Disclaimer: I only own Caleb Riddle, Kelvin Ross, Troy Nichols, Xavier Coburn, Bryan Riddle, Chris, Liz, Jack, and last but not least Adrian Riddle. I can only wish I owned The Outsiders.
Adrian practically ran the entire five blocks it took to get from Tulsa High to Tulsa Elementary just to be able to pick up her little brother in time. She always hated being late, because it threw her entire schedule for the day off and Bryan always hated to be the last one left. She was lucky this time, she had gotten there just in time and he wasn't the last to leave.
"H-Hey Bryan," Adrian had just barely managed to gasp aloud, pausing to try and catch her breath.
The seven year old's eyebrow furrowed in worry as he observed the state that his sister was in before asking, "Adrian, was somebody chasing you?
"Nah," Adrian replied, having caught her breath, "I just booked it all the way from the high school so we didn't have to be late.'
"You're always running late though," Bryan smirked and shook his head quickly.
"That a lie and it wasn't my fault this time, Mr. Curtis needed to speak with me," Adrian defended herself, walking away from the elementary school.
"The one who you call a 'scumbag hoser who teaches math'," Bryan asked quietly, followed his older sister closely.
"No," Adrian rolled her eyes, "wrong teacher. Campbell is the scumbag math teacher and Curtis is the pretty righteous English teacher." She quickly rolled her eyes then laughed, thinking over all the teachers in her high school career.
"The one who makes you read all the bogus poetry?"
"Hey, we don't read poetry all the time," Adrian replied, kicking aimlessly at a rock on the sidewalk, "and the poetry he has us read is quite legit. It's nothing like the stuff Mrs. Weiss made us read last year."
"If you say so", Bryan rolled his eyes, "I don't know how you even like school, and it's so boring! Why can't I quit school like Caleb did?"
"Number one; you're only in the second grade so there would be some legal issues there. Number two; you're not gonna quit school, because Caleb and I will skin you if you ever do that," Adrian explained as she ruffled the boy's sandy brown hair, causing him to laugh.
"Hey Adrian," Bryan asked a few moments after he had stopped laughing, "Why did Caleb quit school?"
Adrian took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to explain it to her little brother, "Well, after mom and dad died, someone had to take responsibility for the family. You were obviously too young, so it was between Caleb and me. Caleb refused to let me drop out; I guess he felt like it was his responsibility as the oldest to take care of us. So, he dropped out and got his construction job."
"Caleb was a senior before he dropped out, right," Bryan asked quietly.
"Yeah," Adrian sighed, "and he could've got a scholarship for baseball too, but things just don't work out that way sometimes."
Bryan sighed, the smile he usually wore upon his face having faded sometime before, "I feel bad for Caleb."
"I do too, kiddo," Adrian replied quietly as she draped her arm around his shoulders, "I do too."
They walked in silence for several minutes before Bryan piped up, "Oh, Mickey was going to the park with some friends tomorrow, and he invited me to go. Can I go Adrian?"
Adrian gave her little brother a skeptical look, "Mickey Matthews? I don't know, kiddo, he can be… quite a spaz at times."
"Aw c'mon Adrian," Bryan turned to look at his older sister with pleading blue eyes, walking backwards while doing so. "Sure, Mickey acts like a spaz, but he's a good kid."
Adrian sighed, trying to resist the puppy-dog look Bryan was giving her, but she couldn't. "Fine, but I'm coming with you. If things start getting out of hand with you guys, we're going home. Got it?
"Got it," Bryan chirped happily, glad that he had gotten his way. He ran up to the gate of the house as they approached it, opening it like a gentleman for his older sister.
Adrian smiled and thanked Bryan as they went through the front gate, pausing as she approached the porch. "Hey Bryan, did you leave the TV on when we left this morning," Adrian asked, addressing the sound coming from the inside of their house.
"No," Bryan replied as he approached the porch as well, also hearing the sound from within the house.
"Jeez," Adrian sighed, "I bet Kelvin's in there."
"I bet you ten bucks that Troy and Xavier are in there too."
"Done," Adrian replied, pushing open the already unlocked door.
Bryan dashed in the house quickly, calling out over his shoulder, "You owe me ten bucks Adrian."
"Shit," Adrian murmured to herself, stepping into the door herself to see Kelvin practically glued to the television as one of The Muppet Show reruns was playing, drinking a Budweiser and wearing his favorite blue Gonzo the great t-shirt. It must have been his day off because it looked like he had been there a while. On the couch sat Troy, smoking like a chimney and fiddling with the black bandana tied around his head, and then there was Xavier, quiet as always with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his light denim jacket. "Hey guys," she said as she dropped her backpack by the door.
"Hey Adrian," Xavier replied quietly.
Adrian walked in front of Troy and Xavier, quickly snatching Kelvin's beer can away from him.
"Hey," Kelvin shouted after her, tearing his green eyes away from the television, "I wasn't done with that."
"You are now," Adrian replied, placing the can into the fridge, "You know the rules for when Bryan is in the house. And the same goes for you, Troy. Take the cigarette outside."
