"I swear I didn't mean to do it!" Ponyboy screamed defensively.

"Oh, I didn't mean to! That's all I hear from you! However, that doesn't change that you still did it!" Darry shouted back, his eyes icy with anger.

Another fight bounced off the walls of the Curtis residence.

It was so loud that people from the end of the neighborhood could hear what was going on.

Bexley was trying to block it out but it was to no avail; she's grown to hate hearing the fighting.

She resided in her room to finish up some homework that she missed during her absence in school because she had a cold.

She couldn't concentrate because of the argument between Darry and Ponyboy.

Ponyboy looked at Darry with a pleading yet apologetic look but Darry didn't falter.

Ponyboy hadn't ever seen his older brother so angry before, which said a lot when Darry yelled at him or Bexley.

"I said I didn't mean to, okay?!" Ponyboy cried out.

"Sorry isn't going to change what you did! It's meaningless! Johnny almost got killed because of you! Hell, even Bexley isn't this dumb! At least she uses her head unlike you! Can't you think for once?!" Darry barked harshly, every word cutting through Ponyboy's being.


Bexley couldn't handle it anymore, she didn't want to hear all of the yelling.

She pushed herself out of her chair, her papers scattering on the floor.

When she reached the door, she was taken aback by another familiar voice; it was Soda.

"I can't believe how selfish you are! Man, if mom and dad were here, they'd be so disappointed in you. You're such a burden to us." Soda spat uncharacteristically.

Bex felt her heart clench in shock.

Soda never spoke like that to either one of his kid siblings; he didn't have a single drop of hatred in his blood.

She blocked out what they were saying, anger taking over.

How could they treat Ponyboy like that?

What did he do wrong to have them pissed with him?


Before she could get too deep in her thoughts, she heard the front door swing open harshly, letting it slam against the wall.

"You little shit!" Dally's voice bellowed, his footsteps loud and heavy.

He sounded so pissed off, more than usual.

She then heard Ponyboy getting slammed against the wall very hard.

Bexley felt her heart jump into her throat when she heard this; she's had enough.


She ran out of the bedroom and saw that Dally was about to punch Ponyboy.

He grabbed Ponyboy by the front of his shirt and had a fist raised up.

Bexley was appalled to see that Soda and Darry weren't doing a damn thing to help Ponyboy.

"Give me one good reason not to beat your face in." Dally huffed, showing his wrath.

At this, Ponyboy violently flinched with his arms raised up in order to protect himself.

She ran over and pushed Dally away from her brother with both hands, "Stop it! Get the hell away from him!"

She stood in front of Ponyboy protectively.

"What the hell are you doing, Bexley?!" Dally shouted, his eyes angrier than Darry's.

"You hit my brother, Dallas, you're gonna regret it." she spat, not afraid of him in the slightest.

She doesn't know what the reason was for the gang being so pissed off at Ponyboy, but she wasn't having her twin brother getting hurt like this.

"Why the hell shouldn't I?! He deserves it! Don't push me, girl." Dally threatened.

She knew that the only person Dally would never hit was Johnny, but he wouldn't hit a girl either.

"Take a step back, Dallas Winston." Bexley spat back, showing no fear towards the hot-headed hood.

She was then grabbed by the front of her shirt roughly and she grabbed back, raising a fist towards him.

"Dally, don't. It's not worth it." Darry said before anything could happen.

Hitting the Curtis twins wasn't worth the energy, so Dally shoved Bexley back against the wall.

He pushed Ponyboy against the wall again, causing the boy to cry out in pain.

Bexley had saved him from getting the beating of his life; he couldn't help but sigh of relief.

"You best get the hell out of here, before I change my mind." Dally threatened.

Ponyboy was frozen in place, looking at each member of the gang, except Johnny since he wasn't there.

All they did was look at him in pure disgust, except Bexley, who was looking at him in sympathy.

His chest felt so tight and his eyes were stinging from tears, his heartbeat was escalating.

He felt as though he couldn't breathe.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry…" he whimpered, hanging his head.

He was biting his lip as he tried to keep himself from crying, although it was hard.

Ponyboy walked towards his bedroom, not looking up even for a second.

He felt the glares of the guys on him as he rounded the corner.

Because of this, he made his way back to his older brother's room but remembered what he was told moments before Bexley came in there.

"I can't even look at you anymore. You're not the brother I know." Soda's voice growled.

He exhaled shakily, not knowing what to do.

He saw their looks, remembering their awful words.

He didn't even think that Bexley would come help him; he believed she would be angry with him too.

All he could do was scurry to his and Bexley's old bedroom, slipping inside the cold, dusty room.

It hadn't been used in what felt like forever even though it's been eight months.

He shut the door behind him and slid down the wall, feeling himself starting to sob.

He had messed up badly…


Bexley had waited a moment to follow her brother after the rest of the gang left the living room; neither of them wanted to see the youngest greaser boy.

"What the hell is wrong with them? What did Pony do?" she thought to herself.

She went down the hall and opened the door to their shared bedroom.

"Hey, Pony-" she started as she opened the door, only to find it empty.

She was confused for a moment, why wouldn't Pony come in here.

