existence: chapter eight
#9 of existence
Chapter 8.
So, just as he said he would, John told Linkin everything. Everything. The whole time John explained, Marcus just stood to the side with his arms crossed, his eyes locked onto the floor. He didn't like this, John may trust this guy, but that wasn't enough for him to do the same. He didn't see what made John trust him. At first when John started, Linkin thought they were joking. That this was some lie to cover up the real thing. But as he went on, that thought was completely destroyed as the whole, complete truth was bestowed upon him. The words weren't what made him sure that his new friend was telling him the truth, it was his eyes. The bright, green irises didn't hide anything, they didn't even attempt to. This young man was telling him everything, and he'd only known him for not even a whole day.
The human sighed, "So, that's about it. That's everything."
The Doberman was bewildered, he slowly took a step back and looked at John, his blue eyes glued to John's green ones. Even though his head was flooded with a thousand questions, one thing rose to the surface. He snapped his attention to Marcus and pointed a finger at him, "So this is your entire fault!"
Hearing that scared the wolf and he faltered a little. Just an hour ago, he'd thought the same thing. "W-what do you mean it's my fault? I'm not the one who was too weak to help him hold off a couple of assholes in the street!"
That was it, John had enough of this shit. He walked forward so that he was in between the two, "God damn it, will you two just calm the fuck down and stop?!? It's like seeing two little kids fighting over some toy!" He sighed and gazed towards the floor, his voice shaky, "I... You guys are the first real friends I've ever made in my life, and it tears me apart to see you two fighting like this. So please... stop."
Both furs felt a huge amount of shame and regret from bickering like a pair of little kids, so they each made a mental note for a truce... for now, at least. Marcus cleared his throat, "So uh... what now?"
John sat down in the small living room sofa, pinching his forehead with his index finger and thumb as he did so, "We...We need to not let Michael, your dad, know about this. I don't want to worry him, okay? Can you do that for me?"
Marcus thought about it, he didn't like keeping secrets from his dad. But, still feeling a huge amount of guilt, he still thought it was the least he could do. "Sure... I won't tell dad, okay? But what of your wound, it needs re-stitching."
John glanced down at the weeping cut, "I will trust you to repair it to the best of your ability." He took in a deep breath of relief, he hadn't talked to the older wolf in a while and the last thing he wanted to do was drop a bombshell like this as their first conversation subject. Actually, now that he was thinking about it, when was the last time he had a conversation with the lupine? Every time he got home, John would be asleep in his room upstairs, completely oblivious to the wolf's presence in the large home. Michael had done a lot for him, and he rarely got to see or talk to John. Returning to the present issue, John made a small mental note to talk to the other wolf. Turning to Linkin, John broke the silence, "Linkin, you won't tell anyone, will you?"
The canine did a short, promising nod as he made his reply, "I promise John. I won't say a word about this."
With that out of the way, the human began to relax a little. His body was still exhausted from earlier, so he decided to sit down on the small, white sofa that accompanied the large living room. His head hurt with all of the current problems swimming in his head, it was hard for him to even think straight. There was one thing still on his mind though, and neither of the two furs was going to like it. Taking a deep breath, he decided to just say it, "Guys, one more thing." Neither of them ever took their eyes off him, a sure sign that they were listening. "I... I still don't want people to know I live with you Marcus, I want you to keep on dropping me off in the alleys."
Immediately, both of the teenagers sprung forward, Marcus blurted out first, "John, that's fucking insane!"
Linkin quickly followed up, "Yeah!" He quickly glanced at the wolf, but snapped his attention back to the human, "I don't even like this guy, and I agree with him! John, did you just completely forget about what just happened?!?"
John rubbed his head once more, "You don't think I know that!? Look... after going through what happened today, I've been thinking a lot, and I've realized something. Guys, there are people out there who don't give a damn if I'm human," his green eyes drifted to Marcus, then Linkin, "And then there are people that DO care if I'm human, and it's most likely not a welcome party. I was attacked today because of what species I am. Marcus... if they find out where I live, which means that they'll know I'm with you and your dad, they could try and hurt you guys." He closed his eyes, just thinking about what some sick person could do to the closest thing he's had to a family, made him shudder, "I don't think that I could deal with that, I would hate myself."
Marcus wanted to protest, God he wanted to change his mind... it was because of this very thing, that John got hurt. "John... I..." The human slowly picked his head up, and the green and unique purple connected something within his eyes... the same, mysterious, incredible thing that always seemed to win him over... made him give in. Fan-fucking-tastic. The lupine closed his eyes, cutting off the connection, "Alright... fine."
John's heart swelled (which he didn't think was possible), not because Marcus agreed; it swelled with joy because of everything that Marcus was sacrificing. He knew how Marcus felt, even though the wolf was completely oblivious to it, John knew that he felt guilty for what happened to him. But in reality, it actually wasn't his fault. It's not his fault that John was human; it wasn't his fault that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. If only he could get it through the lupine's head. Sighing, he decided to put that thought away for later, He'd find a way for Marcus to feel better, but first he had to take care of the current problem, well... finish it up that is.
There was one more person left, Linkin. The Doberman was staring down to the ground, arms crossed and not budging for anything. John slowly stood and walked over to his canine friend and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Link, you okay?"
John could feel a low growl emanating from deep within the canine, but at the same time, he heard a small whine, a whine that you could only hear if you were as close as the human was. Linkin looked up, his brilliant blue eyes filled with loving concern with his ears slightly pulled back, "I don't like it John," his eyes darted towards Marcus, the concern never leaving his eyes and face, "Especially if it's up to him to pick you up and make sure you get home safe."
