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Ponyboy was currently sat in the living room, Two-Bit on the couch adjacent from him. Ponyboy had his face buried in a book while Two-Bit watched cartoons.
“Could you turn that down maybe?” Ponyboy asked, taking a peek from his book to level his glare at Two-Bit. Pony had had a splitting headache for two days now and the astronomical volume of the TV was not helping. Two-Bit stole a glance over at Pony and just smirked. He then proceeded to turn the volume to the TV up a few decibels. Ponyboy groaned and slammed his book down into his lap. Two-Bit laughed maniacally at Ponyboy’s suffering. Pony craned his head to look out the window of their home to see Sodapop and Steve’s progress on Darry’s truck. The engine of Darry’s truck recently crapped out and Sodapop and Steve have made it their mission to get it back into commission again. Meanwhile, Darry was in his bedroom showering after attempting his hand at helping them which resulted in oil being spilled all over his tuff white shirt and all down his arms, courtesy of Steve. When Darry had walked into the house, black oil running down his entire torso, Pony and Two-Bit couldn’t help but chuckle. Darry, of course, ended up snapping at them and threatened their dinner, which earned a gasp from Two-Bit. Seeing Soda leaning under the hood of the car, peeking inside and Steve underneath the car, Pony knew they would still be a while. Pony returned his look back over to Two-Bit’s cartoons, almost willing the TV to just turn itself off. He robotically reached a hand up to his eyes, massaging them, to no avail. At a loss, Pony leaned his head back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling. The thought of dinner in the near future made Pony nauseous as he sat there. Two-Bit glanced over at Pony, doing a double take.
“You okay there, Pone?” he asked, resorting his gaze back to the screen. Pony nodded his head.
“Pony. Dude, you alright?” Two-Bit questioned. Pony lifted his head and made eye contact.
“I nodded my head yes. I’m all good, man,” Pony said, leaning his head back again. Two-Bit continued to stare at Pony, not convinced. He reached for the remote and turned the TV off.
“If you had told me you weren’t feelin well, I would have done that earlier,” Two-Bit said, tossing the remote off to the side of the couch. Pony lifted his head back up.
“Two-Bit, really, I’m fine. Turn your toons back on, I’m gonna go hop in the shower anyways before dinner,” Pony said, sitting up and immediately regretting it. A flood of nausea and dizziness hit him all at once and a wave of warmth glossed its way over his body. His eyes grew wide for a second as his body seemed to revolt against itself and he grew shaky. Two-Bit eyed him wearily.
“Mhm, you’re real convincing there, Pone. You look like death glazed over. Sit your ass down and I’m going to go get you some water and holler at Soda,” Two-Bit said, hiking himself up off of the couch. As he walked past Ponyboy, Ponyboy grabbed Two-Bit’s wrist. His hands were shaking and sweating so much Pony was afraid he might lose his grip.
“No, don’t get Soda, he’s in the middle of somethin,” Pony said, putting his head down and closing his eyes to try and gain control of his body. Two-Bit gently removed his wrist from Pony’s hold and kneeled down in front of Pony.
“Pony, what’s goin on? You’re slurring your words and you’re real pale. You’re startin to freak me out,” he said, leaning his head down a bit to try and see Pony’s face in order to gage what was happening. Two-Bit stood up and placed his hand on Pony’s shoulder and listened intently to see if he could hear the sound of the shower. The shower was still going, so hollering at Darry was not an option, neither was going to get him, unless Two-Bit wanted his ass kicked. Not to mention Two-Bit didn’t want to leave Pony’s side in case anything was to happen to him. As he racked his brain for options, he felt all of Ponyboy’s weight shift forward into him. He instinctively threw his arms out and tried to steady Pony.
“Woah woah woah, Pony? Dude, you alright?” Two-Bit asked as he tried to maneuver Pony’s weight so he could get a look at him, but Two-Bit soon realized Pony was completely deadweight.
“Shit, shit, shit. You have got to be kidding me, Pony,” Two-Bit said, attempting to hold Pony’s weight all the while pushing the coffee table out of the way so he could lay him down on the ground. Once the coffee table was out of the way, Two-Bit tried his best to lay Pony gently on the ground.
“Okay, okay, okay, what do I do? Okay, is he breathin?” Two-Bit asked himself aloud as he put his ear to Pony’s chest.
“Alright, check. C’mon Pone, you’re freakin me out, man. Darry’s gonna be pissed when he walks out and sees you like this,” Two-Bit said, trying to scare Pony into getting up. Two-Bit hoped that at any moment Ponyboy would just jump up and scream, “Gotcha!”
