The party was just as slammin' as I'd predicted and after a couple more drinks I felt the stress of another crappy week slide off me like butter on hot pancakes. The music was groovin', the girls were foxy and I was with my two best buds - what more could a guy ask for on a Friday night in Tulsa county, Oklahoma?
I was definitely glad I'd left Ponyboy in Steve's car since I might've been a bit economical with the truth and told him I never drank at parties. I knew he had me up on some kind of pedestal, Darry could tell him something until he was blue in the face while all I had to do was make one offhand comment and the kid treated it like gospel truth. It wasn't fair really, especially with Darry tryin' so damn hard all the time, but Pony was a good kid and if that was the biggest issue we had with him then I'd take it and be grateful. Not that I was a big drinker anyway but sometimes, like tonight, I needed a little help to find my way back to the easy-going, good-time guy people knew me as.
It was fun, just kickin' back and shootin' the shit with everyone. I recognised a bunch of faces from Will Rodgers and there was real stuff to catch up now we weren't bumpin' into each other in the halls everyday. I didn't miss school one jot, but it was still fun to hear who was goin' with who and who'd flunked what and let myself pretend for a moment that they were still the biggest problems in my life. Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my lot and wouldn't change my brothers for anything but sometimes…man, sometimes it was a lot. Pony still needed so much and Darry was just so tired all the freaking time. I didn't begrudge it either of them and knew my role was to step in and fill the gaps any way I could but lately it's been like tryna pour water from an empty pitcher. I dunno how much more I've got to give. Here, tonight, I could just be Soda Curtis; no expectations, no demands, no rules.
I couldn't say exactly when the vibe started to change but after a few hours of makin' the rounds and slappin' palms I came up for air and suddenly things felt darker somehow. I dunno what shit everyone was takin' but it definitely weren't speadin' no peace and love. I was about ready to call it a night anyway since we'd seen and been seen by everyone we wanted to and the drug scene really wasn't my bag. A quick glance at Stevie told me he felt the same way, so we quickly snagged Keith and started to manoeuvre our way back outside.
As we started fightin' our way to the door I was thinkin' how we'd probably ended up stayin' a little longer than I'd planned but Pony would be passed out cold in Steve's car so luckily he'd be none the wiser. Tomorrow I'd make pancakes for breakfast and not nag about his homework to make it up to him and everything would be fine and dandy for Darry to come back to Sunday night. Just as I was picturing Darry arriving home to Pony and me snuggled up together on the couch, weirdly drinking hot chocolate even though it was only mid-September and still too warm for hot drinks, I happened to glance up across the living room and my eyes locked with a familiar pair of green ones.
My brother froze like a deer in the headlights, a solo cup hovering half way to his mouth. I also screeched to a halt, Two-Bit slamming into my back then cursing like a sailor as Steve, bringing up the rear, did the same to him. It would've been funny if I hadn't been so damn pissed.
"Soda, what the fu…" Steve trailed off as he followed my gaze and landed on Ponyboy too. "Oh shit."
"Oh shit is right!" I snapped, shaking Two-Bit's hand off of my shoulder to stalk across the room towards my brother. "You. Out. Now!" I jerked my thumb over my shoulder as I advanced on him so he'd get the message even if he couldn't hear me over the music. I saw him gulp and start to get to his feet, his eyes darting from side to side like he was about to bolt and so help me god I don't know what I'd do to him if he tried that with me. I was about ready to wring his neck as it was.
"Soda…" Pony stammered as I drew level with his table and I could feel my fingers twitching to wallop him right there and then.
"Nah, you gotta drink it neat, Pone! I know it tastes like piss but Tim says only pussies mix their drinks so you gotta just man up and knock it back!" Curly Shepard had his back to me but I'd recognise his dumb voice anywhere. Of course he'd had a hand in this, the little degenerate!
