Chapter Text
He was flying. Well, not literally of course but Ponyboy Curtis really felt like if his legs went any faster he would lift right off of the ground and never come back. Hearing the panting and thundering of feet behind him, Ponyboy pushed harder, giving completely into the freedom his adrenaline gave him. In that moment, nothing else mattered but him, the track, and the white line a few feet in front of him. Just a little further, just a little-
“6:36! Nice Curtis, real nice! Keep up those times until spring and we’ll make a state champion out of you yet,” Coach Masters clapped Pony on the shoulder, as the greaser bent over to catch his breath. Man, he really should lighten up on the smoking. Maybe then he’d feel like he could actually breathe after running the mile. As he stood up, he shot Coach a grin and stretched a little while the team all fell into place behind him. Before he could respond, Pony stumbled forward, sucking in a breath as something rammed into his shoulder.
“David! Watch where you’re going! I don’t want any injuries this early in the year!” coach barked. David held up his hands, his hazel eyes widening despite the smirk that sat on his lips. Having skipped a grade, Pony was set to be the youngest on the team, and a lot of the older soc’s were pissed he was prepping to make varsity not only as a freshman, but as the youngest person in his class. And, of course, the fact he was greaser. That was probably why they felt insistent on continuing to target him, honestly. David in particular really had it out for Pony, too.
“Sorry coach! But the kid should’ve moved off the track when he was done.” David shrugged, pushing brown curls off of his sweat soaked forehead. Pony bit his cheek to avoid making the comment that was ready to slip out of his lips, but still rolled his eyes. Looking between the two, their coach shook his head, sighing, and started rounding up the potential varsity members to talk about the fall conditioning schedule before the official winter try out season.
Pony’s mind wandered as he waited for his coach to finish addressing the group so he could head back home. All day he had been itchin’ to get home and now that it was so close he could hardly stand it.
Now, normally Pony enjoyed school, especially track, but today wasn’t normal. He’d felt uneasy all day. For some reason none of the gang had popped up in the Curtis house this morning which was weird in itself. On top of that, both Darry and Soda were irritable all morning. Soda woke up in a mood and barely spoke a word all morning, which was so unlike his big brother. Sodapop thrived off of making others happy and joking around, constantly bursting with energy. Even in the morning, Soda was usually cracking jokes and running around like a tornado trying to get ready so he didn’t miss his ride to work with Darry. For once, Sodapop was quiet, sluggish, and even snapped when Darry asked him a question. That’s what threw Ponyboy off the most, he thinks. His older brother was just off today, and Soda was never off. Soda was always just… Soda. Glory, he can’t remember the last time Soda had gotten mad at someone, and today he was just mad at everything. It was unnerving.
Darry hadn’t been much different than any other morning, but even he seemed tenser than normal, ushering Pony out the door as soon as Steve’s car horn had blared. On the best day, Pony and Steve didn’t get along, but this morning, even Soda’s best buddy wasn’t acting right. Steve about bit his head off for trying to change the radio station. All in all, today was just weird, and Pony was ready for it to be over.
Lost in thought, Ponyboy didn’t realize that his coach had dismissed them until one of David’s pals shoulder checked him and laughed as he stumbled back in surprise. The blond soc was still laughing as he caught up with his buddies who were smirking back at Ponyboy as if daring him to say something. David watched at the head of the group, a mix of disgust and amusement clouding on his face as he looked back at Pony.
“Not so fast when you’re off the track, huh grease?” he snorted. Ponyboy stiffened, not wanting to start a fight without backup there to help him. But, he wasn’t about to let these guys think he was scared of them. He was a greaser and greasers were meant to be tough. Pony thought of how Dally always came off, cool but somehow ready to let his fists fly at the drop of a dime. Dallas wasn’t someone Darry wanted Pony looking up to, but Pony just couldn’t help it. but he was tough and tuff. Nothing could touch Dallas Winston. So, he found himself trying to channel that look Dallas alway wore the best he could and hoped he didn’t look too silly.
“Maybe you’d be able to keep up with me if you stopped sitting in your mustangs all the time and actually came to practice when you’re supposed to,” Pony said, shoving his hands into his pockets like Dallas liked to. The Socs stopped walking at that and turned around fully to look at him, unimpressed. David stepped forward, shoving Pony back a step so he stumbled as he tried to maintain his balance.
‘Damn-it’ Pony thought, ‘Darry is gonna skin me if I come home lookin’ beat up’
“Not so tough without your guard dogs, are you? I’ll let you off easy this time grease, just cause I’ve got places to be. Now keep your mouth shut next time and we won’t have a problem, savvy? Or else I might just have to give you a haircut,” he snarled. Pony stiffened as he made eye contact with the guy. His eyes that were always a muddy hazel color flashed an eerie shade of gold that made Ponyboy’s hair stand up on end. Pony swallowed. What the heck had he gotten himself into? Noticing his lack of response, the blonde Pony could never remember the name of took a step forward to join his buddy. When he finally nodded, the blonde slung an arm around David’s shoulder, laughing. David looked him over one more time silently, before snorting to himself as he turned away. Pony loosed a breath, shoulders sagging as they walked away. He decided to wait a beat before following, wanting to give the group a head start. Greasers had been getting jumped a ton lately, and he didn’t know if they were looking for trouble on a Friday night. A couple of months ago, Johnny had gotten jumped and had a couple of tuff scars to show for it. Even still, he hadn’t been the same since.
