Heartbeat
By Shattered Aura
In collaboration with FrankElza
Review replies:
Pony'sgirlfriend: I agree. :( Poor brothers. I'd hug the hell outta them.
FrankElza: I enjoyed it too, and I'm sure the others will enjoy our last chapters. :)
staygold-fandom: Thanks a lot for the compliment, it was extremely nice of you! I'm also a fan of some of your work. ;)
Seth Clearwater: Well, that's good to know! :)
Sydney Castle: How come I missed such a nice wedding :( XD your review made me laugh! Thank you! :) P.-s.: I like your profile pic ;o Rob is so hot.
darrylover4ever: Well, darling, I would appreciate if you read my A/N, then you'd know that my time on fanfiction each day is limited! I'm glad you loved the update though. Hope you'll love this one.
GreaserG1rl201: Well, thanks for reading it! :) And thank you for the review, it's real nice.
BunnyluvsU: I think everyone would be traumatised, especially in his state of mind! I would be too, I already have weird enough nightmares that sometimes leave me crying; I wouldn't be surprised to wake up screaming my head off! Thank you for your review. :)
Zarak: Thank you for the small smile. ;)
WatchRain4898: Trust me, I'd hate the guy too. :( Thank you for the review! Hope you love the update!
mycookiegirl (2): Guest reviews are mostly controlled by the author. Whenever we have a guest review, it's up to us to decline or accept it. Of course, I would never decline a review unless I considered it as mean, rude or bad critism, which is definately not the case with you. Thank you so much! :) And I will keep your ideas in check. ;)
Obsessivebookdiva: Thank you! I'm glad someone commented on it. :) & I like your penname ;o that would sound like me x3
Nessie2000: You little rebel! :P Thank you for taking your time to review though, it's nice and appreciated. :)
A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for the late update! I'm free now; my Outsiders play has gone great! Please check out My Second Family, it's a one-shot I wrote about my experience, the day of the play, for those of you who are interested to read it! I'll have a few theatre rehearsals to get ready for the competition since we're presenting it in a festival, so wish me luck! And until the next chapter, R & R and enjoy! And thank you to FrankElza for all your help! :D
XxX
It took a while for Ponyboy to calm down from his nightmare, and once he told his brothers about it, Sodapop's eyes flickered with guilt. Maybe he should've let Darry and even Steve handle his boss while staying with Ponyboy. He easily could've calmed him down and comforted him, even though Two-Bit did a pretty good job at it, to which Sodapop was thankful, and let the rusty-haired greaser know. Two-Bit brushed it off as nothing, even though it was more than nothing.
Sodapop led Ponyboy back to their room and lied down with the scared boy until Ponyboy drifted back off to sleep again. Soda walked back out to the kitchen and helped Darry unpack the groceries.
"So, how'd it go?" Two-Bit questioned. Sodapop looked at him, slight confusion etched on his face, thinking that the rust-haired greaser was talking about the groceries. Two-Bit noticed and clarified, "with your boss, I mean."
Sodapop nodded in understanding. "Steve met us there so we could both give our statements," he explained.
"He was pretty shocked at what happened," Steve added, having heard the conversation upon walking inside the house.
"Well, it's obvious," Two-Bit pointed out, "with how it affected the kid..."
Darry shushed him with a look. "At least he'll take action. Said he would try to get security, have a cop or two guard the place. Not that it's a usual procedure; gas station robberies have happened a lot in the past, mostly at the DX or in the East Side stations—though I don't know why—, so it would've happened sooner or later if Sodapop had closed earlier. But, I felt better when he said he'd take the matter to extremes."
"A cop wouldn't usually protect a greaser," Two-Bit exclaimed with a hoot. "Boy howdy, is that gonna be something to tell the others." By the others, he meant Tim Shepard's gang and maybe the Brumly boys. Darry figured that the Shepard leader probably already knew, as he knew everything going on in the East Side.
"Boss had half the mind to give us an entire month off," Steve barked with a laugh, "all paid. Coulda used it."