“Alright, Pony, I’m goin to get Soda,” Two-Bit said, but right as he got one foot underneath him to haul himself to his feet, Pony made a whimpering noise and his body tensed.
“Pony, buddy, you with me? What’s goin on, you hurt?” Two-Bit asked, hands resting on Pony’s chest. Pony’s breaths started becoming labored as he let out another whimper. With no warning, Ponyboy’s body started convulsing. His whole body was rigid, and his breaths came out choked.
“Holy shit, Pony! Dude… what the hell?!” Two-Bit exclaimed, at a complete loss at what to do. He had no first aid training therefore he had absolutely no knowledge as to what to do in a situation like this. He grabbed Pony’s arms, trying to hold them down.
“Soda! Darry! Steve! Somebody, I need somebody! Somebody help!” Two-Bit yelled, tears springing to his eyes as he glanced a look at Pony’s face, absolute terror running through his veins. His friend looked terrible and in pain, and Two-Bit hated to see him in such a state. Pony’s lips started to turn blue and Two-Bit let out a choked sob as he prayed any one of the boys would show up. As soon as Two-Bit’s cry for help left his mouth, chaos erupted. Sodapop lifted his head out from under the hood of the car so fast, smashing his head against it, letting out a curse as he did so. Steve shuffled about underneath the car, hurrying to get himself out.
“What the hell was that?!” Steve yelled; frustration evident in his voice. Sodapop rubbed his head as he tried to gather his bearings. He shook his head, and then sprinted into the house, not even sparing a glance back at his friend. Meanwhile in the house, as soon as Two-Bit finished his plea, the sound of the shower being slammed off was heard, echoing through the house. Tumbling around could be heard as Darry moved as quickly as he could to put on his sweatpants and a t-shirt and get out of the bathroom as soon as possible. As Sodapop sprinted into the house, he took in his surroundings, looking for the source of the cry. His eyes landed on the top of Two-Bit’s head behind the couch, and as he made his way over, he was met with something he had never expected to see. He thought maybe Two-Bit and Pony had gotten into a fight or had broken something, but what was actually occurring was way worse. His baby brother was convulsing on the floor of their living room, his choked breaths filling the tense air. Soda let out an unintelligible noise as he kicked into gear and collapsed at Ponyboy’s side.
“Oh my god, Ponyboy… holy shit, Pony!” Soda said, hands hovering in the air, unsure of what to do. Steve barreled inside shortly after, cursing under his breath but was immediately silent when he saw what was happening. He turned around and ran into the kitchen, running straight to the phone to ring for an ambulance.
“What do we do? What do we do? Holy shit, can he breathe?! Why are his lips blue?!” Soda let out a series of questions, pure panic flowing through his body, hindering his ability to think straight. Two-Bit just shook his head profusely, not knowing what to say.
“I don’t-…” Two-Bit started but was interrupted by a door slamming against the wall as it was thrown open.
“What’s going on? Is everyone okay?” Darry exclaimed as he finished pulling his shirt down his chest. He walked past Steve on the phone, who was relaying their address to the operator. Darry quickened his pace and turned the corner. His stone-cold demeanor started crumbling as soon as he took in what was happening.
“Oh my god…” he mumbled as he numbly made his way over to the scene. He refused to let himself fall apart when Ponyboy so desperately needed him. He slid to the floor and pushed Two-Bit off of Pony, causing him to lose his hold on Pony’s arms as he fell backwards.
“You can’t hold him down like that, we need to get him on his side,” Darry instructed, maneuvering his way to where Two-Bit was just located and turning Ponyboy onto his left side, struggling with how tense Ponyboy was.
“Dar, I don’t think he can breathe…” Soda said, his voice cracking, feeling helpless in the situation. Darry leaned over Ponyboy and brushed his hair out of his face to get a look. Frowning at what he saw, he started rubbing Ponyboy’s back.
“Him being on his side should help him to breathe a little better,” Darry said, one hand rubbing Pony’s back while the other held him in place on his side. Ponyboy’s convulsions started to slow just as Steve reappeared behind Sodapop, looming above him. He placed a hand on Soda’s shoulder in comfort as Soda sobbed. Two-bit sat back a few feet away, tears running down his face as guilt consumed him. He hadn’t known he wasn’t supposed to hold Pony down like that. Darry has seemed mighty pissed about it, from the force of his push. Two-Bit tried to remind himself that it was Darry’s baby brother, and he was seizing on the floor. Knowing the fear he felt himself, he couldn’t imagine the fear Darry had felt upon seeing that.
