Lost In Purple
Chapter 42: A Moment Of Weakness
Johnny's POV
I wish all of this praise could continue forever. The amount of people who come to congratulate us every year has always been high, but the amount of people this year has been insane, and I never want it to end. Many of the monsters ask me how I do the things I do, and how I make it look so easy. I just simply give them humble and confident answers that they always seem satisfied with. The only thing that keeps me from basking in my eternal glory for longer, is the thought that the Scaring Scout is around here somewhere. Since this event was such a fast one (literally), I couldn't take the time to figure out where they were and or who they were. Coincidentally, a small monster wearing a vest with Fear Co., Monsters Inc., and Scream Industries patches walks down from the walkway above, carrying a clipboard with an official looking piece of paper on it. He scribbled a couple things down on it with a smile on his face, and strolls right on by without looking at us. I'm assuming we all did good enough for his liking, so I guess that means it's time to go home.
I politely shoo all the monsters around us away, and find all the guys. "Ready to celebrate?" I ask them all.
They all nod in agreement, patting each other on the back. They all deserve it. It's been one of the tougher years, and getting first place in the first event is quite the achievement.
"Is it the usual post-event party?" Chip asks.
"Yep. This time however, I've got a stockpile of Rum and Coke, and Lemon Drops for everyone. So, I think this one will be one to remember," I reply.
All the guys cheer and start trying to rush each other so the festivities can begin. Chet even starts pushing Javier with his beefy claws, prompting each other to start smacking each other like children.
"Alright ALRIGHT!" I scream, "I know you're all excited but if you want to party, you have to get back in one piece."
Javier smacks Chet's hat off his head and struts off towards Chip and Bruiser. Chet lets out a childish 'heeeey' before picking up his hat and crawling away. I proudly follow them to Frat Row, feeling like the most accomplished president on campus. It gives me an immeasurable amount of joy seeing everyone in the fraternity be this pumped after a 'friendly' competition, and I can hardly wait to drink the night away with them.
Although for some reason, I can't figure out why I feel like something is missing. I instantly remember that Melanie isn't here celebrating with us, and I feel incredibly guilty considering we wouldn't be where we are without her support. Somehow I forgot that I was doing the one thing I was excited for: showing Melanie what I can do as a near professional Scarer. I let the guys keep traversing to Frat Row while I turn myself around and keep a look out for the alluring magenta wolf that I love so much. What's weird is that she's one of the first few people that I can't seem to find after just a couple glances. Ever since my sophomore year I've been able to pick out the most complex of details within the darkness, yet I'm struggling to discover her within the small crowd that still occupies the drained sewer.
I take a couple steps back into the fray, seeing many people look at me and talk about me as I search for Melanie. I take note of every person in every group, look behind certain structures, and even take peek back into the obstacle course along with the staircase I told her to travel through. With no luck, I begin to worry. Even though I'm extremely good at hiding it, I can't help but feel it. I consider asking the many people around here if they've seen Melanie but I quickly decide against it after seeing a flash of blue that comes from behind the Scare Games placement board. I think it came from behind the blue leaf tree that's thicker than all the pillars here at MU.
"Mel!" I shout after taking a few quick steps towards the source of the light.
A head reveals itself from behind the tree, and it's most definitely Melanie who's sitting against the trunk. "Huh? Oh…Sorry John," She mumbles.
"What are you doing back here?" I ask while putting my hands on my hips and looking down at her.
"I didn't want to interrupt your, uh, mingling. So, I just found a spot to sit and wait for you. If I'm being honest though, I fell asleep waiting for you," She explains.
I sigh and say, "Sorry, can't leave the fans hanging, you know how it is."
Melanie wipes her eyes and then her nose. "I know. I guess it was lucky that I sneezed, because I don't think you would have found me otherwise."
"Oh that's why there was a flash of blue light that came from back here," I laugh watching her nose twitch. That was such a bright flash that I think everyone else thought it was the flash of a camera or something of that nature, and I'm seriously wondering how she didn't just burn her retinas entirely after that sneeze
She laughs back, her eyes drooping, letting me know that this has been a long day for her. "I guess. I didn't know I could do that, but…yeah."
"You don't have any allergies do you?" I question before grabbing underneath her legs in order to carry her.
"U-um. I-I don't think so," She answers while looking at the few monsters still conversing around here.
I've noticed that she's a little more nervous tonight than she usually is in general. She has been a little on the moodier side since I took to dinner as well, and I can't figure out if it's because of me or if there is something else that's happening. I carry her away from the sewer entrance, and begin heading towards Frat Row with her still in my arms. "I know I've been asking a lot of questions, but is everything alright Mel? You've been acting differently tonight...and I can't say that it's a good different," I ask.
"Oh…yeah," she yawns," I think I'm... tired. Sorry to make you worry."
