Dying Kiss (Steve Randle x Reader)

Chapter 15

Your P.O.V
Call this love, but I simply call it friendship. Pony and I share none of that nonsense romantic stuff. I prefer Steve, not to be mean. Pony and I sat there, arms folded across each other's backs. I tightly held onto his shirt, letting out a few sighs of exhaustion. His hands gently soothed my back up and down, and I could feel my breath slow down as a smile glares on his face.
Ponyboy and I had been in this position for a while, just letting some of our stress out. We felt protected at the moment, not really glancing at each other or looking over in one another's directions. I clasped my hands together, then pulled them apart, finally releasing myself from his grasp. His face formed into a shocked expression, but he didn't question.

I clutched onto one of his hands, pulling it closer and giving it a few squeezes, reassuring him that it was "alright". He then pulled me back into another hug, notifying me of his light sniffles.

He quietly gazed over my face, his nose scrunching a bit as he "worriedly" smiled. Spacing out for a bit, my vision blurring and my mind going blank, I slowly realized that I was in a different reality. I looked up from his now cushion-like shoulder, noticing that he wasn't there anymore. I had my grip tightened around a pillow. What?

Darry's P.O.V
I landed on the couch, unfolding a newspaper from my arms and straightening it out. The day seemed to be going well, and a nice little time for reading would do. I had to add in some reading time, it lets out some of my stress, even when no stress is visible. It's my go-to habit.

Soda had come home a while back, tears stained onto his cheeks. He gave me certain looks that told me different meanings to his actions and emotions each time. But today, Soda hadn't come out of his room yet. He had told me a day or two ago that the room "comforted him in the best way possible". I get that he's sad because of the death of his youngest sibling, but he shouldn't mourn about him all day. It's not like Soda.

I called out to him, hearing a big moment of silence. One word was all I needed from him to know that he was okay. He never answered. It really angered me at how he was acting, but the other half of me knew how he felt. I got up from my slumped out position on the couch, folding the recently folded newspaper and setting it delightfully on the seat. I groaned, raising my arms up to stretch them, heading straight for the locked bedroom. My feet stopped by the door, my ears listening as I heard crunching sounds from inside.

Lightly, I knocked on the door, the sound stopping immediately as I did so. "Soda," I let out an exhausted sigh, hearing a couple sniffles from inside the room. "Please come out, for the sake of your own brother and health." I felt that I needed to say more to actually convince him, and so I did, not letting him speak when he had the chance. "You haven't eaten in days. You're becoming weaker and weaker. You need food Soda." I still hadn't heard the reassuring click of the lock being unlocked from his side, and it worried me yet again.

I finally grasped onto the moment as Soda spoke, hearing his voice for the first time in a while. "If that's how it is, then so be it. Let me die here, grieving over somebody else who didn't deserve the death treatment." He pauses but speaks no more. I felt ashamed, just standing there listening and not doing anything to stop him from this selfish act to his own health. I slowly backed away from the door, "There's food on the counter for you, if you decide to come out." A smile formed on my face, leaving as soon as I heard a quiet "Eh" from inside the room. I leaned away from the door, heading back to the couch and sitting down. I didn't bother to convince him further, feeling as if I would soon anger him.

Hearing a opening sound, I bounce up from my seat, whipping my head around and spotting Soda, his eyes red and drained. Tears still stained on his cheeks. His hair was messed up, his shirt was wetted with tears, and his lips were cracked and dry.

He gave me a little smile, his hand raising use and waving to me. I rushed over, grabbing onto his shirt as I pulled him into a hug. I gently rubbed his back, giving him a small grin. "Welcome back."
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I'm soooooo sorry for not updating in a while! Please forgive me, I was just doing stuff over the past few days. This chapter is my little "sorry" I guess. I feel like I say that all the time, but I have bad memory so Idk. Thank you for over 600 reads. AND thanks for reading this "story". -OrangePeelings (I can't even)