zenosyne | johnnyboy one shots

polaroid photo

pink and red balloons were scattered all over the tiled gym floor. a generic party song was blasting from the speakers. girls in colorful dresses and guys with matching ties were mingling and dancing with one another. laughter and soft trap beats were the soundtrack to this colorful school dance scene.

but to ponyboy, it was all silent and gray scale. everything felt like faded background noise

he sighed, taking a small sip of the mixed berry fruit punch he had poured for himself. he knew coming to this dance was a lousy idea. his date for the night, cherry valance, had already left him to go talk to some of her friends, saying she'd be back "in a bit." it had been forty five minutes.

pony took a small white card covered in tape out of his jeans pocket and examined it. written, in black pen and scraggly handwriting, we're the words: "i'm sorry."

*flashback*
"pony c'mon, let's explore!" soda grabbed his younger brother by the arm and pulled him to one of the small stores he found. the three curtis brothers decided to spend their summer vacation in san diego, just so they could have the best possible summer experience before school and college started again. right now, the three brothers were going window shopping on the boardwalk. as pony's blood circulation was slowly getting cut off by the iron grip his brother had on him, he spotted someone. a raven haired boy around his age was walking around the pier alone. he didn't know why, but the boy had a certain...mysterious vibe to him that made pony want to know more.

"uhh soda, you go on ahead, i...think i dropped something," he quickly lied and walked over to the boy, leaving his brother dumbfounded.

"hey," pony greeter the boy as he got closer to him. the boy jumped slightly before turning around.

"are you, uh, lost by any chance?" pony asked, rubbing the back of his neck. the boy slowly shook his head.

"erm, well i was wondering if you, uh...wanted to go window shopping with me and my brothers? i mean, you don't have to, i just-" pony was cut off by a soft voice.

the boy was grinning, "that'd be nice."
*end flashback*

pony felt tears stinging his eyes. johnny cade. the raven haired boy that managed to complete him and rip him apart.

that day on the boardwalk turned into one of the best days of his life. after that, they spent more time together and grew closer as the summer months flew by. he remembered one day in particular: the day darry took the photo...

*flashback*
"pony stop!" johnny giggled as the older boy began tickling him relentlessly. the two of them were at the beach, alongside pony's brothers and dallas winston, a boy who doubled as johnny's friend and caretaker. the two boys both ended up crashing onto the sand, both lying next to each other and laughing to their heart's content. after catching their breaths, pony turned to look at johnny.

he noticed the big things, like his raven hair, brown eyes and the steady rise-and-fall of his chest. but also the little things, like the small tuft of hair falling in front of his temple and his heart melting grin that was almost contagious.

pony was so busy admiring the boy next to him that he didn't even notice the flash that came from darry's polaroid camera.
*end flashback*

one by one, more flashbacks of that summer in california came flooding back. pony tried keeping his tears in as he continued remembering.

*flashbacks*
"where'd you keep the eggs?" johnny asked, searching for them in the cupboard. the blonde boy smirked, holding one of them behind his back.