Title: Return to Youth
Author: Berserker Nightwitch
Chapter Title: An Unwilling Surprise
Posted: May 29, 2004
"Speaking" - 'Thinking' - Flashback
Thank Yous:
Jenna – Did you mean Dally? I think they make cute kids, but you'll find out about that as you read. I guess it kind of is a supernatural, but not really. Thanks for reviewing!
Corona – The reason the spacing matters is because they all got roughly ten years younger. I'm keepimng the age differences the same. I hope this chapter is up to your standards.
Warmpopsicle – I'm glad I caught your attention. Some things in here are from the original of this series, so if you haven't already, it would make more sense to read "Back for You"
Tensleep – you've been in anticipation for this story? That makes me feel so much better about writing this. I'm struggling to make the chapters come quicker for your sake. You're the best reviewer I ever had! This story is basically thanks to you. Here you go!
Bobby'sgirl51 – I hope this wasn't oo long a wait. I hope you like this chapter, too.
Jamie – your wish is (eventually) my command. Here's the 'more' you demanded!
harryptaxd204 – Yeah, I know what you mean. Mine's probably one of the more mediocre ones, but I hope you enjoy it (if you continue reading it) anyway.
goddess of darkness3 – Thank you, and here it is! Enjoy!
Chibi Tatiana – you guessed it! Here's the next one, and chapter three really shouldn't take as long as the last two have! Sorry about the wait.
Mistress of the Darkness – Hey! I remember you! Here's chapter three! Enjoy and please review! I'll update as soon as I'm able!
a458sbcglobal – how can I argue with puppy eyes? Here you go!
§ â¼ § â¼ §
"Hey, Johnny!"
"What?"
"What's for breakfast?"
"Can I wake up first?"
"Sure."
It was the next morning, and Dally was the only one awake. He found that hard to believe, considering it was almost four when he snuck in that morning. It was currently seven that same morning, and he was hungry. They hadn't saved him anything from the night before, but they had left the dirty dishes all over the kitchen. 'Darry must be getting forgetful in his old age.'
When Johnny finally pulled himself downstairs, he found Dally washing the dishes. He had to do a double take to make sure he was seeing correctly, but it was true, the blond young man was whistling as he washed out dishes that he hadn't even used.
"You okay, Dal?" asked Johnny as he entered the kitchen.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You're doing chores. Without being told to."
"I'm bored. The Curtises are all asleep still, even Superman, and you have to make breakfast. I want something to do."
"Darry's not awake yet?"
"That's what I said."
"Do you think we should check on him?"
"Why?"
"It's not like him to sleep so late, even after Soda tries out a new recipe."
"Soda tried something new?"
"Yeah. On his way home yesterday he met this old lady in a shop who gave him a bunch of spices. He tried them out last night."
"Then why are you still your natural color?"
"I had a stomachache, so I went to bed before he even finished making the meal."
"If that's all it is, then we should probably let them sleep. They might be sleeping off food poisoning or something."
"Is it wise to let them sleep it off, then?"
"Do you have enough money for the hospital bills?"
"No."
"Okay, then we'll leave them alone until they start hurling or something." Dally looked up at the younger boy and sighed. Johnny still looked really worried. "How about this: if they aren't up in two hours, then we'll go in there and make sure they haven't died or something."
"What if they've already died, and now their rotting corpses are the only things in the room, and we don't know so we subject them to flies and maggots for another two hours, while we sit down here, eating peacefully, clueless to the fact that, at that moment, hundreds of maggots and other disgusting creatures are digging their way into our friends' bodies, burrowing under their skin, hollowing out their- "
"Johnny! Stop! Enough! We'll go check on them now, okay?"
"Thanks, Dal!"
"Don't thank me. If I had let you continue, I wouldn't have been able to eat anything anyway."
"I didn't know you had a weak stomach."
"Don't tell anyone."
"I won't. Let's go, now."
"Who should we check on first?"
"How 'bout you get Darry, and I'll take Pony and Soda," Johnny suggested. Dally shrugged and headed to the eldest Curtis's room.
