Superman was right. By 7:30, the whole house was in an uproar. Soda was looking for his pants, Steve cut himself while shaving, Ponyboy was looking for his textbook, everyone was trying to convince Johnny to just stay put, Two-Bit ran in and chugged a beer, and I was cooking with Darry.
I was never a real good chef, but at times I could cook a pretty good meal. I made scrambled eggs, toast and bacon.
We were sitting around the table, as in, Darry, Ponyboy, Two, and I, while Soda and Steve were trying to get ready. Soda and Steve trying to get dressed and ready was always a fun sight. They were always missing something. Whether it be shoes, pants, or their DX jacket.
"Superman, did you do my laundry too?" Steve called from the bathroom.
"Yes, I did, buddy. Just like I told you 5 minutes ago!" Darry shouted back.
"Thanks Dar'!"
"Hey," Dally called, walking into the house. "Jesus Christ, what happened to you?" He shouted when he saw Johnny.
I walked over to them, leaving my breakfast. "Yeah, he was just fine when I found him," I said, sarcastically.
"I been worse," Dally mumbled, "how you doin'?"
"I'm fine. I been worse too," Johnny said back.
"Yeah, I know. That cut under your eye gonna look real tuff, man," Dally pointed out.
"I know right," Johnny chuckled. I knew Johnny really looked up to Dally. I really didn't like it, because I didn't want Johnny to turn out like him.
"You know who it was?" Dally asked.
"Naw, some Socs, they all look the same to me."
"Yeah, all in their stupid fancy cars, man. I hate it. I'm gonna get them back for this though," Dally said.
"It's fine," Johnny said.
"Nah, it ain't fine, you kiddin' me? Look at you. I'm making it my business to find whoever did this to you and beat the shit outta them."
Now that I liked to hear.
"Yeah, you better," I chime in.
"Yeah, I will, princess, I just said that."
I rolled my eyes and walked back into the kitchen. I sit back down and realize my plate is empty.
"Whoops, we gotta go!" Steve shouted and ran out the door with Soda laughing, running behind him.
"What time is it?" Two-Bit asked.
"7:45," I answered him.
"Oh shoot! I gotta go fight Cathy's ex boyfriend or something," he said.
"What? You didn't tell me about that," I said.
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll stomp him. He's so scrawny and preppy he could pass for a Soc," he said with a chuckle and ran out the door.
"Well, I better get on to school now," Ponyboy said.
"Yeah," I mumble. I didn't go to school. My parents stopped caring, so I stopped going. Simple as that.
"Bye, y/n," he said and walked towards the door, "bye Darry!"
He slammed the screen door and I heard Johnny and Dally still talking.
"I think he likes you," Darry tells me.
"Who?" I asked.
"Ponyboy. I think he's got a thing for you or something," Darry said.
I tried so hard not to blush, but I could feel my face turning red. "Doubt it."
Darry chuckled and shook his head. He stood up to clear the table.
"No, I'll do it. It's fine," I said.
"Thanks, you're sweet."
Dally walked into the kitchen and sat down where Two-Bit was. He dug into his leftovers that Two left.
"Hey, you hear about the gang fight that went down at the lot yesterday, Dar'?" Dally asked.
"Naw. You in it?"
"Yeah, man. It was fun, though. Damn, I stomped on this kid so hard he musta got 14 concussions at once, man. It was a blast."
I hated that Johnny looked up to this kid who loved violence this much.
"Then one kid pulled a heater but I came in from behind," Dally explained.
"Heater?" I asked.
"Gun," Darry clarified.
I didn't understand some of the words the guys used. I used to live with my mother up north and just recently moved down here. So, I don't have the accent the boys do, but I'm starting to grow into it. I use some of the slang sometimes but not always, just if I'm trying to look cool or whatever.
"God, you could've been shot, Dal," I said.
"You think I don't know that?" he snaps, sarcastically.
"Well, I better get on to work. You take care of Johnny for us," Darry said and walked out.
"You shouldn't have let him leave Buck's that night," I said, sternly.
"What was I gonna do, keep the kid hostage? He's tuff, he's fine on his own. You gotta stop worrying about him," Dally said, sarcastically.
"I gotta worry about him, he's my brother."
"He's fine, y/n. I been hurt so much worse than that there, he'll be fine. He'll learn from it, too. He won't let no one touch him now. It's fine."
"It ain't fine! You seen him?"
"I know it looks bad. But it ain't my fault, I didn't go on and jump him!" Dally shouted.
"You should've known to watch after him! You've been in this neighborhood you know those damn Socs are out to get people left and right!"
"Johnny ain't 4. He can do his own fightin', you can't be there for him always, he's fine."
"He's not fine! You shouldn't have let him go, Dallas. You knew he was gonna get jumped, the way these goddamn Socs are."
"You were the one who yelled at him and the street then left him there!" Dally shouted.
That one hurt.
Dallas grabbed his jacket and stormed out.
I sighed and sat down, starting to cry.
