Author's Note: Once again, thank you to those of you who have reviewed! I really appreciate it a lot! Please continue to do so! Let me know what you think. Special shout out to hgismylife379 for being so helpful!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders
Chapter Four: Normalcy
Much to Darry's surprise when he next woke up the house was quiet and there was light coming in through his window. He blinked, feeling confused for a moment. Did Ponyboy really sleep through the night? He pushed himself out of bed and yawned, wondering if he had worried too much about Ponyboy's nightmares. Perhaps they had already passed as they tried to move on from their parents' death.
He heard noises coming from the kitchen as he wandered down the hallway and was surprised to find
Sodapop was already up and had started on breakfast.
"Morning sleepyhead," Sodapop laughed as Darry entered the kitchen.
"Why are you up so early?" Darry asked as he poured himself some coffee from the pot that Sodapop had started for him.
"Thought I'd take a turn making breakfast," Soda said with a shrug. "I had a craving for some pancakes."
"Uh-huh," Darry mumbled absently, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Well I guess Ponyboy had a better night. He must have been too tired to have another nightmare."
Sodapop didn't answer immediately and Darry looked at him curiously.
"I don't know about that…" Soda said reluctantly.
"What do you mean?" Darry asked. He knew that if Ponyboy had been screaming in his sleep again he would have heard it, being just across the hall from him. There was no way he could sleep through that… could he?
"I woke up late last night and had to take a pee," Sodapop said, glancing over his shoulder at
Darry. "When I passed Ponyboy's room his light was still on. I thought maybe he was just afraid to turn it off, but when I passed by on the way back I could hear him walking around in there. That was maybe around 3:00. I think he just stayed up all night."
Darry let out a frustrated sigh. "Why would he do that?" he asked with exasperation.
Sodapop shrugged, turning back to the stove. "Those dreams really scared him," he said simply.
"I don't understand how when he don't even remember what they are about," Darry muttered.
"But that's probably what makes it so scary," Sodapop reasoned. "It's not something he can work through or figure out 'cause he doesn't even know what it is that's scaring him so bad."
"I guess," Darry sighed. He heavily got to his feet and trudged out to the porch to get the paper. On the way back he decided to stop by Ponyboy's room. He knocked softly on the door. "Ponyboy?" he asked as he opened the door.
"Morning," Ponyboy mumbled. He was sitting up on his bed with the light still on and a book in his lap. He was staring very intently down at the book in front of him.
"Breakfast is almost ready," Darry told him and he just nodded silently. Darry left the door open and headed back into the kitchen. "He's up and reading already," he told Sodapop. Sodapop just nodded as he tossed another pancake on the growing pile he had on a serving plate. Darry did a double take when he saw them. "Soda… are those pancakes supposed to be green?"
Sodapop grinned. "Sure, why not?" he said with a laugh.
"They look moldy," Darry said, making a face. "What did you put in them?" He looked at the ingredients scattered across the counter.
"Oh, I'm sure they're fine," Sodapop said with a grin and a dismissive wave of his hand.
"I'm totally convinced," Darry said sarcastically.
"What's life without a little risk?" Soda laughed as he put the pancakes on the table.
"I really don't think breakfast should be that risky," Darry countered, but he couldn't help smiling.
A few minutes later, Ponyboy shuffled into the room. Darry took a good look at him before saying anything, and he certainly looked like he had been up all night. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he looked pale and like he would fall asleep at any moment. Darry felt annoyed. Did he really think the solution to stopping the nightmares would be to just stop sleeping?
"Good morning, Ponyboy," Sodapop said lightly. "Fancy some pancakes?"
Ponyboy didn't answer, just plopped down in a seat.
"How did you sleep?" Darry asked. "Any nightmares?"
Ponyboy shook his head. "No nightmares," he mumbled as Sodapop put a plate of pancakes in front of him, and then took the seat next to him. Soda took a bite of pancake as Ponyboy looked down at them curiously.
"See, they taste fine," Sodapop announced, sounding a little surprised. "How 'bout them apples!"
Darry rolled his eyes and then focused back on Ponyboy. "Looks like you didn't sleep at all, kid," he said.
"Couldn't fall asleep," Ponyboy said, carefully taking a bite of pancake.
"Ponyboy, I know those nightmares have got you scared, but you still have to sleep," Darry said tiredly as he took a bite of his breakfast. The pancakes actually tasted pretty good, even if they did look moldy.
"I know," Ponyboy said stubbornly.
"Hey, how about after breakfast I'll sit with you on the couch again and you can take a nap," Sodapop suggested, obviously trying to release the tension.
"Yeah, sounds okay," Ponyboy said quietly.
They finished their breakfasts in silence.
"You two go ahead, I'll clean up," Darry said when they had finished. He gathered the plates and washed the dishes. When he went to check on Ponyboy and Sodapop he found that the TV was on and Ponyboy was stretched out across the couch with his head resting on a pillow that was in Sodapop's lap. Ponyboy was fast asleep. Sodapop ran his hand absentmindedly through Ponyboy's hair.
