A/n: Okay you guys, here's what's going down. With much discussion with Alli, we've decided that it would be wise for me to skip ahead some time. Otherwise we feel like this will be dragged out too long and that's just not cool, you know? We want this to develop into a real story that has an end. Don't worry, the end won't be here for a while, but if I keep going at the pace that I am, it might not ever come. And I'm one of those people who hates to leave others hanging for forever, so I'm thinking that my best bet is to skip a head a month in time, spend several chapters on every month and then go from there and see what happens. All right?
I know that after that last chapter I can't just skip and leave y'all hanging with what happened in those next few days, so I'll do a little section to recap everything that happened and I'll let you know at what point in this chapter it starts to be present day (which is in late November). Okay? Hope I've made that clear enough
Dedication: This chapter goes out to Bobby'sgirl51, who was my one hundredth reviewer and just made this experience all that much more rewarding. Of course everyone has done that, but there's something about that magical number of one hundred...
Chapter Seven
The events that surrounded me over the last month were less than welcomed or exciting.
The school decided to suspend me for three days, starting that Monday morning, and I was to be given no special treatment to make up any late work. In other words, I had a week's worth of assignments in all my classes that weren't able to be turned in at any point, and that blow lowered my GPA significantly. I went from all A's and B's to B's and C's with only a week left in the term. I somehow managed to work them back up to decent enough grades and scraped by with a 3.0 GPA. I was happy with myself for that.
Darry and Soda had taken to keeping a close eye on me, whenever they could. With the news of fights happening more and more often, Darry decided that he couldn't keep up with them and that grounding me wouldn't do any good. I would go as far as to say he was giving up on the whole idea of stopping them altogether, but he hadn't reached that point yet. He did whatever it took to make sure I wasn't put in a situation that he could prevent and he drove me just about everywhere that I needed to go. If he couldn't, he would make sure someone else couldn't. If they couldn't, he usually wouldn't let me go to wherever it was. But I was able to get by going places as long as I surrounded myself with enough people.
Run ins with Jett didn't stop. In fact we somehow found ourselves in some sort of fight – either physical or verbal – at least once a week, sometimes twice. The last time it happened one of his gang's goons had taken a bat to Rob, thinking that he was me. Luckily for us, we had been walking to The Dingo with Steve to meet up with Soda, and Steve stepped in and broke that bat over the kid's head and we made a run for it. We found the bat later that night in the lot and it had a long crack going up the length of it. Rob wasn't hurt too bad from the blows, but he wasn't allowed to hangout outside of my house or his, if I was involved, after that. His mom had gotten strict about what he was and wasn't allowed to do with me, since that first fight with Mutt. Two-Bit had dubbed Jett Mutt. He said it was because of his shaggy hair and the mere fact that he felt like calling him that. It somehow stuck after that. We no longer mentioned Jett. Now he was Mutt.
Since the last incident with Mutt, Darry swore he would get a restraining order if anything like the sort ever happened again. He was sick of the kid's constant stalking and threats. I couldn't believe that I was having this much trouble with a fourteen year old kid. It used to be funny, but the humor was long gone now. He was always telling me that his brother Jimmy would beat the shit out of me when he got the chance, and I didn't doubt it in the least. I wouldn't stop Darry from getting that restraining order if he really wanted it. I think I would feel better if he did get it.
Libby was showing now. At least from what I could tell she was. She had a tiny rounded pooch to her stomach, and it definitely wasn't excess fat. I asked Darry about it and he said it was a little unusual for her to be showing as much as I claimed when she wasn't even three months long. That was good news for me. Since she was claiming it was mine, she shouldn't have started showing for another few weeks, and even at that point she shouldn't be showing as much as she was for another month.
Nearly every day I got nasty letters stuck into my locker. They were mostly from Libby, but not all of them. Sometimes her friends and even people who I didn't know existed would write me quick notes about what a bastard I was. Libby's weren't like that though. Hers were pleading and almost sincere. She really wanted me to be the baby's father. I don't know who she did that could possibly be so bad that she would prefer me over him, but he really had to be a dirt bag. She hadn't mentioned to anyone else the possibility of it being someone else's. That bothered the hell out of me more than I can say.
The problems she was causing me were minor to what they would develop into.
"Hey, Pony." Darry came into the kitchen with a grocery list in hand. "I'm going shopping for that turkey. You need anything?"
"Nah," I responded while chewing on my egg salad sandwich. Soda made a killer egg salad. I could live off the stuff if I had to. Boy was I glad he made a triple batch. Two-Bit and Steve liked it as much as I did and they weren't concerned in the least about conserving some of it for later use... like when I got back from practice and was about to drop dead because I was so starving. "I ain't got anything else to get." We had gone shopping yesterday for a few things for track, like warmer clothes now that it was getting closer to winter, and new shoes.
Darry fished around for his wallet to make sure he had enough money to get what he needed. "Something wrong, Ponyboy?" he asked, but didn't look at me.
"What? No. Why?"
"I don't know. You just seem upset about something is all."
"Oh. Well, it's nothing."
