「look at the stars」 | Johnnyboy

T h i r t e e n .

"Whatcha working on, big brother?" Ponyboy greeted, holding the door open for Johnny before closing it behind them. He slipped his hand into his boyfriend's casually; the two were public, at least with the gang, and none of their friends really seemed to have a problem with it. Or if they did, they were being awfully quiet about it.

"This step was put in crooked, and now it's tipping every time someone steps on one side of it. I think the wood's rotting, so I'm just going to have to redo them." There were only five steps, so it wasn't too much work. Though Darry worked too hard, a fact everyone in the group knew, and no one in their group would've liked to know he was doing this alone. He was still covered in sweat and tiny pieces of sand from the roofing jobs he'd completed that day, too, so all around he was just pushing himself more than needed.

"Well what made you realize it was tipping?" Johnny piped up this time, curiosity at its peak.

"Steve said he was walkin' home last night and fell straight over because of it. Said he barely had time to gather what was happening before he was on the ground." Both boys cracked up at this now, and even after Johnny had gathered himself, Ponyboy was still snickering at the imagery. Steve, tumbling down his front steps? What a time to be alive.

"You need some help?" He finally asked, once the laughter had died down. Steve was Sodapop's best friend; Ponyboy didn't remember a time when he wasn't around. He didn't like him, so the fourteen year old almost felt required to return the feeling.

"No, no, I've got it."

"Come on, Dar. You've been working all day." Johnny spoke again, this time in a knowing tone. There was a long pause. The oldest Curtis sibling didn't like accepting help; it made him feel like he was allowing someone to do what he was supposed to, something that had come with the loss of his parents. His natural thought when tough situations came, or repairs needed to be done, was that he was the one to do them.

"Alright, but you two gotta promise to be careful." He turned to face them both completely, eyebrows slightly arched and finger pointing at both of them. However, he shot Ponyboy a look that told him he was mostly just talking to him.

"What'd I do?" He gaped at his brother, then at Johnny, who'd began to lightly snicker under his breath. "I'm not the one that fell down the steps, guys!"

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"What the hell do you mean 'they're not gonna help her'? It's their job to help her, fucktard." Tim was pulling on a shirt as he spoke, exiting his room and leaving the girl he'd been with sitting alone.

"Well they're not doing it!" Curly hollered back at him, voice involuntarily cracking.

"They gotta!"

"No they don't gotta, apparently!" The eldest of them moved to sit at the dining room table, hands covering his face. He looked more stressed than a seventeen year old should've. His head bowed slightly, fingers raising to tug at his hair impatiently. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. They were doctors, people who'd quite literally dedicated their time and life to saving people. Why the hell weren't they interested in saving Angela when she needed it?

"How long have you known?"

"A day." He answered instantly, taking a few steps back in case his brother decided to do something. They didn't always fight, but when they did, things weren't pretty.