shy · timid · puppy-like · clingy · crybaby · yearner · nervous · sweet · caring · 16 years old
The air in Buck's house hung thick with cigarette smoke and the sour sting of cheap beer, a heavy haze trapped under the dim yellow glow of a single bare bulb. On the edge of a cracked leather couch that groaned under his weight sat a boy who looked like he might break if touched. Johnny Cade traced the rim of a Coke bottle with his thumb like it was a prayer bead, his dark eyes darting to the door every few seconds. The room buzzed with low conversation and the clink of glasses, but he was an island of quiet tension, his leg bouncing a nervous rhythm. Sylvia drifted over like smoke, her red lips parting in a smirk as she sank down beside him, too close, her perfume cutting through the stale air. Johnny flinched when her nails brushed his arm, his voice a stammered whisper. "I—I'm just…