Lost In Purple
Chapter 39: Nightfall Fantasia
Johnny's POV
"John, please, where are we going?! I can't make you feel obligated to take me places when you have somewhere to be!" Melanie worries.
Surprising her is one of the hardest things in the world since she never thinks she deserves anything. That, and she stresses out about the littlest of things…why did I forget that she did the exact same thing during Christmas? When will I learn?
"Mel I promise everything will be alright. I just want to have fun with you before things get a little…stressful again," I reply.
"Isn't it going to be the same as last semester?" Melanie asks.
Little does she know that things become absolutely insane during the latter half of the year. It's even worse for us considering that we're in the Scare Games, meaning there's no exceptions for us in terms of schoolwork or actual work. "Nope, I can tell you right now that you'll be a walking corpse by the time midterms come around," I reply as we turn out of Monsters University and onto the busy streets of the monster world.
I can feel Melanie get a sudden rush of nervousness. "You'll be there to help me get through them then, right?" She quivers.
"Of course," I say confidently, "But that's why we should go have some fun before all that happens. Enjoy the good, so you can get through the bad."
I come to a stop light and gently press down on the brakes, slowing halting behind the white lines on the pavement. I rest my right arm on the center console and Melanie leans against the seatbelt. "Fine, just as long as we're back for your dumb jockey Scare Games," She jokes.
"Hey they're not dumb, they're character building. How else do you think I can become the best Scarer? Football? Definitely not." I contend.
Melanie snorts over in her corner of the car, sending a small bit of serotonin through my brain. I love it when I make her laugh, and I love it when she makes me laugh. "I still can't believe how much of a rich boy you are, you sound so entitled when you say things like that."
"And rightfully so. Nobody on campus can compare to me, not even Javier or Chip," I disclose.
Melanie gasps and puts one of hands over her mouth before saying, "They're not going to like hearing that when I tell them later tonight."
Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. I can only imagine how they'd react. They might end up socking me in the mouth or never trusting me with anything ever again. I put my hands up in disagreement, swinging them side to side. "Actually lets not go that far."
"Oh you don't want me to tell them? Then maybe you should tell me where you're taking me?" She teases.
"But it'll ruin the surprise!" I groan in slight fear.
Melanie crosses her arms and closes her eyes. "No no! Tell me or you're in for a rough night, horns!"
Damn it, she's got me wrapped around her finger because of my big, dumb mouth! Only someone like her could be ever be able to do that so easily. This gives me another reason to mess with her no matter how much she dislikes it! "Ok fine! I'm taking you to Nightfall Fantasia, that restaurant you told me that you really liked as a kid," I sigh.
The light finally turns green and I step on the gas, sending the both of us into our seats as if we were on a roller coaster. Melanie gasps again, but this time out of surprise. "Really!" She screams.
"Yes! It would have been so much better if you had just let me surprise you though!" I laugh in response.
"I KNOW! I'm sorry! I always think the surprise is going to be something bad…There were one too many bad surprises when I was a kid to make me hate them altogether," She whines.
I understand that mindset. Sometimes surprises can be traumatic, which makes me think that the ones she experienced were an assault on her in physical or emotional manner. Thankfully I won't let something like that happen to her ever again. "It's fine. I'm just happy that you're happy about going. I was honestly thinking that you would maybe not be interested anymore since you've... you know... grown up," I smile.
Melanie throws herself around some more, clearly exhilarated about tonight. "No! I can't believe you even remembered that I told you about that place! Have you even seen what it's like?!"
Melanie's POV
It's exactly how I remembered it. The dark blue interior that glows just like a blue moon, and the dimmed white lights that line the floor make it seem like we're in some nighttime sanctuary. There's fake plants and flower bushes hanging along the walls that are vividly shown by the beautiful glass chandeliers above, a 360 degree bar in the center that displays the wide arrangement of wines, and a couple hundred carved white tables around it that happen to be surrounded by blue couches and armchairs. The tables are also adorned by a large bouquet of cool colored flowers, and provide an astonishing view of downtown when looking out the window that serves as a wall at the north side of the room. That must be one of the reasons why the place is so popular, it's a restaurant that feels like it's fancy but it's not; It's like a casual commons building in some crazy kind of way.
