Come Undone

Junko paid for the meal and flashed a look at Taylor as she saw the girl pull out her phone. It seemed like Taylor had important things on her mind and she figured she was just going to call Johnny. It was fine. Junko had probably done enough just being there. It was part of the reason that she didn't speak up too much. But when Taylor's gaze lingered a bit, Junko stopped. She tilted her head as Taylor spoke. "But?" She said. "You know you can ask me anything, dear." She said in a sincere and concerned tone.

"Right, I know..." Taylor's hesitation lingered for a moment, and then with a smile she brushed it off. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

She left in a casual hurry and called Johnny. She needed to vent before she exploded and did something terrible, and though she kept a brisk pace, it was still a long walk and she would have plenty of time to do it before reaching the train station.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up..."

Johnny was relaxing at home. He had his feet up on the couch as he sat on it lengthwise. He had a towel wrapped around his shoulders and one arm over the back rest. His other hand gripped the remote and he was watching a classic sports channel that was showing some old World's Strongest Man competitions. There were currently large burly men lifting up giant stones shaped like Africa and racing them back and forth. He was thinking about putting on an AFW match but he knew he would just end up hitting the gym again soon enough. Taylor was going to be in Tokyo for most of the day so he was pretty bored. He'd showered off his work out sweat and was enjoying some juice between goes when the phone rang.

He picked it up and put it against his ear, trying not to let his wet hair drip on it. "Yo, babe, how's it going?" He said with a cheerful tone,

"Babe, I am going to flip the fuck out," Taylor didn't waste any time diving in to a rant. "Me and your mom just met with Morrigan, whose real name is Morgan by the way, Morrigan is either a girl-monster or a goddess or something, and it went great. Mission accomplished and everything, she starts tomorrow, except the problem is that the mission was incredibly fucking stupid to start with. What the fuck did I do, Johnny? When her gal-pal fucked me up, she was there to taser you when you stepped in. When they fucked up me and Kashi's boxing match, she was right there with the taser again. She's hurt you and me and Akashi, Brittany went after your mom, and I handled it by giving her a fucking job where she has access to my entire fucking life. Am I completely retarded? I mean, am I the stupidest bitch who has ever lived?"

She didn't give him time to answer. "And meetings, Johnny. Meetings, meetings, meetings, meetings, about t-shirts, about booking matches with people I don't like, about publicity shit, about hiring a goddamn psycho, babe, it never fucking ends! I don't even know why I started trying to sell stupid ass t-shirts, I don't like business. It's all about money and advertising and negotiating with clothing stores and shit, and I hate it! How the fuck, Johnny, how the fuck did manage to fuck everything up so badly by buying a box of crayons. You should be amazed. You probably already knew how good I was at ruining everything.

"If I hadn't got it into my head that I've got all this money now, and I should do something with it, I would never have managed to screw everything over like this. I never wanted to do any of this. I just wanted to fight, in front of other people and under the lights and I wanted to be the best, but now it's all about which fucking psychopath attacks my mom, and which over-hyped ass-clown I'm going to end up in a match with next. We have meetings about this shit.

"This isn't what I wanted, Johnny. I just want to go home with you and never leave and learn to cook really well and be a good little housewife." She scowled, shaking her head while she walked. "And the idea? The youth program one? Who the fuck do I think I am to start something like that? All I'm good at is beating people up and talking shit. Do you think anyone is going to want me around their kids? I am the single worst role model in the history of the world, and if they had any idea how fucking stupid I am, no one would ever come withing five blocks of me, and it's like ten more blocks to the train station and my feet already hurt because apparently even walking is too hard for me and I don't want to sit around on a fucking train for two hours I just want to be home with you!"

She took a breath. The trip home was going to be torture.

"Uh..." Johnny's mouth opened to spea, but he never got the chance. He wasn't expecting Taylor to go off like that and as she ranted, his brow furrowed. By the time she was finished though, he was grimnimg again.

"Hey, babe." He began. "You're awesome though. And sexy. So, like, it's all good and junk." He said simply. "I'm here waiting for you. When you get in, we could talk all about it and stuff.I mean, it's cool and junk. Or, we could do other things." He said, grinning wider.

"You're great with kids, by the way."

Taylor paused on the sidewalk and closed her eyes. She couldn't help but crack a smile. Johnny was so separate from the drama and complication that stacked up to complicate her life from time to time. He was a simple guy, simple and good and sweet, and as far as Taylor was concerned, everyone needed a Johnny to pull them back from the brink of insanity.

"Thanks." She sighed, and resumed walking. "I really love my kids. My soccer kids. But I just wonder sometimes if I'm like... the right guy for the job, because, like, I don't want any of them to be like me. I... I dunno, I think I just need to stop thinking for the day. I'll be home in a few hours, and then I just want to be lazy with you. Morgan starts tomorrow, so I don't want to have to do anything tonight. See you in a little bit."