Work Text:
the stress of worrying about her alcoholic boyfriends safety was destroying her.
bob was not necessarily a bad boyfriend, but he wasn’t perfect either.
he could be so so sweet to cherry, treating her right or he would go and drink 5 bottles of his dad’s expensive beer and get mad when cherry confronted him about it.
cherry was sitting at the edge of her bed debating wether or not to go into greaser territory to go to the lot ponyboy, the kid she met at the drive-in, had told her about to clear her thoughts.
she sighed and gave in, grabbing her flats and sweater.
“ma, where are my keys?” she yelled, confused because they were not in her drawer.
she walked down stairs realizing her mom was in fact, not home. but her keys were on the coffee table.
cherry clutched the keys, an overwhelming knot of fear tightened in her stomach.
as she drove, the familiar nicely mowed lawns of her neighborhood suddenly turned to cracked sidewalks and dimly lit streets.
the sound of her mustang seemed to echo louder here.
she saw it, the vacant lot. a patch of grass and debris under a tree.
driving into greaser territory was a betrayal to her own kind. she felt like she was crossing an invisible line as she neared.
the thought of bob appeared in her mind, what would he think of her?
but.. no.. she couldn’t think about him right now. it was making her feel guilty. well she was.
“I shouldn’t be doing this..” she mumbled as she parked close to the lot. she sat idly for a moment debating.
she finally got the courage to get out. it’s not like anyone would be here. so why was she so scared?
as she approached the lot, she could smell the awful smoke of cigarettes. her heart pounded in her chest. she prayed that it was just lingering from someone here earlier.
a small fire flickered. “oh god, someone’s here.” she whispered.
she couldn’t turn back now. she came so far.
at first, it looked like no one was there. and then she saw him, johnny cade.he was huddled up close to the fire.
he didn’t seem to notice her. his eyes were closed and for the first time, he looked to be at peace.
he looked even smaller and more vulnerable than she remembered.
“uhm.. johnny?” she called out, her voice cracking from nervousness.
cherry knew that she was an outsider here. a trespasser. but she couldn't turn back now.
johnny was startled by her sudden appearance. he flinched and instinctively pulled back further. his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and surprise.
“you’re out of your territory now.”
“I know. I know. don’t mention it. I just need to get out. you know?”
he shook his head, he understood exactly what she meant even if their meanings of ‘get out’ weren’t exactly the same.
“are ya okay?" johnny asked his voice quiet and steady.
he couldn't believe cherry the soc was standing in the lot. talking to him.
cherry didn’t know how to explain this..
"It's... complicated? bob and I... we're not doing so great I guess..”
johnny nodded slowly. he had seen bobs temper firsthand. "he hurt you?"
“yes. well no. not like that.” cherry said quickly.
“but it hurts me. so bad. when he drinks his feelings away. and when he is drunk, he is not himself. I don’t even know who he is.”
“yeah, I get it cherry.” johnny mumbled, staring into the fire. he knew all too well what it was like to not know the person you were supposed to trust.
“I just needed to get away." cherry sighed, her voice trembling slightly.
"I remembered seeing you and pony at the drive-in. you seemed... different. nicer."
johnny looked up. "well we are just greasers."
"no that’s not true..," cherry said, "you're still people. you're like the only people I feel like I can talk to."
a long silence stretched between them. only broken when the fire crackled.
johnny didn't know what to say.
"bob doesn't like me talking to you guys," cherry said. breaking the silence. "he says you're all trash."
johnny flinched. he was used to being called names and degraded, but it still stung.
“i don’t believe it though. he’s wrong, you’re not trash. you’re just.. not like us. and maybe I need that right now.”
she looked at johnny, her eyes pleading. "can you help me?”
johmny stared at her. he was just a kid. barely sixteen with his own problems to worry about.
but he couldn't ignore the pain in cherrys eyes.
“I-I don’t know how. but I can listen..”
cherry smiled, it lit up her entire face.
“that’s all I need.”
he studied her face features. at the drive-in he noticed she was pretty. but not this pretty.
her hair was blowing in the wind. red locks flying around her head. it was.. beautiful.
they sat in silence for a few more minutes. the fire warming their faces.
cherry felt a little bit of the tension drain away. It was replaced by a sense of calm she hadn't felt in weeks.
"thank you, johnny." she said softly. "for listening. no one has ever listened to me before.”
“anytime." johnny mumbled.
although the fire was warm, cherry was still cold and johnny noticed.
“do you want my jacket?” he began taking it off before she even replied.
“thank you, that would be nice.” she smiled at him.
as cherry put johnnys jacket on, his familiar scent enveloped her, a mix of smoke and something that just smelled like.. him.
she looked at johnny and she saw past the greaser label and into the eyes of someone who genuinely cared.
cherry knew under all the greasers and socs, there were just people.
people that needed to be understood. like her. like johnny.
cherry found herself thinking about johnny, the way she thought about bob when they first started dating.
their eyes met and a spark went off in both of them. an attraction that they both could not deny.
cherry leaned closer. her heart pounding in her chest. johnnys gaze softened.
his hand reaching out to gently brush a strand of hair from her face.
It was a simple gesture yet it spoke volumes.
a silent promise of something more.
“johnny?”
“yeah..”
“if we weren’t a soc and a grease and I wasn’t dating bob.. could we ever be something?” she bit her nails. it was bold to ask this. knowing it could never be.
“maybe.” he sighed.
maybe wasn’t enough.