"Fucking pricks." I said to myself, under my breath, standing on my tip toes and leaning back listening to my back cracking as I stretched. While yawning, tilting my head to the right, I looked out the tiny window within my room, it was sunny and bright, a perfect day, seemingly anyways. Just because the sun was shining and no one had gotten stabbed yet this morning, didn't mean it was going to be a good day. "Come in." I said hearing the rough knock on my door. Standing back on my feet, I watched as Curly came into my room, dressed for the day in jeans and a black t-shirt, "Hey." He tracked across my room, sitting on the edge of my bed.
"What's up?" I asked him casually, trying to stop another yawn, turning with my hands on my hips, looking at him.
Being twins, people said they could tell we were twins, because of our facial structure – personally I think they are nuts because when I look at my twin brother, I don't see myself and he doesn't see me either, which I'm perfectly okay with.
As he shook his head, I turned away from him, opening my dresser drawer, pulling out a not so secret stash of cigarettes, bringing one to my lips, I found a wooden match and ran it against the dresser quickly, watching it light, I brought the burning match to the end of my cigarette and inhaling watching it light. Before shaking the match out and flicking it onto my dresser. "You left Lukes party early last night." He pointed out and I could feel him scanning over me.
"Yeah, I know – I was sick of him making drunken advances on me beside his passed out girl friend." I laughed darkly, feeling the morning rush of Tobacco across my body, "that would do it." Curly said nodded, holding his hand out toward me and I took another puff from the cigarette before handing it over to him, watching him take a long puff from it, holding the smoke in his lungs before letting it out in rings. "Mmm, so the next time I see him, I might lay my fist into him, I haven't decided yet." I shrugged, walking to my doorless closet, bringing out a pair of jeans and a tank top.
"If you want, Douglas and I could smack him 'round a few times? You know, so he gets the message." I could tell he was trying to be a protective brother, an older brother as he claimed because he was seven minutes older then me, but at the same time, he was leaving the choice down to me. "Nah, if I do something, I'll do it. I'll let him shake in his boots for a while, he was pretty scared last night when I pulled my blade on him." I felt myself laughing darkly and it made Curly laugh too.
He turned away to face the wall when I started undoing the jeans I'd fallen asleep in last night, as a natural reaction. "Fuck a warning would be nice." His voice was colder now and it made me smirk. "Oh shut up," it wasn't as if I was naked under my jeans, that would be a different story, plus Curly was my brother, I knew he wasn't getting any jollies from me.
I changed quickly, "There, finished." I said watching him turning back to look at me, as I pulled the white fabric of the tank top down over my stomach, "what's the plan for today?" I asked walking over, taking my cigarette back from his hands, taking another puff, flicking the ashes into an empty cup on the mini table beside my bed. "HEY! STOP FUCKING HITTING THE WALL ASS HOLE!" I turned, beating my fist against the wall loudly, as something kept hitting against it from the other side. "SHUT THE FUCK UP, BITCH!" Bruce yelled hitting the wall again and I felt my blood pressure rising. "COME AND FUCKING MAKE ME, PRICK!" I hit the wall in return.
Fuck seemed to be a widely used word inside the house, the last time I'd called Bruce, Bruce might've been like least year sometime. We all never really stopped fighting, ever. It wasn't exactly a loving house hold and protective services would do nothing about it, because both parents worked and one of the kids were still in school, in their minds, everything here was peaches and cream like.
"Tim and I were gonna rather the Gang, we've gotta get set for the rumble coming up real soon, hasn't been set yet – but I can feel it, in my bones. Something is going to go down." Curly seemed to ignore the screaming between the walls, like everyone else did.
"ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU! YOU'VE MADE ANGELA UPSET! SO ALL OF YOU, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Mom yelled across the house and I felt myself laugh. "Of course, it upset Angela." I rolled my eyes, coming to sit beside Curly on my bed. "You gonna come with us?" Curly asked, his eyes dead set on the door as the knob turned. My own eyes watching the knob turning, crossing my legs over one another. Seeing Tim coming into my room, closing the door behind him, "What the fuck crawled up that pricks ass and died!" Tim commented his fingers toughing the corner of his lip which was bleeding .
