Forbidden Love |✩ Johnny Cade✩|

|Chapter 3| Caught

I was having a tough time getting up for school. The thoughts of yesterday replayed in my head. I had been struggling with depression for a while, and it was really getting to me. I just wanted to stay in bed all day, but my brothers Darry and Soda were urging me to get up and go to school.

"Come on, Y/N. You can't stay in bed all day," Darry said, trying to coax me out from under the covers.
I'm
"I don't feel good, Darry. Can't I just stay home?" I pleaded.

Soda chimed in, "You can't miss school, Y/N. You'll fall behind."

I knew they were right, but the thought of going to school made me anxious and overwhelmed. I decided to try to convince them again.

"I really don't feel well. Please, just let me stay home for one day its almost summer vacation anyway ," I said, my voice cracking with emotion.

Darry sighed and looked at Soda, who shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, Y/N. You can stay home today," Darry said reluctantly.

I breathed a sigh of relief and settled back under the covers. I thought I would feel better at home, but as the day wore on, I felt worse. I started to feel like a burden on my brothers and like I didn't deserve their love and support.

In my despair, I turned to self-harm to cope with my negative feelings. I cut myself with my blade, hoping to feel some sort of release from the pain inside me.

As I was in the middle of cutting myself I heard a knock on the door. I quickly tried to cover up my cuts and went to answer it. To my surprise, it was Johnny.

"Hey, Y/n I missed you at school so I thought I'd come check on you," Johnny said, smiling warmly.

I felt my heart race with panic. I didn't want anyone to see what I had done to myself . "Oh, um, thanks, Johnny. I'm okay, just not feeling well," I said, trying to sound convincing.

Johnny looked at me skeptically. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't look so good," he said, his eyes darting down to my arms.

I felt a lump form in my throat. I knew I
couldn't hide it from him any longer.

" I broke our promise," I-said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Johnny's expression softened, and he took my hand. "Y/N, you don't have to go through this alone. You have people who care about you and want to help you," he said.

I felt tears stream down my face as I realized how right Johnny was.

"I don't want anyone else to know, especially not the gang. Can you promise me you won't tell anyone?"

Johnny's expression darkened slightly as he listened to my confession. "Y/N, you know I care about you, but I can't promise you that. The gang needs to know if one of our members is struggling like this. They'll want to help you."

Fear gripped me. "But...but they'll judge me. They'll think I'm weak."

Johnny put a hand on my shoulder, his eyes steady. "No they won't, Y/N. We're a family. We look out for each other. Trust me, they'll want to help you get through this."

Tears spilled down my cheeks as a mix of relief and fear flooded my body. "O-okay. I trust you, Johnny," I said softly.

"Good," he said, giving me a small smile. "I'll talk to the gang tonight and make sure we all have your back."

I couldn't help but feel vulnerable and exposed. But I knew deep down that he was right. The gang was a family, and families take care of their own. I just hoped I'd be strong enough to face them when the
time came.

____________________________________
Johnny suggested we go for a walk. I was hesitant at first, but he convinced me it would do me good to get some fresh air.

We walked to the lot , trying to be inconspicuous. We held hands and talked about our hopes and dreams. It was a perfect moment in an otherwise bleak day.

Unfortunately, our luck ran out when we stumbled upon Two-Bit. He looked at us suspiciously and asked what we were doing alone together. We tried to play it off as just a casual walk, but he wasn't buying it.

Suddenly, he smirked and said, "You two are dating, aren't you?"

We were caught off guard and didn't know how to react. Two-Bit just laughed and said, "I have to tell the rest of the guys," Two-Bit said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"No, Two-Bit, you can't!" I said, my heart racing with fear.

"Why not? What's the big deal?" Two-Bit asked, looking confused.

Johnny spoke up, trying to reason with him. "You know the rules, Two-Bit. We're not supposed to date other gang members. If the rest of the guys find out, they might not be so understanding."

Two-Bit looked thoughtful for a moment before finally nodding. "Okay, I won't tell anyone. But you two better be careful, okay?"

We both nodded, feeling relieved that Two-Bit had decided not to reveal our secret. We knew that we were breaking the rules, but we couldn't help the way we felt about each other. For now, we would have to continue our relationship in secret, but at least we had one fewer person to worry about.