Good Morning! Before I shall start this chapter, I would like to thank each and every single one of you. Thank you so much for all of my reviews and love. You all are AMAZING! No...AmAzInG! aMaZiNg! TOTALLY AWESOME! So, ahem, if I may. I would like to present to you chapter...TWELVE!
"Alright, take it easy," TwoBit shakes hands with the first guy and tricks hands with the second. He laughs. Scene cuts to the hospital and shows a doctor walking up the hall. "Well, I wanna see this doctor!" Yells the nurse. "Nurse, nurse, it's all right. You can go in, boys." Says the doctor. "He's been asking for you. It can't hurt."
Ponyboy gulps.
"Oh God." Darry whispers.
The two walk into Johnny's room. "Hey Johnny." They greet. Scene shows Johnny, burned and laying on his stomach, on his hospital bed.
Johnny shudders.
Dallas inhales sharply, Dear God, kid. What have you done to yourself now?
"How're they treating you kid," TwoBit asks. TwoBit digs around in his jacket, and gets out the newspaper. "Look, got your picture in the paper here for...being a hero." He shows Johnny. "Yeah that's tuff enough, huh?" Johnny rasps. "Do you want anything?" Two asks. "A book, man. Gone with the Wind." "They got a gift shop downstairs, I'll go get it." TwoBit says and leaves. Ponyboy sits down, "I guess, Dally's going to be okay."
How is that fucking fair, Dally thinks. It isn't fair that Johnny gets it worse. It isn't. But lives like his and his gang are never fair. Dally knows that more than anyone. Damnit. Damnit.
"Me and Darry are getting along real good, now." Ponyboy says. Johnny groans.
Dally and Ponyboy frown.
"Are you okay, Johnnycakes?" Ponyboy whispers to the screen.
He feels a hand on his back, and sees Johnny smiling primly at the auburn haired boy.
"Johnny, are you okay?" Ponyboy asks. "Oh, yeah. It just hurts sometimes." Johnny says. "Pretty bad off, ain't I, Ponyboy."
"Don't talk like that..." Dally mutters, "You're gonna be okay." He looks to Johnny, and the younger looks back, "You're gonna be alright." He confirms.
He got a little nod. Not in agreement, but in acknowledgement instead.
"No," Ponyboy sobs out. "You're gonna be all right, kid." Pony says. "You gotta be. We couldn't get along without you." "I won't be able to walk again." Johnny says.
As if the gang's hearts couldn't lose anymore hope. They were all thinking the same, horrible thing. Even if Johnnycake lived. He wouldn't be able to walk. He wouldn't be the happy and shy Johnny they knew. It would- and none of them dared to say it- be just as if he had died in the hospital. It just seems like all hope just seem to be slipping through their fingers like water. And there was nothing they could do about it.
"You're gonna be fine." Ponyboy sniffs. "I know you are." "You wanna know something, Ponyboy?" Johnny asks. "I used to talk about killing myself all the time. Man, I don't wanna die now. It ain't long enough. Sixteen years ain't gonna be long enough. Hell I wouldn't have minded it so much, if there wasn't so much stuff I ain't done yet. So many, so many damn things I haven't seen. So many things I haven't done. That time we were up in Windrixville was the only time I've ever been away from our neighborhood." Johnny grunts.
Dallas flinches a little when Johnny talks about killing himself and clenches his hands. Damn it. Damn it, Johnny. Dally knows Johnny wouldn't wanna kill himself anymore. But he can't- he can't help Johnny. Dallas can't give him what he wants. He couldn't do anything for him! He has never felt so Goddamn useless in his whole life.
"Dally?" Johnny says, one day deciding to stay over at Buck's with him.
"Hmm?"
"Do you ever feel incredibly inadequate?" Johnny asks.
Dallas snorts, because Johnny has no idea how much Dallas would raise a glass to that. Dallas has much more in common with the kid than he realizes.
"Knock it off." Ponyboy says, "You'll be fine." Someone knocks on the door. "Johnny," a nurse says. "Your mother's here to see you."
Johnny glares slightly at the screen, a little too harshly for Dallas taste, that it actually surprises him.
"I don't wanna see her." Johnny says. "It's your mother. She's here to see you." The nurse says. "She probably just wants to tell me how much trouble I'm causing-"
"Breathe Johnny..." Darry mumbles.
