Lost In Purple
Chapter 23: Studying In The Storm
Melanie's POV
I open my eyes to see that I'm in Johnny's room yet again. I take a deep breath in order to expand my lungs and stretch out my ribcage that's had an uncomfortable amount of pressure exerted on it. I can smell lavender when I submerge my face into the pillow and my mind fills with mental images of Johnny. He was really cute when he met my parents, acting almost like he knew them his entire life.
I hear a knock on the door followed by a low and quiet voice that I could only deduce to be Johnny. "Are you awake?"
I groan and curl up into a ball.
"They closed campus today because of the weather so you're staying here with me," Johnny whispers while walking up to me.
I slowly turn over to look out the windows and see a moderate amount of rain plummeting from the heavens along with a couple pieces of hail clanging against the windows every few seconds. I must have been really tired to not have heard anything until this exact moment.
"Do you need anything to eat or drink?" Johnny asks while pushing the blankets up to my neck.
I'm too tired to feel hungry, and I'm not at all thirsty. However, there is one thing I would enjoy having. I lean up to Johnny and wrap my arms around him. He hugs me back and lays down next to me on his side. "Didn't think you'd want me…" Johnny murmurs with that cocky smile that I've come to love.
I push my head into his fluffy chest and groan, "What time is it?"
"Seven o'clock. Usually the time I wake up," Johnny responds quietly.
"You're insane," I mention.
"Shhhh. If you're that tired then go back to sleep," Johnny hushes.
I start to feel a little cold. The rain and hail must be making the house colder than usual, which is also weird because I've been under the blankets for several hours at this point.
"But I don't want to," I pout. Johnny chuckles and rolls over with me still in his arms. He feels like the worlds greatest pillow and it ironically makes me feel a bit drowsy there for a couple seconds.
"Then you and I can lay here for a little while. Everyone else seems to have gone back to bed, so I don't really have anything to do," Johnny replies.
"You'd better stay here…I'll punch you if you don't," I mumble drowsily.
"Well we wouldn't want that," Johnny sighs before gently rubbing his head against mine. He starts purring again which makes me start wagging my tail. He smiles and then kisses me on the forehead.
"So there's no school today?" I ask.
"Nope. If you don't believe me you can look out the window again and see quite the downpour," Johnny replies.
I turn my head over to the window again and take note of all the things I missed before. There's an abnormal amount of darkness spewing in through the glass, and every nanosecond there's a sharp smack that hits the transparent pane along with splashes the size of my hand. Yeah, I can only assume the whole campus is flooding at this point and that there's no possible way anyone could traverse through these extreme conditions. "Ok, I believe you."
Johnny laughs as he puts his hands around the back of my head, and starts massaging my ears and head. He puts the perfect amount of pressure onto my skull and occasionally scratches just below my ears which causes me to unintentionally push against him. He pushes back while purring with more intensity and then wraps his right arm around me while keeping his left on my head. "Once nine o'clock comes around, I'll make sure the others get off their asses so you can study together," Johnny quietly growls.
I scoff and see him frowning. "Don't rush them John. They need their sleep unlike you."
"Wh- you talk about me like like there's something wrong with me," Johnny gasps.
"Well there is! Who in their right mind wakes up at 7 in the morning just because they can? Are you sure you're not an old man in disguise? Or are you maybe one of those marathon runners that train at 3 in the morning?" I counter.
He lets me go and pushes himself off the mattress to look down at me. "Do you really have that low of an opinion of me?"
"No, I was just joking. But I do think you don't respect or trust your brothers enough. You should know that they won't let you down," I explain.
Johnny lets loose an almost inaudible growl as he looks out the window with furrowed brows. "If they want to be the best then they'd better join us. I'd be furious if the JOX or Oozma Kappa ever perform better than us."
"Oozma Kappa? Who are they?" I ask.
"A sorry excuse of a scaring fraternity. For years they've been composed of scaring program dropouts or failures. Regardless of who they are, they never belonged in the program anyways," Johnny responds while waving his hand in a dismissive manner. I find myself feeling angry at how Johnny sees those poor monsters. They tried their best to become someone they wanted to be but couldn't follow through in the end. It's probably for the best to just ignore that though.