Johnny walked upstairs quickly; his worry in front of Dally was real. He had heard the three throwing up the night before, but when it stopped, he passed it off as the spices being bad. That morning, however, he was unable to ignore the nagging feeling in his stomach.
He pushed the door open slowly and peeked into the room. He could see a bundle in the middle of the bed, but it was smaller than either Curtis brother. Johnny walked closer and grabbed the corner of the blanket.
Dally grumbled to himself as he waked closer to Darry's room. He didn't see the reason they should check on the others. He had also had a feeling since getting home earlier that morning that something was off, but he was better at ignoring that little voice in his head. After all, the last time he had listened to it, he had watched Johnny 'die'.
He pulled open Darry's door and leaned against the doorframe. "You in there, Superman? Johnnycake's getting worried, so I said I'd check on you." All he heard was light grumbling, and he saw the blankets shift over a small bump in the middle. "Darry?"
Johnny pulled the blanket back quickly, surprising the two people in the bed. He looked down and saw two children. The blond one looked to be about six, and the one with reddish hair was closer to four. The redhead looked up at Johnny with wide green eyes as he clung to the blond. "Pony? Soda?"
"C'mon, Darry. You know I ain't got any patience at all. Get up and prove to Johnny that you're fine."
The bump stirred again, this time knocking the blanket off itself, and revealing it to be an eleven-year-old boy with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. "Do I know you?" the child asked.
"Are you... Darry?"
"Yep. Who are you?"
"Dally."
"Dally who?"
"Dallas Winston."
"Nuh uh," Darry countered, shaking his head. "Dally's a lot smaller than you, and he's a whole lot younger, too."
"Yeah, well, something happened, and you got younger all of a sudden," Dally explained, worrying over what the rest of the gang would tell Pony and Soda.
"Who awe you?" the smaller boy asked.
"Johnny Cade. Who are you?"
"Ponyboy Cuwtis. This is my bwothew, Sodapop."
"How are you Johnny?"
"What do you mean?"
"Johnny's s'posed to be littler than Pony, but you're bigger'n Darry."
"Um... why don't we go downstairs to Darry and Dally, and we'll explain it there."
"'Kay!"
"What are we supposed to do?"
"How should I know? Do I look like I know anything about midgets?"
"They're not midgets, they're kids."
"I rest my case."
"Maybe Two-Bit or Steve'll know something?"
"Maybe. I'll go call them."
"Thanks, Dal."
"Steve?" a little voice asked.
"Two-Bit?" a slightly older voice asked.
"Huh? You remember them?" Johnny looked down at Darry and Soda. He had known that Soda and Steve had been friends for a long time, but he hadn't realized that Darry had been close friends with Two-Bit.
"Of course we remember them," Darry scoffed, his eleven-year-old voice making it sound much less threatening than it usually was.
"Good. They'll probably be here in a few minutes. 'Course, that's when the real trouble begins."
"Why twouble?" Ponyboy asked softly from his place on the floor. Dally looked down at the child, unable to stop the grimace from forming on his face at the thought of such young children. Dallas Winston did not do children, and now he was stuck in a house with three.
"Steve and Two-Bit are gonna have our heads when they find out the reason they're being called over here before ten in the morning," Johnny answered as he walked into the room.
"You already called both of them?" Dally asked. Johnny nodded and squatted down next to the youngest Curtis. Ponyboy was playing with a bunch of silverware and boxes. There were also roof shingles around him. Johnny quirked an eyebrow at Dally, as if to ask where the blond man had gotten shingles, and why he would let a four-year-old play with them. "They were in Darry's room. It's not like we know where to find blocks for the brat to play with."
"Don't call him that!" Soda shrieked as he jumped up and kicked Dally in the shin. "He's not a brat! You're just a big, fat, meany liar!"
"Okay, first of all, I'm not fat. Second, how am I a liar?"
"You're not Dally."
"Yes I am."
"No you're not! Dally never, ever said anything bad about Ponyboy," Soda announced, still glaring heatedly at the blond man, his little body shaking with his rage.
