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Wise men say, only fools rush in
Ponyboy watched his brother with worry as Sodapop continued to sob into his handkerchief, tears falling onto his flannel and the bedsheets. He was shaking his head, trying to hold himself together for the younger boy, yet couldn’t stop the salt water streaming down his cheeks. His breaking point had been reached, he had too much weight to bear.
“Pony-Ponyboy,” He swallowed harshly, hand reaching out to grip Pony’s hand tightly. He pulled the teen closer, falling apart even more.
“Promise me-” He hiccuped. “Promise me you won’t ever fall in love, please. For me, Sodapop, just don’t. You’ll end up like me,” He gave him a small smile, before breaking down. Ponyboy nodded quickly to calm him down, engulfing him in a holding embrace, Soda’s racing heartbeat resting underneath Pony’s stray hand on the older’s back.
“I promise, Soda,” He reassured, resting Soda’s head on his shoulder. He was filled with rage towards Sandy, though what mattered at that moment was comforting his brother. “I promise.”
But I can’t help falling in love with you
Ponyboy felt guilty when he woke up the next morning, Soda’s arm draped around his shoulder. Sunlight poured through the windows, casting onto them, Darry not awake yet to make breakfast. He had to keep that promise to make his brother sleep, though he might not. What if he finds someone he really does fall for?
Oh, shall I stay, would it be a sin?
Johnny flicked a rock into the puddle, watching it rickashay off the still water and onto the pavement. Ponyboy bounced one in his hand, eyeing it carefully. Johnny turned to him, excited that he had made it pop, then frowning at how his best friend hadn’t even been paying attention.
“Man, do you think that rock is more interestin’ than me?” He miffed, plucking it from Pony’s hand and chucking it at the puddle. The younger’s face fell as it disappeared onto the cement.
“Shoot, Johnny, you’re needy,” He pursed his lips, staying like that for a few seconds. Johnny’s eyes softened, and Pony grinned. “‘Was joking, come on!” Johnny returned his smile uneasily, before allowing it to spread across his face. Just as he was about to snarkily respond, he was interrupted by the church bells in the distance, ringing loudly through the streets of Tulsa. Ponyboy’s head shot up at the noise, Johnny following. They waited in silence for the sound to quiet, echos still leaping through the air.
“Man, remember when we went to church. Too bad Two-Bit and Steve ruined it,” Pony gushed, and Johnny nodded, eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t reply in words, thinking about the bible he still kept on his dresser at home. Maybe Ponyboy had one too. If he did, Johnny hoped he had read all those weird worded rules in the beginning. He had, at least, and he wished he had someone to explain them to him. He didn’t understand most of them, including the one about men with men. Johnny sometimes accidentally imagined himself in a relationship with another boy, was that so wrong?
Oh, if I can't help falling in love with you
Johnny went home that night, slipping upstairs without waking up his boozed up father passed out on the couch, knowing his mother had gone to her weekly Bridge game nights. He crept to his room, reaching for the bible sitting untouched near his bed. He stared at it for a moment, flipping the pages around to random spots. He slid a finger down one, eyes searching for the sentence he had been thinking about earlier that day. Once he found it, a lump grew in his throat. It made him nervous, though it was only wordings in a book he rarely touched. "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." Johnny whispered out silent words against his lips, the protest fighting against his anxiety. Careful not to make much noise, he took the bible, and cast it out of his second story window, throwing it over into another yard, just like he had with Pony’s stone. Was it really an abomination? Was...was he an abomination?
Like a river flows, surely to the sea
Ponyboy felt like he was escaping the law. Darry was home early when he came from school, and was tidying up the kitchen table as he walked through the door. Pony noticed him and rushed for the bathroom, original plan destroyed. Sliding down the locked wood, he took a deep breath, noticing that his air had become uneven in such a short amount of time. Unzipping his bag, he stretched for the back of the material, yanking out a photo album. Cracking it open to the first page, all of his troubles were erased, a smile slipping onto his face. They were pictures of Johnny, some crystal-clear and clean cut, others blurry, sparking memories in Pony. One was a fuzzed snapshot of Johnny’s hands, grabbing at the camera since he hadn’t wanted to be photographed. There were ones with the two, arms around each other’s shoulders, or laughing in conversation, most had both posing. The nice pictures had been taken by Dally, the others by Ponyboy. You could see the difference within the two versions. He stayed in the bathroom for about an hour, giggling quietly at the different images of the gang, usually Johnny. The boy in the photos made Pony’s breath hitch frequently, yet for a completely different reason, one he didn’t quite understand, but was about to.
Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be
Ponyboy leaned his head against Johnny’s shoulder, smiles plastered onto their face. Dally was chuckling at their obvious sleepiness, camera clicking. All the gang surrounded him to watch the photo slid from the polaroid, besides Johnny and Ponyboy, who were staying in position. They were sitting on the front of Two-Bit’s car, too sleepy and enveloped with one another to react to the picture. Their friends spread apart, Dally still laughing at their distracted faces.
“You too go together so perfectly, man it’s like youse were puzzle pieces or somethin’,” He snickered, and Pony nodded to himself, Johnny doing the same, struggling to keep his eyes open. Dally was right, they were, the only two puzzle pieces for a perfect painting of happiness.
Take my hand, take my whole life too
Johnny bit his lip, staring at Ponyboy’s puppy dog eyes.
“Pretty please, Johnnycake? Dally and Cherry are going on it, Two-Bit and Marcia are too! I don’t want us both to be left alone,” He sighed, Johnny stuffing his hands into his pocket and gazing down at the ground, trying not to let his best friend get the best of him.
“I dunno Pony, maybe it’s a bad idea, since we’re boys,” He replied, Ponyboy tugging on his arm.
“What harm could it do?” He gave Johnny an adorable grin, and that finally snapped Johnny. He allowed Ponyboy to drag him into the line for the Tunnel-O-Love. What harm could it do? A lot, Ponyboy, you don’t even know the worst of it, Johnny thought to himself saltily. They plopped down in one of the floats, Pony’s expression incredibly excited. At first, the teenage girl running the ride had given them a weird look, but noticing that Johnny really didn’t want to go on, she assumed that Pony was dragging him along and ignored the fact that it was really strange for two guys to be going on a romantic coaster with each other. Johnny tried to bury his face into his jacket, cheeks burning as they drifted into the darkness. It was all cheesy, with floating cupids and hearts and pink lights that flashed across Johnny’s eyes and made him want to scream. He held back, though, for Pony’s sake. He kept smiling over at Johnny, beaming so wide that it made the torture worth it. Towards the middle, when they were in the towns square with robotic characters falling in love, Johnny felt his hand grow warm. He glanced down to see Pony’s attached with his. Eyes meeting, Pony almost dropped his hand, Johnny curling his fingers around the other’s in a quick answer. Ponyboy’s eyes sparkled, and squeezed Johnny’s hand, curling up into him slightly. The rest of the ride, Johnny completely forgot what happened. He had to listen to Cherry’s description of it the remainder of the trip to the carnival, since he had been too distracted by Pony’s hot breath on his neck and the feeling of their hands clutched in a tight hold.
Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you
Johnny shared his cotton candy with Ponyboy. The younger teen won him a stuffed animal at one of the games. He felt as though they were on a date. Were they? Probably not. He wished, in the back of his mind, that they were. It would certainly make it more interesting. But they were the third wheels on a double date, best friends only, who had cuddled in the Tunnel-O-Love. Boy, Pony was sure confusing Johnny, to say the least.
Oh, like a river flows, surely to the sea
Ponyboy pulled at the trigger, the pixelated character moving across the screen with a jump. Johnny stood next to him, neck and neck, face full of determination. They were in the arcade, against one another in a game, heads smacked together. Johnny’s character got at Ponyboy’s, as the other boy was startled in anger, slamming his head into the top of the overhead of the game. He cursed, and Johnny laughed freely as he beat Ponyboy.
“Aw, no fair!” Pony groaned, Johnny giggling.
“I won, I won, I won,” He danced in a circle, earning glances from strangers around them, as Pony held his forehead in agony.
“Let’s go to the photo booth, so I can show Steve tomorrow that I beat you at every game we’ve played so far,” He tugged at Pony’s wrist, pulling him in through the curtain. They squeezed into the seat, reminding both of the carnival, blush creeping onto both of their faces. Johnny inserted the coins and pressed the button, smiling with a wide show of his teeth, Pony rolling his eyes. The flash went off, and the countdown began for the next. Pony wrapped his arm around Johnny’s shoulder to relax, his best friend holding up bunny ears behind his head. Another flash. Johnny squashed their cheeks together, laughing like he was sugar high, Pony joining in. They probably were. Pony shut his eyes at the blast of light, and the last countdown started up. His heart was beating faster than it should've. He wasn’t controlling himself. He leaned over and smashed his lips into Johnny’s, unsure and scared. Johnny gripped him closer, shoving them together, moving against Pony’s with a passion. The flash went off, but both ignored it. They kept trying to shove impossibly closer, air thick, tugging, small breaths being taken as their lips disconnected and came back together again. Johnny’s ran a hand through Pony’s greased hand, smile twisting into an amused expression of slight disgust, faces finally unlocked from each other.
“Wow,” Ponyboy awed, and Johnny smirked at him, untangling his fingers from his locks.
