It was that night (or morning to be technical about it) that Ponyboy had another nightmare. Samuel had just closed his eyes after finishing his homework when he heard choked yells come from the guest room. Instinctively as if by second nature, he shot out of his bed, wide awake, and rushed over to the room. That was where he found Ponyboy squirming around in the bed, sheets shoved off of his sweaty body, and kicked to the side. He was screaming and Samuel hoped that they hadn't woken up his parents.

Samuel sat himself on the bed, gently shaking Ponyboy's shoulder to wake him up. When that didn't work, he tried shaking him violently like he was trying to wake someone up that was dead. Still, he didn't wake up.

"Ponyboy, wake up!" he hissed, grunting when the greaser hit him in the gut with his flailing arms. He started to practically roll Ponyboy on the bed at that point. "Come on…"

Suddenly, Ponyboy's eyes snapped open as he shot up, almost smashing his head against Samuel's own. His chest heaved up and down quickly, eyes skittering around the room as if looking for something. After processing every detail that it had to offer, his eyes fell onto Samuel whose eyebrows were sewed together with worry.

"Did I wake you?" Ponyboy croaked, throat dry from the screaming. He already knew the answer, looking down at his shaking hands shamefully. "I'm sorry."

Samuel gave him a small, reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry about it. Another nightmare?"

Ponyboy nodded. "Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?"

This time, the greaser shook his head. "I don't remember what happened."

Samuel had a feeling that Ponyboy was lying, but he didn't push him. He let go of the breath that he didn't know he was holding and leaned back against the headboard. He patted the bed next to him to indicate that Ponyboy should sit or lay down there. However, Ponyboy didn't move from his spot, still looking around the room as if something was about to jump out at him from the shadows at any given moment. He probably wasn't going to have an easy time going back to sleep by himself.

"Come on," Samuel coaxed. He yawned, exhaustion finally catching back up to him now that his adrenaline had died down. "Lay down. You need to go to bed."

"You're staying?" Ponyboy asked. Although he tried to make it seem like he was apprehensive about it, Samuel knew that he was relieved.

"Yeah, for now." Samuel shifted so he was more comfortable in his spot. "Just go to sleep. I'll be here until then to make sure nothing happens to you."

Ponyboy smiled, laying down on the bed. He stayed close to Samuel, so much so that his forehead pressed against his thigh. He closed his eyes and let his body relax into slumber.

While Ponyboy slept, Samuel couldn't help but watch him. His fingers subconsciously combed through his light-auburn hair, heart swelling as he did so. In the short time that he knew Ponyboy, he had grown so attached to him, and that was problematic.

Samuel did not want Ponyboy to leave. That was what he figured out. That and he had a major crush on him. It wasn't that hard to come to terms with that. He had plenty of crushes before to be able to identify the feeling. But his crush was a huge problem for him. For starters, Ponyboy was technically really old. He had his fair attractions to hot, way-older men, but this was another issue altogether. Ponyboy was supposed to be in his late 60s; practically starting his 70s. Samuel tried not to think about it. Secondly, Pony was supposed to go back to his own time period, making it impossible to end up with him unless he wanted to break his own heart. Why were all the guys he crushed on impossible to have?

Call him selfish for wanting him to stay; not letting him join back with his family so that he could have him for himself. Samuel was a terrible person, thinking like that. He shouldn't be so selfish, and he should let him go back so that he would be happy. However, he couldn't help but listen to the part of him that told him he could be the one who made him happy. He was all Ponyboy needed. Besides, it wasn't like the world would be messed up if he stayed in this time period. In the past, Ponyboy had "died". That made it possible for him to stay without destroying the fabrics of the universe. But, if Ponyboy returned to his time period, he could possibly destroy life as he knew it. If he returned, then his death would change so much of the world—including if Samuel lived or died. Ponyboy was the butterfly in Ray Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder.

So, was he really being selfish? The little devil that was sitting on his shoulder said it wasn't. It kept telling him to sabotage Ponyboy's mission on returning to his time period so that he would be happy and save the world. But Samuel knew that he couldn't do that. He knew that Ponyboy would be in a lot of pain if he didn't go back and his pain felt worse than his own.

