CHAPTER 3

I woke up feeling fucked up. I felt like I was being dawned to a hangover. I felt my head spinning in several different directions as I sat up in an unfamiliar bed. The sun was up now. What the hell just happened, I thought, Where am I?

I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress. My jaw hurt more than it ever had before. I could taste a hint of blood in my gums… The taste of iron was not in my preference list I tell you.

"Uh, hello?" I noticed my jacket was placed neatly on a desk chair, "Uh… Anyone?"

As I still felt like crap, my thoughts were starting to make sense again. I recognized this room. It was Ponyboy and Soda's. What am I doing in here, I thought.

"Um… P-Ponyboy? Soda? Are you guys—here?" I grabbed my jacket from the chair. "Weeeell, I guess I'm gonna go." I tiptoed out of the bedroom and through the kitchen. Right at I reached the door, I slipped on my sneakers and began to open the door. Right as my fingertips touched the handle, I was interrupted by a loud thud. I turned around to see Ponyboy, hyperventilating in the doorway to the kitchen.

"W-why are you—"

"Yeah," he gasped, "I was just running," he gasped again, "outside."

I raised my eyebrow, "Uh… okay… Are you alright? Do you need some water?" I stepped closer.

"Nah I'm," gasp, "fine." He put his hands on his knees in exhaustion. I knew Pony and I knew he wasn't okay. He needed something to drink when he gasped like that.

"Here, let me get you some water." I walked over to the kitchen. I grabbed a cup and filled it with tap water. I then handed it to Pony.

He accepted it hesitantly, "So, looks like you woke up huh?"

"Oh my God. Is it that obvious?" I punched his arm playfully. He chuckled a bit as he guzzled the water down.

He set the glass down, "Hey, your jaw looks pretty bad…" He gently stroked my chin. I winced a little because it was still pretty stiff. He retracted his hand for a moment, then repeated his gesture from before. That time, I didn't flinch. I wanted to feel his hands make contact with my skin like that.

I grinned with embarrassment, "So, how'd I wake up here? I mean, the last thing I remember, I was being attacked."

He glanced back and forth from my face to the ground nervously, not saying a thing. He took his hand away and just leaned up against the counter.

"Pony."

He crossed his arms uncomfortably, "Well… I guess if you wanna know," he walked over to the table and sat down, me following, "I uh… kinda carried you here."

I was in shock, "What?"

"Well, Two Bit and I saw the socs trying to hurt you and we scared them off with his blade. Then I-I carried you here and cleaned up the blood from your jaw. I guess you slept the whole night through."

I leaned in, "Weren't you with Gwendolyn last night or something? I mean, I would assume since she's your girlfriend…" I rolled my eyes in disappointment.

"Oh. Yeah," he stared at the floor with a hurt expression on his face, "she's been cheating on me this whole time. With Buck Merrill's kid brother, James."

My mouth dropped open in shock, "But why?" I stood up and hugged him, knowing how much he liked her. I felt surprised, but not too surprised. Gwendolyn was known for being a cocky, rude, unpleasant slut anyway.I broke away from the hug and just stood in front of him with my hands in my pockets, "So, did you get any sleep last night? I mean, you're up pretty early and that just doesn't seem like you. Ya know?"

He nodded, "Yeah," he got a bit flustered, "I climbed into bed next to you for a while and got some rest."

My eyes widened, "You slept next to…" I looked away as I was trying to find a way to hide my grin. I mean, Ponyboy slept next to me!

"Yeah… Hopefully things go back to normal with Gwen and I, ya know?" He cruised over to the fridge.

Well. Now my feelers were hurt again. Why would he even want to get back together with Gwen after what she did? But then of course, she is a bit of a soc… Popular.

I almost completely blew up, "Why? I mean, after what she did? Don't you think it's time to find someone who really cares about you?"

"Like who?!"

…Like me, I thought. "There are probably tons of girls looking at you like you're candy!" Wait. What the fuck did I just say?

"What? Who would look at me like I'm… candy? I mean, candy, Dani? Candy?!" He raised his eyebrow at me like I was stupid. And no, I didn't blame him one bit.

I walked toward the door, "Well… you get what I mean. There are probably tons of girls who think your the shit, okay?" I chuckled. He laughed too.

"Hey, where are you off to?" He sauntered beside me.

I shrugged, "I was gonna head to Darry Queen for an ice cream cone. But I guess since I'm broke…" I snickered as I scavenged through my pockets for change.

"Ice cream? For breakfast?" He scratched his head.

I shot him a dirty look, "Chocolate cake? For breakfast?" He shrugged. I licked my gum, still slightly tasting iron, "And besides, my jaw can probably only handle so much."

He tilted his head in a concerned way, "God, you're right. Maybe I should come with you."

With no hesitation I nodded, "Yeah. C'mon, let's go." Why am I such a sucker for him like this?

