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The stars twinkled against the harsh black of the night sky, the moon a waxing crescent, not exactly casting any moonlight, but providing some light. There was quiet talking in the abandoned parking lot as two greasers sat against a broken car, staring up at the sky. It was well over curfew for the younger one out of the duo, but he didn't make a move to get up and head back home, instead got cozy beside the older one.
"Do you ever wonder what's up there?" Ponyboy quietly asked, hands held together in his lap. His eyes traced a constellation, the same eyes he wished were grayer.
Johnny hummed, crossing his arms, the denim brushing against itself being the next sound. "No, why?"
Ponyboy shrugged. "Just... looks cool. I don't know, I'd want to see the stars up close," he admitted, tilting his head against the other's shoulder, fixing his posture to not hurt his neck too bad.
"It'd be real empty up there, Pone. Just you and... nothin'."
"Johnnycakes, you're being a pessimist! Just think 'bout it, I'd want to see the moon up close. It'd be cool, seein' it is tuff, but close, that'd be more than tuff."
"Ain't it just a big rock in the sky that floats around?" Johnny hesitantly asked, tilting his head to look down at the other greaser.
Ponyboy furrowed his eyebrows and turned to put his chin on his shoulder. "It ain't just a big rock, it's..." he hesitated, "it is just a big rock." He went back to his previous position, frowning. "But it's a cool one! And it's not in the sky."
Johnny shortly laughed. "I'm no help with big rocks in space, you read 'bunch of books, I thought you'd know more than I do," he said.
"Sure, but not books about space," Ponyboy corrected, staring at a cluster of stars. "Johnnycakes?"
"Hm?"
"What if we're just a big rock in space?"
"Us?"
"Sure."
Johnny paused and thought for a moment. "...well, we ain't rocks," he pointed at a rock a few feet away, "that is though."
Ponyboy nodded. "Sure." He paused. "Do you ever wonder how they saw shapes in the stars and were like 'oh, that's a crab!'"
Johnny shook his head. "Not really. Not ever," he smiled, "but if you're able to see something others can't, that's tuff."
Ponyboy groaned in a mix of feigned disgust and annoyance. "Don't get philosophical, you're not some sort of Greek poet."
"That's a big word."
"I know."
"What does it mean?"
"That you're fancy like a Greek poet or story teller like Homer."
"Oh, tuff."
"Not really."
They fell into silence after that, the older boy not focusing on the sky anymore, instead fidgeting with his fingers. The younger boy tapped his foot, trying to start counting the stars, though losing count soon enough.
"What time is it?"
"Shoot, I don't know, I don't have a watch and I ain't a clock, nor a time keeper."
"You should probably get home, Pony. We've looked at the stars long enough, I don't want you to get in too much trouble."
There was a moment before Ponyboy nodded again, sitting up, struggling for a moment to stand up fully. Johnny bit back a laugh and smiled. A tight-lipped one. "Uhm, come by if you get cold, you dig?" He asked.
"Yeah."
Ponyboy smiled and hesitated, looking up at the sky again before walking away, hands in his pockets. "Bye, Johnnycakes!" He called out before going out of sight.
"Bye, Pony!" Johnny called back. He relaxed back against the broken down car, sighing as he tilted his head back to stare at the stars.
They kept twinkling, like fireflies in a jar. They did that every night, after the orange and reds and pinks disappeared from the sky alongside the blues. It was pretty peaceful, especially with the gentle wind going through the leaves, rustling them.
Too bad it couldn't stay like that forever.