Him And I / Ponyboy Curtis

Chapter 1

1900 words

6:42pm
Friday March 12, 1965
Tulsa, OK

Y/n pov

The sun hung low in the sky,
streaks of orange and yellow stretched across as if brushed on by a painter.

It was nearly 7pm now. I decided to go for a walk after cheer practice instead of heading straight home. I've been staring up at the picturesque sky for a while now, without really paying attention to where I'm walking.

After the sun disappeared and the vibrant colours slowly faded to black, I looked back down at my unfamiliar surroundings. I had gone the wrong way.

I continued walking, looking for anything I could recognize. I could
see a vacant lot a little ways down the road, with some monkey bars and a large fountain in the middle. Memories from my childhood slowly came back, and I remembered when Steve and I would play there when we were little. That means I shouldn't be to far from Steve's house.

If I could remember correctly, his house is just a few blocks away. I continued to walk down the street, occasionally looking up at the quickly darkening sky. I crossed my arms due to the freezing chill of the wind.

Finally I reached dad and Steve's house, and knocked on the screen door gently. Steve instantly appeared behind the door, his face lighting up when he saw me. He swung the door open quickly.

"Y/n!! Are you okay? What are you doing on this side of town?" He questioned, wrapping his bare arms around me. He was wearing a white tank top and jeans. Steve let go of me and motioned for me to come inside.

"Yeah, Steve, I'm fine. I was just walking home from cheerleading and wasn't really paying attention to where I was going"

Steve shut the front door and cocked an eyebrow.

"You know Y/n, you really shouldn't walking around on your lonesome at this hour, especially in these parts" Steve stated, worriedly. I giggled.

"I'm a big girl now, Steve. I can handle myself" I responded. He sighed.

"I know, just want ya to be careful,
that's all"

I smiled and sat down on the couch.

"I was just about to head out and meet up some friends, you could come if you'd like, unless you've got somewhere to be" Steve suggested with a smile. I thought about going back home. Mom never really did care where I was.

"Yeah, sure I'll go with ya"

Steve's smile grew.

"Alright, let's split" Steve opened the front door, allowing me to exit first.

"Thanks" I grinned, skipping out to the sidewalk. Steve followed me, chuckling at my childish act.

"The Curtis' is only a block away" he mumbled, grabbing my hand as he led the way.

We continued to walk, and I smiled at the stars illuminating the dark sky.

"Where's dad? Working?" I asked Steve. I could feel him tense up, so I looked back to him. He was looking down at the ground.

"Steve?"

He gulped before speaking.

"H-he uh...left"

"What do you mean, left?"

Steve looked back up at me.

"He left a couple months ago, after he lost his job. Said he went to find work outside town" Steve began, inhaling the cool air.