"I don't think that's the reason Mel," I refute.
"Um…" Melanie grumbles, "I-I know you're going to disagree with me, but I just don't really feel like I can make it as a Scarer."
I don't really have any sort of rebuttal. I truly believe she's capable of being a ROR and I've explained that to her plenty of times. I'm starting to wonder if she's lying or if she's scared of her future.
"Did Chip scare you when he talked about what it takes to be a Scarer earlier tonight?" I question.
"N-no. I just don't know if I can reach the expectations you have for me. In reality, I'm just book-smart. I don't think I can be…well…as amazing as you in real Scaring situations. I don't know, I guess I I'm just having some doubts," Melanie elucidates joylessly.
My body automatically slows down, giving everything some thought. Even after the past couple of months she hasn't found her self worth, but many monsters have that sort of feeling. She is starting to learn more about the more complex parts of Scaring, and it's possible that having her be a part of a fraternity that's majority upper-classmen would make her feel the way she does.
"I get it. Don't tell anyone this, but I felt similar things during my freshman year. I'll do everything I can to get you where you want to be, whether it be after school tutoring or something," I say to soothe her worries. I also can't help but say, "And getting to be your own personal Professor sounds…fun."
Melanie's POV
"Joooohn," I groan in embarrassment.
Him flashing his eyebrows like that can only mean he means that in a flirtatious manner, and I don't think I can handle that right now. This whole afternoon has made me feel so starstruck and all it will take is one more act of love for me to pass out entirely from pulmonary hypotension.
"WhaAaaAt? When will you learn that I'm just messing with you…or am I?," Johnny playfully mocks.
I swing my fists into his face, causing him to sway his head in many different directions in order to dodge my advances. He starts turning his head from left to right, using his horns as a counter attack and making me regret everything I just did. Unbelievable! Even when his guard is down, he can't be touched.
"You think your so tough huh?! You got nothing against against me! Nothing!" He laughs while continuing to make me block.
I can't help but laugh uncontrollably, even after he finally lets me breath and realize that we're already a couple hundred feet away from Frat Row.
"Mel, please trust me when I say that everything will be fine," He whispers while shoving his head into my chest, "I will help you become the greatest Scarer right along side me."
That was the one moment that raises my blood pressure, sending it into overdrive along with my heart rate and breathing rate. Several tears start to collect within the bottom of my eyelids and spill out, but only out of happiness. I can't help but put my arms around his head and pull myself as close as possible to him. Knowing that Johnny doesn't have unreachable expectations for me, relieves so much stress that I can't hold my emotions back anymore. With every sniffle and whimper I make, we come closer and closer to the ROR house. Every other house is blaring different genres of music, making the street the most lively in Monstropolis. What's odd is that the JOX house is more silent than a forest blanketed in fog. Usually they're the ones who are causing absolute mayhem and unintentionally making everyone furious, but it seems like we're in a bizzaro world tonight. That might be because they lost the first (and most likely the easiest) event of the Scare Games.
Johnny carries me up the spotless white steps, adorned with hedges and bushes. The lights inside beautifully illuminate up the front yard and line the ground with an orange glimmer. Somehow, this is the warmest I've felt since summer passed us by. I'm reminded of the coziness you get during the holidays after a long day of sledding or enjoying the outdoors in general, like everything is indescribably perfect. I keep my arms wrapped around his neck as he opens the door, letting everyone else know that we've finally caught up to them.
"There you are! What happened to celebrating?" Chip asks from the other side of the house.
"I'll be there in a second. All the drinks are in the freezer out in the garage. Go get them for us," Johnny directs.
The boys all hype themselves up, and dash to the garage while he takes me up to his room. When we get there, he drops me onto his bed, throwing the blankets over me, and speaking to me at such a close distance that I can feel his warm breath hit my head. "We always have a celebration after the first event, so I have to go downstairs for a little bit. Will you be alright by yourself?" He asks.
I nod my head after I put my arms around his pillows, enjoying the smell of lavender that envelopes the entire bed. "A little bit doesn't mean in a few hours right?" I answer with another question.
"No, we still have school tomorrow so I'll be back up in about an hour. The thing about us RORs is that we tend to drink like rich old men at formal parties," He whispers before walking over to the door and turning off the lights for me, "Feel free to join if you're willing to."
He then shuts the door, and leaves me comfortably alone. I've been sleeping with Johnny ever since I moved in here, so he keeps one of the few sets of pajamas I have in his drawer. I slip into them and let all of his blankets twist around my body like a snake in the jungle. The only thing I feel like doing is falling fast asleep, and taking the arduous thing we call life, one step at a time with Johnny by my side. I don't know why, but I really had an absolute breakdown tonight. The stress of school and the fear of the future that I've always experienced has taken a toll on me, and unfortunately created a burden for the people I care about. I know I shouldn't be thinking that way, I've gotten plenty of lectures from my Dad about it, and it's one of the reasons that people never really created a bond with me, but there's nothing I can do about it.
