Chapter 6: Welcome to Happy Volts
Author's Note: Thanks to all of the people who have either faved this or put it on alert, and double thanks to all of the reviewers! Happy to say that this chapter is finally out after a whole month- sad to say that none of you may like it. Well, c'est la vie.
Also, a note- please notice the times before each section of the chapter. If you don't, you're going to be confused. And, another note, this was not beta'd. Kinda just wanted to get this out there.
Two Weeks After
Johnny could hear his breath. That was the first thing that entered his mind that he really recognized, even though he had been awake for hours. The first thought that entered his mind, though fuzzy and nonsensical, was: 'I can breathe.' He took in a deep gulp of air, coughing, feeling mucous rattle in his chest.
His eyes wandered up, over to the stained walls, looking around for something interesting to look at. There was nothing. All of the walls were the same. The floor matched the walls. And the door matched that, though there was a small hole that was covered mostly by thick iron bars. Dim light filtered in, but there was nothing of interest that moved past those bars.
His conscience was slowly coming back, his thoughts muggy and messy in his head. Johnny blinked slowly, taking in soft, shallow breaths, ignoring the conspicuous rattle he made every time air swooshed into his lungs. He shut his eyes suddenly, coughing hard into the air.
His eyes snapped open. The first thing he realized was that he was hunched down, his hands pressed flat against the ground. He looked at his hands, closing them slowly, his knuckles scraping against the ground. They shook, and he murmured in surprise, stopping the movement. 'What's… wrong with me?' Johnny blinked, closing his eyes tightly and shaking his head slowly. 'Where…' He was too far removed to be afraid; all he could feel was a foggy sort of curiosity, just wondering why he was crouched down on a dirty floor like an animal in a room he had never seen before.
A shiver hit Johnny's spine as a scream rang through from the next-door over. His head jerked up, and he looked around, his eyes focusing on somebody moving past his door. He couldn't really focus on the face beyond the bars, but he noticed the white flash of teeth, and the empty syringe in their hands shone in the dim light.
Syringe.
Panic and fear shot through him like a bullet. Johnny let out a sudden low, pained whine, uncomprehending why but knowing that there was something to fear. He fell back onto his backside, scuttling backwards towards the wall with the sudden surge of strength. He didn't take his eyes away from the window; the threat was gone, but it still loomed, as loud and real as the heart that was pounding wildly in his ears. He didn't stop panicking until he felt the soft walls touch his back, some sort of protection against the mean men and the horrible medicines. His hands pawed back at the walls weakly, shaking.
His fingers felt light indents, and he turned, looking over at the marks on the wall. Carved crudely into the soft white padding was the word 'Days', and underneath were numerous hatch marks. Fifteen marks, and he ran over each of them with his fingers, his face twisting into thought.
He suddenly pulled his hand away like it had been bitten, his eyes going wide. 'Fifteen days.' Johnny's head fell down, chin touching his chest. 'They… they brought me here.' He squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth and snarling.
That Day
"Guunhh…" There were arms under his armpits, grabbing him and holding him up. His boots scraped against the ground as he was carried. His bad foot bent awkwardly, and bumped into something; pain shot up his leg, and he let out another groan. And then he was set down on something, a pillow stuffed under his head. Johnny's eyes fluttered open, the whole word a nauseating spin of colors and shapes. He groaned, raising a hand limply to his forehead and closing his eyes shut. "Wh…what the hell happened…?"
"Fuck, he's awake." A masculine voice growled from the side. Johnny's eyes snapped open, and he sat up, looking around.
An arm, thick and hairy shot out from the side, grabbing his arm and shoving him hard back down against the ground. Johnny yelled, tensing as the heavy-set man leered over him, a large needle in his hand. He was kneeling on the padded floor, the broad fingers digging into Johnny' shoulder.
Johnny's eyes darted around. They were obviously in a car, because the big double doors that lead out of the padded cage lead to some dark street of Blue Skies Industrial. The man moved closer, and Johnny grit his teeth. "Who the hell are you?"
The man titled his head at Johnny, giving him a curious look. The guy was at least in his thirties, with dark black hair and a grizzly beard and mustache. He grinned, flashing yellowed teeth at Johnny. Lifting his hand from Johnny's arm, he tapped his laminated nametag, his name scrawled messily on it. "My name is-"
Johnny punched the man's face, and he fell back against the padded floor, the syringe falling. There was a commotion from the front of the truck from the man's scream, but Johnny didn't turn around, his heart surging with fear. He stumbled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his ribs as he ran towards the door.
