Time flies: It's Only The Beginning (Ponyboy Curtis Love Story)

Chapter 14

Before we got to the hospital, Two-bit said he wanted to stop by at some store to get a pack of cools and sneak off with 'em. On our way there, a blue Mustang-  like the one that held the 5 Socs who wanted to teach Johnny and Ponyboy a lesson- started trailing us.

"What'd they want?" I asked, narrowing my eyes to get a better look inside.

Inside was 4 Socs, mean cold and tough looking although they looked like grade A students dressed up  for some old-man formal.

"I don't know." Ponyboy said as he started getting inside the store, but Two-bit held him back.

"Let's see what they want." Two-bit said.

"Why do you wanna see what they want?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Two-bit shrugged as the Socs got out of the Mustang after it had pulled up. The one with the semi-beetle haircut -I noticed- was the same Soc that saw me before getting into his Mustang that night in the park. A mixed pang of anger and freight worked itself into me and my heart sped fasted. I shrunk behind Two-bit.

"Hey, you know the rules, no jazz before the rumble." Two-bit warned the "super Soc".

"Ya, we know." The Soc said.

Then he nodded at Ponyboy, mentioning him.

"I wanted to talk to you." He said to Ponyboy.

I quickly glanced at Ponyboy and he looked back at me calmly and mouthed 'It's okay' to me and got into the car, but it wasn't. Nothing was really okay. I couldn't help but thinking something awful was gonna happen to Pony and bit my bottom lip softly. To calm things a bit, Two-bit started making fun of the Socs and other Greasers started joining in the fun. We got a big laughs but I couldn't help thinking of Ponyboy.

"I heard they stamp your faces into Gorilla Cookies." Two-bit said and laughed hard.

I did too, trying keep my line of sight directed toward the humiliated Socs. Now that Two-bit was making fun of them, the Socs look nothing more than little kids getting bully with their pants down. It must be real embarrassing to get killed (joking wise) by a Greaser. Finally, Pony got out of the Mustang and the horn sounded.

"Now get the hell outta here." Two-bit ordered jokingly.

"See you at the rumble, pal." One of the Socs said.

"Pony." I said hastily once he got out. "What did he say to ya?" 

"He just wanted to talk." Ponyboy replied stiffly. 

"Oh." I said softly.

It was no secret that Ponyboy wanted to keep that a secret and I respect that and til this day I got no clue on what that Soc said to him. We started walking again and finally made it to the hospital where Johnny and Dally were kept. I was scared to go in thinking Johnny might be dead and Dally would kill me. All thoughts swarmed in me as if my head was a beehive and bees were gather inside. And I hated bees. Once we got in, there was a desk where a nurse sat eating a green apple. She looked up and seemed disgusted by our appearance.

"Lemme guess," The nurse said snottily. "You're here to see the two hoodlums? Ain't that right?"

I wanted to badly for her to take that back but I nodded instead.

"Johnny Cade." Ponyboy said defensively.

 "And Dallas Winston." I added.

The nurse shook her head with such force, I thought her glasses were gonna fling away from her. The nurse told us that we couldn't see him right now and that we should leave before she calls the cops. Then she gave me a long look.

"Honey, we'd you pick up this trash?" She asked sweetly as if she thought I was forced along with 'em.

Trash? I thought angrily. How the hell does she think Two-bit and Pony are trash? I pulled up my jeans and straightened my back. As tough as I looked, I tried to look meaner as I bent forward to see this crappy nurse eye-to-eye.

"This 'trash' are my friends." I said, using quotations around 'trash'. "And we asked to see Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston, and if you don't mind, we'd like to." 

The nurse gave me such a indigent stare that it almost felt good to be this mean. I turned-       Two-bit and Ponyboy following- toward Johnny's room. I had gotten the room numbers when I bent over. Room number 190 was Johnny's and room number 191 was Dally's. I almost cried when I saw Johnny, he was lying in a stretcher. I quickly leaned against Ponyboy and tried not to sob.  I couldn't help it though, Johnny looked a whole lot worse then what I had ever imagined him.

"Hey, Johnnycakes." Two-bit said softly.

"Hey, ya'll." Johnny said weakly.

"You doing okay?" Pony asked him, but I didn't say anything.

I didn't want to hurt him, or say anything to make him too juiced up or the doc wouldn't let us see him again. 

"Won't let me put  much grease in my hair." Johnny said.

"We'll fix that. Anything else you need?" Two-bit asked Johnny.

"A book, man." He replied.

I quivered hard as I turned away from Johnny. I was so scared but Johnny was my friend it was hard to let him die without me talking to him. Ponyboy told Two-bit to come along as they left me with Johnny to get a book, preferable Gone With The Wind. I sat in a chair and looked over Johnny into a mirror, since his back was turned away, it was difficult for him to see me at all.

"H-hey there, Johnny." I said with a quivering voice.

"You doing aright?" He asked me in the weakest voice, I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Y-ya.... I'm sorry about what happened in the church..." I said.

"Aw.. It ain't your fault, A.J." He said.

Then his black eyes shut and he turned pale. I stood and leaned over to see him. My heart skipped beats wildly and I thought, He's dead, he's dead his dead... But he woke up again after I asked him if he was alright.

"Ya... just hurts sometimes." He responded.

Just then the boys came back in the room and two-bit had a copy of Gone With The Wind in his hands. Ponyboy saw me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it not too hard. A nurse (thank goodness, a different one) came in, her face written up in news.

"Johnny? Your mother's here to see you." She said softly.

"I don't wanna see her." Johnny said, anger in his voice.

Ponyboy put a hand on my shoulder as a wailing sob almost took me over, Johnny really didn't want to see his mother and I guess maybe he hated his mother or something. Johnny shouted that he didn't want to see her and blanked out so we had to leave.

"Is he gonna be okay, Pone?" I asked Ponyboy as we left the room 190.

"I hope so." Two-bit answered instead and that answer didn't really help at all.

"Me too." I replied and Ponyboy held my hand and we went into Dally's room.