"What's going on here?" a voice called from the front door.
"Hey Steve. Can you come into the living room, please?"
"Sure Johnnycake."
Steve meandered his way into the living room, but stopped short when he got a view of the room, or, more specifically, the people in it. Dally was holding his leg and scowling at a six-year-old with golden blond hair and angry brown eyes. Johnny was kneeling next to a red-blond four-year-old, picking up shingles. Standing protectively over the four-year-old was a brunette boy of about eleven years.
"What happened here? And... who are the munchkins?"
"I'm Darrel Shayne Curtis[1]. Who are you?" the eleven-year-old demanded.
"I'm Steven Randle."
"No you're not," the child next to Dally argued. "Steve's the same age as me."
"We went over this already," Johnny said gently to the child. "You three just got turned younger, that's all."
"Then I guess that would make you Sodapop?" Steve asked the boy.
"Yep. Sodapop Curtis. You got real big. Are you sure you're Steve?" Soda asked, circling the teenager curiously. "Why aren't you wearing your shirt closed?"
"It's more comfortable unbuttoned, and I'm sure I'm Steve."
"Hello Curtises and company. What's the emergency?"
"Hi!" Two-Bit had entered the room as he spoke, but stopped moving the moment he had taken in the scene. The small, baby voice woke him from his shock. He made eye contact with the person who had greeted him, a green- eyed little boy who was barely more than a toddler.
"Hello, and who might you be?" Two-Bit asked, grinning at the child.
"I can't tell you." The prim little voice announced, causing all of the older people, including Dally, to smile.
"Why not?"
"Mommy said no talking to stwangews, epspesh'ly if they want youw name."
"That's smart. If I told you my name, would I still be a stranger?" Two-Bit asked, trying his hardest to take the child as seriously as possible. The boy nodded happily after a moment's thought. "Well, my name is Two-Bit Mathews."
"Two-Bit? Awe you suwe that's youw name?"
"It's what everyone calls me. Does that count?"
"I guess. I'm Ponyboy Cuwtis."
"Ponyboy? That's a very nice name."
"T'ankyou vewy much." Pony grinned at the man, stood up, and walked over to Two-Bit. He raised his arms over his head, indicating that he wanted to be picked up. Two-Bit happily obliged, lifting the child into his arms and holding him close. He hadn't held a small child since his sister had been that age, and she was starting high school soon. He missed being able to comfort her and hold her.
"So what are we gonna do?" Johnny asked. The others shrugged. Two-Bit shifted the sleeping Ponyboy to his other hip. "We obviously have to keep them, but how do we know that they'll ever get back to their normal size?" The four 'adults' sat around the Curtis table in the kitchen. Soda and Darry were playing in the backyard, and Pony had fallen asleep in Two-Bit's arms and had yet to wake up.
"I don't really care what we do eventually, but I plan to help you guys take care of them until we can find a way to return them to normal," Two- Bit declared. Johnny smiled a thank you at him.
"And if we never find a way to reverse this?" Dally asked, annoyed at the thought of having to care for children. He didn't mind kids, so long as the were older than thirteen and could care for themselves if they needed to.
"Then we raise them like their parents did. And we'll make sure Darry makes it into college. We've also gotta make Soda like school at least a little," Steve answered.
"And Ponyboy?"
"Let him dream? He's always been the easy one to deal with. Or... he was until his parents died. He should be no problem. I plan to help with them, too." Once again, Steve felt it his duty to speak up. He had no idea why he was defending Ponyboy, but the child couldn't defend himself, and he looked kinda cute sleeping on Two-Bit like that.
"So the four of us are going to try and raise the three of them?"
"Yep."
"Then I guess we should see about getting some parenting books or classes or something."
§ ¤ § ¤ §
A/N: Alright, again, I'm sorry it took so long to get this out. The school year is now over, so I have a little over two months to do better about updating. And look! The chapter was l;onger than usual! Wee! I hope you liked this chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought of it!
[1] – Sorry if I spelt that one wrong. I don't have ANY of my Outsiders stuff with me right now, and I can't remember how to spell Dary's middle name.
