May

@MayBlossomss on Ao3 ATSUSHI IS MY MUSE AND HE ALSO RUNS THE Cult that im uh in > heh i do take requests for BSD or Danganronpa if yk you want... She/They

[wishing-on-stardust]

I love you fifteen manga, the amount of silly faces these two are constantly pulling.

They look like you just told them Santa isn’t real

[evvwenthome]

Imagine being a main storyline only bsd fan and then you see this weird European man pull up saying he's Chuuya's brother

[brokenlovesong]

There are literally so many writers on ao3 and I’m sure someone would be more than happy to write your requests, especially when the request is just more fics of a specific ship.

Commissioning your favorite authors is also an option and I promise you the stuff us human fans create will be ten times better than the plagiarized bullshit that’s thrown out because news flash, all ai is doing is taking already existing fics and mashing them together to create some weird frankenstein’s monster.

There is zero reason to be polluting ao3 with ai fics.

[whumptober]

Completionists of 2024 - 4/4

uuuhshiny | @uuuhshiny

@atimeofyourlife | timeofyourlife on AO3

Rin | @rosalinarin | my_friends_call_me_rin on AO3

@jet-plane | jetplane on AO3

@diegoalvesisgod | lunasenzanotte on AO3

@astaldis | Molanna on AO3

@destiny-in-the-universe | Destiny_in_the_Universe on AO3

@friendship-ditch

@adzeisval | adzeisval on AO3

@crematosis | Crematosis on AO3

@mayblossomss

Arlothia | @viva-la-whump

@kalira | Kalira on AO3

@whump-me

Panini | @sicknessbysalem | ThePaniniPress on AO3

@asocial-lobster | Asocial_Lobster on AO3

@melonmass | MelonMass on AO3

SōryūAleksi | @soryualeksi | soryualeksi on AO3

@stormxpadme | stormxpadme on AO3

@lostinthe-void-666 | LostInThe_Void on AO3

YonBwekh | @yonbwekh

mj-iza-writer | @mj-iza-writer

@rose-of-pollux | Rose_of_Pollux on AO3

Nade | @nade2308 | NatalieRyan on AO3

@noblest-roman-of-them-all | AnxiouslyGoingIntoTheVoid on AO3

@starthornisscratching | StarthornFromScratch on AO3

@stardown77 | Stardown on AO3

@kybercrystals94

JoeMerl | @joemerl | JoeMerl on AO3

@pencilofawesomeness | PencilofAwesomeness on AO3

@cc-3636-wolffe & @slytherinchemistrynerd | BlackDragon12 on AO3 & ChemistryNerd on AO3

@Callaidae3

@two-birds-alone-together | two_birds_alone_together on AO3

Evan | @spiltcandycoatedpunkblood | kivancalcite on AO3

Zaki | @mosscreeper-ao3 | mosscreeper on AO3

@timdrakeismypatronus | TimDrakeisMyPatronus on AO3

Zaz | @razzle-zazzle | Razzle_Zazzle on AO3

Grey | @lostinthewanderingblue & @everythingandthekitchensink | Greyspaces13 on AO3

@moonlight0934 | Moonlight1234 on AO3

Dikhotomia | @modulatechaos | Dikhotomia on AO3

Crow | @comfort-questing

Tatl | @tatl917 | Google Drive

@areyouokaypanda | areyouokaypanda on AO3 | Instagram

@just-a-glittery-fan | Fangirl_in_distress in AO3

@serickswrites

Surro | @promptsforyourwhumpfic

@what-if-i-just-did

[mayblossomss]

Hey! Just wanted to say thank you so much for all your work you’ve put into the whumptober posts I can’t imagine the amount of work and energy and just dedication in general it took. Your writing just seemed so natural and genuine and so grounded in the universe.

This months been pretty hard for me and it was really nice to have your posts to look forward too during work breaks or after work. Thank you so much again and keep up the great work 😊

-youllneverseeonascreen

AHH Thank you so much for this! I wasn't sure going into this if I'd actually do all 31 days, but after getting so much support, motivation came easily! It's nice to hear you say that, since most nights I wasn't sure if my writing was portraying the characters well enough as I was usually pretty tired writing them lol :)

I'm so glad I was able to create something you could look forward to!! Thank you again <33

[hellonearthtoday]

sighhhh. started reading mayblossomss newest outsiders fic and it made me start twitching so something is happening

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 31: Therapy

"Ponyboy, I can't help you if you refuse to open up to me."

Glancing up at the sound of her voice, Ponyboy studied the woman sitting across from him. From his previous sessions, he knew that Ms. Evans was nice enough, and clearly had experience with how well she spoke to him, but he couldn't help but struggle to open up.

It had been a month since Johnny and Dally died, making it about ten months since his parents had passed as well. Ponyboy didn't like talking about them, but Darry decided that this would be a healthy way for Pony to start recovering. He'll admit it, he's been less than happy for a while now, but he wasn't ready to share his feelings. It felt anything but tough to sit in an office and chat about how he felt.

"I know," Ponyboy murmured, shifting in the cushioned seat he was appointed to sit in. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't know what to say."

His therapist smiled, crossing one of her legs over the other one and speaking gently. "It's okay. Why don't we start with a run through of the night at the park?"

Ponyboy dropped his gaze to his lap, playing with Dally's necklace that he now wore around his neck. "Okay, well... Johnny and I, he was my best friend, we fell asleep in the lot..."

"The lot?"

"Yeah, it's this area my friends and I hang out at: to play football or just to sit around at," Ponyboy explained, slowly lifting his gaze back to her. "Johnny would stay the night there often. His parents weren't the best."

Her face softens as she seemed to understand what he meant by that. "I see."

"So, we fell asleep there, but I have a curfew of midnight on weekends, so when I woke up, I knew my older brother would be upset."

"You mentioned before that you and your brother didn't get along," The woman started. "You said that you two fought a lot. Did you, going home, know you'd get into an argument with Darrel?"

Ponyboy nodded, chewing at his bottom lip. "I did, and I was real nervous. Darry's scary when he gets angry. Uh, so yeah, when I got home, we shouted at each other, and then he hit me."

His therapist wasn't surprised by the revelation as Ponyboy had alluded to it at a different session, which was a relief as Pony didn't want to get into it too much. "You were surprised by that, correct? You said he'd never hit you before, right?"

"Yeah, it was shocking," Pony said dryly. "I know now that he loves me and all that, but at the time, I thought he hated me. I decided that that was the last time he'd hurt me, and so I told myself I would run away."

"But you never really intended to, did you?"

"No," Pony confirmed, scratching his head. "I was just really upset. I ran to get Johnny, then we ran to the park where we said we'd stick around 'til I calmed down."

Ms. Evans smiled faintly. "Johnny went along with you when you said you were running away? Why do you think he did that?"

"I think he knew I wasn't really gonna do it, but was gonna go with me anyway," Ponyboy shrugged, unable to fight the small smile growing on his lips. "He was a really good friend, he'd go anywhere I went, and as would I with him."

Nodding, Ms. Evans let her smile drop, but kept her soft tone. "Can you tell me about the fountain?"

Ponyboy cleared his throat, mind flashing with memories that he quickly suppressed. "The Socs got to the park after we did, and I said something to the ringleader, Bob, which pissed him off. He threw me in the fountain and drowned me until I passed out."

"Do you think he wanted to kill you?"

"No," Pony said adamantly. He'd thought about this a lot, and decided a long time ago that Bob wasn't trying to kill him, but was only drunk. "I think he just couldn't figure out where to draw the line."

She hummed, writing something down in her notebook which made Pony fear that they'd be circling back to that later. "Your brother tells me that you've anxious around water lately. Can you tell me a bit more about that?"