"Why don't you just tell her to leave me al-" Johnny groans and passes out."What's wrong?" TwoBit asks. "You can't see him right now. He's alright." The nurse assures. "Make sure he gets this, all right?" TwoBit gives her the book. "Ok." They walk out of the room to be met with an frenzy/crazy Mrs. Cade. "What are you doing?! He's my son!" She screams, "He'd rather see these no-good punks than his own mother! You scum!"
Ponyboy and Johnny both flinch at the insults 'Scum!' and 'No-Good Punks'.
Dallas glares long and hard at the screen, showing the dreadful woman that dares call herself Johnny's "mother".
Soda, Darry, Steve, and TwoBit look in disgust and anger at the evil witch.
"Bitch." TwoBit swears.
Soda nods and Steve follows that insult with other colorful words.
"No wonder he hates you're guts!" TwoBit yells. "You don't even care about him, you damn drunk! You go straight to hell! You go right to hell!" The nurse proceeds to drag the witch down the hall. Scene cuts to Dallas's room. "What's happened to your gown?" The nurse asks (aka S.E. HINTON!) "I threw it away." Dallas replies.
Steve snorts, "Simple. Straight to the point."
"How're you doing, man?" Dallas greets. "Good. Swiped you a gift, man." TwoBit says. "It's good to see you guys, man. This place gives me the creeps."
"Hell, doesn't it everybody!" TwoBit jokes, hoping to lighten the mood. Even if it's just a tiny bit.
"With all the scissors, and knives, and saws, and drills, and giant scissors, and electric tables-"
"TwoBit!" Darry interrupts. "You know those things aren't real inside real hospitals?"
"Yeah, man." Steve adds, "What lame movies have you been watching."
"Yeah now that I think about it, I watched that horrible movie 'Dr. Frankie' with Ponyboy once. It was pretty stupid...I mean why would someone want to create a monster?"
Ponyboy sighs, "And this is why the movie was only allowed with adult supervision."
TwoBit looks confused, "I am the adult supervision. I was there the whole time."
"No," Pony points out. "The adult supervision was gone the second I left the movie house early, and left you flirting with a girl, so I could get home."
Soda cracks up.
"It's good to see you guys, man. This place gives me the creeps." Dally says. "Tim Shepherd dropped by. Saw my picture in the paper and couldn't believe it didn't have dead or alive written underneath it." Dally says.
"Hey, we haven't seen Tim Shepherd in any of these scenes." TwoBit realizes.
"What? Of course we have! Remember the movie part?" Ponyboy asks.
TwoBit shakes his head.
"The couch?"
"Nope. None of them looked like Timmy."
"Jesus Christ."
"He started rubbing it in about the rumble, man" Dally says. "I hate missing it."
"Man, I have to miss it!" Dally says. "Damn it."
"Yeah of course. What are you gonna do, limp to the lot?" Darry asks. "You can't leave the hospital."
"Hey, if I could get past the nurses I'd be set. The broads wouldn't put up much of a fight." Dally says.
"There are male nurses," Darry adds.
"There are male nurses!" Dally exclaims.
Steve and TwoBit snort at the thought of male nurses.
"You got a cigarette, Pone." Ponyboy tosses Dally a cigarette, "Thanks." Dally sighs, "How's he doing, how's Johnny man?" "Look Dal, I don't know too much stuff about this, but he ain't looking too good." TwoBit confirms. Dally sighs, "You still got that knife on you?" "What?" "The knife." Dallas says. TwoBit flicks out the switchblade and hands it to Dallas. "Thank you." Dally says. "We gotta get those Socs, tonight." Dallas says, "We gotta get even with those Socs." Dally turns to them, "Let's do it for Johnny, man. Do it for Johnny!" Scene cuts to Pony and TwoBit outside at the bus station, "Are you okay, Pony?" TwoBit asks. "You feel kind of hot." "I'm okay." Pony assures. "Be a pal and don't tell Darry. I'll take a bunch of aspirins when we get home." "Good, cause Darry'll kill me when I let you fight when you're sick."
Soda takes a peek at Darry, who seems indifferent. "You don't look surprised." Soda comments.
"I'm not. I know you guys well enough to know what y'all do." Darry mostly doesn't contradict them, because he knows the rule. No dumbass tattle-tailing. He knows the score. It's what friends do.