"Did something happen John? I've never seen you like this before," I mention.
Johnny stays silent for a few seconds before swinging his legs off the side of the bed and walking towards the door. "It's nothing for you to worry about. Come down whenever you're ready."
I head down the main living room and find all the RORs sitting on the red couches except for Sullivan and Johnny. Many textbooks are laid out on the coffee tables and notebooks are wide open for everyone to see.
"Miss Everett. Come join us," Javier greets. I smile at him and sit onto the couch with him. I also notice that Chip is coaching Bruiser on scaring positions and making faces with him. It's kind of funny to watch as Bruiser makes goofy little chuckles with each movement and see Chip laughing alongside with him.
"Chip and I have been studying non-stop for the past week, so we're just going to spend some time helping you and Bruiser for you final exam," Javier elucidates.
"Ok, sounds good…Um… is Johnny not joining?" I question.
"I apologize Miss Everett, he has to focus on his Scaring 456 class, Scaring Thesis, and cannot join us today. If you do need him though, he's in the library," Javier replies.
"Huh, I thought he would be studying with us. What's this Scaring Thesis class?" I ask.
"Yes, it's a class where he has to compile a large written independent study on Scaring as a whole. He also has to write about a certain topic of his choice. I myself am not taking that class since I don't have a death wish, but he has not shared with me what he's specifically writing about, so I cannot tell you anything more other than his parents forced him to take it," Javier explains.
"Wait why would his parents force him to take that exactly?" I ask.
Javier shrugs his shoulders and gives me a careless expression. "Lo siento, mi amiga, I do not know. For all I know, it's just the curse of being Johnny."
I decide that it might be better to ask Johnny about this later, so I open my notebooks and flip to my notes on scare techniques. The Ogre Slump and Dominant Silverback Gorilla are still haunting me and continue to demotivate me with every second at stare at those words. It also doesn't help that I have to worry about Johnny and his mental state right now.
"Bruiser told me that you need help with the starter techniques. Is it the positioning that you're having trouble with?" Javier questions.
"Yeah. You know… I'm starting to think that I maybe can't do them because I'm not scary enough," I whimper.
"Don't think that way Miss Everett, if I had to guess it's because you're not comfortable performing them. When I was in Scaring 101, I couldn't do the Angry Poodle because I felt like a idiot doing it. Maybe you're feeling the same way about these," Javier ponders.
"Is that really the issue though?" I ask while genuinely unsure why I can't perform any of these techniques correctly.
"Every Scarer has their strengths and weaknesses. Some more than others at least. As you know, Johnny's proficient in demonic scares and beastly scares, but he's actually dissatisfactory at Silent Scares due to his size. He almost lost his valedictorian status because of them, so you're not alone," Javier consoles.
"Regardless, I still don't think I have enough time to figure all these out perfectly," I reply.
Javier stands up and reaches his hand out for me to take. "If you're worried about your performance, then perhaps we should work on your vocal technique rather than your physical technique since that's what's most important. Lets see what Chip wants to do," Javier suggests.
We leave Chet to study by himself and walk over to Chip and Bruiser so that I can join in on their 'private tutoring.' I stand next to Bruiser as if we're in class and copy Chip and Javier as they professionally demonstrate their mastery of all the scaring techniques we need to know. We eventually come to the few techniques that I've been struggling with and both seniors begin giving me several pointers after demonstrating them to him.
"Yeah you look awkward as hell doing those," Chip interjects.
"Ugghh! Don't say thaaaaat!" I whine.
"I would rather him say that than saying you did it perfectly dama de la luna," Javier mentions.
"Then how do I fix it?! All my professors just walk away and tell me to study more!" I growl at myself while digging my claws into my head.
Bruiser wraps his arms around me with a worrisome look on his face while Chip and Javier laugh at me. "Calm down Melanie, there's ways around that. All they need to see is you perform these scaring techniques decently, not perfectly," Chip replies.
"Yeah yeah yeah! Let's start with the Ogre Slump Miss Melanie," Bruiser suggests hyperactively. He does it perfectly first try and positions himself so he can look at me. I can barely take him seriously when he closes his eyes like that; He looks like he's high out of his mind. I try my best to do what he does by arching my back backwards and bending my legs while acting like I have an overbite.
