(Tuesday, September 29, 1965, 7:20 PM)
(Bex's POV)
(At the DX)
It had been a couple of days since the rumble. During those two days, I couldn't help but be bothered that Ponyboy and Johnny were hiding something from me. As much as I've got my respect for any secrets, I was persistent in asking what it was. But they wouldn't tell me. Whatever it was, stayed on my mind while I was at the DX with Soda and Steve.
I was waiting by the door, leaning against the door frame with my arms crossed. I had a lit cigarette in my fingers, taking drags from it every 10 seconds. I usually don't smoke unless it's to calm me down. And I was feeling a bit riled up from Johnny and Ponyboy keeping this secret from me.
"Something wrong, Bex?" Soda said, making me jump out of my thoughts. His voice was so sudden that I dropped my lit cigarette. "Jeez, Soda! You scared the hell out of me!" I yelp, spinning around to face my older brother. He smiled at me and chuckled sheepishly.
"Heh, sorry." he apologized, "You looked distracted and thought something was bothering you." "I'm fine, Soda." I shrugged, trying to hide what I was feeling. But he didn't look convinced in the slightest. "You know you can tell me, Bex. I can see that you're lying. Your bruises ain't botherin' you, aren't they?" Soda replied, gently punching me on my shoulder.
A small smile crept onto my face at just how caring my brother really was. I admire just how he's able to see through my, as well as everyone else's lies. He knows us that well.
"You got me, Soda." I said, leaning against the door, "No, I can hardly feel them. And Did you notice how secretive Pony and Johnny had gotten? Like, they're hiding something from me." "Yeah, I did notice. But I wouldn't pry into it. It might be between them." Soda replied. "Yeah, maybe. But I can't help but feel bothered by it. We tell each other everything." I sighed, crossing my arms.
Soda's eyes softened a little and he threw his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight hug for a moment. "Don't worry about it, okay? They'll tell you when they're ready." he assures me. I glanced up at him, giving a smile. He also had his self-respect when it comes to secrets; most times anyway.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." I replied, making the decision to leave it alone. Last thing Ponyboy needs right now is to be interrogated, especially after all he's been through. It was best to not pry.
"So, you almost done?" I asked, getting a drink from the fridge. Of course, I paid for it. Soda had walked back around to the register. "Yeah, just lemme count the money here, we wait on Steve and we are outta here." Soda replied, looking at the register. I crossed my arms on the counter top, watching what he was doing.
"Where is he anyway?" I asked, seeing that Steve hadn't returned from whatever he was doing. "Out with the tow truck. He'll be back anytime." he replied, finishing with counting the money in the register. "Well, he'd better hurry. Pony'll probably worry about us if we're gone for too long." I replied, throwing away the empty bottle of pop.
To be honest, I was getting a little bit impatient. Steve was taking a bit too long for my liking and I just wanted to get home. I didn't want to worry Ponyboy for being out too late. But at the same time, I kinda felt safe here in the DX. My brother's wouldn't like it too much if I walked on my lonesome, especially with how the Socs are right now.
I remembered that Ponyboy was just as innocent as the rest of us. He wasn't like the other Greasers. He doesn't steal, or get into fights with the other gangs in town. He loves to read whatever book he can get his hands on and even draw Dallas Winston whenever that hood is in a dangerous mood. And he loves to catch the newest movies. Those are some of the things that I love so much about my twin brother. Him and I are practically the same person when it comes to those things.
Johnny had crossed my mind again. I remembered how he was there for me when I had my last panic attack that night of the rumble. He had helped me calm down. Johnny always had a good heart, I knew. He's such a good person that he didn't deserve all of what happened to him. Despite him living under an abusive home, and getting badly jumped by the Socs on top of that, he had come back to his roots to help us. Which is something that I love about him.
When I thought of Johnny, my ears had grown hot. And it made me remember that first kiss we shared. Just thinking about it made my heart race a million miles an hour; like how a hummingbird flies. My cheeks also felt very hot from the thought. Needless to say, it didn't go unnoticed.
"You feeling alright, Bex?" Soda asked, taking notice of how hot my face had gotten. I turned my head towards him, my eyebrows raising a bit. "What? I'm fine, Soda. Why do you ask?" I wondered. He walks over to me and places the back of his hand on my forehead.
"You're burning up. And your face is all red." he replied. I pulled away from his hand and tried to hide my reddened face. "Huh? I-It ain't red!" I protest, now feeling a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, you are. Very red." he replied, grabbing my chin to make me look at him.
"Ay, stop it!" I whined. But he didn't let go of my face, eyes squinted a little. When he caught what was making me blush madly, his eyes grew wide. "Bex, are you hidin' something from me?" he queried, eyes gleaming in curiosity. "Wh-what? What do you mean?" I reply, trying to play dumb.
"I know what's making you so red. You like someone, don't you?" he wondered suspiciously, "Does my baby sister have a crush on a certain someone?" That question alone made my face even more red! A big smile grew on my big brother's face in realization.
