(Tuesday, October 11, 1965, 7:50 AM, Will Rogers High School)

(Pony's POV)

The whole ride there was quiet. However, it wasn't the type that was awkward, it was the kind that was peaceful. All I did was gaze out of the window, watching the scenery quickly pass by us. Before we knew it, we had made it to the front entrance of Will Rogers High School and we got out of the car.

"You ready to do this, Pony?" Bex asked me. I looked at her, she had a look of uncertainty on her face. I smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently. Even though I was, I remained where I was. I couldn't be sure what was keeping me from going. I wasn't scared anymore; the feeling was long gone.

"Ponyboy? You okay there, kid?" Steve asked. It was surprising to hear that he was genuinely concerned as the rest of them stood by my side, waiting for me to go. I smiled confidently at them, turning my head in their direction. "Yeah, I'm alright. C'mon, guys!" I replied, running towards the front doors.

Bex had decided to come with me and catch up with the others later on. "You got this, man!" Two-Bit called, throwing a triumphant fist in the air. I was ready to take on whatever this day threw at me.


(Bex's POV)

(11:20 a.m., School Hallway)

I had just got out of my Mathematics class and I had to go to my next class, which was Biology. Pony and I shared that same class. It was one of the few classes that we had together with other than art, and history.

I saw Pony getting his biology book from inside his locker so I jogged up to him. "Hey, Pony. You ready for biology?" I asked, smacking him gently on his shoulder. He turned to face me, having a bright smile on his face. "You know I am," he replies, swinging his backpack over his shoulder, "You think Two-Bit'll blow the place up again like he did last week?"

I laughed when he said that. Last week, I had told Pony about how Two-Bit messed up on our biology experiment by mixing too many damn chemicals in one of the beakers, causing a major reaction. Needless to say, he had been let out early after doing that. "Oh, I hope not. The last thing we need is for him to blow the place up and get his ass suspended." I reply with a laugh.

"Hey, kid?" the familiar voice of that Soc said from behind us. Pony's entire body stiffened, every single one of his muscles freezing up. Just hearing that voice put him back in his terror-filled mindset. He glances at me, showing that he refused to show any fear.

He shut his locker with a bit more emphasis. We turned to face the owner of the voice. Standing there, was that bastard Scott, who is the leader of those Socs that jumped Pony, along with his band of goons. For a second, I had to look at them again. Something about their expressions was off.

Their frigid eyes now looked desperate, nervous, and remorseful. We heard that they'd been bailed out a week after their arrest. I could see that it hadn't bothered Ponyboy; he had dealt with them on his own, even if I was there to help him. Even if they were remorseful of their actions, they would only want to cause trouble.

After all, they were still Socs and we were still Greasers; nothing had changed within that outlook. Would they feel sorry for hurting my brother like this? I stood close to my brother, my instinct to protect him kicking in.

"The hell do you want? Haven't you caused enough trouble?" I ask, glaring at them. However, Scott didn't look any different. He was rocking back and forth on his heels. He ran his hands through his dark hair nervously. "Listen, kids-"

"It's Ponyboy and Bexley." Ponyboy counted, shocking the Socs with his new founded courage. He had stepped from behind me, showing that he wasn't afraid. "Right. Sorry." Scott said, trying to shake off his surprise.

"We need to talk," Scott said, leaning a little closer to Pony,
"Privately?" Instantly, I pushed the Soc away from him. "Like hell, you are taking him. You can tell him out here where I can see." I say sternly. I wasn't fully trusting of them yet because of what they had done to him. Pony curled his fingers to hide the quivering in his fingertips.

"Right. Sorry, that's a dumb question." Scott said, giving a half-baked grin. Pony grinned sheepishly and I did too a little bit. "Yeah, guess it was." Pony said. As long as there were teachers and other Greasers around, we'd be safe.

"Well, we want you guys to hear us out." Scott said before looking at Pony, "Mostly you. We can stay here for us to apologize." Pony and I looked at each other; we picked up that how pleading Scott sounded. He really did want us to hear what he was going to say.

"Well, go ahead. Say what you need to say." I said, giving a faint nod. Scott had a look of discomfort on his face as he cleared his throat. "First off, we just wanted to apologize for hurting you guys. Our anger blinded us. After you guys did what you did, we were just mad. Looks like we got outta hand." Scott started before looking at me, "And Andy here wanted to apologize for strangling you."

My eyes shifted over to the Soc that strangled me just last week. He had a look of remorse on his face for doing what he did. "Yeah, sorry about that." he said, scratching the back of his neck. I didn't reply, anger kept me from speaking. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Look, neither of you have to accept our apology. We don't deserve it. We just wanted to apologize of what we did. Surely, we caused you a lot of pain and caused you to suffer. We're sorry." Scott continued.

Ponyboy was frozen in place, looking dumbfounded. If they think that we'd believe a Soc would have sympathy for a Greaser, then they're out of their minds. But, this was really happening. They were actually sorry for causing my brother and me so much pain in the last few weeks. They weren't totally emotionless after all.

"To be honest, you did cause a lot of pain to not only me but to my sister as well. It's not something that we can easily forget." Ponyboy said, finally finding his voice. "But apologizing is a start. So we can move on from all of this?" I spoke, keeping a civil tone.

And with that, we exchanged handshakes with our faces having smiles. We could agree that we can let by-gones be by-gones. After we exchanged handshakes, Scott stepped back with his group.

"You know what? You two are alright. You got yourself a tough sister there, kid." Scott said, pointing towards me. I felt my cheeks become hot when he said that. "You two aren't like any of the other Greasers. We thought of what you said to us. You told us that you weren't gonna fight us unless it was necessary. And your sister is willing to risk herself to protect you. You two are better than any of us." Scott continued.

Ponyboy smiled became widened. "Thanks, Scott." he said, unable to hide the fact that he was surprised. "So we'll see you guys around?" Scott asked, waving dismissively. "Sure. See ya." Pony said, waving back.

We watched as they walked away down the hallway, leaving Pony and me by his locker. "You think they're telling the truth?" I asked. "Yeah, I know that they are." Pony assured me. After a few moments, we turned around and walked down to our next class.

Before we came to our next class, Pony stops me. I turn to face him and saw him smile at me. "What's up, Pony?" I say. Just then, I feel him embrace me, his arms around my waist. For a second, I was shocked that he was hugging me. But I eventually hugged him back, my clothed arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Bex." he whispered to me in my ear. "What for?" I replied. "For sticking with me through this. I don't know what I'd do without you." he replied, warming my heart. I hugged him tighter when he said that, and the smile on my face grew.

"You're my best friend Pony and my brother. I couldn't bear to have you hurting like that. But, things are gonna get better." I replied, getting a bit teary eyed. Things were gonna get better for all of us, we were sure of it.