Pony and I talked up in my room about just close to everything under the Sun.
At 11:45, Mom called us downstairs.
"Lily! Ponyboy! Come down here! We only have fifteen minutes until the ball drops!"
"Coming, Mom!", I yelled back before turning to Pony and saying, "Let's go."
We walked downstairs, me in front of him. Mom was at the bottom of the stairs with party hats and noisemakers.
I groaned in frustration, "Mom, I'm not wearing a party hat. Not again."
"Again?", Pony asked.
"Every year she makes us wear party hats and stuff. I do not enjoy it at all."
"Well, you're gonna wear the party hat and you're gonna like it", Mom said, putting the party hat on my head.
I crossed my arms and huffed in annoyance, making Pony laugh.
"If I'm goin' down, you're goin' down with me, buddy", I told him, forcing a party hat on him as well.
"I can see why you get so annoyed at this now", he said.
I grabbed his hand and led him to the living room where everyone else was wearing party hats. I knew my mom was the only one who like this "tradition". Anna, Henry, and I had been alright with it when we were younger, but the older we got, the more we despised those hats. Mom said that until we were 18 and could legally make our own choices, we had to do it.
"It's really party central in here, isn't it?", Pony told me sarcastically as he looked at the twins' and my dad's frustrated expressions, making me laugh.
"Oh, yeah. Party of the year", I responded with a snort.
We sat on the couch, watching the reporters. The one in the news station was seemingly getting confused about where the ball went after it dropped from the Allied Chemical's tower, making the others laugh at him. He quickly turned it over to the reporter in Times Square.
"You know how they do it? While astronauts whirl around the Earth, they do it with pulley power", the reporter in New York said, teasing his coworker.
It was about a minute until 1966 at that point. The ball moved down the tower. Mom and Dad poured champagne for them and Pony and I. It was the only time when I ever drank alcohol, so even though I thought that champagne was too bitter, I drank it for the fun of it. The twins were drinking sparkling grape juice since Mom and Dad didn't let us drink champagne until you turned 12.
We started counting down, all of us screaming down the seconds at once, "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"
I stood on tip-toe and put my arms around Pony's neck before kissing him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. I could the twins crying, "Ew!". After a little bit, we pulled away.
I held up my glass, "To nineteen sixty-six."
"To nineteen sixty-six", Pony repeated and clinked his glass to mine before we both drank the champagne.
I scrunched my face at the bitterness, "Glory, I always forget how bitter it is."
"Believe me, all alcohol is bitter", Pony laughed.
"Have you been spending too much time with Two-Bit?"
"No. Once, Curly Shepard dragged me to some bar and got me drunk. It was awful, especially the next morning when I had a hangover. Darry was not happy, to say the least."
I laughed, "Moral of the story: Never, ever, under any circumstances, listen to Curly Shepard."
"Very true", he said and took another sip of his drink.
Soon, the twins were falling asleep on the couch, so my parents said that it was time for bed. Pony and I went back up to my room so he could get his bag.
"I'm gonna get changed and I'll be downstairs in a minute", I told him.
He went downstairs and I changed out of my outfit and into a nightgown. I took out my hair and brushed it out before going downstairs.
Pony walked out of the bathroom in his pajamas and holding his toothbrush, toothpaste, and clothes in his hands just as I came downstairs. I quickly rushed in and brushed my teeth before coming out and saying goodnight to my parents who were already in their room and to Pony who was sitting on the couch.
"Goodnight, darlin'", he said, giving me a quick kiss, "I love you."
"Goodnight, honey", I told him, "I love you too. So much."
I walked back upstairs to my room, turning off the lights and getting into bed. I fell asleep quickly, although I wished I hadn't.
My nightmare started with me walking down the street. It was dark outside, so I was walking faster than usual. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. There was a Mustang full of Socs behind me, trailing me.
"Hey Greaser", one yelled out, "Why don't you come with us? We'll show you a good time."
I continued walking, slouching and putting my hands in my front pockets.