She shut the door gently and listened carefully.

It wasn't long until she heard the sound of sobbing coming from their old bedroom.

"Pony…" she thought, her heart breaking silently.

Her thoughts were cruelly interrupted by the sound of Darry's booming voice, "Stop crying in there! It won't do you any good!"

The volume of Darry's voice was so loud that it actually made her flinch violently.

"He's such a baby." Steve scowled, making Bexley more angry.

"Shut the hell up, kid!" Dally barked.

Bexley clenched her fists, letting her nails imprint crescents into the skin of her palms.

She even clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Fuck them…" she thought angrily, forcing her feet to keep moving.


When she makes it to their old bedroom, she could hear her twin brother sniffling and crying on the other side of the door.

She knew that he needed someone to be there for him, since no one would take the opportunity, she'd do it.

When she made it to her old bedroom, the cries were more palpable.

Hearing her twin brother, her closest friend, sounding so distraught and in distress for something that was clearly an accident, broke her heart in more ways than one.

She had to be careful though; he'd mistake her for one of the guys.

She knocked on the door gently, not knowing that it frightened the young boy.

"N-No! Please go away! I wanna be alone..." Ponyboy yelped in fear from the other side of the door.

The shrillness in his voice caused her to jump back a bit; he'd never reacted like that before.

"Pony… it's Bexley." Bexley calmly said, "Is it okay if I come in?"

It was quiet for a moment, so that gave Bexley the okay to come in.

She carefully opened the door, letting the yellow light poor into the room.

She looked inside the room, not seeing her brother inside.

"Pony?" she said quietly.

After a few seconds, she saw him on the floor, curled up in a ball while rocking back and forth.

His cheeks were red and tears were running down his face that made his eyes turn red.

"Pony… are you okay?" she asked him quietly, kneeling down in front of him.

For a moment, Ponyboy believed that she was merely pitying him.

He backed away against the dresser as if he thought she was gonna whip him or something.

He covered his face as he let out another sob, remembering what was said to him.

"Pony, it's okay… It's okay…" she said, feeling herself panic a little bit, "It's only me."

His hands turned to fists and they were shaking, his eyes squeezed shut as another sob wracked his body.

It pained Bexley to see him like this, she couldn't stand it.

"Oh Pone…" she whispered, sitting next to him, "It's alright… I'm right here."

She cautiously wrapped her arms around him; she held him close to her.

"Pony, what's wrong?" she asked, wanting to get to the root of the problem.

"I-It… was an accident… I didn't mean to… W-Why don't they believe me?" Pony sobbed, burying his tear stained face in his sister's shoulder, feeling the fabric of her shirt become moist.

"What happened, Pone? You can tell me." Bex coaxed, rubbing his arm to console him.

Ponyboy sniffled and spoke in a trembling voice, "Johnny and I were just… comin' home from the movie house… We were just playin' catch with a stick…"

Turns out that Johnny had almost been hit by an 18-wheeler truck because Ponyboy accidentally tossed the stick into the street.

It was an accident, but the guys thought it was deliberate.

Bexley was the only one who didn't come to the moviehouse this time because of some stupid homework.

Bexley felt chills run down her spine when she heard this.

She felt angry that her own brothers and friends would dare put the blame on Ponyboy.

It wasn't his fault that it happened, but they believe it is.

The gang had gone too far this time.

Even their own brothers hurt him in such a terrible way.

"I believe you, Pone." she said to him, seeing just how broken her brother really was.

"Y-You do?" Ponyboy said, gasping for air.

"Yeah, I know you wouldn't do something like that on purpose." she replied, "They were all wrong to treat you like this."

Ponyboy felt his eyes widen just a little bit, taken aback by what she said.

"Bex, why do you care so much? Why'd you defend me from Dally? You didn't need to." Ponyboy asked.

"Why do I care? It's because you're my brother and one of my best friends, Pone. It kills me to see you like this. I did have to defend you from Dally. We gotta look out for each other, ya dig?" Bex said.

"That's not what they said… Did you hear them?" Pony asked, clinging to her as if she was his life line.

"To hell with what they said!" she snapped, making the boy flinch a little.

"They were wrong to say all of that. They don't want to see that it was an accident. And if they can't see that you're one of the most talented and smartest people on the face of this planet, then they're being a bunch of assholes." she said soberly.

Ponyboy nodded and wiped his tears away.

He felt a warmth flow through him as she spoke to him; she was too kind yet tough for her own good.

She knew very well that Ponyboy wouldn't intentionally try to get Johnny run over.

"You really think that, Bex?" Pony asked, looking at her with tear filled eyes.

"Course, I do. Honestly, without you here, I don't know how I'd live. You're special to me and Johnny. Forget what the gang is sayin'. They're being a bunch of assholes." Bex replied honestly.

Ponyboy smiled small; feeling hopeful that his twin sister wouldn't think any little of him.

Bex was happy to see him smile like this, it warmed her heart.

She always loved it when her brother smiled.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." Bex said, pulling him up to his feet by his hands.

"Where we goin'?" he asked, his voice eager now.

