He had always been a broken bird.
But she was his anchor.
When he felt particularly angry or hurt, all she had to do was look at him, take his hand, touch his arm, stand next to him or just...be near him.
He'd instantly calm down.
One particular day, he was angry at Mike, angry at Tee...he was so close to storming out, but then she caught up with him in a flash of pink. Her hand found his and he felt his anger start to melt away. He glanced at her, and she smiled softly at him, brushing some black hair behind her ear.
"Okay?" she said.
So Johnny nodded, and put his coat back on the rack.
There were so many times when Carmen calmed Johnny down. He always referred to her as 'his anchor', like Scott about Allison from Teen Wolf.
And yet there were days were Carmen was depressed, broken, falling to pieces. Johnny would hold her in his arms, whether her voice was dead and emotionless, or if her body trembled with sobs as she clung to him. Either way, he just held her until she felt better. Because that was what he was there for.
At the end, she'd smile at him weakly and link their fingers.
"I'll never leave you." she'd say.
"I'll never leave you." he'd agree.
It was a promise that they'd made for as long as they could remember.
And it was a vow they'd never break.
"Johnny." Carmen whispered.
It was 1AM, and the sky was dark as Carmen Howle and Johnny Taylor sat outside, staring up at the sky.
"Yeah?" Johnny whispered back.
Carmen looked over to face him. "Close your eyes."
"Why?" Johnny asked.
"Just do it. See if the world spins." Carmen said.
Despite the fact that it sounded really cliche, Johnny closed his eyes.
And after a millisecond, Carmen's lips were on his.
The 15 year old was surprised, but he kissed her back softly.
"I love you." Carmen said quietly.
"I love you too."