Shrugging, I held the cigarette out to Tim, who walked over taking it. His other hand leaving his cheek and going into his pocket, looking over the small bed room. We all had our own bedrooms, but they were all very small, the three of us in mine right now was getting crowed, I looked at Curly, who was watching Tim. "Nah, ya'll have fun with that, I've got stuff to do." I nodded.
"Like?" Tim asked, his voice had changed from a dark and dangerous one to just a dark one. I felt myself looking up at him, narrowing my eyes. "None of your business." I pointed out and Tim broke his gaze from the wall behind me, looking down. Our eyes connecting with each others, "I said like?" He cocked his head to the right. "And I said, none of your business." I crossed my arms over my chest.
I felt the need to annoy Tim, no one ever refused to answer Tim's questions, especially honestly. But I on the other hand, liked to annoy him. I think it really ticked him off but at the same time. I believe he enjoyed it. "Leslie." He said sharply. "Timothy." I said in the same voice, mocking him. I watched his eyes getting darker, Tim hated being called Timothy and half the time, he hated being called Tim. It reminded him to much of our father – someone Tim didn't want to be like, but was turning out exactly like, it was like a disease, there was no way of stopping it from happening.
"Where you getting off to?" Tim kept a serious voice and I laughed, "I was going to visit Steve and Sodapop – like I do EVERY day." I sometimes wondered if Tim had memory loss from all the beatings. "Oh." He kept his voice rather cool, "okay." He passed the cigarette to Curly.
"What's this I hear about a rumble happening soon?" I watched Tim, "oh, just getting ready for it, there's," he paused, sniffing loudly, "something in the air, just a precaution, you know..." Tim nodded and I laughed at him while standing up, brushing my hands down my jeans. "Right, precaution." I now nodded, walking toward my bedroom door. "Better make a move. We've upset Angela." I laughed mockingly.
"Oh, poor Angel." Tim said in the voice I had just used, a mocking one. I left my bedroom heading into the washroom to brush my teeth.
At the kitchen table, it wasn't hard to tell who was favoured by mom and Bruce, Angela sitting between the two of them, mom handing her five dollars and telling her to have a good day with her friends, kissing her on the cheek. Before looking up at the three of us – her other children who hadn't bothered sitting down. Her eyes narrowing at us like we were scum that grew in unwanted places, but we were use to it. "Can I help y'all?" She asked her voice calm and soft but the undertone of disgust wasn't easily hidden.
"No." I spoke before Tim and Curly could, knowing full well they'd make a snide remark to start another fight that hadn't exactly finished, just calmed down, like a Volcano awaiting to erupt again. "Then?" Mom asked awaiting for a good reason as to why we were standing by the kitchen table.
Curly rolled his eyes. "Pff." Escaped his lips, he turned away, pulling his shoes on quickly, unlocking the dead bolt on the door. "Nothing." I said darkly, my shoes all ready on, looking up at Tim who reached across the table, his hand hovering over different things before picking up his car keys without a word.
"You best have money for gas boy, 'cause I sure as hell aint lending you noting!" Bruce cracked up the first can of morning beer, taking a long sip. "Believe me, I'd rather ask a Soc before asking your help." Tim snapped darkly. Before turning, pushing me forward to move, I caught myself from tripping and I headed out the door after Curly, listening to Bruce snap something at Tim who stopped in his tracks on the front porch, that shook under three peoples weight – it was rotting wood, three feet off the ground that would soon cave in on itself but no one cared enough to replace it.
"Don't, he's not worth it." I touched Tim's arm, making him look from the door that he'd closed to me. He had the look in his eyes that he wanted to kill that man, but nodded, walking down the stairs quickly. Curly all ready inside Tim's car. "You wanna ride?" Tim jerked his thumb toward the car.