"To have fun. C'mon, we both could use it." Bexley said.

Ponyboy looked nervous, the cruel words of the gang ringing at the back of his mind, "I don't know, Bex..."

Bexley held him by his shoulders to keep him steady, "C'mon, I'll make sure that no one is here so we can leave."

He looked up at her unsurely but she only smiled at him kindly; he nodded, feeling himself become suddenly tired after all that charade.


Bexley walked back out to the living room to see if anyone was still in there.

Everyone was gone thankfully, probably out doing something without them.

It was fine though; Bexley didn't want to see their faces right now anyway.

She walks back into their old bedroom to tell Pony the coast is clear, but she found him asleep on their bed, his back facing the closet which was next to the door.

"Oh Pony…" she sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I ain't gonna leave you… I'm gonna fix this. Even if they hate me for it."


Later on that night, Ponyboy jolted awake, sucking in a sharp breath of air.

He had been woken up by another nightmare.

Momentarily, he had forgotten just where he was at, but his eyes adjusted to the dark.

The walls around him felt like they were getting smaller and smaller, merely suffocating him.

Looking to his right, he saw Bexley sleeping next to him, she was facing him.

As much as he sought her comfort, he didn't want to wake her up.

The only other person he could go to was Soda.

He needed Soda.

As quietly as he could, he stood from the bed and held his hands out in front of him so he could navigate the door.

He entered the hallway, the streetlight shining in through the window so he could see.

Going down the hallway to Soda's room, he couldn't remember ever sleeping in his and Bexley's old room.

But all on his mind right now was to get to Soda.

When Ponyboy made it, he saw that Soda was sleeping on his side with the blanket entangled around him.

Light snores escaped his throat.

He looked peaceful whenever he slept, which struck Ponyboy mostly.

Ponyboy shook Soda by the shoulder to wake his older brother up.

Soda turned to lay on his back with a tired groan, and saw that Ponyboy was standing in front of him.

Soda's eyes, instead of compassion and caring, went icy and cold; the middle Curtis wasn't at all faltered by Ponyboy's scared demeanor.

"The hell do you want?" he snarled, causing the young boy to back up in shock.

Both he and Bex knew that he'd never talk to them like that before.

What caused him to act like this?

"Didn't you hear me? What do you want?" Soda spat again, his glare becoming more pitiless.

Ponyboy was taken aback by the harshness of Soda's tone; he took a few steps back while hugging himself.

"I… I had a nightmare. Can I-" Ponyboy started but Soda cut him off.

"No. Go back to your own room." Soda briefly said, "Surely Bexley is waiting on your sorry ass."

"What?" Ponyboy said, his reddened eyes widening in shock.

The least that Soda could do was be more considerate.

"Didn't you hear me? Beat it. You don't deserve it." Soda continued, every word spitting out like venom.

"Soda… please…" Ponyboy whimpered, trying his hardest to whimper, "Don't turn me away…"

"You deaf or something? I don't want to see you right now. Can't believe you woke me up for nothing." Soda groaned as he turned back over.

Ponyboy couldn't believe what he was hearing, Soda was actually turning him away.

There was that familiar pressure on his nose and cheekbones, it was telling him that he was gonna have another breakdown.

"I..I'm sorry. I'll go back…" Ponyboy whimpered.

He turned and walked out of the bedroom without looking back, he then made his way back to his bedroom in a run.

He doesn't care about you. Don't even try it.

Ponyboy slid down the wall of the bedroom, his breathing heavy.

Everybody knows that anyone would be annoyed if they're woken up.

However, there was someone who wasn't annoyed.

Bexley had heard him come back into the bedroom, and she heard that Ponyboy was upset.

So she got out of bed and pulled him into her caring arms, giving him the comfort he desperately needed.


For the next week, Bex hung out with Ponyboy more than she ever did, barely leaving him on his lonesome.

The rest of the gang was still ignoring him, spatting nasty comments whenever they saw him.

Bexley made sure that he was nurtured and cared for.

Ponyboy hadn't been eating like he should be, it came with a lot of risks.

His physical complexion had changed visibly, he was much paler, and he had dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.

Bexley had been trying to help him with that, but truthfully, what the gang said to her twin brother still lingered at the back of his mind.

It kept him awake and it made him lose his appetite rather erratically.

The only person that Ponyboy wanted to be near all this week was Bexley; he'd cling onto her like she was his life line.

She'd be the only person who'd be there for him whenever he had a nightmare.

Needless to say, she had become more protective over her twin brother.


During a Saturday morning, that's when things turned south.

Bex and Ponyboy resided in their bedroom, trying to stay out of the gang's path.

Bex was helping Ponyboy fall asleep by rubbing his back in clockwise circles.

That was until she heard a familiar voice that made her perk up.

"Hey, guys." the voice greeted, stepping inside the house.

Ponyboy was barely asleep when the voice spoke from downstairs.

"W-Who is that?" he timidly asked, sounding scared.

"I think it might be Johnny. I'm gonna go see. Try to sleep for me, okay?" Bexley whispered, looking from the door to her skeletal complexed brother.

"O-Okay." he shakily said, curling into a ball.


