Hold your Hand || Johnny Cade x Reader

⚡ protect me⚡

"So, how was it?" Ponyboy nudged Johnny playfully, and he ducked his head. "Aw, it was..it was nice, man. I got a lot of studying done, and..."

Pony raised his eyebrows. "And what?"

"Well, we... We held hands?" It sounded worse out loud. Johnny steeled himself for the teasing. 

"Oh really?! Sounds like a great first date to me!"

"C'mon man, it wasn't a date..." But Johnny knew it was a futile attempt at convincing him. Useless. 

"Mhmm. Well. I'll get off your case for now, but you'll never live this down, Johnnycake."

"Oh, I'm sure I won't."

****

Friday afternoon, everyone was especially anxious to leave their classes and start their weekends. Within a few moments of the final bell ringing, the students had completely cleared out of the school building, without the usual hanging-out-and-chatting-by-lockers that went on throughout the week.

Johnny was no exception, but he lacked the usual motivation. He wasn't eager to get home, that was for sure; he wasn't as quick with leaving. He was upstairs at the end of the day, for one, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to shoving through a swarm of kids just to get nowhere in particular. So, he took his time packing up his things and even lingered briefly, waiting for most of the chaos to die down. He thought momentarily about [Y/N]. If he'd hurried out as well, he could've caught her, maybe. But he wouldn't risk the crowd of Socs for anything.

As Johnny walked through the eerily-empty halls, he picked up the sound of a familiar voice and perked up a bit. Could [Y/N] really still be here?

But as he got closer, something didn't seem quite right. She sounded angry, and when he turned the corner, finally seeing her, he paused in shock.

"Billy, I'm sorry, but I couldn't get them for you! How many times do I have to say this?"

"Well, there's no need to raise your voice!" Billy snapped, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "You told me you would get me the test answers by Monday."

"Well, I couldn't, alright, Billy? And you know I don't feel right stealing the-"

Billy roughly grabbed [Y/N] by the shoulders and gave her a harsh jerk. "I'm gonna fail now because of-"

Johnny figured Billy was about to blame [Y/N], but he didn't let the Soc finish his accusation. "Hey man," he called across the hall, stepping closer. Billy looked up, startled, then scoffed and turned to face Johnny. This is a bad idea, he warned himself, but stepped closer anyway. [Y/N] looked both relieved... and frightened for Johnny's sake. She rubbed her shoulder. 

"Keep your hands off of her," Johnny continued, his voice shaking. He swallowed, trying desperately to sound cool and calm. 

Billy laughed, strolling over to Johnny. "Excuse me? What's a little grease gotta say about what I do with my girl?"

Johnny looked over Billy's shoulder at [Y/N]. Her face was darkened with disgust at his words, but Johnny knew she wasn't going to do anything about it. He looked back at Billy. 

"You heard me. She ain't 'your' girl, and you don't get to put your hands on her like that."

Billy's smug expression was gone. "Is that so?"

The two stood in silence. 

Billy stepped closer. 

Johnny took a subtle step back.