Post by Syd on Aug 21, 2008 17:21:32 GMT -6
Rating: PG 13
Author: Trousers
Disclaimer: I don't own Johnny obviously. Or Sal Jenko either. Or anyone else I use in the story pretty much.
Summary: Young Johnny get's a furry surprise on his doorstep. Wonder how that will work out.
Author: Trousers
Disclaimer: I don't own Johnny obviously. Or Sal Jenko either. Or anyone else I use in the story pretty much.
Summary: Young Johnny get's a furry surprise on his doorstep. Wonder how that will work out.
The ring of the doorbell had become a constant annoyance to him. This particular afternoon was no exception. All for the fact that who ever was ringing it only did so once.
"Go away, go 'way... Please." Johnny buried his face in his pillow, pleading with the 'door man' as he dubbed any person that rang the damned thing. It worked. Though he wasn't able to get back to his desired state, sleeping.
The dog next door started barking. The yapping seemed obnoxiously close to the house though. It wasn't out of the ordinary… the animal seemed to like the Depp yard more than his own. "Shut up, Whip!" Damn dog…he grabbed the extra pillow he'd shoved to the floor the night before and put it over his head, hoping to drown the noise out. No dice. Johnny pulled the pillow away and sat up lazily then threw the covers off of himself. He scratched his head, then ran a hand through his dark hair, slowly waking up.
Johnny got out of the full sized bed and opened his door, not caring that he was only in his boxers. He peered down the hallway of his homes upstairs; he knew no one was home though.
His mom would be at work, waitressing at the local diner as she always was. Christie was more than likely at her boyfriend's house, and with his other two siblings already moved out, he had the house to himself. While the house was empty, it still didn't lack noise, with the help of the damn dog the yelping echoed throughout the place.
As he made his descent downstairs for an afternoon breakfast of Cap'n Crunch, he entered the kitchen. The food didn't slip his mind though when he went to the front door and pulled it open; he was just checking if the 'door man' had perhaps left a package… or a note.
His brows furrowed at what he saw. The neighbor's dog, Whip, sitting patiently on the stoop. It wasn't that the dog hadn't done it before, but this was the first time that the animal was tethered there with his own leash. Johnny stood puzzled and stepped out of the doorway onto his front stoop. He looked across the yard to the left and at the house where the dog belonged. What he saw was about ten trash bags sitting at the end of the drive, no cars, and a 'SOLD' sign stuck in the front lawn.
"Well, what the hell?" Johnny looked down at the dog that continued to sit, swishing his tail back and fourth. The golden retriever was very familiar with Johnny, and obviously had taken a liking to him so much as to abandon his home to visit Johnny on a regular basis. It almost seemed to the Depp's that the animal resided at their household more than it's own.
Johnny knew that the neighbors, the Bauer's, had recently gotten divorced. Turned out that the guy's wife was cheating on him… Not that that was at all shocking, Johnny had seen her leave multiple times during the day when Mr. Bauer was at work. She was the type of woman who would never be satisfied with the housewife lifestyle. Mrs. Bauer was what every 16 year old would call a 'bombshell' and lived up to that title in every sense of the word. She was one of the very reasons that when they moved in Johnny volunteered to walk their dog… for free. He wasn't going to lie; watching Mrs. Bauer bend over and snap the leash on the drooling animal's collar was enough pay for him. She was blonde, had tanned Florida skin, and a set of double D's-- every horny teenage boy's dream neighbor.
After a night of yelling, that always seemed to be audible in the Depp household; Mr. Bauer went for a drive. He came back to find Mrs. Bauer gone, no doubt with her new lover. Mr. Bauer put the house up for sale; Johnny continued walking the dog, getting a daily ranting on how she left him, and a front row seat view on just how bad a guy can feel about a divorce. It bothered Johnny to see Mr. Bauer like that, he was unkempt, not shaving, probably not eating either… The man was a wreck.
"So they both walked out on you." Johnny untied the dogs leash and turned around to go back in when he noticed a note taped to the door. Johnny took it down, reading the words in about six seconds, and then crumpled it up in his hand.
He's yours now. I know you'll take better care of him than I will.
Greg
He walked the dog into the house and dropped the leash. It was confirmed. Mrs. Bauer wasn't coming back, neither was Mr. Bauer… Johnny sighed and looked at the animal, which immediately lay down on the cold tile floor in the kitchen to cool down from the hot Florida weather. He was panting loudly as he watched Johnny raid the cupboards in search of the Cap'n Crunch box, and a bowl.
