Chapter 8: Drowning
A/N: Just warning you all now, this chapter is where it all really starts to go down and again, don't leave a review just to tell me that Darry's out of character; I KNOW THAT, I am aware of that fact.
The next day, when Two-Bit woke up, he quickly shivered, a morning breeze blowing past.
Two-Bit looked around him in confusion, not remembering that he had slept by the lake before the events of last night came crashing down on him again.
He frowned and started to move his sore legs, groaning as the raw pain ran up his chest again.
He had almost forgotten how much pain he had been in last night. He frowned at the pain and held his side, easing himself up to his feet.
Two-Bit looked around with his good eye, his other swelled shut, taking in the morning peacefulness of the lake.
He let out a long sigh and turned away to start for home. His stomach growled; he was starving!
He hadn't eaten in hours and he was beyond hungry.
Holding his side as he walked back into town, a familiar face appeared in front of him.
"Boy doggy, look at that face!" Came loud laughter.
Two-Bit scowled at the boy. "What do you want, Mark?" He kept walking and Mark joined him, walking next to him, snickering.
Two-Bit sent him a mean look. "What? Why aren't you in school, anyhow?"
"Why aren't you in school?" Mark sassed. "Cause you're mad at Ponyboy?"
Two-Bit stopped and gave him a look. "What?"
"Yeah, Pony told me you're mad at him," Mark huffed with his arms crossed over his chest. "Pretty low of you not to be talking to him."
Two-Bit held back a growl. "What do you know, Jennings? Besides, I ain't mad at Pony." He said in a softer tone.
"Yeah? Then how come ya ain't talkin' to him or showin' up at school?" Mark huffed, giving Two-Bit a look.
"Well what's it to you, anyhow?" Two growled lowly.
"Hey, he's my friend too, alright?" Mark huffed back. "I'm lookin' out for him and I don't like you disappointin' the kid. So you better get your sh** together."
Two-Bit was frustrated with Mark now, still upset over the fact Pony could somehow stand this kid.
"I'm not mad at Pony, alright? I jus'...can't hang out with him now." He frowned softly.
Mark's eyebrows raised, scoffing. "Whatever. You're jus' making excuses."
"Yeah?" Two-Bit snorted. "Well, could you just tell him i'm sorry?"
"Tell him yourself. You're supposed to be his best friend after all." Mark huffed.
"Listen Mark," Two-Bit growled, giving the boy a light shove. "I'm telin' you the truth. I wanna hang out with Pony, I jus' can't."
"Well tell him that! If you were his real friend, you would…."
"I am his real friend!" Two-Bit blurted out. "I…..I jus'...can't. Okay?" He frowned.
Mark's eyebrow raised, studying the eighteen-year old. "Well, I still don't think it's cool for you not to tell Pony. He's real cross with ya."
"He is?" Two-Bit frowned, looking away.
"Oh yeah…...I mean, he was fumin' when he told me 'bout it." Mark shrugged and lit up a cigarette.
Two-Bit frowned, watching him, feeling bad for making Pony so angry.
"But then he also said he was worried 'bout ya too," Mark spoke softer, making Two-Bit perk up. "And from the looks of your face, now I see why."
Two-Bit sighed and didn't answer, shaking his head with a frown as he walked.
Mark walked beside him, blowing out smoke. "So who hit you, anyhows?"
"Lots of people…." Two-Bit said after a minute.
Mark laughed. "Well hell, you musta been on a lot of people's hate lists, huh? I mean, you was on mine, but seeing your face like that I ain't going to punch you now."
"You were going to punch me?" Two-Bit's eyebrows raised.
"Well yeah. For gettin' Pony all riled up…." Mark shrugged. "I love fights. But i'll be nice for once and not hit you for lookin' so bad off like you do." The boy giggled.
"Gee thanks." Two-Bit drawled, his shoulders slumped.
Mark laughed and blew smoke into Two's face, making him cough. "Jesus, kid….. Since when do you smoke, anyhow?"
"I'm giving it a try," The boy chirped with a grin, admiring his cigarette. "Kinda cool ain't it?"
"Until your brother finds out." Two-Bit huffed and Mark shook his head.
"Nah, he won't find out. So where you headed off to? Apologize to Pony?"
Two-Bit sighed, shaking his head. "No. The DX."
"Oh, can I come?" Mark grinned, perking up.
"No, Mark. Go back to school." Two-Bit huffed, not wanting Mark to tag along.
Mark tensed and frowned. "I could say the same to you."
"Yeah? I hope you choke on that cigarette." Two-Bit huffed coolly and kept walking, Mark leaving him with a scowl.
Two-Bit was glad; he really didn't like that kid too much. But as he kept walking, he found himself frowning, missing Mark's company.
