{Pony's POV}
All morning I've been getting ready for a whole day with my best friend Johnny and my boyfriend Dallas. Last night at my place we planned a whole afternoon, just the old gang together. We said Johnny could bring Bryon, but he told us Bryon is in the cooler for a few days. I love Johnny, but Bryon sure gets into trouble a lot. It's usually something Mark dragged him into. Mark is a nice guy, he's just... mischievous, I guess.
Anyways, Dallas loves to be seen in public with me, he'll take any opportunity to show me off. He loves to have an arm around my waist and hold me close at school or around town. I love it, too. Nothing scares him. He always tells me they'll have to get around him if they try to hurt me. Dally doesn't play around when it comes to people talking about me. He'll even get short with Two-Bit or Steve when they tease me. It's real nice to have a bodyguard. A big, scary, beautiful, adorable bodyguard.
Right now, I'm doing the final touches on my hair. Dallas likes my natural hair a lot because he likes to run his fingers through it and pet my head. However, I have to use a little gel for my signature curl on my forehead. I curl it over the left side of my forehead to cover a pimple by my hairline. Through the open bathroom door, I hear the buzz of the doorbell from downstairs. There's only one person in the gang polite enough to not just barge into the house...
"Johnny!" I yell, running carefully down the stairs into the living room and to the front door. I fiddle with the lock, and fling open the door for my best friend.
"Heya Johnnycakes! You excited for today?" I yell as I run and give him a big hug.
"You bet." He says happily, muffled slightly by my shirt.
"Oh- sorry for huggin ya so tight," I give him some space, "It's just I haven't gotten to see ya in... like a month, it feels like."
"I guess it would be around that long... Sorry, it's just Bryon keeps me busy. you know.." He gives me a smirk.
"Oh, I know. Dallas has an appetite. I'm real sorry about Bryon being in the cooler." I usher him into the living room, leaving the door open for Dal.
"It's not your fault, Pone. It's just- I wish he would think about what that does to me. I wish he could see past himself for a second and see how much I need him around." His mood turns somber as we sit lazily on the couch together.
"You gotta tell him, Johnny. It don't have to be some big confrontation, just tell him exactly how it makes you feel. I know Bryon's a good guy, he'll understand." I put a hand on his knee on the couch and give him a hopeful grin. He gives a slight grin back, and we enjoy a nice, silent moment with each other.
That is, until we hear the screen door slam back against the doorframe, making us look up at the tall, handsome figure.
"Miss me?" Dal says to me.
"Dally!" I run over to him with open arms. As we meet, he hugs me around the chest, spinning me with my feet over the floor. When we return to our original position, he sets me back down. We're both grinning messes at the end. He looks at me with admiring eyes.
"Long time no see, Johnnycakes!" He says, still holding onto my arm.
"Hey, Dal. Y'all ready for some lunch?" He holds up his billfold, smiling at the two of us widely.
"You know it, Johnny! Let's go."
•••
The three of us try to down the last of our milkshakes, Chocolate for me and Johnny, and Strawberry for Dally. The food that was once in front of us is gone, the only remaining evidence is the pickles Johnny took off of his burger.
"Y'all, I'm gonna fuckin burst. Whose idea was it to get a double burger?" Dally inquires.
"Yours, fatty. You ordered it." Johnny giggles.
"Hey, he's only big boned!" I laugh back.
"Oh, hush. Look at Pony's cute little rolls." Dally reaches under my shirt and pinches my side.
"Dallaass!" I whine with another giggle. As much as I want to be shocked, it really tickles.
We all laugh in unison and decide to leave the diner. We parked near downtown and walked a few blocks over to the diner, so we decide to return to the car on foot. We take our unfinished milkshakes with us, walking down the sidewalk with Dally in the middle. He has a hand around my waist as usual, but his hand migrates down to fill my back pocket. Johnny walks in line with us. We keep up a solid conversation, laughing and joking as we try to make it past the run down buildings.
I get nervous as we approach the bus station. The once empty station is now filled with people. Everyone knew the punks liked to hang out around the bus station, terrorizing any and everyone who passed. Punks aren't like greasers- punks like to harass people, smash windows, and they wear those weird clothes and strange haircuts. It depended on the gang, some could be nice. But the punks fooling around at this station were not.
From about a block away, I see them pushing each other around and yelling, even spitting at each other. There's a skinny one with wild, bleached hair with dark roots. The two others are dark-haired, one with spiky, messy fringe and the other cut short enough to see his scalp showing through. They wore skinny pants, with shirts that were torn and ripped up. They had scribbled graphics on them, like they had been crudely drawn on.
