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To be perfectly clear, ponyboy did not want any of this. Not in a million years.
Just two days ago, he was all over his phone, his eyes having gone a bright red after not blinking for maybe an entire hour while he was reading fiction on AO3. Yeah.. not his smartest choice… Just last night, Darry was hollering in his ear after he caught him at 1AM still on his phone, not sleeping like he should’ve been. So as a responsible older brother, he took his phone away. He nearly cried when he went back to bed, but he was sure he’d get it back soon.
It wasn’t fair, he got good grades, never got into any trouble, and even skipped a whole grade!
Okay, he's getting ahead of himself. None of that mattered. Not anymore.
Currently, he was standing awkwardly in the kitchen, having barely relaxed after the events of the early mornings. He had just been roaming around the house like he was an investigator.
His hand flew to his back pocket grabbing his phone, the same phone he had stolen back. Darry always put it in the same spot, on the floor in the far left corner of the closet. He was half-calm and half-panicked about the entire ordeal and was currently trying to calm himself further by burying himself in fiction he’d bookmarked and saved in tabs.
He settled down on the worn couch, which made a soft groan as his weight settled on it. He missed his other couch. He wondered if it was really so normal having accepted his fate so easily, but he just assumed that the amount of Time travel fics he had read made up for the strange calmness in his body. He had to admit though, he missed his original brothers, and his original friends.
Just as he was about to turn his phone on, the door flew open and he instinctively jumped up, his phone having been shoved right back into his back pocket.
Darry finally came into frame looking mean and hard, his hair slicked back in a way he had never seen before. He looked pretty good, in all honesty.
He hesitated before speaking, “Hey, Darry.. Where‘ve you been?” he asked timidly, trying to act casual.
Apparently he didn't act casual enough as Darry looked at him strangely, walking over and studying his face. “What’s wrong, you sound different.” he said slowly, analyzing his face when Sodapop walked in, wearing a dumb looking grin as he ruffled Ponyboy’s hair.
“Where ya been, Pones? Haven’t seen ya allllllll day. You slept in nearly half the day, missed Two-bit and Steve fightin’ over the last slice o’ cake.” he drawled, grinning ear to ear as he pulled back, already heading towards the kitchen to get something to eat.
That distracted Darry enough to lose his train of thought, giving one last suspicious glance at Pony before going to his room to change his dirty clothes.
Pony sat there bewildered, he barely uttered a word, and he was already being interrogated. Was he really that bad at acting?
-timeskip-
There wasn’t much to say about how he spent the rest of the day, held up in his room doing nothing but passing time on books and resisting the urge to reach for the phone, reminding himself he didn’t have his charger and that he should probably save its battery. It’d be a waste to use all that precious battery on things like checking the time. Unlike important things, like reading.
Eventually, Ponyboy got up from his bed and stepped out of his room. He wasn’t that addicted to his phone, and only god knows how long he spent staring at the wall entertaining his own daydreams.
As he was walking to the kitchen, he didn’t notice the looming figure behind him, and before he could react, Two-bit roughly grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him forward playfully.
Ponyboy wasn’t used to this much roughhousing and fell forward, landing hard and getting up quickly. “What the freak, Two-bit?!” he said loudly, wiping his pants down and rising back to his feet quickly.
He stared at Two-bit for a full three seconds. He looked the same, just the hair and that (almost) same damned Mickey shirt.
Two-bit looked him over, having picked up on his choice of words. “What was that? Freak? Don’t get smart with me, kid.” He warned playfully, ruffling his hair and looking over his shoulder, pushing past him to reach the cold beers he put in the fridge an hour ago.
“You headin’ out with Dal’ n Johnnycakes soon or you just wanna be late?” Two-bit asked casually, cracking open a can and taking a large gulp.
Ponyboy stood there, not knowing what to say before Two-bit grinned, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along. “Let’s go, you little punk, ill take ya myself..” he said cheerfully, shoving ponyboy into the passenger seat and immediately revving up the engine.
Pony simply sat in the passenger seat, unwilling to say anything more that could really make him look.. Odd? He hadn’t noticed before, but his hair was all slicked back and slightly greasy. It wasn’t a bad look, so he quickly paid no mind, focusing on how he’d act around Johnny. Not his Johnny. He didn’t like the thought of that.
When the car pulled into the parking lot and settled into a spot between some old looking cars, Two-bit practically hauled him out of the car. He was either too drunk to care, or he just didn’t give a damn about how unnaturally quiet Pony was being.
“Wh- uh, they’re around here?” Pony asked quietly, trailing behind Two-bit. The surroundings were familiar, the atmosphere was not.
