ITS ABOUT TIME ➤ Ponyboy Curtis

13

𝙶𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚊 𝙳𝚊𝚠𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚠𝚜
    ♫ - "Head Over Heals" by Tears For Fears

    I like Ponyboy Curtis. I don't know what came over me but i'm just head over heals for him. Ever since the day before when he said all those words about how much I meant to him I couldn't stop thinking about him for just one second. All that I could think about was that I needed him. I needed his arms to hold me and whisper sweet nothings in my ear, I needed his lips to write poetry on my skin. I needed him so goddamn bad. It seemed to come out of nowhere but I realized soon after that I had liked him all along. I always needed him.
    Ponyboy and I where at Bucks taking Ray out for a ride. Really, I was the one taking Ray out—Ponyboy kept a steady pace next to us as we walked around the property. He wasn't scared of Ray anymore, but he wasn't ready to get in the saddle quite yet.
    "It's a nice day out. All these flowers are so pretty.—all the colors." Ponyboy remarked as we entered a rather overgrown patch on the property. Behind the barn was lined with trees and farther back there was packs of big bushes and branches of half-grown saplings.
    "It is a nice day out," I agreed. "but those flowers are weeds. One of these days I oughta get out here and clear some of this."
   Somewhat coincidentally Ponyboy got poked in the eye by one of the saplings. He yelped sharply.
   I pulled on Ray's reins. "Are you alright Pone?"
   He rubbed the irritated eye with his knuckles. "Yeah I'm fine."
    I guided Ray farther up the trial and dismounted. "Let me see your eye." I said, walking back to Ponyboy.
   Pony let his hands fall to his sides and I held his face gingerly in my hands. The eye itself was red, he scratched it, and the area around it was puffy. "Oh Pone, that's.."
   Ponyboy hissed as he touched his closed eyelid once again. "Well stop touching it!" I reprimanded him.
    He removed his hand from his eye and squinted slightly. "I'm alright, honest."
    I bit my lip. "Well let's walk back. Ray can follow behind." I grabbed Ray's bridle in my left hand and started walking back to the stables. I grabbed Pony's hand with my right. Yeah he could manage walking back without me, I just wanted an excuse to hold his hand.
     After putting Ray back in his stall, I led Ponyboy inside Buck's. We were greeted by the man himself as we walked into the bar.
   "What're you two doing?" Buck questioned with a thick southern accent and a weird reverse-lisp as we entered. He had recently gotten his two front teeth knocked out in a fight. Boy, was that guy dumb. Who gets in a fight when you got two big targets sticking out of your mouth, just waiting to be knocked out?
   I stepped in front of Ponyboy—Pony didn't like him. He thought Buck was out of it and that I should stay away from him. He thought Buck was dangerous, but he wasn't really. He was just scatterbrained and people found him odd. "Pony scratched his eye on the weeds behind the stables. We're just gonna clean it up real quick."
    Buck nodded his head and went back to cleaning cups behind the bar. Ponyboy wearily followed me to the bathroom where I washed off his eye and put some vaseline on the irritated skin around it.
   "How's that feel?" I asked.
   Pony smiled lazily. "Just great."
   "Good." I patted his shoulder and walked out of the bathroom, Pony following me. "Two-Bit will be here with Johnny any second now. We're gonna have lunch at The Dingo if you wanna come with." I offered as I walked out the door and to the stable.
    "Yeah sure, I'll come. Two-Bits paying?"
    "Yep. Speak of the devil.." I motioned to Two-Bit's busted car that just then arrived. He honked the horn as if we didn't see him, and Ponyboy and I jumped in the backseat.
   Two-But turned around in the drivers seat, resting his arm on the tattered leather back. "How where the horsies?"
    "Ray was great. Is it alright it if Pone comes along to lunch with us, I know it's kind of just a sibling thing."
