He wasn't really put off at the beginning of the school year.

Ponyboy knows seeing some Greaser among a class full of Socs would be weird to some, especially in classes with smart kids. So when he saw you starin' doe-eyed at the edge of the chemistry class curiously, he brushed it off, assuming you were just surprised, and then he went on with his day.

…And then, for weeks on end, you wouldn’t stop oglin' him.

You’d try to be sneaky about it, peering your eyes around at him instead of the teacher, googly-eyed, yanking your head around when he'd finally look your way. Pony figured it was to the point you didn't even pay attention to Mr. Clifton's class from how you'd barely even get the right answers from being in your own little world.

It wasn't like he didn't try to get help, either; when he told Soda and the gang about it, they teased him damn relentlessly, sayin' over and over again that Pony was getting his own little sweetheart. And it definitely did not help that the following morning, you were assigned to him as his lab partner for the week.

"Hey," Pony said, hoping it didn't show you flustered him. "You doin' anythin' after school? Thought we could get started on the project."