Pretend (johnnyboy & curtis sister x cherry)

Chapter 11: Close Call

~Time skip to three forty-five pm~

Dally drops Johnny and me off around the corner from our house so that the guys don't know we were with him. We enter the house and find Pony and Two-bit watching Mickey in the living room. They look at us suspiciously.

"How was... uh... studying?" Asks Two-Bit.

"Great. Lavender was helping me get all caught up." Says Johnny. I'm glad he answered for us because he's a much better liar than I am. We sat down with them on the couch and didn't say another word until Darry, Sodapop, and Steve got back from work.

~Time skip to dinner time~

Darry, Soda, Pony, Johnny, and I all sit at the dinner table eating baked chicken. Unlike yesterday's dinner, it's silent. Eventually, Darry speaks up.

"I ran into Mrs. Cooper at the grocery store today." shit, "I thanked her for driving you to school today, and she said that she didn't. What do you two have to say about that?" He seems really angry.

Johnny and I exchange looks and panic.

"Oh, they ended up going with Two-Bit and me." Pony says, catching me off guard.

"Yeah, we felt bad asking her," I say, and surprisingly, it sounds believable.

~Time skip to after dinner~

Soda and I are cleaning up after dinner. Pony and Johnny went out to watch the sunset together. Darry is having a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

"So you and Johnny skipped today. Didn't you?" Sodapop whispers.

"Sure did," I whisper back, "and got away with it."

"Good for you." He then leaves me to do the cleaning.

I finish clearing off the table and start on the dishes. Then Ponyboy and Johnny reenter the house, both with happy expressions. Did something happen out there? I give Johnny a questioning look and he shakes his head. Dammit! I was really hoping they had confessed their love for each other while watching that sunset. Pony approaches me.

"I know you guys skipped. I told the teachers that you stayed home to help take care of Johnny. Your homework is on your desk in your bedroom. You're welcome." He whispers.

"Thanks, Pony. I owe ya." I say and then go into my room to start my homework. Even though I did have a lot of fun today, I really do hate missing school. I can fall behind really fast. I don't understand how Ponyboy caught up so quickly after coming back from Windrixville. I can fail a class after just missing a day, let alone two weeks.