They Are There For Me (book 3 of Running Towards Home series)

CHAPTER 20

ARLENE'S POV:

I'm over at the Curtis house, hanging out with them before my lunch with Ricky. I'm about to head out, when Johnny asks me where I'm going. "I'm having lunch with Ricky." I tell him. His eyes narrow. "Like a date?" he asks me. I roll my eyes. "Johnny, it's just lunch. If you want, you can come with me." I say. He relaxes a bit. "Alright. I'm coming with you. I don't trust that guy." He tells me. We start the walk there, hand in hand. When we arrive, I come inside, and I see Ricky already sitting in a booth. I slide in with Johnny across from him.

"Hey Johnny! I didn't know you were joining us." Ricky says, smiling. "I hope you don't mind, I invited him." I say. Ricky just shrugs, calm as always. A waiter comes over and we order. We chat while we wait for the food to come. "So, how long have you two been a thing?" Ricky asks. "A long time. A little less than a year." I tell him. "And hopefully for many, many more years." Johnny says, and I give him a quick kiss. He really is the sweetest.

When the food arrives, we eat. Johnny steals some of my fries, and I laugh. We chat with Ricky, and the time flies. We talk for two hours. Ricky is a nice guy. When we finish, he even picks up the bill. He is a soc, so this is nothing for him, but it's still a nice gesture. We head out, and he waves goodbye. I walk back with Johnny, happy I met Ricky.

RICKY'S POV:

I can't believe she brought Johnny. He was watching me the whole time. When they kissed, I wanted to push him away from her. I should be the one she's kissing. The fact that she and Johnny have been together for such a long time is going to make it harder to break them up. This might sound like some evil plot, but I can treat Arlene better than that greaser could. If I want to have her to myself, I'm going to need to do something big. I think I have the perfect idea. Start a rumour.

PONY'S POV:

When Arlene and Johnny get home, Johnny seems out of sorts. Arlene heads home, saying she has schoolwork to do. Johnny sits down on the couch and rubs his eyes. I sit next to him. "What's wrong?" I ask him. He looks at me. "I'm worried about Arlene leaving me for Ricky." He admits. I frown. "She won't do that. She loves you, a lot." I tell him. Sam comes over and sits next to me. "You should hear what Arlene says to me about you. She talks about you all the time, about how romantic and sweet you are." She says.

Johnny seems to calm down a bit, his worries fading. "I still don't trust him." He tells me. I have to agree with him. Something about Ricky bothers me. I just don't know what. "Me neither." I tell him. I don't know if I can trust Ricky, but I know I can trust Arlene. She wouldn't leave Johnny for anything. She looks at him like I look at Sam.

Soda and Kira come in the front door. Those two have been connected at the hip for weeks now, their fight forgotten. "Whatcha up to?" Kira asks, sitting on the couch, putting her legs over Sam's lap. "Nothing, just talking." Sam says. "What were you guys up to?" I ask. "Nothing much." Kira responds. But when she turns her head, her shoulder tells another story. "Oh my gosh, Kira, is that a hickey?" Sam asks, laughing. Kira starts to blush, and Soda does too. "No." She says, but we all know it is. "Nothing much, huh?" I joke. "You won't tell Darry, right?" Soda asks. "Of course not. But he'll figure out that you two were up to something when he sees that hickey." I remind them. "I can help with that." Sam says, pulling Kira up.

Sam leads Kira to the bathroom, and a few minutes later she comes back, and her hickey is covered up by makeup. You can barely see it. Soda raises an eyebrow. "Pony, why does Sam know how to cover up a hickey?" He says, eyeing me. "Take a guess, Soda." I tell him, and he rolls his eyes. He walks past, but not before whispering "You better use protection." In my ear. "We're not doing that!" I yell after him, but he just waves me off. Sam comes and sits down next to me, chuckling. "Well, they were bound to learn of my hickey covering skills someday." She says. I laugh, and put my arm around her shoulders.