My One And Only // {Johnnyboy}

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Little (More) Help From Dally

"I guess we should probably start heading back," I mumbled to Johnny.  The sun was starting to set and I knew I had to go home eventually. 

It would be the biggest lie in the world if I said I was looking forward to it, but at least Johnny was by my side.  I could already imagine it: awkward stares, uncomfortable silence, silent judgement.  The thought sent shivers up my spine.

Johnny unenthusiastically nodded in agreement.  "Yeah, I guess so."

-

I held his hand tight in mine as we walked through the cold, bitter darkness back to my house.  With every step we took, my stomach dropped further into my stomach.  I couldn't do this.  I couldn't do this, I couldn't-

"Hey, Ponyboy, it's gonna be alright," said Johnny, squeezing my hand.  "I'm gonna be right here the whole time.  Even if we go into that house and everyone still hates us, we still got each other, right?"

I gulped as my house came into view.  I took a deep breath, mumbling a quick "right." 

Fifty feet away.

Thirty feet away.

Twenty feet away.

Walking up the driveway.

Two inches away.

I took a deep breath, turning the door handle and cracking the door open.  The noise level was... normal.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  Steve and Sodapop were talking like nothing happened.  Two-bit was trying to annoy Dally.  And Darry was in his armchair, a beer in one hand and a remote control in the other.  Things seemed promising.

I stepped in all the way, Johnny trailing behind me.  Dally looked up and did a double-take when he saw us.  His face lit up.  "Hey, how's my two favourite homos doin'?" he called.

I grinned, grabbing Johnny's hand.  Dally got the hint, grinning even wider.  The room fell silent again as Steve and Two-bit stopped what they were doing.  I assumed that they were going to shoot us dirty looks, but I was surprised when I saw that they looked... ashamed?  What in the world did I miss?

"Don't worry 'bout those two. I gave 'em a little chat," whispered Dally to me as I sat down in an old wooden chair.

I cocked an eyebrow. The noise had completely died down. "Y'all, what is going on?" I asked suddenly. It wasn't directed at anyone in particular, it was more like an outburst at the general public than anything.

"Jeez, Pony, calm down," said Two-bit.

"Don't tell me to calm down. Especially not after your little 'stunt' there earlier-"

"Alright, alright, we get it," said Two-bit, cutting me off. "Look... we're sorry 'bout earlier. If you two are happy, I... I don't really care."

I scoffed. "What made ya change your mind?"

"Dally-" started Two-bit before Steve discreetly kicked him. "What?"

"It wasn't only Dally, you dickwad," he whisper-shouted back.

"Oh, right, it was Dally an' Darry an' Soda-"

Steve kicked him again. "Will you shut your trap?" he whisper-shouted again. Then, looking at me and Johnny, he mumbled, "We were wrong an' all you helped us realize that."

So it was definitely Dally. "Right..."

"You two wanna head to Dairy Queen or somethin'," asked Dally to me and Johnny. It was more like a statement than a question. Nonetheless, I nodded my head and we were out of there.

The moment we were all situated in Dally's car, Johnny wasted no time in asking, "Dal, what happened?"

Dally grinned. "Thought you'd never ask. Boy, are you two in for a ride," said Dally, pulling out of our driveway.

"So I was in tha' neighbourhood an' I saw that Two-bit's old pickup was outside yer house, so I thought I'd drop in to see what was happenin', ya know? So I park an' I walk up to yer door, but as I'm gettin' closer I start to hear a bunch'a arguing, which was a little weird. But I go in anyways, an' I swear, it was like a mini world war three if wars could happen through words. Everyone was yellin' at each other, so I'm all 'Hey! Hey, everyone! Shut up! What in god's name is goin' on here?'"

Dally stopped talking for a split second for the sole purpose of speeding over a speed bump, causing me and Johnny to uncomfortably fling inside of his car.  Dally laughed, going back to his story.  "So Two-bit an' Steve come rushin' over to me an' they're all 'Pony an' Johnny are gay!  Pony an' Johnny are gay!'  An' that causes a whole 'nother racket, Sodapop an' Darry start arguing again and in a few seconds everyone's screamin' at each other.  So I'm all 'Jesus Christ, can y'all stop for two seconds?  An' I already knew about that, you dumbasses!'  So that makes 'em all quiet, an' a few seconds later Steve's like 'Wait, you did?  An' you don't care?'  So I look him straight in the eye an' I say, 'I'm bisexual, you moron,' an' I give him a slap on the back of his head."

I couldn't believe my ears.  Dally came out for me and Johnny.  My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.  Dally noticed my reaction and chuckled.  "Don't worry 'bout it, kid.  They were gonna find out eventually."

I was about to say more, but we had finally made it to Dairy Queen.  I had almost completely forgotten about that.  But it wasn't like that was the actual reason I agreed to get in Dally's car.

Dally ordered us all cokes and kept talking.  "So I say that, and that made Steve an' Two-bit start to lay off a bit.  I'm still a bit pissed, but the arguing stopped an' they all sit down.  Then they start givin' me a bunch of sorry-ass apologies, but I'm like 'I ain't the one you gotta be sayin' sorry to,' so we jus' kinda talked about it.  Then we stopped an' I forgot that the arguing had even happened until you two showed up."

Johnny, who had been quiet the whole time, looked up sheepishly at Dallas.  "Man, I don't know if I can thank you enough-"

"Now, don't you two get all sappy on me.  I jus' did what had to be done," said Dallas, cutting Johnny off.

We both nodded, staying quiet until we got home.

-

We pulled up to my house and walked up to my door.  My hand was in Johnny's and Johnny's hand was in mine.  Only, I wasn't scared anymore.  I was ready to take whatever the world wanted to throw at me.

We stepped inside, and for the first time since before the church, it felt normal again.  Steve looked like he was going to say something, but I shook my head.  "It's all good.  Just... don't do it again."

He got the memo, giving me and Johnny a nod of approval.  Two-bit called at us from across the room, "So, are you two, like, a thing or what?"

I nodded, giving Johnny a peck on the cheek.  Two-bit gave us a big thumbs up.  "Y'all are a cute couple," is all he said after that.

Things were finally back to normal.  My brother didn't hate me, the gang was back to treating me like a human being, and my boyfriend was back to being my boyfriend.

"I guess there's only one thing left," whispered Johnny so only I could hear.

"What's that?"

"Let's get married."

"You're crazy..." I said, taking a pause.  "Let's do it."