Where Have You Been? - Ponyboy x Reader

"I'm pretty decent." - Chpt. 7

2nd Person PoV

(minutes prior to the kiss..)

"What was that all about?" Pony said after walking off with Johnny and Dally.

"I couldn't tell ya. I thought Cherry was nice." Johnny replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"I mean, Cherry was actin' a little funny around those girls. They were right, she didn't look or say anything to (Y/n)." Ponyboy racked his brain, trying to figure out what he was missing. Dally stayed quiet, and remained in a different realm.

"(Y/n) ain't say nothin' either. If anything, she looked unhappy." Johnny added, unsure of what to think about the situation.

"(Y/n) knew I liked Cherry. If there was some sort of problem, why wouldn't she have told me?"

"She probably didn't want to trash on her. (Y/n) doesn't seem to have a mean bone in her body."

"I don't know Johnny. If she told me somethin' bad about Cherry, I'd take her word for it. Cherry ain't around, while (Y/n) looks like she's here to stay." Johnny nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I think you'd have to choose one. Especially if they have some drama that we ain't know about yet."

"I mean I'd wanna date Cherry, while (Y/n)'s just a friend.. I think?" Pony said, causing Johnny to face him with a confused look.

"You think?" Johnny asked, wanting more information.

"Yeah well, I've been havin' these dreams about her since she came 'round. I didn't think too much about it until a couple hours ago. While we was in my room, somethin' almost happened. She looked all pretty, and I couldn't help myself. Soda ended up walkin' in, but I can't stop thinkin' about it. I haven't gotten the chance to say anything to her since we got here." Pony thought back to the moment you shared. It made him feel strange, more confused than ever before.

"Man, you can't be that dumb. You're startin' to like her, and if something almost happened then I'm sure she was feelin' it too." Johnny rolled his eyes. How could Pony not put the pieces together?

"I don't know, maybe we should leave. Cherry's gone and I'm thinkin' too much." The boys turned around, walking back in your direction. Ponyboy thought about what Johnny said, really considering the possibility of you liking him.

As they approached the group, they heard chanting.

"KISS! KISS! KISS!" Pony and Johnny looked at each other with curiosity. They navigated through the crowd, trying to steal a peak. Ponyboy saw an opening, and moved up for a better view. Standing in front of him were you and Sodapop, just inches away from eachother. His eyes went wide, realizing what was about to happen.

"Johnny, I don't think she felt anything for me." First there was the peck, followed up by the passionate intertwining of your lips. His stomach sank, a swirl of unsolved emotions dancing through his head. He felt himself wanting to be up there with you, standing in Sodapop's place. The envy that flowed through him confirmed it,
he liked you.

He watched as you raised your arms with pride, digging the blade deeper into his chest. He decided he'd seen enough and wanted to go home.

"Hey, Johnny's not feelin' too good. We should leave."

(present)

For only a moment, you felt completely sober. It was only the two of you, floating at different wavelengths. You held eye contact with him as the color drained from your face. You hated feeling as guilty as you did. He probably wanted to do the same thing with Cherry, if he hadn't already. Why did you feel like you'd betrayed him in some sense?