🅃🄰🄺🄸🄽🄶 🄲🄷🄰🄽🄲🄴🅂

Chapter 26: Run Off

Johnny hummed ever since the start of his day, from his shower, to brushing his teeth, and making his own breakfast, all was done with a continuous tapping of his feet. He was still in a daze about what had happened, it made him giddy and look forward to anything he's about to do. At exactly 8 in the morning, he rode on his skateboard towards the theater, taking notice of the breeze that went through his fur. Nothing can ever bring his spirits down today.

"Unfortunately, Crystal won't be able to join us in the performance tomorrow," Mr. Moon stated as the early meeting occurred.

Johnny's face went blank, his jolly expression had long been lost in the air that swept it from his face. "W-What do you mean, Mr. Moon? She was just here yesterday, she worked hard like the rest of us for this show."

"She excused herself for a family matter. Although this had to happen, Crystal would still bring us support by spreading our live show through her and Meena's Meowtube. Let's not get discourage, we will perform our best out there in behalf of her. Now take your places, everyone! We got a lot more to do!"

Despite all his best efforts, Johnny couldn't keep still even as he practiced his piece. He kept glancing on the phone over and over, waiting for any message notification, — or if on break— he'd try to call Crystal on multiple occasions. It's ringing on both end, but it seems like she's not keen on answering him for a moment. The day ended a lot more slower for him, he was already on his way to leave the ruined theater until he was suddenly blocked by the koala.

"Johnny, you going home now?"

"I—uh, I-I got somewhere I needed to go to."

"Great!" he rushes to a little chair where he left a stack of papers earlier. Moon drew out a couple of them and handed it to Johnny, "While you're at it, you wouldn't mind spreading all of these around don't you?"

He's in such a hurry to go check on Crystal that he ended up snatching the papers right out of Moon's hands just to get out of there.

"Oh. Alright! That's the spirit. Thank you, Johnny!"

With a skateboard below his feet and the pamphlets on the other, he rode around furiously, tossing the papers in untravelled roads on his way to the RS's hideout location. He was sure she was okay, Crystal didn't have a hint of trouble on her face as they've met yesterday. Or was it that he didn't pay attention? Stopping in front of the building, he then realizes something. Something she said days ago, that she was aiming to leave town. Johnny wasn't sure she'd still go along that plan after everything that happened, but he finally reached her this time, Crystal is right in front of him and he just needed to grab the chance.

Johnny made his way inside, climbing up the metal fence that's been locked. It was quiet, and seemingly uninhabited by anyone at this point considering that the gang's in prison, but the rooms upstairs lacked that vibe with all the stuff littered everywhere. And through opening tons of doors, he found no sign of the woman he was looking for, not even a vehicle.

"So they did leave..." he breathed out. His back leaned on the unfinished wall, feeling his legs start to give out. Johnny couldn't believe this is happening, why now— that everything was getting fixed between them— had she chose to run away from him. "... This is so unfair," he said as tears started falling down his cheeks.

Crystal had covered herself from head to toe, making herself look even more suspicious in the corner whilst a one-footed Aeon tries his best to look out for her. She robbed enough places to acquire a suitable amount of money for travels, but not on a long run. What's needed now is a plan, what place they'll go to, what job to seek, food and rental and all other things. Seeing a post made by Cassandra made her go in a paranoid state. Crystal would rather starve in an alley than to go with her mother. The mere memory of her early childhood came to haunt her that it nearly made her mad. The slap of a stick and the pain she'd feel afterwards, it sent shivers up the red-shanked douc.

They currently rented a room near the airport, having breakfast at a cheap restaurant. Aeon brought her coffee and sandwiches while he had pancakes, and after all that effort to bring these here, the coffee still spilled to half on the tray. "Sorry about the mess. Had to bump to a few people on the way."

She hummed her response, looking through her phone. The guilt was eating her alive to be honest, and while she's being anxious, he chose to help even in his condition. Crystal sighed and dropped her phone on the table, a bit angry at herself for being such a jerk to a helpless guy like him, "I told you, you don't have to come with me. You don't even have to insist on doing... this," she directed her hands towards their breakfast, "it's making me look bad here, and you're supposed to be in bed, healing or something."

He chuckles, starting with pouring all contents from the syrup packet onto the pancakes, "What can I say, if you're this anxious and uncooperative, who will stand tall and be the one you can depend on? It's only the two of us right now. And don't worry about the leg, I'm actually getting used to it now."

"You adapted way too easily on that lifestyle..."

With food in his mouth, he replied, "Well, it's either adapt to the situation or die trying to change. I just choose the safest option, that's all." Crystal wasn't looking at him, so his words definitely went from one ear to another. Aeon looked behind him to where she was gazing off to and sees the television inside the restaurant. The photo of the ex-theater owner, Buster Moon, was up, so it's definitely about the show that they were trying to push through today.

He sighs, taking a sip of the coffee that was unsurprisingly bland. She looked happy so he assumed that everything was going fine, but she just had to see that post to change her mind, the one from her mother that looks as if she's in the airport.

"What's so bad about it anyway? It's been years since you've seen her, after all," he says, grabbing her attention once more. "For all we know, times may have changed her better. And we're not little kids anymore that they can push around. Though I gotta say, she'd had to have some crazy good connections if you claim that she'll be able to track wherever you end up on."

"That's exactly who she is, Aeon," Crystal inhaled the scent off the cup, already knowing that it came from a three-in-one blend. Nevertheless, coffee is coffee, and she'd much rather have herself distracted by little things than to overthink even more.

With Johnny's number on the blacklist and two tickets in hand, she was well on her way to starting a new life on a clean slate.