Title: Runaway
Author: Blau Rhapsody
Dedication: Chip-ani and Matt-ani.
Summary: A/U. What if when Mr and Mrs Curtis died, Pony wasn't able to handle the pain, and ran away? What if, three years later, he comes back to Tulsa?
Notes: You flame? You don't get anymore story.
Present day Tulsa - High School
Keith "Two-Bit" Matthews was unique. Not in the "look-at-me-I'm-drop-dead-movie-star-gorgeous!" way like Sodapop Curtis was, but in a "yeah-I'm-eighteen-and-a-half-and-still-a-junior-want-to-see-my-switchblade?" way. Keith was a simple person, however. At first, he may seem complex, but he really wasn't. He had to add his two-bits worth in, and that's how he got his nickname, which was so commonly used people forgot his name was Keith. Life was a joke to him; he smarted off to cops because he was so funny he felt the need to brighten their lives. He liked fights, blondes, and school, although no one knew the reason for the last one. Keith wasn't exactly the smartest of the bunch. Nevertheless, he still went, although it was probably for kicks and giggles rather than the actual knowledge.
Whether he was actually serious about school, or just in it for kicks, the world may never know, but to the Curtis family, which currently consisted of twenty-year-old Darrel and sixteen-going-on-seventeen Sodapop, they would be grateful that he did.
The week had started off relatively normal. Two-Bit awoke Monday morning to a hangover, which was really to be expected, seeing as how he had partied until two in the morning, drank a nauseating amount of alcohol, and made out with a blonde who he wasn't entirely sure was a female. Moaning and groaning did no good, because there was no Ponyboy, the missing third and last member of the Curtis family, to take care of him, and Darry and Soda were less than sympathetic when he had a hangover, so after getting off the couch and stumbling into the kitchen, Two-Bit proceeded to attempt to eat some chocolate cake without throwing up. After he did that, he bade farewell to all who was in the house at the current time and headed off to school.
Making his way through the halls to his locker, Two-Bit said a hello to fellow greasers, and cheerfully insulted Socs. Eventually he got to his locker, and as he entered the lock combination he cheerfully whistled the song that Mickey Mouse whistled in Steamboat Willy. As he took out the books needed for his next classes, he blinked when he saw a redheaded boy trying to open the locker next to his. Cocking an eyebrow in a way only he could pull off, Two-Bit slowly closed his locker and watched the teenager. The previous owner of the locker had moved to Minnesota, from what Two-Bit had heard. So who was this kid? He didn't look old enough to be in high school - couldn't be a day older than thirteen, Two-Bit mused.
He continued to watch the redhead attempt to open the locker quietly, clearly amused. The teenager cussed quietly, jerking on the lock angrily, and Two-Bit chuckled. The boy spun his head towards Two-Bit so fast that were it not so noisy in the hall, Two-Bit was pretty sure he could've heard the kid's neck crick in protest. The kid's eyes widened, and he quickly turned back to his locker. Two-Bit grinned; the kid was embarrassed.
"Need some help, kid?" he asked, and the boy moved aside silently, his head still bowed. Two-Bit moved in front of the kid's locker, and his grin widened.
"What's your locker combination?" he asked, trying to keep his amusement hidden, as the redhead was clearly uncomfortable.
The boy looked like he wasn't going to answer, and then he quietly said, "1-8-20."
Two-Bit entered the numbers into the locker, and opened the locker. The boy blushed a brighter red, his head still bowed, and mumbled a quiet thanks, waiting for Two-Bit to leave. Two-Bit, however, decided that this kid amused him, and moved out of the way, but did not leave. The boy looked even more uncomfortable, but took out his schoolbooks from his bag and put them in the locker. As he did this, Two-Bit looked at the boy.
He didn't seem like a greaser, not did he look like a Soc. He wore a black tee-shirt that hung loosely on his thin frame, and jeans that were a little baggy on him, along with the shoes everyone was wearing. His hair was long enough that it could be messy and his bangs could cover half his face, but short enough that it didn't quite reach his chin. It wasn't greased or anything, and yet it just didn't seem like the kind of hair a Soc would wear.
It was when the locker shut and the boy was looking at him through his bangs that Two-Bit realized he was staring. But…he squinted his eyes. The kid looked familiar. If only he could see the eyes, then he would know…He lifted his arm, making to move the kid's bangs away, but the boy got a deer-in-the-headlight look, and quickly ran away. The bell rang, indicating that students had five minutes to get to their classes, and Two-Bit laughed. It would be no use going after the kid (Glory, he was fast!) - already he was out of sight, and it seemed a bit of a waste to go after the kid when Two-Bit could just wait for him after school. Their lockers were right next to each other, after all.
The day passed without incident. Or, to be more correct, seemed to go without incident, as Two-Bit slept through most of his classes. At lunch, he had stopped at his locker, but it seemed that the mysterious boy had already gotten his stuff, or was waiting for Two-Bit to leave, because after five minutes of waiting with fruitless results, Two-Bit had gone to eat. At the end of the day, however, Two-Bit's luck changed.
Since his last class was only around the corner, he was the first one to his locker. He opened his locker quickly, putting away the appropriate books and keeping the ones needed for homework and putting them in his bag, before shutting the locker and waiting for the boy to appear.
After waiting five minutes, the boy did appear, and when he spotted Two-Bit he paled and looked like he very much wanted to walk in the other direction. Clearly reluctant, the boy walked over, not even looking at Two-Bit as he focused all his attention on opening his locker.
"I'm not that bad, am I?" Two-Bit asked as he leaned against his locker, grinning. The boy bit his lip as he moved the dial to the number he needed, but said nothing. "You avoidin' me or something? Didn't see you at lunch."
Finally getting the last number in, the boy opened his locker successfully, relief evident on his face. He put his books away and shut the locker, looking at Two-Bit suspiciously.
"I'm in ninth grade, so 'course we wouldn't see each other at lunch," he said slowly. Two-Bit laughed.
"Ninth grade? You kiddin' me? You don't seem older than thirteen!" he teased, and the redhead blushed.
"I'm fourteen! I got upped a grade when I was eleven!" the boy snapped, annoyed. Two-Bit rose an eyebrow. Eleven? That was when Ponyboy skipped a grade, wasn't it? Come to think of it…these two looked an awful lot alike.
"Say…what's your name, kid?" Two-Bit asked. The boy looked at him for a long moment, before running off.
After dropping his stuff off at home, Two-Bit went straight to the Curtis' house. Sodapop was in the shower, and Darry was sitting at the table eating a slice of chocolate cake, reading the newspaper. When Two-Bit plopped down in the chair across from Darry, Darry looked up at Two-Bit.
"Hey Two-Bit," he greeted, and Two-Bit nodded, grinning. Setting his fork down and leaning back, Darry sighed.
"Got something on your mind?" Darry asked, knowing that whenever Two-Bit entered the house quietly, he was either too tired to make much noise, or he had something on his mind. And since Two-Bit had slept all day, it was the latter.
"Hm? Not really. Just there's a new kid at school. His lockers next to mine. A ninth grader, he said," Two-Bit said, his elbows on the table and fingers intertwined, his chin on his hands. Darry rose an eyebrow.
"And?"
"The kid had red hair. The kid ran off when I asked 'im his name," Two-Bit said.
"And the point of this story is…?"
"Well, I was thinking, wouldn't Pony be in ninth grade?" Two-Bit asked, and Darry stared at him.
"You find out that kid's name, you hear?" Darry said at last, and Two-Bit grinned and nodded.