    Two-Bit struggled to get the car going but eventually pulled out of the dirt parking lot. "Anyone in the gang is welcomed anytime. The more the merrier, am I right?" He answered and nudged Johnny's shoulder. Johnny have a small smile and then laughed. Sometimes you just couldn't help but laugh at Two-Bit. The things he says aren't even jokes if you think about it, he just says whatever's in his head and it's funny. "And this is my treat, savvy? Don't worry 'bout nothin'." He said.
    "Really?"Johnny questioned from beside him. 
    Two nodded. "I won a big game of poker the other night. Little Mark Jennings may be young but he sure is a good player. Even when I beat him he kept cool, one hell of a poker face."
   "What're you gonna do when the money runs out, hmm?" I questioned him. "What's your plan then?"
   "To play another game of poker!" Two-Bit yelped, and almost starting swerving off the road from laughing so hard. I had to grin, too. He was funny, I had to admit that.
    "Look," Pony pointed at me, still laughing at Two-Bit's joke, "you made her laugh!"
    "Even I'm surprised. None of you are all that funny." I joked sarcastically. Honestly, they were all funny, I was just joking around.
    Ponyboy pretended to sulk at my comment. "Alright Ponebone, you can be funny sometimes." I laughed
    "Yeah Ponebone, you can be funny!" Two-Bit mocked, earning an evil glare from Ponyboy.
     We pulled into The Dingo's parking lot and
stepped out of the car. "How're you doing today, Johnnycake?" I slung an arm across Johnny's shoulders before entering The Dingo.
    Johnny copied my actions and slung his arm across my shoulders. "I'm doing alright Georgie, thanks." He slid into an open booth and I followed. Two-Bit and Pony filled the
booth across from us.
   I ran my finger down the menu. There wasn't much to choose from, and I didn't have the appetite anyway. "I don't think i'm gonna order anything, my stomachs kinda upset."
    Two-Bit leaned across the table. "You think you're dying?" He said in a hushed voice, trying not to laugh at his own joke.
   "Yup, that's definitely it." I said flatly, not moving my eyes from the menu.
   We conversed for a little while li get before the waitress came by to take our order. We all ordered milkshakes and Two-But git fries for the table.
     "What'd you plan on using all this money?" Johnny said once the waitress took our order and left.
     Two-But folded his hands on the table. "I don't fully know yet. I'll prolly just blow it on junk that's too big to steal!" He laughed.
   "You're not gonna save any of it?" Johnny was more senseable than the rest of the guys.
    "I reckon we both know that's a dumb question, Johnnycake." Two-Bit cheekily smirked.
     The boys dove into the fries the second they were placed on the table. "C'mon georgie have a few." Johnny said with his mouth full of fries.
     I wearily reach for the basket and picked up a fry. I didn't know how that was gonna go over with my stomach ache, but I was fine. The Dingo had good fries, I had to admit.
    Two-Bit was telling us about one of his many exploits while we ate our fries. I wasn't paying any attention, though. I looked around a few, noticing all the details of decorations—there were music vinyls hung on the wall near the jukebox and picture frames that showcased stuff like their first dollar, a newspaper clipping of an article praising them, a photo of the owner, and other stuff like that.
   My eyes wondered around the room and landed on Ponyboy, who also wasn't paying attention. He caught my eye in a stare and I had the edge to look away. I didn't though. I kept eye contact with him, testing to see what he would do. I was blushing scarlet and Ponyboy smiled at me. I love it when he smiles. I hurriedly looked away, shocking myself. I'm not the type of person to get nervous around others. It seemed to only happen with Ponyboy.
    I thought that would be it for the awkward encounters but another took place on a few minutes later. I went to grab another french fry from the basket when my hand touched Pony's. We both quickly pulled away.
   "Sorry you go." Pony said as he folded
his hands in his lap.
   I shook my head. "No you can go."
   "No it's oka-"
  "Take a fry, Ponyboy." I cut him off sharply. Pony's eyes widened with fright and he quickly shoved a few french fries in his mouth.
   Johnny kicked my foot lightly and gave me a questioning look. More so teasing.
