A/N: Now this is definately my last update for the day. I need sleep now xD In this chapter I've discovered a new love for Johnny Vincent. Ah Johnny, you paranoid crazy begger.

Chapter XXXVI:

"Make Up And Break Down With Johnny Vincent"

'Right, ladies! I hope none of you thought that track would be cancelled just because the field is out of bounds today!'

Elliott couldn't look at Mr Burton without her nose wrinkling. He was an awful man. A complete pervert. Every gym class he managed to accidentally wander into the girl's locker room instead of the boy's, or he accidentally threw a ball just out of reach of someone so they would have to bend down and pick it up. Elliott had heard rumours that he sent some kid into the Girls Dorm to steal panties, but she refused to believe it, even if a pair of her own had disappeared a few months ago.

Mandy was absent from today's class, along with Pinky. Christy had said that Pinky was having trouble with the routine for that night so Mandy had managed to get them both out of class so they could keep practising. And because Lola had barely stepped foot in the school since breaking up with Johnny Vincent it meant there was only Elliott, Christy, Angie and Eunice who actually turned up for gym that day. And with the field full of practising footballers, Elliott had thought the class might actually be cancelled. Apparently not.

'What I've got here,' Mr Burton announced as he lifted a small bag. 'Are pedometers. You girls know what they are, right?'

The girls just stared at him, saying nothing.

'Good,' he said automatically. 'Now what you're going to do is a cross-country run. Starting from the school gates you're going to go through Bullworth Town and through the Vale and back here. I've run it myself, so I know how many steps it takes. When you get back I'm going to check all of them, and if you're under, girls, I'll take you running myself.'

They all groaned. 'Come on, Mr Burton,' Christy moaned. 'Some of us need to keep our energy for tonight!'

'You're all young and fit,' Mr Burton replied, a gleam in his eye that made Elliott want to kick him where it hurt. 'It's good for you. It'll be like an extended warm up.' He pulled out one of the pedometers from the bad and moved to Elliott. 'These are a bit tricky, so maybe I should show you how they clip on.'

Elliott snatched it from him. 'I'm sure I can figure it out.'

He frowned and then shrugged and handed out the remaining ones. 'Right then. Well what are you standing around here for? Get moving. I want you back by the end of the hour, got that?'

The four of them wandered away from the gym teacher, Eunice dropping behind them already.

'Like hell I'm running around town.' Christy spat. 'Where people might see me?'

'We could just go to our dorms and run on the spot.' Angie suggested. 'My mom had a pedometer and all you have to do is shake them to get the number to go up.'

'Yeah, let's do that.' Christy agreed. 'Are you coming, Elliott?'

Elliott heard herself saying something she thought she would never say. 'I don't know, I think I could do with the fresh air.'

Christy and Angie stared at her. 'Seriously?' Christy frowned.

Elliott shrugged. 'I've got a lot on my mind, you know? Might help me try and work some of it out. Plus, it's not really that far is it?'

'Are you kidding?' Angie giggled. 'It's miles. Burton's insane, no one could run that far in an hour.'

'Then it gives me an excuse to not see him at the end of class,' Elliott replied. 'I'll see you both later, okay?'

Christy and Angie just watched her head away in bewilderment, and then headed in the direction of the girl's dorm. Dressed in one of the yellow Bullworth t-shirts and knee-length shorts, Elliott fixed the pedometer to the waistband on her shorts and headed towards the gates. Once there she hesitated, wondering if she was really serious about actually running around the town, and then found herself jogging along the path.

She had read about exercise helping people concentrate, something about the endorphins being released (although she wasn't entirely sure what endorphins were), and it seemed to be working. She felt calmer than she had done since joining Bullworth Academy, and by the time she had reached Shiny Bikes in Bullworth Town, she had even convinced herself that the whole thing with Gary was so unimportant that it was actually funny, and she found herself giggling a little. Although she stopped when a couple of Preppy kids started looking at her like she was insane.

For God's sake, she was fifteen years old. Well, sixteen if you didn't care about a month or so. It was the age to do stupid things; to be worried about stuff that you had absolutely no need to worry about. So she had gotten a little too close to the wrong guy. Nearly every teenage girl makes that mistake. It was a couple of months until the end of term and by then she just knew she would look back on all of this and either laugh or cringe.

Feeling quite jovial, Elliott went into Yum Yums and got herself a soda. She contemplated her route around Bullworth, preferably the quickest possible route, and stood outside the store to drink the can. She had only taken one drink when she caught sight of someone coming towards her out of the corner of her eye. She lowered the can quickly, causing some of the soda to dribble down her chin.

