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It had been a good day for Ponyboy so far. He had just seen one of the latest showings of Lawrence Of Arabia. It was a miracle that Darry had let Pony out this late, considering it was 9PM. He thought it was a great movie, though. He’d have to bring Johnny to the next showing.
He knew Johnny would love the movie. Even though Johnny wasn’t into movies and books as much as Pony, they had similar taste. It’d be hard for anyone to not like the movie. Pony had thought it a masterpiece. A loud, smooth voice broke him out of his thoughts.
It was the snobby sort of smooth. The kind where you could tell the person woke up in satin sheets and clean clothes. Where you could tell they didn’t have a single worry or care in the world. Where you could tell it was a Soc.
Ponyboy kept his eyes on his feet, forcing his battered sneakers to go faster.
He couldn’t get beat up today. If he got beat up, Darry’d think letting him out this late was a bad idea and Pony would be locked up in the house again. He couldn’t bear it. Well, that, and the pain that would come from a beating by the Socs.
Although they had all the money and the privilege, they still liked to play unfair, ganging up on singular greasers. Now, Ponyboy wouldn’t say they caused all the trouble around here. He was self-aware enough to know the greasers weren’t completely innocent in things, which was why he tried to stay quiet in these situations.
The wheels of the Mustang screeched on the grey road as the Socs slowly got out of the car, all wearing neat madras and khakis.
“Hey Grease! Nice day ain’t it?”, Yelled out one of the Socs. The Soc had blonde hair, much like Dally’s, except his eyes were brown.
Ponyboy decided on two options. He could keep on walking and act like he didn’t hear the Soc, or he could sprint for it. Oh what the hell, he’d have to be deaf to have not heard the Soc. Guess their loud voices were good for something.
Pony began to run. He could his his feet slamming down onto the sidewalk with every step, and soon he could hear the footsteps of the Socs behind him. He reckoned there were about 4, which was great running fuel. It didn’t prove to be enough, though, as one of the Socs slammed into him.
Ponyboy went tumbling onto the ground, unable to get back up due to the weight of the Soc on top of him.
“Get off me!” Yelled Ponyboy.
“I don’t think so, Grease.”, The Blonde Soc approached, looming over Pony. Ponyboy squirmed underneath the other Soc. “This is our turf, you hear?” He said, kicking Pony hard in the face, “No place for a dirty Greaser like you.”
Another kick came, this time on the side of his head. The Soc on top of him moved to hold him down from the side instead, another Soc doing the same. The Blonde began slugging him, alternating between his face and his stomach. Ponyboy had the drifting thought that this guy was the leader of his Soc gang, if the Socs even had gangs.
Blood spewed from his nose by the third punch, staining both his shirt and the Soc’s knuckles. A throbbing pain radiated from his nose, making Pony groan. The Socs hollered out insults at him, calling him dirty, disgusting, a surprising amount of words for Socs to know, thought Ponyboy.
The pain turned into a numbing pressure, affecting most of his body. Pony was just waiting for this to end. He never understood the appeal of beating somebody. Sure, it gave you a rush, but he felt it’d turn cruel pretty quick.
As much as he wanted this to end, he wasn’t excited to go home and face Darry. He knew what he’d hear. That he wasnt using his head. It was Darry’s favorite thing to say to Pony. It made Ponyboy feel small and stupid, like he wasn’t capable of anything.
Suddenly, he heard a snap, followed by a blinding pain in his arm. He barely registered all the screaming was coming from him before his eyes fluttered shut.
~---`^’---~
The first thing Pony realized when he woke up was that his arm was broken. The second thing was that he was being carried. He didn’t know who it was, since his vision was still a little blurry from waking up, one of his eyes was swollen shut, in fact.
“You awake Pony?”, A gruff voice asked. Ponyboy recognized the voice as Dally’s. He angled his head up, his green eyes meeting Dally’s blue ones. Pony gave a small nod, the small movement making him wince. A particularly rough step jostled the younger boy’s broken arm. He gasped in pain, tears stinging his eyes.
“Shit, sorry. Fuckin’ Socs did a number on ya.”, Muttered Dally, thankfully softening his steps.
