Chapter 14 – "I just Couldn't Resist"

As they got back to the school, they spotted Two-Bit sitting outside smoking. He waved at them.

"Heeey, Sodapop and Johnny. What are you guys doing out?"

"I... I just needed some air and Soda gave it to me – I mean... gave… took me... out..." Johnny took a deep breath, mentally kicking himself for messing up again.

"There's a bad storm coming and everyone's told to stay indoors, so of course I'm outside," Two-Bit laughed and leaned back against the wall.

"Of course you are, 'cause you're a real smart guy," said Sodapop and jumped back to avoid the kick Two-Bit aimed at him.

"Well, we better get in, then," continued Soda. "Why don't ya come back to our place, Johnny? Two-Bit, you're welcome to drop by later for dinner as well. If you don't have other plans."

When there was no reaction from Two-Bit, Sodapop added, "Darry's cooking."

"Well, then I might just drop by. I don't feel like food poisoning," he laughed and stood up. "I better go help Mrs. Shirley, otherwise she might kick me out and back to prison."

"You... you really think she would do that?" Johnny asked.

"No way... She loves me too much."

o0o0o

Darry got up as the door opened. There was already a strong wind outside so he was happy to see that it was Sodapop, coming back. He was just about to tell Soda off for being out in this weather, but he held himself back when he saw that the nervous kid was with him.

"You do know there's a storm outside, right?" he said and then turned to Johnny. "Have you told the school you're here? I don't wanna start a panic."

Johnny shook his head. He hadn't thought about it.

"Go call 'em. It's line 2," Darry ordered and Johnny hurried off to the kitchen.

"Weather was real nice when we went out, Darry," said Sodapop. "It didn't start turning till we were almost back."

Darry always got angry when he got worried or scared. That was one of the reason he was particularly hard on Ponyboy. He had more confidence in Sodapop being able to look after himself.

"Right. Well... good you're back then. Why'd you bring the kid?"

It wasn't that Darry didn't like Johnny, but since Pony was sick, he wasn't sure what Johnny would want to do here.

o0o0o

Johnny called the school and it was Lauren, who picked up.

"Yes?"

"Hi... it's Johnny Cade. I just wanna say that' I'm at Mr. Curtis' house during the storm..."

"Alright. Good that you called, Johnny," she said in a kind voice. "Can you tell him hi from me?"

"Sure," Johnny said with a smile.

o0o0o

"The kid's lonely. We're the only friends he got. Do you want him to sit and do nothing in his room with Victor and Harry?"

Sodapop figured Darry must know them pretty well since they were both on the football team.

"Yeah, I get that," said Darry, rubbing his chin, remembering how he had caught the two bullying Johnny more than once during PE.

Johnny came back into the living room. "Miss Douglas says hi."

"Oh... um… thanks," Darry said and tried to hide how thrilled he was.

Ponyboy came shuffling into the living room to see what was going on. He had put on a pair of sweat pants and was feeling better after a couple hours of sleep and two more aspirins.

"Hey. Hey, Johnny. You guys been out all this time? Where'd ya go? What'd you do?"

Johnny looked from Soda to Pony. "We… We went for a walk and ended up down by the water... and... um… looked at some birds and stuff." He sat down on the couch. "How... how you feelin'?"

"I better get started on dinner," Darry said and headed for the kitchen. He stopped and turned to Pony. "You got homework?" he asked in a strict tone.

Ponyboy sighed loudly. "No I did it yesterday. Why are you always on my back about my homework? You never bug Soda about it!"

Darry left for the kitchen without commenting.

When Sodapop left for the bathroom a minute later, Pony said to Johnny, "He hates me. He loves Soda but he hates me. It's always the same. I nearly always do my homework and I do well in class. If I didn't, why would they move me up a grade? Soda only does homework when he feels like it – which ain't often - and he only makes an effort in the classes that don't bore him. But Darry never gives him any grief 'bout it. It's the same with sports – I don't wanna play football and he keeps buggin' me about it. Soda doesn't wanna play football and that's just fine!"

"I... I don't think he hates you, Pony…" Johnny said.

He knew what hate felt like and the way Darry treated Ponyboy didn't seem like hate to him. It didn't seem fair either, though, so Johnny could sort of see Pony's point.

"You... ever tried talking to him about it? Maybe get him to explain why he is being like that?"

"Yeah, all the time! We always end up fighting. He only lets me stay here because of Soda. If he'd been in the car crash too, Darry wouldn't have bothered with me."