Ponyboy hesitated, not having expected that question. For a moment, he thought about it, then sighed and nodded. "Something about water just... brings me back to the fountain, if that makes any sense. When I go in the shower, it's like the second the water touches me, my mind makes me believe I'm back underwater, even though I know I'm not."

"That makes perfect sense," she smiled reassuringly. "You've experienced a traumatic incident involving water, it's normal to develop an overwhelming fear of it."

"But it's water," Ponyboy said, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. "Why would anyone be afraid of it?"

"The human psyche is very complicated," The woman responded, still with the easy smile on her face. "Scientists continue to study why our brains do what they do, but as for phobias, they are usually caused by bad experiences. Being held under water, and likely believing you were going to die, explains why now, even slight contact with water can make you panic."

Ponyboy nodded, still a little hot in the face. "Will I ever get over it?"

"Of course, it's possible," she responded. "You'll have to work for it, but I know you can do it. Are there any other intense fears you may have?"

Chewing at his inner cheek, he nodded. "Fire, I guess. Trains too."

"Fire... Well, I assume that would be from the church fire you were involved in," After Pony nodded, she continued. "But can you elaborate on why trains scare you?"

"It's not that trains scare me," he says slowly, testing the words he's never said to anyone before. "But whenever I hear a train horn, I jump a little, I guess. But not in the way you do whenever something loud sounds, it's more... panicked."

"Am I correct when I say that your parents were killed in an accident involving a train? Your friend, Dallas, too?"

Ponyboy sighed, his leg starting to bounce up and down. "Yeah. I guess whenever I hear one, I think of them. I also in general kinda get anxious around them."

"That's only normal after three people you know have been in accidents involving them," Ms. Evans told him, writing it down quickly into her notebook. "I suppose it's made you more aware of how dangerous they can be, making you less likely to want to be around them."

Nodding once again, he sighed. "That makes sense."

"Now, Ponyboy, we are almost out of time, but I was hoping to ask you one last thing before you leave," she said softly, her eyes softening to match her smile. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

She leaned forward in her seat, speaking gently. "Do you feel guilty when you think of what happened to your friends?"

For a few beats, Ponyboy couldn't find the words. Of course he did, but he's never admitted that to anyone. What was the point in admitting he was guilty when everyone already knew it was his fault? "Yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do," she pushed easily. "You don't need to say anything, but I would like to hear why you feel guilty."

Ponyboy picked a scab on his hand, sighing and giving in. "I ran into the fire first, then Johnny followed. If I hadn't ran inside, Johnny wouldn't have, and then he'd still be alive..."

"Maybe he would've still ran inside," she countered. "And, say he didn't, what would've happened to those kids?"

Pony's stomach sunk at the concept of leaving those kids inside the burning church. It didn't feel right at all. "They'd have died, probably."

"Right. Do you think Johnny would've wanted that?"

"No way." His therapist smiled at his words, so Pony continued. "But I could've stopped Dally. If I'd ran faster and got to him before the train did, or if I didn't let him leave the hospital to start, or..."

"Ponyboy, that wasn't your fault."

Pony shook his head, fighting back the burning feeling of impending tears. "And then my parents. If I had picked up the icing for Darry's cake, they would never have crossed those tracks and got stuck. But I forgot, and they got hit, and it's my fault."

"No, Ponyboy, it isn't," She told him in a voice that was a mix of soft and stern. "None of their deaths were your fault."

"But..."

"Ponyboy, it wasn't your fault. I know that it's hard to understand, but I'm telling you as your friend, it isn't your fault."

He turned his head down to his lap, head spinning and tears brewing. She must've noticed, as she stood up, put her notebook down, and sighed. "I think we should wrap it up for the day, wouldn't you agree?" Too scared to speak, he nodded his head silently and stood up, inching toward the door.

"Ponyboy?" she called to him before he opened the door. "Ponyboy, you've been through so much. I hope you continue to see me, because I want to help you."

He looked at her, fighting his tears. "Thank you,"

Ms. Evans smiled, walking over and opening the door for him. "Of course. Have a good rest of your day."

"See you next time," Ponyboy said, turning away and scanning the waiting room, spotting right away both of his brothers. As much as he wanted to hate therapy, Ponyboy realized that maybe it wasn't too bad. Maybe it could help him. Maybe.

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 30: Recovery / Hospital Bed

The rumble was a bloody blur. Boys fought viciously, red liquid seeping from their mouths and their knuckles bruised a dark purple. It was near impossible to distinguish Soc from greaser, as both sides were covered head to toe in mud, sweat, and blood.

Ponyboy rushed through the crowd of flying fists, desperate to reach Darry. Behind him, an enraged Soc gave chase. In the large fighting group, neither of them looked out of place, but they may as well have been a lynx and a hare: predator and prey.

Forcing himself to run faster, Ponyboy pushed both Socs and greasers out of his way to reach his older brother, who he could see swatting at a blond Soc.

"Darry!" he cried, but before he could see Darry's reaction, the Soc caught him and tugged him backward. It didn't take more than a second for the blade to pierce his stomach, and it took even less time for Ponyboy to crumple to the ground.

The Soc who stabbed him vanished into the crowd, too cowardly to stick around long enough to even grab his knife from Ponyboy's stomach. Everything sounded as though Pony was submerged beneath water, but he could faintly hear someone cry out his name.

Darry, who had been about to punch Paul square in the nose, holding him tightly by the collar, heard his little brother scream for him from a few feet away. He looked over just in time to watch as a Soc thrust a blade into Ponyboy's abdomen.

"Ponyboy!" he screamed, but his brother had already fallen to the ground, sinking the knife further into his body.

---

Opening his eyes, Ponyboy was consumed by a fog of confusion, unable to understand where he was and why. It certainly wasn't his shared bedroom with Sodapop, as his room wasn't white and filled with medical equipment. What happened? And what the hell was that beeping sound?

Attempting to sit up, he immediately decided that that wasn't a good idea as pain soared through his body, the main throbbing being located in his stomach. He winced, pain flashing through his eyes, before lying back down against his pillow.

"Hey, little buddy," A familiar voice spoke from beside him. Surprised, and a bit flustered that he hadn't noticed them, Pony glanced over and saw Darry. His lip was split, he was sporting a few new bruises, and was an odd pale colour in contrast to his typical tanned skin.

"Darry?" Ponyboy's voice was rough as he spoke. "Darry, what's going on?"

"What do you remember?" Darry replied instead, avoiding his question.

Ponyboy racked his brain, but between the fog in his mind, and the throbbing pain in his stomach, he couldn't recall anything past eating cereal that morning. "Nothing."

Darry frowned, running a hand through his hair before sighing. "There was a rumble. You got stabbed."

The rumble bit was familiar, and now that it was mentioned, Pony could remember how he and Soda were throwing punches to practice for it earlier. The stabbing part, however, was a shock. He glanced down at his stomach, but it was covered by a blanket. "Am I okay?"

"The doc seems to think so, yes," Darry nodded, a tense note in his voice. "But apparently it wasn't easy... saving you, I mean."

"Saving me?" Ponyboy repeated, eyebrows knitting together.

"You almost didn't make it through the surgery to repair your spleen," Darry explained, cold eyes darken with emotion. "You flatlined on the table at one point."

Pony, already struggling to wrap his head around everything, stared at him in shock. "What? I... died?" When Darry nodded, he felt his throat dry. "Oh."

"But good news, the doc says you're gonna be okay now," Darry said, trying to smile. "I bet Soda's gonna be pissed he wasn't here to see you wake up."

Ponyboy grinned, adjusting to a position where there wasn't any pressure on his stomach. "Where is he?"

"Cafeteria with Two-Bit and Steve," Darry answered. "He hasn't eaten since before the rumble."

"How long ago was that?"

"About five or six hours ago,"

"Shoot," Ponyboy murmured, eyeing Darry. "You look like you ain't slept in five or six days."

Darry laughed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Speaking of sleep, you get back to it."

