The sideshow tent was silent as the last few stragglers wandered out. Outside, the roustabouts had stopped calling and rides stopped spinning. Johnny sighed and unbuckled the collar around his neck, the heavy chain attached to it dropping to the floor with a clatter. Every night, he hated that collar more and more. He hated it and what it meant.

"Hey Johnny, is there something going on with you?"

Johnny turned to see Annie the tattooed lady giving him a concerned look as she wrapped a coat around herself and climbed down off her stool.

"No, nothing's going on," Johnny lied, "Why?"

"It's just that you've been spending more and more time away from the circus. You aren't talking to us anymore." She was worried for her young friend. Annie was one of the older members of the circus, and could clearly remember Johnny when he was but a toddler, running around the circus with gleeful abandon and scaring the daylights out of visitors. It seemed like ages ago when she was faced with the moody, teenaged boy he had become.

"I guess I just don't have anything to say," He shrugged. It wasn't that he disliked Annie, or any of his friends. But there was a distance between them that there hadn't been before. At one time, Johnny felt he could only be his true self around the circus members. They were the only people who could understand him, understand living a life apart from society. To be considered a freak, whose only purpose was to be a form of entertainment for the normal people.

Now though, now everything was different. Johnny knew that he didn't have to be a sideshow freak anymore. It wasn't his lot in life to scare people, to have everyone he came into contact with scream and damn him to hell. And he couldn't tell any of his friends. For all their peculiarities, they were all still human. And that meant they couldn't know. Eugene had been quite clear that the affairs of the supernatural folk did not concern humans. He didn't have to cut all ties with his human circus family, but he couldn't tell them. Couldn't tell them that he wasn't human, that he had never been human. And that because of that, he was normal.

"You know, you can always talk with us," Annie put a hand on his shoulder, and Johnny sighed.

No, I can't.

"Hey Johnny, how'd the show go tonight?" Jamie gave his friend a slap on the back as he joined him at the dinner table, "I think that was my best performance yet tonight."

"Eh, it went alright. Screaming, fainting, got hit in the face with a tomato," Johnny ran a hand through his tomato-stained hair, "Gonna have to wash that out later."

"Ew" Jamie made a face, "Guess they must've really liked it, then."

"Yeah, I suppose," Johnny picked at his food. It wasn't the first time he'd been pelted with things, but it certainly did get old after a while.

"You okay? You haven't practiced with me at all in the last month."

"Fine, fine. I'd never make it as an acrobat, anyway."

The next day was a Sunday, which meant a free day for the circus members. Which meant that Johnny could hang out with Eugene and the guys as they practiced.

"Hey, Johnny boy." Eugene pulled up to Johnny's trailer, the rumble of his motorcycle vibrating the walls, "You coming out wit' us today?"

"You bet, Eugene!" Johnny threw on his necklace and a helmet, assuming his human form when he was sure no one else was around, "What we gonna do today?"

"Jus' you wait, me and th' boys've got a surprise for you." Eugene winked as he punched the throttle and sent them racing off toward town.

Johnny squinted his eyes against the bright sun as he held tight to Eugene, watching the world fly by as they went faster and faster. According to Eugene, one day he'd be able to use his wings to fly, but Johnny couldn't see how anything could be better than riding a motorcycle.

"So what'd ya get me?"

Eugene roared with laughter, "God, yer an impatient one. You'll see, I said. Wouldn't do to ruin the surprise, now would it?"

Johnny stuck his tounge out, not that his mentor could see it. Pressing more firmly against Eugene's broad back, he enjoyed the smell of motor oil and leather that lingered on the older man's scuffed and dirty jacket.

"Hey Eugene?"

"Yeah, boy?"

Johnny frowned and tried to think of a way to phrase his thoughts, "Is. . . is it weird that I like spending more time wit' you then wit' the circus fellas? I mean, they raised me, an' I do like them, but I feel like I don't have fun wit' them anymore."

A hand reached back to give Johnny a pat on the head, "I know it's probably hard fer ya, but it's natural ta grow apart from people. You'll always love 'em, and you'll always miss 'em, but they ain't your kind. Maybe one day when we dun have to hide from the humans anymore, but until then, it's the way it's gotta be."

With a sniffle, Johnny buried his head in Eugene's jacket and thought about his friends. About Annie, and Jamie, and Rita, and Big John. Mr. Haley, who'd found and named him, even Xavier the circus magician. He could never tell them, and could never show them how happy he was. He couldn't show them the way putting on a simple necklace made him look like any ordinary boy. And that meant, he could never share this life of motorcycles and daredevil stunts with them. Oddly, the more he thought about the motorcycles and the dim, smokey bars that the boys always hung out in, the less sad he was."

