Kait: I SWEAR ON SODAPOP I OWN THE OUTSIDERS *smirks*
*Sodapop appears out of thin air* Soda: Now, that wasn't very nice, now was it?
Kait: ARGH! Where did you come from?!?!
*Soda laughs evilly, and leers down at Kait* Oh, ve have vays…..
Kait: FINE! S.E. Hinton owns you guys, but*peering up at Soda* Soda, can I have a hug?
Soda: *looks confused* ah, sure. *Hugs Kait, then disappears*
*Kait dances in victory * YESSS!!!
Songs for this chapter: You don't belong- Daughtry & Waiting for Yesterday- David Archuleta
Any given time or place, I
never will forget the disgrace on
your face so full of love
Will it ever be enough?
Ten feet tall and bullet proof, I
never thought that I had a thing to lose
well it looks like after all I do
You don't belong- Daughtry
I'm gonna have to choose
Chapter 6- Mending
Sodapop's POV
Fighting against the bitterly cold wind that had seemed to come out of nowhere, I shivered and huddled deeper in the skimpy jacket Dar had found for me in the hospital's lost and found, walking faster. I had to get to Two-Bit's house and convince him to help, and then go get Steve to back me up with some extra muscle ( I knew he would help me with anything, he was just that good of a best friend). I would need some help if I wanted to make sure that brat of a kid stayed away from my family, forever. My teeth were chattering madly and I was shaking slightly.
I could feel a clock ticking somewhere, taunting me. It made me instinctively move faster. I was running out of time. I broke into a run, the wind making my eyes tear.
If anybody had passed by, they would have seen a sixteen-year old greaser running on the side of the busiest road in Tulsa at 6:30 A.M on a cloudy Saturday morning, paying no attention to the cars zooming past, ruffling his red-gold hair, his eyes angry and brewing with the makings of a meltdown. I heaved an angry breath between my gritted teeth, raging at myself internally. Pain flashed through my foot as I hit a hole and I regained my balance, stumbling.
The clock tolled in my head, the deep vibrating gong making my head throb.
Stupid, stupid, STUPID! I yelled at myself, flinching as dust spiraledinto my eyes. I scraped my sleeve across my stinging and burning eyes, wincing at the feeling. Turning into our neighborhood, I paid no mind to the houses slowly waking up, watery sunlight creeping across some of the roofs.
Still jogging, I relished the feeling of my lungs burning slightly, my muscles tightening and burning with every step I took. It felt good; to feel physical pain instead of the wracking mental agony I had felt since Pony collapsed. I skidded to a stop in front of a small, brown rancher house with a wraparound porch and a chain-link fence out front. Two-Bit's house. This was he lived with his two younger sisters, Linda and Mary, and his mother, Alice. I hopped the fence, too impatient to open the lock and walk in like a normal person. I was a greaser for a reason. It's not that we didn't see and acknowledge the laws; we simply chose to ignore them. They didn't matter in the play of our lives; they were just minor complications. I ran up the stair, my feet pounding out on the creaky old stairs. I hammered on the screen door, my heart beating out a rhythm against my rib cage, so hard I thought my heart would fall out of my chest onto their dirty porch. I raised my fist impatiently to whale on the door again when I heard a muffled groan, and the shuffling of sleepy feet pattering on the wood floor. Then I heard something connect with furniture, most likely a shin with their coffee table.
"Holy Toledo, Batman," I heard him groan, stumbling over something his youngest sister must have left in front of the door. "I need to know who the fuck could be stupid enough to come knocking at my door at seven o' clock in the damn morning. They must have a death wish, or something," he continued threateningly, as he scrabbled at the door and I heard the scrape of the door lock. Whoops. In my haste I had kinda forgotten that not everybody's sleep schedule was as screwed up as mine these days. Ah, well. He'll live getting up early this once, I decided as I shifted from foot to foot impatiently.
The door open a hair, just enough for him to peer one sleep-hazed gray eye out, blinking sleepily, obviously annoyed and ready to chew out whoever had ruined his lazy weekend. His eye opened wide and he flung open the door when he focused on me, practically vibrating with impatience as I jittered around, almost knocking over their rocking chair that teetered lopsidedly by the door ,a small table with a wilting flower by it, potted in a clay bowl of sorts. I almost smiled when I saw what he was wearing. Two-Bit was clad in a huge Mickey-Mouse shirt that almost hit his knees and pink pants that stopped slightly above his ankles and were ah, very tight. He saw me looking at his clothes and growled, "It was my night to watch my sisters, and this was all I could find," he grouched, shivering in the cool air as he crossed his arms and tried to look tuff besides his hot-pink pants.
