Chapter Text
Ponyboy shoved his hands in his pockets as he made his way out of the gym locker rooms, walking back to his locker to put his gym uniform—the school forced the students to wear uniforms for gym, even though it wasn't a uniform school—away.
He walked up the cold stairwell and down the brightly lit hallway towards his locker. He cringed at the yellow light that flickered above him as he quickly turned his lock, opening it when he got the code right. He sighed as he opened his locker and shoved his gym clothes on the small top shelf that sat at the top of the old and rusted locker.
He just had to get through lunch—one of the things he dreaded. It's not like he hated lunch—hell he loved food, it was just the fact he didn't have many people to sit with so he usually spent his 40 minute break alone.
Usually he had a book to read or some paper to draw on but he had quickly rushed out to school this morning after Soda woke the two of them up late, and gave him no time to grab anything besides his backpack. He could hang out with Two-Bit but God knows where he goes off to and there was no way he would hang out with Steve.
He knew Steve most likely hated him, the fact that he had to drive Ponyboy to school somedays probably made Steve hate him even more.
Johnny wasn't in school anymore, not after that accident. He was still in the hospital and it was clear he wasn't getting out any time soon.
Ponyboy used to sit with Soda at lunch—Steve usually tagged along with them—but now Soda had dropped out to work full time and help Darry pay the bills.
He gave an even bigger sigh before bringing his hand up to shut his locker, stopping when he felt a hand—definitely bigger than his—clap down on his shoulder. He spun around to see who was behind him when he spotted the one and only Curly Shepherd.
"Hey there, Curtis." He said with a toothy grin plastered across his face. "Hi Curly." Ponyboy give him a small smile as spoke. He never used to talk to Curly much, but after the accident the boys got closer. "Haven't seen you around lately." Ponyboy quickly shut his locker, closing the lock before turning back around to face the boy.
"Eh, I was locked up for a week—Shoplifting. Stupid, right?" The boy rolled his eyes jokingly, placing a hand on his left hip. "Your an idiot." Ponyboy rolled his eyes right back at the boy, a slight laugh in his voice.
Curly threw an arm around the younger boy's shoulders and began to walk away, taking the boy with him. "I'm not an idiot." He said as he removed his arm from around the boy's neck and shoulders before playfully smacking him on the top of his head.
"Anyway, let's eat together. I'm starving, you have any food I can borrow?" He grinned at Ponyboy, gesturing for him to follow. "And by borrow you mean never give back?" Ponyboy cocked an eyebrow at the dark haired boy, just like Two-Bit did to him.
Curly laughed before shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. "Shit, your onto me." He said with a teasing grin. The two boys walked down the staircase—a different one than the one that Ponyboy had climbed up earlier—heading out to the big field that was surrounded by a neatly paved track just outside the school.
They walked over to the metal bleachers in silence, climbing up the seats before settling on the second to last one at the very top. "You got a cig on ya, Pony?" Curly pointed his finger at the pocket Ponyboy's sweater, waving his finger in a circle-like shape.
Ponyboy reached into his pocket and grabbed out the pack, tossing it to Curly in a swift motion. "Here ya go." He said as he pulled his backpack off his shoulder. It was actually Darry's old backpack so it was slightly beat up and had slight marks on it from when it was thrown around in his football locker room.
"Hey, Pony, man. How 'bout we play a game." Curly said as he tapped the end of his cigarette against the top row of bleachers. "A game to see who can get thrown in the slammer last? Shoot, looks like I win." Ponyboy threw the boy an amused look, even though he spoke with a grin spreading on his face.
"Oh shut up!" Curly rolled his eyes and lightly kicked Ponyboy's left foot. "Never, your too fun to tease." Ponyboy laughed as he kicked the boy back. "What game do you want to play anyway?" The younger boy pulled a bag of chips out of his backpack, popping the bag open. Curly shot forward and shoved his hand in the bag, taking a handful before Ponyboy had time to react.
"Hm, let's play truth or dare!" Curly said with a grin on his face. "Truth or Dare?" Ponyboy questioned the older boy. "Yeah, usually I'd play it drunk but you know." Curly tilted his head as if he was motioning to the school. "Trust me, it'll be fun." He watched as Ponyboy gave him a curious look before leaning forward to grab a chip of his own.
"Sure, why not." He shrugged as he popped the chip into his mouth. "Great, I'll go first." The older boy spoke up, knowing he'd want to go before the younger boy. "Ugh, fine." Ponyboy groaned, dragging the 'e' as he rolled his eyes.
"Alright! Truth or Dare?" Curly brought the cigarette to his mouth and took a long drag as he waiting for an answer.
"Truth."
"Truth? Your no fun!"
"Not much to do for a Dare around here Curly."
"Ugh, fine. I'll think of somethin'."
Curly leaned forward and rested his chin on the palm of his hands, scowling as he thought of a question to as Ponyboy. "Your gonna make your eyebrows stuck like that if you keep that expression. Don't want you to ruin your face."
This comment made the older boy shoot his head up to look at Ponyboy, who was laughing his ass off at the comment. "Here's your truth, Ponyboy."
"Do you, uhm... How do I phrase this, man."
Ponyboy watched as a puzzled expression formed on Curly's face.
"Cat got your tounge?"
"Shut up!"
"Just jokin' with ya."
Ponyboy laughed, only to cut off quickly when the dark haired boy didn't join in.
Curly sat on the bleachers, placing his left hand down on the cold metal. For once he was the one stuck in his head, not Pony. He was supposed to be the one to say whatever he liked, not the one to think before speaking.
