It had been a week since the incident with Alpha Major, and the university hadn't stopped buzzing since. At first, Johnny and Jack had thought their little excursion to be of no real significance other than helping the Omegas keep their rep. But news soon flooded the campus that something else had happened that night.
Something much more... serious.
"You branded them!?" Johnny looked helplessly around the room, hoping to God that he'd heard wrong. Jack was furious, and had hobbled out of the room despite his injury. "We only hit their top members." One answered. "Yeah, their leaders, the ones who asked for it." Another responded. "They all deserved it though. For disgracing Omega M.!" A chorus of cheers rose up. Johnny looked at them in shock, his expression a mix of anger and disgust. "Alright you idiots! That's enough." A familiar voice commanded from behind Johnny. He turned to see none other than Aku, the head of the house, glaring at them. He motioned for the others to leave the room, waiting for them to clear out before turning to Johnny.
"I apologize for their behavior, they aren't the most cultured group." He smiled. Johnny didn't waver, staring Aku down with his shades barely hiding the intensity in his eyes. "You lied to us." He growled. "About what you had planned, about what we were getting involved in! All of it!" Aku's face fell, he heaved a heavy sigh before replying. "Y'know Johnny, things don't always go as planned." He said, putting a hand on the others shoulder, which he then promptly swatted away. Aku frowned, but acted otherwise unfazed. "The Cobras had to make a statement here. It was a matter of honor. You must understand, with such a delicate mission, we couldn't just let anyone know. Especially not two new Cobras." He shrugged, as if it were no big deal.
"Put yourself in my shoes here, Bravo." Aku said, as nonchalantly as if he'd simply told a white lie. "No," Johnny retorted. "Put yourself in my shoes. I made a promise to someone, a promise that no one would get hurt." He threw his hands up in the air. "Now I'm a liar, and I may have just lost the only friend I had on this campus." He began to storm out, but Aku placed a hand up, stopping him in his tracks. "Wait, Johnny... Goddamn it. It wasn't meant to be personal." Johnny fumed. "You're right, it isn't personal. In fact, it isn't even close. You can consider us both no longer in your little snake lovers club."
Johnny had found Jack very slowly making his way towards the dorm building, a scowl plastered to his face as he limped forward. "Hey!" He'd shouted, catching up relatively quickly. Jack acted as if he hadn't heard him and simply kept walking. "Dude, look, you know I had nothing to do with that right. I had no idea that this was what they were planning." He said pleadingly. "I would never've made you do that had I known-" Jack stopped and turned abruptly to Johnny, pointing at him accusingly. "Known what Johnny? That we would be abusing an animal? That we would be defacing someone else's property? How about attacking someone with a molten iron!? Hmm, Johnny?!" Jack was shouting now, his face red with anger.
Johnny felt horrible, and it showed. He was flush with shame, looking more like a kicked puppy with every word the snapped out of Jack's mouth. He looked down in shame, knowing fully well that he'd fucked up, and bad. Jack was seething, angry with Johnny and himself for what had happened. He huffed in frustration, rubbing a hand over his face as he tried to calm down. "Just... Just leave me alone Johnny. You've done enough, I think." Jack continued to trudge along, leaving the other behind.
The following morning the two of them had classes to go to, each coming and going while the other was absent, and as such, didn't talk the entire day. Eventually though, the day came to an end, and as the pair returned to their dorm, they were faced with an obvious elephant in the room. Johnny avidly avoided Jack's gaze, either pretending to be preoccupied or simply feigning ignorance. He clearly felt responsible for the situation they'd been placed in, and wasn't too keen on bringing the matter back up again.
Jack, on the other hand, had already left his anger behind, and had realized just how cruel he must've seemed earlier. Jack knew he had a serious tempter when it came to his morals, and this had been one of the biggest breaks he had ever experienced in his own personal code. But he knew it hadn't been Johnny's fault. The guy might've acted self centered and narcissistic at times, but Jack had seen the compassion the giant was capable of. Despite outward appearances, he was a kind person, and would never have enlisted in the cobra brotherhood had he known their true intentions.
