Thanks for all the good will about getting my license. I'm glad you're all so supportive of this fanfic. You're all terrific with your reviews.
Heaven Forbid
Ponyboy stepped into his fifth period class for the first time since the previous week and was immediately greeted with a barrage of whispers from his classmates. Freezing in his tracks, he glanced around nervously catching the gist that they were talking about the fact that he hadn't been in school for so long and not because they knew why.
Suddenly they halted. Behind him he could feel a presence. He turned to see Two-bit Mathews glaring ruthlessly with his jaw taut and his arms crossed at his chest looking more severe than Pony had ever seen him look outside of a rumble.
Rather than react in much the way Steve had, Dally and Two-bit had responded to the news of what had happened to the youngest Curtis with rile, and they immediately jumped to the desire for revenge. There was a very tense disagreement between Pony's eldest brother and Dallas that going out and beating up the first Soc they saw regardless of their involvement was not the best course of action.
Pony hadn't been present for the discussion, but he'd been able to hear the entire conversation from behind his door where he sat perched next to Johnny. He'd listened with a sensation of detachment. Surprisingly, he didn't need to convince himself that what they were saying had nothing to do with him. He was just able to. Somehow it was like the horrible idea of everyone knowing what had happened to him had gotten bigger and bigger until he could no longer take it anymore, and it merely imploded on himself. He couldn't take the stress of wondering without knowing.
So now he didn't care.
Let them know if they knew. He was in high school. Nothing remained a big deal for long, and girls dealt with this stuff all the time. So he wouldn't be considered tuff anymore. That had all been shot to hell when the soc had raped him anyway. As long as his friends remained his friends, the rest of the West side could go screw themselves for all he cared. That went for the East side as well if they thought him a coward for what he'd had happen to him.
And he was able to hold onto that resolution up until he'd stepped into his fifth period class before he couldn't keep it up anymore.
The teacher walked into the room, shooting Two-bit a sharp glance. The 18-year-old gave Pony one last look, followed by a stern one directed towards the rest of the class and turned on his heel, stalking out of the room.
"I see you're back Ponyboy. I hope you're feeling better." Pony's teacher, Ms. Davis barely spared him a glance before going off about her lesson plan for the day but everyone else was still preoccupied with him.
"Curtis!" He heard Dylan Thompson, a small towheaded kid he occasionally talked to that he knew to be middle-class. "I heard you were sick. What'd you have?"
Pony turned sharply, having planned on ignoring any stray comments that came close to the truth. "W-who told you that?"
"Steve Randle."
Pony considered for a moment that perhaps Steve had been referring to him as a sick person so as to mean perverted and everyone had taken it to mean that he was physically sick and that was why he'd been missing school. He could live with it even if that were the case because in truth, his brother's friend had been doing him a favor whichever way he intended it.
"I- I had the flu," He said quietly. "High fever… couldn't get it down."
"Oh. Well I hope you're all right. I could give you the notes if you want."
"Thanks." Pony said turning towards the front of the room. He thought of all the ways this could go. Considering that Steve had known, there were definitely rumors flying around. He really had no control over who found out the truth, and knowing how his school operated, if a few people knew the truth, or even a fraction of the truth, there would be fifty thousand rumors going around by the next day. He could deal with people talking about him behind his back, but he didn't think he would be able to stand people questioning him as to what had happened.
All in all, Pony was only able to concentrate on the lesson enough to copy down a few notes; the content of which he wouldn't be able to remember come the next class. Even though he'd only been here for one period, next was lunch and Two-bit and Johnny would meet him on the steps outside the building to go down to the DX for lunch.
Walking to his locker to drop off his backpack he undid the combination and looked down when a piece of paper the size of an index card fell out.
Just Wait…The note said nothing else. It had no name written on it and the handwriting didn't suggest anyone he knew.
Feeling a cold and unhealthy emotion descend over him, he numbly picked up the paper, putting it in the pocket of the oversized sweatshirt that had once been Darry's.
"You ready to go, kiddo?" Two-bit put a hand down on his shoulder, sufficiently scaring the daylights out of him. Putting a hand on his chest he closed his locker and followed the older boy out the steps to meet up with Johnny.
Escaping from the school, Two-bit rested an elbow on his shoulder that he couldn't help but shrug off uncomfortably. Ignoring the look his friend shot him, Pony hurried over to where Johnny was slouching against the wall at the bottom of the steps attempting to light a cigarette in spite of the breezy autumn afternoon.
