Chapter 2

Darry's POV:

Ring….Ring…..Ring… I was startled awake. I thought I hadn't set my alarm for this morning, since I have the weekend off. I glanced around and noticed that it was just my head hearing a phantom clock. Since I help take care of my kid brothers, my boss allows me to take the weekends off to spend with them, and since I've been a loyal and good worker for the company, my boss made sure that I got enough pay for not working them until both of them are no longer under 18. Then, I would go to work weekends as well, but that wasn't for a couple of more years since Pony was about to start his Junior year at 15. The clock read 7 am, so I might as well get up now.

I listened for some rumblings in the house to see if my kid brothers were up or not. It did not appear so, but I knew that Soda had a shift at the DX at 9, so I knew I had to go and get him up. I rolled over and groaned as I sat up which caused my joints to creak due to the work I did. I shuffled over to my closet to get dressed in my normal gray shirt, olive jeans, and black chucks. I went down the hall to the bedroom my brothers shared.

I looked in and saw them all cozy under the covers, with Soda hugging Pony in a bear hug in their sleep. I always hated waking them up because of how peaceful they looked and the chaos that was sure to follow. I gently shook Soda and said in a whisper, "Hey little buddy, it's time to get up and start getting ready for your shift." Soda groaned and burrowed deeper into the bed. I knew if I let this getter further along then Soda would be late. I yanked back the covers which made Soda yelp and startled Pony awake.

"What was that for?" Soda whined. I sighed and said, "Don't give me that. You need to start getting ready for work, and you know it, or do you want to be late again?" Soda rolled his eyes and then shuffled off to the bathroom while glaring at me.

I looked back over at Pony and saw him still trying to catch his breath from me startling him awake. "Hey, Pony, you ok? I didn't mean to scare you," I said as I sat down on the side of the bed and started rubbing Pony's back to try and calm him down. "Yeah, I'm fine," Pony said in a hoarse voice and scrambled to get up and get dressed. I knew right away there was something wrong with Pony that he wasn't saying. "What are you not telling me?" I asked Pony with concern. "I don't know what you're talking about," Pony said in a hushed voice as he looked down at the floor. I patted the spot next to me on the bed to indicate to Pony that he should sit next to me on the bed. Pony sighed shuffled over and sat down. "Start at the beginning Pony, and don't leave anything out," I said sternly.

Ponyboy's POV:

The next thing I knew I was jerked awake as the covers were thrown off me and Soda. I sat up startled and looked around bewilderedly and saw Darry standing over us. He must have tried getting Soda to wake up for his shift, but Soda wasn't having it so Darry did what he had to do and took the covers off. It shouldn't have scared me the way it did, but because of the dream I had, it did.

As I was thinking about the dream, I had Darry and Soda had a little tiff as Soda shuffled off to the bathroom. The next thing I knew Darry was rubbing my back trying to help me recover my breath. I immediately blushed and felt ashamed for the way that I reacted, but then again I have been a little bit more jumpy this past year after everything that went down with Dally, Johnny, and the Socs. "Hey, Pony, you ok? I didn't mean to scare you," Darry said with a look of concern. Now I've done it, I made my big brother all concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said as I scrambled off the bed to get dressed. I put on my white t-shirt, ratty blue jeans, and a pair of red chucks. "What are you not telling me?" Darry asked with a tone of concern that sounded like Dad used to and he patted the spot next to him on the bed. I sighed and shuffled over and sat down next time and stared at the floor. "Start at the beginning Pony, and don't leave anything out," Darry said like an order. I knew I wasn't leaving without telling him.

"Fine," I grumbled. "I had a dream about that mean-looking kid that moved in across the street. My dream started with me talking with the sister because I thought she was cute. Then, the brother started chasing after me threatening to drown me like Bob was trying to do last year, while his sister just sat a laughed at me, while the brother did the dirty work." I felt my breath starting to come in short little gasps and felt tears starting to stream down my face, but I continued. "Then he caught up to me and the next thing I knew we were at the park and he was drowning me in the fountain like Bob was, but this time there was no Johnny to help me, there was no one. I felt myself start slipping away, but then the next thing I knew I was jolted awake when you took the covers." I finally finished and I couldn't stop myself from sobbing and I was trying to catch my breath. Darry pulled me onto his lap and I buried my head into his chest, while Darry said, "It's ok little buddy, it wasn't real, and I will always be there to protect you," as he rubbed my back. "Thanks, Darry," I sniffled.

It was time to start getting a move on, so Darry and I shuffled into the kitchen to get breakfast going, so Soda had something in his stomach before going to work. While Darry cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast, and I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Soda's lunch with some chips to go with it. "He better get his butt moving or he will be late," Darry said sternly and looked at his watch. Soda then came scurrying in. "Better hurry up, or Darry will have your hide, it's 8:30," I said jokingly to Soda. Soda squeaked at that grabbed a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and started stuffing his face.

