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“Pony!! Downstairs now,” Darry called out, “Steve will be here any second to pick you up for school.”
Pony groaned and lifted herself out of bed and moved to her dresser. She sighed as she flipped through soda’s boyish hand-me-downs and the few dresses she owns from her mom. Pony loves her family, she really does, but sometimes she wishes that she could have more traditionally feminine things. Darry refuses to buy her makeup because he thinks that boys won’t be able to handle themselves around her if she even gets a touch more pretty.
Pony decides to spice things up and picks out a pretty blue shirtwaist dress. It was a birthday present from their mom who knew her baby girl needed more dresses. Pony slipped socks onto her feet and picked out a pair of glossy black mary-janes. She looked like one of those dolls that soc girls get when they’re little.
She made her way downstairs, and grabbed her lunch box. Darry was on the couch reading the newspaper, relaxing for a few moments before heading off to go roof houses.
“Bye Darry, love you!” Pony called out to him, causing him to look up from the news and grunt out a distorted “love you too,” back.
Pony hopped into Steve’s car and smiled. She had a very good feeling about today, which was rare because she rarely had happy days after her parents died less than 4 months ago. She still missed her mom and felt the emptiness of all the stuff she used to do for her, but she needed to be strong and work hard. Pony knows her dad and mom wouldn’t want her to be sad and miserable forever.
She felt pretty in her dress, like really pretty. She had never worn it to school or open for that matter. Her mother bought her the dress a week before she had died, after Pony was so sad she couldn’t bear the thought of wearing it without her mom there to see it. The dress was tight but not too tight, it hugged her chest just right and made her figure seem less boxy then it actually was. From far away it looked more modest but then with closer looks you saw the dropped neckline and tighter top and looser bottom.
Pony felt like a million bucks walking into school at having socy boys, who would have never looked at her if she were wearing her normal outfits, stare at her like she was Elizabeth Taylor. Steve and Two-bit shot her glances, they were trying to determine if this new look would cause her trouble from boys or be okay. Steve wasn’t happy with all the looks she was getting, he knew those boys were horrible womanizers and didn’t want them staring at Pony like that.
After school ended Pony made her way to her locker, she had forgotten her math binder and she needed that to study for her math test on Wednesday. She quickly found the binder sitting on top of an old book she’s been meaning to read but never got the chance to finish. As she was closing her locking a hand came out and shoved her locker door closed with a sharp band. The hand was decked with 5 or more rings, all of which looked sharp.
Pony quickly turned her head only to be met with the face of Bob Sheldon who was just inches from her.
“Didn’t know a greaser could clean up this good.” He hummed out, Pony could smell the disgusting alcohol on his breath. “Might have to take you for a ride.”
“No thank you.”
“Come on, baby. You know it would be fun.”
Pony tensed up and quickly looked around to see everyone minding their business. She felt a hand on her shoulder, it was the familiar presence of Johnny Cade. Johnny was pale, he looked like he just stared down the devil, Johnny tugged at Pony to get her closer to him and father from Pony.
“Come on, Pony,” Johnny muttered, “Steve’s in the car and he’ll get mad if you take too long.” Pony was forever thankful for Johnny at that moment, Bob stood up straighter and stared at Johnny with pure hate. Bob had a knack for jumping greasers so it’s not like the stare was unexpected.
“Watch yourself, Cade. I heard a bunch of greasers have been getting jumped” Bob's voice was cold and full of hate. It made Pony shiver and hold onto tighter to Johnny’s arm.
Johnny and Pony quickly made their way to Steve’s car who was arguing with Two-bit about keeping his feet off the dashboard. The argument was quickly hushed when Pony and Johnny slipped into the car. Moments later, Steve started the car, Two-bit and Steve were giving each looks the entire time and occasionally would look behind to look at Pony.
“So Pony, that’s a nice outfit you got on there.” Steve started.
“Thanks…”
“You know, I saw a bunch of boys stare at you today. I'm sure Darry and Soda won’t be too happy about that.” Pony’s face paled at Steve’s remark. She now knew what he was getting at.
