A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back, and with the next chapter! Yaaaay! Anyways, my childishness asides, enjoy!
Ponyboy's POV:
Sodapop turns back around to face the newly formed couple who are walking down the street. Smirking, I stand up and lean against the porch railing, watching as Johnny and Elena make their way up to the house. Elena undoes the latch and opens the gate with her right hand, the left one still holding Johnny's.
As they come through the gate and start up the walkway, I observe both of their faces. Elena has a huge smile plastered across her blushing face, and I chuckle, but when I take a look at Johnny, I stop laughing, the smirk falling from my face. Johnny's face is blotchy and his eyes are red rimmed, it looks as if he's been crying. I try to fathom a reason why Johnny would get so worked up, it takes a hell of a lot to make him cry, but nothing is forthcoming. Although, Johnny does still have a faint smile playing on his lips, so I relax, figuring that Elena has dealt with whatever happened, so I let the thought slip to the back of my mind.
Soda fake coughs, startling the two lovebirds, and making their heads shoot upwards to look at us. I chuckle and smirk at the two of them. "So, are you two a thing now?"
Elena eyes me warily, probably not realizing she is still holding Johnny's hand, and wondering how I knew. In answer to her unasked question, I nod towards their hands, acknowledging them. Both Johnny and Elena take a glance down at their linked fingers, but have two different reactions.
Elena smiles brightly up at me and Sodapop, meanwhile, Johnny blushes profusely, and pulls his hand away staring at the ground. At first, Elena frowns at this action, but then when she sees Johnny's face, she giggles and shakes her head. 
"Cat got your tongue, kid?" Sodapop asks Johnny jokingly, showing him his winning smile.
"Awe, lay off, Sodapop," I chuckle, stepping down to meet Elena and Johnny, and slinging an arm around Johnny's shoulder. "No need to be embarrassed, Johnny Cade. We don't mind, do we, Soda?"
Soda shakes his head, also stepping down onto the pavement. "Nah, it's cute."
Elena blushes even more and grabs Johnny's hand once again. I can visibly see Johnny squeeze it. "Darry might not be so happy 'bout it though." Johnny points out, finally looking up at me.
Soda shrugs. "Awe, don't worry about Dar, I'm sure that he won't mind. You're a good kid, Johnny."
"Yeah, I hope you're right Soda. I just don't want Darry hollering at me or El." Johnny admits.
"He doesn't have to know right away, we can let him figure it out on his own if ya want, Johnny." Elena suggests.
"Yeah, I guess that would work. If he sees that we work well together, maybe then he won't mind it as much." Johnny smiles.
I nod. "Sounds like a plan."
"So yeah...let's do that then." Soda chimes in. "Just no one tell Darry and it should work out well. Nice plan, El."
"Thanks!" Elena chirps happily at Soda.
The four of us walk up the steps and into the house, letting the door slam noisily behind us.
Then a hopeful, yet worried sounding Darry calls from the kitchen, where I am assuming that he is still making dinner. "Soda is that you? Is Elena back yet? I'm starting to get worried."
"Yes, it's me, and she's back." Soda yells back.
"Elena?"
"Hello!" Elena bellows.
"Geez, Elena, no need to yell so loud." Johnny mumbles, rubbing his ear.
"Oops," Elena giggles. "Sorry."
"S'alright," Johnny mumbles once again.
Then the house is once more filled by Darry's loud voice. "Elena, get your butt in here right now, young lady!"
Elena visibly cringes, let's go of Johnny's hand, and stalks off to the kitchen without so much as one more word.
Soda and I head into the living room, with Johnny following us. When I look back at Johnny, the thoughts about what had happened to him previously resurface. I really want to talk to him about it, and make sure he's okay, but I don't really want Sodapop to be around when I do. It's not that I don't think Johnny trusts Soda, because he definitely does, but he would probably be more comfortable with just me around, considering that we are best friends.
"Um, Soda?" I mumble.
"Mmhmm?"
I lean in and whisper in his ear. "Can you give me a minute alone with Johnny, I want to talk to him about something..."
Sodapop glances over my shoulder at Johnny, who is sitting on the couch, staring at the floor. He smiles softly. "Sure thing, kiddo." He ruffles my hair and walks out of the room, muttering, "I wonder what's got into him lately," under his breath.
Yeah, Soda. That's my thoughts exactly.
I saunter over to the couch and sit down next to Johnny. He spares a glance up at me, before lowering his eyes back to the floor once more. "Hey, Pone."
"Hi, Johnny." I study his face carefully, watching as he looks at me out of the corner of his eye. His face is no longer blotchy, and though the redness of his eyes has started to diminish, it is still quite visible. I rest my hand on his shoulder farthest from me so my arm is around his shoulders, and speak in a very soft voice. "Hey, are you alright? You look like you've been crying, have you?"
"No, I'm fine." Johnny's states quickly, too quickly. "Why would you think that I have?"
"Come on, Johnnycakes, I've known you since I was little. I can tell that something's wrong, now why don't ya just tell me already. You know I'm there for ya buddy." I punch his shoulder playfully, but he still doesn't look at me. "Plus, I could see it in your face. Red eyes, blotchy face. You have been crying, haven't ya? I can tell." I finish truthfully.