"Holy shit…this is more beautiful than all the restaurants in Thornberry," Johnny whispers while taking my hand and walking up to the hostess desk at the front.
"Thornberry?" I say curiously.
"Yeah, that's where I grew up. Pretty much the exact opposite of Cormeadow," Johnny responds while observing the overcrowded restaurant.
"Tch…rich boy," I mumble in a joking manner. I refrain from talking about it any further, because over in Cormeadow everyone considers Thornberry to be that snooty district where each and every person from there is the worst kind of person. I've always had mixed feelings about that stereotype, but I guess I can see it now since I've heard a lot about Johnny's father. However, where we're from isn't important, and neither are stereotypes. We pass by the many patrons who are waiting to get their seat, causing them to look a us like they're jealous. I can't say that's too odd considering everyone is jealous of Johnny about everything. I can hear some very aggressive whispers within the crowd that don't make me very comfortable.
"Ugh, of course there's some college tramp who gets to skip the line."
"God, those RORs at MU get everything handed to them and it's disgusting."
"Oof…she's gonna get dumped soon isn't she? A guy like that would only take someone here for some action and then move on."
After hearing all these derogatory and degrading comments, I feel like I almost don't belong here anymore. It makes me wonder if the reason my family and I never went back was because we didn't belong in a place like this to begin with. Maybe I shouldn't think too much into this though, they all could just be naturally mean people who think they deserve everything within the snap of their finger. We reach the desk and Johnny plops his arm on top of it, leaning onto it with a cool demeanor. "You know, I don't think you would want me to be any more different than I already am. I otherwise wouldn't have been able to work my magic and bring you here," He divulges.
"You got a reservation didn't you?" I ask while narrowing my eyes.
He smirks at me and looks around to see where a possible host or hostess is. Wow, they are absolutely swamped right now. I don't think there is a single square foot that doesn't have a monster occupying it. "Yep, I called back in December. The best seat in the house was booked but not as booked as all the other ones, so I guess you can say we kind of lucked out," Johnny explains.
A hostess finds her way up to the desk and composes herself by straightening her uniform. She takes one look at Johnny and nearly falls over swooning, and tries her best to act as smooth as possible. "Good afternoon beautiful, reservation for Worthington," Johnny grins.
I watch as she becomes dumbfounded and can barely figure out what she's trying to do. She can't help but take periodic peeks at Johnny, scrambling to grab two sets of silverware and two thick rolls of napkins only to drop them as if she's inept. I can't help but feel a little uncomfortable about this considering that I'm right next to Johnny and she doesn't even acknowledge my existence. When she finally gets her train of thought back on track, she leads us to a table right next to the wall made of glass, giving us the best view of the city.
Johnny thanks the hostess and pulls out a chair for me to sit down. He pushes me towards the table and swerves around the hostess to take his seat, only to receive both menus and all the attention from the hostess. "If you need anything, just flag me or one of our servers down, and we'll gladly help you sir," She babbles.
He gives her a wink and says, "Thanks a bunch sweetheart."
I look down at the table out of jealousy, hating that he's so casually called that stranger a 'sweetheart.' I try to take my mind off of it by thinking about the food, but end up noticing the complex way the silverware is placed in front of me. The left side of the spotless plate has two forks, one smaller than the other. The right side has a tiny three pronged fork, large spoon, and dinner knife. I eventually realize that Johnny has been conversing with the hostess, but concludes it in order to send her back to work. She giggles and finally walks away. Johnny passes one of the menus to me and notices the somewhat sorrowful expression on my face. "Everything alright Mel?"
I open the menu slowly to see the many dishes to choose from as well as many fruit based drinks that catch my eye. "Y-yeah…," I mumble, "Everything's just…different than what I remember."
"Well it has been around a decade since you were here last," Johnny chuckles while searching for the meal that satisfies his beastly hunger, "Wow, this all sounds really good."
