"Soda…Sodapop…are you awake? Soda?" The hot breath tickling the side of my face smelled like mint toothpaste and annoying little brother.
"Eugh what?!" I mumbled, shovin' my head further into my pillow in an attempt to get away from him. Pony always put his mouth right up close to your ear to boot, his lips practically touching your skin like personal space didn't even exist!
"You gotta get up. Darry's gonna make chicken and waffles but he said not until you're up and I'm starving!" His whisper increased in volume as he dug his skinny fingers into my ribs, makin' me squirm and then wince as my backside brushed against our duvet. Dammit!
"Ponyboy, quit! I don't… wait, waffles? What?!" My brain seemed to have turned to mush during the night as I could hardly follow what the kid was blathering on about.
"Ponyboy Curtis, what did I tell you?! You get outta there right this second and find yourself a corner! Geez it's like I'm talkin' to myself over here, I swear everythin' I say goes straight in one ear and out the other with you!" Pony's eyes had gone so big as Darry's boomin' voice rang out I had to stop myself snorting with laughter. He leapt to his feet and darted past Darry, who'd silently appeared in our doorway like the bogeyman. He swatted at the kid's backside as he streaked past him, rolling his eyes at me when Ponyboy yelped despite him hardly makin' any contact at all. "Yeh you'd better run, little boy! I'mma talk to Soda for a minute and if your nose ain't to the wall when I come back out you really ain't gonna like me!"
"Jesus, Dar, way to wake a fella up!" I groused, propping myself up on one elbow to glower at him. I could tell he weren't really mad just by the way he was holdin' himself but I wasn't joshin' - I really wanted to have a easy, relaxed day after all that had gone on yesterday. Cripes I reckon I'd earned it too!
"Hush, I'm only talkin'. Kid really needs to work on his listenin' skills though, I've been shooin' him away from you all mornin'!" Darry pushed the door partially shut with his foot before stepping fully into the room and comin' over to sit on the chair by Pony's desk. "I know you need your sleep, little buddy, but I can't say I'm sorry to see you up. Your brother's been drivin' me crazy for hours!"
"Is it late?" I muttered, still tryin' to get my brain to switch on. "What's been goin' on?"
"It's 11," Darry replied, smirking at my obvious disorientation. I felt like I'd bee asleep for about a million years and I wasn't sure I liked it. "We forgot to close your curtains last night so he was up with the sun, I found him in the kitchen tryna fix breakfast when I got up at 8:30."
"Oh boy," I mumbled around a yawn. My kid brother is great at a whole bunch of things, but cookin' ain't one of 'em. He tries real hard and we do our best not to tease him since he's still learnin' but let's just say if one of the guys shows up around dinnertime and sees Pone standin' at the stove, they turn straight back around again no matter how hungry they are!
"I managed to distract him before he went through too many eggs, but he insisted on fixin' my coffee for me," I could see the grin playin' around my brother's mouth and sat up properly so I would be sure to catch his punchline, sore butt be damned . He lowered his voice a notch and leant forward like he was gettin' ready to share a deep dark secret. "Soda, he forgot to strain it! I didn't wanna hurt his feelin's after yesterday so I forced myself to drink it but I swear I'm gonna be pickin' goddamn coffee grounds outta my teeth for the rest of my everlovin' life! Lookit, can you see 'em?!"
He bared his teeth at me and I couldn't help it - the laughter exploded out like a bottle-rocket! I love both my brothers to the moon and back, but hand to God Darry is the only one who can make me erupt with laughter like that. Once when we were kids, he got me so hysterical at dinner one night, juice came shootin' outta my nose. Dar still claims it's one of his proudest achievements to date. It was also at times like this that I really appreciated being the middle brother in our set of three 'cos it means I'm able to buddy up with both Darry and Pony whenever the mood takes me. I can share an eye-roll and a chuckle with Darry when the kid ain't lookin', then a minute later grab Ponyboy up to start plannin' ways we're gonna get Darry back for bein' such a butthead. It's awesome and I wouldn't change it for the world!
"Oh no, he was so close this time!" I lamented as Darry sat back in his chair, shakin' his head as he watched me with a grin. "I keep tellin' ya, the kid makes the best chocolate milk this side of heaven, so really this is on you for insitin' on drinkin' that disgustin' stuff!"
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I ain't told you what else he's been yammerin' on about."
