A Foreign Love Song (Jake Bateman x Johnnie Guilbert)

5: Jake

"Oh, sure. I'll be fine," Johnnie told me. "You go catch that bus."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted me to stay," I said. "I don't have to leave if you really don't want me to." 

"I don't!" He confessed, though it came out sounding really desperate. "I love your company, and I'm so lonely! Please don't leave."

I was trying not to laugh. "I've been waiting for four years to hear you say that." This was true. He was alone all of the time. I don't know how he's been able to handle it for so long. I mean, it's gotten worse over the course of the last two years, but even before that it was pretty bad.  Strangely, I think that Johnnie took my words in a way that I hadn't meant them. 

"Y-y-you- What?" He asked. 

"I've been waiting for you to admit that you're lonely. What did you think I meant?" I raised an eyebrow. Although I couldn't help but wonder: What did he think I meant?

His eyes filled with realization. "Never mind," He mumbled to himself. "There's coffee in the kitchen, you can help yourself if you'd like." He looked at his hand. "I was pretty out of it when they told me, am I allowed to shower with these?"

I shrugged. "You might need to cover it with something. That's what I'd do, just to be safe." 

Johnnie nodded. "That's probably the best idea." He wandered off to the bathroom while I went to the kitchen to get that coffee he'd offered me. 

"I can't believe you haven't watched this yet," Johnnie told me. With nothing else to do since it was raining outside and he'd injured his hand, we'd decided to watch a show. As it turns out, I wasn't exactly up-to-date on Paradise City. 

"I thought about it. I guess I just wasn't that into it," I shrugged. "It's definitely a show for rock fans though." The amount of musician's names in the cast list was a little impressive. 

"And that's why I'm surprised you haven't watched it!" He put his hand on my forearm. 

"But, like, what the hell does Simon have to do with The Relentless?"

"You'll find out in the last episode."

I furrowed my brow as I looked at him. "I have to watch this whole thing just to answer one question?"

"No spoilers allowed." His eyes were locked on the screen at this point. I didn't see all the entertainment value. If anything, the show was tedious. To answer just one question, it would take a long and complicated path of irrelevant side-plot to answer it. 

I sat back and crossed my arms. If Johnnie was happy, then I was too. He does worry me quite often. When they were giving him a once over at the hospital, he had a lot of scars. It was a little concerning, and if I could keep an eye on him, then there would be no worries. Maybe that kind of attention would only push him away though. "That girl is so weird," I said. 

"Mhm. You know who she is, right?" He looked at me. 

"No." 

"The Devil." 

I raised an eyebrow. "She's the Devil? I don't buy it."

"That's who she's supposed to be." He looked away from me again. "At least that's what we think." 

"And let me guess, Gabriel's really the angel Gabriel?" 

"That's who he's supposed to be. That's why Nancy talked about there being good and evil spirits in Hollywood." 

"No one in Hollywood actually believes that bullshit." 

"Maybe not, but it does make for an interesting storyline."

I rolled my eyes at the thought. Satanic things always get ratings because of all of the conservative denouncement. Everyone knows that. Although, when something annoys you, you're more drawn to it. It wouldn't annoy you if you weren't secretly interested in it. By that logic, this is my new favorite show. "How come Johnny's such a diva?" I asked. 

"I dunno. Maybe it's just cuz he's the vocalist. The Vince Neil of The Relentless if you know what I mean."

"That makes sense. Maybe he'd be happier if he appreciated the people who worked for him."

"They work with him. That's just the problem. He's single-handedly breaking the whole band apart."

"What's Dylan's problem?"

"He's just the party guy. He's only upset because he's the only one left."

"But what about Leo? Isn't he the party guy too?"

"He was.....and he kind of still is. He's just a little more mature than Dylan."

"The band would be better if everyone just listened to Vic. I mean, they're clearly falling apart."

"Good things always end up crappy." 

"I don't think so," I shook my head. "Some good things end well."

Johnnie shook his head at me. "Whatever you say." He didn't believe me.