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Johnny didn’t mean to make Darry think he hated him, honest! He was just super protective over Ponyboy after the socs tried to jump them, and Darry had just slapped Pony. So sue him for being upset, it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t control his face! And yeah, maybe those first few days he was kinda an asshole, but he had also just been jumped. He had a right to be grouchy. He just…didn’t realize Darry’s thoughts until the man had made Johnny’s favorite meal on the night it was supposed to be Steve's food, and that man was all about fairness. And sure, maybe he was reading into it a little bit, but Dally and Two-bit said he was glaring at Darry like he was going to explode him with his mind and all of the sudden he starts seeing chocolates appear on his bed? He’s gonna think that Darry is trying to “win him over” like his shitty stepdad did when he first started dating his mom. And maybe he milked it just a little…too much.
The first sign he noticed was on a Thursday night. They had a system, everyone had a night where they got to pick the meal for dinner, and Thursdays were Steve’s. Darry had called dinner, and everyone came to the table expecting the steak that Steve wouldn’t shut up about. They all crowded around the counter, expecting a red steak and some broccoli and bread. What they all definitely weren’t expecting was.. pasta with a side of tomatoes? Johnny’s meal was on Fridays, so what the hell was going on?
Steve spoke up first, angry, and rightfully so.
“What the hell Darrel?! I have been waiting for this steak for months , you piece of shit! Fuck you, man!” and stormed out, slamming the door.
Darry’s response? To yell back, “You ain’t the one that got jumped!”
To be fair, everyone had been saying that they wanted meals that Ponyboy and Johnny liked since Saturday, but it had really only been a matter of time before someone else asked for something they wanted…
But still, it was totally unfair! Steve wanted that, and now he was gonna be mad at Johnny for existing!
Everyone sat down to eat in an awkward silence, but Johnny spoke up part way through the meal.
“Why’d you do that, Dar? I could’ve survived without pasta for another day, that’s not really fair to Steve..”
He spoke softly, like everyone would explode at him if he spoke too loud or too much. And Darry’s response? HE JUST SHRUGGED.
“I don’t know, it just felt right. You’re concussed and Pony has pneumonia. You two deserve food you like. He’ll get his steak tomorrow.”
“Yeah, if his ass didn’t skip town already!” It was Sodapop who yelled now, “That is unfair, Darrel, no matter what you say.” He got up, grabbing his coat and slipping on some boots. “I’m going to look for him, and we’re buying ourselves dinner.” He hissed out, leaving the house. Everyone finished their food in silence, going to their respective rooms. Johnny, Pony, and Dally all sat on Dally’s bed (it was the biggest, after all) and just talked because what the hell just happened.
“Why would he do that? He has literally never done that! Like, never ever in the history of all time!” Ponyboy exclaimed, still stunned over the situation. Dally responded with a cigarette in his mouth and a lighter in his hand, saying, “Well Ponykid, he’s tryna win Johnnycakes over. Since apparently this one can’t control his face when concussed.” grabbing Johnny’s cheek, a rare sign of affection from him. Johnny pouted in response, an upset look on his face. “Hey! It’s not my fault, I didn’t choose this..” He mumbled, picking at a thread on his sweatpants. He lied down against Dally, holding Ponyboy’s hand. They’d all become a lot closer after everyone moved into the Curtis house, Pony opting to share with Johnny and Dally so Sodapop and Steve could share.
Speaking of Soda and Steve, they all perked up after they heard the front door open, quickly going silent to eavesdrop. They heard stomping, and Steve started to talk. It sounded muffled, and they couldn’t make out what anyone was saying, but it sounded heated and a door slammed afterwards so they assumed it wasn’t good. They picked up their conversation quickly, in case someone realized how silent it went.
“Wait, he seriously is trying to ‘win Johnny over?’ Why? That’s like, so random. You like him just fine, right, cakes?” Pony asked, one eyebrow raised like Two-bit had taught him. Johnny responded quickly, just a simple nod before looking to Dally for answers. “Have you seen the way Johnny has looked at that man recently! Of course Darrel’s convinced that John hates him.” He looked over to Johnny, waiting for an answer, but was interrupted by the door opening to reveal Darry. He looked among them, before sighing and saying, “Go to bed y’all. It’s 12 am, and you got work tomorrow Dal. Goodnight, love ya.” He shut the door before anyone could respond. They all just sat there, stunned. It was becoming obvious now. Pony was the first to say anything after that.
“What the FUCK was that.” he whisper-yelled, before laying down on the bed and curling up in a ball. Dally shoved him lightly, simply saying, “Scoot over,” just accepting the fact that he would have to share with Ponyboy and Johnny. He looked at Johnny expectantly, closing his eyes when Johnny started to lay down. They all curled around each other, falling asleep fast. They’d worry about this the next day.
When Johnny woke up, it was already 11 am. Dally and Ponyboy weren’t in the bed anymore, and the house was empty except for Sodapop. However, there was a note on the bedside table. It had a Hershey’s bar next to it. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, grabbing the note to read it. It said “Here’s some chocolate, have a good day.” in Darry’s handwriting. He read the note at least twice, asking himself what the fuck he was reading, before getting up to go talk to Sodapop. Soda’ll know what to do. He practically sprinted to Soda & Steve’s room, throwing himself onto the bed and startling Sodapop.
“Soda, please tell me you also got chocolate from Darry this morning.” He pleaded, his eyes wide.
Sodapop just looked at him, but he recovered quickly and smiled. “Uh– no, but I do know what’s happening. You side-eyed him too much and now he’s trying to make you like him again because he thinks you hate him.” He said with a smirk. Johnny just stared at him, because how the hell could he smirk at a time like this! “Well– what do I do?” Like he didn’t already know what he was going to do.
