For The Love of a Greaser
Chapter 8
Going For a Walk
An Ambush With Threats
Ever since the kiss with Darry, I'd found myself sleeping better, easier. I didn't completely understand why, but I suppose at the same time, I did. It still bothered me though, the whole thing with Paul and Darry. I didn't understand what was going on between the two of them, but apparently, there was more to it than just me. Although, I wouldn't put it passed Paul to do something stupid though. The only good thing about Paul, was the fact that he wasn't as stupid and immature as some of his other buddies. Those thoughts had been on my mind for the last few days. Even after everything that happened though, I've still been going to work every day as usual. I may not always like the people in the diner, but I wasn't about to leave Joe hanging. The guy was like a father to me and I wasn't about to go and dessert him just because of some issues.
"Hey, Eden, I'm going out for a walk. Do you wanna come?" I asked as I pushed her door open, finding her laying across her bed with a book in her hands.
"No, not really," she grumbled.
I sighed at this. She never wanted to do anything with me anymore.
"Fine, I'll be back in a bit then," I told her, closing her door behind me, before going down the steps two at a time just for the heck of it.
When I get back home, I'm gonna pull out one of my records, then lay down and relax, I thought to myself as I exited the house, locking it behind me like I usually did before leaving for anywhere.
Today, I had the day off and I was going to take advantage of that fact. Who knows, maybe I'd go and see Darry later or something, but right now I know that he's working so I'd have to wait. Although, I knew that Ponyboy would probably be at home by now. With that thought in mind, I headed in his direction.
Maybe he'd like to take a walk with me, I thought, continuing my way down the street.
T
When I got there, I saw that their front door was open, the screen door being the only thing keeping the bugs out. It was also a sign that someone was home. As I got closer, I saw Two-Bit lounging around. It only took a moment or two before he saw me, jumping right up out of his spot and over to the door a moment later.
"Well, hey there baby," he greeted, opening the door for me like a gentleman. "Come to pay ol' Two-Bit a visit this time?" he asked, one of those goofy grins on his face. "Or did ya come by ta see your boyfriend, huh?" Two-Bit hinted as he threw an arm around my shoulder.
"Hey, I know that Darry's still at work," I defended, ducking out of Two-Bit's hold with a smile on my face. "I actually came by to see if you boy's wanted to take a walk around the neighborhood with me," I told him, looking between him and Ponyboy.
"Of course we would, right kid?" Two-Bit said, looking over at Ponyboy.
Ponyboy just nodded his head, standing up from the couch.
"Why us though Miss Abigail?" Ponyboy asked curious as he grabbed a sweatshirt from the couch.
"Well, after that fight between Paul and your brother, I've been a bit leery of going out by myself," I told him.
They both gave me a look of understanding as I said this.
"Well, I don't blame ya there baby. If I were in your shoes, I'd be the same way," Two-Bit told me.
"That makes me feel a lot better," I said dryly. "Anyway, you guys ready to go?" I asked, trying to smile.
Two-Bit just laughed and threw his arm back around my shoulders again, pulling me against him.
"Two-Bit, lay off," Ponyboy said, trying to pull Two-Bit's arm off of me, only to end up in a head lock afterward. "Hey, get off," Ponyboy complained as Two-Bit messed his hair up before running out the door.
I watched as Ponyboy ran after him, closing the door behind me as I tried to follow.
"Hey, waited up!" I yelled as I ran after the two, laughing a bit as I watched them.
I still remember how me and Eden used to mess around like that at times. Even though I was always bigger than her, she still put up a fight. I'd still have to ease up on how rough I was, but still, it was fun. We don't do that anymore. Heck, I'm like a tomboy anyway, so it's actually pretty easy for me to get along with these guys. With that thought in mind, I ran up behind Two-Bit and jumped on his back, catching him off guard. He laughed though a moment later when he realized it was me, a full out grin breaking out upon his face.
"Now that's my kinda girl," he laughed happily. "Bet ol' Dar hasn't seen this side of ya yet," Two-Bit said, happy that he had gotten to see it.
"Yeah, well normally, he's not messin' around like you guys," I told him, pushing off of his back.
"Now why'd ya have ta go and do that?" he whined as I got off of him.
"Oh, hush you," I said, shoving his arm playfully.
Unfortunately, he seemed to catch on to my attitude and went after me, putting me in a headlock this time.
"Damn it Two-Bit," I cried out, trying my best not to laugh as he messed my hair up terribly.
