Truth Or Dare 4: One Year Later
Ponyboy Curtis sighed as he looked outside. It was already dark out, and it was only around 5pm. The rain came down in bucket loads and the wind whipped the few trees in sight back and fourth as the lightening crackled and the thunder boomed overhead.
Pony thought back to about a year ago, before Johnny and Dally died. He remembered the few games of Truth Or Dare they used to have. The memory made him grin.
Pony remembered the things he found out. Of course now, Darry didn't do that sort of thing anymore, well, at least Pony didn't think so. Soda still used what he called "look boosters" when really, they were beauty products. He'd gotten over that one a while ago, though.
Just then he realised something: Johnny never got a personal question, ever. Johnny had been about to answer his question when the guys had walked in the first time, and he only got asked about which girl he preferred the second time.
"That son of a-" Pony began, but stopped himself. Even thinking about Johnny made him feel sad. The pain was still raw.
Pony began counting the seconds between the flashes of lightening, but after a while even that got boring. Sure, it was something he and Soda sometimes did, but that day seemed so.. depressing.
He turned from the window and counted heads. Two-Bit, Soda and Steve were all watching tv, Soda on the floor and the other two sitting on the couch. Pony had half a mind to join them, but decided against it. He had a better idea.
"Hey guys," Pony said as he sat down next to Soda.
"Hey kid, finally decided to join us, huh? What's outside that's more interestin' than watching tv with us?" Two-Bit asked, ruffling Pony's hair.
Pony shook his head free of Two-Bit's hand. "Oh nothin', I was just.. thinkin'," he replied, leaning against Two-Bit's legs.
"Yeah, about what?" Soda asked, turning to Ponyboy. Pony noticed that Soda seemed to take a lot more interest with his feelings these days.
"About how borin' this program is," Pony began, turning to the tv.
"I'll say, what did you have in mind?" Steve asked, getting up to turn the tv off.
"A game."
"Oh?"
"A game.. of truth or dare?"
The other three stared at him.
"You're not serious, right?" Two-Bit asked, grinning.
"Deadly."
"You do remember how much of a mess that turned out to be, right? When Johnny and Dal were.. I mean-"
"You can talk about it, Soda. When Johnny and Dally were here, you mean." Pony looked his older brother in the eye.
"Well yeah, I guess."
Pony grinned half-heartedly. "I want to play. If not for the boredom, for their sake."
"Let's play, I say!" Two-Bit exclaimed, and began pushing the couch to the backwall.
Steve helped by pushing the vacant arm chair back.
"You can hardly say no now," Pony replied, smiling.
"Oh, alright!" Soda threw his arms in the air.
"Good on you, Sodie. Do we have a bottle somewhere?" Steve scanned the room for an empty beer bottle.
"Here's one!" Two-Bit exclaimed, holding one up.
"I'm not even gonna ask where you found that," Soda commented as he sat down.
"Do you realise that we've never actually done any dares playin' this game?" Pony asked, and the other laughed.
"Really? We might as well call it 'Truth' cause that's all we ever do," Two-Bit replied airily as he spread his legs infront of him.
"Let's make a vow right now that at least one of us will pick dare," Steve suggested as Two-Bit spun the bottle.
"Fine."
"It looks like it's pointing to you Pony.. truth or dare?"
Pony sighed. "As long as it isn't too gruesome, dare."
Two-Bit grinned. "I dare you to drink a can on beer."
Pony looked at Soda. "Can he even do that?"
Soda shrugged. "You've drunk before, haven't you?"
Pony nodded. "Fine. I'll be right back."
The other three waited as Pony got out a can.
"You never said I had to skull it or anything, so I'm gonna just take my time," Pony added before Two-Bit could say anything.
"Fine, fine," Two-Bit shrugged, motioning for Pony to spin the bottle.
It pointed more or less at Steve.
"Right, um, truth or dare?"
"Truth, it's what me mostly pick anyway, right?"
"Okay, um.. when did you lose it?" Pony quickly asked the first thing that popped into his head.
"It?" Steve asked, although he understood perfectly well what Pony was asking.
"Yeah, it."
Steve grinned. "When I was 14, some broad named Delaney.. I remember her name 'cause it reminds me of Dally's name."
The four went quiet at the mention of Dallas' name, but Pony quickly responded.
"14?"
"You're the one that asked, kid," Steve grinned as he spun the bottle.
It pointed at Two-Bit.
"Truth or dare, Mathews?"
"Dare, Randle."
"I dare you to run down the street naked."
Two-Bit grinned. "Fine."
Soda laughed. "You're seriously gonna do it? In the rain?"
Two-Bit peeled off his shirt. "Watch me."
The other looked away awkwardly as Two-Bit undressed himself.
"It's nothin' you ain't seen before, Steve." Two-Bit winked at him as he passed.
Steve slapped the back of his head. "In your dreams."
"So where am I running up to?"
Steve scanned the street. "Uh.. that lamp post is good."
Two-Bit smiled. "That isn't that far."
"Not the first one, the third one."
"Fine."
Two-Bit took a deep breath before running starch naked out into the street.
The boys laughed as he waved his arms while he ran. "I feel ALIVE!" they heard him yell a feel houses away.
"He is such an idiot." Soda rolled his eyes as they watched the "show".
Pony sipped his beer, enjoying the entertainment.
Two-Bit touched the third lamp post before running back to the Curtis house, dripping wet and panting.
"No sweat," Two-Bit breathed heavily as he wandered into the bathroom to grab a towel.
"Not bad, Mathews. We'll have to make your next dare a bit harder."
"Bring it on!"
Two-Bit redressed and they all sat back down again.
