Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up but we're in the middle of moving so it's a little crazy at my house. I'll try and keep updating frequently but once we get fully moved into the new place the updates will be REALLY frequent! Once again thank you sooooo much to my oh mighty, clarissa, and Yehhhok for their AMAZING reviews which continue to inspire me and make me smile! And Yehhhok no review can be too long, I love the detail you put in it really helps me shape the future chapters in just the right way! Love you guys, and here's the next chapter!
"Tim, how you been buddy?" I hear Darry ask with a smile on his face as he comes out of the kitchen dryin' his hands on a towel. Tim shakes Darry's hand before he and his gang get situated around the living room for what appears to be a long talk.
"I'll finish dinner, Dar," I say before hurryin' into the kitchen, eager to get away from Tim who keeps glancin' at me. I lean against the counter once I'm safely out of sight and let my head bang lightly against the cupboard.
"So stupid! Pull yourself together," I mumble to myself quietly before straightening up and openin' the oven quickly to check on the chicken casserole. When I see it's cookin' perfectly I start taking out ingredients to make the ever popular chocolate cake the boys like to eat for breakfast. I've just finished mixin' all the liquid ingredients together when a creak in the floor lets me know someone just walked into the kitchen. I turn around to see who it is and freeze when I see Tim Shepard is leanin' against the fridge, one arm above his head supporting his body. I smile at him before turnin' back around to my cake batter, expectin' him to grab a couple beers and leave. I jump a little when I hear his voice comin' from directly behind me.
"Thought I told you to clean that cut on your face, it's gonna get infected," he says starin' at me blankly and my hand automatically reaches up to feel the open cut below my eye.
"I guess I forgot," I whisper and he walks over to the sink, turning on the tap and wetting a small hand towel that had been sittin' nearby before comin' back over to me. He walks so close I take a step backwards, bumpin' into the counter but he blocks me in. He stops so close to me I can feel his breath on my face. He starts rubbin' at the cut on my face, his rough and calloused hands moving more gently than I thought he was capable of. After wipin' the cut clean, he runs his thumb over it once before throwin' the wet towel into the sink and grabbin' a few beers from the fridge, makin' his way back out into the living room. When Steve walks into the kitchen a couple minutes later I'm still frozen in the same spot but the only thing he notices is the chocolate cake I'd started to make.
"Chocolate cake!" he yells and his volume snaps me out of my frozen state. I walk over and thwack him on the head when he goes to mess with the bowl.
"Don't touch anything, you can have some when it's done," I say and shoo him out of the kitchen with my hands. I finish mixin' up the batter and am ready to put it in when the timer for the chicken casserole goes off. I carefully take the hot food out of the oven, puttin' the cake in then headin' out into the living room. My face falls a little bit when I notice the Shepard gang has left, and I feel like rollin' my eyes when I wonder why Tim didn't say goodbye to me. I barely know him, and I don't even know what that whole thing in the kitchen was about, so why would he feel the need to say goodbye?
"Food's done, Darry," I say before fallin' onto Soda's lap on the couch. Dally leans away from my feet when they appear in his face on the other side of the couch and I laugh.
"Get your stinky ass feet away from me," Dally grunts out and I curl up onto Soda's lap more, smilin'.
"Fine! Soda doesn't think my feet are stinky, do you Sodiepop?" I ask Soda with a big cheesy smile on my face and he grins back.
"I think your feet are adorable, little Rose!" Soda says loudly and Ponyboy laughs at us.
"Oh hey, did you finish that book you were tellin' me about?" I ask Pony, switchin' moods quickly from fun to serious.
"Not yet, I'm still a couple chapters from the end. I think you'll wanna read it though, it's pretty good," Pony says and I nod, getting' off Soda and makin' my way to my room. I give Lucky a kiss on the head before fallin' onto the bed next to her, makin' her meow in protest at the bouncing. I softly pet her head for a few minutes, just starin' at the ceiling.
"Dinner!" I hear Darry yell from the kitchen and I hear several sets of footsteps run from the living room to the kitchen where Darry was servin' up dinner so everyone got enough to eat and no one pigged out. I give Lucky another kiss before makin' my way to the kitchen, pickin' up Soda's shoes that he had thrown down the hallway toward his room earlier in the day and place them by the door before entering the chaos that is the kitchen.
