Chapter 2

Sodapop finally got Ponyboy to move on back to the house. Soda knew that this was going to hit Pony hard, not only was Johnny going to be jumpier more than ever, but Sodapop was afraid that Pony would be too. It just isn't fair that greasers can't walk alone in their own neighborhood without having to worry about being jumped and hurt as badly as Johnnycakes was right now.

"Darry, you know what this means don't you?" Dallas was yammering at Darry.

"Dally, you need to get it together, for Johnny's sake." Darry noticed that Johnny was lying very still in his arms. Darry was afraid that he had slipped back into unconsciousness again.

"This means a rumble, Dar. Those sons of bitches are not going to get away with hurting Johnny like this, and on our turf, no way." Dally was moving right along with keeping up with Darry's fast pace.

"Drop it, Dallas. This is not the time or the place for this discussion." Darry stopped for a brief second to make eye contact with Dally to reiterate that this topic of conversation was over.

"God damn it, Darry! Whose side are you on, anyways? I mean look at the kid!" Dallas was now standing face to face with Darry.

Two-Bit and Steve had moved closer to Darry and Dally, being afraid that they would have to hold Dallas back from going at it with Darry. "Dally, lay off, Man. Let Darry get into the house with Johnny so he can start tending to his wounds." Two-Bit had put his hand on Dallas's arm just in case he tried something stupid.

Because the boys had stopped up ahead, Sodapop and Ponyboy were able to catch up to the group. The gang started moving again and everyone was quiet. They moved swiftly across the field and were approaching the side of the road when Darry looked up and noticed a shadowy figure standing on the side of the road watching the group of boys. Darry let out a sigh, "Oh, great." He said as he moved closer to the figure.

"I thought I told you to get in the house?" Darry's tone was loud and stern.

"You did. What happened to Johnny?"

"Sara, get in the house, now." Darry demanded. The sun had almost completely gone behind the horizon now and Sara couldn't really see to much of Johnny's injuries, but could tell that he was hurt. Darry crossed the street to their house. "Sara, I said now." Just as Darry gave Sara his last warning about getting in the house the boys came over to her and Two-Bit knowing that Sodapop had his hands full with keeping Ponyboy calm, and Darry had Johnny, he better step in with Sara.

He grabbed her little hand, and said, "Sara, you don't want to make Darry mad. Let's get in the house." Two-Bit led Sara through the Curtis' yard and up the porch.

"Two-Bit, what happened to Johnny?" Sara tried to ask again.

"He just got hurt that is all." Two-Bit said holding the door open for her to get in the house. By the time Two-Bit and Sara had gotten into the house, Darry already had Johnny down on the couch and was trying to clean his cuts up with some hydrogen peroxide. Johnny was winching at every touch of the cotton ball that Darry would put up to the wounds. The worse was the cuts on Johnny's face from all the rings the Soc was wearing; they were so deep and bloody. Everyone took a seat somewhere in the living room with the exception of Dally who was just pacing back and forth.

"Dally, you are going to wear a path on the floor, why don't you just have a seat." Darry spoke softly to Dally.

"I can't, Man. " Dally did managed to stop for one second and took a good look at Johnny, then like a flash of lighting Dally was heading out the door.

"Two-Bit, Steve, go with him before he gets himself arrested, or worse." Darry hollered over to the boys. Both boys didn't need to be told twice and were out the door right behind Dally. For they all knew that Dallas was a ticking time bomb that was ready to go off at any moment. Darry drew his attention back from the door onto Johnny. "Sara, go get ready for bed." Darry was looking down at Johnny but speaking to Sara.

"Is Johnny going to be ok?" Sara's voice had a hint of fear in it, for now that she could see Johnny in the light of the living room, she didn't know what to think, for he looked ten times worse than when she witnessed Soda and Steve getting beat up the other week by Peter Parker. Soda could see the fear in Sara's face so he got up out of Darry's chair and moved closer to her.

"Johnny is going to be ok, it's just going to take a few days for him to get better, that's all. Why don't you go on and get ready for bed like Darry asked." Soda was trying to push Sara in the direction of her room, but she was resisting.

"Darry, what do you think? Is he going to be ok?" Sara needed to hear the reassurance from Darry more than from Sodapop right now. Darry who was placing a bag of ice on Johnny's cheek finally looked up at Sara and spoke.

"Just like Sodapop said Sara, he will be fine in a few days. But for now you don't need to worry any. Go on, get ready for bed." Darry motioned with his hand for her to go. Sara took one more look at Johnny and then with guidance from Sodapop she moved down the hall to her room. Soda helped Sara change out of her dirty clothes and into some pj's. Sara was being very quiet, when Soda was putting her into bed.

"Sara, you do believe Darry and I when we tell you that Johnny is going to be ok, right?" Soda was pulling the covers back for her to get into bed. But Sara didn't answer she just shrugged her shoulders. "Darry and I don't want you to worry about this." Sara finally said something as she was scooting down into the covers.

"Soda, why does this stuff happen to us?" Sara had a puzzled look on her face.

