"Hey Soda," did Pony sound as stupid as he felt?
"Hey... Soda? HEY SODA?!" he shoved the beer he'd grabbed back into Jessie's hand and snatched Ponyboy up by his collar.
"Woah! What do you think you're doing man?" Dean stood up, not understanding what was happening. He went to take Ponyboy from Soda's grasp, thinking Soda was just being a punk.
Curly stopped him quickly, not wanting to see the boy get socked. Soda looked pissed, "Sodapop is Pony's brother." he hissed softly.
"Oh shit," Dean backed off immediately.
"What in God's name do you think you're doing here?!" Soda gave Pony a good shake.
"I- Uh."
"Wait. Have you been drinking?!" He saw the bottle that had fell from Pony's hand and hit the ground after Soda had shaken him. Ponyboy tried to speak, but no words came out - he just gapped his mouth open and shut like a a fish. Soda leaned in to smell the boy's breath, confirming his accusation.
"It was just one! And I didn't even drink it all!"
"You are in a world of trouble Ponyboy, let's go!" He dragged his kid brother away. "Let's go Steve!" He turned to look at his friend, who was drinking at a beer.
"Yeah, coming." He followed behind his friend, beer still in hand. "Damn kid, you really shocked the hell outta me." Steve said watching Pony get dragged to his car.
"In the backseat. Now." Soda opened the backseat of Steve's car, watching as Ponyboy scrambled into the back seat, yelping quietly when he felt a single smack hit his bottom.
Pony looked back at his brother after he received the smack, sitting down. "Soda -"
"I don't want to hear it Ponyboy. Buckle up, we're going home." Ponyboy quickly got his seatbelt on as Soda closed the door and got into the passenger seat.
"Shit Soda, I've never seen ya so hot." Steve tossed his bottle out the car window before revving it to life. It was true, usually Soda was all smiles and jokes. He didn't get upset often, and the gang had never seen him yell at Ponyboy.
"Well it's not every day I find my baby brother, who is GROUNDED," he rose his voice a little so Ponyboy knew good and well Soda was not happy, "at a place he is BANNED from being at, and DRINKING at twelve years old!"
Ponyboy shrank into the backseat, he was really in for it. "I couldn't believe it when I saw him. Sitting there with a beer in his hand!" Steve actually laughed at the situation! "Kid usually never goes against you! I mean, I know he likes to push Darry's buttons - but he thinks you're a God or some shit. Hangin' on to your every word."
"Can y'all not talk about me like I ain't here?" Ponyboy grumbled, suddenly getting a surge of confidence (more like attitude). It wasn't fair! Soda was only fifteen, and he wasn't allowed at Buck's either! He also wasn't allowed to drink unless it was at home where Darry could keep an eye on him. Darry said they could try drinking when they turned fifteen, but it was only allowed at the house under his supervision. And no more than one bottle.
"You better watch it!" Soda whipped his head around, his eyes hard. He was completely and utterly pissed. He was also scared. When he saw his baby brother at Buck's, he'd panicked a little. Pony was way too young to be getting involved with the type of guys that hung around Buck's. "I am not happy, not one bit!" He sounded so much older than fifteen as he scolded the kid. "You know Darry's rules! You are not to be caught within a hundred yards of Buck's place, and you are NOT allowed to be drinking!"
"You were doing the same! You only caught me cause you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be too!"
"I swear Ponyboy Michael, if you don't loose this little attitude I will have Steve pull over and I can humble you right here and now!" He sounded just like Darry.
"Whatever!" Ponyboy huffed, folding his arms over his chest and falling back against the backseat of the car. He really believed Sodapop was just all talk, he'd never spank him in the middle of the road at night!
"That's it! Steve, pull over. Now!"
"What? Really?" He looked at his friend, was he serious?
"NOW!"
"Alright! Let me find a good spot to pull off." He looked in his rearview mirror, checking to make sure he could pull off safely. He caught a glimpse of Ponyboy, who sat up straight and rigid when Soda was actually going through with his threat. "You're really in deep shit kid. Better listen to your brother and loose the attitude." He hated Steve a little. Steve just saw him as Soda's annoying little brother, sometimes Pony felt like Steve was just another big brother who bossed him around.
Once he had pulled over and put the car in park, Soda was out of the car instantly. "Out." He was holding the back door open, staring at Ponyboy. The kid cowered away a little, clutching to his seatbelt tightly. "If I have to take you out of this car, you are going to be real sorry."
That got him moving, Ponyboy was learning quick that Soda didn't make empty threats. He did not want to find out what Soda would do to make him even sorrier than he was already going to be. "Soda, I'm really sorry. I didn't even like the beer. It was gross."
"Doesn't matter how much you hated it. You know the rules." Ponyboy felt a twinge of anger underneath his remorse, he felt like Soda wasn't being fair. He was about to get whopped for the same things Soda had been doing! When Ponyboy got out of the car, Soda grabbed his elbow and guided him to the hood of the car.
As soon as Ponyboy was being marched to his doom, he freaked. "Please Soda! I'll keep my mouth shut the rest of the way home! Please don't spank me out here!" He was more worried about the embarrassment than the actual spanking right now.
