Request by Demigod-Wizard-Gatekeeper
Summary: Two-Bit's six-year-old little sister was being bullied in school and needed someone to comfort her, but Two-Bit is hardly ever home. He's always at the Curtis's house. But it was only a matter of time before he will notice that something is bothering her.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.
o-o-o
Two-Bit started noticing that something was wrong with his little sister, Susie, when she came home from school with gum in her hair. When he asked her what happened, she pushed by him without a word and walked into her room. At that time, Two-Bit didn't think much about it. He just shrugged his shoulders and exited the house to hang out with the gang. If something was really bothering her, she would tell him, he told himself.
The next big clue was when Two-Bit saw bruises on her skin. Her palms and knees were also scraped up from falling. He just passed it off as small injuries received from playing outside. Children were clumsy and reckless after all. They always tend to end up being covered in scratches.
The final clue was her change in attitude. As Two-Bit was slipping on his shoes to leave again, Susie walked out of the bathroom and was heading back to her room. She had been spending a lot of time cooped up in there recently. Susie had her eyes cast downwards; her legs were moving as fast as they could without it looking like she was running.
"Hey, Susie," Two-Bit called out, halting her in her track. She looked up with an almost started expression before her eyes went blank. Well, not totally blank. Even though Susie tried to cover up what she was feeling, it was clear that something was bothering her.
"What?" she asked with an annoyed pitch to her tone. One of Two-Bit's eyebrows rose in shock. He never heard Susie talk to him like or with anyone. She was always a sweet, little girl who had the world gleaming in her eyes. Her entire aura screamed youthful innocence… but, now… she looked sad and detached, and six-year-olds were too young to be feeling that. Two-Bit didn't even know six-year-olds could be like that. He wondered what happened, but they never kept secrets from each other, so it was probably a short time thing… probably. She was a tough kid. She probably had whatever it is under control, at least, that's what Two-Bit hoped. He preferred Susie's bubbly personality over this.
It seemed that Two-Bit didn't answer her in time, so she asked another question. "Are you going to their house?"
'Their' meant the Curtis house. Two-Bit nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to be back late tonight. Why?"
If possible, the look on her face grew sadder. She looked at her feet. "Nothing."
She started to walk to her room and that's when Two-Bit knew that there was something wrong with her. She always shared everything with him. "Wait!" he called out and she stopped again but didn't turn around. "Is something wrong?"
"No," she replied without missing a beat, closing the door behind her. Two-Bit frowned, knowing that she lied. Susie never lied to him. She was the most honest person he knew. Something was definitely wrong, and it was big.
Two-Bit closed the front door, forgetting about hanging out with his friends. There were more important matters to take care of. The gang would understand. He walked over to Susie's door, tapping his knuckles against the wood. "Susie? Can you open up?"
There was no answer so Two-Bit tried again, but with a more forceful voice. "Open up! This is the police!" He was hoping that he could get a small laugh from that but was fruitless.
"Go away!" she screamed back at him. Sighing, Two-Bit turned the doorknob, thankful that their doors didn't have any locks. He entered the room and was instantly met with a stuffed animal being thrown at his face. He stepped to the side before it could hit him. "I told you to go away!"
"I'm not going to leave you alone. What's wrong?"
Susie crossed her arms, slightly pouting. "Nothing."
Another lie. What's up with all of the lying recently? It didn't seem like she was going to confess anything. She was serious about keeping whatever was wrong a secret. Two-Bit was going to get nowhere if he continued this way. Again, Two-Bit sighed before he jerked his head. "Come on, let's go."
That caught Susie off guard. "Go where?"
Two-Bit shrugged. "The park? I know you like going to the park."
He was hopeful that Susie would agree but she shook her head stubbornly. "No! I don't want to go."
"Yes, you do," Two-Bit decided for her, walking over to her. He scooped her up in his arms, holding onto her tightly as she thrashed around wildly. Her arms flailed around and her legs weakly kicked at Two-Bit.
"No, I don't! Let me go! Mom! Help! Mommy!"
"She's taking a nap and took a sleeping pill." Two-Bit repositioned her so that she was draped over one of his shoulders. "Come on, we're going. You don't have a choice."
After a little bit more struggling, Susie calmed down, giving up in her attempt to escape Two-Bit's iron hold. It didn't look like he was going to let go. Two-Bit carried her to his car, hopping into the driver's side and dropping her next to him. He started up the car and it sputtered to life after a few tries. Thankful that the beat-up car decided to run today, he backed out of the driveway and headed towards the park.
The ride there was awkward. Both of them fell into an uncomfortable silence. The atmosphere was so thick that someone wouldn't be able to cut it with a saw. Two-Bit tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, constantly looking over at Susie who was watching people pass by from the window.
At the park, a few kids were already playing, running around without a care in the world. Two-Bit paid them no attention, leading his sister to the empty swing set and sitting her down. He sat in the other swing next to her, gently rocking himself back and forth with his heels. The two of them fell into a silence, just sitting there.