Figuring it was safe enough after a minute, Ponboy followed them out of the gate of the track, splitting off towards the east side once he got out of the school parking lot. Silently fuming, he replayed the moment in his head. One thing stuck out to him in particular. Guard dogs? He didn’t need the gang, he could take care of himself just fine. Even if he was the youngest, he could outrun any trouble he needed to, and he could hold his own in a fight well enough. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his buddies, but he hated being babied just because he was the youngest. Even more than that, he hated people implying that he needed the gang to get by. And the gang sure as hell didn’t need him that much. The only reason most of them tolerated him was because he was Darry and Soda’s kid brother.
Johnny felt like the only exception to that rule. Even though he was still 16 like Soda, Johnny still felt closer to Ponyboy’s age than he was. The two just got each other in a way no one else in the gang could understand. It pissed Dally off to no end when they communicated with just a look, but it was easier than words sometimes. Johnny just knew him. And he knew Johnny. He wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the gang felt like he was a tag-along. He knew Steve did, the older greaser didn’t really try to hide the fact. Dally only really cared for Johnny, so he put up with Pony by default. Two-Bit seemed to like Pony well enough, but even he had to get annoyed with having to pal around with a 14 year old sometimes. If Two-Bit could get annoyed at all, that is. While greasers were on the outs, the gang always had each other to lean on. He knew they’d always have his back in a fight, but it felt more out of obligation than anything else sometimes.
Dwelling on this train of thought, Pony made it home in no time, only to see Darry’s truck already in the driveway. That was odd, Darry usually never made it home before him. Ponyboy bounded up the stairs to the porch only to be greeted by his oldest brother flinging open the door and pulling him inside by his shoulder. He blinked, confused. Was something wrong? Why was Darry so frazzled? He didn’t think the state was supposed to pop by anytime soon. Was Soda okay? Did someone get jumped?
“Ponyboy, there you are. I’ve gotta run kiddo, but I just wanted to make sure you made it home so I could let ya know that you’re probably gonna be home by yourself tonight. I want you to stay in and do your homework, don’t go anywhere, ya dig? There's some stuff goin’ on that I don’t want you mixed up in,” Darry stressed, keeping a hold on Pony’s shoulders, shaking him slightly. He hated when Darry was rough with him like that.
As he opened his mouth to argue, he could feel Darry’s fingers dig into his shoulder just a little tighter, his brows furrowing as if ready to shut down any argument he could think up. His mind spun, but Ponyboy nodded reluctantly, and Darry sighed in relief, dropping his arms in relief.
“I dig ya, Dar. But what’s goin on? Is there a rumble or somethin’? You know I can handle myself. If the guys are goin’, I wanna go too” Pony prodded as his brother grabbed his jacket and started out the door. Darry paused for a second, before turning back to give Ponyboy a strained smile and ruffle his hair.
“Naw, it’s nothing like that,” Darry explained. “Just something you don’t need to worry about right now. I’ll see you when we get home. Leave your homework out so I can check it when I get back, okay?” Without waiting for a response this time, Darry took off, leaving Ponyboy by himself in the Curtis house for the first time in what seemed like ages.
Pony heated himself up some dinner that Darry left in the fridge, trying his best not to get upset with the fact that he was left alone on what felt like house arrest. And it was Friday! Usually at least Two-Bit and Steve stop by before going to whatever plans they had, but the house remained quiet. Resigning himself to his fate, Ponboy did his homework before going up to his and Soda’s room to relax and read. He figured if he stayed up long enough, he could catch someone coming in and get some answers as to what had everyone so riled up today, and why he was stuck here alone all night. That plan didn’t last long. A few paragraphs in, he was asleep, the book falling out of his hand and causing a resounding thump to ring out in the silent house. It stayed that way for the rest of the night.
Well, at least until Ponyboy shot up mid scream from a dream he couldn’t remember. He’s had these nightmares since his parents died a year ago, and he could never remember them. It’s why he and Soda shared a room now, even though they both had their own space.
All he could hear was his heartbeat thundering in his chest. All he could see was the darkness of his room shrinking in on him, making the room smaller and smaller. All he could feel was the empty side of the bed beside him and he was alone, and then suddenly that's all he could think about. He was alone. Alone. Alonealonealonealonealonealonehisparentsandhisbrothersandhisfriendsalllefthimalonehewasalwaysgonnabeal-. Suddenly, his ears latched onto a high pitched sound, startling him back into himself. Something was… whining? Was that him? The whine was soft and far away sounding, seemingly getting more impatient by the second. Wait, since when could he make a sound like that? That’s when Pony realized he wasn’t making that noise. The whining was coming from outside- at the front door. Something was on their porch. Great, just great.
