hall0weeny

[hall0weeny]

so... these guys

[hall0weeny]

I draw while I have free time

[hall0weeny]

Fated and Fatal / Johnny Slaughter

Summary: Johnny Slaughter becomes infatuated with Newt’s very own beauty queen, struggling with the conflict between his desire to form a semblance of connection and his inescapable family bond. 

Word count: 11.6k

Warnings: violence, NSFW, knife play, death

Extra notes: Main character is named Nikki, but descriptions are left vague for the reader :) (f!reader)

I made a playlist with some songs mentioned in the story, as well as some that match the feelings: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/434UljTQ76aZywvilq59ET?si=w8qOT9K3SXinLwIVsEiq4g

Johnny’s hands were trembling. Not from fear, nor excitement. The plain simple bodily reaction he had to the adrenaline. The past couple weeks at Nancy's house had been tense, considering she was absolutely livid that one of the sorority girls at Omega Sigma Theta had escaped after one of Johnny’s ‘excursions’. The girl begged the operator for help through shaky breaths as her closest friends were being brutally slaughtered by Johnny in the other rooms of their once beloved sorority house. Unfortunately he got too caught up with the amount of them until he heard the sirens. Johnny swore up and down to Nancy that the girl who was alive had only seen him from behind, both of them screaming at each other in the soothing glow of Nancy's perfect kitchen. One you’d see in a home renovation magazine while standing in line at the grocery store. Nothing new between them, a mother who unrelentingly kept her claws dug into Johnny’s being, his mind, his self. Broken dishes scattered the perfectly lined hardwood floors. ‘Too fuckin’ perfect’. Nevertheless, the house was tense. So now, here Johnny was, lazily pulling an inhale of his cigarette as he walked through the familiar streets of the dead end town, Newt, still trembling from beating the shit out of the drunken dipshit in a bar a few towns over who had glanced at him wrong.  The wind blew heavily through the air, even though it was the middle of July, Johnny could smell the rain that was soon to come. He had no sinister intentions, especially not in his hometown where he was known, in the middle of the evening, but he couldn't bear the thought of being home yet. He walked through the city’s own small version of a ‘downtown’, the streets lined with small shops, dingy restaurants and abandoned buildings. 

That’s when he saw her. Newt’s very own sweetheart. Johnny couldn’t recall her name, although he was sure he’d heard it a few times. “‘___’s coming to that block party next weekend!”, “She did my hair last week, what a sweet thing.” He’d heard the words hang in the air between unassuming customers while he helped Drayton out, working at the gas station when he felt restless. She was sitting in front of the only salon in this whole damn town, the only repeating customers being older women who had nothing better to do and farmer’s housewives. He slowed his gait from the other side of the street, letting his eyes trail over her as he flicked his cigarette down towards the concrete, crushing it with the brown tip of his cowboy boot. Johnny usually only looked over a girl like that for one of two things, sex or death. They never mixed. To Johnny, it was one of the only things that made him genuinely recoil. Like shitting where you ate; he didn’t want to tarnish the reason his victim was crying and begging. He wanted it to be from terror, from the loss of control, the helplessness, the only expression being one of realization that his face would be the last they’d get the chance to see. When he wanted to chase his sexual needs he’d go to a bar, have a one night stand, a quickie in the bathroom and that’d usually satisfy him enough. The lack of an awkward greeting in the morning, the expectation of something real, he hated that, so he kept it casual. 

When he saw her there, her slender fingers thumbing over the pages of a book he couldn’t make out from his distance, her long hair falling perfectly in an old Hollywood curl looking style, fitting for a girl in her line of work, he felt something. Something familiar that made his brows pull together in annoyance. Someone called to her from inside the salon, the door opening behind her and she turned her head and stood up, brushing off her capris with the same delicate hands he’d watched as she turned a page. Johnny's gaze followed as some of the dirt fell to her kitten heeled sandals, and he wondered how long it’d take her to notice. She glanced up towards him for only a moment, their eyes meeting and she turned to go back in, a warm smile and useless small talk offered to the elderly woman sitting in the chair from inside.

That night he couldn’t sleep. He convinced himself he’d been out of his mind from the never-ending fights with Nancy, or the lack of cars to work on at Drayton’s shop, leaving his mind to race. He thought about Newt’s sweetheart, the girl that seemed to be loved by everyone and the only way he could justify his racing thoughts was how similar she was to him. Beautiful, dangerously alluring. He wondered if she used it to get things she wanted too, just like he did. 

You watched as the small hand of the burgundy clock that hung on the salon’s wall ticked down. “57… 58… 59..”. You let out a small sigh as it finally hit seven o’clock. You grabbed your purse off your small booth in the shared space and smiled at your two coworkers, waving and sweetly telling them goodnight. They split up, shuffling into their cars before you slipped into your own grey, piece of shit car. The sound of the engine rattled as you turned the key in the ignition, turning up the stereo, ‘I need you’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd playing softly to help drone out the issue you wanted so desperately to ignore, driving off towards your small farm house. 

The familiar stench of smoke hit your face as you tossed your keys down onto the kitchen table, littered with empty bottles of alcohol, unread mail and a small vase of withering flowers. Your mom, Jennifer, padded out of her room squinting at you as if she was adjusting to the change in light. “Oh, hey” she mumbled, walking past you to rummage around the fridge, presumably for more alcohol. It was funny, you and your mother, the once before beauty queen of Newt, looked almost identical, except for of course the wrinkles and drowsiness in her eyes, a sign of aging… or poor health habits, you’d never be sure. Maybe both. “Mom, I got a really good tip today, from Mrs. Barker, ya’ know, the one who always bakes us those gingerbread cookies for Christmas.” Your mom looked up at you and nodded slowly giving a tired smile, seemingly not having much to say before returning to her room. You chewed at your bottom lip, a nervous habit you’d never been able to kick, even when you’d been scolded as a young child, even slapped for. 

To any outsider's perspective, your mother was a treasure to the town, the first crowned beauty queen when she was a senior, during Newt’s summer parade. She married her high school sweetheart, before having you at 19 and then he decided he didn’t like the idea of a white picket fence house in a forgotten about small town, and he left. Surely no other reason, no other woman. Your mother, though, was raised to not let her weakness show, so she would volunteer at your school, always go to town meetings, events, always best dressed, always friendly and continued to flash her perfectly charming smile through it all. The older you got the more you despised this mask she’d worn to the town, the one you’d been pressured into preserving, for the sake of her, for the sake of yourself. After you graduated, you decided to work in cosmetology, since it was the one thing people had suggested to you and assumed you’d be great at. Here you were, twenty-three and spending countless days in the smell of hair color fumes and ever-changing town gossip. It was restless, and you’d often dreamed of moving on past this town, moving to a big city but you could never leave your mom, who seemed to become more passive to her habits day by day. It was heartbreaking, but you learned to flash your passed-down charming smile any time you’d catch yourself showing any doubt. 

Johnny hadn’t let anyone touch his hair since he was a teen. In fact, he hadn’t let anyone touch him in any way besides when they’d claw at his arms as he plunged his knife deep into their flesh, or lust fueled touches in the steamy moments in the back of his truck. Exactly a week since he’d seen the beauty queen of Newt, he found himself walking up to the door of the salon she worked in, a bell ringing as it swung open under his grasp. He’d seen her from outside the window, her long hair tied up in a ponytail, showing off her silver studded earrings. He knew this was already a terrible idea, but he could hardly sleep since he’d seen her. She was wearing highrise flared jeans, embroidered flowers crawling up the leg of the fabric and a black sweater-material short sleeve shirt that hugged her body tightly. Johnny was snapped out of his fixed gaze on her as an older woman approached from his left. “You here for a haircut sugar?” The woman asked, her tone indifferent, but still polite. “Yeah..” Johnny trailed, flicking his gaze to her round face, seasoned with age, red-dyed thin hair, held up by heavy coats of hairspray. “All right, come sit in my chair over here honey, I’ll get you all fixed up.” she smiled. Johnny flashed her his charming smirk, knowing it always got him what he wanted. “Actually, I’m here for her-” he said, nodding over at the beauty queen herself. The older woman's face had a slight shift of surprise but it soon turned into a soft smile and Johnny knew that she was going to gossip to all the other small town hens about this on the phone later. He took it upon himself to sit in one of the chairs that lined the wall, spreading his legs confidently as he lit a cigarette, dangling it in his mouth as he watched the same soft hands he’d thought about for a week straight, this time encased in latex gloves, apply some type of foil to one of the women he’d recognized from around town. He couldn’t care to remember her name nor did he have any clue about what the point of the foils were. 

A flash of red hair came into your peripheral as Martha, one of your coworkers approached you, touching your shoulder lightly. “You know that fella, Nikki?” she said to you, quietly so only you and Mrs. Barker, who was here for her weekly root touch up, could hear. You glanced over at the guy spread out in the chair, seemingly drinking in the sight of you. He was older than you,  late twenties, handsome, but rugged, like he worked with his hands. ‘Familiar?’ You could tell he was tall, even as his form was slouched on the back of the chair, not lazily, but comfortably like he owned the place, his demanding presence one that you were shocked you hadn’t taken notice of as soon as he walked in. You caught his gaze, his dark brown eyes holding your own as you turned back to Martha. “No, why?” you asked sheepishly. Martha couldn’t help it, the talk of the town didn’t make itself up. “Well he says he’s here for ya’,” she said, walking back over to her booth to organize the mess she’d made from an earlier appointment. 

Johnny's ears practically perked up at the mention of the name ‘Nikki’. Now he had a name to match that pretty face that was even more endearing closer up than from across the street on a cloudy day. You rinsed Ms. Fowler's hair out, blow drying and styling it as you felt the pair of dark eyes watching your every move. It wasn’t something you weren’t used to, but there was something that felt different, the gaze wasn’t one of lust like usual stares, it was something more, something deeper. You scoured your brain for the reason you’d felt a familiarity with those sharp eyes and remembered the handsome man you’d seen across the street the week prior. Why was he here, for you?

Johnny watched as she’d walked up to him, sliding off her gloves and he mentally noted the pinkish nude manicure on her nails, a few delicate rings on her fingers, but none on the left ring finger. Good start.

 “Hi, you need a haircut?” you asked sweetly, your natural charm never failing you, even if your head was racing with thoughts, with questions. 

