Johnny's pov;;
"No, no, no, no, no!" I kept repeating over and over as I paced back and forth.
I couldn't just leave Ponyboy here to get help. But I also couldn't wait much longer. He couldn't wait much longer.
I sighed in relief when saw a familiar person walking along the street.
"Marcia!" I screamed. "Help!"
"What goin' on?" She asked, panicked.
"W-we got j-jumped a-and he's hurt worse than me. I o-only got kicked once." I managed to keep my voice mainly in check.
"Oh my gosh! I'll go get help!" She said, looking down at Ponyboy's limp body.
I sat alone with Pony for what felt like hours, until I saw the gang rushing up to us, Sodapop being the fastest. The sound of sirens was bouncing around town.
"W-what happened?" Soda gasped out.
"Marcia can you explain what I told you please? I don't wanna talk about it." I asked quietly.
She nodded. "They got jumped by a few socs. Pony got it way worse than Johnny did."
"Did you know any of them?" Soda asked.
"I think one of the guys who stayed inside the Mustang was Randy Adderson." I said. "He stopped them from hurting me."
"He couldn't have stopped them before they almost killed my brother?" Soda rolled his eyes.
"No. This is my fault. I should've pulled him away faster." I mumbled.
"Johnny, if socs wanted to jump you, there's really nothing you could do. They're stronger than you."
"But...I should've tried harder. I should've known they were gonna hurt him." I said.
"And it's not your fault that you didn't, man." Dally walked up and put a arm around my shoulder. "The only person responsible for this is the asshole who jumped him."
I nodded, and finally the sirens were close and I saw the ambulance racing down the road.
When they stopped in front of me, Ponyboy and the gang, I felt relieved, like I knew that they weren't too late.
"Are you okay son?" One of them asked me.
I sank down a little and whimpered, and my voice came out barely a whisper. "Y-yeah."
He nodded. "Get this one in the truck! He can't wait too much longer!"
He motioned towards Ponyboy's fragile body that was dropped in a helpless heap on the ground.
When he said that, my heart dropped.
"Can't wait too much longer" the harsh reality of those words really got to me.
I just wish it was me instead of him. He could get over me easily, I'm not someone to dwell on.
Yeah, he'd be sad for a bit, a week maybe. But soon he'd have a new best friend, and then a new boyfriend.
I, on the other hand, would never get over losing Ponyboy. He's the only reason I'm still alive and stuck with the worlds treachery and harm.
If I didn't have him, I'd be long gone. Sure the gang cars about me, but just like Pony, they'd get over me.
If I lost Pony, I wouldn't have second thoughts about walking over the edge. Some socs know about me having thoughts like this, only because when they threaten to kill me, most of the time I simply shrug and say that I wouldn't mind. They tell me that I'm not worth anything. That I'm just a waste of space. They tell me to 'just give up'.
Sometimes I think that they're right. That maybe I should just give up. But then I remember Ponyboy.
His smile, his eyes, his hair that we share the same love for, his voice that sounds like a beautiful melody when he's reading to me.
I remember that, and know that there are some beautiful reasons to be happy. I know that there are some beautiful reasons to be alive. That maybe the pain is dominated by the small breaks of happiness, and the pain is worth it in the end.
But that doesn't mean I don't have a breaking point.
°°°
We were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting to find out how Ponyboy was. Last time I saw him, he didn't look too good.
"You guys here for Ponyboy Curtis?" A pretty nurse walked over to us.
We all nodded.
"How is he? Is he okay? What's happening?" I bombarded her with questions as I tried to calm myself.
"He's awake for now. He can have only one visitor at a time for now." She looked at us.
"Johnny, you can go." Darry said.
I nodded and followed the nurse to his room.
I shakily reached out a hand, and slowly opened the door. The door was quiet, so Pony didn't hear it open.
Before looking at Pony I looked around the room.
It was all white, but decorated. There were pictures hanging on the wall, on had a few animals, one was of a waterfall and there were trees with multicolored leaves, my favorite was the one of the night sky. It reminded me of the nights me and Pony would spend looking at the stars.
There was a small bedside table, which had flowers on it. They were all vibrant and full of color. Each one being more beautiful than the last.
I finally worked up the courage to look at Ponyboy. I slowly moved my gaze over to him.
He was sitting up, looking down. I could still see his face though. He had a pained expression.
I felt my heart break at the sight of him.
Small cuts littered his face, he had a bruise beginning to form on his right eye, there was a bit of dried blood caked under his nose, and his eyes looked tired, and overworked.
I accidentally whimpered and he looked up.
His once pained expression was replaced by a happier one.
"Johnny." He said softly. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"I should be asking if you're okay." I said.
"But I asked first. Are you okay?" He moved over and patted the spot beside him.
I sat down. "I'm fine. I only got kicked in the stomach. Randy Adderson was there and stopped them from hurting me because he said that seeing you get hurt was bad enough. He was right."
He wrapped his arms around me. "I'm okay too. I mean, I look like I'm not, but I am."
"I don't know what I would do if I lost you." I mumbled, nuzzling my face in his neck.
"I'm not going anywhere." He ran a hand up and down my back trying to comfort me.
"I love you so much." I whispered.
I felt him shiver. "I love you too. So much."
