ETHEREAL | OUTSIDERS

･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

♪ : pretty girl — clairo

❝ of course, it would be someone like her. ❞

PONYBOY AND I sat on the couch together, watching Mickey Mouse. I asked Darry if I could skip, since I really didn't want to be judged by Cherry, but I used the excuse that I had a migraine. I guess Darry believed me, but made Ponyboy stay home since everyone else had plans.

"You in a comfortable position?" Ponyboy asks, noticing me shifting a bit. I was a bit tired still, but I had nothing to lay down on, so I was trying to lean my head back which didn't work out. I guess the couch isn't the most comfortable thing ever.

"I'm okay, just still kind of tired so I wanted to lay down, but it didn't really work." I said, trying to close my eyes. Then, I felt Ponyboy move off the couch.

"C'mon, we can go to my room. It's more comfortable." He said, shrugging. I was about to protest that I was fine on the couch, but instead I got up and followed him to his room. He sat down on Sodapop's side of the bed, and I laid on his side of the bed. I moved my head a bit, accidentally putting it in his lap, so I tried moving it, but he stopped me from moving my head. Without a word, he started playing with my hair.

"This is actually really comfortable." I mumbled.

"I told you, Ellie." Ponyboy said, chuckling. We started another conversation on small things like school topics, and then somehow got on the topic of girls, mainly for Ponyboy.

"Yeah, Soda, Steve, and Dally all have girls. I don't like 'em that much, though. They're the type of girls that wear pounds of makeup and curse too much." Ponyboy ranted.

"It's a bit hard to find greaser girl's that aren't like that." I said, closing my eyes. I then opened my eyes again, trying to stay awake. Ponyboy saw my action, then continued to play with my hair.

"You know, you can sleep Ellie. You seem pretty tired, get some rest." Ponyboy softly spoke, oh how caring he was.

"Thanks, Pony." I mumbled, shutting my eyelids because of the weight being put on them. I then, fell asleep.

——

"Alright, let's go." Dallas called out. Dallas was taking Ponyboy, Johnny, and me to the drive-in. Of course, we had to sneak in because Dallas loved to do everything in the most dangerous way possible.

I wiped the dirt off my shorts, after crawling under the fence. All four of us took a spot in the second to front row. For about 20 minutes, we were enjoying the movie, until two girls that looked very familiar sat in front of me. One had short brown hair, and one had very noticeable, red hair.

I started shifting in my seat, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Dallas then decided to try and hit on the redhead, who just so happened to be Cherry.

"Hey Dally leave 'em alone." Johnny finally spoke up, after the rest of us had to watch Dallas fail to flirt with Cherry.

"What'd you say you little shit?" Dallas demanded furiously. He hesitated, then decided to get up and leave. Cherry then turned around to thank Johnny for what he had done. She then made eye contact with me, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. She shot me a dirty look, then batted her eyelashes at Johnny and Ponyboy.

"Why don't you guys sit up here and protect us?" Marcia invited, clearly aiming the request to Johnny and Ponyboy. I guess both of them were so caught up in the moment, that they scooted up without me. I stayed in the back, watching the movie.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I said, yet nobody heard me. I sighed and walked to the bathroom. As I finished washing my hands, I walked about a foot out of the bathroom, until a random soc came up to me. It was obvious in his behavior, and disgusting breath, that he was drunk.

"Hey baby, you look pretty cute." He said, his voice shaky from the influence of the alcohol. He snaked his arm around my waist. I looked around, nobody was here to help me.

"Please let go of me, I have somewhere to be." I muttered to him, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Mhm, I don't think so babe." He said, looking me up and down, and licking his lips. He then started to tug at the hem of my shirt, making me punch him in the jaw.

"Oh baby, you're going to regret that." He muttered, punching me back, in the same place I got a black eye from my mom, which hurt even more than a regular punch. He then pushed me to the ground, and sat on my stomach.

"Do I need to talk some sense into you, or maybe some actions will help?" He said, pulling out a switchblade and pressing it against my neck. I could feel it making small cuts against my neck. He then made a long cut across my cheek. I winced in pain, trying not to give him the satisfaction of making begging him to stop.

Pain and blood really got to me, I couldn't stand it. I felt as if I was about to faint. My vision was hazy and I could barely hear anything, due to me falling out of consciousness. All of a sudden I heard someone call my name. In less than a minute, the soc was nowhere to be seen, and instead, Ponyboy was in sight.

"Ellie, are you okay? Please don't faint, Ellie." He said, slightly shaking me. I slowly regained my consciousness, though my vision was still hazy. I then felt a small tear roll down my cheek, stinging my cut.

"Ellie, c'mon, it's gonna be alright." He said, helping me up. I was upset at him for leaving me, making it even easier for me to get hurt.

"Why would you just leave to sit with her? Of course, it would be someone like her, a 'helpless' soc that's being flirted with, which is so much worse than being jumped. You know she probably did that on purpose, just to annoy me. You know she probably would jump me too if she could, do you not know how she acts towards me at school?" I ranted, letting out my anger. My breathing became uneasy, making it hard for me to breathe.

"Hey, calm down Ellie." Ponyboy cooed, pulling me into a hug. He started stroking my hair. As he was doing this, he softly said his apology.

"Look, I'm sorry. I should have used my head and known that it was dangerous for you. I was being really stupid, and I'll make sure to protect you next time. I didn't know Cherry acts that way towards you, I swear you're more important than her."

I hate myself, I can't stay mad at Ponyboy. He's the one person that I can't hate. I didn't say anything for a minute or two.

"It's okay, Ponyboy." I sighed deeply.

"I promise never to let anyone hurt you like that." He said, pulling away. I guess he knew how upset I was when I got hurt the first time by my mom.

"C'mon Ellie, let's clean up those cuts before they get infected." Ponyboy said, giving me a hand so that I could get up.

This boy was something else, I swear.