Johnny nodded and smiled up at her. “Yeah sweetheart, I need some fixin’.” he said, mirroring the words Martha had spoken to him earlier. She nodded over to her chair with a smile and he could see her expression falter for a split second, an unasked question sitting impatiently behind her lips, but it never came. Johnny studied her carefully through the reflection of the mirror sitting in front of them as she draped a cape over his broad shoulders. He smirked at how low she had to bring the chair down to properly have access to his hair and it made his chest swell in a weird type of way. He’d usually felt this way when he was sizing someone up, but now, in this moment he thought about how small she’d feel pressed against him. Her hands slowly ran through his hair and he knew it was a simple vetting of the length of his hair, but something about the feeling made him swallow thickly. “How much do you want off?” she asked, seemingly not catching his subtle reaction. In full honesty, Johnny didn’t need any of it cut off, he always took good care of his hair, trimming it whenever needed and gelling it back into the signature slick back he’d always worn. His appearance was the first deadly weapon that he’d use in most situations anyways. “Just a little, darlin’.” He smirked, looking at her through the mirror as she expertly pulled his hair straight up, trimming each section carefully at an angle. 

“You asked for me specifically?” you finally spoke up after a while, casually letting your gaze flicker over more of his features now that he was closer in proximity, leaning back in your salon chair. The smell of marlboro reds and spicy cologne hit your nose in a way you didn't complain about. You couldn’t help but notice the long pinkish scar that lay over his forehead down to his cheek, the small mole that sat underneath his sideburn on the left side, above his sharp jaw.

Johnny smiled wolfishly at her words, knowing of course, Martha couldn’t help herself but tell miss beauty queen. “Yeah, I did,” he said casually, not explaining himself any further. “What’s your name doll?” This was such a bad idea. The last girl, the only girl he’d felt these confusing ways for, was now six feet under the ground, thanks to his own mother. “Nikki,” she said with a shy smile. “What’s yours?” He waited for her eyes to meet his in the mirror. “Johnny.”

Johnny told himself the time spent watching Nikki, learning about her from a distance was just a distraction, an excuse to be away from the house that only offered him tension and a lack of sleep. He wasn’t going to go too far, crossing any boundaries. He didn't feel the need, she wasn't a victim to him, especially with how popular she was around town. It felt more like a sick experiment to see for himself if he truly was capable of more than a fleeting hookup, a quick fix from a murder. He stuck to sitting around in his truck, noticing how inconsistent her schedule was throughout the week, how she changed her hair, but mostly wore the Hollywood curls, like Betty Paige but without bangs. He wanted to get to know her, see if her perfect appearance was a useful tool like his own, or something more of a facade… also like his. 

One day you were running late, and you really hoped Martha hadn’t snagged your 1:30 o’clock appointment with Mrs. Starling, a woman in her eighties that was frankly your favorite client, if anything, someone you’d consider your friend. You yelped suddenly as you bumped into something hard, something much taller than you. The same recognizable scent of Marlboro and cologne in the air. You glanced up, your cheeks already warming up “Johnny! Oh my god.. I’m sorry” you muttered, squatting down to grab your purse that had fallen off your shoulder. He squatted beside you, his fingers brushing your own as he helped you. It was like a cheesy romance sequence, and if you’d been smarter you’d have seen right through him, knowing that was his premeditated plan from the start. You stood up, sliding your purse back over your shoulder as you looked up at him, momentarily forgetting the fact that you were in a rush.

Johnny looked down at those sweet doe eyes, the ones he couldn’t get out of his head, the ones that were making him lose sleep. “Hey sweetheart” he said casually. He watched as Nikki’s eyes trailed over him, his tan button down short sleeve shirt tucked into blue jeans held by a brown leather belt, same dirty cowboy boots as always. “You goin’ to work?” he asked, glancing inside the glass storefront of the salon, catching Martha’s prying eyes before she turned her head full of red hair away. He loved the way Nikki shuffled slightly, her weight falling to one side of her hip. He had a fleeting thought of curiosity about what other unintentional movements and habits she had, usually unnoticed by everyone around her. “Yeah, I’ve got a completely booked day..” she trailed, her eyes holding his gaze. It was surprising, most people flicked their attention elsewhere after Johnny’s almost black eyes met them for too long. He noticed the way she bit her bottom lip before manually letting it fall, as if she caught herself doing something she wasn’t meant to. Johnny squeezed his fingers towards his palm that hung at his side, suppressing the urge to run his finger over the soft pink plush of her bottom lip. She quietly apologized again, flashing him a bright smile before turning to walk into the salon. “Hey Nikki-” he said, his voice smooth and confident, unlike his beating heart. “You wanna go out?” 

That night you’d sat at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich as you lazily flicked your eyes over the local newspaper that sat bleakly in front of you. You scanned the text at the top of the page, confirming this was the correct date. Every headline was the same, just a different face, different description. Today it read that a woman in her early forties had gone missing, her son also being confirmed missing just a month ago. You felt a pit in your stomach and laid the paper gently back down, your mom walking into the room. “Hi my sweet girl, how was work?” she asked, kissing you on the top of your head, seemingly in a more sober state today. You smiled up at her and felt a little nervous to tell her your plans for tomorrow, even though you were a full grown adult. “It was really good! I kept busy… actually I have a date tomorrow.” You said, your voice quieter as the statement left your lips. Your mom turned around from where she was pouring a fresh cup of coffee, even at the late hour. “Yeah?” she asked. You could tell she wanted more info by her almost cheeky grin, but there was something else in her eyes, concern, fear of loss. You nodded and finished the last bite of your dinner, “I had this client a while ago.. Johnny- you know him? Well anyways, we ran into each other today and he wants to take me out.” Jennifer stirred the sugar into her still steaming coffee, her lips pressed together in a line. “Johnny Slaughter, yeah I know ‘em. Lacey’s daughter got heartbroken by him, apparently he’s not the dating type. He’s a dog. Not to mention his mother.” she said flatly. You blinked a few times, your throat feeling a little dry. Not that you’d really known him, if at all, but you’d felt butterflies in your stomach each time his dark eyes scanned over your face, as if he was memorizing every detail about you. ‘A dog?’ You’d heard of the Slaughters before, especially Black Nancy, the widow of the town that was hardly seen, but it was only now you realized Johnny had never told you his last name. Your mother seemingly noticed the shift in your mood, and came back over to run her hand over your smooth hair, “I’m not saying don’t go honey, just be careful. Don’t be so trusting… and stop biting your lip.” 

Johnny didn’t do dates. Not that he hadn’t ever, but it had been years. It was back before he learned the perfect balance of getting his rocks off, and not having to stay to pretend to care about the words that fell from kiss-sore lips. He thought about the first time he’d felt this way, he didn’t go slow, didn’t wait or try to earn any trust, he’d just taken her as soon as he noticed the click of the 230 land camera. It was truly foolish, his mind overcome by angered insecurity and fear of rejection, which was something he’d never dealt with, so instead he just took what he wanted. He’d like to think he knew better now, but the truth was, he still wasn’t sure what the truth of the word love meant, in a normal sense. 

Johnny had taken you to the best diner in Newt, ‘Beth’s Barn House’, the only one of three that wasn’t completely worn down and was known for serving at least edible food. There had been a few stares as the two of you crossed the parking lot, Johnny’s muscular arm holding the door for you, then his hand finding your lower back. He was dressed in his usual jeans, a black button down, of course short sleeved and his boots. You walked next to him as he asked for a booth for two, your feet already hurting from the tan heeled sandals you wore, your body sweating in the material of the halter denim jumpsuit you’d worn, the sound of your silver bangles on your wrist clicking as you set your purse down next to you in the plush of the seat. You held his intense gaze across the table from you and smiled shyly. “What?” you giggled. Johnny shook his head and looked down at the menu, tossing it to the side as if he’d realized, nothing has changed in terms of options since the past years he’s come here. Old country music played from the speakers softly, mixing in the air with the chatter of the few other patrons in the diner. “You look so pretty Nikki,” he said, the low tone of his voice causing small goosebumps to crawl over your skin. 

Johnny could tell from her sweet smile that didn't quite reach her eyes was a taught manner of just being polite as she said ‘thank you’. She’d probably heard that her whole life, the lack of sustenance in the complement making him stiffen in his seat at the realization. He cleared his throat, “So how long you been workin’ at that little salon?”, hoping his interest wasn’t already misconstrued as simple lust in her mind. “A few years” she said, her eyes meeting his in a way that made his shoulders loosen, mentally relieved that he hadn’t completely blown it. “It’s nice… but I don’t wanna do it forever, I want something else.” Johnny watched her mask slip for a moment, her perfect facade, the beautiful, sweet girl that the whole town of Newt had nothing bad to say about was opening up to him. “Somethin’ else? Like what doll?” he said casually, not showing his feverish desire to hear every secret she held, every feeling, every thought that ran through that pretty head. “I’m sick of this town.” she said quietly, her eyes almost pleading for a second before the waitress approached the table, offering to take your orders.

Johnny drove his black Chevy pick up truck with the windows down, causing your hair to stick to your lip gloss as the warm summer wind blew through the cab. The melting glow of the sun sculpted his already perfect arm, that was lazily resting at the top of the wheel. You’d asked about what he did for work during your meal, hoping he’d tell you something that would explain the scars but he casually mentioned farm work and helping his uncle at a gas station that was near the border of town, occasionally working on cars. The drive back to your house had been filled with an electricity in the silence, the confession you’d blurted out before the waitress interrupted was surprisingly a mutual feeling to Johnny and the two of you talked about what it’d be like to leave it all behind. That thought alone was going against everything your mother raised you to be, compliant, charming, loved by a small town that had once loved her the same way- not a runaway. Johnny’s truck squealed slightly as the tires rolled to a stop on the gravel path in front of your house and you looked over at him. The way the sunlight hit him from behind, illuminating every striking feature of his face, his almost black hair outlined in the golden rays. He put his large hand on your thigh, rough and calloused even through the denim and slowly moved up, squeezing gently. His eyes flicked between your eyes and lips, like a wolf about to strike a deer. “Johnny..” you said in a whisper.

The way she whispered his name out of those pretty lips made his throat bob in a thick swallow, the way his hand easily covered most of her thigh in her outfit she’d picked out just for him made his heart race, though he’d never let it show. He leaned in, as did she, their lips barely brushing and he could see through half lidded eyes as her chest rose and fell quickly in anticipation. He suddenly felt two hands press against his chest, pushing him back. “I-I’m sorry,” she muttered, her cheeks dusted in the same pink he’d seen on her always perfect manicure. 

You remembered the words your mom had used as warning. ‘A dog’. ‘Not the dating type’. You felt like Johnny was truly interested in you, but was definitely hiding something and you couldn’t place it. Maybe he did just want you to fall for him, finally get your panties off and hold the bragging rights of sleeping with Newt’s sweetheart. The thought alone made you push him away, quickly opening the passenger's side and climbing out, but before you could walk towards the house Johnny was already making his way around the truck. “Nikki! Hey.. hey.” he said, grabbing your upper arm, tight enough to let you know he was in control, but not painfully. You bit your bottom lip again, goddamnit, and looked up at him, your face not hiding any of your doubt, which was very unlike you. “I just- I’m not that type of girl,” you said through uneven breaths. Johnny’s gaze softened, something you were sure you’d never seen before and he glanced over at your house before his eyes fell back to you. He let go of your arm and grabbed his cigarette pack that stuck out of the back pocket of his perfectly fitting jeans, pulling one out and cupping his hand around the front to block the wind as he lit it. “Nikki, it’s not like that. Let me take you out again princess.”