"Hey! Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"
The Mustang stopped and the Socs filed out and surrounded me. There must have been four or five of them.
The Soc that had yelled at me pushed me against the wall of a building, "You're gonna wish you hadn't ignored me, Greaser. We're gonna have some fun with you, slut."
My eyes widened, but I held my ground, "I know people that could bust your head in."
The Soc gave me a smirk, "Oh, is this one of your friends?"
The Socs parted, letting me see a bloody Ponyboy lying on the ground. There was blood coming from his mouth and nose and there was blood all over his t-shirt from stab wounds on his throat, chest, and stomach. He was dead.
I struggled against the Soc pinning to the wall, "Ponyboy! No!"
"Ponyboy, yes", the Soc snarled, "We had our fun killing him, but we're gonna have a different kind of fun with you before youend up the same way."
The Soc pushed me to the ground and immediately ripped open my shirt and touching me.
I started screaming. Screaming for Ponyboy. Screaming for the rest of the gang. Just screaming at the top of my lungs, my throat hurting from it. The other Socs had joined in, some trying to take off my pants, some groping me, and the original one holding a switchblade to my neck.
"Any last words, bitch?", he asked sinisterly, putting more pressure on my throat with the blade.
I simply screamed more and more.
"Lily! Lily!", I heard my name being called, "Lily! Darlin', it's okay! You're okay!"
I continued screaming until I felt soft lips being pressed to mine, waking me up.
Ponyboy POV
I was on Lily's family's couch in the living room, reading a book. It was about 1:30 in the morning. Everything was completely silent I heard screaming. It was terrible, gut-wrenching, torturous screaming. I could tell that it was Lily that was screaming, sending me into a panic.
My eyes widened and I threw my book down, scrambling to get upstairs to her. I sprinted out of the living room and up the stairs before her parents were even got out of their room.
I ran into Lily's room and saw her kicking at the covers and flailing her arms. Her face was red from screaming. I immediately ran to her side and sat on the bed next to her.
I put my hands on her arms and shook her.
At this point, her parents were at her doorway, looking extremely concerned.
The shaking wasn't working, so I decided to try talking to her, "Lily! Lily! Lily! Darlin', it's okay! You're okay!"
She just continued to scream. I loved her so much and it was killing me, seeing her like this. I didn't know what she was dreaming about, but it must have been horrifying for her to be emitting those kind of yells. I suddenly thought of something. When she had been staying at my house and I had had a nightmare, she had kissed me. That's what I decided to do and hopefully it would work.
I leaned down and gently kissed her lips. She almost instantly responded, calming down and her eyes opening. She was awake.
Back to Lily's POV
I opened my eyes and saw Pony pulling away from me and sitting up. I immediately started crying hysterically. My parents left their place at the doorway, leaving Pony and I alone.
Ponyboy pulled me onto his lap, "Shh. Shh. It's okay, Princess. I'm right here. You're safe, darlin'. You're safe."
"Th-they killed you", I sobbed, burying my head into his chest.
"Who killed me, darlin'?", he asked softly.
"The Socs", I hiccuped, "They killed you and they were trying to rape me. They said that they were going to 'h-have their fun with me' before I ended up the same way as you. Pony, you were gone. There was so much blood all over you and your body was on the ground and you weren't moving…"'
I continued crying into his chest, soaking his shirt. He started rocking me before starting to softly sing.
"Love me tender, love me sweet;
Never let me go.
You have made my life complete
And I love you so.
Love me tender, love me true;
All my dreams fulfill.
For my darlin', I love you;
And I always will.
Love me tender, love me long;
Take me to your heart.
For it's there that I belong
And we'll never part.
Love me tender, love me true;
All my dreams fulfill.
For my darlin', I love you;
And I always will.
Love me tender, love me, dear;
Tell me you are mine.
I'll be yours through all the years,
Til the end of time.
Love me tender, love me true;
All my dreams fulfill.
For my darlin', I love you;
And I always will."
I started calming down, my sobs turning to hiccups, although tears still ran down my face. Pony wiped my cheeks softly with the pads of his thumbs.
