Chapter Four

I sat down next to Johnny after scaring the living day-lights out of him, who was chatting it up with two soc girls. I caught his eye and gave him a wink, to which he hung his head and I saw the back of his neck turn red. I laughed out loud.

The redhead— Cherry— was alright, I thought she was a bit stuck-up so I didn't bother trying to talk to her. To my surprise, Johnny was talking it up with the broad and I wanted nothing more than to get him in a headlock and toustle his hair. Johnny was always quiet and nervous around people he didn't know, much less a broad. I felt a pang of pride hit my chest.

The other broad, Marcia, dug alright. She had some real smart remarks that had me grinning, but then again it wasn't difficult to make me grin.

"Where'd you two ever get to be picked up by a greasy hood like Johnny?"

"We really picked him up," Marcia said. "We're really Arabian slave traders and we're thinking about shanghaiing him. He's worth ten camels at least."

"Five," I disagreed. "He don't talk Arabian, I don't think. Say somethin' in Arabian, Johnnycake."

"Aw, cut it out!" Johnny broke in with an exasperation in his voice, "Dally was bothering them and when he left, they wanted me to sit with them to protect them. Against wisecracking greasers like you, probably." I grinned, it was nice to see Johnny getting sassy for once. Hell, it was a win if we could even get him to talk at all.

"Hey, where is of Dally, anyway?"

Johnny shrugged, "Think he went huntin' some action, hope he doesn't get jailed again. He just got out."

"He'll probably find the fight," I stated cheerfully. "That's why I came over. Mr. Timothy Shepard and Co. are looking for whoever so kindly slashed their car's tires, and since Mr. Curly Shepard spotted Dallas doing it... well... Does Dally have a blade?"

"Messed up his blade this mornin', but he's bound to have a piece of pipe or something."

I hummed, before I realized something, "Where'd Pony and Susie get off to?"

Cherry answered, "Ran off to the washroom when I put that Winston in his place." I whistled low, nobody put Dallas Winston 'in his place'. I didn't blame the girls for running off.

I couldn't help the twinge of worry I felt though, the Nightly Double was the biggest drive-in movie in Tulsa; it was free rein for both greasers and socs.

Socs don't touch greaser girls, Two-Bit.

I thought to myself, yet I found it did nothing to ease my nerves.

Tonight, I'm going to give Susie one of my switchblades when we get home, I thought to myself. I won't even care if she wants to decorate it with pink glitter stickers, it would make me feel a whole lot better about her going out with Pony. Once in a drunken stupor, I confided my worries about Susie walking alone to Steve. Of course the little shit waved me off and told me that my kid sister was with Pony more than half the time, and that I had nothing to worry about. I didn't really understand how that would help, Pony was smaller than Susie for Pete's sake! While I didn't doubt for a second that Pony would stand up when it counted, she was rather demure compared to my kid sister. She went real quiet around socs, which just made her a bigger target for their sneers and jabs.

I decided that if they weren't back in the next ten minutes I was going to search for them. I didn't care if I had to go into the girls washroom, I was going to make sure my girls were okay.

I distracted myself for the time being chatting it up with Marcia, she was real witty and her face wasn't half bad either. I was about to ask for her number when a high-pitched scream pierced the air. It was muffled, and it was clear that whoever it was was far off.

It nearly sounded like a squeal, and I supposed that was why the two broads settled down so fast after hearing it. But I knew what Susie's screams sounded like.

"C'mon, it was probably just a guy playing with a girl, she's fine." Marcia told me, but fear for the girls already flooded my system. The buzz that I had earlier from a bottle of beer vanished immediately.

I hastily stood up, and I was faintly aware of Johnny trailing behind me as I ran towards the sound. My heartbeat thumped loudly in my ears as I willed my legs to go faster.

I heard another muffled shout, and it was clear that one of the girls was trying to shout something but I was too far away to make it out clearly. I felt my heart drop to my stomach as the voice—albeit muffled— was discernible as Pony's.

I held onto the hope that the first scream could just be written off as a silly mistake, and that I would just be walking into a couple having fun, but now that we were closer and I could hear better, all hope vanished.

A terrible weight settled itself on the middle of my chest as I prayed for my legs to move quicker and faster.

Please let my girls be okay.

As I rounded a corner I felt my breath hitch as I saw several tall, blurry figures at the back corner of the Nightly Double near the washrooms. I also recognized a pale pink tee-shirt that Susie left the house wearing today in the distance.

"Help! Soda! Darry!" I heard Pony's horrifying screams, "Dally! Two-!"

