Me again! Hmm ... I'm SO addicted now. Well, I always was addicted but now ... I could scream!! I love Johnny SOOOOOOO much! He's so adorable!


Chapter Ten

It was nine pm and was getting darker. Johnny and I sat on the abandoned car seat, warmed by the fire Johnny had made, and stared at the stars.

"I can stop smoking around you so often," Johnny abruptly said quietly.

"No! Really, I'm fine! I'm kinda just getting used to it all. My dad's not here to smoke around me anymore so maybe I'll stop associating cigarette smoke with getting hit."

He looked at me wide-eyed. "That's what you think of?" He paused, then said softly, "I'm sorry."

Just then I realised how little Johnny and I actually talked. Most of the time we were in our own thoughts or we communicated through our eyes. But secrets don't exactly explain themselves through wordless communication.

I looked over at him. He was staring at a tree and looked so unhappy. I felt horrible.

"Johnny?"

He turned to me, his eyebrows raised.

"How come … when you're with Dally and Pony you look so happy and … like you're on an adventure, but when you're with me you seem … pained and sad?"

He blinked and looked down at the ground. "I admire Dally so much, you know, and Pony's so … innocent almost, y'know, young. But I'm not sad right now. I'm more … calm. Just thinking."

I smiled weakly.

"What about you?"

I frowned. "Huh?"

"Well … you look all … scared and upset when around the gang."

"I do?"

He laughed softly.

"Well … I feel intimidated by Dally and Darry and Steve, and it feels like I'm interfering all the time, like I don't belong. And Soda and Two-Bit treat me like a frail little girl which can get annoying." I grinned. "I wanna be one of the guys!"

"You are!" he exclaimed, smiling. He looked so different when he smiled. It was that rare.

I thought about what he said. I guess he did think of me as part of the guys because I never really saw him talk to girls much. Maybe some girls would be offended of being thought of as a guy but I was proud. It made me happy. But only as far as hanging around guys and talking with them about almost everything guys talk about. Everything but girls and anything to do with girls! That was the good think about Johnny though: he didn't talk like that … at least not around me.

Once we'd both grown silent I realized just how cold it was. Even though we were close to a fire, it was if the fire was made of ice and was just making me colder. I folded my arms tight and my teeth chattered as I shook from head to foot. As it quickly became more and more unbearable, I glanced over at Johnny to see him trembling fiercely too.

"I-It's too cold!" he stammered. "Come on!"

He climbed to his feet and jammed his hands deep into his pockets. I got up too and, my arms still tightly folded, I watched him put out the fire and followed him down the road. We reached his house and stopped outside it. It was quiet but I could see the fear creeping into him.

"Are you sure you wanna …"

He nodded quickly. "I really need to change and I'm so hungry!"

I didn't realise how starving I was too until he mentioned it. We hadn't eaten since the day before.

"You're coming too!"

"But … your parents …"

"They-They're not home right now I think. Dad probably had enough and left for tonight and mom … I dunno. They won't know we're here!" He motioned for me to come but I paused. "Come on! I'm good at hiding."

I groaned and trailed after him into his house. I'd been in it only twice ever, both two years before. The first time I was in and out before his parents came home, and the second time his parents were early and his mom started screaming at him for leaving crumbs on the table.

It was a small and dirty house, pretty much like my old one. There were a few smashed objects just lying on the ground. I thought of how ironic it was that his mom shrieked at him for leaving crumbs on the table when she had just thrown a cheap vase at her husband and left it on the ground where it had shattered.

Silently, Johnny went straight for the fridge and cupboards and started pulling out random food. But suddenly we heard a car pull in. Johnny's eyes grew huge and he swore under his breath. He started shoving all the food into his arms. My heart booming, I grabbed some food too, and we quickly bolted up the steps. Just as I had disappeared up the stairs, the door had opened.

A female voice and a male voice wafted up the stairs. At the top Johnny looked at me horrified.

"That's my mom … but that's not my dad!"


Well, now that you've finished reading THIS chapter you should REVIEW and then go watch the Outsiders AGAIN if you own it or it's on tv and if you don't have it go buy it!! Totally worth the money!! But review!