How to ask a girl out?

Manipulation and relationships should never be mentioned in the same breath. I highly doubt your negative attitude here is helping with his situation.

For Johnny -
Pretty much the best thing to do is to talk to her, hang out with her, try to be around her. Don't stress it too much, just let things happen naturally. If you dwell on it too much, it shows, and it creeps people out. Just be yourself, relax, and things will either fall into place or they won't. If they don't, just move on - it's hard, I know, but continued attempts at someone who has made it clear that they don't want to be with you will only push you farther away from them.

Tldr - Don't stress it, you're young - let things happen naturally, and any resulting relationship, friends, lovers, or otherwise, will be much more rewarding.

You practically just described falling into the friend zone and then said things might come out of it. That's exactly what I said =P. Anyways, Harrison is right about one thing, confidence is key. However, confidence doesn't mean being full of yourself, nor does it mean being a prick. There is a fine line, don't cross it, or you just look like another pimento in a sea of assholes.

As for whether other people look at you in a negative light because of this, ignore it. That's the best advice I can give. People will always be judgmental, it's in their nature. To me, if I don't respect someone, their opinion has little to no bearing on me. Once someone earns my respect, their opinion counts.