"Oh, I have cracked the case! Who is it? Who is this special someone that I should know about?" he prodded on, drapping an arm around my shoulders. I didn't want to tell him about my feelings for Johnny. And I even made Two-Bit promise not to tell anyone about it.
"C'mon, you either tell me, or the tickle monster is gonna get ya in the mornin'." Soda said, knowing that playful threat would work on anything whenever Pony or I are stubborn about something. "Alright, don't you dare bring that up." I laughed. "Then, who is this little Romeo?" Soda prodded sheepishly.
"It's Johnny. H-He and I had… kissed after the rumble." I confessed, feeling more hot than before. Soda's eyes grew wide in bewilderment, joviality flickering in his chocolate brown eyes. "You serious?" he asked. "Y-Yeah…" I replied, looking away slightly.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing! My baby sister has gotten her first kiss! And with innocent Johnnycake, I might add! She's growing up too fast!" Soda fake sobbed, but I knew that he was happy for me. "Alright, enough with the pity-party. It ain't that big of a deal." I said modestly.
"Not that big a deal? I think it's a big deal! As a reward, you get…" Soda said as he wrapped his arms around me, "A big ol' hug from your big ol' brother!" He was squeezing me a bit too hard as well as swinging me back and forth a little. "Ow, Soda! Let me down!" I whined, struggling a little bit.
He did so. That movie star grin of his didn't leave his face; he was that happy for me. "Don't tell me that you're gonna be like this when Ponyboy gets his first kiss?" I asked. "Oh I surely will." Soda announced. Knowing him, it's a possibility.
(Tuesday, September 29, 1965, 7:30 PM)
(In Town)
Steve had finally got back with the tow-truck about half an hour later; which meant we could get outta here. Soda had the urge to tell Steve about my kiss with Johnny, but he had the decency to keep his trap shut.
Unfortunately, we'd have to walk back because Darry had taken the truck with him to work, so he had to drop Soda and Steve off. I had been here ever since school had let out; Ponyboy hadn't come back since that encounter with the Socs in the gym.
We were on our way home, and it was getting dark. Which made me a little bit nervous if I'm being honest, but I did feel a bit safer with Soda and Steve. As we made our way back home, a certain uneasiness came over me. I felt as though we were being watched.
I kept looking behind us, rubbing my arms nervously. "What's wrong, Bex?" Soda asked, noticing the uneasy look on my face. "Hmm?" I ask, glancing up at him. "You seem tense there. Something bothering you?" Soda asked, sounding concerned. I glanced over my shoulder again, now scratching my arm excessively.
"Is it just me or do you guys feel like we're being watched?" I ask, my voice a bit shaky. "Are you sure, kid? You're just paranoid. It's just us here." Steve inquired. I shot a glare at him, feeling offended that he said that. "I'm not being paranoid, Steve. I'm actually serious." I spat, feeling more on edge.
Soda threw an arm over my shoulders, keeping me close to him. "Take it easy you two. Everything's gonna be fine. Let's get to the house." he said, keeping a level head. For a moment, I felt reassured by what Soda said. But it soon died away when the sound of a car entered my ears.
Soda and Steve heard it too. Now I know that it ain't no fluke. Then the road in front of us suddenly lit up from a pair of headlights from behind us. My entire body froze in fear, knowing very well that those headlights belonged to a Socs car.
"Oh that's just great. What do these assholes want?" Steve swore, turning around to face the car. Soda and I turned around to face the car, the bright headlights blinding me. It was that red Corvair that had jumped Ponyboy last week.
As the Socs stepped out of the car, Soda stepped in front of me to protect me. "Well, what do we have here?" the leader Soc cackled. I peeked from behind my brother and saw that the leader was carrying a flask in his right hand. "They're drunk…" I whispered. Soda looked behind him so that our eyes connected, "It's gonna be okay…"
"We got ourselves a couple of Greasers with their little she-grease." the leader Soc said, slurring his words. The other Socs laughed along with him, finding our tense state amusing. "Do you assholes got anything better to do?" Steve swore, not in the mood to deal with these Socs.
"Oh, we were bored and then we saw the three of you. So we decided to have ourselves a little fun." another soc chuckled, walking around us. He then took sight of me, and he roughly grabbed me from Soda. "You don't mind if I hold onto this She-Grease, do you?!" he shouted, holding me by wrapping his arm around my waist. I fought and struggled to get loose, "Let me go! Soda!"
"You son of a bitch! Let her go!" Soda shouted, starting to throw a fist at him but another one of his friends grabbed him by both arms. Soda was fighting against them in an attempt to get to me. "No, I think I'll keep a hold of this one. This one is better off with us. Maybe I'll finish her off like I tried to do before." that Soc replied, his hot breath against my neck.