"Out like a light," Darry murmured, sitting down in the armchair next to the couch.
Sodapop smiled. "Yeah, he's exhausted," he said.
Ponyboy slept for hours. Around lunchtime Darry had to bring Sodapop a sandwich so he wouldn't have to move and disturb Ponyboy.
"Maybe we should wake him," Darry said quietly around mid afternoon.
"Why? You said yourself he needs his sleep," Sodapop objected.
"Yeah, but he's gotta sleep some tonight, you two have school in the morning," Darry pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess," Sodapop said reluctantly, looking down at his brother sleeping peacefully. "It's just nice to see him not screamin' bloody murder while he sleeps."
"Maybe you should stay with him tonight," Darry suggested. "Maybe he'll sleep better if he's not alone." Also it'll keep him from reading all night to stay awake, he thought to himself.
Sodapop nodded. "Good idea," he said. Then he gently shook Ponyboy's shoulder. "Ponyboy," he said. "Come on Ponyboy, time to get up." Ponyboy groaned and rolled so he was facing the inside of the couch. Sodapop smiled. "Well, I tried," he said raising his hands in defeat, his eyes laughing.
Darry rolled his eyes. "You didn't try," he said tolerantly. He moved over to the couch and crouched down. "Rise and shine, Pony," he said just before he began tickling Ponyboy's sides.
"Hey!" Ponyboy yelped before he started laughing. Sodapop grinned and joined in with tickling and Ponyboy was almost in tears from laughing so hard. "Can't…. breathe!" Ponyboy gasped, grinning widely.
Darry and Sodapop both stopped tickling him, both laughing themselves. It felt so incredibly… normal. Like maybe their parents weren't gone. Maybe they had just gone on vacation and Darry was just the older brother who was in charge until they got back.
"You can't sleep all day, Ponyboy," Darry said, getting up. "You gotta sleep some tonight." Ponyboy sat up and rubbed his eyes. "You hungry, kiddo? You missed lunch."
"Yeah," Ponyboy answered, yawning.
Darry went and got the extra sandwich he had made at lunchtime and handed it to Ponyboy. He watched as Ponyboy hungrily devoured the sandwich. He was glad to see he had gotten his appetite back.
"Are you feeling better?" Darry asked as he sat back in the armchair. "You look a lot better."
"Yeah, I feel fine," Ponyboy said as he swallowed a bite.
Darry nodded, relieved. If they could just understand these nightmares then it seemed like everything else would even out.
Sodapop was restless. Darry was surprised it had taken this long, usually Sodapop could never sit still but in the wake of their parents' tragic death it seemed like he was finally getting back to his old self. He told Darry he was going to walk down to the gas station to see Steve who was probably at work by now.
"You wanna come along, Pony?" Sodapop asked. "Get out and stretch your legs a bit?"
"Sure," Ponyboy said with a smile.
Darry was glad that things were finally starting to settle down. With Sodapop and Ponyboy out of the house Darry went through the help wanted ads in the newspaper. He had been working as a roofer for a few months now, hoping to save up for college. He liked the physical work that it required; it was something he was really good at. As he combed through the available jobs he was happy to find a few roofing and construction jobs listed. He circled them and made some phone calls. By the time Ponyboy and Sodapop returned for dinner he had some good leads.
Johnny and Dallas turned up for dinner as well. Dallas had a fresh black eye and as they ate he entertained them with his boasting of taking on three Socs at once earlier that afternoon.
"They're a bunch of wimps, man," Dallas went on, lighting up a cigarette even before he was done eating. "You should have seen this whiny Soc when I broke his nose, like he had never been punched in the face before. Hell, my old man broke my nose in a drunken rage when I was nine! You didn't see me whining about it."
They all laughed.
"The Socs are very protective of their faces," Sodapop commented. "That's all they got is their looks. Oh and nice cars. And nice clothes. And nice houses. And everything else. "
"Very true, Sodapop," Dallas laughed, pointing at him with his cigarette. He leaned back in his chair. "Gonna be a rumble soon. I can feel it in my bones."
"Look out kids, Dally is now psychic!" Sodapop laughed.
Darry laughed. But the truth was he wouldn't mind a rumble right about now. Things had been so tense lately that a meaningless fight was actually starting to sound pretty good.
"You'll see," Dallas said seriously. "Things are heating up out there. Won't be long before it explodes." He took a long drag of his cigarette.
"Wise words from the battlefield," Sodapop said with mock seriousness.
"Hey, what is life if not a war?" Dallas demanded, pounding his fist on the table for emphasis.
"Maybe you're life, Dally," Darry said with a laugh.
"Eh," Dallas grunted with a wave of his hand.
Sodapop stood and started clearing away the dishes. Johnny and Ponyboy started to head outside, but Darry stopped them.
"Help Sodapop with the dishes, then you can go outside," Darry told Ponyboy. "But just for a bit.
You got school in the morning."