Two-Bit spun the bottle and, as if by luck, it pointed to Soda.
"Truth or dare, Curtis?"
"I'm gonna have to go with truth. Don't feel like gettin' wet all that much."
"Fine.. if Dally and Johnny's funerals weren't joint, and you had to pick one to go to, who's would you go to?"
The other three froze, and Pony tensed up.
Two-Bit then realised what he'd just asked.
"I'm sorry Soda, it just came out, I can change my que-"
"No, it's alright. I'm gonna answer."
"Okay.."
"I'd go to Johnny's first, then go to Dally's halfway through. That way I'd spend half and half at each."
Two-Bit nodded, not knowing what to say.
Pony was holding his tongue from telling Soda that it didn't work that way, and he'd only be allowed to choose one.
"Your turn to spin the bottle!" Steve said over-cheerfully, trying to brighten the mood.
Soda spun it silently. It pointed to Pony.
"Truth or dare, Pone?"
Pony took a quick sip of beer. "Truth."
"Okay.. if you were a girl, what would you liked to have been named? You can't say "Ponygirl"."
Pony rolled his eyes. "'Cause that's really what I was gonna say. Okay, I would like to be called... Hagitha."
The boys burst out laughed. "Hagitha? Where the hell did you get that from?"
Pony tried to hide his grin. "There's a girl in my science class called Hagitha."
"'Lemme guess, and she's a fat, ugly Soc, right?"
"How could you tell?"
Soda shook his head. "You dream girl. Spin it Pony."
Pony swatted Soda's arm as he put his beer down and spun the bottle.
It pointed at Two-Bit.
"Goody! Truth or dare, Two-Bit?"
"I'm gonna have to go with truth this time. I don't wanna catch a cold."
"Okay.. what about your first time? I want details."
"God, Pony, why do you even want to know?"
"Just.. wondering.."
Soda looked at his little brother critically.
"Well, if you MUST know, I was 15."
"And..?"
"I can't remember the rest. I was absolutely wasted."
"Well that says a lot about you then, doesn't it?" Pony rolled his eyes as Two-Bit spun the bottle.
It pointed at Soda.
"Truth," Soda said before Two-Bit could even ask.
Two-Bit grinned. "Since we're talking about first times.. Soda?"
Soda groaned. "Not while Pony is here."
Pony rolled his eyes. "I'm not a kid, Soda. I can handle it."
"Pony, there are just some things that you just don't tell your younger siblings," Soda said patiently.
"Yet you tell me when I lose it that I should go straight to you and tell you about it?" Pony replied, frustrated.
Soda grinned. "Sorry bud, not while you're in here."
"Well, if Soda won't talk, I will," Steve grinned, ignoring the look Soda gave him.
"I'm not sitting here while you tell my little brother. Yell when you're done," Soda replied, giving in and racing out of the room.
"Gee, he wasn't embarrassed or anything," Two-Bit offered sarcastically.
"Shut up Two-Bit. Well, he was thirteen-"
"FIFTEEN!"
"Fine then, fifteen when he lost it. He was having a foursome-"
"What?!" Pony interrupted, choking on his beer.
"THREESOME!!" the same shout came from the kitchen. Two-Bit bit back a sarcastic comment.
"Fucken hell Soda, are you gonna let me tell this or not? Or do you want to tell it to these two idiots yourself?"
There was no response, so Steve continued.
"He was fifteen and he was having a threesome with.. uh.. what were their names again, Soda?"
"KERI AND ALEX!"
"Thanks. Keri and Alex, and they were having a threesome.. it was their first times, too."
"Oh, gross. I think I'm gonna be sick." Pony put his beer down a minute.
"What would Superman do if he ever find out?" Two-Bit wondered out loud, and with that Soda came storming back in.
"We're not gonna know, because Darry isn't gonna know, right?"
"What am I not gonna know?"
Everyone turned to see Darry, tired and dripping wet onto the carpet, standing in the doorway.
"T-that I was planning to give you a suprise back massage! Damn you Steve for telling," Soda quickly replied, grabbing Darry's car keys and belt from his hand. "Pony, get the man a beer."
Pony scrambled into the kitchen, hiding his own can to his side. Darry didn't notice, he was too busy stripping off his shirt and flinging it into the washing basket and laying on the couch, face into the arm.
--
As Pony got ready for bed that night, he suddenly remembered the promise he made to Johnny a year ago.
"Johnny?"
"Yeah, Pony?"
"Let's promise to never play truth or dare in this house ever again."
"Amen to that."
Pony said, spitting out the water in his mouth into the sink. Placing his toothbrush back into the glass, he quickly made his way to the bedroom him and Soda shared.
Soda was sound asleep, or so Pony thought.
Pony slipped into bed, but couldn't get to sleep because his thoughts kept creeping back to the promise.
"Pony? You cold?" Soda asked in a muffled voice.
"No. Go back to sleep."
Soda sighed sleepily, turning over.
Pony felt sleep taking over him.
"I'm sorry Johnny, we had to play one more game. For you."
At that moment he thought he could see Johnny standing right there at the foot of the bed. That moment he saw Johnny standing there, grinning at him, he felt totally at peace. He thought he saw Johnny nod his head. It was as if Johnny was telling him that everything was okay. The moment of total peace was quickly ruined, though.
"What was that, Pony?"
"Nothing," Pony replied, sending a quick look over at Soda before looking back at Johnny. Johnny was gone.
"Okay, good night then."
Pony grinned. "Good night, Soda."
--
DAS ENDE
--
For Erin, Keri and Laney. Written by Erica Curtis (Erin's twin sister.) My first story ever, and since I don't have an account, I'm posting it on Erin's.