Lost In Purple
Chapter 78: The Morning War
Sorry. I'm finding it hard to balance my time with writing and school. Hopefully I didn't deprive anyone. Enjoy this chapter.
Melanie's POV
I wake up in Johnny's bed yet again, buried underneath his fluffy fur and comforting weight. His arm is draped over my back, hooking around my waist and making it seem like he pulled me closer to him within his sleep without waking me up. That's kind of terrifying to think about because I'm a naturally light sleeper, and if I didn't wake up by being moved, then I could only assume he could literally carry me to another country without me knowing. I know he wouldn't do that though. Wiping those thoughts from my head, I cuddle up against him after turning my body over to release all the pressure that's built up within my lungs, and scratch the back of his head after seeing his bedside alarm show ten o' clock in the morning. His silence only lasts for so long before he huffs and stretches his legs underneath the blankets.
My dress and his suit are still on the ground…and that's because we haven't left this room at all this weekend except for occasional snack breaks and occasional shower times that ended up becoming steamy love sessions. Speaking of love sessions, that's...really the only thing we did all weekend. It was a constant continuation of Friday night, and it's a weekend that I won't ever forget for as long as I live. I'm honestly amazed that it's the start of the week too, it doesn't even feel like two days have passed.
I manage to wiggle out from Johnny's grasp and saunter into his bathroom. My hair is extremely messy, so messy that I have random strands sticking out in horizontal positions, looking like I'm some sort of emo-punk enthusiast. I even notice some scratches on the scales of my arms and waist but they're not something to be worried about. If I were to describe them, they would be like cracks on your phone's screen protector, just a white line on an otherwise perfect surface. They're not 'perfect' though because the scratches look like claw marks so…yeah, hopefully those heal to the point of being invisible. I know where they came from though, so maybe they won't compeltely heal for another couple of years.
Aside from that, I use a little bit of Johnny's mouthwash, spit it out after a necessary amount of time, and then step into the shower for a quick wash. I scrub away at myself to become as squeaky clean as possible before hopping out of his ginormous shower and exiting the bathroom. Johnny is still snoozing away, dreaming about whatever it is that makes him happy; That smile of his serves as proof that whatever he's dreaming about is good. At least, I thought he was dreaming. Once I plop back down on his bed while checking my phone for any notifications, he turns over in my direction. At first I give him no attention and turn on my phone to see my texts asking my Mom if it's alright to stay here at the ROR house this weekend. However, Johnny puts both of his arms around me, pulls me down to lay on the bed and tugs me up against him. The urge to wrap my legs around his muscular torso is unbearable but I refrain from doing so as to not overwhelm him first thing after opening his eyelids.
"Jooooooohn," I sing, "Wake uuuuuuup. You have to get ready for class in a little bit."
"Mmm…," He mumbles.
"John," I repeat.
He shuffles a little underneath the blankets but keeps me in the exact same position.
"John!" I say raising my voice.
"MmMmmmmMMMm!" He whines before turning over and flinging me over to his side of the bed. His arms are now around my head, trapping me.
"And now you're suffocating meeeEEEEEEE!" I growl after my nose gets smushed against his chest.
"Just five more minuuUuuUtes!" He whines again.
I squirm frantically, finding myself feeling like a butterfly escaping from its cocoon except that these walls are unbreakable. I have to resort to elbowing his ribcage lightly and wiggling my way off the bed whenever his body jumps to avoid the pain.
"ALRIGHT ALRIIIGHT," He screams, "God! Why can't you just let me sleep this one time!"
After being flat on the floor, I peek up over the bed and see him toss his muscular body so that he can face away from me. The blankets are still floating in the air and take another second to deflate before courteously landing on his perfectly toned body.
"We've been in here for two days Johnathan, plus we haven't eaten anything since Friday!" I counter.
"Grrrr...Don't act like you didn't enjoy being alone with me all weekend!" Johnny counters.
I become speechless and feel my face become hot. My head moves subconsciously downwards so that I can stare at the carpet and give a poor attempt at thinking up some sort of comeback. My claws twirl around each other and my toes curl as if they're nervous ticks. When I do look back up, Johnny has his pillows over his head and makes more small, frustrated growls. I was originally trying to have a little bit of fun but it really does seem like Johnny is upset.
"John…Is something wrong?" I ask soothingly.
