DARLING ➶ JOHNNY C. DEPP II

V

"For being an actor, you're a horrible liar."

He laughed, "I swear, I wanted to be a professional accordionist when I was younger!"

"And I swear that I think you're lying!"

The two were the loudest couple in the deli, attracting bystanders' eyes and ears to perk to their knee slaps and piercing chuckles.

"Okay, okay. I didn't want to play the accordion, but I did want to be a professional musician" He confessed.

She gasped, "Johnny Depp? A musician? No!" Her voice dipped in sarcasm.

"It's true actually, I dropped out of high school when I was sixteen and joined a band."

"What was your band called?"

"The Kids."

Erela snorted, picking up her lemonade. "How unique."

He rolled his eyes, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "Are you enjoying our date so far?"

Erela almost choked on her drink, her tongue lingering on the straw while she furrowed her eyebrows. "Date?"

"Yeah, date. Are you having fun?" He smirked.

"Well, I can't say that I am, Johnny." She frowned.

"And why not?"

"I'm sure you've been on plenty of dates. This," her hands circled around the table, referring to her and himself, "is probably nothing more than a one night stand."

"What if I told you that it isn't?"

"What if I asked you to prove it to me?"

"I will, Erela. And you'll see that I'm not a stuck-up Hollywood actor that goes on dates with fans so people can think I'm nice or whatever."

"Good, I look forward it."

🌾

The couple decided to go back to Erela's house as soon as people began realizing who Johnny was. He loved his fans, but he wanted a day to himself, and of course, Erela.

"I'm sorry about them, they can get kind of crazy." He stated. He was currently in the process of making himself comfortable on the couch, a process that didn't take too long.

"It's okay. If I saw you out on the street with another girl, I would've freaked too." Erela laughed.

The couch dipped next to him as she sat down, placing popcorn on the table in front of them while she turned on the T.V.

"Your parents aren't here?" He asked.

"My mom's at work, and I honestly have no idea where my dad is."

"No siblings?"

"No, just me."

He nodded, grabbing a handful of popcorn. He gazed stiffly at the T.V., watching the shows exchange as Erela channel surfed.

She concluded that there was nothing to watch, so she sighed and switched off the T.V. "My house is literally the most boring place ever, so is there anything you have in mind to do?"

He nodded his head no, causing her to frown. "Our date is going so downhill." she whined.

He laughed at her childlike persona, "Let's do something I know you would enjoy."

"You're not trying to get me to have sex with you, right?" She sternly questioned.

He snickerd, "No, let's play hide and seek."

"Johnny what the fu-"

"You just whined like you were five years old, so now we're gonna play games like you're five years old." He interrupted keenly.

"Is this some weird kink of yours?" She narrowed her eyes.

"No, it'll be fun, I promise."

She rolled her eyes, hiding the small curves forming at the end of her lips. "Okay, let's play."

"Count to twenty and close your eyes. One-two-three, go!" He dashed out of the room, leaving her there giggling like an idiot.

She counted flamboyantly, letting him know how much time he had left to hide.

"Twenty! Ready or not, here I come!" She rounded her way around the couch, checking every crevice of her almost deafeningly quiet house.

She made way to her room, finding him standing outside of her open closet - which she always closed - reading an old wrinkled paper.

"Johnny? What are you doing?"

He immediately snatched the paper behind his back, snapping his head to her direction.

"Well, I - uh. I meant to hide in your closet but when I sat down there wasn't enough space for me to fit. So I got up, but I realized I was sitting on a piece of paper and well, I - you know - I got really nosy." He frowned.

"So, you read it?" She asked quietly.

"Well, yeah, like halfway through."

"Oh." was all she could muster to say. No one else had read that, she was too embarrassed to reach out or show anyone.

"It was beautiful." He soothed. He knew he shouldn't have read it, and it made her uncomfortable knowing that he had.

"It was something stupid I wrote in my freshman year, it's not beautiful."

"I had issues with my dad too, I dealt with my problems with drugs. You deal with yours with poetry, fairly written poetry. It's beautiful to me." He smiled.

"Such a ladies man, Johnny. I wonder how women don't swoon and beg for you at your feet." She blushed, wondering how he could turn such a situation into something that still made her feel good about herself.

"It's a gift." He pretended to flip his imaginary hair, handing the rumpled paper back to her.

"Keep it somewhere safe, don't just throw this in your closet - and keep writing, darling. Maybe if you write a book, I'll actually like reading."

A smile spread across her face as she took it from his hand, putting it in her sock drawer after folding it in half.

Johnny looked up at the small clock on top of her bed, his eyes widening after looking at the time. "I have to go see my uncle, I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly." He frowned, reaching in his pocket for a ripped up piece of a napkin. "Here's my number. Text me tonight, don't forget."

"How could I?" She tittered, grabbing the paper with the familiar smudged writing like the one on her letter.

His lips brushed her cheek as he pulled her in for a hug, his arm rubbing her back in small circles.

"Bye, I'll see you soon. Maybe even tomorrow, we'll see."

"I have school tomorrow, Johnny."

"After school then, I'll pick you up. Text me the details." He winked, kissing her forehead goodbye.

"I will." She smiled as she followed him out of her room and to the front door, biting her lip softly.

He jogged to his car, waving to her as she watched him get inside. He sped off, leaving her cheeks red and heart restless.

And for once, she couldn't wait for a Monday.

🌾

I'M SO SORRY I TOOK LIKE 30 YEARS TO UPDATE !!!!!!! SCHOOL HAS BEEN KICKING MY ASS LATELY SMH. I HOPE THIS CHAPTER MADE UP FOR IT, I'M GONNA TRY TO NEVER TAKE THAT LONG TO UPDATE AGAIN. I MIGHT START A SCHEDULE ?? IDK, BUT I ALSO WANNA START A JEFF ATKINS FANFIC (BC HE DESERVED BETTER) BUT AT THE SAME TIME I FEEL LIKE THIS HAS TO BE MY MAIN WATTPAD PRIORITY. AHH IDK COMMENT IF YOU WANT ME TO START ONE FOR MY PURE STAR BASEBALL LOVER JEFF!! ANYWAYS THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. I LOVE YOU ALL, THANK YOU FOR READING AND VOTING! <3