3. Fighting Back

Pony took a step back, then regretted it when he grinned. She could tell that he wanted her to be scared…he liked it. He was drunk, she saw right off, and when he stepped forward, he listed to the side, pushing against the wall to catch himself. She thought about running into the bathroom again, but then she'd just be trapped, and she couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't come in after her. Maybe, she thought with a flicker of hope, he was just going to the bathroom. Maybe she was overreacting. So she nodded a little, dropping her eyes, then started to walk past him.

All she had to do was get back to Dallas and she'd be fine. He wouldn't mess with her if she was with Dallas and Johnny.

And then his hand shot out, catching her arm like Dally had, only his grip was tight enough to bruise. "Where you going there, sweetheart?" he asked, tightening his grip when she tried to pull her arm away.

"Let me go," Pony urged, her voice coming out too soft. She knew she should yell…but she couldn't help the wave of embarrassment at the thought of someone coming to save her. What if they thought she was overreacting? What if they asked what a girl was doing out here on her own? What if he said he was just trying to talk to her? Then she'd be the crazy bitch that cried wolf. So she yanked on her arm again, wincing when he pulled her closer.

"Come on, honey, I just wanted to say hi."

"Okay…hi." Her voice wobbled and she hated herself for it. "Now let me…"

He pushed her against the wall, his hands tight on her shoulders, and she gasped when her back hit the bricks. He lowered his face to hers, still grinning, eyes alight. "What are you doing out here all alone? Huh?"

"Get off!" she snapped, hating how her voice still shook as she pushed one hand against his chest to no effect. He was a football player. He was almost a head taller than her. She couldn't move him. The thoughts made her heart race. "Shouldn't you be looking for your girlfriend? Cherry's over there talking to Dallas Winston," she told him, hoping he'd go after Dally instead. Him and Johnny would be able to take him no problem.

He just grinned and leaned in closer, his mouth too close to hers. "I guess we'll have to make them jealous," he murmured, and she turned her face when his lips nearly touched hers, bringing her hand up and slapping him as hard as she could.

He went quiet for a minute…then his expression changed into a scowl, his eyes narrowing as he grabbed her by her shoulders and spun around, then shoved her hard, her feet tangling under her as she went down in front of the bathroom doors. Pony scrambled back, the skin of her hands scraping on the gravel as she tried to get away, but he was on her before she could get more than a few feet. They were outside of the circle of light, half her body in the grass at the edge of the gravel path, and she started to scream, but he was on top of her, his hand pressed over her mouth before she could manage it. She cursed herself for being so stupid…for going to the bathroom on her own. For coming to the movies alone. For thinking she would be safe just because the greasers in town didn't mess with her.

Bob pinned one of her hands, his mouth replacing his hand on hers, and she bit his lip, hard enough that blood flooded her mouth, her other hand gripping his hair and trying to yank his head back. He jerked away, snarling at her and then, grabbing the hair on the side of her head, he slammed her head into the ground. Immediately she went limp under him, blinking back tears and the dizziness that overtook her as his hands moved down to the front of her pants.

Pants…she was wearing pants…and her pants had pockets.

Her hand was in her back pocket almost before she realized what she was doing, and she brought her hands up behind his back, trying to relax as he kissed her so she could get the blade open. She'd never kissed anyone before, but her mind wasn't on his mouth moving against hers, or his tongue pressing against her lips. All she could think was that she had to get the blade open before he got her pants off.

"There you go…" he murmured, grinning as he moved his mouth down to press against her neck. "Good girl."

And then she brought the blade down right into the middle of his back, both hands fisted around the handle.

Bob went still, gasping when she yanked it out, tears streaming down her face. She met his eyes for a long moment before he finally tried to push himself up, and she shoved him hard with the last of her strength, rolling him off of her. She wanted to jump up and run, but she was frozen there, pants half down, gasping for air, waiting for him to get back up and come after her again. But he just lay there, gasping on the gravel beside her, a pool of blood growing under his back. He tried yelling, but his voice gurgled and died in his throat. In the darkness, outside the ring of weak light coming from the fixture attached to the building, she could just make out his eyes, blinking a few times until they just stared up at the night sky.

Pony stared at him, too weak to even wipe the tears off her face while she cried, Soda's knife still gripped in her hand. She'd killed him. She'd done it. She'd stuck a knife in him and he was dead. She knew she needed to get up. She needed to run. But she couldn't move…couldn't even pull her pants up. She might have stayed there all night if someone hadn't walked around the side of the building, the crunching of the gravel announcing their footsteps.