As me and Johnny got closer I could faintly see a figure much smaller than the rest get pulled off the back of a soc and thrown down to the ground so harshly they rebounded off the grass. Realization hit me like a bucket of ice cold water as I recognized Pony's light brown hair shine under the streetlamp.

I kept running when I saw a soc kneel over Pony's figure and send a punch towards her face. I was close enough now that I could discern the familiar scent of beer in the air.

"Hey! You get the hell off her!" I heard a booming voice echo.

I looked up and saw Dally jump over the back fence and pull the soc off of Pony. He started to pummel him in the face immediately as I heard the familiar crunch of bones. I felt a twisted satisfaction hearing his groans of pain.

Nothing he didn't deserve for messing with my girls.

I didn't have much time to relish in his pain, however. I narrowly dodged a soc's punch, but supposed Johnny wasn't as lucky as I heard his groan of pain. I wasn't too worried about him though, he proved to hold his own multiple times during rumbles.

I pulled at the soc's shirt collar and threw him forward as he took a few stumbles ahead. I didn't waste time punching the back of his head as hard as I could as his hands automatically protected his skull as I beat down on him.

I was faintly aware of Johnny's shouts as a soc pulled me off his buddy and socked me right in the face.

I shouted but didn't have much time to register the pain as several more blows flew towards me. I quickly got a hold of myself and crouched slightly before another punch hit me. I took this moment to clock him right under his jaw with an uppercut as his head flew back.

I fought off a few more socs and garnered numerous cuts and bruises on my skin, but nothing a rumble won't do to you. However, when Dally pulled out a broken pipe he found the socs quickly dispersed. I didn't bother chasing after them— not when I had the girls to worry about.

Once the adrenaline started to wear off my eyes nearly went into the back of my head looking for the girls. Once I found them I felt my breath hitch at the sight of them.

The socs obviously did a number on my kid sister, maybe not as bad as my face, but bad enough that I felt a sudden urge to go chase down those socs again. She had a particularly large red patch of skin covering the area of her left cheek, and some cuts of her arms. There was a purpling hand mark that wrapped around her whole right forearm that forced me to take a deep, steadying breath.

I turned my attention to Pony and sucked in a deep breath. I felt my hands shake as I looked her over. She looked bad, and it didn't help that her eyes were closed either. Clearly, she had been socked a few times and there was a particularly large gash just above her eyebrow that seeped blood. It didn't help that she was only wearing a skirt and tee-shirt either, with her legs and arms exposed and more prone to injuries against the socs. Her arms and legs were muddy and small cuts covered them, and her exposed knees had especially been scraped to hell. She looked rough, a word I thought I would never think of to describe Pony. She looked like she came straight out of a rumble, and while I wouldn't even bat an eye if one of the guys showed up in front of me looking like that, this was Pony we were talking about. Pony was about as close as Susie was to being my kid sister.

Pony was soft; the softest out of all of us and I knew that fact made Darry worry like an old man. She didn't like fights and tried to hide that fact since it would make her look like a baby, but I saw the way her face pales everytime the guys hash something out, fearing that they would start exchanging punches. She never swore, since Ms. Curtis forbade her only daughter to swear like a sailor, which just made her out to be demure in the socs eyes. Sometimes, when Dally would tell us stories from New York her hands would start shaking and her eyes got glossy. Hell, she liked dogs and puppies for Pete's sake, and I still remember how she wailed the day her yellow cur dog died when she was nine. Tears and snot dripped down her face the whole time I spent at the Curtis' that day.

Yet, here she was. Pony Curtis, the girl that dug sunsets and books, beaten black and blue with blood dripping down her temple.

I swore loudly; anyone but Pony deserved this.

I saw Susie's wet eyes look up at me. I didn't bother asking her what happened, not yet anyway. First, I needed to get Pony home and hopefully avoid getting socked in the jaw by Darry.

I pulled her limp arm around my shoulder and snaked my left arm around her side and hoisted her to her feet, "Stop! Stop!"

Pony's eyes flew wide open as she screamed herself hoarse.

"Shit! Put her down, Two-Bit!" I heard Dally's voice yell. I panicked and let go of her body a bit too suddenly, as she fell to the ground with a thump. I cursed out loud and crouched beside her doubled over figure. Her eyes squeezed with pain and her lips pursed together tight. She held onto her sides like she was hugging herself. I felt my chest constrict, I couldn't bear to look at Pony like this.

"Where's Darry?" She managed to sob out, "I want Soda and Darry."

My chest felt strangely tight as I heard Dally sigh heavily behind me, "Darry's at home and I think Soda might be too." He told her.

"Bring me home." She cried out.

