Lost In Purple
Chapter 30: Figurines
Melanie's POV
Our curiosity peaks when Dad shoves us all into the car as if we were going on vacation and we were five hours away from our flight's departure. While Johnny is more of a 'confused curious,' my Mom and I are a 'surprised curious' because he's never this excited about something during his time off. Or, well, he hasn't been for the past couple of years at least. It makes me wonder if it's going to be one of those things that only Dads can be excited about like woodworking, or professional football, or cars. I hope it's not something like that, I would be nothing short of embarrassed. Even though we were rushed into the car, Dad drives like an old lady as we move through streets, eliciting a couple of honks from other monsters that are either behind us or passing us.
"Dad do you have to drive significantly slower than everyone else?" I ask.
"Yes, it just snowed and I would rather not go broke because I crashed into a pole," Dad responds in a playfully mocking tone.
Johnny leans towards me, and into the middle of the car, making it nearly impossible for either of my parents to see out the back window. "You think you're going to crash?" He questions.
"If I drive any faster, I will. It's not like I have the best tires to combat the ice anyways. They're basically bald," Dad responds.
"Ok well would you mind telling us what we're doing since it's going to take us 5 business days to get there," I grunt.
Mom turns around in the passenger seat, giving me a sour expression. "Mel, be nice to your father. This is the first time he's had time to spend with us since before your last year of high school, let him enjoy it."
"Come ooooon, you know I'm not good with surprises," I whine.
She scoffs and says, "Why are you so whiny today? Come to think of it why are you whiny at all? You never were like this when you were young."
"Because I just want to know where we're goiiiiiiing!" I wail.
Dad starts laughing which doesn't make me feel very happy, mostly because he's laughing at me. "Be patient Mel. If it helps you at all, it's not something boring."
I involuntarily feel uncertain, which is visibly shown across my face as I see a slight reflection of myself in the window. I then look over to Johnny and see that he's infatuated with the environment outside, not even paying attention to our conversation. I also notice that he's trying his best not to damage the car with his horns by slouching down a little bit. Mom and Dad start talking to each other about work while I try to figure out what exactly is drawing Johnny's attention. "Are you alright John?" I ask.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine. It's just a culture shock being down here. Everything looks so laid back and fun, if not a little unsettling as well. I'm used to everything being so modern and unimaginative and… similar. Everything down here has character and… I don't really know how to explain it," Johnny answers.
"You're such a rich boy," I chuckle.
"Oh come on," He chuckles back. "It's not like I could have done something about my ignorance as a kid. I thought everything was the same everywhere when I was eight."
"If only," I say while sighing.
Johnny smiles painfully and looks back out towards the town. "A lot of these buildings look like interesting restaurants. Are there any good restaurants around here that you would recommend?" Johnny asks.
I give it some thought and come to the conclusion that there isn't really anything crazy good. Many of the restaurants down here are cheap family restaurants that are mediocre at best, all because their food tastes like it was microwaved leftovers. "Um… not really. I might be a little biased though because of my Mom," I respond.
"Oh yeah I didn't even think about that. Nothing beats her cooking…" Johnny mumbles.
I think it's cute that my Mom has completely shattered his expectations and tastes. I guess that's to be expected though when she makes food with the utmost amount of love within a cozy, homey setting.
"Was there ever a place that you remember going to though, like as a kid?" He questions further.
"Ummmm…There was this one place that my Dad took me to once when I was little. I think it was the reason why I ended up liking fruits as much as I do," I reply.
"You only went there once?" Johnny queries.
"Yeah. Apparently it's a place that's always booked full, and never has times available that work for us," I explain.
"I'm assuming it wasn't expensive or anything either," Johnny says.
"No. That might be why it's so popular. The food is incredible for what it is and it's about as cheap as fast food," I continue.
"What's it called?" Johnny finally asks.
"Nightfall Fantasia," I answer.
Johnny seems intrigued all over again, and I can tell he's planning on going there by just looking into eyes. "And what kind of food do they serve? Is it Hexican? Fearipino? Voodoozuelan?"
While all of those could be considered good guesses, I don't think they could be labeled as correct. "I don't think they can be considered anything actually. They specialize in experimental fruit based foods that are unique to the area, so I guess it would be Monstropolitan," I respond.
Johnny laughs quietly in bewilderment. "I think I'm going to have to take Bruiser there. He needs to learn to eat things other than just meat."
"Hey, If you're going to force him to eat things he doesn't want to, I will join him in literally ambushing you when we go back to campus," I growl. Bruiser has every right to eat what he wants to, and I will make sure he maintains that right as a ROR.
"Woah hey, calm down, you know I'm not actually going to do that," Johnny laughs.
"You'd better not," I add with a devious smile.
