No Permanent Death (The Outsiders)

Running With The Devil

11:34 pm
12.18.41
New York City
Curtis's Secret Base

I woke up from my late-set alarm with a stretch, yawning as I dragged myself out of bed. I headed out to the kitchen, seeing my brothers stationed there. Sodapop looked up from the television and offered me a kind smile. "Glory! He's awake!" He exclaimed, catching Darrel's attention.
"I was hoping you wouldn't wake up in time." Darrel said with a chuckle, but I knew deep down that he meant it. I rolled my eyes at the two of them before pouring myself a cup of coffee. I sat down with Soda, slowly waking up.

"Who's playing?" I asked, eyeing the television. Sodapop loved to watch football, personally I wasn't a big fan. Broadcasted sports was still relatively new, and the excitement hadn't left for many. "The Redskins are up against the Packers." He said, not even looking at me. "Who's winning?" I asked after a long sip. Sodapop threw me a weird look. "You don't care." He said.
"You're right, I don't. I'm trying to be nice." I chuckled. Sodapop rolled his eyes, punching me lightly in the arm before going back to the game. I never really understood why he watched it at home, I mean- We lived half an hour from the Upper Manhattan Stadium for god's sake! Ticket prices had even gotten cheaper because of all the online watchers!

"I was hoping I could watch the game with Steve this weekend- but, you know." Sodapop shrugged, though I could tell he was a little more upset than he let on. "You act like you don't have anyone to watch it with." Darry says, joining us on the couch. "I don't." Soda replied while throwing him a sideways glance. Darry frowned. "What do you mean? I watch the game with you all the time!
Sodapop sighed. "Well- Yeah... but you don't really watch it." He explained. Darry leaned around him to give me a look that said 'do you know what he's talking about?' which I shook my head to. "You just sit there. I need a guy who'll yell at the tele' with me, is that too much to ask?" Sodapop restated, leaning his head on his hands.

"Why would I yell at it? The players ain't gonna hear me- That just sounds like a noise complaint waiting to happen." Darrel replied defensively. The conversation took a quick turn left into a heated football debate and I decided I had overstayed my welcome. I brushed my teeth and took a quick shower. If I drove with the window down my hair would be dry by the time I got there.
I headed back to my room and opened the closet with a sigh. Bambi clearly didn't like the purple idea, so I'd have to try something else. Maybe I could ask Soda or Darry if they had anything...

With only a bit of pride remaining, I grabbed the red shirt from the floor and threw it on. It smelled just the slightest like garbage, but there's nothing a little cologne wouldn't fix. I threw on a clean pair of black pants, a black tie, and a watch that Soda had gotten me for my birthday last year.
I decided I looked clean enough and stepped out of my room. Sodapop whistled as I walked by him and Darry to get to the bathroom. I toweled off my hair one last time before grabbing a bottle of cologne off the shelf. I didn't own any, because I never really left the house enough to need one. Darry had a few, and Sodapop had a collection. So I snatched the first one I could find off of Sodapop's section of the counter and doused myself in it.

It was a lot... stronger than I expected. I coughed a few times, waving my hands in the air to try and dissipate the smell. I reasoned with myself that it would go away by the time I got there.

I stepped out to see Sodapop and Darry pulling on their shoes. "Nuh uh, No way. You two ain't coming." I said, grabbing my own. They both threw me weird looks. "What do you think he'll say when I pull up to his home with a secret agent and a traitor in my backseat? Huh?" They both shared a look. "We can just drop you off." Sodapop reasoned. "Over my dead body! Don't you think that'll be a little suspicious? Besides, he probably has all kinds of crazy gates and security measures I have to get past."