    "It was nothing." I whispered. He didn't buy it, and wiggled his eyebrows at me. I worried for a minute wether I was making my little crush on Ponyboy obvious, but no one but Johnny seemed to notice.
    Two-Bit was in his own little world and didn't even know that we weren't playing attention to him and his foolish stories. "-and I laughed cause, how in the world am I supposed to know who's car it was? So I said to him, I said-" He rambled on. God knows where he gets the energy to talk so damn much. The rest of us had to sit through another half an hour full of stories until he had run out of air . We were quick pay the bill and split, hoping we wouldn't have to suffer through any more stories on the ride home.
    "I didn't know if we would ever make it out of there." Pony said quietly to me as we walked to Two's car.
    I looked at him and laughed, he stuffed his hands in his pocket and smiled. "Do you wanna go to the lot and read?" I asked.
    Ponyboy's eyebrows lifted and his smile slightly grew. "Yeah, sure."
    In a big hole right in the center of the lot's oak tree is where Pone and I kept some of our books that we liked to read together. At this time we had Of Mice and Men, White Fang, Dracula, and O Pioneers in there. We had just finished that last one for the fourth time the other day but we still kept it in there to read. It was my new favorite book and I knew that's why Pony chose to read it when we got to the lot after Two-Bit dropped us off. He and Johnny were going back to the Curtis's while we read. Pony and I spent a lot of time together reading. He did most of the reading though; I just listened.
      I had my head resting on Ponyboy's shoulder as we sat side-by-side on the old car seat. Pony's voice put me in a trance as he spoke. It was smooth but crisp, like water flowing down a rocky stream. I removed my head from his shoulder and slouched next to him. While he talked, I watched his face, noticing how his lips moved and his eyes scanned the pages. I counted the small freckles that were scattered on his nose and admired his sage colored eyes. I continued this observation until he turned to look at me, snapping me out of my trance.
   "How'd you like the book this time?" Ponyboy asked while putting the book down next to him.
  "It was amazing, just like it was when you read it to me the first 4 times." I said. To be honest I didn't even realize we finnished. I was to focused on looking at him.
   "You're not sick of my voice yet?"
   "I'll never be sick of you, Ponyboy."
   He smiled. "I like reading to you."
   "I like that you like reading to me."
   "I like that you like that I like reading to you."
    I tried to add on to the sentence but after a few seconds of struggling, I gave up. "I'm not even gonna try." I laughed and burrowed my head further into the crook of his neck. He smelled like cigarettes and the flowery scent from the laundry detergent Darry used for their clothes. I loved it.
     If I was to be honest with myself, I loved everything about Ponyboy. Not just the way he smelled. Pony was the only person that I felt was like me. Almost as if everyone was different type of person, and Pony and I were the only two people that were the same. Weirdly it was like we were a different species of human or something.
    Ponyboy took care of me and was always there to talk. He noticed the little things in life like flowers and the color of my nails and the way the sky looked and how people reacted to things. He remembered everything about me and all my answers to his bizarre questions like "If you were a bird what bird would you be?" or "Do you like ladybugs or dragonflies better?" and "I'd rather be hit than cold. What about you?". He would always make time for me and when he was around I felt fully seen and heard. Like there was a bubble surrounding us that separated us from the outside world and we didn't care about it anything else but each other.
   I could go on and on about his looks. No one else would ever come close to being at handsome as Ponyboy, no one could be any better. His dimples were cute, his voice made my knees weak, and his sage-colored eyes were absolutely intoxicating. When he laughed at my jokes his eyebrows raised and he would throw his head back if the joke was really funny. When we would go on walks he would hold my hand and I could feel the softness of his palms. Pony's face when he was focusing on something like a drawing or a poem would never fail to make me smile. He was the absolute perfect guy inside and out.
    I had once told Ponyboy that I tried not to love too deeply until I know that the other person loves me with the same strength, because the strength of your love today is the depth of your wound tomorrow. I knew that Ponyboy loved me, it was obvious in the way I was treated. What I didn't know was the type of love he felt. Was it the love I felt, a heart wrenching desire, or was it the type of love you feel towards a sibling or best friend.