“It’s my fault they can’t keep their eyes to themselves.” She stated flatly, there was no variation in her tone.
“They would be able to keep their eyes down if you didn’t dress like that.”
“Steve, calm down.” Twobit whispered to Steve.
Johnny gave Pony an apologetic look, he knew she was mad. Pony had got annoyed with Darry breathing down her neck at everything but Steve wasn’t her brother and definitely was not in charge of how she dressed. She was already tired from her day and didn’t want to argue no more. She stared at the window watching the houses go from nice and proper to older and rundown as they got deeper into the east side.
Steve started up again as they pulled into the Curtis house driveway. He went on about how far he knew those boys would go and how the gang wasn’t in the smart classes like her and they couldn’t protect her every second of the day and she needed to take her own protection in her hands.
She’s pissed, she gets up and slams the car door. She quickly stomps into the house making a beeline for her room. Johnny silently goes inside with her but knows better than to go into her room while she’s mad.
Twobit looks at Steve who’s resting his head on the stirring wheel of his car. “She’s gonna get hurt.” Steve states.
“I know, but you can’t get mad like that.” Twobit replied, “Should have just told Darry or soda before blowing up like that.”
Steve just nodded and let Two-bit out the car.
Later that night, Soda came home from his shift at the DX all smiles and quickly lost that expression as he felt the tension of the house. Johnny was sitting by Pony’s door and Two-bit was on the couch eating their food.
Soda made his way to Pony’s door and knocked a couple of times.
“Baby? What’s wrong?”
Pony relaxed as she heard Soda’s voice, she jumped up from her bed and made her way to the door and opened it to reveal to soda her tearstreaked face and a fresh nightgown she was wearing.
Soda’s face softened and Johnny sat up from where he was sitting. He saw how private the scene was and quickly went to the living room to sit with Two-bit.
“What happened?” Soda asked, his voice dripping with love and concern.
Pony sniffled and whined, “It’s nothing I’m just being sensitive…”
“No, what happened. Pony, was it a boy?” She nodded and wiped her tears with the crook of her hand.
“Ok ok, was it a soc boy.” She shakes her head
“A greaser?’ she nods
“Was it Curly Shepard?” Soda’s expression darkens and his fist clenches.
“No, no, stop it soda, not everything awful that happens is curly’s fault.” Pony whined out, she would have been embarrassed if she did this in front of any other person.
“alright calm down, was it…” Soda paused, “Pony I gotta admit I don’t know who else it could be?’
Pony sniffled, casting his eyes to the floor to the ground before muttering a soft “Steve…”
Soda’s face hardened, he knew Pony and Steve didn’t always see eye to eye, but he hoped this wasn't anything serious. “What happened, baby…” He softened his voice.
“I don’t want to talk about it..” Pony pleaded.
“Pony. Please I need to know what’s bothering ya. Ya can’t stay in your room all night!”
Pony’s face gets all red and angry, she slams the door and yells back, “watch me!!”
She didn’t normally yell at anyone, especially not to Soda, but he was pushing her to talk even though she had already said no. She didn’t understand why she was getting mad at every little thing, she wasn’t normally like this. Not often but some days Pony wished she had maybe just had a sister, it would be so much easier to talk to her and she’d finally be able to relax about her woman “issues.”
Soda sighed then rested his head against Pony's closed door. He made his way to the living room where Steve, Two-bit, and Johnny were sat watching TV and enjoying the free reign of the kitchen food.
“Hey Soda!” Two-bit called out, his loud voice booming.
Soda just nodded at Twobit and went to the kitchen to get a beer. Then he went straight up to Steve, his eyes didn’t narrow nor softened he kept his same easy expression. Soda knew Pony was really upset, but he knew it couldn’t be anything serious because Two-bit or Johnny would have told him if Steve was being actually horrible.
“She tell you?” Steve spoke up, barely glancing up.
“Didn’t tell much, just said ya upset her.”
“I upset her? Let me tell you what she was doing at school!” Steve shot back. He clearly wasn’t mad at Soda or even Pony just frustrated about how everything was handled. Soda gave him a questioning glance, Pony was a good kid and she wasn’t known for causing trouble. Soda thought this was just Pony trying to hang around Steve while he was with Evie.
