Twisted Symphony

“Leopard print heels?” A deep, familiar voice says loudly over the roaring music and I throw back the shot in my hand because I know exactly who it is without even looking. “Isn’t that a little out of your territory?”

“Nothing, is out of my territory.” I turn around to face him and swipe my thump over my bottom lip.

Something in Johnnie’s face changes for a split three seconds, but he doesn’t look down. He doesn’t check me out, his eyes just go narrow as he looks straight into my eyes; his face like stone.

“You got stood up.” He’s not asking he’s telling.

“No I didn’t.” I deny, arms over my chest.

“Are you kidding?” He runs a hand over his face and tries to hide a smirk. “What kind of asshole would stand you up when you look like this?” He motions towards me, waving his hands towards all of me.

“No, I didn’t!” I snap.

“Shit. You really did get stood up.” His eyes go wide, and I suddenly realize how tight my black dress is. No, it’s not a desperate tight, it’s a sexy tight; in case you were wondering, but still, it is out of my territory.

“Leave me alone!” I shove him with one arm and push towards the bar.

“So why are you alone?” He touches my shoulder and stops me in a throng of people.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but Reid is coming later (which is completely true). I’m an independent person, I don’t need to be babysat.” I shrug him away and cross my arms over my chest.

“On edge?” He narrows his eyes on me.

“Get out of my face.” I roll my eyes at him.

It’s true. Reid texted me half an hour ago telling me he would be late, because of work, but for some reason I’m especially agitated, even though Johnnie hasn’t actually done anything today and neither has Reid. So, I might actually be acting like a serious bitch, but it doesn’t faze me, and it doesn’t seem to be phasing him either, and it feels like I don’t know the right answer to anything anymore.

“What am I doing here?” I mumble to myself and run my fingers through my hair.

“I was just going to ask you the same thing.” Johnnie smirks and I push past him. towards the elevator.

It only takes me ten minutes for me to make it all the way downstairs; to run away from one sort of noise just to be immersed into another. It takes me two minutes to linger on the stoop and three minute to hail a cab, but it only takes Johnnie three extra minutes to run the stairs and follow after me.

“Gabrielle.” He grabs my arm. “Come on, let’s get something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.” I snap.

“Come on, you don’t want to go home like this. You don’t want to go home feeling like this. You don’t want to spend your night alone.” He notions towards the sidewalk.

“I’m not a nice person right now.” I breathe and look at my fingers as I twist them together.

“You don’t always need to be.” He shuts the door of the taxi that I was holding onto and taps the top before the cabbie. drives off, irritated. I didn’t even notice when my fingers uncurled.

Johnnies eyes soften and I bite my bottom lip, apprehensive. I look at him as he glows under the street lights; his white t-shirt sticks to his skin and his royal blue button up sweater is rolled up to his elbows, the little blonde hairs on his arms are obviously full of goose bumps.

“You don’t know anything about what I need.” I flip a piece of hair out of my eyes.

“Maybe not.” He shrugs. “But if I do? Then what?” He raises an eyebrow.

Silence.

“Where are we going?” I ask. His arm twitches for a second and his eyes take on surprise.

“Let’s walk.” He grins.

And for a few minutes we walk in silence, a few inches away from each other and it isn’t awkward. No, it’s comforting, and I never thought I would ever use that word regarding Johnnie, but in this moment I feel calm as we listened to the city, and nursed the sound of each other’s breathing.

“Hey Sexy!” A drunken guy whistles from across the street and suddenly I feel my stomach churn. “Why don’t you take those long legs and walk yourself over here!” Another one hoots. “Come on baby, let’s be friends!” Another one hisses. Johnnie pulls me in by the waist and puts his mouth to my ear.
“Get on my other side.” His breathe is warm as it tickles my ear and maneuver myself to his other side. Now he’s the one next to the street, but he hasn’t let go of my waist.

“You’re boyfriend going to protect you?!” Another one laughs and I feel as Johnnies arm flexes itself around my waist. He begins to quicken our pace and once we’re out of sight he lets go and begins to pull off his cardigan.

“Put this on for me?” And I don’t feel controlled or anything like that because he isn’t telling me, he’s asking me. And I’m cold, and I know that I’m simply being cared for. There is no protest as I slip on his sweater and it falls over my hands. And I bunch the fabric between my fingers and nod.

“Thanks.” He smiles and I push the hair away from my face. Absent mindedly getting a smell of his cologne from his sweater.

I fall silent.

“You know? It’s okay, to not be okay.” He breathes.

“And how would you know anything about that?”

“Because I’m a human being, and so are you.” He shrugs. “You don’t have to be perfect all the time. No one is expecting that from you.”

“What would you know about what people expect from me?” I glance up at him and cross my arms over my chest.

“You’re right, I don’t know what people expect from you but-Well, I know what I expect from you.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “And it’s not jell-o shots at some seedy party in downtown Manhattan.” He looks into my eyes and I notice the dark rim around his light eyes. “Just saying.” He shrugs.

“Everyone knows what you expect from me.” I roll my eyes.

“No they don’t.” He smiles this boyish grin that probably hasn’t crossed his face since he was thirteen. “And neither do you.”

“Right.” I bite my lip doubtfully.

“What do you think of me?” He looks over at me.

“You don’t want to know what I think of you.” I shake my head in refusal.

“It’s that harsh?” He smirks.

“Yeah.” I nod honestly.
“Tell me.” He notions as if he’s prepared himself.

“What would be the fun in that? When you already have a preconceived notion of what I think of you. Then I wouldn’t be a mystery at all.” I feel a smile creep on the corners of my mouth.

“It wouldn’t make you any easier to figure out.” He runs his fingers through his hair.

“People don’t figure out girls like me.” I shrug.

“What?” He seems puzzled.

“I just sort of fade into the background.” I play with the hem of his sweater.

“You’re not exactly a wall flower.” He laughs his contagious laugh.

“I’m not, it’s just no one ever sticks around long enough to figure me out, and I like it that way.” I watch as his eyes narrow in on me.

“You are not who I thought you were, Gabrielle Danes.” His mouth turns up into a smile.

“Well that makes two of us now, doesn’t it? But really you are who I think you are. This?” I point between us. “It’s just a part of your game, and I feel sorry for you for wasting so much time on me.” I say matter-of-factly.

He takes a step closer to me and I let him. I take a step backward into the brick wall behind me and lean my head back. He leans in closer to me and I let him. His leans his forehead against mine and our noses touch. I can feel his breath on my lips as I watch the nervous pools of blue that are his eyes.

“This is the part where you think I’m vulnerable enough to kiss you. This is the part where you pretend that you care about anything I’ve just told you. This is the part where you’re thinking about what I would look like in your clothes. This is the part where you act as if I’m not just the same as Kayla. This is when you pretend like you know me enough to kiss me. And now you’re under the impression that I want you just as bad as you want me, but really I don’t and in the twenty-three seconds since you mustered up the courage to attempt to kiss me, you regret even speaking to me at all.”

He takes a step away from me and a puzzled expression consumes his face as I slide off his sweater and walk towards the curb.

I hail a cab as I watch his eyes flicker back and forth. He doesn't flinch. He doesn't move.

Never has someone ever made it so easy to fade.