"Okay, fine, Ponyboy. I was crying earlier, but it's really no big deal, honestly." Johnny says, hanging his head in what I think is shame.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Johnny, we all cry sometimes." I shrug. "What happened?"
"It's- It was nothing, really. I was just a little upset...um about this couple of Soc's earlier...yeah. That's all, don't ya worry about me, Ponyboy. I'm fine..."
He's avoiding my eyes, I know he's lying. I'll have to ask Elena later, I have a sneaking suspicion that she finally knows what's happening.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure..." Johnny muses. "You dig, Pony?"
"Yeah," I lie. "I dig."
Why won't he just tell me? In the growing silence of the room, I mull this over in my mind. Suddenly, I am reminded of something that Elena had said about this same situation a few days ago:
"He doesn't want to bother us with his problems, so he deals with them on his own. I'm just afraid that one day, Johnny is just gunna' break, and no one will be there when he does."
And she was right, too. Well mostly. He obviously doesn't want to bother us with his problems, and he clearly has been trying to deal with it on his own. However he couldn't deal with it anymore, whatever it is. That's what she was right about. What she was wrong about was that when he finally broke no one would be there, and I can clearly see that she was there for him. And I'm very glad that she was, if I couldn't be there for him. But I'm there for him now and he still hasn't told me...
Elena enters the room, coming from the kitchen with a slightly disgruntled look on her face, breaking me from my thoughts. "What's up, El?"
She let's out a huff and rolls her eyes. "Oh, nothing. Darry was just a little mad that I was late coming home, that's all."
"Are you in trouble?" Soda asks, walking back into the room.
"Nah, I explained to him what happened," Johnny stares at her, looking flustered. "No, not all of it Johnny just enough to keep myself out of trouble."
"Oh." He sighs, relaxing.
I smile and laugh a little bit at his reaction.
"So...how'd you two...um...?" Soda starts.
"Get together?" Johnny breaks in, smirking.
"Yeah." Soda nods, smiling sheepishly.
"Well," Elena starts, looking over at Johnny as if they were discussing something with their eyes, "I was just walking home from Samantha's, and I, um, saw Johnny sitting in the lot...thinking."
"Yeah-" Johnny interrupts. "She came over to me and we, um, started talking. Then we um, sort of..."
"Awe...did you two kiss?" Soda asks in a sing song voice, poking Elena in the cheek, who smacks him, and then proceeding to do the same to Johnny.
"Maybe..." Johnny says.
Me and Soda just stare at the pair of them.
"Okay, yes, yes, fine. We kissed. Are you happy now?" Johnny finally admits.
"Yes, yes I am." Soda chirps happily.
"Johnny, you kissed my twin sister?!" I ask, slightly taken aback.
"Actually, I kissed him." Elena pipes up, cutting Johnny off from talking anymore.
Soda starts making these (rather disgusting and childish) kissing noises, while I chant, "Elena and Johnny, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
We start laughing at our own childishness, I make a kissy face and Soda pretends to retch. As if he's never kissed a girl before. Then I realize. "Wait a minute....Ew! Gross! Johnny you kissed my twin sister, that's disgusting!" I whine, disgusted.
We all burst out laughing, even Elena and Johnny who are both blushing like crazy.
After a few minutes of this, Sodapop is in stitches, Elena is laughing crazily into Johnny's shoulder, who is laughing so hard he is now crying, and I'm just laughing even harder as I observe this crazy scene.
At this very moment, Darry decides to stick his head in the door, interrupting our laughing fit and giving us a rather befuddled look. "Um...dinner's ready..." Darry eyes us before quickly disappearing into the kitchen.
I sigh and stop laughing finally, heading into the kitchen for dinner. Elena, Johnny, and Soda are hot on my tail.
When we get to the kitchen table we all sit as Darry pulls up another chair for Johnny. We start to eat in silence, the only sound our knives and forks scraping the plates as we slice and eat the delicious chicken dinner that Darry has made for us.
After a moment, Darry decides to break the silence. "Johnny...Elena told me what happened to you today, as well as recently. I'm sorry that we couldn't help you out earlier, Johnnycakes. You can stay with us as long as you need to, savvy?"
"Yes. Thanks a lot, Dar. I appreciate it." Johnny says.
What the hell happened to him?
"No problem, buddy. You are practically family." Darry replies in a soft tone. Man, I wish he would use that tone with me more often instead of just hollering at me all the time.
Soda and I look pointedly over at Elena and Johnny, who happen to be sitting side by side. We both smirk and Elena blushes, while Johnny decides to study his piece of chicken.
Darry looks at us, confused once more. "Is there something that I should know?"
"Nah," I shake my head. "Never mind, it's just a joke from school that's all..."
"Oh really?"
"Um..."
"Yeah!" Elena breaks in, proceeding to tell a very made up story about something we had overheard at school. According to Elena, some Soc had said that this girl was practically like family too him, but then she said that she hated him and never spoke to him again after that.
Apparently, Darry bought it and we continued to eat our dinner, whilst chatting happily.
A/N: So, the chapter was a little bit longer this time, I hope you guys liked that. As always, please leave a comment telling me what you think. The next update should be up in a couple of days! Until then! -Ella. :)