"You're okay, Princess. I'm right here. I'll never leave you."
"You promise?", I whimpered.
His face softened even more, "Of course. Do you want me to sleep in here with you?"
I nodded.
He lightly smiled, "Okay."
I lay down and Ponyboy took off his shirt before lying down next to me, on his side and under the covers. He pulled me to him so close that our stomachs were practically touching.
He gently kissed my forehead as he wrapped his arms around me, "I love you so much, Princess. And I always will."
"I love you too, honey. So much", I whispered.
I fell asleep to the sound of my boyfriend's steady breathing, feeling safe and secure in his arms.
Ponyboy's POV
After I sang to her, Lily started to calm down a little, her breaths coming in hiccups and tears still straying from her eyes.
"You're okay, Princess. I'm right here. I'll never leave you", I assured her.
She whimpered a little as she asked, "You promise?"
My heart broke to see her so distraught and vulnerable. She seemed broken and fragile in my arms. The last time I had seen my girlfriend like this was the day she read Johnny's letter. I had never heard her voice so soft and hesitant. She was terrified of what she had dreamed about. I would be too. I remember how scared I had been when I got jumped by Socs and it was taken to a whole other level for Lily since they had tried to do those inexcusable things to her. Socs and Greasers are all people and we all feel the same things, but I couldn't help but be pissed at the Socs that had hurt her. They had left mental scars that might never fully heal. Lily wasn't as bad as Johnny had been after he had been jumped, but they had definitely spooked her. The Socs had just bruised and cut me up a little, but they caused her to get stitches and, even worse, they had tried to rape her. We wouldn't even have sex and we loved each other. For someone to try to force her to have sex with them without her consent…I couldn't even imagine what that must have been like. I loved her and never wanted anything to touch her.
"Of course", I told her, "Do you want me to sleep in here with you?"
Lily nodded a little. Her big, brown eyes that I had fallen in love with and that made me melt whenever they looked at me were still watery.
I smiled a little to try and make her feel better, "Okay."
She lay down on her left side and I quickly took off my shirt that was wet with her tears, not that I minded at all. I would rather have my shirt be wet and me be her shoulder to cry on than anything else.
I lay down on the bed next to her, me on my right side so we were facing each other. I pulled her as close to me as I could, wrapping my arms around her securely.
"I love you so much, Princess", I whispered, kissing her forehead, "And I always will."
"I love you too, honey. So much", I heard Lily quietly say before she curled up closer to my chest.
Soon, I heard the sound of her soft, steady breaths that told me she was asleep. I sighed in relief, knowing she was finally calm, and kissed the top of her head before falling asleep myself.
Back to Lily's POV
I woke up to Pony caressing my cheek softly with his thumb and giving me a gentle kiss on the forehead.
My eyes fluttered open to see his green ones looking back at me.
"Good morning, Princess", he greeted quietly.
"Good morning", I said back.
"Are you better know? Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I did because you were there. Thank you for being there for me."
He smiled lightly, "I love you so much that I couldn't not be there for you. I heard you screaming and was up the stairs faster than your parents were."
"I was so scared. It was so real. You were there, dead on the ground and they were…touching me…"
"Oh, darlin'", he cooed, hugging me close, "I would never let anyone do that to you. As long as I'm here, no one's gonna hurt you."
"I don't even know why I had the nightmare", I said into his collarbone, "The only time I got jumped was when you and Johnny were gone and I haven't thought about it much anymore, although I've been more careful."
"We'll, even if you don't think about it often, you always carry a reminder of it."
"What do you mean, honey?"
"Your scar", Pony reminded me.
"Scars", I corrected him.
"Scars?"
"There's the one on my lip, one on my forehead and one on my chest."
"On your chest?"
I nodded, "I guess you forgot, but I don't blame you. They cut my shirt and sweatshirt all the way open, leaving me exposed. Then the one that was on me cut right under my bra with his switchblade." I put my index finger to where the cut had been, right under where the bra cups met.
