Here it is! Chapter Three! Thank you so much to my amazing reviewers! You mean the world to me! All these people who alert are great, but the ones I love are the reviewers! Please review! :)
By the time Soda arrived at his house, Two-Bit Matthews sat on his couch eating a grilled cheese sandwich, Darry performed curl ups on the doorframe, Pony curled up with a book, and Lindy was no where to be seen.
"Two-Bit, all you ever do is eat our food and watch my TV. Don't you have anywhere else to be?" Soda asked his friend soon as he hit the threshold.
Two-Bit, refusing to tear his eyes away from the television set, shrugged.
"'Course I got better stuff to do, but I like slumming it with you losers."
Soda rolled his eyes and smiled before moving to his younger brother. Tousling his hair, he chuckled.
"Where's Lucky Lindy?" He asked.
Two-Bit shrugged, while Darry merely stared daggers at him. Ponyboy, without looking up from the book in his hands, thrust his head in the direction of the kitchen.
"She's in there."
Throwing a thanks over his shoulder, Soda made a beeline for the kitchen. There, a humorous sight met him. Lindy, snoring softly, sprawled herself out over a half-folded pile of clothing. He chuckled, until he saw the cuts.
"Lindy!" he shouted before he could stop himself.
She leapt to her feet.
"I'm up," she said, her head swiveling from side to side.
He reached out to her, grabbing her arm gently.
"Lindy, what happened?" he asked, his eyes furrowing as he looked down her body to inspect her wounds.
Just as she was about to say 'nothing', Darry materialized in the doorway. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, Sparky, tell him."
Soda threw a confused look between the two. He reached out and grabbed the girl's hands. He squeezed them and tried to ignore the scratches he felt on the palms.
"Well," Lindy looked down, "The Socs caught up with me on my way home from exams today."
She quickly changed her demeanor as her friend's expression quickly became dark.
"But I swear, it ain't a big deal. I'm fine, and you really-"
Soda let her go and turned to Darry, as if to find that it was all some grand joke. He found no reassurance in his brother. Instead, his older brother just brought him more worried.
"Why'd you let her walk home, Soda? Are you stupid or something? What'd you think-"
Lindy cut in, shaking her head and crossing to Darry.
"You promised you would let me handle this."
She held her head high, no longer guarding her feelings. Knowing she was right, Darry shot one last look at his kid brother and pushed himself away from the pair. As soon as his footfall became silenced, Soda turned to Lindy.
"Lindy, you know I would never-. I mean, If I'd known-"
Lifting her cut hand to his cheek, she shrugged with a smile.
"I know, Soda. Don't worry about it."
He looked up at her.
"Do you need anything? A cup of water, some ice-" His hands wrapped around her shoulders.
A voice called from the other room.
"Hey, lovebirds! Take it to the bedroom, okay? Mickey Mouse is on and I can't focus with all of that love business going on in the kitchen, you heard?"
Two-Bit smirked as he successfully cured the uncomfortable moment.
"Why don't you just shut up and watch your damn cartoon?" Sodapop called with a smile.
Lindy laughed as she looked up at Sodapop, glad that the moment had passed.
"How about I take you out?" he asked.
She took a half step back. Knowing it meant less than a date but more than a group outing, she smiled a half-smile at him.
"Really?" she asked.
Sodapop nodded.
"Yeah. It's the first night of Christmas. Isn't that what guys are supposed to do? Take their girls out for nights on the town?"
Lindy incredulously took a step back and smirked. Crossing her arms in front of her, she quirked her eyebrow.
"A night on the town?"
He smiled.
"Yep. Only the best Tulsa has to offer. I'll even borrow the car. Take you out in style."
Shaking her head, she took another step from him. A smile crept across her face, and she heard the boys in the other room shift. They were listening.
"Nah," she began, straightening out the collar of his DX grease monkey uniform, "I don't go out with dirty boys."
Uproarious laughter poured from the living room.
"Ah, she got you good, Sodapop. She got you good!"
Two-Bit ran into the room and pat Lindy on the back. Darry and Ponyboy followed close behind, both holding back laughter of their own.
"Sparky, I don't know how you let it happen, but we sure did rub off on you."
Soda laughed along good-naturedly.
"Sparky-Pants! Superman called me-"
Steve Randle called out to the girl as he hopped through the open kitchen window.
"Dammit, Steve, how many times-"
Waving off Darry, Steve smirked and walked toward the girl of the hour.
"Shoot, girl, you got busted up pretty bad."
Lindy shrugged it off.
"She still looks better than whatever trash you're sleeping with, Steve," Two-Bit joked.
Steve shook his head and used his hands to tilt Lindy's chin up.
"Well, there's no damn dispute about that. But still, Sparky-pants, you got busted up!"
Sodapop nodded.
"Yeah, we got that, Steve."
Ignoring his friend, Steve moved to raid the fridge.
"Whatever, Soda. I'm glad you left work early. See you were able to help her plenty."
Lindy knew when to intervene.
"Well, why don't I start on dinner? Pony, you wanna-?"
Pony, knowing Lindy well enough, jumped up. Putting his book down on the counter, he nodded.
"Yep."
Shoving Steve out of the way, he began to gather things out of the fridge for dinner.
"I can take a hint. I know when I'm not wanted."
But before he left, he grabbed up a root beer from the fridge and wandered into the TV room.
"You better follow him," Lindy said, turning on the stove.
Taking their cue to leave, the boys scuffled out. But not before Soda snuck a kiss on Lindy's cheek, which stained the skin pink for what seemed like hours to Lindy.
"He loves you," Ponyboy said simply with a shrug.
Somewhere, deep down, Lindy started to believe it.
Review! It was a bit of filler, but some huge drama happens next chapter! Stay tuned!