"If you take a look at Bruiser, you can se she's arching his back just a little bit. You've been arching yours waaaaaay too much Melanie. Does arching your back make you lose balance or feel pain?" Chip asks.
I nod my head and tell them that I feel both. I feel like I'm top heavy and that if I have any force exerted onto me, I'll fall over. I also feel a sharp pain in my lower back.
"Then refrain from arching backwards and arch forwards instead," Javier directs.
I do what he says and feel much better.
"As long as you keep that overbite and brain dead look on your face, they'll know you're Ogre Slumping. If you don't, they're going to think you're doing the Aunt Phyllis or In The Morning Techniques and penalize you," Chip explains.
Javier has me try it a couple more times with Bruiser which makes us laugh at each other like we're ten years old. This is probably the goofiest thing I've done since I was in middle school. "That looks much better Miss Everett," Javier says with a his arms behind his back.
"Hehehe, now the Dominant Silverback Gorilla!" Bruiser laughs while jumping up and down in excitement.
"Actually we don't need to do that one. While they teach it, they can't force someone to perform this one if they can't do it, due to both safety and medical reasons," Chip interrupts.
"Wha?" Bruiser spouts.
"Many monsters have pulled muscles or even ripped tendons doing that technique because their limbs aren't meant to bend like that. I'm assuming that's why you can't do that one Miss Everett," Javier clarifies.
"Oh thank god," I sigh in relief. It's true, every time I get down on my fists I feel like my legs would pop out of their sockets.
"Yes, Professor Knight won't even think about testing you on that one. However, that Zombie Snarl…" Chip foreshadows.
Bruiser then turns to me and does his best zombie snarl. He raises both his hands in the air and pushes his eyes out their sockets while sticking his tongue out. His false chords vibrate rapidly which produces a deep and raspy sounding growl. "This is what we're both thinking he's going to have you do. Since he's spent the most time in your class talking about this one, has put questions on yours tests about it, and has seen you poorly perform this one… it's likely he'll choose this one for you," Chip continues.
I do my best Zombie Snarl at Bruiser who then laughs at me.
"Still a little awkward Miss Everett. Instead of having your arms in the air, put them in front of you and tilt your head to your left or right," Javier suggests.
I follow his directions which feels a little more comfortable and unique since everyone does it the way. I feel like an actual zombie, so that makes me feel a whole lot better. "Now you can actually put your own little twist to this one. Since you excel at paranormal scares, which still impresses me to this day, you can mix your ghost wails with your basic roars or any combination like that. If Johnny ever teaches you like we're doing, he might even teach you how to do something like zombie clicks," Javier adds.
Chip gives Javier the side eye and crosses his eyes with a smile. "Zombie clicks? You mean like the ones he can do?" Chip asks.
"Uh… yeah. Sorry, I got excited thinking about the number of possibilities you can do," Javier admits.
I follow his directions and mix my banshee wails with my basic roar which produces a sound that sends shivers down my own spine. It sounds like my voice has been dry for years while also like I've been stabbed in the throat. All three of them look at me in genuine surprise.
"Yo…paranormal and undead scares…what a combination," Chip says while putting a hand over his head.
"I'm not supposed to make that sound though. I'm supposed to just groan," I chuckle.
"Yeah that's true…I don't think he'll penalize you, but that's up to you," Chip counters.
We go through many other scaring techniques until I hear Bruisers stomach growl. It must be getting close to lunch time and he can't go to the cafeteria today since there's basically a hurricane outside; An F5 tornado that's drowning the city in water. "I think we should take a break," I mention.
"Good idea. I don't really know what we should eat though. I usually go to the store every week but this storm kind of kept me from stocking up on food," Javier adds.
"What?! Jav, are you everyone's mother or something?" I question.
"More like father, but yes, they would be dead without me…or fat…or sick…or something," Javier answers with a monotonous tone and uninterested look on his face.
