Hold your Hand || Johnny Cade x Reader

⚡carnival⚡

 Johnny and [Y/N] didn't talk after that. Their exchange had made everything worse after all. Every time he caught her eye in the hall, and she offered nothing more than a tight grin or small wave; every time she had to sit behind him in geometry and neither of them interacted in any way, staying neatly confined to their own desks; every single time, Johnny regretted everything. He'd probably complicated her life in ways he couldn't even imagine. And he felt terrible.

Flyers and posters were hung all around the school, flashy, advertising the upcoming summer carnival, tickets on sale now. The gang was probably going to end up attending together somwhow- Johnny tried to ignore the stupid neon signs before caving and buying a ticket for him and Ponyboy each. The Soc running the ticket booth during lunch tried not to make it easy for him, but he was too preoccupied in general to care. 

"Hey, Pony." Johnny caught up with him after school and pushed the ticket in his general direction. "I got you a ticket to the carnival."

Ponyboy gave him a weird look. "I already bought one."

"Oh." Johnny shoved the ticket deep in his pocket. "Sorry."

Ponyboy snickered. "Now you have an extra ticket? What a coincidence."

"What...?"

Pony shook his head, a self-satisfied grin creeping onto his face. "Nothin' at all."

Johnny sighed. "Whatever, man. Whatever." He wasn't in the mood for the teasing, he was mixed up, guilty... Maybe he didn't need to go to the stupid carnival after all.

Naturally, though, he couldn't get [Y/N] off of his mind, wishing things were okay between them again, and naturally, as one would expect, he decided to try asking her to go to the carnival with him. With the "extra" ticket. 

A few days later, he found himself at [Y/N]'s front door, sick with nerves and regretting knocking, stupid, stupid-

"Johnny?"

He'd never forget the look on her face when she opened the door, though he wasn't sure how to interpret it. She was surprised, obviously to see him there, but was that a hint of excitement or anger in her expression? Or both?

She let him inside, which was a good sign, but the confusion never left her eyes. 

Johnny tried to explain why he was there, but when he said, "Would you like this extra ticket to the carnival," it came out sounding like "I'm so sorry, please go to the carnival with me". Her expression softened as he spoke, and Johnny relaxed. 

Encouraged by her light smile, Johnny figured everything would work out okay, and-

Was that pity?

"Thank you, Johnny." She didn't say anything more. 

Johnny lingered. "So... you want the ticket?" You want to go with me?

[Y/N] tilted her head. "Um, no. But thank you, really. It was sweet of you to offer."

So...that was it? He didn't understand. "Oh, alright. Do you... already have a ticket, then? Or...?"

[Y/N] sighed, leaning on a nearby kitchen counter. "No, I don't. I'm not going. I really appreciate you bringing me the ticket, but I was planning on not going. I've gone before, and I hated it."

Johnny swallowed. "Oh." The whole thing was incredibly awkward. "Okay, sorry."

[Y/N] nodded, shrugged. 

Johnny played with the ticket, then dropped it in the nearby wastebasket. "No problem, [Y/N]."

He'd figured she'd take the ticket. She liked him enough, didn't she?