AN: Hey, I said close to 32...I was only 2 years off. Anyway, here's the next chapter. This sucks. I hate this story. Now watch me make a feeble attempt to revive it. sigh And to anyone who got confused when it switched from Jhonen and Alice to Johnny, I am sorry. I didn't mean for that. My fault, entirely, as I forgot to separate them. As always, please, give me some advice here. I'm dying. On with the show...
November Air:
Chapter Four: I Could Never Get Out Of Here:
Finally reaching the light house, it was dusk. Jhonen got out of the row boat first, and helped Alice out. She helped him pull the boat up on the sand, and they dusted their hands off.
"C'mon, we're gonna go to the top, but first; we have to see Mr. and Mrs. Marks. They're good people. I haven't seen them in years, though. I hope they remember me." He said, looking at her.
She snickered. "Are you nervous?" she asked.
"...Shut up." He said, and grabbed her hand, "These people practically raised me."
Alice figured this was the closest she'd ever come to meeting any kind of relative of Jhonen's. It made her feel kind of honored, actually.
Walking up the small walkway, she looked around. This place was gorgeous. The sunlight was hitting the clouds at such an angle, that it seemed as though there were beams of light streaking down from the gods. This little island, this small cottage looking house, white with red trim to match the lighthouse itself...The gardens, the seagulls, the sparkling ocean...
It all felt like a scene from a movie.
Jhonen knocked on the door, his hand trembling slightly. These people must be very important to him.
"They practically raised me..." this sentence rang through her head. However, she was pulled from her thoughts by a sweet-looking, elderly man answering the door.
He was short, compared to Jhonen, and wrinkles, laugh lines proved his probably very sweet, sunny disposition. By the looks of him, he'd most likely grown up in California. A plaid short-sleeved shirt, tan shorts to match, and sandals.
"...May I help you?" he asked, squinting. A pair of thick glasses hung around his neck.
"Put your glasses on, Mr. Marks. It's me; Jhonen."
The small man opened the door all the way, and fumbled around, putting his glasses on his face, and disrupting the gray, thin hair on the sides of his head.
"Sweet Mary and Joseph! Devina! Devina, come quick!" he shouted into the house.
An elderly woman came to the door, as thin as her husband, wiping her hands on her apron.
"What is it, John?" she said, sounding worried and annoyed. Her hair was curly, and long, and gray, pulled back, with wisps falling in her face. She wore an old fashioned triangle dress with homemade variations. She'd cut the sleeves and neck line out, to make it a tank top. She also wore sandals. Earrings and a necklace and wedding ring decorated her. Putting a less thick, more feminine pair of glasses on, she gasped.
"...Jhonen? Jo-Jo Vasquez?" she said, clapping her hands together, "Oh, my! What a wonderful surprise! Come in, come in out of the heat, darling. And who is this?" she said.
"This is my girlfriend, Alice Leben. Mrs. Marks, it's so good to see you." He said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He turned around and gave Mr. Marks a hug.
"Jo-Jo, my boy. I haven't seen you in so many years."
"Hehe...Jo-Jo?" Alice asked, smirking.
"Ahhh, yes. He couldn't say 'Jhonen' when he was little, so he's just say Jo-Jo."
For all the color Jhonen lacked, he turned bright red.
"Come sit in the sun room. We'll give you some popsicles." He said, "Cherry, Jhonen?"
"Um, yes. Blue raspberry for Alice, though."
"Can do." Mrs. Marks said, and disappeared into the kitchen.
"So how long have the two of you been together?" Mr. Marks asked, taking a seat in an arm chair across from Jhonen.
"For three years." Alice answered, "How long have you and Mrs. Marks been married?"
"Oh, sweetheart, call us Johnny and Devi," he said, laughing, and leaned forward, "And I can't for the life of me figure out why Jo-Jo here called us Mr. and Mrs. Marks. And we've been married for 62 years."
It clicked.
"Johnny and Devi, huh?" she smiled, and looked at Jhonen, who refused to meet her gaze.
"My yes," Devina said, walking in with a red Popsicle, a blue Popsicle, and two grape popsicles in one bowl, "My mother named me Devina. It was Jo-Jo's mother over there that started calling me Devi in school. She was a year or two younger than me, a freshman in high school, and I was a junior, and she threatened to beat up anyone who dared to mess around with her. And she did."
Devina placed the bowl on a small wooden table in front of them, and took out the two purple ones, and gave one to John.
"Or, sweetie, you could call us Devi and John. Or Devina and John. Or Johnny and Devina. O-"
"Alright, dear, that's enough." He said, smiling, "You're rambling."
"Oh, hush." She said.
Alice smiled. She hoped that this was how Jhonen grew up...But somehow she doubted it.
