(Ponyboy's POV)
"Not if I get to him first." Darry sounded real angry, like he might actually be thinking about killing someone. David and his friends are in for it now.
Once Steve mentioned David's name, fuzzy memories flashed through my mind. Slamming a locker in a guy's face, knocking my head backwards into the Soc restraining me, and the way David looked at me when I was on the ground before spitting on me and kicking my head in. I groaned and instinctively put a hand to the side of my head where it hurt the most.
"You okay, honey?" Soda asked, obviously worried something was happening.
"I'm fine. Just remembered how hard David kicked me," I muttered. The effect my words had on the guys was instant. All four of them went rigid in their chairs, with expressions hard as steel.
"So Steve's right, it was David," Two-Bit said bitterly.
I nodded and put my hand down, hoping my brothers would quit looking at me like I was about to faint or something. "Yeah, I remember a bit more now. It was him and two guys."
"And they left you in a burning room?!" Soda exclaimed. His eyes had a mix of fury and devastation in them. "They tried to kill you!"
Something about that didn't seem right. Did they really try to kill me? David had it out for me, sure, but the other two? I don't think so. "I don't know. They all got some swings in, but I think it was mainly David."
"I'm going to kill him," Darry said in a low, dangerous voice that made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up.
"Darry, don't," I whined. "You're hurt and-"
"They almost killed you Ponyboy, don't you understand that?" Darry spat.
I flinched at my brother's harsh words that were directed right at me. His eyes looked like ice, and it was hard to see the love he had for me that I knew was hidden in them somewhere.
Soda opened his mouth, hopefully to come to my aid and calm Darry down, but before he could, Darry sighed and spoke a little softer. "I'm sorry, Pone. It's because of those Socs that we almost lost you, and I can't let them get away with it."
I relaxed slightly, but Darry being on the verge of completely losing his temper still made me anxious. I understood why Darry felt the way he did, and I'd feel the same way if I was in his position, but I couldn't let him go after some Socs and get locked up because of me.
"Don't get arrested," I finally settled with. "And don't get more hurt."
Surprisingly, Darry laughed a little at that and ruffled my hair. "Don't worry about me, kiddo."
If only that was possible.
Steve slowly stood up, looking at Darry with a strange expression on his face. "I better get back to work," he said slowly. Then Steve glanced at me. "Good to see you, kid. I'll stop by again after work."
"Bye Steve," I said, my voice suddenly sounding gravely.
Steve started walking out of the room, but then Two-Bit and Darry both stood up and followed him. What's going on? Before I could ask, the three of them left the room, with Two-Bit yelling "Don't eat all the food before I come back!" as he walked into the hall.
Soda moved so he was sitting in Darry's chair, then he brushed some of my hair off my forehead. "Why don't you get some sleep, Pony? You look awfully tired."
"But I just woke up. I'm not even tired," I said with a yawn. I didn't think I was tired, but the suggestion of sleep suddenly sounded areal appealing. Before I could close my eyes and rest, I looked at my brother, hoping he'd give me answers. "Where did Darry and Two-Bit go? Ain't they eating in here?" I asked, motioning to the bags Two-Bit set down on the small table next to my bed.
Soda didn't look worried or bothered by the fact everyone else suddenly left. He gave me a grin and shrugged. "Don't know, but they'll be back soon. If they aren't, there won't be any food for them to come back to."
I huffed out a laugh, then I let my eyes close. I heard Soda's voice as I felt myself fall asleep "Get some sleep, honey. I'll be here when you wake up."
(Darry's POV)
I felt awful about snapping at my kid brother, especially since he was laid up in a hospital bed and I wasn't even mad at him in the first place. I was afraid you were going to die, Pony. How could I not do something about that? Luckily, thankfully, he seemed to recover from me lashing out at him.
"Don't get arrested," Pony said softly. "And don't get more hurt."
Why is he so worried about me? I laughed a little at my brother's plea and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about me, kiddo."
I wouldn't do anything to get arrested and jeopardize my guardianship of my brothers, but I knew I had to confront David and teach him a lesson. If the Socs tried to get me into prison, I'd just bring up the fact they almost murdered my kid brother. I'm pretty sure I'd win that battle.
Steve stood up and looked at me, his eyes giving me the message that he wanted to tell me something. "I better get back to work," he said slowly.
The way he was staring at me and speaking made me aware that Steve wanted to speak privately, away from my kid brother. I wasn't the only one that noticed either; Two-Bit looked at Steve with a quirked eyebrow, and since Soda has known Steve for almost his entire life, I figured he knew what was going on too. Then Steve looked at Pony with a neutral expression. "Good to see you, kid. I'll stop by again after work."
"Bye Steve," Pony replied tiredly.
Steve gave me another quick glance before he started walking out of the room.
"I'll stay here," Soda whispered so quietly that I doubted anyone else heard, most importantly Pony.
I gave Soda a quick nod before I got up to follow Steve. Surprisingly, Two-Bit got up to follow him too. I guess we're both going to talk with him. Before we were out of the room, Two-Bit added, "Don't eat all the food before I come back!"
I rolled my eyes. That's the least of our problems right now.
Once we were out of earshot of Ponyboy, Steve turned around, serious expression on his face. "Alright, what do you want us to do about David?" Steve asked me directly. "You want me and Two-Bit to deal with him while you guys stay with the kid?" I was a little surprised by how angry Steve seemed about the Socs going after Pony and leaving him in the fiery locker room, but I was glad he obviously cared about my kid brother.
"I'll deal with him. I want to meet the guy that almost killed my brother," I said, my voice sounding more like a growl than I expected. "Try to find out who was with him that day."
"That shouldn't be too hard," Steve confidently. "We'll ask around, get all the info you need."
"You really don't want us to rough him up at all?" Two-Bit asked, apparently shocked and disappointed. "You can't expect us to just let him walk around like nothin' happened!"
"You can do whatever you want, but leave enough of him for me," I said, feeling a dark, vengeful part of me rise up and make an appearance.
Steve grinned. "You know Soda will want a piece of him too," he said.
In the back of my mind, I knew that to be true, but I was so angry that I had been focusing completely on my anger. I shrugged in response. "We'll figure it out. In the meantime, just find out who the other two people were."
"You got it," Steve said. Two-Bit's expression was as serious and hard as I've ever seen, and he simply nodded in reply. "Alright, I gotta get back to work. I'll see you guys later," Steve said.
Once Steve started walking away, Two-Bit and I went back into Pony's room. Soda was sitting next to Ponyboy, who was already fast asleep, and he had his hand on our kid's head, running his fingers through Pony's hair. Soda looked up the second he heard us come into the room. "So? What's goin' on?"
Two-Bit quickly returned to his chair as I sat next to Soda. "Steve and I are gonna find out who was with David when he did this to the kid," he said, motioning to Ponyboy. "I'm gonna pummel them into the ground before you two get a hold of 'em and rip them to shreds."
Two-Bit sounded vicious, and it was a tone I had never heard from him. Sure, he's always disliked the Socs and jumped at any opportunity to fight with them, but I've never heard him so bitterly angry before. I knew he liked Pony a lot and was close with him, but he seemed almost as furious as I felt.
Soda's voice was cold, hard, and sounded nothing like him. "Good."
Short chapter, I know, but the next one is in the works, so hopefully another one will be up soon(ish)!
