Out of everything that could have been on Ponyboy's mind, there was one thought that triumphed over the rest of them. That thought? What did Archer consider them to be? Despite all of the trauma that he was trying to figure out how to manage, he kept thinking back to that kiss. The tingle of it, although it happened a week or so ago, was still prominent on his lips, feeling as if butterflies were dancing on top of it. He craved to feel the soft, plush lips again, but he didn't know if he was in the right jurisdiction to do so. For what he knew, he wasn't Archer's boyfriend, and he didn't want to do anything that would mess up what they had already. He wanted to be considered his boyfriend, but that didn't mean that he wanted the same thing as him. Before Ponyboy went to conversion therapy, Archer had a girlfriend, and that thought hurt him.

He knew that it was stupid to be questioning this, but he just couldn't help it. Were they dating or were they not? It was completely understandable for him to be thinking this way especially with how he had been acting towards him ever since he had moved in with him. The Soc had been practically treading around him, keeping his distance. Although, he did keep a close tab on him.

After that one kiss in the hospital, nothing had progressed besides awkwardness. Archer hadn't made any move on him since then. Things were actually closer to the time when they were fake dating and it was strange, to say the least. Deep down, Ponyboy knew that Archer was trying to be wary around him because of what he had been through. And he was grateful for that, but, at the same time, Ponyboy was sick of it. He didn't want to be babied anymore or to be looked at like there was something wrong with him. Yes, he was mentally not okay. But goddamn. He was not some baby. Being taken care of was nice and all, but a part of him wanted more than that. This was probably his hormones talking, but all he wanted was to be slammed against the wall by Archer and kissed.

That mere thought brought a deep blush to his face, causing him to squirm on the couch that he had been nested on.

"Why are you blushing?" Archer asked from the other side of the couch, a playful smile on his face. He turned from the TV to face Ponyboy, which only caused the younger teen to sink himself further in the cushions. Christ, he couldn't get the image out of his brain.

Ponyboy pulled on the drawstrings on the oversized hoodie that he had borrowed from Archer, hiding his flushed face a bit. He breathed in deeply, smelling Archer's overwhelming scent that caused him to become dizzy. "Nothing," he mumbled, prying his eyes away from the other male.

"Something's up." Sometimes, Ponyboy hated how weirdly observant Archer was when it came to him. Maybe it was from his 'sharpshooting', as he would call it, when it came to basketball. "What is it?"

Should he ask him the question that had been bothering him? Archer had set up a good moment to ask it, but what would happen if Archer didn't like him the same way? Would he kick him out? Ponyboy shook his head. He had to ask regardless of the consequences. It was going to kill him if he didn't.

He took a deep breath. "What are we?" he asked, voice cracking from how nervous he was.

Instantly, Archer faltered, caught off guard at the sudden question. He opened his mouth before closing it again. "What are we?" he repeated, unsure if he heard Ponyboy correctly.

"Yeah… What are we?"

Each passing second just made Ponyboy more anxious. He picked at his cuticles, a coping habit that he picked up after leaving the hospital. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to wait much longer.

"Well…" Archer started, swallowing thickly. He awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck, trying to figure out the best way to continue. Eventually, Ponyboy guessed that he just decided to say, 'fuck it', something that he loved about Archer. Sometimes, you just have to love bold people. "Wasn't that kiss enough of a clue? We're boyfriends… unless you don't want that."

Boyfriends. That word sounded weird to both of them. They were used to hearing that word around each other since they used to pretend that they were dating, but it was actually real this time. Never in a billion years would they have thought that they were going to get to this point. It seemed like they had been running a marathon for forever, and now they couldn't believe that they were seeing the finish line.

"Boyfriends?" Ponyboy tested out.

"Yeah, do you have a problem with it?" Archer pressed.

A smile crept itself onto Ponyboy's lips, although hidden with the hood that covered a large portion of his face. "Not a problem at all, Robin Hood."

At the name, Archer froze and stared at Ponyboy in shock. He gaped. The name, although he hated it before, sounded so nice now. He missed it, although he wouldn't admit that out loud. "You haven't called me that in a while."

"Well, you better believe that it's going to be making a comeback."

Archer mockingly huffed, a big grin forming on his face. He held out his hand. "Then Roadrunner is making a comeback as well, deal?"

Squinting his eyes, Ponyboy reached out and shook Archer's hand. "Deal."

Once that was over, Archer pulled his hand away, deciding something. "Hey, we should go out a do something," he proposed.

