For The Love of a Greaser

Chapter 28

Getting An Eyefull

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of food cooking downstairs.

"Mmm…" I groaned, turning a bit on the bed.

I could feel the warmth beneath me as I laid there, pealing my eyes open to find Darry still laying there, his arm draped over me. We must have moved a bit during the night because we were on our side now, my face buried against his chest. I curled up against him a bit more, feeling him move a bit. He opened his eyes a moment later, rubbing them with a yawn.

"Mornin," I yawned.

"Mornin," he nodded, stretching his arms out above his head as he fell over onto his back.

I just laid there a bit longer, keeping my head on top of his chest.

"Who's down there cookin?" he asked, brows furrowing together slightly.

"I don't know," I shrugged, feeling his hand come down to rest against my back like he had done last night.

I wanted so much just to fall back asleep, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't fall asleep. Even with the soothing feeling of Darry's hand running up and down my back.

"That feels nice," I whispered.

"I bet it does," he chuckled, letting his hand trail over my side ever so lightly.

I giggled when he did this, twitching a bit. He wasn't the only one with ticklish sides. If you hit mine just right, I'll go into a fit of laughter.

"Come on, let's get up and get some food," he said, sitting up regardless of my protests.

After a couple minutes of pointless protests, we were both up out of bed. I went downstairs first, leaving Darry to change, a yawn escaping my lips once at the bottom, walking into the kitchen. I found Ponyboy standing there over the stove cooking.

"Hey there kid," I greeted, stretching my arms over my head with another yawn.

He gave me a smile, turning back to his cooking a moment later.

"Hey."

"Is Eden up yet?" I asked, biting back a yawn without much luck.

"Yeah. She went back upstairs though," he told me, flipping the eggs over in the skillet.

Nodded my head after that, walking over to the table and grabbing a biscuit from the bowl. I never would have pegged Ponyboy as the type that knew how to cook. Perhaps he had picked it up from his parents like Darry had. I stepped out back for a moment, an arm around my stomach as I bit into the biscuit. It was a bit chilly, but it still felt nice I guess. A couple minutes later, I heard a commotion inside, making my back in. It was Steve and Two-Bit that were causing trouble, Ponyboy picking things up off of the floor. Steve was poking fun at him for his hair, waving a newspaper around and Two-Bit had a beer in his hands.

"Isn't it a bit early for this?" I asked.

"Ah, there she is," Two-Bit exclaimed, pulling me to him, his arms wrapping around me in a tight bear hug.

"Two-Bit, let go!" I cried, feeling myself being crushed.

Steve just laughed as he watched, earning a glare from me in return.

"Alright, everyone out of the kitchen," I said, pushing them out.

I then cleaned up the mess that they had caused, wiping it up off of the floor.

"How's it feel to be a hero, huh?" I heard Steve ask Ponyboy after a moment.

"A what?"

He had no clue what he was talking about, that, and he sounded a bit annoyed as well.

"A hero, man. Like a…like a big shot even," Steve continued, thumb hook in the rim of his waist band. "Beer for breakfast Two-Bit?" he asked skeptically.

Two-Bit merely ignored him though, taking a drink of his beer. Personally, I didn't know why he was even drinking it this early, and for breakfast no less. I just shook my head though, walking into the dinning room, finding Ponyboy staring down at the paper. I looked over his shoulder, finding three pictures printed on the front. One of him, Johnny, and Dally. Ponyboy's looked like the most recent because it showed off his blond hair. Johnny's was probably his school picture from this year. Although, when I looked at Dally's I knew that it had to be from real early this year, probably at the beginning of the year. His hair was shorter in the picture and that's how I knew.

I tuned out most of what Steve and Two-Bit were saying though as I let my eyes read over some of the print. I didn't look up until I heard Ponyboy mention something about the boys' home.

"We ain't gonna let no one put you or Soda in a boys' home," I told him firmly watching walk into the bathroom.

"They ain't gonna put me in a boys' home," Ponyboy mumbled.

"Ah, hell Ponyboy, they don't do that to heros," Steve said, stuffing his face with chocolate cake.

"You're making a mess Randle," I pointed out, watching bits and pieces fall onto the floor.

"Hey, were is Soda and Superdope anyway?" Steve asked, ignoring me completely.