The brunette that threw herself all over Johnny at the bar a few nights after his first date with Nikki usually would have gone in a completely different direction. The way her low cut tank top clung to her chest that was being purposefully pressed against him, the way her mascara coated lashes batted up at him, her drunken voice flirty and low would’ve usually been a green light to get his needs met. He couldn’t though, he hadn’t been able to think straight, his thoughts fully consumed by the beauty queen of Newt, the one he wanted to call his own. Was it normal to be jealous of a whole town? This girl was nothing like her. “Yeah sweetheart, that’s real interesting” he muttered, disinterest lacing his tone, running his hand through his slick back as he downed his shot without so much as a flinch. “Am I not pretty enough for you or somethin’- you’re such a dick. You ain’t as big and tough as you think.” the girl slurred. The next thing Johnny felt was the cold potent alcohol that was now dripping down the side of his face. He stood up, his cold eyes flashing with the same darkness he knew all too well. He could see the girl stumble back a little as he towered over her, but he roughly wiped his face, flicking the liquid off his hand before he headed out of the bar. That night Johnny went out to… hunt. Something he knew, something he was good at, something that ripped his mind away from wondering what a certain small town texan girl must be doing in her room.

Nancy stood at the doorway of the basement, the red glow emanating from half-broken bulbs creating her silhouette as a black figure in contrast to the light from the house behind her. Fitting, ‘Black Nancy’, cruel, cold, apathetic, only satisfied when Johnny was at her beck and call. Johnny sighed and used his sweat soaked t-shirt that was lazily hung from his jeans to wipe the blood off his arms indolently. He knew she was watching, knew she could always see right through him, ever since Judith, his real mother, had attacked Nancy and ripped her eye out of her face, she’d had the power to get ‘visions’ as she called them. “It was a couple from Leeraville, it’s taken care of.” Johnny grumbled. He often thought about the fateful day he got his scar from Nancy, the gut wrenching truth of his upbringing being a complete lie, the seething anger that burned through his entire body during the initial confrontation between the two of them. He could easily try again, now that he was older, bigger, stronger, he could easily kill her and just leave. Maybe he would.

It had been a few weeks of seeing Johnny, and you’d started to let your guard down around him more and more. He felt like the one last real thing in this town, even though he’d been undoubtedly hiding things from you. Phone calls at 3 AM where he’d apologized, not realizing how late it'd been, a few cancelled plans explained by family emergencies, dried blood under his fingernails he’d brushed off as hunting with his brothers, but most of all there was a connection. Late night gas station trips just to get away from your houses, summer afternoons spent under the warm sun on the lake, occasional outings to Beth’s. It all felt so right. Maybe you were naive, too trusting like your mom had warned, but you just couldn’t help it when it came to him, an unexplainable tie that always led you back to him. 

You stood leaning on your salon booth, eyes flickering over the newspaper from this morning, Martha and her client already chatting about it. “Can you really believe it? I can’t believe these damn no-good cops haven’t done a thing. How come there ain’t no leads every time.” You stayed quiet, reading the headline, this time a couple whose car had broken down a town over, seemingly gone in an instant, no trace at all of them. You heard the familiar sound of the door chime and looked up, an immediate smile spreading over your face, not the one you’d been taught, but a real one.

Johnny watched from the glass window as Nikki glanced over the paper, her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she read the news. He couldn’t help but feel a sharp pain in his chest, if only she’d ever found out the truth about him, the bad man that came out in his most natural moments of instinct. He refused to entertain that thought, knowing she’d end up with the same twisted fate as the first girl, the one who lay underground now. He swung open the door, ‘Harper Valley PTA’ playing over the speakers of the salon and the smell of hair dye chemicals he’d never know what to do with if they were placed in front of him. “Hey darlin’” he said, his voice smooth and drawled, walking over to Nikki, maybe a little too close for just a client and a hairdresser. He noticed Nikki’s sly smile as she glanced over his shoulder at Martha, who was now not as interested in gossip as she was watching the two of them. “Hey Johnny,” she replied with the same sweet voice he thought about at night. He was shocked, only for a moment as she took him by the hand, leading him outside before pulling him out of view of the glass windows of the salon. Her arms immediately hooked around the back of his neck, her weight on her tiptoes, even in her heels as she leaned up and placed a sweet kiss to his lips. Johnny immediately kissed back, deepening it as his large hands held the small of her back, pressing her closer to him. 

You pulled back, your breath shallow as you looked up at him, the signature smell of smoke and cologne now making your knees weak. He seemed stiff, but in a way that made you think he’d probably thought about what this would feel like for a long time. You couldn’t help the shy smile that adorned your face, especially considering the way his hands felt on you, so firm, so grounding, still not moving from your lower back. “Damn Nikki I just called you last night, you missed me that bad?” he teased, almost a deflection of his true desires. You bit your lip and nodded, trying to stifle a giggle. “You still taking me out later, or you changed your mind?” you teased back. Johnny tilted his head back slightly, the view of his perfect jaw and neck making your mind race as he pretended to think about your offer. “Well I dunno, you seem a little out of it, draggin’ me around like a damn dog”. ‘A dog’. Your mom didn’t know anything about him. You pouted as he brought his gaze back down, his hands trailing up your arms. “Yeah baby we’re goin’ out after you get off, you don’t have a choice.” 

Johnny had a cooler in the back of his truck that rattled around the bed as he drove down the gravel road to her house. He smirked as she padded down the front porch steps, perfectly tight jean shorts, showing off her tan legs, a tank top that was tied with a string around the back, pink and orange colors fleeting the fabric, flimsy sandals. Straight out of the beauty magazines that littered the side tables of the salon. It was a sight he’d definitely think about later in his shack. Johnny palmed at his jeans, trying to hide his growing erection while her eyes were still glued to the stairs, focusing on not tripping down them. “Oh, so you are comin’?” he said with a shit eating grin. She rolled her eyes and it made his smirk grow even wider. “You’d miss me if I didn't,” she retorted, tossing her tote bag into the passenger's side as he held the door open. “Hmm yeah I probably would, wouldn’t I-” he said, leaning into her space to kiss her jaw, moving up towards the corner of her glossy lips. He loved how she squirmed and giggled at even the lightest of touches, something he hadn't expected from the confidence that she emitted. As Johnny walked around the truck to the drivers side he could see the fall of a curtain from inside the house. 

You and Johnny sat on the truck bed, your legs hanging and swinging slightly as the two of you looked out to the sun’s reflection shimmering off the lake. You took another swig of beer that tasted bitter, but Johnny was watching you carefully, so you pretended it didn’t bother you. That stupid mask of perfection. “Where do you wanna go?” he said, the words hanging heavily in the air. Your heart ached and simultaneously jumped at the thought. You and Johnny taking it on the run, far away from the town that thought it knew you, expected you to be as perfect as your mother. “Maybe California, somewhere near the beach” you trailed. “Somewhere that’s close enough to a big city, but still private.” He nodded and finished the last of his beer, yours still barely half drank. “Maybe a whole damn different country” he muttered, his gaze now fixed on the setting sun against the dark blues of the lake. If only you’d known, he can’t leave, he was completely planted in the roots of this town, a violent past and present that would never let go.

Drops of rain created makeshift polka dots on your top as you and Johnny packed up the cooler, scrambling to put everything you had valuable in the dry cab of his truck. You gasped as the rain suddenly poured down, glancing over at Johnny. Neither of you expected it, in fact as the two of you gazed at the sunset and made up a fake future you both knew was out of reach, the sky was mostly clear. You looked up, your eyes closing in reaction to the small water beads that threatened to fall into your vision and giggled, sticking your tongue out. “What the hell are you doin’?” Johnny asked, but his tone held no discernment. “Tasting the rain. You never did that as a kid?” you asked, as if he was crazy for even judging you in the first place. “No.” he said flatly, but you let your eyes gently flutter open as you felt his form grow closer, the warmth giving him away. 

Johnny shook his head at her antics, noting that this was definitely something she never would have done in anyone else's presence, her perfect facade again cracking in front of him. The thought made him feel possessive, special even. He trailed his hands up her waist, his eyes dark and serious as she opened her own. “Johnny...” she whispered. It’s like she knew what she was doing every time she called his name like that, almost as dirty as a confession to her own needs, her own desires for him. He lifted her up easily, the wet fabric of both their clothing pressed between the two of them as she wrapped her legs around him. He planted warm kisses against her neck as he carried her over to the back of the truck, releasing one arm to pull the handle to the bed open. She looked up at him with those sweet eyes, now pleading and desperate as he laid her down gently on the hard ribbed steel of the truck bed.

Your whole soaked body was covered in goosebumps, from the cool rain or Johnny’s touch you weren’t sure. The way he looked down at you, his large form leaning over you as he stood between your legs made you whimper. The rain rolled off his broad arms, his figure shielding you from the direct hit of the drops and you reached out to grab his biceps. “I want you,” you breathed out. It was like watching a coil spring loose, the way his eyes seemingly darkened even more, his rugged breath, the silence from him made your body sensitive at the thought of how bad he could truly ruin you if he wanted. He leaned down, claiming your mouth in a kiss that was nothing like the one the two of you shared in front of your workplace, now hungry as he slipped his tongue in your mouth, trying to taste every available spot he could reach. Your small hands trembled as you ran them from his muscular arms littered with scars to his still clothed chest, dipping under his shirt to graze over his equally toned chest. “Fuck,” you whispered. He suddenly reached under his shirt, grabbing your wrists with one hand to bring them out. “Nikki..” he said through a deep, hoarse voice. “Tell me you want this baby, tell me you’re ready.”

Johnny had never felt this need. It wasn’t killing, it wasn’t just sex. It was such a strong desire to make someone his, fully claim her, but do it right. He needed to hear her say it. “Johnny.. I need you. I’m ready, - please touch me.” she panted from underneath him. Johnny felt his muscles tense up, his jaw clenching tightly as he trailed his hands over her shivering form, savoring every inch of her wet, smooth skin. “Use your words, tell me what you need.” Johnny whispered in her ear, leaving open mouthed kisses down her jaw to her neck, relishing in the way he could feel her racing pulse. Johnny let her take control, but only temporarily as she gently grabbed each side of his face to meet her beautiful needy eyes to his own, which were completely sharp with hunger. 