"No you don't!" A voice yelled, and Johnny yelped as he ran right into another beefy arm. It caught him in the stomach, knocking all of the wind out of him as he doubled over and fell onto his hands and knees, his body jolting from the hard pavement suddenly hitting him.
A man, younger looking than the other but twice as fat loomed over him with a maniac grin. "So, those snot-nosed brats were right about you, being pretty crazy, trying to beat an orderly of Happy Volts Asylum."
Johnny's eyes went wide. "Happy Volts…?" He wheezed.
"Yeah. We saw what happened between you and those other kids. You're getting locked up, kid- we need to fix you." Johnny had only just noticed the needle in the man's hand, and he suddenly tackled Johnny, trying to stab the point into his skin. Johnny started flailing about, growling. A hand connected, and the man grunted, the grip on him loosening. He bucked the heavy man off, scrambling up to his feet.
"Fuck you crazy bastards!" Johnny's voice wavered, and he looked around wildly, whipping his head around. Adrenaline was rushing his system and he couldn't think straight- his legs were moving and he took off, away from the truck and the man and the fear that was pounding, pounding in his skull.
He just had to get away- it didn't matter where, it didn't matter how, but it was flee or fight and he was not going to fight against a bunch of huge asylum orderlies ready to take him down.
Something smacked him in the back of the neck, and he stumbled, falling to his knees. "Fuck-" And then it hits him. There's a sharp, painful feeling and then all of his nerves are coated over, with something thick, and he can't even feel the rough gravel under his fingertips. It's total numbness, and it crashes over him in a sudden wave, catching him off-guard.
"Fuck." He reached back- the simple motion is hard because everything seems to slow down, but he manages to stretch and he fumbles with the dart, fingers slipping. "Fuck…"
There were hands under his armpits, hauling him up again, and his mind goes completely numb.
Three Days After
The needle slid from his arm, making Johnny shudder and close his eyes tightly. He had never liked needles, especially how these were filled with sedatives and God knows what. Though all he wanted to do was strangle the man that held his arm still, he would behave for the orderly now. It was all one big misunderstanding. It would eventually be cleared up, and he would be sent back to Bullworth.
Surely, his dad could attest for his sanity. (Even though he was in jail.) And his mother could, too. (Even if she was currently away living with his grandmother, trying to get off of the bottle.) He was sane, he just cared a little too much about a girl and beat up the wrong people. It was no big deal. He tried to tell the orderlies by yelling and trying to beat the living shit out of them. Obviously, his violence proved his sanity.
This was his third day. While the medicine was slowly wearing on him, and the nights seem to stretch on longer, he could deal with it for at least a few weeks; plenty of time for somebody to bail him out of Happy Volts Asylum. Plenty of people could attest for his sanity.
Johnny glared furiously as the man held him, pulling his arms around by the long sleeves. Johnny jerked his arms, but the tight grip on his arms pulled them back into an aggravating position- one arm over the other, fingertips feeling the bottom of his ribs. It made him feel oddly vulnerable without the use of his arms. He shook his head slowly, blinking. The muscles in his arms ached slightly. "You haffta do this? What'd I do?" His tongue was slow, and his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to focus on the words.
The orderly said nothing, pressing uncomfortably close. He took the hooks on his long sleeves, tugging and hooking it around the stainless steel buttons he hadn't noticed before on the front of his shirt. Johnny stared numbly at them as the orderly started to hook other snaps and buttons that were on the back of his shirt, the pull on his arms becoming tighter and tighter. "These are pretty old," The orderly said gruffly, and Johnny hissed as his arms were suddenly forced back further, and he dug his fingers into his sides. The orderly took a small step backwards, one iron hand still on Johnny's shoulder as he checked over his work. "But, you have a visitor from that school of yours to deliver some of your personal items," The man scoffed, "Not like you'll need them."
"Visitor?" Johnny felt his stomach churn at the thought. A visitor? His mind reeled; who would visit him? "Is it Lola? Oh, God, no, she can't be here! Can't let her see me like this, not like…" The orderly was nearly about to berate him for his rambling, but there was a small beep and the soothing voice over the intercom rang through Johnny's room.
