𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑. ( 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘺 )

TWENTY-FIVE.

JANUARY 21ST, 2019. (MONDAY)

Johnny and Ponyboy walk hand in hand home from school. The sixteen-year-old was still stressing out over yesterday's activities with the police. It was all he could think about the whole day and his schoolwork was starting to pile upon him. Although, with a few assignments he just filled in the blanks and turned them in. Points were points at this moment.

Ponyboy looks at his lover, seeing the nervous expression on his face. He pulls him a little closer and presses a few kisses to his cheek. The teen just wanted to continue to stay by his side throughout this process and keep him calm and safe. It was all that mattered to him. Johnny meant the world to him and seeing him so worked up over getting out of a bad situation made him a little upset.

"You're okay, you know that?" Ponyboy murmurs gently. "I'm here for you and you've got so many other people here for you. The gang and other people care for you. I promise you that. And if you ever need anything you're always welcome to come to me and if it's not me you need to talk to, someone in the gang is always open for that."

"Thank you, Ponyboy, I really appreciate that," Johnny murmurs gently. "I guess I've just been so worked up since yesterday. I just don't like the thought of my parents hating me forever because of this. Getting them in trouble for their actions is not something that I ever planned to do to them. They're my family and they used to be such nice people... They used to love me and treat me like I mattered... Things changed I guess. Nothing ever really stays the same."

"Well, I can promise you that some things indeed do stay the same," Ponyboy says. "Like my unconditional love and support for you... And how you'll always have friends... And have me."

Johnny stops walking and looks at his boyfriend, smiling gently. He could always count on him to help him feel better. It was such a relief to not have to be alone with something like this. It was a lot to carry alone on his shoulders along with his weight issue that was currently put on the side. Well, not really pushed to the side, more like Johnny was just too stressed to keep the weight on him. 

He wraps his arms around Ponyboy's waist gently and he looks up at him playfully. The brunette leans up and slowly presses their lips together. He holds his lover close and continues to kiss him before slowly pulling away. 

"You're lucky that I love you so much," Johnny teases softly.

"Well, I love you too, Johnnycake," Ponyboy murmurs softly. 

Ponyboy gives his lips one last gentle kiss before pulling away. The teens separate and go back to holding hands before continuing their journey to the Curtis house. The silence was comfortable and both teens seemed to have this wide smile on their lips that they were unable to wipe away. Their hearts were beating against their chests to the same rhythm and their stomachs were filled with the same swarm of butterflies.

After a while, they finally arrived back at the house. Ponyboy opens the door and holds it for his lover and they both walk inside. The door falls closed behind them and the two of them sit on the couch, dropping their school things on the floor next to it.  Just as they were getting comfortable. the home phone makes a beeping sound, alerting them of a new voicemail that had been sent to them. 

Ponyboy stands up and sighs, going to the phone that was in the kitchen. He picks up the phone and clicks a button, putting it on speaker. Quickly. the voice of a man came through, making Johnny stand up and walk into the kitchen.

"Hello residents of the Curtis household, specifically Jonathon Cade," the male says. "This is the police department calling in response to our call yesterday. Jonathon's parents have been apprehended and are put in jail for the time being. We've contacted the court and they have set up an appointment for Jonathon and his parents. Feel free to bring as many witnesses as needed, as they are needed to help settle the situation. There Jonathon's parents will be sentenced for their crimes and a temporary form of custody will be figured out for the child since he is still underaged to live on his own. The appointment is set up for next Monday on the 28th at 9:30 AM. If anyone has any questions, make sure to call this number back around the times we are open. Thank you."

And with that, the male's voice cut off and the line went dead. The voicemail was over.

Johnny takes a deep breath and he looks up at his lover. His heart was racing now and he was even more nervous than the day before. He was going to have to face his parents in court (if they happened to be in the room) and see how angry they would be at him. The teen would break down in front of the judge and his friends and boyfriend. That was the last thing that he needed at the moment. 

"It'll be okay, you know," Ponyboy says. "We'll all be there for you. Johnny, we'll be in that courtroom with you and we'll help you out in any way that we possibly can. Your parents won't hurt you or anything of the sort. They aren't allowed to touch you. It'll be okay."

"But what if it goes wrong and they somehow win the case?" Johnny asks. "I'll be stuck in some foster home while they get the shortest sentence in the world. They won't recover or learn from it at all and it'll be back to square one. That's not what I want. The whole point of this for me was to make them learn a lesson and get better..."

"And they're going to lose," Ponyboy says. "We have evidence and proof. They don't. Your parents will get what's coming to them and they'll probably be put into some in campus rehab program for the jail or prison or wherever they're put... They will get better... Just not how they think they need it..."

"Do you promise me that it's going to be okay?" Johnny murmurs weakly.

"I promise, Johnny."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Word Count; 1,086

How was this?

This is the third chapter I've written today and honestly, I feel so good about it. I'm probably gonna take a break for a little bit because my fingers hurt from typing so much but I might go back to writing later today.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you've enjoyed this update ❤