"I should knock you back for feedin' my brother such a crock of shit, Curly Shepard!" He damn near jumped out of his skin at my yell and spun around to face me, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. "Gimme that and get over here right goddamn now!" I demanded, grabbing the cup out of Ponyboy's hand and yanking him towards me in the same motion. He came stumbling, his face ash white but for two red stripes across his cheeks. I quickly dumped whatever the heck had been in it over Curly's head before grabbing Pony by the scruff of his sweatshirt and pulling him after me as I stormed off, leaving Curly spluttering and cursing in our wake.
"Soda!" Pony whined again, angled awkwardly at my side thanks to the hold I had on him. "Soda, quit!"
"I'm gonna smack your backside so hard!" I snapped at him, not caring who heard me as I continued to fight through the throng of people to get to the front door. "Just wait 'til we get home, you're gonna be the sorriest kid that ever lived!"
If he had a reply I didn't wanna hear it and thankfully the crowd spat us out into the yard a few moments later. Steve and Two-Bit emerged just after which was lucky as I was already stalking back towards the car, shifting Ponyboy so I was now dragging him along by his upper arm.
"Soda! Be cool, man!" I heard Two-Bit shout as they followed us, which just made me madder because he was the right in line behind Curly as the last person I wanted Pony learnin' drinking habits from.
"Shut up, Keith, I ain't in the mood! I'm takin' him home, you can come with us or not, I really don't care!"
"I told you we shoulda locked him in, the sneaky little shit! I knew he'd find some way to mess everything up!" Steve was breathing heavily as he ranted, straining to keep pace with me. I was about to open my mouth and tell him to shove his 'I told you so's up his ass when suddenly I heard it.
It was only faint, still a fair distance away, but I would recognise that sound anywhere - police sirens. I stopped dead in my tracks, Steve freezing beside me to listen intently. Even Pony stopped squirming for a second, his eyes wide in the dark.
"You hear that?" I murmured, straining to hear. Steve nodded grimly, his gaze roaming around the property like he expected flashing lights to surround us any second.
"Shit, it's the cops!" Two-Bit whisper-shouted, coming up behind us and seeming a lot more sober all of a sudden. "I can't get arrested again, my mom'll kick me out for real this time!"
"Fuck fuck fuck," Steve cursed, his eyes flicking between Pony and myself. "We gotta split, Soda, they can't catch us here with the kid! Come on, if we hustle we might be able to outrun them!"
Before I could even react to his words, he'd grabbed a hold of Pony's wrist and yanked him from my grasp, running with him across the remaining distance to the car. Moments later I felt Two-Bit knock my shoulder as he started to run too, looking back at me to holler "Come on, Soda! Move it or lose it!"
I jerked into action as the police sirens grew ever louder, arriving at the car just as Steve was bundling Ponyboy into the back seat, Keith throwing himself in after him like we already had the cops on our tails.
"They'll be coming from the city so I'll head for the boonies, then we can loop back around via Broken Arrow and if anyone asks we're just three country boys out for a drive, right?" Steve ordered as he ran round to the driver's side and climbed in, slamming his door just as I slammed mine. My best buddy had always been good in a crisis but I was especially glad right now as I felt like my brain had frozen the second I heard those sirens. If they caught us here with Ponyboy, I didn't even wanna think about what would happen…
"Four country boys!" Pony piped up, never wanting to be left out and I swear I saw actual steam come out of Steve's ears.
"Shut up and put your seatbelt on!" I snapped over my shoulder, still furious with him but not wantin' Steve to completely rip him a new one. "Keith, can you…" I trailed off, gesturing vaguely towards my brother and hoping he'd get the message. Two-Bit had been helpin' take care of Pony since he was a little rugrat as our moms had been best friends so he understood what I was askin' and quickly leaned over to start pulling the belt across Ponyboy.
Steve chose that exact moment to slam his foot down on the gas and we screeched out of the front yard. I flew forward, smashing my shoulder against the dash since I'd been twisted around to face the backseat and hadn't thought to worry about fixin' my own seatbelt. Pony slid across the back into Two-Bit, practically ending up in his lap as Steve jerked the wheel to the left to take us away from Tulsa and into the back roads. Just as we were pulling out I caught sight of the first blue lights coming round the bend and suddenly I didn't give a shit that my shoulder was throbbing or the boys were shouting in the back, I was just thankful Steve was gettin' us out of there and, for one fucking time, we were gonna win.
