Chapter Text
The school hallways were loud, and kids were rushing to get out.
Ponyboy wasn't too surprised when Johnny was suddenly beside him, but was still startled by the sudden presence after he closed his locker. This had been happening for the past week the second school had ended, the latter suddenly being beside the former no matter what.
"Little warning next time?" Ponyboy asked, smiling nonetheless.
Johnny pretended to consider it before shaking his head. "Nah, it's fun to scare you." He held out the hand that wasn't holding a book and folder full of extra work.
Ponyboy frowned and muttered something about not being scared, then took the other's hand and walked with him towards the exit of the colorless school. The two had been dating for a little while, sticking together, practically being attached at the hip. They both felt out of place, being that the school was full of rich kids who weren't exactly popular. There weren't many greasers there, easily outnumbered by Socs. It had been weird that day, the workloads seemed heavier and the words kept blurring together on pages, numbers mixing together to create bizarre symbols. It might've been because of a week of tests everyone had to take the week before, brains still foggy and unable to make clear thoughts.
The white walls with metal lockers had a few posters. One poster detailed something about the theater club happening, though Ponyboy had to squint to see the poster. His vision was blurry for far sights, it had happened recently.
“You thinkin’ about joining theater, Pone?” Johnny asked, noticing what he looked at. He had started noticing a lot of things he didn't before ever since the duo became closer than ever.
Ponyboy looked away from the poster. “Maybe. Sherri's told me good things about it, guess she's been in a few.” He didn’t call Cherry by her nickname, she had said her friends called her ‘Cherry’ because of her hair. He didn’t know if he was considered a friend.
“No wonder people think y’all are a couple,” Johnny whispered under his breath.
Ponyboy grimaced as he followed Johnny out the school doors, pulling their hands apart as they got into a more open area where anyone could see them. He knew the other wasn't wrong, people had seen him and Cherry walking around hallways, sticking close together. They still didn't talk much, though they exchanged words sometimes and the conversations were civil despite their differences. She'd get annoyed when someone asked her why she was with a 'greaseball,' and he'd roll his eyes (a habit he adopted from Johnny) every time someone assumed he was trying to get money from her. He was sure he had a crush on her maybe some time in the past, but it disappeared at one point. "I don't have any interest in her, you know this."
"I know, but seeing you defensive," Johnny grinned and shrugged.
"Right, so you just want me to be emotional," Ponyboy mumbled under his breath as they began walking on their usual route.
Johnny shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows. "No, I do think it's tuff when you express yourself though. And adorable."
Ponyboy groaned in annoyance at the last part, his ears turning a little pink. "Awh, shut up, that's gettin' rid of my reputation."
"Of what? Being the second good-looking Curtis brother?"
"Second? Also, that isn't what I'm talking about."
"You're first on my list, Soda comes first for others."
Ponyboy tried to ignore the compliments. "Soda's movie-star pretty, 'course he'll be people's favorites."
Johnny sighed. "You're doing it again."
"What?"
"Minimizing compliments 'cause someone told you otherwise."
Ponyboy shrugged and didn't respond. Johnny bumped his shoulder with his own. He tried his best to try and get some of the negative attitudes out of his head, but it didn't always work. They walked in silence for a little, sticking close together, hands brushing occasionally. Eventually, they were holding hands again. The two weren't too open about dating, really only having told their closest friends. You could be thrown in jail for that kind of attraction, so they hid themselves behind walls and kept saying they were friends, unsure if they'd ever be open about anything. Maybe in a few decades they could. Ponyboy sometimes wondered if Johnny’s parents found out about them and that contributed to them kicking him out of that horrid household. The latter swore up and down they still held a small liking towards him. Maybe they did, when he was younger. Ponyboy didn't know much about his childhood, he didn't speak much about it, only recollecting the bruises and scars.
Who treats a child like that?
