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(Two-Bit's POV)
"About time those two use their legs," I said right after Darry and Soda left Ponyboy's hospital room. Even though I was trying to lighten the mood, even I could tell there was no way to make the situation seem less tense. Still, I had to try. "I was startin' to worry their asses would get stuck to the chairs." Steve just glanced at me before looking back out the window.
We had been in the room all day and it was getting close to dinner time before Steve and I convinced the Curtis brothers to at least go get something to eat. They had both been sitting in the uncomfortable hospital chairs for hours on end, doing nothing except look at Ponyboy and hope he'd wake up. Steve and I started a game of poker earlier in the day, but Darry didn't join in and Soda only half payed attention before he just gave up on the game all together.
It was no secret how protective Darry and Soda were of Ponyboy, and after everything that happened last fall with the Socs and Johnny and Dally dying, it seemed like the brothers got even closer, so for something like this to happen to Ponyboy… well, it was hard. Not only was Ponyboy, the kid, hurt beyond belief, but he had an actual seizure, and his brothers saw it. Until then, I had never seen someone shake like that, and I figured the rest of the guys hadn't either. It was awful to see Darry and Soda react to their kid brother being hurt and shaking in the hospital bed. If something like that happened to my little sister, I would've lost my mind.
Curly Shepard is in for it when we find him. It's his fault that Pony's in here.
As if I was a magic man, the young hood himself walked into the room. I'll be damned.
Hobbled might be a better way to describe how Curly was moving since he was using crutches to move around. Besides the fact that he was up and moving, his injuries reminded me a bit of Ponyboy's. With his cutoff shirt, I could see a cut on his arm had been stitched up. He had a black eye and several other bruises on his skin, but I had been in enough rumbles to know that the only thing that could be serious was his leg since he wasn't putting his right foot on the ground, even when he stopped at the foot of Ponyboy's bed.
"Turn around right now, Cruly. You ain't real popular around here," I said in a low voice, trying to let him know he should beat it before someone made him.
"What the hell are you doin' here?" Steve spat. He had left his perch on the window ledge and stood next to me, apparently no longer interested in looking through the window.
Curly looked at us with a hint of amusement on his face. "I'm just here to see Pony. The nurse said I could come in."
"Well that ain't up to the nurse," Steve shot back.
"Yeah, he's hurt and he ain't even awake, so beat it," I said, using a tone similar to Steve's serious voice.
"You ain't his brothers, so why are you actin' so defensive?" Curly asked, his smirk not wavering at all.
"We're just as good as," I said without hesitation. Maybe I should just kick those crutches out from under him...
"And you ain't my brother neither," Curly continued, ignoring me completely. "So don't tell me what to do. It rarely works for Tim anyways."
"You should listen to your brother more. I'm sure he never sent a buddy to the hospital with a brain injury," Steve said dangerously as he took a step towards Curly.
That caught Curly off-guard. He looked mad for a second, then surprised. After glancing at Pony lying in bed with the mask on his face, he looked back at Steve. "What?"
"He's hasn't woken up yet," I said, irritated that Curly was still there. "He-"
Suddenly, there was movement by the doorway of Pony's room, and within seconds, Soda had Curly pinned against the wall. The crutches had fallen to the ground, and Soda's arm was across Curly's neck. "You got some nerve, Curly Shepard," Soda growled in a low, loud, and dangerous tone that made a shiver go down my spine.
Curly struggled against Soda for a moment, but even if he was at full strength, I doubted Curly would be able to take Soda in a fair fight, especially when Soda was protecting his family or friends. A second later, Darry appeared and was standing behind Soda, staring daggers at Curly.
"It wasn't supposed to-" Curly started, but Soda cut him off by socking him in the eye. Soda's hold on him was the only reason Curly didn't drop to the floor.
"I don't give a damn," Soda spat. "You got Pony hurt! You're the reason he's here!"
Darry opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, another familiar person entered the room. "What the hell is goin' on here?" Tim Shepard asked. He immediately went to his brother's aid and shoved Soda away from Curly. "You really tryin' to start a fight in here, Curtis?"
Fire burned in Soda's eyes, and it looked like he was about to tear both Tim and Curly apart, but Darry held him back. Steve and I stepped forward, ready to jump in whenever we were needed.
"Sure, I'll take you on too," Soda spat at Tim.
Darry pushed Soda behind him so he was standing between his younger brother and Tim Shepard. Darry looked at Soda. "Not here, Soda. Pony needs this room to be quiet so he can rest." Then Darry looked at me and Steve. "Take Curly outside for a minute."
"Our pleasure," I said as I cracked my knuckles, excited to beat some sense into Curly Shepard.
"If you start somethin' out there, you'll be dealin' with me afterward," Tim said to me.
"We just need to talk for a minute," Darry said to me. "Don't make the nurses call the cops on you." I rolled my eyes, but if Darry didn't want me to pummel Curly, I'd listen. He was the smart one, after all, and he probably wanted to be the one to teach Curly a lesson anyways.
Steve and I walked up to Curly and grabbed his arms, then we led him to the hallway, leaving his crutches behind. "It'd be worth going to jail to beat your dumbass," Steve whispered loud enough for everyone else to hear.
"You got that right," I said even louder, especially for Tim and Curly to hear.
After we got Curly into the hallway, we let go of his arms and he leaned against the wall, obviously in pain and struggling to stand upright.
"Alright Curly, you got ten seconds to tell us what the hell happened and why the kid is unconscious in a hospital bed and you're fine," Steve said angrily.
"You got a strange definition of the word 'fine' Randle," Curly said. "I can't hardly walk, I got stitches, bruised ribs, a concussion, and Sodapop Curtis just punched me in the eye."
"Can't blame him. You're the reason Pony's in here since you got him mixed up with the Socs in your stupid revenge mission," I said. "You're just lucky Darry didn't get a swing in before your big brother showed up."
Curly was quiet for a moment, possibly because he was thankful that Darry didn't lay a hand on him. He would be a goner if that ever happened. Too bad Tim showed up. I would've paid good money to see Darry beat the crap outta Curly Shepard.
"At least you're awake. The kid had a seizure and hasn't woken up," Steve said to a stunned Curly. Before Curly could say anything, Steve continued sharply. "Now tell us how he got that way."
And after a beat, Curly did.