♡ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ ɪꜱɴ'ᴛ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ ♡

0 8

"Why don't you leave so I can get ready?"

His eyes grew wide and his cheeks red as roses, smiling at the ground as he bit his lip sheepishly. "Y-yeah," he stuttered nervously, giving me a shy smile before leaving the room.

I chuckled to myself as he left. I found it amusing how easy it was to fluster him, but it was adorable nevertheless.

I got dressed and ready, deciding to change it up a bit: a black tennis skirt that came down to about mid-thigh paired with a white blouse and burlap-colored cardigan. I knew it was probably going to get cold tonight, and I didn't want to be shivering on the drive-in chairs that were already freezing.

I didn't usually wear tennis skirts, even though I had a few. I usually wore Mom's old clothes, as I had grown out of a lot of my old ones, but clothes like these still fit like a glove. I usually only wore tennis skirts when going out or doing something casual, but I had sort of forgotten about them.

I dug through my closet, determined to find something more comfy than the worn-out Mary Jane's I used for work. I found an old, barely-worn pair of sneakers that I thought would do just fine.

I didn't do anything fancy with my hair and makeup, just what I usually did: a little mascara, a little blush, and my hair brushed out into the beach waves my mother blessed me with.

Looking in the mirror, I may not have looked that different, but I sure felt it. The weeks that had passed since Jonathan's trial had been rough, but in a healing sort of way, like the way a cut itches when it closes itself up.

I came out of the room to see Johnny and Two-Bit playing Slapjack on the coffee table, while Ponyboy came from downstairs pulling a jacket over his shoulders.

We left not long after that.

Two-Bit drove us, the ride only being about ten minutes, but enjoyable. Ponyboy refused to sit up front, claiming that he was just going to jolt the car forward a few times on an empty road as he liked to do so often. Two-BIt promised he wouldn't, but his attempts to hide his smirk weren't fooling anyone, and especially not Pony.

So, the three of us sat in the back together, in a conversation about this and that. When he wasn't laughing at Two-Bit's remarks or putting his own two cents in, I would catch Johnny looking at me in a side glance. He would look away quickly every time I caught him, blushing profusely. I could tell by the look on Two-Bit's face through the rearview mirror that he saw everything, but didn't utter a word.

The movie that night was some dumb beach movie they always play with the same cliché storyline that somehow always draws people in. Johnny and I stayed close through the whole movie, barely paying attention to it at all. We occasionally joined in on Two-Bit and Pony's conversations, but for the most part, we kept to ourselves. After a bit, I felt my lack of sleep start to catch up to me, and I laid my head on his shoulder. I felt him get tense, so I took his hand in an attempt to ease him. He relaxed a bit, but I could tell he was still uptight. I knew it was because we were in public, something we haven't really done yet. I figured now was as good as ever.

Halfway through the movie, he asked me softly, "You want some popcorn? I'm gettin' a mighty hankerin'."

I looked up at him and smiled. "Sure," I said, matching his tone, "but I don't have any money."

He stood up, letting go of my hand. "Don't worry about it," he smiled. "I'll pay for you."

"You payin' for me, too?" Two-Bit joked.

"Nah, I ain't that rich." Johnny laughed. "Pay up, big man."

"Aw, shucks," Two-Bit said, smirking as he dug through his pockets. I knew that he would've paid anyway, whether or not Johnny said no.