“She was strutting into school wearing the tightest top I've ever seen and the socs were staring at her chest like she was some new toy for them, like a mini angela shepard” Soda was left speechless by Steve’s rant.
He wasn’t mad at Pony, just shocked that she would do something like that. Even though he knew about these new styles that the new decade brought, his family was one from a small southern town, they were super traditional to say the least. Soda also knew how those other boys got when they saw a pretty girl like Pony. They were like animals, he knew what it meant when a soc boy invited a greaser girl to parties. Not that Soda would allow Pony to go to any party even if she was invited.
“She did that…?” he whispered.
Steve sat back down and rubbed his face, “Yeah, I tried telling her that she couldn’t control those boys and she got all mad and shut down.”
“Oh please, those boys would ogle at a rock if it was curvy enough.” Two-bit joked, clearly not reading the room.
“Well you did yell at her.” Johnny added, replying to Steve and completely ignoring Two-bit. He was quick to defend Pony; not that he would tell anyone that he was completely on Pony’s side. And he also wasn’t going to tell anyone about Bob Sheldon going up to her and trying to get her to go into his car with him.
Soda sighed, “Steve… You know she doesn’t take well to hollering. And don't ya holler at my baby sister, she's a sensitive soul.” Steve grunted and just nodded, recognizing his mistake but not willing to admit he was wrong about anything else.
“I… just don't know what to do…” Soda sighed, wiping his brows.
Soda's eyes drifted back to Pony’s door. He wanted to go over there and demanded she tell him why she thought those boys wouldn’t go after her. Johnny sat up “What if I go and Talk to her?” Johnny asked, his voice no longer quiet or gentle.
Soda looked at him like he was out of his mind, the thought of someone other than darry or him comforting Pony was crazy to him. Soda had always been her special person that she went to when she needed help and now Johnny wanted to do that. It felt like an attack on his place in Pony’s life, but Soda also knew Pony didn’t want to talk to him right now and she was probably crying and upset. So soda let Johnny go, he waved his hand at him telling him a clear “go ahead.”
Johnny smiled, happy that soda wasn’t too mad that he would take his anger out on him. Johnny stood up and made his way to the hallway that held the bedrooms. He knocked on Pony’s door, a gentle but firm hit on the wood.
“Go away, Soda!” Pony cried out, her voice shook with sobs and clenched fists.
“Pony… It’s me.” Johnny made his voice as soft and loving as possible, the way a greaser does only for someone they really care about. Johnny's dark curls rested on the wood. And slowly Pony opened the door revealing her face all red and sad.
“Oh Pony…” Johnny whispered as Pony pulled him into her room and quickly shut the door behind them.
Soda watched this interaction and sat straight up, and quickly called out after her. “...Pony, no boys in your room alone.”
Twobit chuckled, “What ya think johnnycakes will do? Get her pregnant just looking at her.” Soda did not laugh at that comment and gave Two-bit a death glare Twobit responded by making kissing noises and lips in his direction, Soda started beating him with a pillow. Steve rolled his eyes and moved away from them.
“How would u feel if I said that about ‘er sister.” Soda shot back. Twobit immediately jumped on him and started wrestling. Soda struggled against the fatter man, but was quickly pinned down.
“Say uncle! Say uncle.”
“Two-bit I'm gonna kill ya!”
Meanwhile, Johnny sat on Pony’s bed as she cried in his arms. He gently stroked her hair as she leaned into his chest, her tears staining his denim jacket. Pony’s soft hazel were drawn in agonizing spheres.
“I know he ain’t easy to deal with… But ya know the gang is protective.” Johnny rubbed her back, gently ran his hands through her auburn curls. Her gaze shifted up to Johnny, a look that even the tuffest greaser could pity.
“Johnny… he yelled at me like I was some cheap whore. Like I was showing off my body on purpose…” Pony whined, her voice small, “Johnny I ain’t no slut.” Johnny felt as if his heart was being ripped from his chest, to hear the girl he loved say those things was like nails to chalkboard in his ears.