"Well, we were." I shot Dally a look as he took a long drag out of his weed. He looked the same as usual, cut and bruised. He threw his head back and blew out the smoke, and he looked rather calm, but I knew him better than that. I saw the way his hand clenched into a fist and trembled, practically begging for something to hit.

I sighed, "Alright, c'mon tell me where it hurts, Baby." I spoke softly, like I did when Susie used to have nightmares.

I watched Pony's eyes glaze over with a dazed sort of look as she looked at Dally, Johnny, and Susie standing a bit away from us. I had a feeling she hadn't really processed what I said at all. However, her eyes suddenly lost that fogginess and became sharp again, "Susie!" She cried out. "Are you okay?"

I turned around and watched my kid sister furrow her brows, "I'm fine, it's you we have to worry about."

I looked at Pony as she squeezed her eyes shut, and once she looked at her bloodied hand her eyes widened with understanding. Her breathing suddenly became laboured as her hand flew out to clutch at my bicep. Her fingers dug into my skin as I rubbed her hand with my own, in an attempt to comfort her, "We're here now, ain't nobody gonna hurt you."

She struggled to chase after the oxygen that refused to fill her lungs, but she managed to gasp out, "I wanna go home."

Her teary eyes looked up at mine with a plea in them, but I refused to let my face show any of the grief and anger I was feeling at the moment, "Sure, Ponykid. Tell me where it hurts though, so I don't hurt you more."

She nodded, "Um, my sides." She grimaced, "I think my ribs are messed up." She said before she blinked heavily before me. Talking seemed to make her tired, and I could tell by the elongated period of time she kept her eyes closed when she blinked that she was fighting to stay awake.

I nodded and hoisted her up once again, this time my arm wrapping under her armpit instead of her side.

"Don't you go fallin' asleep on me, now." I said, as she leaned all of her body weight onto me. I was barely aware of Dally, Johnny, and Susie watching us as I observed Pony's eyes blink slow and heavy. I prayed she wouldn't fall asleep, I didn't exactly want to be the one that brought Darry and Soda's kid sister home beaten black and blue and unconscious on top of that. Her legs shook and trembled as I managed to drag her out of the Nightly Double.

My prayers fell short as the weight on my side suddenly increased, and I knew she was knocked out, "Shit, man." I cursed as I gently ran my hand through her hair, but it was a futile attempt at trying to wake her up. At least her face wasn't crumpled anymore, like someone was about to kick her. I absent-mindedly thought of Johnny when he got jumped, and felt a pang of grief hit the middle of my chest. The fact that Johnny and Pony were even comparable in this situation was deplorable.

I heard Susie sob a little behind me, and I saw her wrap her arms around herself. I wanted nothing more than to hug her, but I knew I couldn't leave Pony.

I sighed, "Look, Susie." I started, as she sobbed even louder, "I know it's hard to think about it right now, but when we get to the Curtis', Darry and Soda are gonna wanna know what happened to their kid sister. Now I'm not sayin' you have to explain yourself right then and there, but it's gonna have to come out at one point, you dig?" I explained, and she hid her face in her hands now. However, I saw her nod slightly.

"Yeah, I dig." Her voice was fried as she rasped the words out. I winced at the sound.

As silence rang in my ear, I couldn't help my curiosity. How in God's green Earth did the girls manage to get jumped by 5 socs? They weren't even in their grade, for crying out loud! I doubted that the girls instigated it; even if Susie did have a smart mouth, I was sure Pony would have some sense in her to stop it before it got too bad. Besides, Pony was practically terrified of socs after she saw what they did to Johnnycakes a bit ago. She would never get smart with one, let alone say something that would garner such a strong reaction. It was all so awfully strange though, socs didn't touch greaser girls. It was an unspoken rule in Tulsa, but here Pony and Susie were, living proof that socs did whatever they wanted to. There was going to be a rumble for sure, maybe even the Tiber Street Tigers and the River Kings would join. Nobody touched the greaser girls. Those socs were as good as dead.

It was a long, half hour walk to the Curtis', and as we rounded a corner and I saw the living room lights still on, I knew it was probably past midnight. Darry and Sodapop were probably waiting on Pony to come home, and I didn't doubt that Darry would chew Pony out for it if she wasn't bruised and beaten. To top it all off, I was the one that had the honour to present their bruised kid sister to them. I thought dimly of doing jazz hands.

I bit back a groan.

Please, please, please, don't let Darry knock me out.

I didn't exactly want my jaw shattered on top of all the bruises.

As we all approached the house, I saw Darry sitting on his chair reading the newspaper. I wonder how he'd look if he knew his kid sister was right outside the door beaten like she went to a rumble. Well, I was about to damn near find out.