“Johnny please” you whined. “I want you… everywhere. Make me yours.” You could tell how pent up he was, how hesitant he was. You thought about how he must feel like this while hunting deer, or whatever he hunted with his brothers, waiting for the signal to strike, to kill. The plea that fell from your swollen lips seemed to be the exact cue and he immediately leaned down to kiss you again, your whimpers and gasps all completely swallowed by his mouth on your own. You lifted your back off the soaked truck bed, letting his big hands peel your now shrunken tank top off your cold form, thankful that your earlier self decided against wearing a bra. He used one hand to quickly pull his black cut-off shirt off over his head, quickly returning his grip back to your waist. He leaned back over you, reclaiming your mouth and purposefully pushing his chest down on you. You whined into the kiss at the sheer fact of how much he’d covered you, how much bigger he was, protecting you from the rain, making your sensitive body shiver at the bare contact. You let your hands run over him, the hair that decorated his chest, each scar, each perfectly sculpted muscle, eventually trailing down to the top of his jeans. You glanced up at him as he stayed silent, his jaw tight as he watched your delicate hands unbuckle his belt, moving to the zipper. “You don't know what you’re askin’ for princess,” he muttered, his voice strained. 

Johnny couldn’t take this slow anymore, the way her eyes were begging him, her nimble fingers struggling with undoing his zipper. He grabbed her wrists with ease, holding them with one hand over her head, letting out a shaky breath. The wind around them sent a shiver down his already wet body, the way her soaked long hair splayed over the truck bed, her mascara smudged under her eyes, her nipples hardened and sensitive. Already so ruined, so perfect, but not in the way the town of Newt thought of her, for him and him only. He watched each of her reactions carefully as he pulled her shorts off, swallowing thickly at the sight of her pink lace panties. “You want these off?” he teased, a smug grin on his face. She nodded feverishly and pouted. He calmly pulled out his skinning knife that was always comfortably sitting on his waist, her breath stilling underneath his grasp like a rabbit caught in the jaw of a wolf, afraid to move. “You trust me baby?” he asked. 

Your eyes slightly widened at the sight of his weapon, but in truth, you did trust Johnny. Maybe you were too trusting. “Yeah” you gasped, leaning up on your elbows to watch as Johnny pressed the blade gently against your soaked core through the thin fabric. You whimpered and jerked your hips, a natural instinct, but Johnny's other strong arm flexed as he held your hips down firmly. “Don’t move.” he demanded, more of a warning than a scolding. You swallowed thickly, your eyes instead focusing on his face as you heard the tear of your panties, Johnny’s eyes dilating. He tucked his knife back away, pushing your thighs apart. “There’s my girl” he said huskily. You bit your lip and watched as he finally pulled himself out of his boxers, his belt hanging freely from his unzipped pants. “Johnny, oh my god” you whined out, your wet core clenching around nothing at just the sight. He was dripping with precum, his tip red and pulsing, you swore you could feel the heat radiating off him. 

Johnny leaned down kissing her, more gently this time as she whimpered at the way he ran his heavy dick through her folds. “Say it again, tell me you’re mine” he muttered against her mouth. “Johnny, I’m yours, I’m yours” she begged, her hips fighting against the hold he had on them, trying to feel more of him. Johnny pulled back, looking down at her perfect face, her eyebrows pulled together in anticipation, her swollen lips, the small mole on her cheek, her bright needy eyes, the way her back arched against the wet bed of the truck. Rain rhythmically dropped from the loose hairs that hung in front of his forehead, the storm getting more and more intense, a mirroring representation of Johnny’s own need. A bright flash of light lit the both of them, bare and vulnerable to the other as the following loud crash of thunder cracked through the sky. Johnny finally sank himself in her in one desperate movement, Nikki moaning out in a strangled cry as she gripped his biceps like a vice. 

He was unrelenting in his pace, every thrust into you making you tremble and cry. You’d never felt anything like this, your whole body being fully taken and used by someone who took such care of you. “Johnny- ah- J-Johnny, oh, fuck, don’t stop-” you gasped out, not able to formulate a full thought, your mind fucked dumb. Johnny seemed to be spurred on by your lack of sensible words, lifting your leg over his shoulder as he roughly fucked into you in the perfect spot, causing you to let your head fall back, your mouth hung open in pleasure. His rough hand came up to grab your jaw and pull it back up as he brought his face down close to your own. “Lemme see you,” he muttered against your lips. Your eyes flicked between each of his, a warm comforting feeling spreading all throughout you even with the contradicting crude way Johnny pummeled into you. “I love you...” you panted out, feeling the familiar tightening in your core, your body so close to release. You squeaked in shock as his calloused hand left your jaw to firmly grasp your small throat, pressing down enough to make your airway close, his eyes dangerous and a snarl on his handsome face. “Don’t fuckin’ lie to me,” he spat out. You desperately tried to pull his hands off, but his grip didn’t let up. “I’m not lying… I love you.” you gasped.

Giggles filled the quiet space as Nikki gently pushed through the front door, dragging Johnny into the living room by her small hand, their still partially wet clothes dripping onto the carpet. Johnny froze slightly as the creak of one of the bedroom doors opened, Jennifer stepping out, obviously sluggish and exhausted. Johnny could see the resemblance between the pair, the same sweet smile Nikki usually wore, a tired frown when worn on her counterpart. “It’s real nice to meet you, I’m Johnny, Nikki’s told me a lot about you”, his southern accent charming and polite, feeling a little out of place given he’d never done this before. Jennifer did a glance over of him and then to Nikki, her gaze seemingly on edge at first, but then sighed lightly. “Yeah, nice to meet you too. You stickin’ around now?” she asked, a small tinge of apprehension in her voice. “Yeah. Yeah, I am,” Johnny replied confidently, his hand squeezing Nikki’s tightly.

The temperature of the warm water in the shower was nothing compared to Johnny’s touch, his gentle movements as he helped you scrub the shampoo in your long hair, each gesture too tense to be a usual thing for him, the thought that he’d never done this before, making your heart swell. You leaned your head back, rinsing out the suds as Johnny’s stare trailed over you, his expression hard to read. “You want a turn?” you asked, already swapping spots with him so he’d be under the relief of the water, the sight of his large form not fitting underneath the shower head making you laugh. You skillfully ran the shampoo through the length of his hair, having to stand on your tiptoes even as he bent down. You could almost sense the weight coming off his shoulders, but still a small hint of uncertainty, as if he didn’t know if he deserved this. “Johnny,” you said gently, his dark eyes planted on yours almost immediately. His arms wrapped around you, prolonged and firm as you listened to the heartbeats pressed between the two of you, the only other sound coming from the cascading sheets of water, unspoken promises acknowledged by each of you through the embrace. 

The moonlight scattering from the window of Nikki’s room created small dancing lights over her features as she gazed up at him, her long wet hair sprawled over his arm, the lingering scent of coconut soap infiltrating his sense of smell, something he’d grown so attached to. “Your dad ain’t around much?” he said, his tone low to keep their conversation private to avoid any attention from her mom on the other side of the wall. She bit her lip, an indifferent expression passing over her pretty face. “No he was gone before I was even born…I think that’s why my mom is so,” there was a pause, “empty. I think she wanted the perfect life, and when it didn’t work out she just- gave up.” she whispered. “I love her so much, but she’s so controlling. I know it’s just from her own way of protecting me from the things she’s already been through, but it’s suffocating. I just want to be me.” she uttered, her voice faltering as her hand came up to lazily trail over his scarred chest. Johnny nodded, resonating with her confession in ways he’d never be able to be fully honest about. “Yeah, my family’s pretty controlling too, sweetheart”, he sighed, trying to sound casual. He could see the slight confusion on Nikki’s face, the thought of someone like him being so passive and governed by anyone, a hard concept to grasp. Johnny let out a low chuckle at her reaction, although, deep down in the ugliest parts of his soul it was his heaviest insecurity, the intense disgust and hatred for himself, the way he was not something he’d ever cared to reflect on before her. 

The song of the chirping cicadas and crickets outside filled your room. You laid on Johnny’s chest, the verge of sleep creeping up on you after the hours you’d stayed up talking. “Baby go to sleep, it’s almost two” Johnny murmured, his voice proving that he’d felt just as fatigued as you. You closed your eyes, the gentle stroke of Johnny's hand trailing up and down your back proving to delve you even deeper into your sleepy daze. You had no clue he’d purposefully stayed awake well after you’d given in, watching you sleep peacefully against him.

Johnny’s jaw was tense, the sight of you, so trusting, so vulnerable in his arms made his guilt even stronger. He knew he couldn’t get used to this. It’s not like just because he’d found his own little escape, that it actually erased his past, his instincts, his whole being. He suddenly felt like a fraud laying in your bed, a heavy weight on his chest. 

The ring of the corded phone hanging off the wall of the living room stirred you from your sleep, stretching up in bed, still slightly confused. “Is that the phone? Who the hell is calling right now?” you whined. Johnny was already awake, or still awake, his tired expression pulled together with concern. You groaned, climbing out of the warm covers, your cotton pajama set leaving too much bare skin against the chilled air. You could feel Johnny’s presence behind you as you leaned against the wall, holding the phone to your ear. 

Johnny’s entire body went frigid as Nikki lowered the phone from her ear, turning to extend it out for him. “It’s for you”, she whispered, her bitten lip and worried gaze a reminder of why he shouldn’t be here in the first place. 

You sat on the edge of your bed, your mind racing,  the early hour of the morning not being the biggest of your worries anymore. “Nancy? How’d she even know you were here.. Why does she need you home right now?”, you asked, your irritation not very well hidden. You watched as Johnny slipped his white shirt over his head, his silence almost deafening. He walked towards the door, a small moment of hesitation as he pulled it open. “So you’re just leaving me..” you said, your voice small. Maybe your mom wasn’t so wrong after all. 

The house was tense as ever, if not more. Johnny was upstairs in Nancy’s perfect facade of a home, taking a shower to rinse his body of the blood from the three friends who’d ended up on Nancy’s property, a drunken mistake to cross property lines, now being paid for in the basement. He stepped out, throwing his still stained clothes back on and glanced in the mirror, pushing his hair back, mumbling something about never truly being clean. Nancy’s cold glare was almost enough to make him flinch when he opened the bathroom door, if it weren’t for his ability to be astutely aware of who was around him at all times. “What,” he grumbled, pushing past her. Nancy, of course, followed his stride down the stairs towards the heavy blue door that he threw open, walking out to the porch. “I’m your damn mother. You don’t think I can’t notice when somethin’s up with you?” Johnny ignored her again until her wrinkled hand clamped his arm tightly, a reminder of who was in charge. Nancy’s eyes softened, a sick approval of his compliance as he froze. “My sweet boy…don’t think of me as a fool. I know it’s her, that girl. I got a vision. How else do you think I found out where you were tonight?” There was a pause that hung in the air, as toxic as Sissy’s poison. “You don’t know shit.” Johnny barked, ripping his arm from her grasp, but dared not to walk away again. Johnny’s eyes followed to where Nancy tilted her head, landing on the small patch of sunflowers, shorter than the rest of the ones adorning her charming landscape, a silent reminder of Johnny’s first attempt at love that was buried underneath. 

