I have been in a one-shot-y mood lately, so this is another one. This story is one of my darker ones, and the title pretty much gives it away, but I still believe it's worth the read. Hopefully, you will agree.
The sun had already been hid by the highest oak in the neighborhood, despite the fact that school had just been released for the day. Ponyboy Curtis stood on the street corner, waiting for his friend, Two Bit Matthews, to pick him up to drive them both to the Curtis house. There, no doubt, Two Bit would be cracking up in front of the television while Ponyboy attempted to do homework despite the noise.
It was only Tuesday, there were no plans for the night. The next week would be Halloween, and despite being too old to really do anything, Ponyboy was looking forward to it. There was something alluring about a holiday dedicated to being someone else. Not that his life was so bad, it was just that the idea of being able to experience just a bit more...
The sunlights rays managed to come through the leaves in a way that let gold light fall onto Ponyboy. He looked up, squinting in the sun, vaugley smiling as his face was swallowed by the golden light. He stared up, thinking of how his late best friend, Johnny Cade, had told him to stay gold. Corny as it was, at that moment, standing by the old lightpost on the corner, he felt gold.
He kept breathing in the light, not really paying mind to the things around him. He heard several cars going by, knowing none of them were his friend because his friend's car was louder than any of those passing. He didn't pay any mind to the squealing tires of a brand new baby blue convertible, and didn't even realize how close the car was till it was too late.
The tires squealed, the Socs inside screamed, and Ponyboy was too paralyzed with fear to move. The back of the car swung so fast that it didn't even look like a car anymore, just this streak of the sky pinning Ponyboy to the lightpost. His head slammed back, colliding with the medal post so hard that there was an indention in the pole where he hit it. People were screaming all around him, and the car sped off, the people inside all having faces more filled with fear that Ponyboy's. He just let himself fall to the concrete, unable to brace himself as he felt his body crumble.
With all the screams and the sounds of running feet he didn't even hear Two Bit's hunk of junk coming down the street. All that Two Bit could see when he pulled up to the spot where he and Ponyboy had agreed to meet was this crowd of kids, all panicking, running like fools. Two Bit's stomach instantly dropped. He couldn't see Ponyboy anywhere, and there was just something about that day that told him something terrible was going to happen. Maybe it was how unseasonably cold it was, or maybe he had had a bad dream, but Two Bit Matthews felt the need to jump out of his car and run to the crowd, he needed to know what was going on.
"Oh, shit," was all he could muster out when he saw his friend there on the pavement. People scattered from where they were as soon as Two Bit arrived. "Someone call an ambulance!" he yelled at those remaining, and a few more people ran away.
He kneeled down on the ground by his friend, who's eyes fluttered open as soon as Two Bit grabbed his hand.
"Hey, Two Bit," Ponyboy's voice was just a whisper, and somehow he managed to give a weak smile.
"Ponyboy, oh, Jesus, what happened?" Two Bit questioned, his eyes went over to Ponyboy's legs, but he quickly snapped back to his face before he could process what he saw.
"I think I got hit by a car, Two Bit. A blue car. Baby blue. It was real tuff." Ponyboy answered, already his face clouding over.
"Look'a me, Ponyboy! Okay?! You don't fade out, you just keep lookin'a me." Two Bit ordered.
He looked around the crowd franticly, but the hospital was clear across town, and there was really no way of knowing if anyone had even called yet.
"Help's on the way, okay? So you just hold on, and then Soda 'n Darry 'n ever Steve'll all be at the hospital with us, and everything'll be okay, okay? So you just keep lookin' at me, and then everything'll be fine." Two Bit assured, his hand shaking as it gripped Ponyboy's.
"They don't hurt, Two Bit. They--they just don't hurt." Ponyboy muttered, his eyes blinking hard.
"What? What don't hurt?"
"My legs, Two Bit, they don't hurt. My back don't, neither, just my head. I think I hit my head, Two Bit." Pony's voice was alarmingly weak, Two Bit could barely hear it over the wind.
"That's okay, Pony, that's good, no one wants to hurt, y'know? So this is good, soon you'll see your brothers, and you'll be at the hospital, and everything'll be fine." Two Bit kept assuring.
Despite himself, Ponyboy's mind slipped away. He thought of Soda, his first memory. Ponyboy couldn't have been older than three, and he and Soda were sitting on the livingroom floor, watching a rodeo on tv.
"See, Ponyboy? You can't be a cowboy, you're a pony!" Sodapop explained, pointing to the screen. "Ponys can't be cowboys."
Ponyboys little face started to fall, but even then Sodapop had a way of making people feel better.
"Nah, it's okay, Ponyboy! The ponys are the most important part of a rodeo! Without 'em, it's just a bunch a guys in hats runnin' 'round."
"You're wrong, Two Bit." Ponyboy said, his voice slightly stronger. "It'll be okay, but I ain't gonna last much longer."
"You can't talk like that! You can't! Okay, Ponyboy? You sound stronger all ready."
"It's hard to breathe, Two Bit, but it'll be okay." Ponyboy started coughing, and though Two Bit wasn't about to admit it, specs of red were on Ponyboys cheeks when he was done.
"You can't give up, Ponyboy. Think of how mad Darry'd be?"
Again, Ponyboy felt his mind slip out. This time to just a few years ago, back when his mom and dad were alive, back when life was simpler.
"Go, long, Ponyboy!" Darry shouted at his youngest brother, his face holding the look of the almost grin when he played sports. Ponyboy took off across the yard, running between the older boys. Even Dally's long arms couldn't hook him in, he was doing what his brother told him to do. And he managed to catch it, much to the frustration of Steve, who was trying to intercept.
