Chapter Text
johnny was leaning against his car, arms crossed, grease all over his hands. he barely looked up when you walked over.
“hey,” you said.
he only gave a short nod.
you hesitated, “heard that DX has been busy lately. guess that’s good.”
“guess so.”
the coldness hit hard than you had expected. “are you mad at me or something?”
“why would i be mad? ain’t nothing to be mad about,” he replied.
“johnny..that’s not an answer.”
he finally looked at you. “you wanna know what’s wrong? you and dallas that’s what.”
“dallas? are you serious right now? you’re still mad about that?”
he let out a huff. “you didn’t see the way he was looking at you? the way you laughed at his dumb jokes like he had a sense of humor?”
“i was just trying not to make a scene! i didn’t think he was actually funny. you think i wanted him flirting with me?”
he scoffed. “didn’t seem to bother you much.”
that stung more than you wanted to admit. “you do not get to talk to me like that. you’re not my boyfriend johnny.”
he froze, eyes hardening. “yeah. guess i’m not.”
silence stretched over the two of you. mean and sharp.
“you’re acting like i did something wrong for just showing up. you don’t even let people care about you johnny. you just push and push until everyone’s walked away,” you stated.
“then maybe you should too,” his words landed like a punch to the face.
“fine, i guess i will then,” you replied, voice trembling.
you turned before he could see the tears well up in your eyes.
——
the sounds of your footsteps still echoed in his head long after you turned the corner, leaving the dx dead quiet.
he kicked hard at a wrench on the ground. it clattered across the concrete, but failed to make him feel any better.
he told himself that you’d be fine. that you’d cool off and forget about him. that’s what he kept saying in his head over and over again until the words didn’t seem like words anymore.
he got in the car and started driving with no destination in mind. every time he blinked, he saw your again, the hurt in your face when you said “you just push and push until everyone’s walked away.”
he gripped the steering wheel tighter.
you were wrong. he didn’t want to push everyone away. it was just safer and easier.
he stopped at a red light and thought about turning the car around. driving back and saying that he didn’t mean it. that dallas had just gotten under his skin.
but the light turned green and he didn’t move. “Should’ve just kept my damn mouth shut.”
he pulled into the closest empty parking lot he could find and shut off the engine. leaning back and running his hands over his face. trying to convince himself that it didn’t matter. that you’d forget about him and move on.
but deep down he knew the truth. he didn’t want you to.