God, he hated this all.

He let his hand relax, closing his own eyes. Samuel didn't know how long he had been thinking or when he fell asleep, but when he woke up, his limbs were tangled up with Ponyboy's.

o-o-o

"Are you sure about this?" Ponyboy asked nervously in the car seat. School had ended an hour ago for them. Both of them were exhausted but they felt like visiting Johnny was the right thing to do after finding out about the message under the library table.

"Yeah. You saw the message under the table. Johnny was looking for you for so long. You should give him closure. The rest of your group too," Samuel said.

Ponyboy looked at him funnily. "Why would I need to give him closure if I'm going back to them?"

Samuel pressed his lips into a thin line, grip tightening on the wheel. "What if… What if you don't go back? It's a possibility that we have to prepare for."

That must have been the wrong thing to say because Ponyboy whirled his entire body around to look at him, raising an accusatory eyebrow, as he snapped, "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm just saying that—"

"I'm going to go back," Ponyboy declared. "Why wouldn't I?"

Samuel sighed, hating whenever Ponyboy got hotheaded. He halted the car in front of the house that was indicated on the GPS, spinning to Ponyboy so he would be able to look at him straight in the eyes. He had to understand where he was coming from. "Because what if we're just chasing a false dream? What if it's impossible? We have to face the facts."

"Do you seriously have no hope for me? I want to go back." Ponyboy's voice cracked when he said that, making it clear to Samuel that his hope was the only thing keeping him together. His chest was so tight that it was painful, squeezing his heart with an iron fist. Ponyboy couldn't stay in the future, Samuel had to remind himself about that. Besides, he didn't want to be there with him anyway. They were hardly even friends and it wasn't going to get any further than that. He had to accept that and stop being so stubborn about it. Ponyboy was angry at him because he was the one that wasn't understanding.

But Ponyboy's hope seemed so farfetched. Time travel? Like they could crack that case.

"No, I—" Samuel started to say but cut himself off. He swallowed thickly. "I do have hope."

"That's not what it sounded like to me," Ponyboy challenged, glaring at him.

"I'm just laying down everything. I mean, what if it's too much for us?"

"Why would it be too much for us?"

Everything about this was so frustrating. Samuel was being pulled in multiple directions. He wanted to satisfy everyone but was unable to. He was so frustrated that he wasn't careful in reeling in his emotions. He slammed the steering wheel with his palms, snapping back, "Because we're just kids!"

When Ponyboy flinched at his sudden sharp tone, he lowered his volume, feeling bad. "We're just kids, Ponyboy. We're not professionals. We're two kids with no background in time travel that are trying to do what scientists have been trying to accomplish for decades. If professionals can't figure it out, we won't be able to."

Ponyboy shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. He knew what he said was logical and a part of him did believe Samuel. But he just didn't want to come to terms with that.

"I'm not a kid," was all Ponyboy could say to that before he marched out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

He didn't turn back to look at the car until he reached the door to Johnny's house, which was ridiculously big. It was a mansion—a lot larger than a Soc house. His annoyance was replaced with shock as he compared his own height with the giant, mahogany doors that stood before him. The house even had a fancy fountain at the front. Christ, was this even Johnny's house? How did he get to even afford this?

He was so entranced by the house that he didn't notice the doors open in front of him until someone said, "Can I help you?"

It was a little girl, around the age of eight or nine. She was shyly hiding half of her body behind one of the doors as she waited for him to continue the conversation.

"Hi," Ponyboy cleared his throat. "I'm looking for Johnny Cade. Is he here?"

"You're looking for Grandpa?"

Grandpa?

Man, did that sound weird to his ears. Johnny had a grandchild or grandchildren. He wondered who he was married to.

"Yeah, I came to talk with him. Can you get him?"

"Okay… Wait here!" The girl ran off, not bothering to close the door behind her. Ponyboy was left to stand at the entrance awkwardly, looking at the details of the foyer inside the house. Before he knew it, a man walked over to him. In an instant, Ponyboy recognized him. It was Johnny. Even though he was old, he looked good for his age. He still had that boyish, puppy-dog face that he always had. Besides the age, the only things that were different about him were that he was no longer covered in bruises and that he looked a lot brighter in personality. His aura was practically sparkling.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Johnny asked and his voice alone almost made Ponyboy break down right there on the spot.

