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It was a hot summer in 1958. Darry and Soda had gone out to get some stuff for a barbecue the Curtis family would be having pretty soon, leaving Jamie Curtis and her youngest home alone.
Jamie was cleaning the dishes, preparing them for later, when she heard the familiar sound of socks running towards the front door. “Ponyboy, make sure to put your shoes on and stay inside where the fence is.” She called out as her youngest gave a soft groan.
After a bit of struggling to find his shoes and put them on, Ponyboy successfully put on his rubber boots by himself. He finally ran to the front yard and began his search for any critters he could find.
He had found this weird interest in finding small creatures and just ... staring at them. Steve, Soda's best friend, had said that was an odd thing. Pony didn’t like Steve that much, but his sister, Ace, was pretty nice when she came over, so he didn’t mind that much when the Randle siblings would visit.
——
By noon he’d found two squirrels, one toad, ten or more caterpillars, and one beetle.
He placed the beetle inside of a jar with holes stuck through the lid and sat on the porch. He must’ve been too focused on the beetle because he didn’t notice the little boy watching him from the fence. The boy had shaggy black hair that covered his face and dark, rich skin. He looked almost as small as Pony but maybe a bit taller, around Soda's height.
Pony’s green eyes watched the boy. The two stood there staring at one another until the auburn-haired boy gave a soft wave. “Hi…” the black-haired boy squeaked slightly but gave a small wave in return, causing Pony to giggle from excitement and get up from his spot. Running up to the fence he stood on the tip of his toes and stared at the boy. “My name’s Ponyboy. I’m six!” he grinned happily showing a missing front tooth.
The small boy nodded with a small grin in return. “I’m John… people call me Johnny…” he whispered. “I’m eight…” Pony’s eyes widened. “YOU’RE EIGHT? THAT’S SO OLD!”
Something in the two boys clicked as Pony opened the gate and allowed Johnny in. They played pirates, dinosaur hunters, cowboys, and many other games until Darry and Soda got back. Johnny had grown nervous and left with one small wave goodbye to Pony.
As Pony began to follow his brothers, he slowly turned back to see Johnny waiting to cross the street.
He thought for a moment before deciding to run towards the fence. His heart pounded as he opened the gate and jumped onto his new best friend.
“It was fun playing with you! Come back soon!”
He yelled as he held onto Johnny tightly in a hug. The skittish boy nodded and returned the hug. “Bye, Pony.”
The two said goodbye once again, and they split ways. One went into his house; the other went down the street.
The kid next door was nice. Maybe he’d come by again soon.