The fifth Soc punched Soda hard in the stomach, making him double over with a pained grunt. "No! Leave my brother alone!" I screamed, fighting against the Socs' strong arm. "You better shut up, bitch." the Soc barked, taking out a blade. He held it under my chin, making the obvious threat that he'd surely kill me if I did anything.
Knowing this scared me half to death… I looked at Soda, who had a look of anger and fear in his eyes. "You know, that greaser brother of yours wasn't enough for us. We figured that we would go to the next best thing." the blonde Soc snickered, caressing my chin in a way that made me feel sick.
Soda glared up at the blonde soc that touched me. "If you lay a finger on her, I'll kill you!" Soda growled, struggling against the soc that held onto him. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try!" the blonde soc growled. When the soc tried touching me again, that's when all hell broke loose.
Soda wrenched himself from that Soc's grasp and punched the Soc holding me in the face, getting him off of me. That punch was strong enough to knock said Soc onto his back with a loud thud. "Oh, you're dead, you son of a bitch!" one of the other Soc's bellowed, running to grab Soda. "Leave him alone!" I shouted, jumping on top of that Soc.
That Soc was fighting to get me off of him, reaching behind him. He grabbed at my denim jacket roughly, and managed to throw me off. I landed on my back so hard that I was rendered breathless for a moment. That impact knocked the wind out of me and I couldn't breathe. "You stupid bitch! You just don't learn, do you!?" the brunette Soc growled, kicking me ruthlessly.
At this point, Steve had been fighting off two Socs at once, before running to get help. The Soc beating me had grabbed me by my shirt with a tight fist and started punching me in the face, making me cry out from the pain. Blood started to flow from my nose from how vicious the punches were.
"BEX!" Soda screamed, getting that Soc off of me by football tackling him. "Don't touch my sister, you bastard!" Soda bellowed, starting to throw punches at the Soc. But the Soc pushed Soda off of him, making him hit his head on the concrete. He looked like he couldn't get up, which scared me half to death. That Soc started punching my brother in the face.
"Alright, you guys. That's enough. They learned their lesson. Let's get outta here." the blonde Soc said. They then ran to their Corvair, speeding away from us. My body, mostly my face, was hurting so bad. Blood ran from my nose and lips. God, it hurt…
I let out a groan of pain, finding myself unable to move. Tears welled up in my eyes and I started to cry. What did we do to deserve this…? I don't understand… Suddenly, I feel myself being lifted up in a pair of arms; Soda's arms.
I forced my arms to wrap my arms around his waist as I cried from the pain I was feeling. "Soda…" I murmured his name. He held me closer, not letting go of me. I sobbed my heart out in his chest. "I'm right here, baby girl… I'm here." he whispers in my ear. His voice was soft and sweet, but it also sounds like he was about to cry. I knew that he was trying to be strong.
He pulled me back a little to see what damage had been done. Tears were in his eyes at seeing the bruises and bloody nose. "I'm so sorry this happened… I'm sorry that I couldn't keep you safe. I'm sorry this…" he said before grabbing his head. He grimaced from a pain in his head. "Wh-What's wrong?" I ask, suddenly scared.
"My head hurts… I think I hit it…" he replied, suddenly looking pale. My heart was racing from fear, scared something was seriously wrong with Soda. "I'll get help!" I exclaim, starting to get up. "No, Bexley, I'm fine… I'm fi… fi…" he started before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He fell forward against me.
"No! Soda, wake up! Please, god no!" I sobbed, holding him close to me, "God no! Please, not my brother! Please don't take him…" I didn't want to leave Soda there all on his lonesome, especially if he was hurt. What would Ponyboy think when he saw us like this? He was already hurting enough and didn't want us to get hurt…
Soda was limp in my arms, and he felt cold too. How could they target us? Was this some sort of warning? I don't know… What was the explanation? I just didn't understand it; wasn't attacking Pony to the point of depression enough?
About five minutes, multiple footsteps were coming towards us. Needless to say, the way they were coming scared me. "No, please!" I cried, fearing that it was the Socs. "Bex! Soda!" Darry's voice cut through the night air. My cloudy eyes opened to see Darry with the rest of the gang behind him.
"Are you guys okay?!" Darry cried to us, falling to his knees next to us. "Soda won't wake up! He won't wake up!" I cried, feeling a panic attack taking over. I couldn't help it because I don't know how badly hurt Soda was. Darry carefully looked Soda over.
"Calm down, Bex. He's got a minor concussion. Let's get home." Darry said, keeping his voice steady and calm. He picked Soda up bridal style with one arm under his knees and the other under his shoulders. Johnny came over to help me up, throwing an arm over his shoulders. "It's gonna be alright, Bex. C'mon. You guys are gonna be okay." he whispered, helping me walk back home.
Author Note
I thought it'd be cute for Soda to find out that Bexley had her first kiss with Johnny. Soda had always had a close-nit relationship with Ponyboy and Bexley so it's fitting. And the Soc that grabbed Bexley from Soda, is the same Soc that strangled her the last time they were jumped.
