Chapter 6

That summer ended more quickly then any summer had before.

My new school was over 40 minutes away and with Pony's never ending pile of homework, we rarely saw each other. And over the weeks, we became distant.

Brian began wearing grease in his hair and hung out with this kid named Tim. He didn't speak much of Pony, if anything.

Over time, I had begun to realize the way things worked in Tulsa. Why Greasers were classified the way they were and why sometimes Brian would come home with a cut lip or a swollen eye.

I tried not to let loneliness overtake me again. I tried to fight it by typing for long periods of time. A word, a sentence, a paragraph, a page; Mother became worried, but she didn't say much.

There was a craving inside of me; a craving for something for my soul to feed off of, but nothing would satisfy it. It was the first time in my life I had thought of my house as a cage, my life as a cage, and most of all, my blindness as a cage. I needed something, I knew I did, but I couldn't figure out what it was, and that bothered me most of all.

I could've sworn I heard his voice, but I must've been imagining things. 'You want to be him.' I told myself. I must've been going mental.

Relaxing once again, I leaned back on the park bench, letting the fading sun fall on my face. But again, I sat up. It was his voice, I was certain.

"Come Lady." I said, standing up.

Slowly, I made my way towards the road, barely letting my feet scoff the ground in case I heard him again.

There was his voice, once more, louder than before. Abandoning any thoughts of using my walking cane, I walked faster, almost at a run.

My stomach was churning, telling me that something was wrong and with little grace my foot was caught on a slab of uplifted pavement and I fell to my knees. I made to get up again, hoping to hear the voice, but a firm hand was placed on my shoulder.

"Joy, is that you? Are you alright?" I couldn't breathe and I was shaking, I didn't even know why.

"Something's wrong." I whispered.

"What is it?" Darry knelt down and grabbed both of my shoulders.

"I don't know." I cried, "I think something's wrong with Pony."

"Joy, are you sure you're okay? Here, let me take you home."

"No Darry, I really think something is wrong."

"Calm down, Joy, nothing is-" He stopped, I heard his voice again, and I knew he had heard it, too, "Listen, stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

I nodded and he ran off, but I rose to my feet and slowly followed his foot steps around the corner.

There was scuffling, and yelling, but heard above the rest was the voice of Two-bit, shouting things I'm sure my mother wouldn't approve of. When half of the mass had scurried away, I could be found with my back pressed to a chain-link fence, praying that I wouldn't be noticed.

I could hear the gang, a few meters away.

"You alright there?" Darry asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay." It was Pony. I hadn't even noticed that I had been holding my breath until I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hold on a sec, I have to go get-" Darry stopped short. "Joy?"

"Yeah?" I said quietly.

"Everything's okay now." He told me.

"I know." I still didn't move.

"Come on," he offered, "I'll take you home."

"No, I don't want to go home." I placed my hand on Lady's head, attempting to act as calm as possible, but my hands were still shaking. "Mom found Brian's stolen knife, and it isn't pretty. I'm just gonna walk a bit more."

"Alright, just be careful."

"I will be."

It was a few hours later, and again I found myself sitting on the park bench. The sun must've gone down because the air had become colder, and goose-bumps were appearing on my arms.

"You shouldn't be out here still." At the sound of his voice, I jumped. "Sorry if I scared ya'." Pony said.

"I don't want to go home yet." I said, "What are you doing out here anyway?"

He sat down at the far end of the bench. "I just felt like walking."

Silence.

"You scared me," I don't know why I told him that, "With those kids beating you up and everything."

"You think it scared you?" He gave a short laugh, "Try being in my shoes."

Silence.

"I meant to thank you." I said, not being able to take the quietness.

"For what?"

"For the gift. I like it a lot." I smiled slightly.

"I didn't know if you would." He said.

"Mother's always scolding me when I leave it open, she hates having to close it."

He laughed sweetly, and I smiled.

Silence.

"It sure is cold out here." He said.

"I know, why didn't you wear a jacket?"

"Why didn't you?"

I laughed, "Because it wasn't cold when I came out here, stupid."

"You think you're so smart." He muttered, rubbing his hands together.

"Feel my hands, they're freezing." He pressed his fingertips to my cheek.

"You baby, they're not cold at all. Feel mine." I rested my hand on his cheek.

Silence.

It was the first time I'd realized how close we'd gotten, I could feel his hot breath tickling my nose. His cheek was warm and unintentionally, my thumb brushed over his skin. Bumps rose on my arms once more, but I knew it wasn't from the cold.

I wished I could read what he was thinking, but he didn't pull away and his hand still remained, but it slipped down towards the base of my jaw, leading my lips to his.

Everything was right, everything was perfect, and without realizing it, I had pushed myself toward him.

Then, remembering what I was doing, I reluctantly pulled away.

"I should go home, Pony." I whispered.

"Joy, I-" He started softly.

"My mother will be worried." I interrupted.

"I'll walk you home." He stood up.

"I'll be fine," I insisted, "Darry'll probably be looking for you anyway."

I went home, and after a long and tiresome lecture, I got in bed, but I couldn't sleep. So, I opened the tiny music box that sat on my bedside table letting the tune spill out, pulling me to sleep.

I smiled to myself, knowing how angry my mother would be when she had to close it that night.

Thanks for reading ya'll! It's longer than the last chapter, and I'm very proud of myself! Please review! It's the highlight of my day! (The sad thing is, I'm not kidding.)