Soda Pov:
I ringed my last customer and went on over to help Steve close the shop. The day was
pretty slow for the weekend, and our boss didn't have to tell me twice to get the hell outta there.
He could be an ass sometimes, but the pay sure is something.
"Hey, wanna drag race tonight?" Steve asked as I took off my cap. Normally I'd be all in,
but I'd already promised Pony some time together.
"Sorry Steve-O, I already have plans with Pony. Maybe next time?" He grumbled, kicking
at a pebble on the ground, but didn't push it.
"Yeah, sure, next time…."
We headed down the street, my house just in sight. Steve suddenly broke into a spring,
and I wasn't about to back down from a challenge. I chased him, barely losing by a hair.
"Your legs are"huff " longer", I teased, lightly punching his shoulder as we stepped on the
porch. He just smirked, and was about to headlock me, when we heard yelling. I could instantly
recognize Darry's booming voice, probably hounding down Pony again.
"Maybe I should just give my old man a try." Steve said and left before I could even say
'See ya!' With a sigh, I swung open the door to confirm what I already knew. Sure enough, Darry
was mid-rant, fists clenched and face red. This must've been the 30th time this week they
fought. Probably over something as dumb as a spelling mistake. Heck, by this point I don't even
care.
"Ponyboy, don't you see these hands? How torn up they are?! I did this all for YOU, so that
YOU can have a bright future! And YOU don't seem to care because people who want to
graduate….. DON'T SCORE A 64!" I could practically see the steam coming out of Darry's
ears as he hollered at Ponyboy. I prayed that they left me alone this time. Of course, as always,
no such luck!
"Soda never got good grades, and HE enjoys life more than you do!" Ponyboy shot back, and I
swear I've never seen him so mad.
"Oh, so you want to fill up cars with gas for the rest of your life? You think that's the easy way
out of LIFE?! Soda, tell him that I'm right and he SHOULD be grateful we're working our asses
off for him." Oh man, I hate being the middleman. It's like I'm being torn apart from the inside out
everytime I have to pick and choose a side. Are they really that blind with anger to see that?
"GRATEFUL? FOR WHAT? BEING YELLED AT EVERYTIME I MAKE A MISTAKE?! Soda,
tell Darry to LAY OFF OF ME!" All right, that's it, I had reached my breaking point.
"STOPP, just s-stop." That instantly got their attention from all that yelling. My voice was failing
me, and the waterworks were about to spill.
" A-are we really b-brothers if all we do is fight? All I ever wanted since mom and dad died was
for us to GET ALONG!" Ponyboy looked stunned at my sudden outburst, and Darry tried to
speak to me, but I wasn't finished.
" I-I can't take this anymore. It's like playing tug o' w-war trying to pry you guys off of each other.
Darry, you g-gotta understand you're being too hard on P-ponyboy and accept that h-he makes
mistakes. And Ponyboy, D-darry doesn't hate you when h-he yells at you, he just wants what's
best for you… oh you guys…" Before anyone could move a muscle, I sprinted out of there as
fast as my legs would carry me. I just kept running and running, hoping that at some point the
ache in my heart would lessen. Eventually, someone tackled me, knocking me down on the
gravel.
"Ugh, Ponyboy you should've tried out for football." I teased, my tears mixing in with the gravel.
"Yeah? And what are you doing running away?" Ponyboy shot back, his voice carrying a hint of
humor, but his eyes were sad.
" It's tough to just stand there and watch the last people left in my family tearing away at each
other." Ponyboy looked down guilty and I knew this was killing him too.
"Hey, look at me." I said as I softly grabbed his shoulders to face me.
"I'm not blaming you for any of this. Ya dig? You guys are sometimes so stubborn that things get
out of hand. I just can't keep watching you guys get stuck in each other's throats. Next time, just
try and understand that Darry doesn't mean half the things he shouts." This earned me a smile
outta him and I finally stood up to see where the heck we ended up at. Thankfully, I didn't run
that far away from home, and we were at the neighbourhood park.
"I'm sure Darry's real worried about you. Wanna head back?" Ponyboy asked as he dusted off
his ripped jeans. Some of the holes in them were not made purposefully, so I'll have to talk to
Darry about getting him some new clothes.
"Yup, I've had enough of running away for one day." I got playfully nudged in the ribs as a
response. We hadn't even gotten out of the park when a tuff looking mustang parked swerved,
and narrowly missed Ponyboy.
"The FU—" One second I was up and cursing, and the next: taken down.