Johnny's Secret (The Outsiders)

Chapter 9

It was a beautiful day in Tulsa and the boys were found in their usual spots at the park wrestling each other. Dally and Darry were rumbling on the ground as the rest cheered them on.
"Get 'em Dal!" Ponyboy cheered.
"Come on I know you're better than that Darry!" Steve laughed. Johnny laughed with them, it had officially been a month since Jen had left and he had not received a letter back. He hoped the cigarette didn't get her in trouble. He quickly set his mindset back to the pretend rumble and laughed as the two young men fought. Suddenly the crowd of boys got silent at the noise of gravel crackling. They all turned to see a random car park down the road. The passenger door opened an out stood a girl with blonde hair and shiny Mary Janes. Johnny's heart dropped and his friends looked at him smiling.
"No way," he whispered. He started walking closer and recognized the sweet face smiling back at him. "No way!" He repeated but this time yelling. He sprinted towards the girl and hugged her.
"I missed you so much!" She cried. Happy tears were shed as they held each other tightly in their arms.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" Johnny asked.
"To surprise you duh!"
"Well this is the best surprise ever! How long are you staying?"
"Only for the weekend unfortunately, I still have school on Monday."
"Then why'd you come so early?"
"I couldn't bare to be away any longer. I miss my real home," Jen smiled and leaned over and kissed him. The faint sound of clapping and cheers were heard and the two laughed at the gangs silly-ness. "So what should we do while I'm here?" Jen asked.
"I have an idea," Johnny pulled a few dollars out of his pocket. Jen looked at the decent stack in his hands. "It's still not much but it's enough to buy you dinner at the diner. We can grab milkshakes later."
"Johnny you didn't have to do that!"
"I wanted to take you on a proper date though, I worked hard for it. I'll buy you anything you want." Jen grabbed his hand and swung it around gently.
"You really are the best Johnny." He blushed.
"How about we go on that date tonight?" He asked.
"I'd love to. Wanna meet at Dairy Queen?"
"Sure, it's not the nicest but-"
"I don't care if it's nice, that's not what a date is all about. I just need you."

It was around 8-o-clock and Johnny had gotten himself prepared for his third date. It was bound to go a lot better this time considering Bob and his gang didn't know Jen was home. He tried on one of his dress shirts to look nicer but he decided the look wasn't for him and quickly changed into his usual black t-shirt and denim jacket. He made sure to grab his money and stuck it in his pocket.
He left his room and tiptoed to the front door. He stopped and listened to his parents usual bickering, he rolled his eyes and left the house. Jen had told him she was staying at Cherry's tonight and had given her address. He walked around town looking for the matching house numbers. He finally came to a stop at a nice, white house that was decorated with various potted plants and porch seats. He walked up the steps and rang the bell. He tapped his foot anxiously as he waited, he hoped he got the right house. Suddenly the door squeaked open and a girl with long, red hair peaked through the crack in the door.
"Hello?" He said, "I'm Johnny Cade." The girl said nothing and shut the door again. The sound of a lock moving was heard and the girl yelled out,
"Jen!" She opened the door again and came face to face with the boy. "Hi I'm Sherry Valance, call my Cherry though," she reached out a hand and Johnny shook it.
"I'm Johnny." There were thumps heard coming from the stairs and Jen showed up and smiled at the two.
"Hi Johnny! I see you've met Cherry." Johnny gave a chuckle and nodded.
"Seems nice Jen," Cherry smiled at Johnny.
"I know right! We better get going now, see you later!" Jen said. Grabbing her hand they walked together down the quiet street. There weren't many cars out tonight and the streets seemed pretty empty too. Johnny took a peek at the park and noticed it was full of children. He smiled at the memory of their first date, he hasn't been down to the creek since Jen showed him for the first time. He looked back over at Jen and admired her. She was so much nicer looking compared to him. She wore a dress that was white at the top with a black flower in the center of it while the bottom half of her dress was green with white and black bows printed on it, she also wore white heels and some jewelry. He looked down at the blue bracelet Jen gave him and noticed she had an identical one but in white. He smiled and squeezed her hand.
     The Dairy Queen wasn't too far from her house. As the sky got darker the sign and building got brighter and so did the signs decorated with pictures of ice cream and hamburgers.
    "I'm excited! I'm starving!" Jen exclaimed. They made their way to the restaurant and Johnny held the door open for her. Darry made sure that Johnny knew all the gentlemanly ways to treat a lady when going out.
    "Do you know what you want? I can order for you while you choose a seat." Jen looked up at the sign and tapped her chin in thought.
   "Hmm, I think I'm in the mood for a hamburger and soda."
   "Want any ice cream?"
   "Let's share one! How about a milkshake?"
   "Sounds good to me!" With a final peck on the cheek Jen left to find a table.
   "Next!" The cashier called. Johnny walked to the front of the counter.
   "I'd like two hamburgers and fries with a soda. And one milkshake please." The cashier wrote down the order on a notepad and hung it up on a string hung by some clothes pins. She then calculated the price.
   "That'll be $1.05." Johnny handed the woman two dollars. After receiving his change he found Jen sitting at a table looking out the window.
   "Hi!" He said.
   "Get the food?" She asked bouncing her seat in excitement.
   "Should be on its way." Johnny giggled at her cuteness.
   "Thank goodness, I'm starving!" Jen pat her empty stomach.
   "Yeah anything for a free meal huh?" He joked. Jen rolled her eyes playfully.
   "You bet!"
   "So how's school been?" Johnny asked.
   "It's alright. It's a bit harder and I've been struggling some, but mother says I'll get used to it. She says it's just all the change that's getting to me."
   "Yeah you're smart. But if you ever wanna move back here you join me at Ponyboy's!" Jen laughed as he gave her a dorky smile. "What? I mean it!" In the midst of their laughter they heard a bell ding and a woman set a tray of food on the counter. "Must be for us! I'll get it!" Johnny stood and walked over to retrieve the tray. He picked it up, carefully, as to not spill it. As he turned around he saw the door open and in walked a soc boy. He paused and held his breath. They stared at each other for a second, the boy looked over at Jen then at Johnny. He nodded then passed him to order food at the counter. Johnny let out a relieving sigh and went back to his table.
   "I hate the automatic tension we all have. Cant we just get along?"
   "Maybe one day sweetheart," Johnny said setting the tray down.
   As they ate they shared more of their experiences while they were apart. Jen said she had made new friends with very nice people, and Johnny talked about he and the boys' pretend rumbles and other variations of funny stories, causing Jen's laugh to echo through the building.
   "I'm just glad Bob hasn't bothered you since then! Hurts seeing friends tune out that way!"
   "Yeah don't worry about it," Johnny took the final bite of his meal and wiped his face with a napkin. He grabbed the cup of ice cream and set it to the center of the table. "Milkshake looks pretty good!"
   "I'd say so too!" The two of them grabbed their straws and stuck them in the middle of the frozen treat. The leaned in a took a sip, laughing at their corniness. "Yum!" Jen said.

   The date had ended and the restaurant had closed. The street was extra empty now, only lit by occasional street lamps and lights shining from store windows. The park stood abandoned as if never touched.
   The two kids made their way slowly down the street and back to Cherry's house. Jen paused when reaching the door.
   "You should come over again tomorrow, since I'm leaving again and all."
   "Sure, where and when?"
   "Here, same time too. I wanna go visit the park again. In peace."
   "I'd like that, a lot." Johnny leaned in to kiss Jen's lips. They held it for a second before parting and she walked over to the door.
   "See you tomorrow," she said.
   "See you tomorrow," Johnny was happy he could finally say those words.