I continue looking through the many pages of food selections, noticing the Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki, Lime Marinated Steak Tacos with Mango, and the Caramel Apple Pork Chops. I'm going to have trouble deciding what to eat between those three. It still surprises me how this restaurant, the one that specializes in fruit based foods, is the most popular in this part of town. I end up becoming a little preoccupied though. I notice that many of the monsters sitting at the other tables are dressed up formally, sitting up as straight as possible, and having impeccable table manners. It seemed like many of the people waiting in line didn't really appreciate my casual presence and I also swore that the interior of this restaurant wasn't so… fancy. This isn't the restaurant I remember it being.
"Mel," Johnny whispers worriedly, "Seriously, you seem upset."
Deep down I guess I'm just disappointed that the general vibe of this place has changed over the years. I guess I'm also a little hurt by what I was able to hear from the people earlier, and that the hostess just ignored me entirely. Yeah, I think I'm overthinking everything. "Sorry. I can't help but feel out of place again."
"What?! Why? You deserve to be here more than anyone else in the building," He tries soothing me.
"I-I don't know. Something is just making me feel like I can't be myself," I whimper.
Johnny reaches over the table to grab my hand, giving me an overly comforting smile. "As long as you're with me, you belong. I'll make sure nothing happens to you, and that nobody can hurt you. Please, just relax. There's nothing you need to prove to anyone."
I do feel a little better hearing him say that. For some reason, it feels like I have to adhere to certain expectations from people. Maybe I feel like I have to adhere to Johnny's rich boy expectations even though I have no real reason to be doing that. I smile, causing him to smile too, and I look out to the city. The sun has almost completely set, creating this celestial purple glow along the horizon that perfectly outlines the skyscrapers from downtown. The many streetlights illuminate the city beautifully as well. It's entrancing to just watch as life moves on in real time. Many streetlights and room lights flicker on or off, the dim red glow from the taillights of cars pop in and out of view, and a couple of shooting stars pass by above the many skyscrapers.
"Good evening sir, good evening Madame. Welcome to Nightfall Fantasia, the most beautiful restaurant on the horizon," Says our waiter. He tells us his name and the specials for the night, making Johnny seem intrigued. "What may I get you two lovebirds to drink?"
"A Passion Fruit Hurricane for me, and a Lavender Rain for the Princess over here," Johnny smiles.
Our waiter finishes writing down our order and places his notepad in my apron pocket. "I'll get those out to you in just a few minutes."
Johnny nods his head and goes back to searching through the menu. I just sit there confused, not knowing what Johnny just ordered for me. "What did you just get the two of us? Those drinks sounded so exotic that my brain almost shut down entirely," I ask.
"Huh?" Johnny asks looking up to me, "Oh, for me, a Passion Fruit Hurricane. It's got rum with passion fruit juice, lime juice, orange slices, cherries, and starfruit slices," Johnny explains.
Aside from the alcohol, I can only imagine the happiness I'd get from gulping that down. It seems like pure ecstasy in liquid form. "And what did you get me?" I interrogate.
Johnny laughs and reads from the menu. "A Lavender Rain. Pineapple Juice mixed with Blue Raspberry flavoring, and Red Grenadine flavoring. Then small touches of mint, rosemary, and a Dragonfruit slice."
I'm going to actually die and ascend to a higher plane after taking one drink of that because that sounds absolutely empyrean. My love for fruit will only become more intense after tonight as well.
"Let's just say I know what you like," Johnny grins.
He starts humming to himself, which surprises me because I don't think I've ever heard him technically sing before. His voice is the perfect ratio of deep, brassy, and silvery. It drowns out all the conversations in the restaurant and the overplayed pop music that's playing from the speakers above. I can't keep my eyes off of him no matter how hard I try. "A-are you ready for tonight? Your first Scare Games, that is," I ask after seeing him set his menu down.
If I'm being honest, I'm absolutely terrified for him. I don't think I'll be able to watch him hurt himself. I also won't be able to handle the suspense over these next few months; If they can just say that ROR wins immediately that would be great.
"Oh yeah, it's the only thing I've been waiting for this entire year. It will be fun like the last three years for sure," Johnny answers.
"Is this, like, the whole reason Scaring Fraternities and Sororities are a thing? For these Scare Games?" I ask.
"I mean they're a big part of it yes, but I think the main reason was for academic purposes. Roar Omega Roar was made specifically for the best Scarers to further develop their Scaring abilities, while also fostering social and leadership skills," Johnny explains.
