𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 ~ 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬/𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

Johnny💙

Johnny's POV

"Oh come on Dal," I said annoyed, as Dallas put his arm around my neck and nearly pulled me over.

He laughed and pulled me back up, messing with Pony this time. I looked up to see Y/n walking down the opposite side of the street, a stack of books cradled in her arms. Her silky y/h/c was curled today, and bounced when she walked.

Y/n was the prettiest girl in all of Tulsa, and I liked her a lot. Y/n went to school with Pony, and he had brought her to the Curtis house to work on school projects together. I had lingered outside the doorway and watched her, the way she tapped her pencil against her lip when she was thinking, the way she pulled at the neck of her sweatshirt when she was feeling self continuous, the way she'd smile and laugh even if Ponyboy's joke was lame, she was wonderful. She was quite a sight for the gang's sore eyes. Pony had brought her around often, and slowly she had begun to talk to the gang more. Darry liked to sit with her at the kitchen table and talk about her future. He wanted to see her achieve her dreams. Her parents fought a lot, and eventually Y/n would hang out at the Curtis house every afternoon. Sometimes she would sit on the porch and read, and no one would bother her.

Dally followed my gaze and smirked.

"You should go walk with her. She's headed to Pony's house anyway." Dally said. I shook my head.

"Come on man. Me and Pony are just going to go bother Steve and Soda down at the DX, we'll be back soon. Besides, you can't just stare at her and expect her to fall for you."

Sadly, Dally was right. I mumbled a goodbye, and jogged across the street, catching up to her.

"Hey Y/n," I said as casually as I could. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey Johnny. How are you?" She asked, her gaze shifting to the bruise on my cheek briefly. I buried my hands in my pockets nervously.

"I'm alright. How are you?" She didn't look at me as we walked, but I didn't take it personally.

"I'm okay." She said, holding her books a little tighter. We fell into an awkward silence, and I decided to say what I had been wanting to say for a while.

"You look beautiful today," I said, suddenly worrying that she'd think I thought she was ugly every other day. She smiled up at me.

"Thank you, Johnny. You look handsome today." She replied. No other girl had ever returned a compliment towards me. I felt my cheeks go pink.

"T-Thank you." I stammered. We reached the Curtis house and she sat on the bench of the porch, patting the empty bench next to her. I sat down next to her, our knees touching. Her jeans were ripped at the knee, and I could see her bare skin underneath.

She had her stack of books beside her and she took the one off the top of the stack. She opened up to the table of contents.

"Would you mind reading to me?" I asked her, expecting her to look at me like I was crazy. Instead she smiled.

"I would love to," She said, beginning to read. I leaned on her shoulder, closing my eyes, imagining the characters. Her voice was soft, but powerful, and she read with much emotion. We sat like that for hours, day after day, she would read to me. Over time we became closer. Now I would rest my head in her lap as she read, her free hand coming through my hair. I couldn't imagine an afternoon that didn't include Y/n reading to me. I grew to love Y/n, and I knew she loved me too. And I knew that would never change.