「look at the stars」 | Johnnyboy

T w o .

The Algebra class was painfully boring today. Ponyboy scribbled down all of the equations Mr. Rimze had presented on the board, along with the rules that were needed to solve them, but his head wasn't in it. He didn't know what was wrong lately; he'd been crushing on Johnny for months, yet it hadn't ever really disturbed his concentration when in classes. Only, now, it was as if he knew something big was about to happen. What the hell was it? The apprehension was killing him.

Mr. Rimze's voice rang through his ears, but it sounded far away; as if it were but a mere echo. Nonetheless, it bounced throughout his mind. Numbers floated around his brain, morphing together and dancing to an invisible tune. He chewed on the end of his pencil, willing himself to pay attention. Even so, he was still caught up in thoughts of his troubles; Angela, how much she adored him, Johnny, and how little he knew about expressing the emotions whirling inside of him. Maybe he could talk to Sodapop about it, though he was entirely unsure of how that would go. His brother had always been understanding, but this? This was something different, something the gang hadn't ever really discussed or come across. Ponyboy felt different as it was -- the fact that he was experiencing feelings for another boy just made it that much harder.

☪ ☪ ☪

The bell seemed to ring quicker than usual, roughly shaking him out of his thoughts. He looked at the clock, it felt as though time had been sped up. Had 48 minutes already gone by? His bright orbs fell upon the notebook paper beneath his hands, fingertips trailing over the messy notes he'd instinctively written. It felt like he'd been absorbed into some kind of deep haze. Dizziness overwhelmed him as he got to his feet.

The room seemed to spin at a vivid pace, his hand reaching out to clutch the wooden desk at his side. His knuckles were white from the pressure, but he wasn't focusing on that -- or anything, for that matter. He felt nauseous, as most did when their surroundings appeared to be spinning, but he didn't get to fully acknowledge that before his body hit the floor. Notebooks and pencils clashed onto the tile with him, his vision blurring.

"Somebody call the nurse!" A seemingly unfamiliar voice called out, but everything felt so distant in the mind of Ponyboy Curtis. He caught the slightest glimpse of movement around him before everything faded to black.