Straight Up Typhoon – 5
Uh…five!
…
I wuv you.
"Ohhhh, Johnny…" Reed sighed, placing a hand to his forehead as he looked down at the sleek blue vehicle parked on the street before him.
"You like her?" Johnny straddled his motorcycle backwards, resting his arms over the end of it as he looked up at Reed with a little grin. "I call her Sally."
"Of course you do…" Reed picked up the helmet hanging over the edge of it and examined the street lights from the reflection of the visor.
"Look, you might not approve of our relationship, but the fact is that I love her, and we're gonna be together as long as we both shall live." Johnny vowed, stroking over the back fondly.
"You're crazy." Reed decided.
"I actually get that a lot." Johnny nodded and took his helmet back, fixing it onto his head. "Wanna go for a ride?"
"I really don't."
"Come on, everyone's turned me down today…" Johnny pleaded.
"I don't blame them." Reed crossed his arms. "You shouldn't even be street legal."
"Jealous!" Johnny accused.
"Whatever, Johnny, if it makes you happy, you go on ahead. But you'll excuse those of use who value our lives a little more than a screaming metal death trap, won't you?" he thumped Johnny's helmet firmly.
Johnny wobbled and giggled, holding a hand to his head to steady himself. "So Mr. Richards, what is it like to be the most boring man in America?"
Reed frowned. "I'm not boring." He said defiantly.
"Yes you are. You're a boring, dorky, geeky scientist. That's your thing."
"Alright, well don't go so easy on me." Reed muttered sarcastically.
"Oh and also nerdy, and your super ability is freakish. And I bet you snore, too."
"…Wow…"
Johnny shifted uncomfortably, murmuring to himself a little. "…You're…Well, come on, you're supposed to insult me back, you know?"
"I am?"
"Yeah. This is the part where you say I'm reckless and brainless and cocky and stuff." He waited expectantly.
"If you know that already, what do you need me for?" he smiled in a purposefully arrogant fashion.
"That's right, and you're pompous, too." Johnny reminded.
"Yikes. Is there anything you like about me?"
Johnny paused, eying Reed hatefully before letting out a grumble. "Sure…you know…"
"I don't think I do."
"Come on…"
"Well alright, at least I know all the bad things about me now." Reed rubbed his chin and faked a depressed sigh.
"O-okay, uh…well, you're like, super smart and stuff. And um…you're a pretty nice guy. You…you know, you care about stuff that's…good. Plus you're…you're um…" he cleared his throat to prevent his voice from cracking.
"Don't strain yourself."
"You're good-looking, okay? I guess. I mean, I'm no judge when it comes to guys, I don't know!" Johnny must've been blushing something awful under that helmet by this point. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Sure." Reed bit back a laugh.
"So I take it you and Rocko had a grand old time."
"How many nicknames do you have for Ben, anyway?"
"Tons." Johnny pulled off his helmet and set it aside. "A list of which includes Mr. Thing, Goliath, Shrek, Boulder Butt, Concrete Cowboy, The Inconceivable Bulk, The Stone Ranger, The Ornery Orange Ogre, Orange County—or the O.C. for short—"
"Okay, you know…tons, I'll take your word for it."
"I have nicknames for you too."
"I don't even want to know." Reed dismissed instantly. "So how do you think Sue's going to take this whole bike thing?"
Johnny quickly lowered his head, a guilty little flicker passing over his face. "She knows."
"Oh." Reed said, rather surprised. Usually Johnny was willing to wait until people stumbled upon his evil-doings as opposed to bringing them to attention. "Was she mad?"
"Well…no." he looked down at his hands, absently fingering a ridge of metal. "She didn't even…Whatever, she doesn't care."
Reed felt some kind of mix between guilt and sympathy as he absorbed this dilemma. Sue always cared. She was always there to chew Johnny out for being an idiot or point out his obviously dangerous habits. The fact that she hadn't on this occasion seemed unnerving, and he could see where that one simple neglect might hurt. "Sure she does." He offered.
"You weren't there, you don't see the way she…" Johnny looked up and met Reed's eyes before quickly casting them down again. "Ah, she hates me."
"No one hates you." Reed countered. "Least of all Sue."
"I don't mean hates me hates me, just…I really screwed up…" he swallowed and nodded.
"It's just as much my fault. Maybe even more." Reed said, attempting to defend him from himself. "Don't beat yourself up about it."
"But…it's bad." Johnny blinked and thrust out a hand. "And what makes it worse is that it wasn't even a one-time thing, you know? At least I guess not. 'Cause we're still…" he looked between himself and Reed stiffly.
"I sort of like to think of that as the only good part. Not being just the one-time thing, I mean. It's not like we were just being…promiscuous…right?" Reed rubbed the back of his neck and looked around. It always felt like people were watching them. Usually, that was because people were.
"Oh." Johnny paused. "Sure, um…I guess so."
"Yeah."
…
Well, there it was. That awkward feeling between them. Reed was no good with displaying his emotions, and if so, it was usually at the wrong place or time. Where a normal person might touch, kiss, or otherwise invite affection, Reed simply stared and waited for something to happen. It wasn't as though they were shy from the paranoia of even being seen together outside either, so even the mention of their current situation above a whisper was worth a panic attack. Not that they seemed to be much less nervous when at home. Whether they were alone or not, the fear that someone would walk in at any minute had been permanently ingrained into their senses by example of their first experience. Which put their current relationship at a frustratingly platonic state.
"Guess I'll go up." Reed broke the silence. "You coming?"
"Yeah, uh…yeah, I'll be up in a few." Johnny nodded and pulled himself up off his bike as Reed turned to go. "…Goodnight?" he called after.
Reed looked back at Johnny, smiling even through the tension. "Sure..." he turned and began making his way back upstairs, muttering to himself, "Why shouldn't it be…?"