“Dally, guess he's marked down as my parent, ‘cause now my teachers are contacting him about me falling behind,” Johnny commented, bringing the other out of his thoughts. He had been missing homework in favor of doing whatever else he wanted, it seemed like most days he didn't care like school unless it was something far too important to ditch on.
Ponyboy looked at him, then laughed. “Have fun with that.” Johnny glared at him, squeezing his hand a little too tightly. “Okay– okay, I'm sorry.”
“Hm,” Johnny huffed.
They sat against the couch, Johnny writing on a piece of paper. Ponyboy had a book, rereading it for probably the fifth time, his eyes flickering over the pages, his expressions shifting every other sentence he read. Johnny kept looking over at him and smiling, looking away when he got caught.
“Quit eyein' me,” Ponyboy mumbled as he looked over again.
Johnny shrugged. “You're eyeing me, you look at me,” he shot back.
Ponyboy huffed, dropping his hands so the spine reading A Tale of Two Cities was hidden by the floor. “Keep working.”
Johnny noticed. Charles Dickens. He gave the other a look of really? “My hands hurt, I don't want to write. Can you finish it?” He requested sweetly.
“I'm in the middle of a chapter, no,” Ponyboy firmly stated, bringing up the book to eye level again, his knees halfway to his chest.
Johnny leaned over. “What's it even about?”
“London and Paris before and during the French Revolution,” Ponyboy summarized, flipping a page. Johnny focused on his eyes, watching as they jumped all over the page. “Johnnycakes, I love you, but go back to work.”
Johnny groaned in annoyance and fixed his position to lean against the other's shoulder, going back to writing down words at a quick pace, but somehow keeping his handwriting neat. He hummed a song he heard on the radio quietly, trying to fill the silence.
Five minutes went by.
“I think I should try out theater. Ask Sherri ‘bout it more, probably.”
“Really?” Johnny looked up, a spark in his eyes. “I'll support you if you do.”
Ponyboy put the wrapper of a packet of M&Ms into the book, using it as a bookmark. He put the book down and stretched his arms, his knuckles popping. “You should join, too.”
Johnny shook his head, writing the final word on the paper then putting it atop the book. He cuddled up to the other's side, resting his cheek on his shoulder. “Naw, I can’t act. Can’t lie like you.”
Ponyboy hummed, shifting a little so he'd be comfortable with the weight on his shoulder. “Okay.”
Inside the school that day, it was overly cold. It wasn’t even hot outside. Ponyboy had kept eyeing the theater posters, a show wasn't even announced yet. He had sat through classes and fell asleep during one, having known everything already being taught. He had seen Cherry a few times and waved across the hallways. She had waved back. They weren't particularly friends, not really.
It was after-school when they properly talked. He parted from Johnny when he saw the familiar red hair.
“Sherri?” He had called out from behind her.
Cherry looked away from her friend, who had green clothes. Her hand pulled away from the other girl's hand, their fingers no longer intertwined. She smiled and pulled away from her group, following Ponyboy out of the middle of the sidewalk. “Cherry,” she corrected. “Hi, Ponyboy.”
“Hi,” Ponyboy awkwardly responded, “how are you?”
Cherry shrugged. “Alright. You? And how's Johnny?”
Ponyboy tried not to smile. “Both good. I was wondering– you said you liked theater, right?” He asked, rocking back and forth on his heels.
Cherry tilted her head. “Are you thinking about acting? Didn't realize you were much of the ‘putting on the mask of someone else’ type,” she joked. “Sure, I like theater.”
Ponyboy nodded. “What's it like? The school plays, specifically?”
A moment. “Fun, uhm… physically and mentally exhausting,” Cherry laughed, “it's a nice community, I think you'd fit in. I don't know what else to say.”
Ponyboy thought about it, looking at a tree he felt Johnny would be near. “Mmm. I don't know, feel like I won't fit in, considering… you know, my likings,” he admitted.