In no time, Soda was done with breakfast, and Darry was grabbing his keys to take Soda to work, so we had the car in case we needed to run errands. Darry looked at me and said sternly, "Stay here and don't get into any trouble. I'll be back in 30 minutes." Before I could respond, Darry and Soda were out the door. I sighed and started cleaning up the dishes from breakfast.

By the time I was finished, it was 9 am, and Darry should be back in the next 15 to 20 minutes. I made my way to the living room sofa turned on the TV and found some PBS special about Mark Twain on. I wonder if I would ever be the writer that Mark Twain was, I thought. I leaned over and grabbed my story notebook and pencil from under the couch. I needed some inspiration though, and I looked out the window and looked out at the house across the street right when the new family filed out. I felt my breath hitch as I saw the girl come out of the house and saw the hint of red in her strawberry blonde hair sparkle in the bright sunshine. She is the perfect muse for my story, I thought. Then that abruptly stopped as I saw her older brother step out behind her and make eye contact with me through the window and sneer. I quickly ducked under the window in fear. I felt my heart racing and my breath quickened. It will be ok, it will be ok, I thought to myself to try and calm myself down. Then I got a lightbulb moment. This could be my inspiration. I can base the story of my dream with some tweaks. Make it about how the guy saves the girl from her evil brother. I started writing down the outline of my story in my notebook.

The next thing I knew, I heard Dally pull up in the truck and pull in. "You didn't get into any trouble while I was gone?" Darry asked as he came in through the front door. "Nope," I said without looking up from my notebook. "New story?" Darry said with curiosity. "What is it about?" Darry has never shown any interest in my stories before. Maybe he was trying to make up for scaring me this morning. "Not entirely sure yet," I said, putting the notebook away. "Just laying out the framework."

Dally looked out the window and saw the new family across the street greet the drivers of the moving trucks that pulled up. "We should go and introduce ourselves and offer to help," Darry said. "Are you sure that is a good idea?" I asked nervously, remembering the sneer that the older brother had given me earlier. Darry gave me a look and said, "Yes, it is important to start on the right foot, and it will help us get a gauge on those kids to see if they will be any trouble or not." I sighed and said hesitantly, "I guess you're right." Then I remembered it would give me a chance to meet the cute girl across the street.

I followed Darry outside and across the street. When I got closer to the girl I noticed it looked like she had a fresh bruise on her arm and a potential black eye starting to form on her left eye. It made me wonder what happened, but in my opinion, it made her look hotter. Then I heard Darry start talking in an adult voice he used to make him sound older than his 21 years. "Hi, I'm Darryl Curtis, but I go by Darry, and this is my youngest brother Ponyboy," Darry said. "We have another brother that is in between us named Sodapop but he is at work now down at the DX station, so you'll meet him later." Darry thrust his hand forward and shook the father's hand. I sheepishly waved, and the girl blushed and gave me a little smile which made my heart flutter. She let her hair fall in her face which hid some of the scars on her face and the bruises. I noticed it looked like she had been through hell and back. It made me wonder what she had seen and made her more intriguing. "We wanted to come over, introduce ourselves, and offer to help you all move in," Darry said with a big smile. The father cleared his voice and said in a husky voice. "It's nice to meet you Darry," he said. My name is Charles Cooper, but you can call me Mr. Cooper. This is my wife, Dorthy, my son 17-year-old son Ford who is going to be a cornerback this year, his senior year, and this is my 16-year-old daughter Harley who is also a senior this year and the smart one, because she got put up a grade." I was shocked, there was someone from our life who was just like me. I spoke up, "I have put up a grade too, I'm 15 years old and I'm a junior this year, so Harley and I might have some things to talk about." I shot Harley a smile, which she returned. "Yeah that's great," Ford said with a sneer. "But we don't need help from the looks of you." Mr. Cooper shot him a look that said don't push it. "What my son meant to say is that that was courteous of you to offer some help, it would be greatly appreciated." Finally, some more quality time that I get to spend with Harley and get to know her, maybe get some inspiration for my story, and maybe something more. Darry and I started helping out.