"Did…did they touch you then?", Pony asked with a slight blush on his cheeks.
"No, I don't think so. Just in the nightmare."
He gave me a light kiss on the nose, "Why don't we get some breakfast, Princess?"
"Okay", I slowly sat up to keep the blood from rushing to my head. My throat felt a little hoarse from last night's screaming. Pony slipped his shirt on since he obviously wasn't going out shirtless in front of my family.
He took my hand and we went downstairs for breakfast.
Everyone was already at the table and according to the clock on the wall, it was 9 in the morning.
"Good morning", Mom said.
"Good morning", we said back as we sat at the table.
"Were you alright last night, Lily?", Dad asked.
"It was just a nightmare. I'm fine. Pony calmed me down", I told him.
He looked at Pony, "I was only there long enough to see you waking her up. How'd you know that the kiss would work?"
"When she stayed over at my house a few months ago, I had a nightmare. I get them a lot. She did the same thing to wake me up", Pony answered.
Dad nodded, "And as I understand it, y'all slept in the same bed last night. Nothing happened, right?"
We both blushed tomato red.
"No, nothing happened, sir", Pony said, "We slept together in the most innocent sense of the phrase. I just held her and we were sleeping next to each other. That's all that happened."
"Just to let you know", Mom told me, "It's snowing out."
My eyes widened, "It is?!" I rushed to the window and looked outside, seeing about six inches of snow on the ground and more falling gracefully from the sky.
I ran back over to Pony and grabbed his arm, jumping up and down, "It's snowing, Ponyboy!"
He laughed at my excitement, "I heard. I'm assuming you want to go outside?"
I nodded eagerly.
Pony turned to my parents, "Is this what happens every time it snows?"
They nodded, chuckling, "Yeah, pretty much. Since we don't get much snow down here, she always gets overly excited when it does."
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!", I cried, tugging on Pony's arm.
He started laughing even harder, "Darlin', we need to have breakfast first."
I sighed, "Fine."
I rushed to the table, pulling him along with me and quickly at some cereal before brushing my teeth and running upstairs to change.
I pulled on some jeans, a t-shirt, a thin sweatshirt, and my older grey Converse that I had worn during the rumble. I put my hair in a braid down my back before going back downstairs.
Ponyboy was sitting on the couch, pulling on his shoes with his jacket next to him.
My parents were still sitting at the table, watching us with amusement. The twins were still asleep.
I was getting my jacket on when Pony stood up.
"You ready?", he asked, smiling.
"Yep! Let's go!", I threw open the door and pulled my boyfriend outside with me.
"It's so pretty", I gasped. The snow was falling slowly from the light grey sky, dusting the landscape with the pure white powder. The snowflakes were settling on us, my clothes and hair getting coated with them. The shapes and patterns of the snow showed prominently on my dark jacket and I could see them on my eyelashes.
I threw my head back and stuck out my tongue.
"What are you doing?", Pony laughed.
"I'm trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue", I responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
He just watched me having my fun for a few minutes, snow gathering on his coat and head.
"Aren't you going to play in the snow too, honey?", I questioned, cocking my head slightly.
Pony smirked before rushing at me and picking me up in his arms bridal style.
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, smiling, "What are you doing, love?"
"Well, I'm about to kiss my princess", he answered before pressing his lips to mine.
I smiled into the kiss, running my fingers through his hair that was still mussed up from sleep.
When we pulled away, Pony looked deep into my eyes, "Glory, I love you so much, darlin'."
I smiled at him, "I love you too. So much."
He changed our position so he was holding me by the waist, his arms wrapped around it. My knees were bent so my feet were almost touching my behind. Then he started spinning me around like he did after he got his grade back on his theme from Mr. Symes, making me laugh and wrap my arms tighter around his neck. I leaned in and kissed him.
Pony stopped spinning me around after a bit and fell back into the snow, pulling me with him.
He let out an "Uff" as I lay on top of him, his hands holding my waist.
"You okay?", I asked with a laugh.
