Oh god, it's been so long. Sorry for the wait, and for any spelling mistakes.

On that note, you guys should also listen to "Smother," by Daughter, starting from Ponyboy's POV chapter.

;)

(THIRD PERSON POV)

Darry's POV

Darry had already had a crappy day when he got home. At it got even worse when he saw that he needed to buy milk and had to go grocery shopping in general. Oh, and not to mention he had to buy more dishes too, because since he'd been too busy with everything, he hadn't noticed that three, pristine, rather okay looking dishes had gone missing. According to Dally, Steve and Ponyboy, Two-Bit had apparently tripped over his shoelace three times to tell a story. Darry had almost wanted to choke the guy, but he'd gotten away.

And that story had been stupid. To everyone. So, at least Darry wasn't the only one.

Darry was in a foul mood almost all week actually, but that day was when he exploded. It seemed like working extra hours and almost falling and breaking his back on the job wasn't enough for a raise. But hey, Darry was an understanding guy (when he wanted to be) and he could slightly understand why his boss wouldn't give him (one of the best workers there, not to brag) a raise.

Darry tossed his shoes into his bedroom and headed to the bathroom.

Actually no, he couldn't see why his boss wouldn't give him the raise, and he was beyond pissed.

But hey, again, Darry was a calm guy. He was calm. He tried to get calm, and the only way that would work, was if he took a nice cool, relaxing shower. So that's what he did for fifteen minutes.

After he realized how long he'd been in the shower, Darry sighed loudly as he dried himself off. As he looked into the mirror, he noticed that his hair was starting to thin. At 20.Talk about the life. [Darry sighed about thirty more times throughout the day.] And let out a deep breath when he went to look in the fridge hoping that there was still lemonade left when there was a slam! of the door.

First it was Two-Bit, who'd almost made him explode.

"Howdy folks!" He began, getting all reared up to destroy what little peace Darry had left. "Two-Bit is here! Hey, Superman! Where are you?"

Darry was thinking maybe he should take the whole Advil bottle and wing it.

"I'm in here Two-Bit," He finally said softly, having really no room for argument.

"WHAT!? THE KITCHEN?"

Darry rolled his eyes. "No need to shout. And yes."

So after about ten minutes, Darry wanted to strangle Two-Bit. The only thing that stopped him was that if he was in jail, he couldn't take care of his brothers. All throughout the time Two-bit was there, he kept repeating to himself that his brothers would rot in a boy´s home, and that he would rot in jail. So, yeah, Two-Bit had completely destroyed the peace, and by the time he left, Darry was hanging by a single thread.

But that was when the mail arrived, and whoopdeedoo, report card. Pony's report card.

Darry opened the letter and-

Phys Ed.: 96 (A+)

History: 97 (A+)

Algebra: 92 (A-)

Biology: 96 (A+)

Darry, of course was happy that Pony had gotten all A's, but hey -why was that Algebra score that low?

And then, when he learned why, the volcano's pressure started to rise and build. It was only a matter of time before it would explode . . .

Half an hour later, Ponyboy had basically come into the house, practically giggling with happiness, and he lost it. Ponyboy could not be giggling and jumping and smiling because an 83% on a quiz he said he studied for was not okay. It was a recent one. The one Darry had made sure he studied for. An equations quiz. It was the basic, most easiest thing, anyone could learn.

"Darry," Ponyboy began as he settled his backpack down and kicked off his shoes. "Can I go out to the Dingo today? I finished all my homework, and I was planning on inviting Cher-"

He didn't even finish his sentence when Darry cut in immediately.

"You want to go out Pony?" Darry bit out and crossed his arms. "You want to go out? Do you think that they'll accept you into college with an A or a B?"

Ponyboy grimaced and shrunk back, because he knew where this was going. "An A," he whispered.

"Exactly. All A's. Now, Johnny may be fooling around with his girlfriend and everything, but I'm not going to allow you to do the same." Darry didn't even paused to catch his breath. "An 83 Ponyboy!? On an Algebra quiz? That stuff is supposed to be easy peazy lemon squeezy, so why did you get such a low score! Didn't you say you studied? Or did you lie to me, hm? Because if you did, you know damn well what the consequences are, and even if you didn't lie, there are still consequences for getting a bad grade."

Ponyboy swallowed roughly (and oh god, all his excitement had immediately died.)

"No, no Darry, I didn't lie to you. It's just that I wasn't paying attention-" Darry's eyes narrowed and Pony slowed down. "And I put in the answer in the wrong section . . . " His voice lowered until it finally trailed off.