A moment later, the shower curtain opened, reveal Soda with nothing, but a towel as he tried to cover himself.

"Ponyboy, shut the door," he said.

"Oh! Morning, Mr. Universe," Steve laughed, looking into the bathroom.

I swear, my face went a bit red at this. The last thing I needed to see was an eyefull of Darry's kid brother naked. Darry took my mind off of it though as he came from behind, grabbing Steve around the middle and lifting him up. Steve nearly choked on the piece of cake his was eating, icing now all over his nose.

"Super what?" Darry asked, staring down at him.

Steve just stood back up properly, wiping the corner of his mouth.

"All brawn, no brains," Steve muttered, watching as Darry walked back into the living room.

"Hey, Darry, you seen my DX shirt anywhere?" Soda as walking out of the bathroom, the towel now covering his front fully.

Darry just responded with a no, sitting down and tying his shoes.

"Hey, you gotta wear pants too buddy, you don't get no potential honors," Steve chuckled, putting a piece of cake up in Soda's face.

"What about my jeans?" he asked, pushing Steve's hand away.

"Yeah, I ironed them, they're in my closet," Darry told him, standing back up. "Hey, hurry up, you're gonna be late."

"Darry, you uh, you hear about the juvenile court thing?" Ponyboy asked, walking over to him.

"Yeah, the cops told me last night," Darry nodded, pulling on his button up shirt, his eyes never leaving Pony's.

"Hey, I'll tell you what, after we stomp the Socs real good me and Steve are gonna through a party and everyone's gonna get ripped," Soda said.

"A-Whoo!" Steve howled in agreement, pumping his arm.

I just shook my head at this, picking up another biscuit.

"Neither of you needs to be getting drunk off your ass," I said, pushing a bit of hair out of my face.

"Oh really, you gonna stop us," Steve said playfully, getting up in my face.

I gave him a flat look, pushing him away. Last thing I needed was to be around any of them if they were drunk. Two-Bit was pretty much the same whether he was drunk or not, just slightly more rowdy is all.

"Hey, where you gonna get the dough little man?" Darry asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Ah, I'll think of something," Soda told him.

"Eden, get down here!" I called.

"I'm coming!" was her response.

A moment later, she was coming down the steps, a skeptical look on her face as she looked at everyone.

"We're getting ready to leave, so I want you to stay down here," I told her, moving toward the stairs.

I had to change my shirt before I left for work.

"What are you lookin at pipsqueak?" Steve asked, eyeing Eden.

"What have you been doing, eating mud?" she asked in disgust.

Everyone laughed at this, including me. Eden could be a real spit fire at times when she wanted to be, even more so if she didn't' like somebody. When I came back down though, they were still picking at each other.

"Alright, alright already!" I exclaimed. "You guys are giving me a headache.

"Ponyboy," Darry called, calling his brother back inside.

It was obvious that he wasn't sure on leaving him her by himself. Heck, I wouldn't be so sure either after everything the kid had been look.

"Look, maybe I shouldn't leave you here by yourself, maybe I ought to take the day off," he said, tapping his notepad against his head.

I stood there tucking my shirt in as they talked, keeping my eyes on Darry and Ponyboy. Eden and Steve just kept shoving each other, leaving me about three seconds from smacking both of them in the back of the head.

"Don't worry about it Dar, I'll babysit him," Two-Bit said off-handedly, earning a smack in the back of the head from Ponyboy.

Within seconds, they were both on the floor wrestling, Two-Bit grabbing him in a headlock.

"Two-Bit, lay off," I said, kicking his foot.

"Hey, Soda, we gotta get to work," Steve called, moving Eden out of the way and walking over the two toward the door.

"Two-Bit, lay off, he ain't lookin too good," Darry said firmly.

"Yeah, lay off Two-Bit," Ponyboy groaned, standing up with Darry's help. "Lazy bum," he muttered.

After that, Darry grabbed his tool belt, turning toward Ponyboy.

"Pony, you smoke more than a pack today and I'll skin you, you understand?" he said, walking toward the door.

"Yeah," Ponyboy mumbled tiredly. "You carry more than one bundle of roofin at a time today and me and Soda here will skin you, understand?" he countered, making Darry laugh.

I just shook my head at them, a small smile on my face. Those boys were something else all together, that was for sure.