Author: Berserker Nightwitch
Chapter Title: An Unwilling Surprise
Posted: May 29, 2004
"Speaking" - 'Thinking' - Flashback
Thank Yous:
Jenna – Did you mean Dally? I think they make cute kids, but you'll find out about that as you read. I guess it kind of is a supernatural, but not really. Thanks for reviewing!
Corona – The reason the spacing matters is because they all got roughly ten years younger. I'm keepimng the age differences the same. I hope this chapter is up to your standards.
Warmpopsicle – I'm glad I caught your attention. Some things in here are from the original of this series, so if you haven't already, it would make more sense to read "Back for You"
Tensleep – you've been in anticipation for this story? That makes me feel so much better about writing this. I'm struggling to make the chapters come quicker for your sake. You're the best reviewer I ever had! This story is basically thanks to you. Here you go!
Bobby'sgirl51 – I hope this wasn't oo long a wait. I hope you like this chapter, too.
Jamie – your wish is (eventually) my command. Here's the 'more' you demanded!
harryptaxd204 – Yeah, I know what you mean. Mine's probably one of the more mediocre ones, but I hope you enjoy it (if you continue reading it) anyway.
goddess of darkness3 – Thank you, and here it is! Enjoy!
Chibi Tatiana – you guessed it! Here's the next one, and chapter three really shouldn't take as long as the last two have! Sorry about the wait.
Mistress of the Darkness – Hey! I remember you! Here's chapter three! Enjoy and please review! I'll update as soon as I'm able!
a458sbcglobal – how can I argue with puppy eyes? Here you go!
§ â¼ § â¼ §
"Hey, Johnny!"
"What?"
"What's for breakfast?"
"Can I wake up first?"
"Sure."
It was the next morning, and Dally was the only one awake. He found that hard to believe, considering it was almost four when he snuck in that morning. It was currently seven that same morning, and he was hungry. They hadn't saved him anything from the night before, but they had left the dirty dishes all over the kitchen. 'Darry must be getting forgetful in his old age.'
When Johnny finally pulled himself downstairs, he found Dally washing the dishes. He had to do a double take to make sure he was seeing correctly, but it was true, the blond young man was whistling as he washed out dishes that he hadn't even used.
"You okay, Dal?" asked Johnny as he entered the kitchen.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You're doing chores. Without being told to."
"I'm bored. The Curtises are all asleep still, even Superman, and you have to make breakfast. I want something to do."
"Darry's not awake yet?"
"That's what I said."
"Do you think we should check on him?"
"Why?"
"It's not like him to sleep so late, even after Soda tries out a new recipe."
"Soda tried something new?"
"Yeah. On his way home yesterday he met this old lady in a shop who gave him a bunch of spices. He tried them out last night."
"Then why are you still your natural color?"
"I had a stomachache, so I went to bed before he even finished making the meal."
"If that's all it is, then we should probably let them sleep. They might be sleeping off food poisoning or something."
"Is it wise to let them sleep it off, then?"
"Do you have enough money for the hospital bills?"
"No."
"Okay, then we'll leave them alone until they start hurling or something." Dally looked up at the younger boy and sighed. Johnny still looked really worried. "How about this: if they aren't up in two hours, then we'll go in there and make sure they haven't died or something."
"What if they've already died, and now their rotting corpses are the only things in the room, and we don't know so we subject them to flies and maggots for another two hours, while we sit down here, eating peacefully, clueless to the fact that, at that moment, hundreds of maggots and other disgusting creatures are digging their way into our friends' bodies, burrowing under their skin, hollowing out their- "
"Johnny! Stop! Enough! We'll go check on them now, okay?"
"Thanks, Dal!"
"Don't thank me. If I had let you continue, I wouldn't have been able to eat anything anyway."
"I didn't know you had a weak stomach."
"Don't tell anyone."
"I won't. Let's go, now."
"Who should we check on first?"
"How 'bout you get Darry, and I'll take Pony and Soda," Johnny suggested. Dally shrugged and headed to the eldest Curtis's room.
