Hide or Fight

Chapter 1 - Soon, but Not Yet.

Dally's POV

I was going to kill him.

Ponyboy, the son of a bitch that was going to die because of my hands. Ponyboy, the youngest Curtis brother with his stupid, short, light brown hair, has become my enemy. Well, not really, but I was still going to kill that fourteen-year-old, freshman prick. That stupid dork with his greenish-grey eyes. He had no right whatsoever to tell him, and now I will never be able to look Soda in the eye again.

Sodapop was Pony's older brother. (Yeah, I know, they both have odd names, but that's how their mother liked it.) He was sixteen, almost seventeen, and he dropped out of school a while ago. Soda works at the local mechanics shop with his best bud, Steve. The place gets most of its customers because of him. With his dark gold hair and dark brown eyes, he was undoubtedly the best looking guy in our gang with his hundred-watt smile.

I couldn't believe he told Sodapop that I liked him. I had been hanging out with Two-Bit, the eighteen year old wise-cracker of our gang, when I found out.

Two-Bit was still in high school, he was a junior. His real name was Keith, but we call him Two-Bit 'cause he just always had to get his two bits in on every conversation. He had grey eyes, was six feet tall, and he had rusty colored hair. Two-Bit was the guy in the gang to lighten the mood in any situation, but he sometimes got in trouble for that when he smart-mouthed the police.

We were chain smoking when Two-Bit brought up the subject, "You know, Dally, I never pictured you as gay. But you never know, am I right?" Two-Bit coughed. My face must have gotten as white as a sheet.

"What?" I asked, trying to play it off. No, no. This isn't happening.

"Yeah, Pony was tellin' me and Soda how much you liked him; I sure as hell didn't see that coming," he chuckled.

My blood boiled.

"He what?" I gritted out through my teeth. Goddammit, I knew I shouldn't have trusted that little snitch.

"It was kinda funny. Sodapop—"

I slapped my hand over his mouth.

"Ouch, what gives?" Two-Bit questioned, pulling his head back. I didn't answer. I was already storming out of the lot. That's how I ended up just outside the Curtis household, about to rip Ponyboy's throat out with my bare hands.

Ponyboy's POV

My hands were shaky as I led Johnny to Soda's and my room, wringing them together. We reached my room, entered, and I shut the door behind us. My hands gripped each other tighter as I took an unsteady breath.

"Is everything okay, Ponyboy?" Johnny could probably sense the tension practically dripping off of me.

Then was the hard part. I was going to tell Johnny how I felt about him. I had liked him ever since he had gotten jumped by that one Soc. I realized how much it hurt to see him beaten up like that. I had been protective of him ever since. Well, I guess we all were protective over Johnny. Johnny was sixteen, and officially known as the gang's pet. Without him and his big brown eyes, we wouldn't get along.

Anyways, since then, I have never let anyone hurt him. I didn't realize that I liked him then, though. I had figured it out a few months ago when my heart started racing around him, when adrenaline rushed through me whenever someone mentioned his name. I realized why I was always blushing around him. I couldn't believe I hadn't figured it out sooner. I was such an idiot.

The real reason I had decided to tell Johnny how I felt, though, is because of Dally and Soda. I'd liked Johnny longer than Dally had liked Soda, but with their relationship no doubt starting up, they were going to be able to be happy. I wanted that. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to be happy with Johnny.