lia 🫧

Some pony and johnny angst (sorry in advance guys 🥲)

Inspired by these 2 shots from little pickle town by anana alog vv

Johnny’s nightly visits,, you can guess who Dally visits.

Pony trying to read only for Two-Bit to steal his books and tease him until he stops reading them outside of his room.

Pony trying his hand at baking like his mom only for Soda to make an off-hand comment about him being like a housewife so he gives up there and never tries again.

Pony having a stuffed horse that his parents gave him that he carried with him everywhere and loved more than anything up until Steve started telling anyone who would listen that Ponyboy still sleeps with stuffies so Pony throws it away and refuses to have anything soft in his bed other than a blanket and pillow.

Pony testing out how sweaters and cardigans and such feel during the winter until Dally calls him weak for not being able to handle the cold and Pony takes all his soft clothes and tells his parents/Darry to sell them because he doesn't want them any more.

Pony watching a 'girly' TV show with Johnny until Steve walks in and makes fun of Pony and when Pony looks to Johnny for defense Johnny is staring at his feet so Pony never watches anything even slightly 'girly' again.

Pony taking a minute to brush his hair and make it soft because he wonders how it'd feel only for Darry to tell him to hurry up and stop preening and acting like a girl so Pony greases his hair and doesn't consider going a day without grease again.

soda has a picture of sandy over his side of the bed. good the fuck bye.

paul worries, and he makes a mental note to ask darry how his brother’s doing. forgets to call, though, cause he’s gotta swing by the liquor store for the guys—he’s the only one old enough to buy. and then he’s drinking, and he doesn’t even think of it.

and paul who hangs around the drive-in the next night with these same high school kids, who he only really hangs around with because he grew up around them, they used to follow him around when their parents brought them to fancy parties and all of that, and all of Paul’s friends his age either don’t come home for the weekend or went far away for college or didn’t pick up the phone or they’re Darry and he’s always working these days. that’s okay, though. he’d talked to Darry last weekend, they’re going to drive out to Paul’s family’s lake house on Saturday night when he’s off. He’s just got to get through Friday first.

so they all pack into Bob’s mustang after the football game ends and head to the drive-in, cause there’s nowhere better to be on a Friday night, and Paul drinks his beer and sits back on the hood of the car with Chet because they didn’t bring girls—Paul doesn’t have one, and even if he was interested in girls, he’s pretty sure nobody here is above the age of eighteen anyway—and then he notices Bob’s girlfriend at the concession stand and elbows Chet like “The hell’s Cherry Valance doing hanging around Darry’s little brother?” “Who?” “Ponyboy Curtis, man, since when does he know her?” and Chet mutters that “that’s the greaser from yesterday.”

the greaser from yesterday. ponyboy curtis? little ponyboy who thought paul’s doodled-on high tops and silly cartoons were the coolest thing since sliced bread? the kid who paul bought oil pastels for his birthday and the kid cried when he opened the present? the kid who spilled that milkshake in his backseat that never came out and used to third-wheel him and darry all the time cause somebody had to pick him up from school and his parents both were busy and darry didn’t have a car?

and Paul is like “you jumped Darry Curtis’ little brother? the hell’s wrong with you?” and Chet’s like “man, what’s your problem?” but before that can go anywhere Bob’s storming over drunk as a skunk telling them they’re leaving because Cherry ditched him anyway and he’s pissed about it. and then Chet goes and tells him about Cherry and Ponyboy.

and then the confrontation, and Cherry’s dumping Bob, and Paul gives Ponyboy one last look before he goes because he doesn’t have the courage to stop Bob but he doesn’t want anything to happen to the kid. Besides, aren’t they a little old for this?

Isn’t Paul a little old for this? he’s got midterms to worry about. he’s got to pass his classes or they’ll kick him off the football team. he’s got—he’s grown up, hasn’t he?

and so they’re driving around later that night, and Bob’s getting angrier and angrier and Paul’s like tired of his bitching about girlfriends, and he goes “you know what? I’m going on a trip tomorrow, I gotta do my laundry now or I’ll never do it before I head back to campus.” and they begrudgingly drop him off before circling around to the east side again. Paul thinks to himself he should call Darry and ask him if Ponyboy got home alright, to warn him that some kids from the football team are out to get him.

But he forgets to call like he always does, and then first thing the next morning the cops are at his door, and, well.