"I'm just fine", he assured me.
We stayed like that for a while, just lying in the snow until Pony spoke up, "You wanna make snow angels?"
"Yeah!", I exclaimed.
I got off of Pony and moved a few feet away from him before falling into the snow myself on my back and moving my arms and legs in and out. He followed suit.
We did that for a bit 30 seconds before Pony carefully got up from the snow and helped me get up as well. Pony wrapped his arm tightly around my shoulders as we admired our work.
"We did a good job, darlin'", he told me, kissing my temple.
"Yes we did, honey", I said.
"Lily! Ponyboy!", my mom called, "Come back in here before you catch hypothermia."
We begrudgingly walked out of the snow and back to the house where Mom waited for us with a smile.
"Did y'all have your fun?", she asked with a laugh.
"Definitely", I responded, taking off my jacket and wiping off my shoes, Pony doing the same next to me.
"Well, there's hot chocolate in the kitchen for you", Mom told us as she walked into her and Dad's room.
Pony and I sat at the table in chairs next to each other and carefully grabbed the mugs of hot chocolate on the table. In the middle of the table were pictures that hadn't been there before we had gone outside, along with the family Polaroid camera.
I laughed when I looked at the photos.
"What are those?", Pony asked.
"I guess my parents took some pictures of us playing in the snow", I told him, handing them to him.
Pony looked through them, "Why does everyone always take pictures of us?"
"I don't know. Maybe we're just extremely photogenic", I joked.
"Now, if only I could be this photogenic in class pictures", he said.
"I'm sure yours are fine. Mine, on the other hand, are terrible."
"They can't be that bad."
"Oh, but they are."
Pony rolled his eyes, knowing he wasn't going to win this one.
There were about 7 pictures in total of us playing in the snow. Our front yard was small so you could see Pony and I's faces from where the pictures must have been taken at the front door. One was of me catching snowflakes on my tongue, my head thrown back and my arms spread out. Pony was a few feet away from me with a smile on his face, just watching me. Two were of Pony carrying me bridal style in his arms and we were kissing, one of his arms around my back and his other under my knees. Mine were around his neck. Two other pictures had Pony holding me by the waist just after he had spun me around. The last two were both pictures of us in the snow. One was me lying on top of him and the other was of the two of us making snow angels.
"I'm taking these ones", Pony said as he picked two photos out of the bunch. Then he handed the rest back to me. When I looked through the remaining pictures, I saw that the ones he had taken were me catching snowflakes with my tongue, him holding me bridal style as we kissed and him holding me up by the waist.
I took the other ones.
At about 5 o'clock, Darry came to pick up Pony on his way home from work.
"Bye, honey", I said, leaning up and giving him a kiss, "I love you."
"Bye, darlin'", he responded, giving me a tight hug, "I love you too. And I always will."
With that, he slung his bag over his shoulder and left my house, getting into Darry's truck. After the car accident, Steve gave Darry an old truck that had been in the shop for a bit. Steve had fixed it up so it would run pretty well again.
Not even 15 minutes later, Mom called up the stairs that I had a phone call from Ashlynn.
"Hi, Ash", I greeted.
"Lily! Lily! Lily!", she cried, making me pull my ear away from the speaker.
"What? What? What?", I said back, albeit not as loudly.
"I have a date!"
"That's great! When is it?"
"The eighth! And I was planning on it being a double-date so would you come with Ponyboy?"
"I'll ask him, but the answer will probably be yes. Who's the lucky guy?"
"It's a surprise", she giggled.
"Do I know him?"
"Yes."
I chuckled confusedly, "Alright. I'll get back to you. Bye, Ash."
"Bye, Lily."
Well, I thought, I guess I probably have plans for next Saturday.
Hey, y'all! Sorry I haven't updated in a bit. I had a ton of homework and I couldn't get much access to the computer (and therefore the story) for the past few days. I decided to try something new with the changing points of view. I don't know if I'm going to be doing it very often, but we'll see. I love y'all and stay gold!- AthenaRavenclaw13