"What were you doing alone in the trees?" Steve asks as we walk back to the camp.
"The sunset looks better from up high," I say sitting down in a chair. I grab a marshmallow and impale it with a stick. "And I was taking pictures," I add, pulling the photos out of my hoodie.
"Obsession with sunsets," Soda says shaking his head.
"You should see one somethime." Pony suggests.
"It can't hurt," I say pointing my stick at him, "Every sunset brings a promise of new dawn." I quote.
"Who said that?" Marica asks.
"And where do you find all these quotes?" Emily asks.
"Inter-" Tiffany says but I cut her off.
"I find them everywhere." I reply. Rather have them confused about that than confused about what the Internet is. "And Ralph Waldo Emerson said that."
"Well, I don't know about you, but the kids . . ." Tiffany says, waving her stick in their direction. We all turn to see Piper and Vicky dozing off.
"Hey," Emily shakes Piper gently. "Come on, bedtime." Steve and Evie wake up Victoria and lead her to their tent.
"What time is it?" I ask Tiffany.
"Um . . . ten." she replies glancing at her watch.
I yawn. "Really? I'm exhausted. Is there coffee anywhere? I could really use a mocha latte."
"No, I don't think so." Tiffany says. "Check the car trunk."
"Okay," I say and get up. I unlock my car and open the trunk. "Nope, no coffee. Wait, aha!" I pull out a coffee pot. "Found it!"
"Isn't too late for coffee?" Tiffany calls.
"Right." I say and put the coffee pot back in my trunk. I walk back over. "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm exhausted." I look around. Steve and Evie are gone, probably with Victoria, Emily and Johnny are still up, Cherry and Dally left to bed, and Two-Bit and Marica left too, along with Soda.
"I agree." Emily replies. "What do you say Johnny?"
"Works for me." he says. "Well, see you in the morning."
"Night," Pony says, kissing me before going his ten that he shared with Soda.
"Good night." I reply. "C'mon Tiffany." We walk into the tent.
"So, how are you and Pony?" she asks.
"Fine," I say, pulling the cloth we hung up as a room divider. I quietly change into a pink tank-top and a pair of comfy shorts. "Good night." I say as I do my hair in messy pigtails. I turn out the light and lay my head on my pillow
"Hey Ari," Tiffany whispers. "What would you do if you went back to New York? Like kidnapped?"
"Probably kill myself." I reply and go to sleep.
I'm in the woods, singing. I sit on a tree stump and sigh. This is peaceful. No busy streets, Socs vs. Greaser, just nature. The sky, breeze . . . birds, animals, and just quiet.
"Well, well, well." a voice says out of nowhere. "What do we have here?"
"If this is a prank Two-Bit, you can stop." I groan. "Who did you get to accompany you this time? Steve? Soda? Pony?"
"Ponyboy, Ponyboy." Another voice says. "Always Ponyboy. Why can't you love me?"
"Excuse me!?" I ask, jumping up. "Who is this? I'm some foolish child!"
"Hello my dear," Marie comes in out of nowhere.
"Hi Marie. Here to kill me? Might as well finish it." I say sarcastically.
"How did you know?" Mr. Darkme asks, stepping into view.
"Oh fun." I say. "I'm outnumbered."
"You still manage to be witty even when you aren't safe." Mr. Darksme cackles as a hand goes over my mouth. I try to squirm and scream but I smell chloroform and black out.
I awake in a bedroom in New York. How do I know? I can hear the noise outside. I get up and try the door. It's locked. "HELP!" I yell, pounding it. "LET ME OUT! HELLO!? ANYONE!? LET ME OUT! OPEN THIS DOOR AT ONCE!"
No reply. "No." I sob. "I'm trapped. I'm back in New York and there's no way out."
"Yes there is." Randy comes in, locking the door. "Get on the bed."
"No." I snap. "Never."
"Yes!" he roars and slaps me. I stumble backward onto the floor. He places his foot on my chest and applies pressure.
I gasp. "Stop, what are you-" He sits on top of me and begins kissing my neck. "No! No! No! No! No!" I cry. "I have a boyfriend . . . I don't . . ."
