cliche {Johnny Cade}

vii.

"Come on kid."

"What?"

"Paper." He coughs and my eyes widen. He was going to see Johnny and Pony, and he was taking me with him.

"Oh um okay. Bye mom!" I grab my shoes and run out of the house, Dallas sighing next to me. I was smiling like crazy as I put my sunglasses on, Dally getting in and turning the car on. I didn't know how he got this car, or if it was even his, but I wasn't going to ask.

The ride was long, but as soon as we pulled up to the church, I was already out of the car. Dally was yelling at me to wait until the car was stopped, but as soon as he stopped the car he was as excited as me. He ran up to a window to make sure they were in there, and when I saw them I practically screamed. I ran to the door and ran into the church, smiling when I see my best friend sleeping. Dally walks in and starts laughing.

"Hey, blondie." He laughs as I shake Johnny awake. Johnny rubs his eyes before squinting at me, yawning. He smiles and hugs me, making me squeal and hug him back. By no surprise, I was crying again. But this time, I was happy.

"How's Soda doing?" Pony asks as Dallas looks around. "Is Soda pretty upset?" I stop hugging Johnny and look at his hair. He got it cut, and didn't have grease in it.

"Look at your hair! Oh my gosh you look so cute!"I ruffle it as he blushes, slapping my hands away. "Pony! You're blonde now!"

"One thing at a time,you hungry? Wanna get some food? I'm starving."

"You're starving? Try bologna for four days." Johnny mumbles and Dally laughs, putting his hands on his hips.

"You got a cancer stick, Johnny?"

"You came here to get a cancer stick?" I laugh, getting up and hugging Pony.

"Yeah, I got one." Johnny hands him one and runs his hand through his soft looking hair. I smile and run my hand through his hair again, Johnny turning and shaking his head at me.

"Got a special delivery for, a Ponyboy Curtis." I move back up and sit next to Johnny, hugging him again. It's been six days since they left, and all I've wanted was to hug Johnny. I've also decided to tell Johnny how I feel about him, but I don't wanna do it with Pony and Dally here.

"Who's it from?"

"The president of the United States of America."

"Yeah right."

"It's from Sodapop. He really misses you kid. It's awful, he uses me as his cuddle buddy now. I'm so over it already, I have no idea how you do it." I say as Dally gives him the letter, Johnny sighing next to me.

"You stay with the Curtis' now?"

"Yeah, staying in the lot doesn't feel right without you." I whisper, hoping Dally or Pony didn't hear. They both knew that I liked him, but I didn't want them to hear me say it.

"Yeah, I could barely sleep without being able to talk to you." Johnny whispers back, my cheeks getting hot. Knowing Johnny liked talking to me made me feel better about this whole crush thing. Even though crushes don't last for ten years, I still claim it's a crush.

And for anyone wondering, Johnny looked the same since we were ten. He's always looked like a puppy, but the only thing that's changed since we were ten was his height and his scar.

"Hey Dal, what's up with the cops man, did you hear anything?" Johnny turns to Dally, who looks at me and I shrug.

"Yeah, how come you got hauled in?"

"Those boys at the station know me by now. Plus, I was there to help Violet out too." I try to tell him to stop, but it was too late as Johnny looked at me with wide eyes.