Sunflower

Chapter Two

Curly yawned as he made his way downstairs. It was a Saturday morning, so Angela was probably out with friends and Tim was at work. The house was empty and Curly was relaxed. Despite the fact he woke up late, he usually did, the sun was still dancing through the living room blinds in the type if foggy haze only a morning could create.

The 15 year old took a second to peer at his groggy reflection in the bathrom mirror. Curly groaned. The dye in his hair was so faded it was nearly back to its original shade too. There was only black on the very ends, the tips of his blonde curls fading into hazy dark springs. He'd taken his piercings out before he fell asleep last night too. Curly usually never thought ahead like that, but he just bought a new stud for his tongue piercing, and he didn't want to sleep with it in for fear of damaging it.
Curly frowned, glaring at the smeared smoky eyeliner and eyeshadow around his eyes. He hadn't been smart enough to wash it off before passing out.

Taking a wet hand towel, the blonde rubbed the smears gently, wiping off all the makeup. He figured if he got it all off now, he could redo it later when he was more awake. Curly thought highly of his makeup skills. He'd learnt from Angela when they were little. He may not be the brightest at school, but at least he had skills with more important things.

After a few minutes of scrubbing the smudges off, Curly set down the rag and leaned in close to the mirror. His face was clean.

He looked like a different person.

Without his piercings or black hair, Curly was practically unrecognizable.

Stretching his arms behind his head and yawning again, he walked out of the bathroom and down the hall towards the kitchen.

Curly trudged into the room and lazily combed through the cabinets, looking for some of Angela's left over cereal.

He almost screamed when he heard someone sneeze in the other room.

Curly froze. No one else was supposed to be in the house... Angela and Tim were out and the door was locked last night.

So who the hell was in his house?

Silently, Curly crept around the corner that connected the kitchen to the living room. He stared wide-eyed at the brunette sitting sleepily on their couch. His hands were covering his nose (probably because he just sneezed and scared the shit out of Curly Shepard) and the blonde couldn't make out his face.

Curly was still standing by the counter. His face was blank and his mind quickly turning anxious. His flight or fight response was skyrocketing towards 'fight'.

Finally, the kid on the sofa looked up and saw Curly, jumping so violently he fell off the couch. He leaped back onto his feet quickly and stared at Curly with confused and shocked eyes.

"Who the hell are you--what are you doing here?" he demanded, obviously not expecting to see Curly standing there.

"This is my house, kid, I live here. Why the fuck are you here?" the blonde shot back, anxiously fingering the knife in his black jeans pocket.

"What do ya mean you live here? You boozed up or somethin'? This is Tim Shepard's house!"

Curly thought the younger kid's voice sounded familiar. He didn't waste time dwelling on it.

"You think I'm stupid? Of course it's the Shepard house! Just because my brother's out doesn't mean kids can just come wanderin' in from tha streets!" Curly snarled.

The kid's face froze.

"Your brother?...Holy shit--Curly Shepard?"
The younger greaser stared at the blonde in shock.

"Jeez not the brightest kid are ya?"

"Curly- it's me, Ponyboy, uh, Curtis? Y'know, from middle school? I dunno if you remember me but we used to hang out a lot in school?"

Curly had to do a double take. Holy shit--it was Ponyboy! He'd been so caught up with the alarm of someone breaking into his house at ten in the morning to really look at the kid.

Same green eyes, same dark eyebrows.

"Ponyboy? Glory you sure grew up nice," Curly blurted out before he realized what he was saying.

Ponyboy had probably been the closest thing Curly ever got to a best friend, in any school. After a couple months, he even developed a crush on the younger greaser. He never talked about it though. And their friendship sort of faded when Curly was arrested one too many times and was sent off to the reformatory.

The brunette looked surprised. His face turned a faint red and he was just staring with wide eyes. "Oh, uh, thanks..." He mumbled quietly.

The awkwardness of the situation set in-- Curly standing stiffly in the doorway with his knife, Pony blushing and lingering next to the couch. The taller sighed, tucking the knife back into his pocket and going over to sit on the couch. Pony, after a few anxious moments, joined him in the other side.

"What happened to your hair Curly? I didn't even recognize you... You kinda look like Dally.."

Oh...right.

That's why Pony didn't recognize him. