Chapter #1

School was boring and uneventful. That's what Johnny thought, anyway.

Why does Pony even drag me there anyway? All I do is listen to teachers talk about unimportant things like English and math.

It was these things he pondered on his way to a certain blue and white house.

I'm going to go home today, and I'm not going to be a chicken about it.

Each time he convinced himself of this, he seemed to be more confident. In reality, he hated that home. He hated the walls, the floors, the rooms, the beds, the tables, and most importantly, the people. He wondered what he did to them. What did he ever do that was so horrible to make them despise and forget his entire existence? Johnny wondered which one was worse: Hatred or being Ignored.

`Being Ignored. At least when they hit me, they know I'm there. I'm not just a meaningless blob to them.

To his dislike, Johnny found himself in front of his house faster than he had hoped. He stood at the door, giving a gentle knock that seemed to echo and rattle in his heart.

"You get it!"

"No, you get it!"

I just hate it when they fight.

Deciding to just end it now, he opened to door. "..Ma? Pa?"

"Oh, it's only Johnny." His mother stood by the kitchen, looking annoyed.

Only Johnny?

Last time he checked, he was a person. Not only a person.

His father was giving him a disapproving look. What would it be this time? Would he use his feet or his fists to beat him up?

"Dad?" Johnny squeaked in a voice that was a much higher tone than he hoped it would be.

"Don't speak!" His father commanded.

Johnny disobeyed. "I-I went to school and everything today.. Learned a-lot," he smiled, feeling hope surge through him, "Are you proud of me?"

His father grunted, shaking his head. "I will never be proud of you. Even if you saved someone's life, I will always hate you." His father ran towards him, and he let out a muffled sob as he felt a fist slam into his cheekbone.

Sure, the physical pain hurt a-lot. It would maybe even cause a black-and blue. But, that made him look tough.

It was those words. I will always hate you. That was the real pain. The pain that surged through his body and made him make those horrible crying sounds. The pain that opened the gates to a waterfall of tears.

What did his mother do while this was happening? Absolutely nothing. She sat there, not even looking at the scene occurring right next to her. Why won't you love me?

"I think that's enough." His father smiled. "Now, get in your room. I don't want to see you again today. You make me sick."

You make me sick. There was that emotional pain again, making his eyes brim with tears. Without any second thought, he walked up to his small, almost closet-like bedroom. This room was anything but neat; covered with clothes and pillows. His small black cat sat in the corner, staring at him with her big green eyes.

The cat was the one thing his parents did for him, and it wasn't even because they wanted to do it for him. It was because of all the mice in the house, and to get him to stop annoying them as much.

"Hey, Bonny." He sniffed, rubbing his hand down the cat's nice, fluffy fur. "Why are ya' givin' me that look?"

Her mint-green eyes were huge, staring at him like he was a stranger. He figured it was the blood and the tears on his face. He sniffled, wiping his face with a small rag by his bed. It was covered in blood and tears, which made him shudder. Johnny grabbed another rag, wet it, and held it to his cheekbone. He sighed, collapsing in bed. The pain was bad, yes, but eventually he found himself drifting off to sleep.

Johnny fluttered open his eyes, yawning loudly and sat up in his bed. Looking out of his window, he saw it was almost evening of the next day.

Wait, almost evening of the next day?

Maybe his lack of sleep finally caught up with him. Even now, he was still sleepy! But, when he realized he was at his house, he became wide awake. Hopefully they weren't home. Why wouldn't they be? Suddenly, his stomach growled more loud than it should have growled. He immediately heard footsteps by his door.

"You're awake, eh? Ready for round two of your beating? This time the cat will be included too." He heard the deep voice of his father growl.

Oh, heck naw. His father could touch him, but not his cat. But, what would he do? His father was pounding down that door easily. There's always the window. He thought to himself. Since he was on the first floor, it wouldn't hurt too bad. He grabbed his cat and flung himself out of his window. He bolted out of his yard just as he heard the door slam open.

Gotta get to Pony's. He thought to himself in a panic. He was pretty sure he had lost his father in the run, but he didn't want to take any chances. Luckily for him, he found himself at the front door of Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry's house. Johnny quickly knocked, and let himself in, making sure to lock the door. When he turned around, he was immediately greeted by the concerned expression of no other than Pepsi-Cola himself.

"Johnnycake! What happened to your face?" Sodapop asked, coming over closer to Johnny.

"O-oh.. It- Well- My father has been drinking lately-" He explained shyly, getting quickly cut off by Soda.

"No need to say no more, bud. You might wanna see Darry bout' that bruise tho'." Soda grinned.

"Yeah. Well, my pa' is after me. This time I'm determined to never go back!"

"Is that why you brought the cat..?" Soda looked at the little cat, who seemed to be falling asleep in Johnny's arms.

"Yeah. Just until my pa' gets sober again. I'll bring it back to the house soon."

"Alright. You can keep it in my bathroom. Just tell the others before they-" Sodapop turned his head to see Darry and Ponyboy walk downstairs carrying books.

"What happened?" Darry exclaimed, rushing over to Johnny.

"What's up with the cat?" Ponyboy sighed, shaking his head.

Johnny sighed, explaining everything that had happened in the past day. After that, Darry immediately started healing his cuts and bruises with the first aid kit. Johnny looked out to see the sunset.

Tommorow is another day.