It was one O' clock in the afternoon, Johnny usually slept in that late, but he was slightly annoyed that by his actions, more than half of his day was wasted. He placed the bowl on the counter and poured a generous amount of the cereal into it. Johnny moved to his right and opened the fridge; he pulled out the milk and lazily poured it into the bowl with a yawn.
Cap'n Crunch remained one of the loudest cereals ever invented. Johnny took one bite after sitting down at the kitchen table and caught the dogs' attention with the crunching noise. He continued eating, the dog continued lying.
“Mom’s gonna flip when she comes home.” Johnny stared across the room at the wall. “She’s going to kill me… neuter you… then throw us both out.” He shook his spoon at the dog with a smirk. After finishing off his cereal he went upstairs to get dressed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt then sat down on his bed to pull on a pair of not matching socks. He then grabbed his chucks and opened his bedroom door once again; now to be greeted by Whip, tail still wagging.
“C’mon you mutt.” He said to the dog as he once again made the trip downstairs, “You want to go for a walk Whip?” Johnny asked the animal that followed close on his heels. Whip seemed to get an adrenaline boost as soon as the word ‘walk’ was ever spoken.
He was an active dog, the average size for his breed, probably only two or three years old… His coloring though was the lightest Johnny had seen for a golden retriever, he was more of a off-white pale yellow-ish, his eyes on the other hand were more true to his breed name, golden.
Johnny bent down and grabbed Whip's leash when they reached the kitchen. An afternoon walk wouldn't be so bad… and a not hyper dog for his mom to come home to might actually work out for the animal's best interest. His mom liked dogs… but since Pepi, the poodle, passed away; she just… didn't want another one. 'Too much work' she would say, 'and it's not like you'd take care of it Johnny. You never took care of Pepi, so why should we get another dog?' Johnny could hear his mothers voice in his head ranting as he stepped out the front door.
Whip was a good walker; he stayed on your left side, barely ever pulled on the leash… Johnny always liked him.
"So… right or left?" Johnny looked down at his companion. He was almost surprised at how unaffected he was that a dog was dumped on him only a half an hour before.
They walked down the sidewalk of Havenbrook, the little subdivision Johnny had called home for the last year, going left. He turned at the corner and walked en route for the dead end. Just beyond the pavement was a pathway that led to an abandoned park set back in some trees. He liked going there, mostly because no one else did.
Johnny sat down on a bench, dropping Whip’s leash to the ground. “So he left you?”
“Y’know… my dad didn’t try keeping me either.” Johnny looked down at Whip, “We’ve got a lot in common pal.”
A bird chirped and Whip decided to go and adventure. Johnny leaned back and watched the dog wander, smelling the trees and bushes. He thought about how nice it would be to be a dog. Not much other than getting yelled at for drinking out of the toilet to get you down.
"Walking the Bauer's dog now Johnny? Thought you did that closer to six?" A familiar voice came from the entrance of the little park.
"Actually… He's my dog now." Johnny replied and smiled.
"Seriously? What the hell?" He asked coming to a halt next to the bench.
"Mr. Bauer moved away. I told you before they got divorced already, right Sal?" Johnny looked up at his friend squinting one eye to shut out the sun that shined in it.
"Yeah, I knew that…" Sal made a movement with his hands that said 'scoot over' and sat down on the bench. "So they give you the dog?"
"Obviously." Johnny huffed and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket followed by a lighter. "Want one?"
"How many times do I need to tell you Johnny? I don't smoke."
"Figured I'd keep trying the 'peer pressure' approach." Johnny lit up and inhaled deeply. "Why're you here?"
"I went to your house, you weren't there." Sal shrugged, "So I went looking in the next most ethical place."
Johnny flicked some ash and looked over at his friend with a smirk, "You know me too well."
Sal smiled back, "You want to do something?"
"I think I ought to stick around Havenbrook for the day, wait till mom gets home." He looked at Whip who was now lying next to a bush, "So I can persuade her to let me keep him."
"Fine. Well, look, I planned to meet up with Bruce and Logan, so if you change your mind, you know where to find us." Sal stood and walked off.
"Adios." Johnny saluted his friend and took another drag from his cigarette. "Whip, here!" Johnny called the dog over.
The animal bounded up to him happily, tail wagging, ears flopping. Johnny loved dogs. They always knew just how you felt, and usually tried their best to cheer you up. They were truly man's best friend. Dogs were the only creatures in this world that seemed to be able to convey pure love, and didn't expect anything in return.
