Chapter Twenty-Five

Johnny knocked the hair from his eyes and sighed, then sat back in his chair. "Fuck, it's really getting late."

"I forgive you, John. It's just...I wasn't sure what to do after we got into that fight, and I was honestly real hurt, ya know? Like, we're bandmates, man. We're almost like brothers, we shouldn't act this way towards each other."

"It's mostly my fault, though. Not just because of Linda, but a lot of stuff. I never really had a legitimate reason for hating you, I just did because you're a Jew. And my dad...he always made jokes like that about people that were different, and I guess I picked up after him." Johnny rubbed his nose. "It's not right, though. And I'm sorry I said those things to you. Guess I'm just ignorant." He snickered.

"Yeah. Yeah you are, John. I'm not gonna lie, you are ignorant. There's a lot o' stuff that you don't know. But you don't have to be that way, ya know."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, if it makes ya feel better, I make fun of my own kind sometimes too. My dad and I used to joke around and talk about Irish people and how they like to party and get fuckin' wasted all the time."

Both guys burst into laughter, Johnny with that same high-pitched laugh that made me laugh every time I heard it. I clapped my hand over my mouth so they couldn't hear me. Even though it was kind of funny, it was still nice to see, FOR ONCE, these two getting along with each other. Finally! This was the moment I was always waiting to see happen. For a while, I thought it would never happen, but I'm really glad that it did. Seemed like things were turning out quite nicely.

After a couple of minutes, they were breathing hard and coughing.

"Oh god, my stomach hurts," Joey said and chuckled again.

"Mine too."

I found it amazing that Marky was still asleep in the living room after all the noise that Joey and Johnny were making laughing so hard. That man could probably sleep through anything.

"Anyways, I gotta get some sleep, man. I'll talk to ya tomorrow." Johnny got up from his seat and was about to go upstairs.

"'Ey, John, lemme ask you somethin'."

"What?"

"You love Angela?"

He nodded. "More than anything in the world. Oh yeah, that reminds me of something...I'm sorry too for accusing you of flirtin' with her. I'm just real protective, and I guess sometimes it just makes me jealous."

"Eh, it's alright man, I get it. I mean, I love Angela like a sister. I'll always be there for her, but I don't see her the way you do."

Johnny leaned in closer to Joey. I had to really listen carefully to hear what he was saying.

"Hey, don't tell 'er this, alright? But I'm planning on askin' her to marry me soon."

Joey's eyes widened. "Damn, really?" He smiled. "That's great, John! She'll be shocked when you ask her."

"I mean, she already knows I love her, so..."

"Yeah, but Angela can sometimes over think stuff, and even though you say you love her, she's the kinda chick who doesn't really get that. You gotta prove to her that you really do. Or she'll feel like she's worthless compared to you."

How is it that Joey knew my heart this way? That was something I could never tell Johnny. But it was true. My weakness was trusting people. I've been betrayed too many times to count, lied to, cheated on, you name it. And god knew I loved Johnny more than my own life, but I still had a small wall built up inside me. It was even more dangerous because I knew that if Johnny decided he'd hurt me and betray me, that would probably kill me the most because I was so in love and attached to him.

My trust in him was severe. And if he destroyed that, I'd have nothing left. It would probably be worse than when we were apart for those dreadful two years. Still though...didn't it mean something if he wanted to marry me? Johnny was really serious about our relationship, it seemed.

"I already show her I love her. I don't know what else I can do."

"You don't have to do anything, just keep being there for her. She likes that."

Johnny looked at the corner of a wall for a minute, then nodded. "'Kay. 'Night, Joey."

"Alright, see ya tomorrow. Oh and one last thing."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"You shouldn't be jealous of me."

Johnny looked down and continued to walk up the stairs. Joey went back to drinking his beer and reading his magazine. When I saw Johnny beginning to walk towards the room, I ran back into the bed and pretended to sleep. With just my ears, I heard Johnny walk in and shut the door. Then I heard him shuffling with clothes. He was probably just stripping down to his underwear so he could climb into bed. Then I felt his body warmth as he got in. He wrapped his arm around my torso, and fell asleep.

I stayed awake that night. After knowing that Johnny was going to propose to me soon, I just couldn't sleep. But it sucked because now I had to wait. I didn't know how long it would take him to do it. But I couldn't, under and circumstances, mention anything about it. It would kill me on the inside, but I HAD to keep my cool around him.

. . .

In the morning I woke up first. I was usually always the first one to wake up. Johnny and his male mentalities impeded him from ever being an early bird. Later on, we departed to his house in Long Island. We were currently playing tag with eachother. He was it.