“Pony, he don’t mean nothing. Steve just being protective and doesn’t know what he says, ya dig?”
“But I can handle myself. As much as the gang thinks I’m some fragile dandelion, I'm not. No guy is going to try and touch me during class when the teachers are right there!”
“...I understand that-!”
Pony continued her voice unstopping.
“I may be a girl, but I’m a greaser first. I may not be as tough or as rugged as the other greaser girls but that don’t mean I aint one. This whole purity act they’re putting on is wild.”
Johnny sighed, he didn’t want to argue with Pony because he knew she was right but he couldn’t just sit there and let her get angrier without at least trying to diffuse the situation.
“Soda didn’t take kindly to it either.”
Pony’s face fell, she didn’t want Soda to hate her for the dresses she wore. She didn’t understand why everyone was getting all fussy when all she wanted to do was feel pretty.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing much, he was just shocked that you would do that.”
Pony sighed and dropped her head in her hands. Her heart ached, she was just silently praying that no one would tell Darry. The last thing she needed was to get an earful from both of her brothers. She felt her heart tug for her to move closer to Soda; to have her comfort him like she was a little kid again. She could sit her and argue that she was some mature greaser woman but deep down she was still scared and small.
“Johnny?”
“Mhm?”
“Can you get Soda?...please?”
Johnny nodded and quickly went off to find her brother. He was right where he left him, on the couch sitting next to his closest friends. Johnny walked up and stood awkwardly in front of him, he kept his head down as he muttered, “She wants to see you..”
Soda’s attention immediately shot up and he quickly went over to her room, only acknowledging Johnny with a nod.
Soda saw Pony sitting on her bed, looking the same as the day the policemen came to their door telling them that Mom and Dad had been killed in an automachine wreck. He felt his heart tug to go hold her like she was still five years old, but he held back not knowing if she was still mad or not. He guessed she wasn’t, but the risk was too great.
“Pony?”
Pony lifted her head, and immediately ran into Soda’s arms. He quickly wrapped his arms around her slender frame. Pony hugged him back so tightly Soda thought his ribs would break, but he didn’t care he just needed Pony safe and happy. He rested his chin on her small head; after a couple moments he broke the hug and guided her towards her bed. He sat down next to her, he hoped for an honest talk without any yelling or fighting.
“Baby, Steve told me what happened today.”
“About Bob Sheldon?”
Soda gave her a questioning glance. Steve hadn’t mentioned anything about Bob. “...Wait, what happened with Bob?” Pony’s face flushed, she hadn’t realized that Johnny didn’t tell anyone, she had been sure that he was going to tell. She tried to mutter some excuse, but Soda wasn’t having it.
“Sweetheart, what happened?”
Pony quickly swallowed her pride, “When I was at my locker Bob Sheldon walked up to me and asked me if I wanted a ride with him. I said no of course.”
Soda sighed, “Pony you gotta tell us if a boy does that to ya, what if something bad happened.”
Pony whispered softly, "I'm sorry.”
“Also, you can’t be wearing nice stuff like that to school. That’’s a church dress.”
“We don’t go to church no more.”
“Still, I know those boys, I know what they would try to do to a pretty girl like you,” Pony looked as if she was about to cry, “Hey, hey don’t you cry on me. You know I would fight all those boys no matter if ya was wearing a dress or no, but I ain’t in school no more and ‘re so smart none of the gang is in ‘er classes. They can’t be there to protect you if something horrible happens.”
“There’s teachers in the classes, and other girls too!” Pony protested, her voice was all whiny.
“Yeah there are, but ya know they like them socs better than us greasers. And you may be a girl but ‘er a greaser first,” His eyes softened, “You shouldn't have to fight alone is all I’m saying, so make it easy on everyone and don’t be wearing things that cause those boys to be more horrible.”
“I shouldn’t have to do that..” Pony sighed, “they should just learn to respect women, I mean what would their mothers think of how they act”
“They ain’t never gonna learn, that’s why we need to protect you first.”
Pony nodded and leaned against his shoulder, soda wrapped his arms around her pale shoulders. He kissed the top of her head. He knelt in front of her and held her hand softly in his big calloused ones. “Love you.”