And with that, we began our walk to the Dairy Queen. For the first minute of our trek, we just walked in silence. Awkward, awkward silence. We occasionally glanced at each other and giggled about it.

Finally Ponyboy broke the silence, "Hey Dani?" he offered me a weed.

"Yeah, Pony?" I accepted it.

He lit his cigarette and took a drag on it, "How come you been askin' about me lately?"

I almost choked on my cigarette as I popped it into my mouth, "What? I don't mean to ask about—I mean I…" I paused to make an excuse, "I don't ask about you all that often…" I looked away in humiliation.

"Well Soda's been telling me you keep asking about me." He took another drag on his cigarette.

I turned to face him and yelled in his ear, "Well Soda is a liar!" He covered his ear with his hand. I felt bad then. "Sorry, Pony." I patted his back.

He looked confused, "I just don't understand why you made such a big deal out of it. I mean, is there something you need to talk to me about?"

Yes, I thought. "No. I just—I'm just wanting to spend more time with you. I feel like I haven't been seeing you much lately. You know what I mean?"

He paused for a moment, then smiled, "Yeah. Yeah I think so. We should hang out more. I mean that's what best friends do, right?" Yep. Best friends…

"Yeah! I mean we used to do that all the time." …Before Gwendolyn ruined everything.

He put his arm around my shoulder as we walked, "Maybe we should go to the Dingo tonight. I hear Dally's plans on duking it out with some soc tonight. And personally, I'm tired of watching that stuff go down around here. So what do you say?" He looked at me with his greenish grey eyes and I melted.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll catch some better action there, huh?" I walked backwards as I talked.

He snickered, "Maybe." He looked into my eyes, causing me to lose my train of thought.

"So, I'm guessing since I slept in the bed… with you," I felt my cheeks turn red, "I guess Soda had to sleep on the couch, huh?"

Pony took another puff, "Yeah. And he wasn't too happy either." He rolled his eyes.

"Meh, I wouldn't have been. But even pretty boys get tough love sometimes." I giggled.

"He could've just spent the night at Sandy's. Sure, her parents wouldn't like it, but…" He smiled as I laughed. I guess Ponyboy could always make me laugh. Even more than Two Bit or just anyone could.

I shook my head, "I don't understand why Gwen would cheat on you. Can she not see how funny you are? Or how kind and generous you are?" Or how cute you are…?

"Come on, Dani. You know I'm not that cool. I have hair that I'm starting to think repels girls. I have a goofy laugh. I barely own more than two pairs of jeans. Let's face it, I'm a loser." He threw his light to the ground and squished it with his foot.

"Oh Ponyboy, don't say that. Your hair is not 'girl repellent'. Your laugh is just fine and who cares about your clothes, dude? You're an amazing boy, okay? You're a great listener… And boy, don't even get me started on how you run! You are just the right amount of sensitive. And girls dig that shit, man. And you know what else? You dig sunsets! I'm done. Say what you want, but you know I'm right." I grinned.

He rolled his eyes with a smile, "Oh yeah? Who do you know that actually likes guys like me, anyway?"

My eyes widened, "I know someone."

"Oh yeah? What's her name? I'd like to meet her."

"Uh…" I turned back around, "Her name is Julia. Julia Brady."

He sounded sarcastic, "Uh huh. Does she go to our school?"

"No. No she doesn't."

"Mhmm…" He shoved his hands in his pockets.

It was silent for a few seconds. There obviously was no Julia Brady. He knew there wasn't either. I felt like an idiot once more for just trying to make him feel better.

I broke the silence, "C'mon we're almost there." I sped up, Pony did the same.

When we got to the Dairy Queen, we sat at a booth in the back of the small establishment. It was pretty packed that day and I prayed I wouldn't see anyone I knew, knowing that I'd be teased for being seen with Pony.

By then, we had gone up and ordered our ice creams—or well, my ice cream and his barbecue sandwich. Anyway, so by this time, we were just trying to pass time as they prepared his damn sandwich.

"So is everything okay between you and that bonehead—what's his name? Peter?"

I stared at the ground. I forgot all about Peter, my ex boyfriend. "Oh. He left me for some blonde girl. A soc."

"Oh my—I'm sorry, I didn't know…" He leaned across the table and touched my hand.

I silently gasped, "It's fine. He's always been an asshole since the beginning. He never really cared. He even—Well, I figured out he picked on Johnny behind my back… Just like everyone else…"

"Hey, you know that you guys are the gang's pets. We won't let any of that stuff happen if you tell us about it." He looked me in the eyes.

I smiled as I returned his glance, "I know."

We stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. It felt like time stopped and we were the only ones in the world. For one moment, everything felt right.

…Then that moment ended as the bell on the door chimed as it opened. Pony and I looked at the door and saw a girl with fair skin and short platinum blonde hair wearing a pair of high water jeans and some white flats on her wee feet.

She immediately approached us with an expression of anger lying on her face. She stomped with high tensity.

"Ponyboy! What are you doing?!"

