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It was late… really, really late. He agreed to go to a party for god knows what reason and his ride home left without him in favor of sleeping with some girl. So here he was, making the 30 minute walk home in the snow with only a jacket and jeans keeping him warm.
The owner of the house said he could stay the night if we wanted. But he didn’t know them and he’d rather not be a bother. Now he was regretting that. He threw up ten minutes ago, now feeling incredibly light headed and cold as he got closer and closer. Johnny could see his campus in the distance, but it still felt so far.
He was walking on the side of the road, the occasional car driving by or honking at him. A few people had asked if he needed a ride. He said no, obviously. He’d rather not be on the next true crime documentary, thanks.
A few more steps and his foot slipped. He tumbled down into a snowbank, lying on his back with his legs up over the edge. Johnny couldn’t even bring himself to be angry. He just sighed, feeling the cold snow against his neck.
He didn’t have the energy to get up. His head was pounding and his mind was fuzzy. Maybe he shouldn’t have let himself be convinced to drink.
He spared one more look towards the campus before letting his eyes fall shut. A quick breather couldn’t hurt, right? He slept outside for half of his childhood- This was pretty much the same thing!
He’ll get up before he gets frostbite. Yeah, that’s a good idea.
He didn’t know what time it was when he woke up. But his body was numb, the only thing he could feel was two hands under his arms pulling him up. He could hear voices, but they sounded miles away.
“What the hell was he thinking?” One voice scolded. “I dunno Darry.” Another responded, sounding a bit closer. “Sometimes I forget how stupid college kids are. Who lets themself pass out in the snow?”
Okay man, fuck you.
Johnny blinked his eyes open. He was face to face with a man he didn’t recognize, another standing not too far back.
He screamed. He might’ve been embarrassed if he wasn’t shit-faced. He tried to push the guy off, but he was a hell of a lot stronger. He let Johnny fall back against a car, catching his breath and staring wide eyed at the two.
“Jesus!” The one holding him earlier yelled. “Calm down! We ain’t doing nothin’!” The man had a thick southern drawl, making him even more hard to hear in Johnny’s fuzzy mind.
“I-I…. What time is it?” Johnny managed. The two shared a look, one of them looking down at his watch. “Twelve, man. Don’t you have a curfew?” The younger of the two said slowly.
“I’m a grown man!” Johnny frowned, pulling himself off of the truck. “Yeah, too old to be falling asleep in the snow.” The older man scolded. Who the hell does he think he is?
Who are you? My dad? Johnny thought. Or at least he meant to only think it. He was much too tipsy to keep things in his head right now.
“I outta be. How far do you live from here?” The man asked, looking at Johnny like he was about to collapse. “Just down the way,” he pointed to the far away building, looking a lot less close than it did before. “I outta start walking.”
“Definitely not! We can give you a ride.” The younger one urged, smiling. He looked about the same age Johnny was.
“No need. I can walk. Thanks for waking me up.” Johnny shrugged, taking one slow step after another. The world spun for a moment, but he tried his best to walk in a straight line.
One of them winced, pulling him by the arm back to the car. “Yeah, right. You’re gonna die out here if you try to walk.” He opened his mouth to disagree, but the older man glared at him.
And it was kinda hard to argue when he was pushed into the warm car. The younger man climbed in the back with him, leaving the rude man in the front.
It was awkwardly silent for a moment, only quiet Christmas music playing on the radio.
“So… what’s your name?” The younger man asked awkwardly. Johnny glanced over at him. “Johnny.” He muttered.
“Nice to meet you, my name’s Sodapop. And that,” he pointed to the man driving, “is my older brother Darrel.” Darrel grunted as if to agree. Johnny decided not to comment on how the man’s name was literally Sodapop.
“Sorry for , like- kidnapping you.” Soda smiled awkwardly. Johnny shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. ‘s warm in here.” Johnny whispered in content. Darrel laughed. “Sure beats the snow, huh?”
He didn’t have the energy to disagree, nodding slowly before letting his head fall back on the leather seat.
“You go to the same school as our brother.” Sodapop blurted when they were quiet for too long. Johnny raised a brow. “Really? What’s his name?”
“Ponyboy, kinda hard name to forget.” Sodapop laughed. Johnny thought for a moment. “Ponyboy… oh! He’s that guy who wrote a book, right?”
Sodapop nodded. “You know him?” He asked hopefully. Johnny shrugged. “I guess. We worked on a few projects together.” Sodapop hummed. They sat silently for a moment, then Soda sat a little straighter.
“What’s your last name?” He asked slowly, like the cogs in his head were turning. “Cade... Why?”
Sodapop smiled devilishly. He leaned forward to whisper something to Darrel, who laughed. “What?” Johnny asked again. Soda shrugged. “Nothing, Nothing.” But he was still smiling like he knew something the other didn’t.
“Johnny, are you doing anything for Christmas?” Darrel asked from the front seat before Johnny could push further. “Not really.” He shrugged. Darrel hummed. Johnny decided not to tell him that he was, in fact, Jewish. Which ended up not being the best idea.
“Well if you need something to do, I’m sure Ponyboy wouldn’t mind if you joined us.” Johnny sat up. “I don’t wanna intrude.” He muttered. Soda shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Ponyboy needs some college friends.”
Johnny held back a laugh. They pulled into the parking lot before he could answer. Darrel turned back to him, raising an eyebrow. “Well?” He asked. Him and Sodapop looked at him expectantly.
Maybe it was because he was still a little drunk, or maybe it was because he was cold, or maybe he was just plain lonely. Either way, he said yes.
He helped the boys grab their stuff and followed them to Ponyboy’s dorm. Sodapop knocked, and he could hear the people in the room go silent. Pony answered, some boys in the back that Johnny didn’t recognize.
He was smiling when he opened the door, but his eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
“Johnny?” He asked incredulously. Sodapop laughed. “Found ‘im outside, thought it'd be nice to invite him in. You don’t mind, do you Pony?” Sodapop had the most shit-eating of shit earrings grins on his face.
Ponyboy spared a glare at his brothers before stepping out of the way of the entrance. “Not at all.” He smiled at Johnny.
The other two went to greet the guys farther in the room. Johnny stood awkwardly by the door, Ponyboy next to him.
“I am so sorry for them. I didn’t- I didn’t think they’d pull something like this. You don’t have to stay.” Ponyboy sputtered. Johnny frowned. “Oh, Okay. I can leave-“ he went to pull his jacket back over his arm.
Ponyboy gasped, shaking his head. “N-Not that you have to leave.” He explained. Johnny raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to?”
Ponyboy went red faced. “I’d like you to stay, if you want to-“ he sputtered. Johnny laughed, effectively shutting him up. “I don’t have anything better to do.” He shrugged.
“Great. Just uh- I apologize in advance for… them.” Ponyboy looked over to the boys farther back, all of them staring at Johnny like he was a bug under a microscope.
This was gonna be…. interesting.