Author's Notes: Cooldown chapter. Hope it's not too boring.
Chapter 20: Flop
Being not only the most mature and stable greaser but also less likely to crush anyone at the end of the icy slope than Norton or Hal were, Lucky De Luca had been pestered into sliding down to check up on Johnny and Larry. Now that he found his presence mostly unnecessary thanks to the two not making any kind of contact with each other, he wasn't sure what to do except gawk and be useless. He mentally slapped himself and decided that being quiet didn't solve anything.
"Uh, boss? Are you okay?" he harrumphed and looked at Johnny, who was standing in the snow on all fours. Larry was next to him on his back, wheezing and laughing huskily, but he decided to ignore that for a moment.
"I'm... Fine", Johnny grunted.
"He ain't. He – haha – he sprained his back", Larry revealed. With a cough, he sat up and forced himself on his feet despite them being rather wobbly. Johnny hemmed.
"... I bit my lip too", the greaser king grudgingly admitted and spat some blood on the snow.
"You're lucky you both got off that easily, boss... That stunt was way outta control", Lucky scolded and started helping him up.
"Careful man!" Johnny whined as he was jerked up a bit too quickly for his liking.
Larry stuffed his hands into the pockets of his orange winter jacket and knitted his brows while he smiled slightly at his old friends. He was relieved. His sudden outburst of laughter had been brought by the sense of danger lifting just as much by the unfortunate hilarity of Johnny's condition and because of that outburst, it was so much easier to breathe. Easier than it had been in a very long time.
"Where are the rest?" he asked from Lucky as the taller boy was pushed away by the still frustrated Johnny, who then slowly and carefully started to stretch his back.
"Uh, Norton and the guys were still bickerin' with the townies when I left. I don't think there's gonna be a rumble, the guys didn't seem into it anymore... I guess they're comin' down on the elevator soon enough", Lucky said.
Larry nodded understandingly and then turned his head to look up, towards the roof and the dark night sky. He had calmed down and seemed completely relaxed despite having taken a grand beating just moments ago. Lucky found this somehow unsettling.
"So, uh... Are we okay now or what?" he carefully asked, peering at both Johnny and Larry. He had previously shrugged off the knowledge of Larry's, err, preferences and he had been convinced that they didn't matter to him either way, but now he realized that he really had no idea how to act naturally around him.
"I got my ten bucks when I knocked this guy off his feet... I've got no qualms", the ex-greaser stated plainly while still looking up. The sky was clear and the stars were shining, so he figured that it was going to be a rather cold night.
Johnny's attention from his sprained back faltered and his focus snapped on Larry with a scowl.
"You fought me for a few measly bucks, Peanut?" he asked with a serious voice.
"Larry, not Peanut. And yeah, pretty much", Larry responded matter-of-factly and returned his old friend's disapproving stare with a casual smirk.
"Your standards sure have gone to the shitter, Larry", Johnny growled, squinting his eyes.
"Heh", was all that Larry said. His expression and tone was pretty much undecipherable – there was no telling whether he even agreed with that statement or not.
When Johnny realized he probably wasn't going to get a reaction out of Larry and that he didn't really have a good reason to do that, either, he looked elsewhere. The three young men stood in silence as it started snowing – it could have been very awkward, but they were saved by faint, agitated babbling resonating from the walls of other buildings nearby. Others had come, most likely having went to the basement floors of the plant and trekked through the corridors to some of the ground level exits of the neighboring facilities. When the rest of the greasers, escorted by a good lot of the townies, appeared from behind the corner of the building ahead, Johnny straightened himself to face Edgar Munsen, who lead the troop.
"Allrighty then. Vincent, you've had your fun and your bitches seem to agree on leavin'. How about you all take a hike?" the dark Hispanic youth drawled.
"... We got no business with you losers, so I guess we will", Johnny hemmed, readying himself to leave. Edgar nodded at him and then turned his attention to Larry instead.
"Yo, you better get back to work", he said.
"What's the time?" Larry asked as he walked around the chain link fences that separated him and the crowd. Edgar dug his cell phone out of his pocket and peered at the screen.
"It's... Oh, shit. There's only some fifteen minutes left of your shift. I guess they're gonna be mad at ya whether you go back or not", he tutted.
"Figures", Larry mumbled. Upon hearing the bad news he glanced over his shoulder, almost as if to check whether Johnny was still present or not. Well, he was, since the only way out of the chem plant's yard was the one Larry was walking through. Edgar saw that meaningful look and cocked his brow.
"Goin' home then?" he asked, or suggested.
"I guess so."
Edgar sniveled and looked around him. The greasers gave him annoyed glares and the townies seemed very uninterested now that there wasn't any promise of a fight.
"While you're at it, escort these ladies off our turf, will ya?" he said gruffly and pointed his thumb at the greasers, inciting some scoffing snorts in both the townies and the greasers.
"Uh, okay", Larry said without thinking.
"Duncan and Leon, go with him", Edgar said and started to walk back to where he had come from. Other townies followed suit without a word, all except Duncan, a relatively short guy with a fauxhawk, and Leon, a dark-skinned tall townie kid.
"Aw, shucks", Leon whined and glanced at the greasers. They were making him sort of nervous.
"You said it bro", grumbled Duncan.
Larry, strangely, didn't have any gripes. In fact, he didn't feel anything in particular despite just having had a clash with his old friend. Maybe he had finally gotten over Johnny, he figured.
Author's Notes: I owe a lot to people who have uploaded videos of Bully on YouTube. Makes it easier to check some details about the layout of different areas and such without having to dig out the game.