"Step on it, Steve-o! Don't let them fuckers catch us!" I yelled, peering through the window as our tyres threw up plumes of dust and I dunno what came over me but suddenly I was laughing so hard I thought my sides might split. Steve turned to stare at me like I was loopy and even Two-Bit and Pony quit shovin' and gripin' at each other.
"Jesus, Soda, you're a nut!" Steve breathed incredulously but I knew he wouldn't leave me hanging and sure enough soon he was cracking up too.
"What's so funny?" Pony whined, finally sittin' back to let Two-Bit buckle him in. His sulky voice just made us laugh harder.
"Just ignore 'em, kid, they're both crazy," Two replied tetchily, hating to be left out of a joke just as much as my kid brother.
"Holy shit, tonight's been ridiculous!" I spluttered, wiping at my eyes with one hand.
"That's one word for it," Steve griped back, rolling his eyes at me good naturedly. "I swear next time we're stowin' the kid in the truck!" Shit, that reminded me…
"There ain't gonna be a next time," I raised my voice so my brother would know my words were meant for him. "You hear me, Ponyboy Curtis?! If we weren't runnin' from the cops right now I'd have Steve pull over and humble you right here! Hope you had a good time, kiddo, cause you ain't gonna be seein' another party 'til you're at least twenty-one!"
Pony had ducked his head, worryin' at his bottom lip as I took him to task. I hated when he forced me into bein' the mean older brother but some things I just weren't prepared to turn a blind eye to!
"But you were gone for hours and hours!" He sassed hotly, like this whole mess was my fault alone. "I came lookin' but I couldn't find you and then I ran into Curly…" He trailed off, knowin' there weren't any excuse he could come up with to explain away the drink he'd been holdin' when I found him. "I didn't even like it, Soda, I swear!"
"You shoulda been sleepin'!" I yelled, cross that he'd been sneaky but also annoyed at myself for giving him the opportunity. Bringing Pony along had been stupid and we were damn lucky to have gotten away with it.
"So should you!" He shouted back and I was just about to reach back and yank him outta that back seat and over my lap to start wailin' on his ass cause I am done with his mouth when a horribly familiar sound cut through the silent country dark.
"Oh shit," Steve swore as a blue light appeared behind us, casting eerie shows over each of us as it circled. He turned to look at me and I knew he was asking what I wanted him to do. Part of me wanted to tell him to floor it, but the cruiser was practically at our bumper and, maverick driver as he was, we didn't know these roads like we know the city and the chances of Steve being able to shake him were slim.
"Pull over," I muttered dejectedly, twisting in my seat to stare out the back windscreen to try and see if I recognised the person driving. Darry was, somewhat annoyingly, friendly with a couple of officers from the Mingo Valley station as they played in a baseball league every third Saturday. I couldn't quite make out the face of the cop in the driver's seat but he weren't fat so he must be kinda young still and it weren't worth takin' the risk that they might recognise Pony since he often went with Darry to games. Thinking quickly for once in my life I began to wriggle out of my jacket. "Get down on the floor, Pone and don't say a word. Don't even breathe loud, ok? Two-Bit, cover him with this. Maybe we'll get lucky and it's just a traffic stop."
Keith grabbed my jacket while Steve gently eased the car over onto the verge, the cop car pulling in behind us. They'd turned the siren off but that damn light was still going.
"He good?" I asked Two-Bit, once the muffled shuffling from the back of the car had died down. I almost turned my head back to look but caught myself just in time.
"Yeah, as good as he can be. Just relax, Soda, it ain't illegal to have a kid in the car!" I was about to snap back that illegal wouldn't come into it if they even got a whiff of the alcohol and god knows what else that I knew lingered on all of us but Steve cut me off.
"He's comin', game faces on boys," he hissed out the side of his mouth. A tall figure dressed in blue appeared at the side of the car a moment later and, after one last glance my way, Steve reached out and slowly began rollin' down his window.