Vinny looked conflicted, but he nodded, "O...okay, man. Whatever you want."
Figuring he'd need to make himself comfortable, Vinny lowered himself back to his knees, the slick, cold floor giving him a bit of a start as it met the thin fabric of his football pants.
"Look, Jonny Boy, I'm gonna try and help you...make you comfortable, or whatever..."
"T-that's what they say to people dying...ugh...in nursing homes, Vin..." but Jon almost smiled through his pained grimace at that.
"Look, just bear with me, please?" Vinny took Jon gently by the shoulders, easing him off the bench to lean against the wall of lockers behind.
"Just gonna get you sitting upright..."
"Ah!" Jon gasped through gritted teeth, "S-slowly, Vin...please..."
Vinny thought he'd already been going slowly enough, but he obliged, finally setting his friend against the wall as glacially as he could manage.
'It's amazing...' Mike commented.
'What?' Carl drawled, if that could be done voicelessly, 'How long it's taking?'
'Vin is staying with him. Like...I know I'd be freaking.'
'I think he IS freaking, Mikey,' pointed out Antonio.
'Well...then that makes it even more special, then.'
Vin was now leaning over Jon, wiping sweat tentatively from his teammates' brow, "How...how does it feel, Jon? Like...like what's wrong, really?"
Jon shook his head, "Just...burning, really hot, like...like some kinda fever. I d-don't get..."
He lurched forward, groaning mightily. Vinny braced himself to grab him before he could fall, but Jon got to him first, grabbing onto his arms to steady himself.
"Ach..." he lowered his head, eyes glimmering in tears, "Fuckfuckfuck...what's happening to me, Vin?"
"I...I dunno, man," Vinny was taken aback at how soft his voice sounded, "I...I wish there was more I could...argh!" he moaned suddenly, leaning his head back, "N-not so tight, Jon...ease up a little, could ya?"
"W-what?" Jon panted, clearly confused, though when he took closer inventory he was able to see the reason for Vinny's distress. Though he wasn't sure he was strong enough to hold onto ANYTHING tightly, he somehow had Vinny's arms in a vice grip.
"I...I'm not...I'm not doing..."
"Jon...Jon, dude, your arms!" Vinny's eyed widened as his voice increased pitch in pain, "Look at your arms!"
So Jon did...and what he saw frightened him as much as it shocked him. The skin of his arms was rippling, contorting, veins pulsating so it looked like they might burst, and then just as quickly receding from the naked eye.
This same sensation spread out from the arms, up his back and down his front. Every inch of Jon was on fire, as though some great monster was fighting like mad to be unleashed.
And, no sooner had the worst 'monster' crossed Jon's mind than something even stranger than all this happened: in the back of his mind, faint as a whisper, yet very present, he heard a voice.
'Don't fight it...just give in...' maybe he was losing his mind, but it sounded almost like someone he knew.
"I...can't," he replied, barely even aware he was speaking aloud.
'That's the human part of you saying that. The weak part. The dependent little man... You can so much more, Jon. I can MAKE you so much more...'
"W-who..." Jon began, but he snapped out of it, hearing another cry from Vinny.
"Jon...Jon you're hurting me!" he hadn't let go of his friends' arms; and the skin now was blistering, as tears of pain began glimmering in Vinny's eyes as well.
"I...I can't let go!" and Jon realized with terror that he was speaking the truth, "I...I can't! If...if I do..."
'Give in...leave him behind...let go...you can be so much more than this...'
'This is wrong,' Mike said at once, 'I don't know what Tyler's trying, but we...we can't do this.'
'Why the hell not?" Carl asked lazily, 'I don't know if you've noticed, man, but we MAKE the rules now.'
'Vinny's our friend! We can't let Jon crush him to a pulp!'
'Well, he can't help it...' said Brett uneasily.
'That makes it WORSE!'
'Well, what do you suggest we do about it?' Antonio asked, in a more measured tone than the other two.