He'd been thinking about Johnny and Ali. And he'd been thinking on asking Johnny how to subtly drop hints that you liked a girl, and well, he hadn't had chance. Ponyboy was pretty sure Cherry liked him back.

A little bit. Well, she smiled at him a lot.

Darry scoffed. "Yeah, you weren't paying attention. That's what you always say. And no, you can't go out to the Dingo. That's final."

X X X

(THIRD PERSON POV)

Pony's POV

Ponyboy, of course, even as obedient as he was, didn't listen to Darry, because he had promised Cherry he'd be at the Dingo. And when he promised something, he never broke that promise. Well, maybe except if it had to do something with his brothers, then yeah. But otherwise, he kept his side of the bargain. Especially with his special someone.

Besides, it was a Friday. And if he was found out and yelled at, and (possibly, 100% chance of getting grounded) punished, it wouldn't really matter, because hello? Weekend. A two day weekend, like always. Oh, and also, Sodapop gave him permission to go out. So, if 1 out of 2 brothers gave him permission, he could do it . . . well . . .. Ponyboy didn't like to dwell on the past, and he'd already hopped out of his bedroom window. There was no going back.

Anyways.

Ponyboy was sweating a fierce storm when Cherry arrived. Not only because, it was their official first date. It was actually because it was hot. The humidity was seeping into the barely air conditioned place. Maybe the Dingo was a bad restaurant to go to on your first date. But it was too late to go back now.

Cherry was wearing a nice flowing dress that looked nice on her frame. Ponyboy imagined that she was fresh, and then he wondered that if wearing jeans had been a good idea.

Oh man, maybe he should have stayed home. Cherry would've understood-

No.

He was here, and she was here, and that meant they'd both agreed to this, and that meant that Pony still had a small chance with her.

So, then they said hello to each other, and waited.

The whole thing, was pretty uneventful. Both parties were nervous, and so their talk was small and curt. But after the food arrived, Cherry decided to take the lead.

"So, Ponyboy," she began. "Are you planning on going anywhere after this?"

Pony took a sip of his drink "Um, home, I think," he said absentmindedly.

Her smile that had begun to appear on her mouth, wavered. "Okay," she said simply "Okay."

Ponyboy noticed this and he may have realized that me might've messed up. But before he could say anything, Cherry, being the smart chick she was, changed the subject.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled again at Ponyboy. "So,I heard that Ali got a 95% on her mountain project." Then she paused as Pony nodded. "Was she working with Two-Bit? I bet he didn't do anything, except watch."

Ponyboy put down his milkshake. "Yeah, um, I'm pretty sure he did something though." Was he too obvious? Yeah. Maybe he was. Two-Bit could be dumb at times, and lazy, and many other things, but he was still smart in many other ways. "He probably made the job easier? I don't know."

Was he really going to have a heated discussion with his crush about his friend?

He gave up, and talked about Johnny.

"Johnny seems happier," he noted, waiting for Cherry to pick the topic up. And she did.

"Yeah, and Ali too. They looks so cute together, and they seem to understand each other a lot."

A pause.

"They do."

And then silence filled the air.

X X X

"Hey," Cherry whispered, and clutched her purse. "Do ya wanna go to Buck's? I heard there was a party."

Ponyboy raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "There are always parties at Bucks."

Cherry smiled sweetly. "I know, but tonight is special."

Ponyboy was straight up about to say 'yes,' then he remembered Dally, and how he might be at Buck´s and that if he saw Pony, well, Pony was a goner. Then he remembered that Dally had not approved of Ali. And how he was 99.9% sure, he wouldn't approve of Cherry either. And then he remembered that he wasn't even supposed to be here. If Dally saw Pony at Buck's, Dally would tell Darry, and then that would lead to his funeral, and maybe another additional grounding.

Great. Everything was just getting better and better.

"I-I don't know Cherry," Ponyboy said finally, lowering his voice, and looked around. "Listen, I'm not even supposed to be here." (This got a look of disbelief, but he continued.) "I was grounded, and I came here for you. But if I go into Buck's anything can happen."

Cherry sighed, but she nodded. "Of course. Thank you for doing this. If i knew, you wouldn't have had to come-"

"No, Cherry. I wanted to come here."

They walked side by side, heading to Buck's place, and when they got there, they stayed outside.

"Well, we're here anyways," Cherry said. "What do we do?"

Pony shrugged. "We can dance."

And then, Cherry stood up straighter, and she gently slipped of her coat. "Yeah. We can dance."

And so, with the music the leaked from Buck's party and into the starry night, Pony and Cherry danced.

Even after there was no music, and the house grew silent and dark, and people started to go, they continued to dance. Well hugging each other, and shuffling feet, and humming could count as dancing right?