"Dan, please make sure the patient is ready for his visitor. We're buzzing him in."
"Sure thing." Dan gripped Johnny's shoulder tightly, grabbing the other arm with his free hand. He pushed the boy forward, and Johnny stumbled along, frowning. The orderly pushed the door open, forcing Johnny forward and through the door. "You better behave. We don't usually allow new patients to have visitors, but…" He leaded Johnny forward, past screaming, yelling patients that clawed at the bars of their cage. Johnny shuddered, gazing at them with wide eyes. He'd never be like that, no matter how long they kept him in here. The orderly never seemed to notice, and Dan pushed him along, finally leading him into a small empty room, save for two chairs. On the opposite side was another door.
"Sit." Dan said gruffly, forcing Johnny into one of the chairs. His arms were behind his back, and left him little room to sit. He had to perch on the edge of the chair, and he felt on edge as he waited for this mysterious visitor.
The door clicked, opening slowly. Johnny's eyes narrowed at Peanut, who clung to the worn suitcase he recognized as his own like it was a life vest. He closed the door gently behind him, taking a few steps into the room.
Peanut stopped, taking in Johnny slowly; the life vest, the slightly battered look, the undone hair. His eyes went as wide as saucers, and he nearly dropped the suitcase. Johnny looked wary, and he regarded Peanut coldly.
Peanut's eyes nervously darted over to the orderly, then back to Johnny. "I brought ya stuff, Johnny. Your comb, an' your jacket." He patted the suitcase softly.
Dan grunted, crossing his thick arms. "Well, if that's it, then put the suitcase down and leave. He's too unstable at the moment to entertain visitors."
"Wait!" Peanut said, much too loud, his face burning red. He started to dig through his pockets, gently setting the suitcase down on the floor. Dave's eyes narrowed, and he closed the distance between them. Peanut nervously kept searching. "I… I got…"
"What?" The orderly said forcefully. Johnny watched the two blankly. "I don't got all…" His voice trailed off as Peanut pulled out a wad of cash. "Day…"
"Here," Peanut thrust the crumpled money into the orderly's hand. The orderly grinned, smoothing out the bills and thumbing through them. "That should be enough to give us some time to talk," he looked over at Johnny, who was watching curiously, "And for you to unlatch him 'n stuff, right?"
"Plenty." The orderly said, flicking through the money one more time. He walked over to Johnny, slipping the bills into his pocket. With a few deft clicks, the binds on his suit loosened. Dan gave a small tug to the ties, and the tension fell from his arms. Johnny immediately jerked away, setting his arms free and rubbing his shoulders. He glared at the orderly, who gave him a sour look in reply.
"I can only give you two a few minutes- ten, about." He said flatly, turning for the door. "And, don't try anything funny. There are cameras, we can see you." Peanut nodded, and the orderly pushed through the door. It clicked close behind him, and the sounds of his footsteps echoed outside.
The silence was stifling, and Peanut shifted uncomfortably. "So…" He ventured, and when Johnny didn't do anything save for staring blearily at the small camera in the corner of the room, he continued talking. "How are ya?"
"Fine…" Johnny grumbled. "Just hopped up on meds right now, and I'm in a straight jacket. Just super."
Peanut winced, approaching Johnny. There was no other place to sit, so he did the only other thing he could think of; he sat on the floor, legs crossed and his elbows on his knees. Peanut leaned back, grabbing the worn suitcase and dragging it forward. The buckle came undone easily in his hands, and he pried it open. Johnny could spot his comb, tucked in between some nondescript pants and shirts that would go under the scratchy asylum uniforms.
"I got all of your things… your favorite shirt, and stuff." He mumbled quietly, his eyes nervously drifting over to Johnny. He was struggling to focus. "And your comb."
"Why are you here?" He asked bluntly, very quiet.
Peanut gave him a sad face. "I care." It was that simple. Johnny fidgeted in the chair. He couldn't wrap his mind around it.
"Why would you come back, after all of this?" He murmured quietly, not realizing he said it aloud. Peanut sighed, pushing the suitcase forward.
"I told you," he took out Johnny's comb, standing, "I care. That's it." He walked behind Johnny, who just stared darkly at the suitcase, ignoring Peanut carefully running the comb through his tangled hair. It caught a snag, and he grunted in pain, barely refraining from swatting at Peanut. Peanut sighed, ignoring his protest and continuing to run the comb through.
