~IX~
Peanut looks around, the soft breeze flowing through his hair. He's at the beach, and looking down, he notices his leather jacket is missing, along with his shoes and socks. He lets his toes bury in the sand, shivering slightly at the cool feeling. The sun's going down, and he finally spots Johnny a few yards from him, bending over and grabbing something. With a smile, Peanut moves himself and goes over to his friend.
"Whatcha find?" he asks when he gets close. Johnny looks up, and with a smile he hands him the item he's picked up.
"Sand dollar for your thoughts?" he jokes, making him laugh. "When was the last time you went to the beach, Larry? You seem so… out of it."
"Larry?" He's almost confused. When was the last time he had called him his real name in a casual conversation. Though, Johnny just furrows his brows, keeping his smile.
"That's your name, ain't it?" he questions. Of course it is, but what happened to the nickname? That's when Peanut notices it. He's back to his shorter height, his hair not styled into the familiar pompadour. His jacket is missing because he's not a greaser yet. He's being called by his real name because he hasn't acquired his nickname yet. He's back to the first day Johnny had hung out with him.
"Yeah! Sorry, just…" he pauses for a moment, looking around. The middle of September and it's getting late. "Yeah, I am sort of out of it."
"C'mon, you ain't gotta worry about anything," he tells him calmly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Let's walk around a bit more, yeah?"
Peanut gives him a nod as he follows Johnny down the shoreline. He does wonder where his shoes went, but he figures it's back on the dock. Hopefully no one takes them. They talk about things, mainly their math class and home life. Peanut has to admit, he seems to have a calmer life than Johnny, seeing as the sophomore had told him about his temperamental father who had got into arguments with. Peanut had his own share of argument stories, seeing as his mother could be very hard on him with school, but it wasn't anything that would escalate into screaming matches like Johnny had made it out to be.
They keep along the shore before reaching the lighthouse, a couple preps over in the corner chatting away. They don't pay any attention to them, but Johnny finally stops walking, going to look back at him. Brown eyes stare at him as his stance becomes more lax, and almost distorted looking. Slowly but surely he notices his friend's eyes change to a dull, whitish color and his skin becomes more pale and rotten. Taking a few steps back, Peanut watches in horror as the sophomore changes before him.
"J-Johnny?" His voice, shaky and fearful, seems to be the only noise now. The water's stopped moving and the wind is silent. And when he stops changing, Johnny looks like a zombie straight out of a horror movie. The teen rushes at him, a shriek erupting from Peanut as he flails his limbs at his attacking friend, screaming at him to leave him alone. Johnny's movements, though more sloppy, are still filled with the power he had grown to know in the future. It's no surprise that he's on the ground within seconds, his boss on top of him and grabbing for his throat.
He's jolted awake when Johnny starts calling his name, shaking his shoulder violently. Through the darkness he can make out the worried expression and honestly Peanut can't help but feel a wave of relief wash over him. His friend was, of course, back to his normal self.
"God, what happened?" he asks, turning on the lamp beside his bed to stare at the junior. "Another nightmare?"
"Yeah, sorry," He feels silly. Acting like that and waking Johnny up. He didn't know what time it was, but by judging the night sky still out, it's probably the early morning. But, he sees a smile on his friend's face.
"No problem," He crosses his legs and sits up properly. "You wanna tell me what it was about?"
"Remember when we first hung out? At the beach?" Johnny nods. "We were back there. Everything was the same. Then when we got to the lighthouse, you started to… change. Like into a zombie or something. It was weird, and then you started to attack me."
"Peanut, I would never hurt you," He knows this. Johnny did show hesitation in their friendship when they first met, but after he got over his paranoia, they were inseparable. "You're my best friend. Hell, if I still had any doubt about you, I wouldn't be trying to help you."
"I know. Thanks, Johnny," The senior nods as he goes to lay back down, turning the light off again. Peanut stays awake for a bit before going to lay back down on his side. Although, his eyes travel to the closet and he stiffens when he sees the silhouette of a torso. But the longer he stares at it, the realization hits him. It's just Johnny's stupid jacket that he hung up when they got home. Rolling his eyes and frowning, he forces himself back to sleep, hoping he won't have another nightmare.
Morning comes too fast and he groans when Johnny's alarm goes off. The senior is quick to hit the snooze a couple times, but after the fourth alarm Johnny sits up. Rubbing his eyes to rid himself of sleep, he reaches over to wake his friend.