"No can do missy. Ol' Two-Bit's been around plenty of girl in my time, but you're the first one that likes ta play rough," he grinned.
He kept walking though, keeping me in a headlock the entire time as I tried my best to get free.
"Come on Two-Bit, leave her be. Besides, she's a girl, treat her better than that," Ponyboy said as he tried to help me.
"Oh, she ain't no girl," Two-Bit said, that goofy grin still on his face. "She's a woman, a real woman," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean," I grumbled, elbowing him in the stomach.
He let go, but he still laughed.
"You ain't a proper lady," he grinned, trying to press my buttons.
"Bet you wouldn't dare say that in front of Darry," I told him as I started to walk backwards in front of the two of them.
"Oh, but I would, and I'd prove it to him too," he said.
"And how do you intend to do that?" I asked, a smug look planted on my face.
"Well, that's easy," he said.
Before I knew it, I was on the ground in the grass wrestling around with Two-Bit.
"Two-Bit, leave her be," Ponyboy warned.
It didn't do much good though as we continued to wrestle. Lord have mercy, if Darry could see me now. Eventually, he had me pinned to the ground, much like Dally had before. I just narrowed my eyes playfully at him, before getting in the stomach. He fell over onto his back after that, allowing me to pin him down instead.
We were all laughing at this. Even though, I knew that if he really wanted too, he could overpower me with those arms of his. He didn't though and just let me sit there on his stomach.
"You know, you're really a pain in the butt Two-Bit," I said, a small smile pulling at the corner of my lips.
"If that ain't the truth," he laughed.
"I've got an idea, how about a race to the park?" I suggested.
"Is that a challenge missy?" Two-Bit asked, leaning up a bit.
"Maybe," I shrugged, getting off of him easily and holding out my hand.
He took it, allowing me to help him up off of the ground.
"You up for it kid?" Two-Bit asked as he looked over at Ponyboy.
"Sure," Ponyboy said with a nod.
"On three then," I said, looking between him and Two-Bit.
Before I got anything else out of my mouth though, Two-Bit yelled three and they started off, trying to leave me behind.
"Hey!" I yelled, laughing as I ran after them.
The only problem with running this time, was the fact that I didn't have all of that adrenaline running through me like I did during the night that I ran off from my house. Darry had barely been able to keep up with me and he's obviously fitter than I am. The thought of this made me laugh though and I just ignored it, continuing to run after Two-Bit and Ponyboy.
T
Once we got to the park, I fell onto the grass, unable to stand any longer. My legs felt like jelly and my breath was ragged and quick.
"Lord, I can't move," I breathed, laying there and staring up at the darkening sky.
"Yeah, but it was fun though," Two-Bit said, flopping down onto the ground next to me.
"I suppose you're right," I said with a shrug, closing my eyes as I laid there.
It was so quiet out that it was relaxing and peaceful. It seemed like nothing could ruin it. Although as usual, I always seem to speak too soon. About ten minutes later, we heard the sound of a mustang driving through and stopping. This sound nearly made my blood run cold. Looking over, we all found it to be that of a red mustang. Although, not just any red mustang, this one was full of Socs.
"This can't be good," Ponyboy mumbled, staying where he was and blocking me from view for the most part.
That didn't last long though as a few of the guys got out of the car, walking right over to us. They spotted me right away and grinned, walking the rest of the way toward us. Two-Bit pulled a knife out of his pocket as they got closer, ready to use it if need be.
I stood up once they were in front of us, standing behind Two-Bit when he got in front of me, trying to block me from their view like Ponyboy had done.
"This is our territory boys, so I suggest you leave nicely," Two-Bit told them.
"Oh, we will, right after we have a talk with Abby here," one of them said, taking another step forward.
"That's Abigail to you!" I spat. "And I'm not going anywhere with you, any of you," I told them.
At that, Two-Bit broke out his knife, flipping it around til it was in its open position and holding it in front of him.
"I suggest you leave now," he said in a dead even voice.
I'd never heard him talk like that before and it was kind of scary to a degree. He was always joking around, so laid back and never really serious.
"I don't think so. No one has ever stood Paul up before, so we're gonna fix that," another one said, quickly reaching forward to try and grab me.
That's when Two-Bit leapt forward and cut his arm with the edge of his knife, causing the guy to cry out in pain.
"Damn Greaser!"