"Soda, how's the kid? He's- he's awake, right? He's talking and breathing and all that important stuff, right?" He asked; his eyes smoky with sleep but wide with concern as he pulled me inside, shutting the door behind me and dragging me to his room, the last door in the hallway off the living room. I stumbled along behind him, taking care not to trip over the jump-ropes and dolls that littered the floor.
Two-Bit's house wasn't really exactly messy, but I know someone like Cherry Valence's mother would have walked in and had a heart attack instantly. There was a cluttered little kitchen painted bright yellow tucked in behind the living room scattered with toys, papers stacked a foot high on the coffee table set in front of the little color TV, and a few empty beer cans and dirty plates stacked in the corner haphazardly. There was one long hallway painted a dark blue sprouting off the living room to the right; down here was Two-Bit's room, the little room his sisters shared, and their mother's room. It wasn't just a house. This cluttered little home sang with love and affection, so much it almost made my head hurt. Our house didn't always feel like this; sometimes it was cold and stiff and unwelcoming, like after Pony and Darry yelled, their words wrapping around my heart like an iron vice. It was very rarely that there weren't some bills to pay, a visit from the state to worry about, or Pony and Darry fighting. These days, our house was rarely a home. It was more like a warzone.
I shuddered while crossing my arms and squeezing my torso, trying to make the aching throb in my heart go away. Two-Bit was chattering away as he led me through his door and pushed me gently on his unmade and rumpled bed. His voice dimmed as he stepped into the bathroom, still talking through the closed door. He emerged a moment later, his pj's in his hands and wearing jeans, a green shirt, and his prized leather jacket. Dumping his shirt at the pants on the floor, he sat next to me and scanned me over. He grabbed my shoulders, looking at me straight on. I locked gazes with him, trying to fight back unneeded tears. knowing I looked a mess. His face softened as he took in my wrinkled and thrown-together look. I didn't know why I still wanted to cry. I felt hollow and empty; like some old beer can that a person threw out of their car to lie in a dirty gutter, alone and unnoticed. I even wore shoes without being told today, a record-breaking first.
"Damn, Soda. You look like hell," he commented, tossing me a clean t-shirt he had unearthed from his overflowing dresser drawer. I accepted it gratefully, unzipping my jacket and taking it off, then throwing on the grey shirt over my thin undershirt I had thrown on at the hospital. I looked at him, fire in my eyes.
"What did you expect, Two-Bit?" I said acidly, shrugging my coat back on with sharp, angry movements. Two-Bit's eyes followed my rough movements, but he remained still otherwise, watching my every move. "Did you think I'd now be whistling show tunes and skipping around merrily? My little brother is in the hospital, for god's sake. I won't be anywhere near normal until he's better," I muttered, standing up and pacing cagily around his cozy room. Two-Bit grabbed my arm, ignoring when I tried to pull away gently.
"Soda," he said, swinging me around to face him again. "Sodapop, what's yanking your chain?" I looked away for a minute, too angry to speak. I could feel the words building up as my anger simmered and grew, until I reached my bursting point. I threaded my hands in my hair and yanked in frustration, my words spilling out uncontrollably.
"Everything, Two-Bit. Everything is wrong. Since Pony got hurt, since Dally and Johnny died, nothing is right. I just want it to go back like a year, re-wind the clock, something to stop this horrible stuff from happening! I just, if Pony doesn't get better- I don't know, man. I- I might have to kill myself or something!" I looked up, my chest heaving from my rant, to see a ghostly-white Two-Bit, his mouth open in shock, his eyes wide and almost frightened. He almost threw himself at me, pinning me to the wall with his strong hands. I noticed he was shaking ever so slightly, which worried me. Two-Bit almost never lost his cool.
He put his face so close to mine I could see each of his eyelashes, and the faint freckles that dotted the bridge of his nose. I tried to squirm away. I didn't like being this up-close and personal. It made me feel like he could read every emotion on my face, stare into my eyes and see down to my tarnished and bruised soul. He shook me, hard. My teeth clatter and I stared at him, trying to figure out where he was going with this. His eyes glistened with a film of tears, and he took one hand away and angrily swiped at his eyes, turning away almost as if he was mad. Taking a shaky breath, he released me, angrily knocking over a book that was on his bed. It hit the floor with a loud thud, then lay there, dog-eared and open, its spine now broken from the hard toss.