He hadn't had a conversation like that in a long time, and suddenly he was lonesome again.
It's not that he missed Mark, but he missed having his friends to talk to.
But he also knew Mark was lonely too; after his brother stopped hanging out with him to be with his girlfriend Cathy, Mark got lonely and had to hang out with his other friends, but it was hard for him to break away from his brother, who was his best friend.
Two-Bit had learned that from Pony and suddenly wondered how Mark handled all that.
The fifteen year old had it worse than he did, not even having parents, and yet, he seemed to be doing way better than Two-Bit.
His thoughts wandered away from him as he walked up to the DX, heading inside.
Soda blinked and sat up, surprised yet happy to see his friend. "Two-Bit? Hey, buddy."
He got up and quickly came over, expression soft. "You okay? Where'd ya go last night, why didn't you stay?"
Two-Bit didn't answer right away, grabbing some chips off the shelf, starting to eat hungrily.
"I couldn't, Soda." He said through a mouthful of chips.
Soda watched his friend closely. "How come? You look terrible by the way…" He frowned.
"Thanks." Two-Bit huffed and sat atop the counter, avoiding looking at Soda, instead watching the inside of the chip bag.
He knew he wasn't supposed to be here with Soda, but right now he was desperate to talk to someone and that someone, Darry's threats or no, was Sodapop.
"Will you at least come by tonight, Two? We're all worried about ya."
"All of you?" Two-Bit gave Soda a look, holding back a sneer.
"Well yeah," Soda frowned. "Pony told me about your guys' fight."
Two-Bit frowned at that and looked up. "He did?"
"Yeah. He's pretty upset with ya, Two-Bit. He wants to talk to you." Soda's lips were pursed, watching his buddy. "He seems pretty worried though. He wants his friend back."
Two-Bit frowned deeply at this, shaking his head, looking away. "Golly i'm sorry…."
"For what?" Soda questioned.
"For upsettin' the kid, that's what. I didn't mean nothin'."
"What are you talking about, Two-Bit?" Soda frowned, listening.
"Nothing," Two-Bit sighed with a frown, knowing he had no choice but to lie. "I'll figure it out."
"Is something wrong, Two-Bit?" Soda asked. "You really don't seem like yourself….."
"I'm okay." Two-Bit just answered, eating his chips.
"Well, what about the fights with Dally? And Tim?" Soda frowned, watching Two's expression. "That ain't like you."
Two-Bit frowned and didn't answer, scowling at his chips.
"Dally's real sorry by the way, he really is. He didn't mean to leave you behind. And to even make up for it, he arranged a rumble with the Socs for next week, jus' for you."
Two-Bit was quiet a minute. "That's great, Soda." He finally said lowly.
Soda swallowed, not liking to see Two-Bit like this, not even able to remember the last time he had seen the Greaser smile.
"Well, jus' swing by the house tonight, alright buddy? Or even if ya wanna, we can go see a movie with Steve when my shift is done." He offered with a faint smile, attempting to cheer Two-Bit up.
Two-Bit's spirits lifted a little at the offer, and he smiled softly. "Thanks Soda. I might just do that."
Soda's smile widened. "Great. See ya tonight, then."
Two-Bit nodded with a soft grin, walking out, chips in hand.
He finally felt a little good for once after how many days and he hoped things could stay that way for him, enjoying the feeling of being happy again.
But the feeling of happiness soon vanished when Darry suddenly pulled up at the lake where Two-Bit was, a couple hours later.
Two's eyebrows furrowed, standing up when he saw Darry's truck, watching him get out and come over.
Two-Bit tensed, wondering what this was about.
"So, I get a call from Soda sayin', 'good news, Darry, Two's gonna hang out with us, tonight!' and the only thing I can think of is, how many times do I have to tell that moron to stay away?!" Darry shouted, stomping up to Two-Bit.
Two-Bit flinched at the yelling, swallowing hard. "Darry, I-"
"No, don't," Darry growled, interrupting, pointing a finger. "I've had enough of you, Two-Bit. You're not hanging out with my brothers, is that clear?" He growled angrily.
"For the record, Soda invited me, Darrel." Two-Bit said quietly.
Darry growled and shoved Two-Bit into a tree, glaring. "Stay away from them! You know Soda's only pitying you!"
Two-Bit flinched at this. "Wh-what?" He peeped.
"He only feels sorry for you," Darry sneered. "He doesn't actually wanna hang out with you! Neither does Pony! Or the rest of the gang!"
Two-Bit started to shake, his emotional state rising. "N-No, you're wrong, Darry…."
"Must I say it again?! They don't want to be around you, Two-Bit!" Darry shouted into Two's face and Two's frown deepened, pushing at Darry's chest.
"N-No! They do wanna be my friend, they do!"