"Who's bothering who?" asked Soda coming back into the living room. "Is it about Darry again?"

Sodapop didn't need to hear any more of the conversation to know exactly what Ponyboy was moaning about.

"How many times do I have to tell ya he only does it because he wants you to make something of yourself? He's just afraid of failing ya."

Before Pony had a change to react, Soda had pulled him off the couch and wrestled him to the ground.

"Personally, I don't think he's hard enough on ya," grinned Sodapop, looking down at Pony. "I'd beat the crap outta ya everyday if I were the one in charge."

"No, you wouldn't!" grinned Ponyboy and tried his best to pull his arms free of his brother's grip. "You love me!"

"Love's got nothing to do with it, kiddo - you still need punishment for being such a little punk. Johnny - tickle his feet!"

"W-what? Me?" Johnny asked. Hesitantly at first, he joined in, taking a hold of Pony's feet. The poor kid started to scream and shout and begged them to stop, but that just seemed to egg Soda on.

"What are you guy's doing now?" Darry said, popping his head out from the kitchen. "Soda! Be good to your brother! He's just been sick and if he throws up again you're cleaning up!"

Typical, thought Ponyboy, he doesn't want them to stop because he's worried for me, but because I might make a mess...

"See what I said? He's way too soft on ya," said Soda and got off Pony.

The doorbell sounded and without waiting for an answer Two-Bit walked in.

"Hey, Pony. I brought you the porn you asked for," he said, loud enough for Darry to hear and stick his head back out from the kitchen.

"WHAT?"

Dumbstruck, Ponyboy stared first at Two-Bit and then at Darry.

"I didn't ask for porn! Darry, I didn't!" said Ponyboy, getting very red ears.

"I brought yours too, Darry," Two-Bit said, trying to keep a straight face.

Darry's expression changed for a moment to something that looked like shock. Then he went back into the kitchen, shouting," Very funny, Two-Bit!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," said Two-Bit, bursting into laughter.

o0o0o

Sodapop sat next to Johnny at dinner. Eating soup meant that he had one free hand and, making sure no one saw him, he discretely placed his right hand on Johnny's knee.

Johnny dropped his spoon, splashing soup onto the table. Flustered, he tried to wipe it up with his napkin, while mumbling, "S-sorry…" He dared not look directly at Soda, afraid the others would catch on; but peeking out of the corner of his eye, he could see the blonde looking like nothing was going on.

"So, Johnny," Two-Bit started.

"H-huh?" Johnny stuttered.

"How do you like the school?"

Johnny shrugged. "I-t's okay," he said, feeling Soda's hand give his knee a squeeze. "I-it gets b-better and better."

"Good. And if you need something, just come to me. I can get anything! Not drugs, though. Not my thing."

Two-Bit leaned back in his chair. He didn't care about the fact that Darry was there. He knew that Two-Bit got stuff for the students, but since he didn't dealt drugs, he didn't think it serious enough to report him.

"I... I don't do drugs," Johnny said.

"Of course he doesn't. He's a good boy - ain't ya Johnny?" said Soda and let his hand slide slowly up Johnny's thigh.

Johnny nodded quickly and tried to eat, his hand shaking a little.

"Is the food okay?" Darry asked.

"Best I have ever had," Two-Bit said. "Just don't tell Mrs. Shirley that! She'll skin me and turn me into tomorrow's special."

"It... it's g-g-good," Johnny stuttered, his face burning with embarrassment as he felt Soda's hand move up even further.

Soda stopped a few inches from Johnny's crotch. He wasn't going be that mean to the poor boy.

"If ya ask me, I'd say the food's a bit boring," he said. "It's just regular soup - normal color and everything."

"Yeah, well, I didn't feel like making Ponyboy even sicker," Darry said and kept eating.

o0o0o

The storm got worse and worse to the point where Darry wouldn't allow Johnny to walk back to his dorm. He finally got Two-Bit talked into staying over as well.

"You can sleep on the couch," said Sodapop. "I'll sleep in Johnny's room - I mean Johnny will sleep in my room. I sleep in Pony's," he quickly added, seeing Two-Bit's raised eyebrow.

"All right, everyone to bed!" Darry said and made sure the door was locked and the windows secured.

"C'mon, Johnny, I'll to make your bed," said Sodapop and went to find sheets and blankets. He also found one of Ponyboy's PJs and handed it to Johnny. "Here. Go change in the bathroom. Unless you wanna do it front of me," he grinned.

