♡ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜱᴀʏ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ♡

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Over the next few days, some guys from the gang visited me here and there.

Two-Bit came later that evening, a couple of hours after Cassie. "You look like sleeping beauty," he remarked, cocking an eyebrow, "without the beauty."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. He only stayed for about ten minutes, but at least it was something.

The next morning, he came back with Dally.

I was sad and maybe even a little hurt that my own brothers and Johnny hadn't come to see me since I was admitted. It had been two days since then, and I hadn't heard anything from them.

"Well, you certainly look a lot better since I last seen you," Dally said when they walked in, pursing his lips around a cigarette.

"I'd say," Two-Bit replied, hitching his thumbs through the loops of his jeans.

"Do I have the beauty, now, Keith?" I said with over-enthusiastic sass, crossing my arms in bed.

He laughed. "I dunno, but you've got the attitude."

Dally smirked as he lit a match with his necklace and held his hand around the butt of his cigarette as he lit it. "Hey, Cary," he said as he shook out the match, "you hear that deadbeat Jonathan's in the cooler?"

I watched as he tossed the match on the floor and stomped it out with the heel of his boot. "Yeah," I replied, "Cassie told me yesterday. He's going on trial."

"For what?" Two-Bit asked, surprised.

"I don't know," I replied sharply, "and quite frankly, I don't care. He's going to jail, that's all I care about."

The three of us stayed silent for a few moments. Dally took long drags on his cigarette and leaned his head back in the chair he was sitting in, trying to make smoke rings. He had taken a seat by the window while Two-Bit still stood at the foot of my bed.

I spoke up, asking a question that had been bugging me for a while. "You hear anything from Darry or Soda?" I paused. "Ponyboy?"

Two-Bit shook his head. "Nah, but don't worry, kid," he said, sensing my disappointment, "I'm sure they'll come to see you tonight."

"How's uh..." I twiddled my thumbs in my lap, "how's Johnny?"

He shrugged. "Quiet as always."

That doesn't help much, I thought. I should've known better than to ask Two-Bit, he was the most oblivious one in the gang.

They left not long after that, Dally claiming he was meeting Buck about some drag race.

After that, the day went on like normal. Katherine brought me some bland food that I ate anyways and gave me some more medicine before making small talk for a few minutes and then leaving again.

I tried doing some homework and even read the dumb book, but still, I couldn't get Johnny off of my mind.

I still couldn't think of what he was so upset about to be so quiet and so distant, more so than I'd ever seen him before. One moment, he was holding my hand and giving me hugs, his eyes bright as he gave me reassuring smiles. But the next—when the guys showed up—he was standoffish and barely said three words. Was it them that tipped him off? It couldn't have been; he was talking to Ponyboy about Nathan as if nothing was wrong...

Nathan. He was upset about Nathan.

The good Soc? Our conversation replays in my head.

The one Cary's crazy about? He didn't think that.

Did he?

Oh, no. Please no, Johnny. Don't think that. I was overcome with a wave of guilt. How could I have been so oblivious? Sure, I wasn't the one who said it, but I should've done something before he left, I should've opened my mouth and said something. But I didn't, and now, for all I know, he thinks I like Nathan. After all of the kisses and cuddles and hugs and 'I love you's, he thinks I like Nathan?

No. No, that couldn't be farther from the truth. I was not leading Johnny on. I was not going to play with his feelings.

I didn't know what he was feeling, but I was certain about one thing.

I was not going to do to him what Jonathan did to me.

~

(Darry's POV)

I sat on the couch, leaning my elbows on my knees, a piece of paper dangling between two fingers.

I let out an exasperated sigh. She's going to hate this, I thought as I picked my head up and tossed the letter on the coffee table.

I shook my head frustratedly, looking at the letter atop a pile of bills and tax returns as if it disgusted me. I clenched my jaw, feeling my temples pop as I let out an angry sigh.

I hate this.

I looked towards the kitchen, listening to the clanging of plates and silverware as Soda and Pony finished up the dishes. It was another night of silence during dinner that day, and from the living room, I could hear them talking softly about something. It wasn't a true conversation—more or less Soda piping up about something, to which Pony would quietly laugh and say something back nearly a minute later.

For the past couple of days, it was just the three of us. I hadn't seen Johnny since we last visited Cary. I hoped that he was at least with Dally, Two-Bit, or even Steve and not at that god-forsaken house of his. Cary would blow a gasket if he was and she found out. I decided then I wouldn't tell her—she was already under enough stress as it was.

Suddenly, I heard the faucet squeak and the flow of water stopped, signaling the two of them had finished the dishes. I stood up as they came around the corner from the kitchen and took my keys from the bowl by the door.

"Let's go," I said plainly.

Soda and Pony needed no explanation: they knew exactly where we were going. As they pulled their tennis shoes on, my hand lingered over the door handle, my eyes fixated on the coffee table. Should I take it?

I saw that Soda and Pony were ready. "Go ahead, I'll be out in a sec," I said, tossing Soda the keys.

As I pulled on my boots, I eyed the letter atop the pile as it taunted me. I did my best to push it out of my mind as I reached for the door handle, but as I stood in the doorway, I paused. Take me, it beckoned from the back of my mind, it's now or later.

Frustratedly, I walked over to the table and snatched up the letter, feeling the corner I was holding crumple underneath my grasp.

I let the door slam behind me as I walked to the truck, taking a deep breath. I had no idea what to expect.

No, that was a lie. I knew exactly what to expect.

But I hated that I did, and I hated that it had to happen in the first place.

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POV you just learned that Ralph Macchio was 22 in the movie. i am shooketh. Bro must've had a fake id or somthing, ain't no way that man was TWENTY TWO.

Anyways, sorry this is kind of short chapter. Longer ones coming soon!

Love y'all. Stay gold.