"Alrighty, Johnny-boy, we have arrived." Eugene hit the brakes and fishtailed to a stop in an empty concrete lot. Dizzy, Flip, Ski, Donny, and Charlie were all already there, their beat-up stunt cars parked around the edge of the lot. In the middle of them sat an object covered in a white sheet.

"Hey Kid," Dizzy grabbed Johnny and gave him an affectionate noogie before setting him on the ground, "We gotta gift fer ya. Since Eugene likes ya so much, an' I guess we do too, we pooled some money and bought ya yer very own motorcycle."

Johnny's face lit up as he pulled the sheet to the ground. Underneath sat a black, 1909 Camelback Indian. It was old, and it was scuffed and dirty, but it was his. It was his, and they'd bought it for him, "This is the best gift ever, guys!"

"Well, git on it," Flip tossed over the keys, "Start it up and take it fer some laps."

It took four tries on the kickstart before the old thing roared into life, puttering on the stand like it was brand-new. Johnny brought it down from the center stand, then threw a leg over and took off.

The cycle wasn't quite as responsive as Eugene's Excelsior, and it was a belt drive rather than a chain drive, but it would do. A few laps around the lot and Johnny started riding side-saddle, then he sat up on the handlebars, before he finally raised up into a full handstand.

Johnny's laughter was infectious, making the rest of the guys laugh along with him.

"You know, Eugene, I think finding him was the best decision you ever made." Dizzy confided in his leader, "That kid'll make a great daredevil."

Eugene sighed, "Yeah, now we just gotta break the news and hope that he thinks so too."

That night found them all sitting around a booth in a basement creature bar, letting the smoke and the ragtime piano drift around them.

"So you like yer gift, kid?" Donny gave Johnny a nudge, "Picked it out meself."

"Aww, stuff it Donny, we all picked it," Flip smacked him from his other side, "'Sides, Eugene's got an announcement to make, we gotta listen up."

"An annoucement?" Johnny turned his attention to his mentor, who was sitting across the table, "What about, Eugene?"

Eugene sighed, "Well boys, I figure we toured wit' this circus long enough. You know we don't work too well traveling wit' others, and our lease has just run out. We either pay up or split, an' I think it's time to split. We already got a gig offer up in Chicago for three weeks."

Everyone else around the table nodded, while Johnny stared, aghast. They were leaving? Eugene and everyone else was leaving? "What? But you can't go."

"Sorry, Johnny, but it's time. We can't stay with the circus for th' rest of our lives. We ain't meant for it," Eugene fixed his protege with a hard stare, "Now, me an' the boys have talked, and if you want, we're ready ta offer you a spot on our team. We think yer ready for it."

Johnny's mind was blank. What a decision. He could either stay with the circus, with his family, and never see Eugene again, or go with Eugene and never see his family again. But as he thought about it, the answer became clear. Because, there was really only one choice he could make.

The next day found Eugene meeting with Ringmaster Mr. Haley, telling him that they were leaving. Mr. Haley only nodded, saying that the Hell Driver boys were welcome back with his circus anytime. If they had the money, of course.

Looking around the mess trailer where everyone was seated, Johnny took a deep breath and stood up on his table, "Hey, everybody. I got somethin' I want to say. You all know me, I been with this circus fer my whole life. And now I gotta tell you all that I'm leavin.' I'm leavin' to join the Hell Driver show. Maybe I'll see you all again, maybe I won't. But I wanna say that my years here have been great, an' I'll miss you all."

He climbed down, only to find his closest friends staring at him.

"We'll, I can't say I didn't see this coming," Annie commented with a smile, "You have fun out there, demon-boy. I know you like them motorcycles and fast cars. Just don't go doing anything I wouldn't do, okay."

Johnny weakly laughed and hugged her, tears running down his face, "I don't think I can do half the stuff you've done, Annie."

"Well, little John, "A pat from Big John nearly sent Johnny to his knees, "Until we meet again, eh? Perhaps by then you shall be able to best me on the strength test." He laughed.

"Maybe." Johnny smiled, then was attacked from behind and put into a headlock.

"You little bastard, why didn't you tell me you was leavin.?" Jamie demanded as he let his friend go. He wasn't angry, though, despite his words. Instead, he had a big grin on his face, "When you get yer name up there in the papers, dun forget who taught ya everything you know."

"I won't, Jamie. I promise." Johnny fielded goodbyes and goodlucks from his other friends, then looked up when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Time to go, kid," Eugene nodded his head toward the door, "The boys have already gotten your stuff loaded up."

"Alright," Johnny took one last look at everyone, then walked out. And he never looked back. For all the good years and good time everyone at the circus had given him, it was time to move on. He couldn't stay a sideshow act forever, Johnny knew he was meant for greater things than that.