zenosyne | johnnyboy one shots

runaways

tears streamed down johnny's face rapidly as he sprinted out of his house. his hands were fisted inside the pockets of his jean jacket and his teeth were clenched. his mind was running on autopilot, constantly just telling him to run. nothing else mattered. the was no rational thought put into this decision. his mind was screaming at him to "just run until you can't run no more." so that's what he did.

everything prior to this seemed to happen so quickly. the minute he heard his father's empty beer can drop to the floor, he knew something bad was about to happen. the usual things happened: being called "worthless," his father screaming drunken nonsense, nothing out of the ordinary. yet, at the same time, johnny grew tired of being his parents' punching bag. the stinging he felt on his cheek after his mother slapped him just so happened to be the last straw.

it didn't take long for johnny to realize that he was far from home at this point. he was surrounded by barbed wire fences and trees that seemed to tower over even the tallest of tulsa's buildings. there were a few broken streetlights, and the ones that weren't broken were very dim, giving off very little light. his knees ultimately gave in and buckled, and he sank to the ground. it was then that johnny realized the danger of the situation.

he was here. alone. at midnight.

no one would be able to find him at this time. even if they did, would they want to? he knew for a fact that his parents could care less about him. he didn't really have any friends to begin with, and the very few ones he did have had other friends that they seemed to care about more. with virtually no one that cared about him, would anyone notice that he was gone?

johnny looked around himself. the area that was originally dimly illuminated now seemed to be pitch black. there wasn't any entrance or exit. just a pure void of nothingness that was waiting to swallow him alive. johnny's eyes squeezed shut and his breathing quickened. this was going to be his fate. the world was going to swallow him from the ground, and no one would care to even say goodbye.

suddenly, his lungs felt as if they were trapped underwater. his body was shaking uncontrollably. johnny clutched his stomach, his breathing getting quicker and heavier until he felt as if he couldn't breathe. he tried gasping for air, but all that came out were shaky sobs. then, johnny finally snapped. he sobbed and let out quiet screams until his throat felt raw. after so long, he finally let out his anger, his sadness, his cries for help. he wanted-no, needed someone to help him. but no one would be there because he was alone.

that is, until he wasn't.

suddenly, he felt warmth. warmth in the form of two arms wrapping around his torso. warmth in the form of being pressed up against another body. warmth in the form of soothing whispers in his ear, telling him to "follow their breathing" and that "everything would be alright."

johnny huddled in closer to the warm body, feeling the even rise and fall of the person's chest. it took a little bit of time, but the rise and fall of johnny's chest soon matched the stranger's.

"you feelin' better?" it was a lot easier for johnny to hear the voice, as it was speaking in a normal tone as opposed to a gentle whisper.

"uhhh sorta, thanks for, umm, y'know," johnny stuttered, lifting his head up, bumping his head against something. or rather, someone.

"s-sorry about that," he hastily apologized before looking at his savior. due to the dim lighting, johnny couldn't see him very well, but a glimpse of curly blonde hair gave it away.

johnny's eyes widened slightly in recognition. this was ponyboy curtis. the kid in his afternoon math class. johnny had seen him a few times, but he never had a full-on conversation with him. what was he doing here? and why was he alone?

"hey, aren't you that johnny kid that sits in the back of my math class?" ponyboy questioned. johnny nodded. there was silence for a few seconds before pony decided to break it again.

"so, uh, what are you doing out here alone?"

johnny let out a small smile, "i could ask you the same thing."

and that's how the two ended up lying on the ground, talking for what felt like hours about their home lives. by the end of the conversation, the two went from complete strangers to what felt like lifelong best friends. they understood each other, something that no one else they've interacted with seemed to do. they vented, they sometimes joked, they even let out a few tears. but deep down, they felt happy because they finally had someone that they felt they could trust.

then pony was silent for a few seconds. confused, johnny tapped him on the shoulder. no reply. johnny began worrying that something happened. was it something he said? something he did? before johnny could ask what was wrong, pony spoke again.

"run away with me."

johnny looked at him as if he grew another head.

"what? are-are you serious?!"

"absolutely."

johnny looked into pony's gray eyes, trying to find some sort of evidence to see if he was joking. but pony looked completely serious about it.

"but where are we gonna go?"

"there are a few cheap motels here."

"how are we gonna pay for food and clothing?"

"nothing applying for a job can't fix."

"but you have brothers! how are they gonna feel when they realize that you're gone?!"

"they'll get over it. soda might not get over it as quickly, but darry is strong. he didn't shed a single tear when mom and dad died."

"pony, please think about what you're--"

"i am thinking! i'm thinking about how i can't stand being alone anymore, and how i...i-i can't let you go back there, johnny, i just can't!"

there was silence afterwards. neither one of the boys moved from their spots, in fear that any wrong move would create even more tension.

"look," pony lifted johnny's chin up and stared him straight in the eyes, "i know you're gonna say no anyway, but really think about it. forget logic, or how anyone else feels for a second. this is about you. about us. it's always how we make them feel, never the other way around. if we can simply get away from it all, even if it's for only a day...there can be at least some hope that things will get better."

pony was almost about to cry near the end of his reasoning, and he slipped one of his hands to intertwine with one of johnny's hands.

the was no doubt in johnny's mind at this point. he knew pony had to be insane. there was no way they'd survive. running away would only put them in more trouble. yet, part of him wanted to do it. part of him longed for a brighter tomorrow. part of him wanted to wake up and not worry about having to go to sleep with a bruised shoulder. and that part of him was becoming stronger by the passing second.

so as pony hung his head in shame and waited for the rejection, johnny gave his hand a small squeeze, tightening their interlocked fingers for just a second.

"looks like they'll have to find two other hearts to break."

word count: 1,276

a/n WHAT I TOTALLY DIDN'T BASE THIS OFF AN ALL TIME LOW SONG PFFFFT WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? but in all seriousness, i'm sorry about the delay for a new one shot. i had a huge case of writer's block :/
on a side note, p.j. and i updated the au!....which basically means that we added a new description to the book lol. so that's why johnny and pony are in the same math class, cuz..they go to school now...yea. anyway, i hope you liked the one shot (even though i'm probably gonna look at it an hour from now and cringe excessively) - todd