'Hey there, you just cool it, sweets.' Johnny Vincent told her, raising his hands. 'I'm not gonna do anything.'

Elliott scowled at him and took a step back warily. 'Well excuse me from being a little nervous. I tend to be like that around guys who drag me into back alleys.'

Johnny shrugged. 'I wasn't gonna do anything to you. I was just… a bit crazy then. You know, all that stuff with Lola…'

'Yeah, and I heard you both split up.' Elliott said, still keeping a gap between them. 'Unlucky. I'd tell you how sorry I am about it, but I would be wasting my breath. And I don't like telling porkies.'

Johnny's eyes darkened briefly. 'Hey, I came looking for you to apologise, okay? And Johnny Vincent doesn't apologise to people. You should be grateful.'

Elliott raised her eyebrows. 'You want to apologise? You?'

He just shrugged. 'Well, yeah. I don't want you or anyone else thinking I'm some lady beater. I would have said sorry earlier but… I've been having a bit of trouble getting over Lola, y'know. I'm still kinda cut up about it all…'

'Shame,' Elliott nodded, wanting him to stop before he started sobbing on her shoulder or something. 'Well thanks, I guess. Apology accepted. I'd love to stand here and chat but I'm going to have to go. I'm actually in gym right now…'

Johnny looked relieved. 'Cool. Hey, I just saw your boy down in New Coventry. Is he doin' okay? He didn't look too good.'

Elliott cocked her head. 'Gary?'

'Yeah,' Johnny nodded. 'I wanted to ask him about somethin' Jimmy said but, man, he's quick. I lost him around by the bike park.'

'What did Jimmy say?'

'He said somethin' about Gary being the one spreading all that stuff about Lola. But, y'know, Lola did get off with Gord. I got pictures. But still, if that little twerp Gary is sticking his nose where it doesn't belong then I want to know about it.'

Elliott winced. Apparently Johnny had forgotten that it was her who told him about Lola and Gord. 'So he's in New Coventry?'

'Yeah.' Johnny replied. 'Hey, if you're looking for him I could help you find him. Don't worry, I'm not gonna kick his ass or anything. Unless I have to, of course.'

Elliott nodded. 'Of course.' She repeated distractedly. Gary wouldn't want to talk to her, she knew that, and there was no way she could try and talk sense into him while Johnny Vincent was hanging around. But she would like to know just what it was he was doing in New Coventry. 'Alright.' She shrugged. 'If you're not doing anything else.'

Johnny shrugged. 'I've got to be back at school by one. I've got Home Ec.'

Elliott smirked at him as they began to head towards the underpass. 'You take home economics?'

He shot her an annoyed glare. 'You got a problem with that?' he demanded.

She quickly raised her hands in defence. 'No way. Not at all. I think a guy who can sew is endearing.'

Johnny just frowned. 'En-what? Are you calling me gay?'

Elliott shook her head. 'It means attractive. Calm down, I didn't call you gay.'

Johnny nodded, but he was still frowning. 'Good. Because I'm not.'

'Not what?'

'Gay.'

'Right. Um… good?'

He muttered something irritably and Elliott thought it best to drop the subject. Before Johnny went off on another tangent defending his gender preference, she asked him what kind of bike he had. That kept him talking the whole way into New Coventry.

'This was where I saw him.' Johnny announced, stopping by a busted payphone. 'Although it was about half an hour ago. He's probably gone off somewhere else by now.'

Elliott looked at him strangely. 'Yeah, well I doubt he hung around waiting for us to show up.'

'What's the deal with you two anyway?' Johnny asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a box of cigarettes. 'Cos you're like… pretty okay to look at, y'know? And Gary is like… a complete twerp.'

Elliott half smiled. 'I guess that's a compliment.'

Johnny smiled lopsidedly and tapped one of the cigarettes out of the box. 'I'm not hitting on you,' he told her. 'I still just got eyes for Lola, even if she is a whoring tramp. I guess I'm just curious.'

'Yeah, well so are a lot of people apparently.' Elliott replied, glancing around to see if she could see Gary lurking in any of the alleys. When she looked back to Johnny he was offering her a cigarette. 'I don't smoke.' She told him with a hint of distaste in her voice.

'You should hook up with Ricky,' Johnny told her. 'He's a good guy. Never has any luck with the ladies though. I have no idea why. He's kind, always treats his woman like a princess…'

Elliott was looking at him strangely for the second time. He noticed and abruptly stopped talking and lit his cigarette.

'And, y'know, he has needs.' Johnny shrugged.

