Chapter 53 – "Johnny's MY Friend too"

Darry was sitting at the table in the living room, thinking so hard it nearly hurt. What was he going to do? If he took another job then they would have to leave, but he knew Sodapop would never agree to go if Johnny was staying at the school. Darry was not happy to leave Johnny behind, either. There just had to be a way to solve the problem. Maybe some way to get Johnny's parents to agree to let him live with them.

"What's the matter, darling?" asked Lauren, emerging from the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hand.

"You know: the job situation and the boys. If only there was a way we could take Johnny with us..."

"You know - there might be. His parents sent him here so they could get rid of him, right? Then it might be possible talking them into letting Johnny be emancipated."

Darry looked at her as though he had no idea what she was talking about.

"It means," she explained, "that a minor can be freed of the control of their parents, and is allowed to live on their own. The parents give up custody and all their rights and are, in turn, freed from all responsibilities toward the child. If Johnny can support himself, the court might let him. Do you think he has a savings account?"

Darry looked at her in surprise. He had never heard of emancipation before, but this was just what they needed. "I don't know, but even if he doesn't we're getting him out! I don't suppose you know a good, affordable lawyer?"

Lauren laughed. "Yes, I do. I thought I had already told you what my parents do for a living. My dad's a lawyer and I'm sure he'll help us - free of charge, if I ask him nicely."

"That would be great if you could call him!"

Lauren didn't hesitate before calling her father. Of course he wanted to talk to Darry as well about the situation and hearing more about it, he agreed to take care of the paperwork and also contact Johnny's parents.

Darry told him that he would try to talk to them first and then call him back. He sat and looked at the phone for what seemed like years before dialing the number for Johnny's parents.

"Yes?" a man's voice sounded.

"This is Darrel Curtis from Windrix Hall. I'm calling about your son, Johnny."

There was a sigh at the other end. "What's he done now? Did he try and kill himself again, because if he did, I hope he succeeded. I'm getting tired if all his hunting for attention. "

Even though Darry knew that Johnny's farther was an unpleasant man, he was still shocked by this statement.

"Actually, I was calling regarding the possibility of letting Johnny get emancipated."

"Emanxi-what?"

"It means giving up custody and letting him take care of himself."

There was silence at the other end and Darry was getting a little worried.

"If I had known that was possible, I would have signed up for it ages ago. Send the papers and he can get emancipated or what the hell you called it, but he ain't gonna come running back here!"

Mr. Cade hung up, leaving Darry stunned over how easy it had been for him to give up his son.

o0o0o

Sodapop came home at ten O'clock. That was the longest he had been able to cajole the nurse into giving him. He sat down in the living room with Darry and Ponyboy.

"He's doing better, but still weak and tired," said Soda. "Darry, what're your plans now? You gonna just suck it up and keep going like usual?"

"That wasn't my intention. I ain't gonna have you two attend a school that allows things like this to happen without consequence," Darry said and took a sip of his coffee. "I'm not sure yet just what's gonna happen but I've applied for a few new jobs"

Sodapop fixed Darry with an intent gaze. "So you want us to move away from here? What about Johnny? We can't leave him here!"

"I'm not planning on leaving him here," Darry said, looking back at Soda. "We're gonna get him emancipated."

Soda looked clueless but Pony smiled, indicating that knew what it meant.

"It means that he will have to take care of himself and his parents don't have a say no more."

"Re-really? You can do that?" said Soda. When Darry nodded, Soda's face broke in a huge grin. "Darry - you're a genius!" he said and threw himself at his big brother, giving him a tight hug.

"Whoa there, little buddy," Darry said and hugged him back. "Actually, the genius is Lauren. It's her idea. I just made the call to Johnny's parents."

Darry hoped that he had done the right thing. He didn't know how much was on Johnny's savings account, or if he even had one. Would he be able to support himself at all?

"You really hit the jackpot with her," grinned Sodapop. "Can I tell Johnny right away?"

"No, maybe you should wait till we get permission from the court. But Lauren's father says it's likely we'll get it. He knows the judge, and he's very sympathetic toward cases like Johnny's."

"Darry... There's something I think you have the right to know. We're having a rumble with the Socs who were behind this. We already talked to them and they accepted. Afraid to lose face, I guess."

Even if Darry said no, Sodapop was determined to go through with it. But he hoped Darry wouldn't get too mad about it.

Darry looked a little shocked but then seemed to relax. "No knifes. Only fists, right? And who are we?"

"Me and Steve, of course, Winston, Shepard, and Steve just texted me and said Two-Bit's in. And..." said Soda, moving his gaze to Pony, who looked very hopeful.

