Sorry for the long wait. Real life…overpowering… So…stressed…

You might wanna read Jhonen's other work "I feel sick", since Devi thinks about what happened during the comic…blah blah

JtHM © Mr. Scolex

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Johnny opened his eyes slowly, groaning softly as sleep departed from him. He lay there for a while, waiting for the usual confusion of awakening to pass. He sighed as he remembered his apology. Devi had said that she had accepted it, and they even shook hands on it. He shivered slightly as he remembered how she had intertwined his cold, claw-like fingers with her own, and he began to wonder if it had all been a dream. But more memories came to him, images of what had happened after that moment.

He remembered how they had sat in silence, unsure of what to say. After a few moments they began to reminisce about how they first met. They found themselves talking like they often did in the past, though they were a little more reserved in their words. Johnny guessed that he must've drifted off while they were talking.

He sat up slowly, his side still painful where he had been kicked, and glanced around the room. The gray light of day was pouring through the blinds on the window, and the faint sound of tapping on a glass surface told him that it was still raining. He saw his tattered black shirt, dry and folded, resting on the nightstand. He smiled, grateful that he would have something to cover up his boney frame. He slipped it on, and planted both feet on the floor.

He suddenly felt a little dizzy as he stood, and he cursed himself for lying down for so long. But the sensation cleared, and he began to walk, slowly, down the small hallway. He passed a small mirror hanging on the wall, and peered into it. His hair was ruffled more that it usually was, and he had a few scratches on one side of his face. The flesh around his left eye was bruised and somewhat swollen. He sighed to himself, and continued to limp down the hall.

When Johnny came into the small living room, he stopped, expecting to see Devi asleep on her couch. Instead, she was standing at her easel in the corner, painting. Johnny watched as she expertly added small drops of paint to the canvas, using their raw beauty to create an image with the brush.

He leaned against the wall, smiling softly, and remembering how he used to paint like that…

--

Devi dipped the small brush in a jar of dark green paint. She made short, bold strokes, creating the likeness of grass blowing softly in the wind. She seldom painted landscapes, and when she did, they never turned out the way she wanted. But now she smiled to herself. This one was coming along nicely.

She heard a short, rasping cough behind her, and turned around. She saw Johnny leaning against the wall, smiling almost sadly.

"Oh," Devi gasped, slightly surprised but glad to seem him up and walking, "You're awake."

"Heh, so it would seem," he paused, and began walking over to her. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours," she replied, glancing at him. His dark eyes where still clouded with fever, but he seemed much better than before. "You needed the rest, though. Can I get you anything?"

"No, no," he said, taking a seat on the sofa. "I'm fine. Thanks, though."

Devi sat beside him, and gently pressed her palm to his forehead. Johnny tensed slightly. She must still be worried, he thought. I never thought she would care so much…

"You still feel a little warm…the fight and all that rain took a lot out of you."

"I'm fine, I promise."

Devi got up and looked at him disbelievingly. "At least lay down while I clean up my paints. I don't want you getting any worse."

Johnny couldn't help but chuckle at the seriousness in Devi's voice. "You know," he said, lying on his back, "you'd make a good nurse."

She laughed in response. "Nah… I'm an artist, not a doctor." She dipped her brushes in a jar half filled with water, swishing them around to clean the bristles. "I don't even know how I knew what to do when I dragged you here. It must've been pure instinct, I guess."

He gave a few coughs, and said, "Well, whatever you did, instinct or not, it helped." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Maybe you learned it from your mother?"

"I highly doubt that," she said, keeping her back turned to him as she began drying her brushes.

"Why is that?" Johnny asked, suddenly curious.

"Because…" Devi sighed, "she died when I was three."

His eyes widened. "Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

The green-eyed girl shrugged. "Nothin' to be sorry about. But you're probably right. Maybe I picked it up from her without knowing it."

Silence filled the room once more as Devi finished cleaning her painting area. When she was finished she took a seat beside Johnny. The silence was almost deafening, until Devi broke the stillness.

"Why did you save me?"

The question was so straightforward that Johnny was almost taken aback. She wasn't making any eye contact with him, but her voice was strong. He cleared his throat. "What do you mean?"

Devi gave a harsh sigh. "I just don't understand it… first you try to kill me, and then you save me from being murdered by a bunch of thugs."

Johnny followed her with his gaze as she got up and began pacing along the floor.

"I mean… I think I know what came over you that night, but I… I'm not sure." She was thinking of her painting of that little doll, dubbed "Sickness", the painting that had taken on a life of it's own to control her mind. During a meeting with her ex-boss, Mr. Nevers, Devi recalled something that the doll had told her.

"Your friend thought he could fight, too. And he ended up…introducing us to you…"

What Sickness had said echoed through her mind thought the meeting, and soon she wasn't even paying attention to what Mr. Nevers was saying. Her eyes had lost all focus as she realized that Johnny had been affected by the same supernatural force that she had. Unlike Johnny, she had stopped it before she lost control.

But Devi had no time to recall this moment in time. She shook her head, her back still turned to him, and continued. "Johnny, I just want to know exactly why you saved me last night."

Johnny looked away, and scratched the back of his neck as he tried to think of an answer. "You didn't deserve to die like that. What else was I supposed to do? Watch as those fucks killed you?"

Devi stopped pacing and closed her eyes. She suddenly felt a pair of cold, skeletal fingers grasp her own. She opened her eyes. Johnny was holding her hands, his eyes blazing with nervous sincerity.

"Devi… no matter what I tried to do to you in the past… doesn't matter now. I would never let you suffer like that, no matter how much you hate me."

Devi managed to form a small smile on her lips.

"Now," Johnny said slowly letting go of her hands, "I have a question for you."

"Al-all right," she said, though his last statement still fresh in her brain. "What is it?"

"Why did you help me? I know it wasn't a simple return of a favor."

She cleared her throat a little. "I… I honestly don't know. I guess…I guess deep down, I didn't have the heart to leave you back in that alley."

Now it was Johnny's turn to smile. They stood in silence for a while, unsure of what to say. Johnny hacked out a few sudden coughs, and Devi looked up, plainly worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" he answered his voice raspy. He walked over to the couch and sat down heavily. Then he coughed again and continued speaking. "I'll be fine. I'm just… tired, that's all…"

Devi sat next to him, and Johnny found himself leaning his head against the back of the sofa as his fatigue grew. He closed his eyes, and spoke softly. "Thanks, Devi… for everything."

"Anytime, Nny."

He smiled weakly. "Devi?"

"What?"

"You called me 'Nny'…"

--

Awww... is that cute or what! Devi and Nny are getting a little closer now. (sighs) Just in time, too, since there's only three more hours left of Valentine's Day. But don't get me wrong. I HATE this holiday.

Tenna's gonna appear in the next chapter, in honor of my buddy Tony. I swear, he's Tenna in guy form. He even has a Spooky Squeak toy! I ENVY HIM!

Oh, and Squee is gonna show up sooner or later. I love that little guy.

Don't forget to review!