"What have you heard? I'm getting out soon, right?" Johnny asked quietly. Peanut's hand stilled, and then he continued, still silent. Johnny frowned darkly, trying to reach back and grab the comb. Peanut swatted his knuckles with it, and then resumed. "Hey, would ya stop brushing my hair like a chick and talk?"
"It's messy. You're messin' me up with hair like this. You look like a… a jock or somethin'."
Johnny sat quietly, scowling.
"It just unnerves me, that's all."
Johnny's scowl deepened. "You're avoidin' my question, Larry. When am I getting out?" He twisted around in the chair, staring intently at Peanut. Peanut looked away nervously, focusing on the wall.
"They…" He glanced over at Johnny, his eyebrows furrowing into a v-shape, "They said a month."
Johnny jumped out of the chair so hard it fell to the ground with a clatter. Peanut flinched, the comb dropping from his hand. "A month!" Johnny looked absolutely furious, and he turned away from Peanut, his hands clenched into fists. "I didn't do nothing and they give me a month like some kinda loony!" Peanut opened his mouth to speak, but Johnny had turned back to face him; the fire in his eyes kept Peanut from saying a thing. "How come they're doing this?"
Peanut leaned down, picking the comb back up from the floor. He brushed it off, concentrating wholeheartedly on making sure not a speck of dirt was on it. "Well…" He tentatively looked up at Johnny. "First, the townies have all vouched that you're, uh, violent." He looked down at the floor, not noticing that Johnny was swiftly approaching him. "And then for some reason, Dr. Crabblesnitch decided to agree with them instead of backing you up. He said that, 'After consultin' with the future leader of this Academy, we decided that Vincent is a prime candidate for Happy Volts'…" He trailed off, noticing Johnny's shoes, and he could feel him, standing close; he looked up slowly.
Johnny's eyes were dark. "So, am I stuck here?" He asked, voice still hinting at a slur from the drugs. Peanut's eyes fell to his shoes.
"I'm gonna get you out, I'm gonna-"
Johnny pressed close, gripping the sides of Peanut's arms and shaking him. "AmI stuck here?!"
Peanut faltered, hesitantly spitting out the truth. "Yeah. Yeah, you are."
Johnny's face fell, blinking quickly; maybe he shouldn't have asked for the truth. His hands dropped from Peanut's arms. "Fuck. That ain't good, Larry." He mumbled quietly, running a hand through his hair.
Peanut sighed, looking back up at Johnny's face. He knew that his best friend was never a very stable person to begin with; paranoid and obsessive, blind and too trusting, violent and aggressive. He couldn't stay in here. Places like Happy Volts broke men. Tentatively, he reached out, placing a shoulder on Johnny's shoulder. His eyes snapped to Peanut's, focused, and Peanut could see the uneasiness there; maybe he knows it, too.
"It doesn't matter. I'm going to get you out."
4 days after
"You got a smoke?"
The patient gave him a maniacal grin, flashing a mouthful of teeth. "Smoke? Ha, we're not supposed to smoke here." He took a step forward, sending Johnny back a step, not wanting to have the distance between them closed. He could smell his breath even with the space between them. "The watcher will see you if you smoke."
Johnny frowned, "Uh, alright, thanks-" He automatically searches out the little tag they place on all of the gowns, finding his name quickly, "Jeffery?" And turned away before the man could say anything else. He didn't need another crazed person babbling about 'the watcher' when it was just some stupid statue that could burn and crack and crumble like any other inanimate object. There wasn't anything special about it.
Except the way he swore its eyes were following him. But other then that, there was nothing wrong with the Watcher.
The statue.
Johnny frowned. That's all it was, a statue.
God, he was out of it. He needed a smoke. Or maybe he just needed a decent person to talk to, not somebody that babbled and drooled on themselves. The lack of sanity was starting to get to him. There was nobody to hold a conversation with except himself, and in the loony bin, that was usually frowned upon if you were still protesting that you were sane.
Which Johnny was. But he was getting irritated by all of the other crazies in here. At least he didn't have to stay inside, locked up in his room like some of the others. He was allowed to wander outside, though that wasn't much fun either. But it was better then staying in the room. He passed by those inmates when that Dan guy shuffled him out along with the others outside. They were the crazy ones. Stuck in a small cage with just themselves and their problems as their companions.
