Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THIRTY-SEVEN OLD TIME'S SAKE
◥✥◤
Norman and John B ran until the sun hung low in the sky, drifting towards the horizon with a brazen certainty as the warm afternoon began to turn blue with darkness. They hopped fences, ran through backyards, all kinds of obstacles. It couldn't help but remind Norman of the first time they had run away together -- when that guy had cocked a gun in John B's face and chased them through the neighborhood. Norman wondered whatever happened to those guys. He'd rather deal with them than the police, yet here he was.
"Shit, get down," John B muttered as they passed a fence, the lights of a police car flashing red and blue as the car sped by. The two pressed themselves flat against the grass, waiting for the car to pass. With that, they broke open someone's gate and hid in the side yard. They ran to the other end, hiding behind a bush as another car passed. "Shit."
"Where can we go from here?" Norman asked quietly, his hand gripping the back of John B's faded red hoodie like his life depended on it.
"See that garage door that's open across the street?" John B pointed once the car had passed, "While we're clear, let's make a run for it."
Norman nodded, "Okay, let's go."
They sprinted across the road, hopefully avoiding the eyes of any onlookers as they made it to the open garage door of someone's home. They were on the figure eight now, which would probably mean more security which wouldn't bode well for them. Either way, they were safe for just the hair of a moment as John B turned off the light and closed the garage door. There was no car in the garage or driveway, so Norman hoped that would mean that no one was home. The two boys hid under what looked like a workbench as they took the opportunity to catch their breath.
John B's eyes met his, "You didn't have to do this, you know. You could have stayed with the others."
Immediately, Norman shook his head, "I know it's stupid, but after leaving you at the tarmac and what happened after we left I-I can't leave you again. Not because I think you can't handle yourself, because I know you can, I mean, you escaped without Ward or Rafe trying to kill you, too. I just... I don't want to not be in the loop when it comes to you. Running away with JJ, Pope, and Kie while not knowing what was going to happen to you was way harder than I thought it was going to be. You have such an... affect on me. I don't know what to do but stand by your side."
"Norman..." John B began, but he was cut off by the sound of a dog barking and they watched as the garage door began to shake with the feeling of someone banging against it. "Shit, we gotta move."
John B grabbed Norman's hand, pulling him out from under the workbench as the two moved as quietly as possible. Being 6'5," subtlety was not really Norman's strong suit. Taking quick, but quiet steps, the two opened the door that led into the house and disappeared through it and hopefully away from the police outside. Well, he was fairly sure it was the police, at least. Waiting by the door, they didn't hear any more noise coming from the garage. They both breathed sighs of relief, but Norman knew their troubles had yet to cease. Walking through the house, John B stopped dead in his tracks with Norman crashing into him from behind, not ready for the sudden pause. Of course, they had to run into Kelce. Of course, this would end up being Kelce's house.
