Survival Of The Fittest

Aaah, what a day to be alive!

((Johnny Benowitz continued from Just a Walk in the Park))

The sun was shining, the temperature was... Well, still pretty chilly by Nevadan standards. But most important of all: Johnny Benowitz was going on a date tonight!

He strut his way through the school grounds with a big shit-eating grin on his face, pompadour proudly on display like a rooster's crest. A high five to a passing teammate here, a pair of finger guns fired at a confused classmate there. A cocksure swagger to his every step, fully convinced that tonight was going to be one to remember.

Well. Maybe not fully convinced, there were some lingering doubts at the back of his mind. After all, Mindy Myers had a reputation for being kinda flaky. Then again she seemed down to clown that morning, so what was there to worry about?

Oh, hello? A notification from Mindy on his phone? Let's see what she has to...

...oh. 

There was a deflated look on Johnny's face as his strut slowed down to a crawl, his grin straining as he read over that message again and again.

Dangit.

The sky seemed a lot more overcast than it was a moment ago.

Letting out a sigh, he pocketed his phone and took a deep breath, reaching up to rub his knuckles at the centre of his chest. His eyes drifted towards a nearby water fountain, shrugging and walking over to help himself to a quick drink.

Oh well. That's life for ya...

((Chester Bissette continued from Blowing off Steam ))

Bissette stood at the other end of the hallway, spotting Johnny. He took a long, deep sigh as he debated what to say to him. He scratched his head, glancing around. He took a deep groan let’s get this over with.

“Yo. Benowitz!” Bissette called out as he approached.

Johnny looked up from the water fountain, brows furrowed when he realised who was addressing him.

"Yeah?" he replied, wiping his lips clean. "The hell do you want?"

Bissette sighed as he cross his arms, still trying to articulate how to make a good apology.

“I was having a shitty day.” He decided to go with “I was upset. And frustrated. You were just trying to help me. And it was shitty of me to repay you with that.”

He scratched his neck “I shouldn’t have called you that, it wasn’t cool. You didn’t deserve that,”

Johnny stood there a moment, hands in his pockets as he stared Bissette down with a suspicious glare.

"That so, huh?" he began, pressing his tongue against the underside of his lower lip. "So... What, is this your thing then? Fake an apology to bring someone's guard down, before WHAM: Sucker punch to the gut?"

He mimed a gutpunch to accentuate his point, fist clenching tightly before returning to his jacket pocket.

"Yeah, fool me once. Ain't falling for that one again" he added, before starting to turn on his heel...

Usually, this would be a que for Bissette to just exist the conversation. He rejected the apology, that was his problem.

Only thing? He felt legitimately shitty.

Chester steps in front of Benowitz, holding his hand up “Look, man. I actually am sorry here. You seem like a…legitimately cool dude, and it was totally shitty of me to just…toss your help in your face. I wanna make it up to you.”

Bissette repeated, looking sullied as his tone was genuine, pulling back his hair “You have every right to tell me to fuck off, I deserve it, but I still wanna apologize.”

There was a moment of silent contemplation as Johnny stood there, looking Bissette dead in the eyes as he ran his hand through that godawful mullet of his.

Eventually, Johnny's posture relaxed slightly and glare softened. Truth be told, Bissette's apology appeared to be genuine. Johnny didn't particularly like holding grudges, not serious ones anyway. Some stupid rivalry over petty bullshit? Sure, he had plenty of those. But there were few folk he genuinely outright hated amongst his classmates. Just wasn't really in his nature.

"You know, you're right about one thing..."

However,

"...I DO have every right to tell you to fuck off."

Bissette probably didn't realise at the time, but Johnny had given him something he rarely gave anyone: A glimpse at the man behind the caricature. Few of his classmates could say the same thing. Hell, even Clarissa barely knew the real Johnny. He felt pity for this sad sack of shit and allowed himself a moment of vulnerability, only for Bissette to immediately take advantage of it.

So, no. Apology not accepted.

"Now, with all due respect..." he continued, squaring up close. "Get the fuck outta my face."

Oh well. Worth a shot.

Close yourself up now.

Bissette stared at Johnny with a neutral expression, before averting his eyes and stepping to the side to let him through “Okay then.”

Johnny walked on past without saying another word.

((Johnny Benowitz continued elsewhere...))

Bissette watched him go, his expression now turning annoyed as he felt humiliated. He scoffed, turning away and walking in the opposite direction.

Great job, Chester. Great job.

“Whatever.”

((Chester Bissette continued elsewhere…))