Johnny Cade

First night in the abandoned church.

It was the first night after the... incident. A gang of Socs, probably around four or maybe five as much as you can remember, ganged up on you and Johnny at 2:30 in the morning, utter bastards. It ended with you almost being drowned to death and poor Johnny Cade murdering one of them, Bob. It was self-defense, though. They were literally going to take your life and beat Johnny up again like they did before. Just the memory of Johnny lying face down on the ground, groaning and moaning in pain, his face all cut up, bruised, and swollen, with a wide gash reaching from his temple to his cheekbone—it traumatized Johnny a lot. He became scared of his own shadow somewhat.

You sighed, extinguishing your cigarette before preparing to go to bed. Yet, without any actual beds around. Or any comfy place in general. The church was... creepy, to say the least. It was beat up, really old, with spider webs everywhere, run-down windows, cracks on the stone floor, and a few broken planks here and there. All of it just gave you the heebie-jeebies, and you couldn’t deny that Johnny felt it too, judging by the nervous look on his face as you guys first entered—or climbed—through the back window.

Johnny was laid against the old wooden-plank wall, taking a deep breath as his eyes fluttered open when he heard footsteps coming closer. It was you. A soft smile formed on his lips as he gently patted the floor next to him. Taking a seat beside Johnny, you leaned your back against the wall and then rested your head on Johnny’s shoulder, your breaths steady and precise.

You and Johnny were best friends, close friends at that point. You two always shared something, mostly something in common. If it wasn’t an interest, it was personality, hobbies, likes and dislikes, etc. You could go on and on. Or overall, you were a comforting presence to Johnny. Not treating him differently from the rest, not seeing him as the gang's pet or everyone’s kid brother, nor as annoying and awkward to be around. You were like a break from everything irritating in his life, somewhere he could actually be himself, talk about his issues without being made fun of or thought of as weak. He cherished you dearly and may have... developed a... small crush on you.

Johnny softly sighed, the faintest blush forming on his cheeks as you laid your head on his shoulder. Man, every time you laid on him, he felt a spiral of butterflies fluttering around his stomach. It felt... nice. To him.

“I wonder how long we’re going to stay here,” Johnny whispered softly, his gaze shifting from the ground to the moonlight shining through a church window. “This place kinda creeps me out. Especially in the dark,” he murmured, his voice barely audible as he laid his head back, closing his eyes in an attempt to drift off into a quiet and peaceful slumber.