Beautiful Mess || Johnny Rotten

Chapter 24: Paranoia

Violet sat on the window sill, picking at her nails whilst the boys listened to Malcom who was blabbering on about what was next for the band. Steve looked excited, Sid looked out of it, Johnny looked bored and Paul just sat their with a dumb look on his face.

"Now I know what you're thinking, and that is where do we go from here. The album is out and 'God Save the Queen' has been a national success" Malcom informed as he paced back and forth in front of them,

Johnny rolled his eyes before glancing back at Violet. There was this weird air between them recently that he just couldn't quite put his finger on, and of course neither wanted to bring it up so it remained lingering around them like a bad smell.

Violet caught his eye and held his gaze for a moment before looking back to her scruffy red polished nails that had started to peel and chip away.

"So" Malcolm said, pausing for the dramatics "our next step is... Berlin"

This caught Violets attention as her head snapped back to the group.

"What like... Germany and that?" Steve asked, not quite understanding what he was getting at,

"Yes, a tour of one of our worlds most... formidable country's" Malcom hesitated, trying to put together the most convincing sentence he could,

"Formidable" Johnny scoffed under his breath, folding his arms,

"This is a great opportunity for you to share your music and message with other parts of the world!" Malcolm told them,

"We haven't got passports" Paul told him,

"That will be covered" Malcom pointed,

"How long we going out there for?" Steve asked, he'd never left the country before, so he felt a wave of excitement and nerves washing over him the more the conversation continued,

"You would leave this Friday and return after a month" Malcolm nodded,

Violet listened from where she was seated. Of course she was happy for the boys, a tour in a different country was a big deal, but for some reason her stomach seemed to sink at the abrupt news.

"All you have to do is pack your bags and I'll take care of the rest" Malcom smirked before the meeting was dismissed,

Violet hopped off the window seat as Steve approached her.

"So Germany huh? Should be exciting" he began,

"Yeh, exciting" Violet repeated, but the lack of enthusiasm in her voice gave her away,

"It's not as long as it seems, it's only a month and then we'll be back" Steve assured as he slung an arm round her shoulder as an attempt to comfort her,

Violet rolled her eyes "I'm actually looking forward to a little piece and quiet" she joked,

"Oi, that's not very nice of ya" Steve chuckled as they all left the office,

"We'll bring ya back a souvenir, like one of em mugs or something" Paul added,

"How thoughtful" Violet giggled as they made their way down the street,

Busy traffic passed them and one by one they split away from the group to go back home. Leaving just Sid, Violet and Johnny.

"So Germany" Violet started as she fell into step beside her boyfriend,

"What about it?" He questioned, looking down at her from the corner of his eye,

"Just wanted to know what your thoughts were, that's all" she shrugged,

"It's good for the band" he told her bluntly,

"But how are you feeling about it all?" She pushed,

"I'm jumping with joy" he answered sarcastically,

Violet huffed annoyedly, lately it's been really hard to get an answer out of Johnny that wasn't ironic or unclear.

"Was just asking" Violet mumbled,

They continued in silence for a while until she finally spoke up.

"Maybe this will be good for us..."

"What?" He asked confused,

"Some time apart, i mean things haven't been great between us Johnny" she continued,

"So you want to get away from me now?" He snapped,

"No you know that's not what I meant" she huffed, as they came to a stop in the street "i'm just saying that maybe you going to Germany might give us the opportunity to appreciate each other more"

Johnny rolled his eyes at her weak explanation.

"Do you even care about this relationship? Or is it just not important to you anymore now you're a big star?" She scowled,

"Of course I care, but if you want some time apart sure, knock yourself out. Come on Sidney" Johnny grumbled lowly as he grabbed Sids arm and pulled him along the street, Sid lazily trailing behind him.

Violet watched after them, her jaw tightening with every step they took. After a while she hung her head and trudged back to her flat.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

John sat glumly on the edge of his bed nursing a bottle of whiskey. He looked around the room at all the dirty plates and clothes which covered the floor, it'd been so long since him and Sid had cleaned he'd forgotten what colour the carpet was.

Sid was passed out on the beaten up looking couch in the corner, these days he was rarely with it especially now Nancy was back and trapping him in her twisted web. He really was under her spell, if she asked him to jump off a bridge for her he would do it without a second thought.

He couldn't bare to look at him anymore, Sid looked more like a carcass than a human being at this point. His body was painfully slender and his eyes were lifeless, surrounded by dark circles. Track marks covered his arms, indicating that he'd been regularly shooting up. His spine was visible through the thin fabric of his faded shirt and he was now just a shell of his former self.

John was worried about himself to, ever since the album came out and was a success he felt like he was losing his grip on the things that made his life matter, his friends, his family and his girlfriend. When he first met Violet he tried to keep his distance as he did with everyone, but there was just something about her that kept him on his toes and wanting to know more. He was convinced if he told his past self that he and Violet would be dating that he wouldn't of believed it. He knew he was lucky to have her and not someone like Nancy who was a souls sucking she-devil, only in it for the fame.

But deep down he was afraid, knowing Violet deserved better than what he could give her but he was even more afraid that one day she'd come realise to it.

Hey I know I haven't updated in a hot minute but I've just been stuck in that January slump. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter!