Cake, Pie, and Pony

Chapter Two

Four months later, I can't think of a moment in between now and then that I wasn't with Johnnycake. I even waited for him outside the bathroom for him, just in case I hear his screams from Socs. Never happened, but ya never know what could happen.

Walking with Johnny down the street, I start to hear yelling down the street. I look at Johnny, and we start running down the street to the Curtis house. Four Socs, with a red Mustang, were holding Pony down on the ground and put a blade on his neck. I look at Johnnycake, who's staying put. I do the same as I watch the rest of the gang chase the Socs away. Johnny started walking towards Pony's house, and I followed. The first person that greets us is Dally. "Heya Johnny. Hi Anniepie. How's it going, man?"

"Would be going better if the Socs stay on the South Side, where they belong," Johnny replies. Steve walked around us, saying "Yeah, ya won't need to worry about them, Johnny." I disagree, I thought. I can't stress enough about Socs. I looked over at Pony, who was following us. I looked at his bloody neck, which worried me so much that he was gonna collapse on the ground from blood loss. "I'm heading to the Nightly Double tomorrow, you guys wanna come?" Dally said. I look up at Johnny, and he says "Sure, Anniepie, ya wanna go?"

"Why not man, I love movies." Dally and Johnny look at Pony. "I suppose if it's not a school night."

That night, I start to have a nightmare. Ever since the jumping, I've been getting really bad nightmares of death. Like what if something worse happened to Johnny that day? What if he died? What if the Socs did something to me worse than hold me down and make me watch my brother bleed. No. Not possible. Watching that happen is the worst kind of torture anyone could do to me.

I wake up in the lot with Johnnycake, instead of at home. Our parents hit us. Abuse us. Tell us we were mistakes. That's why we stay at the lot. I'd rather stay at Darry, Pony, and Soda's house, but some nights Darry wouldn't let us because it was school nights. School was the only time and place we were apart because of the ten-year difference. 6 hours a day. 5 days a week. Whenever that happens, I have nowhere to go. I have nothing to do. I'm alone. I usually hide in the Dingo bathroom until school lets out, then I find Johnny at the lot. That's how paranoid I am to be alone for the past four months.

I look at Johnnycake, who's still asleep. The sky is still dark, and the lights around us are still turned off. I lay back down, but I can't fall asleep, and I don't wanna wake up Johnny, so I get up and walk around, thinking. I usually do this at night. If I can't sleep, I'll walk in a straight line so I can easily turn around and walk back. And as I walk, I do a lot of deep thinking, mostly the dream.

In that nightmare, The blue Mustang pulled over at us again. 50 Socs got out of that one little car and surrounded us. they all went after Johnny, and all of a sudden, a hand, my mom's hand, goes over my mouth, suffocating me until I wake up. I never have the same dream twice, each one worse than the last.

Then, the What-ifs swirl my head. I hate it when they do, but I can't help but think: What if these nightmares foreshadow something? What if we see that blue Mustang again? What if they beat us up again? What if they actually do something to me instead of just holding me down? What if I get a scar like Johnny's? What if Johnny's scar gets worse?

What if Johnny dies?

I always told myself that if Johnny died before I did, I would either sit next to his gravestone until I slowly died of thirst and hunger or bury myself next to his dead body, suffocating myself. If someone asked me what I was doing and why, I'd tell them "My whole life, there wasn't a single moment I wasn't with my brother. Why start now?"

"He's gone, honey," they'd tell me. "I'm aware." I'll respond. I always told myself if I leave his side for a moment, anything could happen, and no matter what, it'll be my fault. because I wouldn't be there for him. If I was there and something happened to him, unless it was Socs, it'll be my fault because I couldn't save him.

The what ifs and worst case scenarios end, and I turn around and go back to Johnny and fall asleep.