The bell rung and I looked fearfully at the school building. Kids were swarming in the school and all I could do was stand there. There was a nudge on my shoulder, pushing me towards the entrance.
"We're here for you," Two-Bit reassured. I nodded, heading slowly through the doors. There were some looks – scratch that, a lot. All of the looks made me wince but I could take them . . . hopefully. Seeing Shawn is what I'm scared of. I pushed myself through the people. Some of them tried to back away as if not wanting me to touch them. Others walked closer, chest puffed out; clenching their fists. The only reason why they didn't try to punch me is because of Two-Bit. Johnny didn't intimidate them at all.
I walked to my first class. Sadly, it's where Johnny had to leave. I didn't know if Two-Bit was also going to leave or not. He only goes to school to have fun; not to learn.
In the end, Two-Bit didn't leave and seated himself behind me. The teacher rolled in, dropping the assignments on the desk. She spun around, waiting for the last students to walk in and the last bell to ring. She picked up the attendance folder and went down the list, comparing it to the student's faces. Her eyes landed on me.
"Welcome back, Ponyboy," she greeted, smiling. But her smile dropped when she saw Two-Bit. She rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here, Mr. Matthews?"
"I'm here to see you of course," Two- Bit said, winking.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
I stared at my hands, fearing the worse. Everyone in class turned around to look. I could feel Two-Bit stare at me before taking his eyes away.
"But I just got here! I just came to learn!"
"That's a joke. Listen, if you don't leave, I'm going to have to send you to the office or give you a referral."
"Just go…" I whispered to Two-Bit.
"I'm not supposed to leave you."
"Don't trust that I can't handle myself?"
"It looks like I don't."
"Mr. Matthews, office, now." The teacher hissed. She reached in her desk and pulled out a ruler, slapping it on her hand.
"Kinky. You like slapping, huh?"
Her face went red with embarrassment and anger. She stomped to him, pulling him out of the desk.
"You like it rough too?"
The teacher pushed him out of the class and closed the door behind her. Seconds later you could hear slaps. I sunk down in my desk, as all of the class turned back to me.
"The flit decided to come back. That ruins everything." One guy said. They spoke more about me until the teacher walked in, putting the ruler back in her desk.
The lesson went on and soon the class ended and I was the first one out the door. Two-Bit joined back up with me, hands still have the mark of being hit by the ruler. He didn't go inside my next class. I repeated the process until the end of school. I left the campus for lunch. I didn't see Shawn yet, much to my relief. Hopefully he didn't come to school today. But part of me was disappointed. Part of me wanted to see how he was holding up. If he was just like me or if he wasn't effected. I found out at the end of school, right before I was going to leave with Two-Bit and Johnny.
"Ponyboy," someone said behind me and I peeked over my shoulder to see who called me. To my horror it was Shawn. But he seemed different. His hair was messier than usual (though, it didn't make him look better or worse) and his eyes didn't gleam like I had last seen it before. Bags were formed under his eyes and he looked sick. He wasn't so pretty. He was astonishing. I hated looking at him now, but my eyes did not.
Two-Bit stepped in front of me almost and so did Johnny. Shawn stepped closer to me, trying to get past them. I looked at the ground, ignoring his gaze.
"What the fuck do you want, Soc?" Two-Bit growled. Shawn still ogled me.
"I need to talk to him," Shawn finally stated.
"There's nothing you can say," I said. Both of my friends were confused. They didn't understand my relationship with Shawn yet.
"I have to explain."
Anger replaced my fear. "Explain what? There's nothing. I understood you well and clear. Come on, guys, let's go."
They nodded and we turned around by I was stopped when Shawn grabbed my hand and spun me around. I winced as his thumb pressed in my wound. He looked surprised and stared at the bandaged hand. He pursed his lip before asking, "Did I cause this?"
"You caused a lot of things."
He rubbed my hand with his thumb. "I'm so sorry."
I removed my hand and glowered at him. "Sorry is not going to cut it – not after what you said to me."
"I panicked."
"That's not an excuse."
"I was put on the spot and I was scared and I was panicking. If you were in my position, you would do the same thing."
"That's the thing. I wouldn't have."
He put his forehead in his palms. "Look, how can I make it up to you?"
"Make it up to me? Shawn, there is no way."