Jack sighed, knowing very well that he shouldn't put the blame on his roommate, especially after the effort he went through to get Jack out of his shell. Come to think of it, Johnny had never really left Jack's side since the beginning. The two had met the same day they'd arrived, and had become unlikely friends, practically inseparable since.
Johnny was busying himself with organizing his belongings, something he never did, a clear sign something was wrong. Jack grabbed his crutches and heaved himself upwards, carefully standing, then working his way towards the other, who was currently bent over a duffel bag and sifting through it. Jack cleared his throat, making a distinct noise to catch the others attention. Johnny bolted upright, nearly falling over as he threw himself onto his feet. "Yeah?" He responded, his voice cracking. He made a face and tried again. "I mean, yeah? What is it, did'ja need somethin?"
Jack looked up at him, suddenly aware of the height difference between them both. He squinted at the other and, without warning, snatched the sunglasses off Johnny's face. The taller looked shocked, quickly trying to grab them back with one hand and covering his face with the other. "W-what the hell man!? Give 'em back!" Jack couldn't help but laugh as his roommate fumbled for his shades. "I am sorry." He said, chuckling. "I simply cannot speak to you seriously why you are wearing these." He smiled half heartedly, looking at the other somewhat sadly. "Please, remove your hand, you look fine without such a thing. Besides, we must talk."
Johnny froze. Jack rolled his eyes and grabbed Johnny's hand, moving it himself. The taller reddened, and shrank back, as if trying to escape. "Johnny," Jack begged, looking the other in the eye. "I mean to apologize for before. For my behavior the other night." He faltered. "It was of poor taste for me to treat such a close friend that way." Johnny looked confused at first, not registering what he'd just heard, but after a moment he hung his head low, his shoulder slumping. "You don't need to apologize. What happened was entirely my fault, you had every right to be pissed at me." He said.
"After all, I made you a promise, a promise I broke right afterwards. That's not something I can just get over, y'know?" He muttered, looking back at Jack sympathetically. Jack shook his head in response. "It is not your fault. I was simply angry with myself for letting this happen. There is nothing you could have done about it." Jack smiled sincerely to reassure his companion that he'd done nothing wrong. Johnny didn't know what to say, settling for an mumbled "thanks". The two laughed off the awkwardness of the situation, both glad to have finally gotten over this period of tension.
It wasn't until long after that they realized they were still holding hands.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"MOVE IT EGGROLL." Johnny yelled obnoxiously as he leapt onto the couch, nearly throwing his roommate off the other end. "Dear god, must you do that every time?" Jack chuckled, clinging to the bucket of popcorn he'd almost dropped. Johnny just grinned in response, raising his eyebrows up and down humorously. Jack shook his head but couldn't help but smile at the others heavy-handed humor. "Ooh! Shut up, shut up, it's on!" Johnny whooped and turned up the volume to the TV.
It had become a tradition for the two students to spend their Sunday evenings sitting in front of the television, stuffing popcorn into their faces as they watched bad sitcoms and old movies. The two had managed to find a middle ground in their interests, growing closer as they watched foreign films and documentaries. As it turns out, Johnny was as interested in informational documentations as he was action blockbusters. It came as a surprise to Jack, as he'd initially thought Johnny to have less than refined tastes. Johnny had explained to Jack that his intrigue stemmed from his own efforts in the field. "Originally, I was gonna major in film, but I wasn't too good at getting a steady shot." He said.
"Plus, I wanted to work with a camera, I knew that much." He explained. "But I wanted to catch the moment, y'know? I didn't want it to fade, like movies do." Jack felt a surge of respect at the others words. He could understand the urge to capture something forever, to preserve its beauty permanently. Johnny's drive and ambitions were similar to his own in that way. The two of them talked about their dreams and goals in life, discussing what they liked and disliked about the films they'd viewed as they watched them. They bonded immensely over the next few weeks, becoming extremely close as time passed.