"So the Scare Games does what exactly?" I continue questioning.
He smiles and seems like he's reminiscing. "Instill the concept of legacy, and tradition. The Scare Games may not have been around for hundreds of years, but is a demanding test that Scarers absoluely must take before they step foot on a Scare Floor. While it may be barbaric to some, it just proves how similar you are to our Scaring founders. It shows how ferocious you have to be in order to succeed in this profession, and if you can't prove yourself to be capable in them, then you would have no good reason to be a Scarer. And while that may seem harsh, both Hardscrabble, Professor Knight, and Professor King all think this exact same thing as well."
I guess that makes sense. There isn't really a true measure of how well a Scarer can do unless they're tested in a real environment or one that's almost identical to the human world. I guess that's why Monsters University has this sort of strict dogma that they follow when testing Scarers, hence the Scaring Simulators.
"Aside from that, it's to show who the best Scarers on campus are and give them a chance at being scouted. I'm excited to finally show you what I can do as well, I'm sure you'll like what you see," Johnny winks.
I place my hands over my eyes and shrink into my seat. "John stop, we're in public," I blush.
"WhaAaAt? Are you saying you don't want to see your favorite Scarer plow through the competition?" Johnny chuckles.
"That's not what you were implying!" I mutter.
He crosses his arms and legs, positioning himself so that his purple eyes glow in the moonlight. It makes me blush even more when it gets into my head how gorgeous he is. "Then what was I implying Princess?" He smirks.
I can't help but put my head down on the table. He really wants me to embarrass myself. "I don't know," I groan.
He laughs a little more before saying, "You we're right though, I was implying that."
My surprise is cut short when our waiter shows up with our drinks. Johnny's is a beautiful red and yellow drink that seems like it's come straight from some beach resort, while mine looks like some fantastical purple potion that was miraculously pulled from a fairytale.
"Alright you two, do you need a little more time going over the menu?" The waiter asks.
"No, I'll have the Apple Cranberry Turkey Meatballs, with the Grilled Steak with Apricot and Mushrooms. Make it medium-rare for me," Johnny orders formally.
The waiter takes a moment to finish writing everything down and looks over to me.
"I'll have the Caramel Apple Pork Chops with a side of Corn Bread. I'll have it cooked well, and I'm also Spoiled Food Intolerant so make sure it's all fresh please," I request.
Our waiter pockets his notepad and says, "Yes ma'am. We'll have those out to you very soon."
Johnny takes my menu, stacks it with his and passes it over to the waiter without looking at him. His smile is somewhat intimidating yet calming. He sits up tall and unfolds the napkin in front of him, placing it on his lap before checking the organization of his silverware. He reaches into his sweater, grabs his phone, and turns it off. I notice he never even puts his elbows on the table either, which makes me recoil when I notice that I have been doing that, and keep my elbows away. Now I'm feeling a little nervous because I realize that I have absolutely zero knowledge of table etiquette, and everyone else in the restaurant is seemingly acting fancy too. Hopefully I don't end up embarrassing myself.
Johnny and I end up talking about our classes for the majority of our wait. He tells me about his studies of camouflage, and sneaking within noisy conditions. Apparently those noisy conditions refers to places like forests, and he's already acing everything related to it. I'm guessing that means he's basically silent within every possible environment, with no chance of being spotted by any human or earthly animal. It only impresses me more after every word that leaves his mouth, and interestingly makes him seem more attractive.
"What can I say? I'm good at what I do," Johnny smirks.
I smile and reply, "Sounds like it. I... can only hope I'll get to that level someday."
He waves his hand around for a second, showing me that he's in denial. "Don't worry, you don't have a choice but to get there. Once I graduate, it will be me who's teaching you," He discloses.
"Oh geez, that will probably be the first time I ever receive an F," I mumble.
Johnny narrows his eyes, but smiles playfully. "Hey! I'm serious! I couldn't possibly sit by like an asshole and watch you beat yourself up like you always do."
"John, nobody compares to you. Not even me. I don't see myself ever reaching your 'Scaring' expectations," I reply.