"I just woke up," Pony argued, despite the tiredness that his body felt. "What about Soda?"

"He'll just have to see you next time."

"But I'm not tired--" he cut himself off with a yawn, to which his ears went red with embarrassment at having been caught. "Not tired."

Darry only smirked and ruffled his hair both affectionately and gently. "Sure, now close your eyes."

Ponyboy complied, sinking back into his pillow and closing his eyes. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, and as Darry looked down at him, he couldn't help but sigh. It was always something with Pony, wasn't it? The kid just couldn't stay out of trouble.

At least for the time being, he'll be okay. Even if it took a few hurdles to get to, Ponyboy would recover in no time.

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 29: Fatigue

Four in the morning came and went, and soon the sun was rising, seeping into Ponyboy's window from between the large skyscrapers of the west side. Ponyboy groaned as the first lights of sun hit him, realizing that he'd forgotten to go the bed once again.

This seemed to be a new trend that he'd started. Ponyboy would procrastinate all of his work until it was fairly late at night, say eleven. Pony would then force himself to stay up until all of his work was completed, which usually was until three or so in the morning, then he'd go to bed for however many hours were left before six, when Darry would tell him to wake up for school.

Closing his notebook just as his door opened, Ponyboy didn't even get a chance to pretend like he was sleeping before Darry walked in. His older brother glanced at him, eyebrows knitting together as he caught his brother awake before he would have to wake him up for the third time that week. It wasn't like Ponyboy to get up early, causing Darry to know something was wrong right away.

"You're up early," Darry said in a monotone voice, looking him up and down, certainly noticing the dark bags beneath his eyes. "Again."

Ponyboy nodded, brushing hair from his eyes and risking a glance at Soda, who was sleeping peacefully in bed. "Yeah, Soda's snoring woke me up a few minutes ago."

"Did it?"

Humming, Pony got to his feet and stretched his arms behind his back, yawning. "Yeah. Say, what's for breakfast?" Ponyboy was quick to change the topic, and thankfully, with Darry's packed internal checklist, he would forget within minutes.

Days turned into weeks, and Ponyboy's sleeping arrangements didn't fix themselves. He continued going to bed anywhere from three in the morning to not at all, but every morning having to get up at six. Weekends were his only days off, but those really only consisted of two days. Not nearly enough to make up for the rest he'd missed.

Desperate to rack up any and all sleep possible, Ponyboy's body began to shut itself off at any chance it could. During class when the lecture got a bit too boring, while watching TV on the couch, and even being driven simply from school to his house. Of course, the gang noticed, it was hard not to. While they were all mostly amused, it only piqued Darry's concern.

On a particularly tiring day, Ponyboy had been out all day with Johnny, and when the pair finally got back to Pony's home, he said he needed a quick smoke before going inside. Johnny, focused on watching the stars twinkle in the sky, didn't notice as his friend fell asleep beside him on the porch until he'd finished his cigarette and put it out.

Turning to face his friend, he saw Ponyboy resting against the rail, the cigarette that had been in his fingers lying on the floor, and his eyes closed as small snores come from his slightly opened mouth. For a moment, Johnny wasn't sure what to do, but then he gave Pony a gentle shove.

When he didn't stir, Johnny realized he'd have to involve Muscles. Going inside, he spotted Darry in the living room, and nervously shouted, "Darry? I need your help."

Darry looked up, frowning at Johnny's nervousness, then walked over. Before he could ask what happened, he stepped outside and saw his brother, fast asleep on the porch. "...What?"

"I was looking at the stars," Johnny confessed softly, playing with the hem of his shirt. "When I looked back over, he was asleep. I couldn't wake him or nothing."

Sighing, Darry wasted no time hoisting Ponyboy into his arms and carrying him inside his bedroom. Johnny trailed, watching as Darry dropped Ponyboy on his bed and took his shoes off.

"Why's he so exhausted?" Johnny asked after a beat.

"I'm not sure," Darry replied, tucking his brother in, then carrying the shoes over to the front door. "I don't think he's been sleeping much."

"Why not?"

"Couldn't tell you, maybe he's been having nightmares," Darry pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head and frowning. "Lord knows he doesn't tell me nothin'."

Johnny frowned, understanding the strain in the two brothers' relationship. "Maybe Soda knows?"

"Maybe. I'll ask when he gets off work."

Nodding, Johnny looked over at the closed bedroom door. "What if he just hasn't been sleeping?"

Darry looked at him, confused. "What? Why would he avoid sleeping?"

"He's been real into keeping his grades up," he murmured, shifting on place at Darry's intense stare. "What if he, I don't know, stayed up real late every night studying and all that?"

Darry's eyes hardened as he turned to face the door as well, mind racing as he recognized the probability that Johnny was right. How many times had he caught Ponyboy awake at six in the morning, a notebook in his hands, and papers spread across his desk?

His only question, one Darry doubted he'd be able to ask, was why? A nagging part of him told him that he knew exactly why Pony felt the need to study throughout the early hours of the morning, but he refused to accept it. He was hard on Pony because he loved him, but what if Ponyboy didn't see it like that, he thought for the first time.

What if I'm the reason he hasn't been sleeping? All because he wants to get good grades to appease me?

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 28: CCTV / "They caught me red-handed"

Darry worked all day long to keep a roof over his and his younger brothers' heads, and food on the table. He sacrificed his youth to prevent his siblings from ending up in foster homes, and had to age from a reckless teenager to a grown adult way before his time.

Sodapop dropped out of school to work full-time at the DX station so that Darry's hair didn't turn completely grey with stress. He helped pay the bills, and way always in good spirits to keep everyone else's smiles on their faces.

Ponyboy, unlike them, didn't do anything. He sat around, eating the food Darry would prepare, and adding to their power bill by forgetting to turn off the lights when he'd leave rooms. While both of his brothers worked hard to support him, he just sat around and took everything they gave him selfishly.

He was tired of being useless. He hated knowing that his brothers spent all of their money on him while he contributed nothing. It was the worst. Unfortunately, because he was fourteen-years-old, and a greaser, not many establishments wanted to hire him, and selling lemonade by the curb was something he'd long outgrown.

Two-Bit, who always seemed to have a couple of bucks in his pocket, hadn't worked a day in his life. Curious to learn how he made money then, although he already had a faint idea, Ponyboy asked him.

"Where do you get all your money from?"

Two-Bit, who was taking a long drag of his cigarette, grinned widely and exhaled the smoke into a cloud in front of him. "You need cash or something?"

"Just curious."

"Well, I steal it, of course," Two-Bit laughed, kicking a stone that bounced a few feet ahead of them, then into a storm drain. "Sometimes, at the Nightly Double, if you're walkin' around the concession stand, you'll find quite a few dollars in dropped change. Of course, if I'm desperate, I pickpocket. Only those who deserve it, though: Socs, Shepards, Dallas if he beat me in poker..."

Ponyboy watched him quizzically, trying to piece something together in his mind. "So you think it's okay to steal under certain circumstances?"

"Yep," Two-Bit popped his lips, then turned to him, a mock-stern look in his eyes. "Don't you go pickin' up my bad habits, though. Darry'll skin me if he finds out I told you to steal."

Two-Bit's warning was too late, however, as Ponyboy's mind raced with new ways of thinking. Stealing wasn't always wrong, especially if the person you were stealing from wouldn't even notice at the end of the day, Ponyboy thought. He suddenly had a solution to his unemployment problem.

He started off slow, pickpocketing the occasional Soc that had dollar bills peeking out of their pockets. Then, he moved onto more elaborate things. Ponyboy started his shoplifting gimmick at the DX to test if he could get away with it. Either Steve was the least observant person ever, or Ponyboy was as talented as Two-Bit, because he stole plenty of chocolate bars without being caught, which he ultimately gave to Johnny.

