Chapter 4

"Lady, stop licking me!" What a terrible way to wake up.

"If you're coming, hurry up, Joy!" Brian yelled into my room.

"Where are you going?"

"To play football with Pony and them."

"Why are you inviting me?"

"Stop asking questions. Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah, just let me get dressed would ya'?"

I wondered if Mom had convinced him to let me go.

"Lady, get me my shoes, girl." She brought me my sneakers.

"Thanks. Sweetheart," I patted her head.

The doorbell rang and I heard Pony enter the front hallway.

"Come on, Joy!" Brian shouted up the stairs.

"I'm coming!"

The three of us met up with the rest of the...gang, I guess. That's what Pony always called them, but they couldn't be a real gang. Gangs were violent and unfriendly. No, I made up my mind, they weren't a real gang.

Anyway, we met them on an uneven field where the grass scratched at my bare calves, and they set up football teams. Of course I didn't play. Instead, I sat on the side lines and listened to touch down cheers and whoops of joy, absentmindedly scratching behind Lady's ears.

Thunder rolled overhead, the storm had been closing in for a while, but I chose not to say anything. They kept on playing until the rain came pouring down and even then they debated staying out for a while longer.

By the time we got back to the Curtis's I was soaked to the skin. Darry got Brian and me a couple of towels and I drew mine around my shoulders.

"Brian, I'm going to go back home. Okay?"

"I better come with you." He told me.

"Why Brian? I'll be fine. I think I can manage walking home by myself." I protested. I sighed and let Lady lead me out of the door.

I wasn't far from the house when Pony came running out after me.

"I don't need someone to walk me home, Ponyboy Curtis." Once again, I found myself speaking a little too harshly. Unfortunately, it wasn't to convincing because I tripped.

"Are you alright?" He grabbed my arm and stabled me.

I wrenched my arm from his grip, my pride damaged more than anything else.

"No, I'm not!" I cried, "I'm blind! I can't see where I'm going or what I'm doing. I can't see my own face in the mirror!" I cried, tearlessly. I lowered myself to the ground, no longer having the energy or the will-power to hold myself up. "It's so dark." I whispered to myself. I didn't know if Pony heard me, but I didn't care.

Why, all of the sudden, my blindness affected me so badly, I didn't know.

Pony knelt down beside me. "I'm sorry." He said.

"Don't be." I whispered, "Please don't be, that makes everything so much harder."

"Do you want to go home?"

I shook my head.

"Can I sit here with you?" He asked, sweetly.

Before I could even think, I nodded.

"What do I look like?" I said after a few minutes of silence. "Never mind." I could feel my cheeks getting warmer.

"What do you look like?" I asked after another moment of quiet. Why did my curiosity have to kick in then? "Never mind." I said hastily.

He chuckled, I wondered what it meant.

Finally, I settled on a question, "Why do you use hair grease?"

"I don't know. I guess I just do because Soda and Darry do. I can't remember a time when I didn't use hair grease." He said.

"Can I touch it?"

"What?" He laughed.

"I just want to see what hair grease does."

I touched his hair, my arm brushing the skin on his cheek.

"It's kind of like hair spray then."

"I guess." He shrugged.

When I took my hand from his hair, I didn't draw back all of the way. Instead, I let my fingers trail across his cheekbone and the across the bridge of his nose. Thin cheekbones, small pointed nose, soft, thin lips...Suddenly, I was self-conscious.

"I'm sorry," I turned away from him so he couldn't see my burning cheeks, "I...I just...I wanted to see...what you looked like." I finished lamely.

"Yeah, I know," He whispered.

"Goodnight, Joy." He said, sweetly, as he walked me to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ponyboy." I smiled.

Thank ya'll for reading, I'll try to update later this week. Please REVIEW!