"Pony? Kid, you'd better be in there or I swear I'm telling your brother…" The voice she should have known immediately trailed off, the footsteps faltering, and then someone was kneeling beside her, shaking her hard. "Kid? Pony, what the hell!" Turning to look up at him, she took a shuddering, sobbing breath, realizing all of a sudden who it was.

"Dally…" her voice broke and she grabbed his arm before she knew what she was doing…who he was. This was Dallas Winston, the guy that jumped people for fun and who'd been locked up more than anyone she knew, and who she was secretly kind of scared of. But he was also her brothers' friend, and as dangerous as he was to everyone else, he was safe to her, so she grabbed his arm and held onto it even when she realized who exactly it was she was holding onto.

He grabbed her other arm and helped her sit up, eyes wide as he took her in. Her shirt was ripped at the shoulder, although she didn't remember Bob doing that, her jeans undone and pulled almost down to her knees. Mouth open, he turned to Bob, but she couldn't make herself look at him again.

"I think I killed him," she whimpered, holding the bloody knife up with the hand that wasn't holding onto Dally for dear life. It wasn't even hers…Darry would have a fit if he knew she was carrying a blade. Hell, Darry was going to kill her anyway. She'd gotten herself into this mess and now she'd killed someone!

Dally stared at her hand for a long minute, then back at Bob, and she thought he might actually be at a loss for words, but then he was swearing so fiercely that she flinched a little.

"I didn't mean to…Dally, I didn't mean to. I swear! But he was…he was gonna…"

"Give me that," he ordered, reaching for the blade, but she pulled away, staring uncomprehendingly at him. He was still glaring, but she didn't think he was mad at her. When he leaned in, his voice was soft. Almost a whisper. "Give me the blade, kid. We're gonna leave it…"

"No…it's Soda's." She swallowed hard, her brain finally starting to catch up, and she clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. "It..it's got his name on it. I can't leave it."

Dally swore again, slamming his fist on the ground but not moving the arm she was holding onto. He glared at Bob, giving him a look so mean she thought that if he'd somehow gotten up, that Dal would have killed him again.

"Alright…we ain't gonna leave it," he told her after a minute, looking grim. "Give it here."

"What?"

Dally grabbed her by the shoulder, leaning in and whispering, his voice urgent. "You're gonna get cleaned up and go home and I'm gonna stay here. Go get Johnny. Have him walk you. I'll tell them I swiped Soda's blade."

And that's when she realized what he was doing...what he was planning.

"No…"

"Don't argue with me, kid. We ain't got time. Just.."

"No," she told him again, listening to her own voice go real hard.

She wasn't going to let him go down for something she'd done. She was gonna be tough just like her brothers. So she turned, wiping the blade on the grass and getting it as clean as she could. "No one saw," she muttered, turning back to him and leaning in close to whisper. "No one can prove it was me." She closed the knife and shoved it in her pocket, sitting up a little and pulling her pants back up with shaking hands. Dal glanced away, not looking until she had buttoned them up again, then started to climb to her feet. He jumped up then, grabbing her arm to steady her, eyes darting around. Keeping a lookout. "No one's around. No one saw."

He looked her over, and for a second she thought he might argue, but then he ripped off his jacket and pushed it at her. She put it on, barely able to button it with how hard she was shaking. But she had to be tough…tough like Dally. Tough like her brothers who somehow kept on living when it felt so impossible.

"Was anyone in the bathroom?" he asked, jerking his chin toward the building behind them, and she shook her head. "Get cleaned up. Hurry."

Pony nodded, running to do what he'd said, scrubbing her hands and then her face until she looked normal. Or mostly normal. Her hands were scraped up, but there was nothing she could do about that other than wash the blood off. She washed her mouth out too, resisting the urge to use soap. Dally's jacket hid her ripped shirt, and she hadn't gotten any blood on her clothes. When she was done, she practically ran out of the room, letting Dallas throw his arm around her and lead her toward the concessions on the other side of the building.

"You can't tell anyone. Not ever," she whispered, voice pleading as they approached the concessions building. She couldn't stand the thought of her brothers knowing what had almost happened…couldn't stand Darry and Soda knowing that she'd killed someone, no matter how bad she suddenly wanted her brothers. Both of them. Because even if Darry hated her and didn't want her around, he'd always protect her.

"You ain't gotta worry about that," he muttered, leading her to the concessions. "Superman would kick my head in if he found out I let something like this happen."