"Hi," Ponyboy started, managing to get his voice to work properly. "I'm Michael… Ponyboy's grandson?"

Johnny's expression changed quickly from sadness to confusion as he processed the words separately before together. His eyebrows furrowed together, mouth opening before closing again. Johnny struggled to form words as he tried to figure out what to say. Finally, he managed to get something out. "Grandson? Did you just say that you're Ponyboy's grandson? I thought… I thought…"

"You thought that he was dead. I know. But he wasn't. He ended up fine. He survived the tornado."

There was a pause as Johnny continued to process the words. "I… That's…"

"Crazy? Believe me, I know."

Johnny hummed in agreement. He pointed inside the house, finger shaking. "Would you like to come in? I have a feeling there is a lot to talk about."

Ponyboy looked over to Samuel's car, which was far away since the driveway was ridiculously long. He hadn't realized he walked so far until then. He probably shouldn't leave Samuel waiting in the car for too long, especially after their small feud. But Johnny was right there, even though he was a lot older. Both of them could cool down a bit more, he decided. Ponyboy nodded, stepping inside the house. "Let's do that."

They walked through the house and Ponyboy soaked in his new surroundings. He thought that Samuel's house was fancy. It was nothing compared to this one. Johnny took him to the living room where they sat across from each other.

"So, what made you come here, Michael?" Johnny asked when he was comfortable. Hearing his middle name being used was still weird.

"I found your message under the library table at the school," Ponyboy answered.

"The carving?" Johnny cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Yeah, it was asking where Ponyboy was. Your initials were under it."

Realization hit Johnny as he nodded, mouth ajar. "I forgot I did that. It's been ages."

Ponyboy pursed his lips. "How long… How long have you been searching for him after he disappeared?"

"For months after the incident," Johnny answered after much thought. "Everyone in the gang looked for him. We almost gave up multiple times, but Soda kept making sure we wouldn't lose hope. Eventually, we did have to face it. He was gone, but I guess he wasn't dead if you're here."

"And what made you lose hope?" It was so wrong to be there, pretending to be someone that he wasn't. He should give them closure like Samuel said should do.

"A lot can change in just a few months. We tried our best not to lose hope, but we did in the end. I regret that now because he survived. Can I ask you something? Was he alone?"

Ponyboy shook his head, thinking about Samuel. He was starting to miss his company, feeling bad for snapping at him. He had been helping him this entire time. He didn't have to help him. Samuel could have left him on the road if he wanted to.

"At first," Ponyboy said, smiling dreamfully. "Then he found someone who helped him out."

He wasn't mad at them for losing hope. They tried their absolute best to find him, but he wasn't physically there so it was impossible. If he were, they would have probably found him. It was still sad that they gave up, but decades were far too long to be missing.

Johnny was examining him like a hawk, scrutinizing every detail. There was something knowing in his eyes. He didn't ask where Ponyboy was—which was strange— but instead asked, "Is he happy?"

That question caught Ponyboy by surprise. He dumbly nodded. "Yeah, he is."

They continued to talk for a bit. Johnny talked about his life and Ponyboy diverted the conversation so it would be just about Johnny. It turned out that he became famous when he was younger, although not so much now because he stopped working. What he was famous for, he didn't find out in the end. Their conversation ended far too soon because Ponyboy didn't want to leave Samiel alone for too long.

But, still, even with the short conversation, Ponyboy felt like he missed so much. He made it to the front door with Johnny behind him. Samuel was still there waiting for him.

"That's my ride," Ponyboy muttered under his breath. He took a step forward but stopped. Hope… Hope was the driving force that kept everyone going in the world. Without it, everything would be for nothing. Looking at the future now and how they were going to go about him returning to his time, it did seem pretty hopeless. Samuel had all the reasons to feel that way. They couldn't do it all on their own. He looked back over to Johnny. They all needed a little more hope. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Johnny asked.

"I'm… I'm not who you think I am." Was he really going to do this?