Grabbing Soda’s switch off the nightstand, he made his way out of the bedroom on shaky legs. As he crept closer to the door, he swore he could hear low pitched growls and a few barks further away from the house. He couldn’t think of any houses nearby that had dogs, most people in the neighborhood couldn’t afford them. So what in the world was making all the racket outside? Another quick, high pitched whine followed by a scratch on the door made Ponyboy make up his mind. He needed to know what was going on out there.
Pony felt his heart beating as he made his way to the front door. He could do this, what’s the worst thing that could happen? He lets a raccoon into the house? Oh glory, please don’t let a raccoon come into the house. Darry would actually kill him and there would be nothing Soda could do to stop him. Taking a breath, Pony flung open the screen door. Quick as lightning, a flash of dark gold rushed around the corner of the house, illuminated by the silver lighting of the full moon. Looking around, Pony couldn’t see anything else unusual. Letting out a heavy sigh, he padded back into the living room to grab a pack of Kools before lowering himself down onto the steps. Man, did he need a smoke, his hands were shaking. Taking a drag, Ponyboy let his eyes slide shut for a moment. Finally, he felt his heart beat start to slow down for the first time since waking up. He absentmindedly flicked the switch he found open and shut again, his body still buzzing from the adrenaline of not only his nightmare, but whatever had been snooping around on his porch.
Unbeknownst to him, across the street a set of blazing ice blue eyes watched on as a golden figure slunk back around the corner, freezing when it saw him sitting there. A flash of rust collided with the gold, and two of the largest dogs Ponyboy Curtis had ever seen went tumbling into their front yard. Startled, Pony jumped as the sound of playful yips and snarls sounded from the two and he watched on with wide eyes.
‘Well,’ he snorted to himself silently, ‘that would explain the whining’.
As the two animals sprung apart, he had the sudden urge to jump up and grab his sketchbook. For some reason he felt drawn to the two animals, and man would they be fun to sketch out. The first dog was taller than any creature had a right to be. It was thin, but you could clearly see the powerful muscles through waves of sunshine gold fur. The energy he had was palpable as he shifted his weight, tail wagging in a manner that led Pony to believe he wasn’t even aware he was doing it. Playful brown eyes snapped towards him, sparkling in contrast with the bright light of the moon.
The other dog was a little shorter and a little stockier, with thick red rust fur filling out the muscles on his frame. Looking at him, Pony had a hard time picturing the dog being anything but jovial, with grey eyes that shined with mischief. He was still bent at an angle, seemingly tempting the other dog to try to pounce on him. The golden dog stayed angled towards him though, head tilted in a way that looked like he was analyzing Pony. Pony’s mouth quirked up in a grin and the dog took a hesitant step towards him, looking back at his friend for a second, seemingly unsure of himself for the first time since he had barreled his way into the Curtises front yard. Before he could do anything else though, his friend pounced once again, and the two were soon playfully wrestling again. Pony watched on in amusement, taking another drag of the weed in his hand, when something suddenly snatched the switch out of his other hand. A cold nose brushed his wrist, making him jump for what felt like the thousandth time that day, and the blade disappeared somewhere into the grass while two unimpressed blue eyes almost glared into his own green-grey eyes.
If Ponyboy hadn’t just woken up from a dream, he could’ve sworn he was still in one. Another dog, if you could even call them that, stood in front of him with the most human-like eyes he’d ever seen. Somewhere in the back of his mind, alarms were screaming with a familiar type of danger, like when he hung out with Curly Shepard or Dallas. But he honestly really couldn’t find it in himself to feel any sort of fear. This one looked more like a wolf than a dog, and glancing back at the other two still rolling around, he guessed they kind of did too. This one had light blue eyes that blazed with a fire in them, contrasting the relaxed way he stood. There was no hint of the playful nature the other two dogs (wolves) shared. He seemed almost aloof, but still watched Ponyboy warrily. He stood at the tallest of the three, with striking light blonde fur that towed the line of being pure white. And if he thought the other two would be fun to draw for their pure energy, he needed to put those blue eyes in his sketch pad. There was something tough about this dog and Pony felt the need to memorialize it on paper
“What the hell?” Ponyboy muttered, trying to scan the grass for the lost switch. The dog huffed, stretching out and watching Pony lazily. When he tried to reach his hand out to touch the light fur, the dog flinched back for a second, before tentatively letting Ponyboy scratch him behind the ears. Blue eyes slipped closed, and he unconsciously leaned into the touch. Pony grinned again.
“See? I ain’t gonna hurt ya,” Pony said softly. “Where’d you guys come from, huh? I ain’t seen any dogs around here in a while, and Darry would kill me if I tried to keep ya. You’re a pretty tuff looking dog though, huh? Even if you did lose Soda’s switch.” The dog snorted, cracking one eye open to look at him before shaking him off entirely. He suddenly stiffened and growled out at the other two who were watching them with similar, almost amused, expressions.
Snuffing his cigarette out on the step and stamping on it, Pony stood slowly so as not to startle whatever was happening between the dogs. Man was he tired. The dog on his porch padded down the stairs softly to greet what Pony assumed were his friends after nudging Ponyboy towards the door with his pink nose. Before entering his house, Pony glanced back one more time, but all three dogs were gone. Even so, Ponyboy suddenly wasn’t worried about being alone anymore.