Johnny helped Jack as he walked through campus, as he was still using the crutches he'd been directed to during his healing process. Eventually Jack recovered, and the two celebrated, along with the other friends they'd met along the way. People they knew, like Steven, who they'd met at the cobra induction ceremony, had labeled them as a dynamic duo. The title caught on, as the two were rarely ever seen apart from each other. Whether they be walking to class, having lunch, or talking casually, they never seemed to really separate or stray to far from each other.
One day, a younger student walked up to them and made a small comment, saying, "Y'unno, you guys make a cute couple!" to which Jack immediately broke out into laughter. He thought the girl had been making a simple joke in relation to their close friendship, but turned around to find that Johnny was far from laughing. The brawn had clearly taken the statement too seriously, and as a result, had once again become overly flustered. Johnny was beaming a shade of bright red, stumbling over his words as he frantically tried to refute the statement. "What!? N-no no no no no, I mean, never! Not in a million!-I mean, if I had to pick a guy-but no, you've got it all wrong! W-"
"Johnny," Jack quickly interjected. "She was only joking."
"Oh, uh... Yeah. Yeah, I knew that!" He said, smiling sheepishly. Jack shook his head, and they continued about their day as normal. But it made them both stop to think for a moment.
Later on that day, the two were sitting on the couch again, drinking and binge watching cheesy Kung Fu flicks as well as giving their own personal commentary on each scene. They'd just ended a horribly dubbed series and we're still laughing as the credits rolled. Johnny had set his shades aside and was wiping tears from his eyes while Jack gasped for air; then an odd thought struck his mind, giving him pause. "Johnny?" Jack spoke in an inquiring tone. "Hm?" The other answered, still trying to regulate his breathing with a smile spread across his features.
Jack turned to fully face his best friend, leaning on one hand as he twirled an empty beer bottle in the other, looking forward with curiosity. "I was just wondering... No, perhaps it is too rude of me to ask." Johnny raised a brow in question. "What? What is it?" He said, his speech slightly slurred from the alcohol. "Ask away, Johnny bravo has nothing to hide!" He said, flexing jokingly. Jack thought about it, then asked again. "Why is it that you wear those shades, no matter where you are?" Jack was genuinely curious, he had seen Johnny's eyes before, but had never spotted a reason for the otherwise confident blond to hide his face as such.
Johnny looked surprised, obviously not expecting such a direct question from his companion. He scratched his jaw, unsure of what to say. Jack quickly sputtered out an apology, admitting that it was too personal a question, and that he didn't meant to be intrusive. But his friend stopped him, shaking his head and holding a hand up. "Nah man, it's alright. We've been friends a while now, it's only fair that I give you a straight answer." Jack blinked, not sure of how to react. "The truth is, I've always been very expressive-a shocker, I know." Jack rolled his eyes and grinned, but didn't say anything. "My momma always told me that I had pretty eyes, but a guy like me, having girly eyes?" He sighed.
"It wasn't a good idea for a guy to act like a girl where I grew up. It was even worse for him to look like one. People didn't appreciate it all that much." Jack didn't want to interrupt, but felt the need to say something. "Do you mean to say... Were you attacked for this? For looking different?" He couldn't wrap his head around such a concept. To be so crude-minded, it wasn't right. Johnny averted his gaze, but his eyes were just as expressive as he'd said, holding a saddened glint to them that spoke the truth. "Johnny..." Jack tried to say something, but couldn't find the words. They both fell into a speechless silence, not longer feeling so jovial.
Jack looked down, now understanding why his compatriot was so often and so easily embarrassed. He had been utterly humiliated as a child, shamed into submission, and conformed into a person he was not. Johnny was ashamed of more than his appearance. He was ashamed of himself as a whole.
Jack wanted to say something, do something to ease his friend's pain. But he was drawing a complete blank, and his hazy mind didn't help the matter. Johnny drew his head up, looking at his counterpart with a blank expression. Jack looked up, but Johnny turned away quickly, reaching for his shades again. Jack felt that he couldn't let the conversation end like this. It wasn't right. He would make it right.
Without thinking, he moved swiftly to Johnny's side of the couch, gently placing a hand on his friend's chest as he kissed him.