"He gave us two weeks, at least," Sodapop smiled, "and he apologized."
"Though I should hope nothing like this ever happens again," Darry sighed. Sodapop affectionately nudged him and smiled, wordlessly saying that he would be fine.
"Wellup, I best be going home," Two-Bit announced. "Tell Pony I'll bring him something to eat tomorrow at your job." Darry nodded and Two-Bit left with a wave of his hand and his usual reckless grin.
Sodapop glanced at Darry. "I better go wake Ponyboy up again; otherwise he ain't gonna sleep tonight."
"Sure thing, Little Buddy," Darry said. "I'll get started on dinner." He left the living room where the gang had momentarily been after unpacking the groceries.
Steve was left with Sodapop in the living room. The two friends sat on the couch next to each other but didn't move. "Soda, you sure you're feeling alright?" Steve finally asked.
Soda gave a slow nod. "It was tough going back to the DX today," he admitted. "I couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened. I hope I'm going to be alright by the time we go back. And Ponyboy..."
Steve put his hand on Sodapop's shoulder. "Ponyboy's gonna be with you all that time. With our help, he's gonna turn out alright." Sodapop gave him a sceptical look. "Heck, Soda, the guy's in prison. He can't bother us no more."
"I guess you're right," Sodapop finally agreed with a shrug. "I'm gonna go check on Ponyboy."
"Alright, well I guess I'll head home too," Steve claimed and got up, making his way to the front door.
"Steve?"
Steve turned around. "Yeah?"
"Thanks," Sodapop acknowledged with a genuine smile. "For everything." Steve smirked back and left the house without another word.
Sodapop sighed and walked toward the bedroom he shared with Ponyboy and gently shook the sleeping boy, looking at his brother with a soft smile.
"Hey, Pony," he said once Ponyboy woke up. "Time to get up. Darry's making dinner and we don't want you being awake tonight."
Ponyboy thought about what Sodapop said. He was lucky to get a few hours sleep without a nightmare coming on, and it was unlikely this night was going to be any different.
As he thought, Ponyboy lay awake in bed, that night. Sodapop had his arm tightly around his waist, softly snoring as he had been sound asleep once his head hit the pillow. Ponyboy couldn't sleep even if he tried. Every time he closed his eyes, visions of his nightmare flashed in his head, when he thought the guy was back to kill him. He couldn't help imagining that the guy would actually really come back for him and catch him in his own house, where he thought it was safe.
"Ponyboy, you okay?" Sodapop mumbled, having felt Ponyboy shiver and woken up. Ponyboy couldn't answer. "You asleep?" Sodapop whispered after the lack of answer. Ponyboy turned around to face his brother.
"Soda, I can't sleep."
"What's wrong?" he asked in a hushed, soft voice, running a hand through his baby brother's hair.
"Every time I try to go to sleep, I can't stop thinking about my nightmare," Ponyboy answered just as softly, tears threatening to spill.
"Oh Ponyboy," Sodapop whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around Ponyboy and pulling the boy closer to him so his head lay on his chest and he was curled up against him. "He ain't coming back. He's in prison and he's there to stay." Ponyboy sniffed. "Don't worry; I'll protect you if he ever comes back."
"You promise?" Ponyboy asked, staring up with wide, bright green eyes at his older brother.
Sodapop smiled to himself, thinking about how young Ponyboy still was. "I promise."
Ponyboy didn't hear him; he had finally fallen asleep.
Gun shots were fired. One, two, three; Ponyboy lost count. All he could see were the remnants of his older brother lying on the floor of the DX, blood pooled on the ground. Steve was severely injured as well, lying next to the middle Curtis brother, unconscious. Ponyboy was alone and the guy was approaching him fast, gun in hand.
Ponyboy stared in horror at his brother; Sodapop was dead, never to hold him again or smile his movie-star smile that warmed Ponyboy's heart every time. He couldn't move, just stare at Sodapop Curtis' unmoving form with tears flowing from his face. Sodapop's lifeless eyes were staring back at him, not seeing him, not able to provide protection from the crazy guy.