"Susie, what's wrong?" Two-Bit asked after a while. His voice was soft and not boisterous like it usually was.
Susie stared stubbornly forward, petite hands clenching the chains of the swings. "Nothing."
"I can tell that something's up. Tell me. We always tell each other everything."
The girl shot Two-Bit a look. "Why do you care?" she snapped, shocking Two-Bit again.
"I care because you're my sister."
"Well, you don't act like my big brother." Tears sprung from her eyes and she turned her head away quickly, hoping that Two-Bit didn't see. He did. He almost missed it, but he did.
"Hey, are you crying?" Two-Bit pointed out, standing up from the swings only to kneel in front of Susie. He reached up to wipe the tears away, brushing some of her hair away at the same time so that they wouldn't stick to her face. "Don't cry. Tell me why you would believe that… why you believe that I'm not doing good at my job. You know that I'll listen to you no matter what."
Susie hesitated. She opened her mouth before closing it. Tears were now falling from her eyes. "It's just…" Her voice was quiet, almost inaudible from all of the screaming kids that were around them. "It's just… You're never there anymore."
Two-Bit blinked. He wasn't expecting her to say that. What was she talking about? He chuckled a bit, thinking that it was just a misunderstanding. "What do you mean? I'm always there."
She shook her head, whining. "No, you're not! You're always with your friends. You don't pay attention to me. You don't play with me anymore. What happened to just Keith and Susie?"
The small smile slowly slipped off of his face. So that was it. Now that Two-Bit thought about it, he was only home during the night when Susie is asleep or in the morning before she could really, truly wake up. He sees her almost every day, but he stopped connecting with her. She probably thought he outgrew her or didn't like her anymore. "Oh…" was all Two-Bit managed to say. "I'm sorry… I didn't know."
"Do you even care about me anymore?" More fat tears fell from Susie's eyes and Two-Bit wiped them away again.
"Of course, I do!" Two-Bit stammered. "I care about you so much, Susie—more than you realize. You got that? You're my favorite girl in the world. I just… Why… Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"I tried! I tried but you were never home. You're always at their house."
He is always at the Curtis house, Two-Bit admitted to himself. It was his second home and it was a place where he could just let loose and become as wild as he wants. He loves hanging out with the gang, so much so that they were practically his family. He spends day and night there, crashing on their couch way more times than he would like to admit. They made every day new and fun… but there was a price to that that he didn't know until then: his blood family. He subconsciously chose one group over the other, and now his sister is suffering because of him.
"Oh…" Two-Bit licked his chapped lips. He was a terrible person. "I'm sorry… I've been a bad brother, haven't I?"
"Stupid brother!"
"Yeah…" He chuckled, although it was breathy and halfhearted. He smiled gently to help sooth Susie. At the sight of it, she loosened her grip on the chains of the swing. Her body relaxed but she still kept up a stubborn façade. Two-Bit knew that she was a lot happier though and that's all that mattered. "Stupid brother. I should have noticed."
"Yeah, you should have."
"Well, how about this? I can't be with you all the time, but I promise you that I will spend more time with you, okay?"
Susie squinted her eyes suspiciously and Two-Bit had to admit that it was adorable. She held out her pinky finger. "Pinky swear?"
Two-Bit almost chuckled before he hooked his finger with hers. "I pinky swear."
"Good, it's sealed." She laughed and Two-Bit felt his heart swell. He loved it when she smiled and laughed. But something was still off about it. She still looked like she was hiding something. "That's not everything, is it?"
And just like that, her smile fell from her lips. She shook her head, looking back to the ground.
"What else?" he asked, but Susie kept her lips shut. What else would she be sad about? Two-Bit wracked his head if he missed something. That's when he remembered the gum that was stuck in her hair weeks before. "The gum in your hair… How did you get gum in your hair?"
"It just happened," Susie replied, but Two-Bit knew that she was lying again. That's when Two-Bit put one plus one together. Someone put the gum in her hair. Anger flashed across Two-Bit's eyes.
"Who did it? Who put the gum in your hair?" he demanded, voice sharp and loud from his rage. Susie flinched but she shook her head.
"Nobody did!"
"Gum doesn't just randomly get in hair."
"Nobody did it. Please…" Susie looked at Two-Bit with a pleading expression. Her eyes watered in fear and that snapped Two-Bit out from his fit. Don't get him wrong, he still was very angry. Enraged, in fact, but he probably was scaring Susie and it wasn't solving anything, only making things worse. Two-Bit let out a shuttered breath, standing up and running his fingers through his hair.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?"
Susie shook her head. Again, Two-Bit sighed when he heard the chimes from an ice cream truck. He glanced towards the truck that was quickly being surrounded by little kids and their parents. Smiles were plastered on all of their faces as they jumped around excitedly. He wanted Susie to act like that again.
