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“PONYBOY PASS!” shouted Two-bit, flailing his arms around wildly in the air in hopes to catch Pony’s attention.
“You're not open!” Ponyboy responded back, giggling and clutching their old football in his hands. Two-bit was, in fact, not open for both Steve and Johnny were in front of him. Instead, Pony attempted to run to their end zone but was quickly stopped when Johnny came in and tackled him to the ground.
They were in the Curtis's front yard playing an intense game of football. School was off that day and the weather was perfect for playing outside. Sodapop and Darry were both at work and Dallas was in the cooler, so it was just the four of them. They quickly established teams, with Johnny and Steve being team Chocolate Cake and Two-bit and Pony being team Awesome (Two-bit chose the name).
“Here Pony, catch!” Two-bit exclaimed, hurling the ball at Pony.
As soon as the ball went into his hands, Steve came barreling towards him. However, Ponyboy was too fast for him, thanks to his track experience. Pony easily ran to the end zone, scoring a touchdown for him and Two-bit.
“LETS GO!! A POINT FOR TEAM AWESOME!” Two-bit cheered, running over and slinging an arm around Pony.
Pony laughed and dodged away when Two-bit tried to ruffle his hair.
“Damn Pony, you sure are fast!” Johnny said, making Pony’s ears turn red.
“Johnny’s right kid. Can I get your autograph?” Two-bit added.
“Thanks guys,” Ponyboy beamed. “And no, Two-bit. Last time you got my autograph you tried to get a tattoo of it and Darry nearly skinned you.”
“You should’ve seen the look on Superman's face!” Two-bit wheezed, nearly falling over.
Steve came over and sent a glare at Ponyboy, not happy that the younger greaser had out ran him.
“Shut up, Two-bit. C’mon Johnny, we’ll get ‘em this time,” Steve muttered and he and Johnny made their way back to their side of the field. The game quickly restarted with Johnny having possession of the ball. He went to pass it to Steve, but not before a lightning fast blur came and intercepted it.
“Too slow Johnnycakes!” Two-bit snickered.
He put his arm back and threw the ball in a beautiful ark straight towards Ponyboy. Pony lifted his hands up in the perfect position to catch the spiraling figure.
He loved days like this. He could feel the warm sun on face, his shoes firmly planted on the ground, the cool wind blowing through his greased up hair, and the tip of his fingers on the smooth, leather, ball-
WHAM
Pony felt a strong force barrel into his side, knocking the wind out of him and making him fall to the ground. His head hit the ground hard, his ears immediately starting to ring and his sight dotting with stars. He fought as hard as he could to resist the blackness obscuring the edge of his vision. He tried to push himself up but an agonizing, sharp pain came from his side, making him fall back down with a grunt.
Somewhere in his daze he thought he heard Steve say, "Split tits, new hood?" but it was muddled and that couldn't be right, why would Steve say that? Deciding to ignore this thought and defend himself Pony responded, "H-hey, I'm...more'v a ...h-hood tha' you!" He tried to make it sound angry, but his words jumbled and slurred together.
"Wha...? I asked, shit kid you good?" Steve repeated himself, and if his vision wasn't blurred, Pony would have sworn he saw Steve's eyebrows knot together with worry.
Somewhere from his right someone shouted, “Pony!” He tried to move his head towards the voice but immediately regretted doing so as his head exploded in pain. He groaned and closed his eyes.
"Hey kid, take it easy. What hurts?" the voice, now next to him, said, laced with concern. Even when up close, the words sounded distant.
He tried to focus on what hurt the most, but his mind felt gloopy. Like he was trying to chase one thought, but it ran away right before he could reach it. His thoughts felt like a puzzle, but only if you couldn't see the colors- disoriented and lost.
"Kid?" the voice prodded.
He finally just settled with, “ev’rythin.’”
"C'mon, open your eyes Pony," the voice responded, sounding more urgent.
“Two, he’s bleeding from his head,” another voice said shakily, eyes wide.
Ponyboy finally found the strength to slowly open his lids, the action taking too much power for something so simple, and immediately regretted it when the bright light made his head ache even more. He reached up with a hand to touch his head to find out if he was actually bleeding, and was surprised when he felt liquid running down his fingers when he drew his hand back.
He glanced up and his gaze landed on somebody with dark skin and black, heavily greased hair- Johnny. He tried to smile up at his best friend but it turned out to be more like a grimace. In return, Johnny offered a little wave, but quickly lowered his hand as he decided against it. Ponyboy looked over to the figure next to him. This one had greased up rust colored hair and long side burns. He had grey eyes- stormy colored, but behind that, a little bit of mischief. Who is this? He wondered, searching his brain for a name but failing. Pony's gaze drifted down to the shirt he was wearing. On it was Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse...OH!
"T-two-bit!" Pony giggled, proud that he figured out who the person was. "I...knew it wa' you!"
“Alright, enough playing around,” Steve butted in. “How many fingers am I holding up, kid?” He raised two fingers in front of Pony’s face.
Ponyboy tried to concentrate really hard, forcing his eyes to focus on Steve's fingers. “Four!” he confidently said.
Two-bit let out a sigh. "Not quite, kid."
He bent down and urgently yet carefully lifted Pony’s shirt. Pony bit back a grimace when his knuckles brushed his ribs.
Steve and Johnny joined Two-bit in inspecting his side, all of them wide eyed.
Two-bit whistled. "Woo-wee Steve, you really got him. Superman is not gonna be happy when he finds out you roughed up his kid brother," he chuckled, slapping Steve on the back.