"All right, all right," Troy mumbled, rolling his eyes and slowly making his way to the porch.
"Hey Adrian, how was school today," Xavier asked as he meandered into the kitchen while Adrian ran about trying to make sure things were ready for dinner when Caleb came home.
"All right, I guess" Adrian replied as she poured some leftover chicken soup from the jar that held it into a pot, placing the pot on the stove. "The question is why you weren't there today?"
"Just felt like booking, I guess," Xavier ran a hand through his jet-black hair. "This week's been pretty rough on the both of us."
Adrian paused, thoughts and memories of Brennan flooding back into her mind. She pulled the dark jean jacket she was wearing around her a bit tighter, still being able to smell Brennan's signature scent of Drakkar and cigarette smoke. "Yeah," she managed to choke out without her voice cracking.
Adrian turned to see Xavier looking down at his black Keds, the bandage on his head standing out. Xavier was in the car with Brennan last Friday night when the crash had happened. Adrian would have been too had she not have had to work at the diner that night, but that was beside the point. The point was that Xavier came out with only a gash on his forehead while Brennan lost his life, and Xavier felt like hell for it.
"Hey," Adrian said, putting a smile on her face as she walked over to Xavier, "How's your head holding up?"
"All right, I guess."
"When was the last time you changed the gauze?"
Xavier thought about it for a moment, his hazel eyes tinted with confusion, "I think I changed it this morning, but I was so busy just trying to book it from the house 'cause my rents were fighting again. I may've forgotten to change it."
"All right, hard ass, sit down," Adrian chuckled, pulling out a chair from the kitchen table for him to sit on. Xavier complied while Adrian dragged another chair over by a row of kitchen cabinets to locate the first-aid kit. Of course, due to inheriting her lack of height from her mother, she had to stand on the chair to reach the cabinets.
Once finding the kit, she drug the chair back to its original spot and set the kit on the table, quickly rummaging around to find the gauze and medical tape. Then she set herself to doctoring Xavier's forehead up.
"By the way," Adrian mentioned as she replaces the gauze over the gash on Xavier's forehead, "There's a quiz in scumbag Campbell's class on Monday."
"Thanks," Xavier replied, trying to keep as still as possible so Adrian could fix him up, "Do you think Caleb would mind if I crashed here tonight with you guys?"
"Nah, you know that you're always welcome here Xavier," Adrian said with a smile, "The guest rooms always open for you."
"I know, I just feel bad if I don't ask is all," he replied.
"A gentleman and a hard ass, what a combination," Adrian teased, finishing replacing the gauze on Xavier's forehead. "I tell you what, once the gash heals over and you get the scar, there are gonna be girls flocking to you from miles around because of your rad scar."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Xavier dismissed her with a laugh.
Adrian smiled at Xavier, taking a second to glance at the clock in the kitchen only to jump up and start running for the second time that day. "Shit! Why can I never be on time?" She practically flew up the stairs and past Bryan's forest green room into her own midnight blue bedroom. She threw open her closet door and grabbed her uniform, a sky blue waitress dress, which was shorter than she would have liked it to be but she had no choice. She quickly got changed, leaving Brennan's beloved jacket on her pillow.
Adrian ran out of her room, skidding to a halt in front of Bryan's bedroom door. "Bryan, you need to work on your homework and try to get as much done as you can. I put some leftovers in the oven for when Caleb comes home, so you and him can argue over what you want to have for dinner."
"Why do I have to do my homework? It's Friday for Christ's sake," Bryan complained, looking up from his Captain America comic book.
"Watch the language, and Caleb will skin you if you aren't working on homework when he comes home."
"All right," Bryan sighed in defeat, closing his comic book and walking over to his book bag.
"If you need help, ask Xavier for help. Be good, love you," Adrian called over her shoulder as she went down the stairs.
"How come you never tell him to ask me for help on his homework, Adri," Kelvin asked, never once letting his eyes leave the television.
"Well, why would I want my baby brother taking advice from the guy who repeated his senior year three times," Adrian retorted, grabbing a jacket from the coat rack.
Kelvin threw Adrian an aggravated glance before turning back to the television, leaving Xavier chuckling quietly.
"Aw, come on Kel, you know I'm just yanking your chain. You know I've gotta ask someone to keep an eye on those two," I said in a light tone, shrugging the jacket on.
"I'll yank you're chain, babe," he murmured as his hand quickly darted out to grab me, but I easily avoided it.
"Kelvin Ross, come on! I know you're tricks, you're not gonna get me."
"Say's who," Kelvin turned his head to glance at me, a smirk across his face.
"Say's me; you've practically been living on our couch for as long as I've known you Kel."
Kelvin laughed, his green eyes gaining a happy light to them. "I can't argue with that Adri, now you go on and get to work. I'll keep an eye on things around here," he told her as her ran a hand through his dark brown hair before returning his attention to the television.
Adrian shook her head and grinned, "Xavier, please help Bryan on his homework if he asks. And keep Kel here from burning the house down until Caleb gets home."
"Hey," Kel called over his shoulder, his eyes and face holding a rather amused expression.
"Will do Adrian."