Bexley closed the door behind her as she walked out of the bedroom.

She made her way down the stairs, where the sound of the gang playing poker could be heard.

When she reached the bottom, she saw Johnny in the living room.

The tan skinned boy looked at the fourteen year old she-grease.

"Hey, Bex." Johnny said with a smile.

"Hey, Johnny." Bex greeted back, remembering how long it'd been since she saw Johnny.

He came over to give her a hug, but she didn't hug him back, which was odd because she loved it when the gang hugged her.

"Where's Pony at?" he asked, making the girl perk up.

Bexley felt her stomach twist inside her own body, frozen in place.

With how the gang had been treating her twin brother, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Who knows? Probably bothering someone else. Poor saps." Steve replied.

"That's not true, Steve." Bexley spat, her protective instincts started to dwell.

"She's right, Steve." Johnny agreed with her.

"Why do the both of you care so much, anyway? Johnny, he almost got you killed. Bexley, he's starting to drag you down with him." Steve replied, not realizing just how much he was pissing off Bexley.

"It wasn't his fault, Steve." Johnny said.

Bexley was surprised to hear that Johnny was defending Pony.

However, she couldn't get her hopes up because it could be a fake defense.

She didn't know if Johnny was still Ponyboy's friend, nor her friend for that matter.

"No, it is his fault for being so irresponsible. The damn kid doesn't use his head and always gets into trouble. Bexley, you don't need to be cleaning up after him. You shouldn't even be consoling him for being an idiot." Darry spat.

Bexley looked down, closing her eyes tightly and huffed loudly in anger.

She couldn't believe that Darry, her own brother, would even say that about Ponyboy.

"Screw you, Darry." she spat under her breath, turning back upstairs.

Darry, however, heard what she said and he shot out of his seat, so roughly that he knocked over the dining chair he was sitting in.

"You want to repeat that, Bexley Lynn Curtis?" Darry hissed with venom.

She turned around to face him, her green eyes turning icy and angry.

"I said, 'Screw you!'" she shouted at him, having enough of this, "Do any of you realize what the hell you guys are putting Ponyboy through?!"

"What are you talking about? That kid needs to grow the hell up. He needed to learn his lesson for almost getting Johnny killed." Two-Bit said when no one else did.

"The five of you are the ones that need to grow the hell up and get your heads out of your own asses! It was an accident! You guys should know that Ponyboy wouldn't do something like this on purpose!" Bexley shouted back, angry tears in her eyes.

Her outburst started the gang, even Johnny.

Bexley had never gone off on them like that before, she was definitely serious.

"Johnny, go and see him. I'll be right behind you." Bex asked, not looking away from the gang.

Without question, Johnny made his way upstairs towards their bedroom.

"Bexley, he could use a little time without us. Pretty sure that he's fine." Soda said.

"Yeah, he nearly got him killed!" Dally spat, still angry.

"Bullshit!" she snapped, "You hadn't even gone to see him! He hasn't been sleeping or eating! Hell, I'm the only person he wants to go near! He comes to me whenever he has a nightmare because you guys were too shallow to help him! He's practically on the verge of death and all of you are turning a blind eye towards him! Do you see what the silent treatment is doing to him!? You guys are hurting him!"

The gang was in shock; they were struck silent by her words.

"Now if you excuse me, I'm going back to my brother. You five can just wallow in your own guilt." she hissed, going back upstairs.


When she made it back to their bedroom, Ponyboy immediately looked to her for help.

Johnny was standing at the end of the bed, in shock at Ponyboy's appearance.

He definitely looked much different than the last time he saw the fourteen year old boy.

Bexley didn't hesitate to sit down next to Ponyboy, to which the boy immediately snuggled up close to her.

"I've got you, Pone. I'm right here." she coaxed in his ear, wrapping her arms around his thin body.

Ponyboy buried his face into her shoulder, not wanting to face anything.

She looked at Johnny, he had a sad look on his face when he saw the state Ponyboy was in.

"They don't get it, Johnny. They don't see the damage that they're doin' to Pony." Bex said, resting her cheek on Pony's auburn hair.

"I see it… they went too far." Johnny commented, sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands clasped together.

They went silent for a few minutes before Bex spoke up, "Did you… hear what I said to them down there?"

"Every word." Johnny replied, his thumbs twiddling.

"I thought you did. I can't stand them treating Pony like this anymore. I've had enough." Bex said, her voice dripping with anger.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Johnny… I didn't mean to…" Ponyboy whimpered in Bex's shoulder.

"Pony, it's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself." Bex said, giving his shoulder a good shake.

Johnny and Bex looked at each other with the same expression.

"Johnny… can you… talk to them? They need to understand more about what's happenin' to Ponyboy." Bex asked, "I don't want to leave Pony."

"Okay, I can do that." Johnny nodded, getting up from the bed, "Don't go anywhere."

Johnny got up and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

Bex waited a few minutes before she whispered to him, "Wanna get outta here, Pone?"

Ponyboy nodded into her shoulder.


The twins carefully made their way downstairs, Ponyboy close behind his twin sister.

When they made it, the gang already had their eyes on the twins, mostly on Ponyboy.