"Always Ponyboy!" Randy cries. He punches my face. "What is yoru shitty deal with him! I'm better than he is!" He punches me again and my vision blurs and spots begin to appear.
"No." I choke. "You never will be." Enraged, he punches me again, again, and again.
"Where is he now!?" he yells as I notice the rings on his fingers. "Huh!? Where is he now!?"
"I . . ." I cough up blood. Randy takes my head and furiously begins to kiss me. Then he slams my head onto the floor. I scream and fight him. He reaches in his pocket and grabs a knife and cuts my lips and face . . .
I jolt up in a cold sweat, panting. I feel my face. I'm in one piece. No cuts, no bruises. I shudder and feel the tears on my face. 'Breathe, breathe, breathe.' I try to reassure myself. 'You aren't going to be kidnapped to New York.' I check on Tiffany to see if she's awake. She's asleep, but I know it'll be a very long time before I'll go back to sleep. It's around four in the morning and I slip on a thick kimono, my sandals/flip-flops, grab a flashlight and my knife and walk out into the darkness.
I turn on my flashlight as soon as I'm far away from camp. I glance back to the camp and walk into the woods. I walk for a while and find a random small tree and climb up. I sit on the thick limb and breathe in the cool air. I shudder when I think of my nightmare and begin sobbing silently. 'Why!?' I scream in my mind. I slide silently out of the tree and onto the ground, curling up into a ball. I ignore the footsteps I hear and remain still. I feel an arm go around my shoulders.
"Hey, you okay?" Pony asks me.
I nod. "Fine." I gasp.
"Lying to me? Never thought of that." Pony jokes lightly. "Now, what is wrong with you?"
"Nightmares." I choke out.
"Of what?" he asks. He tilts my chin so I meet his eyes.
"New York," I say, getting up. "and Randy."
"What happened in your nightmare?" Pony asks, following me.
"I got kidnapped by Marie and Mr. Darksme and then, I woke up in a room in NYC and Randy tried . . ." my voice trails off. "I don't want to talk about it."
"What really happened in New York?" Pony asks me.
"I don't want to talk about it." I reply, climbing up the tree. It was only a few feet tall but wide.
"What happened?" Pony asks. "What did they do to you? You used to tell me everything . . ."
"You want to know!?" I exclaim. "Fine! Randy kissed me! There! That's what happened!" I choke on the last words.
"He what!?" Pony's face is in complete shock. "What did he do?"
"He. Kissed. Me." I repeat slowly. "He. Kissed. Me."
Pony wraps his arm around me tightly. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me everything."
"Fine. Marie forced me to date him, and said our relationship was over. I never wanted too. I cried every single day at least thrice. Then after Randy kissed me, I realized I couldn't take it anymore and I ran away. I didn't tell anyone." I explain.
"So who's do you enjoy more?" Pony whispers in my ear.
"You know already." I wriggle out of his grip.
"Randy?" he guesses. I make a face. "Mine then?"
"Duh. Now, I'm going back." I say before he catches me. He leans to kiss me, but my vision blurs and I turn my head so he ends up kissing my cheek.
"What now?" he asks. I walk back to camp without a word and he follows. "Are you okay now?" he asks.
"Not really." I say, shivering. "I'll just go back to sleep."
"Are you sure?" Pony asks me. "I mean . . . what if you have another nightmare?"
"Then I wake up screaming." I say with a shrug. "Maybe I'll sleep under the stars." I crawl into the tent and grabbed my sleeping bag and pillow and set it up near my car so that my head was near the front tire. "Well, goodnight." I crawl into my sleeping bag and close my eyes. I open them when I hear a noise next to my head. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Pony asks.
"Um . . . you look like you're watching me sleep?" I say. "No." I plead. "Don't watch me sleep! Please!"
"Why not? I thought most girls always feel safer in those situations." Pony replies.
"I'm not most girls," I say with a yawn.
"Just sleep. It's four in the morning." Pony complains.
"Fine." I say. I take a deep breath as I feel Pony slip his hand in mine. Then I close my eyes and fall asleep.