Two-Bit swore quietly then look at me fully, his eyes shining. I was almost scared of this new Two-Bit, one that showed his heart on his sleeve and had a bruised and broken heart, too. I asked him, real quiet, "Two-Bit, what's wrong?" He whirled around again, knocking a pile of clothes off the top of his dresser. They landed in a heap, covering the book. Two-Bit paid no attention to the minor havoc he was wrecking on his room. His hands now flew to his hair, brushing the unruly mop out of his eyes as he looked at me brokenly.
"Soda, we can't lose you, too. We already lost Dally and Johnny and maybe Pony, and we won't survive if you off yourself. Damn it, Soda! Why can't you see that we need you as much as we need Pony, just like we needed Johnny and Dally, only Dally didn't see that, and Johnny didn't have a choice, and it's just not fair! I- you- we," He stuttered, running out of steam on his rant. He looked at me again, waiting for me to say something. I stood glued to the floor, blinking stupidly as I tried to process what he just said. My mouth opened, and then closed, like a guppy fish I sometimes saw at the lake, if I looked real hard, and stayed still for a long time.
Two-Bit sighed once, softly when he realized I wasn't going to say anything in response. He crossed the room, bridging the gap between us. Shaking me slightly again, he looked intently in my eyes and whispered, "You are needed. Never, ever, again, say something like that to me or anyone else again. Or I'll drag you by your ear to the school and chain you to a desk. Forever. You dig?" I looked at him wordlessly, and then nodded. Two-Bit relaxed, the last fight going out of him. That was one thing about Two-Bit. He never doubted his friends. He was like a golden lab, friendly and loyal, unless you hurt someone close to him. Then he was a snarling, angry dog yanking at a breaking leash. If there was one thing I knew Two-Bit couldn't stand, it was seeing his friends get hurt. "Good. Let's never bring this up again, okay? Now-" he looked at me, cocking his signature eyebrow move. "What was it you came here in the first place for?" He questioned, sitting on the bed again and drawing his knees up to his chest. I nodded again, feeling a huge weight float off my chest. I could tell that I was healing from my losses, the scars that criss-crossed my heart, lest me broken. But I had the gang. I had hope, and love left. I just couldn't forget it. I crossed my arms and walked across the floor to close his door. I didn't want his little sisters, or god forbid- his mother to walk in on our little scheming session. That wouldn't go over too well, I had a feeling. I took at deep breath, leaning my head against the scarred door for a minute, then turning to Two-Bit.
"We're gonna mug Paul Holden's little brother, Eddie. " I said flatly, calmly. I slammed my eye shut, feeling my anger well back up, like a cut that just won't stop bleeding. It was old hatred, greasers against Socs, magnified by the fact that he had saw fit to mess up Pony. I clenched my fists. I needed to hit something, but something that hopefully wouldn't slug me back. I knew if I swung at Two-Bit I'd be a dead goner.
Two-Bit was looking at me as if I was bonkers, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. I almost smiled. If I hadn't had been so angry, it would have been really funny. He threw his hands up in the air, and then took them down as something apparently occurred to him. His eyes darkened; his face became stormy and hardened. Looking at me, he growled "This…Eddie. Is he the one that hurt Ponyboy?" I nodded wordlessly, waiting to see what he was going to say. I needed him for this is I wanted my plan to work. For me to get my revenge for Pony, I couldn't do it alone. He stood up, towering over me, his eyes flashing. As we walked toward the door to fetch Steve, he turned to me, uttering three words.
"Let's do this."
Hi guys! I hope you like this chapter! I know it's shorter than the others, and slightly annoying because there's no one getting beaten to a bloody pulp *ahem EDDIE ahem* but I felt that Soda had some things he needed to get off his chest. And this was one of those little chapters that the characters connect in. No problem, I think I'm gonna do two Sodapop POV in a row, so Darry doesn't catch up with him too fast. This was the first chapter I decided not to do a flash-back, so please give me feeback on that. Should i do one when Soda's about to beat up Eddie? I have a few hazy ideas, but this story is for you guys, so I want to know what you think! Also, the Poll on my profile is still open, just in case anybody wasnt to vote on Eddie's fate...*evil smile* Thanks for reading, and please R&R!
*hugs* kait