Elliott looked away. 'I guess Gary cleared off.' She said. 'It's pointless hanging around here. I guess I'll just head back to…'

'Well, well, well look what we have here,' an unfamiliar voice interrupted. 'Has the Greaser King got himself another slut queen already?'

Elliott looked around, eyebrows raised, to see a group of three kids stepping up beside them. They looked about Johnny's age, but they weren't students from Bullworth. Elliott hadn't seen any of them before. The one in front was a dark haired, tanned guy with an orange shirt over a t-shirt and an evil glint in his eyes. The other two had shaved heads and were grinning like loons. They made the bullies look like kinder gardeners.

'Hey, get lost you stinking drop outs,' Johnny snarled, stepping forward. 'I thought your scum knew better than to walk on my turf.'

The dark haired guy grinned and stepped forward. 'What you gonna do about it, Greaseball? Looks like your boyfriends aren't around to fight for you. You gonna throw a tantrum? Whine like a little baby? Hey, then maybe your slut there can cheer you up by taking you round the back of the trains.' He grinned evilly at Elliott. 'Or if you're too busy thinking about your boys I could take her off your hands.'

Johnny shoved him back. 'You leave her alone, Edgar. Grab your junkie groupies and go back to your trailers. You better get yourselves tooled up, because I'm gonna get the guys and come round your place to give you a few new air holes, not that you'll be needing them.' He flicked his cigarette at the dark haired guy, making him hop back.

'Oh-ho,' the dark haired guy, who Johnny had called Edgar, laughed. 'Hell hath no fury like a fairy-boy scorned. You're all bent out of shape about your girl, yeah? Finally realised that she's nothing but a big slut, huh? Well we all got a good few rides out of her before you clicked on, hot shot.'

Johnny looked furious. 'You're a liar.' He seethed.

'Oh yeah?' Edgar chuckled. 'Let me see… I think it was just after the first snowfall… Yeah, that was it. Lola came past in those hot leather pants she always wears. She said she was supposed to be meeting you, but you were too busy working on your bike to pay her any real attention. She also said that she saw you looking at that big dumb guy… what's his name… Peanut? Yeah, that was it. She said you had more time for him than you did for her-'

Elliott couldn't hold back a cry of alarm as Johnny threw a fist in Edgar's face, knocking him down on the ground with one blow. He immediately grabbed another one of the dropouts, pulling him into a headlock.

'You want some of me?' he yelled at the bewildered dropout. 'You want some of Johnny Vincent!'

Elliott watched as the third dropout picked up a brick from the ground and moved quickly towards Johnny. Before she could even process one thought that ran through her head, she launched herself on the third townie, wrapping her arms around his neck and jumping on his back. He dropped the brick and grabbed for her, trying to pull her off. He spun around, but she clung on, getting dizzy.

Johnny now had hold of the dropout and was smashing his face off the phone box. Edgar had picked himself up off the floor and was limping away, wiping the blood away from his face. Johnny finally allowed the dropout to fall to the ground and he lay there, writhing and groaning in pain.

'Hey, you stinking coward!' Johnny yelled after Edgar. 'Where the hell do you think you're going? You started something you couldn't finish, huh?'

Elliott let out a cry as her dropout finally managed to shove her off his back. She landed hard on her backside. Instead of getting her back for the attack, he only grinned and chased after his leader.

'You stupid rich Bullworth kids are gonna pay!' Edgar yelled as he ran off. 'You'll see! When me and Gary own your asses, you'll all see!'

Elliott tilted her head. 'Gary?' She turned to Johnny. 'Did he say Gary?'

Johnny was storming back and forth like a bull, breathing heavily through his nostrils. His knuckles were bleeding, but he didn't seem to notice. 'That slut!' he cried. 'That whore! I knew it! She said she had to go to the store but I just knew it! And with those scumbags…' He kicked the semi-conscious dropout in the gut. 'With you scumbags!'

Elliott got to her feet and brushed herself down. 'Chill out, Johnny,' she told him. 'They were only saying it to wind you up.'

He shook his head. His eyes were manic. 'This is war.' He told her. 'I swear. This is…' He shook his head again and began to storm away. 'This is war!'

Elliott watched after him, eyebrows drawn together. She glanced over to the dropout, but he was pretty much unconscious. She moved over to him and nudged him gently with her foot. He groaned and cowered away from her. She guessed he would be okay. Although it looked like he was going to need a new change of pants.

She left him by the phone box and headed back to school. Like hell she was going to run around Bullworth after that. And anyway, she needed to figure out how that scumbag Edgar knew who Gary was.