Face On:

PONYBOY: I could taste blood in my mouth, pouring out over my lips. There was a sharp crack that echoed in my ears and told me bone had been splintered. My muscles trembled and shook, adrenaline leaking out into my blood-stream. I felt a tight fist pummel itself into my already bloody mouth, my teeth raking against course knuckles.

"He he, look here boys!" a voice said, slurred with the ever present pounding in my ears. "He ain't so tough now, is he?" I felt the edges of my shirt being pulled taught and raising me up to a square face and narrowed eyes that questioned my very existence. "Who's trash now, greaser?"

I glared up at my attacker, my heart pounding hard in my chest. I brought my right hand behind my back and felt in my pocket, my fingers closing tightly around the cold steel of my switchblade. I glanced up at the other socs standing in a circle around us, their faces plastered with smirks and hard gazes. Fuck all of them. I looked back at the soc holding onto the collar of my t-shirt and sneered at him.

"You and all them goons over there," I said, hacking up a ball of spit and shooting it out at the soc's face. It hit him square in the eye, and he wiped it away angrily before sending his fist into my face once more. I took the hit, but when my head snapped back up to face him, I brought my drawn knife with it. The soc let go of my shirt and stood, taking out his own knife. I picked myself up from the ground and wiped the blood away from my lip and the sweat from my eyes, gritting my sore teeth and holding my knife out at the soc before charging into him. He grabbed at my shoulder with one hand and tried to stab me with the other, while I went for his attack hand. My blade cut across his knuckles, and the soc dropped his knife in surprise, leaving me the opportunity to snatch it up to use against him. The other socs around us stood back in unease, glancing back and forth amongst each other, unsure of what to expect next. I glared at all of them through my swollen eyes, not letting my guard down for a minute.

"You greasers are all the same," the soc yelled at me, cradling his bleeding hand in his other. "Nothin' but pieces of shit! You're all pieces of shit!" He then nodded at his friends and before I knew it, they were at me from all sides. I kicked my legs out and swung my arms, struggling to get free of the strong hands and arms that pinned me down again on the ground. I felt a sharp pain in my chin as another surged through my stomach, the wind knocking out of me. I struggled for breath, but as soon as I caught any air in my lungs, it was punched out of me again. I could feel myself begin to lose conscience when there was a piercing squeal of tires hitting asphalt and the hurried clicking of heels.

"What the hell are you doing?" a girl screamed, and from the slits of my eyes, I saw her plunge herself between the soc and myself. "You're killing' him! What the hell is wrong with you people?"

The soc laughed nervously at the girl, and I could feel the hands on my legs and arms begin to loosen a bit. "Come on, baby," he said, standing up over me. "It's just a greaser. If he dies no one'll miss him. Cept maybe his grease can." I could hear snickers amongst the other socs, but the girl only held her ground.

"If you kill him then that makes you all murderers," she snapped, her eyes blazing at all of them. "Do you want that kind of thing on your hands, Richard Hardy?" At their silence she only pressed harder. "Well? Or would you all like me personally got to all your homes and tell your families about what you've been doing?"

The boys snarled at her, but she and I both knew they wouldn't do anything to her. Richard only let out another nervous chuckle. "Come on, Cherry, you wouldn't rat us out like that—"

"Oh, yes, I would. And don't you doubt it for a minute! Now get out of here before I change my mind!" Cherry crossed her arms and glared hard at them all. "I said get out of here!" And with only a slew of curses and dirty looks, they were gone.

Cherry…I hadn't spoken to her in ages, mostly because she wouldn't let me. Anytime I saw her at school or in stores where her soc friends would see us together, she only pretended I wasn't there. Now I was wondering why all of the sudden she had taken it upon herself to be my guardian angel. I tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in my side sent me back downwards.

"Ponyboy, are you alright?" Cherry exclaimed, quickly by my side. "Here, let me help you into the car. I'll take you home." She looped her arm around me and propped me up on wobbly legs, letting me lean on her as I limped over to the car. I couldn't help letting my face fall into her long red hair, and I breathed in the sweet smell of lavender on her fiery locks. She opened the passenger side door and helped me into the seat, securing me inside. She started the car and pulled away from the side of the road, glancing at me every now and then. I leaned my head back against the plush leather seat, closing my eyes and trying not to think about the painful throbbing in my head.

"Are you gonna be alright, Ponyboy?" Cherry asked, her eyebrows pulling together in a concerned frown. "You don't need to go the hospital or anything, do you? You look pretty beat up."

I shook my head, even though I was pretty sure one of my ribs was broken. "Nah, I'll be alright. Just take me home and Darry 'll take care of the rest." I peeked over at her from the corner of my eye and furrowed my brow. "Why'd you stop those guys, anyway?"

