The Outsiders Lyric Imagines

"WYWH" J. Cade

"...These city lights keep spelling your name, reminding me I wish you were here..."

[WYWH by Goody Grace]

"It'll be okay, sweetheart, you'll find another guy here. This move will be good for all of us," your mom said in a half-assed attempt to make you feel better. You shook your head, quickly wiping the tears that threatened to fall "I don't want another guy, mom, I want Johnny. I love him." You heard her sigh quietly as she stood up "well, he's over twenty hours away, so you'll have to stop sulking." She closed your door after she left, leaving you annoyed; you knew she never liked him but man, she didn't have to be such a bitch about it.

You laid in your bed, waiting to hear the front door close before going to the living room and dialing an all-too-familiar number. It rung a few times before Darry's familiar voice answered "hello?" You smiled "Hey, Dar, is Johnny there?" "Yeah, he is, one sec, kiddo," he answered, the smile evident in his voice. "Johnny, c'mere! It's urgent," Darry called out. You could hear the faint and mumbled voices of the gang asking a dozen questions. "H-hello?" Johnny answered sheepishly. You felt a few tears fall down your cheeks at the sound of his voice "hey Johnnycake." "(y/n)!" He practically yelled into the phone excitedly.

"I miss you so much, Johnny," you said softly, playing with the cord. "I miss you too, doll, it ain't the same without you here," he said genuinely. "Every time I look outside, I keep seein' your name spelled in the city lights, I wish you were here." For a moment the only sound was Johnny holding the phone away from the others who all wanted to say something. "I wanna talk to her too!" Two-Bit whined. "No, I gotta ask her somethin'!" Steve argued, through a mouthful of cake. "Will Y'all sit down? That's Johnny's girlfriend, let them talk!" Darry said firmly and the others could be heard grumbling on their way to their previous seats.

Johnny laughed softly "we won the rumble the other night, and no one even had to go to the hospital." You grinned softly "I'm glad Y'all won, those socs deserve a good ass kicking every now and then." You could feel Johnny's smile as he spoke: "I wish you were here to see it, doll." You bit your lip, nodding to yourself "me too, baby, I gotta get to sleep. I just wanted to hear your voice again." "I miss you, (y/n), I always will," he said quietly. "Me too, I love you so much," you said softly, quietly sniffling as you felt yourself get emotional. "I-I love you too, promise you'll call again tomorrow?" You nodded even though he couldn't see it "I promise, Johnnycake. Goodnight." "Night doll," he said in a slightly shaky voice before you stopped him from hanging up "wait! Can you give the phone to Darry? I wanna talk to him about somethin'." "Sure," he almost whispered before calling Darry back over and handing him the phone "yeah?"

You sighed quietly "Darry, I'm gonna take a bus back to Tulsa tonight but it'll probably take all of tomorrow to get there. Can you keep him distracted tomorrow evening so I can surprise him at your house?" "Yeah, I think we can manage that, shouldn't be an issue at all. But are you gonna be okay doin' that?" Darry asked worriedly. You nodded to yourself "I'll be fine, I learned to defend myself from the best seven guys around. Now, can you give the phone to Dal? I also need to talk to him."

You could hear him call Dallas over, followed by Dallas's grunt of annoyance at having to get up "yeah, dollface?" You spoke quickly "long story short, I'm takin' a bus back to Tulsa tonight but it'll take all of tomorrow to get there and I want to surprise Johnny. What I need to know is if Buck still has that spare room available? I'm gonna need a place to stay until I get a job and shit." Dallas chuckled softly "well shit, color me impressed. Yeah, it's still open. I'll let him know." You let out a sigh of relief "thank you, Dal, can you tell the others and of course keep it a secret from Johnny? And also distract him tomorrow afternoon so I can sneak in?" "Yes ma'am, I can definitely do that," Dallas said proudly. "Tell Johnny I wish I was there," you said before hanging up.

You eagerly picked up the duffle bag with your clothes and toiletries in it, shoving a few personal effects in it; your switchblade, a vending machine necklace you got from Johnny on your first date, and a couple books. You hastily wrote out a note, half-assing an apology and an explanation to your parents. Once the note was set in plain sight on your bed, you hurried downstairs, making sure to take some money from your mom's wallet for bus and food fare as payback for her constantly badmouthing Johnny and the guys for no reason.

It wasn't that far of a walk to the bus station, and since it was almost 10 at night, it was virtually empty. You quickly paid for the bus ticket and hopped onto the last bus out of town, almost missing it. Since your next stop wasn't for another four hours, you leaned your head against the window and fell asleep.

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Twelve bus changes, three taxis, almost twenty-four hours, and five check-in phone calls later and you were finally back in Tulsa. The sign welcoming people into the small city was more beautiful than it ever had been, the sight alone almost made you cry. The second the bus driver pulled into the station, you were sprinting off and down the familiar streets that would lead to the Curtis' house. Running was a little tricky since the streets were still wet from a previous rain, you even slipped and fell a few times but that wasn't enough to stop you.

As you passed the Dairy Queen, you could see the guys sitting in a booth by the window, trying to cheer him up. Instead of his usual kicked puppy look, he just looked like an old dog who's family moved without him, and that broke your heart. Screw surprising him at Darry's house later, you couldn't let him sit there like that. You snapped out of your thoughts when you saw them all getting up to throw their trash away and leave.

After throwing your duffle bag into the back of Darry's truck, you hopped on the hood to wait for them to come out shortly. "It just ain't the same without-" Johnny started as he kicked a rock on the ground, keeping his gaze down, but you cut him off "without who, Johnnycake?" He looked up and he smiled so wide it was almost cartoon-like "(y/n)? What're you doin' here?" You slid off the hood of the truck and pulled him into a tight hug "you know I don't like to go far from home." Johnny buried his face into your shoulder and you could feel happy tears beginning to soak your shirt "I thought I'd lost you!"

You kept on hugging each other tightly and soon the others, even Dallas, joined in and made it tighter. "Don't worry Johnny, I ain't leavin' anytime soon. I swear it," you said honestly, not planning to ever leave this city without him again. Darry ruffled your hair after pulling back from the tight and emotional group hug "glad to have you back, kiddo." You beamed a smile as everyone got into the bed of Darry's truck while him, Johnny, and you got in the front "glad to be back, old man." As he started the drive home, you leaned over and kissed your boyfriend softly, just enjoying the feel of being in his arms again. The last thing you remember before falling asleep was you and Johnny whispering 'I love you's.