Chapter 9

(Johnny's point of view)

The Sky is Purple.

" Fuck!" I slam my palms onto the iron railing of the stairwell causing it to vibrate violently. The low hum of metal resonated through the air. I try to not let my frustration get the better of me but the shallow breaths, dented rail, and red palms would prove otherwise. I've never been good at dealing with this emotion shit let alone dealing with someone else's. I don't know what pisses me off more, the fact she can't handle the truth or the fact she lets that shit head fuck her up that much.

I pinch the bridge of my nose - Who am I to throw her business in her face like that? I can't even face my own demons. Maybe I'm the one blowing things out of proportion blaming someone else and the fact of the matter is she just doesn't want to be around me. I fight the urge to go back in there and talk to her; I know it probably won't lead anywhere I've learned that much from previous fights with 'Eesh... Goddammit! I slam my hands into the rail again.

I lean against the wall behind me and inhale deeply; I feel a familiar pain wreak havoc on my body. "Shit.." I hiss through clenched teeth. It's been a while... but the pain, the anger I feel is still as fresh as it was that day. I've been fighting this remorse for so long ...even worse still is this empty feeling inside me knowing I couldn't do a damn thing to avenge her, I couldn't even make that fucker Jyunichi pay. Just thinking about her and remembering how I lost her... I can feel myself losing my hold on to sanity. I fight to regain control of myself knowing that the trouble my reckless behavior brings is always a major pain in the ass afterward.

Beating the shit out of gangbangers and shoot outs with the cops feels damn good in the moment; I feel so powerful and in control but the broken bones, blood, bullets don't bring Aisha back. I take it one day at a time knowing that in my line of work you'll be here one day and gone the next. I just wish every day that it hadn't been her.

After some time I start to feel normal again or at least calm enough to function and think a bit better. I realize I can't fucking leave like this because there would be no turning back; with each of our pride preventing any sort of reconciliation further down the road. I promised myself I'd keep an eye on Green- call it some sort of weird repentance. So far it's doing a shit job of making me feel any better. Running my hands through my hair, I sigh, straighten up, and pop my neck.

I retrace my steps and I end up at her door again. I stare at her door for a few minutes still unsure if I should do this and weigh my options once again. Yet I found my saying fuck it all and knock on her door. I feel like such a pussy coming back here like a dog with his tail between his legs pawing on a damn door. I'm kicking the shit out of twenty Ronin when I get done here to regain some of my pride.

I wait a few minutes and nothing. "The door is fucking open I could just walk in" I mutter to myself feeling slightly annoyed. I stand there awkwardly fighting the urge to barge right. My hand reaches towards the knob but quiet footsteps heading to the door cause me to pull back.

The door opens slightly and she peeks out. "What do you want?" Her voice is harsh trying to sound tough. I want to laugh in her face at how fucking hilariously adorable that is but I manage to keep it cool. "Hey there, love you too." I force a smirk although I see it in her face that she isn't amused. I cough and clear my throat before I begin the painful process of apologizing. " I came back to..." I feel my features contort into a face of discomfort "..apologize."

She is taken aback and her face switches back to her usual soft expression. "You even knocked..."She trails off. "See! I'm getting better, just bear with me ok?" It's too soon to joke because Green goes back to the overly serious character she's pretending to be. "No thanks." She answers stubbornly. "Not working this time?" I question trying to reach the Green I know but instead she tries to shut the door in my face. Luckily I catch the door at the last second; Green struggles with every ounce of her strength to get the door free but it doesn't budge. After several attempts, she lets go of the doorknob with a loud exhale.

She turns to walk away from me but I catch Green's wrist. "I'm sorry." Green snatches her wrist away and pushes me back."You think that's going to fix anything?" she growls as punches me with every word. I pin her arms to her side, "What has gotten into you?" "This is what you wanted right? I'm standing up for myself!" She yells sternly. -Oh god... Does she always have to take everything so literally?

"Look .." I start but she cuts me off. "I'm not a meek mouse that needs to be let out of the trap. Give me more credit than that; it's borderline insulting how you think me having a heart makes me fragile. Yes I might care too much, I may have issues, and I am probably still a little sore about my whole... whatever you want to call it but I still make the decisions for myself!" She pauses and covers her mouth with the back of her hand; I can tell she's thinking that she has said too much. "Okay, so you wanna play bad bitch and puff out your chest? Fine, tell me the real reason you don't want to go with me." I test her.