Johnny walked upstairs quickly; his worry in front of Dally was real. He had heard the three throwing up the night before, but when it stopped, he passed it off as the spices being bad. That morning, however, he was unable to ignore the nagging feeling in his stomach.
He pushed the door open slowly and peeked into the room. He could see a bundle in the middle of the bed, but it was smaller than either Curtis brother. Johnny walked closer and grabbed the corner of the blanket.
Dally grumbled to himself as he waked closer to Darry's room. He didn't see the reason they should check on the others. He had also had a feeling since getting home earlier that morning that something was off, but he was better at ignoring that little voice in his head. After all, the last time he had listened to it, he had watched Johnny 'die'.
He pulled open Darry's door and leaned against the doorframe. "You in there, Superman? Johnnycake's getting worried, so I said I'd check on you." All he heard was light grumbling, and he saw the blankets shift over a small bump in the middle. "Darry?"
Johnny pulled the blanket back quickly, surprising the two people in the bed. He looked down and saw two children. The blond one looked to be about six, and the one with reddish hair was closer to four. The redhead looked up at Johnny with wide green eyes as he clung to the blond. "Pony? Soda?"
"C'mon, Darry. You know I ain't got any patience at all. Get up and prove to Johnny that you're fine."
The bump stirred again, this time knocking the blanket off itself, and revealing it to be an eleven-year-old boy with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. "Do I know you?" the child asked.
"Are you... Darry?"
"Yep. Who are you?"
"Dally."
"Dally who?"
"Dallas Winston."
"Nuh uh," Darry countered, shaking his head. "Dally's a lot smaller than you, and he's a whole lot younger, too."
"Yeah, well, something happened, and you got younger all of a sudden," Dally explained, worrying over what the rest of the gang would tell Pony and Soda.
"Who awe you?" the smaller boy asked.
"Johnny Cade. Who are you?"
"Ponyboy Cuwtis. This is my bwothew, Sodapop."
"How are you Johnny?"
"What do you mean?"
"Johnny's s'posed to be littler than Pony, but you're bigger'n Darry."
"Um... why don't we go downstairs to Darry and Dally, and we'll explain it there."
"'Kay!"
"What are we supposed to do?"
"How should I know? Do I look like I know anything about midgets?"
"They're not midgets, they're kids."
"I rest my case."
"Maybe Two-Bit or Steve'll know something?"
"Maybe. I'll go call them."
"Thanks, Dal."
"Steve?" a little voice asked.
"Two-Bit?" a slightly older voice asked.
"Huh? You remember them?" Johnny looked down at Darry and Soda. He had known that Soda and Steve had been friends for a long time, but he hadn't realized that Darry had been close friends with Two-Bit.
"Of course we remember them," Darry scoffed, his eleven-year-old voice making it sound much less threatening than it usually was.
"Good. They'll probably be here in a few minutes. 'Course, that's when the real trouble begins."
"Why twouble?" Ponyboy asked softly from his place on the floor. Dally looked down at the child, unable to stop the grimace from forming on his face at the thought of such young children. Dallas Winston did not do children, and now he was stuck in a house with three.
"Steve and Two-Bit are gonna have our heads when they find out the reason they're being called over here before ten in the morning," Johnny answered as he walked into the room.
"You already called both of them?" Dally asked. Johnny nodded and squatted down next to the youngest Curtis. Ponyboy was playing with a bunch of silverware and boxes. There were also roof shingles around him. Johnny quirked an eyebrow at Dally, as if to ask where the blond man had gotten shingles, and why he would let a four-year-old play with them. "They were in Darry's room. It's not like we know where to find blocks for the brat to play with."
"Don't call him that!" Soda shrieked as he jumped up and kicked Dally in the shin. "He's not a brat! You're just a big, fat, meany liar!"
"Okay, first of all, I'm not fat. Second, how am I a liar?"
"You're not Dally."
"Yes I am."
"No you're not! Dally never, ever said anything bad about Ponyboy," Soda announced, still glaring heatedly at the blond man, his little body shaking with his rage.
"What's going on here?" a voice called from the front door.