A few weeks after you and Johnny’s first time you’d noticed a change. You felt a heavy doubt deep down, trying not to let your mind drag you to the darkest places your mom had tried to warn you about. ‘Not the dating type’ repeating in your head. You wrote it off as her own projection, her own pain, years of simmering from your father leaving her as a young pregnant woman, who was so head over heels that she didn't pay attention to the small tells of growing disinterest. Surely Johnny wasn’t the same, he loved you back. He told you that same night that you thought he might genuinely kill you, his hand wrapped around your throat, his cock buried deep inside you. Even though you told yourself that, you saw him less, his answers becoming increasingly more vague when you inquired about where he’d been, what he’d been doing. It felt like a twisted fate, a sick foreshadowing, first your dad abandoning your mom, and now Johnny with you. Even Martha at work started asking about what had happened, his visits becoming less frequent, although you doubted it was from genuine interest or concern, more of an update for her to gossip about. 

Johnny was slowly drinking himself away, if it weren’t for the pressure from Drayton to actually ‘put those muscles to use’, he’d choose drunkenly passing out on his dingy old couch to avoid his guilty conscience. When he was awake, all he could think about was Nikki. Not even being blackout drunk helped, his sluggish mind remembering every inch of her skin, every sound she made, every detail of her face, of her soul she’d so openly welcomed him into. It broke him, knowing how much he’d already fucked up, if anything he found himself delusional for letting himself get that close in the first place, the thought of Nancy’s prying visions now a sadistic reminder of how truly alone Johnny was, an offering in place of Nikki’s safety. He should’ve kept her at a distance, admired her from afar. His hunts were even more calculated now, even with his lack of sleep, his racing thoughts, the only satisfaction he chased was in taking out his frustrations the only way he knew best. 

Eventually you’d let your emotions build up, unspoken and heavy, no different than your mother, no better than the same ways you’d convinced yourself you’d never be. You were at home, mindlessly watching some old western on the small RCA television that sat on the kitchen counter. There was a heavy knock on the door and your heart raced, already knowing who was on the other side waiting. You shakily turned the knob, opening the door to see Johnny, dark circles under his eyes and newer, fresher scars adorning his arms and face. 

Nikki was there, as beautiful as always, but more closed off, no polite smile, no sweet words to welcome him in. Just a blank stare and a raw bottom lip. “Nikki…” Johnny started, but she’d already turned to walk back into the living room, leaving the door open. Johnny took that as an invitation to walk in, glancing around to confirm her mother wasn’t currently at the house. He ran his hand through his slickback, a shaky breath leaving his lips as he studied her small form on the couch, her legs pulled up to her chest. “Baby, I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much, there’s a lot of family shit I got goin’ on right now”. She slowly nodded, not meeting her gaze to his own and he felt a tinge of irritation. “You ain’t gonna say anything?” he asked, his voice strung tightly. 

You finally flicked your eyes back to his own, the same dark eyes that usually made your knees weak. “I don’t know what to say anymore”, you whispered, the vulnerability making you feel even smaller. You were meant to be perfect, to smile and forgive, to act like nothing ever bothered you because you were perfect. A treasure, a model of Newt’s pride and joy. You felt tears prick up in your eyes, trying desperately to softly blink them away, but it failed miserably. You pulled your legs to your chest in search of any type of comfort. Here you were crying your eyes out, balled up on the couch and Johnny just stood there, watching you carefully.

His whole body tensed at the sight. He’d never seen her break down like this, let alone cry in front of him. He was at a loss for what to do, he knew what he wanted, but he knew he couldn’t. The thought of Nancy getting a vision while he held her crying would absolutely be the last straw. “Nikki, I have a life ya’ know- other shit goin’ on. There’s a lot of stuff I can’t explain alright? You either get used to it or.. I don’t know”, he trailed off, his voice coming out a lot more callous than he’d intended. She sniffled and looked up at him with those sweet eyes. “Are you saying you’re done?” she squeaked out. Johnny’s body flinched slightly at the words and immediately strode up to the couch, pulling her up to wrap his arms around her tightly. “Nikki, you know that’s not what I mean. I just- I’m tryin’ to apologize for how I’ve been. I need you to understand the type of life I got, it’s not intentional.” he muttered into her hair, the familiar scent of coconut now bittersweet at the thought that he was willing to never smell it again, for the sake of her. Nikki’s trembling form and tear stained cheeks slowly melted away Johnny’s belief in the permanently ingrained rule that Nancy had drilled into him from the day he could speak. ‘No matter what, family first’.

“Let’s leave,” you blurted out, the words shocking you as much as it seemed to surprise Johnny. “Let’s just go Johnny… please,” you pleaded, your breath shaky as you felt a rush of eagerness and fear course through you. “California, Montana, Georgia - a whole different country, I don’t care.” Johnny looked down at you, obviously taken aback, but his unfaltering hold on you answered for him. 

Johnny breathed heavily as he parked the truck in front of his old shack, thankful the generator’s electric fence had been turned off, a less obvious path to drop in quickly and grab his stuff. He glanced up at Nancy’s house, his whole body tight with anxiety, then over to Nikki, who was sitting pretty in the passenger's seat, a shy nervous smile on her face as she looked over at him, the disbelief that they were doing this written obviously on her features. She’d already packed more than enough things, her pink, heavy luggage sitting expectedly in the bed of his truck. He’d used the excuse that he would grab only what was important, clothes, hygiene products, the usual, but the truth was he needed his other skinning knife. The one Grandpa had given him when he was fourteen, already relentlessly brutal and fucked up in ways that were irreversible. Maybe he had Nancy to blame for the way he was, but he knew if he was leaving Newt to never look back, he needed to take it as a reminder of who he was, a new promise to be different for Nikki. “Stay in the damn truck, don’t get out” Johnny barked, not wanting her to step foot outside of it, as if her even placing a foot on the soil of Nancy’s property would be a seal of fate to her demise. He quickly busted through the loosely hanging shack door, tossing around everything he didn’t need, stuffing the most useful of his items in a duffel bag, throwing his knife at the top of the bag, zipping it up and coming back out from the shack, his worst fear standing there in a sage green long dress, staring at him with a terrifyingly unsuspecting smile. 

You were thoughtlessly picking at your manicure, waiting for Johnny to return. Your body felt like a live wire, excitement and worry flowing through you in a weird sensation. It was foolish, irresponsible, but the thought of you and Johnny leaving Newt made your heart flutter in your chest. Nothing mattered, not what dingy hotel you’d sleep in, how long you’d spend on the road, just the fact that you’d be together, escaping the puppet strings that the town had both of you tangled up in, in unknowingly different ways. You glanced over to see a middle-aged woman, brown short hair meticulously put up into curls, a small scarf wrapped in the middle. ‘Nancy’ you thought, Johnny’s mother, the black widow of the town, feared by all. You could feel your hands shake slightly as you let them drop to your lap from messing with your nails, more worried about the fact that she was catching you and Johnny on the run, not knowing it was the last thing you should’ve been worried about. 

Johnny dropped his duffel bag into the bed of the truck heavily, swiftly taking heavy steps to stand in front of the driver's side door, separating Nikki from Nancy’s eyesight. “Just what do you think you’re doin’ Johnny,” Nancy asked, her voice eerily calm. His eyes darkened, momentarily distracted by the sound of the passenger’s door clicking open. “Nikki, get your ass back in the truck!” he shouted, his heart pounding in his chest. She had a flash of confusion and hurt on her face before Nancy started again.

“Nikki is it? Come here doll,” she said tenderly. You glanced at Johnny who seemed frozen with fear, something you never thought you’d witness. You took unsure steps to plant yourself next to him, his body still partially covering you from her sight. Nancy let out a spine chilling laugh, walking up to the two of you. “Well ain’t this sweet” she muttered, leaning over to glance at the idly sat luggage in the truck bed. “You think Johnny’s your very own little Romeo, honey?” she asked, making eye contact with you that caused the hairs on your body to stand up. You stayed silent, unsure of what to say to de-escalate the growing unease that hung in the air. “Did he tell you about the bad man? Does he tell you about the reasons he’s out so late at night?” she spat.

“Shut the fuck up” Johnny growled, the tension radiating off him making Nikki back further behind him, her small hand reaching for his own in search of comfort. Nancy only smiled wider at Johnny's clear resentment and kept her gaze locked onto Nikki’s, who was quietly asking him what she was talking about. “All those missing people… all the stripped away futures, the blood on his hands. He’s brutally robbed people of their lives with the same one you’re clutching onto now.” Nancy continued. Johnny could see the color draining from Nikki’s face as Nancy continued, her grip on his hand faltering. Nancy seemed satisfied from her reaction, turning to face her pride and joy. “Johnny, my sweet boy. You know how much I care about you”, she took another step closer to him. “You don’t deserve this, to be manipulated by someone who doesn’t even know the real you. A girl who’d never understand you, our family. We always come first.” she said, her words completely overtaking Johnny’s mind, the same lies that were so embedded in his being, keeping him completely powerless to her. “Stop!” Johnny screamed out, his hands coming to each side of his head as if he’d be physically able to rip her voice out of his skull. “She’ll never love you now, when the truth finally comprehends in that pretty little head, she’ll want nothing to do with you. She’ll be terrified of you, just like Maria”, Nancy hissed. Johnny’s body went rigid, the thought of you turning out like the first time he’d tried to find out what it meant to be with someone in a way he’d never quite gotten right. His sick obsession that left him ready to call it quits on ever attempting it again. All he could hear was the ringing, Nikki’s small cries and confused pleas, falling deaf on his ears. Nancy continued. “You don’t have a choice Johnny, kill her.”

Your heart pounded in your chest, your whole body on fire as the dots started to connect. The newspaper headlines, the phone calls in the early morning hours, the scars, 'hunting trips' with his brothers, it was all crashing down on you at once. You felt like you couldn’t breathe, your legs losing feeling as you stumbled backwards against the truck, bile burning on the back of your throat, your vision blurry through the tears. Johnny hadn’t turned around, his body trembling and breath ragged. “Get it over with and everything can go back to the way it was. Don’t be stupid. What other option is there? Nikki won’t run away with a killer like you”, Nancy mocked, her cold demand hanging in the air like venom.

Johnny couldn’t stop it from happening. The total loss of control, the pure instinct that took over his body, the one he called the bad man. He felt his limbs moving, acting on the deepest blood thirsty vices he was certain he’d had control over when Nikki was around. He took calculated steps towards her, Nancy’s cruel truths playing in his head over and over. ‘She’ll be terrified, she’ll never love you, kill her’. Nikki’s small form shrunk as he approached, frozen in fear, her beautiful teary eyes staring up at him. 

