wow, chapter eight! im so proud of myself, haha, im pathetic.ANYWAYS, like i said last week, updates may be scarce this week; i have band camp from 9-9. and somebody asked for a picture of the dress; i dont really have a straight nice version of it, but i'll try and find one when im more awake, lmfao.enjoy the chapter everyone.

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As we made our way to the movies, Johnny was more protective then he was on the way up to my house. His grip stayed tight around my hand, no matter what, and once or twice he would glance over at me. While he was short, I was shorter, and he would have to look down to see me. It was one of the cutest things I'd seen in a while. The way he cared about me, it was nothing short of amazing.

It took us a while to get to the movies, and along the way we stopped walking and sat down; my legs were really tired. I guess you could say I was never athletic – I hated sports in general. I think Johnny wasn't tired, but when I sat down on the bench he followed along, and we were there for a good 10 minutes. He still didn't let go of my hand; almost like he was terrified to do so.

The weather was perfect for a late September night – Not too cold, but not super warm. It was the perfect balance of the two. The sun was getting ready to set (I had slept through most of the day.) and when I tried to stand up, Johnny pulled me back down (accidentally) into his lap, pointing with his free hand at the sun.

It was awkard silence after that; I never really got off Johnny's lap, though I sank into it, making it more comfortable for the both of us. I was leaning my head on his shoulder, as we watched the sunset, slowly but surely. At one point both of his hands wrapped around my stomach, pulling me even closer to him; I didn't mind in the slightest bit.

I wondered if he felt the same way about me, if he was in love…Probably not for all I knew; I bet he was just lonely and needed a friend. I just so happened to fill the spot. I was so bitter about all of this, I didn't even notice his muttering to himself; I had my eyes closed because the sunset was long gone. I bet he thought I was asleep.

I could hear him say my name, faintly, but he was talking so softly it was hard to understand. Some words came out clearer then the rest, almost like my mind was filtering his speech.

"Al…love…no no, that's not right…Al, I…" it sounded like he was practicing something, almost like he was…

And that's when I heard it, crystal clear above the rest of the city, above my heart beating faster then I thought the human body could allow, and above his near whisper before.

"Al, I…I love you."

I didn't want to wake up and have him stop. I wanted to hear him say those marvelous words to my (what he thought were) blind ears over and over and over. I would never get sick of it. Maybe I was dreaming, and maybe when I woke up, Johnny would've taken me back home. That would've been nice.

After that one sentence, Johnny stopped talking. Almost like he knew what he was going to say and when, and there was no need to rehearse anymore. And after a few minutes, when I figured it would be a good time for me to "wake up", I opened my eyes. I must've startled him, because he flinched slightly when I sat up, but then he flashed me a grin.

"I think we missed the movie for tonight…" he said, itching his back, and then yawning. "You wanna just head back to your place? I'm sure your mom missed you an awful bunch…"

"Yeah, I think that'd be good…" I said, my voice sounding foreign to my mind. I was still amazed In my mind that Johnny loved me; Johnny Cade loved me.

And it was only a matter of time before he told me, before everything would fall into place. But it seemed like we were fine as we were, when we walked back to my place, his hand still fitting in perfectly with my own, and the way his hug felt when we finally reached my place, and we had to say goodbye.

I kissed his cheek, almost lingering, because I didn't want him to leave. I wanted him to pick me off my arms and tell me what he had been practicing back at the park. If only things were that simple in real life, not in my dreams.

When I got back inside, I reached for the jean jacket laying on the ground in my room, and inhaled its familiar scent. Maybe someday, this could all be…

I sat down in my bed, and soon enough, sleep came over me. And it never felt so good in its life as it had then and there.

-------------------------------------------------------yay! i really wasnt planning on doing that this chapter, it just came out of nowhere at 11:30, lmfao. r&r, it will make these horrible days go by a lot faster.