Inspired by To Be Loved by Curtis Stigers
A/N: I know, I haven't even put chapter four up yet, but I had an idea for this during a school a couple days ago, and I can't just ignore it, you know? Yeah, we were doing this sophomore testing thing (one of my friends had to remind me that we had taken it last year; I had forgotten ) and none of my classes were doing ANYTHING! I had this song stuck in my head so I had to write it. Enough with me; on to the story!
Steve sat on his bed with his head in his hands. A large, angry bruise colored his cheek and lower jaw. The bruise was courtesy of his father, who had been in another drunken fit. Steve reasoned that it was okay until his father actually kicked him out again. It was nice to make an extra five to ten dollars a week without having to do anything, but having his father scream at him that he was being disowned could not be paid off with a few dollar bills.
It seemed that no matter what he did, his father still found a way to get angry with him. If he did not come home at night, he was kicked out the next day. If he came home early – or even at a decent hour – he was kicked out. If he left the house a mess he was yelled at, but if he cleaned it perfectly, it wasn't done to his father's standards and he was still yelled at. If he went to school he should be working, and if he went to work he should be studying to get a better job.
Sure enough, within a few minutes his father's voice could be heard through the street. A few minutes later, Steve walked out the door with his hands buried deeply within his pockets. He let the door slam on his father's yelling. He shook his head in anger as he headed toward the Curtis house. They could always make him feel better after a domestic fight. Besides, their door was always kept open for him and the rest of the gang, should they ever need a place to crash.
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Two-Bit laughed as he sat with his younger sister, watching the cartoon mouse jumping around the screen. He jumped up and began mimicking the cartoon's antics, not stopping until his sister was rolling on the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks laughing. Their mother walked by at that moment, and she smiled with mixed feelings. Two-Bit was good to keep his sister occupied and happy, but he had not stopped the goof act since his father had left. She knew that none of the people he hung out with could even remember him before he became so obsessively happy.
He bounced out the door, yelling something about meeting the guys at the drive-in and then crashing at the Curtis place. When he got to the movie, he amused himself by slashing tires and picking on Socs. He also managed to get a few Soc girls to look his way with something less than contempt. He all but bounced towards his friends when he saw them.
He was never completely there anymore. His head may not have seemed as in the clouds as Ponyboy's, but he never paid any attention to the world around him unless he absolutely had to. He lived in his own little world, where nothing, not even his father's abandoning him, could affect him. After the movie, he headed over to the Curtis place.
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Dally scowled as he heard the results for the last competition. He was being counted down again, and he knew who was doing it. But, since he was in the next competition as well, he couldn't say anything yet. Afterwards, however, the fool was fair game. No one would step in, either. Not even Buck Merril or Tim Shepherd. When he was called, he rode out and gave it his all, knowing that it wouldn't do him any good.
To his surprise, though, he got a perfect ten on it. It seems the idiot didn't have as much of a death wish as Dally had first thought. Three competitions later, Dally finally limped back inside. One of the last bulls had fallen over and landed partly on his leg. He had managed to get the bull back up before he could be too hurt or they could lower his score too badly. He walked out of the arena proudly until he reached the door. Then, once he was certain no one could see him, he allowed his limp to show.
As he applied ice to his leg, he thought over the past few days and realized that it had been almost a week since he had last annoyed the Curtis brothers and company. And, since Buck was throwing one of his wilder parties that night, he decided to crash at the previously mentioned house. He knew they wouldn't mind; they never did.
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Ponyboy sat at the kitchen table with his head bent over a book. He had to read to chapter 20 by the next day, and he was only on chapter 13. Ever since his parents had died a few months earlier he had been having more trouble keeping up with his schoolwork, but so far it hadn't affected him enough to lower his grade. He hoped it would never get to that point.
When he finished with the book's required chapters, he went on to math and history. By the time he had finished with all of his homework, his stomach was growling loudly. He fixed enough to feed eight people and sat back down at the table. The others weren't due home for awhile yet, but the food would still be warm enough to suit them.
He was struggling to continue on like nothing had happened to his family, but it was getting harder by the minute. He knew that if anything else happened he might not survive it. He couldn't let his brothers know, though. They had to believe he was the same person he had been even when their parents were alive.
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Johnny sat in the lot, struggling to keep from crying. After three hours of ignoring him, his parents had started to beat him. He still wasn't certain which was worse: having them not know he existed, or being beaten when they did notice his presence. They were never pleased with him, but he wasn't going to let that make him cry.
They couldn't accept that he was a nothing. Maybe if he had been born perfect, or at least had a few redeeming qualities, then they would accept him. He struggled hard with everything thing he tried, trying to become good enough to win his parents' favor. His friends all told him he was perfect as he was, but sometimes it got a little hard to believe them after another beating.
If he ever got the chance, Johnny would do something heroic. They might recognize him then. They would be willing to admit to being his parents. With that thought in mind, Johnny stood and started to head to the Curtis house. He didn't want to wallow in his own self-pity, so he left, knowing that the others would accept him no matter what; would even try to protect him from his parents. It could get annoying, but at least that way he knew that they cared.
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Sodapop smiled flirtatiously with the customer, knowing that that was the only way to keep the gas station in business. He knew he was being paid, not to fix cars, but to bring in female customers. They were willing to pay anything if it meant that they could watch him a little longer. The gas station manager had told him that within a week of hiring the dropout.