You couldn’t move, your mind completely blank, the reality of it all falling heavy on your broken heart before you could even react. Your skin burned, your legs itched to move, but instead you just… stood there. In an instant, the cold steel of Johnny’s knife plunged deep into your stomach, a frantic gasp of pain falling from your mouth, the adrenaline somehow keeping your body upright. It felt like a dream, a nightmare, a film of memories, flashes of who you’d thought Johnny was, the man you were so helplessly in love with now out of reach. You glanced down at where the blade handle protruded from you, Johnny’s now-bloodied hand still gripping it tightly, then up to his face. His eyes were completely empty, as black as they were the same night spent under the rain, a cruel twisted smirk on his face. “Johnny…” you choked out, red crimson blood spilling from your lips. 

There was a complete silence that filled the air, time fully stopping momentarily. Then, everything rushed through him at once. Johnny felt as if he was being ripped apart, his heart sinking at the realization at what he’d just done. He almost let go of the knife in an instinct to separate himself from the act, before registering Nikki’s increasingly weakening state, knowing if he let go she’d fall to the ground, she’d be done. He shuddered, sobs he didn’t even recognize seemingly coming from his own throat. “Nikki.. oh fuck. No baby, no”. His grip on her was painful, ignoring the brazen commands still coming from Nancy. “C’mon, we’re leaving. I promised, let’s go- just you and me”, he panted, choosing to ignore her shallow breaths, her eyes growing too heavy to hold themselves open. He dragged her heavy weight towards the passengers side of the truck, leaving a trail of red grass behind them. 

Johnny choked down sobs, the wheels of his truck flying down the dirt roads. He could see Nikki’s slumped form in the seat next to him, the fresh metallic smell of blood filling the cab of his truck, something he never thought would make his stomach turn. For a split second, the warm sun shone through the windshield, Nikki’s dainty hand was hanging out the window, giggling as the wind blew her hair around. A strained smile formed on his lips, a scoff coming from his mouth. As he passed the green city limit sign he glanced over, “We did it Nikki. We’re out.”

Thank you so much for reading!! PLS tell me what you thought, or if you liked it <3 I love writing for Johnny and I tried to make him a little human in this story (?) just given his canon conflict with how he felt with Maria, I don't think it's too far fetched to say he has the most outwardly shown empathy of all the family. Which isn't a lot... but anyways that's why there's no good ending. Ok love u pls give me ur thoughts :]

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Drew this for my buddy's birthday as he is a problematic octane main

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guys I’m cooking up a diabolical Johnny fic that I already like 20x more than my first one hehehehe. It’s long though and I dunno if I should post it all together or in chapters uhh

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HITCHYYYY :]

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FRICKIN RUSH WEEK JOHNNY EDIT I FORGOT TO POST HERE :D

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lil johnny moodboard i made for tiktok that i’m posting on here too

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Dark Passenger / Johnny Slaughter

Summary: It was the late 1970’s and you and your two friends go on a road trip to visit your old hometown of Newt, Texas. Little did you know there was a stalker, waiting for his chance to make you his.

Warnings: NSFW, violence, slight non-con, kidnapping

Word count: 6.5k

READER'S POV //

It was a blistering Texas afternoon where the summer heat felt comparable to laying flat on your back on a piece of asphalt. You glanced through the blazing sun coming through the windshield to your two friends Lori and Kenny, accompanying you on a road trip back to your hometown, Newt. You all needed a well deserved break from school. For you more specifically, a break from work, since you had met a bit of a dead end after high-school. You had moved back in with your mom after school, landing you into some other unheard of backroad town and decided to be a secretary at the office she had worked in. After the constant droning of the fax machine and phone calls tirelessly coming through, day after day, you felt like you could finally breathe by visiting y’alls old town. Regardless of the rolled down windows of the truck attempting to combat the sweat collecting on your brow and making your whole body slick, you laughed as Kenny was arguing with Lori about what station is better on the radio. Blue Öyster Cult or Lynyrd Skynyrd. “Do you two ever come to any type of compromise or what?”. Lori whipped her head around with a sly smirk on her face as she flipped to her channel without even looking, as ‘Tuesday’s gone’ started playing. Kenny groaned and threw his head back and you smiled knowing it really felt just like it did back then. It was the best thing you could have asked for.

After a few hours of being on the road for occasional stops for gas, snacks, and Marlboros, you guys finally pulled into a gravel road, where a beat down rentable cabin that had looked years unoccupied was standing. You scrunched your brow and held out the wrinkled map in front of your face, like it would change the condition of the structure itself. “Kenny, you sure this was the one that your parents had recommended?” you asked. Kenny snatched the map while Lori stuck her head out the window, munching on one of the snacks out of the pile she picked up from one of the gas stations. “Yeah this is where they had their honeymoon, I swear it.” You wearily looked at the cabin and hopped out of the truck grabbing your bag out of the bed, trying to push away any doubts. The summer trip you’d been waiting on for months would go great, right?

JOHNNY'S POV //

Johnny growled as Hands made a joke along the lines of buying him a “tracking skills for dummies” book. The constant nagging was irritating and he felt sick of doing all the work himself, just to be met with bullshit from the other family members. He knew what he was doing, and he took pride in every kill he had confirmed. He hadn’t gone out on his own in a while, and maybe that would be just the thing to let him blow off some steam without the scrutiny from everyone else. He sat on the edge of his bed looking down at his big scarred hands, thumbing his skinning knife, still caked with remnants of blood. He glanced up at the old broken mirror sitting on the floor in front of him, and noticed the shit eating grin he couldn’t help but wear while thinking of what chaos he would manage to find. The eyes looking back at him in the mirror were soulless and detached. The only thing that would bring life back into them would be taking another. 

READER'S POV //

After getting your bags settled in at the cabin you, Lori and Kenny had all collectively agreed this place was a shit hole. Not like you guys expected anything fancier. To be frank you were all adults in your early twenties and the budget set from all 3 of you was nothing to brag about. The discolored wallpaper in the empty, undecorated layout of the cabin hadn’t done much besides urge you guys to go out and find something to do. After grabbing some food from a tiny burger joint on the side of the road, Lori had suggested walking a mile down to the lake and you perked up at the thought of being able to cool off in the water, for the first time in what felt like forever. “So y’all are ok with me skinny dipping right?” Kenny joked, looking over at the two of you. “Man I don't really think the zodiac killer would like that Ken, he might go for you first” you said, unamused. The town of Newt had been a little on edge ever since multiple disappearances but you tried to make light of it, pushing your paranoia away. Lori giggled as you guys headed into the cabin to change and grab some supplies for the walk down. After grabbing a flashlight, backpack, a few towels and water, you 3 headed out. “Jesus… I don’t remember it being this difficult to get to when we would visit from the other side of town.” Lori muttered. You and her had stayed behind Kenny, allowing him to make the way since neither of you were too fond of roleplaying wilderness explorers. After about 15 minutes of walking, you had finally reached the opening between the trees, looking out onto the lake and you could feel the relief shared between the group. The hot Texas sun was now nothing but a small dot on the horizon and the orange sky was fading quickly into a beautiful purple tone, that reminded you why you had brought flashlights in the first place. Kenny was of course the first to rip off his shirt and shoes immediately, making a dive for the lake while yelling incoherently about how you and Lori were too slow. You and Lori looked at each other, laughing and quickly stripped down to the swimsuits y’all had been wearing underneath your clothing. The calm and still water of the lake immediately washed away the sweat and stress of the road trip and you slowly emerged into it feeling weightless.

JOHNNY'S POV //

Johnny decided to walk around the perimeter of the other properties surrounding the family house. He knew it would be stupid to attack any of the neighbors, even if they were miles away in any direction you could turn. It would bring too much attention, too close. He also knew it would be an idiot move to go to some random bar, find a girl to take to his car and murder her, although he had done that a few times. He needed to think this out and prove Sissy’s doubts wrong. He didn’t just commit acts of violence without thinking unlike Bubba or Hitch. He was more calculated. He tracked and followed his victims like some rabid hound foaming at the mouth waiting to be set free from his leash, waiting for the perfect opportunity. This time wouldn’t be any different. 

He had tread his way a half hour out from the Sawyer house and was becoming increasingly irritated. Keeping himself pent up like this wasn’t good, he needed some type of release. He played a dozen scenarios in his head that made his breathing become ragged and shallow. Maybe he would stumble across a couple deep in the woods and lost. Jumping out of the thick brush of the path, just to see the look of terror on their faces and hear the screams that pierced through the top of the trees feeding his eagerness. Or maybe there would be a truck pulled over on the side of the road and he could use his mechanic skills to seem unassuming and lure the driver to be brutally met with their fate. He was pretty charming and sure as hell the easiest family member to come across as “normal”. It always benefited him. Just as his next scenario was flashing across the front of his mind he heard squeals coming from the lake and held his breath. “What do we have here?”

Johnny jogged along the path keeping his gaze on the group in between each tree he passed, until he got close- about 30 feet away from their set up. The squealing had come from a girl in her mid 20s who was thrown into the lake by another guy around the same age. There was another girl sitting beside them on the shore laughing along. “We’re having a little fun I see” he muttered. He felt his hands tremble and his heart racing at the thought of stalking up behind the girl sitting alone. She’s so oblivious. His stare immediately flickered to the girl who was now swimming back up to her other friend. The way her hair reflected in the moonlight and the water trickled off her skin as she rose up onto shore and walked toward the other girl. Johnny knew he would save this one for last. He would savor every moment that his body would tower over her small form, reflecting from beautiful eyes as he took her final breath. He would soon enough. 

READER'S POV //

You hadn’t fully felt ready to get out of the lake, but Lori had seemed done a while ago and it was definitely getting late, the sun now fully set. Lori looked up at you after you had walked over to her, simultaneously trying to squeeze out any excess water in your hair. “Ya know you sure are too pretty to not be having a boyfriend”. You brushed her off and felt a twinge of guilt in your stomach knowing that you really hadn’t been doing much. Boring job, no life outside of said boring job and definitely not a partner. That’s what this trip was for, to forget about it all and not be reminded. You sat beside her on a towel attempting to dry off some more as she rambled off about the guy she had been seeing and how he had taken her to the drive-in theatre a few weeks ago. The two of you continued chatting, waiting for Kenny. Suddenly, a sharp indistinct sound grabbed your attention and you glanced over to the left where the noise had come from. “Lori you didn’t hear that?” you said nervously. “Huh-no, what are you talking about?”. She grabbed onto your arm tightly and you had called out to Kenny, abruptly feeling a rush of adrenaline surge through your now cold wet body. Kenny half jogged up to you guys, “Y'all done for the night?”. “Ken we just heard something like a branch being broken and I…I dunno, I don’t feel right I think we should head back up.” you said quietly. He didn’t really seem worried as he threw his shirt back on and shook his hair around like a wet dog. “All right let’s pack up then”. You and Lori had both scrambled to get everything together with a sense of urgency that Kenny seemed to lack. When you turned around to check the spot you had once heard the noise, you felt a sense of panic as if there was a looming darkness behind the trees and bushes you couldn’t clearly make out.