Before Johnny is able to say anything else, Dad's voice raises in volume, causing both Johnny and I'd heads to turn to him. "Alright children, we're here."
The two of us look out the window, realizing that we haven't been paying attention to where we were going for the past few minutes. The sky is still grey, but our surroundings aren't cluttered by vintage buildings and mounds of snow that were lazily pushed off onto the sidewalks. We've parked in a parking lot that's about half empty, and is within a valley lined in pine trees that looks like it's most definitely been a screen saver on a computer.
"Where the hell did you take us?" I ask.
Dad then gets overwhelmingly excited. "An old spot that we all used to attend. We're going ice skating!"
Mom hops out of the car and starts hysterically clapping her hands while making some adorable squeals. "Yay! I haven't been skating in years!"
Johnny opens the passenger door, probably to stretch out his muscles considering that he was constricted in that car for a little while. I hear my Dad start giving him some instructions when I get out of the car, while my Mom keeps me from hearing it to its entirety. "Mel! Aren't you excited? When was the last time you were here? 6, 7 years? Oh, it's going to be so fun!"
"Ugh… if anything it's going to be embarrassing having to relearn how to skate by falling 400 times before I get the hang of it," I groan while putting a hand to my forehead.
Mom takes my arm, beginning to shake me in excitement. "But you have Johnny to hold onto! Come on, you can do it!" She says while squeezing my arm so hard that it feels like my circulation is being cut off. When she lets go, she guides me backwards so that I'm caught in Johnny's right arm. "Have fun you two!" She giggles while waddling over to my Dad on the other side of the car.
My eyes follow her up until she practically throws herself into my Dad's arms, squealing in excitement. "Your Mom seems happy," Johnny chuckles with that arrogant tone of his.
"She's always like that," I reply.
Johnny laughs again, beginning to push me forward with him. I start feeling a little cold again, but it's not as uncomfortable as it's been these last few days. The coldness is also counteracted by Johnny's warmth that has developed over the last hour. "Let's go skating shall we."
The two of us ended up finding ourselves in front of the large wooden cabin that rests along the frozen lake, buying a pair of skates for the both of us. I forgot that this place is a winter hotspot for the town, and the city has set up a café and sports store within the cabin. Being exposed to all of this feels kind of surreal because it seems like this is something that would come out of one of those cheesy love movies on TV. After buying the skates, we immediately put them on and stomp over to the edge of the lake. Johnny effortlessly plants his feet on the ice, where a couple of teenagers and old couples are already skating in circles, and gets the feel for skating. He puts his arms behind him and looks elegant as hell when he loops back around towards me.
"Well don't just stand there Princess, I'm starting to feel a little lonely out here," Johnny smirks.
I shake my head, taking myself out of the amazement I've fell victim to. "G-Give me a second… I haven't been skating in years."
Johnny glides over to me, making a satisfying carving sound as the blades cut through the chilling solid. "I'm just messing with you Mel, I'll be here to make sure you don't fall." He puts his hand out for me to grab, and I nervously take it. I can feel both my arms and legs brutally shaking once I step onto the ice, nearly losing all balance. Luckily the ice seems to be a couple inches thick and has no chance of it breaking anytime soon.
"I got you," Johnny comforts as I scramble to hold onto his arm.
It takes me a second the find the sweet spot where I'm able to perfectly balance and then I'm able to let go of Johnny. It still surprises me as to how jacked this man is, like seriously that bicep and those triceps could slice literal diamonds into smithereens.
"Huh… your parents weren't joking when they said you used to skate," Johnny smiles.
"Yeah…While every other kid would stay in their rooms or go to parties on the weekends, I would either draw or have them take me skating. At least that's what it was like in middle school," I reply.
Johnny gasps. "You didn't go to parties? Who are you?!"
I punch him in the chest and listen to him laugh at me as we gain speed on the ice. "Sorry, it's just odd hearing that you don't go to parties. Especially since you went to a couple of the best during these past months while acting like you're a pro at attending them," He explains.
"Yeah," I sigh, "Now I got to get used to them since I'll be basically throwing them."
Johnny takes my hand as we begin pushes ourselves forward. "Trust me when I say that they'll be more fun now that you'll be there with friends," Johnny foreshadows.
"Good, cause I don't know if I can handle anymore drama at parties," I reply. Seriously, I want absolutely zero drama at the next one I go to, otherwise I'll throw a temper tantrum.
"Unfortunately it might be a little hard with Red and Faust being next door, but we'll try our best to make things easy for you. I'm sure Javier and Chip will be willing to throw a couple punches anyways," Johnny mentions.
For some reason, when I think I've finally forgotten about Faust, I always end up getting reminded about him. While everyone's focused on me and my sudden change, nobody's paying attention to this sudden shift in personality. I still can't figure that out either, was it alcohol and drugs? Lust for power? Jealousy?