Cherry raised her eyebrows and vaguely looked where he was looking. He nodded. She considered it. “I think they'll like you more instead, that's what I've experienced.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Ponyboy, the show'll be announced in a few days time. You can ask me about it more later, I do suggest joining, it'd be fun.”
A moment. Ponyboy smiled. “Thanks, Cherry.”
“‘Course, stay safe, okay?” Cherry smiled in return.
The radio was quiet as it came from the living room. Ponyboy tapped his fork against the plate slowly and silently, listening to Johnny talk with his brothers. He had made his decision, he'd join theater, maybe try to get his boyfriend to join, too. He talked with Cherry a bit more, and it turns out there was a position for a backstage role, not everyone had to act. Johnny was creative, he could stay backstage, he'd fit in there. He hadn't really talked to him about it.
“Darry, Soda?” Ponyboy started, interrupting Johnny. “I… we decided we want to join the school play.”
Johnny paused and slowly turned to him. “We?”
Oh, shoot. “...I did,” Ponyboy corrected himself.
There wasn't a response for a few seconds, Sodapop and Darrel just shared a look. Johnny waited for a response, silently raising a fork twirled with noodles to his lips and eating it. Ponyboy noticed. He looked away from him, his cheeks feeling warm as he waited for his brothers’ response.
“That's tuff,” Sodapop commented, “I'd be fine with it. Just focus on school. Who else is there?”
“Pony, honey, I don't know if you should, y'all should be focusing on school, not actin’,” Darrel said, putting down his fork.
Johnny choked on spaghetti, eating it too fast. Ponyboy reached over and patted his back as he doubled over. “Breathe, Johnny. I know I should focus on school but… just once? I don't have anything else to do, and Cherry Valance is also going to be there, she likes to act,” he explained simply.
“Cherry Valance? That Soc that Dally likes?” Sodapop asked.
Johnny looked up, still coughing. “Used to,” he corrected.
“Whatever– it doesn't matter, Soc is just a label. Can I?” Ponyboy asked, pulling his hand away from Johnny’s back, looking directly at his oldest brother.
Darrel considered it, looking at the others around the table. “Fine. Put your health and relationships first, though, don't focus on some silly play. School will also come first. Savvy?”
Ponyboy immediately straightened up, smiling. “Sure. Thank you.”
Johnny was already stuffing his mouth full of spaghetti once more, his voice muffled as he asked, “Am I being forced to do it too?”
“I think you should join me, there's a backstage thing, you don't have to act, just stick behind the scenes and do creative aspects,” Ponyboy explained. Johnny stared at him before shrugging and stuffing his mouth full with spaghetti. “Don't choke.”
Johnny didn't listen and Ponyboy later had to pat his back again.
It was fifteen minutes til eight in the morning on a Friday, five hours of sleep, waking up late and nearly late to school, when Ponyboy was suddenly dragged inside by a soft hand. Red hair, vanilla scented perfume, pink pleated skirt and a white top.
“Cherry, what the hell?” Ponyboy said suddenly.
“The show was announced, there's a poster, c'mon! There's gonna be a crowd, and believe me, you don't want to stand and wait this early in the morning,” Cherry explained quickly, holding tightly onto his hand.
Ponyboy groaned in annoyance. He was starting to regret firmly deciding he was doing theater. “I woke up thirty minutes ago, give me a second.”
Cherry glanced back at him as they approached a small group of people around a wall where a teacher was standing. “Don't you have a boyfriend to wake you up?” She asked, her voice quieting, as they stopped behind two freshmen.
“He went with Dally last night, wanted to bond, I guess,” Ponyboy mumbled, leaning on Cherry, only because he was about to fall asleep. Her arm wrapped around his shoulders, expression shifting at the mention of Dallas.
The group of kids started to pull away from the poster, excitedly talking. The duo made their way to the front and Cherry peered over the shoulder of a kid in front and pulled Ponyboy to see. He squinted.
West Side Story, pick up packets outside the theater classroom for more information about the play!
“Huh,” they both said at the same time.