That was when they started fighting, doing their best to keep away from Two-Bit's knife, while I tried to stay out of reach. Although, when one of them got Ponyboy on the ground and started kicking him, I knew I couldn't keep hiding behind my friends. I had to take a stand and fight back, help the kid before things got even worse.
"Get the hell off of him!" I yelled, tackling the guy to the ground after he kicked Ponyboy in the face.
I rolled down the slight hill with the guy until we got to the bottom, punching him hard in the face, only to get hit in the gut myself. I let out a groan as he pushed me off, leaving me badly winded. Then, for the fourth time within a month, I had my hands pinned above my head.
"Get off me!" I yelled, before doing exactly what I had done to Dally, bringing my knee up hard between the guys leg.
Before anything else could happen, Two-Bit was pulling me into his arms out of the way, while Ponyboy stood behind us with a hand on Two-Bit's shoulder. Ponyboy even had a nasty cut on his face, along with a busted lip. Two-Bit just had a few scrapes on his face from what I could tell, then again, I wasn't paying that much attention at the moment.
"Leave!" Two-Bit yelled, watching as a few of the other guys backed up and headed back to the mustang. "Get out of here!" Two-Bit said, kicking a bit of dirt into the guys face on the ground. "Now!" Two-Bit yelled, his arms still arm me in a protective manner as he glared at the guys.
"Come on Jeremy, let's go!" one of his friends yelled as they honked the horn in irritation.
"Let's get outta here kid," Two-Bit said quietly as he turned to Ponyboy, before picking me up in his arms.
"We're not finished with you Greasers," someone yelled from the car.
None of us paid any attention to them though as Two-Bit turned away, carrying me in his arms as he started walking down the street.
"Keep an eye on that sister of yours!"
That statement made my eyes go wide in fear and anger, causing me to struggle against Two-Bit, but he just held tighter.
"Don't," Two-Bit whispered. "We'll take care of it," he assured me as he continued forward, not looking back at any of them as they drove off.
T
When we got back to Ponyboy's house, we found Darry's truck parked outside, and the front door open as usual. I swear, it didn't help matters when Two-Bit went up the steps on the porch. My stomach was still sore as hell from being hit, that, and I think I might have possibly turned my ankle wrong while tumbling down that hill.
"Darry," Two-Bit called as we got onto the porch, Ponyboy opening the screen door to let us in.
Darry was just coming out of the kitchen as we stepped in, his face falling and quickly being overcome by worry when he say me in Two-Bit's arms.
"Abigail," he exclaimed, quickly running over and taking me from Two-Bit's arms.
I groaned again as my body moved, the muscles in my stomach contracting painfully.
"What the hell happened?" Darry asked, his voice raising as he looked toward Two-Bit and Ponyboy.
"A few Socs thought that they'd try and ambush us at the park," Two-Bit started as he looked down at me where I was now seated on the floor holding my stomach. "Thought they'd try and take Abigail here," he finished.
"It's because I turned Paul down…" I groaned. "Hey, Ponyboy, could you get me some ice please?" I asked, leaning my head back against the couch.
Darry sat down next to me on the floor while Ponyboy went into the kitchen, placing his arm around my shoulders so that I could lay my head on his shoulder.
"Darry…they threatened to hurt Eden," I told him, closing my eyes as I sat there.
I felt him tense upon hearing my words. Apparently, he didn't like the sound of it anymore than I did. In fact, I don't think any of them did.
"Ponyboy, I want you walking home with Eden from now on," Darry told him brother as he walked back in with a washcloth full of ice. "What's the ice for?" he asked, looking down at me.
"Well, I got punch in the stomach real good, and then there's the fact that I think I turned my ankle rolling down that bit of hill in the park," I explained, placing the cold bundle on my ankle.
Darry took it from me a moment later, pulling my leg up onto his lap and placing the bundle of ice against my ankle himself. This made me smile a bit as he did this.
"I'll call in a few favors around the neighborhood and have people keep an eye out for ya," Darry told me, before turning his head to look at Two-Bit.
"I'll call Dally," Two-Bit said, going over to the phone.
"Call Tim too," Darry added, resting his head against mine. "Shepard will know what to do."
After a while a sitting there with him though, feel asleep, my on his shoulder.
T
As they sat there, Darry noticed that after a while, Abigail had fallen asleep. It had only taken her maybe half a hour to a hour for her to fall asleep while everyone talked. They had been trying to come up with a plan on what to do with the Socs. After all, Paul had apparently put things at rest between him and Abigail, but that didn't mean that his little social buddies wouldn't try to fix or change things.
