similarities // ponyboy curtis - the outsiders

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎

I wiped my tears off my soaked cheeks and put a sweatshirt and jeans on, since I really had no one to impress. I slipped on a pair of sneakers before taking a deep breath accompanied by a burst of nervousness, never having any experience with sneaking out. I opened my window, feeling the brisk, fall air prickle my skin before carefully climbing out.

I ran to Ponyboy's side of town, wanting to see the boy who I knew would make me feel better in a matter of a few seconds; he always knew what to say, no matter what the situation happened to be. I took a different route than usual and once I started to approach his neighborhood, I began to slow down.

I arrived at his house, catching my breath for a hot second before opening the screen door, knocking on the actual wooden door itself. I stood there, my heart beating a mile a minute as my teeth chattered, hoping someone would open the door.

Suddenly, I see the door slightly
creak open, behind it a drowsy Ponyboy. Thank God it was him who opened the door because I didn't feel like explaining the messy situation to Darry, or Sodapop.

"Quinn...?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Hi." I nonchalantly said, crossing my arms.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I just wanted to talk because I really-" I started to say, but he cut me off before I could even finish my sentence.

"Look, Quinn, I'd love to, but I'm super tired right now and I don't want Darry yelling at me for not getting any sleep. So maybe just another time?" He suggested before letting out a big yawn.

"Oh... Okay. I understand." I nodded, my eyes starting to well up with tears.

"Sorry, maybe another time. Just, not now." He sleepily mumbled before pressing a quick kiss against my cheek.

He shut the door, as I stood there, biting my lip to prevent myself from crying— I was unsuccessful.

I walked away, letting out a shaky sigh as I rubbed my neck, trying to calm myself down. However, the thoughts of the discussion with my parents and what had just happened refused to leave my mind, tears rushing profusely down my face as the reality began to really sink in.

I crept through a small alley and found myself in a lot, in which I quickly grew frustrated. I quietly groaned through my tears, wanting to be in my bed— alone.

I looked around and as I was about to walk away, my eyes caught a body curled up in a ball, covered in newspapers and wrappers.

I leaned in closer as my curiosity grew, carefully removing a newspaper. It was a tan boy, with greasy jet-black hair. A bruise was on his face, along with a scar across his cheek

Was it Johnny?

Anticipated to know if it was him. I gently tapped him on the cheek, rolling my eyes at myself for doing that. Because it failed to work, I shook him just a little bit and of course that didn't work either.

I gave up and walked away, feeling defeated as I continued to cry. I sniffled, wiping my face against the sleeve of my sweatshirt as I wished I had brought a tissue or two along with me.