Weeks passed, and he stole anything he could from small sweets to cigarettes. If he was feeling risky, he'd go for wallets, but that one he kept to a minimum. It felt good, the adrenaline rush it gave him. He quickly understood why Two-Bit was always shoplifting.

With the extra stuff he stole, he didn't need to ask Darry for change to buy cancer sticks, or have Soda pay for a bottle of Pepsi when he'd visit him at work. Whenever he took money, he always snuck it into his brothers' wallets and prayed they wouldn't notice the extra weight. They hadn't said anything, so they likely didn't.

Stepping into a convenience store situated not quite on the east side, but not necessarily on Soc territory, Ponyboy glanced around, sizing it up. He'd been there a few times before as it was easy to steal from with how many customers it had. Locating the employees, he zeroed in on the area of the store that'd be the easiest to shoplift, and walked over, smiling casually at the guy working the register. The employee watched him suspiciously, but most people did anyway, considering he was a greaser.

Dropping to his knees, he shoved a few items into his pockets, not noticing the CCTV camera pointed directly at him. After they were stuffed, he got up, brushing himself off, and decided he would pay for a pack of gum to avert suspicion. Before he could even take a step toward the register, someone shoved and pinned him to the ground. No matter how hard he struggled, Ponyboy couldn't get the person off of him, and eventually gave up resisting.

The person on top of him, a man with an angry face, glowered down at him. "Finally caught you, you hood. You've been comin' in my store and takin' my stuff for too long."

"I'll put it back," Ponyboy grumbled, releasing the gum from his hands, and looking around the store. Everyone was staring, and he felt the tips of his ears begin to warm.

"Damn right you will," The enraged employee scoffed, tightening his grip on the boy as he yanked him to his feet. "Then, we're gonna wait for the cops to arrive."

Cops? Ponyboy's heart stopped and a panic washed over him. He couldn't get into any trouble with the cops or his social worker might take him away from Darry. "No, please, don't do that!"

"Why not?" The man rolled his eyes. "I caught you red-handed and with a store full of witnesses."

"You don't get it, I can't get into it with the cops," Ponyboy frantically tried to explain, hoping by some miracle he'd take pity on him. From the way his expression didn't soften whatsoever, Pony knew he wouldn't. "Please, I promise I won't steal from you again. I'll even give you back everything I took."

"You should've thought about that before shoplifting, kid," he scoffed, shoving Ponyboy forward so that he tumbled onto the ground. "Now, I recommend you sit there and cooperate. It'll make this a whole lot easier."

And he did. He sat there, and he waited until the distance sound of sirens got louder, and the pit in his stomach grew larger. What was Darry gonna say?

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 27: Voiceless

Being the middle child was almost like being invisible. You weren't the oldest, who got to pick out their clothes without only being handed hand-me-downs, and were allowed to be held to no special standards. You weren't the youngest, who was the family's pride and joy, being excused from any punishment no matter the crime.

No, as the middle child, you were given the hand-me-downs and you couldn't buy new clothes unless you absolutely had nothing else to wear. You were treated as though you had no opinions of your own and were mere reflections of what your older and younger siblings wanted.

You didn't stand out from your athletic superstar brother, and you were an academic failure compared to your genius brother who skipped a grade while you were on the verge of failing yours.

You were always "Darrel Curtis' younger brother" and never "Sodapop Curtis, his own person, with a personality and hobbies and an entirely different story!" It was like he was defined by his brothers and nobody gave him a chance to introduce the real him. And it hurt, it really did.

Since Darry was so athletically talented, everybody assumed that Sodapop would be too. His parents enrolled him into sports like soccer, baseball, and cross country, all of which sports that Darry had done and excelled in. Soda was decent at them, no better than any other kid on the teams, but preferred to spend his practices chatting near the back with the other lazy kids. His parents stopped making him go after realizing it was a waste of money, and that focusing on their more gifted son would be a better use of that money.

Nobody asked him if there were any other sports he was interested in, because if they had, they would've found out that Soda loved badminton, and every time he went over to Two-Bit's, the boys would spend forever hitting the birdie back and forth.

If Ponyboy wanted to go watch a movie, or needed to head to the library to pick up a new book, Soda was the designated person to accompany him. Sodapop adored his brother, and would happily escort him to wherever he wanted to go, especially when he was younger, but sometimes it was annoying. Soda would have plans with Steve or Two-Bit, but without even asking him first, his parents would sign him up for babysitting duty. If he spoke against it, he was being a brat.

He was voiceless at the end of the day. Nobody listened to him,he may as well have been muted. Soda knew his family loved him, and he loved them too, but they didn't understand that he was his own person most of the time. They treated him like a shadow, one that followed exactly what they expected him to, and mimicked whatever they did.

Sodapop felt especially voiceless whenever an argument between his brothers would break out. It had always been like that, since Soda was thirteen, and Ponyboy discovered how easily he could get on Darry's nerves. They didn't fight too badly then, only an occasional squabble that always ended on a positive note, but ever since their parents died, their fighting became constant. Every week, Soda would sit on the couch, staring absently at the cartoons playing on the TV as Pony and Darry hollered at each other from the room across from him.

It was exhausting, and it took a lot of willpower to keep from blowing up. He was expected to see both of their sides and completely empathize with them, while disagreeing with the other.

Soda could see why they fought so much: Darry was stressed from having to go from a boy to a man within hours. He spent all day working, whether it be at work or at home doing chores, the last thing he needed was to constantly fret over Ponyboy. With Ponyboy, he was only fourteen-years-old and still trying to handle his grief. He was a teenager, of course he's both hormonal and ready to pick fights over every little thing. Neither of them were wrong to be prone to fighting.

Neither of them could stop and think about the other person's point of view, though, as they were very stubborn. If Darry paused and thought about the fact that Pony was trying his best to accommodate to Darry's authority shift, and if Pony stopped to think about all of Darry's stresses, maybe the two of them could tone down the bickering.

Soda tried explaining it to them, but it went right through one ear and out the other one, as always. His words were passionate, but they were weak to his brothers' hard heads.

On one particular morning, Soda wasn't woken up by birds singing outside his window, but by screaming coming from the kitchen. A part of him wanted to roll over and shove his pillow over his head, but ultimately, he pushed himself out of bed, threw on a shirt, and walked to the kitchen. There, Ponyboy was screaming away, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms like a kid. Darry was a few feet away from him, eyes narrowed and jaw tense as he yelled back, their voices overlapping and coming out unintelligible.

"What's going on?" Soda asked, his voice drowned out by their fighting, so he repeated himself with more force. "What's happening?"

Ponyboy noticed him, shoulders slumping and a hint of relief flashing through his eyes. "Soda! Tell Darry he's being unreasonable!"

"What's this about?" Sodapop questioned tiredly, looking from Darry to Ponyboy.

Darry turned to him, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. "Ponyboy got a B- on his history test even though I told him to study. What did he do instead? Went to the damn movies with Dally and Johnny!"

"It's one B-, Darry! What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal?" Darry scoffed. "Soda, tell him what the big deal is, since it doesn't seem to get through his skull any other way!"

Soda's body tensed as their fighting continued. They asked him to pick sides, assuming he'd pick their own, but it wasn't fair to him. They were both right and they were both wrong. How can they make him pick when there wasn't a correct answer? If he picked Darry, Ponyboy would be upset with him all day, but if he picked Ponyboy, Darry would be mad.

"Why don't you both stop yelling?" Soda suggested, taking a slow step toward them. "Can't we talk about this rationally?"

They ignored him, their voices only increasing in volume. It got to the point where they were practically chest-to-chest, screaming in each other's face. One of these days, one of them were going to take their fighting too far, and Soda dreaded it, knowing he'd have to stand witness to it, but ultimately be helpless. Tears of frustration began to brew behind his eyes, but he pushed them down and kept trying to speak.