They got in line for popcorn and drinks, him waving her away when she started to grab her money from her purse. Everyone was talking too loudly around them, and her head ached from hitting it on the ground, but she made herself smile at a girl she knew from school, and she forced her mouth to work when Dally asked her what she wanted to drink. The cold cup of soda felt good on her scraped hand, and Dally carried his drink and Johnny's while she carried the popcorn. On their way back to their seats, Dally was quiet until they were almost past all the cars, and then he leaned in.

"You hurt?" he asked, the words thrown out like he didn't really care, and she shook her head.

"I'm fine," she lied, not wanting to talk about the headache, or the scrapes she was sure were all up and down her back, or the way her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Dally didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't question it…just led her to the seats where Johnny scooted over one, letting her sit between them. Cherry and Maricia didn't so much as turn around, so Pony figured they must still be pissed at Dally. Good, she thought. She didn't want them paying attention to her. Not now. She offered Johnny the popcorn and he took some, grinning and thanking her, but he looked kind of concerned. Pony tried to focus on the stupid movie…tried to force her hands to stop shaking, and after a long moment, Dally leaned over.

"What's wrong with you?"

"My head hurts," she muttered.

He glanced around, lowering his voice even more. "He hit you?"

She nodded, and he went quiet. Beside her, Johnny kept glancing over, but she didn't think he could hear. Then Dally tapped the side of her cup.

"Drink it," he ordered quietly, and she did. It helped a little, but her hands still shook.

She stared in the direction of the screen and she chewed the popcorn mechanically, not noticing the taste. She drank her soda and ignored how Johnny kept glancing over at her. There was a roaring in her ears, and she couldn't quit seeing it…couldn't quit feeling Bob's hands on her or his mouth pressed to hers, but no one had seen and no one could ever know, and all she had to do was act normal. So she stared at the screen along with everyone else.

And then there was a scream.

Then more screams.

Dally put a hand firmly on her shoulder as chaos seemed to break out around them, everyone yelling and jumping out of their seats as word spread. Soon the fuzz would come…Johnny was staring at her, wide-eyed, as Cherry put a hand over her mouth, and Pony thought she must not be acting right.

"Someone stabbed Bob!" a girl was telling Cherry. Tears were running down her cheeks, and Pony wondered if she'd be crying if she knew why someone had stabbed him…what he'd been trying to do.

Immediately Cherry was crying too, asking a million questions while Marcia gripped her shoulder, and Dally grabbed Pony's arm to pull her up.

"Come on. We need to get you home before your brother hears and comes up here," he urged, and she jumped up, Johnny right behind her, the three of them hurrying through the parking lot and ducking under the fence where she assumed they'd snuck in. Dally always did have a problem doing things the legal way.

"Pony?" Johnny asked as they crossed the street, Dally obviously ready to put as much distance between them and the crime scene as possible as sirens sounded in the distance. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, trying to smile, but she knew he wasn't convinced.

"He got stabbed out by the bathrooms…did you see anybody?"

Pony shook her head. She felt sick…like she might throw up. But if she did that, Johnny might know something was wrong…even more than he already did. The knife in her pocket felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and she wanted to throw it in the trash, but now it was a murder weapon! She had to clean it…had to make sure there was no blood left on it. Nothing could link that knife to Bob's death…not ever.

Johnny split off by the lot, heading back to his own house, but Pony knew he'd probably sleep outside even though it was cold. She wanted to invite him to come over, but she didn't know how without making him feel lousy about his parents being so bad he could barely stand to be in his own home. So she just waved goodbye, following Dally back to her house. He was silent, but all of a sudden, she wasn't.

"I didn't mean to," she whispered, and he stopped dead in the street, turning and glaring at her.

"Kid, if you're gonna do this, you gotta keep your trap shut, you hear me?"

"I…I just…he was going to…"

Dally grabbed her shoulders then, just like Bob, only he wasn't rough with her. He leaned in, looking her right in the eye. "You listen to me, you hear?" She nodded automatically. "You did what you had to. That asshole deserved it and worse. If any one of us had caught him trying to hurt you, we all would have done the same thing. Hell, he's lucky it was you and not me…I'd have killed him a lot slower."

Pony knew he wasn't bluffing…his eyes were glinting, dangerous and mean in the dim lights coming from the street lamps. So she nodded again, feeling somehow comforted.

"No one saw. No one can prove a thing. All you have to do is lay low and keep quiet. You dig?"

"Yeah..I dig," she told him, and he ruffled her hair, making her smile shakily as she ducked away.

"Now come on before you freeze to death."

Thanks for reading!