The next day at school I was greeted with a lot of strange looks; people either stared at my bandaged arm or avoided eye contact with me entirely. I was sure Ponyboy, with his black eye healing but still a resolute purplish-yellow, was getting the same amount of attention. Thankfully, though, to my knowledge neither one of us was harassed by the Socs that day. I saw Arnie's big blond head looming at the end of the hall as I was heading off to math class, but I scurried away before he or his pals could see me. Overall, it was a blessedly tame day, though I certainly had more homework than I had had the day before.
I met Ponyboy at our locker right when the final bell rang at 3:10, a stack of books in my arms and a bag Pony had stolen for me that morning slung over my shoulder. It was full of the books I'd need for homework that night, while the ones in my arms were the ones I could leave at school. Pony unlocked the padlock for me and tossed his schoolbooks inside, littering the floor with paper and notebooks. I wrinkled my nose at the mess but said nothing. I would slowly organize the locker, I resolved, so that Pony and I wouldn't have to live with such blatant disorganization. I was just orderly that way.
Nobody talked to us as we went by, though I saw a few Soc girls give me pointed looks as they turned their backs on us. I felt myself become more defensive as we walked past more people who were obviously judging us for the injured state we were in. I saw the redheaded girl from my English class frown at me and shake her head pityingly; Pony stared down at his feet, his cheeks flushed in anger and embarrassment. I couldn't stand him feeling that way for something I blamed myself for, so I took action.
"What's the matter?" I stopped dead in my tracks in front of the girl. "Is there something wrong?" My voice was sickly sweet and polite as could be. I even gave her a smile, even though my words were bursting with anger. I didn't want to stoop to the Soc's level, though, so I kept my rage and hostility in check. I didn't really want to start a fight, I just wanted to teach this Soc girl a lesson.
"You're hurt," the girl said. The words were nice but her tone was like an admonitory mother.
"Yes," I admitted, brandishing my arm so that she could see the little spots of blood marring the clean white fabric. "Thank you for your pity."
The girl flushed at the last sentence, though I thought I had spoken them nicely enough. "That's what you get, hanging around boys like that. You get hurt."
There was no mistaking the condescending tone in her words now. I tried to stay calm but my composure was slipping. "I'll get hurt either way. All boys can hurt you," I said. I started to turn away and leave it be before I'd do something I'd regret, but her voice rang out behind me and stopped me.
"Don't make the same choice I did." Her voice was colder than an April blizzard.
"Cherry..." Ponyboy grabbed my elbow and started to pull me away, hurt in his eyes as he stared at the girl.
"I'll make whatever choices I want, thank you," I said coolly, wrenching my arm away from Pony's grasp. I gave her one last hard look before turning my back on her on my own terms. I didn't hear Pony follow me as I stalked away. I felt betrayed. "I certainly won't choose to be such a stuck-up bitch about it, that's for sure," I muttered under my breath. I glanced behind me and saw that Pony was standing in the middle of the hallway by himself, looking like a puppy someone had left out in the rain. Cherry had left him standing alone, and he looked after me with a lost expression. I felt guilty at once for leaving him there all by his lonesome, and I stopped and turned back. He trudged towards me and met me halfway. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and his back was hunched over. He looked upset.
"Sorry, Ponyboy," I murmured. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry."
He shrugged his shoulders but didn't look at me. "It's okay. It just hurts when-- hurts when someone you think was your friend..." He shrugged again. "When they regret ever being your friend in the first place."
I didn't speak. So this Cherry girl had known Pony and possibly the rest of the gang, and she regretted ever interacting with them? I found this hard to believe, but perhaps she knew something I didn't. As much as I wanted to forget what she had said, I felt her words worming into my mind and sowing doubt. What if the gang wasn't all that it seemed to be?
I looked down at Ponyboy's hunched figure. He still didn't say anything to me or even look up at me; he was very upset. I felt warm pity and almost love for him well up inside me, and I knew that despite what Cherry had said, nothing could be wrong with being around Pony and his gang. They were good people.
"Hey, Pony... It's gonna be okay," I said softly, opening the doors for him and leading him out into the sunshine.
"You won't listen to her, will you?" He looked up at me finally, his eyes glistening and full of fear. "You won't just leave us? I've only known you for a couple days but Diana-- you're pretty okay. You'll keep on staying with us, right?"
"Pony." I took his shoulders in my hands and stared at him directly into his green eyes. "You listen to me. I like you guys. I like you guys. I'm not just gonna leave you... Not until you kick me out, anyway," I finished with a weak attempt at humor.
"That's good, because all of us like you. Uh- at least I do- and Soda thinks you're pretty okay. I don't know about Darry though," he said hurriedly.
I frowned and straightened, relinquishing my grasp on his shoulders as I started to walk on. "Hmm? I think we get along pretty good."
"Yeah, well, uh, you never know with Darry," Ponyboy informed me quickly.