"Nice run, Ponyboy." Darry laughed, enjoying the freedom he didn't know he would soon lose.
"It's gonna be easier in the long run." Ponyboy told Two Bit.
"What?" Two bit questioned, his nerves so jumpy he almost jerked Ponyboy's arm, but quickly caught himself.
"When I'm...it'll be easier. Maybe Soda'll get back in school, Darry can quit a job. It's gonna be easier." Ponyboy's voice started fading yet again.
"Come on, Pony, don't talk like that, man. Just stay cool, Ponyboy."
Stay gold.
"Ah, gosh, Ponyboy I'm real sorry," Two Bit started, he was becoming frantic, where was that stupid ambulance? "If I'd been here on time, this wouldn't'a happened, I was talkin' to this blonde, and you know how I am, I'm just--I'm just real sorry, Ponyboy, this is all my fault, you're hurt and I'm to blame." Two Bit was fighting back tears, his guilt starting to take over. Even though he was trying to deny it, Ponyboy was getting paler by the second.
"Nah, Two Bit, can't blame ya, I'd pick a blonde over me anytime." Ponyboy managed to joke, his weak smile coming back.
"Don't talk like that Ponyboy, you know you're my favorite kid."
"Don't blame yourself, Two Bit. It'll be okay, I'll be somewhere better...gotta be..."
Two Bit gulped, searching again. Still, he couldn't even hear a siren. What could he expect? This side of town, a greaser down, this could take hours.
"You can't go nowhere, Ponyboy, too many people here are coutin' on ya. Darry already picked your major for college, I swear. And Soda's hopin' you'll bring home plenty of co-eds for him...Heck, me an' Steve are, too. You can't leave us behind, Ponyboy."
Steve, Two Bit, Darry, Sodapop. All counting on him.
What about Mom and Dad and Johnny and Dally? Pony wondered. He had just as many living people who needed him as dead. That wasn' the greateset motivation.
"Please, Ponyboy," Two Bit gave up, tears were finally falling, "You can't do this to us! We lost too many as it is, you can't go, too!"
"I'm sorry, Two Bit, I really am...I just can't...it's too cold, Two Bit, it's just too cold...You tell Soda and Darry, hell, even Steve, I love 'em, okay? It's just too cold..." Ponyboy was whispering now, his eyes becoming glassy.
"I don't understand, man, it's not that cold right now..."
"I love you, too man. Always been like a brother to me..." Ponyboy went on.
"Ponyboy, open your eyes. Plesae, Ponyboy! Open your eyes, for me! C'mon, man!" Two Bit had resorted to shaking him by now, and it seemed like no matter how hard he shook, Ponyboy just wouldn't open his eyes.
That was when the ambulance arrived.
Sitting in the washed out police station, Two Bit Matthews couldn't really move. His body felt filled with sand, and his throat was swollen shut. He didn't even bother to wipe away the tears as he sat in a stiff plastic chair, waiting to file the report.
"Hey, funny man!" an old, fat cop walked over to him, fresh form his patrol. It was Officer Henderson, a cop who would occaisonally hassle him, but never picked him up because Two Bit always managed to make him laugh, "What's the joke today?"
"Ain't nothin' funny 'bout today." Two Bit grumbled as a response, not looking up from his focal point. A filing cabinet across the room was all that Two Bit could see right then, everything else was blurred with tears.
"Two Bit!" Sodapop Curtis yelled across the police station, running over to his friend from the entrance, "What's goin' on? Why're we here? They said there was an accident, they didn't say what, but shouldn't we be at the hospital? What's goin' on?"
"They killed him," Two Bit whispered, "ran him down. He said it was a real tuff car, too. Just ran him down." Two Bit whispered, never taking his eyes of that filing cabinet, but shaking his head all the same.
"What're you talkin' about?" Darry questioned, his body starting to shake, "Where's Ponyboy?" his voice rose as he asked, putting two and two together.
A nameless, faceless cop walked over to the group, and handed Darry Ponyboy's wallet. He stepped away as soon as he was there, muttering how the hospital sent it over as he shuffled away. The wallet was scuffed up, almost torn. The old leather looked like it had been dragged for miles under a car instead of dropped on the pavement.
"We didn't mean to, we just wanted to buzz him! Splash him, y'know, hit a puddle?" a tall, shaken up Soc was being led through the station, next to a cop who was furiously scribbling on his notepad.
"We were just messin' around, the other guys'll tell ya, we splashed a couple greasers, drove through the puddles to get 'em, you understand, don't ya? I mean, you're a cop, you do the same type of thing all the time, we've see you! But we didn't mean to get Ponyboy, he was cool. I mean, quiet and everything, but he didn't cause any trouble! I ran track with him, we were friends! I even told them, when we decided to do this, I'll go, but make sure not to splash Ponyboy..."
All of a sudden, the tall Soc found himself almost nose to nose with Steve. He jumped away, both shocked and frightened, he had been engrossed in his explanation he hadn't been paying any mind to his direction.
"I--I--I--we didn't...not Ponyboy, we decided--" the Soc was stuttering so hard that his jaw almost popped out of place. The Soc moved away, clearly frightened.
"He was just looking up, staring up, looking at the light...face all gold in the light..."
Cops pulled the student away, afraid of a fight breaking out right then and there, and by the look of Steve's face, it was about to happen. The other three looked as if their souls had just been sucked out and didn't have the will to move, much less fight.
They could still hear the boys voice as he was lead down the hall.
"That was the deal, not Ponyboy. It wasn't supposed to be Ponyboy..."