She frowned at me again, but this time it was because she was mad. "Ponyboy, how can you say that? We're friends. And besides, I wasn't just gonna drive on by while they beat you to death." She glanced back in forth between me and the road, her expression softening a bit when she saw I wasn't buying it.

"If we're friends then how come you never wanna talk to me?" I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a cigarette. I lit it and took a long drag before sending my gaze back towards her. "How come you always act like I'm not there? Last time I checked, friends didn't completely ignore each other."

Cherry tightened her grip on the steering wheel, her gaze still on the road. "Pony, you know why. It's just the way things are. It's the way they have to be."

"Yeah, but why? Who cares what people think?"

"Who cares what people think? Ponyboy, it's people like those guys who almost killed you who'll come after you if people like you and me mix. They beat you up for no reason, what do you think they'd do to you if they saw you and me together?" She glanced over at me, but looked away again when she met my eyes. "I don't like it any more than you do…but there's nothing we can do about it. It's just the way things are."

I sighed and gazed back out the window. "If you're so afraid of that happening then maybe you should let me out of the car." I looked back at her and me her gaze. "I don't wanna cause any more trouble for you."

"Ponyboy, stop that," she scolded, but I could see the guilt in her eyes. She only sighed and shook her head, looking back at the road. "Besides, I can't let you walk home in the condition you're in. You can hardly walk."

"What do you care?" I snapped, curling up my fists and glaring at the floor of the car. "After you drop me off you won't ever speak to me again. Why should you care if I can make it home on my own or not?"

It wasn't two seconds after the words came out of my mouth that Cherry slammed on the brakes and I was sent flying forward in my seat. I hit my head on the dashboard, only adding to my list of discomforts. Cherry turned in her seat and stared hard at me, her brown eyes narrowed and filled with hurt. "Ponyboy, I WISH we could be better friends than we are, but even people like me can't always get what they want. The only reason why I ignore you is to protect you. To protect you and your family and your friends. Don't you understand? The more you try to talk to me, the more I have to push you away. It hurts me to hurt you, Ponyboy. And I don't want to do it anymore, so please…please, just let it go. For me."

I was silent for a moment, taking in everything that she'd said. It made sense; it couldn't be easy for her to ignore someone she liked. I only nodded and took a drag from my cigarette. "Okay. But, Cherry…"

"Yes?" she cocked her head to the side, a strand of titan hair falling into her eyes.

I sighed and grimaced slightly. "Just promise me that you won't forget about me. Not entirely, anyway. Okay?"

Cherry smiled slightly, buy her eyes were sad, and she looked on the verge of tears. "No…no, Ponyboy, I won't forget you. How could I? With a name like yours, I mean."

I let out a half-hearted chuckled. "Yeah…yeah, I guess not." I glanced back at her as she put the car back in drive, taking us down the road leading to the north side of the city. We drove in silence the rest of the way for the majority of the time, my small guide of directions breaking it every now and then. When we reached the chain-linked fence of my house, Cherry got out and went around to my side and helped me out, walking me to the door. Before she could knock on the door, I stepped in front of her and blocked the way. She gave me a slight frown, but said nothing. "Umm...thanks for helping me out back there. And for the ride. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," she said, backing away slightly, but something told me she didn't want to leave just yet. "Umm...I'd better head on home. Uh, I'll…" She trailed off before blushing and ducking away to her car. She stared the engine and was gone before I could open the front door. Of all people, she had been the least I had expected to help me. And now I couldn't get her off my mind.

CHERRY: "Cherry!" my mother called from downstairs. "Did you just get in?"

"Yes, mother!" I called back, setting my things down on the floor of my room. I flopped down on my bed and buried my face in the pillows.

"Well, supper'll be ready in about an hour!"

"Okay!" I yelled, even though I'd lost any appetite I'd had. I raised my head from the pillows and looked up at the mirror attached to my dresser. My eyes were puffy and red from crying, my mascara smeared across my cheeks. Seeing Ponyboy like he was, it had only made me think of Bob and how he'd attacked Pony and his friend Johnny. Just because he was drunk and angry with them for walking home with me and Martha he'd picked a fight with them…and it had cost him his life. I hadn't loved Bob, but it didn't mean he had to die. I knew Johnny had only killed Bob to save Ponyboy, but still…he had taken away a life. And that had almost happened again, only it would have been Pony, and if that had happened I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. Pony had lost so much in his life: his parents, his best friends, Johnny and Dally. All of them had been taken away from him too soon, and I didn't want to cause him anymore pain. That was all us being together would cause; pain and loss. When all anyone cared about was what side of the tracks you came from, there could be no right or wrong side. I wanted to get to know Ponyboy more, but that would mean I'd have to lose him in the process. And I'd rather know he was alive outside of my life than dead from being in it.