He doesn't answer, so I repeat myself while crawling back up on the bed and running my hand along his back a couple of times. A couple of purrs rumble out from underneath the pillows before he lifts himself up and sits on the side of the bed.
"No. I'm fine," He grunts.
"John I can tell something's bothering you. Should I not have woke you up?" I question while placing my head atop his shoulder.
His hand raises up and pulls my head towards him so he can rub his head against me while purring. His fur is as soft as it always is and I can smell a familiar scent of lavender. I'm getting mixed signals and I begin having this mental breakdown because now I don't know if I actually did something wrong.
"No…It wasn't anything you did... I'm taking a shower and getting some breakfast," Johnny sighs.
"Ok…Is there any specific you want me to make you?" I ask while watching him stand up and head towards his bathroom.
"I don't care…anything you make is delicious," He mumbles.
His purple fur disappears behind the closing door to his bathroom, and I'm left with my body placed across the bed. I hear an almost silent thud that is then followed by the pitter patter of falling water and the high pitched hum of pressurized water flying out of the shower head. I consider joining Johnny in the shower, but he made it clear to me that he needs some time to be alone. Hopefully he will talk to me about what he's feeling soon, because there's obviously something that's bothering him.
I crawl off his bed and peek out his bedroom door to make sure nobody will have me in their line of sight when I sprint out into the hallways and into my room next door. I don't see or hear anybody so I make a break for it, vanishing into my room in order to dig through my closet that's thankfully still filled with my clothes. I throw on one of my plain black t-shirts and some black skinny jeans before slipping on some black converse shoes that have a little paw print on the bottom of them. With this not so innovative outfit on, I exit my room with a handbag that Johnny got me a while ago and realize that I left my phone on Johnny's bed. I should grab that before I forget about it and have another mental breakdown later in the day thinking that I lost it.
I take the totally treacherous journey back into his room and swing around to the right side of the bed to find my phone face down on the mattress. I pick it up and turn around to leave once more, but notice that his ROR sweater is draped over the chair at his desk. There's this primal urge to pick it up within me, and when I do, I for some reason bring it up to my snout and give it a deep whiff. The scent of lavender assaults my olfactory receptors and I wrap the entire sweater around my head as if it were a present that wasn't supposed to be opened until Christmas Day. It would be embarrassing if Johnny saw me doing this though, so I stop myself from continuing such a sinful activity. That doesn't stop me from throwing the sweater on and looking like a child wearing their parents clothes. It's incredibly baggy and nearly reaches down to my thighs, but I feel warm and unexplainably comfortable wearing it.
Oh crap! I'm supposed to be making Johnny and I bre-…would it be considered breakfast this late in the morning? Since it's morning, it would be considered breakfast right? Ok whatever, I need to go.
"Uuuuuuuuuuh," Chip vocalizes with his eyes narrowed.
I pull out some Cinnamon Breakfast Puffs that I made with a muffin pan and sprinkle a touch more cinnamon on them after spreading a light layer of butter across all of them.
"Ok, what is it Chip? You've been staring at me the entire time I've been down here," I ask firmly before putting one hand on my hip and turning towards him.
His eyes shift from me, down to the Puffs, and then back up to me. "Have you been here all weekend? Also…why are you wearing Johnny's sweater?"
"Yes, I've been here the whole weekend. It's insulting to know that you didn't even know," I joke while sticking my snout into the air snootily, "And I'm wearing his sweater because I can."
"I don't know if anyone's ever told you, but you really do look good in red and gold mi amiga," Javier chimes in.
Chip makes it known that he disagrees, at least with the sweater part...I hope. "Ok but you look like you're being eaten by a blanket wearing that. It's basically a dress at this point."
I look down and once again notice how baggy it is. Chip does have a point. The end of the sweater, the point that normally wraps around the lower part of Johnny's stomach, acts like a skirt when I wear it. There's also a noticeable weight to the sweater that's trying to pull me down.
"B-but boyfriends and girlfriends do that don't they?" Bruiser questions while sitting next to Chip on the island seats, swinging his legs like a happy child.
"HA!" Chip exclaims while pointing at Javier, "I TOLD YOU SHE AND JOHNNY DID SOMETHING TOGETHER AFTER THE FORMAL!"
My face flushes and I have this want to pull Johnny's sweater over my head to hide for the rest of eternity. How has he already deduced what happened after one sentence that came out of Bruiser's mouth?