He never heard someone scream like that before then.
Johnny liked to think of himself as fearless, but passing by those doors, their eyes so dark and empty, scared him. He wondered how long they had been there.
Had they been there a month? Or less?
Johnny shook his head, running a hand through his hair. It didn't matter. Peanut had said he'd get him out soon. He promised. If there was anything he could believe steadfast in, was that Peanut Romano stuck by his promises, and he knew he was going to get him out.
Johnny sighed, stopping, his hands shaking slightly. Right now, all he wanted was some nicotine to sooth his nerves. "I can't believe nobody has a smoke around here." He grumbled, pressing his hands against his face, rubbing tiredly.
"Hey," Johnny jumped, looking over towards where the voice was coming from. There was a form, in the shadows of the small building where the orderlies took their brakes. "C'mere, kid."
Johnny hesitantly walked towards the shape. "Yeah? What do you want?"
"Need a cig?" The voice is familiar, but Johnny couldn't see the face through the thick bangs that fall over the man's face and the way he's standing in the shade. The man hitched up his gown, showing off a pair of raggedy pants underneath, and fished out a carton, flipping it open and offering it to Johnny.
Johnny looked down at it, then back up at the man, taking one. "Thanks." He looked it over; Marlboro, one hundred percent tobacco and cancer, too. At least this crazy knew what to smoke. "You got a light?"
The guy grinned, "Light?" His voice was odd, slightly higher, "You mean, as in, fire?" The way is voice crawled around, slightly sluggish, made Johnny really doubt he found a normal guy out of the bunch. "Fire… nah, I don't got any fire." The word rolled off his lips, and he continued to grin, though it had turned from careless to lecherous. "They don't let me have fire no more."
"Oh." Johnny said, holding the cigarette in his hand. He smiled weakly, taking a step back. "You know, I'll just be-"
There was a clink and a small burst of fire from the Zippo that seemed to magically appear in the man's hands. He twirled it through his fingers, still lit, and Johnny swore he saw the flame lick his skin but his hand didn't waver. He tossed it in the air, and Johnny took a startled step back. The man caught it deftly, the cap clinking closed, and he calmly flicked the cap open again, lighting it. The flame danced, and Johnny watched, dumbfounded.
"Well," The man said smoothly, shaking his Zippo slightly. "Go ahead. You need a light, don't ya?"
Johnny mumbled a quick thank you, putting the cigarette in his mouth and leaning forward. He shielded the fire from the wind as he tried to his cig to light. "So," Johnny's eyes flickered up, just as his cigarette caught. That face. The light was still dim but he was closer and he knew that face. Johnny pulled back like he had been bitten, nearly dropping his cigarette.
"You! You're that townie, that- Henry!"
Henry grinned, lighting himself a cig, not half as bothered as Johnny. "Huh, yeah. How long have you been in here for?"
Johnny felt his hands shake, anger rising up in him like an ugly snake. "The day after you took me down, you fuckin'-"
"Hey, hey, don't get so damn uppity." Henry growled suddenly, leaning forward, flicking the cap of his Zippo up and down in agitation.
"Why don't you shut up?" Johnny snapped, taking an aggressive step towards him. Henry's nostrils flared, and he pushed himself off the wall, glaring at Johnny. "It's because of you that I'm in here, you dickhead! You just had to be a prick and beat me up for no damn reason!"
Henry closed the distance between them, their chests bumping, and they were at the exact height. "So?" Henry grunted, holding his cigarette in the side of his mouth. "What you gonna do about it, you damn filthy oil slick?" He barked out a laugh, exhaling smoke in Johnny's face.
Johnny knew what he was going to do. He lunged at Henry, going straight for his neck, hands wrapping around the soft skin, fingers pushing. Henry's fist went into his jaw with a loud crack, and all he did was shout and tighten his grip, pushing down hard against his skin, listening to the panicked wheeze. "Fuck!" Feeling pain wasn't an option at the moment, because the sort of rage that gripped him when he saw someone with Lola was the same hateful poison that wrenched through him now.
"I'll fucking kill you, you townie!" The yell ripped right through him, and he struggled against the orderlies. He had to teach that god damn townie a lesson- that he can't just take him away from Lola, from Peanut, from all his friends without any repercussions, and mother fuck was he going to kill him.
