*Gasp* - Scitah

When Mary got home Johnny was sprawled out on the couch, staring in a bored way at the television which was showing a rerun of some old cartoon.

He exhaled sleepily, looking bored and irritated.

He looked bored and irritated a lot now-a-days. Having lost interest in most anything but cars, even then he wasn't as much of a chatterbox.

He hadn't approved of the idea of Mary going out with Dillan and Sally- he'd put up quite the argument about it but in the end Mary'd gone and he intended whole-heartedly to ignore her when she got home.

"Is this going to be how you're going to live your life, Johnny?" Mary scoffed, walking over to the dining room table and setting her shopping bags down.

She was so tired of this tired behavior from Johnny. She expected to have dealt with this attitude when he was two…

Johnny shrugged, "Sure. Why not?" he asked irritably then cursed himself for not ignoring her.

He'd never been good at giving people the cold-shoulder.

Mary rolled her eyes, "Some times… And only sometimes," She wagged a finger at him, "I wish you were more like your father! At least he does things with his life instead of mope around all day!" she said strongly.

Johnny looked at her, "Well, if you're so upset with me kick me out" he told her, "Adopt Sally- marry Dillan- forget ya' ever had a thing t'do with the Vincents" he told her coldly, glaring.

"It isn't Sally's fault you're an idiot! And I could never forget you! You are my son, damnit! I just wish you'd move on with your life! Why is that so hard for you? You're ignoring your friends… You don't do much of anything, you barely eat! Good God, Johnny, you're gonna die if you don't change your ways! I don't want you to die, Johnny! It kills me to watch you walk this path! I hate seeing you so unhappy and so damn unfulfilled!" she hollered, tears brimming her eyes.

Johnny glared at her, "You wouldn't get it! I love her- I wanna be with her- but I can't if that's gonna have us arguing and- and if we get married- we'd get divorced just like you and dad!" he yelled, standing up, looking furious.

Mary sighed quickly and walked over, grabbing his shoulders tightly, "Your marriage with Sally would work if you would give it a shot! You may not know it, but you and Sally are two halves of the same heart, and without one another, you're both broken and hurt and angry. It takes two to make a relationship work, and you both worked at it, but didn't walk the same direction… So you pulled and she pulled in two very different directions and it tore you away from one another. From what I've heard, you both know this to some degree and understand that you both did something terribly wrong! She lied, and you hurt her… But it can only be fixed if you forgive yourselves… And since neither of you will forgive yourselves, you can't make it work…" she said honestly, heart felt and all, blinking tears away as she looked up at Johnny.

Johnny bowed his head, "Aw, mama, I know that.. but I dunno how t'fix none'a it.." he sighed, "I can't make her stop hating me.."

Mary giggled despite herself and hugged him, "She doesn't hate you, Johnny… She never could."

Johnny blinked and reflexively returned the hug, "She don't?" he asked, blinking.

Mary shook her head, "No, baby. She doesn't hate you." Mary pulled back, looking her son in the eyes lovingly before holding his face and kissing his forehead.

Johnny blinked, "Mom." he said calmly, "Don' do that. I ain't a baby."

Mary scoffed, "Be quiet! You're my baby. It's my job to embarrass you when convenient. So get used to it." she grinned.

He frowned, "What ya' tell Dillan an' Sally?" he asked.

"About what?" She asked curiously, "Oh. Dillan is hosting a party for Christmas and I'm going. Would you like to go too? Sally's going to be there!" she asked stepping away and towards the dining room table.

He shook his head, forgetting his earlier question, "Oh h--" he stopped mid-curse, "No way." he said finally.

"Why not?" she asked as she reached her bags and pulled out the elegant light blue dress and held it to herself, it flowed effortlessly and looked quite expensive, "What d'you think of my new dress Dillan bought me?"

"Jeez, mom!" he huffed, "How much'd ya' make 'em spend?" he asked.

"What's that matter? Dillan said he didn't mind and insisted because it looked lovely on me!" she sighed dreamily, "I swear! He makes me feel young again!"

Johnny's pupils shrank and he grabbed her hands, "Mama! Ya'in't remarrying!" he gasped, "..'specally not Sally's step-dad!"

Mary scoffed and waved him away from her, "Be quiet! He's a good man! And we're not even like that… It's…" She thought a moment, "It's like really close friends… Or something. It shouldn't matter any ways, He never adopted her, so he really isn't her step dad."

"Mooommm!" he argued, "It's a big deal!"

Mary rolled her eyes, "I'm a big girl, Johnny. I can handle my own life, thank you. Now! Will you be joining me at that party?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

She frowned, "You're gonna let me go there alone? All those rich people will be there!" she pouted slightly.

He rolled his eyes, "Then don't go."

"Well." she scoffed unlady like, "I can't do that because I said I'd go and Dillan bought me this dress… And jewelry, and new make up, and shoes…" She listed, then had a little evil chuckle in her head before adding, "And I promised Sally I'd convince you to go…" she said sadly, "I let her down…" and she covered her face after turning away, shoulders shaking with laughter, but it looked as if she were crying.

Johnny stared in horror, "M- mama, aw, c'mon don't.. uh.. cry.." he groaned and touched her shoulder, "I'll.. uh.. go.."

"No you won't!" she sniffled and snorted, attempting to suppress her laughter and barely being able to.

"N- no, mama, I'll go" he frowned, "Jus' don' cry, alright?"

"You promise?" her voice hitched and she turned her head slightly, tears now free after trying so hard to suppress her laughter. She was not laughing so hard that she was crying!

Johnny's eyes widened and he nodded, "Yeah, yeah, mama, okay" he said quickly.

She spun and hugged him tight, "Thank you! I'll dig up some nice clothes for you later!" then grabbed her bag and nearly skipped to her room to set it out for a few days later.

Johnny rolled his eyes, "Women." and went back to the cartoon. Now he was going to the stupid party he didn't wanna go to.