"Want ice cream?" he asked her. Susie smiled again, nodding her head enthusiastically. That little kid in her broke free from its depressive entrapments. And, at that moment, Susie forgot about her problems, focusing on the now instead of the past.
"Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!" She clapped her hand at each sentence.
With a chuckle, Two-Bit got up, telling her to wait for him. He jogged up to the truck, leaving Susie to her lonesome.
As she was waiting for her brother to return, she felt two hands push her from behind, sending her sprawling to the sand. "Hey!" she hissed as she got back up, turning around and saw a few kids laughing at her. At the sight of them, her blood ran cold. It was them.
'Not here. Please, not now,' she begged, taking a glance at Two-Bit.
"Look, it's Susie the dummy hobo," one of them teased, earning more laughter. Susie clenched her fists around the hem of her hand-me-down shirt. She compared her attire with theirs and couldn't help but feel ashamed. She got the nickname because she was born in a poorer family. When she first started school, they instantly connected her wealth with her brain capacity, expecting her to be dumber than them. Even though she was one of the smartest in her class, they still insulted her. She was also teased for not being able to wear nice, new clothing. It wasn't her fault though. She would love to wear clothes like the rest of the class… but her mom couldn't afford it.
"My brother is here. Don't mess with me."
"Your brother?" They looked to Two-Bit who was paying for the ice cream. "You mean that bimbo?"
"Yeah. You will regret doing anything to me."
The ringleader of the bullies scoffed. "What's he going to do to us? He can't stop us. He can't even stop us from doing this…"
"Doing what?" Susie asked but it was too late. One of the bullies pulled out a bucket of sand from behind his back. The next thing Susie knew, she was covered in sand and her vision went dark when the bucket was dropped over her head. Before she could take off the bucket, hands pressed against her shoulders, shoving her back onto the ground. More laughter erupted from the bullies as they started to kick sand at her. They chanted names at her as they picked up sticks, hitting the bucket over and over with them.
Two-Bit grabbed the ice cream from the truck, turning around when he saw his sister being pushed down with a bucket over her head. Immediately, his vision went red and the ice cream dropped from his hands. It splattered across the asphalt, but he didn't care. He sprinted forward, feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Hey!" he screamed and the kids that were towering over them snapped their heads towards him, eyes widening in panic. "Get away from her!"
"Run!" they screamed, scattering. Instead of chasing after them, Two-Bit ran to his sister, dropping on his knees. He removed the bucket off of her head and saw that she was looking down with the same blank expression that she had that morning.
"Are you okay?" Two-Bit asked, patting off the sand from her shoulders. She numbly nodded, standing back up and getting the rest of the sand off of her.
"I'm fine," she mumbled, feeling like she was going to break at any moment.
"Those kids… they were the ones who put the gum in your hair, weren't they?"
Again, Susie nodded. And that's when she broke. Tears started to fall from her eyes and loud sobs escaped from her mouth. Before Two-Bit could have time to process everything, she wrapped her arms around his hips, face digging into his stomach.
"How long has this been going on?" Two-Bit asked as he hugged back, petting her hair.
"S-Since I started… since I started school," Susie admitted.
Two-Bit internally cursed. It's been going on for so long and he hadn't done anything about it. "If they were older, I would show them a lesson" he growled, but calmed down when Susie squeezed him harder. "But… I'm going to talk to mom about this so we can report them."
Susie shook her head, rubbing her tears on his shirt in the process. "No! I don't want to be a tattletale."
"I'm not letting this continue. It's either that or I'm going after them."
"Don't do anything. I don't want anyone to get mad at me."
"But—"
"No. I can handle it on my own."
Two-Bit pulled away from Susie, bending down again. He rubbed at her head. "When did you get so tough?"
"But not as cool as you. I want to be like you."
Two-Bit frowned. He was honored that his sister saw him so highly, but he didn't want her to become like him. It was hard enough for him already. "No, Susie. You can't become like me. You have to become better." He shifted, holding out his pinky. "Tell you what… I'm not going to tell anyone, but if this bullying continues, I will do something about it. You have to take a stand against them so that they don't see you as an easy target. I will spend more time with you but only if you always make sure to not hide anything anymore. Promise?"
Susie smiled, hooking her pinky with his. "I promise."
"Good."
When Two-Bit got back up, Susie asked, "Can I have my ice cream now?"
Two-Bit's eyes widened. He totally forgot. Maybe it was still there… but when he looked around and saw it, the ice cream was already melted.
"Oh, shit…" he cursed.
Susie gasped, pointed a finger at him accusingly. "You said a bad word! Mommy is going to be so mad."
"Only if you tell her I said it, so shh." Two-Bit held up a finger to his lips and Susie giggled.
"Only if you buy me more ice cream!'
"Okay, okay! Deal."
o-o-o
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