As fun as that sounded, Ponyboy couldn't help but feel sick. Ever since he moved in, Ponyboy never left Archer's property. The furthest that he had gone was out in Archer's backyard to watch the sunset. He was still terrified of being caught and brought back to conversion therapy. However, he knew that he couldn't continue hiding forever. He was probably failing all of his classes in school now and he didn't want to jeopardize his academics.

"And do what exactly?" Ponyboy asked, picking at his cuticles again.

Archer shrugged. "I don't know," he honestly replied. "But, first dates are awkward…"

A date. This was going to be an actual date. His heart fluttered in excitement. "Well, we've technically already been on a few dates before, so we can consider those as previous dates. It doesn't have to be anything special."

"Yeah, but you deserve me putting in the eighty-nine percent."

Ponyboy raised his eyebrow at that. "Eighty-nine percent? What happened to the other eleven percent?"

Archer snorted. "Trust me, going one hundred percent would be too much for you right now."

"Oh?" Ponyboy went silent, thinking that the conversation was going to fade away. But that was when realization in what Archer had meant hit him. His eyes went wide as his face became so flushed that it was worrisome. Archer was talking about sex—giving his mind, body, and soul. "Oh."

"Yeah, so, uh, give me a day. I'll figure something out."

Ponyboy could only nod as he dug himself deeper into the couch. He was both excited and nervous about whatever Archer had planned for him. Suddenly, the TV seemed a lot more interesting than it did a few minutes ago. He hoped that his never-erasing blush would be gone by the time that everything is figured out.

o-o-o

It was nothing, Ponyboy tried to tell himself after he was told that Archer thought about the perfect date idea. He had been on dates before with him. There wasn't anything to be nervous about. But he was nervous. There were multiple factors that contributed to this feeling. First of all, this was an actual date; not some pretend one where they would just have to be near each other with no obligations whatsoever. What if he smelled? Should he take another shower? The idea of a date made him insecure about himself like no other.

As he was looking at his appearance in the mirror, he couldn't help but wonder what Archer saw in him. He was still gaunt, although he had gained a bit more weight after leaving the hospital. His skin was pale and dark bags hung under his tired eyes, a result of being woken up by nightmares every night. He was ugly and everyone that Archer had dated looked better than him. It was understandable that, because of his insecurities, he was nervous about the date. What if he disappointed Archer?

Finally, he was nervous about going outside. He didn't know if the hospital was searching for him again. Although his files weren't there anymore, there was a chance of them chasing after him. Going outside meant that he was exposing himself and he just couldn't go back. Ponyboy would rather die than return to that place.

"Ready to go?" Archer asked, poking his head into the bathroom.

Slowly, Ponyboy nodded, walking down towards the front door with Archer at his side. Before he could exit the door, he stopped, licking at his lips nervously. His stomach turned with uneasiness, knees feeling weak. He didn't want to leave.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his own, holding it firmly. Archer squeezed his hand. "You can do it," he encouraged. "Just take a step forward."

Ponyboy forced a quivering smile on his face, nodding. He could do it. It was just one step. He could do one step.

Taking a deep breath, Ponyboy lifted up a heavy foot and brought it forward. He could do it, he kept repeating to himself. When he did manage to get his foot out the door, he looked back to Archer who was grinning at him.

"There you go," Archer said. "It was easy, right?"

"Yeah, it was," Ponyboy simply replied.

"Now, let's not waste any more time. Let's go and start our amazing date."

The two of them scurried to Archer's car and Ponyboy slouched down so that only the top of his head was exposed from the window. He wondered where Archer had planned to take him, especially if it was supposed to be amazing. Despite feeling carsick because of the position that he was sitting in and nervous about the upcoming challenges that he might have to face, Ponyboy was excited. It was going to be great; a memorable experience that he would never forget

At the label of 'amazing date', Ponyboy had expected Archer to go all out on the date. So, he was surprised when Archer pulled into the parking lot of the public pool. The pool was empty, it being freezing outside and all. Ponyboy was surprised that the pool was even open and uncovered. Only crazy people would swim at that time. Archer couldn't possibly have taken him to a swimming pool for their 'amazing date', could he? There had to be something more to it.

"The pool?" Ponyboy asked, eyebrows scrunching together in confusion.

"Yeah, it's the only place that's empty," Archer explained.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes at his blatant answer. "I wouldn't have thought that at all. It's not like it's cold or anything," he remarked sarcastically.

Archer lightly chuckled, removing the key from the ignition. "I think after that remark, you have to cool off a bit. What better place than a pool?"