Darry looked from one brother to the other. "I hope you're not thinking of bringing Ponyboy?"

"C'mon, Darry. He's a good fighter and a tough guy. We've done it loads of times back in Tulsa."

"I dunno about this... They're older and bigger. I ain't happy about it."

"You never let me do anything!" said Ponyboy agitatedly, jumping to his feet. "Johnny's MY friend too!"

"Darry, size ain't everything," said Sodapop. "Pony's more experienced and in better shape than most of 'em."

Darry sighed. "I guess you can go, then. BUT - If any of them have weapons, you boys are outta there. You got that? Or I'll kill you myself."

Ponyboy grinned, having trouble believing what he heard. "Yeah - sure!"

"Awesome!" said Soda. "Hey, Pony, let's go down and talk to Steve."

"It's past ten!" said Darry.

"It's weekend," said Soda and rushed out the door, followed by Ponyboy.

o0o0o

Steve had managed to get Dallas, Two-Bit, and Tim to drop by.

"I didn't know we were bringing kids," said Dallas, eying Ponyboy.

"Pony's a good fighter," said Sodapop and patted his little brother on the back. "And he's tough."

"He wasn't so tough with his head down the toilet."

"What?" asked Soda, confused. Was Dally joking or what did he mean? The look on Ponyboy's face, though, clearly told him that it wasn't a joke. "Pony - what does he mean?"

"Just... It wasn't that bad," said Ponyboy evasively.

"You didn't tell him, kid?" asked Dallas. "Well, some months ago your little fiancé came running down the corridor like the devil was on his ass and was babbling about My Little Pony being drowned. So me and Tim went to check on it and Mr. Fancy Pants and his friends were helping him wash his hair in the toilet bowl."

"What?" gasped Sodapop, staring at his little brother in horror. "They... they tried to drown ya?"

"No, they just wanted to scare me, I guess..."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You would just get into more trouble. I knew you would fly off the handle and... well, we had promised Darry no more trouble. So I asked Johnny to keep quiet about it as well."

Sodapop felt a violent rage boil up inside him. "Who? Who did it?" he demanded, jumping up as if ready to storm out and find the villains to rip their heads off.

"Sheldon and his buddies," Tim said.

Steve took a hold of Soda and made him sit back down. "Don't worry about it, man. We will kick their asses soon enough."

"What's the plan, anyway?" Tim asked. "If you're bringing a kid, I'm gonna bring Curly as well."

Before Sodapop had a chance to answer Tim, his cell rang. Steve snatched it out of his hands, because Soda was still worked up about what Dallas had told him. It was an unknown caller, so Steve figured it was David.

"Yeah?" Steve said, not bothering to say his name.

"Tomorrow night ten o'clock at the football field," was all the voice said before hanging up.

Steve looked at the phone for a second and gave it back to Sodapop.

"Ten p.m. at the football field tomorrow."

"Call him back and make him agree on a fair fist fight. And ask how many they are."

Soda wanted to know the last part especially because he didn't want to come outnumbering them. He wanted to beat them fairly.

"There are seven of them," said Steve when he had talked to David again.

"Okay," nodded Sodapop. "So are we if Tim brings his little brother. That's fair."

o0o0o

Johnny was discharged the next day. Lauren was waiting for them at the apartment, having fixed up the couch with pillows and a blanket. Of course Johnny would be sleeping in Soda's bed, but it was early midday still and he would probably not want to be lying in there all alone.

"Well, I didn't know if you would want to be out here with us or alone with Soda in his room for a bit," Lauren said.

"I don't know if he's quite got the energy for that yet," grinned Soda.

"Sodapop! Your mind is in the gutter," Lauren laughed.

"So..." said Soda, looking at Johnny, whose face had turned bright red from embarrassment. "Which is it - out here or in my bed?"

"As... as long as you're there, I'm happy," he mumbled, not wanting to sound demanding, although right now he really just wanted to be alone with Sodapop.

"In my bed, then," smiled Soda. "But you need to rest, okay? Doctor's orders."

Soda hurriedly put on clean sheets so that his bed could seem welcoming and comfortable. Then he pushed the door closed behind Johnny and helped him get undressed, stopping a couple of times in the process to kiss him.

Johnny crawled into bed and Soda quickly stripped down to his boxers. He caught Johnny look at him the way he often did when he dropped his shirt.

Johnny gulped and looked away. He wasn't sure he would be able to control himself and rest like the doctor had said.

"Hey," grinned Soda. "Keep your mind outta the gutter. I don't think getting too excited is good for you."

"I'm trying not to!" Johnny said and shut his eyes tight.