"I-I'll just go c-change…" blushed Johnny and hurried to the bathroom.

o0o0o

Darry threw a blanket to Two-Bit

"Wow. Fancy," Two-Bit said with a grin. "Hey, Darry - wanna come tug me in?"

Darry threw a pillow at Two-Bit and hit him in the face. "Goodnight, Two-Bit."

o0o0o

Coming back from the bathroom, Johnny found Sodapop still making the bed.

"N-need any help?"

Soda smiled. "Sorry for all the teasing. I just couldn't resist. I'm actually a nice guy. Hope I didn't freak you out too much."

"Naw... It's okay," Johnny said and leaned against the wall. "I'm just scared of getting caught... I dunno how everyone would take it. Do-does anyone else know that you're into guys?"

"Pony knows, 'cause we tell each other everything. And Darry knows. He thinks I don't know that he knows and I haven't told him I know, 'cause it's a little funny that he's afraid to ask me about it. Steve knows. And then there's the rumour going round the school. I'm surprised you haven't heard it... It started after me and another student had been messing around a bit. I don't care if people know, but he didn't want to come out, so I kept quiet about it."

"Wow... That many know?"

Johnny was rather surprised. His parents had always said that being attracted to the same sex was a crime against humanity and people that were like that should be put down.

"No… I haven't heard the rumors." He hesitated a little before asking. "This… other student… Is he still here, then?"

Sodapop grinned. "Jealous? No, he was a senior so he graduated this summer. It wasn't anything serious, though. He was very scared of people finding out about him so it didn't amount to much. That was ok - I wasn't in love with him or anything. But back in Tulsa…" Soda started but trailed off. He wasn't sure if he felt like going there.

"Did you have a boyfriend back in Tulsa? Or… still have?"

Soda sighed. "No, I don't have him no more. I wouldn't have kissed you if I did. He... he hurt me real bad. I think maybe I scared him away 'cause I wanted too much. I'm not really a casual relationship kind of guy. He dumped me and told me he'd only been with me because I was pretty. I don't know if that was the truth or if it just freaked him out getting too close to somebody."

God. That still hurt talking about. And it had been almost two years…

Johnny stood quiet for a moment and let the story sink in. He knew it was common for people to date someone just because of their looks. That was the reason his father had married his mother, he was sure. But she, in turn, had taken him for the money, so Johnny didn't feel sorry for her. But Soda was so sweet and caring – he didn't deserve to have his heart trampled on like that. Thinking about it actually made Johnny kind of mad.

"I-if I could... I'd t-tell him a thing or two…"

Soda smiled. "You're so sweet. But it was for the best. You shouldn't be with someone who don't love you. Especially if you love them. It ain't healthy. I see that now. But back then I was just devastated to lose him. What about you?" asked Sodapop, changing the subject. "You ever been in love with someone?"

"Um…"

Johnny wasn't sure he should tell Soda that he thought he loved him. Mostly because he didn't want to risk scaring him off. He had had a crush on one guy before Sodapop but he had never dared act on it.

"I... Um... Not in the past, no. I never dated anyone before. There was a guy I liked, but I didn't dare tell him. I mostly did his homework and stuff, hoping he would notice me. But he probably wasn't even gay, so…"

"Sometimes you gotta take chances, Johnny. If ya don't, you'll never gain anything. Well, unless you're so lucky the other guy makes the first move," Soda grinned and winked. "Well, I should probably leave now or they'll wonder what we're doing. I'll give you a goodnight kiss, though."

Sodapop leaned in and pressed their lips together, letting his tongue run gently over Johnny's lips and, when he opened up, his mouth.

Johnny met Soda's tongue with his own and placed his hands on his shoulders. The kiss felt like it sucked all the energy out of him, making his legs weak. Soda sure was good at this. Hopefully he didn't think Johnny messed up too much.

After a minute, Sodapop got up. "Well, have a good night's sleep. Oh, and that dream I had; in case you're wondering - you were in it." He gave Johnny another wink and closed the door behind him.

Johnny was left literally with his jaw hanging.

What did he just say? I was in... in his..."

He sat down on the bed, rather stunned from Soda's comment and tried to let it sink in. Then, slowly, the surprised expression on his face turned into a grin.

A/N: Zayhad (Deviantart) will draw an illustration for every chapter (Links can be found on my profile).