Pony tried his hardest to stay hidden behind Bexley; he didn't want the gang to see him.

They were about to leave the house until Darry's voice made them freeze.

"Wait, Ponyboy, Bexley." he spoke.

Pony looked back at them, his eyes bewildered and afraid.

However, Bexley's eyes were full of anger and her eyebrows knitted together.

Their brother looked so much smaller than they remember; he was like a scared animal.

The gang was appalled by Pony's appearance.

They had no idea what to say to him at this moment in time.

Soda was the first to step forward and reach out his hand towards them, but Ponyboy ended up flinching violently.

"Don't, Soda. Don't you dare touch him. Or me." Bex spat, having an arm out in front of Ponyboy, like a mother wolf protecting her pup.

Soda's eyes became big, retracting his hand back.

They saw just how scared Ponyboy was of them and how much more protective Bex had gotten of him.

So much so that she didn't even want her older brothers touching him, let alone get near him.

The gang realized just how much they messed up; they didn't bat an eye to see just how much the youngest greaser boy was suffering.

"C'mon, Pone. We don't need them. Let's get the hell out of here before they think you're in their way again." Bex snapped, staring at the gang the entire time.

The twins then walk out of the house and start to run down the street.

"Ponyboy, Bexley, wait!" Darry called, but saw that the twins were already too far for them to chase.


Their run didn't last long though.

They only made it a couple of miles away before Ponyboy felt his head become light, it looked as though the neighborhood started to spin around him.

His body had become weakened from the lack of eating and sleeping making him feel extremely dizzy.

His knees buckled underneath him and he collapsed on all fours.

Bexley noticed this and turned to face him.

"Oh my god, Pony! What's wrong?" she cried, kneeling down next to him.

"Sorry… got a little dizzy." he groaned, pushing himself up a little, but it was as though he had a hundred weights on his back.

"Put your arm around me, I'll help you." Bexley said, throwing one of his frail looking arms around her shoulders.

She hoisted him up to his feet and looked at him to make sure he didn't pass out on her.

"You okay?" she asked him, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

He nodded slowly as a response.

"Okay, let's go to the lot. They'll probably be happy that we're out of their hair." she said, the last sentence filled with anger.

"Okay…" Ponyboy whimpered, biting his bottom lip so hard that it started to bleed a little.


They made it to the lot and sat underneath a tree with an old car seat sitting beneath it.

Both of them leaned against it and tried to relax.

Bexley kept her arm around Pony's scrawny shoulders, shielding him from anything around them.

Ponyboy had his legs curled up and leaned into Bexley's shoulder, letting her hold him.

Even though there wasn't any speaking between them, they enjoyed each other's company.

The sound of nature around them like from the birds, various insects, and the wind was enough to fill the void of silence.

They stayed there for the better part of an hour to four hours, not wanting to move.

Neither one of them wanted to face the gang again, not after the hell that they put Ponyboy through.

But they also knew that they couldn't stay out there in the lot forever.

Bexley hadn't realized that she fell asleep until the shift in the wind jolted her awake.

She saw that the sun was beginning to set.

She looked down at Ponyboy, he was asleep on her shoulder.

He had fallen asleep within half an hour of them being there.

She could see just how exhausted he really was; the thought of him not sleeping because of the gang made her feel sick to her stomach.

As carefully as she could, she gently shook Pony's shoulder with her other hand to wake him up.

"Hey, Pone. C'mon, wake up." she said quietly, watching as he stirred.

"Hm? Why?" he tiredly said, rubbing his eyes with balled up fists.

"We fell asleep, I think. We should head home." she suggested.

Ponyboy's body tensed up when she mentioned 'home.'

"I know that you don't want to go back, hell, I don't want to either. But we can't stay out here forever. C'mon, I'll be right by you." Bex promised.

He looked at her with a hopeful look in his greyish-green eyes.

She smiled at him in a caring way, "I promise you. C'mon."

He trusted her with everything he had at this moment, so he trusted her with this promise.


The twins returned home within ten minutes.

They walked through the front gate and walked up the front steps.

Ponyboy squeezed Bexley's arm as anxiety washed over him; Bexley looked back at him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

Bexley opened the front door and they were instantly met with the worried looks of the gang looking right back at them.

For a moment, they forgot what caused them to run off to begin with.

Ponyboy hid his face in Bexley's shoulder so he wouldn't have to look at the gang.

Bexley glared at them, not a smile forming on her face.

Darry stood up first and walked to them, causing Bexley to guard Ponyboy, who was still hiding his face.

"We're sorry…" Ponyboy whimpered.

"Where the hell have you two been? Got any idea what time it is?" Darry demanded, a bit too harshly.

"Darry! Stop." Soda spat, remembering that they weren't supposed to be getting onto them.

"Don't push us, Darry. You've already put him through enough hell as it is." Bex warned, not scared of her eldest brother.

It didn't take long for Darry to realize his mistake and his tone dropped in volume.

"Sorry, but you two had us worried." Darry said quietly.

"We're sorry…" Ponyboy timidly said, still clinging onto his sister.

They had the urge to turn back around and run again.