"Yes there is. I didn't mean to hurt you." Shawn stepped a bit away from me, turning around and raising his voice. "Hey everyone!"
More attention was turned to us. They saw me and some of them smirked.
"Are you going to teach that flit a lesson, Shawn?" one asked. Two-Bit stepped forward.
Shawn frowned. "What? No! I need to make an announcement."
"What are you doing?" I hissed at Shawn.
Shawn ignored me. "No one messes with him anymore, at least not without going through me."
"What are you talking about?" a group of boys pushed by the watching crowd – Shawn's friends.
"I... have a confession. I…" I knew what Shawn was doing. He was going to come out. My eyes widened, watching him shake where he stood. He closed his eyes for a second before taking a deep breath. "I'm gay and I've been hiding it all this time. I've was in a relationship with Ponyboy but I fucked up and I regret that."
Everyone stared at him shocked. The girls that were crushing on him looked revolted. I could feel my heart swell but I still didn't want to believe him. He turned around when they were still in their shock. "Ponyboy, without you, I feel empty. I probably love you…"
"Probably?" I raised an eyebrow. I want to forgive him. I mean, he just ruined his reputation for me. He's going to move from the top of the chain to the bottom.
"Yeah, I love you." My ears heated up and I looked down.
"I wish I could say the same."
"I know…"
"No way, you're a fucking fag too? You caught it from him?" one of his 'friends' said after they got over the shock.
"I didn't catch anything you fucking homophobes." Shawn looked at me, grabbed my face and slammed his lips on mine. There was a gasp. My eyes were opened wide in shock. I didn't kiss back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shawn flip off his friends and the crowd. We only stayed like that for a few seconds before I pushed myself away, dropped the hand with the middle finger exposed. I looked down at my green-gray eyes, not knowing what to do now. I haven't switched bodies for an awhile.
Shawn gave me a reassuring smile before it turned into a small smirk. "Let's get things straight. If you mess with us again, I'll tell them everything."
"Tell them what? You got nothing." There was a few laughs.
"Do you want to continue thinking that or do you want me to tell your girlfriend or, should I say, girlfriends about what you've been doing?" He turned to another guy. "And you? Shall I go into depth on your weird obsession?" Their skins turned milky white. The whispers turned harsher.
"How the fuck do you know that?" He looked at me, pointing. "Did he tell you?"
Shawn shook his head. "He didn't tell me anything. If you want I could say more about you guys."
"You two are going to regret this."
Shawn turned around to leave the school without looking at Two-Bit or Johnny. I lagged behind a bit before following. Johnny went up to Shawn questionably. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah," Shawn answered.
We got to the house before Two-Bit eyed me suspiciously. He didn't say anything but ogle me.
"I need to talk to him... alone," Shawn continued. "I'll be fine. If you want, you can watch though the window." Finally, both of them nodded and walked inside. Soda was home already and he peaked out the window with Two-Bit. Their mouths moved and I knew that they were talking about me.
"Let's switch back," I finally said.
"You're still mad at me?" I wasn't. "I'm sorry."
"Listen, I accept your apology. I just don't think I can accept you into my life again."
"Then let's start over and take it one step at the time."
I grabbed my hand and pointed to my head. He winced. "But you'll make this wound again and cut it deeper I let you back in."
"Just give me one more chance."
"One more chance could get me hurt."
"I can't promise I won't hurt you and you can't promise you won't hurt me."
I pursed my lips, thing of the worst scenarios. He had a point and he did all of that for me not too long ago. I closed my eyes shut and pressed my lips to his. He kissed back but the kiss was short and I pulled away as soon as I noticed I was out of his body and back into mine. He looked hopefully at me.
"So are you accepting to be my boyfriend again?" Shawn asked.
"Testing but… yes. Don't make me regret my choice."
I looked at the window and waved, smiling. They left the window and I laced Shawn's fingers with mine. We started to walk down the sidewalk, not caring what people thought about us. For hours we walked. Sometimes one of us would nudge the other and sometimes we would randomly push the other to see if one of us would get caught off guard and fall. We walked until the sun was about to set and until we were in front of his house. Shawn put his forehead to mine and we just stood there, smelling each other's scent and living in the moment. Who knows how long we stood there. We just knew that it was longer than needed because the front door slammed open and Shawn's parents stormed outside.
