It was my first day back at school since everything had happened. Everyone in the gang was stressed, that the majority of us stayed at home.

Johnny was still in the hospital. I hadn't seen him since the day before yesterday. I was honestly terrified if he had told Angela that he loved her.

Then something hit me.

He had never said he loved me back.

I felt something hit me in the back of the head.

I turned around, and was met with a face. I didn't know his name, but he was a Soc. He was dressed extremely nice. He had a button down shirt and khaki pants on. He dressed clean, but who he was a dirty, pathetic no one.

I ignored him, until I felt something hit me again.

"Go away!" I shouted. I saw his lips curl into a grin.

"Make me," he stated.

Before I knew it, I was being shoved against a locker. The metal was cold against my neck, so I winced. I really wanted to disappear at the moment.

This stuff always happened to me, and I didn't know why.

"I bet you want to join your little friend Jonathan in the hospital,? don't you?" he questioned while laughing. I began to thrash.

The Soc dropped me hard on the floor. I looked up, and suddenly realized what was going on.

Two Bit had taken the Soc off of me, and slammed him into a locker.

"Why were you touching my friend, you fucking gorilla?" questioned Two Bit. The guy looked scared.

"Listen man, I was just messing around," stated the Soc.

Two Bit banged his head into the locker.

"Bullshit," he said coldly.

Two Bit's hand collided with the guys face.

There was blood on his hands.

-

I was sitting in Social Studies, paying attention to what the teacher was saying. Currently, we were talking about the war of 1812.

I found the subject interesting for some reason. I felt like history was like one big story of things that had already happened.

I felt someone standing at the edge of my desk, so I looked up.

It was Steve.

What the hell was he doing in my Social Studies class? I asked myself.

"We gotta go," whispered Steve. He pulled me out of my chair. I gave him a confused look.

"What's going on?" I mumbled. Everyone in my class was staring at us, and I could feel my cheeks burn a bright red.

"It's Johnny," he stated.

I quickly packed my stuff, not caring about anything else in the world right now. If there was something with Johnny, I was going to be there.

No one was going to stop me.

Steve and I hurried out of the classroom.

-

Steve and I were driving to the hospital. He was a fantastic driver. He drove smoothly and with ease, and I really enjoyed it.

"Steve, what's going on with Johnny?" I questioned. I realized that I didn't have a clue on what was going on.

"If I tell you, do you promise to stay calm and not make me crash this car?" he asked, sort of joking. I guess that he was just trying to lighten the mood.

"I promise," I replied with a sigh. I wanted to know how he was doing more than ever, and I was starting to get impatient.

"I went to go visit him this morning, and he was sort of laying there. He hadn't said anything in two days. Finally, he demanded to see you. He was really tired, almost like he couldn't hold on," whispered Steve.

A part of me was happy that Johnny spoke, but another part of me was scared that he did. What if he was dying?

No, I thought to myself.

He's not dying, so don't think that way.

I began to tear up.

I made sure that Steve didn't see.

-

I walked into Johnny's room, and saw him sprawled across the bed. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he was dreaming about something.

I pulled up a chair, and sat next to him, grabbing one of his hands with both of mine. I held onto him tightly, almost like I'd never let go.

Johnny's usually tanned skin looked sort of pale, and his hair was a mess. His skin was warm though. That aspect of him didn't change.

I decided to shake him awake to let him know that I was here.

"Johnnycakes," I whispered. He began to stir.

His eyes flickered open. For some reason, they were a caramel color. His lips curled into a small smile.

"You're here," he whispered. I nodded.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Johnny," I stated. His smile got a little bigger.

"I missed you," he mumbled. I grinned a bit.

"I missed you too," I replied.

Johnny suddenly got quiet.

"Why didn't you come and see me yesterday?" he asked, sort of hurt.

"I thought you didn't want to see me," I mumbled. Johnny gasped.

"Of course I'd want to see you, Ponyboy. You were the first person I wanted when I woke up yesterday. I waited for you, but you never came," he whispered. He began to cry a bit, and his cheeks flushed pink.

"Aw, Johnny, don't cry. You know that I'll always come through for you, no matter what," I said with a reassuring smile.

"I guess you will," he replied.

"When are you getting out of here?" I asked him. His eyes lit up a bit.

"Maybe tomorrow or the day after," he said. I just noticed how rough and dry his voice sounded. Usually, it sounded like butter. It was weird to hear it being scratchy. I guess that that's what being in the hospital does to a person.

"I'll be waiting for you to come home, you know. Everything feels wrong without you there," I whispered in his ear.

"Pony?" he questioned. I looked down at his lips, but then back into his eyes again.

"Yeah, Johnnycakes?" I replied. I bit the inside of me cheek nervously. Johnny scooted over.

"Can you lay down next to me?" he asked innocently.

Inside, I felt butterflies by his request. I tried to not let that show on the outside though. I simply nodded, and crawled into the bed with him.

He wrapped his arms around my waste.

We fell asleep together in peace.