Hello, everyone. Sorry for the long wait. My life is so…cluttered. This chapter is dedicated to my buddy, Tony. Why? Because he loves Tenna, and he even has a Spooky squeak toy. I envy him…

JtHM © Jhonen Vasquez

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"You think that if you stopped doing something that defined you as a person, that maybe, you'd cease to be that person?"

"I dunno. That's a lot of 'that's."

They were at the city overlook, sitting on the roof of Johnny's car. Both were engaged in a conversation about their art. They kept their eyes off one another, keeping their gaze of the scenery below them. Though the electric lights of the city swallowed up most of the view, some stars were still visible. A bright full moon hung low in the sky, casting its shine on the far off mountains in the horizon. It was hard to take one's eyes off it, but Devi's reply tore Johnny away from it. He sighed, and turned his head to her.

"No, come on. I'm being serious."

"Okay, sorry," Devi replied. "Serious time begins… now! Okay, if I have this right. What your describing isn't so much of a creative block, as it is a creative re-routing."

"Oooh…" she said, turning his head back to the view as he thought it over. "I like that."

"So… where is it being re-routed to?"

Johnny didn't answer.

--

"Hey! Devi, you in there?"

Devi groaned as her eyes fluttered open and the dream faded away. She listened for a moment, wondering if she had imagined someone calling her name. She sighed, and closed her eyes, drifting off again…

"Devi! I know you're in there!" There was a squeaking sound, then more yelling and knocking on the door. "C'mon, get up! Even Spooky knows you're there!"

Ugh… Tenna, she thought, growling as she pulled herself off the couch. Johnny was sitting limply on the other side of it, his head tilted to one side as it rested on the cushions. He was asleep.

There was another knock. Devi walked hastily to her door, unlocked it, and opened it a crack. A black and white squeak toy, resembling a skeleton, was right outside the door, only a few inches away from her face. The hand holding it gave it another squeak as Devi opened the door a little farther, and stuck her head through the opening. Tenna was standing there, holding her squeak toy (which she called "Spooky") and grinning from ear to ear. She was an energetic African American girl, with spiky hair and big jade colored eyes. She and Devi had been friends since they started school together. But, unlike Devi, Tenna had not shed her child-like ways.

"Ha! We knew you were here, didn't we, Spooky?" she laughed, clutching the doll a little tighter.

"Hi, Tenna," Devi said, slightly annoyed. "What's up?"

"Same old shit, like always. We haven't seen you in forever! Where have you been?" She paused, studying her friend for a moment. "You okay? You look tired."

"Yeah, I've been…" she yawned sleepily, "busy lately."

"Do you wanna go out?" she asked enthusiastically. "Spooky does! We haven't gone out together in a long time! They just opened a new China Buffet downtown. We should try it out!" She ended by giving Spooky a loud squeak.

Devi turned her gaze behind her, back to Johnny's motionless body. He groaned softly, and stirred a bit, waking slowly. Devi turned her eyes back to Tenna.

"Erm… I can't. I still have a lot to do, ya know? So… maybe later." She attempted to close the door, but Tenna blocked her way as she strolled into the apartment.

"Oh, c'mon Dev'! You can't stay cooped up in there like a hermit! We won't be gone too long! Then you can…" she trailed off as she saw Johnny lying on the sofa. There was pause, and then she spoke up. "Who is that?"

Devi's face dropped, and she chuckled nervously. "Who's who?"

"Him! The spooky dude in black!" she said, pointing to him. "Don't play dumb! You know who I'm talking about!"

She was silenced as Johnny groaned again. His eyes slid open, but closed tightly as he coughed painfully a few times. Muttering to himself, he opened his eyes again, groggily at first, but snapping them open as he saw Tenna gawking at him. He cleared his throat, and spoke in a slightly raspy voice.

"Umm… hello?"

Tenna didn't answer, and turned back to Devi, waiting for her to speak.

Devi gave a harsh sigh. "Tenna, this is Nny…er, Johnny. Johnny, this is Tenna."

"Wait, wait, wait." Tenna said, a little disbelievingly. "You mean to tell me, that this is the same 'Nny' guy who tried to kill you last year?"

Devi felt as if her face went bright red for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something, but Johnny cut her off.

"Yes… I'm the same guy," he said, his eyes flashing with guilt. "But that was a long time ago."

"What are you doing here! I swear, if you try to kill my buddy again, I'll get all crazy on you!" she said defensively, snarling and taking a karate-like fight stance. She held Spooky above her head, and squeaked it threateningly. Johnny raised an eyebrow as he watched her. Devi rolled her eyes.

"Jesus Tenn'!" she said. "He's not out to kill me! Calm down, will you!"

"Then tell me what he's doing here!"

"Alright! Fine!"