"Shawn, get over here!" the mom hissed. He flinched at the venomous tone.
"Goodbye Ponyboy…" he whispered and walked away sluggishly in the house. I kept standing there instead of going home. Something was wrong. Something was going to happen.
There was a crash and screams coming from inside the house. I heard Shawn scream and ran inside the house without a second thought. I stopped right outside the field of view when I heard the father talk.
"The next time I see you with him, or if I see him at all, I'll kill him!" he shouted. "No son of mine is going to be gay! Think about all of the embarrassment that it will bring our family!"
"I don't care about the embarrassment! I love him!"
"Bullshit!" There was a thump and a groan. "You don't love him! You can't love him! You love girls!"
"But I don't!"
Another thump and a groan. "Yes you do! It will be so, even if I have to beat the queer out of you!" From then, there was just slaps and groans like someone was being beat to death. I couldn't move. Why couldn't I move? My legs were trembling but I couldn't move forward.
I found myself backing up though. It was the only movement I could do. My heart told me to go forward but my fear controlled me. I stopped when I reached the front door. My hand reached up but froze. I can't leave. Even if I die, I can't be the one to leave.
The noises from the room stopped – all except the sobs. Panicking, I slipped in the closet next to the door. I kept repeating, 'don't leave' in my head. I tried to drown out the fear with this continuous thought. People walked up the stairs. There was a slamming of the door that shook the house. Then the footsteps came down the stairs. I waited a few minutes until I exited the closet myself. I looked at the door before creeping up the stairs and headed to Shawn's room. I jiggled the doorknob. Locked.
I looked around for a place where the key was. Hopefully, they didn't keep it with them. There was a groove on top of the doorframe and I reached up and grabbed it off, slipping the key inside the whole. I jiggled it around a bit before I heard a satisfying click. I opened the door after putting the key back in its spot and rushed towards the shriveled up figure on the bed.
"Shawn, Shawn, are you okay?" I asked, trying to get him to look at me. He snapped up looking at me all panicked.
"What are you doing here? Didn't you go? You have to leave!" he pleaded.
"I'm not leaving. Not after everything I just been through with you."
"You don't understand. They'll kill you if they see you!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"Please!"
His bedroom door swung open and the father marched in, pointing a gun at me. "Fuck! What did I tell you? There is no room for fags in my house!"
"Dad, stop!"
"I told you. I'm going to kill him the next time I see him! I can't have my son tainted by queers."
The father cocked his gun and I stepped away from Shawn, putting my hands up. Everything was happening so fast and I closed my eyes right when he pressed down on the trigger. My body hit the ground. There was a weight on my body.
When I opened my eyes I saw that the mother was looking at me horrified. She ran over to me, frying the weight off my body. Shawn was wheezing much to my horror. He held his hand to his shoulder, body sweating. Shawn saved my life. I would have been dead if he didn't push me down. But now, I hurt him for staying when I should have left.
"You shot him!"
The father was also horrified, dropping his gun. "Holy shit…" he whispered. "I didn't…"
"This went too far! He's our son! Sure, kick him around a bit, but you shot him!"
"I didn't mean too…"
I pushed myself passed them, trying to help compress the oozing wound.
"Get away from him!" the father snapped, pushing me down.
"Stop! Can't you see that our son needs us? Just drop it!"
Shawn didn't keep his eyes off of me. He stood up, holding the wounded shoulder tight. I stood up when he reached me and he leaned his body on mine. All his weight was put onto me and we both fell out the open window. My stomach flipped as the second story window got farther. Before I could comprehend what was happening, our bodies landed on the hedge and we both rolled onto the ground. Shawn was groaning, holding the wound deeper.
"Let's go," Shawn said weekly.
"You're injured. I need to get you to a hospital."
"No, let's go… please…"
"But…"
"I'll be fine, Ponyboy. The bullet went straight through. I'll heal."
"You'll bleed out without being treated!"
"Then take me to your place. I can't stand to see them again."
He started to get up and I had no choice but to follow him. I moved slowly but quickly down the sidewalk. I wrapped my arm around his waist for more support but he really didn't need it. It seemed like forever until we got to my house. I opened the door, eyes still puffy and red.