"What?" I asked suspiciously, not likin' the sneaky glint that had appeared in Darry's eyes.
"He wants us to go to the pool today."
"Son of a biscuit of course he does," I groaned, droppin' my head into my hands as Dar's laughter rang in my ears. "I swear to God I'mma kill Keith for feedin' him that crock of horseshit! He knew exactly what he was doin' too, he kept lookin' over as me as he told it all to Pone like the cat that got the canary! Offf just wait 'til I get my hands on him - is he still here?!"
A few months back, after seein' Ponykid nursin' a sore butt courtesy of Darry, Two-Bit had done a great job of ruining my life by tellin' him the best thing for a freshly spanked behind was to go swimmin' since the water cooled it off real good. Pony's a natural born water baby anyway, so it was like feedin' bread to the starvin' and ever since pretty much every time he goes over Dar's knee, the next day he'll be all over us to take him down the neighbourhood pool.
Now usually I don't mind too much. Water ain't for me but I like to see who's hangin' out down there and watch the girls walk by. But it'll be a cold day in hell before I go out in public wearin' swim trunks when I'm sportin' my own red butt and I know Two-Shit was countin' on that when he planted the idea in Pony's head in the first place! Darry ain't real careful when he spanks and I'd just about die of shame if anyone saw even a hint of redness near my behind! Never mind that my rep would be ruined!
"Well you're gonna have to save your revenge for another time, tough guy, 'cos he's long gone. Steve too, so it's just us brothers today. Anyway I finally got him to drop it by promisin' we'd head down the lot to play some ball later, so you owe me one!"
"Ain't we doin' chores today?" I asked, clearly still not firin' on all cylinders else I woulda kept my big mouth shut. I couldn't really remember all the stuff Dar had written down for Pone and I to get done this weekend while he was away, but I'm sure it was pretty long list. And we'd done precisely none of it before everything went down, so I'd been expectin' Darry to have us doin' them today.
"Nah, I figured we could all use a break after yesterday. We'll catch up durin' the week, especially since I'm assuming you'll be hangin' 'round the house more than usual while waitin' on Steve to get his car back?" He phrased it like a question but I knew he weren't askin'. He was tryna make nice and not flat out ground me which was cool of him, so I sighed but nodded in agreement. At least that meant today wouldn't be a complete drag I guess. "Good. Come on then kid, day's a wastin'. You need to get dressed and I better go let your brother out before he loses his mind."
Darry slapped his knees and got to his feet, winkin' at me as he did. I was pleased he seemed in such a good mood after the shitshow his weekend away had turned into but I knew I had to ask about Pony just for my own peace of mind.
"Wait Darry, you ain't gonna pop him are ya? You know how he gets after a spankin'…" Me and him had had a conversation about just that not long ago, where I'd explained that Dar could tell Ponyboy his screw-up had been forgiven until he was blue in the face, the kid still wouldn't believe him until he had all three of us together and settled back into our normal routines. Waitin' for that made him antsy and clingy which drove Darry kinda nuts since as far as he was concerned, everything was over and done with. Recently I'd noticed him tryna be more patient with Pone in the days following a beat down and I was hopin' he'd be able to keep it up for today.
"No, so long as he's stayed where I told him to. I remembered what you said about that when he was hoverin' around and gettin' under my feet this mornin'. We're makin' progress, Soda, me and him. I know it might not always seem like it, but we are, I promise."
"I know, Darry. I'm real proud of both of you." I said, meanin' it. Guess I just had one more question then…"Hey Dar, are you really makin' chicken and waffles?"
Chicken and Waffles were a huge pain in the ass to prepare since Darry made everything from scratch and inevitably the entire kitchen would end up covered in batter and breadcrumbs and syrup and we'd wind up havin' to clean the whole place top to bottom. But it was the best damn meal our brother made and I swear all the extra work that went into it just made it taste all the better. He usually only fixed it on special occasions for that very reason, which is why I felt the need to verify Pony's claim.
Darry looked back over his shoulder as he left the room, smirkin' in that way he has that makes me want to kill him and hug him and punch him all at the same time. "You bet your red ass I am, kiddo."
Annnnnnd we're done! Thanks to everyone for the reviews, favorites and follows! I've had fun writing this one so I hope it's been fun to read too :)
My next story is (I think) going to be from Darry's POV, so if you have any requests or suggestions for scenarios, let me know!