Darry suddenly punched Two-Bit, knocking him down, angry.
Two-Bit yelped and cowered on the ground, whimpering, looking up with fear.
"They don't care about you, Two-Bit, and neither do I." Darry said with a glare before he kicked Two-Bit straight in the face, not caring that Two-Bit was already hurt.
Two-Bit yelped and scrambled off the ground, trying to get away. "D-Darry!"
Darry growled and grabbed him, throwing him down, punching Two-Bit over and over again in the face, making Two-Bit yelp in pain.
Two-Bit threw a punch but it was no use.
Darry was twice his size and twice as strong.
Darry threw Two-Bit back into the tree and punched him repeatedly, bloodying his knuckles.
Two-Bit landed on the rocks near the water, panting heavily, shaking with pain.
He gasped as Darry grabbed him and slammed his head down, crying out as he kicked helplessly.
"Darry, Darry stop!" He pleaded as Darry picked him up and threw him into a hill in the grass, yelping when Darry punched him again.
Darry threw Two-Bit again, slamming his head down into the ground, Two-Bit crying loudly in pain, weakly trying to protect himself.
His head was bleeding badly now and he could barely move, trying to get up to crawl away, scared to death.
Darry growled and reached down, picking up the crying Greaser, holding him tightly in his arms, carrying him across the dock.
Two-Bit gasped and screamed as Darry threw him over the dock into the water, water filling his mouth, coughing when he popped up at the surface.
Struggling to keep his head up, coughing, Two-Bit splashed and kicked, looking around him hurriedly, too weak to be in the water now.
"D-Darry!" He sputtered, his head going under the water, water filling his mouth, struggling to get back to the surface.
"H-Help!" He whimpered when he popped up again, waves splashing into his face, the water pulling him under again.
Darry watched Two-Bit at the end of the dock for a minute with a glare before he turned and started walking back to his truck.
Two-Bit gasped as his head popped up again, coughing and sputtering as he weakly kicked, struggling to swim, splashing his arms around, only causing more waves that pulled him under.
"H-Help!" He gasped and coughed, trying to make it back to the dock, his legs weakly kicking, exhausted.
"D-Darry!" He screamed, not able to see where Darry was, another wave pulling him under.
Crying and coughing to breathe, Two-Bit splashed and kicked, using what little strength he had left to get back to the dock.
Another wave pulled him down and Two-Bit struggled to get back to the surface, his painfully bleeding head too heavy with pain to allow him back up.
Swallowing and sputtering out water, Two-Bit forced his legs to kick, finally managing to pop his head out of the water, gasping, frantically grabbing at the edge of the dock.
Coughing and spitting out water, he wrapped his arms around the pole and held on for dear life, his entire body over-wracked with exhaustion and fear.
"D-Darry!" He sobbed out, crying, his body limp in the water except for his arms wrapped tightly around the pole, not daring to let go.
"Help! Darry!" He screamed desperately, almost getting pulled under again by the waves, sputtering out water.
"Help, please!" He screamed, searching frantically for Darry, his mind completely over-ridden with terror, shivering everywhere, the water deathly freezing.
Water filled his mouth again as he screamed for help, coughing for air, sobbing.
Suddenly he heard yelling, and the dock shook with pounding footsteps and then hands were grabbing at him tightly, scaring him.
"Jesus Christ!"
"Get him outta there, Dally!"
There was yelling and pulling and Two-Bit sobbed as he was getting pulled out of the water by the rough hands of Dallas and Tim Shepard.
"Oh my god, Two-Bit!" He heard Dallas exclaim as he was finally pulled out of the water, shaking immensely everywhere, ice cold, sobbing.
Suddenly he was being held against Dally's chest and Two-Bit immediately hugged him, sobbing with terror into Dally's shoulder.
"Holy sh**, he's freezing, man!" Dally swore loudly, shocked by how much Two-Bit was shivering.
Tim ripped off his jacket and wrapped it around Two-Bit hurriedly, his expression filled with shock.
"Two-Bit, what the f*** happened?!" Dally held Two-Bit in his arms closely, who shivered all over, teeth chattering, sobbing loudly.
Dally's hand at Two-Bit's hair, he suddenly pulled away when he felt blood smear his skin. Pulling it away and seeing red, he swore.
"F*** Tim, he's bleeding, we gotta get him outta here! Come on!" He quickly sprang to his feet, Two-Bit still in his arms, holding him close as the two darted off in a rush.
Two-Bit continued to sob, completely over-wracked with terror, his head bleeding badly, keeping close to Dally's chest as the two hoods rushed to get him to Buck's.
The last thing Two-Bit saw before he closed his eyes was the memory of Darry's angry face flashing before him…..
A/N: Review, please? :P