Author's Notes; Short but sweet! I wanted a quick chapter to keep you guys engaged. I know a few of you wanted some closure with Chantelle and Johnny so here you go!
Chapter 45 – Honest Truth
"Oh, Chantelle…"
Chantelle had no idea how long she had been standing outside the hospital for, completely lost in her own thoughts when someone disturbed her. She blinked several times as she came out of her reverie, and was quite astonished that the Sun had begun to set in the sky, casting Bullworth town in a deep orange glow that was almost enchanting.
"Hey you alright?"
Realising that she hadn't just imagined a voice saying her name, she turned her head in the direction of the sound and saw Johnny Vincent leaning against the wall of the hospital, cigarette hanging lopsidedly out of his mouth. Chantelle hadn't seen the Greaser leader since he had screwed with her and had been doing her best to avoid him; she had steered away from their usual hangout and had not attended any shop classes and unless she was with Christy, she hadn't been down old town either.
Johnny took a deep drag of his cigarette before flicking it unceremoniously into the drain, straightening up and taking a few hesitant steps towards her.
"What are you doing here Johnny?" Chantelle asked, her voice was flat and void of emotion, but the disgruntled expression on her face gave everything away.
"Waiting on Ricky…Heard what happened to Christy and he was pretty shook up. Wanted to give him some…Uh, what's the word? Uh…Model support?"
"Moral support…Which is surprising considering you don't have any." Christy interjected, glaring at the Greaser as he fiddled with his excessively gelled quiff. "I think maybe you should carry on waiting for Ricky quietly and leave me alone."
"Come on Chantelle…" Johnny started but Chantelle cut straight across him.
"No Johnny. You don't get to act like nothing happened when you cheated on me with that leather-clad slut that you constantly slagged off. You tried to sleep with me and when you didn't get your way you went crawling back to her on your hands and knees. The fact that you're standing there in front of me trying to act like nothing happened shows how completely deluded and fucked up you are!"
The Greaser looked completely astonished at her outburst and stared open-mouthed as the blonde continued with her tirade, "Sex might not be a massive deal to you and Lola who's probably had half the damn town but to me, it is! You made me feel like I wasn't fucking good enough because I didn't open my legs to you. I was stupid enough to actually believe that you liked me, I was stupid enough to start to fall for you..."
Chantelle trailed off and shook her head, not really understanding herself why she was even giving him any attention. She had already established that he wasn't worth it, not after giving her any kind of closure, regardless of the threats from Jimmy. But after everything that had happened over the past few weeks, the pent up rage and hatred she had felt for him had come bubbling over the top. Maybe she was spending too much time with Christy considering she was starting to get her short fuse and anger problems.
"I wanted to tell ya Chantelle but Jimmy…Jimmy took over as our boss and told me to keep away from you. He threatened me and my boys and I wasn't looking for no more beatin's. That night with Lola…I was drinkin' after you left and shit I drank a damn lot. She came to the Tenements lookin' for me, actin' like nothin' had changed between us. Damn it Chantelle I was blind drunk I thought it was you."
Derisive laughter burst from Chantelle at his answer, completely disbelieving his explanation. If that was honestly Johnny's best excuse, even after all this time, then he really was completely delusional. Maybe he should have stayed at Happy Volts Asylum after all…
"Lola didn't talk to me for some time after that night Chantelle." Johnny started, his cheeks flushing as he averted her gaze and absently scratched his head just for something to do with his hands. Chantelle's eyes narrowed as she watched his reaction; something about his body language and the way he was holding himself made her feel like this wasn't actually a lie.
"When…When stuff started to happen it was your name I called out…" He breathed, his voice barely even audible. "The slap I got brought me round and…I told her to get her damn things and leave. Jimmy must'a seen her leavin' looking all trampy…" The Greaser broke off and shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing what else to do.
Chantelle continued watching him closely, realising how different his attitude and demeanour was compared to all the other times she had seen and spoke to him.
"Even if it was true…It's too late now." Chantelle sighed, crossing her arms across her chest and shifting her gaze away from him. "You're back with Lola and I'm happier not being in the middle of that circus. That bitch could have killed me if Christy and Pinky didn't intervene and honestly...I'm not really sure that I can forget what you did to me, even with your explanations. Jimmy threatened you and what? You still had plenty of opportunities to speak with me, get Ricky to pass on the message or wait til Jimmy had left the grounds…"
"I'm sorry." Johnny stated flatly, his eyes meeting hers briefly before darting away. "I didn't mean to hurt you…" He opened his mouth once more to say something, but found that he had nothing else to say so he turned away and walked rapidly into the hospital to avoid any further confrontation and leaving Chantelle alone once more.
The Sun had fully set now and the fluorescent glow of the streetlamps had flickered on, notifying her that curfew would be in place soon. With a deep breath of the chilly Spring air, Chantelle stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket and began her uneventful journey back to the Academy.
