Status: edited

Pony's P.o.V.

I was scared.

The hospital seemed scary to me, and I would have to spend a week away from everybody I loved.

Who cares? The voice taunted. They don't love you back so it's not like it matters. I almost winced, and had to reread Johnny's note to convince myself that I was loved by at least one person.

I loved that note more than any other ones I had received. So maybe he meant that he loved me in a platonic way, but that didn't mean that I couldn't pretend.

Pretend that he would stare out the window longingly waiting for me to get back. Pretend that he would smile every time he thought of me. Pretend that he was working up the courage for the perfect way to ask me to be his.

Just pretend.

"Ponyboy, we're here." Darry said as we parked.

I took a deep breath and stuck the note back in my pocket. Sodapop held my hand on the way in and it made me feel good to know that I wasn't alone for now.

Darry had to go up to the front desk and talk to the lady for a long time. "Soda..." I whispered.

He leaned in closer to me. "Yeah honey?"

"I'm scared." I admitted.

He sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "I know...me too." He said after a while. "But it's gonna help you."

Darry came back and pulled me up. "Alright Pony, this is goodbye for a week."

I nodded and gave him a hug. "You guys won't forget about me, right?"

Soda joined our hug. "Of course we won't baby. We never could."

Darry kissed the top of my head and walked me up to this friendly looking nurse.

"Take care of him." Soda told her which made me blush.

Darry hugged me one last time. "I'll bring your bag in."

I nodded, and the realization of how much I was going to miss them finally hit me.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched them leave. I wondered if this was as hard for them as it was for me.

The nurse put a hand in my shoulder, causing me to flinch slightly. "Hi Ponyboy, I'm Nurse Jill. Will you follow me?" She gave me a warm smile.

I shyly nodded and followed behind her. She led me to this room that was very plain. White walls and two white beds with tan sheets.

"This will be your room for the week. You have a roommate. His names Jeffy and he's very nice. I think you'll like him." I looked around the room. Very boring.

"Your bag will be delivered up here shortly, but for now you need to change." She handed me a thin gown.

"What do I do with my clothes?" I asked.

"Just give them to me when you're done. You'll get them back at the end of the week, we just can't have anything dangerous in here." She explained.

Clothes are dangerous? I thought to myself.

"Jeffy will be here shortly, and then it will be time for bed around nine." I glanced at the clock as she left.

That only gave me about ten minutes.

Before removing my clothes, I took Johnny's note out of my pocket and carefully placed it under my pillow. My can with the rest were in my bag, so I'd put it with the rest later.

I slipped into the gown and immediately felt silly. It was too big on me and I didn't like it at all.

Somebody knocked on the door, so I went to open it. There was a quiet looking boy with black hair and green eyes. He was holding my bag.

"H-hi. I'm Jeffy, and t-they told me to bring your bag to you." He said quietly.

"Oh, thank you." I grabbed it and he stepped inside the room.

"They said to put your clothes in a pile and they'd pick it up." He said and sat on his bed.

I nodded and unpacked. There wasn't much. I was only there for a week. But I did bring a couple books and pictures. And my notes.

Right at nine a nurse walked into the room. "Time for bed boys." She said nicely, picking up my clothes.

I nodded and sat on the bed as she left. Jeffy turned out the big light but turned on a lamp that was just bright enough so that we could see eachother, but no one from outside could see it.

"You brought books?" He asked shyly.

I nodded and picked up a few. "Yeah, would you like to read one?"

He didn't smile, but he did seem to look a bit pleased. "Thank you, but maybe tomorrow. We always get a little free time and the books they have aren't very good."

I put them down and nodded.

"You're gonna hate it here at first." He said suddenly. "You're gonna miss your family, and your gonna miss being able to be alone, but it gets better."

I sighed. "I already miss my family. A whole lot." I could feel tears coming as I thought of Sodapop's broken face when he found out.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

I surprised myself, when I said: "Yeah, yeah I would."

We talked for a long time that night. I learned a lot about him.

He lives with his uncle because his parents were always traveling somewhere, he was an only child, and he has a friend back home who convinced him to go to the hospital.

He didn't say why he was here, and I didn't blame him. I'd never told anybody why I felt the way I did other than Johnny.

"Y'know..." he started as he turned off the lamp. "If I ever get out of here, I'd like to come meet your brothers. They sound great."

"Maybe you can come over as soon as you'd get out. They'd all like you." I felt sorry for him. He told me that his parents didn't care enough to come get him.

"I think I'd like that. I'll call my mom tomorrow and convince her to let me go home at the end of the week." He yawned. "Goodnight Ponyboy, I ain't never met anyone like you before."

I curled up into bed. "Goodnight Jeffy...you're one of a kind too."

Sleep washed over both of us.

I woke up around five and just laid in bed waiting for Jeffy to get up too. I never could sleep well without Soda.

To pass time I went through and read all of Johnny's notes he had given me. I felt the corners of my lips tug into a small smile.

"What are those?" I heard a tired voice ask.

I looked up, a blush tinting my cheeks. "M-my best friend gives me notes. They cheer me up."

Jeffy smiled. "That's nice of him."

I nodded. "What do we do now?"

He sighed. "Wait for them to bring us breakfast."

I sighed, not wanting to eat. But a few minuets later I was staring at a tray of nasty hospital food. I picked around at it.

( all I can see is Napoleon Dynamite telling Deb: "I see you're drinking 1% milk, is it because you think you're fat?...Cause you're not. You could be drinking whole milk if you wanted to.")

After we finished eating we brushed our teeth in the bathroom that was connected to the room.

"They're gonna take you to a therapist sometime soon." He said as we walked back to our room. "They're all nice though, so don't worry."

No sooner than when he said that, there was a knock on our door. A nurse stepped in and told me that it was time to go see Karen.

I nervously followed her and she led me to a small room with a few couches. There was a lady in there with short hair who had a clipboard.

"You must be Ponyboy." She smiled.

I nodded and sat down.

"Well hello, I'm Karen. We're just gonna talk today." She crossed her legs. "Why don't you tell me something about yourself. What do you like to do?"

"I like to write..." I said quietly. "Or draw." Or hang out with Johnny.

She nodded. "Are you a good drawer?"

I shrugged. "I'm alright."

We talked more, about nothing really. She just kept asking me questions. After a while she said,

"Why don't you tell me about your friends?"

I sighed. "Well, there's Two-Bit. He's always making jokes and stuff. He loves Mickey Mouse with a burning passion. Dally is tough and cold, but he's somebody you gotta respect. Steve is smart, cocky, and he loves chocolate cake." I swallowed some. "And then there's Johnny. He's my best friend, and I only feel like I matter when I'm with him.'

"He's always trying to help me, or get me to eat, or telling me that he cares about me." I smiled some. "He even gives me notes that make me feel better when I'm down. He's always trying to do what's best for me, and I love him to death."

My eyes widened when I realized what I had said. I glanced up at her and she was just smiling.

"I can't help but notice that the entire time you've been in here, you've only smiled when talking about Johnny."

My cheeks flushed. "Well, he means a lot to me."

"Is there anybody else you wanna mention?" She asked.

I thought about it. "I mean, my roommate, Jeffy, I only met him yesterday but he's a cool ol guy. He's good to talk to and doesn't judge me at all...I'm just a kid to everyone else. But he's the same age as me. I feel like he gets it."

She nodded. "Oh yes, I love Jeffy. He's very nice."

I nodded and sighed.

Karen smiled. "Now tell me more about Johnny."

Hey guys!! I don't know why I felt like telling y'all this but Jeffy in my mind is Johnny Knoxville. He just is.

But younger.