*PoV Ponyboy*
We were all in a good mood ever since we heard that Johnny was going to be okay. The doc had said that he could fix Johnny's spine because it wasn't shattered. A couple of the disks were out of place, and if the doc got to it fast enough, Johnny could walk again. So, that night, Soda and Steve decided to come out. Together. They were together, as in, dating. I already knew, since I had walked in on them making out, and I was fine with it, especially when I learned that I was the same, and so was Two-Bit and Johnny. I had learned that Johnny was gay up on Jay Mountain, when he kissed me. It was the best moment of my life, even if we were on the run from the fuzz, or up in an abandoned church, or the fact that he was two years older than I was and we had sex.
When Soda and Steve were done talking, Darry pulled Soda into a hug. 'So am I, little brother,' he said.
Soda smiled and leaned against Steve.
Dally looked around the room, a smirk on his face. 'Well, it seems that only one person here is straight,' he said.
Two-Bit raised an eyebrow. 'An' are you gonna tell us it's you?'
Dally shook his head. 'Pony.'
They all looked at me. I was always quiet, and only Soda knew about me and Johnny, and I wasn't going to tell them all without Johnny. I smiled at Soda in that, oh dear god, what do I do now? kinda way. He turned to Dallas.
'You mean to tell us that you're the same way?' he said. 'With who?'
Dally looked at Darry. Darry went bright red, turning to look at the floor. There was a knock on the door, turning our attention away from the fact that my oldest brother fancied Dally. I got up off my perch on the couch arm to go open the door. There stood the only male in the history of ever that could make my pants grow tight. They didn't then, because I'm getting better at controlling it. But, anyway, Johnny smiled at me, that kind of smile that said everything and nothing at all.
'Johnny,' I whispered.
He pulled me into a hug. He whispered sweet things into my ear, making me tingle. The other boys came over and joined our hug. We all broke apart and Johnny took a seat next to me. Unexpectedly, he pulled me onto his lap, and snuggled close to me, his nose nudging my neck. Everyone looked at us, smiling. They all knew Johnny was gay, and that he had a crush on me. I acted as if I don't notice it, but I had noticed as soon as Johnny started blatantly staring at me. They all stared at me, a mix of humor and happiness in their eyes, as if they were telling a secret joke or something.
Johnny's hands traveled up the back of my shirt, and Darry realized that Johnny was making a move on me.
"Um… so, Johnny, are they gonna send you to the slammer?" he asked.
"Yeah." Johnny sounded so sad, and I didn't want him to, but he removed his hands from my shirt. I kept myself from pouting.
"For how long?" I asked, turning slightly so I could see him.
"Ninety days," he said, his large dark eyes sparking with lust as he looked at me. That had tipped me off to the fact that he had a crush on me and wasn't just being a creeper when he was staring at me.
I looked at him closer, sadness filling my eyes. He wrapped his arms around my stomach, pulling me into a hug. "Come on, Pony. It ain't gonna be that bad."
"We ain't gonna see you for 90 days!" I said. "It is gonna be that bad." I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and whispered, "Johnny, I love you. I don't wanna lose you. You'll get hard, like Dally. I don't want you to."
"Don't worry," he whispered back. "I'll be fine. I'll stay away from the big bad guys an' just keep to myself."
A single tear ran down my cheek.
"Oh, Pony…" Johnny wiped it away, looking up at me. We heard the others moving around, getting dinner ready, having a cigarette, or doing other things. I snuggled closer to Johnny. We were the only two left in the living room. He lifted my face up with a finger, and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I responded in turn, placing my hands on his shoulders, closing my eyes. He opened my lips, and explored my mouth with his tongue. We shifted and I ended up underneath Johnny. His hands were up my shirt again, tracing shapes on my skin and pinching my nipples. I moaned, and he pinched harder.
"Well, I don't think Dally was right about itty bitty Ponyboy, huh, Soda?"
Johnny pulled away and we both looked over a Steve, who was stood, leaning against the hallway wall, looking at us. Soda was stood next to the opposite wall, in a similar position. He was beaming at us. Steve's eyes were filled something that I couldn't put a name to. "So," he said, strutting over to us. "Are we going to tell Darry, or are we going to tell Johnny's parents first?"
"Don't you dare tell my parents!" Johnny stood up, and pushed Steve away from us. I sat up, and watched Steve fall flat on his butt. "I will kill you if you do!"
The room went silent. We knew it was a figure of speech, but we all knew that if he really meant it, or it was threatening some one's life, he would. He really would kill Steve.
"Calm down," Steve said, standing up and rubbing his lower back. "I was only kidding."
"Well, don't joke around about my parents! You do hear me going around making fun of how lousy your dad is, or how funny it is that your mom is dead! So don't say ANYTHING ABOUT MY PARENTS!"
There was a stunned silence, broken only by the sound of feet walking over to look in at us through the door. Johnny never raised his voice at anyone. He looked straight into Steve's eyes. Steve looked into Johnny's eyes. Then Steve looked away and walked back over to Soda. I looked over at Darry, Dally and Two-Bit. They looked at Johnny. I hated being in there, in all that tension. My hands started to shake. My stomach cramped up. I got up and walked outside, lit a cigarette and breathed in the sweet smoke. I sat down on the porch swing, and watched the sun set.
A few days later, Johnny went to the slammer, and I felt part of me break. But I realized that it wouldn't be helping Johnny if I moped around all the time. He would feel responsible for it, and that would bring him down.
So, every Friday, the gang went to visit him. He smiled so widely at us when he saw us.
Ninety days later, Johnny came knocking on the door at around lunch time. We all tackle hugged him, telling him how good it was to see him out of those horrible prison clothes. He hugged us all, tears brimming his eyes. We walked back inside.
Johnny took my hand before we got through the door, and pulled me over to the porch swing.
"When I was in there, I felt myself changing. I knew that if I didn't do anything to stop that, I'd turn into Darry," he said, holding both of my hands and looking deep into my eyes. "I remembered how you said you didn't want me to. I remembered the look on your face when I knifed Bob, the look on your face when I followed you into the burning church. You looked at me with fear. For my life, not your own. You care so much about me and I never feel like I deserve it. I feel like I'm taking advantage of you. But, anyway, I kept thinking of your smile, the way it lights up your face when you mean it. I remembered how much I love you, and how much I wanted you to love me. And I knew that if I got tuff like Darry, you wouldn't love me anymore." He intertwined our fingers, and leaned forward. "Ponyboy, I love you so much. I can't even start to thank you for all you and your brothers have done for me."
I leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "You don't need to thank us. You are part of this family. You are here because this is your home. I love you, Johnny Cade."