Pony nuzzled his face into Dally’s jacket to hide his teary eyes. He couldn’t tell if that was more embarrassing than crying, but he was too injured to care. Dally didn’t seem to notice, or he didn’t mention it if he did, which Ponyboy appreciated.
Pony tried to speak after a bit of silence, his voice pathetically quiet and scratchy.
“What time is it?”, He knew it was a bit after 9:00 when he finished the movie, so it must be pretty late right now. Darry was gonna kill him. Sodapop might too, from the worry.
“Close to 1:00. What were you doin’ out so late, huh? You would’ve died if I hadn’t found you.”, Dally glared at Ponyboy. Pony thought he saw a flicker of worry in Dally’s eyes, but he ignored it. He had assumed Dally was just annoyed he had to bring Pony back to the Curtis house.
“Watchin’ a movie.”, Ponyboy answered, cringing at his voice. Dally stared at him with a look he couldn’t recognize before muttering “Dumb fuck.” under his breath. Pony’s eyes stung with tears again, and he hid his face again.
~---`^’---~
Dally and Ponyboy neared the Curtis house. Pony internally groaned as he noticed all the lights were on inside the house. Darry and Soda were definitely up, and Darry was definitely angry. How could he not be? Pony was coming home at 1AM with a broken arm, just the perfect recipe for Pony to be taken to a Boy’s Home. Oh. Right.
All of Pony’s dread had dissipated(Not completely) into crushing guilt. Darry was probably worried, not mad. God, how could he be so stupid. Darry was probably drowning in worry right now, not to mention Soda.
It must’ve shown on Pony’s face, because Dally had said “This ain’t on you, Pones. It’s on them damn Socs.”
It surprised Pony, how nice Dally was right now. Well– as nice he could be. He knew Dally wasn’t completely heartless, but he sure acted like it. That was Dally for you.
Pony didn’t have enough time to dwell on it before the front door of his house slammed open, Soda rushing out with Darry trailing behind him. Ponyboy and Dally hadn’t even gotten close enough to ring the doorbell.
“Honey! Oh, honey what happened?” Asked Soda the second he got close, his expression turning horrified as he took in the state of Pony.
Ponyboy wondered what he looked like right now. He knew his clothes were stained with blood, a lot of blood, and that his arm was twisted the wrong way, hanging limply. He probably looked like he belonged in a crime scene.
“Dally, what happened?” Said Darry, his voice concerned but firm.
“Socs beat him up. Found him passed out on the sidewalk.”
“Get him inside” Motioned Darry.
Dally walked Pony into the house, setting him onto the couch. Dally’s jacket was stained with Pony’s blood.
“Soda, go get me a cloth and some bandages.” Said Darry, sitting down next to Ponyboy. That earlier guilt hit Pony ten-fold now, the tears in his eyes finally falling. They streaked through the blood on his face, making visible marks. Darry noticed, and he began to softly stroke Ponyboy’s hair softly
“Baby, what’s wrong?” Pony's face crumpled. His bottom lip quivered as sobs fell out of his mouth.
“M’ sorry Darry. M’ real sorry.”
“What? Baby, don’t apologize. This ain’t your fault.” Darry gathered Pony into his arms, making sure not to move his broken arm too much. Darry’s hand rested at the nape of the younger boy’s head, gently stroking with his thumb. Ponyboy sobbed into Darry’s shoulder.
Dally looked away awkwardly. He didn’t know how to deal with crying people.
~---`^’---~
Pony was in bed with Soda right now. Sodapop and Darry had patched Ponyboy up and told him to take a shower. Everyone agreed it’d be better to go to the hospital for his arm tomorrow, considering the time. Dally never left, instead sleeping on the couch in the Curtis living room.
Pony was cuddled up to Soda, his head buried in Soda’s chest. Sodapop had an arm around Ponyboy’s waist, gently squeezing him every now and then.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Pones.” Whispered Soda. Pony nodded into his chest, his unbruised eye half-lidded and tired. Soda kissed Ponyboy’s auburn hair, wet from his earlier shower.
For now, Pony was just happy to go to sleep.