"Settle down, boyo." Dan growled, his thick arm coming up and around Johnny's neck, pulling back. Johnny coughed, his airway being cut off quite suddenly. "You need to settle down." The man's harsh breath was coarse in his ear and Johnny grunted, using his last bit of breath, hands struggling at the orderlies arm.
"Get-" He couldn't breath, and his clutch on Dan's arm turned into scrabbling, frantic movements. The orderly only squeezed tighter, and it was only with his vision swimming, eyes watering heavily that he noticed the slim needle held in his other hand, raised high.
"Pleasant dreams, there," Johnny's fingernails bit into the man's flesh but he didn't seem to care, the needle slamming down. It didn't take long- Johnny's exhausted body and mind gave to the drugs, body slumping as his eyes fluttered, struggled, then shut.
Five Days After
Peanut hadn't told anyone else yet about what had happened to Johnny. It was one of those things that was best kept to yourself, especially when almost all of the cliques were starting to get restless because of the warm summer months. The heat was stifling, school was almost over, and the restless energy to just finally be free seemed to be getting to everyone. (It also didn't help that Jimmy Hopkins had fallen from grace recently, but a thought like that didn't occur to Peanut. Only one man was king in his eyes.) The preps had been extremely hostile as of late, and if they heard of Johnny's disappearance, there would be one hell of a rumble. Derby had been extremely hostile as of late
Though he knew none of the greasers would let it out that Johnny had been locked up- more than likely, they would help break him out- but Peanut felt uneasy every time he meant to bring it up to Norton, who had appointed himself as unofficial head until Johnny returned from wherever he went to. The thought of telling everyone that their great leader was stuck in a place full of frothing crazies was just sickening. Peanut knew Johnny was a good leader, but some of the other greasers had their doubts.
Everyone had their doubts. It was the heat. The heat was driving everyone crazy.
Peanut moved his feet slowly, pedaling the bike across the small bridge that ran to Blue Skies. He hadn't noticed the Townies until he was across and halfway down the potholed road.
"Hey, Greaser!" One of them yelled. Peanut squeezed the brakes, his bike jolting to a stop. He looked over, frowning and leaning on one foot.
"Yeah?" He answered stiffly, tilting his head to the side. (Normally, Peanut would have ignored them, but without Johnny around he almost felt the need to pick up the tough guy act and defend the clique. He had to answer to the call.)
One of the townies walked over- it was Jerry, and Omar, if he wasn't mistaken. Jerry had this shit-eating grin on his face as he approached him; Omar still stood on the sidewalk corner, glaring over at Peanut, and giving an equally dirty look to Jerry. "How ya doing, Greaser? How's your man doing?"
"My man?" Peanut felt his throat tighten.
Jerry grinned. "Johnny?"
He scowled darkly, looking away from Jerry. "I'm out of here. Ya no good bunch of damn Townies- fucking drop-outs, I don't have time for this shit." He could feel his fingers shaking as his foot moved to the pedal of his bike; he was unusually angry about all of this, and he didn't even know why the Townie affected him so. "Fuck this-" Jerry suddenly lurched forward, grabbing the collar of Peanut's jacket. Peanut yelled out, his bike tipping over from the sudden tug, and as he fell he grabbed Jerry, pulling him down with him to the hard ground, the bike clattering over. There was a small scuffle, hands and feet and curses before they finally untangled, jumping up from the ground, the fallen bike lying in between them. Peanut's shoulders were hunched, fists clenched. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Jerry frowned, brushing himself off. "Jesus, you fell over like a damn girl- just like Johnny."
Peanut grabbed his bike, righting it. Why was this making him so mad? He glanced up at Omar. He couldn't take them both; he wasn't really in the mood to come back with a black eye. He turned around, starting to wheel his bike off. "Fuck you- fuck you two."
"Johnny is a little bitch, you know that, right? That's why he's in that place- that place for loons, 'cause that's what he is, the King of the fucking crazies!"
Peanut's body stiffened. Now he knew- fuck, how did they know Johnny was locked up? Nobody knew- unless.
