The Outsiders - Three Brothers

Face the music

"Go get mama's hairbrush." that one statement had all the blood leave Ponyboy's face. Their mother had an old wooden flatback hairbrush she kept in her dresser specifically to paddle her sons when they'd been extra naughty.

"Soda no! Please don't use that! Please! Can't you just use your hand?!" He immediately started begging.

"No. Ponyboy Curtis, you have really screwed up tonight. You've got a LIST of transgressions. This paddling is gonna cover all of them, and then you can go to bed knowing that everything is forgiven."

"But - but..." he was grasping, trying to find something to say that could possibly sway his brother. He'd only gotten that hairbrush once. And it had actually been from their mother - he'd gotten mad and said an ugly word accompanied with a massive tantrum. He was only nine at the time, and he concluded it had been the worst spanking of his life and would NEVER be on the receiving end of it again.

"You want to add more disobeying to tonight's whoopin' ?"

"No...Sir."

"Then go." Ponyboy gave a quick nod and went to complete his dreaded task.

When Pony was out of ear shot, Steve leaned forward and asked, "Y'all kept that thing?"

"Darry's idea, he kept dad's old leather belt too."

"Shit." Steve had felt the sting of both objects, the Curtis' were not afraid of punishing any child that misbehaved in their home. As much as the gang had hated it, they at least knew they had a set of parental figures to keep them in line and truly cared about them.

"Yeah. Darry hasn't had to use either on Pony yet, but he's found good reason to let me have it. Never thought I'd be strong enough to use one of 'em on Pony."

"About time you got serious with him."

"Its hard man. He's still just a little kid, and he's usually such a sweetheart. I hope this isn't puberty and making him a little rebel. I can't take spanking him, making him cry."

"Sweetheart?" Steve scoffed at that. "Kid just knows how to play ya'."

They heard Ponyboy shuffle back into the living room, and both turned to see him clutching the hairbrush with both hands. He was chewing his lip and staring at his feet as he made his way back to Sodapop. "Pick up your feet Ponyboy."

Pony looked up a little, his face said 'I'm already about to get the worst whooping known to man, now you want me to hurry to my death sentence?'. But he just gave a quiet "yessir" and walked faster. Good choice.

"Pants down, let's go." Sodapop grabbed the hairbrush from Ponyboy when the kid got close enough. Ponyboy gave one last sideway glance to Steve, he was still embarrassed that Steve had no plans on leaving for this. "Steve ain't gonna make fun of you. So stop fretting."

Ponyboy didn't answer, he didn't even acknowledge the statement. But he did get to work at tugging his sweats down to his ankles. Thankfully, Soda saved him the mortification of taking his underwear down himself - he simply put Ponyboy over his knee for the second time that night and then pulled the kid's underwear down. He let the kid squirm, trying to find a somewhat comfortable position. His bottom still a little sore from his warm-up spanking despite the fact that if wasn't even pink anymore. When he found the most comfortable position he was gonna get, Ponyboy stopped squirming and looked back at his big brother - he looked pitiful. "Are you gonna use it the WHOLE time?"

"Yes," Ponyboy turned and hung his head in defeat at the answer he received. Soda took a deep breath, he could do this. He raised his arm high, hairbrush in hand, and then let it fall with loud SMACK.

"YOW!" Ponyboy's head jerked up, he didn't care that Steve had looked right at him as he howled. Because dammit, that HURT!

"Don't even think about it little boy." Sodapop grabbed the hand that had reached to cover Ponyboy's bottom. Shit. 'Little boy' was only something Darry ever called Ponyboy when he was in big trouble. It made him feel a thousand times smaller.

"I'm sorry! YOW!" He kicked his legs at the second SMACK. His hands now held in place at the middle of his back by Soda. "It just hurts so bad! AH!" He felt tears in his eyes already and he was only three smacks in! He was gonna be bawling like a baby before they were half way done!

"You remember how bad this hurts next time you get an itchin' to be a little rebel." He landed three smacks in quick recession. Ponyboy squirmed and cried through each one, and he had tears falling down his face now. "Next time I'll whoop you in front of your little friends! See how grown up you feel then!"

"OWW OWW OW!" Pony really loved the theatrics. He hollered like Soda was killing him. His bottom ached and he thought it had to be bruised! In reality it was only just turning a deep pink now, it wasn't even red yet!

Ponyboy swore to himself that would never happen, he would never go to Buck's as long as he lived! He'd never even look at a bottle of beer. Hell, after tonight he may even throw away the cigarettes he'd been hiding in his desk!

Soda nearly stopped the paddling when Ponyboy started to cry brokenly. His shoulders were shaking and he was begging real hard. "Please Soda! Please! I can't take no more!" He'd only gotten ten good whacks, he still had ten to go, but he really believed he couldn't do it.

His cries only intensified when Soda shook away his own personal doubt and landed an eleventh smack. He had to do this, he HAD to finish this. If it were Darry he wouldn't let the kid off easy just cause he cried. Darry was so much better at this, Soda thought to himself as he landed another smack to his baby brother's bottom. His heart ached, it ached more than Pony's red bottom.

He tipped the boy forward, rewarding him access to Pony's sit spots and a desperate plea for mercy. "I don't EVER wanna have to do this again." His voice shook a little, threatening to break into his own cries.

Soda saw Steve looking at them, he knew his friend hated this too. As much as he acted like Ponyboy was just a bratty kid that tagged along for the ride, he did love the kid like he was his own brother. He didn't like seeing him crying either - and definitely didn't like seeing his best friend ready to cry. The waver in his voice didn't go unnoticed by Pony, who now felt even worse knowing how much his big brother was suffering too. "You won't!" He buried his face down into the couch and let out a strangled cry as his sit spots and thighs were targeted for the last of the spanking.

"Fuck -" Steve had to turn his head, and Sodapop noticed he wiped a tear away.

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis," he wanted his brother's full attention for what he said next - he knew it would really break the kid. He landed four smacks to the kid's thighs, turning them a pretty shade of pink before saying, "I have never been so disappointed with you in my life."

Yeah. That did it. Ponyboy wailed as loud as he could manage. Sodapop. His favorite big brother. Who always coddled him and tried to stick up for him when he could with Darry. His goofy, easy going, happy go lucky big brother - had just said he was disappointed in him. That hurt more than any hidin' he could ever get. "I'M SORRY SODA! PLEASE! PUH-OW!" He tried to speak through his crying. He dropped his head back down again and what he said next made Soda actually cry. "Please don't hate me."