Under The Stars

CHAPTER TWELVE

The soup was spewing out of the cans, sizzling as it came into contact with the hot stove. Ponyboy regrettably grabbed the cans out of impulse, burning his hands instantly. "Ouch!" He yelped, dropping the cans to the floor as he began sucking on his hands to relieve the pain. Johnny and Y/N quickly jumped up, dodging the cans as they darted across the floor. Unfortunately for Pony, he was still in the blast zone and was now drenched in the scorching tomato mixture.

PONYBOY'S POV

It was far from a pleasant sensation, it felt like my torso was on fire. "Ah- Ahhhh- Ouch- Ooo- Ow-" I spat, whilst trying to pry my shirt away from my skin. "Pony man, just take it off." Johnny advised. He and Y/N were standing on the other side of the room, cringing as they watched me suffer. I hurriedly unbuttoned the flannel and slipped it off my body. I used the one dry sleeve to wipe the soup residue off my chest, then dropped it to the floor letting out a sigh of relief.

Y/N stepped around the cans and soup puddles and made her way towards me. I felt my cheeks redden in embarrassment. She gently grabbed my wrists and examined my hands, a concerned expression on her face. "Damn Pony, you're gonna need to soak your hands in some water. Johnny, come look at this." She said, in a soft tone. Johnny walked over and took a look at my pink, clammy hands. "Oooh yeah, that ain't lookin' too good." He admitted.

"You guys head on down to the water pump and start running those hands under some water. I'll try find a bucket or something." Y/N instructed, releasing my hands from her grasp. It warmed my heart how concerned she was; just for me. She really does have the kindest soul, despite all the evil she grew up in. Knowing what I know now, it actually kind of saddens me that she's this way. I mean, why her? Why did she have to go through all this? Why? "You coming Pony?" Johnny asked, already starting towards the back door. "Yeah." I replied. Y/N and I exchanged a quick smile as I followed him out.

Y/N POV

I ran my hands through my hair and exhaled as I watched the guys walk away. "Did I really just tell them all that?" I whispered, under my breath, still in shock. I felt kind of relieved, as if someone had just removed a weight from my shoulders. However, I also felt somewhat vulnerable. I noticed myself beginning to dwell over these thoughts, so I snapped out of it.

I began searching around the church for a bucket, and eventually found an old rusty one out behind the outhouse. As I started walking over to the boys, I heard my stomach growl. I then remembered the reason behind why Pony's hands are peeling like glue; we had been making food. I went back into the old building, grabbing some baloney, Pepsi and bread. Whilst knelt down by the crate, I noticed Dally's jacket out of the corner of my eye. I grabbed it on my way out, Pony's health on my mind.

I stumbled down to the pump, making sure not to drop anything in the process. "Just think about it, man... Listen to yourself... There's something between y'all, I'm telling ya." I overheard Johnny saying to Pony as I neared them. I wasn't able to catch all his words over the sound of the running water. Their backs were facing me, so they couldn't tell I was behind them. I debated standing there a little longer and trying to figure out what they were saying, but it felt nosy despite my curiosity. It almost sounded like they were talking about me. 'Surely not.' I thought to myself, 'but they could be'.

Suddenly, the loaf of bread tumbled out of my arms, causing me to gasp. The pair quickly turned around to find me awkwardly standing there with my arms full. "Ahh, shit" I spluttered, trying to make it seem as if I just got there. "Here, lemme help ya." Johnny offered, hopping up. He grabbed the baloney from my hands and picked up the bread before sitting back down. "Thanks, Johnnycakes." I said, squeezing in between him and Pony.

"You-ou reall-ly came prepared, hu-uh?" Pony said between shivers. He still had no shirt on and had freezing water running up his arms. "Sure did." I chuckled, sitting everything down except the bucket. I leaned over and held it under the pump until the stream of water came to a halt, filling it about three-quarters of the way. I placed it in front of Pony, and he submerged his hands in the cool liquid. He winced as another chill ran through his body. So I grabbed the jacket, threw it over his shoulders and wrapped my arms around him.