"You know the only thing keeping Darry from being a Soc is us." TwoBit says.
"What?" Darry says.
"Yeah, you never thought of that before?" Soda asks.
"No." Darry frowns, he looks to the group, "Did all of you guys think this?"
The question is followed by murmurs in the affirmative and nods of heads.
"Huh..."
"Yep." TwoBit says. "You're too smart to be a Greaser." He adds.
Ponyboy nods. He is. The only thing keeping Darry from being a Soc, besides the money, is them, the gang. And in truth, Pony feels kind of bad.
"Well I guess I should thank you guys." Darry says. "Wouldn't wanna live without my brothers and y'all on the West side."
"Well I never thought I would be saying this, but," TwoBit says. "Your welcome. For bringing you down to the lowest point of society, please leave a tip."
They go in the bus. "Tonight..." Pony says. "I don't like it one bit."
"Shit, is this what they call movie foreshadowing?" Sodapop asks.
Ponyboy nods, "Unfortunately, yes." Ponyboy looks at the screen, "So yep. We're fucked."
"Ponyboy, don't swear." Darry says.
The two get off the bus, and walk through the their neighborhood. They pass a group of little kids playing with a ball. "Tough little kids, huh?" Pony asks. "Yeah, future Greasers."
Johnny couldn't help but feel bad for those kids. They're so innocent and happy, but it'll be stripped away from them soon. They'll have to grow up in a world where it prey or predator. Eat or be eaten.
"Yeah." Pony agrees. Cherry gets out of her Corvette, "Hi, Ponyboy! Hey, TwoBit!"
"Aww. What the hell is she doing here?" Dally complains.
"She's the spy, remember?" Ponyboy says.
Dallas groans, "Right."
"What's up with the big times?" TwoBit asks. She sighs, "No weapons. They play your way. It's a fair deal." She tells them. "You sure about that?" Two questions. "Well Randy told me, he knows for sure." TwoBit nods to Pony, "Good deal. Thanks Cherry." Cherry smiles, "Ponyboy, wait a minute. Come here. I want to talk to you."
Soda grins at Ponyboy, and wags his eyebrows suggestively.
"Would you quit doing that?!" Ponyboy says, picking the bright pink.
"Sorry," Soda grins. "It's too easy."
"How's Johnny doing?" Cherry asks. "Not so good. Would you come up and see him?" Ponyboy asks. "No, I couldn't." She says. "Why not?"
"This girl is just so disappointing." Steve says.
"Yeah. One minute she's nice then the next, she throws disappointments at you like free puppies."TwoBit says.
"Told you, man." Dally says, flicking his hundredth cigarette butt in the trash.
Steve looks at the rusty haired joker weirdly, "Puppies?"
"I couldn't. She just says. "He killed Bob." She says. "Maybe Bob asked for it. I know he did. But you didn't know his other side. He could be real sweet."
Steve and TwoBit snort, "Sweet?" They laugh.
"Yeah, sweet enough to woo you into bed doll face." Dally says.
TwoBit's still laughing, "The great Soc...SWEET!" He slaps his knees and buckles over laughing.
"He wasn't just any boy. Bob had something that made him different."
"The head the size of a two by four?" TwoBit adds.
This made the loony duo to go back into hysterics.
"Made people follow them. Maybe better than the crowd. You know what I mean?"
"No, honey." Steve says, "All I here is money, bribery, money, and a knife."
"Yeah, well that's okay. I didn't want you to go see him anyways. We don't need your damn charity!" Ponyboy walks away. "Ponyboy! I wasn't trying to give a charity! I really wanted to help. I liked you from the start. The way we talked. Wouldn't you want to try to help me if you thought you could?" She asks. Pony looks at her, "Can you see the sun set from the southside pretty good?" "Yeah real good." "You could see it from the northside too." Ponyboy says. Cherry chuckles.
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Steve asks.
TwoBit shrugs, "Maybe Pony's way of flirting, right Ponyboy?"
"It just means that-"
"You know," Soda interrupts. "I still don't understand why they decided to have it to be the north and the south instead of our east and west."
"Thanks, Ponyboy. You dig okay." She says. Ponyboy smiles, "See you around." And walks away.
"Uh huh..." TwoBit analyzes. "Definitely flirting."
The boys walk on and Cherry gets in her Corvette and drives away.
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