MIDNIGHT RAIN, ʲ.ᵏ

𐮜chapter ten𐮜

waking up in johnnys arms was something charlotte was beginning to enjoy immensely. he brought her comfort like no one else could, even after everything had happened. she pretended to be asleep a minute longer before johnny pressed a kiss to her forehead lightly.
"goodmorning charlotte," he said sleepily, still holding her tightly.
"g'morning," she whispered, turning closer to him.
she felt him smile against her hair, "do you have plans today?"
it was a saturday, meaning they finally had a day off from school. she did have plans, but she would cancel any plan for him.
"no," she shook her head.
his smile widened, "perfect."
they laid in bed for a a bit longer, lazily talk while they basked in each other's presence. charlotte gazed up at johnny for a moment before he broke the momentary silence.
"you know charlotte, i really like hanging out with you," he said, smiling at her.
she blushed, "i like hanging out with you too johnny."
after a few more minutes, they got up and got dressed. johnny changed into the clothes he kept in the back of his car. charlotte wore a flowery pink sundress and sandals with pink ribbons that tie around her ankles. she met him in the car, unsure of where he was going to take her, but not really caring anyway. she sat in the passenger seat of his car, changing stations on her stereo until Linger by The Cranberries started playing.
"i love this song," she told johnny eagerly.
"well then i love it too," he said, taking her hand.
they sat in silence for a while, broken only by charlotte humming the tune of the song and johnny occasionally laughing. he held her hand tightly, and she realized abruptly that she didn't like him cause he was perfect, she liked him because he was him. everything he did was so johnny that she just couldn't not like him.
"what are you thinking about?" he laughed, poking her stomach.
she laughed and swatted his hand away, "you," she answered, not seeing the point in lying.
johnny smiled softly at her, "i'm thinking about you, too."
she liked that most about him. his honesty. he wasn't scared to say what he was thinking or talk about what he was feeling. he was unashamed of himself, which of course, only made him more appealing to others. he never tried to change himself for anyone else. maybe that's what drew her to him so much.
"where are we going johnny?" charlotte asked, leaning toward him slightly.
"it's a surprise, charlotte," he said, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand gently as he held it.
charlotte was skeptical. it wasn't that she didn't trust johnny, of course, it was just that she despised surprises. they made her jittery, caught her off guard. it was different with johnny though. everything was. she trusted him in ways she trusted no one else. he always seemed to know what she needed, and most of the time, that was him. she didn't know what was gonna happen now, though. she had kissed him, and he didn't kiss her back. but then he begged her to stay his friend, slept in her bed, held her all night. that wasn't strictly platonic, was it? not to her at least.
"how long is the drive johnny?" she asked, leaning against the window.
"long enough for a nap if that's what you're asking," he smiled.

she wrested again the window and closed her eyes. she dreamed of a warm summer day in the big back yard. she laid on a lounge chair drinking a lemonade. johnny laid next to her. they held hands loosely, the same way they did in actuality. it was a good dream. when she woke up, johnny was outside her open car door, leaning over her.
"we're here." he said, smiling widely. she looked passed him to see where they were. she gasped in excitement as she realized she recognized the scenery.
"dublin?" she said, smiling in excitement.
he nodded, "i told you i would bring you back."
without another thought, she jumped out of the car and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"thank you johnny," she whispered into his shoulder, "i'm so happy."
she felt him smile into the top of her head, "it makes me happy that you're happy," he said.
hesitantly, she stepped out of the hug and let him grab her hand to led her down to the familiar beach. the sand flooded into her socked feet, and she peeled them off quickly, throwing them to the sand as she ran to the water. it was always warmer in dublin than it was in cork. at times, she envied the childhood she imagined johnny had. his big house where his family would host barbecues and take him on walks. bike rides down nicely paved roads and yells of encouragement as he swung from tire swings. and then she had met him. when the kavanaghs moved to cork, the whole town knew about it. they had a house built a year and a half before they arrived. by the time they moved in, everyone in town knew about the kavanagh estate. big and beautiful, with fields for horses and bushes of flowers in front of the porches. johnny wrapped his strong, muscular arms around her waist, picking her up and spinning her around. she laughed happily, letting him hold her tightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her nose into it to prevent herself from laughing too hard. he set her down after a moment and began to laugh tirelessly as he watched her stumble around, dizzy and love struck.

"charlotte," he said seriously.
"johnny," she replied, smiling gently.
"i really really really like hanging out with you," he grinned.
she scoffed out a laugh, "i really really really like hanging out with you, too."
they sat down in the sand and watched the sunset. it was pink and orange, and the notes of wonderwall by oasis floated through the air as they laid in the sand. johnny grabbed a strand of her hair, twirling it around his finger and braiding and rebraiding it. eventually he became tired of that and tucked the small lock of hair behind her ear.
"charlotte," he whispered, smoothing down her hair, "charlotte charlotte charlotte, i think you're pretty."
she blushed, not knowing what to say, "thank you johnny."
before she could get another word out, johnnys warm mouth was against hers. she pulled back for a moment and looked into his eyes before kissing him again, long and soft. the sun was still setting behind them and wonderwall was playing quietly, barely audible over the gentle waves.
johnny pulled away after a while, resting his forehead against hears and wrapping an arm around her. he was hers. she didn't care about bella wilkinson or her brother or anyone else. no one could take johnny away from her.