"What do you mean?"

"You're not going to believe it. It's crazy."

Johnny gave him a reassuring smile, the wrinkles around his eyes deepened. "Tell me."

Ponyboy took a shaky breath. Was this going to be the wrong decision? Well, there wasn't going back now. "It's about me. The truth is… My name isn't Michael."

"It's Ponyboy," Johnny finished, causing Ponyboy's eyes to widen in shock. Out of everything he was expecting to hear, that was the last thing. Did he hear Johnny correctly? He knew that he was Ponyboy? How did he know? There was no way.

"How did you—"

"I figured when I was talking to you, but I didn't believe it until now." Johnny had always been perceptive and intuitive. The two of them always were able to read each other and talk to each other without words. Ponyboy had expected him to lose that ability, but it seemed like he still had it. "You look and act exactly like him. I thought I was crazy for thinking that. So, it's true? You're really Ponyboy?"

Tears suddenly peeked out of Ponyboy's eyes, his heart flooding with emotions such as relief. He quickly nodded his head. He wanted to run over and hug him but stopped himself short. Would it be too weird to do that? But, whatever. Johnny knew that he was Ponyboy! He wasn't alone anymore. Although Samuel helped him so much, he wasn't anyone from the gang. Christ, this was surreal. He sniffled. "Yeah, and I'm stuck here. I want to go back, Johnnycakes."

A hand placed itself on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We'll get you there. Don't worry. I can't believe that you're here. How did this even happen?"

"I don't know."

"Well," Johnny hummed, "I can make a call if you would like. I know someone who researches stuff like this. I'm sure he could figure it out and get you back quickly."

Ponyboy smiled, wiping his tears away with his sleeve. This was definitely the right decision. "Really?"

Although he was excited, Ponyboy couldn't help but think about what Johnny will be losing if he goes back. He was doing so well, had a family, and was happy. If he returned, would Johnny never achieve this result? Soda and Steve were happy too, and Darry's condition was most likely inevitable as well. He wondered how Dally and Two-Bit were doing. They were probably doing alright too.

"Of course," Johnny said. "I want you to go back. It was never the same without you there. It was so empty." Johnny finally let go of him, taking out his phone so they could exchange numbers to keep in touch. "Have you told anyone from the gang about this?"

"You're the only one," Ponyboy admitted. "I don't know if I should tell them. I don't want to hurt them."

"You'll figure it out. I'm sure they would love to know though." He looked over to the car, squinting his old eyes to try to focus them. "Is that who found you?"

"Samuel?" Ponyboy looked over at the car before he nodded his head, smiling. He could just make out his friend's outline. It looked like he was on his phone. He was constantly using it and was probably reading one of those stories that he always closed before Ponyboy could read anything. He chuckled to himself. "Yeah, that's him."

Johnny hummed, smiling knowingly again. "And he's the one who makes you really happy?"

At that, Ponyboy whirled around so quickly that he almost gave himself whiplash. His face heated up in an instant, turning redder than a tomato. "What are you trying to say?"

"You know, the gang and I would accept you no matter what."

If possible, he became even redder. He was practically steaming, that was how hot his face felt. Was Johnny insinuating that he liked Samuel in that way? No way. "It's not like that."

"Really? Are you sure?" Curse Johnny's ability to read him like a book. He was never able to keep anything from him.

"I… uh…" He had to go. He was going to implode if he stayed on this topic. "I gotta go. I'll, uh, talk to you soon, okay?"

With that, he scurried away. He jogged over to Samuel's vehicle, still red in the face when he plopped himself in the passenger's seat.

"Are you alright?" Samuel asked, starting up the car. "Your face is all red."

"Yeah," Ponyboy answered, voice wavering. "I… I told Johnny about me."

Samuel's attention turned fully onto him. His hand stopped midway to the gear shift. "Like deadass? What did he say?"

"He believed me, and he told me that he was going to call some researcher to help us. You were right, by the way. We won't be able to do this alone."

Samuel's shoulder drooped at that. He sighed, nodding. "So, you're going to leave soon?"

"I think I will."

"Are you excited?"

There was a long pause. "I don't know anymore."