"After this, I'm gonna take her to see the lighthouse."
Devina almost choked. She and John exchanged glances.
"It's not how it was before, dear." Devina said.
Jhonen looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes begging her not to release his secrets.
"After you left we cleared the stuff out. Only the stuff that was attached to the walls stayed." Johnny explained.
"Oh. Well, that stuff doesn't matter." He said, finishing his Popsicle, "We came for the sunset, anyway." He said.
John raised an eyebrow, knowing.
"We'll come back after."
"You two want a blanket? It gets kind of cold up there," Devina said, handing them a thick, fluffy blanket.
"Thanks. See you guys later." He said, smiling.
"Bye." Alice said, smiling, and waving over her shoulder, and they walked outside, and went to the lighthouse.
"So, what? They babysat you for your mom?" she asked.
"...Something like that." He said, as they walked up the spiral steps, "I wish they would put a railing in here."
She smiled up at him, hoping he wouldn't look over his shoulder and catch her staring. She loved him so much.
"Ok, we're here." He opened the door to a room at the top of the light house. The light was in, twirling around, slowly. He knew it would go on in about a half an hour.
"C'mon..." he said, and walked out onto the balcony with her by the hand. He fluffed the blanket up and put it on the floor beside them, but they remained standing.
"Look." He said pointing out into the sunset.
Her breath caught in her throat. It was so gorgeous. The water was sparkling like thousands of bright orange diamonds.
"Jhonen...This is amazing." She said, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He pulled her arms away from him, and stepped back. She looked at him, her eyes filled with question.
"...Alice...We've been together for a while. And..."
Johnny felt a sharp pain in his chest. Muting the TV, he waited for it to subside. Could his heart be giving out from lack of nutrition?
No...
No. This was different.
"Jhonen." He hissed, hatefully.
"...I love you so much. I'm in love with you, deeply. And I know we have some stuff to work out and everything, I know we don't have the most normal relationship like most couples, but..." he dropped to his knees, and reached in his pocket for the small velvet box.
She could hardly comprehend what was happening.
"Miss Alice Leben, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box.
She held on to the railing for support. His eyes were big, and open. They both knew full well he was exposing a part of himself to her that no one in the world had ever seen.
"...I...I...I don't know...What to say to this..."
He swallowed hard, "Um, you could make me a very happy guy, and say yes?" he said, raising his eyebrows.
She laughed, and tackled him, smothering him in kisses. "Of course I will!" She screamed.
It was fiery now. Burning his whole soul, enveloping him in flames. He had to release the pressure. He had to get rid of it, the only way he knew how.
A young girl, in her mid teens, was trembling in the corner of a room in Nny's basement. Her shaking increased exponentially upon hearing his footsteps coming closer to her. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to see Nny's form hovering over her, shaking with angry pain. He had a butcher knife in his hand. He couldn't even remember why he took her.
No.
He remembered perfectly...
She looks like her...
Like that bitch that changed his life.
Kaz.
"FUCK!" he screamed in her face repeatedly.
Jhonen slipped the ring on her finger. He kissed her. "I love you so much." He whispered. She smiled, and kissed him back. His fingers traveled over her body.
"FUCK HIM! Fuck him! I fucking hate him! He needs to fucking DIE!" Nny screamed in the girls face.
"Hey, man, I'm sorry your boyfriend made you angry. You guys can work it out, I'll even help you! Just let me go! Let me live, and I'll help get you two back together, I swear."
"I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!"
Heavy breathing, thrusting. Toes curled. Muscles clenched.
After hours of the girl crying, he felt something snap. All the muscles in his body trembled and clenched. He had to.
He had to.
He drew his arm back, and chopped down.
"Ugh! Jhonen! Uhh! Ahhhhh..."
"HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The girl shrieked until her voice cracked with each blow. When Johnny was finished, she was nothing more than minced pulp.
Jhonen panted, trying to catch his breath. "That was...amazing." he said, rolling off of her.
"I love you." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Hey..." he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You wanna put your ring back in the box so it doesn't get lost, and go swimming?"
"You actually want to swim after that?" she asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I want to cool off." He said, kissing her forehead.
"Most guys have no energy for anything."
"I'm not most guys." He said, smiling and sitting up.
"I can't argue with that." She said, and put the ring in the box and followed him.
"Jhonen! I'm in my-"
"I know! So am I! We're not going in the streets are we? We can walk around in our underwear." He said and they walked around to the beach part of the island.
"The waves here are so cool. It's so much fun. At night, too. I'll ask Devina and John to light the torches and keep an eye on us."
"Keep an eye on us?"
"Sharks."
"...That's encouraging." She said, wading into the water with Jhonen.