Soda sat on the hood of Steve's old car and pulled his brother across his knee, not wasting any time. "Stop your wiggling Ponyboy!"
"Ow!" Ponyboy yelped loudly when a smack was landed to his thigh. "But Soda, I don't want a spanking! Steve is right there!"
"No one wants a spanking Ponyboy! But that's what you're gonna get! And Steve could care less about hearing you hollering over a whoopin'." Ponyboy wanted to scream that he cared. He didn't want his brother's best friend to watch him get his butt blistered on the hood of a car in the middle of the night!
"Ow! Soda!" Soda grabbed Pony around his waist and pulled him close against his own body, holding the kid in place before landing three fast smacks. Each one made Ponyboy yelp and try to squirm away. "N-no! Stop! Soda not bare!" Soda had grabbed his jeans after five warm-up smacks and started to pull them down.
"Ponyboy if you don't stop fighting me this instant I swear I will take my belt to you!" Ponyboy stopped his attempts of kicking and squirming at the threat. "Right. Now if you are done?"
"Yes Soda," Ponyboy answered miserably. Afterwards he let out another pained yelp, the sting intensified now that it was skin on skin.
"Now that you're loosing this little attitude you've picked up -" He landed a few sharp slaps to his thighs before continuing. "When we get home you are to hit the shower and then meet me in the living room. Because we're going to have a LONG conversation about what you've been up to tonight."
"Soda! Yow! You're gonna whoop me TWICE?! Ow!" He started to squirm again, an involuntary reaction from the sting that was building in his backside.
"You bet your ass I am! This is just a little warm-up for your mouth in the car! What you're getting at home is gonna be for sneaking out while grounded, drinking, and going to Buck's!" He went to land another smack when a flash of blue lights distracted him.
"Shit -" Sodapop heard his friend cuss, a cop car had just pulled up behind them.
"Soda?" Ponyboy sniffled a little, he hadn't seen the flashing lights since his face was pointed towards the ground.
"Stand up," Soda said softly, letting the kid stand and right his pants. He watched as Ponyboy's eyes grew the size of dinner plates when he saw the cop car, and an officer could be seen walking towards them.
"Evening boys," the officer tipped his hat when he saw Sodapop and Ponyboy, obviously unaware of what had been happening.
"Evening Sir," Soda tipped his head back as he held fast to his brother's arm.
He walked closer, stopping at the driver's door and spotting Steve. "You kids alright out here?"
"Yes Officer," Steve answered. He prayed his breath didn't reek too badly of booze. "Kid here was being real mouthy. Pulled over to give him a good hidin' is all." He cracked a grin, trying to not to look as nervous as he felt.
The cop peered around to get a closer look at Sodapop and Pony, who were still just standing at the front of the car. He looked down at Ponyboy, who was in fact rubbing his backside (partly cause it did sting, but also cause Soda had nudged him to play it up) and sniffled loudly. "That true son? You giving your brothers a hard time?" He assumed they were all brothers.
"Answer an officer when he speaks to you Ponyboy," Sodapop said. He was playing up the the 'stern big brother voice', but he was being serious - some of the cops could be real assholes and demanded respect. They lucked out though and this one seemed to be alright.
"Yes Sir. My brother told me to loose the attitude but I didn't....He made Steve pull over to whoop me." His face had turned a deep red as he had to tell a cop he'd been getting his backside tanned, and that said cop had interrupted it.
"Kids, am I right?" Sodapop tried to laugh a little.
The officer did smile back, "I got kids at home, they can be a handful that's for sure. But reason I stopped is actually cause you got a busted tail-light. Just wanted to let you know, some of the guys around here can be real hard-asses."
"Thank you for letting me know officer," Steve said. "I'll get it fixed first thing in the morning."
"Good to hear. Well," he slapped the hood of Steve's car. "I won't hold you boys up any longer. And son?"
"Yes sir?" Ponyboy knew the cop was talking to him.
"You straighten up for your brothers."
Ponyboy nodded quickly, "I will Sir."
"Looks like you know how to handle him well. Good to see kids with a good head on their shoulders around here. You boys have a nice night now."
"Thank you sir." Sodapop steered Ponyboy back to the backseat quickly - thankful the cop didn't smell the booze on any of them and that he wasn't an asshole cop. "In the backseat Pony."
Ponyboy got back in the seat with a grimace, it didn't hurt terrible - but it was uncomfortable and made him squirm. Soda hurried into the front seat and let out a sigh of relief as he watched the cop retreat back to his car. "Shit that was close," Steve said, pulling back onto the road - doing the speed limit.
"You're telling me. Jesus I was scared half to death he'd smell the booze on at least one of us!" Soda said, running a hand over his face.
"Think the only reason he didn't check is cause of the kid. Good job playing up the theatrics kid," Steve gave him a wink in the rearview mirror.
"I wasn't really faking it." Ponyboy pouted as he tried to get comfortable.
Steve laughed loudly at the comment, "Hell. You sure are a drama queen kid. Soda barely got started when that cop pulled up, you should be thanking him - he ended it early for you." He checked his mirrors again, saw the cop was gone for good and sped up down the road.