Girls & Guns.

Jimmy’s POV

A few hours after the barbecue

"GO! GO! GO!! Come ON!! Get past the freakin' wall!" I couldn't believe it! I was in my living room watching "Ninja Warriors" and this guy named freakin' "Hatori" couldn't even get past the Warped Wall! Hell, I could probably do it! Now, if only I could actually get on the show...

I glanced out of my living room window and saw someone in a black sweatshirt and sweatpants running past. I scrambled toward the window, trying to get a good look at the person. "Oh, it's a dude..." I sighed and turned back to my flat-screen. I wondered where that really cool Ninja-girl was... I didn't know ninjas used convenient stores... Hmm. I thought about it for a while, sometimes thinking out loud. My TV show was long forgotten. "What did she buy? Oh, yeah, wine coolers for her friend." The friend that Johnny had been staring at... "Maybe Johnny will help me look for them!?"

I whipped out my cellphone and dialed Johnny's house phone. His ringback, "Die, Die My Darling," was thrumming in my ears and I danced a little while I waited for him to pick up. Geez, what was taking him so long? Finally his voice came over the phone, "Hey, it's Johnny!"

"Johnny!! Hey, can you help me -"

"And I am out PARTYING! Leave me a message!"

"Damn." I hate his voicemail. I waited for the annoying, high-pitched beep to finish doing its thing, then began speaking. "Hey dude, Johnny! You remember today, when we were at that liquor store and we saw those girls?... You remember, the Ninja? And there was that redhead that you couldn't stop staring at? You know, you're lucky she didn't call you off on that. She looked like she could have a serious temper!... Anyway, I want to find them! Er, well... I want to find the Ninja! I'm sure you want to find that little cherry-bomb just as bad, though! But, you're being an ass and not ANSWERING YOUR DAMN PHONE! So it's gonna have to wait 'til tomorrow... They could be long gone by tomorrow, or married! Johnny, they could possibly be married by tomorrow! Ugh, if that's the case, I'm sooo kicking your tiny, little ass! But yeah, call me back as soon as you get this shit! We need to find them, then once we do I've got a plan to catch them. We're going to need a garden hose and a flatbed truck! Oh, and you're gonna have to take off your pants, so wear cool boxers!"

After I ended the call, I stood looking around my living room. What to do? Clean? I looked to the trash-covered coffee table... Nah, I could do that later. I really wanted to find that Ninja-girl... "I'ma gonna check out that store!" With a new found purpose, I strode toward my front door, stopping only when I realized I was only in my boxers. I ran to my bedroom and a few minutes later, I was ready for an adventure! I had put my kimono back on just in case I saw her at the store again. I was afraid she wouldn't recognize me without it. Driving off, the song "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner came on.

"I've got a fever of 103!" Man, I loved that part. You've just gotta love the classics!

I finally made it all the way across town and to the liquor store by Matt's house. That was where we'd seen the girls, after all. I knew that getting any information there was a long shot, but I had to try. It was the closest thing to a "lead" that I had. I drove up to the building and parked. From my truck, I scanned my eyes over other cars in the lot, having a strange hope that I would see some hint of the Ninja-girl or the redhead that I was searching for. It was an irrational hope, though. Why would they still be sitting in a liquor store parking lot after all those hours?

After about five minutes of debating with myself and being stared at by a group of teenagers hanging out by one of the cars, I got out of my vehicle and entered the store. I walked around the displays slowly, acting as if I were trying to decide what I wanted to get. I was actually watching the windows and doors. I'm not too sure what I was expecting to see out there, but I kept watching.

Soon enough, I discovered the clerk was eyeing me suspiciously. I had already noticed that he was a new clerk, so he probably had no clue who I was. Bill, the usual night clerk, knew all the guys and I on a first name basis and was used to my strange antics. I decided to stop looking so suspicious, and try making a new friend. I walked to the front counter with the old man watching me warily the entire way. "Hey, how're you?" I asked.

"I'm fine," he answered, still wary of me. "Do you need somethin'?"