"Which is why we love you, and would never give you up for any reason!" Chip says hugging him and shaking him playfully. Javier starts smacking Chips face and tries pushing him away from him. Bruiser joins in and throws his arms around both Chip and Javier which makes Javier even more uncomfortable. Those boys will definitely be boys. I walk into the kitchen and scour through the fridge to find some pre-made cookie dough from the store. I guess that will work for now. I size them all to be medium sized and set them all on baking sheets. I throw them into the oven and wait until they're golden brown then take them out and wait for them to cool, only to then put them on a plate and take them all out to the boys.
"Cookies!" Bruiser howls.
Javier, Chip, and Chet all look over to me while Bruiser starts panting and drooling.
"I was feeling like something sweet today," I say putting the plate down on the coffee table.
Nobody says anything as they all take handfuls of cookies which leaves only about 8 cookies left. Seeing them all devour such simple snacks make me feel happy because of the fact that it took almost nothing to make them act like children again. My mind immediately switches to Johnny who, from what I know, is still in the library working on his Scaring Thesis class. I jog to the kitchen and grab a paper towel, and run back to the coffee table to grab him 5 cookies.
"I'll be back," I say. Javier and Chip give me a thumbs up as they start reviewing their own work for the first time today, and chew on the cookies contently. I walk up to the library entrance which is to the left of the fireplace and peek in to see Johnny with his head buried into several books and an open laptop.
"John," I whisper while slowly waking up to him.
"Hmm? Oh, Mel. Is everything alright?" He asks while taking his attention away from his work.
"I made the boys some cookies, so I brought you some," I reply. His eyes go wide and a smile starts to form across his face. I place them next to him and observe all the materials he has placed everywhere.
"I'm sorry I interrupted, I just wanted to see how you were doing. You seemed a little stressed again this morning," I say while lifting his head up to see if he's sick.
Johnny chuckles and grabs my hand. "Like I said, you don't have to worry. I'll be sure to make up for this morning soon," He winks.
I blush as we both let go of each other. "Are you sure?" I double down.
"Yeah, you don't have to worry. It's just drama with Sullivan," Johnny discloses.
"Drama with Sullivan? Is he refusing to study again?" I ask.
"Yep. Not to mention he's proving himself to be one of the worst Scarers on campus which is damaging our reputation. Reputation means everything in the scaring world, and he doesn't have it," Johnny replies. Reputation means everything? Does that mean I have a bad reputation since I'm not all that great with actual scares?
"Other than that though, everything's fine," he adds.
Relief overwhelms me and I feel like I can breathe again. "Alright… I'll trust you."
"Good. Now how about you and I take a break?" Johnny says with that cocky smile of his. He grabs my hips and pulls me into a kiss that surprises me so much that I gasp. However, my astonishment quickly fades and I push my arms underneath his sweater to feel his muscles buried beneath his fur. He starts moving his hands up and down my body and eventually starts rubbing his claws gently along my spine. I move my hands up to his horns and confirm once more that that's a sensitive spot for him. He picks me up and makes me wrap my legs around his waist while he pushes me up against one of the walls. His hands then move to the side of my head and he pushes his chest against me which makes me giggle uncontrollably.
After a few minutes of this, I lean away from him for a second to ask, "You didn't really want cookies did you?"
Johnny refrains from looking away from me and stares into my eyes. "No…you taste a whole lot better."
I feel my ears lower and my tail start wagging at Mach speed. I also feel my face flush red when Johnny presses his head against mine for a few seconds. "I miss you when you're not around," he adds.
"John, we've only been dating for like two weeks," I mumble.
"That doesn't mean I can't love you the way I do," Johnny whispers back. I feel that tingling in my stomach return.
He repositions me so that he can carry me like a princess and stealthily walks out the library. All the boys have gone into the kitchen, so Johnny basically sprints towards the dual staircases without any of them noticing us. When we make it up to the left hallway, he sets me down to open his door and holds my hand when he swings it open to reveal the downpour outside still going strong. Johnny shuts the door and then carries me back up against the door to pull me into a deep kiss. I wrap my legs around his waist again while placing my hands onto the sides of his head which encourages him to move his hands up and down my sides.
He leans away from my snout after a few seconds, and with no hesitation asks, "May I?"