"Thanks. Hey Troy," Adrian asked as she stepped outside, "are you working at the Shell Station tonight?"
"Yeah," he murmured, fiddling with his dark blonde hair underneath the rolled up bandana, taking a drag of his cigarette, "You need a ride to Jack's?"
"Yes please," Adrian sighed in reply, "that would be great."
"All right, get in the truck," Troy sighed, blowing smoke.
"Thanks Troy," Adrian thanked him gratefully, walking over to Troy's beat up blue Ford pickup. Troy soon followed, hopping into the driver's seat before looking over at Adrian.
"Jesus Adrian, you know you could pass as a prep with the get up you're wearing," he mocked in an amused tone, making the old truck's engine sputter to life.
"You know that I'm nowhere near being a prep, Troy. I thought you would have known that from all the years we've known each other. Besides, preps don't wear glasses," Adrian replied, adjusting her glasses for emphasis.
"But you don't wear 'em all the time," he shot back, confidently placing one hand on the steering wheel and one hand out the window holding his cigarette.
Adrian gave an aggravated sigh, out of everyone who she hung around Troy tested her patience the most. Adrian kept her voice low, trying to keep from being angry with him, "Look, let me keep it simple for you. Saying that I would look like a prep without my glasses would be like me telling you that you look like a jock without the ridiculous bandana you wear around your head when you work." She kept her gaze on the road, absentmindedly fiddling with the hem of her dress.
"Jeez, you've really had a rough week if you're saying shit like that," Troy gave a low whistle, casting a side glance at Adrian. "You sure you wanna go in today? If you blow up like that on your customers like that, you won't be making any tips for sure."
"I took a few night shifts off earlier this week, and we can't afford for me to be missing anymore days," Adrian sighed again, resting her head in her hands.
Troy shook his head, discarded the butt of his cigarette and used his free hand to shuffle through the pockets of his denim jacket-turned-vest. He pulled out a pack of Marlboros, tossing them over to Adrian which caused her to look over at him. "Take this pack kid, I already got another pack."
Adrian smiled at the kind thought, taking the pack of cigarettes and placing them on the dash. "If I start smoking, Caleb would kill me, bring me back to life, and then kill me again. But thank you for the offer; it's not every day that Troy Nichols attempts an act of kindness."
"Damn straight, that's because I'm no Xavier Coburn," he sneered, stopping at the red light
"Lay off Xavier," Adrian snapped at Troy, "That kid's got more problems than he can handle. He does nice things for people because he doesn't want anyone to have a shitty life like he had." Adrian was almost appalled by Troy's statement, but it wasn't quite surprising because he made rude, un-thoughtful comments like that all the time. "Why have you been trying to be such a hard ass lately? You've been making comments that go above and beyond your norm."
"Well, somebody's gotta take over Brennan's role," Troy shrugged, checking himself out in the rearview mirror. "Brennan was definitely the bad boy, but he was kinda like the glue that held us all together, so I figured somebody needed to act like him."
"Nobody needs to take over Brennan's role! Stop trying to be Brennan Richards and be Troy Nichols again," Adrian yelled a little too defensively. A silent moment passed between them, and Troy was still checking his reflection in the mirror. Adrian laughed, trying to lighten the mood from her previous statement, "You know, Troy Nichols the guy who works at the Shell Station part time. The pretty boy stuck inside the fugly body."
"Watch it," Troy growled menacingly, but the slight smirk on his face ruined the angry illusion. He pulled a cigarette from his pack as the light changed and quickly lit it, taking a long drag. "You are in my truck, and I'll kick you out of it if I want to."
"I'd be very disappointed in you then," Adrian gave a mock pout, "the diner's less the half a block away."
Troy laughed, exhaling the smoke as he did so. There was silence between them for a few moments before Troy pulled into the diner parking lot and sighed, "Well since I'm in such a nice mood…"
"Thanks for the lift, Troy," Adrian laughed as she hopped out of the truck and began walking to the diner.
"You need a ride home," He called out of the window after her, taking a drag from his cigarette.
"No thanks, I'll walk," Adrian replied, before adding, "Stop smoking so much Troy, you're like a chimney." She saw Troy laugh and give a small wave, before he peeled out of the parking lot.
Adrian chuckled to herself as she entered the diner, seeing the other waitress, Chris, sigh in relief. The place was packed, as it was usually on Friday afternoons, and they had been short handed on the weekends ever since Liz left on maternity leave. She ran back into the kitchen to clock in as quickly as she could, ready to help Chris with the rush.
"Adrian," Jack, the chef and owner of the diner had yelled out in a joking tone, imitating Rocky as he did so.
"I know, I know. I'm late," She clocked in and tied her sandy brown curls back into a ponytail. She ran out of the kitchen as quickly as she had come; ready to face the Friday night rush.
Author's Note- 11/29/11
Hello! :D I hoped you liked the chapter, just a little glimpse in Adrian's home/social life. I tried to get a feel for 80's slang, but I'm not quite sure if I got it right (since it was at least a decade before my time). Thanks to those who reviewed, favorited, and alerted.