Chapter Text
Ponyboy always had headaches. He didn’t really count ‘em but if you asked he’d probably say he got one every couple of days, maybe? Every day if it was bad, but only every week or so if it was good. It couldn’t be a sure answer, though, because sometimes he didn’t even notice them. He’d just gotten so used to them.
But that was normal, right? Headaches were fairly commonplace. Anywho, it was his fault most of the time. He’d forget to get enough sleep, or drink enough water, or to avoid hot and stifling places like hot cars without having the AC on or the window down as soon as possible. And, yes, maybe sometimes they would just appear randomly even if he was being careful, but it was nothing that an aspirin couldn’t fix… or maybe a handful of it, if it was a particularly gnarly headache.
All-in-all to say; his headaches were normal. Totally normal. Nothing to get dramatic over. Hell, he’d run the mile for gym class with one splitting through his skull like an icepick, so it really couldn’t have been that bad.
Right?
~~~~~~~~~~
Ponyboy woke with a slight start, still a bit groggy as he heard a familiar voice.
“Pony! Come get your breakfast, or Soda’s gonna eat it all, and I am NOT making anymore eggs- we’re almost out.”
Pony inhaled deeply, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.
He looked over to the other side, where he saw that his, already awake, brother’s side of the bed was somehow messier than his at the moment. He gave a small snicker before standing up and impressively managing to pop nearly every bone his body by merely reaching up.
He cracked his knuckles, neck, and completed it with his gross habit of somehow popping his earlobes, before a wave of dizziness washed over him.
He clutched to the bedside table with a groan.
Nope, this ain’t just his crackly body protesting his habits, this was a sign that he’s gotta be careful with his head today. That means no loud noises, bright lights, stressful situations, exercise, or stuffy environments.
Well, shit. He had plans to go to the movies with Johnny and Dally tonight. If that weren’t bad enough, it had been an all too muggy August, and he doubted the humidity was gonna let up just for a kid with a headache.
Ah, fuckin’ whatever. He’s survived plenty o’ headaches before, this one can’t be worse than all the others. He’ll just take more aspirin when he needs it. Maybe it’ll be ignorable, if he’s lucky.
He stepped into the kitchen, yawning, eyes still puffy from sleep.
“You eat the entire damn pantry, yet, Sodapop?”
Soda looked up with an egg-filled, sheepish grin. Gross.
Ponyboy did not fail to make his feelings known with an overly-grossed-out expression.
“Okay, so the eggs may be all gone, but there’s still some hash browns for ya!” Soda exclaimed, words muffled by the food he was continuously shoveling into his mouth, with no regards for his kid brother sitting at the table with him.
Ponyboy let out a sigh, before removing himself to grab a cup of water to go with the salty hashbrowns. No way he was gonna risk a headache caused by dehydration. Those ones really suck, cuz they don’t even go away when he drinks water.
He filled up a glass with the tap water, before sitting back down and immediately swiping the last three hash brown cakes from the pile that Soda managed to deplete just in the time that it took Pony to get a glass of water and sit back down.
Soda finished his last mouthful of food, washing it down with some coffee, before glancing at the clock and back to the table, sighing and leaning back in his chair.
Pony could practically see the gears turning in his head for a good 30 seconds before he shot up in his chair and looked back at the clock, eyes bugging out.
“Shit! I’m gonna be late for my shift, see ya later Pones! Darry, don’t you got work soon, too?”
He jumped up and grabbed his house keys, giving Ponyboy a quick kiss on the forehead before slamming the door.
Darry let out a soft, plaintful, “Language…”, before sighing and returning to the dishes.
Pony glanced up at the clock before swallowing the last of his hashbrowns and tipping the glass of water to get the last drop. He stood up and walked to the kitchen with his dishes, standing in the doorway for a second.
“Hey, Dar, I can clean up, you gotta go to work.”
Darry looked up at him from the dishes and smiled tiredly.
“Thanks Pone.”
He dried off his hands and disappeared into the other room while Pony set his dishes in the sink and soaped up the sponge again.
He heard a jingling of keys before a faint “Have a good day, Pony, don’t get into any trouble!” and the door slams shut.
Ponyboy finished up the dishes and cleared the table of any leftovers, which, thanks to Soda, wasn’t much.
Eventually, he meandered over to the living room, plopping down on the couch and pondering what to do before he met up with Dally and Johnny. There really weren’t many options. The movie wasn’t until 7, and he was NOT risking getting a headache this early in the day by going out, not when his body gave him a fair warning only 30 minutes earlier.
Luckily (or unluckily, if you prefer), the choice was made for him as Two-Bit burst through the door with a whoop, clearly half-drunk and half-hungover, and clearly not caring about either of those facts.