"I just don't want to go." She answers quickly. "The sky is purple." I blurt out which causes her to be confused."What the hell?" she begins. "Oh, my bad I thought we were just throwing shit out there." "Fuck you!" Green yells as she stomps off; I chase after her. "No fuck that, come back here! What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yell. "Give me an answer!" I demand sternly. "I am being blindsided with all this, I should at least get an explanation. "We are too different."She says softly and although I'm glad she's not yelling anymore I am stunned by her words.

She makes her way to the window and pulls back her curtains. "I don't belong there just like I don't belong here," Green says starring out the window at the Stilwater hustle below; I can hear a hint of sadness in her voice. "So you're homesick and take it out on me?" I think out loud. "I guess I'm finding it harder to adjust than I thought it would be." Her voice is angry and she crosses her arms over her chest. "I didn't want to depend on people to get me by when I got here but you knew from the moment you saw me that I needed help; I am hopeless." "I didn't mean to interfere with your girl power shit; I just wanted you to have some fun so you would want to stick around." I offer, trying to mend things a bit.

"Thank you but it doesn't matter, I'll stick out like a sore thumb. I'll probably embarrass the hell out of you in front of your friends." she scratches the back of her head. I just watch Green as she stares out into the streets; she tries her best to make herself seem so simple yet the more she opens her mouth the more I can tell she's got a lot going upstairs. Her mind seems to race to analyze everything and I struggle to keep up to figure out what she's going to say next. "You may not belong here but you just showed me you have what it takes to make your stand here, "I reassure Green as I approach her and rest my hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me with those tantalizing chocolate eyes. "Like I said if you need any help you got me right?" I make her laugh a bit "As for the embarrassing me..." I shrug. " I doubt that." "Well, you didn't see the horror stories that played out in my head." "And if you actually have a good time?" I ask trying to poke a hole in her logic. "That's too easy ." She gives me a small half smile. "You say I'm the complicated." I roll my eyes at her.

We stay in silence for a few minutes just enjoying each others presence. "Alright, let's go, hurry up and get dressed." I snap my fingers at her to hurry her up because I know Green is eventually going to say yes. She cocks an eyebrow, "You did not just snap at me." She holds up a finger for emphasis. "Hey, I tried the nice approach that didn't get me anywhere. Now I'll try it my way." I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. "Whoa! Put me down Johnny!" She cries out as she flails around "Stop! What are you doing?" She questions as I head into her room; the closer I get the more she wiggles so I'll do what any rational person that has ass by their face would do. SMACK! I give her ass a firm spank, with a small yelp she quickly protects her bottom from another. "Are you going to cooperate now?" I question feeling quite amused. I kind of hope she doesn't cooperate this time.

"Put me down!" She demands. I manage to open her bedroom door and step inside. "Alright alright." but before I put her down I give her one last good smack. Green lets out a slight moan. "Well look a that." I muse to myself as I set her down. She blushes a bit as she rubs her ass and mutters to herself. "You liked that huh?" "What?! No, what are you talking about?" Green stammers. I decide not to torment her any further although I won't soon forget that either, "Pick something out." I instruct as I point towards her closet. "Is what I have on not good enough now?" Green whines. "Hey, I wouldn't complain too much considering your lucky I'm even giving you the option to change." I retort as I take a seat on her bed. Green just rolls her eyes and starts shifting through some boxes in the closet. I take the liberty to be nosey and poke around her bedside table while she's distracted. -No hint of the pocket knife I gave her maybe she took my advice and keeps it on her.

What I do find is a black hardcover book and curiosity tempts me to look through it. I figure I should at least ask but screw that I've been nice enough already. I crack open the book not sure what to expect but as I flip through a few pages I find some really amazing sketches. I find lots of small practice sketches of what looks like animal fur, hands, and noses. She also has more finished pieces; I gather that her favorite subjects are animals and females. "You drew these?" I question. "Huh?" her head perks up and she turns towards me. "Oh god! Look I know they aren't that good; they are just random doodles ok?" Green gets up off the floor and dusts herself off. She comes over and sits next to me. "What are you talking about these are great!" I praise legitimately impressed. "Thanks." She blushes. "I really like this one." I flip back to a sketch of a nude woman's back with outstretching angel wings. "That is one glorious ass." She laughs as she gets up and picks up some clothing she had separated off from the top of a box. "I'll be back." She disappears off to her bathroom.