Careless Love: A Ponyboy Curtis Fanfiction

Chapter 23

"Alright. I'll be there tonight." He told us. Soda smiled, so did I.

"Okay see you then." He said, hanging up. Soda went to go make lunch, and I went back into autumns room.

"Autumn, Finns coming home! He'll be here tonight. We told him about how you're doing. He's coming to try to help you. He might even stay until you get better!" I told her, trying to be cheerful for her sake. I could swear I saw her eyes widen for a second. I kissed her cheek and left the room. I met soda downstairs. I made myself a plate of noodles and sat down with him. We talked while we ate, mainly about Autumn. When I finished eating, I made a small plate for Autumn. I carried it up to her room. She was still laying on her back.

"Hey princess. I brought you some noodles incase you're hungry." I told her, setting the plate down. I left the room and went to my room. I changed into a blue tshirt and sweatpants. I walked to the lot, where I knew I would find Johnny. Sure enough, he was sitting on a tree stump, lighting a smoke.

"Hey Johnny." I greeted him, sitting beside him.

"How's it goin?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"Okay." I lied. He raised his eyebrows.

"Pony..I'm not an idiot." He replied. I smiled.

"Im just worried about Autumn." I explained truthfully. He nodded.

"Me too pone. She'll get through this. She's tough." He told me. I wasn't surprised. Johnny was a man of very few words, so I wasn't gonna hear him give me a huge inspirational speech. I thanked him.

"Ya wanna head down to the movies?" I asked him. He nodded, standing up. I followed him. When we got to the drive in, we slid under the fence and took our seats.

"Man what kinda movie is this?" I exclaimed, gesturing towards the strange movie. Johnny grinned and shrugged. Once the movie finished, we walked back to my house.

"You coming in?" I asked him.

"Yeah sure." Johnny replied, kicking the dirt.

"Alright." I stated, walking inside, Johnny following. Steve, dally, and two-bit were here. Soda was on the couch, his elbows on his knees. He looked worried.

"Soda? What's wrong? Is Autumn okay?" I asked him. He looked up at me.

"Finns here." He stated calmly.

"H-has she said anything?" I questioned, sitting down. Soda shook his head.

"Not that I know of. He's been in there for fifteen minutes so far." He informed me. I turned on the tv, focusing on the news. After about twenty minutes, Finn walked out. I stood up.

"Hey Ponyboy. Good to see you." He greeted, hugging me. I greeted him back.

"Autumn told me what happened." He stated. I gasped.

"The Socs raped her." Finn finished. My jaw dropped, along with the other four boys. I walked around Finn and into autumns room.

"A-Autumn?" I choked out. She looked at me. She stood up.

"Ponyboy." She stated, running into my arms. I wrapped my arms tightly around her. I could hear her crying in my chest as I stroked her hair.

"Pony I'm scared." Autumn whimpered, nuzzling her head in my chest. I rubbed her back.

"I'll keep you safe angel. They're not gonna hurt you any more. I won't let them." I comforted her.

"The gangs in the living room. You wanna go see em? They're real worried." I informed her, gently. She pulled away and nodded, tears still falling down her cheeks. I caressed her face, wiping away her tears with my thumb.

"I love you Autumn." I told her, truthfully.

"I love you too pony." she replied, looking into my eyes. I leaned in, kissing her softly. We pulled away and she stood behind me, clutching my arm as we exited her bedroom. Everyone stood up as we entered the room.

"Autumn!" Soda exclaimed, stepping towards her. She backs away at first, frightened, but then ran into his arms. He held her tightly for a couple seconds, then they pulled away. She hugged Steve and two-bit, then dally.

"We were all worried about you, shortie." Dally told her, holding her to his chest. She smiled a little bit. I could tell she wasn't her usual self, and I didn't blame her. It's bad enough getting jumped by Socs, but they really crossed the line this time.

"Can you tell us the story?" Soda asked kindly. Autumn hesitated, then nodded and sat down on the couch. I sat next to her and she slipped her hand in mine and took a deep breath. The rest of them sat down around us, in the chairs or on the floor.

"I was walking home and some Socs, like five of them, cornered me. I tried to stop them, but they were too strong. They....raped me. Once they let go of me, I got my clothes on and ran. They were chasing me and telling me they weren't done. It started to rain and I fell into a puddle, and just stayed there. Someone found me, but I couldn't see who it was because it was dark and I was crying. They brought me here and I saw it was Ponyboy.." She explained to everyone. My eyes were wide with shock and anger towards the Socs. Dallas looked like he was about to murder them, along with two-bit and Steve. Soda, Finn, and Johnny didn't want to upset Autumn more, so they just comforted her. She leaned her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"Were gonna have a rumble. We need to teach those damn Socs a lesson." Dallas announced.

"Were gonna kick their sorry asses!" Steve declared, confidently. We talked for a while, until I realized that Autumn had fallen sleep on my shoulder. I picked her up, carefully, and carried her to her room. I laid down with her, wrapping my arms around her. She curled up in my chest as I fell asleep, also.