"I'm just teasing," smiled Sodapop and climbed into bed and under the covers with Johnny. "And for the record - how easy do you think it is for me keeping my hands off you? I've missed you so much, and I haven't had any kind of sex for over a month - not even with myself."

Johnny blushed and looked up at him shyly. He hadn't either. He hadn't even thought about it.

"I really missed you," he said and crawled close to him, feeling the warmth of the other boy's body.

Sodapop kissed his forehead, then his cheek and ended up at his mouth. Johnny responded eagerly and Soda deepened the kiss, unable to stop himself. He slipped his arms around Johnny's waist and rolled onto his back, pulling Johnny onto him, not breaking the kiss. Damn. Soda had been determined to not try anything and make sure Johnny would rest, but kissing him and feeling his weight pressing down on him made him go completely hard in an instance.

Johnny let out a gasp and broke the kiss to look down at Sodapop, his eyes black with desire. Soda smiled and stretched his neck to catch Johnny's mouth in another kiss. He let his arms slide down his back and ended on his bottom where he took a solid hold.

"Johnny..." he mumbled into his mouth, "We shouldn't be doing this..."

"Why?" asked Johnny, not wanting to stop.

"You... you need to... rest..." said Soda between kisses.

"I can do that… later," Johnny gasped, digging his fingers into Soda's silky locks and giving them a soft tug. He thrust his hips downwards a couple of times, drawing a moan from Soda.

"Oh, God, Johnny..." Soda said and tightened his grip on the other boy's buttocks and used it to move him back and forth, creating delicious friction. He had forgotten why they weren't supposed to do this - Johnny didn't seem exhausted at all.

Johnny helped by moving his hips against Soda. How he wanted him and how he had missed him. He was a little dizzy by the heat but it didn't matter right now.

"Lose 'em," said Sodapop, fumbling with Johnny's boxers.

Johnny helped by raising his hips a bit.

"Oh, yes," sighed Soda when he had managed to get rid of his own as well and Johnny moved against him full contact.

Johnny moved his head down and pressed his face into Soda's neck, gasping as Soda moved his hips, still having a hold of his backside, pulling him toward him and following his movements.

Johnny felt so good and it had been so long, so it only took another thirty seconds of this to send Soda spiraling towards completion. Johnny followed him soon after and then lay limp on top of Soda, noticing just how exhausted he was.

Sodapop took Johnny's face between his hands, their noses touching.

"I love you so much."

Johnny looked down at him through sweat soaked bangs, his breathing still heavy.

"I love you too, Soda."

Soda gave him a kiss and then pushed him down, carefully.

"Look at the mess you made," he mock scolded. "You got it all over my stomach."

"I don't look much better, I might add," laughed Johnny. "And I'm pretty sure some of it's yours."

"No, I faked it," grinned Sodapop. "I'm an excellent actor."

Johnny tried to look hurt. "I can't make you come anymore?"

Soda laughed and kissed Johnny again. "Of course you can. I have to concentrate on not coming when we just kiss."

Johnny smiled and kissed him back. "Better be careful then."

The door opened suddenly and Darry stood in the doorway, looking like he was about to say something but then turned around really fast.

"Food. Five minutes. If... hungry," was all he said before leaving. He had forgotten for a brief moment that Soda and Johnny were both in there and knowing from previous times, they were sure to be either half or completely naked. He was just happy that their lower bodies were covered.

o0o0o

Lauren looked at Darry coming back out, and noticing his expression, she couldn't help but giggle.

"Don't wanna talk about it!" he said and started doing the dishes.

"Honey, there will be more dishes after dinner? Why not wait?"

"I feel like doing 'em now." Darry said, keeping his voice as straight as he could, hearing Lauren laugh behind him.

"You better start knocking again if both of them are coming with us," Lauren grinned.

o0o0o

Johnny's face turned as red as Darry's, and Sodapop couldn't help laughing.

"I thought he had learned to knock by now. Good for him that he didn't come in five minutes sooner."

"I think I would've died if he had," Johnny said and hid his face against Soda's shoulder.

Soda pulled the covers all the way up and cuddled up to Johnny so they were lying as close as possible.

"This is just like heaven. I've spend all those lonely nights, just wishing you were here in my arms, and now you are. Somebody up there must really love me."

"Mm... I know I do," said Johnny.

The school year was over in a month and then he would have to go home for two months. Going back to being yelled at, going back to being afraid of his own shadow, and the only contact he would have with Soda would be texts and phone calls. If his father would even allowed that.


A/N: Remember to check out the illustration for the chapter (link on my profile).