“Hey, Ponykid! Darry and Soda left for work already?”
Ponyboy winced. Well, looks like there’s no avoiding a headache today, annoying as it is.
“Yeah, Darry left ‘round 15 minutes ago. You come over here just to deplete our supply of beer ‘n chocolate cake?”
Two-Bit gave a mischievous grin, “It’s what I do best, Pone.”
Pony sighed as Two-Bit clanked around the fridge, quickly finding a half-eaten chocolate cake and the last two beers, and shuffling his way, with all 3 items in hand, to plop down in front of the TV. The TV’s always on the cartoon channel. Not many people ‘cept Two-Bit really used the thing, and no one really minds Mickey Mouse, so no one bothered to change it unless there’s a special on.
Pony POV (cuz I got bored of writing in the 3rd person):
I watched some Mickey shorts with Two for a few hours before quickly getting bored. My head started to hurt a bit as I made my way to my room to grab my book. I sighed, but, not wanting to deplete my Aspirin supply unless I have to, grabbed Great Expectations and a pen, and sat back down on the couch. Two-Bit gave absolutely no recognition that I left the room, or that I was even there in the first place. That made me chuckle a bit.
I eventually got so caught up in my annotations that I almost didn’t notice when there was a knock at the door. I got caught in a moment of confusion. Most of the gang don’t knock, they just barge right on in- oh. It’s Johnny!
Oh shit, it’s Johnny.
I set down my book and ran to the dining room to look at the clock.
6:07
Nuts, we promised to meet an hour before the movie so we could take our time to walk and meet Dally.
I’d got so caught up, I barely even noticed my head pounding.
I quickly ran around, grabbing my hoodie and messily greasing up my hair, before running to my front door, sliding on my shoes.
I opened the door and leaned against the frame, clearly out of breath.
“Heyyy, Johnnycakess, I was waitin’ for ya.”
Johnny looked me up and down and laughed, “Sure, Pony. Bet you were.”
All my physical activity caught up to me, and my head started pounding so hard, I had to physically stop myself from making a face.
Johnny, the sweet kid, noticed immediately. “You alright there, Pones?”
“Hm? Yeah. No, I just… I gotta tie my shoes and then we can walk to Dal’s.”
He looked unconvinced but watched as I tied my shoes. I know it’s just a headache, but I really can’t stand tellin’ people when I have one. It ain’t a big deal, and I’m always tired of being seen as some weak kid. ‘Specially by Johnny. He’s the only one that treats me like an equal normally, but he can get patronizing when he’s worried ‘bout me.
I hopped up, finished. “Ready to go, Johnny?”
Johnny gave a snort, “I’ve been ready, Pony.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Eventually, after making the slow walk to Buck’s to meet Dally, we managed to make our way to the hole in the Drive-In fence. I usually love sunsets, but this time, the golden rays I always wax poetic about hit my eyes, practically flash-banging me, and exacerbating the pounding of my head. This headache was starting to be on-par with the one I got during gym class that one time. Couldn’t let it get to me, though. I ain’t no wuss.
We made our way to some empty seats, as far from the socs as we could. Dally wanted to sit next to a group of soc girls so he could mess with ‘em, but our pleading was enough to make him stay with us. I really didn’t wanna deal with a Dally-caused conflict tonight. But it’s not like Dally actually has a soft spot for us or nothin’, he just “Couldn’t stand our gripin’”.
Dally got up as the previews started playin’ to get all of us some popcorn and a coke. Once I saw he was out of hearing range, I snorted quietly. ‘No soft spot’ my ass. As he sat back down, passing down the popcorn and drinks, the movie started playing. I think it was called ‘The Sons of Katie Elder’. Supposed to be a western or somethin’ cool like that. Not like any of us would’ve known, ‘cause we didn’t buy tickets.
Unfortunately, I never really got to enjoy it. My head was pounding the entire time, steadily getting worse. The muggy air was suffocating, the movie screen was all too bright, the coke wasn’t doing anything to quench my thirst, and the salty popcorn was drying me out further and throwing some very much unwanted nausea into the mix.
By the time the movie ended, I was wincing with every rush of blood going through my head. I actually wished my heart would stop beating- just for a second -so that the pain could stop.
Johnny and Dally seemed too caught up in conversation to really notice. Which was fine with me. I don’t need no one worrying about a simple headache I got.
We got up and started walking out of the drive-in, when the delayed headrush started to get to me. Between the dizziness, the headache, and the over-buttered popcorn from earlier, I was ready to vomit all over poor Dally and Johnny.
As we reached the street, though, black spots started to cover my vision. I heard Johnny speak to me, Dally following after, but it was all cloudy and muffled like I was under water. Another wave of nausea passed over, but before I could even up-chuck my measly snack-dinner, I passed out.