"No, not really. I'm just lookin' around... I noticed you're new here, where's Bill?"

"Who?" The look on his face now made me want to laugh. It was a mixture of confusion, wariness and curiosity. "What does it matter, anyway?"

"Nothing really, I'm just surprised he's not working tonight. He's the normal night clerk in this here place..."

“Well Bill ain’t here! What, are you guys working together and planning on robbing this place!? I’ve seen it happen before, on TV!”

“Umm… No. I-”

“Don’t feed me lies! I know you’re planning on doing something! Nobody just walks around a store for an hour for nothing!”

“Whoa, look dude: I’m actually just waiting for a friend-”

“Oh! So there are going to be more of you, eh? Well, no ones robbing this place on my watch!”

“Ohhh kay. You’re paranoid.”

"Says you. You've been walkin' around the store long enough. If you're not going to buy something, I'm going to have to have you removed from the premises." He sounded really paranoid and I already knew I wasn't going to get anywhere by staying there all night. So I left after giving him my friendliest possible grin, frowning after he glared at me.

As I walked out to my truck, I dialed Johnny's cell phone. It rang once, then went straight to voicemail. I didn't bother leaving a message that time, I didn't even listen to the entire thing. I got into my truck and began driving toward Johnny's house. I tried calling his house and cell phone a few more times, still not getting an answer. I thought about calling Zack or one of the other guys, but decided they'd all be pretty pissed if I woke them up now, considering it was after 1 in the morning. It's bad enough I kept bugging Johnny, but I wasn't going to apologize for that. I just really wanted to find that Ninja-girl. I frowned slightly, it bothered me that I didn't even know her name.

I stopped in front of Johnny's house and smiled when I saw that his TV was on. I ran to his door and knocked. When he hadn't answered within a few minutes, I tried opening the door. It was unlocked, which surprised me. Johnny usually kept his house locked up. Shrugging, I walked inside and went straight to his kitchen. I grabbed a beer from his fridge and opened it before I yelled his name. I didn't get an answer so I walked to the livingroom, figuring he'd fallen asleep on the couch. He wasn't in there, so I started looking in other rooms; his bedroom, the bathrooms. I even looked in his backyard, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I was starting to freak out, Johnny wasn't usually like that. I quickly dialed Matt and Val's house, no longer caring about the time. It took a few rings before Matt picked up, sounding breathless. "Hello?"

"Ew, dude. Why are you out of breath? Were you- Oh, that's nice, Matt. You shouldn't answer your phone if you're doing that!" Gross.

"Whatever, Jim. What do you want?"

"I can't find Johnny."

"What do you mean you can't find Johnny?" He sounded slightly annoyed, "He went home after the barbecue, he's probably just sleeping."

"No, man. I'm at his house now, he's not here. That's not all, either. I've been trying to call him, but he hasn't been answering, and when I got here his front door was unlocked!"

"Why are you at Johnny's? It's... Almost 2." At least he didn't seem annoyed anymore.

"Because I wanted his help with something! But he's not here!"

"I knew there was something going on between the two of you. You didn't have to lie to us all these years, we would've supported you! Just, I don't need to hear about any details," I could hear a smirk in his voice. "That's not my sort of thing."

"That's not what I meant! I wanted him to help me find a girl!"

"Johnny's not much better with the ladies than you are, Jimbo."

"No, Matt! A specific girl, we saw her earlier today and... Oh, nevermind! What matters now is Johnny, Matt! He's missing, M.I.A., gone and I can't find him"

"Okay, okay. I'll be over there in a few minutes. Just calm down, alright?" He hung up without giving me time to reply. He didn't lie, though. About ten minutes later, he was pounding on Johnny's front door. I went to let him in, and noticed he's also brought Brian and Zack with him. The two of them looked tired and confused, but didn't complain as they all walked in and sat on the couch.

"So, what's going on?" It was Zacky who asked this, as Brian was trying not to dose off on his shoulder.

Matt sighed and said, "Johnny's missing."