JOHNNY'S POV //

Johnny knew it wouldn’t be exactly easy to take them out all at once, although he definitely had the capacity to. He didn’t want to make it messy like his family did. He needed to take the time to let his sadistic urges take over and use his heightened skills of hunting down victims. He felt his head racing as he quickly rushed to think what type of place these kids might be staying at. “Bingo” he muttered, as he remembered the Martin’s old cabin that they rented out to stupid college kids during the summer. Johnny was all too familiar with that place, a few other victims had “gone missing” there, by his hands of course. He picked up his pace, steadily jogging towards the old cabin that had nothing but a curse written on it now. 

READER'S POV //

You and Lori had stayed closely behind Kenny as the trek back up had now felt twice as long and tiring. “Are you even sure of what you heard? I mean it could have been an animal ya know?”. Lori said, her tone now much more serious compared to the usual.  “No I can’t explain it but I just have a terrible gut feeling” you said out of breath. Kenny turned around to glance at the two of you with a worried expression. You weren’t entirely convinced he had fully believed that there was a reason to freak out, but you could never deny he cared about you and Lori. When you had moved to Newt in junior high school you didn’t have a hard time making friends. You were always an outspoken and happy kid and Lori was just the same. You had quickly become friends and she’d introduced you to her friend Kenny, who had fit perfectly into the group. A stereotypical airhead of a guy with a big heart is how you would describe him. The family you had found with them had made the issues at home seem so nonexistent that it killed you to leave them after highschool. Being here now was supposed to feel safe.

By the time you guys had reached the cabin, Lori had practically collapsed on the couch and Kenny had stared outside of the open door for a minute. “Well, hopefully whatever serial killer that was following us is maybe bored or lost at this point” Lori said with a loud exhale. “That’s not funny!” you said, throwing the old stained couch pillow on top of her. Kenny closed the door and locked it. “Listen I’m not saying I don’t believe you but I’m sure it’s the stress of today and just bein’ somewhere you aren’t used to ya know?”. Kenny said, leaning his head on the back of the couch. You nodded and Lori quickly got up, saying she needed to change out of her swimsuit into something more comfortable. The room you and her were staying in was in the back of the cabin, empty and small, with a door to the back patio and a washed out blue colored blanket covering the surprisingly comfortable bed. After she changed, the three of you had met back up in the living room, sitting around talking about where you had all been in life recently. You decided to head back to you and Lori’s room to grab your card deck out of your bag, since you all needed a distraction to calm your nerves. Just as you dug the small deck out of the front pocket, you saw the handle to the door shaking as if someone was attempting to open it from the outside and you fell back in panic.

JOHNNY'S POV // After practically sprinting to the little shit hole of a cabin, Johnny grinned knowing he had correctly guessed where the group was staying. He saw the old beat up cherry red Ford sitting unmoved in the gravel path leading up to the cabin. He tried the handle and scoffed as the car door opened with no rejection from the lock. “This shit’s almost too easy”.  He popped off the piece of plastic under the driver's side wheel and took out his knife to cut the wire leading to the ignition. As he heard the voices of the group coming back from the trail to the lake, he quickly popped the plastic back in, shutting the door to the truck quietly. He jogged over to the side of the house, his heart beating in his chest knowing how close he was getting to the thing he needed most, a fresh kill. 

It was almost hard to think clearly. It was about the only flaw he would admit to himself. When he was closing in on a victim he couldn’t help but get tunnel vision, focusing only on whoever would be targeted first. His head spun with the sick fantasies of what he could do to make this attack drag out and fill every last need he wanted. He knew it was the one thing that made him messy and tried to suppress the urges to just kick down the door and start slicing at anything that breathed or moved. Johnny could feel every jerk and movement in his body and could feel the heat of his blood rising, his senses overwhelmed. He really needed to get his shit together. 

Stalking around the cabin he glanced into the windows, seeing the group in the living room sitting around talking. He wasn't worried about them seeing him, he was used to being the predator slinking around in the shadows, especially after his recent encounter with the 6 sorority girls in Granger Hill. He went around the back to the porch, where he spotted a door he assumed led to one of the bedrooms, since the layout of the place itself wasn’t all too big. As he tried to check if it was locked or not, he heard a subtle thump on the other side of the door. He slowly released the handle and grinned, stepping backwards off the porch knowing they would all soon be aware of the demise they’d be met with. The one Johnny had complete control of.

READER'S POV //

Kenny and Lori both rushed in quickly to see you panting on the ground scooting backward towards the bedroom door. “What the fuck is going on?” Kenny snapped. You turned around to see the confusion and shock on Lori while Kenny wore just as tense of an expression, albeit holding more anger than you’d ever seen him show. “I- The knob….” you sucked in short breaths, your brain still attempting to register what the intentions of whoever was behind the door could bear. “SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO COME IN!” you gasped out. Kenny immediately headed towards the front door of the cabin, practically throwing the thing open as you stumbled behind him, crying for him to not go outside. You could feel the gravel kicking out from under your feet as you scrambled to Kenny, who was already standing in the middle of what you could imagine where a driveway would be if this shitty cabin ever managed to deserve one. “There’s no one out here as far as I can tell, y’all need to get inside and let me check it out” he said concern lacing his voice. “Kenny, are you serious right now? Get inside so we can figure out what the hell is goin’ on around here” Lori spoke up. They never really did come to compromises did they. 

After about an hour of arguments and a tension in the room that would make you pass out if you heard so much as a leaf blow in the wind outside, you all had come to the conclusion that getting a cheap motel room somewhere, or even sleeping in the truck would be better than staying here overnight. As you and Lori haphazardly packed up the few things you had unpacked in the unfinished first night of being here,  Kenny went to start the truck and secure the area again. “You’ve got to be fuckin’ with me”. You and Lori both headed out the door, bags in tow, hearing Kenny cursing and hitting his fists against the steering wheel. “What?” you asked worriedly. “The fuckin’ truck won’t start! It’s the ignition; it won’t turn over it just keeps fucking skipping.. Man I knew that old geezer shot me a lower price for a reason.” A feeling of dread washed over you as you stood there defeated, knowing deep in the back of your mind that this all couldn’t be just a sick coincidence. 

JOHNNY'S POV //

Johnny squatted near the side of the cabin holding his ragged breath, keeping his sight fixed on the group arguing about what to do and where to go. It was perfect, like watching a pack of small rabbits trying to outrun a fox that hadn’t eaten in weeks. He knew he had to stay patient and play his cards right. He couldn’t rush this. The guy he had learned was named ‘Kenny’ had proposed an idea to go and try to make his way into town, at least to use a phone and the girls begrudgingly agreed, not really having any other option. Looking at him now Johnny knew he wouldn’t be much of a fight. He carried a similar build in terms of height but Johnny was easily twice as big. ‘Making it easier on me now, I won’t complain’, he thought. He watched as the two girls headed back inside and he felt his gaze fall onto one of them in particular, as if it had been held there by an unknown force. The way her jean shorts perfectly hugged her body and the crocheted cover up thrown over her bikini showed just enough to leave his mind racing. He couldn’t confirm it, but he knew the expression on his face hid little to what was going on inside his head.

Kenny was an easy fight as he had already calculated. Several miles down on the empty unlight gravel path, back towards town gave Johnny plenty of cover and distance on the poor kid. He had easily trekked far enough ahead that jumping out and stabbing him with his knife couldn’t really have been a better scenario. The guy didn’t even have much time to react, let alone scream or fully grasp what was even going on. Johnny hated it. He wanted the chase, the adrenaline, the full fledged take over in his body that let him freely act and the satisfaction of wiping the fresh blood of a terrified victim on his black cut-off shirt.

Knowing the two girls were in the cabin now alone and terrified made him pick up his pace on the way back, ready to carry out a brutal murder that would be in town headlines for months.

As he finally approached the window on the outside of the back of the cabin-the one directly peering into the bedroom where the two girls were staying, he watched for a moment. Both of them were sitting on the bed talking quietly. Lori’s back faced towards the window and Johnny's eyes helplessly fell onto the girl in front of her sitting partially slumped over. Her hair falling down in front of her face, covering her exhausted eyes and upturned eyebrows carrying the weight of unknowing what would come next. It was exactly where he wanted her. He silently moved up the side of the cabin, up to the front door where he effortlessly slid a credit card he had swiped from some other forgotten victim's wallet and managed to shimmey the lock, slowly pushing it open so as to not make any sound. 

READER'S POV //

30 minutes or so after Kenny had left, you had gotten restless from sitting around waiting for what felt like could only be bad news. “I’m going to go shower.” You told Lori looking at her with a soft expression, “If you need anything just come in there, I’ll leave the door unlocked, ok?” She nodded, still obviously worried, but you could see the exhaustion in her eyes, taking the form of dark circles. You knew there was nothing else comparable to clearing your mind besides a physical cleanse of your body, and you couldn’t keep waiting around, the stillness only putting your nerves on edge even further. After exiting the room with a clean change of clothes, you headed towards the bathroom. You stopped in the space between the bathroom and bedroom door and felt a cold chill go down your spine. Quickly, you spun around and spotted nothing alarming in the darkness as your pulse quickened and your eyes darted around, trying to adjust to the lack of light. ‘Geez I really need a fucking shower and some sleep’ you thought to yourself. You knew in your heart you weren’t overreacting but there was no point in stressing out until there was a reason. You needed to stay vigilant. 

JOHNNY'S POV //

He saw her taking small, tired steps towards the bathroom with a pile of clothing and towel clutched in her small hands. ‘So sweet and helpless’ he thought. He felt a sudden rush of blood go straight to his dick and suddenly his jeans felt a size too small. No, not yet, he needed to keep tracking, following every movement. She suddenly spun around but he wouldn’t just be out in the open, no that was something Hitch would do. Johnny was an expert in playing this little hide and seek game. After a fleeting moment of deafening silence she continued to make her way to the bathroom and he shortly heard the water turn on. 

He needed to leave her for last, so he headed towards the bedroom where he knew Lori would be. She was laying down with the covers lazily thrown over her body and he could tell she wasn’t fully asleep quite yet, but seemed on the brink of dozing off from how slow her breathing had gotten. He took the opportunity to lunge himself forward and grab her by the throat but she reacted faster than he expected. “Fuck, you ain’t getting away from me yet!” Johnny barked. After a bit of a struggle Lori had managed to kick his weight off of her and crawl on the ground, but before she could even turn around, he hit her over the head with the lamp on the otherwise empty nightstand. She collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, and Johnny sucked air through his teeth in a grimace. Shit. He didn’t want to make a scene yet. He didn’t want any unneeded attention coming to the bedroom, but it seemed like that was a bit too late. 

