Don't Want To Leave This Play Date • Johnny Storm

• Chapter Thirteen •

"How can we be working on the same side as Victor?" Johnny asked with irritation in his tone while he threw another dart towards the dartboard - getting, yet again, another bullseye.

Ben huffed. "You got me, pal. Things were a lot simpler when I could just whale on the guy." He said with a smirk and took a sip of his beer, reliving the moment he had smashed the dark haired man into the wall.

The two heroes had headed to a bar a couple of streets down from the Baxter Building while Kayla, Reed and Susan stayed behind , working with Victor in figuring out how exactly they were going to separate the Surfer from his board.

Neither of them liked the idea of staying away while Victor was in the same apartment as their loved ones. Johnny even more so.

The blonde male loathed the idea. He wanted nothing more but to stay behind and keep an eye on Victor while he was in close proximity of Kayla - not wanting him to get anywhere near his girlfriend - that Ben had to eventually drag him out of the penthouse.

Johnny despised this separation, so much so that he was beginning to take his frustration out on the poor dartboard by throwing the darts with a little too much force than he should have.

Suddenly, without realising until it was too late, Johnny's next dart had caught alight as he threw it towards the dartboard. His eyes widened as the board lit up with flames once the dart had hit its target.

"Shit!" He swore and quickly grabbed onto the first thing he could use to douse the flames, which happened to be a glass of beer that was on a nearby table.

He quickly poured the golden liquor all over the board, both putting out the flames but also destroying it in the process.

The bar manager watched this and wasn't too impressed.

Johnny noticed this and sent him an apologetic look with a small sheepish smile. "I'll pay for that." He promised.

The manager's expression didn't change in the slightest. "You better!" He called out as he turned around.

With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, Johnny turned around to retrieve that darts from the board. "I gotta tell you, Ben.." He began. "I'm starting to feel like a complete screw-up."

Ever since this entire ordeal with the Silver Surfer began which screwed up his powers, the youngest Storm sibling felt as if the Universe had it out for him. He felt like he couldn't do anything or get anything right anymore.

Ben shook his head slightlty. "Hey, hey.." He started as the blonde walked over to their table and sat down opposite him with a slouched, defeated body posture. "You're not a complete screw-up."

Johnny let out another sigh, not feeling quite reassured. "Thank you." He said.

"Look, kid, it's out of our hands." Ben began. "It's up to the eggheads now. And I might not know what's going on between you and Shortstack - and I have noticed - but things will turn around for you both again. She tames you and you calm her, keep her sane."

A small smile appeared on Johnny's lips and he couldn't help but agree with the rocky man. Since their breakup, he had reverted back to his playboy ways before he had even met Kayla, only this time he seemed to have been slightly worse.

But ever since he got back together with the brunette, he found himself calming down quite a lot again. Tamer as Ben described it.

And to be honest, he preferred this person much more than the person that he used to be.

Kayla made him want to be a better person, a better man for her and only her.

They completed each other like two missing puzzle pieces even though they were complete opposites - like fire and ice, or water when it came to Kayla.

He just wished he'd stop screwing everything up like breaking his promise to her.

"Do you think Reed's right?" He asked suddenly, before meeting Ben's questioning blue gaze. "About the whole end of the world thing?" He clarified.

Ben glanced down with a thoughtful expression for a brief moment. He didn't like the sound of the world coming to an end in a matter of days but he believed that his best friend was right.

"He's never been wrong about this kind of stuff before." He answered, looking at his nearly empty glass of beer.

Johnny nodded slowly with a seemingly far-off look before he leaned forward and clasped his hands around his beer bottle with his arms resting on the table. "If Reed is right.." He started off slowly. "And this is it.. How would you want to spend your last few minutes?"

Johnny knew for certain what his own answer was.

Ben looked at the blonde with surprise. Were they actually have a deep conversation? He definitely died and went into a parallel universe, right? He had to!

Once the initial shock wore off, the rocky man began to answer. "Part of me would like to go out fighting." He said but there was definitely one thing he'd choose over fighting any day. "But the truth is, I'd like to spend my last couple of minutes holding Alicia."

Silence fell between the two men as Johnny stared at Ben with a small soft smile, nodding his head ever so slightly.

"What about you?" Ben asked.

The blonde's smile widened slightly as he leaned back in his chair. "Kayla." He said simply. "I'd throw this whole 'no touching' rule out the window just to.. Just to hold her in my arms. I'd give anything just to have that right now.."

Ben nodded in approval of his answer and noticed the longing in Johnny's blue eyes as his expression fell into one of sadness. This kid really loved Kayla more than anything in the world. He could see that the brunette was the centre of Johnny's universe and that he'd be completely lost without her..

Much like he is now.

"It must be tough on you." The rocky man said softly, a sincere emotion taking over his blue gaze as he stared at the young man opposite him.

The blonde nodded with a small smile. "You have no idea.." He replied.

'It's hell..' He thought