Chapter 2: I Need A Drink

A/N: I get the feeling that Johnny and Carly are actually going to wind up a pretty decent friends, so I've taken some liberties with their relationship. Forgive me if it's too Out of Character.

I'm not sure about this chapter, so let me know what you think

After his and Lulu's fight, Johnny didn't go straight home. Instead, he went to the worst place possible – The Metro Court. He figured that Logan or Jason Morgan would be on their way to find him and do him some serious bodily harm. There was no way that Lulu wasn't going tell someone he threatened her. So why not make it easy for them? At this point in time, he didn't care who found him. All he wanted to do was sit at the bar with his bottle of Jack and proceed to drink himself into oblivion.

Johnny didn't even know where to begin concerning what had happened with Lulu. Before he met her, he acted crazy for fun and because people expected him to. That was his reputation. The crazy, rebellious mobster's son. But Lulu was different. Their lives were similar and she understood him. And the more he wanted to get close to her, the more he couldn't.

All he wanted to do was keep her safe. Why couldn't the damn girl get a clue? There was nothing Johnny wanted more than to be with Lulu, but with the inevitable mob war approaching – not to mention a killer on the loose – her safety was the first priority. And that meant making sure she stayed away from him by any means necessary. And with the talent she had at pushing his buttons, it wasn't that hard to snap at her.

Then he went from being snappish to snapping. If there is one thing in the world sure to make Johnny go from calm to enraged is being compared to Logan Hayes. He hated Logan – not only because he could have Lulu with no consequences, but because of what he put her through. He didn't understand how she could even stand to look that guy in the eyes after what he did. Yet, Lulu didn't even hesitate when egging Johnny on – she went straight for the jugular when she called Logan the better man. Johnny took another shot in disgust as he remembered what happened just a short while ago.

"And to what do I owe this appearance in my hotel tonight?"

In the beginning, Carly wasn't Johnny's biggest fan. But he was a hero at the Black and White ball, not only saving her life personally, but he tried his damnedest to save everyone else's. From what Lulu told her, Johnny shot his father dead to protect her – but there were no bullets in the gun. He did his best to keep Lulu safe, and his concern for her truly touched Carly. If only he wasn't in the mob and Sonny's enemy… She believed that Lulu and Johnny had what it took to make it work. So her initial opinion about him was wrong. And there was nothing Carly hated more than being wrong.

Johnny looked over at Carly leaning on the bar next to him. "Well, I figured since I'm probably going to be dead in a few hours, I might as well live it up." He punctuated that sentence with another shot.

"Dead? Oh, Johnny, what the hell happened now? Haven't I warned you about Sonny? Do you listen to anyone," Carly yelled, throwing her hands in the air. She glanced over at him to see him shaking his head no.

"No? No what? Not Sonny?"

"Nope."

"Then what? Trevor…" She trailed off when realization hit her. "Lulu."

"Yep."

"I thought you were distancing yourself from her."

"I'm trying! But that cousin of yours has a goddamn mind of her own. Enough to drive a man to drink," Johnny stated, gesturing with his shot glass.

Carly nodded towards the nearly half empty bottle. "Was that full when you came in here?"

"Most definitely."

"So you wanna tell me why you're going to be dead because of Lulu?"

"Not really. Then I'll just have to add your name to the list of people who want to kill me."

"If you hurt her, Johnny, I swear – "

"I have to hurt her," he said, raising his voice. "That's the only way to get it through to her how dangerous it is to be around me!"

"Okay, okay, okay," she said, putting her hands up in as a sign for him to relax. "Calm down. I get what you're trying to do. I just jumped to conclusions. Now why don't you tell me what happened?"

Johnny just looked away and poured himself another shot.

Carly sighed. "You know, if you don't tell me, she will. And I'm sure you're rather get your half of the story out on the table first."

Now it was Johnny's turn to sigh. "Here's the long and short of it. She hunted me down again, I called her on it and made myself and cold to her as possible. We had a bad argument, and I kind of…. threatened her life," he finished in a rush, downing the shot.

"You what," Carly snarled at him.

"Why are you getting angry with me? It's what I had to do! I had to scare her! I thought, maybe if she thought she was in danger from me, she would finally leave me alone!" His mind was getting cloudy from all the alcohol and he was starting to feel his earlier anger rise again. "Do you really think I don't want her around? That I would honestly hurt her? I'm doing my best to keep her safe and she's blind to it! She keeps seeking me out!"

"Alright, Johnny, breathe," she said. "And I think you've had about enough of this," she added, taking the bottle and sliding it back to the bartender. "But you're right. Maybe if she's scared of you, she'll stop trying to contact you."

"But I'm disgusted with myself for the way I have to act now. I'm not a great person, but I'm not a monster. Except now I am. "

"You listen to me," Carly said, poking him in the chest. "You are not a monster. You're just trying to protect Lulu the best you can. You remember that." She looked Johnny up and down. "Let's get you a room so you can sleep this off. You drank enough to put a bear in a coma and you look like death."

As Johnny stumbled after Carly, rubbing his chest, all he could think of was, What the hell is it with the Spencer women and poking in just the right spot?