When Will You Come Back to Me? - A Johnnyboy Story

Chapter Four

I woke up with the sun the next morning. For a second, I thought I was still in the church, and I was about to go out and watch the pretty sunrise, but after blinking a couple of times, I saw a familiar old ceiling and I realized that I was sleeping on something soft, and memories of yesterday came flooding back. I was in the Curtis house.  I swallowed when I thought of Ponyboy. I hoped I'd get to see him later. I hoped he had woken up.

I sat up, and when I did, I noticed that there had been a blanket placed over me. Darry or Soda must've given me one, and I was thankful. I then stretched my limbs out as far as they would go until it hurt, before relaxing and sighing deeply. Since no one seemed to be up yet, I decided to take a shower. I got up from the Curtis' couch and threw my jean jacket on one of the armrests, then headed to the bathroom.

When the hot water from the faucet first touched my skin, I shivered; I felt like I was in heaven.  I had forgotten how amazing it felt to take a warm shower.  I scrubbed my skin and hair with soap as though I never had before.  Boy, it felt good to be clean.

Once I was done, I grabbed a towel from the shelf next to the bathtub and dried myself off. After I dried my face, I looked into the mirror above the sink. I hardly recognized myself. My eyes looked sunken and my face was more toned than usual. I never ate much before, but living off of lunch meat and bread for a week must've taken its toll on me.

I managed to find some hair grease and slick my hair forward a little. Since I wasn't exactly a wanted criminal anymore, I figured I'd try to make my hair look how it used to. It was hard. Ponyboy had really given me no mercy when he cut my hair.  But I couldn't be mad because somehow, my haircut reminded me of Pony in a good way.  And besides, at least I didn't have to deal with funny blonde hair like Ponyboy did.  But it's not like it'd be bleached forever.  I was glad about that, because if I'm being honest, he looked way more handsome with brown hair.

I shook my head and flipped my hair a bit. I briefly mourned the long, dark bangs that used to cover half of my face, but maybe the gang would like it better that they could see me. That made me smile. Deep down, I did know that the gang cared about me, and the thought of them liking me more sure made me happy.

I was still the only one awake by the time I walked into the living room again. My jacket had fallen to the floor, so I picked it up and shook some of the dirt and dust off of it, then put it on. I relaxed and sat down on the couch, letting the jacket encase me. I can't really say why, but it made me feel safe every time I put it on, like it was my armor protecting me. The only time I really felt comfortable taking it off was when I was bathing, or when I was alone with Ponyboy.

I started thinking about Pony. Was he awake yet? I hoped he was, and I also hoped I'd get to see him. I felt a little sad. He'd be in the hospital for a while even if he did wake up soon.  But I still hoped it was gonna be that day.

I heard the front door open. "Anybody home?" It was Two-Bit. He and Steve made their way into the living room, slamming the screen door against the wall. That made me wince because I didn't want anything to wake up Darry or Soda when they didn't have to. Steve was holding a newspaper in his hands and grinning, and Two-Bit had his usual swagger.

Two-Bit spotted me, and his eyes instantly lit up. "Johnnycake!" he said, a huge grin on his face. He came running towards me and I barely had time to brace myself before he scooped me up by my underarms and spun me around. He swung me into Steve, who caught me and gave me a gentle shove.

"Ow, lay off me, Two-Bit," I groaned, stumbling to my feet. I really was happy to see them, of course, but I didn't like when the gang roughhoused with me.

Steve and Two-But glanced at each other, then back at me.  I guessed they might have been surprised at how many words they had gotten out of me so far.  Being with Pony had made it easier for me to talk.