"Come on, man! I'm a growin' boy, I need more than that!" I hear Two-Bit complain and I sigh, thumpin' him on the back of the head as I walk by, earning myself a glare from him. Darry hands me a plate and I smile at him before findin' a place at the table to eat in peace. I manage to dodge all flying food throughout dinner and make it out the same way I went in. Clean. I wash the dishes sittin' in the sink and let Ponyboy take over when he comes in, the next to finish his food. I fall down onto the couch in the living room, closing my eyes and drifting until I hear Darry call my name.
"Rosebud, we need to talk," he says and I sit up, givin' Soda and Steve room to sit on the couch.
"What is it? Is this about why Tim was here earlier?" I ask, lookin' around at the guys. Dally raises an eyebrow at me when I don't call Tim by his last name like everyone usually does. I really need to pay attention to what I'm sayin', or just shut my trap.
"The Socs wanna rumble tomorrow night in the lot, but it's no weapons only skin on skin," Darry says and I slump back into the couch, sighin' heavily.
"And just like every other time there's a rumble I'm not gonna be able to talk you out of it, am I?" I ask as I glare at the ceiling and I hear Darry sigh, readjustin' in the armchair.
"Rosebud, you know we can take care of ourselves. We've been fightin' in rumbles since we turned thirteen," Darry says and I roll my eyes, jumpin' up from the couch.
"Yeah, and it only takes one stupid Soc that decides to pull a blade to tear apart this family!" I say before stormin' off to my room, ignoring Soda's calls for me to come back. I slam my bedroom door shut and fall onto my bed face first. Lucky soon comes over, purring loudly, and rubs up against my side and arms makin' me smile.
"You always know how to cheer me up, Lucky," I say before huggin' her and scratchin' behind her ears. As I lay in bed a half hour later, dressed in my pajamas and curled up with Lucky on my stomach sound asleep already, I feel the cold chill of fear start to creep into my mind. So many things could go wrong in a rumble, and no one would notice because it's pure chaos until it ends. I always get upset when the boys head off to a rumble, but I'm always patchin' them up when they get back. I think the most stupid thing Darry does in his life is fightin' in rumbles, I mean what would Soda, Pony, and I do if he got arrested or even killed? I guess that's a little selfish, isn't it? As I slowly drift off to sleep nightmares of all that could go wrong during the rumble flash through my mind, making me extremely tired when I get up the next morning. Just like all the other days before a rumble I completely ignore the guys and grab my own bowl of cereal for breakfast, takin' it back to my room so I can read some more while I eat. My cereal is gone within ten minutes and I'm just reachin' the end of a chapter in my book when Soda pops his head into my room. Once he sees I'm sittin' on my bed he slips in and shuts the door behind him. I watch him sit down across from me on the bed and stare at me until I sigh and slap my book shut, settin' it on my nightstand.
"What?" I snap, glarin' at him and he sighs, itchin' the back of his neck.
"Rosebud, I understand. I really do, you think if somethin' bad happens you, Pony, and me will get shipped off to some girls and boys home. But you hafta understand, we've been doin' this for years. Don't you trust us?" Soda asks, lookin' me right in the eyes and my glare starts to fade as my eyes sting with unshed tears.
"Of course I trust you guys, it's those stupid Socs I don't trust!" I say, wipin' at my eyes quickly and sniffling. He smiles softly and pulls me into a hug, kissin' the top of my head as I slowly breathe in the scent of gasoline, cologne, and grease. Soda. He pulls back soon, holdin' my head between his two hands and lookin' very serious.
"We will always come back to you, Lilyrose. The whole gang, because we know how much it would hurt you if we didn't," Soda says and gives me one last kiss on the forehead before slippin' back out of my room. I wipe at my eyes and nose again, getting' up to get a tissue so I can look somewhat presentable for the day. I slip on a pair of blue skinny jeans and a plain purple t-shirt with a brown sweater over top before headin' out to the living room. I grab some money out of the jar in the kitchen on top of the fridge before headin' for the front door and slippin' on my white Keds.