"The breaks are out on my car, and since… since, uh, we don't have any other way of getting to the DX, you guys wanna walk or just stay here?" Two-bit had been told of the way Steve had reacted to the misunderstood rumor and had immediately jumped to Pony's defense along with Dally. Normally the four of them would head out in the same car, but Steve had been nowhere to be found since Darry and Soda had led him to his room that morning.
It was chilly out, and he could see the slightest hint of his breath, but he felt suffocated at the thought of being in the school just then and he took off down the walkway to the street, not responding, but knowing they'd follow him anyway.
They were walking for nearly four minutes before they felt themselves being trailed by a car. "Watch your back," he heard Johnny roughly whisper just loud enough to be heard as the older boy moved in closer as if to protect him. He heard the taps on Two-bit's shoes come to a halt against the pavement and knew the decision between fighting and running had been made for them.
It was odd, but while he felt most unthreatened while in Johnny's presence, he felt most safe in the company of Two-bit. The 18 year old was a better fighter than the both of them and by and large the most protective of the two youngest member of their gang following his own brothers.
Pony could feel himself beginning to panic slightly and he stuck his shaking hands in his pockets and he tensed. "It's Dal," Johnny mumbled without shifting his eyes even slightly towards the car.
Turning ever-so-slightly to his left, he saw that it was in fact Dallas.
"How'd you know?"
"The engine was stalling too bad to be a soc car."
"You hoods need a lift?" Dally asked quietly and dangerously, not having caught on that they knew. The passenger seat door swung open.
"Who you calling a h-" Two-bit's glare turned into a grin and he broke into nervous laughter. "Takes one to know one you greaser."
"Come on and get in, you're letting the heat out." They all clambered into the car, Two-bit claiming seniority and taking the front seat though neither Pony or Johnny would protest.
After Two-bit and Dally got into talking about something that was obviously not for their ears, he turned to Johnny and gave him an urgent glance. Taking out the paper he'd been fiddling with in his pocket for the past five minutes, he handed it to the tanned boy without making eye contact and after a second admitted where he'd found it.
Johnny put an insistent hand on his shoulder and when he turned to look, there was a scared glint in the bottomless black eyes. Seeing them move to the front seat inquiringly, Pony could only nod slightly before turning out the window.
He noted with odd detachment that their roles had ultimately reversed. Where-as once Johnny had been the submissive one that Pony mostly spoke for, somewhere along the way, that had changed 180 degrees. Listening to Johnny tell them about what he'd found in his locker, he couldn't truly say he was bitter about this new development. It was nice to have someone with his best interests in mind looking out for him.
"Do you have any idea who sent this to you?" Dally asked in all seriousness. "Give me a name- a single goddamn name, I'm begging you." The last bit came out a heated murmur.
"I- I don't know. Honest," Pony admit.
"Come on, kid, you must've seen his face." Pony shut his eyes and leaned his arm against the cold, foggy window of the car. "Couldn't you give me anything? Hair color? Size? Height?"
Pony didn't respond, looking up to see Dally watching him expectantly sitting at a red light, before shying away. He heard the older boy grunt in irritation and felt Johnny's hand on his shoulder. "Cut it out, Dal."
It was the second time that week Johnny had told Dally off, and it was as surprising to hear it the second time as it had been the first. It was the third time he'd told someone off that was older and larger than himself. Pony wasn't sure how to feel about that. Below the numbness that was occupying him currently, he could feel the quick succession of pins and needles running up his back warmly. He didn't know if it was just because he was Johnny's best friend or because he felt he owed it to him somehow after failing to stop what had happened to him, but having a protective Johnny Cade watching out for him was uplifting at the least.
"Whatever." Dally muttered, not bothering to snap.
"Whose car is this, Dal?" Two-bit asked.
"The less you know the better." Dally said, clearly not happy about having to take lip from the younger, smaller boy in the backseat.
"You driving us around in a hot car, Dal? Darry'll bury you alive he finds out you took his kid brother out in a car you stole."
"It ain't a stolen car. The person I took it from just don't know I have it's all."
Two-bit gave such a sarcastic look that Pony actually managed a short laugh as they pulled into the DX station.
"Uh oh… looks like trouble." Two-bit declared quietly and Pony snapped his head around to see what had been meant by that. Grimacing, he turned to Johnny to point out Steve Randle's car in the parking lot.
