ʜᴇʀᴏ

pretty puddles

the school day went on pretty normally. boring classes, eating lunch with my the gang, then more boring classes.

i decided to walk home alone since the gang was going to the dx to meet up with dally and i had homework.

as i started to walk home i noticed two socs walking towards me.

socs were the jet set, the west side rich kids. they picked on greasers and threw beer blasts by the river for fun. i've always hated them...

i recognized these two. lucas loretz and bryce sullivan. i mostly see them around school hanging out with bob sheldon. lucas and bryce were cold and mean...they picked on people smaller and younger then them. like me.

they walked closer to me. bryce had on his varsity jacket and lucas had on a madras shirt.
i can still see it. i can't forget it.

"hey sweetheart!" lucas called out. "what are you doing walking by yourself on this side of town? you're just asking to get jumped." he chuckled.

"greasers get jumped on the east side too. cause socs don't understand they need to stay off greaser territory." i said, honestly already over this.

they got closer to me, backing me up against a fence so i had no way to escape.

"hey uhm... you're sodapops little sister, right?" bryce asked, pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "sodapops the guy who beat me in that race..." bryce said, looking over at lucas then back at me. "i don't like to lose." he said, moving his hand down to my shirt and grabbing it tightly.

"maybe you're just a bad racer"
i said, laughing a little.

i really don't know when to shut up.

he threw me to the ground and i hit my head pretty hard.

i didn't remember much after that.

i remembered hearing yells and feet pounding around me.

i felt somebody put my head in their lap and cradle it. my head was spinning and my body ached.

my eyes weren't open but i could feel people surrounding me and assumed it was the gang on their way home from the dx.

"son of a bitch" i heard a familiar voice chuckle in a angry voice. it was two- bit. i could feel the breeze hit my skin and knew my flannel was taken off of me. i didn't know what happened and i couldn't remember.

but...i knew it was bad.

i felt a soft and gentle hand stroking the side of my head and my cheek. i knew it was sodapop. he's the most kind and gentle person i knew. i slowly opened my eyes and saw a blurry figure of soda.

"soda..." i croaked out softly.

i wanted to tell him everything. i wanted to say something but i just couldn't.

"shhhh." he said, continuing to stroke the side of my head and my hair.

i looked around at all of the guys and instantly felt more embarrassed. like i couldn't take care of myself.

"i want to go home..." i said, trying to sit up. soda pulled me back down

"easy, fizz...hang on a second." he said softly.

"i can stand up. i'm fine..." i said, pushing him off.

i slowly stood up and looked around at the gang who was all staring at me.

"what are you looking at?" i asked, narrowing my eyes and starting to walk with a slight limp.

the gang started to walk in front of and behind me. ponyboy was carrying my school bag which i would've completely forgot about if it wasn't for him.

as we were walking through the lot i saw this big deep puddle. the sunset and the clouds were reflecting beautifully on it. it looked like a painting.

but dallas stepped in it, ruining the image. i sighed and continued the walk home. once we got home i walked inside.

darry was in the living room, cleaning off the table for dinner. he looked at me and his jaw dropped.

"what the hell happened?!" he scoffed, looking at me then the boys.

"i got jumped by some socs. but i'm fine." i shrugged.

he looked me up and down and his eyes went wider "is that all they did?"

i looked down at myself and realized why all the boys were staring.

my shirt was completely ripped down the middle and my jeans were even more ripped then usual. there was blood all over my jeans. my cheeks turned red and i sighed.

"i'm going upstairs..." i said, walking towards the staircase.

soda and pony started to follow me but i looked at them."please leave me alone" i said, my voice breaking slightly. they nodded and stopped walking.

i went up to my room and closed the door.

i laid down on my bed and just started sobbing. i put my hand over my mouth to muffle it so no one would hear me. i didn't want them thinking i'm weak. i could hear darry yelling downstairs.

"what the hell, sodapop?! you're her older brother you should be walking her home from school! it's not safe for a girl like her and you know that! i expect better from all of you! it's not safe for any of us to walk alone especially a fourteen year old girl!"

there was a moment of silence. "fifteen" i heard a voice say. "she turned fifteen last month!" i heard the voice start to come up the stairs and towards my room.

my doorknob slowly started to turn and i couldn't stop my sobs for the life of me.

"fizz?" i heard a gentle voice call my name. my door opened to reveal sodapop.

i turned so my back was facing him so he couldn't see my crying. "please go." i said.

"i need to talk to you- " he said before i cut him off "please." my voice broke and i started to sob again.

he closed my door and sat on the edge of my bed facing me. he put his hand on my shoulder and rubbed it gently with his thumb.

"i know..." he whispered "i'm so sorry..." he said, his voice getting shakier. "i should've been there.."

i didn't have the heart to tell him they jumped me because of him so i kept my mouth shut.

"it's not your fault..." i shook my head. "they're stupid socs." i said, my sobs getting quieter.
"can you stay in here tonight?" i asked softly.

"yeah..." he nodded "of course."

sodapop is different from everyone else. more understanding.