He had very little planned for tonight. Despite Two-Bit's determination to get him to attend a party and Dally's attempt to get him to ride at a rodeo, all Darry wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep for the next two years.
Unfortunately, his teachers had other plans.
Darry stifled a yawn as he dug into his pocket for the keys to his apartment. Before he goes to bed tonight, he will have to read about two hundred pages of the book Gone with the Wind and finish off the last of his essay for his history class.
He shuffled tiredly to his door, reaching out to unlock it. His hand blindly struck the handle, and oddly enough, the door shifted slightly open.
In the mist of his tired daze, Darry blinked at this. He usually kept his door unlocked just in case Two-Bit needed a place to crash (and he usually did) but even that idiot wasn't idiotic enough to leave his door open in this neighborhood. Darry didn't have anything worthwhile to steal but his college books were quite expensive.
He quietly nudged the door further open, peering into the darkness of his small one bedroom home. None of the lights were on and all he could see was his obscured shadow made from the moon. He closed the door behind him and flicked on a lamp.
Nothing looked out of place. The kitchen to his left still held this morning's breakfast dishes- he moaned internally. Another thing to do before going to bed. There was a pile of dirty laundry on his couch, his coffee table before it held a few of his books and in front of that, his very small television. On the far side of the wall was a book case (half full) and next to that, two doors that lead to the bathroom and his bed room.
Other than that, his apartment looked untouched. Nothing looked to be stolen or strangely molested.
Darry rolled his eyes, mentally making a note to smack Two-Bit across the head later. He kicked off his shoes and threw his backpack on the couch.
The backpack landed on the pile of dirty laundry with 'fwump' followed by a groan.
Darry froze. Shit, was Two-Bit there?
He stared quietly at what he thought was dirty laundry. The pile shifted and dirty brown hair popped up from the end. Darry knew right then and there that was not Two-Bit.
When the laundry shifted again and a dirty ragged face appeared, Darry sucked in a lungful.
It was a kid.
A boy. Probably only thirteen years old from the looks of it. But what made Darry's heart contract was the fact the kid's face was covered in bruises. His eye was blacken shut and his cheek was a mess of blue and purple.
"Hey," Darry inched closer, unsure on what to do exactly. "Hey, kid…can you hear me?" Why the hell was some kid in his home?
Hesitantly, he places a hand on his shoulder and shakes him. "Kid?" No response.
His moves his hand to the boy's forehead. His eyes widen. Jesus Christ, the kid was burning up!
The boy needed a hospital. Darry looks to the phone, thinking of calling 911, but decides against it. He didn't know how long it'll take an ambulance to get to his place. The kid needed help. Now.
As carefully as he could, Darry scooped the kid up in his arms. He was alarmed to find the boy feather light and bony as hell. Forgetting his homework and only pausing briefly to stuff his feet back into his shoes, Darry trekked out of his apartment and into the night towards his car.
()
A/N: I'm surprised nobody's thought of this yet. R/R peeps.