It's true that no girl had ever turned Paul down before, but it didn't mean that it couldn't happen. After all, he had assumed that Abigail had been shallow enough to choose him just because he had more money. That was one of Paul's major mistakes. Abigail wasn't shallow at all, she didn't care about things like that. Yes, it's true that she needed money to get by and survive, but that didn't mean that she'd choose to be with someone just because of the amount of money that they had. Like she had said, the real difference between Darry and Paul was heart. Just like Abigail said, he worked hard to get to where he was, even if it wasn't that far with raising his brother. Darry was an honest man and he was going to keep it that way even if it was the last thing that he ever did.
"Hey, Darry, Tim said to bring her by the lot tomorrow evening at six," Two-Bit said after he hung with with Shepard. "He says he wants to meet her in person," he explained.
Darry just let out a slight grunt at the sound of that. Yeah, Tim probably did want to meet her, but it was probably so that he'd could be sure about the 'rumors' that had been going around that Darry finally had a girlfriend. Darry didn't understand why it was so hard to believe though. Greaser or not, he was still entitled to having a girlfriend if he wanted to. Although, Two-Bit still didn't help matters much when he went around voicing Darry's love life, no matter how much of a shock it was to people. If anything, he'd likely make things worse for Abigail by doing that. Hopefully though, he learned his lesson with the run in that they had earlier with the Socs.
"Ponyboy, I want you and Two-Bit to go pick up Eden and bring her back here for tonight where it's safe," Darry told them, picking Abigail up and placing her on the couch where it was more comfortable.
She let out a faint groan when he did this, curling against him and burying her head against his chest as he sat down with her. She was like a small child in need of warmth, curling up in their parent's arms late at night. That thought made Darry want to laugh, but he refrained from doing so and merely held her against him instead. Besides, that's what a boyfriend was supposed to do, right?
"Let's go kid," Two-Bit said, placing his jacket back on and walking to the door, Ponyboy following behind him.
They both left, leaving Darry and Abigail on the couch together by themselves. Darry found it nice that he was able to have a bit of time to himself with Abigail, even if she was asleep. He rarely got any time to himself with everyone else around all the time. One of the nice things was the fact that Sodapop was out with Steve somewhere right now and wasn't due back for a while.
T
"Who is it?" Eden called as she walked down the steps.
"It's Ponyboy from school," Ponyboy said through the door.
A moment later Eden was opening the door and giving him a suspicious look.
"What do you want?" she asked, her blue eyes glancing from him to Two-Bit and back again as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Um, look, your sister is over at my house right now," Ponyboy started quietly, unsure of how to go about it with Eden.
"Look little missy, it ain't safe for you ta be here by yourself tonight," Two-Bit said as he took a step forward, all joking aside.
"What do you mean?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Two-Bit.
"Listen, come with us and we'll explain on the way there, alright darlin'?" Two-Bit offered, putting on a bit of his charm.
"Look Eden, we're just tryin' ta help, alright?" Ponyboy told her.
It took a few minutes, but she finally agreed, much to Ponyboy's surprise. He knew that she was rather stubborn, but he wasn't expecting to convince her so quickly. Unfortunately, he thought that Two-Bit had just a little bit to do with it.
Honestly, Ponyboy was right though. Granted, Eden had been a bit reluctant, but she had given in. Two-Bit just made it a little easier for her is all, giving Eden a reason to come. After all, Eden thought that Two-Bit was kind of cute. Plus, she'd never had a boyfriend before. Although, she was sure looking for one, at least one that wasn't a jerk. That too left her wondering how old Two-Bit was.
T
"Now listen, your sister's probably sleepin', so we gotta keep it down alright darlin'?" Two-Bit said as they went passed the gate and up the steps to the porch.
The light was still on, but that didn't really mean much at times. That was also proven true when they entered the house, finding Darry asleep with Abigail in his arms. Eden just glared at the couple for a moment, before turning back to Two-Bit and Ponyboy.
"Let's go upstairs," Ponyboy said quietly, closing the front door, before heading toward the steps.
Eden followed behind them, but not before giving one last solemn look over at Darry and her sister.
Okay everyone, that was chapter 8. I hope that everyone liked it. I'm sure you can imagine how somethings might go soon. Lol. :) Anyway, please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me. I always appreciate hearing what everyone has to say and their thoughts on everything. So tell me what you think of my story and this chapter. I'd really appreciate it. :) Thanks everyone!