"It's hard to explain, BabyGirl." Soda wasn't really in the mood to try to explain to his baby sister about the different eco social classes in Tulsa.

"Please, Soda? I need to know why these bad people keep coming to our neighborhood and hurting the people that I love and care about. I just don't get it." Soda wasn't intending to stay long, but now that he had to try to explain this he sat down on Sara's bed and was trying to figure out where to begin.

"There are people in this world that think they are better than other's because of the amount money they make, or because they drive fancy cars, like the ones I work on at the shop, or by the size of their house, and the type of clothes they wear, things like that. But not all people that have those things are bad people, just some are. And they think that just because they have all of those things that they can hurt people that don't have the same things as they do. Do you understand that?" Soda really didn't know how else to explain this to someone as young as Sara. Sara had her lips pursed together and was moving them from one side of her face to the other and wasn't really saying anything. "Sara, do you understand what I am trying to say?" Soda was waiting for an answer.

"I think so. But it still doesn't make it right." She said finally lying her head down on her pillow.

"No it doesn't make it right. But it has been this way for a very long time, and probably will continue to be this way for many more years to come. It's just something that is hard to change. And until it does change we just have to try our best to deal with it and try to stay out of trouble." Soda gave Sara a little wink; for they hadn't really told her about the real reason Mrs. Roberts had shown up for a visit on Thursday. Darry had just told Ponyboy and Sara that Mrs. Roberts had heard about the trouble that they had been involved in the past couple of weeks and how they ALL had to try hard to stay out of trouble.

"Don't worry Soda, I am going to be so good, and stay out of any trouble because I don't want that Mrs. Roberts coming here anymore." Sara was grabbing the blankets and pulling them up close to her.

"That makes two of us, little lady! I don't want that Mrs. Roberts here anytime soon either." Soda leaned down to place a kiss on Sara's head. When he came back up from the kiss he just looked at his sister. "Have I told you how much older your new hair cut makes you look?" Soda really did like her new haircut. It came down just below her chin and flipped naturally towards her face. It was still long enough though if they wanted to put it up, but the hairdresser told Darry about headbands and Darry picked up a few and he is very happy with them. Sara can put them in herself and so far they are keeping the hair out of her face.

"Yes, Soda, like a million times already!" Sara giggled at her brother.

"Ok. Ok. I just can't get over it." Sodapop smiled back down at Sara and said, "Sleep tight, don't let the.."

"Bed bugs bite." Sara finished his sentence for him.

"Yeah, something like that." Soda got up and turned her lamp off.

"Soda?" Sara called out into the darkness of her room. Soda stopped before closing the door all the way and poked his head back into the room.

"Yeah, squirt?"

"Thanks for taking me to grab lunch and playing miniature golf today. It was fun. Can we do it again sometime?" Sara did enjoy the little outing that the two had. She knew that Sodapop would keep to his promise, he always does. It is one brother she knew she could count on to carry through with his promises.

"You bet. Maybe next time we can bring Darry and Ponyboy along. What do you think about that?"

"Sounds good, but Darry and Pony probably won't let me win like you did."

"Probably not, Kiddo. Get some rest. See you in the morning." Soda closed the door and walked back to see how Darry was doing with Johnny. As he ventured back out to the kitchen his stomach gave a little rumble, for he hadn't eaten since he took Sara out for a burger and fries. He was fishing through the fridge to see if there was any left overs, but no such luck. He did notice a package of hot dog, that would do he thought. "Hey, Ponyboy?" Soda shouted into the living room.

"Keep your voice down!" Ponyboy came out to the kitchen looking at Soda.

"Sorry, just wanted to know if you were hungry." Soda said closing the refrigerator door.

"I could eat something, what do you got in mind?" Pony took a seat down at the kitchen table waiting for Sodapop to serve him.

"Just hot dogs, but I am willing to cook you up some too." Soda took the package out.

"Yeah, I will take a couple."

"Well at least you can do is set the table and get the mustard and relish out." Sodapop harassed Pony for just watching him do everything. "And go ask Darry if he wants any." Before Pony was going to set the table he walked back into the living room, where Darry had moved off the couch with Johnny and was now sitting in his chair.

"Darry, Soda is cooking hot dogs do you want any?" Pony was standing between the entry way of the kitchen and living room looking at Darry.

"No, Sara and I had BLT sandwiches for dinner. Thanks anyways. After you eat, you should get cleaned up and finish up that homework." Darry was watching Johnny's shallow breathing from his chair, but was relieved though because he looked like he was resting as comfortable as possible.

"I will, Dar." Ponyboy walked back into the kitchen to finish setting the table. "Darry doesn't want any." Pony said to Sodapop while grabbing two plates from the cupboard. Pony had just finished getting the mustard and relish from the fridge and was sitting down when Darry entered the room and pulled out a chair to sit with the boys at the table.

"I want you two to be very careful around the neighborhood for a while. No walking by your lonesome. You both hear me? You call for a ride if you need one. I would say these Soc's are in rear form right now. And who the hell knows what Dallas is going to get us into with his mouth." Darry was spinning the relish around on the table while talking with the boys.