"I'm still a little confused as to why he became so…standoffish. He was the only JOX member that I liked last year, but I can't say that anymore," Johnny says with a hint of sadness.
I put my hand on his chest and lean my head against his arm. "I know how you feel. It was kind of heartbreaking to see him the way he was during the Fall Formal," I interrupt.
Johnny squeezes my hand and then asks, "He was a football player in high school right?"
"Yeah. It was one of the only things he was passionate about. Almost everything he did was somehow related to football or sports in general, so a majority of the time that I was friends with him, he'd try to get me to go to a football game or practice or…whatever," I respond with disinterest in remembering all those times.
"Do you know what the other players were like?" Johnny presses further.
I think about the many students that wore football jerseys at my high school, but I can't recall ever meeting any of them. They all seemed uninterested in getting to know me anyways. "No. I never met them," I answer, "Why do you ask?"
Johnny stays silent for a couple of seconds. He's clearly bothered by this topic just as much as I am. "I guess I don't really, uh, have a good reason. I just wonder if his team was instilling emotional inexpressiveness and misogyny into his head, or even if it was the JOX that did. Usually kids like him don't…change like that within a year."
"I don't know, I couldn't care less about him anymore. He obviously wasn't a good friend to begin with since everything had to be about him," I respond.
I look out to the hills and study the many pine trees and oak trees that them like a wall. The branches all hang low and the snow that beautifully dresses them tends to fall aggressively whenever there's a slight breeze or an animal that disturbs the natures ataraxia. I can see Johnny looking at me within my peripheral vision, seeming like he's sorry for everything. While I wouldn't ever place the blame on him, I debate on telling him that it's partially his fault that all this has happened. Realistically he might have been a catalyst for it, but how would have he known that all of this would have happened.
"Just so know, I won't leave you all alone like he did," He says looking down at the ice.
Desperately wanting to forget Faust and his sorrowful shenanigans, I let go off Johnny's hand and become focused on skating as if I was back in middle school. Every step is carefully placed, pushing me gracefully along the edges of the lake. Johnny follows me and eventually slips further ahead of me only to turn around to skate backwards. It almost as if he has another sense because he knows exactly when to turn and flawlessly avoids people who skate within his path. He slows down a little bit to reach out and grab the both of my hands only to then speed up while pulling me along with him. He pushes me around him while we move in circles as if we were dancing on the clouds. A feeling of nostalgia hits me because I feel the exact same as I did when we danced at the Fall Formal, of which I'll never forget for as long as I live. He twirls around me and I let him stylishly push and pull me towards him, making us seem like figure skaters using up as much of the ice as possible for their routine.
We snake in between the many couples on the ice, moving as if we're in sync and taking the same steps with each lap around the lake. We grab each other's hands, only to let go and have a good time, almost as if we were birds swirling around in the ether. While it's not necessarily a rehearsed presentation or anything, it feels like one since a couple of people sitting over at the café along the lake begin watching us intently with wide eyes and mouths agape. Some of the people that were on the lake also decide it's time to get off, giving us a little more room to drift along the frozen landscape. I catch a glimpse at all the people watching us and somehow don't feel bothered by it like I usually do. I guess I'm starting to get an understanding of what it's like to be a ROR now, because basking in the limelight is all that Johnny and the rest of the boys seem to do. I hope that means I'm not becoming full of myself.
We continue synchronizing on the ice, and soon mix our formal dancing skills with ice skating without saying any words or using any signals. We spin with grace and step with artistic emotion, it even gives me a sense of self confidence whenever Johnny looks at me with awe. Everything naturally falls into place, causing us to soon run out of energy, slowing us down until Johnny painlessly lifts me up. He leisurely spins around with me and I plant a firm kiss on his lips as his momentum winds down to a full and completel stop.
"This was fun Princess," Johnny smirks while continuing to hold me up off the ground.
"I agree. But um…I wasn't expecting you to be such a good skater considering all you do is Scare," I reply with a smile.
"I'm not just some one trick pony Mel, I wouldn't be able to catch peoples attention if I wasn't multi-talented," He brags.
I smile at him and say, "You mean people wouldn't want to pay attention to you."
"God you really enjoy insulting me," Johnny growls playfully.
"Well yeah, you're annoying. You always somehow show off to everyone for no reason, which by the way, is unnecessary" I retort.
"Yeah, but you love it. I know you do," Johnny smirks.
He then pushes his head into my chest, purring once I start rubbing the bases of his horns and refuses to move. I end up feeling kind of embarrassed because my social awareness kicks in while he's doing this out in the open for everyone to see, so I try my best to turn away so that nobody can stare into my eyes. Sometimes it is better if you don't see them.
"Oh, hey, have you seen your parents? I completely forgot they're here with us," Johnny questions.
