I dunno, I like the second half of this chapter.
Chapter eight is being fussed over... and Blindfolded is being fussed over too. Yup. I'm tired... and it's storming outside.
Identity Crisis
Seven
"Curly! Stop it! Give it back!"
"Come and get it Angel! C'mon, you want your hair brush, ya gotta work for it," Curly teased with a laugh.
"I don't want my brush," I growled, trying to get away from his hand that was holding my by the shoulder to keep me away from him. "I need it. Do you not see my hair?"
"Oh, trust me, I can see it."
"Curly! Give it," I drew my leg back and kicked him in the shin. "Back!" Curly swore and shoved me away, before throwing the hairbrush into his parent's room.
"Stupid bitch," Curly mummbled, walking down the stairs (I was able to tell which one he was one by the way it squeaked) and leaving the house. I, however, was staring at the partway open door to the parent's room. I was kind of afraid to go in there. If I remembered correctly, Angela's stepdad would be sleeping in there and he had a pretty short temper, so if I woke him up... I'd probably never walk near that room again.
But I really needed that hairbrush. Two-bit had suggested another soccer game, just me and him, since everyone else was busy. Johnny would probably show up...but it still wouldn't be a real game, just Two-bit and I kicking a ball around.
I took a deep breath and peered into the room. "Shit," I hissed. It wasn't in front of the door. Curly had whipped it to the other side and knowing my luck, Angela's stepdad was just waiting for someone stupid enough to walk in there and get it. And I needed to be stupid or use...my brothers' hair brush. They were one of the few boys I knew that used a brush and not a comb, probably because they're hair was so thick and curly.
Which was why I needed that brush. My hair was just as bad.
"What're you doin'?"
I covered my mouth and jumped, before Tim started laughing at me. "Don't do that," I hissed, glaring at him. I looked back into the bedroom. "I'm debating on whether or not I should get my hair brush from...uhm...step-dad's room."
"Ah," Tim said, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows. He looked into the bedroom and pushed the door open. "Go on. I'll be right here to back you up," he said with a smirk. I glared at him, but I turned and slowly walked into the bedroom anyway. I made sure to keep an eye on the bed, where I could see step-dad sleeping.
I stopped and held my head, the sudden searing pain catching me off guard. No, not now...not again.
I stumbled and knocked into the bed, reaching out and stopping myself from toppling over.
"I thought so. You're usually the one causin' the trouble when your brothers ain't around."
"Fuck," I muttered, blinking against the pain and trying to focus in on step-dad's face. He looked rather proud of himself to have caught me. "I think I'm gonna throw up."
He looked at me in disgust and grabbed my arm. He had probably been awake the entire time... that was such an old trick. "You do that an' you'll wish you'd never been born."
"I already do," I said. My speech sounded slurred and my head was killing me, but I managed to smirk all the same. That was the first time an adult had ever hit me. I was in and out of consciousness by then but I was pretty sure that Tim had hit him back for me. I reminded myself to thank him as he dragged me out of the room.
xxxx
"I shouldn't have told you to go in there...I didn't think you'd do it."
"S'my fault Tim...shut up," I muttered. My mouth felt like it wasn't working right.
"...You don't look like Angela, if that's any comfort... you really look nothin' like her."
"I know."
"He punched you in the face... s'prob'ly why you're talkin' funny. Never thought I'd have to watch my kid sister get hit that bad."
"Just...start actin' like the Tim I'm used to."
He laughed. "You look pretty ugly."
"Thanks. I love you too," I replied easily, smiling. It hurt, but I'd live. I've gotten hurt pretty bad in soccer and school before. "Why you bein' so nice?"
"...Ain't right to hit a girl like that... you'd be surprised at how many greasers have morals when they ain't drunk."
"...Two-bit has morals."
Tim was silent for a bit. I guessed he probably had a look of concentration on his face. Kind of like the look on a classmate's face when they're solving an algebra problem. But I couldn't really focus on him. "I guess he does."
"I'll probably be hidin' out here, huh? That's too bad... I was s'posed to play soccer with Two-bit."
I felt Tim's weight disappear from the side of the couch (I recognized the feel of the material, since I had fallen asleep on it once before). Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. I hissed as I felt something on my face. Ice pack and it really hurt.
"Ow," I mummbled, recognizing the squeak of the screen door opening. I nudged Tim's leg.
"S'Dally..." Tim said quietly.