"Time to get up," he grumbles. Peanut just groans and cuddles himself further into the comforter he's balled up during the night. With a smile, Johnny reaches out and yanks the covers away from his friend, and he's awarded with another protest groan.
"I don't wanna get up," he complains, "I finally got some decent sleep!"
"You can continue it later," he tells him as he gets out of bed. "Same routine today?"
"Yeah, sure," Johnny leaves with a couple towels in hand and Peanut goes to lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Last night comes back to him and he chuckles softly. That damn jacket. It's still hanging in the same spot, too. How silly. Sitting up, he reaches over to grab his phone, turning it on. 7:20 and he's still tired. The clique's up though, and it seems like Hal and Norton are arguing over the best foods for dinner while Ricky is practically begging them to stop. He just smiles, going to type in his own message.
Peanut: cereal is the best and everyone knows it
Of course, it sparks a larger and hotter debate, but he just smiles. Vance has gotten involved now, throwing in his own opinion and making it worse. By now, Peanut's set his phone down, letting it blow up as he stretches. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, going to stand up and look out the window. Clouds have rolled in during the night, and it's become rather chilly in the room. A shiver runs up his spine and through his body as he makes his way for the dresser, grabbing his jacket. He wonders how Vyvyan keeps herself warm in that asylum.
He doesn't leave Johnny's room this time. He can't hear anyone else in the house other than his friend in the shower, anyways, so there goes his hope for a decent breakfast. They did still have some snacks, didn't they? Yeah. Rummaging through the small plastic bag he had tucked away, he happily pulls out a box of gummy worms he had bought the previous night. Not exactly the most healthy thing for a morning meal, but he figures it's better than whatever slop he'll get at Bullworth or Yum Yum Market. Besides, they were one of his favorite snacks.
By the time he finishes, Johnny's returned to the room, looking at him with a frown when he spots the empty box in his friend's hand.
"That's not healthy, Peanut," he tells him, "We have food in the kitchen, you know?"
"Yeah, but I didn't wanna just take anything," he replies, "Besides, I don't know where anything is and I'm not the best at cooking."
"Guess it's better than burning my place down," he chuckles, gesturing his head towards the door. "Go on. Take a shower and I'll see if we got any frozen waffles in the freezer."
"Thanks, Johnny," He slides past his friend, entering the bathroom. The heat makes him smile as he takes his jacket off once more, folding it and putting it on the counter. He then strips himself of his clothes and makes his way into the tub, turning on the shower. It feels like hell as the water hits him, too hot in its current state. Jumping back and mentally cursing Johnny for having it too far to the left, he does his best to change the temperature without getting under the stream of water. And when it's to his liking, he lets himself back in contact with it, a soft and blissful sigh escaping his lips. He washes his body, taking his time as he thinks back to the day he had first spent time with Johnny. Back then, he was so intimidated by the greaser. He had sat in front of him for his freshman year and he always felt nervous handing back papers, especially when his head was down and he was trying to sleep. He was always scared he would lash out at him for interrupting whatever he was doing. Thankfully, he never did. Peanut smiles. Johnny never did really change, aside from his earring. He had gotten that the middle of his junior year, if he remembered correctly. Dragged Peanut with him to the shop, and even encouraged him to get one as well. He never thought he would look good with an earring, though.
He takes a while in the shower before finishing up, running his hands through his hair and squeezing the excess water out. Pulling the curtain back, he grabs the towel and dries himself off, stepping out and onto the mat. He admires himself in the mirror and frowns. He looks worse than yesterday, and his eyes are getting darker and the color looks like it's slowly draining. Where in God's name did that bruise on his shoulder come from as well? He reaches up to gently touch it, wincing when he makes contact. It's so sore. Did Johnny hit him in his sleep? He wouldn't be surprised. Oh well. At least no one will be able to see it. Pushing his hair out of his face, he throws his clothes on and leaves the bathroom, leaving the door open so it can cool off. He makes his way back into Johnny's room, throwing the towel in the hamper and going to use his friend's cologne. After putting it back, he grabs his phone and goes into the kitchen, smiling as he sees Johnny finishing up with the waffles.
"There you are!" He smiles at the junior, passing him a plate with a small stack. "Was wonderin' if you had gotten lost."
