I got bored, you get entertained. Fair swap? I thought so.

Disclaimer: I own the character, Hinton owns the stage and L'amour owns the name.

Warning: Technically some child abuse ahead. Is sixteen still a child? Meh. Warning for mild violence, then.

On with the show

I spent the night and the next on the Mathews' couch and was pleasantly awoken to the smell of toast on Monday morning. Katie and I sat at the table together and munched on the jam covered pieces with little conversation, but there was more than there was yesterday. I think she was warming up to me and I was a little unsettled by that. I didn't want to hurt anyone when I left, so it would be better if I never saw Katie Mathews again. Two-Bit was going to be hard enough. He just wouldn't understand.

Today was my last day in Tulsa. I was leaving and I wasn't coming back. Never…Well, maybe some day when I wasn't constantly on my guard because the state seemed to think I still needed one of the people in my family to take care of me when I generally ended up taking care of them. Until then, I had to keep moving and keep living like the nameless nomad I had grown into. That was the only way things like this were avoided.

But there were three things that needed to be taken care of. Thing one was getting to work and getting that money that I knew was being held over my head for the boss's sole amusement. Thing two was my duffle that was stuffed and ready to go under my cousin's bed. Thing three was the only thing I foresaw problems with and that thing was Sam. There was a big chance Two-Bit would be there and then there was getting Sam away from Ponyboy and risking running into his friends as well. I knew it was going to be a hard day before I walked out the Mathews' front door with Katie calling a goodbye after me. Two-Bit hadn't come home last night. That made today easier and at the same time, infinitely harder.

I pushed that to the back of my mind and walked with a little more determination towards the diner. I was early this morning; the open sign wasn't even turned outwards yet. So I walked around the back, like usual, and let myself in. For the first time since I started on this shift, Davie wasn't there before me. Feeling a little uneasy about that, I shut the door behind me and called out a tentative 'hello'. A moment later and Stella was out from the bathroom with the boss right behind her. I was pretty sure I had arrived just in time to miss whatever it was they were doing. The boss scratched his chest and thumbed towards the bathroom where Fran's clothes still were. I nodded knowing today was going to be another day like Friday. By the time I was changed, Davie was already sweeping the floor out front and gave me a wide smile.

"Good morning, Passin' Through," he greeted and I wanted to sigh

He wasn't going to let the name thing drop. I had half a mind to give him my full name and let him stew on it, but it wasn't fair.

"Good morning, Davie," I answered with a lot less enthusiasm

"You're early."

"Yeah," I answered with a sigh "If I'm early, maybe I'll get to leave early."

"Solid reasoning, but it probably won't pan out that way." He shrugged "Care to wipe down the tables for me?"

"Yeah, sure. I didn't realize you did so much around here."

He shrugged and set the broom against the wall before reaching for the mop.

"Before you came along it was the boss, Stella, Jim, Franny, and Me." He shrugged "Jim and Stella split the cooking, the boss handles the resister and figures and Franny kept the customers happy. So that left me to do everything else. Since you got here I've been pretty much busing and cleaning out front."

"Oh," I answered, wiping down the closest table

"Something the matter?" he asked, leaning on the mop handle

"No, nothing is the matter," I answered, wishing I had my hair down to hide behind

"Sure it ain't," he sighed "And your name's really Passin' Through."

"Yeah," I answered not paying attention to him anymore

I was busy looking out the window at where several factory men were getting off the bus for another long day at work. One of them stopped and looked through the window of the diner and I looked right back at him.

"Bye, Uncle Jebb," I whispered and he turned away towards the factory with the rest of the workers "Ever wonder about the random people you see on the bus?"

"Yeah, sometimes," Davie admitted "Sometimes I just make up things about them for lack of anything else."

I never had thought about it before. I wondered about the people who sat down to dinner and seemed to be going through the perfect family routine when you looked through the front window. I'd been almost everywhere, seen almost everything and I still had no idea what was out there in the normal.

I turned to Davie and sent him a little smile before finishing wiping down the tables. Today was going to be a good day, even if I had to bend over backwards to make it work. I never went through this with anywhere else. I guess I got a little too attached to Tulsa and the people who resided in its norm.

"Hey, it's pay day," Davie reminded and I rolled my eyes at him.

I hadn't forgotten. What was it with boys and repeating the obvious? Why did he think I actually came to work? Davie sent me a curious look and hastily looked back down and back to work. Well, maybe I wasn't going to have to do anything for it to be a good day after all.

As it was the day dragged by and when it finally hit five I was dead on my feet and about ready to crawl under the counter for a good three day nap. Davie looked just as tired even though he worked the same shift every day. He was bent over the sink, cleaning the last few dishes out of the soapy water. He glanced over at me and flicked his wet fingers at me. I gaped at him and he sighed.

