"What's your point Darry?" I questioned angrily. It was a typical Saturday night in the Curtis household. The boys came over for cards and laughs, but eventually left in favor of booze and broads. Well, in Two-Bit, Steve and Dally's case. Johnny had taken off with them, but probably ended up heading to the Nightly Double. That left the three Curtis brothers on their own. I had planned on going with him, before Darry started laying into me, that is.

"The point is, Pony, that you never use your head!" I groaned. Same old argument. I had thought since the whole Windrixville incident that maybe he would start going a little easier on me, but no such luck.

"What else is new?" I mumbled.

"What?" He snapped.

"Nevermind."

"You're getting pretty mouthy, kid."

"Darry-"

"Keep out of it, Soda." I bit my lip, not wanting a repeat of our last big blowout, when Darry had slapped me, I ran away, somehow Johnny ended up killing a Soc, we saved a bunch of kids in a church fire, and I thought I had lost my best friend. Darry sighed. "Ponyboy, I don't know what I'm gonna do with you." I knew it wasn't really Darry's fault he was always on my case. He had a lot of responsibilites since our parents died last year and sometimes, it got to him. But sometimes, I just couldn't help myself.

"Then why don't you just stick me in a boys' home like you've wanted to since Mom and Dad died? We'd both be happier!" I shouted. Soda's jaw dropped. Darry looked as if I had just thrown ice water in his face. I found that the tears I had been trying to hold back were now rolling down my cheeks. It was eerily quiet in the house. Probably quieter than it had ever been. Before anyone could say anything, I took off out the door. I heard my brothers shouting behind me, but ignored them as I utilized my track skills and sped towards the lot. As I reached my destination, I noticed a fire glowing dimly towards the center of the field. That meant Johnny was here. My feet began making their way toward the light. I tried to calm my trembling or at least stop my tears, but wasn't having much success.

"Pony?" Johnny questioned when I collapsed next to him on the old car seat. "What's wrong?"

"D-darry and I had another row," I said as I tried to steady my voice.

"Another? That's the third one this week..." I buried my face in my hands.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do Johnny. Things aren't getting better."

"They will, Pony," He said as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"When? I thought that after what happened a few months back that...I dunno. The problem would fix itself, I guess," I admitted. I felt bad bringing up the incident to Johnny. He had been hurt bad in the church fire and the doctors thought he was a goner for sure, paralyzed from the waist down at best, but amazingly, he had pulled through. He still had the scars, though. Figuratively and literally.

"...It's gonna be okay," He said as he rubbed my back. I found it oddly soothing and leaned into his touch. Johnny had been there for me a lot lately. Especially when Darry and I had a brawl.

After I calmed down and the tears stopped, we leaned back against the seat to watch the stars.

"It's warm tonight," He pointed out. I nodded.

"Gotta love them Oklahoma summers." He turned to look at me.

"Hey Pony?"

"Hmm?"

"What's it like...having a brother?" I turned to look at Johnny.

"It's a real pain in the ass." Seeing his serious expression, I sighed and continued. "Sometimes it's real nice. Soda's great. He gives good advice and takes me out when he's not with the girls. And Darry's always looked out for me..." I drifted off. Johnny turned his body so it faced me fully.

"Maybe you should go home." I bit my lip.

"I'm not ready to go home yet."

"They're probably worried."

"Yeah. Soda is."

"Pony."

"Johnny."

"Darry loves you."

"Yeah, well he has a shitty way of showing it."

"But-"

"Do me a favor and just shut up." That did it. I could've slapped myself when I saw Johnny's stricken expression. "Shucks Johnnycake, I didn't mean it." He didn't say anything and averted his gaze. Great. Now I had officially hurt my best friend's feelings. This was turning out to be a great night. I had no right to be whining. Johnny had it ten times worse at home. His old man threw him around a lot and his ma didn't give a damn if he ever came home. "Hey..." I reached out and lifted his chin. "I'm sorry." He didn't say anything, so I continued. "You're the only one on my side. I don't know what I'd do without you." He slowly raised his eyes to meet my gaze. I blushed, realizing how close we were, but didn't shift away. It was kind of nice being this close to Johnny. He was the one person I could always depend on.

Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned in. Johnny did too. Our lips brushed against one anothers' in a feather-light touch. I pulled away an inch and measured his expression. His eyes were half-lidded and his lips were slightly parted. Without hesitation, I leaned in again and this time, his lips moved along with mine. It started off soft and tender, but grew more passionate after a few minutes. My tongue tentatively slid in his mouth. I had never done this before, let alone with a guy, but it felt right. We shifted closer together so his knees that were pulled up to his chest were against my stomach.

My hand that was still on his cheek made it's way into his greased hair. He gently took a hold of the front of my shirt. We stayed that way for a long time, before he pulled away, panting heavily.

"Sorry...Needed air." I laughed lightly and he did, too. I found I enjoyed the sound of Johnny's laughter. He didn't do it nearly enough. After we caught our breath, almost shyly, he kissed me again. I moved one of my arms around his waist and pulled him so he was sitting in my lap. Even though Johnny was older, I was a few inches taller and had a bigger build. He wrapped his arms around my neck. I broke the lip contact and trailed a series of kisses along his jaw.

The feelings coursing through my body were so new, so different...It was an entirely new experience. And I was happy to be sharing it with my best friend.

"Pony," Johnny whispered heatedly. I felt another rush towards my groin hearing Johnny say my name like that. I bent to tend to his neck. "Mmmm..."

"Pony!" My head snapped up at the sound of my name. Someone was calling my name from a distance. Johnny and I scrambled apart and I clambered to my feet.

"Soda!" He jogged up to us.

"Finally," He said, clearly relieved. "Pony, Darry really needs to talk to you. Hey Johnny." Johnny mumbled back a response. I bit my lip and turned away.

"...I didn't mean it," I said finally before turning to Soda. "You know I didn't mean it, Soda." He smiled softly at me.

"I know that, Pony. Darry does, too. Come on home." I glanced at Johnny. Soda must have noticed because he turned to look at him. "Hey Johnnycake. You need a place to spend the night?" Johnny shook his head as he got to his feet.

"Nah, I think I'm gonna go look for the rest of the guys," He said as he shoved his hands in his pockets. We shared a look before he headed off in the opposite direction. I watched him go, somewhat sadly.

"Come on, kid," Soda said as he put his arm around my shoulders and steered me in the direction of the house.