Dallas Winston Has A Sister? 2 (Outsiders Fanfic)

Frustrating

"What's with you, Pony?" Soda asked his little brother as he came into the living room, where Pony had been sitting almost all day, doing nothing.

"Nothing," Pony snapped.

"Come on, you've been crabby for three days.  Tell me what's going on," Soda commanded, but his voice was calm and understanding, not demanding like Darry's.

Pony sighed and answered, "It's been five days.  I've been crabby for five days cause Tara and I got in this huge fight and she hasn't talked to me since," he admitted.

"I'm sorry.  I thought I noticed something different between you two, but I've been so busy with work that I didn't have a chance to talk to you.  What'd you get in a fight about?" Soda asked in that same tone he always used when he was trying to help Pony figure out his problems.

"About her getting in so many fights.  It seems like every time I see her she's got another bruise or cut from picking a fight.  In the last two weeks she's been in like ten of them, and already three this week," Ponyboy exaggerated slightly.  "I hate seeing her hurt, and I worry about what could have gone wrong or will go wrong next time all the time.  She never listens, and it's just—" he stopped and let out an exasperated sigh.  "It's so frustrating sometimes!  She's so frustrating sometimes and I just don't know what to do anymore!" Pony exclaimed.

"Well you could try explaining yourself to her," Soda suggested.

"I did, but she won't listen, and now she won't talk to me even.  She keeps saying she doesn't need me to protect her and tell her what to do all the time like Dally does," Pony continued ranting.

"But you're worried about her and don't want to see anything happen to her," Soda finished, because he knew that's exactly what his brother would have said next.  "I keep thinking she's going to break up with me first," Pony mumbled miserably, staring at the floor.

The screen door opened and then clattered closed after Dally and Tara came in.  Pony glanced up hopefully at his girlfriend, who pretended not to see him, but when he caught her gaze she glared at him.

Soda sighed, in a split second glancing between the laser glare Tara shot at Pony and the wounded look on his face before grabbing her arm and pulling her outside, only acknowledging Dally with a "Hey Dal," called over his shoulder.

She was so surprised she didn't even pull herself out of his grasp till they were on the porch, but then her ice-cold eyes were turned on him.

"Okay, you need to stop this," Soda said firmly.

"What?" Tara asked in a tone that implied she thought he was crazy.

"You're torturing Ponyboy!" Sodapop exclaimed, distressed.

"First off, I haven't left a single mark on his body, and secondly, when did this become your business?" she demanded harshly, immediately catching on.

"It became my business when you refused to talk to him and he's done nothing productive for five days because of it!" Soda said loudly, paraphrasing what Pony had said as he splayed his fingers on one hand to illustrate five.

She raised an eyebrow and got that amused look on her face when she was about to say something smart.

"Wow, productive.  Big word for you, Soda, and I see you can count, too," she replied in a mocking sarcastic tone, denigrating Soda instead of addressing the problem at hand like she was prone to do when she was uncomfortable with the situation.

Soda let out a frustrated noise that was a mix between a growl and a sigh, running his hand through his hair and totally seeing Pony's point, but he had to fix this for his brother.

"Tara, seriously.  You know he lo-cares," Soda quickly modified his choice of words, "about you, a lot.  The least you could do is not try and get yourself killed every day," he gestured to her newly-black eye that was definitely from today.

"I don't try to get myself killed, I try to keep myself from killing people that don't deserve it," she answered evenly through gritted teeth.

"People you care about," Soda said what he knew she had meant, or maybe wanted, to say, but didn't.

She gave him a suspicious you-did-not-just-say-that look, but he did it again, adding, "Like Ponyboy."

A defeated expression flashed across her face before she averted her eyes, turning away and crossing her arms over her chest.

He barely heard her repeat softly, "Like Ponyboy," agreeing with him.

"Just go talk to him at least," Soda insisted.

With a low growl, she went back inside, muttering, "Since when did you become a marriage counselor?"

He smiled to himself, following after her and opting to watch from the kitchen with Dally who had that typical amused smirk that matched his sister's on his face.

Standing in front of Pony, Tara gave her version of an apology, "I'm still pissed at you, but I guess the silent treatment is over cause Soda claimed I was torturing you," she stated flatly.

Pony's confusion turned to relief before he said, "Thank you.  And I'm-I'm sorry."

Tara glanced at the floor and then mumbled, "I guess I should be the one apologizing for getting so mad at you," she admitted before meeting his eyes again, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop hitting every person I see all the sudden," she joked, sarcastic again and offering a small half-smirk.

Soda and Dally, still watching from the kitchen, glanced at each other, and then Dal smiled and shook his head, saying, "I thought your brother would break my sister's heart, but it looks like it might be the other way around."

"Let's hope it doesn't happen anytime soon," Soda remarked as he continued watching them.

Pony gingerly reached up and touched the bruise forming around her eye, and she drew back but then asked, sarcastically once again, "Don't you like it?  Now it matches the other one."

He grinned at her, and Soda and Dally laughed softly from the kitchen doorway.