Steve just grimaced, already thinking about the very long lecture he was going to receive from Darry, however Pony couldn't help but notice how his face paled and how his eyes got wider when he saw his side. It probably was just his imagination though. Darry...he missed Darry. Darry would know what to do, he always knew what to do. Although he would probably yell at Pony too. He always yelled at Pony, for reasons he could never fathom. He never meant to do anything wrong, he just never used his head. Head... glory, his head hurt something awful.
"-Ony. Earth to Ponyboy."
"Huh?" Pony responded, coming out of his daze and blinking up at a grinning Two-bit.
"I said c'mon kid, lets get you inside the house." He reached down and put one of Ponyboy's arms around his neck. "Johnnycakes, stop just standing there and lookin' scared, help me out here man," Two-bit grunted, struggling under Pony's weight.
Johnny turned red but quickly ran over, placing Pony's other arm around his own neck.
Pony grunted with pain, his ribs and head heavily protesting the movement. Still, he tried to comfort his friend. "S'alright Johnny...d-don't need to be scared for me."
Johnny just gave a small smile, focused on the task of moving Pony to the couch.
"And Steve, don't just stand there like an idiot. You're the one that knocked him over, for Pete's sake! Get a first aid kit or somethin'," Two-bit grunted.
Steve muttered something inaudible, but Pony could just about feel his eyes roll.
It took a while, but finally, Two-bit and Johnny got Ponyboy to the couch and he immediately sank into the soft cushions. Glory, everything hurt. His head was pounding against his ears and his ribs were killing him. Anytime he would move, a sharp pain would rattle through his body.
Steve had come back with the first aid kit and Two-bit immediately got to work on cleaning the gash on Pony's head. It stung like a bitch, but Pony was too tired to protest. If he could just go to sleep...he started to close his eyes.
"Hey kid, don't go to sleep on me," Two-bit ordered, still concentrated on bandaging Pony's head.
"M' sorry," Pony replied half-heartedly.
And he tried, he really did, to feign sleep. But his eyes got heavier each second and keeping them open felt like the hardest task in the world. Going to sleep would be so much easier…maybe his head wouldn't be killing him as much. Eventually, his vision blurred and he just let the darkness consume him.
Two-bit was not meant to take care of people.
Sure, he was the second oldest in the gang, but Darry always took care of everyone. And sure, he had a kid sister, but his mom was always around to help.
It’s not that he didn’t care for his friends and family, he just wasn't really needed. He was the wisecracker of the group, the one who made people laugh and smile, the one who always had something to say.
But seeing the youngest of the gang get knocked to the ground and not get up sparked something inside of him.
He felt the urge to make sure that the kid was okay and taken care of. And he had made sure that happened. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he was starting to get pissed at Steve. Here Two-bit was, over here working his ass off trying to bandage Pony up and Steve was doing nothing. Hell, he hadn't even said sorry to the kid. Two-bit shoved those thoughts away as soon as Pony's eyes started to drift close. Sometimes, people with head injuries would go to sleep and not wake up.
"Hey kid, don't go to sleep on me," he urged, trying to hide the panic in his voice.
Ponyboy had responded softly, agreeing to not close his eyes.
However, a few minutes later Ponyboy was out like a light. Two-bit just sighed and went to inspect his ribs, carefully lifting up Pony’s shirt.
On his side were an ugly mix of blues and purples fading into his skin, right where Steve had rammed into him. Those were some bruised ribs- bad ones too. No wonder Pony was so out of it, those things hurt like a bitch.
"Damn, Steve! I thought you were dead before, but now it's confirmed, both Darry and Soda will dig up your grave and kill you all over again!" he cackled.
“Shut up, will ya!” Steve barked back.
Johnny came over and instantly assisted Two-bit.
Two-bit smiled. “Thanks, Johnnycake.”
Johnny grinned back. “No problem, man. Do you know how bad off Pony is?”
He shrugged. “I ain’t no doctor, but I'm pretty sure he's got a concussion and bruised ribs.”
Johnny nodded and hummed in response. “Bruised ribs are no joke. Have had a few myself.”
Two-bit had no doubt that this was true- Johnny’s old man beat on him all the time. This thought made Two-bits blood boil. It was so wrong. Johnny shouldn’t have to deal with that. He and Pony were both real good kids- too good for a town like Tulsa where parents beat on their kids for no reason and a soc was just waiting to jump you. Two-bit pushed these thoughts down, focusing on Pony.
They stayed like that for a while, him and Johnny getting Pony fixed up and Steve sitting glumly in the armchair. When they were finally finished, Two-bit and Johnny stood back to admire their handiwork. Ponyboy’s entire torso was covered in thick bandages, wrapping around his stomach. The side of his head had a huge piece of messily applied gauze. It was quite the sight to see.
Yep, Two-bit thought, a burst of pride swelling in his chest, I'm a natural at this taking care of people thing.
From there, the three did their own thing. Steve went to the kitchen to inhale a chocolate cake, Johnny stayed at Pony’s side on the couch but eventually fell asleep too, and Two-bit sat on the floor in front of the tv, deeply immersed in an episode of Mickey Mouse. The only sounds were the clatter of the fork in the kitchen, the muffled noise from the tv, and the soft breathing of the two kids on the couch. The time was creeping closer to the evening, so the sky was starting to get darker. A gentle breeze blew through the windows, making the temperature of the living room comfortable.
Two-bit glanced over at the couch once and saw Ponyboy’s green eyes staring at him.
He smiled. “Hey sleeping beauty, it's about time! I thought you would never wake up,” he chuckled.
Ponyboy tried to smile back but then grimaced, reaching his hand up to rub his head. He got that concentrated look on his face, the kind where his eyebrows furrowed and he licked his lips.
Finally, Pony said softly, "Thanks Two. For everythin’ today."
And Two-bits heart just about melted right there. He just grinned at the kid and for once, he had nothing to say.