It was pointless. Soda's pleas for them to quiet down fell deaf ears. After a few more minutes of it, he couldn't take it anymore. He crept away from them, heading for the front door. Neither of them noticed, after all, he may as well have been invisible, his voice silenced by their refusal to acknowledge him.

As always.

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 26: Nightmares

Glancing around the old, dusty church, Ponyboy was struck with an odd sense of familiarity, as though he'd been there before. Of course, that wasn't possible, the last time Pony had set foot in a church was when Steve had dropped a hymn book in the middle of a sermon and Two-Bit waved at the people who turned in their seats to glare.

So, this church shouldn't seem familiar, but for some reason, it made him think of something, like a buried memory of sorts. Shrugging it off, he slowly stepped through the church, an odd urge in the back of his mind telling him to call for Johnny. Was that why he was there: to look for Johnny? Pony couldn't seem to remember what he was doing there in the first place, so maybe.

"Johnny!" His voice echoed through the vacant building, carrying his cry through each room. "Johnnycakes?"

When his friend didn't respond, Ponyboy decided to call for his other friend. "Dally? Dal, are you here?" He didn't know why, but he could feel them, as though they were hiding just around the corner from him. Why would they do that?

All that answered him was his own repeating voice, so Ponyboy continued shuffling through the church, brushing spiderweb after spiderweb off of him as he carried on. Shards of glass and old cigarettes crunched beneath his old Converse with each step he took.

Nearing a large window which reflected a bright light into his eyes, Pony squinted and tried adjusting to the brightness. When he couldn't, he stumbled into the nearest room and sighed, rubbing his eyes and blinking away the shapes in his vision.

In front of him, with his back facing Ponyboy, was a boy clad in a madras top and tight-fighting pants. At once, Pony recognized him as Bob Sheldon, the world's biggest asshole. Clearing his throat, Ponyboy shifted from foot-to-foot, waiting for him to turn around and face him.

Slowly, Bob's turned his body toward Ponyboy, and all of the air left his lungs in a strangled gasp. Bob's madras top was stained with blood, a switchblade protruding from his side. The red liquid seeped from his lips as they twisted into a cocky grin.

"Get away from me," Ponyboy choked out, taking a shaky step away from Bob as he remembered the fountain. "You-- You're supposed to be dead!"

Bob laughed, dark eyes twinkling with amusement. "You think I'd rest after you killed me?"

"I didn't kill..." Pony's hands clenched into fists as fear overtook him. Why was he seeing a dead-boy-walking? "It's not my fault."

"It is your fault, grease," he sneered, striding forward and backing Ponyboy against the wall. "Everything's your fault. How can you live with yourself knowing you took my life away?"

"It wasn't me!"

"I had a family. Two parents who no longer have a son thanks to you."

Ponyboy tilted his head back to avoid Bob's warm, alcohol-tinted breath. He couldn't stop himself from shaking, and when a drop of hot, red blood fell onto his clothes, he winced. "Leave me alone."

"I'll never leave you alone, greaser. Not until you're as dead as I am--"

"You're not real!" Ponyboy shouted, pushing the boy away from him and shielding his face to prevent himself from seeing him anymore. When he peeked out from between his fingers, he let out a sigh of relief, realizing that Bob was nowhere to be seen.

Just as he let himself feel safe again, Ponyboy got a whiff of something that made his body go rigid with panic. Smoke. Why his body reacted so negatively to the burning smell seemed odd to Pony, but he pushed it down and scrambled to find an exit.

He rushed through the building before coming to a halt, eyes widening. Taking a slow step closer, Ponyboy spoke warmly, a smile on his face. "Johnny?"

Johnny didn't react for a moment, standing with his back to him as Bob had previously. Slowly, he turned his head around to face Ponyboy, revealing a copious amount of burn marks ranging from his head to his arms. Ponyboy let out a shaky gasp, eyes widening in horror at the sight. Why was Johnny covered in burns? What happened and why did he feel overwhelmingly guilty?

"Johnny! Golly, what happened?!"

He didn't respond for a moment, before slowly, and hoarsely, saying, "You did this to me."

"What?"

"You're the reason I got burned!" Johnny snapped, his voice carried by such an intense anger that Ponyboy had never heard from him before. "I'm dead because of you!"

Why was everyone saying that? Ponyboy's heart ached at the thought of his best friend blaming him. "No, no, this isn't real. You're not real!"

"He is," A gruff voice said from behind Pony, and even though he didn't want to, he turned around to face Dallas. He looked as dead as the others did, and walked toward Ponyboy as though he didn't have bullet holes in his chest. "It's all real, Ponyboy."

Ponyboy shook his head, stepping to the side to avoid the both of them. Tears pricked his eyes, but it was unclear if they were caused by his emotions or the rising smoke consuming them. "I'm sorry."

"It's too late to be sorry," Dallas mocked, sneering at him cruelly. "You made your choice, and ultimately killed us."

"I didn't ask for this!" Ponyboy defended, quivering as the internalized guilt he felt was finally being expressed. "It's... It isn't my fault!"

Johnny scoffed, dark eyes narrowing with distaste. "It is. It's useless to deny it."

Ponyboy fell backward, twisting his ankle as he tripped over an oddly placed plank. He cried out, looking down at his ankle, before glancing up at his friends. They looked down at him apathetically, save for hints of contempt.

"You should've died instead of Johnny," Dallas grunted, kicking gravel at him.

Johnny sighed, a twisted look of regret in his eyes. "I should've let Bob drown you."

Ponyboy shook his head, bringing his knees to his chest. "You don't mean that!"

"We do," They hummed, cold stares unyielding. "It's all your fault."

"No!" Ponyboy protested, his voice weak with defeat. Their voices, no matter how hard he tried to block them out with his hands, chanted loudly around him, forcing him to face his guilt. The fire grew hotter around him, melting his skin and forcing his lungs to tighten. The last thing he registered were the distant cries of children before someone was shaking him awake.

"Ponyboy!" The person shaking him shouted, switching to cup his face. "Pony, it's just a dream! Wake up!"

Pony's eyes blinked open, disoriented and teary as he took in his surroundings. He wasn't in that church, but his bed, naturally. He could never have been inside that church since it was now nothing more than a pile of burnt logs and ash. It's silly how your mind can make you forget even the simplest of facts while you're dreaming.

Looking up, he saw Darry and Soda staring down at him, eyes round with fear. Darry had his hands cupped around his cheeks while Soda stood behind him, a bit shaken.

"Are you okay?" Darry questioned, relaxing his grasp on his brother.

"I'm okay, just a bad dream," Ponyboy responded dryly, the taste of smoke still on his tongue. "What happened?"

"You were screaming bloody murder," Sodapop chimed in, brown eyes shimmering with distress. "Kept muttering stuff too."

Ponyboy wanted to pry for exactly what he had said, but decided maybe it was better not to acknowledge it. He wiped his damp eyes, sniffled, and adjusted so that he was no longer being held by Darry, but rather lying down against his pillow again. "Well, I'm fine now."

"Are... you sure?" Darry asked slowly, sharing a concerned look with Soda. He hummed, so Darry sighed and sat up, scratching the stubble growing on his chin. "Okay, then, if you say so."

Soda sat down beside him, smiling and brushing Pony's hair from his eyes. "Try getting some more sleep. No more bad dreams tonight, got it?"

Ponyboy nodded, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him once again. He knew that in the morning, his brothers would likely be expecting him to tell them what he was dreaming about, but he'd simply pull the "I can't remember" card. It's worked before, it will work again.

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 25: Surgery / "It's for your own good"

Ponyboy hated-- no, despised the dentist. Every six months when he'd be forced to return to that gruesome building filled with the smell of Colgate and the sound of people's mouths being washed out, was pure torture. It freaked him out, as it did most kids, but Ponyboy was no longer a kid. He was all of fourteen-years-old, and most guys he knew his age weren't afraid anymore.