"Don't worry about it. But can we talk to you guys?" Darry wondered.

Ponyboy only shook his head, afraid that he was gonna be yelled at again; there was no way that he could handle that again.

"Why? So you can just scream at him? Not a chance. He's had enough of your crap for one day. So do us a favor and leave us alone." Bexley spat, not in the mood to hear from them, "C'mon Pone."

Before anyone could speak up, Bexley took Ponyboy to their bedroom and they locked the door behind them.

"Hey, wait! Dammit!" Dally swore, causing Ponyboy to cover his ears so he wouldn't have to hear it.

Bexley instantly pulled her brother into her arms, to protect him from the outside world.

"Don't worry, Pony. I won't let them hurt you again." she declared, rubbing his shoulder comfortly.


Later that night, Bexley had her arms around her brother's frail body, keeping him close to her.

"Bex…?" he whispered, making her moan from sleep.

"You awake?" he asked, keeping his voice down.

"I am now." she chuckled.

He turned over to face her, his eyes bloodshot.

"Somethin' on your mind?" she asked, smiling down at him.

"Sort of…" he whispered.

"Go on. Tell me about it." she asked, intrigued to hear her brother's thoughts.

"I… I just wanted to say… Thank you for being with me. Don't know what I would've done without you." he whispered to her.

"Oh Pone…" she said, pulling him into a hug, their bodies pressed together, "It'll be okay now. I ain't gonna leave you. I'm never gonna leave you."

Pony snuggled on her chest, curling up into a ball, his eyes slowly starting to close.

"Shut your eyes, Ponyboy. You need your sleep." she whispered, waiting for him to fall asleep before falling asleep herself.


The next morning, the twins could smell Soda and Darry were making breakfast in the kitchen.

They were getting ready to head to the movie house as well as going to the DQ to get something to eat.

It would be just the two of them today.

When they walked out after getting dressed, grabbing what money they had stored.

Darry and Soda started to look at them when they walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, we're making breakfast. Hang around if you guys want yours." Soda said.

All they did was ignore them and they walked out of the front door, not paying any attention to them.

"What're we gonna do?" Soda commented, feeling hurt that their kid siblings were giving them the silent treatment.

"Let's… give them time." Darry sighed, not thinking of anything else.


The twins made their way to the moviehouse to see the latest movie, "The Sound of Music."

They were excited to see it because they were wanting to see it ever since it was first announced.

After seeing the movie, Bexley was the only one out of the two that actually enjoyed it.

"Okay, next time, I'm picking the movie. That was absolutely terrible." Ponyboy complained, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, c'mon. It wasn't that bad. I thought it was pretty good." Bexley said, playfully socking him on the arm.

"Well, that's because you're a girl." Ponyboy said.

"Ponyboy Curtis, you take that back." she playfully threatened.

"Make me." he said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

She then wraps her arm around his neck so that he was in a headlock.

They wrestled around for a little bit.

"Take it back!" she chuckled, still holding him hostage.

"Alright, I take it back!" Ponyboy shouted, trying to pry himself loose from her grip.

She releases him, and the two of them share a laugh.

Afterwards, they headed towards the DQ, unaware that they were being followed.


They had passed an alleyway, when Ponyboy felt himself getting grabbed by the back of the shirt.

He was roughly pulled away from Bexley, who jerked her head around to see who grabbed Ponyboy.

The person who grabbed him was a man who was in his mid-forties, black hair, and tannish skin.

He had a hand tightly clasped around Pony's mouth to keep him from screaming.

Ponyboy immediately panicked when he was grabbed and started to fight against the man.

"Don't make a fuckin' sound kid." the man threatened, pressing a blade up to Pony's throat.

"Get the hell off of him!" Bexley grabbed, running to help him.

She jumped at the man, not realizing that it was a grave mistake.

She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side, causing her eyes to grow wide and her jaw to drop.

"No! Bexley!" Ponyboy screamed, seeing her getting stabbed.


(Ten minutes earlier)

Steve, Two-Bit, Dally, and Johnny had come by to visit the Curtis residence, as they do almost every day.

Soda had told them of how Bexley and Ponyboy walked out without saying where they were going.

There was something off about Ponyboy, even more than usual.

His own weight had been depleting; he wasn't eating hardly anything even after Bexley had tried to help him with that.

Bexley stuck to the boy like glue; growing more protective of him.

She saw how much he was afraid of the gang so she made sure that they avoided them at all costs.

They would leave the house every chance they got.

All the gang wanted for the twins to be much happier.

They were growing more worried about them the longer the time went.

"Maybe we should go after them." Two-Bit suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea. But we need to figure out where they were going." Darry agreed, giving them a nod.

That's when they all ran out of the house to look for them.


They all split up so they could cover the area more easily.

Needless to say, the first place they thought to look was the movie house but they weren't there.

"Any luck?" Steve asked Two-Bit and Dally when they ran into each other.

"Does it look like we found them?" Dally spat back.

"Nope. Where could they be?" the rusty haired greaser said worried.

As if on cue, they heard a shrill cry for help coming from an alleyway.

