Fresh Start -Sodapop x Reader

"Y'Know"

Ponyboy
Johnny and I pulled our shirts off and tossed them onto the lounge chairs next to us. Sweat was sticking to my back and forehead from the blazing sun, and all I wanted to do was hop into that pool. Dally was off, hitting on some girl, so we let him be. I looked around the pool, seeing a few broads hanging around the deep end. We're not normally the mean type, but when Johnny gave me that look, we both knew we had to cannonball them.
The girls screeched when we splashed the water onto them, and I felt the water cooling me down right away. I pretended I was a scuba diver for a moment, opening my eyes and spotting Johnny moving along the bottom of the 6ft area of the pool. His hair was moving around as he shifted from side to side, his hands pulling him along the cement bottom.
I breathed out through my nose a bit, looking up and watching the bubbles rise to the blue, shiny surface of the public pool. My chest eventually got heavy, so I went back up for some air. Flicking my hair out of my face, I flashed a wink towards two of the girls we had cannonballed, feeling a sense of pride when they squealed slightly. I was starting to be a real looker, like Soda or Dally, and I was mighty proud. I hoped I'd look like a movie star too, one day.
Johnny came up to the surface a moment later, coughing up just a bit of water, since he had stayed under a little too long. He could always hold his breath longer than me, which always annoyed me. We once timed it, and I got to 51 seconds, which is pretty good, but Johnnycake got to a whole minute without air. I think Darry's the only one he can't pass up.
We splashed each other with water for a minute, and Dally eventually came and joined us. Since we had a third person, we started a game of Marco Polo, and everyone else soon joined up. Dally was it when we heard the commotion and chatter quiet slightly. Several voices dropped to whispers, and I heard a whistle or two.
Johnny and I looked at each other confusingly, before whipping our heads around, towards the pool entrance. Stepping out into the pool deck was a boy a bit older than me and a broad-- both donning a pair of sunglasses. They both looked like models, and the broad's amazing body was only further outlined by her swimsuit-- a black, backless one-piece with a v-neck. She had (h/c) hair, and my ears turned red upon realizing that had accidentally ogled my older brother's cheating ex-girlfriend. The boy with the copper eyes looked down at (F/n) and smiled as they found a place to sit. I averted my gaze and continued playing, and the game resumed shortly after.
"Ponyboy?" I heard a voice call from behind me. "Is that you?"
I turned and saw (F/n) standing behind me, stepping down into the pool. Johnny came up beside me and shot me a worried look. "Yeah, it's me," I said coldly.
She clicked her tongue. "Now, stop that. I saw Dally at the store the other day, and he avoided me totally; Steve's been avoiding all conversation with me; Darry has said only one hello, since he had to fix our roof the other day; and now you two? I know Soda broke up with me, but I don't see why you're all giving me the cold shoulder."
"(F/n), who're they?" The copper-eyed boy asked, jumping into the pool beside her. "Friends of yours? Hi, I'm Roger."
"This is Ponyboy, and that's Johnny. Roger, go play Marco Polo for a minute. I need to talk to these boys." Roger nodded, swimming away towards the shallower end. "Now, talk."
I fidgeted, averting my eyes from her piercing gaze. "We're all angry because you... Y'know."
"What?"
Johnny stepped in, "You, uh, y'know."
"No, I don't," (F/n) said.
I groaned. "Sodapop and I went to visit your house to say goodbye to your friends, but he heard a bump upstairs, so he went to investigate and he heard you and some boy... in the guest bedroom, so he rushed me out of the neighborhood and I left my shoes at your house-- but that's not important," I said quickly, almost frantically. "And we already had to deal with the first girl Soda had cheatin' on him, and we were upset when he told us because we thought you were good. But the only difference between you and Sandy is that you ain't expectin'."
She stayed silent for a minute, looking over me scrutinizingly. I almost jumped out of my skin when she replied, "I never cheated on Sodapop. When I came home that day-- I saw your shoes, by the way-- I unloaded the groceries with David and James, woke up Thomas from his nap in the basement, and shut my guest bedroom door so we wouldn't have to listen to Roger and his girlfriend, Cherry."
"His girlfriend, 'who'?!" Johnny exclaimed, jaw dropping.
"Cherry Valance. She mentioned knowing you both. She's dating my friend over there, and they were doing it when we got home. Like I said, I never cheated on Sodapop. You guys have no reason to be mad at me."
Johnny and I looked at each other, the realization both hitting us. "(F/n)," Johnny concurred, "Sodapop broke up with you because he thought you were cheatin'; I don't think you should be telling us you weren't cheating."
"Well, even though that is the case, it doesn't matter anymore. We broke up. I'm not saying I'm the victim here, but he should have asked me if I was cheating, anyway... So it doesn't matter." I saw her sucking on the inside of her cheek.
I replied, "Yeah, okay."

When we got back from the pool, our hair was still soaked, so I tossed Johnnycake and Dally a towel each, and just shook my head off on the porch. I noticed Soda spread out on the couch, watching some sad scene in a movie on the TV. Dally gave me a worried look as he pulled Johnny into the kitchen, so to give us some privacy. I stepped over to the couch and pushed Soda's legs off, sitting in the space I had opened up.
"Hey, Pony," he moped. "What's up."
"Nothing much. I gotta talk to you, though, Soda."
He sat up and looked at me inquisitively. "Yeah, sure. You okay?"
I nodded. "I am. But you're not, and for all the wrong reasons."
"What're you talking about? I'm fine."
"Okay," I said sarcastically. "I saw (F/n) today at the pool."
"Pony," he warned.
I sighed. "Listen to me. She asked us why Dally, Johnny, Steve, Darry, and I were all avoiding her. I told her it was because she was cheating, and she said that wasn't true; her friend, Roger, and Cherry-- remember her?-- are hookin' up. When you went upstairs and, though you heard thought you heard (F/n) and him, it was actually Cherry and Roger. She still likes you, though, and I know you love her."
He looked at me for a moment before darting off of the couch and grabbing his jacket from the coat racket. Dally walked into the living room and said, "Well, where's you headin' now, Curtis?"
"None of your business," Soda replied quickly, almost angrily. He looked back at me as he walked out of the door. "Ponyboy, if you're wrong about this I'm gonna kick you halfway to the sun."
The door slammed shut. Dally looked over at me, his mouth open but nothing coming out, pointing toward the door in wonder.