stress melting away. "Damn man." He pounded a fist to his chest as the burning faded. "That's the good shit." He chuckled handing the bottle back to Luke.
Luke nodded, taking another swig before handing it back to John. "Thought you got clean." He slurred.
"I was." John downed another huge mouthful, the drink starting to take effect on him already. "Just needed a couple drinks." He stood, hearing the rest of the Breakfast Club shouting for him. "Thanks man." He nodded, his feet becoming clumsy as he ran toward his friends. "Over here guys!" He waved to his friends, starting to trip over his own feet and stumbling right into Andy and Allison.
Andy righted his friend, sniffing as the scent of booze escaped Bender with each breath he took. "He's hammered." He turned to Claire, moving to support the taller boy's weight. He turned to Brian, remembering the punch he'd given John. "Did you try the punch before you gave it to him?"
John started toward the car, waving a hand when Allison tried to help. "I'm fine." He slurred, nearly taking Andy down when he tripped.
Brian dropped his head, ashamed of what he'd caused. "I didn't know that it had alcohol in it."
Claire nodded, opening the passenger door for John. "Someone must've spiked it."
She whirled when she heard Jessica's voice behind her. "Looks like someone can't stick to something good for very long." She smiled, stepping toward the group. "I'll bet he got high with the burners. Who knows, maybe he even fucked a couple of them."
Claire balled her fists, staring Jessica down. "It was you?" She snapped, stepping toward the queen bitch. "How dare you spike that punch!"
"Now Claire, I wasn't the one to give him the whole bottle." She pointed to Burner Territory. "I only gave it to that poor slob over there." She pointed to John. "He's the one who went looking for more."
Claire snapped, throwing a wild punch at her, hitting her cheek with such force that one of her acrylic nails broke. "You knew that would happen!" She screamed, hiding her bleeding nail. "You're a fucking bitch!"
Jessica held her cheek, a thin line of blood trickling from her face. "You're a stupid whore!" She screamed, eliciting a small reaction from John.
"Don't call my baby a whore." He slurred as Claire slipped into the driver's seat.
"Shut up, John." She hissed, letting Andy close Bender's door before taking off for home.