Title- Unexpected Encounters
Disclaimer- S.E. Hinton owns the boys, I only own the plot and my Oc, Alice Brewer.
A.N.- A shout out to the wonderful PinkAmy who gave me this prompt after I begged her for it. Hehe. So I was supposed to publish this in the morning but that didn't happen. Anyways, without further ado, here it is. Thanks for reading! :)
Darrel Curtis was walking home from work like he had done for the past two days because Sodapop had made the car breakdown.
Just exactly what the middle Curtis brother had done to their truck remained a mystery but Steve had promised to take a look at it and save his best friends' hide.
The sound of someone moaning caught his attention. He looked around, but couldn't seem to find the source.
As he kept walking the sound was getting louder.
He then turned the corner and saw a young woman on the floor, a big puddle of blood surrounding her. He ran towards her and picked her up.
She was awfully pale and barely conscience. When he got a closer look, all she said was "Never thought of seeing you out of high school." Then she passed out cold.
Without a second thought, Darry picked her up and carried her to his house. The boys were playing poker when he walked in. The moment they saw he was carrying a girl they moved out of his way.
They gang crowded around her while Darry went to get a damp washcloth and the first aide kit.
"Who is she? Who did this to her Darry?"Ponyboy asked as the eldest Curtis came back.
"I have no idea. I found her on my way home."he said, pulling up a chair to sit besides her.
"She looks pretty torn up."Two-bit said, taking in the girls fresh bruises.
"Do you think some socs did it?"Sodapop asked.
"Wouldn't put it past them."Steve grumbled.
"Hey, can you get started on dinner, Soda?"Darry asked, beginning to wipe the dried blood off the side of the girls head.
"Someone bashed her head in good."Darry muttered then swore when she let out a small whimper.
"Please don't let them hurt me anymore Sam."she whispered.
Darry placed a warm hand on the girls shoulder and gently shook her awake.
"Where am I?"she asked, sitting up and then wincing at the pain in her ribs.
"Well you're at my house first off."Darrys' deep voice rumbled.
"Oh glory."she breathed. "I'm real sorry about this. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble."she said.
"Uh no problem. Would you like to stay for dinner?"Soapop asked.
She wrapped her arms around herself. "I have to go."she said, looking down at the floor.
"Well you don't look too good. And now that you're awake you can tell us what happened to you."Darry said. Her blue eyes shifted over to him.
"Plus a hot meal can do wonders for an empty stomach."Ponyboy said. She looked at him, semi-convinced.
"You wouldn't turn down one of my home cooked meals now, would you?"Soda asked peaking his head out of the kitchen to give them a grin. A bit more conviction crossed her face.
"Just say yes already."Steve said.
"These Curtis boys don't take no for an answer."Two-bit said.
"And we aren't gonna start any time soon."Darry added firmly, crossing his arms.
"Alright."she said, helplessly.
The boys cheered and led her to the kitchen. Dinner went off without a hitch despite the fact that the spaghetti was green. "I promise you Soda isn't trying to poison you, it's just food dye."Ponyboy whispered when Alice stared at her plate in confusion. The boys all behaved themselves and kept the amount of cussing to a minimum.
After dinner, Sodapop said"So we'll be headin' out for the night, Darry. Off to the Nightly Double to hunt up some action."
"Wait a minute, little buddy. Just who's going?"Darry asked.
"All of us."Steve said, gesturing to himself, Soda, Pony and Two-bit.
"I'll watch out for him, Superman." Two-bit said. "That's what I'm worried about."Darry muttered under his breath. "Relax, he'll be fine. You gotta take care of the girl, remember?"Soda said softly.
"C'mon, Darry."Pony pleaded.
"Alright, you can go with them."he relented. "I want you home by eleven thirty."Darry warned.
"No problem."Two-bit said.
"The kid'll be home on time."Steve said.
"Thanks Darry."Ponyboy said and he nodded. "Bye Alice."Two-bit said and they all stared at him.
After a chorus of goodbyes, they were gone, leaving Alice and Darry alone in silence.
"You're like a father figure to them."Alice said quietly when they were doing the dishes.
"Yeah."he agreed. "We take care of each other."he continued.
Her brown hair obscuring his view of her eyes, she said"Oh, that's nice." For some reason, her voice sounded distant and much sadder than it had previously.
"Alice, what's going on?"Darry asked.
"What do you mean?"she asked.
"I found you beat up and nearly unconscious!"he cried, running a hand through his brown hair in frustration.
"It's nothing."she replied, waving him off.
"It's not nothing."he replied angrily.
"When we were in school you were never like this. What happened to you?"he asked.
"How would you know?! You didn't even finish!"she spat.
He stilled suddenly and she saw hurt flash in his blue-green eyes.
"I noticed you. How you were always too quiet to raise your hand in class, even though you knew the answer. How you always turned down the Socs who asked you out. How you always looked to Gloria Soto and Sam Thompson for approval. I never understood why."he said.
"Why what?"she asked, her face going pale.
"Why you hung out with them."he replied.
"It's not like you were asking me out."she mumbled but said"She's my friend."
"Friends don't let their boyfriends beat up their friends."Darry said and Alice blinked. "That's not what happened."she replied.
"Then what did happen?"he asked her softly as he moved to stand besides her.
"He pissed off a couple of guys in a gang. When they found the three of us, it was awful. He was too drunk to fight so he ran and took Gloria with him but left me behind. They did this to me."she said and then sank to the held her while she sobbed and whispered comforting words. "You can't go back there. It's not safe. If he left you to fend for yourself against a gang, I can't imagine what else he would do."Darry said.
"You're right."Alice said. "Thank you for everything, Darry. I really appreciate it."she said, giving him a hug.
He froze. "Wait, where are you going?"he asked in confusion. "Home."she replied.
"Why don't you stay here for a couple of days until you're better."he suggested.
"Are you sure that Ponyboy and Sodapop won't mind?"she asked hesitantly.
"Not at all."he said. "We would expect that you'll need a little time to recover. Those bruises aren't looking too good and the cuts on your face aren't either."he added.
"Okay, thank you."she said.
A quarter to eleven the two Curtis brothers returned. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Alice asleep on the couch, freshly showered and wearing a pair of Darrys' old shorts and a white T-shirt.
"She's going to be staying with us for a couple of days. Until her injuries heal up."he said quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping girl, who's head was lying on his shoulder. He got up and lifted Alice into his arms, carrying her into the spare bedroom that had once belonged to Sodapop and placing her under the covers.
When he returned Soda was waiting for him and Ponyboy was gone.
"Dar, do you know what you're doing with Alice? She hangs around with a pretty tuff guy, Sam Thompson and his girl, Gloria. They aren't known for being too friendly with the rest of us. Two-bit had a beef with him once. And you know Two, he's pretty happy-go-lucky."Soda said.
"So are you, kid."Darry thought.
"Don't worry. I know how to handle this."Darry said before giving him a smile and heading off to the shower.
He would deal with it all tomorrow. Right now all that mattered was that everyone was home and safe and Alice was going to be staying with them for a couple of days.
"It's certainly going to be interesting."he thought.