Did that make him feel a little embarrassed? Sure. He was grown up now, and very mature, meaning it was silly to be scared of someone cleaning your teeth and making friendly conversation with you while their hands were down your throat. But then again, they dug floss between your teeth until you bled, and wouldn't hesitate to bring out tools to drill into your teeth if they so desired. It's not an irrational fear, Ponyboy would tell himself, it's absolutely valid.

Every time he went to the dentist, they berated him for excessive smoking and warned him of the damage that it was causing to his teeth. Their monologues never moved Pony, but it was tiresome to hear the same thing every single time he visited.

A few weeks prior, Ponyboy had gone for his regular checkup, expecting it to go as it always did: spend all day panicking, arrive, get his gums violently assaulted, be scolded, go home with a package of floss and a new toothbrush. Unfortunately for him, it did not.

"Well, that's not good," The lady cleaning his teeth hummed, stretching his cheek even further to the side as she took a closer look into his mouth.

Ponyboy would've asked what she meant if he could speak, so Darry spoke up for him. "What's wrong?"

"His wisdom teeth seem to be coming in," she started, letting go of Ponyboy's cheek and getting up from her chair. "But I fear he won't have enough room for them, and it'll mess up the rest of his adult teeth."

"What do you have to do, then?" Darry pressed, eyebrows knitting together as he worried silently if this meant another costly appointment. He'd do it, for Pony of course, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt him, or rather his wallet.

"Well, if the dentist agrees, we'll have to remove them."

Ponyboy's world may as well have came crashing down at her words. Remove them? Remove his teeth? That wasn't right! He's supposed to have teeth, why the hell would you removed them?! As a kid, whenever he'd get a wiggly baby tooth, he'd wait until the last possible moment to take them out due to how painful it was to tug them free of his gum. Removing teeth that were not meant to be removed had to have been the worst kind of pain known to man!

The dentist had of course decided that the removal of his wisdom teeth would be necessary, all four of them. So, Ponyboy spent the next weeks dreading the approaching day of his surgery. When it came, he prayed that every car they drove past on the way to the dental office would crash into them, injuring or preferably killing him. He didn't get that lucky.

At the dentist, Ponyboy's leg bounced up and down as he rested his face miserably in his hands. Soda wasn't there since he had a work emergency, but Darry was with him. He sat to his left, watching the clock, and tapping his foot impatiently. Despite his best efforts, Pony's eyes pricked with tears, and he buried his face into his hands to conceal them.

Darry noticed after a few seconds thanks to Ponyboy sniffling quietly, a telltale sign that he was crying. He looked over, reading his anxious body language, and clenching his jaw. He knew how much his brother hated the dentist, and surgery must have been horrifying for the boy: shoot, it was for everyone, even if they didn't hate the dentist. Soda had spoken to Darry on a few occasions about how Ponyboy's nightmares seemed to have came back ever since he found out about his surgery, and it killed him that he couldn't do anything to help.

Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Darry squeezed reassuringly and leaned over. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, baby."

Ponyboy shook his head wordlessly, afraid that if he spoke, he'd break down into sobs. He wanted to be tough. He didn't want to be petrified of the dentist, but he couldn't help it.

Darry sighed, pulling him closer. "You're going to be okay. They'll put you under, make sure you can't feel a thing, and the next time you're up, I'll be right your side."

"I'm scared, Darry," Pony confessed timidly, raising his head to show his tear-stained cheeks.

"I know you are," he responded, brushing a few tears off of his face. "But I promise you, you're going to be fine."

"This is stupid," Ponyboy muttered childishly. "I don't need 'em removed, they don't hurt or nothin'."

Darry fought back an amused grin at his kid brother's kiddish protest. "It's for your own good, I swear. They wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't."

"They're greedy," Ponyboy grunted. "They want us to spend more money on useless procedures."

"It ain't useless," Darry sighed, smiling a little. "It's preventing you from messing up your perfect teeth."

"They ain't perfect."

"Better than Soda's, that's for sure."

Ponyboy scoffed, letting a grin spread across his lips. "Soda's are fine. I can't say the same for Steve, or even Two-Bit's."

Darry grinned, thankful that Pony was joking around now rather than crying. The playful atmosphere dissipated quickly, however, as a nurse walked into the room, smiling and calling out, "Ponyboy Curtis?"

Pony's eyes glimmered with panic as he shakily got to his feet, Darry following suit. They followed behind the nurse until they got to the surgery room. Ponyboy stepped hesitantly into the room, being encouraged by the dentist to get comfortable on the chair.

Turning to Darry, the dentist spoke regretfully, "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't be in here while he undergoes surgery."

Eyes widening in horror, Ponyboy wanted desperately to protest, but he couldn't. Knowing his brother would be more scared without him, Darry asked the dentist, "Can I stay with him until he goes under?"

With the nod of the dentist's head, Darry stood beside Ponyboy, grabbing his hand gently and smiling as confidently as he could down at him. "I'll be here as soon as you wake up, I promise."

An anaesthesiologist entered the room, preparing Ponyboy to be administered the drug to put him under. As everything was finished, he was told to count backwards from ten, and as he did, he slowly grew sleepier and sleepier.

Before he could reach one, he found himself falling into darkness, the last thing he saw being Darry. He hoped that he'd be the first thing he saw when he woke up too, assuming he does at all.

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 24: Equipment Failure

The sun beat down on Darry's back as he worked away at fixing up the roof of some Soc. Both his coworkers had started their breaks a few minutes ago, but Darry wanted to finish working on the section he was fixing first, as it was only a few minutes from completion.

As he wrapped up that last part, a familiar voice called out to him from the ground. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Ponyboy.

"Hey, Pony. I'll be down in a minute!" Darry shot back, gathering some of his supplies and slowly descending the ladder. He figured it'd be okay to leave a few boards hanging over the edge to dry since he'd only be on break for ten minutes at most. Once on the ground, he dropped his tools and wiped sweat from his forehead. "What are you doing here?"

"You left your lunch in the fridge," Ponyboy replied, handing him a Tupperware container that was lukewarm, indicating that it had been recently heated. "I brought it for you, didn't want ya to go hungry."

"Thanks, kiddo," Darry smiled at him, taking the container out of his hands and opening it. "I would've starved to death, had it not been for you."

He grinned, amused, and rocked on his heels. "No problem, just be less forgetful next time."

Darry rolled his eyes at his brother's sassy response, taking a bite of his food and shrugging his comment off dismissively. "It's good for you to get outside sometimes, you know. My forgetfulness is proving beneficial to your well-being."

"I get out plenty," Ponyboy argued, scoffing playfully at his brother.

"Every time I see you, you're curled up on the couch reading," Darry laughed, then jumped to a different topic. "Speaking of, what are you off to do now?"

Ponyboy pondered for a moment, before shrugging. "Dunno, I might stop by the DX for a Pepsi. I need to return some library books too, I guess I could do that today."

Darry nodded, opening his mouth to speak when he heard an odd sound coming from his right side. Glancing over, he realized it was the ladder that had caused the noise, and immediately, one side of it broke, causing its weight to go uneven and ultimately start falling forward. Eyes widening in horror, he shouted, "Ponyboy, move!"

Pony jumped out of the way just in time for the ladder to crash against the ground loudly, smashing into some of Darry's equipment. Thankful that that was the only damage, he went to step toward Ponyboy when he noticed the boards hanging over the side of the house. The crashing of the ladder set them off balance, and with one final tilt forward, toppled to the ground, landing directly on Ponyboy.

"Holy shit--" Darry dropped his Tupperware and rushed over, collapsing to his knees and pushing the planks away. "Pony?! Pony, are you okay?"

