Opposites ➤ Johnny Storm

Chapter Twenty Two

There aren't many things that can scare me anymore. Though one fear I never really got over was the woods. Not so much being in them, but getting lost in them was something that has plagued my nightmares since I was a kid. So this was definitely not my favorite mission for many reasons.

Something I was trying to not focus on as I walked closer to where an argument was obviously starting, but surprisingly not between Ben and Johnny. "General, give us a one-mile perimeter."

"Forget it, Richards. You had your shot and you blew it. This is a military operation now. Jam the signal, get out of the way, and let us do our job."

"You don't understand."

"No, you don't understand. So let me make it clear for you and your pack of freaks. I'm the quarterback. You're on my team. Got it? But I guess you never played football in high school, did you, Richards?" Both Ben and I moved towards the General, but Reed beat us to it.

"No, you're right, I didn't. I stayed in and studied, like a good little nerd. And fifteen years later, I'm one of the greatest minds of the 21st century. I'm engaged to the hottest girl on the planet. And the jock who played quarterback in high school is right in front of me, asking me for my help. And I say he's not gonna get a damn thing unless he does exactly what I tell him to and starts treating my friends and me with some respect."

Everyone and everything was completely silent as his words sunk in. His words incredibly un-Reed-like and we all had a moment of silence for the General's pride. It seems all the years of living with the Grimm siblings had finally taught Reed to stand up for himself.

And it worked. "Give him what he wants." As Hager walked away, we were able to drop the professionalism and turn to him with awe, and a slight touch of horror in my case. This is not the Reed Richards I'm used to and wasn't sure if I liked it. Who am I kidding, I loved it!

What I didn't love was the look on Sue's face. "I am so hot for you right now." I could feel the bile creeping up, but it was gone when the other Storm put his arm around Reed.

"Me too."

~~~~~~~~~~~

We had four sensors that needed to be set up before we could stop the surfer. The plan Reed and him came up with was good and should be enough to knock the board away from the surfer. At least it sounds good, but we can't exactly count on Von Doom to be helpful.

Reed was telling us where to put the devices and showing the others how they work, when it happened. Johnny Storm opened his mouth and I didn't know whether I should thank him or slap him.

"Rory and I will go together since there's only four sensor things."

"Are you sure-"

"We'll be fine. She'll have a big strong man to protect her if anything bad happens. And if anything really bad happens, she can protect me."

Before I really had a chance to object, or decide if I wanted to object, he grabbed my arm, grabbed the sensor, and pulled me into the woods.

We went in silence to our location and set up the sensor without a single word being spoken. Normally the quiet would be relieving, but now it was just uncomfortable. After he turned on the device, I saw Johnny turn off his mic. With one last deep breath, I did the same. "Johnny, I-"

"You know we need to talk. And I know you don't want to do this, but I don't care." His stare was hardened and instead of making me feel the seriousness, it made me angry.

"I thought you said you only cared about what I want."

He stopped pulling me along and turned to face me. "You need to tell me what you want! Because I don't understand you anymore."

"I don't understand me!" I threw my hands in the air out of frustration and flames shot towards the trees above. The leaves caught fire, but just like I always do, Johnny shot water at it to put out the flames.

"I can't tell you what I want because I don't know what I want! All I know is that every time I see you I feel like I'm dying. I can't breathe and my stomach feels like there's hundreds of butterflies flying around, but they're not butterflies they're razor blades. We went from me being so happy to see you to me being in physical pain when I see you. I hate this feeling and I want to tell you to leave me alone, but the thought of losing you is even more painful. So if you can tell me what that means I'd really appreciate it because I'm clueless!"

He put his hands on either side of my face, switching our powers back. "I didn't know you felt that much. I didn't know you felt the same way I have since you slapped me on a random New York street."

All of my anger disappeared when I saw the genuine emotion in his eyes. It was something I never thought I would see when I looked at him. That emotion went straight to the core of my being and made me realize what I couldn't before. Why for a genius, I've been acting like a complete idiot.

"Johnny Storm, did we manage to fall in love with our best friends?"

"Aurora Grimm, I think maybe we did."

We stood with his hands on my cheeks, not saying a word, for quite some time. But unlike before this silence wasn't awkward, it was powerful yet light. The atmosphere around us had an almost magical feel to it.

Once again it was short as Reed's voice sounded through our comms, but nothing was left unfinished this time. "What's our status?" Only moving one hand to turn his mic back on, Johnny gave the biggest smile possible.

"Yeah. I'm good to go."

"We're perfect." He was still staring into my eyes and once again I was able to understand the meaning behind his words. With that one conversation, everything felt like it was back to normal, but at the same time it was completely new. As cheesy as it sounds, it felt like this is how it's supposed to be.

"Almost there. Guys? We have a problem." Sue's voice come across filled with panic. We broke from our almost embrace, and headed to where she should be. I ran as fast as I could towards the woman who taught me what it's like to have a sister.

"What's wrong?" Reed's voice sounded like he was moving too, but there's no telling if any of us could make it to her fast enough.

"He's here." Knowing the surfer was there, made me practically miss a step before running even faster. Ignoring everyone yelling to her, I focused on getting to her as quickly as possible.

We got to her clearing to see the surfer standing right in front of her. It looked like they were having a conversation in front of the abandoned sensor. Before I could make out any words, I saw a missile heading straight for them.

All of us called out to Sue, but the surfer moved in front of her and absorbed it into his board. Not even a second later he went flying through the woods. Sue was able to turn on the device, and when she gave the go ahead, Reed pushed the button to emit the pulse. And once again we all started running, but this time we went back to Hager and Doom.

~~~~~~~~~~~

When we got back to the base, we saw them basically throw the surfer around as they took him inside. Remembering what he did for Sue, I found myself go to help him, but they were already gone.

"I want to be there for the questioning." Apparently I wasn't the only one remembering how he saved Sue. Reed obviously saw how they were treating him and wants to try and prevent it.

"Not gonna happen. Make sure our guests remain here, comfortably." After giving the command to a nearby soldier, we were moved in the opposite direction, like they were herding cattle. My stomach dropped knowing that the worse I've been expecting is probably starting.

But as a warm hand enclosed mine and I felt actual fire in my veins, I knew that whatever this worse was, we could handle it. Together.

A/N: I wrote this on my phone at my brother's swim lesson yesterday so it's not edited very well. I'll go back and check it later. There's only three more parts plus the epilogue until the story is over.

I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, vote, and comment. It means a lot to me for so many people to like my story.