Chapter Three

The clock read 2:48. All of the groupies had gone home, and only the members were left. Johnny and I were talking and still sitting on the couch, Joey and Marky were on the other side of the room laughing and discussing last night's show, and poor little Dee Dee was so exhausted that he was asleep on the bed in fetal position. It was a bit weird though because he was smiling. No one smiled in their sleep...well, so I thought.

"So, shouldn't you all be getting some rest? You've gotta leave in the morning," I said.

"Nah," Johnny said and smiled. "I'd rather stay up with you. I really wish you could come with us to D.C. but ya know our tour manager Monty, he doesn't want any girls on the road 'cause it might distract us."

"I promise I'll be quiet the whole time. I wont say a word, not even if I'm hungry."

He looked at me, then laughed. "You're so cute."

I blushed. "No I'm not."

"You're only saying that so I'll say it again." He raised his eyebrows. I loved Johnny's eyebrows, seriously. I wished I could see them more, but his damn hair was always blocking them. It was too long in the front.

"You should cut your hair a bit in the front."

"Why? I like it this way," he said and touched his own hair.

"Because it blocks your eyebrows, and even your eyes a little bit. It makes you look like you're upset all the time. Not to mention you can break out in pimples easier like that."

Johnny chuckled. "I don't ever get pimples. I don't know why, must be genetics or somethin'."

I shrugged. "Could be." I pushed the hair in front of his forehead backwards so that I could look at his eyebrows.

"You like my eyebrows?"

"Yeah, your eyes too. It's like...when I look into them, I feel really happy."

He was just leaning in to kiss my lips when we both heard Dee Dee start to laugh in his sleep. Everyone, including us, got completely quiet and stared at him.

"Aw ma, you know I don't like that on my hotdogs..." He turned over on the bed and cuddled up again. "No, gimme some...some mayonnaise..."

"Dude, shut the fuck up!" Johnny shouted. "You sound like a creep."

Dee Dee, startled, woke up and looked around.

"Aw John, why'd ya wake him?" Joey said. This was probably the first time I'd seen him speak to Johnny the whole night. "Just leave him be."

"Fuck you, Jew boy. Don't tell me what to do."

My eyes widened...did he just call Joey...?

"Okay, look John. Just stop." It was Marky this time. "That's not cool, man."

"You think I give a fuck?" He stood up from the couch.

This wasn't the Johnny Ramone that I knew. What was happening? Why was he being so mean all of a sudden? And prejudiced? Maybe this was what my friends were warning me about. I think this was why they thought he was an asshole. "Johnny!" He kept his gaze on Joey and Marky.

"You know what? I feel sorry for you, man," said Joey. "'Cause all ya can do is insult me, but that's 'cause you're really mad at yourself. You're mad because your dad never loved you, and you take it out on everything-"

"Fuck you! You don't know me, you don't know my life. Fuck owf! 'Kay? Just fuck owf!"

This was beginning to get crazy. "Um, guys, I think it's best if I left now, okay?"

Johnny turned his head to me. "No, Angela. You're staying here. Don't go anywhere." He pointed to the couch.

I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that Johnny wanted me to stay, but I didn't want to cause any trouble here.

"Look at ya. Now you're so pissed you wanna keep that poor girl hostage. She has nothing to do with any of this," Joey said.

"Go fuck yourself, Hyman," Johnny said. "You know you're just saying that 'cause of Linda."

Joey's eyes widened. He said nothing, just walked out the room and slammed the door behind him.

"John, that's ENOUGH!" It was me this time. I was furious, and I was tired of this stupid argument. "Look everyone, I don't know what this is about, but it's going to stop tonight! I have no idea who Linda is or anything like that, but John..." I looked at Johnny, who looked back at me with apologetic eyes. "Leave Joey alone. Just leave him alone."

He nodded. "Alright, fine."

Marky sighed and walked out the door, calling Joey's name.

"Seriously Johnny. What's with you and Joey hating eachother? And why did you point out the fact that he was Jewish in that way? You do realize that it's racist, right?"

He shrugged. "I don't care about him."

"Why not? Did he do something to you?"

"No. I just don't like him. Damn liberal..."

"Ah, so you and him don't agree politically."

"No, it's just...I don't know! Look. Can we not talk about this anymore?"

I sighed. "Alright fine." It was awkward silence for a long time. I tried thinking of things to talk with him about, but Johnny was still pretty heated from that argument, and I didn't know how to calm him down, even though it was pretty much all his fault. So for the next twenty minutes, we sat in silence and watched Dee Dee fall back asleep and snore. I didn't even think he knew what the hell was going on, he was dazing in and out. Apparently heroin makes you sleepy...Johnny was biting his fingers and staring out the window. I just sat there on the couch and stared at him. Something deeper than him and Joey was going on here. It's like he was a time bomb, just waiting to explode. It was something internal that Johnny was going through. I wanted to find out what that was, but it wouldn't be tonight. I was only here for physical pleasure, nothing more.

"John, don't worry about it. Just come over here with me. You might feel better."

"Okay." He walked towards me. Dee Dee was asleep, and everyone else was out of the room...we looked at each other, a deep desire in both our eyes...and that was it. That was the moment where the magic entered the room and came between us. Nothing else mattered...