"No! Bexley!" Ponyboy's voice screamed in panic.

The two greasers glanced at one another before taking off running towards the sound of Ponyboy's cry.

What they saw in front of them shocked them.

They saw Bexley getting stabbed in her right side, the blade was half way in.

"Bexley! Ponyboy!" Steve shouted, catching the man off guard.

He pulls the blade out of Bexley's side and throws her to the ground.

Bexley held her side, it was bleeding badly.

"Don't take another step! Or I'll cut the boy too. Or I'll run him over with my truck just like I nearly did with his little friend." the man threatened, his voice raspy as if he had chainsmoked since he was a kid.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock when they heard this.

This bastard is the reason everything went to hell in the first place.

Steve went ahead and tackled the man to the ground, making him drop Ponyboy, fighting to get the knife away from him.

"Bastard!" Steve yelled, wrestling with the man.

Dally went to help him fight against the man, not thinking to bring his blade with him.

Two-Bit went to Bexley's with Ponyboy beside him.

"Bexley! Bexley, say something, please!" Ponyboy begged in desperation.

"Pony, hold the wound! Don't let her bleed out!" Two-Bit yelped, "I'm gonna call for help!"

Soon enough, Steve and Dally managed to knock the guy out cold during their tussle.

After catching their breath, they ran over to Bexley and Ponyboy.

Two-Bit had ran to the nearest phone booth to phone the police.

When Pony saw them, he had the urge to scoot away from them; but he couldn't leave his sister to bleed out.

"Easy, kid. We'll talk later. Right now, we gotta focus on Bex here." Steve said, his eyes shifting from Ponyboy to Bexley.

Dally quickly takes off his jacket and wraps it around her waist.

The blue denim fabric quickly turned crimson red from the bloodflow.

Bexley's breaths were gurgled as blood started to come out of her mouth.

They couldn't waste any time; she was gonna bleed out to death if they didn't get her to a hospital asap.

An ambulance arrived shortly after, immediately loading the young girl inside; Two-Bit jumped in with her.

"We gotta tell Darry and Soda! C'mon, Ponyboy." Dally said, trying to pull Ponyboy along, but the fragile looking boy didn't move.

He was freaked out by witnessing his sister, his protector from the gang, getting stabbed trying to save him made him scared.

"Pony, come on!" Steve urged, pulling Ponyboy along.

They all went to the hospital to see if Bexley will be okay.


The gang all rushed to the hospital after Bexley got emitted there.

Needless to say, they were all very worried about her.

Ponyboy sat away from the others, still afraid of getting near them.

He thought that they were mad at him for getting Bex into this situation, but they were far from mad.

"Pony, can we talk?" Soda asked, noticing his baby brother's distance.

Pony wanted Bexley there to help him; she needed to defend him.

But he blamed himself for Bex getting hurt.

"Hey, kid. Don't blame yourself for this happenin'. It's not your fault." Dally said, coming up towards Ponyboy.

Ponyboy bit his bottom lip and turned his head away from them, not wanting to speak to them.

"Kid, please talk to us." Steve said, but still no response, "Can't you see-"

"No! Can't all of you see the hell you put me through? All you guys did was screw with my emotions. Bexley was the only one who was there for me! She showed me what it's like to have someone care for me." Ponyboy spat, every word spitting out like venom.

"No, you've got it wrong." Dally said.

As much as Ponyboy wanted to believe it, he found it extremely arduous to.

He hugged himself and whimpered, tears filling his eyes.

"It should've been me…" he spoke softly, hoping that no one heard him, but they unfortunately did.

"What'd you say?" Soda said, getting up from his seat.

Pony flinched at Soda's voice, closing his eyes.

"It should've been me… I… I should've been the one to get stabbed… Not Bex. She… She doesn't deserve this…" Ponyboy said shakily, "I'll be doing you guys a favor if I wasn't here."

They were speechless when he said this, all of them were appalled to hear this.

"Ponyboy Curtis, don't say that ever again. Neither one of you deserve this." Darry said, kneeling down in front of his youngest brother.

Soon enough, the rest of the gang approached him, careful to not frighten him.

"Pony, look at us." Darry softly said, gently holding his youngest brother by his arms.

Ponyboy hesitantly looked at them, his eyes glassy.

"Johnny had told us what really happened. Both him and Bex actually opened our eyes. We have been treating you wrong. And I can say for all of us that we made a huge mistake. All of us should've listened to you when you tried telling us what happened. What happened to Johnny wasn't your fault. We now realize that it was an accident." Darry explained to him.

"Yeah, what we're trying to say is, we're sorry for treating you badly. And, if you or Bex had left us, we'd never be the same. It'd tear us apart." Soda said, sitting on Ponyboy's right side, carefully rubbing his back.

Ponyboy looked down at his knees for a minute, thinking about what his brothers as well as the gang were saying to him.

After a few minutes, he shot them a small smile.

Although hesitant, made the decision to start trusting the gang again.

It'd take a while for him to fully trust them again.

Just then, a doctor wearing a white lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck.

The gang anxiously waited on what he was going to say.

"She'll be alright." he announced, much to everyone's relief.