“Wow indeed,” He retorted, lips pecking before he crawled from the booth, hands grasping the string of photos. Pony stood behind him, gazing over his shoulder. Smiles, joking, squeezed together, and a rushed kiss. The red spread from his cheeks down to his neck, Johnny handing him the second copy.
“Now I should totally show Steve, I’d get even more of a kick out of it,” Johnny proposed, and Ponyboy agreed with a linking of their hands.
Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be
Ponyboy had never felt as welcome with someone as he did with Johnny. They were tangled in his bedsheets, moonlight shining onto the floor. They were kissing slowly, breaking apart and gathering back together. Johnny’s ungreased hair was spread out onto the comforter, his head lying below Pony’s, snuggling together as they waited for sleep. Just before Ponyboy fell asleep, he remembered what Soda had told him. Promise me you’ll never fall in love. Pony’s face went worried, and then Johnny kissed him for the last time that night, and he sighed inwardly. That’s one promise you couldn’t stop yourself from breaking.
Oh, take my hand, take my whole life too
Johnny strolled through the front door of the Curtis’, seeing Soda frantically stuffing things into a suitcase. He raised an eyebrow, peeking his head into the shared bedroom.
“What’s goin’ on, Soda?” He questioned, the other grinning happily at him.
“Johnny, Pony’s stayin’ after for track, if you’re lookin’ for him. I’m packin’ up my stuff to take a trip to Florida. Turns out Sandy’s parents hadn’t let her read my mail, and I just got a stack of lovesick letters from her. Gotta go make things right,” He rushed, grin psychotic. Johnny registered the news, before returning Soda’s expression.
“That’s amazin’, Sodapop! I’m so happy for ya,” He grinned, Soda’s loving rambles about Sandy reminding him of Ponyboy.
“I’ll see ya later, Johnny Cade,” Soda ruffled Johnny’s hair excitedly, closing his suitcase and jogging into the kitchen. Johnny stood in the doorway, and Soda turned back to him for a moment. “And take care of my kid brother, be good to him.” Johnny’s eyes widened in surprise. It must have been noticeable, because Soda chuckled.
“How do I know? There’s somethin’ on the bed Pony left out.” He waved goodbye, disappearing into the spring air. Johnny didn’t move for a moment, then stepped back and eyed the made bed. There sat an opened photobook, the photo strip taped roughly onto an empty page. He plopped down, the bed shaking underneath his weight, and flipped back to the first paper. Pictures of him, Dally, the gang, but mostly it was him. His heart lifted. This was Pony’s? From so long ago...he recognized some without the scar on his cheek. Pony had been crushing on him for that much of a time?
For I can't help falling in love with you
Ponyboy sighed and pushed the photobook into Soda’s outspread hands a few days back, hands shivering from his anixousness. Soda cracked it open, smiling once he noticed the gathered photos. His fingertips skimmed the tip of each paper, flicking through all of them, until he stopped at the last. Eyes leading down to the end of the page, he let out a small gasp, at the photo strip from the arcade incident that had happened about four months before.
“Ponyboy...you and Johnny?” He trailed off, and Ponyboy nodded his head with a jerk. To his complete surprise, Soda gazed up at him with a quivering smile.
“I-I’ll always love ya, Pony. Nevermind that, don’t ever question it. Just, be safe, alright? Love is a dangerous thing, and not everyone will be as acceptin’ as me,” He warned, and Ponyboy nodded again. Soda pulled him into a hug, softer than the one all those nights ago, when he was having a breakdown, where he made Pony promise a thing he’d disobey. Pony clutched at Soda tightly, thoughts shifting back to Johnny everytime he tried to focus on the moment.
Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you
Ponyboy sat at the Nightly Double with the rest of the gang. Two-Bit was throwing popcorn, Steve was flirting with a random broad. Dally took the chance when he noticed that Cherry was scared of the incredibly cheesy horror movie playing and wrapped an arm around her. Darry seemed out of sorts, probably since Soda was gone. Johnny and Ponyboy weren’t even in the same world, they were in one of their own. One with butterfly kisses and cuddles in public, no shame and a shield from the Socs just made from the love they shared. Ponyboy was curled against Johnny’s chest, snuggled up into him, Johnny stroking his hair absentmindedly. Dally eyed them, but the rest didn’t pay attention, used to the comfort the duo had in one another. A Soc slammed his foot into the back of their shared chair, yelling a slur, yet neither heard, disappointing him, to say the least. Ponyboy was lulled by Johnny’s slow hand, Johnny was burning with happiness from Pony’s sleepy smile that rested on his face. He didn’t really understand why they had gone with the gang, maybe to spend more time with them. He knew, though, that they would leave earlier, with Johnny struggling to hold up a sleeping Ponyboy. And he was completely fine with that, because he was alive with Ponyboy. He was in love with Ponyboy.