He placed his hand on his forehead in embarrassment, "What, Gwen?"

She flailed her arms up and down, "What in God's gracious name are you doing with this girl?!"

"Oh calm your tits! I'll bet you one million bucks you haven't set foot into a religious establishment in your entire life. So using the word 'gracious' doesn't let you off the hook." I leaned back in the seat.

She slammed her hands on the table, "And what right to do you have to say that, Lani?"

Pony stood up, "It's Dani." He crossed his arms as he looked at her with an annoyed expression.

She got up in his face, close enough to where her breasts were rubbing against his arms, "Look, I don't care what her name is. I just want to know what the fuck you are doing with this trash!"

"What's it to ya?" He pushed her away.

"Uhm, are you guys dating or something?! Because you are supposed to be my boyfriend!" She put her hands on her hips broadly.

I was a bit panicked. I didn't know what to do! Ponyboy leaned up on the wall coolly, "And what if we are? Who cares? I mean, you were with James last night doing whatever nasty things you do with him. God, I'm kind of—no, extremely embarrassed to be your boyfriend."

"Hey, that's none of your business! Now, I need to know if you're dating, okay?!" She yelled in his face.

He looked at her, then at me. He smiled, then looked back at Gwen, "We are. And I guess that's none of your business anyway."

My mouth dropped in shock. I knew he was just trying to get rid of her, but even then, I thought that was an opportunity to win him over.

She looked back at me, "Oh is it?"

I raised my eyebrows with sass, "Yeah, your point?"

She rolled her eyes as she focused back on Pony, "Look, when you get over yourself, I'll be waiting for you." She then stomped out of the restaurant with attitude, slamming the door.

That's when it got quiet. Then they called for Pony's sandwich. We went to get it and left, Ponyboy claiming he was gonna save it for later.

On our walk back to the Curtis house, we stopped by the DX to get a coke and of course, see Soda and Steve.

When we got to the DX, Steve was flirting with some girl while fixing her car. And of course, it was a blonde with a mustang.

When he noticed us, he walked over, wiping his hands with a rag and asked "How can I help you?"

Ponyboy rolled his eyes, "You gotta stop tryna show off for your little girlfriends, you know that?"

Steve looked ready to kill him, "Right." He walked back to the blonde as I laughed. We then walked into the small store to find Soda.

We found him talking to Dally as he sat in corner. Dally jumped up, "Jesus, kid. Are you okay? I heard you got jumped last night."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm fine, Dal. Would you guys stop babying Johnny and I?" I leaned up against the wall next to the door.

He smiled at me like he was explaining this to a child, "Don't you get it? You're the baby of this gang. For one, you're the only girl. Plus, you're the pet's little sister, which makes you even more of a pet."

I rolled my eyes again, "Yeah, yeah. I know." I crossed my arms, my attention turned to the wall.

Dally grinned as he walked to the door, "Chill out, kid. You don't need to worry your pretty little head." He turned my cheek so that my attention was on him. He then walked out with a smirk.

"What the hell just happened?" I looked at Soda, then Ponyboy. Their eyes were wide with shock written all over their faces.

Soda scratched his head, "Gee, I actually don't know. That was…weird." Soda turned to Pony, "Do you think something's up?"

Pony shrugged, "Gosh, I don't know. I've seen him do some strange stuff before, but—but I've never seen him do that."

I looked out the window as he climbed into Buck's convertible. Maybe something was up with Dally. Because I didn't know what the hell just happened and nothing prepared me for that. God, just the way he looked at me...

"Soda, what time is it?"

Soda looked at the clock on the wall, "1:34. Why?"

"Shit."

Pony walked up to me, "What's wrong, Dani?"

I stood up straight, "I forgot to take my damn pills last night. I need to find Johnny. He has them."

Soda walked outside, pushing Pony and I with him, "Johnny was scared to death last night, ya know? He slept on the chair in the living room but left when your mom came by."

"My mother came by?!" I practically screamed in his ear.

He walked over to one of the pumps to help a customer as he continued to speak, "Yeah, and boy she was aaaangrrry!"

Pony looked at me, noticing the worry in my eyes as I spoke, "What do you mean angry? Like drunk angry? Or just furious like Darry gets?"

Soda took a deep breath, "I think you know what kind…"

"Of course I do." I kicked a rock into a patch of grass.

Ponyboy looked worried, "Are you sure you're still up for going to the Dingo tonight?"

"Yeah," I said without hesitation, "I just need to get home now." I began walking to the hellhole I was forced to call home.

Pony called to me as I went on, "Okay, I guess I'll pick you up around 5:00 at your house?"

I turned around and grinned, "Actually, just meet me at the lot. Same time."

Pony winked playfully, "Alrighty then, slick."

As I turned to face forward, I felt myself bite my lip in victory. This night with Ponyboy was gonna be like a dream come true for me. No matter if he thinks of it as a date type of thing or not, I was going to relax and have no worries.