“Apologize, talk it out with him, and move on,” Soda replied, thinking, “he’ll get over it. Now get up off me and my bed, Johnnycakes, my shift starts in an hour and I’m walking.”
“Right, sorry” Johnny got up quickly, shuffling to his room. He sat on his bed for a while, contemplating.
He didn’t know what to do. On one hand, he knew he should talk to Darry, but on the other hand, life was kinda boring and this was kinda interesting.. And he knew what he was doing then. He was going to milk this shit dry, because it’s the funniest thing ever .
It’d been almost a week. Darry had so far made Johnny’s favorite meals twice, bought an ungodly amount of tomatoes and oranges, and given Johnny two magazines. Pony and Dally would giggle with Johnny, but Sodapop would just stare at him with this exasperated look on his face and a small smile. No one else had really caught on since Soda.
That was until Sunday.
Johnny had been strategically lessening his glares and looks, while acting nicer and nicer to Darry. He knew it was mean, but it was so funny! Plus, he could always apologize later..
Steve caught on during a game of poker. It was Darry against Johnny. Steve was peeking at both their cards, and saw that Darry had drawn a straight first try. Instead of keeping it, he put all but two back and drew three new, worse cards. He had just let Johnny win . Darrel Shayne Curtis Jr, the most competitive man ever, had just let Johnathan Andrew Cade when. That’s when Steve caught on.
The looks, followed by Johnny’s meals being cooked and him getting new magazines– it all made sense now. He looked at Darry, and then at Johnny, and then to Sodapop as if to ask ‘what the hell just happened?’ and all Soda did was shake his head and mouth ‘later’. He made a mental note to ask Sodapop what the hell that was about as he shoved all his cigs in the center and started his own round against Johnny.
It took Two-bit almost two weeks to realize anything that was happening. By that point Johnny was getting chocolate bars everyday and Darry even picked Johnny up early from school two days in a row and took him out for ice cream, because Johnny wouldn’t stop complaining. Two-bit decided to ask Darry, because he needed to know what the hell was happening. So in their bed at night, he turned to Darry and asked, “Why are you spoiling Johnnycakes right now?” and he definitely didn’t get the answer he was expecting.
“Because he hates me right now. He won’t stop side-eyeing me and glaring at me and I just don’t know what to do anymore. It’s because I hit Pony. He’s right for hating me, I hate myself right now too..” He ended the statement quietly, voice trailing off. Two-bit just looked at his boyfriend, his best friend, and hugged him.
“Oh, Dar.. he doesn’t hate you. He’s angry for now, he has some sort of feeling that you’re turning into his parents and he’s scared. He doesn’t know what to do. But a part of him knows that you’re not a bad person, it just needs time to resurface.” He comforted him, striking his hair and rubbing his back. He’d talk to Johnny in the morning, but for now he needed his sleep.
“Hey, Johnnycakes.” He found him lounging around in the lot on a Wednesday afternoon. “How you doin’, kid?” Two-bit asked, starting off the conversation. He’d confront him in a moment. “I’m alright, school was annoying, though.” He answered slowly, like he was tired. “Yeah, I bet. Hey, can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot”
“Do you hate Darrel? He seems to think you do”
“No! Why on earth would he think that?” He knew why he’d think that.
“You’ve glared at him quite a bit.”
“I have? Since when?” Since two weeks ago, he thought, you just haven’t caught on.
“Since you and Pony got jumped, after he slapped Ponyboy. You know they’re ok now, right?”
“Yeah! Yeah.. I’m just..protective of Pony, I guess. And I can’t control my face for shit.”
“Yeah well, I think you should go apologize, he’s tearin’ himself up over it.”
“Oh..ok. .I’ll apologize tonight after dinner.”
“Alright kid, I’ll hold you to it.” and then Two-bit left, leaving Johnny with his own thoughts.
‘Fuck, I gotta tell him, I feel so bad now. He didn’t deserve that! I am an asshole..’ Johnny thought to himself as he walked back to the Curtises. Home. His home. He was treating the guy who gave him a safe home like shit without a second thought. He was a bitch, he thought, as he opened the door to home.
“Hey Darry, can I talk to you in private?” He asked, his voice barely a whisper in shame. Darry responded without a second thought, taking him to his room and closing the door, “Yeah, what’s up kid?” He questioned Johnny with concern in his voice, and only got more concerned when Johnny’s eyes welled up in tears and he went silent. “Johnnycakes? Did something happen?” He grabbed his cheek softly, saying, “Cakes, look at me. What’s wrong?”
That was all it took for the dam to break.
Johnny started sobbing, which was incredibly odd and out of character for him. He stuttered out a sad and quick apology, blurting out, “I’m sorry I made you think I hated you, I really really don’t! I just thought it would be funny, I didn’t mean to be this rude! Please don’t kick me out over this, I’m really really sorry!” He cried silently as Darry held him to his chest, whispering sweet nothings until Johnny calmed down enough to process things.
“Hey.. look at me. I would never ever kick you out over something so simple. You could do nothing that would ever make me send you away. You live here now, you’re one of my kid brothers, and you’ll always be one of my babies,” that sent Johnny into a spiral again as he processed that he was loved.
“However..” Darry started as Johnny calmed down, “you are grounded for a week. That is very rude, Cade. Now go to bed, you’re obviously tired.” Johnny just shook his head, allowing Darry to press a kiss to his forehead before shuffling to his room. He had a small smile on his face as he changed into his pjs and slipped into bed, only thinking one thing.
I am loved.