I bit the bullet and pushed open the door, the hinges groaned in protest as Darry's head shot up, his face painted with worry, before his face fell with a blank look. I heard Soda's groan as he sat up from lying down on the couch, rubbing sleep out of his eye.

"Hey, Shortc-" His words died on his tongue as he took in Pony's state. His sleepy smile vanished and his eyes widened in horror.

The others followed in after me and it was silent for a whole second before a damn near bomb dropped in the living room of the Curtis house.

"What the hell happened!"

"Oh glory! Pony!"

My eye twitched at the sudden volume as Darry stood up from his recliner and stood menacingly, his face taut and his jaw clenched. Yet his eyes gave away how he actually felt, panic and worry for his kid sister swam in his blue eyes as he took in Pony's beaten, unconcious body.

Soda immediately jumped from the couch and approached Pony, his eyes wide and afraid as he looked over Pony's beaten state.

"Oh for fuck's sake, get her on the motherfuckin' couch, Two-Bit!" Darry swore loudly, and I didn't hesitate to gently roll her onto the couch. Her head lolled near her shoulder as her legs spread out onto the couch. Her knees were particularly bad as a big bruise covered the whole area of both of her knee caps as the bright purple stood out on her pale skin. The blood from her arms and legs had started to dry and cake onto her skin, and the bruises on her face were now fully purple. Her left cheek started to swell and I could see it start to travel up towards her eye. She looked like shit.

"Soda, get the med-kit." Darry spoke clearly, and I could see Soda hesitate, not wanting to leave his beaten kid sister, but Darry shot him a look and he ran off.

Dally leaned against the wall as he looked on, his face was taut as his eyes focused on Pony's face. Johnny looked worse for wear, to say the least. I think this whole situation freaked him out, not like everybody else wasn't, but I think he knew that everything with the socs was about to change, and that scared him like nothing else. I looked to the side and saw Susie crying, standing next to Pony's feet on the couch. Now that I saw her face in the bright light, I was relieved to see none of her bruises turned purple like Pony's and that they stayed a pink-red colour. Usually that meant they would go away within several days, and maybe even overnight if she iced them.

Darry kneeled on the ground as he hovered over Pony's face on the couch, he gently turned her face around and I could tell by the veins popping on his forehead he was a terrible mix of worried and furious.

As soon as Soda came back with the med-kit Darry snatched it from his hands and quickly started to disinfect the major gash she had on her temple. "Get me something to ice her face, Two." I hurried off as soon as I heard Darry ground out his words through gnashed teeth.

I got a bag of peas for Pony and a bag of frozen vegetables for Susie. I knew she wouldn't want to put it on her face, and would try to assure me she was fine but I wasn't about to have it tonight.

I silently handed Darry the bag of peas first and gave Susie a hard look before giving her the frozen vegetables. She didn't say anything, but her hand hesitated before placing it on her face.

"Oh Pony…" I heard Soda's terrified voice call out as he helped Darry disinfect the cuts all over her body. He sounded close to tears, which wasn't common at all. Things were different, though, when it came to his kid sister.

I wasn't sure if Darry was going to cry, to be honest. He didn't even cry at his parents funeral, not because he didn't feel grief but because he knew he needed to let his kid brother and kid sister have a strong shoulder to lean on when they cried their hearts out. Now, though, as he scanned his kid sister's beat and bruised state lying limp on their couch, I wasn't sure.

Once Darry finished cleaning the gash on her temple and bandaged it, he held the frozen peas to her face and let Soda handle the cuts and scrapes all over her body.

I hesitated before adding quietly, "Her ribs are messed up too, and I think her back might be bruised." I thought, as I remembered how she tensed as I gently held onto the small of her back at first.

As soon as I said that I saw Soda's movements halt as his breath hitched. I heard him choke back a quiet sob as tears fell onto Pony's legs. Darry let out a shaky breath, "You say anythin' else, Two-Bit, and I swear I will sock the fuckin' shit outta you."

I bit back a wince at the threat, and desperately wished Dally would've said it instead of me.

I watched as Darry carefully lifted up Pony's shirt until it was just below her chest and saw his nostrils flare as he scanned the large bruise on either side of her ribcage. Two large, purple bruises covered the eternity of her sides from just below her chest to the end of her ribcage. I let out a shuddered breath, remembering how I accidentally gripped onto her side when I first pulled her up.

"Shit…" I heard Dally curse under his breath as Johnny blew out a shaky breath. Susie started to cry again.

Soda was sobbing now, as he hurriedly wiped his eyes on his white shirt. He still made to clean the rest of her wound though, albeit with shaky hands. No one dared to comment on his tears, not if they didn't want to get clocked.