I close my eyes and feel time bend as everything relaxes and my eyes grow heavy. My consciousness flickers in and out, noticing the enrapturing darkness for a few seconds only to forget about everything the next. My thoughts become inconsistent, irrelevant, inert. No other place in the world could make me feel this way. I don't dream. Nothing is projected within my head, my hippocampus is lacking in the construction of reality replication. All I see is black and the occasional flash of red and blue generated by the constant working of my brain. I barely move, and barely feel as everything I seem to imagine becomes a hallucination that I will soon cease to remember. However, I see a landscape within my head that looks familiar. It only reveals itself for a few seconds, showing me a forest that's caught fire a few hundred feet away from me. A downpour is on it's way and ready to tear the environment apart one drop and ember at a time.
After I experience a hypnic jerk, I find myself opening my eyes, seeing the moon's glow along the wall. A crisp breeze blows against the house, causing a couple of creaks and cracks to reverberate within the room, and make me jump mildly once the sound attacks my eardrums. An electrifying chill runs down my spine, and immediately after, the door to the room opens. It's Johnny, maintaining his balance and showing that his coordination is still unbreakable. He shuts the door and pulls his sweater off of his body, throwing it onto the back of his chair that's pushed into his desk. He exhales audibly as he ambles towards the bed, falling into it once he's closed the distance.
"How was it?" I groan as quietly as I can.
He adjusts his position in bed, inching closer to me while showing off his buff physique in the process. "Fun…but nothing as crazy as our usual parties," Johnny sighs.
"…So you all just sat around and talked?" I assume.
Johnny chuckles. "No, we had a couple drinks, alcoholic of course, and we jammed out while discussing how badly JOX and Oozma Kappa did. Couldn't have even been that bad even if we tried. Can't believe that the Oozmas got to move on either."
I keep myself from talking about Oozma Kappa since I know how sensitive of a topic that is. I can tell Johnny has more to say anyways.
"While it was fun, it would have been better with you down there," Johnny answers.
"What do you mean? It's…not like I've done that before," I inquire.
"I know. I just hate doing things without you," Johnny says before positioning his forehead onto mine.
He pulls me closer to him, closing his eyes as his arm travels along my thigh and up my spine. I close my eyes as well, and run my fingers along his chest, pushing them through his fur, feeling the softness he's been able to maintain by great hygienic practices. I feel him tense up slightly as he starts purring, allowing me to examine every individual muscle that protrudes out from his skin.
He moves his right arm, placing under my chin. His claws run along my chin smoothly, and slightly surprising me as I inhale somewhat sharply. He pulls my head up and places his lips against mine for what seems like an eternity. His soft and supple lips grind against mine, making way for his tongue. I can taste the remnants of lemon, and the sting of alcohol as we enjoy the moment by breathing the same air. Johnny growls deeply as he moves his hand down to my hips and pulling me up on top of him, letting me lay perfectly along the curves of his body as if I was the missing piece of a puzzle. With every stroke he makes up and down my body, the more love I come to crave from him, the more I wish for this to never end. Even if we both feel like we can no longer respirate, we resiliently keep invading each other's space.
He moves his hand lower, slowly caressing my legs as his fur rubs against my scales, and I keep my hands on the side of his head to actively refuse letting him lean away from me. He growls more when I start running my claws along his head, making him push more forcefully into the kiss. I finally move my hands down back towards his chest, feeling his heart race within the boundaries of his ribcage. I can't lie, mine is in a similar state because it feels like it's about to explode in a bout of pure unadulterated passion. Johnny rolls over on top of me. Taking my left leg and holding it against his side. His claws brush up against my scales, sending pleasurable signals throughout my body and letting out... embarrassing vocalizations in the process. He never stops finding new ways to make me feel special, like I'm the only one who can feel the way I do around him in both physical and metaphorical senses. What makes me even happier is that he feels the same way; I can hear his tail thumping against the mattress as it moves up and down in rhythm while mine swings from side to side at an insanely rapid pace.
We both pull away from each other, panting heavily as we see the stars in each other's eyes. His glowing purple irises pierce into the core of my soul, as if they contain their own spaces of purple rays of light. He takes a few seconds to catch his breath, never breaking our eye contact as if he's on the hunt to see satiated. "Thanks for letting me surprise you tonight," Johnny whispers.
"…Thanks for spending time with me," I counter.
All it takes is him to return a smile and the night becomes one that I won't ever forget. The moon's white rays puncture through the rooms darkness as the cold night continues producing periodic chills through the landscape, while the two of us produce an ever growing intimacy.