Turning A Page

Walking through the front door I could hear voices in the back yard. Guessing that we had visitors I pushed Zacky out of the back door in front of me and let the critics assess him before I came into their view. It wasn't that I didn't want to show off, because I actually did. I was proud of my new look, well proud I had the guts to let some of my personality show in my appearance, but if our friends were in a criticising mood I'd prefer them letting their venom loose on Zacky. He was used to their teasing and taunting so I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking my share.

After a few pointed comments were tossed around I heard Johnny asking where I was. Knowing he'd hunt me down if he had to I emerged from my hiding place, walking onto the patio with confidence, smiling widely. Johnny's jaw dropped as soon as he saw me, with confusion and amazement showing through his large eyes.

While he stood there in shock, or whatever it was, Matt was the first to speak. "Wow Sarah, nice change. Looks great."

Val and Michelle were by my side in a second, grabbing at my hair, spinning me around so they could have a better look. With them both spouting compliments I couldn't help but blush as Johnny still just stared. Zacky gave me an encouraging smile and a wink as he talked with the other guys.

"What do you think, JC?" His silence was starting to worry me a little as I bit my lip nervously. Slowly he made his way over to me, his hands placing themselves on my shoulders as he held me at arms length. Taking in the sight before him, eyes moving from highlight to highlight, a grin finally made its way to his mouth.

"I... It's... Damn. You look..." he broke off, shaking his head at his inability to form the words he was after. "It looks amazing Sar." He pulled me closer, hugging me tightly, before running his hands through the shortened layers. "Why blue and green?"

Leading him over to some empty seats in the group so I wouldn't have to repeat myself I explained how everything had happened. "Stevie asked what my favourite colours were, then told the woman to cut it all short and layer-y like this, bleach everything then do the ends with blue and green wash." Ok, so that was the extremely simplified version, but it did the trick.

When we had sat down Johnny had pulled me onto his lap, still having fun playing with my hair. It was like he'd found a new toy, and if he let it go it would be lost forever. He was giving me a good scalp massage though, so I couldn't get angry with him, even when I did zone out during a conversation with Michelle. She'd just laughed at my dazed look while I tried not to show just how much Johnny's hands were affecting my verbal skills.

For a change Zacky was shooting odd looks at Johnny for the entire afternoon. I tried to signal that he needed to lighten up, but either he didn't take the hints or didn't trust my judgement on what was happening. His behaviour was confusing me; he'd never gotten defensive over my relationship with Johnny before, so why now? I guess Johnny's actions could possibly be taken as possessive, but still, we'd always been affectionate like this.

No one else seemed to make anything of our actions, so I quit worrying before I gave myself a headache. We'd all just decided to head down to the beach for an evening swim when the phone inside the house started ringing. As he stood to answer it, Johnny placed a kiss on my forehead before sitting me back in his chair. Jogging to the kitchen he grabbed the handset, leaning on the counter as he talked.

Noticing the guys were low on beer I took them over some fresh bottles, sitting myself down on Brian's knee with an arm around his shoulder. There was no particular reason for me doing it; it just seemed like a nice place to sit.

"Hello," Brian spoke softly, turning slightly to show the confusion he felt.

"Hi McHobopants!" I sat there smiling at him, just waiting for him to do something else. When he just kept looking at me I got bored and moved to Matt, who was much more receptive. He was definitely a cuddler, wrapping his arms tightly around me as he almost suffocated me against his chest. I could hear everyone laughing as I struggled to get free, eventually managing to wriggle down far enough that he knew it wasn't safe to keep his hold on me anymore.

Glaring at Matt, I stood looking around the group, noticing Johnny was still on the phone, now pacing back and forward across the doorway. "Stevie, are you going to be nice to me?"