Darry didn't have to ask before Johnny gave him two more frozen bags of food. He placed them on her sides, and I started to seriously consider telling Darry to bring her to the hospital. Sure, she was only bruised and cut up, but the fact that she hadn't so much as flinched once as they rubbed alcohol on her open wounds and placed frozen food on her body couldn't have been a good sign.

"I-I'm so so sorry." I heard Susie take a gasping breath as I immediately went over to her side and rubbed her back. "It's all my fault, she was only looking out for me!" She gasped again, "It's my fault… Oh Pony!" She cried out as she hid her face in her hands. I brushed her hair back from her face and whispered words of comfort to her.

"What happened, kid?" I heard Dally bluntly ask. I was surprised, I thought for sure Darry or Soda would ask.

Susie took a shuddering breath, before she looked at the brothers with a new found glint of determination in her teary eyes. I knew she wanted to tell them since she felt an obligation to explain. If she was okay with it, I wasn't about to stop her. Besides, I was fighting my damn hardest not to ask her the whole walk here.

She took a deep, steadying breath as everyone stilled their movements and listened, "We, um, went to the washroom during the movie, and uh," She took another deep breath, "when we came out there were a bunch of socs standing outside—oh! And they were talking about Cherry and Marcia." She looked at me, Dally, and Johnny, "And um, they were talking kinda sleazy to us, so I think Pony got real scared so she grabbed my hand and started to run away, but um," She wiped away some tears and looked down at her lap, "one of them grabbed a hold onto my arm." She raised her right forearm and displayed a large handprint on her forearm marred with red. "Then, Pony got real mad." Susie's voice cracked at the end as the hand holding the frozen vegetables to her cheek gripped at it harshly. She sat there for a minute silently crying.

"What happened next, honey?" I encouraged her.

She shuddered, "Um, Pony called him an asshole and slapped him in the face."

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

I glared at Dally as Susie flinched.

She continued, "So, then, the soc, he p-punched her really hard. Like, her head turned so fast I was scared he broke her jaw or somethin'." Soda muffled his cry, "Then, um, I screamed really loud and two socs came at me to shut me up." She sobbed, "They kinda shoved me around some and punched me once I bit one of them that covered my mouth. And I kept screamin' and screamin', and I think Pony was too." She blew out a shaky breath, "And I think Pony was being handled too, but she got out and then she jumped on the soc's back that was holdin' my arms back. I think she gouged his eyes with her fingers, and he let me go, but then one of the other soc's pulled her off and um," She sniffled, "H-he threw her to the ground so hard I saw her head bounce off." She gulped, "I-I was so scared he," She hesitated, "d-did something bad, 'cause I didn't see her move!" She let out a pitiful sob and clutched at her chest with her free hand.

"He got on top of her and there was just no way she could get out, he was just so big. A-and his knees caged her in and he punched her in her face, and—oh glory!" She cried out, "He was killin' her! I thought he killed her! I didn't see her move! I didn't hear her shout or nothin'!" I pulled her into my chest as her body trembled and shook aggressively in my embrace. "Then, uh, the guys came and made the socs go away."

"Motherfucker!" I heard Dally swear loudly as he stomped out of the house and closed the door behind him with a resounding bang!

Susie flinched in my embrace as I hushed her and rubbed my hand over her back and shoulder. It was probably better that Dally was out of the house; he needed an outlet to blow off his steam now that he heard the story and it sure as hell wasn't going to be in the Curtis home.

Soda looked at Susie's shivering form with wide eyes as tears continuously poured down his cheeks. His adam's apple rolled as he hiccuped and choked on his silent sobs. I turned to Darry and watched his stormy blue eyes. I knew he was furious; at me, Dally, Johnny, and maybe even a bit at Susie, for letting soft Pony get beaten black and blue. I knew his anger was all over the place though, and he probably wouldn't be angry with us come morning. Not much, anyway. He was livid with the socs for touching his kid sister, his kid sister that dug sunsets and books.

"No no no! Darry!" I heard Pony sob out.

Darry and Soda were instantly by her side as they watched her face crumple into a pained expression. Fat globs of tears streamed down her temples as it soaked the couch. Her pink, glossy lips parted as she took heavy, laboured breaths in. Soda brushed the back of his shaky hand against her bruised cheek as he took a shuddered breath.

"C'mon, Shortcake, wake up." He sobbed, "It's okay, you're safe now." I saw Darry's teeth gnash together as he squeezed his eyes shut for several seconds. He looked somewhat collected on the outside, but I knew the emotions brewing inside were overflowing and the smallest thing could set him off.

I felt Susie scramble out of my embrace as Pony suddenly shot up with a gasp.