"Get the first aid kit!" I commanded right when we entered. Surprisingly, Darry was the first to move. He ran to the bathroom and got out the old box. I sat Shawn down, sitting next to him. Darry went to work and I couldn't do anything but watch. I curled my body into Shawn's, just enough to not cause a nuisance. I dug my head into the crook of his neck and he laid his head on mine. He constantly flinched and he held onto my hand tightly. The wound on my hand started to reopen but I didn't care. No one cared. Everyone was watching Darry work on the bullet wound. When everything was patched over (even the forming bruises were treated) the questions were pressed and I tried my best to answer them.
"What happened?"
"Shawn was shot by his parents."
"By his parents?"
"They meant to kill me but he saved my life."
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know."
"Who is this?"
The questions went on until Shawn decided that he should go. He moved and I slid off of him, wiping the dried up blood on my jeans. He exited the house with me right behind him.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I have to go."
"Where?"
"Anywhere but my house."
"Stay here."
"I don't want to be a bother. It's best for me to go."
I felt like crying again but I held my emotions in. "Why do you sound like we'll never see each other again?"
"Because I only bring trouble to your life."
"You're leaving me? After all that we've been through? Right when we get back together, you're ending it?"
"I'm sorry! But I can't stay with you! I love you so I want to keep you safe."
I did the thing that first came to mind – something that Shawn did to me before. I kissed him, trading places and wincing at the new, throbbing pain. I separated myself from my body. "You can't go now. I have your body."
"Ponyboy, give it back! Can't you see that I can't stay?!"
"Can't you see that you're only making it worse by leaving?"
"I only cause you trouble!"
"I'm a greaser. We're always in trouble and we're trouble."
"You're not trouble."
"I am now because I'm going to be the one to leave if you don't promise to stay here. If we're going to be over again, then I'll let you suffer less. You can have my life."
"You're crazy!"
"I'm crazy? You're the crazy one!"
Shawn looked at me hopelessly and sat down on the porch. He let out a heavy sigh and I joined him, swinging my leg off the side. "You're not going to give up until I stay?"
"No."
"What am I going to do?"
"Stay here for now. You won't be trouble. There's an empty room here. Just get a job to help pay each month."
He kissed me suddenly. "You should know that I always win fights, Ponyboy."
My heart dropped. He can leave now. I shouldn't have sat that close. Damn it. "So… you're going?"
He thought about it, lacing our fingers together. "I'm taking you up on the offer." Relief was the best feeling I have ever felt. "And Ponyboy? Thank you."
We walking in the house and everyone there, which was most of the gang, looked at us with questioning looks. I explained the situation and finally Darry agreed after much pressing from everyone else. I showed Shawn his room and we carefully hugged each other.
"I love you, you moron," I whispered.
"I love you too."
He entered his room and I went back to the living room. Darry pulled me over and looked at the hallway. "Are you sure this is going to be alright. He's—"
"He's not a Soc. Just a normal guy." I denied, turning around to go back to my room. I looked over at the guest bedroom one last time, smiling before shutting my door.
o-o-o
That's all to this story. Thank you for everyone who read it through.
If you haven't voted yet, go on my profile and vote on my next story you want to read. Thank you.
Sorry if there is a lot of mistakes. This was almost ten pages of writing so I don't want to check my work. Yay laziness.
Replies:
Nadine1231966: *pats your back, tear sliding down face*
Dally's Girl: I'm not going to do Darry's point of view, mainly for me just wanting to stick to only Ponyboy to make it seem a bit more real. It's a good idea though and I thank you for it.
Morning-Star57: And Dally's just a pre hipster and like, "Psh I knew this way more than any of you did." xD
BunnyluvsU: High school too but only until you're an adult I think. But high schools definitely still do that. You can drop out with the consent of the parent or guardian. This is why a lot of kids that want to drop out don't drop out.
Amanda: Sadly this was the last episode.
Pony'sgirlfirend: Thank you for voting and reading!
Saiyan angel blue: You're reading too much transformer ff. Just kidding. There is never too much! This is coming from the girl with no life xD. But very little people have lives these days. We thought our life wouldn't be needed and threw it away the realized way later how much we needed it. But too late now.
White collar black wolf: Would this be of your liking?