I knew what he was talking about, I just didn't realize that I was showing it any. I had just gotten back from another lousy day of school and track hadn't been much better. It really wasn't that big of a deal, but my track coach was being a jerk. Lately he had taken to picking on me, or chewing me out in front of the rest of the team. He had this real big thing about my smoking that bothered him. He had noticed that I was smoking even more than usual as the last few months went on, but he didn't have any right to bring it up. He had no clue what went on in my personal life. I don't know where he came off talking about me like he did. He had even gone as far as to use me as an example sometimes of why his team shouldn't be smoking. He griped about how I had gotten gradually slower over the last few years. My times were dropping slowly, and right now, compared to where I was a freshman, there was a full forty second difference. But, what could he expect? I don't know why, but every once in awhile now he would make me run a couple of extra laps after each practice. He must've thought that he could shock me, or tire me, into dropping my habit, but he wasn't getting anywhere. If anything it only made me more determined to prove him wrong. I knew what smoking was doing to me. I was well aware of it. But that didn't mean I could just give it up now. Especially not with all the pressure and stress I had bared down on me lately.
"All right." He finished counting his money. "I'll be back in around a half an hour. Do me a favor and get working on that pie crust dough, will ya?"
"Sure." I had nothing else better to do.
"Thanks. I just want everything that can be done today finished, so we don't have to worry so much come tomorrow."
"I know."
We went through this every year. Darry was the only person who cared this much about Thanksgiving. Of course it was nice to have the large meal and all, but if he wasn't so adamant about having everything that makes a perfect Thanksgiving meal, we'd probably just barbecue steaks and call it good. But I liked how Darry kept traditions alive, even if Soda and I were too lazy to care unless he assigned us to certain parts of the meal.
"All right. I'll be back soon," he called from the door.
"'Kay. Bye."
I finished off my sandwich and found the pie crust recipe that Darry had left out on the counter. It was my job to make the pies, mashed potatoes, and yams. Darry took care of the turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and the gravy. And we let Soda do the salads, and rolls, so that there was very little he could do to alter them. Normally we didn't mind, but apple pie and cheesecake should be kept separate – at least for a holiday.
The downfall of the Day this year was that the coach decided to hold a last minute practice to prepare ourselves for the race the day after. He said if he didn't show up for the practice that we were out of the track meet. It was the last meet of this season and the big one where all the schools from around the state meet up at Oklahoma State College to compete. It was the thing we had all been working towards all season. So, we were going to have to put off the meal until about seven or eight at night, when I got home. And you can bet that the boys weren't happy about that. Of course Two-Bit eats dinner at his own house, but then he meanders over here for more and Steve wouldn't even think of eating at his parents – besides they never do anything for Thanksgiving anyway, and who in their right mind would turn down the meal elsewhere?
"Ponyboy!" Soda called as he strolled in from work. And very late at that.
"What?" I hollered back.
He found his way into the kitchen at top speed and grabbed me from behind and spun me around. He was glowing. "Guess what?"
"What?" I was interested in whatever it was that he had to tell me, but I was also busy. I turned back around to read the next part of the recipe. He could tell me without me looking right at him. Besides, I wanted to get this done as fast as I could. I wanted to get to sleep before very late. "You go out with Karli tonight? 'Cause if you did... I ain't sure I wanna hear the details..."
He just laughed. "Yeah, I went out with her, and no, nothing like that happened. But guess what did?"
"Erm... you kissed her...?" I was stating the obvious, but I wasn't caring too much right then to pay him a whole lot of attention.
"Oh, come on!" he grumbled a little. "You're not making this any fun."
"Fine... you... got a raise?"
"Dude, what does that have to do with Karli?"
"I dunno. Um.... You asked her to marry you..." Again I was just being stupid, but you know, I wasn't exactly up to partaking in his joy.
When he didn't say anything in response, I turned around slowly to look at him. "Soda...no..."
"She said yes."
My eyes went wide and I was completely speechless for a minute. When I found my voice again, I couldn't find myself being the nicest I've ever been. "Soda, shut up. That's not funny."
"Who said you were supposed to laugh?" He beamed.
He couldn't be for real. Part of me believed him, because he wouldn't just come home and lie like that, but the other part of me wanted him to be trying to pull my leg. "You've known her for like two months. I know you ain't about to ask her to marry you. If you told Darry that, he'd flip." I went back to my recipe, trying to ignore the obnoxious pounding in my chest. Brown sugar... brown sugar... ah, shit. We didn't have anymore of that. I sure hoped that Darry knew that when he left. "Nice try. Now help me find some brown sugar."
"Which is why I don't think he should know yet." His voice went low at that point and he tried to make eye contact with me. "Can you keep this secret for me? Just for a little while longer. I want him to be more comfortable with the idea of me and her in the first place. But this is for real, Pon.... I'm getting married."
I don't know why I did it, but I rounded on him at that point. He was insane. "Soda! You're barely twenty! You can't get married. How the hell do you expect to support her or any kids?"
"Woah!" He took a step back. "Calm down, Pony! Who said we were getting married right now? We'll wait a while... Shoot, I don't even have a ring for her yet. It was a spur of the moment thing."
