History Lessons

[Synistergrrl]

October 13, 1978

You call me jealous one more time, Soda Pop and I'm gonna bust you in the jaw. I'm not fuckin jealous of that li'l kid. I just don' like him moonin over you the way he does and you fuckin eatin it up.

~Snare growled as he stalked through the woods of the Great Smokey Mountains. They'd stopped there on their trip and once again Snare was faced with Pony and Soda hanging out. Snare had been helping Darry with the mustang, trying to get it running. He'd finally given up and gone to find Soda, only to find him laying with his head in Pony's lap and Pony reading a book. This wasn't uncommon and although it irritated Snare to no end, he didn't say anything. But this time, Soda's eyes were closed and Pony's fingers were drifting lazily through the vampire's hair. And when Soda had opened his eyes to look at Snare, well he'd not bothered to move, not bothered to get up and come to Snare. It ate the vampire up. He'd stalked off into the darkness.~

~Soda was following along, having caught him, his hands shoved into the pockets of that black leather jacket. He rolled his eyes knowing for sure that Snare would never punch him, no matter what he claimed or how angry he got. But Soda had to admit he was getting a bit sick of Snare flipping out about him and Pony hanging out.~

Stop being such a fuckin girl, Snare.

~Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, cause the dark haired vampire turned on Soda and slammed him into a near by tree. It cause the large tree to crack under the weight. He snarled at Soda, holding the vampire down as he growled.~

Don't EVER call me a girl again, Soda... you hear me....

~Soda looked shocked, the surprised all over his face and those scarlet eyes were wide. His hand came up and lay on Snare's arm, and his voice came out calmer, softer.~

Snare.. I'm sorry.. I didn't mean it like that...

~Snare frowned seeing the shock on Soda's face and he pulled back, shaking his head. He didn't let Soda go, instead he just pulled him close.~

I'm not jealous.... I just... I see how he looks at you... he wants you, Soda. And he wants me outta the way to get to you....

~Soda sighed and wrapped his arms around Snare.~

You're being crazy, Snare. Pony's just a little kid. He's got a little crush on me... that's all. He looks up to me more then anything. And he reads to me, Snare. It makes me... I don't know... feel better, calmer... and he kinda needs us Snare. All of us. Ace looks at him like he's... I don't know... some sort of baggage, or an inconvenience. The only reason Pony's with us is cause of Lucky. He's not made for this kinda life.. I mean he's a tough kid, but he ain't Tuff, ya know?

~Snare sighed. He half knew that it wasn't really worth trying to talk to Soda about this. He knew that the vampire was just talking himself into believing his own bullshit and honestly, Snare kinda wanted to believe it too. But he could see the want in Pony's eyes. And more so, he KNEW Ponyboy was no longer a little kid, he was no longer just some child that made eyes at Soda cause of how amazing the boy was. No, Pony was older now, technically a man, though trapped in a 14 year old's body. But he didn't say that to Soda, he didn't want to make that smile disappear from the vampire's lips. So instead, he tugged Soda to him and claimed his lips, pushing him back into the tree again. Soda moaned softly against that kiss just assuming, like he always did, that it was all forgotten, least for now.~

[LittleDeadGrrl]

-Pony had been laying on the grass with Soda. He’d been reading to him and it had kinda been a perfect day. It was rare he had those days anymore. Ever since everything went to shit. Ever since he’d become a monster. No one but Soda understood him anymore. He had no one but Soda. Lucky was nice enough but he had Darry and they seemed to speak a language of their own and one he didn’t really understand. Snare hated his fucking guts and Ace well the way Ace looked him it scared the shit out of him. He knew Ace just wanted to kill him but Lucky being there stopped him. Only Soda understood him. He felt like he could tell the older boy anything and he’d understand and after they had to hunt and Pony was miserable Soda would sometimes let Pony curl up into him and just lay there with him. It felt just like how it had been when they were kids and Soda came and slept in bed with him … -

-Pony was still lying there when he heard the sudden crack in the distance. He was up in a second moving like lightning coming to a sudden halt and hiding behind a tree. He felt himself almost growl as he watched Snare holding Soda up against the tree. Soda looked afraid and it was like something in Pony almost snapped. Well almost. He was about to just on Snare when Soda began speaking again and he felt his heart breaking into a thousand little pieces. It was like daggers to his heart as he heard … -

“You're being crazy, Snare. Pony's just a little kid. He's got a little crush on me... that's all. He looks up to me more then anything. And he reads to me, Snare. It makes me... I don't know... feel better, calmer... and he kinda needs us Snare. All of us. Ace looks at him like he's... I don't know... some sort of baggage, or an inconvenience. The only reason Pony's with us is cause of Lucky. He's not made for this kinda life.. I mean he's a tough kid, but he ain't Tuff, ya know?”

-His breath hitched as he buried his forehead against the tree and wanted to just cry. He left quickly before Soda or Snare could see him. He didn’t want them to see him cry or be a baby. Soda already thought he was just a kid. Just a fucking kid and he wasn’t even Tuff. He ran quickly from the spot needing to be away. For the next few days he seemed to avoid Soda a little bit and if Soda asked Pony would just shrug his shoulders but there was something obviously wrong. He said nothing. A day later Johnny joined them already a vampire and alone. From than on Pony had spent a lot more time with Johnny and a lot less with Soda. Johnny was quiet and nervous and seemed afraid of his own shadow. Him and Pony just hung out together. After a while Pony forgot. He couldn’t be mad at Soda for long and it wasn’t even that really. He just knew the vampire saw him as just a kid and he always would … he hadn’t a chance to win him … he just didn’t ….-