The young greaser crossed his arms, giving up on the playful banter. He should give Archer a chance. Maybe he had something up his sleeve. However, he looked down at their clothes—hoodies and long pants—and realized that they weren't wearing anything suitable for swimming. "We're not wearing swimsuits."

"Luckily, you don't need swimsuits to go swimming," Archer answered suggestively. He wiggled his eyebrows at Ponyboy, causing the younger boy to blush. He quickly looked away, fumbling with the handle for the door as he scrambled out of the car. Much to his dismay, it only made him look eager, which was not his intention at all. From behind him, he could hear Archer cackle making Ponyboy only blush harder. At this rate, he wasn't going to make the entire date.

A few minutes later, the two of them entered the pool. From up-close, Ponyboy could see vapor roll off the top of the water, meaning that the heater was on. He breathed out a sigh of relief. When he was in the parking lot, he thought that the water was going to be cold. It made him feel better even though he was fairly confident that he wasn't going to be getting into that pool anytime soon. It didn't matter how warm the water was, it was still freezing outside.

He walked over to the side of the pool, dipping a finger inside of the water out of curiosity. It was hot—almost like a hot tub. That didn't change his stance on swimming that day. Ponyboy stood up, deciding to sit down and relax somewhere.

"There's no way that I'm going to be—" he started as he was turning around away from the pool. But, as he turned around, he was cut short when Archer charged at him without warning. His eyes boggled, body going rigid. "Archer! Hold on! Wait!"

But it was too late.

Archer looped his arm around Ponyboy's neck, leaping forward over the side of the pool. A short scream left the younger boy's mouth as his body was flung backward with him. His stomach twisted involuntarily as he crashed into the water. The arm that was around his neck let go of him, leaving him sinking to the bottom of the shallow side of the pool. The warm, chlorinated waters caressed his body, coaxing him to open his eyes, which he did. The water stung them a bit, causing him to squint as he stared upwards to where the lights were filtering through the surface. Like angelic rays were shining down on him. It made it seem like the warm water was only an illusion. The warmth hugged him, making his toes tingle. He was mesmerized by the light, caught in a trance so strong that he forgot that he was underwater. He only snapped out of it when he realized that he couldn't hold his breath any longer.

He pushed up from the bottom of the pool, taking a huge breath when his head breached the surface. A loud gasp exited his mouth as he ran his fingers through his hair so that it would go back to the style that it was before.

"You good?" Archer asked.

Ponyboy nodded, and sputtered out, "Yeah. Yeah. I got distracted. Why did you do that?"

Archer shrugged, lowering himself more in the water so that his chin was submerged. He twisted around on his toes. "I had to get you in somehow."

"But it's cold out and—Oh. You're taking your clothes off…"

Ponyboy's face heated up as Archer peeled off his soaked sweatshirt, revealing a very toned body. The scene was ridiculously, almost like an overdramatic movie. Water dripped down his skin almost sinfully, vapor clouding up parts of his body. Ponyboy was going to have an aneurism. If there was a moment that made him go, 'oh he's definitely gay'… it was this one.

So, this was the reason why Archer wanted to go swimming.

Noticing his reaction, Archer smirked and slowly pushed himself over to him. Ponyboy couldn't help but step backward, eyes wider than plates. His heart was hammering against his chest, face redder than tomatoes at that point.

Oh god, this was all going too fast. They just started dating.

Ponyboy's back hit the side of the pool, leaving him to only be able to watch as Archer walked closer to him. Soon enough, he was standing less than a foot away from him. His body was hot—boiling in fact—but he didn't know if it was from the pool or actually just from his body reacting to the situation. It was probably both.

Archer tugged at the sweatshirt, which was heavy from all of the water that it had soaked up, that he was wearing. He asked, "Are you going to take this off?"

The younger teen felt a sudden pang in his chest at that. While he was flustered before, he was now insecure again. Ponyboy remembered that under his sweatshirt was a bony torso. He looked disgusting. He hugged his stomach, slouching into himself. He looked down at the water, wanting to be swallowed up by it. "No, I'm good," he whispered.

"It must be really heavy at this point."

"I'm good," Ponyboy sternly repeated.

There was a long pause as Archer tried to figure out what was obviously wrong with Ponyboy. He stared down at the other male who was avoiding his eyes as best as he could. Pony hugged himself as if he were self-conscious about his weight. That's when the realization hit him. He was ashamed of his recovering body. Man, did that realization make him feel like a jerk…

"Hey, look at me," Archer ordered after letting out a long sigh. He reached forward and lifted Ponyboy's chin so that they could stare at each other face-to-face. "You don't have to do it, okay?"

