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Disclaimer: I am not SE Hinton, but if she's offering to sell the rights, I'll be first in line with all of my savings.
Warnings: language, Darry slaps Ponyboy
It happened again last night. I'd shrugged off the first dream about me getting jumped, but this one was even scarier. Not necessarily in a physical aspect, but definitely, in an emotional one.
*Dream*
Someone was shaking me. I felt grass tickling my skin, wind biting into my arms, and my bones were sore from sleeping on the ground. I was so out of it that I didn't even wonder why I had been sleeping on the ground.
Finally prying open my sleepy eyes, I saw that the person shaking me was Johnny, yet he was different. He still looked nervous and shy but he wasn't as jumpy, and the cut on his face had healed into a thin scar on his cheek bone.
"What time is it?" I asked, groggily, sitting up.
"I don't know. I fell asleep too, man, listening to you ramble on and on. You'd better get home. I think I'll stay all night out here."
"Okay, but if you get cold or something, come on over to our house."
"Okay."
I ran home, knowing that Darry would kill me for staying out so late. The porch light was on and when I peaked in the window, I saw Sodapop stretched out on the couch and Darry in the arm chair, wide awake. Damn. I gulped and opened the door softly. Darry looked up from the newspaper that he was reading and leapt to his feet, while I stood there, biting my nails.
"Where the heck have you been? Do you know what time it is?" He was angrier than I'd ever seen him and slowly, I shook my head. "Well, it's two in the morning, kiddo. Another hour and I would have had the police out after you! Where were you, Ponyboy?" He took a shaky breath, trying and failing to calm down. "Where in the almighty universe were you?"
"I... I went to sleep in the lot," I stammered, sounding so dumb, even to me.
"You what?!"
Sodapop sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, Ponyboy, where ya been?"
"I didn't mean, too," I pleaded with Darry. "I was talking to Johnny and we both dropped off."
"I reckon it didn't occur to you that your brothers might be worrying their heads off and afraid to call the police because something like that could have you two thrown into a boys' home so fast it would make your head spin. And you were asleep in the lot? Ponyboy, what on earth is the matter with you? Can't you ever use your head? You haven't even got a coat on!"
I felt my anger and frustration bubbling, threatening to boil over. "I said I didn't mean too."
"I didn't mean too!" Darry shouted and I almost shook. "I didn't think! I forgot! That's all I ever hear from you! Can't you think of anything?"
"Darry..." Sodapop began, but Darry turned on him. "And you shut your trap! I'm sick and tired of hearing you stickin' up for him!"
He shouldn't have yelled at Soda; no one should ever yell anything not my brother. "Don't you yell at him!" Darry wheeled around and slapped me so hard that I fell against the door.
Suddenly, it was deathly quiet. No one in my family and ever hit me. No one. Soda was pale and wide eyed. Darry was string at the palm of his hand where it has turned red and then back at me. "Ponyboy..."
I turned around and ran out the door as fast as I could. "Ponyboy, I didn't mean, too!" But, I was already gone. In fact, it was all gone.
*Dream over*
Strong hands shook my shoulders as I woke up crying, screaming about not meaning to, that I was sorry. When my vision cleared, I realized that I was looking into the worried eyes of Darry while the gang and Sodapop stood behind him, anxious. Even Steve and Dally looked concerned.
"Pony!" Darry gasped. "Are you alright?"
Before I knew it, I was hugging him, sobbing into his shoulder as he nearly tumbled off of the bed in shock. "I-I'm sorry, Darry, for everything."
"What do you mean, Ponyboy?" He whispered. I vaguely saw Soda ushering the others out of the room, knowing that we needed some alone time.
"I'm sorry for never listening, for never obeying the rules, for never appreciating you, for never-"
"Ponyboy, it's alright," he murmured into my hair. "You didn't do nothing wrong."
"But I did!"
"No, you didn't," he slowly detached my arms from around his neck and looked me in the eye. "What was your dream about, Pony?"
"I fell asleep in the lot talking to Johnny. I woke up and realized how late it was; I ran home. You were so mad, yelling about how you couldn't call the cops, how worried you and Soda were, how I was careless and forgetful and never use my head. Then, when Soda started to say something, you yelled at him and I yelled that you shouldn't holler at him, then you turned around and slapped me right across the face. I ran out the door and the dream ended."
Darry suddenly embraced me. "Pony, I would never hit you, okay? Do you understand that?"
"Yeah, Darry, but I'm worried. It just seemed so real.
"It's okay, now, but you better get some rest. You look like hell, little brother."
"Thank you, Darry."
"For what?"
"For caring." I didn't realize how tired I was. I was fast asleep before he could even start to say something.