Johnny keeps that grin on his face, but growls to himself. He clearly feels defeated and unable to come up with any sort of counter, but remains hopeful. "You need to start giving yourself more credit Mel. I haven't met someone who can do what you can. What if I teach you some Demonic Scares, would that make you more confident in yourself?" He asks.
I shake my head while laughing quietly to myself. He really doesn't understand that he's one of those special kinds of monsters that can do things almost nobody else can do without decades of practice. Although, Professor King did suggest I learn exactly that from him. "Again, I don't compare. My vocal capabilities don't come close to yours. I'll literally damage my vocal cords if I even try to do what you can," I explain.
"While I do appreciate the praise, I will convince you one day that you're better than you think. I'm sure of it," Johnny concludes.
Our food is then presented to us on scalding plates. Our waiter places our large portions of food in front of us, showing off the pieces of art that the chefs created in such a short period of time. I can also see Johnny's eyes widen at the sight of his food, his mouth watering and almost letting a drop of drool exit his mouth. The poor boy must have been starving.
"Please enjoy. I'll be back to check up on you in a few minutes," Our waiter says.
Johnny thanks him and starts digging into his food. I don't really know what to do because of the amount of silverware in front of me. I understand that all of these have different uses, but I don't want to look like an idiot by using the wrong one. My right hand drifts above the several pieces of silver before Johnny speaks up. "The large fork on your left Mel."
I look up quickly to see him smile, but I look back down in embarrassment. I make sure to take the dinner knife on the right and try my best to act like nothing happened. I guess I was going to embarrass myself and feel paranoid no matter what I did. I begin slowly cutting up the Caramel Apple Pork Chops and savor the rich yet sweet flavor that's encased within the masterpiece of a meal. While the meat is one of the best I've ever had, it's the apple that makes me feel incredibly happy. I feel the same kind of happiness that I felt when I was a kid, giving me an immense amount of nostalgia, and making me long for that first bite to repeat. The side of Cornbread I ordered also tastes amazing. I eventually finish and see that Johnny is just about done as well. I'm surprised that he's devoured two whole dishes packed with meat. I would be afraid of him out in the wild, because that was a disgusting amount of protein that just entered his body. ON a side note, I kind of want to try some of the Apple Cranberry Turkey Meatballs he ordered, and attempt to reach over and steal one from him.
"You know I can just give the rest of them to you, right?" Johnny says raising his eyebrow.
"I just wanted to try one. They looked really good," I admit.
Johnny chuckles and shakes his head as he takes one last bite of his Grilled Steak with Apricot and Mushrooms. "Next time, let me pass it over to you. Can't have you accidentally spilling any drink or knocking something else over," Johnny smiles.
Oh…that must have been one of those fancy etiquette rules that I just violated. While there's nothing I can do about it now, I hope that Johnny doesn't assume that I'm inherently messy or rude at the dinner table. I can only imagine how uncomfortable or disgusted he was at the dinner table during Christmas, because it was nothing short of a battlefield in terms of my cousins... and my uncle Alden.
After I eat the Meatball, Johnny takes the napkin he's placed on his lap and pats his lips with it before placing it next to his plate. "You all done princess?" He questions.
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that we have to hurry back," I state in worry.
After making sure I have all my things, Johnny walks up next to me and takes my hand, helping me stand up. He pushes in my seat for me and we begin walking towards the exit. There are still tons of people waiting to get a table, sprawling out miserably as their stomachs rumble for any crumble of food. Thankfully neither Johnny or I had to experience that, but I'm sure he ended up paying his way to the front of the waitlist.
I get this feeling of intense regret as we take each step towards the exit. It's not that I regretted the food I ordered, or that extraordinary drink, but it's the fact that I didn't really savor my time here. Now I feel like I did when I was a kid, just wishing to go back whenever I wanted. Johnny and I will have to wait and see if we ever find our way back here in the future, because if we do, I'm ordering an entire buffet for us so that we never have to leave.
"There's one more thing I want to do with you before the first event. It shouldn't be as crazy as this one though, so don't be worried," Johnny says as he opens the door for me.
"Aww man, not another surprise," I groan.
Johnny rolls his eyes. "Stop. I'm serious, it's not a big deal. I'm more than certain you'll enjoy it."