"Wha?" Bruiser spouts with his mouth open.
"Sí, que? Why are getting into Johnny's business? You know how much he hates when you do that. I'm sure Miss Everett doesn't appreciate that either," Javier adds.
"What do you mean?! He's always told us about what happens after these things, why are you making me out to be a creep?" Chip argues.
Javier sets his cup of black coffee down on the counter and begins to roll up his sleeve. It elicits a traumatic response in Chip and causes him to have the chair scrape across the wooden flooring of the kitchen. "WOAH! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY! I GET IT, IT'S PERSONAL, PLEASE FORGIVE MELANIE!"
I let the sweater droop down and run to pull Javier's sleeves back down. "Hehe, leeeeet's…not do that, Jav."
"Wait we're gonna fight Chip? Let me join!" Bruiser asks before trying to take off his own ROR jersey.
"No, no, no!" I scream while stomping the ground.
"Ok, why are we all screaming?!" Johnny asks with a raised voice and suddenly showing his massive figure in the kitchen.
Chip jumps and nearly loses his balance while gripping his heart. "Jesus Chr-"
"Especially you, Chip! There's no reason to be screaming bloody murder at ten in the morning like a toddler!" Johnny berates.
"Yeah…yeah, I got it," Chip responds while sounding like an old man. Dang...even when Johnny is acting like a normal monster he's able to scare the everliving daylights out of other professional Scarers. Maybe I should learn to be more aware of everything around me if I'm going to continue knowing Johnny.
Speaking of Johnny, he trudges over towards me, giving me a quick look up and down before asking me the forbidden question. "Why are you wearing my sweater?"
"Oh my god, why is everyone so shocked to see me wearing it? Do I look horrible or something with it on?" I groan.
Johnny reaches out and pinches a Cinnamon Puff with his claws followed by refraining from throwing it into his mouth and furrowing his brow. "N-no no no…you've just never worn it before."
"Obviously! Now there's something more going on than just a simple fling isn't there, Johnny?" Chip teases.
Johnny looks troubled again, and he stares at the ground while being speechless. Has he been telling everyone that there isn't really anything between the two of us, and playing it off as just some dalliance? Has he been convincing himself to take things slow these past few months?
"Ooooo you're making it so difficult not to punch you right now," Javier growls to himself.
"Ugh, why? I'm just surprised that he's serious about Melanie, that's all. He's had several relationships that he didn't take seriously, and all of a sudden I found out he's been lying to me about this one," Chip counters.
Bruiser and Chip make eye contact and Bruiser raises his hand to put a finger close to his own mouth, making it known that he's had some sort of epiphany. "Oh…I thought it was obvious that Miss Melanie and Johnny liked each other."
Johnny exhales, switching from a downtrodden expression to a more peeved one. "It's what happens when you grow up, Chip. Maybe you'll know what that feels like once you're the one who's old and gray."
Chips cocky smile that he developed suddenly dissipates, and Javier's hostility turns to relief. I think they both understood what he just implied though and didn't necessarily like that.
"I'm not a child, Johnny, I know what it means to love," Chip counters.
"Oh then you should realize that what I was doing these past few years was childish, manipulative, and unwarranted. It was in fact Melanie who taught me to grow up, and helped me make the decision to keep our relationship a secret so that you wouldn't continue seeing me as this sex-crazed sociopath like every on campus thinks I am. Thanks for reminding me about my faults once again," Johnny divulges.
With some stutters, Chip says, "Th-that's not what I was saying, Johnny. I would n-never think of you as so-"
"Don't care, let me live my life the way I want to," Johnny replies with a angry sigh.
He then opens his mouth to swallow the Cinnamon Puff whole. Oh god, I just pulled those out of the oven.
"Stop!" I shout before grabbing Johnny's hand, "They're hot, don't burn your tongue."
Those giant eyes of his grow larger, so much larger to the point where they look like puppy eyes. They shift back and forth from me and the Cinnamon Puffs, only for all his care in the world to vanish as he tosses it into his mouth. So that's why his mom and him are always at odds with each other, he never wants to listen to those who are genuinely concerned about him!
"Johnny!" I cry out in worry.