"Bexley is resting. We had to give her more blood during the surgery. But we're expecting her to make a full recovery." The doctor said.

"Can we see her?" Darry asked, subtly growing impatient.

The doctor nods and he leads them up to where Bexley was recovering.


Bexley was asleep, the anesthesia still taking effect on her body as she was recovering.

She looked so pale from how much blood she had lost.

Everyone was starting to get antsy while they waited for Bex to wake up, which felt like hours.

When she did wake up, Two-Bit was the first to notice.

"Hey, a revival!" he exclaimed with joviality.

Bex saw the gang jump out of their seats to greet her, having big smiles on their faces.

"Oh… it's just you guys." Bex said, her eyes halfway opened from feeling sleepy.

Soda brushed her messy brown hair from her eyes lovingly.

She rubbed her left eye with a balled up fist, feeling the anesthesia starting to wear off.

"God, what happened?" she groaned, looking at each member of the gang inquisitively.

"You were stabbed in the side. You lost a shit ton of blood." Soda replied.

As if it hit her like a brick wall, she remembered all of what happened.

She tried moving but accidently pulled on her stitches, causing her to wince in pain.

"Ow, god!" she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Take it easy, Bex. You shouldn't be moving too much." Darry said, helping her relax on the bed.

Bex wasn't concerned for herself though; she had to know if Ponyboy was okay.

"Pony? Where-?" she said, looking around the room.

She saw him walking up to the right side of the bed, taking note of his fatigued complexion.

He sure looked exhausted.

"You alright, Pony?" she asked him.

"I-I should be askin' you that." he muttered, trying not to be too loud.

What was making him so sad?

Was it because she was in the hospital and he wasn't?

He was already told that none of this was his fault from the gang.

She took a hold of his boney hand, being lucky she didn't have to raise up any.

"I'm gonna be fine, okay? It may take me a little while to fully heal but there's not a chance of it happenin' again." Bex reassured, smiling at him gently.

"But if I hadn't suggested that we go see that movie-" Ponyboy said, looking down.

"Hey, stop torturin' yourself over this, man. You'll only hurt yourself even more." Dally said, cutting him off.

Bex glanced up at Dally, now confused.

Weren't they mad at him before all of this?

It didn't make sense to her.

"Hold on, I'm confused. You guys were pissed at Ponyboy. Now you're all being nice all of a sudden? What's going on?" Bex asked.

They all looked at one another for a moment.

"Both you and Johnny had opened our eyes, Bex. We all realized that both of you are right. We have been treating Pony here wrong. And you guys don't have to forgive us. We'll try to do better with you guys." Soda said, rubbing his younger brother's shoulder.

"Are you sure about that?" Bex asked, feeling uncertain about what Soda was saying.

"We're sure, Bex. We're gonna make it up to the both of you." Soda said.

The twins look at one another for a moment, then grin back at the gang.

"You guys promise?" Bex asked.

"We promise." Soda and Darry said together.

The next week and a half went by very quickly.

Bex had recovered and was back on her feet before anyone knew it.

Everything seemed to return to normal ever since Bex woke up in the hospital.

Ponyboy had started to regain the weight that he had lost, he had gotten more sleep since then.

For now, they'd make things up for the twins by making a chocolate cake.

There wasn't anything on the TV that night, making Darry cross.

"Why isn't there anything worth watching on Wednesday nights?!" Darry scowled, trying to find something to watch.

"Take it easy with the TV, Darry. You'll find something." Ponyboy said, laughing as Soda ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, yeah." Darry sighed, switching to the show Gunsmoke.

"Come join us, Dar! We need a fourth member here." Bex called from the kitchen.

Darry rolled his eyes before he joined his two brothers and only sister in the kitchen to help finish the cake.

"This cake's gonna be great, let me tell you guys." Soda chuckled, using the electric mixer to stir it up.

"I bet it's gonna be the Sodapop Special?" Bex wondered.

"Don't you know me by now?" Soda declared.

They were all having a fun time making this chocolate cake; they had forgotten just how much fun it was to do things as a family.

Darry would now put his family first before anything else from now on, even before chocolate cake because once someone in the family is gone, they're gone for good.

But chocolate cake comes every once in a while, you can replace that, but not family; you can't replace family.


"One thing that you should never do with chocolate cake mix," Soda started, holding out the bowl with the electric mixer still inside it, "Is this!"

He lifts up the electric mixer from the bowl, making the mix splatter everywhere and on his two brothers and sister, causing them to yelp and laugh in shock.

"You're gonna pay for that Sodapop Curtis!" Bex laughed, grabbing some flour and threw it at her older brother.

His reaction made them all bust a gut laugh.

"Oh, it's on now!" Ponyboy yelled playfully, throwing flour at her, making her sputter and cringe.

"You three are gonna clean this up!" Darry said, wiping his face from the brown cake mix.

"But Soda started it!" Ponyboy and Bex argued, pointing at Soda.

"No! I was framed!" Soda cried out, trying to play it off.

"I'm finishing it!" Darry said, laughing with them.

Even though their love for chocolate cake was strong, their love for one another was much more.

They'd be together through thick and thin.