Ponyboy blinked slowly, turning his eyes up to Darry. With a weak groan, he managed to murmur, "Darry?"

"Fuck," Darry cursed, his hands feeling around Ponyboy's head for damage. There was blood-- lot's of blood-- and what Darry thought was a bump. "Okay, kid, we're gonna get you to a hospital."

Pony's eyes fluttered as he gave no response, seemingly falling unconscious. Darry managed to get his arms under the boy to hoist him up, preparing to take him to his truck.

One of Darry's coworkers rounded the corner. "Hey, man, what was that sound--" Pausing at the sight of a bleeding and limp Ponyboy, he froze. "What the hell happened?"

"He got hit by a falling board," Darry murmured, stiff with shock. "I- Shit, he needs a hospital."

His coworker nodded, taking a step away. "I'll call an ambulance."

Darry didn't know how much time passed between his interaction with his coworker and when blaring sirens began to approach them. It could've been seconds or hours: Darry would've believe you had you told him it was either one.

Paramedics rushed over, taking Ponyboy away from Darry and into the back of the ambulance. He was given the opportunity to ride with them to the hospital, and naturally, he accepted. As he sat across from his brother, Darry had to resist hurling all over the vehicle's floor due to his worry.

They arrived at the hospital, Ponyboy being wheeled off, while Darry stayed behind and let a paramedic check him over. Once he was given the clear, he hurried inside and was told that he'd have to wait a bit before any updates would be available.

Knowing that Ponyboy was in professional care, and that he didn't need to wear a brave face anymore, he found the nearest trash can, and threw up his lunch right then and there.

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 23: Forced Choice

Ponyboy fought against the strong arms of his captor that restrained him, but it was pointless. The Soc that had Pony's arms pinned to his side was much stronger than he was, and he stood no chance. As soon as he stopped fighting, the Soc pushed him backward against the counter, grinning at him.

Of all of the places he thought he would've been jumped, the DX station was low on the list. He should've realized that if the Socs were blood-thirsty enough, they'd go anywhere.

The Soc, sporting a letterman jacket and a malicious grin, stood in front of him, twirling a switchblade around his fingers. "You look scared, grease," he commented, smirking.

He scoffed, eyes fixed on the Soc before him with a hint of annoyance. Scared? The Soc had punched him square in the nose only a few minutes ago! He was always going to be a bit fearful of the Socs, especially one's twice his size, but he'd never admit to it. "Scared? Of what? Not you, that's for sure."

The Soc's eyes narrowed, his hand shooting out to grab Ponyboy by the hair and tilt his head back. He resisted the urge to yelp, and only stared, jaw clenched, up at him. "Why don't we play a game, greaseball? You look like you like playing games."

Ponyboy couldn't say "No" if he tried, so he only ended up glaring at the Soc mutely. Taking this as an invitation, the Soc continued.

"I'll let you make your own decision, since I'm generous," he laughed and spun around, pointing the knife toward where his other friend was standing, a stiff Johnny being held in his arms. Ponyboy's heart raced at the helpless expression on Johnny's face as he too was unable to overpower his attacker. "Either I stab him--"

"No!" Ponyboy shouted, eyes widening.

He responded with a wide grin and a suppressed snicker. "Either I stab him, or I stab him," The Soc then pointed the knife a few feet to the left, where Sodapop was being restrained by two Socs. He squirmed to escape, his lip bleeding from where he'd been hit.

Sensing Ponyboy's eyes on him, Soda glanced up, forcing a reassuring smile, and mouthing "It's gonna be okay." Pony couldn't bring himself to believe his words.

"So, what'll it be?" The Soc pressed, turning back to him.

"Neither," Ponyboy murmured dryly, looking around the station for a way out.

"That wasn't a choice," he huffed. "Either pick one of them or they'll both get the knife."

Ponyboy stared at him, horrified by the easy way he spoke. "You won't do that."

"You want to call my bluff?"

Sodapop piped up, looking from Johnny to Ponyboy. "Pick me, kid."

"What?"

"Pick me, I can take it," Soda said, a slight grin on his face. "Trust me, I ain't gonna get hurt."

"Shut up, blondie." The Soc scowled at Sodapop's nonchalant words. "Now pick one, kid, or I'm choosing for you."

Ponyboy stood there, looking between his best friend and his brother. How could he pick which one to stab? Which one to essentially save? There had to be a way out of making this choice, surely, but Pony couldn't figure it out. He stood there, hands clenched into fists, and unable to make up his mind.

The Soc spotted the indecisive look in his eyes and scoffed, spinning on his heels. "Fine, guess I'll pick." He took a few steps toward Johnny, causing Soda and Ponyboy's eyes to widen.

"Leave him alone!" Ponyboy hollered.

"Do it to me, not him!" Sodapop pleaded, going pale as the Soc stood in front of Johnny and sized him up.

"Got nothin' to say for yourself?" he hummed, chuckling as Johnny remained quiet. "Not even putting up a fight. It's almost too easy."

He raised the blade, preparing to strike, when a blur of movement lunged forward, hitting the Soc and causing him to fall to the floor. Steve stood above the Soc, a baseball bat in his hands, and a tight expression on his face.

Steve turned to the Soc holding Johnny, who instantly let go of him and started backing away toward the entrance. The Socs restraining Sodapop followed suit, until the three of them scurried away, leaving only the ringleader.

"Stay the hell away from us, got that?" Steve spat, raising the baseball bat threateningly. The Soc nodded quickly, and Steve stepped back, allowing him to escape. He ran off quickly, humiliated and with a headache.

"I was real worried for a moment there," Soda huffed, leaning back against the counter and wiping the blood from his chin. "Thought that maniac was gonna stab us."

Johnny nodded, still a bit shaken up. Ponyboy stays situated beside him, trying to calm his own nerves. Steve only hummed and swung the bat around, before placing it behind the counter. "You're lucky I heard all that commotion 'round back."

Soda nodded, then looked at Ponyboy. "You okay kid? Soc struck you pretty hard."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Johnny, you okay?" Pony asked, as Johnny nodded, not wanting to speak. Pony turned to Steve, chewing at his lip hesitantly. "Thanks for saving us."

Steve's eyes flashed with amusement at Ponyboy's gratitude towards him, but quickly pushed it down and nodded, patting his shoulder easily. "Of course."

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 22: Bleeding Through Bandages / "Oh, that's not good"

Ponyboy and Johnny were walking down the street, the former twirling Sodapop's switchblade around his fingers. They'd spent all day hanging out on the east side, and were now preparing to go back to the lot. Johnny watched him from the corner of his eye, a hint of worry in his dark eyes.

"Be careful, Pony," he warned, already imaging all of the ways it could go wrong. Ponyboy wasn't known for being graceful. "You're gonna cut yourself."

"No, I'm not," he retorted, continuing to play with the blade as they walked along. They got to the lot and settled down, Johnny using his lighter to get a fire going, while Ponyboy sat beside him, eyes trained on the stars overhead.

The old logs refused to light, so Johnny dropped a few more sticks into the pile and tried again. This time, the bark caught fire and slowly, a small fire began to form. Johnny leaned back, then noticed he was out of cigarettes. He turned to Pony, briefly taking note of the switchblade he was still playing with before asking. "Do you have any cigarettes?"

Ponyboy hummed, reaching to pull out a package from his pocket, totally forgetting that he was still swinging the knife around as though it couldn't touch him. As he reached to hand the package over to Johnny, the knife caught his skin and tore a gash down his forearm.

The knife and cigarettes fell to the grass as Pony yelped and held arm close to his body, biting down hard on his lip to keep from crying over the stinging pain. Johnny's eyes rounded in horror and forgetting about the cigarettes, reached over, tugging on Ponyboy's sleeve. "Hey, man, lemme see."

"It's fine," he responded through gritted teeth. "Just... stings."