"That's your cue to come over here, get a handful of water and get me wet," he explained with a slight smirk

"This is a game?" I asked, remembering my dad and I had splash fights when I was little, but Dad wasn't right in the head – maybe that was Davie's problem

"Oh, Passin' Through." He shook his head "So many things I will have to teach you."

'You won't have the chance.' It was a sad thought. I was told once I wore my emotions on my face, so I splashed the surface of the water and sent a wave right at Davie before he could start in on me again. He sputtered water and sent me a vicious look before splashing water at me. I felt the warm water hit my arms and started splashing back at him without waiting for an invitation. We were both laughing and sputtering and splashing at this point. Normally I would have been upset about getting soaked in dirty dish water, but these weren't my clothes and I was leaving town. I think I was entitled to a little fun.

"Hey!" the boss snapped coming into the room

We both stopped laughing, splashing and smiling as soon as we heard him and turned to face him like guilty children. He sighed, looking the mess over with a glare before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a stack of green bills and we both eyed it hungrily.

"Shouldn't give either of you shit 'cause of this mess," he muttered, separating the bills into two halves "Take it, clean up this mess and get the hell out of here."

Davie took the money from him and handed me one of the stacks. I folded it over and wondered where the hell I was going to stick it. The boss didn't spare us another glance before disappearing into the back room. Davie glanced at me and shrugged before picking up the mop from the corner. There were puddles all around our feet.

"Go get changed up and then we can get out of here," he told me and I did as he asked, not at all wanting to help clean up the mess I had help make

By the time I was semi-dry and back in my usual clothes, Davie had the place cleaned up for the next shift to come on for the next six hours before closing. Jim wasn't there yet, so I was glad we were getting out of there when we were. What can I say? I really didn't appreciate waiting around for creepy men to show up when I had left the knife I usually kept in my boot in my duffle. Sometimes the things that kept you safe got you in more trouble than they were worth.

I smirked at Davie, tucking the money in my hip pocket before walking out the back way with him. He immediately started talking about all the things he was going to buy with this bi-weekly round of wages. Eggs, milk, cheese…it wasn't the type of list you had when you just got paid for the first time in two weeks.

"My dad ran out on us last year and I have three little brothers," he explained when I worried my lip to keep from asking "Ma makes money, but it isn't enough. That's why I work."

I nodded, knowing what it was to be hungry, and admired him a little. He'd dropped out of school for this job just so he could bring in enough money to help keep his family fed. He never complained or let on once that there was anything more to his being there than to make my life interesting. He smirked a little and asked me what I was going to do with my share. After his show of honesty, I wasn't sure what to tell him. I shrugged and he prodded.

"C'mon, you worked through threats and taunts. There has to be something you plan on doing with that money," he urged

I sighed and looked him over deciding he was trustworthy and I could tell him.

"I'm a drifter," I explained "This'll get me somewhere warm for the winter."

"Why not just stay here?" he asked and I shook my head

I'd asked myself the same thing a dozen times throughout the day. Why not just live and work like every other person in Tulsa…well, excluding Two-Bit. I had no answer but fear. I'd lived a long time outside society and what I knew from when I did live like everyone else…well, there wasn't anything pleasant about where I got put. In two more years I would be a legal adult and then maybe I could appreciate life on my own terms like every other person in the world. Until then, moving on was what I did best.

"It's what I do, Davie," I answered "I move on and I make things work. It's been just me and Sam for so long…I have to wonder if we're fit for polite company."

"You're fine for polite company," he answered with a funny look

"Present company being polite?" I asked and he grinned

"Never," he replied as we crossed into the east side "Need me to walk you home?"

I was going to refuse, but simply nodded and kept my eyes peeled for the right turns that would take me back to Uncle Jebb's. There I would grab my duffle, get Sam….and get the hell out of town. And it seemed like it was all going to happen sooner than it should because we were standing right outside Uncle Jebb's house.

"This is it," I told him and he nodded

"And here you keep surprising me. Do you know who lives there?" he asked me, nodding towards the house

"Yeah, I know who lives there. Bye, Davie. Have a nice life," I offered, putting my hand out there to shake his

"Bye, Pass. You have a safe trip," he replied, shaking my hand "How come I feel like this is a first date?"

"My first date wore ducky pajamas."

"How the hell is a guy supposed to take that one?" he asked with a laugh

I smirked at him and shoved his chest lightly before walking towards the front door. I turned and waved before disappearing into the house. I watched as Davie shook his head and started off down the street, kicking a rock in front of him like a little lost puppy. I'd thought it before and I'd think it again; that boy was too good looking and I was leaving town.

