Hangover cure (Part 2)

"So… you have a name for the little guy yet?"

I moved my head down, contemplating the cat in my hand. Since it was still a baby, it fitted perfectly in my hand. I felt its purring sending vibrations on my palm, and it calmed my heart momentarily before I had to give Johnny an answer.

"I'm sorry, neither he or the lynx have a name yet."

The ringmaster stood up from his folding chair and walked up to me, petting the animal in my hand. "Don't worry, giving the lynx a name was Fiona's responsibility, not yours" he scoffed.

Just like he always did since the moment I met him, as soon as I stopped paying attention to him, he appeared suddenly on my back. I was so worried about what his sister told me, that instead of flinching like always, I just stood still in my place.

"Hmm, that's odd…" Johnny sighed as he tried to get a reaction out of me a second time. Seeing that it had the same result as before, he moved his chair behind me and pushed me into it.

In an attempt to understand what was going on with me, the ringmaster opened my eyelids and, just like a doctor, he aimed at my eyes with a flashlight. After checking that the dilation was normal, he brought out my tongue with his hand, placing a stick that he took out of his jacket on it.

"I sometimes forget I didn't finish university" he mumbled as he took out the stick and sat in an imaginary chair in front of me. Before speaking, he put his hand on my chin and moved my head up, making me look at him.

"You're not sick… So what's wrong with the handsome man of my circus?" he inquired while messing my hair up in the same way as Jodie did a couple hours back.

"Nothing, I just haven't been sleeping well..."

"Why? Is it that hard to think about a name for the kitten?"

My arms raised to my head's height, putting the baby in front of Johnny's face before placing it into my lap. "Wish the problem was this little fucker" I said in a low voice as I scratched his belly.

A weird, fake smile formed on my face as countless sighs escaped my mouth. Johnny caught up on this, and before I knew it, he was already on my back. 

Instead of scaring me or making a bad joke, the ringmaster squeezed my cheeks with his hands and moved my head so I would face him. The same gentle smile that formed on Jodie's face earlier, was now projected in her brother, who caressed my forehead instead of kissing it.

"You're lovesick" the ringmaster giggled while his eyes looked deeply into mine.

"What?" I asked in confusion after listening to him.

"Just what I said! You're lovesick!" he laughed out loud before returning to his invisible chair. "So, who is it? Is it the little girl? Bill told me that she's crazy for you, but I didn't think the feeling was mutual."

"I'm not lovesick, Johnny."

"Are you denying it because you really aren't lovesick or because you don't want to admit you like Fiona?"

"Neither! I don't like little kids and I'm not lovesick either!"

He raised his eyebrow at me, doubtful if I was telling him the truth.

"Hmmm… you sure? You know there are no boundaries with age since laws don't exist anymore, don't you?"

I gave him a disgusted stare, my ears not believing what they just heard.

"I'm gonna act like you didn't just say that."

"Okay, okay, that's totally on me. Still, you can't deny you're lovesick."

"For the last time… I! AM NOT! LOVESICK!"

He looked at me from his invisible chair and started to play with my hair. "You sure?" he questioned while squinting his eyes, "Maybe it's not Fiona, but what if I mention my niece?"

I got flustered at the mere mention of Lyra. Even if he didn't say her name, just remembering what happened between us made me lose my cool.

"Wait, did I guess that right? You like my niece?"

Johnny and I stared at each other awkwardly, not a word being exchanged between us. After a minute passed, he stood up and 'folded' his invisible chair, walking behind me and placing his hands on my shoulders afterwards.

"Look, Glasgow. I've been planning this circus for a long time, and each piece is important. YOU are one of those pieces, and I really need you to make this work. However, if you can't focus on the tasks I ask you to do, then I'm afraid you won't even be able to have a proper act in the circus."

I tried to say something, anything, but the words just didn't want to leave my mouth. It felt like a restriction was put into my throat, making me unable to speak.

He looked at my reaction and gently began to massage my shoulders, trying to calm me down. With a gentle and soft tone, he spoke again, advising me on how to proceed to fulfill my part of the deal.

"Hufff… What I'm gonna say might sound a bit harsh… or insensitive…" he uttered before slapping his cheeks rapidly, "Anyways! What I'm going to say is that you have until today to finish the tasks that you agreed to take on. Maybe naming my cat isn't so hard, but if you're gonna fulfill the second one, you have to start working on it right now."

"Okay…" I answered in a low tone as I tried to get up.

With a quick reaction, the ringmaster put his hands on my shoulders and sat me back on his chair. "Not so fast, boy" he said before giving me a light smack on my head, "let your boss finish talking."

He waited for me to answer, and after watching me nod with my head, he went back to speaking.

"Besides naming my kitten, we agreed that you'd get along with the big cats, didn't we?"

"Yeah…"

"Then that's what we're going to do tonight! Even if it's a bit rushed, we're gonna have your ceremony tonight!"

"Ceremony for…" I said as I tried to get him to finish.

"It's not that hard, boy! Your ceremony to give you your cat! I mean, obviously you'll have to do a few quick tests before you can get the kitty, but I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Does that mean I'm gonna get the lynx cub?" I asked while petting Johnny's cat, imagining it was the lynx.

His usual loud laugh escaped after he heard my question, and before I knew it, his hand was on my hair, messing it up again.

"The lynx? Nah. Fiona just gave it to you 'cuz she didn't want to take care of it."

After saying that, he boosted himself with my shoulders and jumped over me, landing perfectly in front of me. He then quickly kneeled and stretched his arms so he could place his hands on my shoulders again.

"Bill has been keeping an eye on you since you came here, so he will give you a cat based on your feats and aptitudes. Now, do you accept to rush everything and do it all before the day ends?" he questioned from his position.

I removed his hands from my body and stretched one of them out before standing up. Prior to walking out of his 'office', I folded his chair and gave it back to him.

Just as I put a foot outside, Johnny snatched the kitten (who was still in my possession) out of my hands and petted it as he talked to me. "Just so you know, I really want you to stay here, so I wish you luck… Oh! And by the way! I was joking when I told you all that lovesick shit, so don't mind that. Still, based on your reaction, I can see that something happened between you and Lyra. I don't mean to pry, so I won't ask what it was."

The moment I blinked, he threw the kitten to my arms, making me catch him in a hurry. He laughed and caressed my forehead like he did earlier, giving me a final piece of advice before kicking me out of his office. "I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure that this little rascal will be of help. Also, this is more of a personal advice rather than a professional onem, so listen closely: Talk things out with Lyra. It's clear that both of you are upset about something that happened between you two, so I suggest you fix that if you want your ceremony to go smoothly."