"Oh." I felt almost let down, and a weird swooping sensation cascaded through my chest. "So... you don't think he... likes me that much."
"Well, he likes you, sure, but not really like, likes you, or like likes you, if you know what I mean," Ponyboy tried to explain not very coherently.
I gave him a half smile. "Now you're just messing with me," I said, though I was still unable to shake the sense of disappointment I felt.
"Well, Diana, Darry just-"
"Hey, Ponyboy!" called a voice from behind us.
Ponyboy spun around, his face breaking into a smile. "Hey, Two-Bit! Bryon!"
"How's the princess doing? Steve's asking, not me, though I'm worried too," Two-Bit said as he reached us. He gave me a wink.
"Fine." I patted my bandaged forearm. "Still healing, but no real harm done. I'll be all better in a few days."
"Thank God, Steve's been so uptight since you got hurt. We need a little more fun around here! Right, Bryon?" Two-Bit's enthusiasm and cheerfulness was infectious, and soon my misgivings about Darry were wiped from my mind.
Bryon frowned. "Sure, Two. Whatever you say."
"What about Soda? Isn't he any fun?" Pony asked Two-Bit.
"Sure, when he's off work, but he's been down at the DX since nine and he doesn't get off until four. Steve was supposed to keep me entertained all day, but he's so worried about Diana here that he just sat there and whined." Two-Bit rolled his eyes. "Not that you're not important, princess, it's just that we're all kind of bored."
"I don't know why he's all worked up about Diana. Ain't he worried about Pony?" Bryon pointed out.
"He doesn't need to be worried about me. I can handle a fight," Ponyboy said defensively.
"Yeah, that's true. Besides, Steve cares a little more about Diana, if you catch my drift," Two-Bit said wickedly, giving me another wink from Ponyboy's side.
Ponyboy scowled at Two-Bit. I almost didn't catch it, and my stomach gave a sick swoop. "Don't start, Two-Bit," he said sternly. What exactly was going on?
I frowned. "What do you mean?" I asked Two-Bit.
He gave a dramatic, over-exaggerated shrug and pursed his lips. "I don't- nuthin', princess. I didn't mean nuthin'."
"Don't worry about it, Diana. Two-Bit has a bad habit of running his mouth off when he knows he's not supposed to," Ponyboy said darkly and turned to Two- Bit. "You be quiet now, you hear?"
"Fancy a punk kid telling me what to do!" Two-Bit exclaimed indignantly. He gave Pony a punch on the arm and jutted his chin out at Bryon, a smile on his good natured face.
"Don't put ideas in her head, alright? Let things go as they go," I barely heard Pony hiss to him. I glanced at the two of them sharply, but neither one of them looked at me in the eye. Bryon was the only one who met my gaze. He shrugged his shoulders challengingly, his cold eyes glinting almost apologetically. I could tell he didn't really understand what was going on with the two of them either, and it made me jumpy. What was so secretive that Ponyboy wasn't telling members of his own gang? Weren't they supposed to be like family?
We reached the Curtis home soon after this, so the uncomfortable silence lasted only a little longer. There was a rusty old car in the driveway, but I didn't stop to admire it. I marched right in to the living room, leaving the boys and their secrets behind on the stoop.
"What is going on, Pony?" I said at last, spinning around to face him.
The three boys trooped in behind me, looking sheepish. Ponyboy ran a hand through his long greasy hair in defeat as he stared at the carpet. "We were that obvious, huh?" he mumbled.
"A little." I placed my hands on my hips and gave him a hard stare. "You and Two-Bit seem to be in on something. Even Bryon doesn't seem to know what's so secretive. It wouldn't bother me, except that you aren't even telling your own gang. So what is it?"
Ponyboy gave Two-Bit a guilty, sideways glance, still refusing to meet my eyes, and I glared at him more fiercely. He refused to answer me. I felt myself getting frustrated, but I kept my cool.
"Don't tell her, Pony," said Darry's voice behind me. I spun around, indignant and slightly in shock, to see him standing in the kitchen doorway. He must've gotten home early from work; it was probably his old car that was out front. Strangely, his eyes never left Pony's and were full of a hard kind of emotion that made his blue eyes look like ice. There was something so intimidating about his stance that I took a step back, even though I was angry that he was keeping something from me. I stared at him, aghast, shaking my head slowly. His eyes slid to mine, widening in surprise.
"I can't believe this," I growled. "Why can't I know? It's about me, isn't it? Isn't it?"
Darry turned around, not saying a word, and left me standing there with more questions than answers. I felt that same swooping sensation as he turned away from me, and I was sure my cheeks were flushed in anger and embarrassment. I was happy that Pony, Two-Bit, and Bryon couldn't see the complicated display of emotions that did battle across my face as I gazed at the spot where Darry had vacated.
I heard Ponyboy take a tentative step next to me. "Maybe you're right," I said quietly. "Maybe Darry doesn't like me at all."