Tuff Love- The Outsiders Imagines and Headcanons

Sleeping Beauty- Johnny Cade

*Your POV*
It was just like every other Sunday night. After doing our homework and eating dinner, we settled in to watch a movie in the Curtis' living room, some new film that Pony had picked out at the video store. It was a good movie, but I only made it through about half way before my eyes started to get heavy. Johnny sat next to me on the couch, watching the film with intent. He looked cute all focused like that.

Truth is, I've had a crush on Johnny Cade for as long as I can remember. His deep brown eyes, his dark fluffy hair, his shy smile, his soft, kind voice, what was there not to fall head over heels for?

I stopped fighting the urge to fall asleep. I leaned over onto Johnny, resting my head on his shoulder. "(Y/N)?" I tried to mumble a reply. "Mm?" "You can lie down if you want, I don't mind." I shifted down and curled up, using his lap as a pillow, murmuring a thank you. Carefully, he slipped off his jean jacket and draped it over my shoulders. I heard someone turn the TV volume down, a courtesy from the rowdy bunch of boys.

"Why don't you just tell her you like her already?" Ponyboy asked, keeping his voice low. My ears perked up. Sleep was no longer of interest to me. But I stayed perfectly still. "Pony, you know I can't do that," Johnny sighed. Soda chuckled lightly. "And why not? I'm sure she loves you kid!" Johnny gave a sharp exhale through his nose, somewhere in between a laugh and a sigh. "Nah, how could she? She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. She's perfect, and I'm..." I felt him shrug. "Johnny, come on man, don't put yourself down like that," Dally set down his beer bottle. "That's easy for you to say!" Johnny's voice broke. "I'm not tuff like you, or smart like Pony, or funny like Two, or daring like Steve, or strong like Darry, or handsome like Soda, or any of you! I bet she don't even notice me."

Hearing him talk like that made me want to cry. I wanted to tell him how wrong he was, how he was sweet and handsome, and any girl would be lucky to have him. But if I told him how I felt now, it'd be pointless. How could I compete with a girl he described as perfection? Whoever this mystery girl was, she'd be lucky to have anyone as wonderful as Johnny Cade.

He began to run his fingers through my hair. I felt my face get hot. His hands were so gentle, so loving. "I remember the first time I ever saw her. It was the first day of school, back when I was still going. She was wearing a white dress, like some sort of angel, with little blue flowers sewn on the sleeves." My heart skipped a beat. I wore a dress like that the first day of school. Was he talking about me? No, there were plenty of other girls who had dresses just like that. Still, I couldn't help but get my hopes up. "She twirled around and she smiled at me. I swear, she's got a smile that could light up the whole world!" The gang listened to him with almost as much interest as I did. Johnny didn't get excited much, so when he did, we wanted to make it last as long as we could. "Look at how peaceful she is. She's so cute when she's sleeping. I mean, she's so cute all the time but she's real cute right now." He was talking about me! I bit my lip, failing at trying to keep the smile from spreading across my face. Butterflies were fluttering all around in my stomach. "I'm so in love with her. I can't get her out of my mind, I think about her all the time. I wish she could see herself like I see her, like a goddess. But..." his voice trailed off. "She'll never see me as more than just a scared little greaser."

"I dunno kid," Dallas raised his eyebrow and smiled. "If that look on her face says anything about how she feels about you, she sees you as more than just a scared little greaser."
"I- what?" He stopped stroking my hair suddenly, registering what Dally had just said. I sat up, beaming. Johnny's face went bright red and he laughed nervously. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough" I replied, giving him a kiss that was long overdue.