Chapter Twenty-Two

Joey placed his arm around my shoulders and held me closer to him. His warmth calmed down the raging fear in my heart. I could feel it pumping wildly, ferociously inside me, wanting to tear out because I was completely terrified. I needed to stop being such a wuss, though. People here in New York rode the train everyday, why was I any different from them? I was gonna have to get used to the fact that this was going to be part of my commute. It couldn't be helped. "Joey..."

"Angela, come on, don't be that way. It'll be alright, darlin'. The subways not that scary. I know it seems that way now, but you'll get used to it. I promise."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, I just...I've never done this before."

"Nah, no worries. I can understand. Just stick with me, you'll be alright."

"Hey, we need some fare. Anybody got quarters?" Marky asked, then searched his pockets. "Well, I got enough for me. John, need some change?"

Johnny searched his pockets. "Yeah, I'll pay ya back the two bucks tomorrow."

"John, it's alright, I'll pay." Joey took out his wallet. Everyone stopped talking. What the hell was going on here? Was Joey actually volunteering to pay Johnny's fare? Or was this just some kind of misconstrued dream that I was in? Because seriously, this just couldn't be real. And I could see from the look on Johnny's face that he was just as shocked. This was just completely out of the norm.

"Uh…thanks, Joey." Johnny looked down at the ground awkwardly, almost as if he was emabarrased at what just happened. I was honestly just glad that he had enough manners to thank Joey. I was afraid he'd just stand there like a dumbass and not say anything. He had a tendency of doing that. Johnny was definitely my most intresresting boyfriend. I'd dated two other guys back in high school, and they were boring as fuck compared to Johnny. But they were also what you would call the "nice boys". They were the kind that did what they were told.

They cleaned up nice, got good grades, treated their girlfriends nicely, didn't talk back to anyone, and let society step all over them. Johnny was a rebel at heart, and that's why I loved him. Why I didn't want anyone else but him. He showed a different side of America, the really fucked up side. He and the rest of the Ramones represented what society did to those who didn't exactly fit into their standards. The outsiders, the freaks who didn't belong. I liked freaks, so I liked them. They reminded me of myself alot of the time. I was a bit of an outsider as a teenager. I still kind of was…in a way.

After everyone paid for their fare (I managed to have some spare change with me), we walked down the stairs onto the platform. I read the stop sign that we were at. It said "Bleecker St". My eyes moved to the further description of which trains came by there. "Hey guys, I have a question."

Three of them turned their ends. Dee Dee was still whacked out from whatever kind of drugs he took back in the apartment, and as a result, made creepy faces and gestures with his hands that were indescribable. I tried not to laugh, but…a small snicker escpaed.

"What's so funny, babe?" Johnny had a smile creeping up his face. Laughs really were contagious.

I laughed more, and pointed at Dee Dee. Joey, him and Marky all turned to look at him, then burst out laughing as well.

"Ya know," Marky began to say. "This reminds me of that time when we recorded 'Rock and Roll High School', and Dee Dee was just completely fucked up, just like now."

Johnny laughed louder. I never actually heard what his laugh sounded like, because it would always be muffled or something by the audience if it was during an interview or whatever. When he laughed genuinely, he produced a really high pitched laugh that had me almost dying on the floor with my own laughter!

Suddenly, everyone broke out into hysterical giggles, and none of us could stop. We stopped when we heard a sound.

"Oh, train's comin'," Joey said.

"Where are we even going?" I asked.

"Oh shit, that's true. I guess we didn't think about that, huh?"

"Let's go to Arturo's loft. He'll let us stay the night there." Johnny fixed the collar on his leather jacket. "We can all go home after wards, then meetup later for the interview we have tomorrow."

"Okay, sounds good," Marky said.

"Tomato, potato, NACHO CHEEEEEESE!" Dee Dee shouted. "Ole! OLE!"

I put my face in my hands and broke into laughter again. Count on Dee Dee to make you smile when you need it the most. Next time I'm in a bad mood, I'll just ask him to help me feel better. I heard tracks rumbling, and a hand pulled my sleeve back...

"Don't stand too close to the edge of the platform, darlin'. People get pushed and die." (this really does happen in NY sometimes) Joey pulled my arm back further and made me stand behind him.

"Gee, so much for making me feel safe."

"I'm sorry, I don't wanna scare ya, but it's happened before. So just step back alright?"

I smiled. "Okay. I'll remember next time."

When the train arrived, there was a number 6 on it. It screeched and stopped, and it's doors opened, hundreds of people pouring out. I clung to Joey's hand, and he returned the favor protectively. I knew it was probably easy to get lost in a crowd like this. We got on the train and stood. Even though I could see some seats available, Marky told me we were only going about three or four stops. Suddenly, I heard whispering from a couple of girls. One of them had blonde hair and seemed to be staring at Dee Dee immensely. The other stared at me, almost as if she were angry. I'm pretty sure I didn't know her, I didn't know anyone in New York City excpet for the Ramones.

They walked up to the band and started to get excited.

"It really is them!" The blonde girl said.

"You guys are the Ramones, right?" her friend said. She had brown hair.

"Yup, that's us." Joey smiled. "You want an autograph?"

"No, Joey. No, I want you." The brown-haired girl walked up to Joey and kissed his cheek. "I'm Josephina."

"My name's Rosy." She smiled and kept looking at Dee Dee. I knew she probably had a huge crush on him. I was just glad neither of them liked Johnny that way for obvious reasons that didn't need explaining.

Great, we had to deal with more fans on our trainride. How in the world did these guys put up with this shit for the past eleven years? I guess that's something I'll never understand...