word count: 1433

status: edited

Ponyboy's POV
The weather was not so warm, it was damp outside and rain flushed down on us. Just as soon as we all hurried inside, the wind swept through the house when Steve opened the door. We all yelled at him, but he blamed it on Dally.

It got dark, and suddenly it was nighttime. The wind had calmed down, but there was still rain, regrettably causing a power outage. I was reading with Johnny in the dining room, without actually having to read at all.

Sometimes it was like I could talk without saying any words to Johnny, like I could just read in my head and he would follow along quietly with me turning the pages. It was the funniest thing.

Darry lit a candle in the kitchen, and another in the living room. Soda and him were in the living room with Dally and Steve, trying to piece together a jigsaw in the dark.

"Whose idea was this?" Dally sniggered, nearly fed-up. "Nevermind, don't raise your hand because I can hardly see in this godforsaken darkness."

Steve chuckled lightly. "Jerk."

"It doesn't feel lonely though." Soda shook his head, shooting his gaze around the room for confirmation. "Right, Darry?"

Darry laid down a flat piece inside the puzzle, connecting it to another piece. "Mhm." he murmured, trying to snap out of a sleep.

Everyone suddenly watched as Darry added more pieces to the puzzle. Steve wore a small poker face, spacing out.

"Shit, man. How are you doing this?" Dally furrowed his eyebrows together, watching carefully even though his vision wasn't there altogether.

Sodapop laughed softly. "Here I was thinking I might actually be good at puzzles."

"You could be." Darry nodded, shifting down another piece. "Just need to have a feel for these things."

Dallas scoffed, giving a dismissive laugh. But then he gave a puzzled look. "Wait, you mean. . . like blind people?"

Steve hit his arm in a scolding manner, definitely assuming that Dally said it to be offensive. Soda gave a lively laugh.

"Ow."

If I was honest, the book in front of us was hardly readable in the dark, even when we sat by the candlelight. But it radiated a kind of comfort you don't get out of normal books.

Johnny was quiet, that was one thing, but his warmth was another. At small moments I found myself drawn in, subconsciously leaning on his arm, and his arm leaning back on mine. It wasn't the book that made me bored, but my eyes would water when I stared at a page for too long.

"Sleepy?"

"A little. But I'll be alright."

"Why don't you go on and rest? I'll see whatever it is they're up to." Johnny's eyes wandered to the living room. "If. . . they're doing anything at all."

"I'm not that tired." I said, surely feeling my eyes were tight with drowsiness.

"You're not scared of the dark, are you?"

"No way, Johnnycake."

"Uh-huh." he gave a playful smile.

"It's true."

"Okay, I believe you." Johnny tilted his head, "If you can prove it."

Immediately I didn't like the idea. But it sounded winsome, and I knew I could get a little pleasure out of spooking him in the dark when I got the chance.

Without a second thought, Johnny took my hand as we gently passed through the living room.

"I can't tell if that's a duck or a king." Steve muttered. "Soda, are you sure you shuffled the cards right?"

"Yea. Are you gonna go fish?"

"Well that's why I'm asking, did you give us different cards or something?"

"What does it look like?"

"A duck. But then a king."

"How can it be a duck and a king?"

"It just -- you don't have my terrible eyesight, okay?"

Soda stuttered, smiling humorously. "Seriously? Just grab another card."

"Hey, wait."

"What?"

"Something's off."

"Why?"

"Oh," Steve clicked his tongue. "We're missing Two-Bit."

"Oops."

As soon as we closed the door behind us, I still felt Johnny beside me as everything was pitch dark. I could sense him even though I couldn't see him.

Just when he wondered, "Still not scared?" I tugged on the back of his jacket, slipping my hand away with haste. "Was that you? Pony?"

Without making a lot of movement, I tried to hide, but there wasn't much to help in the room. "Johnny?" I whispered.

"Pony, I can see you."

"No you can't."

"Quit hiding."

"Prove you can see me."

Johnny leaned forward, and I could feel his warmth again, closing in on me as his weight pushed me back onto my bed.

"Johnny -- " I tried to move out of his force by getting him in a lock, but Johnny didn't fidget, he only laughed. I looked up, fighting laughter on my own as a smile got the best of me. "Once I get up, you're dead."

His raven hair was curled behind his ears, and the look in his eyes felt like a pure sunset. "Does that mean we shouldn't get up?" Johnny smiled softly, lying on his back beside me.

I was quiet, almost infatuated with the light over us.

"Hm." Johnny shut his eyes.

I laid close, looking at Johnny in a way I've never looked at anyone in my life. My plan to scare him failed, and I recognized defeat.

Johnny opened his eyes, shooting a small gaze at me. "Pony?" he murmured, slowly shutting his eyes again. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I whispered.

His soft voice rang again, "You can come closer, y'know." he gave a small smile. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"That's exactly what a murderer would say before they kill you."

Johnny fell into a quiet fit of laughter, and suddenly I didn't think it was a bad idea. He was...so bright.

"Johnny,"

"Yeah?"

"You're not really scared of anything, are you?"

A small smile settled over his lips, and he started to shake his head playfully. "You're a cute kid, Ponyboy."

"You... think I'm cute?"

"N-not like that." Johnny chuckled nervously, sitting up from his laid position. "I-I mean, you're my best friend, that'd be weird, right?"

"What's weird about it?" I probed, sitting beside him. "You're my best friend first."

Johnny sighed at his hands and glanced at me as if he was deciding on something, pulling me into a hug. "Me too." The dark felt like nothing anymore, it was rain and increments of light over his face. Even though I knew the dark was crowding in on us over the bed, I held onto Johnny.

"You're warm." I murmured, then came up with something to brush off my words. "I mean, it's still raining, isn't it?"

Soon, we gave each other this long look, and I wasn't sure what to say. I was close to him, so close that I felt locked in his circle of warmth for the second time. This silence, this look on Johnny's face, then this dashing smile.

"Hey, Pony?"

"Yeah?"

"You actually got close to me."

"I-oh..." I stammered. "I..." Come out with it, I told myself. "I...um..." I started to laugh, flustered with the words at the tip of my tongue. "I didn't notice it."

"Notice what?"

"I'm saying that I didn't how close I was. I'm sorry."

He took a long pause, almost awkward enough to make me think about how painful that came out. "No, it's...it's fine." It was no indicator of a happy response from Johnny, but at the same time he didn't look doubtful. Either way, I was heavily flushed, so I began to back out easily.

"Why is it fine for you?"

Without any more words, Johnny closed the space between us with a kiss. No time to think, but my whole body had this electric pulse shoot through me, and I was out of touch with everything else. I wasn't doing this on my own, it was just a reaction.

My eyes shut tight, and I closed back in on his lips, gently tugging on his jacket collar with my other hand pawing at his chin. The light over his face faded, and now it was just heat in darkness. He was so warm, and I drew closer for a small moment before our eyes opened to each other.

"Woah." I muttered as we parted, in a daze.

"You're so curious." Johnny held my hand and pulled me off the bed, smiling warmly as he brought me in for a small peck. "I wanna go play whatever they're playing in the living room. Come on, Pony."