I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)
"Ponyboy, have you done your homework yet?" Darry called, shuffling through some bills.
"Yeah!" Pony shouted back, with a little bit of attitude in his voice. This didn't go unnoticed by Darry, however the older greaser decided to let it slide just this once.
"I want to see it." Darry insisted, making Ponyboy groan. Still, the youngest greaser strolled into the living room and handed Darry his math homework.
Darry scanned over the sheet of paper, and then handed it back to Pony and nodded.
"It's all correct, though you could try and make your work a little neater. If your work's all over the place then you're bound to not get accepted into college." The older greaser lectured, making Pony roll his eyes.
"Can I go now?" Pony mumbled, and Darry frowned.
"Yes, but haven't you got a test next week? I want you to be getting a high grade."
Ponyboy didn't even bother to answer, and just stormed back to his room. Darry shook his head in annoyance but didn't call Pony back; his little brother had been in a bad mood since he had gotten home from school.
About ten minutes later, Sodapop Curtis casually strolled into the house with Steve following in tow.
"You're thirty minutes late, Soda." Darry tutted.
"Sorry Dar, but you know how life gets." Soda chuckled, and Darry couldn't help but supress a smile.
"Fine, just try not to let it happen again." Darry answered, going back to the bills.
Meanwhile, Pony was sitting with his back pressed against his and Soda's bedroom door. He felt very angry with the conversation that was taking place in the next room. Soda got away with everything! He had been late three times this week, and Darry told him to try and not let it happen again. The youngest Curtis remembered what had happened five days ago, when he himself was late.
XXX
Ponyboy and Johnny had been out exploring the neighborhood (even though they knew the place inside out), when Ponyboy remembered that he had promised that he would be home at 8 PM. He checked his watch and the time read: 8:11 PM.
"Uh-oh, Darry's gonna kill me!" Ponyboy uttered to Johnny before grabbing the tanned greaser's arm and jogging back to his house. Johnny tried to keep up, but eventually had to tell Pony to slow down, and that he was also hurting his arm.
The two greasers walked quicker than usual back to the Curtis house. Ponyboy was scared, though he remembered all the times that Soda had arrived home late, and Darry hadn't said a word. He hoped that it would be the same for him.
Meanwhile, the rest of the gang of greasers were all at the Curtis house. Sodapop and Steve were wrestling on the floor while Dally and Two-Bit played an unfair game of poker. Darrel Curtis was on the sofa reading a newspaper, trying to ease his worry for his youngest brother.
Suddenly, Ponyboy and Johnny came casually walking through the door. Everybody looked up and then went back to what they were doing, except for Darry who had now stood up and made his way over to both boys.
Johnny looked up in fear while Ponyboy stayed silent.
"Hey Johnny, why don't you go join the guys? Me and Pony need to talk for a minute." Darry said softly, taking hold of Pony's arm. Johnny quickly nodded and joined the other boys while Darry's grip remained on Ponyboy's arm.
The oldest Curtis basically dragged Pony out onto the porch and began pacing around.
"Do you know how worried I was?!" Darry exploded. Ponyboy just shifted on his feet. "You're almost 25 minutes late, Ponyboy! You need to start acting more responsible!"
"Soda's always late and you never shout at him." Pony replied in his defence.
"Yeah? Well at least Soda can use his head! Unlike you, Ponyboy! Sometimes I feel as if I'm taking care of a three year old rather than a thirteen year old." Darry stated, and Ponyboy cracked his knuckles.
"I'm never good enough for you, am I?" Ponyboy declared, but Darry blocked him out.
"Stay in your room for the rest of the night. You can come out tomorrow." Darry mumbled, and stomped back into the house before slamming the screen door loudly.
"Oh, I will." Pony whispered angrily.
XXX
Ponyboy moved out of the way of the door when he heard footsteps approaching his room. He jumped onto his bed and sat up straight as Soda walked through the door.
"Hey, Pony!" Soda smiled, collapsing on the bed next to his little brother.
"Hey." Pony replied sourly.
Sodapop could detect that something was bothering his little brother, so he turned to face him and grinned at him.
"Is somebody grumpy?" Soda chuckled, and Pony pulled a face. "I think somebody is!" with that, Soda turned over and wrapped his arm around Pony.
Ponyboy squirmed, trying to escape. He was also trying to hide a smile that seemed to be fighting its way through.
Soda dug his fingers into Pony's side, making the youngest greaser squeal. The sixteen year old moved his way up to the back of Pony's neck, and Pony screamed, though it sounded more like a scream of pain rather than laughter.
The older greaser pulled his hand away and stared at Pony who was trying not to cry.
"What's wrong, Ponyboy?" Soda asked softly.
"Nothing, my neck just hurts a little." Ponyboy muttered, massaging the back of his neck gently.
"Okay…" Soda said, and then looked at his bedroom door. "You wanna come into the living room?"
