XXXXXX
After they both got done eating, Cherry left the kitchen and Ponyboy stood by the sink cleaning. They talked a little while they ate, mostly about school but he couldn't help but wish that it lasted a little longer.
"Hey Ponyboy." The sound of Cherry's voice as she re-entered the kitchen made Pony's heart leap with a painful joy. He quickly straightened his shoulders and pasted a smile on his face as he stood by the sink, washing the dishes.
"Hi," he said brightly as he could, turning his head to look at her. Cherry looked at him, or rather the dishes he was washing and her face fell a little.
"I'm sorry I left you alone with the dishes, I should help you with the mess," she said while walking over to the sink.
"I'm used to cleaning up the mess," Ponyboy responded.
He had just turned his back to her and resumed cleaning when suddenly Cherry was beside him at the sink and picked up a plate. Pony's heart leapt again, even if the gesture was only friendly.
"Thanks," he said.
Cherry picked up the sink sprayer and started washing a dish, since they were so close together some water started getting on Ponyboy's shirt.
"Hey now! You're getting me all wet!" He quickly dipped his fingers in the water and flicked them, sending a small stream of water in Cherry's direction.
She let out a squeal of protest and hit Ponyboy on the head with the sponge, leaving a fluff of soap perched atop his reddish brown hair.
Pony proceeded to scoop up a handful of water this time and throw it in her direction but it only managed to soak the back of her shirt as she turned away. Cherry squealed again and tried to poke the sponge into Pony's face but he sidestepped and grabbed the sink sprayer. He held it out before him, finger resting on the trigger, as Cherry froze in her tracks.
"You wouldn't!"
Ponyboy tilted his head to the side. "I wouldn't? You so sure about that?"
"Okay, I put down my weapon, you put down yours." She lowered the sponge towards the counter but didn't put it down. "Deal?"
He contemplated this for a second, his right eyebrow quirking up.
"No."
He pressed down on the handle but before the water streamed out, Cherry chucked her sponge, hitting Ponyboy right in the nose and giving her the time she needed to duck. The water streamed over her head and splattered on the floor behind her.
She didn't know where to go next to avoid Pony so Cherry scooted to the right and attempted to get behind him. However, he anticipated her move and finally managed to hit her full on with the sprayer.
Cherry sputtered and threw her herself at Ponyboy's legs, trying to knock him over. She would have succeeded if she hadn't slipped in the water on the floor and fell on her side. Ponyboy backed up a step and stopped spraying.
"Are you okay?" Pony asked, trying not to laugh.
Cherry glared up at him through her drenched hair that was hanging limply in her face. She was soaked through and Ponyboy barely had a drop on him. He held his hand out and Cherry took it and he helped Cherry to her feet.
For a moment, Ponyboy thought she was going to hit him. But Cherry merely grabbed bubbles from the sink and started throwing them at him.
Soon Ponyboy and Cherry were able to stop fooling around and got the dishes washed, Pony walked upstairs to his room and changed, pulling on a black shirt and blue jeans. He walked back out into the hall and noticed a book shelf next to Mr. and Mrs. Valance's room.
He started going through it and a smile came to his face when he noticed a copy of "Gone with the Wind."
Ponyboy took the book back to his room, kicked the door closed and threw himself down on the bed and started reading.
For the next few hours, Pony was lost in the book and by the time he finished part four and looked over at the clock and noticed it was one in the afternoon. He got to his feet and stretched. 'I wonder what Cherry is doing?' he thought.
XXXXXX
Outside, the sun shone brightly making the afternoon air warm and nearly unbearable were it not for a light breeze. In the shade of two large trees was a wide, mesh hammock.
An open book lying face down on her stomach, Cherry dozed peacefully on the hammock.
She wore a pair of short denim shorts and a tight, white tank-top in an effort to beat the heat. Her sandals were on the ground under the hammock. Something suddenly began to tickle her face, a light feathery object. She swatted at it, but it persisted and she though she heard a stifled snicker.
Cherry opened her eyes and saw Ponyboy holding a blade of grass to her face.
"Hey, stop that!"
He gave her a bright smile.
"Couldn't resist. You made such a tempting target." Ponyboy said.
"You're too kind." she stated sarcastically.
"Very cozy setup you have here."
"Mmm, it serves it's purpose."
"Got extra room there?"
"Sure, get on."
Pony did so, his head at her feet. Then, after a moment of calming silence and rocking, "So, what have you been doing all day?" Cherry asked.
"Nothing much." Ponyboy put his hands behind his head. "I noticed that you had "Gone with the Wind" on the bookshelf, so I've been reading ever since breakfast."
"Sounds very productive."
"What about you? I'll just bet you've been lying here all morning reading that book," he responded, nodding towards the book.
"Guilty as charged," she laughed.
"What are you reading anyway? Pony asked.
She held up the book and he grimaced in disgust at the title.