They had each other, so it didn't matter.

Now Pony knew what Johnny felt, and wow, what had he been missing all this time?

THIRD PERSON POV

(FOCUSED ON JOHNNY)

Both of them had made a small journey to the park, where they had first met. And after talking a bit, and losing each other plenty of time due to the darkness, they decided to stop.

They sat down on the edge of the fountain

"So,"Johnny began. "How was your visit to your grandmother's?"

There was silence.

"Ali?"

"I don't like her," Ali finally said.

Johnny remembered what Cherry had pointed out before. "Yeah. Why not? Cherry told me you visited her for the week. You missed some homework. And believe it or not, Two-Bit was getting worried. He tried to convince Dally to break into your house, and I think Dally was considering it. You know, because Soc house, ya know."

Ali laughed softly. "Ah, Two-Bit, he's a funny character, I can't believe we got an A. Well, I know I got an A, maybe he got a D-. So, yeah. My grandmother is sick, and I'm forced to visit her."

Johnny nodded. "I don't really know my grandparents. My ma and pa, don't even talk about them either. I don't really think I've ever seen them, now that I've thought about it."

"My grandmother used to make me read in French," Ali said now, looking up. "And dancing. But I didn't like it. She would make me walk standing up straight for hours."

"I would've loved to see my grandparents. My ma used to play piano," Johnny added, trying to steer the direction of the conversation a bit.

"My grandmother taught me a bit of piano too," Ali was picking at her skirt. "I can still play a bit."

Johnny smiled. "I would love to hear you play. I love piano."

Ali, smirked at him, and got up. "We should go somewhere else."

Johnny went out to reach for her, and that was when she took off running.

"Ali!"

He heard her laughing in the distance.

"Ali! Come back! Or else I won't be able to find you!" Johnny loudly called out. He started to fast walk in the direction of rustling leaves. But that wasn't helpful because the wind was slightly blowing. Somewhere off to his left a voice called out, "That's the point."

And then, when the laughter led to a swing set, he knew that Ali was lingering somewhere.

"Hey," Johnny whispered. "Hey, Ali."

"Johnny, I'm right here."

Something touched his shoulder, and Johnny flinched unconsciously at the sudden movement.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't know you were so close. It's just so dark. I wish the moon was out." Johnny took her arm. "And don't' run out like that again. You could've tripped and gotten hurt."

"Sorry," Ali replied and gently released herself from Johnny's loose grip. "And yeah, it would've looked prettier if the moon was out."

Johnny sat down on a swing, and Ali did the same. Their seats loudly swinging in the dark.

"Won't your parents be mad?"

"For what? Sneaking out of my house after curfew or being with a greaser?"

Johnny stopped swinging his seat, and his feet settled. He felt slightly dejected. "I don't know, both maybe," he said.

"Well I don't' care what they think, well I do. But it doesn't really matter right now," Johnny could practically feel Ali's smile. "Did you know that when you look at someone you love, your pupils enlarge?"

Johnny turned at stared at Ali. "Did you also know that when you're in the dark, your pupils enlarge too?"

Ali giggled. "I mean it could be both." She leaned closer and squinted. "Your eyes are enlarged. Could it be love? Or the dark?"

Johnny pulled back, his face flushing. Heat overtook his face, and he was glad that it was dark. "I don't know," he mumbled weakly.

"Didya know that Two-Bit told me some advice?"

Johnny's eyes widened, and then he groaned. "I hope he didn't tell you about that time he went to Oklahoma city, I hope." Ali smiled. "And I hope you don't listen to any of his advice ever, because all of his advice is bad."

He could feel Ali's breath on his cheek. And he couldn't help but lean back.

"Not all of his advice is bad," she whispered. "I mean, he told me that when the stars are just perfect it creates a moment."

Johnny raised an eyebrow and he imagined Two-Bit talking all sappy. He couldn't imagine it, and said, "Oh yeah? What moment?"

Then, Ali leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"That one."

Sorry for a sappy? (And not really Johnny and Alli focused?) chapter, but I didn't know what else to doooooo. I ran out my mojo. Next update might take some time . . . ugggg I hated this chapter

Oh, and also, for anyone who likes SUPERNATURAL, I posted a story, so go check it out, it would mean a lot!

X X X

EXTRAS

X X X

Ali pulled back immediately and she blushed. "Two-Bit told me to, like, you know kiss you on the lips."

Johnny just lay rigid and still.

"But I think the cheek was fine . . . right? For now."

Johnny blinked and shook his head. "Yeah," he said, now smiling. "It's fine for now."

Ali smiled and let her feet swing. "Good."