With the four Coopers, Darry and I, with the help of the two company movers it took us all of all day to get everything in the house and organized, by the time I looked at the clock, it was about 4 pm. During the time we were helping move the Coopers in I was able to witness some of their family dynamic. It appeared that Mr. and Mrs. Cooper seemed to be really in love but almost seemed to not notice their children at all or how they were around each other. Ford seemed to resent where he was, his family, and most especially his sister for whatever reason. He seemed to carry himself in a way that seemed like he thought he was above everyone else. It made him seem like Bob to me, which made me shudder. Because of that, I stayed away from him. Harley seemed skittish, especially around her brother and around her parents she seemed resigned to the fact that she was going to be ignored. This saddened me, and grateful for my brothers, because even if we didn't have much, we had each other and I knew they cared for me. Throughout the day, I snuck a few glances at Harley and a few times we made eye contact and blushed. I was carrying what looked to be the last box that needed to be organized in the house. I peeked inside and saw news clippings, magazine articles, and notebooks that looked worn. I opened up one of the notebooks and saw tight-knit cursive and what it looked like to be short stories, and researched stories about true crime. From behind me, I heard a quietly angry voice say, "What the hell are you doing looking through those? They are private!" I spun around and came face to face with Harley who was red in the face. "I'm so sorry, just trying to figure out where this needed to go or belonged to," I said with a stutter. Harley grabbed the box with such force I stumbled backward into the wall and watched her rush to her room in the back of the house. I quickly followed. "Harley wait…please wait," I begged her. I only caught up to her when we reached her room.

"I'm sorry, ok. I didn't mean to invade your privacy," I told Harley with a pleading tone in my voice. Harley looked at me with skepticism and surprise. She was obviously surprised that I had apologized to her, almost like no one had ever apologized to her for something. "It's fine, no harm, no foul," Harley said in quiet resignation. I looked around her room and noticed all the movie posters on her walls. They included Psycho, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Magnificient Seven, Dr. Strangeglove, and West Side Story. "You a movie buff?" I asked in surprise. "Yeah, and I guess since you noticed, a little bit of a journalism and true crime buff as well," Harley said with a chuckle. Her laugh made my breath catch and to see her smile made my heart flutter. "I love movies, especially Paul Newmans," I said. "Maybe we can go together sometime," I said hopefully. "I would like that a lot," Harley said and then she blushed. "Pony, it's time to go!" I heard Dally call. "I guess I better go," I said to Harley. I quickly found a piece of paper and wrote down our phone number. "Here is our phone number. In case you need anything. Anything at all." "Thanks, I appreciate it," Harley said in a whisper. "Ponyboy!" Darry called again. I turned around and raced back to him in the kitchen and followed him back to the house.

As Darry and I walked back to the house, I heard our landline start to ring. "I'll get it," I told Darry. Darry smirked at me. "Hello, Curtis household. This is Ponyboy," I answered. I heard a chuckle come across the line and my heart fluttered again. It was Harley. "I just wanted to check to make sure you didn't give me a bogus number," she said in what sounded like a whisper. I felt myself blush. "I've got to go," she said. The next thing I know she hung up. "What was that?" Darry asked. "It was Harley," I said. "I gave her our phone number just in case." Darry gave me a smirk. "Someone has a little crush doesn't he," Darry teased. "Cut it out Darry," I whined. "I don't." "Sure you don't," Darry said while shaking his. "I'm going to go pick up Soda from his shift. Don't get into any trouble." "I won't," I called after him as he went to the car.

Harley's POV:

This morning I woke up early and decided to see if I could find something in the cooler that we packed from some of our leftover food from our last house that I could make for breakfast. I found some eggs and bacon, so I decided that would be a great opportunity to start our first morning in our new house. As I was finishing the bacon and eggs, I heard my parents enter the kitchen shortly followed by Ford. "Thanks for making some breakfast, sweetheart," my mother said. "No problem," I said. "Don't expect me to say thanks," Ford said with a sneer. "I wasn't expecting one, Your Majesty," I said sarcastically. The next thing I knew I was flat on my ass on the kitchen floor with a stinging pain and my eye was starting to swell. I looked up at Ford and he was shaking his hand out. He had punched me. I quickly looked over at my parents but they hadn't noticed they were too deep in conversation while eating breakfast to notice. I quickly got up and grabbed a bag of cold peas from the cooler that I saw earlier to help reduce the swelling. "That's what you get you prick," Ford said as he was grabbing his breakfast. So much for a nice breakfast and a nice start.

As I heard we finished eating our breakfast I heard the phone start ringing, and then my father answered it. He came in and said, "The company moving trucks should be here shortly. Let's get dressed and everything picked up so that we can be ready to unload the trucks and put everything away." Everyone always followed suit when my father told us to do something. Soon after the trucks pulled up to the house. I knew this was going to be a long day, I thought to myself. Just after I thought this I saw two of the kids I saw across the street last night make their way over to us. It appeared to be the oldest one and the youngest one.