He still doesn't care though. His puppy eyes return, looking as if he's seen god and the pearly white gates of heaven. His normal civilized demeanor composed of slow, careful, and noble movements suddenly changes into a primal, ravenous, and unpredictable nature. He goes completely savage on the muffin pan, making it terrifying for me to even scrape out four for the other boys. Johnny's mouth becomes so full that his cheeks puff out and make his chewing visible to anybody looking in his direction. The image I'm seeing in my head isn't a pretty one. It's almost like he turned into a flesh eating organism that just tore open his prey and devour its organs. After that, he swallows everything in one go, leaving a couple more Cinnamon Puffs in the muffin pan.
The silence is deafening and I have absolutely no idea what just happened or how to react.
"W-were they really that good?" Chip says with a gulp.
Johnny's constricted eyes meet mine and he lunges towards me so that he can give me one of the biggest bear hugs he can give. The pressure that's forced up against my torso is almost unbearable and I can't help but gasp for air.
"I fucking love you…" He mutters, leaving me utterly shocked and embarrassed to the point where I could just die.
"Woah...M-Melanie, could, uh, I try one of those?" Chip asks while staring at one of the four Puffs in my hand, and drooling at the sight of it.
Javier and Bruiser are also doing the same but act like nothing else in the world matters than these small pieces of bread.
"U-Uh, Um…H-Have you boys not b-been eating this weekend?" I squeak in dismay while still being lovingly squeezed.
"…"
"Chip? J-Javier? An…anyone?" I ask with my eyes rolling into the back of my head.
They all stand there continuing to drool, acting like literal cavemen. I honestly thought they couldn't possibly drool over anything other than the greasiest and soggiest pizza they could order. But I guess that's just boys being boys. What really bothers me is…
"I CAN BREEEEEEATHE!" I heave.
"Oh, sorry Mel," Johnny chuckles as if it was a simple mistake and relaxes his muscles so that I'm able to intake oxygen.
"Ugh! How do you still not understand that you're a colossus compared to me?" I ask in frustration.
"Uuuuuuuuh… I don't know… I just forget who I am around you I guess," Johnny replies with a dumb look on his face, losing himself in his thoughts.
Whatever, as long as my ribs aren't about the snap from overwhelming pressure, then I'll take any answer he gives me. None of the others have even given me an answer to my original question though. I'm assuming they've been starving themselves recently due to the stresses of school pressures, or maybe they're just to lazy to cook since they're stereotypical college students.
"U-um… You boys can have them too, but you have to make sure you give Chet one," I state.
The three boys dive for the pans and nearly begin to wrestle each other for every single crumb. Johnny pounces on the muffin pan for a second serving after dropping me to my feet, and manages to grab a few more for himself before dragging me away from the kitchen. It was a good idea because it sounds like the civilized struggle turned into a literal post-traumatic stress inducing war. The screaming that comes from there is unsettling, so unsettling that I can envision Bruiser's jaws latching down onto whatever limb he finds.
Johnny sets me down on the couch in front of the fireplace before dashing towards the front of the house and making several echoing thumps from climbing the right-hand staircase. By twisting my body, I see him fly down the hallway and into Chet's room, tossing some of the Cinnamon Puffs to him. A couple seconds go by before anything happens.
"MELANIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Chet howls while shoving Johnny into his door and booking it down the hallway.
Holy mother of god what is happening? If I knew that my baking would send this house into complete and utter mayhem, I would have instead just made Johnny some toast. It's like I make food that has the capacity to heal any wound, and change the mood of anybody in two seconds flat, which I should probably thank my mother for. What's even worse is that the boys in the kitchen have stopped reenacting a mauling and are rushing towards me at Mach speed. Johnny has also thrown his limp body over the railing and landed on the wooden floor like a ninja with his mouth full.
"Please make more Melanie I beg you!" Chet pleads.
Chip aggressively stomps up to my face. "We have more ingredients right?!"
"Señora you have to teach me how to make these!" Javier exclaims.
"Hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry!" Bruiser hyperventilates.
As for Johnny, his eyes are wide and glaring deep into my soul, unaware of how shocked and uncomfortable I am having five grown men watch my every move while expecting me to answer them. I'm literally curled up into a ball, guarding my organs as if they're unpredictable beings on the hunt.
"Um… no," I answer, "You three seniors have to be in class in 20 minutes."
All five of their heads jerk to the clock that above the library's doorway before synchronously letting out a deafening shriek. "What?!"