Peanut twisted around, his feet still firmly planted on the ground. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck prick up, a million tiny needles poking into his skin. The bottom of his stomach fell through, and he turned around fully, running as fast as possible. The townies noticed the heavy footfalls before he was upon them, and Jerry turned to gawk at Peanut, but it was too late; his speed and body weight was all behind the punch, and he hit Jerry right in the face. He made an awkward squawking noise as he fell, and Omar quickly tackled Peanut over before he could follow up his punch with a kick.
He landed heavily, Omar's weight and the hard concrete jarring his body. There was something sharp under his head, but Peanut ignored it as he narrowly dodged Omar's punch, jerking his head away so sharply he could feel his neck crack. He twisted away from another punch, and Omar cursed as his knuckles hit the hard concrete underneath his head. His knuckles turned bright red, blood seeping from the wounds as he clutched his hand. "Fuck!"
Peanut pushed Omar off, scrambling from underneath the larger boy's body. There was suddenly a sharp pain in the back of his head, and he reached back, touching something warm and sticky. The pain… he had cut his head. He gritted his teeth, wincing.
"What the hell do you want, greaser?" Omar snapped, staggering to his feet. He brusquely wiped his bleeding hand against his shirt, glaring knives at Peanut. "I thought you were leaving, tail tucked between your legs?"
"I don't want nothin' from you!" Peanut snapped, hands curling into fists, and he jerks his head over to Jerry, who's just now managing to stumble to his feet. His nose is pouring out stick red blood that he can barely hold back. "It's all his fault that Johnny's away, and I swear, I'm gonna-"
"Away?" The townie interrupts before Peanut can finish, confused. "We…" He paused, grinning, "Oh. Oh, you mean Happy Volts."
"Fucking hell I mean Happy Volts!" Peanut snarled, taking a step toward Omar. He was at least a head taller but Peanut wasn't in the mood for rational thought at the moment. "How could you do that to someone? Happy Volts! You know what they do to people in there-"
"Shut up!" Jerry yelled, his voice a tinge nasally as he clutches awkwardly at his bloodied nose, face red with anger. "What the hell do we owe to you Prep-School bastards? Nothing! God damnit, you think you're tough- 'Look at us, we own cars, we wear leather jackets, we're so hardcore and tough!' That's not tough. You pay at least ten thousand a year to go to that fuckin' school! You've all got grandparents that love you enough to send you money to waste on a shitty education, or maybe it's money your parents got to steal or, fuck, maybe one of you wrench monkeys managed a scholarship or some shit- but us? We've got nothing, no hope- we're just plain public school kids, or drop-outs who just couldn't fuckin' take that shithole of a school, and when Gary told us that we needed to get Johnny out of the way to bring you assholes down, so fuck him, we got him out of the way!"
"What?" Peanut's eyes narrowed. Gary? That creepy psycho who sold off a few prescription drugs near the beginning of the school year? What was he doing ordering the townies around? "What does Smith have to do with all of this?"
Omar shot a glare over at Jerry, then looked over at Peanut, frowning. "You jostled the brains out of him with that punch, greaser. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Why don't I give you a free pass to get the hell out of here, and I won't beat your ass?"
Peanut rubbed at his arm. "Ya know, I'm getting to the fucking bottom of this, you public school drop-out rats." He snapped, glaring. "I swear to fucking God, if anythin' happens to Johnny- you're gonna pay for it. You're gonna pay."
Omar rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Like he's gonna get any fuckin' crazier."
Peanut's shoulders rose, his whole face contorting with rage. "You fuck-"
"Get the fuck outta here, greaser!" He shouted suddenly, pointing off away from Blue Skies. "We can beat the shit outta your skinny ass, alright? Now scram!"
Peanut glared, his hands shoved into his pockets. Omar glared right back, and they were locked in a death stare for a few long, tense seconds- Peanut suddenly turned away, scowling, and spit on the ground, shaking his head. "Fine." His voice was harsh, strained. "Fine. Fuck you two." He was on his wit's end because of this whole Happy Volts business,
Ten days after
It was the early mornings, when the medicine from last night had been worn out, and the orderlies were eating their breakfast before the morning round, that Johnny could think clearly. He didn't know the exact time; time was warped in this hellhole, and it never really passed in any way that made sense. It was just day- and then it was night. That was it. There was no in between. He could only understand the concept of early morning, when Dan came in smelling of coffee and powdered donut in his beard, and everything else, after the medicine set in. (Johnny remembered normal breakfasts, the times at school when he and Peanut would throw runny eggs into preppies' hair.)