"The Carpetbaggers? Should've known you couldn't keep your nose out one of those books for very long."
Cherry slapped the sole of her foot to his chest and he grabbed her ankle in surprise. "You take that back," she warned, a slight grin working the corners of her lips.
"Oh, and if I don't?" Ponyboy smiled and he tugged at her ankle.
She suddenly sat up slightly, understanding his intent.
"Don't you dare!"
"No?" His tone was innocent, but his smile was full of mischief.
"No!" she ordered, her smile becoming apparent.
"No?" he repeated, lightly tracing his finger on her sole. She tried to pull her foot away, but he held on and continued to run his finger up and down her foot.
She struggled wildly, both from his grip and from uncontrolled laughter, as Ponyboy tickled the sole of Cherry's foot. Suddenly the hammock tipped, dumping them both onto the ground.
They laughed hysterically at the whole situation. "Not...not exactly what I had in mind!" Pony struggled to say.
Cherry then ripped grass out from the ground and lunged at him, throwing it in his face.
"Moron!" She shouted.
"Look who's talking," Pony laughed, falling on his back to absorb her lunge. "I had to do your homework the other night!"
Cherry sat on Ponyboy's waist and dropped the grass on his face.
"You offered to do it."
"Yeah, I did," he replied, spitting out grass from his mouth.
Cherry laughed and got up, whipping another handful of grass at his face.
"You have a thing with throwing grass at me, don't you." Ponyboy stated as he sat up, picking the green blades of grass out of his hair.
"Green and red go so well together." She responded, referring to his hair.
Ponyboy smiled up at her before reaching up, starting to tickle her sides. Cherry shrieked in response before grabbing his wrists, holding them down next to his head.
He couldn't help but smirk a little. Usually it was a member of the gang or one of his brothers that had him in this position. It was nice that it was a girl on top of him for a change.
The two just stared at each other with unblinking eyes for a moment before Cherry finally realized their positions and spoke.
"We should go back in."
She got up off him and Ponyboy and Cherry dusted off any grass that was on them and walked back into the house, going into the living room. Cherry turned on the television and sat down on the sofa, Ponyboy sat down on the sofa on the other side of the room.
After a while it was starting to get dark as it was approaching dinner time. Ponyboy's stomach started grumbling as he focused on a tree outside, whose branches swayed in the wind.
He looked over at Cherry who was still paying attention to whatever program they were watching and really began noticing how fit she was. She was a cheerleader after all. A thought suddenly came to mind.
"Cherry, when's the last time you've had a cheeseburger?" Ponyboy asked.
She looked up, seeming a little surprised by his question and began thinking.
"Well…I think it's been a little over a year since had a burger…but I had some fries a few months ago."
"Well come on, we can go to the drive-thru and get some," Pony said sitting up, his mouth watering at the mere thought of it.
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's loaded with fat and calories and all sorts of unhealthy stuff you don't need in your system!" Cherry said.
"What are you worried about?" He asked.
She shrugged. "You. Not taking care of yourself."
Pony's face twisted into a glare. "I'm not a child."
"I saw you that night after dinner, sneaking out of the house to just sit down outside, smoking those cigarettes!
"Fine, what are we gonna do about dinner? I'm getting hungrier by the minute."
"I'll make filet of fish and garden vegetables. Since you made breakfast this morning."
Ponyboy couldn't help but scowl at the picture of the fish and vegetables.
"No way, not that!"
Suddenly Ponyboy and Cherry fell silent. They weren't saying anything, just looking at each other with unreadable expressions. He sighed. A staring competition? Now?
A cheeseburger, with a side of golden fries was what he wanted. Yes, it was two very fattening foods and yes, he would probably die of a heart attack by the time he hit thirty, but it was good.
What is the point of living life if you have so many restrictions holding you back?
"Well, how do we decide?" Cherry asked, ending the silence.
An idea suddenly came to Ponyboy's head.
"How about we flip a coin?"
"Flip a coin?"
"Yeah, tails we get burgers, heads we eat crappy health food."
"Fine."
Cherry got up, pulled a coin out of her pocket and approached Ponyboy with her hand outstretched. Pony looked down at her hand.
"Okay…you want to flip a penny. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Cherry's brows furrowed.
"What?"
Ponyboy grinned and got to his feet, pulling a quarter out of his pants pocket.
"You flip with a quarter."
Ponyboy tossed the coin up in the air, catching with his right hand and slapped it down on the back of his left. He removed his hand and grinned when he saw it was tails.
"Yes! Tails never fails," he smiled.
"Ugh, fine!" Cherry said, grabbing her keys. "Let's go."
"Oh no, you might gain half a pound," Pony said in a mock fearful tone as he followed her to the front door. Cherry then turned around and looked at him.
"Are you going like that?" she asked.
"Yeah, why?" Pony responded, wondering if she wanted him to put on the clothes she bought for him.
"Well, nothing." Cherry shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter, since we're just going through the drive-thru."
