The Gang + Me

New Ground Rules

Maribeth's POV

Halfway there, we hear voices in front of us and Pony pulls us behind a tree. "Soc?" I ask, whispering to him. "No. Shepard," Pony says, pulling us away from the tree. "Hey Tim, have you seen Darry?" Pony asks him. "They left the rumble early," Tim says, smoking a cigarette. "How are you doing, little Winston?" Tim asks me, moving close to me. "Good," I mumble , scooting closer to Pony. Tim scares me sometimes. "Thanks Tim," Pony says before turning around , still holding my hand, and running back towards the house. "They must of took the other way from Burma street to get here," Ponyboy tells me. "And they must of gotten back to the house once we left to find them " I say, out of breath from running. "Is Darry going to be mad,?" I ask Pony. "I hope not, if we tell the truth. We already got in trouble once today," he says. Soon were at the front porch of the house. I only see Soda inside. Ponyboy opens the door and we sneak in. "Where have y'all been?" Soda asks, a bandaid on his cheek. "We went to find y'all," Pony says. "Well Abby got jumped," he says. My eyes go wide.Pony puts one arm around me and sits me down. "During the rumble, one the Socs Steve was fighting, stopped and said ' I hope your sister had fun tonight.' We ran straight home after that. Darry, Steve & Two-Bit are at Steve's right now. We were scared y'all got jumped too," Sodapop says to me. "Is she going to be ok," I mumble to Soda. He nods. "We were all worried, but she's ok." "What happened to you," Pony asks his older brother. "Me and Two-bit got in a knife fight with the guy that jumped her," Soda says, shrugging his shoulders. "God, why can't the Socs just stay on the south side! I mean we haven't done nothing to them!" I say, covering me face with my hands. I feel arms around me and I look up to see Sodapop and Ponyboy on both sides of me. "It's going to be ok," Pony says to me. "I remember that time that you got jumped. Dally was so mad , he was throwing stuff around the house, and he was thrown in the cooler that night for cussing out that doctor," Soda says, chuckling a bit. "I remember that," I say, laughing a little too. "When he found me laying on the ground, he started yelling, then he picked me up, holding me in his arms, and carried me all the way to the hospital. People were just looking at us as he carried me down the street. He growled at them," I say, remembering my big brother. "Then after the doctor checked on you, he wouldn't let Dallas see you, and he started turning chairs over and yelling. We tried to calm him down, but he kept growling at us too," Pony says, smiling. "Then the cops came and took him, so we took care of you that night," Soda says. "That's how he acted when Johnny died," Pony says, lowering his head. We were silent for a while. Remembering Johnny is a harsh topic to talk about around Pony. Johnny was his best friend, kind of like how me and Abby are. I would be so sad if I lost Abby like Ponyboy lost Johnny Cade. That's why I was worried about her being jumped, knowing the Socs have blades. Me and Abby have been friends for a long time, since our brothers were in the same gang. I hear the door open and I stand up to see Darry walking in. "Abby's fine, Maribeth," he says, reading my face. "She just has a few cuts and bruises, nothing to bad." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. "I'm glad you guys are ok," he says, hugging me and Pony, who's standing behind me. Once he lets go of us, his face turns serious. " Now we are going to set some new ground rules," Darry says to all of us. Pony looks at me worriedly. "From now on, all of you are grounded," Darry says. "What did we do?" Pony and Soda both say. "No, not like that. I mean, you guys can't go anywhere unless I'm with you, ok? That means only school and back for Ponyboy and Maribeth, and only DX and back for Sodapop," Darry tells us. "Your treating me like a kid, Darry," Soda says, frowning at his brother. "I just don't want any of y'all getting jumped ok? The Socs are after us for some reason, so I'm watching out for my family, kid or not. And your still a kid, Sodapop Curtis," he says. I understand his protectiveness. But that means no movies for Pony, no girls night outs for me and Abby, no dates for Soda and no dates for me and Pony without Darry there. "For how long," I ask Darry. "I don't know, but its going to be this way for awhile," he says, frowning. "Now you two go to bed," he says to me and Pony. "This sucks," Pony whispers to me. I nod, and he kisses me on the lips. "Goodnight Sunshine," Pony says. "Goodnight," I say, kissing him back. Soda and Darry look over at us and smile. "Goodnight y'all," I tell them, before me and Pony go into our separate rooms. I change into one of Dallys old tshirts, then jump into the bed that I share with Darry. When I first moved in, I thought it would be really awkward to sleep in the same bed as Darry especially that he's 21 and I'm only 15, but now I really don't care, bc he's basically an older brother, and he takes care of me. And plus I go to bed before him most of the time. Right after I moved in with them, I had nightmares about Dally and my parents. During those times, Darry would take care of me and comfort me. He's going to be a great father one day.

A/N
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