He fidgeted, restless in his bed. Johnny sat up, turning around and looking at the space above his pillow. How many dashes were carved there? He ran a light finger over it, his lips moving slowly as he counted.
Ten. Dix. Diaz. Ten whole fucking days.
It felt like forever.
He sat up suddenly, rubbing at his eyes. But that didn't matter. He was sane. And a few weeks- no, no, he had only been here a few days, so it was a few days ago- Peanut had told him he would get him out.
He squeezed his eyes shut. Hadn't Peanut said he'd get him out soon? He couldn't really remember. Everything was muddled, snatches of memories that he didn't recognize as happening recently.
Then again, who was he to analyze time? Fuck. Fuck time. Peanut knew what he was doing. Peanut was his best friend, he could get him out, if anybody could, Peanut could. Johnny closed his eyes, leaning forward tiredly. He cared. He hadn't heard a peep from Lola Lombardi, of course not, that beautiful whore, but he had heard from the friend he shouted and screamed at the very next day.
Fuck Larry for making everything so damn complicated. Why couldn't he be like any other person and abandon him? Wasn't that what normal people do?
Johnny slid out of bed, his head immediately starting to pound. He pressed a hand to his temple, body aching, heart fluttering in his chest. Even his body knew when the medicine was supposed to come, and his eyes were on the door before it even opened. A sick feeling curled low in his belly at the sight of the needle in the orderly's hands.
"Mornin', Jimmy-"
"Johnny."
Dan rolled his eyes. "Alright, sure. Ready for your medicine?" The man obviously didn't care whatever the answer, because he stalked towards Johnny with the needle raised slightly, ready to plunge it into him if a scuffle started.
Surprisingly, Johnny held his arm out wearily, a thin smile on his face. "Go ahead."
The grip on his arm was like iron, holding him still. Johnny didn't even realize he was shaking that bad. "Already given up, kid? You tried to clock me out the other day before your meds."
Johnny's eyes snapped closed, and he let out his breath in a tight hiss as the needle punctured his skin. "Haven't given up, yet-" Fuck, this was strong. He felt his mind throb, drugs rushing through his bloodstream, painful and exhilarating and his face was melting clean off, it felt like, oh- "Larry's gonna save me, fuck. Fuck, Larry's gonna… gonna save me."
The needle slipped from his skin, empty, and Johnny opened his eyes. Dan had five eyes. When had he grown five eyes? "Well, good luck with that, kid. Have a nice day."
Johnny shook his head slowly, trying to clear his vision, fighting the medicine. "Larry's coming, he's gonna save me." Dan chuckled, shutting the door behind him as he left. The quiet sound made Johnny jump, and he ran a hand over his face, feeling sweat bead on his forehead, breath going shallow. Why had it gotten so dark all of a sudden? He stumbled backward, chest clenching, swallowing thick gulps of air that still wasn't enough, still wasn't enough and his heart was going to burst-
"Hello there, Vincent." A voice purred smoothly in his ear, rendering Johnny boneless. He sunk to his knees slowly, unable to look back, not really wanting to see what sorts of demons this medicine was stirring up, especially because that voice was so gratingly familiar. "I thought I'd drop by. Oh, your place seems really cozy- better than that dump of a place in New Coventry, I bet."
Johnny curled his hands over his head, running his fingers through his hair, clutching tightly. "Fuck. Fuck. Go away- Larry… Larry's going to save me-"
"About that." His voice slunk on smoothly, like always; he was always such a god damn smooth talker, fake British accent and all. Johnny squeezed his eyes shut, breath ragged. Why wasn't he going away? This thing was just from his tormented medicine, given life by the medicine, it wasn't real- "How do you expect someone named Peanut to break you out of a heavily guarded asylum, hmm? I do believe you're dense, but I didn't realize your mental shortcomings were that bad."
"Shut up, you fucking prep-"
He laughed in his ear, hot breath sending shudders through Johnny. "Sorry, Vincent. I think I'm going to be sticking around a while."
I took some artistic license... also, this wasn't beta'd. Just kinda throwing this out there. Please leave reviews/ PM me if you spot any mistakes, or you don't like the way anything is going story-wise. I do listen to what you guys suggest!