“Love you, too”
Later that night everything was peaceful, Pony had been off to bed and Darry came home about an hour after they had their talk. Soda went up to Darry, told him what had happened. Darry was about to run into Pony’s room and start something but Soda had managed to calm him and told him that he had handled it. Which shocked Darry, because Soda usually left that stuff to him.
“And she just accepted that?” Darry asked, showing clear signs of being confused that Pony wouldn’t scream and yell at every little rule.
“She was just mad that everyone was yelling at her.” Soda replied cooly. Darry sighed, wiping his brow from the sweat and grime from working on roofs. His large frame leaned back in exhaustion, the work of the day was wearing him down.
“She really isn’t mad anymore?” Darry asked once again, still unsure if Soda was leaving things out or not. Soda replied with a soft smile and a nod, showing that he was telling the truth. Darry stared at him, the uncomfortable silence not being filled with mocking remarks or a retort. Darry’s shoulders slumped down, relieving the worry and stress of his kid-sister and his tedious job. As everyone headed off to their rooms the house fell into a dark slumber.
Saturday morning was cool, the grass was still spotted with dew and the air felt heavy with the morning stress. Pony woke up and was immediately confronted by Darry in the kitchen making his morning coffee. She hadn’t wanted to face Darry yet, she knew that he knew what happened to her yesterday. She had been eavesdropping on his and Soda’s conversation last night.
As she stepped on a loose floorboard, it made a creaking sound. The noise made Darry look up from his coffee, his pale blue-green eyes meeting her soft green ones. “Morning Pone,” Darry spoke, his morning voice was all hoarse and deep Pony would have laughed if she wasn’t so worried about him being mad at her.
“Good morning,” Pony replied softly. She made her way to the pantry trying to be nonchalant and not mention the night before. She didn’t want any more fights, she was tired of always fighting with her brothers but she was always tired of having to follow their stupid rules.
“Heard about what happened yesterday…” Darry broke the silence. Pony froze, her hand was halfway in the pantry before she slowly pulled it out and pretended to look for something on the counter.
“Soda tell you that?”
Darry sighed, “Yeah Pony he did. I aint gonna holler at ya, but I want you to know that if a soc goes up to ya asking if you need a ride you always say no. They ain’t just being christ-like people, and also I don’t trust the way they drive! I swear their mustangs are just for show, the driving is horrible… Also I don’t want you wearing those kinds of clothes no more. You're a lady and I don’t want those boys to treat you like just a girl. Savvy?”
“Savvy.”
“Good now make sure you wash ‘em dishes. Cause you forgot last night I ain’t doing your chores.”
Pony rolled her eyes, “Can I eat breakfast first?”
“Don’t be smart.”
Pony held a laugh. She grabbed a bowl and some cereal and started eating. It tasted like cardboard and sugar but she was so hungry that she could eat a horse. (Get it cause her name is Pony). She munched down on the soggy cereal, spoon in one hand and a book in another. She was reading “Little Women”; surprisingly Dallas had recommended it to her, which was a shock because she didn’t know he could read past a 7th grade level. Though she would never tell him she thought that because Dallas had always been insecure about his intelligence.
Her peaceful thoughts were interrupted, but Two-bit sprinted into their house. He was out of breath and usually when Two-bit ran he got all red and sun-kissed but today his face was pale as white as a ghost.
Darry ran out of the kitchen and straight to Two-bit. “Keith what happened?” Pony strained her ears trying to listen to their conversation but Two-bit spoke too quietly and as soon as he got here he ran out this time with Darry trailing fast behind him.
Pony was left confused. Where had they gone? It must have been serious by the way Darry’s face paled and he ran with such urgency. Pony only hoped that it wasn’t Soda that was hurt, but by the reactions it had to be someone in their gang.
Moments later Darry ran in holding a bloodied figure in his arms, he quickly went over to the couch and laid the person down. Pony got up to get a closer look but before she got any closer, Darry yelled at her to get the first aid kit. Pony didn’t want to but she knew that it had been done, so she ran to the kitchen and reached into a cabinet where they kept all the medicine.
