A/N: I felt like I should make this clear: I don't want to sound like a bitch, but this story is just not my first priority. I'm not saying I don't care about it, I'm just saying that if I have to choose between writing more of this fanfic, and finishing my homework, I'm going to pick my homework.
AND: thanks for all the reviews… I'm glad to know people actually read what I'm writing )
AND AND: I just want people to remember that this is Johnny in high school. A younger version, slightly less intense. So sorry in advance to anyone who thinks he's OOC, this is just my interpretation.
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After class, I attempted to approach the hostile Johnny with the intention of resolving our differences somewhat, so that we wouldn't have to suffer so much through the duration of the project (which was due within two months).
Bad idea? Probably. Do I care? Not really.
"Hey," I stepped in front of him on his way out the door, a tight smile on my face.
He stopped dead in his tracks, pokerfaced, as usual. He was quite a bit taller then me, but I wasn't intimidated. No one in the history of the world has ever managed to daunt me, and I intend on keeping it that way.
"Listen, we're gonna have to do this stupid project whether we like it or not," I explained. "So we may as well get past this stupid-ness, so that we don't have to be miserable during this whole thing." I stuck out a hand. "Truce?"
He stared at my hand for a few awkwardly long seconds, as if contemplating something. Then he looked up at me with the deadliest look I've ever seen. And by deadly, I really mean deadly. It's weird; a look can't be deadly, but I swear… I don't even know how to explain. It just looked scary.
"Sorry. If I agreed, I'd be lying." His voice was sort of gravelly. He pushed me aside and walked away, leaving me utterly baffled. And annoyed to no end.
---
"How could he just… just walk away from me? He pushed me, too!" My voice was an octave higher then usual, due to my outrage.
"Unbelievable," Wendy, my favorite partner-in-crime, nodded in agreement. She took a sip of her diet coke. "Noodle Boy is criminally insane. It's a known fact," She paused to have another sip. "It's been nice knowing you,"
I rolled my eyes at her and stabbed at my salad viciously before shoving it away. My appetite just wasn't there. I was bothered. Why was I so bothered? "Shut the fuck up, Wendy," I pouted.
In case you're curious, everybody calls Johnny 'Noodle Boy' behind his back, because he's super skinny. There are a few brave souls who dare to say the nickname in front of him, but I don't think he really knows just how much people make fun of him. I actually pity him just a little bit; he's such a loser.
"Whatever," Janet scoffed. "He's, like, fucked up and you'll just have to deal." Janet is a petite blonde with a penchant for Bacardi and cigarettes, just like me. It's probably the only reason I get along with her; I have no other drinking buddies as hardcore as Janet.
"This is the worst thing to happen to me since my Kate Spade bag fell down that sewer drain," I whined. "Shit. What's Noodle Boy's story anyway?"
"Well," Wendy smirked and leaned forward, the cue for everyone to lean forward with her, as she was about to reveal some juicy information. I crossed my arms on the table and rested my head in the crevice. "I heard lots of things. I heard he's a mental patient who escaped from a local asylum, and now he's here disguised as a student, trying to find someone to be his next victim.
"Others say that his parents died in some sort of Hollywood-style tragedy, and he just lost it-"
"That's so cliché," I laughed quietly. "I'll bet he's just weird. Sometimes people are just weird,"
Janet and Wendy just exchanged nervous glances. "Just be careful around him. Like… I heard some scary stuff," Wendy said.
"Wait," I leaned out of the huddle. "Are you… are you actually serious?"
"I heard scary stuff too," Janet twirled a piece of blonde hair around her finger. "I'm not, like, trying to scare you or anything. Just… watch yourself," Her forehead was crinkled with concern.
I sat there, speechless. Maybe I should've gone to Alton, like I wanted to, and just told her that I wanted- no, needed to switch partners because I was afraid mine might mutilate me. But then I thought she'd just laugh at me and turn me away, which she probably would, no one really took me seriously.
---
The next morning, in Media Studies, I made a second attempt to communicate with Johnny.
Instead of sitting with Samantha Gerinsky, I made my way to the back of the class, almost trembling with fear. At the same time I felt exhilarated. I've never been scared of anyone before, usually it's the other way around. I was almost shaking. Almost.
