ʜᴇʀᴏ

little punk

i sat on my bed, staring at the wall and was just day dreaming.

after two- bit spilled the beans about james.. darry grounded me.

no phone calls.
no going out.
no talking to boys.
only school and home.

im mad at darry, at two, at soda, at everyone.

i don't deserve this. i should be able to do what i want with my body. i should be able to control it.
my brothers are overreacting.

——————————
johnny's pov

i sat on the floor of the living room, watching the gang talk and goof around.

i had been seeing a girl named elizabeth recently.

it was nothing serious but i didn't want the guys knowing because i knew they'd give me crap for it.

besides it was only the occasional make out. i had my eyes set on someone else anyway.

"andrews is a fucking punk and he's going to turn her into a little punk if we don't stop this."
steve said.

"she already is a little punk..." pony muttered

"a little punk who can beat your ass. i've seen it..." steve chuckled and pony threw a pillow at him

"that hurt so bad." steve said dryly and sarcastically.

"andrews is a no good, stealing, lying hood."
two- bit chimed in

"so are you.."
pony laughed.

"that's not the point. i've seen james gallivanting around town, he's always got some girl on his hip or a drink in his hand. he's no good, not for fizz."
soda said.
"he'll ruin her."

darry sighed
"what do i do? she's going wild. staying out late, making out with criminals in ally ways... how do i stop it?"

dally looked at him
"you don't." he laughed
"let the damned kid live a little. we all did it. pony is gonna start doing it soon..."

"hopefully" muttered soda and he laughed

"johnny's doing it right now. it's healthy. all teenagers do it. you probably did it."
dally laughed

"and just because she's a girl doesn't mean she can't do it..."
i said and they all looked at me.

i looked around and then down
"why does it matter? just because she's a girl? it doesn't make her a slut or a hussy...she's doing what we do. just cause we're guys doesn't mean we're different from her. you wouldn't yell at ponyboy for making out with a girl, would you darry? so what's the difference?"

they all stayed quiet, probably shocked i spoke up for once.

"john's got a point..."
dally said.
"and yeah, james is not great. but it could be worse. she could be going out with a soc..."

they all shuddered at the thought and i did too.

"imagine fizz dressing like a soc girl.."
pony said and then they all laughed hysterically but i thought she'd look pretty dressed up like that.

seeing fizz with any guy made me uncomfortable, no guy around here deserves to even look at her that way. but i also hated the way the gang was trying to control her.

i looked at sodapop and he looked guilty, chewing away at his lip. he always does that when he's thinking hard.
he got up and walked up the stairs without another word.
———————-
fizzles' pov

i heard a knock at my door and assumed it was darry to yell at me some more but when sodapop walked in i wasn't happy. i was still mad at him.

"hey, fizz, i'm sorry for what i said in the car. johnny kinda just brought to my attention that you deserve to explore that kinda thing. and if you want to do it with james andrews...that's fine. it's your body. you're not a slut for doing it. i just want you to be safe..."
he shrugged and smiled slightly.
"and i didn't appreciate seeing some guy putting his hands all over my kid sister."

i stayed quiet for a minute then smiled
"thanks for the apology. love you..."
i said

"love you too."

he nodded and walked out.