As Devi and Johnny explained what happened, Tenna listened intently, clutching Spooky close to her. Johnny told of how he fought off Devi's assailants, while Devi spoke of how she had dragged him back to her apartment. Both were blushing slightly and avoiding eye contact with one another. Tenna smirked as she saw this.

"So he's staying here until he heals a little. Nothing big," Devi said, ending the re-account of that night's events.

"Ohhh, okay…" Tenna paused for a moment, thinking. Then she gave a high-pitched squeal, and enveloped Johnny in a bear hug. Johnny cried out as he felt her squeeze his bruised body in her arms. He could hardly breathe and his aching ribs throbbed with vicious pain, but he clenched his teeth and bore it.

"Oh, you were so brave!" Tenna said. "You saved my best friend! How can I ever repay you!" She held him tighter, and Johnny shut his eyes and whimpered in pain.

"By…letting go of me," he gasped. "You're hurting… my ribs."

"Oh…sorry, sorry!" She apologized and released his battered form from her arms. Johnny sighed gratefully as the pain in his ribs started to fade. Devi cracked a smile on her lips as Johnny gave Tenna a slight glare.

"Here, this'll make you feel better." Tenna held out her squeak toy, and grinned. "Talk to Spooky!"

Johnny blinked at the little rubber skeleton, held out only a few centimeters away from his nose. He wished he could take out one of his knives and silence its annoying squeaking for eternity. But he pushed the thought away.

"Umm, hi…Spooky." He said hesitantly. Then he looked at Devi, silently asking for an explanation.

Devi rolled her eyes. "She's had that thing her whole life. She wouldn't get rid of it even if the fate of the world depended on it."

Johnny chuckled a little. Devi did the same. Their eyes met, and they quickly averted their eyes from one another. Tenna stared at both of them for a moment, and then addressed her friend.

"Devi, can I talk you, for a second?" Before Devi could reply, she grabbed her by the arm, dragging her into the hall outside the apartment. "S'cuse us, for a sec," she said to Johnny, closing the door.

They stood in silence for a minute. Tenna was smiling broadly, giggling. Devi raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"You-" she giggled again. "You like him, don't you?"

Devi's eyes widened. "What!"

"Hee! I can tell you like him," Tenna said, her voice shaking from laughing.

"I do not! I mean, yeah, I like him as a friend. But not in… that way!"

"Dev', girl, I saw the way you two acted around each other. He obviously still likes you, and it's obvious that you like him in the same way."

Devi growled, trying to say something. All she could do was stutter angrily. Tenna simply nodded her head, smiling.

"Mhhmm, sure. Well, we'd," she gave Spooky another squeak, "better be going. Good luck with Nny." She giggled again and disappeared down the hall. Devi snorted in annoyance and entered her apartment, shutting the door behind her.

"Well, she was…interesting," Johnny said, trying to break the silence.

"Heh, you don't know the half of it," Devi replied, sitting beside Johnny. "She's nice though, once you get to know her."

"And her 'little friend' was…" He trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Repulsively annoying?"

"Yeah, that would describe it." He said. Then he added, mischievously, "I should've sneezed on it when I had the chance."

Devi laughed a little at the thought of it, then her face grew more serious. "Are your ribs okay?"

"Yeah, not too much pain now," he said, wincing as he ran a hand over his bruised side. "Fuck, that girl sure has a tight grip."

"Are you feeling any better? I mean, besides your ribs."

Johnny scratched the back of his neck as he spoke. "Actually, I am. In fact…" he got up off the couch, and turned to her. "I think I'm well enough to…take my leave."

Devi rose, approaching him slowly. "Are- are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm feeling fine now, thanks to you. And besides, I've taken enough of your time already, Devi."

Johnny began walking toward the door, but something stopped him. Devi's hand was resting on his shoulder. He forced himself to look her in the face. When he did, he saw that her green eyes were filled with an unreadable emotion. She opened her mouth to speak, and nearly closed it again.

"I…" she swallowed nervously. "I want you stay here. For one more night." What am I doing? Am I insane? She asked herself silently.

Johnny looked back at her, confusion in his eyes. "Why?"

"I- I just…" She paused, sighing. "Nny, I need to know if you're okay."

"Of course I'm..." He paused, fighting off another cough. "Of course I'm okay."

"I just want to make sure," she said persistently. "Just one more night, then you can leave tomorrow."

He wanted to protest, but he couldn't think of anything logical to say. They stared into each other's eyes, dark brown against emerald, arguing without a word between them. Finally, he sighed. He just couldn't defeat those defiant eyes of hers.

"Alright," he said in defeat, letting a somewhat sad smile creep across his lips. "One more night."

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Done! Salvation at last! I laughed when I wrote about the part with Tenna hugging Nny. The look on his face! (laughs crazily) oh, and I should probably mention that China Buffet is a real place. Tony always tries to drag me there. It's funny, really.