"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different?"
-C.S. Lewis
Two-Bit sighed as he stepped off the bus. He was exhausted, and honestly, kind of pissed. That was just the way he was, ticked by slightest things.
Before, he was so energetic. Optimistic, goofy, enthusiastic. Happy. But now, he could hardly get out of bed in the morning.
For a short moment, he wondered who his mother had arranged to pick him up, hoping it would be the girl who had been on his mind since he was 18. He looked around, looking for her. They hadn't seen each other in years. He thought pitifully that she was probably married by then and it felt as though a boulder had been dropped in his stomach.
But in the end, it was his mother who spotted him. Not his dream girl.
"Oh, my darling boy!" His mother ran up to him, smiling and on the verge of tears. "I'm so happy to see you in one piece!" She hugged him, and Two-Bit groaned.
"Ma, there are people here."
Ms. Matthews leaned back on her heels, examining her son. "Excuse me for being excited to see my little boy."
If you could call him her little boy. He was 26 now, and looked older. His grey eyes were cloudy and blank, not at all showing the happy-go-lucky spirit he used to have. Not to mention his hair. The red-brown sideburns he was once so proud of were gone, and his now slightly-longer-that-a-buzz-cut style was matted with mud and hell knows what else.
He was thinner now, too. Two-Bit had a good build growing up. Tall, somewhat muscular from his time on the streets. But now he was like a broom: tall and skinny.
"Can you just... take me home? I'm tired and," he sighed once again, "and I'm not feeling too hot. You have a cig?"
His mother was quite obviously shocked by the tremendous change in her son's behaviour as well as his looks. "W-why of course." She patted herself down, finally coming to a box of cigarettes. Two-Bit took one and lit it. "Ellen made up your room for you. She's made a lot of progress since you left. The doctor says that she's doing better than most would at her state."
"Hmmmm, is that so?"
"Oh, Keith, she's been so excited for you to come home."
Two-Bit let out a puff of smoke. "Then let's waste no time getting to her."
The walk to their small trailer was long, but peaceful. It was spring, when everything in Tulsa was starting to bloom. Of course, all the pollen Two-Bit's allergies to start up, but he was enjoying it too much to be upset.
He didn't say anything the entire walk home, so his mother took the time to catch him up to speed on all of the happenings in the town.
"You know that Ponyboy you used to hang around with? He was good kid. It turns out that he wrote some kind of story. Just got it published last month." And on and on like that.
Not that it mattered. There was something else on his mind. Or rather, somebody.
As they approached the lawn, Two-Bit stopped. His mother noticed and stopped as well.
"Are you alright, Keith?"
He rubbed his eye, and continued walking. "Yeah. Just remembering some stuff."
It was the fall of 1965, and Two-Bit had gotten drunk as hell. He could handle it, of course, but sometimes he wondered if he would take it too far.
He could still remember how his life had changed after that night. And not just for him, but everyone he knew. Perhaps more than he knew.
Alright! This is my first fanfic on this website! Please like and comment!
Sorry if some of my American slang isn't up to date! If there are any tips you have, please put them in the comments!