Soda didn't really mind all that much, he just wanted to work on cars more, and customers less. Everyone thought that, since he was so handsome, he didn't have a brain. The fact that he had never gotten good grades in school didn't help that any, either, but he was smart. His smart was the opposite of his younger brother's. Where the kid was book smart, Soda was life smart.
So he spent his life making sure that his baby brother was never hurt in any way and kept his naïve attitude towards the world. He was content to spend the rest of his life working at a gas station. It would pay the bills, and give him a little extra for himself for the few dates he actually accepted. When his shift was over, he started heading home, hoping that there would be at least a little food waiting.
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Darry wiped the sweat from his forehead as he set down the last two bundles of roofing. He was almost finished for the day, and grateful for it. He had been at the house since eight that morning, and it was already seven in the evening. This was his routine, every day. He would wake up at the crack of dawn, get his brothers up a little later, and leave for work. He would then work all day and get home in time to eat and crawl into bed, just to wake up and do it all over again the next day.
He was in charge when he was at home – the few hours he was at home. He tried to help his brothers and make it as easy on them as possible, but he also knew that letting them get away with anything would not be good for them. He didn't like or appreciate the role of brother and father, especially when the people he played those roles for were the same people. At the same time, though, he couldn't let his brothers get taken from him.
At work, he may as well have been a slave. His boss treated them all fairly, but they were worked to the bone every day. He supposed it wouldn't be so bad if he would use his head once in awhile. He smirked as he thought of how often he had told his youngest brother to do that very thing. He knew it would only result in pain if he carried too much at once, but he finished faster when he did, so he saw no point in stopping. A few minutes later saw him in his truck, heading home. He really needed the peace only his home could offer that night.
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By eight that evening, all seven greasers were gathered in the Curtis living room. They had all eaten and were arguing about what to watch on TV. Two-Bit, naturally, wanted to watch Mickey Mouse, Steve, Soda, and Dally wanted to watch something involving blood, Ponyboy and Johnny wanted to watch something they could all enjoy, and Darry wanted the TV turned off so he could get some sleep. Eventually, they settled on a Fantasia. 1
By the time the movie ended, everyone was asleep. Darry was curled up in his chair, and Dally was asleep in three kitchen chairs that he had dragged into the living room earlier. Soda and Steve was stretched out on opposite ends of the couch, and Two-Bit was spread out across the coffee table. Ponyboy was curled up under the table, and Johnny was laying between the table and the couch.
When they woke up the next morning, there was more good-natured arguing and bickering, but everyone was feeling better than they had in days. Darry, Soda, and Steve had all been givent he day off, and there was no school due to some holiday or other, so they all went to the lot to play football. That day was also ended with the seven sleeping in the house, only that time they went to separate rooms.
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Marcia was a Soc with her life set out before her. To the world, she had it made. But inside her house, where no one could find her, she knew what pain felt like. Her mother had died many years earlier, and her father was always consumed with work, so much so that he seemed to have forgotten about his daughter. It wasn't that she really minded, she just found it annoying that he spent her birthday at work.
She spent time with him when she could, and with her boyfriend or Cherry when she couldn't. That night the four of them were planning on going to see a movie at the drive-in. She couldn't remember what it was called, but she doubted the title really mattered anyway. She would be going to have fun and that was it.
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Sherrie, known to her friends as Cherry, paced the hallway. She was waiting for her best friend to show up so they could get ready for their double date that night. She wasn't overly thrilled to be going to see the movie, since she knew that her boyfriend wouldn't really want to watch it anyway, but as long as he stayed away from any alcohol she felt that that wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
When Marcia finally got there they put on their makeup and made sure they looked nice for their dates. When the boyfriends showed up, Cherry told them before even getting in the car that she would end the date the moment they started to drink. Her boyfriend tried to talk her into drinking with them, but when she began yelling at him, he nodded and she got into the car. She knew it would be a long night.
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Sandy spent the afternoon with her boyfriend Sodapop, fearing it would be their last together. He was going to propose to her soon, but her parents would not take it well. They would probably end up trying to send her somewhere as far from Soda as they could afford. On top of fearing that she would lose her boyfriend, Sandy stayed because she feared going home. When she was a child, the place had held special memories for her, now it was a place of pain and sleepless nights.
She knew her boyfriend, and soon-to-be fiancé, would take care of her and provide for her if they ever were to get married, but the thought of spending the rest of her life with someone scared her. She had seen what had happened to her parents, and vowed to never let it happen to her.
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Cherry and Marcia screamed as the Mustang raced down the city streets toward the movie. Their boyfriends had steadily been getting drunk the entire ride, and wouldn't slow down enough to allow the girls to get out of the car. When they finally got to the drive-in, both girls got out of the car and left, Cherry more upset than Marcia.
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Dally, Johnny, and Ponyboy slid underneath the fence of the drive-in. They had the money to pay, but Dally liked to prove that he was capable of breaking the law, so they did. They sat behind two Soc girls, and Dally immediately started giving the redhead a hard time.
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A/N: So? What did you think? I kind of lost my train of thought there at the end, but most people reading these fics have already read the book or play, or seen the movie, so they know what happens from that point onward anyway. To those of you who don't know, keep reading these fics, and it'll become pretty clear. Or rent the movie!
1 – I can't remember when Fantasia came out, but I figured it was strange enough to qualify for blood, and it would satisfy Two-Bits Mickey Mouse craving. And it was something they could all agree on so Pony and Johnny were happy, and it's quiet in most parts, so Darry would be happy. That's why I chose it.