Sunsets and the Stars // Johnny x Ponyboy

Chapter Twenty Five // Can't Hold Me Back

Johnny's POV

My blood felt could when I heard the words that Darry had said.

"Ponyboy got shot."

My blood felt cold, and I could feel all the heat from my body escape. My face must have been white.

"We have to go to the hospital," stated Dally. He pulled me out of my thoughts.

I looked up at the three boys in front of me. They all looked how I felt; scared, angry, and depressed.

Darry must've been the worst of them all. He was shaking like a hurt puppy. I never thought I'd live to see the day when he cried and felt emotion.

Cool, calm, and collected. I repeated to myself.

The four of us fled to the door, wanting to get to the hospital as quickly as we possibly could.

-

We all sat in the car. The mood was deep and heavy, and no one broke the silence unless they were sobbing.

Darry was in the passengers seat, his head against the window. He was trying to keep it together. Two Bit was driving. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel. Dally sat next to me, his face in his hands. We was breathing heavily.

Then there was me. I couldn't get Ponyboy out of my thoughts. I was choking on tears.

I couldn't believe that this was happening. No one could.

-

When we got to the hospital, the four of us were shoving and pushing to get out of the car. We were all eager to find out what was going on.

We all ran to the hospital doors. Dally threw them open, and they banged against a wall. There was a loud noise. Everyone stopped to look at us. We didn't care, though.

Darry ran up to the front desk, and hastily began to talk.

"Can you tell me where Ponyboy Curtis is?" he pleaded. I had never heard him sound so helpless.

The lady behind the desk threw some papers around, looking for Pony's room information. Finally, she stopped.

"He's in room 103. There can only be one visitor at a time, though," she stated firmly. We all nodded, and ran down the hallway. We must have looked pretty funny, but none of us were laughing.

We all stopped in front of his room, and we saw Steve sitting on a chair outside of it. He was sobbing his heart out.

I was supposed to be mad at Steve right now, but I couldn't be. He was family, and family stuck together.

I took a seat next to him, and put my hand his shoulder. He winced.

"What happened, Steve?" I asked softly. He blinked back a few tears. All the other boys were now gathered around us, wanting to hear his story.

"I took Ponyboy out because he was mad about something, and he wasn't feeling too hot about it. We drove out, and eventually, we found a nice place to walk around," he began. We were all listening closely, trying to follow along.

"Then, a mustang pulled up filled with Socs. They had a gun, and shot around randomly. It was a hit and run," he stated, crying even harder now. He was reliving the moment.

"It's okay," said Darry, patting his back. He was trying to stop him from crying even more.

"It's not okay! It's all my fault! It should have been me!" he wailed. At that moment, I felt like the whole gangs' heart broke.

Steve did nothing wrong, and we all knew it. He just took Ponyboy someplace, but it happened to be the wrong time. He was just trying to help his boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

My heart hurt when I thought about Steve and Pony officially dating, even though I knew they weren't. It was becoming clearer and clearer to me that they soon would be, though.

Darry stepped into Ponyboy's room.

-

A few minutes later, Darry stepped out. He refused to talk, and he didn't look anybody in the eye.

"It's your turn to see him, Johnny," mumbled Dally. He was looking down. I don't think I've ever seen Dally cry, either.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Everyone nodded.

"He'd want you to see him, even after everything. Just go," replied Two Bit. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

I got up, and walked towards the room.

-

I opened the door, feeling my legs go numb. It didn't feel right to be here. Ponyboy shouldn't be here.

But he was, and boy was he a sight to see. He was hooked up to machines, and his eyes were closed. I tried to stiffle a sob when I saw him.

I walked up to a chair that was next to the bed, and looked closely at his face.

His face was as white as paper, and his hair was a mess. Everything about him looked wrong. He looked dead.

I cried when I thought about him dying.

I reaches out to grab his hand, squeezing it.

It was his hand. It was Ponyboy's hand.

Even though he was dying, his hand was still warm and soft to the touch. The way his skin felt against mine reminded me of the fact that he was still alive, and that he was still here.

It reminded me that I loved him.

I loved him, and there was no way around it. I didn't want to find a way around it.

"It sounds like you need to get tour priorities straight," mumbled Two Bit. I thought about what he said.

No one was going to keep me from him anymore. Not Sodapop, not Steve, not Angela, no one.

He was my Ponyboy, even if he was lying there dying. He was always mine since the start.

I got up from the chair, and sprinted towards the door.

There was work to be done.