Hi! How are y'all doing? Great, I hope! It's almost two in the morning here, I got back from a Saturday night with my friends, but I thought I'd update! Hope you like the chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Tonyboy, Degrassichick and EmmaHermione1fan (aww, you're not the only one who's obsessed with Soda, don't worry!)
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of this. Just Sybil.
8 – Jumped
"Glory! Ponyboy, what happened?"
Soda reached his brother and stared at him, worried. I stared, too. I didn't know what to do.
"Soda…it's okay, I am not really hurt…" Ponyboy muttered, each word sounding like he had a hard time uttering it.
"Not really hurt? Are you kidding? Where's Darry? We need to take you to hospital!"
"I don't want to go, I'm fine!"
"You ain't fine at all! Where's Darry?" Soda asked again.
"I don't know, he still hasn't come home…maybe he had some extra work to do…"
"We'll leave him a note, we have to go to the hospital right now! Sybil, can you drop a couple of lines for Darry to tell him?"
"Sure…" I found a piece of paper and a pen and I left a quick note. I was feeling totally useless, especially during the ride to the hospital. Ponyboy was really pale. He was leaning against me, to feel more comfortable, in the back seat, since Soda was the one driving.
"How could you reach home beaten like that?" Soda asked. Ponyboy just shook his head. "I told you, I don't feel that bad." It didn't take a genius to see he was lying. I was feeling really bad for him.
"Who jumped you?" Soda inquired.
"Some Socs…well, they weren't all Socs…there were a couple of normal people too."
"Normal people…you mean like me?" I intervened.
Ponyboy suddenly looked awkward. "No…you're not like them…"
We didn't say much else after that. At the hospital Soda and I had to wait while some nurse put Ponyboy's arm in some plaster and Darrel eventually reached us, along with Steve and another guy I didn't know.
"What happened, Soda?"
"They jumped Pony, he's got a broken arm and some bruises, but he's still better than Johnny the time…y'know… he was jumped." He said, his voice shaking. I wondered who Johnny was.
"So he's alright?" Darrel insisted.
"Yeah, he will be."
"Cheers! We have to throw a huge party with rivers of beer flowing!" the guy I didn't know exclaimed, grinning.
"Two-Bit, shut up! It's not funny!" Darrel insisted.
"Why, it is indeed. Who's this beautiful girl I have not had the honor to meet yet?"
The look on his face was so comical I couldn't help but laugh. Sodapop half smiled and introduced us.
"Why do they call you Two-Bit?" I asked, curious.
"Because my real name is too beautiful to be disgraced by their mouths..."
"And that is?"
"Oh…let me think about it…" he pretended to concentrate really hard. I laughed again. He finally answered: "My full name is Brandon Phoenix James Matthews."
"Really?"
"No." Steve answered for him. "His real name is Keith Mathews."
"How could you reveal that!" Two-Bit glared at Steve, who just rolled his eyes and cussed.
"Pony!"
Darrel's shout made us all turn around. Ponyboy had left the room with part of his arm in a plaster and was staring at us, with a slight smirk on his face. He still looked quite pale though. "Can we leave now?"
"How do you feel?" his oldest brother inquired.
"Relax, Darry, I'm fine! But I'm tired and I'd like some sleep…"
While Darrel signed some papers, the rest of us waited outside; I couldn't help but think about Seth. I decided to ask Ponyboy. "Hey, Pony, listen…" I said in a whisper, so that Soda, Steve and Two-Bit would not hear. Well, they couldn't anyway: Two-Bit was telling them some joke and they were listening, trying to decide if they should laugh or just hit him. "The guys who jumped you…was Seth Tucker one of them?"
"Seth Tucker?" Pony looked startled. "No…he wasn't there…why?"
"Just…just wondering." Then I thought about Seth's best friend, Fabian Mansfield. But I didn't have the chance to ask Pony, because Darrel reached us and we all got into the truck.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------The following day, at school, I was trying desperately to avoid Sophie: I didn't feel like talking to her after what she had said about Sodapop. I reached my locker to pick up some books I needed for the following lessons and I bumped right into Fabian. He smiled at me. "What's up, Sybil?"
I looked at him. He was the same as usual…but his hands…
"What did you do to your right hand?" I asked.
"Oh…nothing, I just…"
He tried to hide it, but I grabbed it and looked at his knuckles: they were skinned. "Who did you hit last night?" I asked.
"No one…some stupid good for nothing kid who lives…far away from here."
I was going to ask for more details, when Seth reached us, grinning: "Wonderful day today, isn't it?" He glanced at Fabian. The latter nodded. And that was when I understood. "You told him to go jump Ponyboy…" I said, barely audible.
"What?" Seth raised his eyebrows. "What did you say?"
I took a deep breath. But I was really mad. I started walking away, but Seth came after me. "Hey…"
I quickly turned and hit his face as hard as I could. He wasn't expecting that and almost fell. I noticed with pleasure his nose had started bleeding.
"What got into you?" Fabian yelled.
I realized it was Fabian the one who had beaten up Ponyboy and decided it wouldn't be bad to hit him too, but…
"What's the matter?"
Mrs. Trenton, the principal, was looking at us sternly. She wasn't the only one: a small crowd had gathered round us and Sophie and Julian were trying to reach me.
"Nothing, I just…I hit my face with my locker." Seth quickly lied.
Mrs. Trenton eyed him suspiciously. She wasn't one to buy such made-up lies. But maybe she wasn't in the mood to punish anyone that day, because she only said "Be more careful" before returning to her office.
I decided to skip the following lesson and ran out of the school building. I wanted to go talk to Soda. When I reached the DX station, he was checking some car with Steve and he didn't notice me till Steve elbowed him hard. "Sybil! Hey!" he got up grinning. "It's great to see you!"
"You too…" I smiled. "How's Ponyboy?"
"He's feeling better, after a night of rest…Darry wouldn't let him skip school, so that means Pony's not so bad, after all." He grinned. Car oil and dirt was on his hands, his arms and part of his face. But he looked gorgeous. I wanted to kiss him so bad.
"Soda, I-"
I was cut off by Soda's lips pressing against mine, as if he had read my mind. I could hear Steve's mocking whistles, but I didn't care. Once we parted, I stroked Soda's cheek. He grinned. "You're getting dirt on your hand."
"Who cares?"
I proceeded to tell him about that day's happenings. He grinned when I told him I had punched Seth in his face. He grinned even more when I told him my hand was hurting, then he made me put it under some cold water.
"I feel bad, it's all my fault if Pony got jumped…" I said, while Soda handed me something to drink. He gave me a puzzled look and I told him about Seth, the way he wouldn't leave me alone, how he knew about me liking one of Ponyboy's brothers.
"It's not your fault, Sybil, now don't worry about that. I think I have an idea…" Soda's grin widened.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, I'll explain once I've talked with the boys about that. Do you wanna have lunch with me? And Steve?" he immediately added. "But maybe you have to go back to school…" he pondered outloud.
"Let's see…I could go and try to stay awake during math and chemistry…or I could stay here with you guys…" I pretended to be deep in thought. "I think I'll stay here."
Soda grinned and kissed my forehead. "We'll finish soon, okay?" he said, pointing at the car he and Steve were working on.
I nodded and sat on a bench nearby, watching him work. I could have finished a book I was reading for school, but I didn't feel like taking my eyes off Sodapop. He was much more tempting than any book.