I feel my ears shoot up as I realize that I haven't seen them either. "N-no, I was having too much fun with you to worry about them."
Johnny delicately sets me down, takes my hand, and pulls me to the edge of the lake so that we can go on a scavenger hunt for them. When I step off the ice, everything feels heavy and sluggish now that we aren't slipping and sliding like a banana peel on squeaky clean tile. We turn our heads in various directions until Johnny's tall existence is able to find my parents. "Ah there they are," He points out.
Mom and Dad are sitting over at the café just behind a family that was watching us skate for the past few minutes. It seems they've gotten themselves a couple cups of Hot Chocolate in order to warm themselves up. They've clearly been neglecting to exercise out here in the cold and haven't been generating the required friction to create heat.
"We should probably take these off before we tear apart the pier," Johnny states after pointing to our skates. Yeah that would probably be a good idea. Wouldn't want to eternally embarrass myself and make myself not want to leave the house ever again.
We take our skates off and put them safely into some boxes that we carry over to the café, only to be greeted by my parents. "Oh Mel! You two looked so cute out there!" Mom squeals while taking a hold of my cheeks and squeezing them.
"Ugh… you watched that?" I blush.
"Of course we did, everyone was talking about this awesome couple skating on the ice, and low and behold, it was you two having the best time ever!" Mom exclaims. She then sighs while using the table to rest her head on her fists. "I wish I brought a camera," Mom swoons.
Johnny chimes in with a laugh and says, "I wish you did too, I would've had something to remember this by."
I punch him in his chest. "Don't encourage her! She's obviously trying to embarrass me!" I pout.
Johnny puts his hand up to my head and basically pets me like an older brother does to a younger brother as some sort of sick joke. I swear to god I'm going to kill this man. "Can I not make memories with you? I thought you liked me?" He teases.
"You can make memories with that photographic memory of yours, you don't need a picture!" I growl while keeping myself from strangling him.
Johnny stares at me with a dumb smirk for a few seconds before opening his dumb mouth again. "What would happen if I were to get your mother a new camera?" He says while narrowing his eyes.
"I swear to god…" I whisper, only to hear Dad put down his cup of Hot Chocolate onto the table and exhale in my direction. "Since when were you camera shy Mel?"
Now he's got everyone against me! "I'm not! I'm just afraid that he will take those photos and use them against me!" I groan.
"Aww but it's fun to embarrass you," Johnny whines with a smile.
"Ok calm down you two. Mel, you know he's not going to mess with you like that," Mom states in order to simmer us down.
This gives Johnny the chance to restrain me within his arms and put his head on top of mine. He picks me up and starts swinging me from side to side, and I can't do anything but just sway like a wooden puppet. My parents both laugh at us until he lets me go, which makes me sit down in slight rage while crossing my arms. Johnny pulls out a chair next to me, sits, and asks what else my parents have been doing for the time we've been here. They tell us that they've primarily been warming up with their Hot Chocolates and watching us have fun on the lake.
"We would've joined you two, but it seemed like you were in your own little worlds," Dad adds.
"Oh come on, it would've been a hundred times more fun!" Johnny replies before turning to my Mom, "I'm pretty sure you're a natural Ms. Everett, how about you and I take a couple laps around the lake together?"
A huge grin develops across my Mom's face, making her put her hands on her cheeks out of surprise. If I was as clever as her, I would try to embarrass her like she does to me, but I'm not clever enough for that. "Oh I'd love to John, but maybe next time. I'd like to spend time with Ronan before he goes back to work soon," Mom responds while taking Dad's hand.
"Are you sure? A young, vivacious woman like yourself must have a bunch of energy to lose," Johnny continues.
My Mom's grin grows bigger and she blushes. "Lets not get ahead of ourselves. I don't think I could keep up with you since my energetic days are way behind me. I think you should take a break anyways Jonathan. I can't have you collapsing on us."
"Alright, but if you change your mind, I'll be ready," Johnny smiles.
My Mom gets a sudden burst of excitement and begins pulling my Dad out of his seat, nearly causing him to spill his Hot Chocolate. "Jesus Lynn, hol- give me a second!"
"Come on Ronan, We should go before the lake becomes crowded!" She laughs.
Dad is aggressively pulled all the way to the lake where they put on their skates, and begin gliding around just as effortlessly as we did. It's cute to see those two high school sweethearts living their lives as if nothings changed in the past 20 years…and now I do wish we had a camera.
"Do you need Hot Chocolate Mel?" Johnny asks while taking out his wallet.
"Yeah sure, thank you," I reply.
He walks off to the café after giving me a wink, and leaves me to appreciate the outdoors, my parents, and my love for him. Unfortunately, I can't help but feel like this will be one of the last times we all do something like this.