"Yeah, yeah," Ponyboy said tiredly as he went to the sink.
"C'mon, Johnny, I'll loan you a cancer stick," Dallas said, heading outside with Johnny.
There was a lot of splashing as usual as Sodapop and Ponyboy did the dishes as quickly as possible before they ran out to the porch with Dally and Johnny. Darry smiled, noting how they were acting like little kids, but glad that they were able to. After looking through the help wanted ads one more time, Darry decided to go out and join them.
Ponyboy was with Johnny and Dallas at one end of the porch all smoking cigarettes. Steve had shown up and him and Sodapop were tossing a football on the front lawn in the fading light. Darry grinned. Playing football was something he sorely missed. He jumped down off the porch and just as Sodapop caught the football Darry tackled him to the ground.
"Ouf," Sodapop groaned, laughing. "Traveling!"
"That's not even the right sport, little buddy," Darry laughed. Sodapop had never been very in to organized sports.
"Soda!" Steve called, running over and Sodapop threw him the football, starting a game of keep away.
Darry jumped up and managed to catch Steve and wrestle the football away from him.
"Darry!" Dallas called.
Dallas had jumped over the porch railing and held out his hands, half smoked cigarette still in his mouth. Darry threw him the football and he ran as Steve and Sodapop gave chase. And just like that, that immense feeling of normalcy was back. Johnny and Ponyboy finished their cigarettes then ran to join them. Ponyboy intercepted a pass from Dallas meant for Darry and ran. He was incredibly fast, but Sodapop managed to cut him off, half tackling him and half tickling him, making him drop the football. Steve scooped it up, but Dallas quickly overtook him, throwing the football back to Darry.
"Get him!" Ponyboy called as both he and Johnny jumped on Darry, pulling him down to the ground.
Darry laughed and clutched onto the football as Ponyboy and Johnny clawed for it.
"Reinforcements!" Sodapop called as he and Steve jumped on the pile.
Dallas stood back and laughed as he lit up another cigarette, having lost his other one in the fray. Darry laughed as he pushed his way out from under the pile. It was dark at this point, the only light coming from the house, casting everyone in deep shadows. He wished so bad that they could just stay in this place. He wished they could just forget about the past week and just be kids. But he knew they couldn't. He knew he couldn't. He was an adult now and he had to take care of his younger brothers.
"All right, it's getting late," he said, standing up and brushing grass and dirt off himself. "You kids got school in the morning."
Dallas laughed. "That's right kids," he teased. "It's beddy-bye time."
Ponyboy glared and Sodapop just laughed. Darry playfully smacked Dallas upside the head as he headed back for the house.
"We'll come by and pick you and the kid up for school tomorrow morning," Steve told Sodapop as he headed out with Dallas and Johnny.
"I'll be in high school next year," Ponyboy mumbled indignantly as he headed back to the house.
"Steve is just messing with you," Sodapop said.
"So I've heard," Ponyboy mumbled as he jumped up the stairs and reentered the house, Sodapop right behind him.
"Make sure all your school books are together, you're gonna be too tired to look for them in the morning," Darry said, remembering how neither of his brothers were morning people especially since neither had been getting much sleep lately.
Ponyboy rolled his eyes as he headed for his room. Darry just watched him go. Just a few minutes ago they were back to being brothers. Now Darry was back to being the parent. Would he ever get used to this? Would he ever find some kind of balance?
He sighed as he headed for the kitchen with Sodapop in tow.
"I'll probably be late tomorrow," he said as he cleaned up the papers he had left scattered around. "I'm going to look into a few jobs after work."
"Yeah, okay," Sodapop said, sounding a little distracted.
"Think you could make dinner tomorrow?" Darry asked. He knew he had to delegate. He couldn't do everything on his own.
"No problem," Sodapop said easily. "Can't guarantee it'll be conventional." He grinned at Darry.
"As long as it's edible," Darry laughed.
"I'll see what I can do about that," Sodapop said thoughtfully.
Darry glanced at the clock. It was getting late. "You all ready for school tomorrow? Got your books together?"
"I didn't bring any home," Sodapop said with a shrug.
"You haven't done any homework in a week and a half?" Darry asked in disbelief.
"At least I won't forget any of my books," Sodapop said brightly.
Darry pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "It's almost ten," he said finally. "We should probably head to bed. Morning's gonna come awful fast, little buddy." He sighed. "Let's hope Pony has a quiet night."
"Amen, since I'll be sleeping right next to him," Sodapop laughed as he headed out of the kitchen.
All three of them washed up and got ready for bed. They were all unusually quiet, thinking about rejoining the rest of the world tomorrow. It would be a shock to see that the world had not stopped turning last week when they got that horrible news.
"Mind if I crash with you tonight?" Sodapop asked Ponyboy lightly.
"Yeah, sounds okay," Ponyboy said, trying to sound casual but looking a bit relieved.
"'Night you two," Darry said as he headed into his own room. He hoped that Sodapop would be enough to keep the nightmares away tonight. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.