“C’mon, Pone, breathe for me, baby, breathe,” Darry said, rubbing Ponyboy’s back as his spasms almost completely stopped, now coming in short bursts. Pony’s body went lax as the seizure finished. No breath came from Ponyboy once the seizure finished and the room was dead silent.
“Darry, why isn’t he breathing?!” Soda exclaimed, hand clutching Pony’s hand which lay limp beside him. Darry thumped his hand on Pony’s back a few times.
“He just needs to catch his breath is all. C’mon Pony, breathe for us, baby, you’re scaring your brother,” Darry said, no one quite sure if he was talking about himself or Soda. His demeanor portrayed strength and fearlessness, but his eyes gave him away. They showed worry, confusion, fear, and frustration. Darry’s body tensed up as Ponyboy continued to stay limp and not draw in air.
“Pony, honey, please, you gotta breathe,” Soda pleaded, hands on Ponyboy’s face as he stroked Pony’s cheeks. Darry delivered a few more thumps to Pony’s back, but alas, still nothing. Soda let out another sob as he begged his baby brother. Darry maneuvered himself in such a way to start CPR on Ponyboy, when Pony suddenly let out a strangled gasp, taking in as much air as he could get. Soda cried out in relief as he ran his hand through Pony’s hair. Darry let out a sigh of relief as his hand squeezed Pony’s shoulder. These strangled gasps continued for a few seconds from Ponyboy as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. Darry motioned for Sodapop to switch him sides to work with Ponyboy as he recovered.
“Pone, can you hear me? Are you with me?” Darry asked in a voice so gentle that Two-Bit and Steve were taken aback. Sodapop payed no mind to it though, for he was used to it. This was a tone Darry only ever used with him and Ponyboy, when they were sick or hurt. Ponyboy let out a whine as he attempted to move his arm.
“No, no, no, baby, don’t try to move. You’re okay, just calm down,” Darry soothed, grabbing a hold of the hand from the arm Pony attempted to move. Darry ran his other hand down Ponyboy’s arm in a comforting motion as Sodapop continued to run his hand through Pony’s hair. Pony let out a moan.
“Do you think he’s hurt, Dar?” Sodapop asked, looking up at Darry. Darry kept his eyes on Ponyboy as he answered.
“I think he’s just trying to get his bearings back. He’s probably still pretty out of it. Two-Bit, did he hit his head or anything on his way down?” Darry asked, glancing back at Two-Bit. Two-Bit shot his head up, shaking his head back and forth.
“No, no, not at all. I had him the whole way down,” Two-Bit replied, sniffling and rubbing his nose. Sodapop was relieved Two-Bit had been inside with Pony when all of this went down, for he didn’t want to know what could have happened if Two-Bit were not there.
“Hey, Pone, do you know who’s talking to you?” Darry asked, rubbing his hand across Pony’s forehead lovingly. Pony moaned and his eyebrows drew together.
“D-Darr…y…” Pony mumbled, licking his lips. A small smile graced Darry’s lips as he drew in a breath.
“Yeah, baby, it’s me, I’m right here,” Darry said, squeezing Pony’s hand.
“S…S-Soda?” Pony mumbled. It seemed to be taking everything out of him to talk. The blue tint in his lips was slowly but surely starting to disappear. Soda chuckled and sniffled as he leaned over Ponyboy and kissed his cheek. He kept his head there for a second, resting his nose on Pony’s cheek.
“Yeah, honey, I’m here. You scared the shit out of me, little buddy,” Soda said, squeezing his eyes shut as tears slid down his cheeks. He sat back up and wiped his tears away. Darry made eye contact with Soda briefly and reached a hand out to squeeze his arm. Soda nodded at Darry and rubbed Pony’s shoulder.
“Where is that damn ambulance?” Steve uttered, stomping out of the house to watch for it. He needed to get out of there before any of the gang noticed him crying. That little shit had scared him shitless, but Steve would never admit that. Everyone believed Steve couldn’t stand Ponyboy, and Steve intended to keep that narrative going. He would never admit he had a soft spot for the kid. Inside, Darry and Sodapop continued to soothe their baby brother as they racked their brains as to what could have possibly caused Ponyboy to have a seizure. As the sirens made their way down the street towards the Curtis brothers’ household, the gang collectively breathed a sigh of relief. For Ponyboy’s health would now be in good hands, but until then, always, Two-Bit, Steve, and his loyal brothers Darry and Sodapop, would always be there to protect him.