𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑. ( 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘺 )

NINETEEN.

JANUARY 12TH, 2019. (SATURDAY)

Both boys slowly stir awake, shifting around in the bed. Ponyboy sits up and carefully untangles their limbs before standing up. He looks at Johnny who was trying to wake himself up long enough to actually get out of bed.

"I'll go make breakfast for you, baby," Ponyboy says. "Any certain request this morning?"

"I want a muffin," Johnny slurs out softly. "And milk..."

Ponyboy couldn't help but laugh softly at the older boy's tiredness. It was just so cute. He leans down and kisses Johnny's forehead, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. The older male just smiles sleepily at him.

"What kind of muffin?" Ponyboy asks. "We might have some made from yesterday morning when Darry was cooking breakfast."

"Blueberry..." Johnny murmurs softly, still laying down.

"Alright, alright," Ponyboy says. "I'll go see what we got and if I have to use my baking skills or not."

Johnny nods and carefully shifts in the bed, hiding his small frame under the warm blankets. The younger teen smiles lovingly and walks out of the bedroom, making his way to the kitchen. He looks around, trying to see if anything was left. Ponyboy walks over, seeing a paper plate with leftover muffins stacked on top.

Ponyboy grins widely and walks over, grabbing two and setting them aside. He then walks to the cupboard, getting two glasses out. The teen goes to the fridge, grabbing the gallon of milk and carefully pouring out two glasses of milk.

'Alright, perfect,' Ponyboy thinks to himself.

The 14-year-old carefully picks up everything, being a master at balancing, and quickly makes his way to the bedroom. He sits everything down on his nightstand, pushing his alarm clock back a little bit.

"Johnnycake," Ponyboy coos softly. "I brought breakfast. Get up, handsome."

Johnny whines a little bit but sits up in the bed nonetheless. He rubs his tired eyes and yawns, his eyes finally focusing on his boyfriend.  The boy looks at the nightstand to see his muffin and he reaches his arm out, barely missing it by a few inches.

Ponyboy sits on the bed next to him, grabbing the older boy's muffin and handing it to him. He grabs his own and hums softly, taking a bite of it. The older boy leans on him and slowly eats his food, taking small bites out of it.

"We gotta get around after this, Johnnycake," Ponyboy says. "It's the day we go grab your clothes from your parent's house. Are you ready for that?"

Johnny shakes his head and continues to eat his muffin until there was nothing left. He leans against Ponyboy tiredly who was grabbing Johnny's milk and handing it to him. The younger boy watches as his boyfriend slowly sips at the milk that was now firmly grasped in his hands.

"I know, I know,"  Ponyboy says softly. "We have to get it done though. Your parents might still be asleep so we can just sneak in, grab your things, and then leave like we weren't even there."

"I know, but what if they are awake?" Johnny asks, more awake than he was just a few seconds ago. "I don't wanna risk getting you hurt in there. I can't let you get hurt."

"I won't get hurt," Ponyboy says. "I can handle myself, I promise. If it starts getting dangerous, I'll drag us both out before we even know what's happening. Please, Johnny..."

"Fine," Johnny says. "But if anything slightly goes wrong, you get out of there. You forget about me and you run back here."

Ponyboy hesitantly nods his head and he grabs his glass of milk, downing it within a few gulps. He stands up and goes to his closet, grabbing a new pair of clothes. The younger boy walks out to the bathroom and changes before coming back.

"I'm ready when you are," Ponyboy says.

Johnny slowly stands up from the bed, stretching out his tired limbs. He listens to the subtle cracking of his bones and sighs softly. The older teen grabs the empty backpack they planned to use and slings it over his shoulder.

"Let's go," Johnny says. "I wanna get this done and over with."

Ponyboy nods in understanding and grabs Johnny's hand, leading him outside onto the sidewalk. Both of them begin walking, already knowing the way by heart. They've been back and forth to each other's houses since they were little.  That was before Johnny's parents basically turned abusive.

The two of them continue to walk for another block before stopping in front of Johnny's home. Alcohol was easily smelt from even outside of the house. Johnny swallows thickly, looking at his old and beat up home. He slowly walks up to the steps and opens the door.

Ponyboy walks with him, carefully closing the door behind them. He slowly follows Johnny down the hall to his bedroom, opening the door. The older boy takes a deep breath, looking around is room. So many nights were spent here, starving and scared...

Johnny shakes his head at the memories and opens his closet, grabbing at his clothes and shoving them into the backpack. He just wanted to get out of there before he could possibly get into trouble.

After a minute, footsteps could be heard down the hall and Johnny freezes. Someone was awake and ready to fight. Someone knew he was there. The older boy immediately grabs at Ponyboy, pushing him behind himself.

"Stay quiet," Johnny murmurs softly. "Hide in the closet."

Ponyboy simply nods and gets into the closet, carefully sliding the door shut. His breathing was starting to get quick but he managed to quiet it down with his hand. Johnny stands firmly in front of the closet, watching the bedroom door.

Just as predicted, Johnny's father stumbles into the room in a drunken state. He grabs at the doorframe, holding himself up. Johnny takes a deep breath and stands up straight, trying to make himself seem stronger.

"Welcome home, you little shit," his father spits out, his voice slurred. "I don't think you've been here for a long time. Where have you been? Huh? Where have you been?"

Johnny just stares at him, not wanting to start a fight. Not with Ponyboy being in the room with him, trying to hide for his own safety. He wouldn't do that to his boyfriend. The teen wouldn't do anything to put him in danger.

"I asked where you've been, Johnathon!" His father exclaims. "Now tell me!"

Johnny's father slowly stumbles over to him, towering over his son. The younger teen's breathing starts faltering a little bit, shaking. His father smirks at him mischievously, grabbing the backpack and throwing it back against the wall by the door.

"Tell me now or you won't ever leave this bedroom again!" Johnny's father spits. "Tell me right now!"

"Never," Johnny murmurs softly, trying not to shrink down into submission. "You'll never know where I was... Because I was safe from you and from mom..."

His father growls lowly, raising his hand and smacking his son across the face. Johnny grinds his teeth, still standing up tall. He wasn't going to seem weak because he wasn't. Not anymore. He had so much more reason to live and be strong.

"Spit it out, boy!"

"Never..."

His father grabs at his son's shirt, shoving him around, pressing rough blows onto his ribs and stomach and sides. Johnny continues to get back up and stand tall, not wanting to stay down ever again. The thing was, Johnny would never hit back... He knew better than that.

Finally, a rough blow lands onto Johnny's chest and it sends him tumbling back into the closet door. His head slams back against the hard surface before crumbling to the floor. It was hard to breathe and his chest chased something awful.

The last thing Johnny saw was his father leaving his room, leaving him to suffer alone...

Johnny's eyes close and his world goes black.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Word Count: 1,336

How was this?

And Johnny's finally down for the count in this chapter. What do you think is gonna happen to him?

Thank you so much for reading! ♥