Author's Note: Sorry for the wait!

EvilChick101: Ha, I'm honored to have created something that has left you questioning. :3

A Boy Named Troy

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Smell was the first of Vance's senses that was pleased early that late winter morning. Eyes still closed, he breathed deeply and took in the classic scent of Gord. He could feel the body still clinging to his own for warmth and hear a soft snoring. The greaser thought he could even still taste the previous night on his lips, but that he was probably just imagining. To make this dream real, all he had to do was open his eyes and make himself certain that the two really were on the ratty mattress together. He did this quickly. Saw the rustled brunette hair, and then closed his eyes again. "Man, this has really got to be the sweet life." he thought to himself with a content smirk on his face.

Vance only had ten minutes or so to lay there before the prep began to stir. He laid like he was still asleep while Gord peeled himself off of his chest. The first thing the guy did was sniffle a little. He had been like that all night. One minute he'd look as if he were starting to get better, and then the next minute he'd be back to sobbing. Vance blamed the irrational behavior for him not getting lucky last night. That could wait though, because now, they had all the time in the world.

"Vance?" Gord softly called, choking up on that one little syllable.

"I'm gonna have to make a note to myself: kill Hopkins for turning my precious preppie into even more of a girl. He used to have a real nice sexy side." A small smirk formed across the greaser's face. He could just imaging how sweet it'd be to dig the toe of one of his boots into the fat idiot king's chest. Another idea began to form, a much better one. "I'm gonna do what he did to me. I'll paw all ova' Gord when he's lookin. That'll teach him!"

"Are you awake?"

The one he had been thinking about nonstop the past few months was right over there, not even an arm length away; what was he doing, thinkin' about vengeance? "Yeah, I am."

"Oh." Was that all? Didn't he get an offer for like breakfast or something better. He was, after all, like one of those storybook princes that just saved his princess.

"Saved him from the big ugly Jimmy." Vance sighed a little, bringing one of his rough mitts to Gord's shoulder and grasped it comfortingly. "How're ya doing, Mockingbird?"

"I am feeling a little better."

"That's good." They both nodded to themselves a little. Now what was there to talk about?

"Hey Vance," the prep spoke up after a couple of moments of silence. Medici looked up at him. "Why do you call me Mockingbird? I know it used to be one of your rhymes, but people say that you do not use that one anymore."

"Cause it's your rhyme. Don't ya remember? It's the first thing I ever said to you. 'What's the word Mockingbird?'"

Gord laughed lightly. "You've said it so many times to me, it is hard to recall the very first."

"Aw, I can't believe you're the one that forgot!" Vance teased. "It was just inside the front doors of school."

"That is a little hard to believe." Neither of them had been the best students, let alone the kind that got to school early and waited around with those other kids.

"Lucky brought me along to check out this one girl with him, and I think you were doing something with your preppies. A few of them glared something nasty at me when I whistled at you."

A voice that didn't belong to either Vance or Gord spoke next, startling both of them. "And then the bub said his lil' poem and never let it go. The end." Upon seeing a tall brawny shadow crawl on the floor in their room, Medici knew that his short lived taste of the sweet life was over.

The shadow was quickly replaced with the actual being of Vance's leader. Johnny's ear had finally healed and a new piercing already made its home there. The man didn't look well though; there were dark circles under his eyes and he didn't seem able to stay still. Immediately after fully entering the room, Vincent took to pacing back and forth a foot away from the mattress. "J-Johnny! What are you doing here?" As he spoke the words, Vance paled considerably.

The leader of the greasers seemed to ignore his follower. "Your lil' love story really is touching. It touches the back of my throat and makes me wretch!" He laughed crazily at himself. "Tell me, did Jimbo have a special pet name for ya? Just for you and nobody else?"

Vance looked over at his longtime friend. Gord looked just as scared as the auburn haired boy felt. "No." Again, he became choked up with a short word.

"Probably cause he didn't care none. Bet he'd care about this sight though. Seems like that type. Controlling."

Vendrome just shook his head, seemingly unable to voice any kind of rebut. "Johnny, can't you just leave us alone for a while?"

Again, his words were wasted. "Gordo, what happened between you and big bad Jim? Someone break you two lovebirds up?"

The prep nodded. "Pictures."

"You just do not have any kind o' luck with those snapshots, do ya?" The leader laughed again, but this time it came with a bite of bitterness. "Wonder who woulda done that." His words sounded more and more threatening to Vance.

The shorter greaser leaned over to his newly acquired boyfriend. "C'mon, let's get up. I think we should get outta here." he whispered, rubbing a hand up and down the prep's back. He got to his own feet and then gingerly helped Gord up.

"Who coulda put those pretty pictures in one of them heart shaped boxes and then left it for Jimbo?" Vincent sneered.

Gord, who had been walking alongside Vance towards the door, stopped when he heard that. "It was," he sniveled. "you, wasn't it?"

"Who else would have the brains to hatch this up?" More chuckling. "Don't it kinda seem odd that I knew just where to find ya?"

Blood turned to ice in Vance's veins. "Johnny!"

"You just said you were smart." A pause. "I am quite sure you could have tracked us."

"That's true, that's true." The leader tugged at his chin and, for the first time, halted his feet. "Do you really believe that?"

Gord shrugged. "I have heard that you would do anything to even out a score."

"Revenge ain't the only thing that motivated me through this."

"Just leave us alone." Vance begged, his voice slightly quieter than it had been the other times he tried to stop his leader. Turns out, that got results.

"Shut up!" Johnny V roared and flung a hand out towards Vance. It stopped, a finger pointing out, just a few inches in front of his face. "I did you favor, and this is how you thank me? By givin' me all this lip." The man turned back towards the prep. "Gordo, this poor sucka was miserable. He wanted you real bad. I look out for my boys."

The brunette's eyes widened as he gazed at Vance. "What are you talking about?"

"I told your lil' boy toy that we'd wait 'til you were good and vulnerable, like after you and Jim had some spat. Then he'd show up and be some kind of hero, one you just couldn't resist. He agreed, Gordo. He wanted to exploit your vulnerability."

All Vance could do was desperately shake his head. "You don't gotta listen to him Mockingbird."

"There was a flaw in my plan; you just didn't up and leave Jimbo. I wasn't too surprised. This one's the weakest of my boys." The traitorous leader gestured dismissively towards Medici. "He was smart enough to go on to the pictures though. He was ready to get you all—"

"Enough!" Taking everyone by surprise, Gord spoke up with more force than Vance had ever seen him with. "I am quite sure that I understand your little plan. But, why…" his voice grew weak again. "You know, it does not matter. You have broken me, you win. I will go now, and" he turned to Vance and was able to push some strength into his last words before storming out. "don't ever come near me again!"

Vance suddenly felt very weak and deflated. He fell to his knees, barely aware of his leader's presence still in the room. It wasn't until Johnny V started chuckling that he looked back up at him again. "I guess I'm just a big winner." He grinned widely.

"Why that hell did you do that?" Medici sighed.

"You deserved it."

"That's why?"

"Nah. It just wouldn't feel right to leave my plan half done." His laughter grew louder. "You didn't know that it went on, but I did! I outsmarted you. That's what you get for going against the greasers for some lil' prep!"

Vance groaned and tried his best to block out Johnny V's triumph.

"I beat everyone, got 'em all back! Stupid Gordo shouldn't have messed around with my girl." He laughed some more and crouched down next to his subordinate. "How do you think King Jimbo felt havin' someone he loved on the other side of the camera, huh? You think he felt like laughing then?" Another groan came from the smaller greaser. It was a groan from his heartache, from his stupidity, and from his shame of trying what he tried against Gord.