"Curly Shepherd, lost in thought for once!" Ponyboy declared as he shuffled closer to Curly, playfully slapping him on the shoulder.
"Nevermind, you go. Can't think of anythin'." Curly leaned back so the boy couldn't smack him again.
"Now you want me to go first!? Your odd, man." Ponyboy jokingly said as he sat up straight and leaned his head back on the seats behind them. "So Curly, truth or dare?" He tilted his head forward slightly, looking in the boys direction and smiling.
"Truth."
"Hey, now your making me think!"
"Like you said, there's nothing to do for a Dare."
"I still could've thought of something, stupid." Ponyboy snickered as he looked at the older boy.
"I'm not stupid." Curly furrowed his brows.
"Yes you are." Ponyboy said as he rolled his eyes—no real anger behind the action.
"Alright. I thought of something." Ponyboy sat up and looked in the older boy's direction.
"Shoot." Curly looked back up at the boy and watched a sweet smile form across the boy's face.
"Are you in love?" Ponyboy snickered at the question he asked, flashing the boy a grin to show him he was only joking.
"Huh?" Curly looked back at the boy and felt his eyes widen. Ponyboy looked at him with an odd expression, one that curly couldn't quite read. "Love, like a crush. You got a girlfriend?" He shrugged as he repeated the question with more detail.
Curly stared at the boy with a puzzled expression, the usual grin not appearing on his face. He watched as the boy's big, green eyes watched him carefully, like if he said more something would happen.
Man, he loved the boy's eyes. How they lit up when he talked about the things he liked, when they snuck into the drive-in on Fridays and threw popcorn at the people fighting in the rows ahead of them. How the black and white images on the screen reflected in colour when he looked at his eyes.
He looked at Ponyboy with a smile.
"Sure, I'd say that I have a crush."
"Well?"
Ponyboy leaned closer to the boy, resting his hands between his thighs.
"What do you mean, well?" Curly questioned as the younger boy looked at him eagerly.
"Well, ain't ya gonna tell me who it is!" Ponyboy lightly hit Curly in the shoulder with his fist.
"I'm not telling you!" Curly exclaimed as he darted his gaze away from the boy. "Oh cmon man! You gotta tell me!" Ponyboy used a whining tone of voice, even if he was just joking.
"Truth or dare Ponyboy?" Curly leaned back and flicked the dry cig out of his mouth, watching as it fell through the cracks in the bleachers, swaying the blades of grass as it fell. "Hey, you can't just do it!" Ponyboy leaned even closer to the older boy. He might’ve been less than a foot closer to Curly but now he could see the cool gray that shined in the center of his eyes.
"Truth or dare."
"Fine, Truth." Ponyboy groaned. "Now it's just a game of truth or truth." Ponyboy laughed at his own joke, watching the older boy carefully.
"Do you have a crush?"
"Hmm, yeah. Hard not to I guess." Ponyboy shrugged as he answered the question, brushing it off.
"Who?"
"Not tellin'. You won't tell me so I won't tell you!" He spoke with a slight laugh, making Curly's face perk up with a smile when he heard it.
"I can give you a hint." Curly pointed his finger at the boy, leaning forward and flicking him in the middle of the eyes. "Hey, don't do that!" Ponyboy exclaimed as he brought his hands to the red mark above his nose.
"Have you talked to her before?" Ponyboy's grin widened.
"I've talked to... them a bunch."
"What does she like?"
Curly watched as the younger boy happily questioned him, and how he smiled when he looked at him.
"Movies, books, art. All that stuff."
"She sounds awesome. I really have to meet her." Ponyboy shifted his legs on the bench and shoved the empty bag of chips into his backpack.
"It'll be quite hard to meet them..."
"That sucks." Ponyboy whined
"Mhm." Curly mumbled back.
"What colour eyes does she have?"
"Green, seem like a different colour sometimes though." Curly smiled as the younger boy's eyes shined despite the lack of sunlight today.
"Ooh! What colour hair?"
Curly's eyes flickers at the boys greased back hair before looking back at his eyes.
"They had brown hair. Now they have blond and brown."
"A blond with brown hair, huh?" Ponyboy laughed before quickly cutting off, staring at the boy with his eyes wide. He reached up and put a hand on the back of his head, feeling the damaged ends of the long strands of blond hair he had put off cutting.
"Why don't you just tell me her name, Curly." Ponyboy gave him a smile.
"Ponyboy."
"What's up Curly?" Ponyboy cocked an eyebrow. "Quit putting it off just tell me! Who is it?"
"No, The name is Ponyboy."
"Serious..?"
Curly looked back up at Ponyboy and watched as his eyes widened and the green colour shined. His brown and blond hair—that now almost reached his shoulders—slightly moved as a gust of wind blew past the boys. The hair framed his face, making him look even better than before.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry." Ponyboy scooted forward to sit closer to the boy. Curly placed his head into his hands and dug his nails into the skin of his cheeks. Ponyboy placed a hand on the boy's back and watched him.
"I love you, man. I'm sorry." Curly mumbled.
He removed his hands from his cheeks at the touch of the younger boy. The long haired boy brushed his hair back from his forehead, stopping it from covering his eyes.
"Curly, I-"
Ponyboy's sentence was interrupted by the sound of the bell rang loudly throughout the empty field, signaling the lunch period was over. Curly quickly stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I have to go." Curly quickly said, a sad and guilty expression on his face. He quickly hopped down the steps, giving no time for Pony to pack up and follow.
"I love you too." Ponyboy mumbled as he hauled his backpack over his shoulders, knowing the dark haired boy was too far ahead to ever hear his answer.