"2:59-5:05"
Scott street; phoebe bridgers
(I thought the end of the song really fitted with this chapter)
!!TW: mention of abuse!!
||Johnnys POV||
"Lay down. Im gonna go get you some water and a blanket." Pony says reassuringly. He pushes the hair out of my eyes and to the side of my face. And almost immediately after, he wipes a somewhat dried tear off of my cheek too.
"Okay." I respond, my voice quiet and scratchier than it usually is. "It's freezing in here." I add, somewhat to myself but loud enough for Ponyboy to hear too. I know he does.
He grins and stands up. "Be right back." He adds. He ruffles my hair again. I smile at him weakly but i don't think he notices.
I watch as he steps out into the dark hallway, closing the door behind him quietly.
As soon as he walks out, i feel my eyes begin to water and my throat begins to tighten. I dont know why i feel like bawling.
I look back down at my hands again.
Why am i so upset? This happens like every week.
I take a quick breath. I realize i was holding my breath that whole time. Damn. I decide to lay down. I started getting goosebumps on my arms from the cold anyway.
I pull the covers over my shoulders to hopefully help warm myself up again.
Ponyboy helped keep me warm earlier.
I let the tears that felt trapped in my eyes go down my cheeks and down my neck.
I hear the water faucet in the kitchen turn on and off again after a few seconds. I quickly wipe away any tears still on my face.
I shut my eyes so that way when pony walks in, he wont notice anything.
I don't really know why i started crying. It takes a lot to make me even feel sad at all —except maybe when a dog dies in a movie—. I mean, I've been beaten so many times before, i don't know why this time was so different. Everything went the way it normally does. My dad gets drunk and angry at something stupid, get beat, run either to the lot and watch the stars, or go 'home' to the Curtis house and spend the night there. So why was this time so different for me?
Ponyboy. Ponyboys different, stupid. A voice said in the back of my brain, almost sarcastically.
My heart suddenly started pounding in my chest. Man, it was so loud. I swear, everyone in the house could hear it too.
As soon as my heart pounding in my ear somehow got louder, ponyboy walked in. And i didnt notice until he closed the door. It's hard to close that damn door without it creaking or making any loud noises.
I open my eyes again and turn to face Pony. He was holding a full glass of water — that looked like it might spill at any second — and a blanket over his shoulder.
Thank god it's dark in here.
My eyes always get bloodshot after i cry, which makes it harder to hide it from anyone.
He paused for a moment before walking towards the nightstand beside me and placing down the glass of water.
Some of it spilled over and onto some scraps of paper I assumed sodapop had forgotten to throw away. I dont think ponyboy noticed.
I grinned at the thought.
I sat up in the bed, the covers still sprawled out across my lap. Pony then turned to me and placed the blanket on top of my lap. I was looking at the water and the — now wet — pieces of paper next to me.
When i looked back at Ponyboy, the moonlight almost perfectly leaked through the window blinds and onto pony.
I froze, staring at pony in the process. I really studied this features though, i don't know why. His green—or "gray" eyes as he calls them— sparkled in the light. I could somehow see most of his freckles and birthmarks even in the dark. His hair was less greasy and was more messy and hung over his forehead and eyes.
Pony finally interrupted the silence of the room. "Heres some water johnny." He said softly, as if he was talking to his girlfriend or somethin'. He set down the blanket onto my lap, adding some extra warmth for me. I smiled.
"Thanks." I said in a raspy voice. I reached over for the water, being careful not to spill any on myself or the floor. I ended up spilling some anyway though. It got all over my hand and onto the blanket in front of me. I slowly brought it up to my lips and took a small sip.
He walked over to the other side of the bed and say down next to me, still leaving a bit of space between us.
"Sorry for . . ." I feel my throat get tighter and my eyes start tearing up again. "Getting all upset." I finish. I look over at Ponyboy. I think he noticed me choking on my words. My cheeks redden.
He looks at me and smiles again. "Dont be." He answers.
I look at him and stare for what seems like forever. He just stares back at me.
I grin back at him and break the eye contact between us, looking down at the glass ive been holding im my hands. I can almost feel him staring at me but, i dont say anything and decide to act almost clueless.
I set the glass back down onto the nightstand.
I take a deep breath and lay down, facing away from pony. I dont know why. I guess i wasnt thinking.
I pull the covers and the blanket over my shoulders again. I shut my eyes. They sting against my eyelids from my crying earlier.
"Goodnight, pony." I say, i drift off to sleep but i still hear pony return the 'goodnight.'
——————
I walk back to the lot quickly to hopefully avoid gettin jumped by any Socs. The cold air stings my cheeks and nose. I get lost in thought after a few minutes of walking, thinkin about how my long hair keeps my ears warm from the cold in the winter.
I somehow het so lost in thought that i don't seem to notice the blue mustang trailing behind me. I turn around after smelling some car exhaust.
My heart starts beating so fast when I realize its the same blue mustang the Socs that beat me up drove in. My heart is beating so fast it might as well rip out of my chest.
The car slowly came to a stop. I turned around and stopped too. I reached for the switchblade in my back pocket. Ever since those Socs jumped me, ive been carrying a 6 inch blade in the back pocket of my jeans incase somethin happened again.
Before i could even get my hand all the way around it. Somehow, a Soc had come behind me and snatched it before i could. I turned around quickly.
How did he get out so fast??
Some other guys hopped out of the car too. I didnt really look at any of their faces, but i did look at their hands.
Rings. He had on rings.
My heart stopped.
When i looked up to see his face, nothing.
No nose, no eyes, no mouth.
Nothing.
I looked around at everyone else.
Same. exact. thing. No features. Just . . . nothing.
They all slowly walked closer to me, circling around me. One was holing out my switch blade. Some others had some broken whiskey bottles.
My eyes quickly shot opened, sitting up in the process. I looked around and it took me a moment to realize i was still in Ponyboys house. The room was dark and the moonlight from earlier was gone. I couldnt really make out anything. Except pony.
He mustve heard me sit up Or my "gasp" that was probably really loud because he sat up too.
"Johnny?" He said sleepily. "Johnny, you okay?" He added. I could barely hear him through my ringing ears.
I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. It was like my throat shut or my voice just suddenly gave out on me. The only thing i was even able to do was stare in front of me and cry.
"Johnny?"i could barely hear. Everything around me was muffled. "What happened?" He asked.
I still couldnt answer.
He placed his hands onto my shoulders and turned me to face him. I looked at him and he was already looking at me, his eyes almost filled with worry. He then placed his hand on my cheek but then quickly placed it onto my shoulder again.
I could kind of hear him say something along the lines of "lay down. Itll be okay." My thoughts were roaring around my brains so fast it was hard to even concentrate on anything.
He gently layed me down, facing him. He laid down next to me and wrapped his arms around me.
He held me there and let me cry.
This chapter took me SO LONG TO WRITE. But i hope u guys enjoyed it!!
||word count: 1553||