"What's she doin' here all beat up like that?" Dally asked curiously.
"Got in a fight," Tim said easily. "What're you doin' here Winston?"
"Curly's gettin' in some trouble with some of the Tigers. Thought you'd wanna know so you could keep an eye out for those guys. Might wanna keep an eye out for Judy too, unless you want another bottle to the face."
I snorted, a sad attempt at containing my laughter.
"Yeah, it's fuckin' hilarious, you bitch," Tim snapped. I looked at him with one eye open. Finally, I could see a straight outline. I glanced at Dally, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Sorry man, I think it's funny too," He said easily, walking into the kitchen.
"Fuck you, man."
The door's squeaking again. Why has no one fixed that yet?
"There ya are! Damn, it looks like you got hit with a brick."
I sighed. Please, let the ice work it's magic and make the swelling disappear. Just let me cover it with makeup and get over it. Two-bit bent over me.
"She got in a fight," Tim said.
"With who? Brick Man?" Two-bit asked. He never missed a beat... "Lauren? Can you even see straight?"
"Kinda."
"Oh, good. Worried you lost your vision for a second there... Hey Shepard, heard you're in some trouble with Judy."
"The entire East Side know?" Tim snapped at him.
"...I dunno. Lauren, did you catch all that?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Then yeah, the whole East Side knows," Two-bit said with a smile. Tim glowered for a moment, before grabbing his jacket from the floor and storming out of the house. I started laughing, though I really didn't know why. Two-bit looked a bit worried. Maybe he thought I was delirious. Maybe I was.
"What she laughin' at?"
"I dunno...maybe it's you."
"...You better start runnin'."
"Or what? You gonna jump me?"
I winced as Dally tackled Two-bit to the floor. If there was one thing I knew, it was not to tempt fate.
xxxx
Two-bit took me to the Curtis house, claiming that Mrs. Curtis could fix us both up in no time. I think it was safe to say that Two-bit now looked worse than me and my fear of Dally only got worse. But what surprised me was that, after beating the crap out of Two-bit, Dally just stood up, lit a cigarette and walked out the door like nothing happened. He didn't seem to notice his black eye either. And Two-bit sat up, wiped his bloody lip and helped me to the car.
"Won't she ask what happened?"
"Well, you still got your brick story. I'm gettin' in fights all the time... just never came out this bad before. Man, I never wanna fight Dally again. He's like a ball of fire... or a... a... what're those things?"
"...Uhm," I thought long and hard. "Wolverine? Tazmanian Devil?... Badger? Wait...are badgers mean?"
"...Okay, Dallas is not a badger."
I laughed. No, I didn't think he was either. "Is it even an animal you're thinking of?"
"No."
"...Cannon ball?"
"Yeah! Those things hit fast and hard, don't they?"
"I wouldn't know. I've never been hit by a cannon ball."
"Oh right, you only get hit by bricks," Two-bit said with a grin. I smiled. I'd probably feel a bit better if it had just been a brick.
"Lauren...who hit you?" Two-bit asked hesitantly. I didn't look at him, but I felt my smile fall away as I stared out the windshield. "Lauren."
"It wasn't Tim, if that's what you're thinking," I said. I noticed I sounded... hollow. And for the first time in the days I'd known him, Two-bit sounded completely serious. The car pulled up to the curb outside the Curtis house, but Two-bit didn't seem to be in a hurry to get out of the car.
"You still gonna stick to the brick story?"
"...Yeah. I guess I will... or... is there anyone that I could get into a fight with?"
"Honestly kid, I don't know any girls that could leave a mark like that..." Two-bit said. Again, there was a serious tone in his voice that bothered me. I hated that tone, it made me feel a bit... anxious. Step-dad had sounded serious.
"Oh...damn," I muttered, wiping gently at my eyes. Two-bit didn't say anything, but he rubbed my shoulder in a reassuring manner, even if it did feel a bit unsure. "It was Angela's...step-dad." I muttered. "I was getting a hairbrush and... I got dizzy and I fell, and you know how people always reach out to stop themselves? He was pretending to sleep and he grabbed my arm and I guess I said something wrong... I can't even remember it right."
I stopped talking and swallowed hard, hoping to keep any sobs down. I looked at Two-bit with a sigh. He didn't seem surprised.
"...I'm used to hearin' about this stuff but... apparently you ain't."
"Well, it's not everyday you get hit in the face by an adult you know. I've never been hit by my parents in my life."