"Nah, just had to put the towel away," He leans against the counter, thanking his friend as he picks up the fork to start eating. They eat in silence for a while, both occasionally looking at the clock to make sure they'll have enough time to get to school. And then they're done, they throw their dishes in the sink, Johnny telling him that he'll get to it when he gets home.
They're out of the house after grabbing their backpacks, Johnny locking the door and walking beside him down the street with his hands in his pockets. It's quiet this morning, not many people out. He wonders if it's because it's cold and everyone's pushing the time in order to stay inside. That's something he would've liked. It doesn't help that he didn't bring an umbrella, either. If worse came to worse, though, he could always just put his backpack over his heard and hightail it to his dorm room.
Getting onto campus, Johnny follows his friend into the boy's dorm and into his room, spotting Lefty still asleep on his bed. As Peanut styled his hair, the leader walked over and, with the force of a bus, shoved him off the bed. The sophomore let out a shout, breathing heavily as he picked himself up, his roommate laughing as he watched him.
"Johnny! What the hell?!" he cries, looking at the grinning teen.
"Good morning," His hands are back in his pockets, his grin getting wider as he stumbles to stand on his own. "It's almost time for class. What're you doin' still asleep?"
"I stayed up late last night," he confesses in a grumble, "Guess I slept through my alarm."
"Lucky we were here, then!" Lefty puts on his jacket, following his friends out of the room with his bag slung over his shoulder and pretty much dragging his feet. They make their way for the auto shop, seeing the rest of the group already there, along with Lola. She's chatting with Hal, Vance and Norton, who seem to be continuing the conversation about food they were having this morning. Ricky keeps his mood as well, eyes narrowed with a frown on his face as he listens to them, arms crossed over his chest. Though, Lola perks up when she sees her lover walk up.
"Hey, Johnny!" she greets. Of course, Johnny goes to be by her, arms around her waist as he pecks her lips. Peanut fights the frown from his face, but he notices how much lonelier he's gotten. Though Lefty is still standing with him, he feels like he's missing so much more without his boss by his side. But, he can't let this be known. Instead of sitting there a moping, he goes over to the little group of his friends, Lola having moved away to be with Johnny. Lefty follows as well, interested in what they're talking about.
"No way! Chocolate is so much better!" he argues, Vance rolling his eyes. "Vanilla cake just lacks taste that the chocolate gives it!"
"Chocolate makes it too rich," he replies, "I wanna eat cake with the icing and not feel sick afterwards."
"You don't always get sick," he shoots back, and both Peanut and Lefty watch them with confused smiles. "Lefty! What do you think is better? Chocolate or vanilla cake?"
"Cake is cake, you know?" he chuckles, hands in his pockets. "It's all good, especially if it's free."
"… he's got a point," Vance speaks, looking at his hefty friend, who just rolls his eyes. Peanut listens to them bicker a bit more, before Norton taps his shoulder, looking concerned.
"You okay?" he asks, keeping his voice down. They move away from the little group, Peanut staring up at him. "You don't look so good, man."
"What do you mean?" Of course Peanut knows what he's talking about. His pale skin and darker, duller eyes. But Norton just frowns at his response.
"I know you're not blind," he starts, "You look like you're stressed and haven't slept in a while. What's goin' on?"
"I've just been having nightmares," he confesses, "Wake up and can't go back to sleep, ya know? I guess it's been catching up with me."
"Nightmares? Like what?" For a moment, Peanut considers telling him what's going on and what he's seeing. He knew of Norton's softer side, and though he was decently close with the older teen, he couldn't bring himself to tell him of the shadows. He doesn't want him involved in any of it.
"Just stupid stuff," he chuckles nervously, "Like it's scary in the moment, but it's stupid when I wake up. It's fine." Norton goes to speak, but Peanut shakes his head. "I'm fine, really."
"If you say so, man," He doesn't seem convinced, but he reaches out to lay a hand on his shoulder. "Just know that we're all here if you need help."
"I know. Thanks, Norton," He gives him a smile and the bell rings. Everyone parts, going to their respective classes. Peanut doesn't even get to say goodbye to Johnny, seeing as he walks Lola to class and doesn't even acknowledge the rest of the clique. It's not a surprise, it's the same thing he does whenever his girlfriend is around in the morning. But it still never makes him feel any better when he watches his boss walk off with some tart and disregard the whole group.