"Hey, say hi to Johnny," Darry said, before walking out of the house.

"All right," Two-Bit nodded, eyes glued to the TV.

I then turned to the guys for a moment, before locking eyes with Eden.

"Well, I'm gonna get goin. I want you to stay here with Ponyboy and Two-Bit," I said firmly, grabbing my jacket from the chair.

"What?" she exclaimed, eyes slightly wide.

"You heard me. You've been out of the house too much lately. Besides, it won't kill you to hang out with these two for a few hours," I told her, before pushing the door open. "I'll see you guys later. Keep an eye on her you two," I said, before walking down the steps and over to Darry's truck.

She may not like it, but she was just going to have to deal with it.

T

Ponyboy and Two-Bit watched as Eden stuck her tongue out at Abigail's retreating form. She didn't do well with authority and that was obvious.

"Come on now, we won't bite, promise," Two-Bit laughed.

"Oh, I'm not worried about you Two-Bit," she said, before looking over at Ponyboy. "You aren't the one that pulled stupid crap and nearly got yourself killed," she said.

Ponyboy turned around to stare at her for this.

"Yeah, well, it's stupid crap like that that saved your life," he pointed out, moving back toward the kitchen.

She didn't say anything at that point, knowing that he was right. After all, Darry had pulled something similar, stupidly risking his life to save her.

"Shut up," she grumbled, grabbing the last biscuit from the bowl and walking out back.

She didn't go anywhere though, she merely sat on the back step, chewing little bits and pieces off the biscuit. She was more annoyed than anything because everyone had been so upset all week. Then, all of a sudden they got a call telling them that Ponyboy was in the hospital. The stupid kid had been reckless and nearly gotten himself killed. She was so annoyed at him and that was why she hadn't gone with everyone last night. In fact, if the kid hadn't been out cold when they had brought him home, she probably would have smacked him in the back of the head for all his trouble.

"Idiot," she mumbled.

"Hey, Eden, you gonna help us clean up or what?" Ponyboy called from inside the house.

Eden rolled her eyes at this.

"Can't you do it yourself?" she asked, standing up from her spot on the step.

"I'd appreciate it if you helped," he said quietly, placing a few dishes in the sink. "Besides, its about time for the people from the state to check up on us," he said, catching her attention.

That was the last thing that she needed, trouble because of a dirty house. Now that her and Abigail were living with the Curtis' it meant that the state would be checking up on her too the same time that they would for the boys. She could only imagine the grief her sister would get from all of it. Plus, she knew that Abigail would have a fit if Eden ever ended up in a girls' home. So, deciding to suck it up and deal with the two, she walked back inside to help.

T

About a hour later, they were finally done cleaning. The floor had been vacuumed, the dishes washed, the table wiped off, and even the rooms cleaned and straightened. Everything that needed to be done had been done and now they were getting ready to leave and go see Johnny.

"You sure ya don't wanna come?" Two-Bit asked, pulling his leather jacket on.

Eden just shook her head no, grabbing her own jacket from the back of the couch.

"No, I'd rather not see them like that, all burnt up," she said, rubbing her arm. "Could you just drop me off at my friend's house?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ponyboy sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Come on, let's go Two-Bit."

So, with that they left the house, walking down the street a few blocks to drop Eden off.

T

By the time that one o'clock came around I was throwing my jacket on. It was time for my break, so I was going to spend it at the hospital with Dally as long as he didn't irritate me too much.

"I'll be back in a while," I said, grabbing the little brown bag of food that I'd set out. "I promised my friend that I'd stop by and see him at the hospital," I explained.

"Alright, but don't take too long," Joe chuckled.

"See ya after a while," i called, walking out of the diner.

From there, I headed down the street, making the long trek to the hospital. Although, in reality, it was probably around twelve blocks from here.

"Crap, that reminds me, cigarettes," I reminded myself.

With that in mind, I entered a nearby store, walking up to the counter.

"Excuse me, can I get a pack of cigarettes?" I asked, pulling some money out of my back pocket.

"What kind?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um," I took a look at the small selection that he had, allowing my eyes to skim over them. "Those ones," I said, pointing to the red pack.

Once that was done he rang them up and I gave him the money. He then placed them in a small paper bag and handed them to me, giving me a small smile.