"Spur of the moment? So you haven't thought about this before? You were just caught up in a moment and decided to spring it on her?" I don't know why I was so mad. I just was. Too much change too fast.
"Of course I've thought about it!" He seemed shock that I would even suggest it. "I've been thinking about it for awhile. Hell, I've been thinking about it since the first time we went out. It was just a matter of whether or not it was right."
"Is it?"
"She said yes."
"Yeah? Why?"
"Are you kidding me? Why else do people say yes?"
"I don't know, Soda. There's a lot of reasons... It's just a matter of which this one is."
"Pony, she said yes." Now he was on the verge of pleading. I don't know why my opinion mattered that much to him. I mean, he could do whatever he wanted and there wasn't anything that I could do to change that. But, if he wanted my approval now, he wasn't getting it. I didn't even know the chick. All I've heard was what Soda raved about her, and that she was eighteen. She was barely out of high school herself.
"So? You've known her for two months! How the hell do you know she isn't some psychopathic freak? She's still on her best behavior to impress you. Don't you know that?"
He always told me that he'd never leave the house until I was out of school. That was his promise to me. I didn't always expect him to keep that promise – obviously things happen and circumstances change. But this wasn't supposed to be the thing that changed. I wouldn't mind it so much if he knew her for longer and had a good enough job and money saved up. But he didn't. He wasn't ready to take on a new life. A wife at that. Not one who was still a kid.
Now he was past pleading. I think I unintentionally struck the wrong cord. "Don't talk about her like that. You don't know her, kid. Don't pretend that you do."
"Soda," it was my turn to try and plead. He had to know that this was a big mistake. "neither do you. Two months ain't long enough. For all you know, you're both still infatuated with each other... Why are you so desperate to marry her anyway?"
"I'm not desperate." He stood back against the fridge now. "And it's not infatuation."
"Then what is it? You certainly don't know her enough to love her yet." Why was I the one doing the lecturing? Why was I so upset? Because he was being an idiot. "She's not pregnant is she?" She as hell better not be.
"Hell no," he snapped and glared. "God, no." He was just as repulsed by the thought as I was.
"Good." I stopped everything I was doing and headed out of the room. There wasn't anything I could do that would change his mind. He seemed deadset on the idea and I couldn't do anything about it. And now he was just as mad as I was. Who knew that making suggestions could be so insensitive?
A/n: Ahhhh... Don't you worry. I know exactly where this is going and this will NOT be one of those stories that gets itself into rut and can't be bothered with fixing so the author just stops writing altogether. Nope. I know where this is going. I sure do. Haha.
Review Responses:
Bobby'sgirl51: Hey! Thanks for reading this and being my new friend, haha. You're my one hundredth review! You know how much I was looking forward to that? You just made my day and week. Lol. Good luck with your new story! Hope you liked this chapter.
Rock: I'll eat icecream whenever I frickin want to!: Are you shocked? Are you? Don't ask me what I was doing. I just did it and well... it's okay because I know what's going to happen. I'll tell you all about it and whatnot. I just did it and well, I hope that people like it shrugs. Oh and, I've been doing a ton of writing today, but you just get to wait -- at least with SF, 'kay? I'm afraid I'll lose my ability if I stop and read it, you know?
Oblivious Misconception: HAHA, thanks! I loved your review! I love that you awknowledge the things that I do and point them out. They make me feel like my efforts are worthwhile. I'm glad I could make you laugh to. I try, lol. I try and use subtle sarcasm, and hey, if people catch on to it... all the more power to me!
Fyre: Hey girl! No, Darry wasn't very mad, but can he be? He couldn't exactly blame Pony. I mean, when trouble comes to him... But, you know, now they're starting to be back on good terms with each other. So, we're not going to let anything happen...maybe. Jk. No, but this are good between them now.
kay: Well, I hope this chapter helped some. I know it's not the most, but next chapter should REALLY satisfy everyone's want for more information. Don't you worry. Steve was going to be in this chapter. But it took an unexpected turn that I wasn't even planning...but he'll be in either the next chapter or the one after that. I promise.
shyXshortieXbabe: I love your name. Lol. I really do. I don't know if I've told you that before, but it's very creative. Anyway, sorry if there isn't enough action -- but I promise that things are about to heat up. Just wait for the next chapter. It's gonna blow you away... I hope.
steves-girl: Thanks! I appreciate your comment. It made me very happy.
Tensleep: HAHA, Jhon's comments are always welcome. They make me laugh. Although he doesn't like any ideas that aren't his own, does he? He didn't like ANY of my names for the baby... Jk. Yeah, I love Two-Bit. He makes me laugh. I just have to throw him in whenever I can. Well, Darry is Darry and if he reminds you of Lee... I'm sorry. Lol, jk. I'm sure that's not a totally bad thing, is it? Well, I dunno... unless you still have bitter feelings about this weekend.... but either way, it is kinda interesting, isn't it? Sigh (That was a very good sigh, btw) I love how it seems like I have a theme in every chapters reviews.... this time everyone seems to like my writing style. Thanks. I love yours too... and if you don't update soon I'm gonna have to kick your butt into gear, 'kay? Jk. Later.
A/n: Well, thanks everyone! Please review. And until next time.... later.