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They’d all been hanging out at the Curtis’ house when they heard screaming. At first, no one could make out the words and none of it made sense to anyone and all of them thought it was somebody else. They didn’t live in a wealthy neighborhood. People got jumped often and even if they weren’t getting jumped, they were being beaten by their own families. The East side wasn’t a happy place to live.
But then they recognized the tone and one of the words and they all knew immediately.
Ponyboy had gone to the movies by himself and it all dawned on them just then when they heard that one word shouted: “Darry!”
Everyone jumped up at once and ran out the door. Johnny was the last one out the door. He could tell from the scuffle behind the house that it was a fight. He fought for the gang in rumbles and if they were in trouble, but he hated fighting. He hated the fear of it. He hated everything involved and sometimes, even if he knew he had to, he froze and he couldn’t fight at all.
They all ran out the door, around the house to the backyard.
Soda, Two-Bit, Steve, and Dally ran at the red Cadillac as the Socs who owned it darted back inside. The boys reached through the windows, trying to throttle the occupants or get some sort of retribution for their friend who was lying in the dirt.
Johnny’s eyes darted to Ponyboy and his eyes widened when he saw blood. His eyes went back to the red Cadillac, now driving away, the occupants shouting obscenities at the gang left behind.
Jumped, he thought, seeing Ponyboy on the ground, tears running from his eyes, blood running from a cut in his neck. He blinked and saw a different car, a different patch of grass, a different day. Or, rather, night. His knees nearly buckled and he felt his eyes glaze over as he took a sharp breath, the tendons in his neck stretching as Darry touched his arm and ran past him to Ponyboy on the ground.
“Johnny.”
He blinked and saw Two-Bit standing next to him. He blinked again and realized he was sitting on the Curtis’ back stoop. How had he gotten from standing behind the row of bushes that led to the street to here? He didn’t remember moving.
“You okay?” Two-Bit asked. Two-Bit joked and laughed with everyone, but Johnny he took care of. Everyone in the gang took care of him, but Two-Bit and Dally especially.
Johnny swallowed and nodded, though he could tell Two-Bit didn’t believe him even when he said, “Yeah. I’m fine.”