"Pony, let me see," Johnny pulled his arm away, spotting at once the large blood stain now on his shirt, and then the massive laceration to his arm. "Holy shit--"

"Oh," Ponyboy murmured, staring at his actively bleeding arm. "That's not good."

Johnny jumped to his feet, pointing at Ponyboy in an attempt at being stern. He only looked panicked, in Pony's eyes. "Stay here, do not move."

"Where are you going?"

"Just stay. Try not to bleed out." And with that, Johnny sprinted off. Ponyboy sighed, leaning back against a tree, and holding his arm in a tight grasp. It only took five minutes for Johnny to return, but by then, Pony had to admit that he was getting drowsy.

"Where'd you go?" Ponyboy asked, watching as Johnny pulled out a gauze and began to tie his arm up.

"To the store 'round the corner," Johnny replied, tightening the bandage until Ponyboy winced. "Sorry."

"All good," he shook his head, sighing. "You shouldn't have spent money, Johnny. I'm sure we had some at home."

"Turns out Dally's shoplifting lessons paid out," Johnny grinned, but the expression faltered after a beat or two.

Ponyboy gave a quiet laugh, taking his arm away after Johnny was finished, and reaching for Soda's now bloody blade. Johnny pocketed the cigarettes and helped him to his feet.

"Going back to your place?" Johnny asked as the two started making their way in that direction.

Ponyboy nodded. "Yeah, you should too."

"You sure?"

"Of course I am," Ponyboy huffed, and the two fell into a comfortable silence for the next few minutes. As Pony's house began to come into view, he looked down at his arm, and sucked in air through his teeth. "Uh, Johnny?"

Johnny glanced at him, before dropping his eyes to his arm and spotting the dark red colour leaking through the bandage. "How deep did you cut yourself, man?"

Ponyboy only sighed and shook his head, opening the gate, and letting them into his yard. Entering the house, Ponyboy walked past Soda, who was lounging on the couch, throwing him his switchblade. Soda scrambled to catch it, but when he did, the first thing he did was click it open to admire.

He wasn't expecting the red blood to greet him instead of a shiny metal. "Uhm, what the hell happened?"

Johnny paused a few feet away, looking away from Ponyboy over to him. "Ponyboy cut himself."

"What?" Soda gaped at him, eyes jumping over to the bathroom. "Ponyboy, are you okay?"

"Sure," he called back, then after a couple seconds of silence, where the only sound that could be heard were muffled grunts, he spoke again. "Can someone help me get this bandage on?"

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 21: Body Horror / Possession

Soda brought the evil force into their house, unknowingly, of course. He found an old Ouija board stashed in a trash can and dug it out to bring home. He may not have believed in it, but he thought it would be good fun to try.

When he showed it off to the gang, he was met with only unenthusiastic responses toward the board. After a lot of pleading, however, he managed to convince everyone to sit down and participate for at least five minutes.

Having seven teenage boys use a Ouija board was chaotic, as none of them took it seriously. They moved the piece around in poor attempts at scaring each other, and after only ten minutes of this, they got bored and left. Ponyboy was the last one to take his hand off of the board, recalling faintly that when you're finished, you were supposed to say "Goodbye." Nobody had bothered to do so, so Pony didn't either. Instead, he left the board on the table and scampered off.

He felt a light breeze pass through him that caused him to shiver, but nothing else out of the ordinary occurred that evening.

The next morning, Ponyboy made his way sleepily into the washroom, rubbing his eyes and brushing hair from his face. It took a few moments, but finally, his eyes landed on the bathroom mirror and he was greeted not with his reflection, but a distorted figure's.

Ponyboy stared at it blankly for a few beats, stunned and horrified by what the mirror was showing. The figure was lanky, its ribcage on full display, with sharp nails and a haunting grin. Its eyes were slits that resembled a cat, and were blood-red. Hesitantly, Pony raised his hand, and watched in awe as the figure copied his precise action.

Raising his other hand, the figure mimicked it perfectly, causing Ponyboy's confusion over the situation to skyrocket. For whatever reason, his reflection was replaced by a creepy looking entity, yet was able to reenact his every moment. That's certainly not something that happens everyday.

"Darry!" Pony hollered, rocking on his heels as he wondered if his older brother will have an idea of what was happening. "Darry, come here!"

He heard his brother get up from his seat and head over. Darry peeked his head into the bathroom, looking at Ponyboy expectantly. "What is it, Ponyboy?"

Ponyboy indicated to the mirror, grinning a little. "Look! Isn't that so weird?"

Darry eyed the mirror for a couple of seconds before glancing at Ponyboy once again. "What am I looking for?"

Ponyboy's expression fell, eyebrows furrowing. "What do you mean? The mirror, Darry. Look at my reflection."

"Yeah," Darry drawled, turning back to the reflective glass. "What about it?"

"You don't see it?"

"See what?"

Ponyboy stared at him incredulously before looking back at the mirror, waving to confirm the reflection he was looking at was still real, then sighed. "Never mind."

Throughout the day, anytime Ponyboy passed something reflective, such as puddles of water or windows, the same disturbing figure followed him. There was no way this could be a cruel prank put on by the gang, nor could it be a figment of his imagination with how vivid it was. He tried his best to ignore it, but that certainly proved difficult.

As the day came to an end, and the full moon popped out from behind the clouds, Ponyboy found himself once again in the bathroom, eye-to-eye with the distorted figure. He tried brushing his teeth without acknowledging it, but when he opened his mouth, the thing copied him and revealed its rows of sharp canines. Pony didn't really want to brush his teeth if it meant staring at that.

Moving until he was right before the mirror, Ponyboy leaned close to it and peered in, watching the figure mimic him accurately. Everything about this seemed wrong, and frankly, right out of a horror movie. Pony was about to take a step away and go tell Soda, when a sudden force caused him to go flying backward against the wall. His back collided with it, emitting a cracking sound that had him yelping with pain. The lock to the bathroom locked with a sudden snap, trapping him inside.

Ponyboy tried sitting up, but found himself unable to move. The figure in the mirror, however, could. It walked closer to the mirror, peering down at him with a devilish grin. With the flick of its wrist, Ponyboy's arm twisted and cracked out of place, causing him to cry out with pain once again. His cries only encouraged his demonic counterpart, who in response forced his leg to bend out of place.

After another agonizing minute of being twisted and bent in all of the wrong ways, Ponyboy was dragged toward the mirror, howling and crying. The figure inside gave him an insulting wave, then slammed him into it. He expected himself to land against the floor, covered in shards of glass, but Ponyboy didn't. He fell to the floor, sure, but not a piece of glass could be seen.

He looked around, the pain in his body lessening, but certainly still there. The first thing he realized was that the once warm and bright washroom had been morphed into a cold, dark counterpart. It appeared to be the same, only reversed, and freezing cold. Ponyboy tried to move, but found himself no longer in control of his body. His eyes drifted to the mirror, and a horrified gasp escaped his lips.

On the other side of the mirror was himself, or at least, an evil version of him. He looked the same, except this Ponyboy didn't have crooked bones or blood seeping out of his eyes. He was grinning at him with his cold, cat-like eyes, but now normal looking teeth. He lifted his hand to wave, and to Ponyboy's horror, his own arm moved against his will to mimic the action on the other side.

Ponyboy could hear his brothers calling to him on the warmer side of the mirror, and he watched as the demonic version of him moved to unlock the door. Pony could only watch as Darry and Soda entered the room and began inquiring about the shouts and crashes they'd heard, which other Ponyboy dismissed with some lazy excuse that they believed.

It's not me! Ponyboy tried to shout, but his mouth wouldn't open. He looked exactly the same, only it wasn't him. But there was nothing he could do to inform his brothers. Instead, he was forced to reflect the demon's movements helplessly, and stare as the three of them left the bathroom, leaving Pony alone on the opposite side of his reality.