"Here you go."

"Have a nice day," I said, before walking back out.

Now, I had everything I needed. I could only imagine what the look on Dally's face would be if I forgot his cigarettes. Granted, I didn't like the idea of him smoking or any of the guys for that matter, but it seemed to put him at ease and right now that's what he needed. Johnny on the other hand, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Apparently, he wasn't doing too good when they brought him in, but I wasn't going to give up on him. I'd help him get through this the best that I could.

T

After about 15 minutes of speed walking, I finally got to the hospital, my breath heaving in and out. Lord, I needed a drink.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Dallas Winston?" I said, standing in front of the front desk.

The nurse smiled at me for a moment, before checking over her papers.

"Ah, yes, Dallas Winston. He's been moved to the second floor, room 23," she announced.

"Thank you," I said, bowing my head, before walking off toward the elevator.

I swear, I loved elevators. They cut down on the walking. Once I was upstairs, I looked both ways, turning left down the hallway. I counted the rooms off as I walked, until I came to Dally's, knocking on the door.

"I said leave me alone!" he yelled.

I nearly laughed at this, but held it in.

"It's me, Abby. Are you decent this time?" I asked, waiting to push the door open.

"Yes."

I doubted he was telling the truth though, but there was nothing that I could do about it, so I pushed the door open. As expected, he was seated on the bed in his underwear, the sheet on the floor and his legs crossed as he sat there lounging.

"I will never understand you," I said, shaking my head.

He just grinned at me as he sat up, leaning forward a bit.

"You should feel honored, I don't let just any girl see me in my underwear," he laughed.

I just gave him a dry look, before tossing him his cigarette at him, moving to sit down in a chair.

"There's your cigarettes, so shut up," I told him, sitting down in the chair.

"Ah, no kiss?" he pouted.

"Sorry, but no," I said sweetly, biting back a laugh.

It came out before too long though, Dally joining me.

"Anyway, are you hungry?" I asked, pealing open the top of the bag.

"Depends on what ya got man," he said, getting up out of bed and walking toward me.

I sighed, before rolling my eyes.

"Before I leave today, I'm getting you a pair of pants," I said dryly, pulling a sandwich out of the bag and handing it to him.

"Ah, you're too kind, giving me all sorts of things," he chuckled, before sitting back down on the bed.

This time, he actually covered himself up, much to my relief.

"You know, the guys came up and saw me earlier," he said off handedly as he bit into his sandwich.

"So you saw Eden then?" I asked, biting into my own.

"Heck no. I got no clue where that little girl was," he told me, causing me to groan.

"I swear, why can't she just listen to me for once? I told her to stay with Ponyboy and Two-Bit," I voiced, running a hand through my hair.

I don't know why, but she never listens to me.

"Don't seem like she listens much," he commented, taking another bite.

"That's because she doesn't."

If she did, then I wouldn't have nearly as many problems at times. If she followed the rules that I set, then I'd have far less to worry about.

"You seen Johnny yet?" he asked after a bit, finishing what was left of his sandwich.

"No...not yet," I said quietly, placing my food down.

I was afraid to see what I'd find upon seeing him, afraid what it might do to me. He was such a good kid and now he had to go through this.

"He doesn't deserve this," I whispered.

"Yeah and I'll kill 'em if they ever pull a stunt like that again," Dally said pointedly, obviously annoyed at the two of them for doing what they did.

"They did a good thing though," I said quietly, chancing a glance at him.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have," he told me, tossing his wrapper in the trashcan.

"You went in there after them though and helped," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's because I would o' gotten my head kicked in by you Darrel if I hadn't," he said.

"Bull crap. You did it because you care about those two and because you knew it was the right thing," I said, pointing a finger at him.

"Yeah, whatever," he scoffed.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, then I guess I'll just take the pie and leave," I shrugged, standing up from my chair.

"Wait, you brought pie?" he asked.

"Yes," I nodded, trying to hide the smile on my face.

I knew that would get his attention, it always got the guys' attention whenever I brought any home.

"Give it here," he demanded, holding his hand out.

"Say please."

"Hell no!"

"Fine, then no pie," I told him, walking over to the door.

"Alright, alright, can I please have some pie?" he asked.

"Yes you may."

With that, I handed it over, giving him a plastic fork.