"Don't you move, kid!" the guy screamed. "You're next! You don't mess with me!" Ponyboy felt weak and pushed aside all his fear to scramble away as the guy continued to shoot, only narrowly missing Ponyboy. Harsh cries escaped the young boy as he crawled across the floor over to his brother. He wanted Darry. He wanted Soda, but Soda was...
The guy yanked him up and pressed the gun against his temple. "Take one look at what you caused, you worthless shit! Had you not wasted my time, I wouldn't have had to kill him for protecting you!"
Ponyboy struggled in his sheets, kicking and whimpering. "No! Soda! Please, wake up! Help!" Sodapop shot awake, startled, and saw Ponyboy sitting up and shaking, flailing his arms about. Meanwhile, the bang of a gun and pain was all Ponyboy could focus on.
Sodapop gripped Ponyboy's arms. "No!" Ponyboy screamed, trashing around even
"Pony, Ponyboy! Wake up!" Ponyboy shot awake with a scream but quickly shut him mouth with an audible click once he entirely regained consciousness. He blinked tears away and stared at Sodapop, who was lying next to him, concern written all over his face.
Soda's not dead? he thought. I'm not hurt and there's no attacker around? Ponyboy breathed heavily and started to cry. "Oh, baby," Sodapop soothed, pulling Ponyboy closer to his chest just like he did before falling asleep. "C'mere."
"Soda... it was awful," Ponyboy stuttered between sobs as he gripped Sodapop's night shirt with trembling fists. "It seemed so real. You...you were d-dead. The guy had shot you and you lied on the ground with your eyes wide open, not staring at anything, and...and Steve was hurt and then he-he came after me."
Darry had heard the noise and had now rushed into the room. "What's going on?" he asked, worried, but he already knew the answer just by looking at Ponyboy. Nightmare again. Darry sighed and took a seat on the bed, holding both his brothers, just like he had when he first found them at the DX. Darry gently stroked Pony's hair. "Soda and I are right here," he whispered in Ponyboy's ear. "You're safe here with us."
"I should have known not to trust that guy," Sodapop regretfully said, giving his baby brother's shoulder a squeeze, reminding him all too well that he did that same gesture once learning Ponyboy was safe. "I should've noticed something was off."
"I-In my dream...the guy said it was my fault he killed you," Pony wiped his face on his arms, willing his tears to go away. He sounded so much like a bawl-baby, but he couldn't help it; he was still afraid.
"Ponyboy, don't you think that," Darry said, rubbing Ponyboy's other shoulder. "It was just a nightmare. You're not to blame for what happened, or what was going on in that sick man's mind."
"But I shoulda called the fuzz," Ponyboy said. "Steve told me to, but I-I couldn't move..."
"Little Colt, you were scared, we all were," Sodapop admitted. Darry watched his younger brothers with interest, getting ready to hear what Sodapop would have to say. He was always interesting to hear when comforting anyone, especially when it came to their baby brother.
"You really mean it?" Ponyboy whispered. Sodapop nodded with a grin.
"Heck, even Steve musta been scared too. I'm willing to bet he waited 'till we were gone to piss in his pants." Ponyboy made a shuddery laugh, thankful for Sodapop's ability to make him laugh at all times.
"You okay now Ponyboy?" Darry asked. Ponyboy gave a nod.
"Thanks, Darry." Darry ruffled Ponyboy's hair and smiled at Sodapop before walking back to his room. Ponyboy slowly released his embrace on Sodapop as he put his hands on his shoulders, looking him straight in the eye.
"I'm glad you were there," Ponyboy whispered. "I...I don't think I would have managed..."
"Don't think about it no more, Pony," Sodapop whispered back, smiling at his brother. Both brothers lied back down on the bed and Sodapop wrapped his arms across Ponyboy's back, hugging him from behind. "I'm right here. Just try and shut your eyes. You need your rest." Ponyboy snuggled on Sodapop's chest, curling up in a ball as his eyes slowly drooped. Sodapop waited until his brother was asleep before falling asleep himself.