"Hey Steve. Can you come into the living room, please?"
"Sure Johnnycake."
Steve meandered his way into the living room, but stopped short when he got a view of the room, or, more specifically, the people in it. Dally was holding his leg and scowling at a six-year-old with golden blond hair and angry brown eyes. Johnny was kneeling next to a red-blond four-year-old, picking up shingles. Standing protectively over the four-year-old was a brunette boy of about eleven years.
"What happened here? And... who are the munchkins?"
"I'm Darrel Shayne Curtis[1]. Who are you?" the eleven-year-old demanded.
"I'm Steven Randle."
"No you're not," the child next to Dally argued. "Steve's the same age as me."
"We went over this already," Johnny said gently to the child. "You three just got turned younger, that's all."
"Then I guess that would make you Sodapop?" Steve asked the boy.
"Yep. Sodapop Curtis. You got real big. Are you sure you're Steve?" Soda asked, circling the teenager curiously. "Why aren't you wearing your shirt closed?"
"It's more comfortable unbuttoned, and I'm sure I'm Steve."
"Hello Curtises and company. What's the emergency?"
"Hi!" Two-Bit had entered the room as he spoke, but stopped moving the moment he had taken in the scene. The small, baby voice woke him from his shock. He made eye contact with the person who had greeted him, a green- eyed little boy who was barely more than a toddler.
"Hello, and who might you be?" Two-Bit asked, grinning at the child.
"I can't tell you." The prim little voice announced, causing all of the older people, including Dally, to smile.
"Why not?"
"Mommy said no talking to stwangews, epspesh'ly if they want youw name."
"That's smart. If I told you my name, would I still be a stranger?" Two-Bit asked, trying his hardest to take the child as seriously as possible. The boy nodded happily after a moment's thought. "Well, my name is Two-Bit Mathews."
"Two-Bit? Awe you suwe that's youw name?"
"It's what everyone calls me. Does that count?"
"I guess. I'm Ponyboy Cuwtis."
"Ponyboy? That's a very nice name."
"T'ankyou vewy much." Pony grinned at the man, stood up, and walked over to Two-Bit. He raised his arms over his head, indicating that he wanted to be picked up. Two-Bit happily obliged, lifting the child into his arms and holding him close. He hadn't held a small child since his sister had been that age, and she was starting high school soon. He missed being able to comfort her and hold her.
"So what are we gonna do?" Johnny asked. The others shrugged. Two-Bit shifted the sleeping Ponyboy to his other hip. "We obviously have to keep them, but how do we know that they'll ever get back to their normal size?" The four 'adults' sat around the Curtis table in the kitchen. Soda and Darry were playing in the backyard, and Pony had fallen asleep in Two-Bit's arms and had yet to wake up.
"I don't really care what we do eventually, but I plan to help you guys take care of them until we can find a way to return them to normal," Two- Bit declared. Johnny smiled a thank you at him.
"And if we never find a way to reverse this?" Dally asked, annoyed at the thought of having to care for children. He didn't mind kids, so long as the were older than thirteen and could care for themselves if they needed to.
"Then we raise them like their parents did. And we'll make sure Darry makes it into college. We've also gotta make Soda like school at least a little," Steve answered.
"And Ponyboy?"
"Let him dream? He's always been the easy one to deal with. Or... he was until his parents died. He should be no problem. I plan to help with them, too." Once again, Steve felt it his duty to speak up. He had no idea why he was defending Ponyboy, but the child couldn't defend himself, and he looked kinda cute sleeping on Two-Bit like that.
"So the four of us are going to try and raise the three of them?"
"Yep."
"Then I guess we should see about getting some parenting books or classes or something."
§ ¤ § ¤ §
A/N: Alright, again, I'm sorry it took so long to get this out. The school year is now over, so I have a little over two months to do better about updating. And look! The chapter was l;onger than usual! Wee! I hope you liked this chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought of it!
[1] – Sorry if I spelt that one wrong. I don't have ANY of my Outsiders stuff with me right now, and I can't remember how to spell Dary's middle name.