"We will, Dar. Don't worry about us. We will be careful, won't we Pon?" Soda said setting down the hot dogs for the two of them.

"That's for sure." Pony said taking a bite of his dinner.

"Soda, did you put Sara down for bed, or is she still in there looking at her books?" Darry was looking down towards a quiet hallway; he couldn't even hear any music floating out from her room.

"Yeah, I put her right to bed. She should be sleeping. I tried to wear her out for with playing miniature golf and all, not sure if it worked or not though. You know she is pretty damn good at that game. Even though I thought I was letting her win, she was holding her own really well. We might have another athlete on our hands, if she doesn't turn into a cheerleader first." Sodapop said grinning from ear to ear, knowing how Darry felt about the type of girls who were Cheerleaders at Will Rogers High.

"Over my dead body!" Darry knew all to well the kind of reputation cheerleaders can get.

"We'll just have to wait and see I guess." Soda was now just trying to get Darry going, but it didn't really work.

"I would say we have a little time ahead of us before that might happen." Darry glanced over at Pony whose ear were starting to turn a crimson red. This poor kid, Darry thought. Any mention of girls made him blush, but Darry and Sodapop knew that this would soon change in a year or so. Pony could tell the boys were watching him and he wanted to avoid any more embarrassing talk about girls or cheerleaders so he got up from the table and put his plate in the sink.

"I am going to take a shower; I will do the dishes up when I get out." He said to Darry on his way by to the bathroom.

"Sounds fair enough." Darry watched Ponyboy walk to the boy's room and waited for him to enter the bathroom before turning to Sodapop. Once Darry heard the click of the bathroom door he was ready to bring Sodapop up to date on things with Sara. "Soda, I have some news to share with you." Soda immediately focused on Darry. "I talked with Mrs. Roberts this afternoon. I told her that I was not interested in her proposal of placing Sara in a temporary home and that I was ready to fight her tooth and nail over this." Darry paused still spinning the relish jar.

"And?" Soda couldn't stand not knowing the outcome of the conversation.

"And, I can't believe it but she is going to give us two weeks to show our bills are paid on time, and show that none of you have been in any more trouble. So I need your help in keeping this place in tip top condition. I told her that she could stop by any day, any time of the week, and I think she will. We need to prove to her that this is the best place for Sara. But we are also going to need to figure something out about Sara and the DX station. We can't have her being spotted hanging around anymore. We have to figure something out for just this week. After State's are through on Saturday, Pony can get her until the rest of the school year is done." Darry had finally stopped fidgeting with the relish jar and had now folded his hands together on the table.

"Maybe we could get Two-Bit or Dally to watch her just until Pony gets home from practice. Until we can talk with them about it, I can call Joe and see if he can come in early for me tomorrow. Dar, we will take it one day at a time. We should be kind of celebrating the fact that we know that at least we have two more weeks with her, and to make this right with Mrs. Roberts. I don't know about you, but that just took a little weight off my shoulders." Soda was smiling at the news that Darry had just shared with him.

"I'll tell you what little buddy; there will be no celebrating until we get the final word that she is here to stay." Darry couldn't get his hopes to high right now, for Mrs. Roberts made it clear that anything could still happen within the two week period, so no celebration yet. "We need to keep this under the lid, Sodapop. I don't want her or Ponyboy to know any of this. You got it?"

"Darry, I got it." Soda had gotten up and started washing the dishes for Pony, not so much to help Pony out, but more so to keep himself busy. "Dar, if you told Mrs. Roberts she could come at any time, what are your plans to do with Johnny?"

"That is what I am trying to figure out. I'm sure the hell not going to send him back home in that condition. We'll just have to try our best and hope the hell that she doesn't show up here in the next few days. That's all." Darry was getting up from the table when he added to Soda, "Don't think I don't see what you are doing there, little buddy." But when Soda turned to look at Darry, Darry was smiling, so Soda knew he wasn't mad that he was doing Pony's job for him.

Darry had managed to get some aspirin into Johnny before heading off to bed for the night. Before he did that though, he made his rounds from room to room. All were quiet and asleep so he thought. Once Sara heard Darry latch her door shut, she waited for just a few more minutes before getting out of her bed. She tip-toed to her door, trying to avoid any creaky floorboards that she had in her room and slowly opened her door. She pooped her head out the door and looked for a clear hallway, once she knew it was safe she tip toed out to the living room where it was dark and she moved her way over to the dark haired boy lying very still on their couch. She crouched down beside the couch where Johnny's hand was dangling off the couch. She took her warm little hand and slipped it into Johnny's semi cold hand and whispered into his ear. "Johnny, they tell me that you'll be ok, but I don't know if I believe them or not. It scares me to see you like this. But I want to let you know that Darry will take real good care of you. I know this for a fact for he takes the best care of me. Sodapop tried to explain to me why this happened to you today, but I don't think I really understand him, maybe one day I will though. I hope that you start to feel better real quick." Sara placed a very small and light kiss on Johnny's hand and started to get up when she heard a very low, soft muffled voice reply back to her.

"Thanks, Sara."