Johnny was bent over his desk, scribbling rapidly in his notebook. Cautiously, I sat down in the desk next to him. I looked over his shoulder. "What are you drawing?"
He stopped abruptly, sat there completely frozen for a second, and then turned his head very slowly to glare at me. His eyes were this eerie grey color that I'd never seen on a person before. They looked weird on his sickly face.
"It's a little thing I like to call Happy Noodle Boy," He tore the paper out of the book and pushed it towards me.
"Happy… noodle boy?" I gave a tentative laugh. "Where'd you get that name from?" I knew. I knew he knew. He knew I knew he knew.
I didn't even see him when he leapt up from his chair. He was suddenly towering over me, his hands balled into fists. "DON'T LIE TO ME!!" He screamed like a madman. "I KNOW! DO YOU THINK I DON'T?! I DO!" He grabbed both of my shoulders and shook me violently. "OR ARE YOU REALLY THAT STUPID?!!" He tightened his grip on me, digging his nails into my skin.
He stared at me for what seemed like forever. I was petrified. He really was crazy.
'Oh my God, he's going to kill me,' I thought. 'What do I do? What do I do?'
Then Mr. Porter walked in the room, and Johnny recoiled back into his desk, acting as if nothing had ever happened. I looked around, wild-eyed. No one even looked at us. It was as if no one noticed.
For the rest of the class, I sat stiff as a board, afraid to move. After the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, Johnny stood up said, "I believe we still have to make arrangements to work on our Philosophy assignment?" As if everything was just fine.
I gawked at him with my lips curling in on themselves. I couldn't say anything.
"That's fine. We'll make the plans some other time," He pushed the Happy Noodle Boy drawing even closer to me. "You can keep that. Show your friends."
---
"Hey babe," Jason wrapped his muscled arms around me, engulfing me in a steroid-created cocoon. He pecked my lips quickly, like he always did, and asked, "What's up?" Like he always did.
"Mmmhmmumph," I buried my head in his chest. I could smell the Axe on him, a familiar smell that comforted me and at the same time bored me.
"Huh?" He pulled away. "What's up?" He asked again, this time with more unease.
I mulled over the idea of telling him what happened, but then decided against it. He would beat Johnny to a pulp if I told him, and something in my head didn't want that. "I had a tough test, and I think I failed," I shrugged.
Jason gave a scoff. "Since when do you care about tests?" He asked.
"I needed to pass this one, 'cause my parents said they'd ground me if I didn't," I lied. I'm good at lying, thank God.
---
Philosophy class came way too soon. I sat at the very front of the class, trying to keep away from Johnny. I knew that he was messed up, but I didn't think those rumors were even remotely true. Now… whole other story.
I thought for sure that as soon as the class ended, he'd drag me outside and skin me alive, then eat my innards.
Nope. Instead, he just walked out without even giving me a second glance.
---
"Audrey?" Janet poked my side.
"Hmm?" I was chewing on a straw, staring blankly at a spot in space. I wasn't really that focused.
"Lunch is over," She told me, before getting up with her tray. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, but I think she only asked because she felt obliged to.
"Yeah," I nodded, still chewing on the straw and still staring at that one spot.
"I'm going out for a quick smoke before class. Are you coming or what?" She sounded really impatient. It didn't really help speed me along.
"I'll be there," I didn't look at her.
"Whatever," Janet flipped her hair and sashayed away.
I chewed harder on the straw, feeling the plastic bending beneath my teeth. Are teeth as strong as rocks? It seemed that way, since I was gnawing through that straw like a knife through butter.
You know that feeling you get when you're being watched, sometimes? Like… the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you get goosebumps all down your arms, you start to tingle from the inside, in your gut.
Yep. I got that feeling then. I looked up, straw still in my mouth, and noticed that the cafeteria was deserted, except for one person. Guess who. But like... seriously... how does shit like this even happen? Totally unreal.
I dropped the straw, and swallowed so hard I could've sworn that he heard it. I'll bet he's like an animal; he can smell my fear.
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Sorry if it seemed like it took me a while to write this up… but I don't really have much time right now to update every day. I'll probably make updates every week or so, or if I'm busy every two weeks. Again, sorry…