Movie Star Smile |Sodapop x Reader|

Johnny |chapter 16|

As me and Soda hopped into the truck, he turned the music to full blast. Even though we were singing along and having a good time, we knew we were both avoiding the facts. That if we visit Johnny now, he might be alive tomorrow. Everyone in the gang knew it but we didn't want to say it out loud. I had a pit in my stomach. I knew sooner or later, something would go wrong. When we pulled up to the hospital, we sat there for a second. When Soda looked at me, I nodded my head signaling that we could go in. As we entered, the cold breeze of the air conditioner hit my face. We approached the front desk to see a nurse in an all white uniform. My heart started to pound.I could barely hear what the nurse had to say. Next thing I knew, Sodapop grabbed my hand and was leading me in a hallway. Then suddenly, he stopped. I could hear some muffling. It seemed like he was talking to me. When I looked at him and tried to focus, I could hear clearly.

"Coco, are you alright?" He asked. I just nodded. He put his hand in mine and again said, "Coco, are you ok?" But this time I just shrugged. I didn't know how to tell him that, I'm not really ok seeing dead or suffering people. "It's going to be alright. Ok?" I looked deep into his eyes. "Alright," I said quietly. We slowly started to walk to the room again. When we approached his room, we just stood at the doorway. "Soda... I don't think I'm ready," I told him. He squeezed my hand and said, "It's either now... or never." We started to walk in. We saw Johnny laying on his back with burn scars all over his arms, back, legs, and neck. We had to get close to his face so he could see us. "Hey Johnny cake," I said. Could see Johnny's reflection in the mirror. I could see his big grin on his face.

"I never thought I'd be missing that name," he said. He laughed but it clearly hurt him. "Hey, try not to laugh," Soda said. Soda started to pull something from his pocket. He put it on the side of Johnny's bed. It was a bar of chocolate from DX. "In case you get hungry," he said. "So... how are you holding up?" I asked. There was a pause. "Sorry thats a stupid question," I said. Johnny smiled. "All things considered pretty good," he said. "What do you think of the ladies?" Soda asked him. "They're pretty cute," he responded. "Yeah they are," Soda replied. I looked at Sodapop like he was serious. He could tell he was in trouble. "But not as beautiful as Coco," his voice cracked. I laughed under my breath. "Yeah ok," I said. I looked at Johnny. "Hey, do you know what room Dally's in?" Johnny started to couch. My heart started to beat fast. "38..." he managed to say. One of the nurses walked in. "Mr. Cade needs to be taken in to debred his wounds," she said. Soda and I got up and said bye to Johnny and headed to Dally's room.

It was easier seeing Dally than Johnny in a way. It was clear that Johnny was dying. Dally was just burned on his arm. It wasn't that severe but it was still heard to see him. Even though he gets hurt every other day of the week. When we went into his room, Dally was smoking and arguing with a nurse. When he saw us, he sprung out of bed. "Sodapop, Coco. Nice to see you," he said. He came over and hugged us. "Can someone tell this broad to leave me so I can smoke?" Soda looked over to her and said, "Darling could you give us a minute?" The nurse was pissed but stepped out. "So, how's Johnny Cake doing?" I looked at Soda for help. I didn't know what to say to Dally without getting him pissed off. "He's alright Dallas," Sodapop said. Dally started to look concerned. "Look Curtis. You only call me 'Dallas' if the situation is serious or you're mad... You're clearly not mad," he said.

Dally looked at me for an answer. "Dally it's just been a hard day. Ok," I told him. He layed back down in his bed. "Tonight's the rumble. Are you guys ready?" He asked. With everything that's been going on for a split second, I forgot about the big rumble. "Yeah I'm ready. Those Socs are going to be sorry when they mess with us," Soda said. "Yeah of course," I added. "Now scram. You two have to get going," Dally reminded us. "Yeah we have to get going," Soda agreed. He took my hand and led me out the door. Then when we walked out of the hospital, the hot air brushed against my skin. Nothing as simple as cold air can stay for long. When Soda and I got into the truck it seemed like an umbrella of guilt and depression was hanging over me. "Dallas and Johnny didn't deserve any of this," I thought. "They don't deserve being constrained to a bed for so long." The ride back to the Curtis house was silent and anxious. I could tell we were both worrying about a lot of things. Dallas Winston, Johnny Cade, and the big Socs v.s Greaser rumble.

When we arrived back at DX, we sat there for a moment in silence. Then, we got out of the car and headed into the shop. While we were gone Steve was working the counter. I could tell he was bored from the job because right when he heard the chime of the doorbell ring, he hopped out of his seat, rushed past us and right back to the garage. For Steve it's like his safe place. I mean, everyone needs one. I sat behind the counter as Soda got a candy bar. Then he said something I never thought he would say. "I don't want to be a part of the rumble tonight," he said. When I looked at him, he didn't have his movie star smile but instead had a face of worry and protection. "Why can't I?" I asked. "Because, I don't want you getting hurt again. If I know your going to get hurt... I don't think I could live with myself." I thought about what he said. I couldn't live with myself either if I found out Soda got hurt. "Soda. I get where you're coming from but I've gotten hurt so many times. The rumble won't change anything," I said.

Then he turned his head towards me. It seemed like he was angry. "You could end up like Johnny. Do you really want that?" He asked. I looked at him like he was serious. His expression didn't change one bit. I got up and walked towards him. "Sodapop Curtis... what happened to poor JohnnyCake was a freak accident, by a plank falling on his back. That's not going to happen," I reassured him. His face didn't light up at the realization. "Old man Jones. An old man who lives less than a block from you, he got paralyzed from a rumble when he was almost 16. He can't get around with help," Soda explained. I was honestly surprised. I didn' know that Sodapop actually thought his idea through. I put my hand on Soda's cold face. "Soda... you're worried about something that hasn't even happened yet. The worst thing that could happen is broken ribs," I responded. He still didn't change a shade. "You're not going," he said. I softly kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear.

"There's going to be 23 Socs and they are one gang. We have 21 greasers from three different gangs. We need the numbers," I told him. When I pulled away he knew I was right but like always didn't want to admit it. I went back to the counter and read a magazine. For the rest of the day, it was pretty slow. Some regulars can in for gas; snacks, and others came in to get theirs fixed or picked up. While I managed the counters the whole Soda kept on packing inventory just so he didn't have to talk to me about the rumble. But when it was time to go, Soda, Steve, and I all drove to pick up Darry and headed to the house. But as Soda and Darry sat in the front, I decided to sit in the back with Steve. The whole time I could feel his eyes on me. "Coco, are you alright?" Steve whispered. I just nodded and looked out the window at the setting sun.