"Then you're one of the lucky ones," Two-bit said, opening the car door and stepping out of the car. "God must really like you," He added as he opened my door for me. I really wished he hadn't done that. But I didn't want to walk into the house when you could tell I had been crying, so I hadn't opened the door before he could.
"...I guess He does," I said quietly. 'But the least He could do is send me back home...' I thought bitterly as Two-bit guided me into the Curtis house. Surprisingly, the first thing I worried about was the brothers seeing me like this. I couldn't give a damn, even if I tried, about what their mother thought, it was them I was really fretting over. I didn't want to have to tell them what had happened or lie about it either.
xxxx
Ponyboy was the only one home and he stood outside of the kitchen, silent as a rock, as his mother tried her best to fix up The Two Defectives.
"I just hope nothing's broken. You have such a nice face. Be a shame if it was ruined because of somethin' like this," Mrs. Curtis muttered, her fingers gently checking for any serious problems. I checked out, apparently and she spared me the embarrassment of having a piece of meat on my face. I got another icepack instead, which she said would hold me over until she was done with Two-bit.
He sat, paitiently, as he fabricated a story about what had happened. Mrs. Curtis "tsked" and shook her head, but she didn't question him. I wondered if she believed him... Hell, maybe I'd believe him if I didn't know the real story. If I hadn't been watching it all happen. I suddenly felt guilty.
Why hadn't I done anything? I had just layed there like a veggie and watched in a bit of a daze. That couldn't have earned me points with Two-bit at all... but he hadn't said anything. I decided I'd apologize for that later. I shuddered, the cold of the ice pack finally travelling through my entire body. I hated being cold, but Mrs. Curtis was so preoccupied that I didn't bother hoping for her to notice or bother to ask her for something warm.
"I really wish you boys would just try and lay low around those boys on the other side of town. Maybe you shouldn't make it so obvious that you're different from them."
"Mrs. Curtis! The very thought!" Two-bit said, his voice high and appalled. We both laughed. "C'mon, you know how it is. If we lay down, they'll just rub it in our faces anyway. We gotta stand up to them some how. And I ain't one to back down from a fight. Reflects poorly on the person, I think, if they back out. And Two-bit Mathews ain't a coward."
"I know," Mrs. Curtis said with a small smile. "You're both very lucky. You'll just be sore for a few days, but you'll look good as new in a few days...or weeks," she amended. I bit back a sigh, before someone nudged me on the shoulder. I looked up. Ponyboy was holding a sweater out to me.
"It's one of Soda's, but he gave it to me, so you can wear it..." he explained. He was quiet... but not as quiet as Johnny. Being around Johhny just made me anxious.
"Thanks," I said, hesitating after I had taken the sweater from him. I set the ice pack on the kitchen table and carefully pulled the sweater over my head. I winced as the neck line brushed roughly against my face, but I managed to wait out that pain and gently place the ice pack back on my face. I felt better... calmer. Sweaters always seemed to do that for me. It was like a protective skin, or a shield I could hide behind.
"When I came in, what book were you reading?" I asked him, since he hadn't left yet. He was watching the repairs on Two-bit with a sort of mild interest.
"Just some school thing," He said with a shrug.
"Oh..." I said, looking down at my socked feet. I seemed to be bombing on conversations left and right if it wasn't Sodapop or Two-bit. "You have to read over the summer?"
He nodded. "Book report."
"...Those were always the worst... I mean... I like books but... I don't want to analyze them that much. It takes the fun out of it." Another nod. Damn it, why can't these boys just talk to me? The ones back home do!
"Is my face really that bad?"
That seemed to catch his attention. "It looks ni-" He stopped, his ears turning red. "C'mon, you can see for yourself," Ponyboy said indicating for me to follow him. I looked back at Two-bit, who shooed me away. Well, guess I really don't have anything else to do. I stood up and followed him out of the kitchen and down the hall. He gently kicked open the bathroom door, letting me walk in first.
I was glad the ice pack was there. If my face was really that bad, I at least had time to prepare myself. "One, two, three," I said, deliberately making the space between the numbers short. The ice pack moved and I almost fainted. Ponyboy moved in front of the mirror as I grabbed the edge of the sink.
"Shit," I muttered, leaning against the wall across from the mirror. "Shit! That bastard," I said, my jaw clenched. There she was again; Angela poking through the Lauren.
Yeah...whatever. Chapter's done.