“Yeah, Dally ain’t feelin’ too hot waitin’n hour for ya.” Two-bit said, smirking at him. “Yer as quiet as the dead o’ night pony, what’s got your head up there? Hm? You got some broad I don't know ‘bout?”
Pony stared at Two-bit like he was about ready to punch him, taking in a deep breath and restraining himself. “You got a whole lot of imagination, huh? Crazy you can’t use that for sumthin’ productive..” He retorted jokingly, and Two-bit grinned, laughing and giving him a hard slap to his shoulder that left a dull ache after a few seconds. “You watch that mouth o’ yours, ya hear?” He said with the biggest grin he could manage.
Ponyboy was finally able to really focus on his surroundings, looking up at the brightly lit sign above.
“We’re at the drive-in.” Two-bit explained patiently, leading him through the area, and eventually they reached a not-so-happy Dallas, and a quiet Johnny, who was sipping his coke, looking up at Pony with those wide eyes he grew to adore.
He forced an awkward smile and sat down next to Dallas, who had already been yelling in his ear for a minute while he was zoned out. Johnny glanced over at Pony, worry etched on his face.
Johnny.
Oh, Johnny.
He wished things were a lot different. Those eyes he knew so well, plastered onto what he could only accept as a clone of his real best friend. Maybe he just didn’t understand that they were the same, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t his Johnny. It’s hard to really accept. It was almost the same with his brothers, but this was Johnny.
face. Pony already knew Johnny was suspicious and would let out an annoyed groan if it weren’t for Two and Dally being around.
“You got me waitin’ for almost an hour, man. You pull somethin’ like that again, I'll end you, you understand me? Huh? God…. Half an hour, man…” Dally said, his voice getting more agitated by the second. “Can’t even believe it..” He muttered, his boiling rage finally cooling just enough to let Pony slide by.
The four of them settled in a quiet, tense silence. Johnny shifted closer to Ponyboy, leaning close.
“You alright, Ponyboy?” He asked, his eyes wide, showing off those dark pupils of his.
“Yeah, I'm alright.” Pony responded, not believing himself but he said it anyway. He was observant, listening to how they walked, how they talked, their little mannerisms and such. He didn’t know how to act properly, but man did he wish he knew how.
When the move ended, Pony automatically followed after Two-bit, only for Johnny to call out to him. “Hey pony, c’mon man where you goin’?” he said, grabbing his arm. “We’re walking together, aren’t we?” Johnny asked, pulling him back with Dally and him.
Dally was still mad, with a grim face and a snarky attitude. “Hey man, next time you’re late, I'll break your face in, alright?” He said, still hung up about the movie. His movements were sharp and unstable.
“C’mon Dally, he probably didn’t mean it, right Pone?” Johnny defended stepping forward, his voice wavering slightly but it still held strong.
“...Yeah man, I didn’t mean it. I just… It was an accident, okay?.” Pony said, feeling defensive.
He just came into a new body and he was supposed to know everything?
Yeah right.
Then again, nobody knew. He couldn’t blame them.
-5 minute later-
They walked down the dark streets, Johnny kept giving Pony worried glances that made him cringe and turn away. Awkward.
“Half an hour late, man.. Can’t fuckin’ believe it…” Dally kept muttering curses under his breath, and Johnny was clearly getting uncomfortable.
Pony didn’t have the energy to respond, simply deciding that for his own mental health, it was easier to ignore him.
When they reached the streets of a neighborhood he recognized too well, Pony visibly relaxed and practically made a run for it to his house.
Dallas and Johnny just watched, slightly startled.
It didn’t take long for Johnny to quickly run after him, reaching for his arm but missing horribly.
Dallas cursed under his breath and left on his own accord, leaving the two teens running for first place.
When Pony reached the front door he tripped and collapsed onto the porch.
Johnny quickly caught up to Pony, collapsing next to him, his breaths coming out in ragged gasps. “Wh-what’re you doin’ running like that for?” He questioned incredulously, his brows furrowing into a mean arrow.
“I dunno.” Pony replied.
Johnny just stared at him like he’d grown a second head, his brows furrowing further(if possible).
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting so weird since Thursday.” Johnny interrogated.
“Nothing’s wrong, man.. Just… I’m tired..?” Pony lied, giving a weak smile and quickly clearing his throat.
“You should go.” Pony said suddenly, nudging Johnny away.
Johnny looked visibly hurt, and it made Pony’s heart ache, but he was stubborn to back down.
“..Alright, man.. But, promise to come to me if something is wrong, alright?” He said softly, biting the inside of his lip and leaving with his head down, shoulders tense.
Ponyboy watched with eyes full of guilt, cursing himself mentally for pushing him away like that.
He made no effort to reach out, instead going back inside and curling up in a ball next to soda, who was knocked out cold.
He had to make it up to Johnny in the morning.
He had to.