She had to stand on the counter because she was too short to reach the top, which is where the med kit rested. As she made her way back into the living room she saw the whole gang piled in around the couch. Dallas was kneeling next to the person and by the looks of it he was holding back tears, which made her take a step back. Darry called for her to hurry, so she quickly ran to him with the kit and then she saw it…
Johnny Cade was the person laying on that couch. His lip was bust open and his eyes were a completely different shade of then the rest of him. Darry pulled out his shirt and revealed all sorts of cuts and bruises. And there were definitely some broken ribs in there too. The worst of all were the huge slashes on his face, they were wide and looked deep into the flesh.
Pont didn’t realise that Darry had grabbed the med kit out of hers hands. She just stared at Johnny, his weak breaths and his dark brown eyes full of agony. Tears fell from her soft green eyes, Soda pulled her away from Johnny. He knew what she would do if she got too upset and they didn’t need anymore drama or people getting hurt.
“Pony, It's okay. He’s gonna be ok.” Soda whispered.
“What happened…”
Two-bit replied instead of soda, “Bob Sheldon and his group of soc freaks went up and jumped Johnny bloody.” Pony felt her face pale. She remembers the interaction she had with Bob not even a day earlier. She thinks back to his annoying voice ‘Watch yourself, Cade’ playing over and over in her mind. She knew that she heard it was now clear that Johnny hadn’t or maybe he did and just decided that he didn’t care, either way it didn’t matter now. Johnny was hurt and she couldn't help but blame herself.
Dallas stared daggers at her, “What do you know, kid?”
Pont felt as the entire room shifted their attention to her, she opened her mouth but no words came out. “Don’t you go accusing my kid-sister!” Soda yelled back at Dallas.
“No, she knows why Johnny’s like this. Look at her!”
They went back and forth arguing, it took Darry yelling at them to sit down and shut up for them to calm down. The eyes fell back on Pony and they expected answers from her. “Bob Sheldon did that?” Pony asked, they nodded expecting her to continue.
“I told soda about this but yesterday Bob Sheldon went up to my locker trying to get me to go into his car and I didn’t wanna but he was pushing it. Johnny came up and pulled me away, Bob told Johnny to watch himself and that bunch of greasers had been getting jumped.” Her voice shook as explained and told her story. The room fell into silence, she had told Soda and Darry but she left out the part that Bob had threatened Johnny.
“You never told us that he threatened Johnny???” Darry replied not mad, just confused.
Dallas stood up and got into Pony’s face, “Why didn’t you say that earlier!! Johnny could be safe right now!!”
“D-dally stop it.” Johny’s weak voice rang out, making the room stop, “D-dont y-you h-h-holler at her.”
“Johnny man, you don’t gotta defend her.” Dallas softened, he loved Johnny but when he was mad he was mad.
Johnny started getting upset, he tried sitting up and it tugged on his bandages. “Johnny… Johnny… Johnny!! Lay back down!” Darry helped him back down. Johnny’s bruised face scowled at Dallas, which was not something that Johnny’s face normally did, injured or not.
Soda helped Pony into her room in hopes of calming her down and stopping Dallas from yelling at her anymore. Her sweet face was all red with crying, cheeks puffy and hair sticking to her face.
“I d-don’t like ya h-hollering at her..” Johnny spoke to Dallas, “ain’t her… fault.”
“Johnny listen-” Dally tried to continue but Steve put his hand on his shoulder telling him it ain’t worth getting Johnny all mad and he needed to stop. Dally rubbed his face and pulled out a pack of smokes, whining about how ridiculous this whole thing was.
Later that night Johnny had managed to sit up on the couch without too much pain. Pony was right next to him cuddling up close, both Darry and Soda were in the kitchen so Pony reached over and placed a kiss on his cheek. Johnny’s face turned redder than the blood on his lips, he smiled all gitty.
Johnny managed to wrap his arm over her shoulder, he smiled and leaned down slowly to kiss the top of her hair. She smiled back and stared into his eyes.
“Look at ya, looking all stupid and happy.” Pony whispered to him.
“Stupid in love with you.” Johnny replied back.