"Hey Two-Bit, tell Darry I went to get some stuff for dinner okay?" I ask and he nods, liftin' up his beer in acknowledgement but keepin' his eyes glued to the TV where Mickey Mouse was on. I walk out into the bright sunshine from the darkness of the house, hearin' the door slam shut behind me and head out the front gate and onto the sidewalk. I walk the five minutes to the grocery store without runnin' into trouble and go in, wipin' at my sweaty forehead as the cool air hits me. I grab a basket, starting in the produce section and pickin' up some apples so I can make a fresh apple pie then movin' on to get all the ingredients for chicken and rice with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans. Soon I'm headed back home with three big paper bags of groceries.
"Should have made Two-Bit come with me!" I grumble under my breath and tense up when I hear the engine of a finely tuned car come up behind me.
"Need a ride, Curtis?" I hear someone ask and I turn toward the road prepared to say no because it isn't exactly safe to take rides from random people you don't really know. My answer freezes on my suddenly dry lips when I see Tim Shepard is drivin' the car. It's a blue and white Firebird, sparkling clean, and Tim has one hand on the wheel while the other is stretched out across the back of the seat. I bite my lip and glance around before lookin' down at the heavy bags that were already fallin' apart before steppin' off the curb and toward Tim's car. He reaches over and pops open the passenger door before reachin' out to take two of the grocery bags. He sets them on the floor of the car and waits until I'm seated and have shut the door before startin' off down the road toward my house.
"Thanks for stopping and getting me," I say politely but I can feel my palms starting to sweat.
"Yea. Know about the rumble?" he asks, dismissin' my thanks quickly and I see him glance at me from the corner of his eye.
"Unfortunately," I say with a sigh and he smirks at me, turnin' his head to look at me more.
"Scared?" he asks, a bit of taunting in his voice and my eyes narrow.
"Yea well Darry, Soda, and Pony are all I've got left along with the rest of the gang. At least you still have your mom," I say, a little bit of venom in my voice and his smirk disappears.
"They'll be fine. I'll keep an eye on the small one," he says gruffly after about thirty seconds and a small smile creeps onto my face before I can stop it. It's so cute how he tries not to care but he can't help it so he tries to put it off as a tough guy thing. Yea, he's a real tuff hood.
"If your gang needs a place to rest for a while after the rumble feel free to come on over," I say quietly, keeping my gaze trained on the houses passing slowly outside the window of the car. I see him nod out of the corner of my eye and we come to a stop in front of my house. I can feel the air gettin' awkward so I pop open the door and get out, turnin' back around to get the bags only to find Tim standin' next to me with them in his hands. I blink stupidly for a few seconds as he stares at me before leadin' him up to the porch.
"I have to get the gang ready for the rumble," Tim says once he sets the bags down on the porch before he turns and goes back to his car and takes off. I stand there for a little while before shakin' my head to clear it and gatherin' up a bag to take into the kitchen. I'm still really confused about Tim's rapidly changing behavior but snap out of my thinkin' when Darry calls my name.
"Did I hear a car out front?" he asks, lookin' up from his newspaper. It seems like he's always readin' one, but it's never the same one!
"Yea, um Tim Shepard gave me a ride home because I had a few bags," I said, continuing into the kitchen. I hear Darry tell Two-Bit to get the other bags off the porch before he appears in the kitchen doorway. He's leanin' on it with his left leg across his right and his eyes are studying my body language.
"What all did he say?" Darry asks after a little while and I roll my eyes.
"We just talked about the rumble tonight, that's all," I say adamantly and level him with a serious gaze. He stares at me for a little while longer but ultimately decides to drop it because he disappears back into the living room. Two-Bit comes walkin' into the kitchen with the other two grocery bags and I hand him another beer from the fridge. He grabs it happily, takin' a big swig before skippin' back out into the living room. Yes, he actually skipped. By now it's about noon so I make myself a quick sandwich and scarf it down before startin' on dinner. I make the pie first, settin' it on the windowsill to cool while I start the chicken and rice. About five hours later all the food is either done or cooking and I head out to the living room to take a break. We all watch Mickey Mouse and joke around in peace for about a half hour before Dally has to open his big trap and ruin it.
"What's all this gossip I hear about Shepard stopping to pick up some girl on her way home from the store and givin' her a ride?" Dally asks with a smirk over the beer he's sippin' on. All eyes except Darry's go directly to me and I rub my forehead, feelin' a headache comin' on already.