I turned and nearly walked right into Uncle Jebb. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he looked mean enough to spit glass. My bottom lip was immediately tucked under my front teeth – an old nervous habit of mine I had never been able to shake – and I was tensed for the worst. Aunt June used to look at me like that when she was mad. Daddy was worse, but Uncle Jebb was trying.

"Let's have it,"' he ordered

I felt the wad of money in my pocket and knew I looked guilty. The old 'I don't know what you're talking about' was not going to work, not this time, not with him.

"No," I answered with a shake of my head

"It wasn't a request. Give it over," he ordered again

"I earned it," I replied, trying to sound anything but afraid – it wasn't working

"I earned this house. I work every damn day to make sure it stays where it is. You squat under it. I want that damn money."

I knew if I took a step back he would be on me in a second. Aunt June was like that. If I tried to dart around him, I was going to get it, probably worse than she ever gave. But if I gave up that money, I was going to every pay day.

I guess standing there was his trigger. He closed the distance between us and invaded my personal space. I was shaking. I'd taken on other bums; I'd even stabbed in self defense. But I never could will myself not to be afraid of Daddy's glare – Jebb's glare. That's when my lip split open and I was only being supported by his vice grip on my arm. I was in shock. Daddy and Aunt June never hit the face. Daddy spanked and Aunt June hit where the social workers wouldn't see. Daddy called it discipline; Aunt June was drunk and called it teaching. Jebb was just doing this out of greed; nothing beyond it but meeting his sober want.

Jebb's lips were moving, but I was too concentrated on my own lip to know what he was saying. That's when he smacked me and shook me hard. I gasped in fright and he let go of me only to have me fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I heard him curse at me then and then the boot connected with my hip. I yelped and tried to cover myself up before the next kick, but I still caught it to the ribs. Then I finally heard him.

"Get the hell up. The boy never sat there and took it like that," he growled "Get the hell up."

I tired and I was rewarded with another kick to the ribs for my efforts in trying to get my knees under me. I yelped and tried to curl up again, but the kick was even harder to my curved and tensed back. What seemed like forever and a million hits later, Uncle Jebb swore a blue streak and touched my hip. I flinched and he smacked me.

"I ain't interested in that," he informed me, reaching into my pocket for the money

He was still crouched over me while he counted it. I didn't even know how much it was, but I knew it was more than I had had in my hands for a good while. He stood up and tucked it into his own pocket. That's when he looked down at me again with that lifeless stare.

"Next time I ask you for something, you give it when I tell you to," he growled "You pull a stunt like this again and I don't care when the damn government is coming to check up on you, you're going to be black and blue for a month. You hear me?"

I nodded, curling up on myself tighter. Jebb seemed to think it was enough of an answer before reaching for his jacket off the chair. He was at the door before he spoke again.

"Go get cleaned up and if there's any blood on the carpet, we'll be having another little talk. The government is still coming on the fifteenth."

He didn't need to finish. I finally knew what the 'or else' was behind his statement. He nodded and slipped out of the house and most likely would be slipping into a bottle of booze. The car was gone before I bothered pulling myself up.

I hurt everywhere. There wasn't a speck of blood on his precious carpet. Somehow it didn't seem fair. But since I would have to scrub it, I didn't think stupid things like that again. I didn't know if I could get up if I went down again, either. I stumbled on rubber legs all the way down to the bathroom. I didn't bother looking in the mirror. I just wet the corner of my shirt in the sink and applied it to my lip. It hurt and I flinched from my own gentle touch before turning off the light and going across the hall.

The bed was made just as I left it with his clean clothes on the edge of the bed. I avoided them and curled in on myself at the top of the bed with one of his pillows cuddled close. It still smelled like cheap aftershave. I pulled my shirt to my lip again and held it there, ignoring the pain. It was soothing after a minute and by the time it lost its wet, cool feel I was fighting to keep my eyes open. The left one was going to swell up on me and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. So I looked out the window at the full moon until everything went out of focus.

It was sometime later when the moon suddenly went dark and the window creaked as it was forced up towards the ceiling. The black shape pulled itself through the window and I made no attempt to move. What could he do that could possibly be worse? He was too busy pulling himself through the window to notice me.

He looked at the door for a moment to let his eyes adjust before glancing at the pile of clothes on the bed. He cursed and looked right at me; ice blue meeting ice blue and red swelling.

"Fuck," he breathed the word strongly

Amen. Welcome home, Cousin.

Well, bed time. You all get the thrilling conclusion after my outline for History is done…ugg…

Any comments at all are welcome and flames are accepted.

See ya in the funny papers!!!

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