"Okay…" Ponyboy mumbled, a familiar question popping up in his head again. "Archer?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you see in me? I'm just so…" He couldn't finish his sentence. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

A small, soft smile appeared on Archer's face as he rubbed Pony's chin with his thumb. There was a lot of stuff that he liked about Ponyboy—too much to say it then and there. So, he said this instead, "I should be asking you the same thing, you know… You gave me a chance and was so brave no matter what happened to you. You don't see things in black and white like everybody else here. You're the truest person there is. And I—I… You know what? I'm not really good at this cheesy stuff, Ponyboy."

"Then don't speak." Ponyboy didn't know what got into him when he said that, it just felt right at that moment.

At first, Archer didn't move. Both of them didn't. They stared deeply into each other's eyes, waiting to see who would move first. It was Archer who did. He snaked his hand to the back of Ponyboy's neck and pulled him forward. Their lips crashed against each other, gentle at first. It was obvious that Archer was holding back again to respect him, but Ponyboy didn't want that. He wanted it to be intense, desire bubbling up to its brim. Pony pressed his lips harder against Archer's, reaching up to tangle his hands in the other's wet mop of hair. The Soc grunted when his hair was pulled, getting the message to go rougher. However, Ponyboy, despite showing confidence, was inexperienced in kissing. When a tongue licked his lips, he didn't open them until Archer lightly bit them. The bite caused him to gasp, inhaling the strong scent of lavender and lemon—the new candle scent that was brought out the other day—that emitted off of his boyfriend. It was the best scent in the world, but, then again, any scent of Archer was the best. A tongue slipped into his mouth, causing a light moan to escape involuntarily. It was embarrassing, but he didn't care one bit. Nothing mattered but the two of them.

Archer stepped forward, sandwiching Ponyboy's body with the side of the pool. They felt all of each other, just wanting to get even closer together. They never wanted to part from each other.

The kiss was sloppy, but it was the best that any of them ever experienced. Eventually, though, they had to part. When they did, Ponyboy chased after Archer's lips, whining softly. He wanted more, but he reopened his eyes to look back at Archer. They both panted hard, out of breath; lips already starting to bruise.

"Wow…" Ponyboy breathed out, not sure what he was supposed to say.

Chuckling, Archer pressed his forehead against his, moving his arms down to hug Ponyboy around the waist. "God, I like you," he deeply whispered.

Ponyboy's heart swelled at that, bringing a glowing smile to his lips. "I like you too… so, so much."

Archer opened his mouth to say something, but a loud clap and a wolf whistle caused both of them to tense up. Their heads snapped towards the source of the sound, expecting for some homophobic asshole to come out and ruin their date. They weren't expecting to see Two-Bit and Johnny, whose face was flushed.

"Man, you two were devouring each other!" Two-Bit laughed out, making Ponyboy want to crawl up in a hole again.

"You were watching us?!" he exclaimed, horrified. How much did they see? Christ, this was so embarrassing.

However, Archer wasn't fazed much if at all. He smiled and asked, "Did you enjoy the show?"

"Archer!" Why were all of their kisses in front of other people?

Two-Bit only shrugged, looking over to Ponyboy who was just about ready to drown himself in the pool. "Don't worry, Pony," he reassured. "We didn't see much. We just got here."

Johnny nodded his head in agreement, although his red face said otherwise.

"What are you guys even doing here anyway?" Ponyboy asked, curiosity striking him.

After he asked that question, the two greasers looked behind them to where they were hiding before, much to his confusion. Two-Bit said something that he couldn't hear, but he figured it out a second later. Ponyboy had thought that only Two-Bit and Johnny were there, but one other person was there as well. When another figure stepped out into the open, his heart sank to his toes.

A weak voice left him as he said, "Soda…"

"Hey, Pony," his brother greeted back, standing in front of him with an unreadable expression on his face. "We need to talk."

o-o-o

Me the entire time write this: Aaaaaaahhhhh. *Punches the air*. I'm not used to writing cheesy romance at all. I tried. T_T

Also, IMPORTANT: So, I've decided to add more choices to pick from for my next main fic because some of you might not be in the mood for the choices that I had before. You can access it on my profile page again. If you're on a mobile device (and not on the app (I know nothing about the app)), you'll have to use the desktop version. There should be an option to switch over on your device. I also kept the top results on the previous poll and explained it more in a summary version. Thank you so much!