     My eyes had grown heavy as I daydreamed.  Ponyboy ran his fingers through my hair. "You tired?" He asked.
    I grumbled my response of yes and Ponyboy opened his arms. "Come here." He said.
   Without hesitation I laid my head on Pony's chest and closed my eyes. He wrapped his warm arms around me and help me tight. I never wanted him to let me go. I felt him kiss the top of my head and my heart damn near exploded in my chest. An uncontrollable smile grew on my face. I heard birds ruffling in the oaks branches above us and sighed. Nothing could get better than this, I thought.
   For almost an hour Ponyboy held me in his arms. Only when it started to get colder did he stop. "Maybe we should go back home so you can rest inside." Ponyboy suggested, lifting me up just as I was about to doze off. I agreed, decided that I wanted to fall asleep on the Curtis's cushiony couch instead of an old car seat. Pony set me on the ground and wrapped an arm around me as we walked across the street and down our road. I tiredly kept up speed so I didn't fall behind. My eyes were starting to get heavy and I yawned. Ponyboy pulled me a little bit closer and kissed my head for the second time that day. I looked up to see him smiling cheekily. I would've given anything at the moment for him to kiss my lips instead of my hair.
    The gang was all at the Curtis's house when we arrived, all in their unassigned but known seats: Darry in his recliner, Two-Bit on the floor, Steve on the left side of the big couch, Soda in the middle, Dallas on the right, and Johnny at the right side of the other couch. Pony and joined Johnny and I swear I could've fallen asleep the second I sat down.
   "I was just telling them about my new source of income." Two-Bit grinned widely while moving his eyebrows.
   Sodapop shrugged his shoulders back. "You can't rely on that money forever, it'll run out soon. You ought to get a job
   "Work?" Two-Bit was aghast. "And ruin my rep? I wouldn't have spent my day baby-sittin'the two little kiddies here if I knew of some good day-nursery open."
    Ponyboy jumped on Two-Bit, but my brother had him down in a second. "Holler uncle." Two-Bit said.
    "Nope," Pony said, struggling,
     Darry barked, "Two-Bit, lay off."
    Ponyboy bounced up on his feet, avoiding being intentionally tripped my Two-Bit on his way back to the couch.
    Darry joined in on the conversation. "I agree with Sodapop. The only problem is how hard it is to get a job these days."
   "Well it's not like Two-Bits gonna be out there  roofing, he'll be working behind a grocery store cash register." I snickered and gestured to my brother.
    "Yeah that's a little too much work for me, Darry." Two-Bit stretched out on his back. He looked like a starfish lying on the carpet.
    Darry took a sip of his beer. "That's just life."
    We sat in a calm silence for about ten seconds before Two-Bit started yapping again. I reckon that's a record.
   "Do you guys ever think about why we're here, and like, space?"
    Steve groaned, "Oh boy."
   "What are you getting at Two-Bit?" Sodapop chuckled and leaned forward to rest his forearms on his knees. We all knew that whatever Two-Bit was gonna say would be stupid. Stupid and entertaining.
    "Y'know, what's it made out of? If I take a little space ship and flew out there then where would I end up?"
   Dal stared at the ground blankly, sick of Two-Bit's foolishness. "You need to find yourself a broad, and make it fast."
    Two-Bit ignored him and kept on rattling. "I've also been pondering around about the beginning of time? When'd ya reckon that started?"
   "Don't have to be a pretty one, just grab something." Dal added flatly.
   "I'm glad your using for brain for something, Two-Bit." I pursed my lips. I tried to encourage him as much as I could. Today was difficult.
   "Or at least trying to use it." Soda laughed and leaned back in his seat.
    Two-But laughed along. "Oh, y'all are just mad that I'm gonna be a big shot philosopher, or whatever those people are called. I'll be writing books while you all twiddle your thumbs."
    "Whatever helps you sleep at night." Dallas grumbled.