Marcus swallowed, he wanted to snap back at the Doberman, but his guilt got in his way. Hearing Linkin say those words, felt like someone shoved their fist into his gut, and ripped out everything, leaving a soon to be cold, hollow, lifeless shell. Linkin sighed and returned his attention to John, "Just let me walk you to where he picks you up, alright? It's close to where I live anyway."
John smiled, somehow, he knew Linkin was going to be cool with it. He had this sort of 'Go with the flow' kind of feeling, and that to John was one of the many things that he liked so far about the Doberman. The smile didn't stay for long though, he could still feel the hatred in the air that his two friends were feeling towards each other. He didn't like it, at all. Somehow, he was gonna have to find a way for these two guys to make amends with the other. Still, maybe all they needed was time. He'd just let things cool down, and then if he still sees that there are no changes in their behaviour towards each other, he'd take action. But for now, he'll just sit and wait. After that, everyone was silent for about a couple of minutes, each of them thinking about the many current problems.
The silence was broken when a buzzing noise began emanating from Linkin's pocket. The canine's ears twitched, and reached into his pocket to take out his phone. He slid it up, "One new text message, dad."
He clicked on the 'open' option with his thumb and began reading, "Link, where the hell are you?! And why is your knife embedded in one of the culprit's leg?! Get your ass over here NOW! Love you." Linkin sighed, "Shit! I completely forgot about that."
John cocked his head slightly to the side, "Everything cool?"
Linkin nodded, "Yeah, everything's good, I just have some explaining to do, that's all. I gotta go, okay?"
The canine reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen he kept in his pocket for school, along with a small piece of scrap paper. Leaning the small piece of paper against his paw, he began to quickly scribble his phone number. When he was done, he folded and gently pushed the number into John's chest. The human reached up and grasped his paw, the Doberman releasing his grip to let the small paper drift into John's hand. Once he realized what it was, he looked up in confusion. Still keeping his other paw in place, he placed his other on his friend's shoulder, "If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, you don't hesitate to call me, okay?"
Hearing the care and concern in Linkin's voice, caused him to smile. He still couldn't believe that within a couple of hours, Linkin turned from a complete stranger, into one of what John would call one of his greatest friends. He gently squeezed the canine's hand, "You bet."
Linkin just narrowed his eyebrows slightly and leaned a little closer, "Promise me." John could see the complete seriousness in his eyes, and honestly, Linkin looked pretty damn scary and intimidating. Wearing his most sincere look, he simply nodded.
With that being confirmed, the canine let go and backed up, just enough so that he could see the two other people in the room. First he looked at John, then after a couple of seconds, his gaze drifted over to the lupine, but unlike the short contact with John, Linkin locked his gaze with Marcus. John looked at the two, and he could actually feel the tension in the air. These two, were like fire and ice...Two natural elements that were never supposed to cross paths. He sighed,'This... is going to be REALLY hard.'
After their little mental showdown, Linkin turned away and began walking towards the door. He opened it and was about to walk out, but he turned to John one last time before he left, "Call me," he said firmly.
He didn't even wait for the human to reply, he already knew the answer. Back inside the house, it was nothing but utter silence. Marcos and John didn't say a word to each other, hell, with all the shit going on, they couldn't even THINK of what to say to each other. He didn't know why it had become so difficult to speak to the lupine all of a sudden, it just was.
Shaking his head mentally, he walked up to his friend, "Marcus, you okay?"
He didn't move, he was still looking at the floor, "It's my fault," he whispered.
It took John a little while to understand what he meant, but when it hit him, he instantly replied, "Marcus what happened was in no way your fault, there are just some things that we can't predict. You and I didn't know that some jackass and his gang were going to try to rape me, it just happened. We both came up with the idea that you pick me up, so there is no way in hell that it's your fault."
Marcus still didn't move, his eyes glued to the dark, elegant, wooden floors, "You got hurt."
Now John was getting upset, he needed to show Marcus that he was fine. So, sucking up all the courage, strength, bravery, and pretty much all of his guts, he opened his arms and threw them around the wolf. Squeezing him tightly, he buried his head into Marcus's chest fur, which was still as soft as ever. Marcus gasped quietly; he wasn't expecting something like this. Then, he gave in.
Falling to his knees, taking John down with him, he returned the hug, which was twice as strong as John's. "I'm so sorry John... I'm so sorry."
The human reached up and began rubbing the back of his neck, "It's okay pup. You see? I'm all fine now. Please stop beating yourself up, you're making me sad."
They didn't speak for a good five minutes, but they did keep their hug locked. It was amazing, the feeling of the wolf's strong muscular arms wrapped around his naked torso. He didn't know why though, it was like when they were lying down earlier, it just felt right. John broke the silence, "You good now?"
Marcus just chuckled, "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
John just chuckled as well, "Yeah, but I was getting worried about you for a minute."
Marcus picked up his head to look at the digital clock that was posted on the wall in front of him, it was four fifteen. Marcus sighed, "C'mon skinbag, dad's about to get home. We'd better get that wound patched up and some shirts on."
John just grunted, "Damn, and it's so cosy where I'm at."
An idea popped into the lupine's head, "Well in that case," he tightened his grip around John and lifted him off the ground, "I guess I'll have to carry you to your room!"
John let out a surprised yelp, but it turned into laughter and he decided to let Marcus do his thing. Halfway up the stairs, he spoke up, "You know... I'm letting you carry me, right? Under normal circumstances, you'd be on the floor right now with your arm bent at an impossible angle."
Marcus just snickered as he reached the last step, "That a challenge, skinbag?"
John just smiled coyly, "Just wait till we get to my room pup, I'm gonna kick your ass!"
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Linkin Monroe belongs to the user Linkin Monroe. Don't use his character without permission. Thanks Link!
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Edit performed on 24/12/2011 as a gift by RuthofPern, at Madfire's request.