Hi again. Bee here. I'm going to keep this short so you can read.
Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, The Outsiders. They belong to S.E. Hinton. I am just borrowing her characters.
I woke up to the sound of yelling.
"Say uncle!"
"Never!" I groaned and rolled over. Someone in the house was obviously wrestling with someone else, but it was too early for me to figure out who. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Ponyboy walked in. He stopped when he saw me.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were in here..." he said, trailing off. I couldn't help but smile. He was so shy and polite, sometimes it worried me. I waved him in.
"Don't mind me, I was just getting up anyways." I said. He gave me a smile and approached the small bookshelf that was resting against the wall opposite the door. Soda didn't have much use for the bookshelf personally, so Pony often used it as an overflow for his own collection of novels and stories. "Whatcha reading this time?" I asked.
"Gone with the Wind. I think it's time I... finished it," he said, a sad look fogging his eyes. I moved here shortly after the big rumble. Everyone had told me all about what happened. Ponyboy running away with Johnny, Johnny and Dallas dying, and everything in between. It was sad, but I knew it was the worst for Ponyboy. He had offered to take me to the graveyard one afternoon after school, and I could tell it was a special place for him, despite how difficult it was to be there.
"He was something special," he had said. At the time, I didn't understand his words. But he just looked at the ground, shuffling his feet. He wasn't crying, but I knew that Ponyboy's emotions ran way beyond the surface.
"Well, good for you. It's a good book," I said, trying to cheer him up. He smiled weakly at me. I patted the spot on the bed next to me. He came over reluctantly. I tousled his hair.
"It's hard sometimes, you know? I don't get why people gotta die. It's just..." he stopped, but I hugged him quickly.
"Hey," I said softly, "It's okay, you know, to miss them. I don't mind listening, if you ever want to talk." He nodded his head but didn't say anything. The kid had an incredible ability to get lost inside of his own mind, and I knew if I didn't snap him out of it soon, he would be in a funk all day. "Come on. Whaddya say we get up and see what the hell is going on in there." I stood up and stretched, letting out a yawn. "What time is it?"
"I think it's eight," Ponyboy replied, a smile sneaking onto his lips at my obvious distaste. "I'm suprised you aren't used to it yet. You practically live here. You're almost as bad as Two Bit," he grinned, tousling my hair. I rolled my eyes and followed him towards the noise in the living room.
As I suspected, it was Two Bit who was making most of the noise. He was a ball of limbs tangled up with Steve as they rolled around on the floor, attempting to defeat one another. They looked like a jumbled mess.
"Say uncle!" Steve demanded, but Two Bit stopped him.
"I'm gonna cut off your air!" He shouted. I winced slightly at the loud noises that were surrounding me so soon after waking up. I could smell coffee in the kitchen, so I headed that way.
"Boys," I muttered as I walked. "Shouldn't you be at work, Stevie? It's almost nine." He immediately stopped.
"Shit! I gotta go. Hey, Soda man, come on!" He gave Two Bit a light punch on the arm. "Uncle. Jesus!" Two Bit released him, standing up and brushing himself off. He gave me a mock bow, a grin on his face.
"Thanks, babe. Couldn't have done it without 'cha." And with that he followed me into the kitchen.
I saw Sodapop tugging at his shirt and holding a piece of toast while Ponyboy fixed his breakfast lazily. It was Saturday, so the pace tended to be a little slower than it was on a weekday morning. I snuck up behind Soda and snaked my arms around his waist.
"Guess who," I said, placing a kiss on the back of his neck.
"I wonder which one of my many girls it could be this time," he said, placing his hand over top of mine.
"Ha ha," I said dryly. He turned around and smiled at me, giving me a soft kiss on the cheek.
"Hey darlin'" he drawled. I reluctantly removed myself from his arms and poured myself a cup of coffee, settling down next to Pony and glancing at the newspaper that was resting on the table. Steve was shouting from the entryway that they were going to be late. Soda grabbed his hat off of the kitchen counter and gave me a wink.
"I'll see you later, doll," he said, putting the rest of his toast in between his teeth and heading towards the door. I gave him a wave before turning my attention to the other Curtis brother sitting next to me. He was nose deep in a book, his mind clearly elsewhere.
I blew on my coffee lightly, taking a sip. "Interesting so far?" I asked Pony. He made no reply, his eyes continuing to scan the pages in front of him. "Geez, kid, you really get into those things." He glanced up at my words, apparently realizing that someone had been acknowledging him.
"Did you say something?" he asked, his eyebrows raising in question.
"No, nothing important. Do you have any plans today?"
"Me and Michelle are going to the movies. She's dragging me along 'cause she thinks the guy who runs the ticket booth is cute and she's too scared to go alone," he grumbled. I let out a small laugh.
"Well, have fun. Don't get in any trouble," I said. I finished my coffee and put my mug in the sink, rinsing it before beginning to dry the dishes that had been left out by the other boys.
Pony dropped his plate in the sink beside me. "I can do that," he told me. I waved him off.
"Go have fun at the movies," I insisted, giving him a smile. "I don't mind."
With my words he was off, leaving me alone in the house with a sink full of dishes.
Same as always. Let me know what you think.
Till next time-
Bee.