"Lilyrose Tulip Curtis why in the blue hell would you get in a car with Tim Shepard?" Soda asks, and Darry looks at him sharply for sayin' a curse word, and in front of Pony and I no less.
"That was stupid, Lily! Keep doin' stuff like that and you'll end up like ol' Two-Bit here, stupid and alone!" Steve says and Two-Bit glares and flips him off. Two-Bit and Kathy broke up AGAIN and this time he really thinks it's for good.
"Guys, Tim may be a hood to the Socs but he's still a nice guy," I say and I roll my eyes when Ponyboy's mouth falls open at my statement.
"Lily, Tim is a no good hood to everybody!" Pony says and I glare at him.
"Wasn't it you who told me the other day not to judge a book by its cover? Huh?" I ask.
"Yea, but-" he says but I cut him off and address all the guys.
"You guys don't know him, and I think if you talked to him more you'd see he isn't that bad of a guy! Don't be so hypocritical! Soda flirts with girls all the time but he doesn't sleep around! Darry yells a lot and is always glaring but he's a big softie!" I say before stormin' off to the kitchen. I hear the guys whisperin' to each other as I stand in the kitchen and wait for the chicken to finish its last two minutes of cooking. Soon I'm startin' to worry so much that I begin to bite my nails, a nervous habit I'd developed when I was ten. What are they going to think about me defendin' Tim like that? My life will be over if they realize I've got a crush on him! I seriously hope they don't confront Tim about any of this, especially about why I would be defendin' him. I just can't seem to stop diggin' an even deeper hole for myself. I take the chicken and rice out and set the table as I continue to bite my nails and strain to hear what the guys are whisperin' about. Soon we're all settled at the table diggin' into dinner, the whole Tim Shepard thing seemingly behind us. Steve and Soda are assigned to clean up the dishes once we're done eatin' after they started throwin' green beans at each other and wouldn't stop when Darry told them to. I swear, they are five year olds stuck in the bodies of teenage boys! As the guys arm wrestle and get pumped up for the rumble I start more laundry and watch Two-Bit and Steve wrestle on the floor in the living room, warnin' them not to knock anything over or I'll skin them alive. Soon Darry is doin' his pushups and puttin' on his t-shirt, folding up the sleeves so his muscles are on display. He gives me a kiss on the cheek and whistles at the guys before they all burst out the front door, lettin' it slam behind them. I watch them until they disappear from sight before continuing to fold the laundry and watch some mystery movie on TV. Before I know it, it's been an hour and the boys are stumblin' into the house, some bleedin' and some nursin' new bruises. I see Shepard's gang stumble in after my boys and pull in chairs from the dining room for them to sit on. I get the first aid kit out from under the bathroom sink and hear the door close when I start to stand up. I whirl around and come face to face with Tim who's standin' so close our foreheads are touchin'. My heart starts beatin' like a conga drum and the palms of my hands become pools of sweat. He has sweat fallin' down his face and soaking his tight black t-shirt from the rumble. His blue jeans are covered with dirt as are his black boots. His hair has lost some of its grease so a few pieces are fallin' onto his forehead. He has a cut above his right eyebrow by his hairline that's bleedin' and the left side of his jaw is turnin' an ugly purple color but all I notice are his brown eyes starin' into mine. His expression is unreadable so my breath hitches when he tilts his head and lowers his head towards mine. My breathing speeds up and I just about choke when he lands a kiss right on the tip of my nose. His lips linger there for a minute before he leans his head back and brings his hand up, brushin' some of my hair behind my ear. I manage to pry open my eyes from when they had fallen shut as Tim pecked my nose. We stare at each other for about thirty seconds before he abruptly turns and opens the door, walkin' out toward the living room where everyone was. I stand against the bathroom counter, the first aid kit clutched to my chest with both hands, and stare off into space. Why is life so damn complicated?
Ok guys, what did you think? I felt like I needed to progress their relationship a little more but I didn't want to go straight to the big first kiss. I feel like Tim is a man who has a hard time accepting his own feelings, so I'm trying to show the struggle he is having in his mind. I would love it if you guys would review, and I will really try working on the next chapter a lot so I can get it up in the next couple days!
LilCrafty6 :D