Chapter 18
"Does Darry know where you are?" I asked Pony later. We were on the couch, eating out of a carton of ice-cream.
Pony just looked up at me, a guilty smile forming on his face.
"He doesn't know!" I said, my eyes widening, "Oh, no! You're gonna get it from him, Ponyboy Curtis!"
"I know, I know, I'll call him later..."
"Call him now!" I interrupted, knowing that I was going to be the one blamed.
Pony just sighed and walked toward the phone, hesitantly dialing the number.
"Sodapop?" Pony spoke cautiously. "Yeah...In New York...I found her...I don't know...I'm not leaving...Tell Darry...Tell him that I'm not leaving!"
Pony hung up the phone and rested his forehead in his hand. Carefully, I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder.
"You can't stay here forever you know."
"I can't go back," His voice cracked, "They're gonna put me in a boy's home. The courts decided last week."
For a second I thought my heart had stopped. "No, they couldn't...they wouldn't." My hand traced down the side of his arm and clasped onto his wrist. When Pony didn't speak, I continued. "What about Soda?"
"Naw," he said, "Soda's too old to be put in a boy's home. He'll be 18 in 3 months."
"Come on, Pony, a being in a home won't be that bad." I reassured him.
"Then why'd you run away?" He didn't bother to hide the accusation in his voice.
"Listen, even if you stay here, you'll be away from the gang."
"At least you'd be here."
"Well, I..." Then what he said hit me. "This is all my fault." I sat on the couch and rested my chin in my hands.
"No, it's not." He got down on his knees and put his hands on my shoulders. I looked up at him. "You didn't tell me to come here. I made my own choice, Mattie. I can't...I just can't..."
"What?" I whispered.
"I just can't live without you!" He stood up and paced around the room, I could tell he regretted telling me this. "Without you, I forget things: My shoes, my lunch, my homework. He looked at me, and spoke a little calmer. "I need you to remind me, ya' know. What would I do without you?"
That night I couldn't sleep. Pony was sleeping on the couch in the living room and I wondered what Grace would say when she discovered him here. I was tempted to call Grace and ask her how everything was going, but then I looked at the clock. 2:14 AM. I was never going to get to sleep.
Then, my mind drifted to something else: Ponyboy and the mad rush of emotions I'd felt kissing him. We hadn't talked about it much afterward, but I couldn't help but think about how much I longed to kiss him again. I tried to push that feeling away from me and try to get some sleep, but it was no use.
Tip-toeing out of my room, I made my way through the living room and into the kitchen.
"Mattie?" A tired voice startled me.
"Pony? Why aren't you asleep?"
"I was afraid you'd leave."
In the darkness I could only make out the outline of him, so I sat on the edge of the couch, near his feet, to try and read his expression.
"Leave?" A silent laugh emerged off my lips.
"Maybe I was being stupid." He seemed embarrassed, scratching the back of his head.
"No, it wasn't stupid." I said. On the contrary, I found it quite sweet and overwhelming, and I didn't even have the energy to fight the urge to kiss him again. (What was I thinking?) When my lips met with his once more, my heart went crazy. Pony tensed a little, but then calmed down and pressed his lips to mine with more urgency then before. When the kiss got a little deeper, I got uncomfortable and pulled away.
"You alright?" He asked, I could feel is hand shaking under mine.
"Yeah." We were kind of in and odd position and if Grace walked in, she would have assumed the worst, but I tried not to think about that.
"I couldn't leave you if I tried." I told him later, my head resting on his shoulder. I could hear his heart beating in his chest and the warmth of his breath against my forehead lulled me to sleep.
That was the best night's sleep I've ever had.
Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
In spain, the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and letts do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
The dutch in old amsterdam do it
Not to mention the fins
Folks in siam do it - think of siamese twins
Some argentines, without means, do it
People say in boston even beans do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Romantic sponges, they say, do it
Oysters down in oyster bay do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Cold cape cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it
Even lazy jellyfish, do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Electric eels i might add do it
Though it shocks em i know
Why ask if shad do it - waiter bring me
shad roe
In shallow shoals english soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Short chapter, I know. It's a little to fluffy for me, but blame that on my cousin. Please Review. The song is by Cole Porter.