Ti Amo da Lontano // Johnnyboy

Chapter Thirty Four // We're Gay

"What's going on with you and Steve, Dallas?" I asked. Dally gave me a weird look.

"What're you talking about, man?" he shot back. I raised my eyebrows.

"You guys keep talkin' to each other funny, and lookin' at each other weird," I stated. He shook his head. 

"It ain't nothing, okay? Jesus!" he exclaimed suddenly. I shut my mouth.

We just kept driving in silence. 

We kept driving in silence until something happened. 

Dallas Winston started to cry. 

-

Dally and I got back to my house. We were parked outside about to go in, when he said something.

"Don't you dare tell anybody what you saw today. I wasn't crying," he stated. I nodded, a bit scared.

I had never thought I'd see this side of Dally again. 

I walked into the bathroom, wanting to take a shower. I was stopped when I heard crying. 

I walked in more, turning on the lights. The crying stopped suddenly. It was replaced with shallow breathing. 

I pulled back the shower curtain to reveal Dallas, sobbing his heart out. 

"Woah, Dal, what's going on?" I asked, kneeling down by him. He wiped his eyes. 

"Do you promise not to tell anyone, man?" he started. I nodded vigorously. 

"Life ain't always easy for Dallas Tucker Winston," he stated. I raised my eyebrows. 

"In what way, Dally?" I questioned. He sighed.

"Let's just say there's something I want, but can't have, and it's killing me on the inside," he stated before getting up.

He washed his tear stained face.

In a few minutes, he was back to himself.

He was back to being full of hatred, and being a cold, dark soul.

-

I walked into the house, when I saw two people sitting on the couch. 

It was Cherry and Sodapop. 

I cleared my throat. They both looked at me. 

"I'm so sorry, Ponyboy!" exclaimed Soda, running up to me. He threw his arms around me. I gasped.

"What's going on?" I asked the both of them. Cherry gave me a weak smile. 

"Cherry tried to explain how much you loved Johnny to me. She told me that it was okay that you guys were g- gay for each other, and that there ain't nothing wrong with it," he started. I felt the tears well up in my eyes.

"You really mean that, big brother?" I questioned. He nodded.

"I love you, so I'll love who ever you're with, too." 

Soda and I had an emotional hug, tears falling from both of our eyes. 

-

Sodapop eventually left with Two Bit when he came over looking for something to do. It was now just Cherry and I.

"What's going on, Cherry?" I asked her. Suddenly, she burst into tears. 

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her. She sniffled. 

"It's f- fine. I came over to ask you for help," she started. I nodded my head.

"I'll do anything for you, darling. You've already done so much for me," I said. She nodded.

"It's B- Bob! He hit me again!" she yelled. I gasped. 

I remembered the thought I had last month. I had seen him hit her, and I didn't do anything. I had seen them in that parking lot! 

"Shh, it's okay baby girl," I started, petting her hair. "You need to drop him."

"I can't drop him, Ponyboy! I just can't!" she insisted. I shook my head. 

"Why not? Why's he even hitting you?" I asked. She started to cough.

"Do you promise that you'll never tell anyone?" she questioned. I nodded my head.

"I'll keep it secret till the day I die."

"Well, he started getting rough when he began drinking, and I didn't like it. He would shove me around and y- yell, but it wasn't too horrible," she started. She sobbed again.

"It's okay, go on. You need to get this off of your chest," I said. Her cheeks were pink.

"Well, I t- told Marcia, and before I knew it, we were c- cuddling," she stuttered. My eyebrows shot up.

"There ain't nothing wrong with cuddling, Cherry..." I said trailing off. She shook her head. 

"Oh no! T- then, I kissed her! I kissed my best friend, and I liked it!" she exclaimed. My eyes popped. 

"Cherry, are you g- gay for Marcia?" I asked. She nodded. 

"Yeah, I- I am. I think I love her, Ponyboy," she stated. I hugged her tighter. 

"It's okay baby girl, it's alright," I whispered. She wiped her eyes. 

"Anyways, back to the story. Bob caught us kissing one day, a- and he started beating me from there! He said he'd expose me if I said anything, so I've been s- staying with him," she mumbled. I shook my head, and looked her in the eyes. 

"That ain't right Cherry, and you know it," I replied. She nodded her head.

"Oh Ponyboy, I know! I'm just so scared, and I don't know what to do. What if it's just a phase? What if I only turned to Marcia because I felt pain from Bob?" she asked. I look at her.

I looked at her pretty face with her shining eyes before looking at her plump lips.

Suddenly, I put my hands on her face, and pressed our lips together. 

She kissed back gently, before pulling away. 

"How'd that feel?" I asked her. She shook her head. 

"You're a nice boy, Pony, but I felt nothing. I didn't feel the fireworks like I did with Marcia," she stated. I gave her a small smile. 

I didn't feel anything either. It wasn't like when I kissed Johnny. 

When I kissed Johnny, I felt warmth and fire. When I kissed her, I felt dullness. It just confirmed my love for Johnny more.

"Well, that just confirms that it isn't a phase. Don't worry, I didn't feel anything either," I replied. She gave me a soft smile. 

"You're the best, Ponyboy Curtis," she started. "Thank you, for making me realize that I l- love Marcia."

"It ain't a problem, baby girl," I smiled back. "And, don't you worry about Bob. I'll take care of him."

Oh boy was I going to take care of him. No one was going to expect what was coming next...