Dallas Winston Has A Sister? (Outsiders Fanfic)

Another Side to Johnny Cade

        I was walking through the Curtis's backyard when I noticed something hanging from the big tree that shaded the whole house that wasn't a branch or leaf.  It was a black high top Converse, tied on a foot and dangling from a leg attached to the person in the tree.  I recognized it as Johnny's due to the beat-up shoe and the dirty frayed cuff of the jeans.

        I reached up and tugged on his foot, Johnny jumped and screamed, pulling his foot back and peering out between the leafy branches.  He immediately seemed embarrassed, probably for having been scared by a girl.

        "Sorry," I apologized.  "I didn't think I'd scare you that easily."

        Johnny was even jumpier than I'd thought.  I never talked to him much, but he seemed kind of lonely sitting in the tree by himself, unnoticed by everyone else.

        "Stay there.  I'm coming up," I told him as he was about to climb down, and he stayed.  In seconds I was perched on a sturdy branch next to him.

        "Whatcha doing?" I asked, honestly wondering why he was hiding in a tree.  Immediately I hoped I wasn't bugging him, last time I hid in a tree was because I was mad and didn't want to talk to anyone, but Johnny didn't talk much anyways, and I don't think he was mad at anyone.

        Johnny just shrugged a shoulder in answer to my question.

        "Come on, Johnny," I pestered him.  "It's not everyday you hide in a tree for no reason," I said, trying to get him to talk to me. Did he not like me or something?

        "I'm not doing nothin'," he answered my question quietly.

        "Oh, so you are doing something.  That's a double negative," I pointed out, just to see what he would say.  We all talked like that, proper grammar was reserved for Socs trying to look good in front of adults. 

        A small smile crossed Johnny's face at my comment, but he didn't say anything.

        "What?" I asked, wanting to know what he was smiling about.  I knew it wasn' t because of my comment, though it was kind of funny, I thought.  He usually just ignored Two-Bit's wisecracks and everyone else's jokes.

        "You're just like Ponyboy," he said.

        "How so?" I asked, even though I knew he meant that I was smart like Pony, we were in the same English class.  I wanted to see what else Johnny thought about Ponyboy, I mean they were only best friends.

        "You're really smart just like him. And you won't give up, you're more stubborn than Dally and Pony combined," he said. 

        I was surprised, I expected him to say more about Pony than me.  I'm pretty sure the last sentence was a jab at me for still asking him questions, but I continued bugging him anyways.  I think was the longest conversation I had ever had with Johnny.

        "I never thought Pony was stubborn," I said, because I hadn't really thought of him as stubborn.  That was usually me or Dally.

        "Yeah, he is," Johnny replied, and I thought I detected a bit of annoyance in his tone. 

        Johnny was usually so quiet and good-tempered, I was surprised.  I guess Dally and I, and apparently Pony, weren't the only stubborn ones in the gang.

        "Did you just give me sass?" I asked coyly, calling him out on it.  I wasn't sure how Johnny would react to my half-jab, half-joke back at him.

        He grinned and nodded, turning back to not answering me and ending the conversation anyways as he climbed down from the tree.

        As he walked away, I called after him teasingly, "See ya later, Johnny."  I know he heard me but he didn't tun back to look at me.  So Johnny Cade did have another side to him.  I should force him to talk more often.