READER'S POV //

Halfway through stripping off your clothes from the day and reaching out to feel the temperature of the water, you heard a man’s voice and a loud thump. You couldn’t help but pause at the sound and you could feel the air escaping your lungs. Maybe Kenny had come back? Maybe he found tools to fix the truck and let them hit the floor in a celebration of getting the fuck out of here? You knew it was a silly thought, but it was the only thing giving you any type of courage and carefully stepped over the crocheted top and shorts piled on the ground, fully opening the bathroom door with a trembling hand. “Lori?” you paused for a moment. “Kenny?” You needed to confirm if it was him, pushing away the thought that you truly knew it would never be him there to save both you and Lori. 

You took a deep breath and peered out of the doorframe to see a tall 6’2” stature in front of you, half illuminated by the light coming from behind you. Your heart dropped and you locked your wide eyes with his. “Hey doll”, the man said with a smirk growing bigger by the second. You weren’t sure what you expected when presented with this situation, but it sure as hell wasn’t standing there limp, unable to move. The fresh blood splattered on his shirt and thump that had come moments before left your mind feeling numb. This was it, you were done for. In a split second you sprinted towards the kitchen, hoping to try and get a knife or anything that could assist you, in hopes of seeing one last sunrise in this godforsaken empty town. 

The man behind you seemed in no rush at all, in fact he seemed amused at your panicked state, slowly sauntering over to where you had backed yourself against the kitchen counter, tears welling up in your eyes. “Name’s Johnny by the way, I never caught yours sweetheart”. You whimpered realizing there was nowhere else to turn and this sick freak was not the type to just let you try to run again. You could feel that his patience was wearing thin, waiting for you to move at any second so he could sink his teeth in. He slowly inched closer and closer to the point that his body was flush against yours. You let out a small yelp and pushed yourself as far back as you could against the counter. You swore you could feel his heart beating with how hard he had pressed up against you. His breath tickled your neck and made you feel sick as he said in a low husky tone, “When I saw you at the lake, I knew I needed to find out what kind of girl you were”. If this wasn’t a low budget horror movie scenario, you might have found his southern twang and deep husky tone attractive. The way his built frame towered over yours and was littered with scars, from what you would’ve assumed were from working on a farm, could have possibly even made you feel like a highschool kid with a crush. His dark hair falling forward from the slick back he had taken his time with, the same morning you and your best friends had set out for your trip, would’ve reminded you of a movie star. His dark eyes and structured face would be one you would’ve been able to spot from across the bar. But this wasn’t a movie, this was real, and it was life or death.

JOHNNY'S POV //

 He had finally gotten you where he wanted. It was only you and him for miles from his perspective and he would get what he needed. The way you squirmed and whimpered underneath him was doing nothing to help the rush of heat he had felt building up earlier. What he really wanted to find out, is if you were just as depraved as he considered himself. Slowly lifting his knee to press in between your thighs against your core and the state of your weak, slumped body was easy to him. It felt like you belonged there. You two fit perfectly like an accidental miss-printed puzzle. You would see it soon enough. Johnny did get these urges from time to time and acted on them when he saw fit, but with you it felt different. He was watching you break and enjoying every second of it. 

READER'S POV //

You continued to softly cry. You weren’t done fighting but didn't want him to know that yet. Let him think he’d won and let his guard down, and you would make your move. “Baby, you're getting a little warm here, huh?” he said lowly, rubbing his thigh, padded in the thick material of his jeans against the thin material of your swimsuit bottoms and you gasped at the friction. It’s not supposed to feel good, fuck. What about Kenny? Lori? Don’t lose focus, this is what you need to let him do to try and get away. He grabbed the bottom of your chin guiding your gaze up to him and you could’ve sworn his eyes had darkened from the last time you’d met them, as if that was even possible. You looked at him innocently, gazing up with as much yearn as you could muster in the moment. If you could convince him you were helpless maybe he’d be less on edge. You hoped. “Johnny.. What do you want from me?” you whispered. He continued to stare down at you with an almost expressionless face before looking down to focus on tugging your bottoms to the side. The sudden movement made you jolt and you told yourself the tingling spreading throughout your body was from fear, not lust. You quickly grabbed at his wrist and he flicked his eyes back to yours. There was a long moment of silence, Johnny’s dark gaze challenging your own. You finally got the courage to speak up, saying in a quiet, shaky voice, “Why not take yours off first?”. It almost made you nauseated at how you were acting, but this could be your only escape. He moved back enough to start undoing his belt and you dropped to your knees in front of him. “See I knew you’d be a good girl for me, I was damn right. Ya’ know I might even keep you for a while sweetheart”, letting out a deep chuckle. You swallowed the fear you had for your future if he had any genuine interest behind that statement. Your heart was racing, your mind was becoming fuzzy and fear was increasingly pooling in the pit of your stomach. As soon his belt hit the ground, he looked down to start unzipping his pants. As soon as his black eyes had left yours, adrenaline shot through your once paralyzed form and you used the strength you never knew you’d had to start running. Running to where? You weren’t sure but you had to keep running. You heard Johnny from behind you barking out, “Go ahead and run, I’ll find you!”. Your lungs burned and your legs felt weak as you managed to get outside the cabin and halfway down the gravel path that had still stretched far out before any sight of the road, screaming for anyone’s help. You screamed, knowing Johnny had managed to easily outrun you. He grabbed you and shoved you to the ground, knocking the air out of your lungs. Looking up at him, towering over you, you prayed this would all just end, not wanting to know the horrors that would follow.

JOHNNY'S POV //

“All this squirmin’ around only makes it more fun for me.” He grunted while pinning your hands above your head, finally able to see you how he had remembered at the lake, the image of you burned into his mind. Your smooth skin hugged tightly in a white netted bikini, reflecting off the bright Texas moon, eyes wide and a grimace worn on your pretty face. You tried to twist out of his grasp and kicked the road underneath you to slip away, but his grip on you was unrelenting. You kept fighting like that for a few minutes until you finally seemed to realize it was futile from the start. “You really gonna leave a man with his pants down like that?”. You once again looked up at him, but this time there was a new look. One of fear, but there was something more intense behind it, making Johnny smile. He drank in your complicated expression, grinning ear to ear. He felt shivers travel down his body, he was itching to break you down, destroy you. “I knew you weren’t as perfect as you were pretendin’ to be. You want me in the same twisted way I want you.” You stayed silent, holding your breath as Johnny used his big hands to explore your form. It felt like you were scared to make any move at all, but he knew you attempting another escape wouldn’t happen. He could tell by the way your breath hitched when he ran his fingers down your stomach, the flutter of your lashes when he brought his face closer to yours and the slight forward movement of your hips when he grabbed them, leveling them with his crotch. You broke just as easily as he expected. Now you were his and there was nothing you could do to change that.

READER'S POV //

You shuddered as Johnny practically manhandled you on the rough gravel road. Using what was left of your strength to attempt kicking his 200 pound build off of you, and wiggle out of his grip seemed useless, and you finally just laid there underneath him waiting for blackness to over take your vision. You closed your eyes bracing for the hot surge of a rusty skinning knife penetrating into your smooth skin, ending your life. You thought of your family's reaction upon hearing the news that you were murdered. Your chest felt heavy as if your heart was breaking in real time. What a tragedy.

Your eyes shot open after you heard a sinister laugh coming from the man in front of you, his knees straddling over your small form, his face looking down at you like you were his prey. He was so sick, he was enjoying every second of your pain and struggle. “You really thought you would get the easy way out? You got me all riled up and then tried to leave, that’s cruel, sweetheart.” You felt shameful at your body's reaction to the way he touched you. The way he leaned over you made your breath fall short and the feeling of his arms holding your legs over his waist made your hips jerk up involuntarily. You could feel the warm tears rolling down your cheek as Johnny wiped them away, looking down at you sadistically. “Don’t cry, pretty girl, I’ll take good care of you.” he said, sarcasm lacing his words. The last thing you remember was staring up at him with wide eyes, before Johnny used the back of his skinning knife to hit you over the head, knocking you out cold.

JOHNNY'S POV //

“I guess this girl had more in ‘er than I thought” he sighed. He held his cigarette out of the old cherry red Ford truck's open window and stared out blankly across the road passing by. He loved taking these empty roads back to the Sawyer house. He glanced back at your body in the back seat, wrists and ankles secured by rope and the peaceful look on your face after being knocked unconscious. Not that he’d care, but by the time you woke up, he doubted you would complain about the ache you felt from how tight he’d made them in his aggravation with your disobedience. You’d probably complain about the look of his shed where you’d be staying with him. Or maybe the other family members. It’s all right. You’d grow to like it. He would make sure of it. As he took in a long drag of his cigarette, he heard the radio playing an urgent news report and he could feel his smirk grow wider across his lips.

In recent news, a small town known as Granger Hill, Texas has reported a gruesome murder of a local man named Kenny Elwood and it has been uncovered that there could possibly be one other victim, according to officials. The confirmed survivor will be referred to as LM to keep her identity private, but police are still in search of another young woman. No leads have been met with the lack of evidence, as well as an inconclusive description of the perpetrator from the known survivor. More details may be released to the public in the future but if you have any tips please refer to the Granger Hill Sheriff's department.

Author's note:

Hello guys :] My first official fic posted yay! I wanted to say thank you for reading, and in light of the recent TCM game news, I am still planning on potentially writing more for Johnny in the future regardless of the downfall of Gun interactive (AKA evil devs). Any critique is always welcome, just please be nice to me or I'll blow up. OK love you guys <3

[hall0weeny]

Guys I need everyone to know I am releasing my Johnny fic in at least a week and I am very excited about it!!! >:) I’m going to insert an excerpt just to give you guys a sneak peek but for now enjoy the slipknot Johnny I made for my discord pfp

// If this wasn’t a low budget horror movie scenario you might have found his southern twang and deep husky tone attractive. The way his built frame towered over yours and was littered with scars, from what you would’ve assumed were from working on a farm, could have possibly even made you feel like a highschool kid with a crush. His dark hair falling forward from the slick back he had taken his time with, the same morning you and your best friends had set out for your trip, would’ve reminded you of a movie star. His dark eyes and structured face would be one you would be able to spot from across the bar. But this wasn’t a movie, this was real, and it was life or death. //

[hall0weeny]

Introduction into my silly brain

Hello guys:D

At the time of writing this I am about to be 22 in like 15 minutes yayyyyyy:] I go by weeny or halloween and it's my first ever time planning on uploading a fic (after a few failed attempts I wasn't completely satisfied with lost in the void). I am currently working on a Johnny from TCM fic and will probably be working on other projects in the future. Most of my current interests are DBD, TCM, apex, COD and really anything horror related so expect my works to probably be linked to these franchises. I hope to make some new friends and hopefully feed the starved hyperfixators of the characters I'll be writing for <3