"Okay, I'm gonna find ya eventually...trust me, I will. You cant hide forever." Johnny searched everywhere, but he still couldn't find me. How hard was it to find someone in the bushes? I laughed, but kept my mouth closed so he couldn't hear me. I figured it would be a while before he found me, so I looked at the leaves of the bushes for a while, when I felt something. Well, I didn't exactly FEEL anything, but I just felt the presence of something...or someone-

"Found you!" Johnny grabbed me, but I playfully struggled away and ran away and out into the open of the backyard. We continued to chase each other until the sun started to set. Then we stopped, and Johnny fell on top of me. I found it really interesting how he only acted this playful when I was around him. Even though I was his girlfriend, in the beginning, I'd half expected him to act no differently than when he was with the boys. Conservative, boring and straightforward. But, when he was with me...its like everything inside him lit up. And every time we were together he was always so genuine in everything. In the way he talked and smiled...it was wonderful to see this side of him.

"Fuck! Angie, we gotta get goin'."

"Oh, right. The interview!"

"Come on, we can take the van there and meet up with everyone else." He took my hand and led me to the tour van. We both got in and sped off onto the highway. Hopefully we could make it on time, but it was hard because Johnny kept getting distracted by fans who spotted us on the road. And since he didn't wanna be a douchebag and not acknowledge them, he waved to them. Even though it was a little distracting, I knew he appreciated it. Johnny really did love his fans, and I knew he'd do anything for them. Just like I knew he'd do the same for me.

We met up with the rest of the guys, and they didn't look happy.

"You're late, man. What happened?" Dee Dee asked. I think he was actually sober for once in his life!

"Eh, some fans caught my attention on the way here. Anyways, when are we going up?"

"Fifteen minutes," Joey said.

"'Kay. Angie, baby, can you go over there and just sit while we get ready?"

"Sure, John. Good luck." I kissed his lips and he smiled, then walked away with the rest of the guys.

There were a group of girls talking in a corner. They looked familiar. When I walked closer, I realized it was Rosy, Josephina, and another girl that I didn't really recognize. "Uh...hi."

"Hey, uh, you're Angela, right?" Rosy asked.

"Yeah, I'm Angela."

"Listen...sorry about what happened last night on the subway. I didn't mean to sound that harsh, its just...oh my god, I've been in love with Dee Dee ever since I first laid eyes on him. Hes perfect in my eyes, and when he asked me and my friend Jo here if we wanted to stay over, I just couldn't refuse!"

"It's okay I understand. You'd get along with my friend Ann. She's got the hots for Dee Dee too."

Rosy chuckled. "Really? Ah, well tell her he's mine, alright?"

"I guess he IS yours now. I mean, you clearly fucked him."

"Yeah...well actually, he didn't actually fuck fuck me last night. He did...other things. He fingered me and ate me out mostly."

Okay, that was way more information than I wanted to know. "Oh. That's uh...that's great. I guess..."

"I don't know, I think Joey's sexier than Dee Dee," Josephina said. "That Riff Randall chick was so lucky to meet him!" She sucked her teeth.

I laughed. "Her real name is P.J. Soles. And its just a movie, you know. That girl was already married when they shot that movie."

"Oh...oh, really?"

I nodded. "Don't worry though. I understand how you feel. Well, actually not really. I mean, I used to have a crush on Joey, but he's more like an older brother now."

"Yeah, you're with Johnny. Right?" Rosy's eyebrows lit up.

I turned red at the sound of Johnny's name. "Yeah. I've always loved him. It's like a dream come true me, really. I never thought we'd even meet eachother. Weird how stuff happens, huh?"

"Yup, I'll say." She took out a bag of marijuana from her jacket. "Want some? Dee Dee gave it to me."

What? Dee Dee actually gave up some of his drugs to someone else? What a shock! "Oh um...I don't do weed."

"You don't?"

"No, and besides, my boyfriend would kill me if he saw me smoking. So, I cant do it."

"You shouldn't let Johnny control you like that." The unrecognizable girl flipped her dark hair and lit up a cigarette. Her cleavage was exposed and all squeezed up in the shirt she was wearing, and she wore leather pants. "If you do, he'll eventually step all over you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"My friends call me Kat. I'm Marky's cousin."

"I didn't know Marky had cousins."

"Oh yeah, he's got alot. But we're the closest with eachother. Marky takes me to his gigs with the Ramones every now and then. I told him I wanted to see his interview so he took me here. I love going places with my cousin, we always have fun. We like to get in trouble." She chuckled and continued smoking.

There was a television that was backstage with us, so we were able to watch the guys there. It was starting, and all of us quieted down.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Al Gomes, and I'm about to welcome a very influential group of rock and roll. I mean, these guys are just phenomenal, and everyone loves them. So lets bring out the Ramones!"

"Blitzkrieg Bop" played as the guys walked on the stage. I saw Joey wave to the audience, and then they all shook hands with the host, then sat down in their seats. Sometimes it still caught me by surprise that I actually knew the Ramones now. Back when I was a teenager, I dreamed about this kind of stuff happening to me. It was still amazing, no matter how much I knew them now, to see them on a screen talking about whatever. And the way Johnny looked always made me weak in the knees and made me sigh like a young girl staring at the captain of the football team.

But Johnny was no quarterback. He was a Ramone. A slave of rock and roll. Just like the rest of us were.