Sunsets and the Stars // Johnny x Ponyboy

Chapter Twenty Three // Confrontations and Kisses

I was sprawled across my bed doing my English homework. English was always my favorite class, so I didn't mind doing the work. I was feeling exhausted, though.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" I shouted, continuing to write. I flipped the page in my notebook.

The door popped open, and then it closed. I heard the footsteps coming near me, right at the edge of my bed. I decided not to say anything, teasing them.

They put there hands over my eyes. I giggled.

"Steve?" I asked. He took his hands off of my eyes.

"Correct! Hi, Pony," he replied, sitting on the bed. I moved some of my papers out of the way so we would have more space.

"How are you?" I questioned, blushing. Steve smiled.

"I'm feeling a lot better now that I'm here," he stated with a grin. My face turned even pinker. I smiled wider.

"Yeah, well, that's good," I replied. I leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose and then giggled.

"You're so cute," he said, reaching over to stroke his cheek. I looked down and smiled. When I looked back at him, he was looking at me with love and admiration.

Steve closed the gap between us with his lips on mine. It was soft and tender. He deepened it by putting his hands in my hair. He tugged lightly.

I was enjoying the kiss. There were no fireworks, there never were with Steve, but I was content with being with him.

Slowly, our light kissing turned into making out. Our hands went into different places with wild abandonment.

We heard a gasp.

Immediately, Steve and I pulled away from one another. I looked up to see who it was.

I was expecting to see Sodapop standing there. He still didn't know that I was "experimenting" with his best friend. I was completely wrong.

There stood Johnny Cade.

"Johnny?" I asked. I could feel the heat rush into my cheeks.

"Ponyboy? Steve? Since when did you guys start-" he began. Steve cut him off.

"We're not dating," stated Steve. I sighed in relief. I liked Steve, but I didn't want to date him, at least not yet. Johnny, however, scoffed.

"Shut up, Steve. Pony, I thought you said you loved me!" he exclaimed. I looked down. He wasn't wrong. I wasn't going to give him satisfaction, though.

"You said you loved Angela, so I'm moving on," I stated. I grabbed Steve's hand for support and to show Johnny that for the moment, I wasn't fully his.

"I can't believe you would do this!" he yelled. I could swear that I saw tears. What the fuck was he crying for?

"I didn't do anything! You have a girlfriend!" I shouted. I didn't want to be on the side. I wanted it to be all or nothing.

Johnny walked out of the room, and slammed the door. I heard him run down the stairs, and then a huge crash. I winced.

"Ponyboy, are you okay?" asked Steve, putting his hand on my shoulder. I didn't realize it, but I was crying.

"I don't know," I stated. I wiped my eyes. I didn't really understand why I was crying.

"Why do you think he acted the way he did when I told him I wasn't his because of Angela anymore?" I asked. Steve looked down, thinking on what to say.

"Because he loves you," he replied. I shook my head. That was impossible.

"Did it ever occur to you that he was just with Angela because it was an easy cover to repress his feelings?" asked Steve. My eyes widened. I never thought about it that way.

"I never though about it that way," I mumbled. I tried to connect the pieces.

I couldn't believe that I had just realized how cruel I had been to Johnny.

I buried my face in my hands, and began to cry even harder. I felt Steve put his arm around me, hugging my closer to him.

"You still love him, don't you?" he questioned. I gulped.

"I just never thought it would be this way," I replied. Steve tightened the hug.

"Hey, I'm going to be right here through it all, even if you choose him over me. You deserve to be happy, Pony. It'll all work out," he stated. I could hear his voice shake a bit when he said that. I could tell that he wanted to be with me, but knew it might not exactly happen.

I looked up at Steve and pecked him on the lips. He smiled a bit when I did this, but I could tell that he was still a bit sad.

"Do you want to do something to take your mind off of everything?" asked Steve. I immediately nodded.

-

Steve and I had to walk through the living room. No one was there besides Darry. I decided not to question it, and neither did Steve.

It was eerily quiet in the house. I couldn't tell if it was because of the events that had previously happened with Johnny and I, or because something else had occurred.

I didn't want to stick around to find out what was going on, and apparently Steve didn't either. He grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the house.

-

Steve and I were driving around the city, not doing anything in particular. I had my window open again, and I felt the cool breeze on my face. I heard a chuckle from behind me.

"What?" I asked with a grin. Steve face palmed cutely.

"Keep your eyes on the road! Now, what?" I questioned, again. Steve snapped his eyes back to the street.

"I'm not telling," he stated with a straight face. He tried not to laugh.

"Why not?" I whined. I was oddly curious now.

"Because you told me to keep my eyes on the road," he said. I grumbled, but I had a plan.

I learned over, and breathed hot air on Steve's neck. He withered, but said nothing. Then, I began to kiss it. He shivered and then let out a whimper.

"Stop it," he stated with a giggle. I could tell that I had gotten him hot and bothered.

Nothing was going to prepare me for what happened next.