"Nah; Darry wants me studying for some test I got next week." Pony smiled grimly, and Soda frowned; Darry always wanted Pony doing something that involved schoolwork.
"Oh well, don't be too long." Soda smiled, hopping off the bed and running into the living room. Ponyboy inwardly smiled; he loved how Soda acted so childish.
Darry had finished paying the bills and was sitting on the sofa. He grinned when Soda collapsed next to him.
"Hey, little buddy. How was work, for both of you?" he asked, looking at Steve.
"Same old, same old." Steve groaned.
"Well, except for the fact that more girls turned up to see me today." Soda chuckled, making Darry smile and shake his head while Steve groaned again, only this time louder.
The three men watched TV for about twenty minutes until Ponyboy appeared.
"Darry, I've been studying. Can I come out now?" he asked.
"You've only studied for twenty minutes." Darry responded with a frown. Soda's eyes widened…twenty minutes?! Soda never even used to study for exams!
"Yeah, but I did my math homework too." Pony tried, but Darry didn't look impressed.
"It's still an exam, Ponyboy, and I want you getting high grades." Darry grumbled.
"Of course; it's always what you want." Pony muttered, but Darry heard him.
"I only do this for your own benefit, Ponyboy! And if you can't accept that, then deal with it! But you will study for this exam, and you will get good grades. Otherwise, I'll skin you. You understand me?" Darry yelled, making Pony flinch back.
Steve smirked, but Soda actually felt sorry for his little brother.
"Okay Darry." Pony said miserably, backing into his room and gently shutting the door behind him.
"He needs a break too." Soda snapped at Darry, clearly not happy about how Darry had just treated Ponyboy.
"Yeah, well the kid's thirteen. He needs to start taking some responsibility." Darry snapped back, and then sunk down on the sofa. Steve's amused look did not go away.
XXX
"Ponyboy, I need you to stay behind." Mr North declared. Ponyboy just waited at his desk and shrugged; he knew he hadn't done anything wrong so he knew there was no point in getting worried.
"Bye greaser!" a few socs shouted, making Pony turn red.
Mr North pulled out a chair and sat opposite Pony.
"Now, Ponyboy, I understand that you've been unhappy where you're sitting, am I right?" Mr North started. Ponyboy nodded. "Well, I think that this will help 'discipline' you."
Ponyboy looked up at Mr North, confused. Discipline for what?
"You're a very horrible person, Ponyboy." Mr North stated, and Ponyboy chuckled, thinking the teacher was joking. "Fortunately, as a school teacher, I have a right to teach you how to act. You see…" Mr North started, and Pony felt as if he was speaking to a psychiatrist. "You're a horrible person in general, and I feel that it would be wrong of me to just let you go down the wrong path."
"Okay…" Ponyboy frowned.
"First, we'll start off with the standard discipline." Mr North announced. Ponyboy nodded not sure where this was going.
Mr North harshly pulled Pony's hair, and pulled the greaser forward so that their faces were up close. Ponyboy winced in pain.
"You are a brat. A burden. No good hood. And I have the right to beat you!" Mr North spat, and pinched the back of Pony's neck harshly.
"Ow!" Ponyboy screamed, but Mr North clamped Pony's mouth shut with his hand.
"Quiet!" Mr North hissed in Ponyboy's ear. "Now, get out of here!"
Ponyboy brushed his eyes with his fingers and then ran out of the classroom before the teacher could pull him back again.
XXX
Ponyboy felt the back of his neck with his index finger, putting pressure on the spot where Mr North had pinched him. Ponyboy wasn't even sure why the teacher had pinched him and why he wanted to 'discipline' him, but decided to not tell his brothers.
"I was tickling Pony before, and his neck seems to be really hurting." Soda said, looking to see Darry's response.
"See what I mean? The kid needs to be taking responsibility." Darry growled. Steve raised his eyebrows at Soda but didn't say anything.
"Just sayin'." Soda muttered, trying to hide his annoyance.
Darry didn't even reply, and instead just continued to watch the TV.
Soda sighed and stood up, strolling back to his and Pony's room.
The sixteen year old greaser stripped off his shirt and fell beside Pony, who was asleep and had a mirror clutched to his chest.
Soda wondered briefly why his little brother had a mirror; however his attention was now directed to a small ugly purple bluish bruise that was hiding under his brother's auburn hair.
Soda gently brushed some of Pony's hair out of the way, only to see that the bruise wasn't so small, but actually quite big. Two tiny red marks were engraved on the bruise, and both marks were just about the size of two fingernails…
AN: I wonder why Mr North wants to hurt Ponyboy? I know I've already got two other stories, but don't worry if you're enjoying them; they're still being continued! I kinda need some suggestions for One Marvellous Adventure because I'm stuck on chapter ideas! Don't worry though; it'll be updated either way!