"Just don't give the nurses too much trouble?" I asked, knowing the response that was coming.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be a freaking angel man," he laughed, stuffing a piece of pie in his mouth.

"Yeah right," I laughed. "Anyway, I'll be back in a minute, then I'm gonna check on Johnny," I said, leaving the paper bag sitting at the food of the bed.

I then walked out of the room and down to the elevator, taking it back down to the first floor. After that, I located the gift shop, happy when I saw that they sold your standard pants and shirts.

"He's gonna have a hard time explaining this now," I laughed, taking them up to the register.

The lady there gave me a bored look as I placed the jeans on the counter.

"Will that be all for you today?" she asked, raking the jeans toward her.

"Yes, that's it," I nodded, once again pulling money from my back pocket.

"That'll be $9.99," she said, holding her hand out expectantly.

I didn't say anything though as I placed the ten dollar bill in her hand, grabbing the jeans afterward.

"Keep the change," I told her, walking out of the gift shop with the jeans folded over my arm.

I swear, some people just don't care for their jobs very much. I mean a job like that, I'd take in a second. At least that girl got paid minimum wage. I got less than that because I worked as a waitress at Joe's. Granted, he still paid me more than anyone else because of how long I'd been working for him and my loyalty, but still. For now though, that was the only job that I had. If I needed to, then I'd take on a second, but right now that wasn't necessary.

"Alright, I'm back, and now you have no excuses," I told him, tossing the pants at him.

"I hope you got the right size," he teased.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll fit your narrow behind," I said. "So next time I see you, you better be covered."

"Yeah, whatever Princess," he chuckled, get up and slipping them on in front of me.

I just rolled my eyes as I turned back to the door, stopping to look back at him as he zipped them up.

"Call me later, alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Now, get outta here man, before I kick you out," he smirked, before sitting back on his bed and pulled a cigarette out.

"Oh yeah," I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a little match book. "You'll be needing these," I finished, tossing them his way.

"Thanks," he nodded, a small smile on his face.

"See ya later Dal," I called, walking out.

"Yeah, see ya."

After closing his door, I walked down to the nurse's station.

"Um, excuse me, could you tell me where Johnny Cade's room is?" I asked politely.

"Why certainly, he's up on the next floor in room six," she said, a smile on her face.

"Thank you very much ma'am," I replied, making my way over to the elevator and up onto the next floor. "Okay, room six," I voiced out loud, looking around.

It wasn't very hard to find it, but it was hard to enter. I could see from the doorway the shape that he was in and he didn't look good.

"Johnny?" I called softly, slowly walking inside.

"Abby?" he croaked.

His voice sounded scratchy, kind of like sandpaper. It didn't surprise me though with the amount of smoke he'd inhaled.

"How ya doin kid?" I asked, trying my best to put on a smile for him.

"Could be better," he said tiredly.

"You're gonna get through this, alright?" I said softly, placing a hand of top of his head and smoothing out his hair.

It seemed to put him at ease, so I kept at it for about several minutes, until he fell back asleep. I could feel tears in my eyes as I stood there. I wished that I could have talked to him a bit more, but I knew he was exhausted.

"I guess I'll see you later kid," I whispered, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "See ya..."

It was hard to walk out like that, but I had to. I had to return to work. Even with that though, I felt like going back to Dally's room and sitting there for a couple hours, just to get my mind off of things. Even if we didn't talk much, I still felt comfortable around him. Yes, Dally may be a hardcore hood at times, but he was still my friend.

"I just wanna go home," I groaned, raking a hand through my hair. "I just wanna go home..."

Yay! Chapter 28 is up and out. I hope that everyone enjoyed it? Watch the movie to see Soda like Abigail did. XD Anyway, please REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts, ideas, opinions, and feelings on this chapter/story. I'd LOVE to hear FEEDBACK on this one. Also, everyone MESSAGE me with what you would like to see in the story? It'll give me ideas. Also, for the record, I am NOT killing off Dally and Johnny. I repeat, I am NOT killing off Dally and Johnny! So no worries. :) Thanks everyone! If I'm lucky, chapter 29 might be up the day after tomorrow. I doubt it will be up tomorrow, but you never know. It depends on how tired I am tomorrow after the four hour trip home in the car. XD