"Go! Everyone in the house, right now! Go, go, go!"
"Jesus, Darry, I'm going!" Pony had a half-eaten sandwich in his hands, his mouth full as he spoke. He yelped as Steve elbowed him from behind, but didn't have a chance to glare before Two-Bit shoved him the rest of the way through the door. All the boys were either grumbling or cursing or laughing maniacally (in Two-Bit's case). Darry was behind them all, frantically ushering everyone into the Curtis living room.
"What's going on, Darry?" Soda frowned, his eyes over his shoulder to see if there was something chasing them. He was immediately distracted by Steve punching him in the shoulder, and the two boys fell to the ground, rolling around as they play-fought. Steve pinned Soda down by the shoulders, but Soda quickly got the upper hand, kicking Steve off of him with a laugh. "Cut it out!"
"He's worried about what they said in the papers, man." Dallas exhaled smoke in Darry's face, earning himself a shove that barely fazed him. Darry plucked the cigarette out of the blonde's hand and tossed it outside, his glare just daring Dallas to say a word about it. All he got was a scoff and Dallas flopped on the couch, clearly unconcerned about any of it.
"About the virus?" Johnny brought up the rear, walking over the threshold quickly so that Darry didn't shut the door on him. He glanced at the oldest member of their group, an eyebrow disappearing under his bangs. "Is it really that bad?"
"We're not taking any risks." Darry shut the door and turned all of its locks, then stood in front of it, his arms crossed over his chest. "Starting right now, we're in quarantine."
Every pair of eyes in the room looked up at him, bewilderment written on the boys' faces. A beat of silence, and then Steve was the first to pipe up. "And how long do you think that's gonna last, Dar?"
"As long as it takes." The amusement in Steve's voice had been clear, but Darry ignored it, instead walking forward to sit in his armchair. He sat up straight, figuring they'd all have questions about this new predicament. He was right, because as soon as he sat down, the living room became alive with voices.
"But how long?"
"Guess my folks won't mind..."
"What about food?"
"Do I still have to do homework?"
"You ain't keepin' me in this house, man."
"Where's everyone gonna sleep? Darry, we don't have enough room to-"
"Okay, okay, listen." Darry's voice thundered over the rest of the noise, and everyone shut up quick. He cleared his throat, voice dropping to its normal volume now that he had everyone's attention. "Soda, you'll sleep with me. Johnny sleeps with Pony. Dallas, Two-Bit, Steve, y'all fight over the couch and the chair. Someone can take the floor. A buddy of mine at work brought some stuff over from his pantry..." Darry waved a hand towards the corner of the room, showing everyone a shelf full of canned and boxed food. "...and yes, you still have to do your homework." He directed a pointed look at his youngest brother, ignoring the eye roll he got in return.
"Darry..." Two-Bit frowned, slowly sitting down on the couch next to Johnny. "I gotta go home to my mom and sister, I can't just-"
"Already called 'em." Darry had, seemingly, thought of everything, because the next thing he did was grab a cardboard box from next to his chair. He hoisted it into his lap and opened it, revealing a large amount of soap in bar form as well as in bottles. Everyone in the room was staring at Darry like he'd gone crazy. He met each person's gaze individually, then sighed, placing the box at his feet. "Listen... better this than any of us catching the virus. School's closed anyways, work's out for the next few weeks, we might as well take precautions."
"Yeah, yeah... listen, man, this isn't really my style." Dallas stood up from the couch, already pulling another cigarette out of his pocket along with a lighter. He began stepping towards the door, but froze in place when Darry cleared his throat expectantly. The blonde turned to look at him, already glaring, but he didn't have a chance to comment before Darry started speaking.
"If you leave now, you can't come back in the house," Darry stated calmly. All eyes were on him, once again shocked at the words leaving his lips. He'd never kicked any of their buddies out before, or banned them for that matter. However, he continued: "If you go out in public, you could be exposed to the virus, and then you'd expose all the rest of us, and who knows what'll happen after that?"
He and Dallas stared each other down, each one daring the other to make a move. It was clear in Dallas's face that he was having some conflict; he crashed at the Curtis place more often than not these days, and if Darry was really serious, it could leave him without anything to buddy around with for weeks. Several tense moments passed before a sigh left the greaser's lips, and he sat back down without a word.
"Good." Darry seemed satisfied with this outcome, and he stood up, once again addressing the whole room. "We'll go a week, and then we'll talk about what comes next. No one leaves this house unless it's an emergency. You can go to the backyard if you need fresh air." He paused for a moment, then looked directly at his brothers. "You two go gather all the extra blankets and pillows in the linen closet. I'll bring down Dad's old camping cot from the attic."
Darry's speech ended, and the three brothers got to work with the preparations for what would likely be the longest week of any of their lives.
To be continued! Leave me some feedback ;)