Johnny's Secret (The Outsiders)

Ch. 9 page 2

It was the next night and Johnny and Jen had met up at Cherry's house again. Jen was dressed in more casual clothing this time. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing pants instead of her usual fancy dresses. Johnny looked the same of course. They started walking to the park.
"I'm excited to see that creek again. It was so nice, haven't been there in forever."
"Why not Johnny?"
"It wouldn't have felt the same without you."
"You're sweet but you can go there whenever you'd like. It's a really nice place to be when you're alone. It really makes you forget..."
The energy of the night felt a bit strange. Jen would be out of Tulsa by tomorrow morning, way before Johnny woke up. He knew if he were to wake his parents up too early that meant another belt to the face.
"Sorry I won't be able to make it to the airport with you," he said.
"It's alright. It won't be that much fun anyways, I don't want to leave."

The two had finally made it back to the small hill, Johnny admired the creek as if he had never seen it before in his life. The frogs and fish were still there, the sunset still made the water sparkle, and the colors all faded into one as the sun got smaller in the sky.
"Wanna lay down?" Jen asked.
"Sure," they both laid on their backs, Jen snuggled up to Johnny and rest her head on his arm.
"This'll be the last visit in a while. I can't afford to keep coming back every weekend. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, I understand. I'll still be here, always will." They looked each other in the eyes, appreciating every look they can. Johnny admired her blue eyes that seemed to be a mixture of many all into one. Greens, blues, yellows, and grays. They were so beautiful. Jen admired Johnny's dark eyes though, she liked dark eyes. They were deep and cute.
Jen sat up and leaned over Johnny to kiss him. This time seconds turned even longer. Johnny touched her hair and took in her scent. She liked the feel of her hair brushing his face and her eyelashes occasionally tickling his cheek. Jen put a hand to his face and felt his hair and scar. Johnny had forgotten his insecurities about his face and the cut. He didn't feel the need to hide it or feel ashamed of it. It was always going to be part of him, so why even bother?
Their lips parted and they finally took in some fresh air. Her eyes seemed glassy, and her voice was laced with sadness and hurt.
"What's wrong?" Johnny asked.
"Nothing, I'm just gonna miss you," her voice stuttered, "so, so much." She leaned down again and hugged him. Johnny felt upset now too, he wanted to comfort her though and let her know that they'll meet again one day. Even if it's for a long time, he'll always be there for her.
"I don't know how many months I'll be away but I'll still write to you. I'll send you as many things as I can."
"I'll do the same." Jen laid back down onto the grass and breathed her sadness away. The sky was dark now and stars started to twinkle their way to visible-ness.
"I love the stars," Jen said quietly. She had a sleepy tone as she closed her eyes.
"I never really notice them, even though I spend most nights outside."
"You need to start seeing the beauty in things Johnny. I know life is hard, but it really does get better." Johnny chuckled at her remark.
"Who taught you that?" He asked.
"You did." Johnny opened his eyes and looked at her. She looked peaceful as she laid there half asleep. He realized what she meant and could almost start bawling again.
He's always had his friends by his side, always. But the love him and Jen had for each other was like no other. It was gentle and kind, they gave each other gifts and did anything for each other. It was like how parents should feel about their children yet completely different at the same time. He just never knew he could feel something like this.
"What do you want to do when you grow up Jen?" Johnny asked.
"I'm not sure, I don't just want to be a housewife though. I want to grow up and make something of myself. I want to see change in the world and I plan to help it happen. If I could be anything in the world, I'd probably be..." her voice faded as she thought harder. "I don't even know yet," she chuckled.
"Me neither. But there's lots of stuff I wanna do between then. Like leave Oklahoma for a while, drive a car, maybe get married and raise a family the way one should. I wanna completely forget about my parents."
"Don't say that John-"
"You don't understand Jen, they're horrible. I don't want them in my life anymore and they don't want me." Jen fell silent at Johnny's heartbreaking words. He turned to face her. "I never wanna forget you though." Jen smiled.
"Maybe we can get married, I mean our parents got married pretty early right?" Jen gave him a hopeful stare.
"Don't think I'm ready quite yet. But if I could I'd propose to you right now. With a nice ring and in front of our friends so they can celebrate with us. We can make life happy again."
"Isn't it already?" Jen rested her head against her hand.
"With you it is," Johnny laughed. They both laid back down and closed their eyes. It was a tiring day but Johnny didn't want to close his eyes, because he knew Jen would be gone the next morning.

Next thing he knew he could see the bright sunlight as he opened his eyes. He still laid there on the grass but this time alone. He sat up and saw a flower fall from his chest, it was a farewell from Jen. He felt sad now, she was gone and they didn't even say goodbye.
"Hey Johnny," a voice said. Johnny turned around excitedly in hopes of seeing her there, he was disappointed to see Cherry walking up behind him. She knelt down beside him to meet his eyes. "Jen told me to tell you she's sorry she didn't say goodbye. She felt really emotional that morning and said she wouldn't be able to handle it. She feels bad for leaving you here though."
"It's alright. I'll see her again sometime, don't know when though." Cherry shook her head.
"Same here, she's a really great friend. She talks highly of you."
"I'm glad. Do you think she'll still like me even if she's gone so long? I'm nothing compared to those other smart guys." He turned to watch the water running across the rocks down below.
"They can be jerks though. Jen's a loyal person, she's never leave you. And if anything were wrong she'd tell you first." Cherry's voice was firm as she said this, meaning that every word she said was true and that he had nothing to worry about. Johnny looked down at the ground and twisted the flower stem between his fingers.
"I better head home now," he stood up and stretched as he parted from the hard ground.
"Okay. See ya," Cherry waved and walked back to her house. With the flower still in hand Johnny headed back home.