Dally feels me lean into him uncomfortably as we walk.
"hey, don't worry. I'm right here." He whispers to me as we get further. Johnny even starts to huddle in closer.
As we approach, I realize there's more than the three of them on the sidewalk. Two others huddle against the side of the station with riveted leather vests and more wild haircuts. They hang their heads down, so I can't see their faces. My friend Rusty James said they sleep in the empty bus terminals, because they're all homeless.
The two boys sitting on the floor just looked blank, really. They looked like kids wearing costumes.
"Look at the fags!" the blonde yells at the two other bumbling guys. They seem out of it, probably high.
"Who the fuck are you talking to?" Dallas growls. He moves his hand around my waist protectively. I try to hold him back by turning to him and placing my hand on his chest.
"please, Dal, can we just go? It's nothing..." I plead.
"Yeah, listen to your little boyfriend, fag! Actually, let's see... why don't I give 'em a try?" He flicks out a switch blade from his hand, and motions to the other two standing men. They immediately spring towards me, ripping me from Dally's grasp.
"Hey! Please, let me go!" They hold my hands behind my back, and the blonde runs over to my face. He stares into my eyes wildly, and I notice the scratches and needle scars going up his arms. He laughs deeply before licking the side of my face with his flat tongue. His hot breath against my face makes me shudder in fear.
"Aahhh-!" I yell, and he before I know it, Dallas pulls him back roughly by the shoulder and gives him a punch to the nose. The blonde stumbles around, still laughing. He sits down against the wall, still chuckling to himself looking blankly.
"Johnny, run to the truck!" Dally calls out, making Johnny book it the rest of the way down to the parking lot.
"Let him go. Right now." Dallas growls, blowing air from his nostrils in frustration.
"I don't know, man- he looks pretty tasty, don't you think?" The punk on my left laughs to the one on my right, still holding onto my arms. I wince at his comment, letting a lonely tear fall from my cheek.
I see Dallas's face grow red, and he bares his teeth as he finally loses it. He grabs the one on my left by the shirt collar and delivers a solid blow to the side of his jaw, sending him flying into the pole behind him. He hits his head on the metal, and crumples into a ball on the ground. The punk on my right twists my arm backwards, making me cry out. His free hands reveals a switchblade directly under my nose.
"don't step any closer... or your little bitch here gets it." He sneers with a horrible smirk. Dallas looks at me helplessly.
"l-leave him alone. He didn't do nothin'. We're just trying to get to the car." He pleads. The blade gets ever closer to my neck. His hand trembles.
"wes, leave 'em alone..." A quiet voice slurs behind us. One of the sitting punks in the vest speaks up, still holding his head down. He sounds incredibly tired. His hair is black and wild, touching his shoulders in a mullet shape. I can see the needle scars up his arms. He must be coming down from a high, his expression is pained and he's sweating.
"What, shephard?" Wes barks at him. Shephard...?
"I said leave 'em alone- They was just walkin'- go on, man..." He bends his neck and leans his head back against the wall with his eyes closed. Holy shit. I recognize him. I could recognize him anywhere.
Wes grunts, before throwing me forward onto the ground in front of Dallas. Dally immediately bends down to my level, picking me up by the back as Wes storms off around the corner. Dally gets me to my feet, then hugs me close with shuddering breaths. I cry a little more into his comforting chest.
"Guys!" Johnnys voice rings out towards the station. We turn around to see Johnny driving the truck.
"Come on, get in!" Dallas leads me to the passengers seat and lays me down. He holds me around my back as he climbs in as well.
"I'm so sorry, baby, let's get you home. You aren't hurt, just a little shaken up, it's ok, doll... shhh-" Dallas pets my head comfortingly.
When the door closes, I peek out the window through my now drying eyes.
The boy sitting against the wall, with the strange clothes and hair, covered in scratches and needle scars, sleeping homeless in a bus terminal with a strange gang- is Curly Shephard.
My eyes lock with Curly's as Johnny starts the truck again, starting to drive away. He is the first to break the stare, looking down at his tattered shoes on the concrete. I swear I could see a lonely tear fall from his eye.
•••
{1829 words} I haven't had as much motivation to write, but now I've got some clear stories in mind, so expect some more frequent updates! Also, 2k reads... you guys are amazing. Thank you so much!
Love, Matty-
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