The oldest one started to introduce himself, "Hi, I'm Darryl Curtis, but I go by Darry, and this is my youngest brother Ponyboy. We have another brother that is in between us named Sodapop but he is at work now down at the DX station, so you'll meet him later." Darry reached forward and shook my father's hand and I could tell by his face that he would rather start unloading the trucks so we wouldn't be delayed, but he was trying to be polite. Then I noticed Ponboy sheepishly waving at us, which made me blush, but I waved back anyway. He was mighty cute, I thought. Then I saw him scanning my face and remembered the black eye that I was going to have and tried to hide it with my hair hoping he wouldn't notice. "We wanted to come over, introduce ourselves, and offer to help you all move in," Darry said with a big smile. Then my father introduced us all. I could see by the look on Ford's face that he was tired of this and wanted no part in associating with the Curtis family. Then when I heard Darry say that Ponyboy was put up a year as well and was only a year younger than me, it made me feel hope that I could maybe be close to someone.

"We would be more than willing to help you all move in," Darry said. From there the Curtis's helped us move into the house, which made me happy because then it would move faster. Also, maybe it would reduce the chances that Ford would pummel me for doing something that upset him. It was around 4 and we were pretty much done. I loved my room and how the house was coming together. It was slightly bigger than the last, meaning that I had my own room and did not have to sleep on a fold-out couch. Since my father was also getting a raise at this new job as well, we were able to get a second car so that my parents didn't take the only car to work. I also was able to get some movie posters to decorate my room. I just knew that I missing one box. The box contained all of my passions besides books and movies, my true crime research and stories. I left my room and was looking for the box, and the next thing I saw was that Ponboy was holding a notebook and leafing through it, which made me fume. Who did he think he was? I thought angrily. "What the hell are you doing looking through those? They are private!" I said in a quiet and angry tone. I knew that I needed to calm myself down because I knew I could get a temper if I let my anger boil over. Ponyboy immediately spun around and he had a terrified and wide-eyed look in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, just trying to figure out where this needed to go or belonged to," Ponyboy said with a stutter and he started to turn red in the face. I grabbed the box away from him so quickly that he seemed to stumble backward. I knew I should feel guilty for the way I behaved, but I felt like my privacy was invaded by someone that I barely even knew. I decided to walk back to my room as quickly as possible to cool down before I could do anything rash. I tried calming myself down but all I could hear was Ponboy hot on my trail. "Harley wait…please wait," Ponyboy begged me. I never heard that in someone's voice before. I instantly felt horrible for the way I acted.

Ponyboy caught up to me in my room. "I'm sorry, ok. I didn't mean to invade your privacy," Ponyboy said in a pleading and sincere voice. I was instantly stunned. No one has ever apologized to me before. I was always the one that was in the wrong. I was always the one that had to apologize. I wasn't sure how to respond. "It's fine, no harm, no foul," I said in quiet resignation. Hopefully, that came across correctly, I thought. "You a movie buff?" Ponyboy asked with a shocked tone as he looked around my room. I was slightly miffed. Why couldn't I be a movie buff? Because I was a girl? I thought annoyed. "Yeah, and I guess since you noticed, a little bit of a journalism and true crime buff as well," I said with a chuckle. I noticed that Ponyboy looked at me in wonder which caught me off guard. Did I do something wrong? I thought. "I love movies, especially Paul Newmans," Ponyboy said. "Maybe we can go together sometime." "I would like that a lot," I said and I could feel my cheeks get warm.

Then I was startled by Darry calling for Ponyboy. Darry sounded like a condescending parent. They sure have an interesting dynamic, I thought. Then I realized I hadn't seen any parental supervision over there since we moved in. My thoughts were disturbed by Ponyboy writing down a number on a piece of paper and thrusting it towards me in shaking hands. "Here is our phone number. In case you need anything. Anything at all." Ponyboy said in a whisper so only I could hear. Like it was our little secret. This made my heart flutter as we locked eyes. "Ponyboy!" Darry called again. Ponyboy turned around and raced back to Darry in the kitchen and followed him back to the house. I decided to test the number to make sure it worked.

I snuck over to the kitchen while my parents took a nap to rest up and Ford slipped out of the house to explore the neighborhood and potentially get a connection to the Socs. I went up to the phone and dialed the number that Ponyboy gave me. I heard the phone ring and I heard my breath hitch as I heard the voice at the end of the phone. "Hello, Curtis household. This is Ponyboy," Ponyboy said. I let a chuckle out. "I just wanted to check to make sure you didn't give me a bogus number," I said in a whisper to make sure I didn't wake up my parents who were sleeping on the couch. I saw my parents stir though, and I knew I had to hang up. "I've got to go," I said and quickly hung up the phone and tiptoed back to my room. The rest of the night I made flyers to distribute this week for my tutoring services. I knew I would have to go to the Soc neighborhoods to get the most bang for my buck. Maybe my grandma would know some of the best neighborhoods to advertise in. Mom would kill me though, but what she would never have to know. She hadn't known that Grandma and I had been in touch for a few years. Hopefully, it will last for one more year.