Just friends, best friends -Johnnyboy

Part twenty three.

-Johnny-

After the incident with Jake, I had to go back to see if Pony was alright, if he had gotten in any trouble. I was worried he wasn't going to be there, or that he'd been suspended. I sauntered rather quickly through the halls, keeping my head down to avoid any contact at all. When I got to the bathroom we were meant to meet up in earlier, I gently opened the creaky wooden door, trying to make as little sound as possible. I saw Ponyboy hunching over the sink, he looked worn out in a way. I'm not sure. I placed my left hand on his shoulder, he flinched, he probably thought it was Jake again.

"It's okay Pon, just me." I reassured.

He expeditiously hugged me, he was still a little shaken.

"What'd Mr. Brown say?" I asked nervously.

"He gave me a warning.. and uh-" He said before I cut him off.

"What? What else?" I was quick to respond.

"He's heard the rumours about us." His face sank.

I placed my hand over my mouth, I didn't know what to do.

"Pony, if people find out.." I started.

"They won't. I'll make sure of it." He slid his fingers through his hair restlessly.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." I said with a tone of disappointment.

"That's why I'm making it." He smiled, trying to be lighthearted.

The bell rang for second period all too soon. It was History. We had this class together, thank god.

We strolled down the hallway, Pony was being a little too careful to not come near me. I understand him wanting to keep his promise, but this was a little extensive.

Ponyboy took his usual seat near the back, I joined him, sitting one chair further than usual. If he was going to be this meticulous, so was I.

"Hello class. As you know, we are starting a new unit today, so as promised, we will be watching a film." The teacher introduced. The class got rowdy, I'm assuming in excitement.

As the teacher began preparing, turning the lights off and pulling in the film projector, everyone's voice piled on top of one another, making the volume in the room go up and up. Damn, we were not even five minutes in and I had a headache.

The class rapidly quieted down when the screen came on and the film began. I looked back at Ponyboy, he seemed intrigued, he liked films. Didn't matter what they were. It was dark all throughout the room, the only light was the screen emitting onto captivated faces. It was always hard for me to just sit and watch something for a long period of time. I never liked films, movies and other things. They're boring to me.

I pulled out my notebook and began doodling to pass the time. First, a simple smiley face, then plants, words that came to my head and anything else. I felt a sudden light kick to the shin under the table, I scoffed. Ponyboy looked at me and smirked. I returned the kick, harder. He mouthed the word 'ow' jokingly. I laughed. The teacher glared at me and raised an eyebrow. I looked back at the screen, faking my interest. My eyes met the clock in the corner of the room. It had only been 25 minutes since class started. It felt like time was passing in slow motion. I didn't understand a thing that was happening in the film, it was blurry and the audio was terrible. I looked back at Pony, his full attention was on the screen, of course. I reached underneath the table again and found his hand, I just held mine overtop of his for a minute. No one was looking. I saw a smile break through, and a little laughter. It felt again like one of those moments where it was just the two of us under our tree, even if it only lasted a millisecond, I savoured it, doing everything in my power to have those minuscule moments throughout the day.

Time passed much faster when I held Pony's hand, or even slightly touched his leg to mine, it took over my mind, making this overly boring film feel less like it's four years long. The only thing was that Ponyboy kept looking behind him every minute to insure no one was looking. He was very serious about these "rumours". I guess if this is what I have to deal with in order to show him affection, I'll take it. 

Finally, it was over.

The teacher leisurely strolled to the light switch, Pony let go of my hand promptly. 

"Were we supposed to take notes?" I asked Pony remembering we're still in school. It had been a while, I wasn't used to it.

"Don't worry, I got them." He side smirked.

I was grateful one of us tolerated this class.

The bell to third period rang as I jumped in my seat a little bit. Standing up, Pony and I raced out of the room, Jake and his posse behind us. I was waiting for the snarky comment.

"What an interesting couple!" Jake joked sarcastically. There it was.

"Shut up Jake, I won't hesitate to hit your fragile face again." Pony said making it ever so obvious he was sick of this.

"Go ahead, with all these students around, you don't stand a chance of getting another warning grease." Jake's friends were cheering him on.

"Walk away J." Pony whispered to me.

"No Pony, not until you do." I insisted.

He scoffed at Jake, then looked at me, his eyes softening. He walked the other way. I was glad, I can't see him get in trouble. I glared in Jake's direction. More laughter.

-Ponyboy-

I was on the verge of tears, I wasn't sure exactly why, Jake made me more angry than anything else, so why was I crying? Maybe because of Johnny? He's probably scared if anything. I made it to the end of the crowded hallway when Johnny stepped in front of me. 

"Come on." He dragged me by the wrist in the other direction.

"What? Johnny?" I was confused.

"Just come on!" He was persistant.

I let him lead me, I assumed we were skipping the rest of the day, which, at this point was perfectly fine by me, if I saw that bleached blonde asshole one more time I would explode. We went out the back doors that were used for gym class. I was still following Johnny's lead. 

"Do you trust me?" He stopped in his tracks.

"Uh yes of course, why?" I scrunched my face.

"Okay good." We began skipping again. Johnny with the biggest smile on his face.