"No thanks, I'll walk – it's not THAT far." I pointed toward the long dirt road that led to the DX gas station. "You gotta blade on you?" Tim scanned across the dry grass as if he was expecting hidden Socs to appear, "Naturally." I reached into my pocket, taking out a red handled blade that would snap open in seconds revealing a five inch sharp blade. "Good. I'll see you later." Tim nodded and I slide the blade back into my pocket.
"Be careful!" I called after him and Curly, but I laugh was all I got in response, rolling my eyes, I headed up the road, playing kick the rock. I could see the DX sign in the distance. It made me laugh – for what ever reason, I wasn't sure yet.
The sun was hot, it was going to be an extra hot day and the fact it was a Friday. It was going to be long, take ages for the day to wear on. But it was something you got use to, like being jumped – it was a regular thing to happen.
As the DX got closer, I kept looking around for cars, not just any type of cars but fancy cars that didn't needed a lot of work, that would hang out near the DX waiting and watching for Greasers to stroll by. The dirt turned to a pavement and I looked around, the door being held open by a milk crate and a rock on top of it, letting what ever breeze there was.
"Nice bum, where you from?" I felt myself ask with a smirk across my lips, seeing Sodapop bent over a car, he froze, turning his head to see who was talking to him, he laughed seeing me, turning to stand up straight, grabbing a rag from beside him, cleaning the grease from his hands. "Leslie, whats up?" He grinned, that utterly flawless grin.
"Nothing, came to visit my favourite Gas Station attendant." I laughed, "Did you forget a shirt this morning?" I looked down, his blue DX uniformed shirt was unbuttoned and his tanned chest exposed. He looked down, "Possibly." He smiled now, putting the rag down once his hands were clean.
I came to lean against another car, "Where's Steve? Isn't be the grease money?" I cocked his head to the right and Sodapop nodded. "Doesn't work 'till noon."
"Leaving you all by your lonesome? I fend for yourself?" I gasped, dramatically making him nod seriously. "Mmm-hmm." He glanced seeing a car pulling into the station. "One second, don't go anywhere." He pointed at me and walked off quickly toward the gas pumps. ",'Cause I planned on running off when you weren't looking!" I called after him, leaning back.
Even though Sodapop wasn't apart of the Shepard Gang, he was a real good friend, one of the best friends anyone could ask for. Fun to hang out with, I'd known him for several years, he dropped out the same year I did – for different reasons naturally. Sodapop being the good guy, dropped out to work full time here at the DX to help pay for the bills and I dropped out because I felt like it.
"Sir Sodapop, of DX." I had pulled myself up on the hood of the car beside the one Sodapop was working on, when he'd returned from putting the cash into the register. "Duchess Leslie of car hood." Sodapop beamed, adjusting his baseball cap.
"How's everything?" I asked him, leaning back against the windshield. "Everything? It's... " Sodapop paused, thinking about it, trying to fine the right words. "Darry's okay, you know ... It's Darry. Ponyboy's you know... Ponyboy." He laughed after a minute.
"Oh that is really helpful, Soda." I laughed with him.
"Well!" He lent across the hood I was laying on, "I guess you'll just have to come over more, to see for yourself, wont you?" He grinned. I nodded. "Maybe so, maybe so..." I kept looking into his eyes, I loved his eyes, the dark brown that held so much wild and happiness despite everything Sodapop's been through.
"How about tonight?" Sodapop caught me off guard, "Tonight?" I asked him, blinking carefully, incase I hadn't heard him right.
"Yeah, tonight, like you know... After I finish work, tonight."
I rolled my eyes at him, "Thanks Soda, but I know what tonight means." I snickered. "So, how 'bout it? Everyone else is coming over – we've not really seen you in a long time, only glimpses." He pointed out factually.
"Everyone else?" I raised my eyebrow, "oh well if EVERYONE else is going to be there, I guess I better make a special appearance, huh?" I watched Sodapop nodding quickly. "Exactly." He went to laugh from froze, his eyes watching something behind me. "Wha...?" I asked trailing off, turning over on the car to see a Blue Mustang heading up the road with a cloud of dust behind it...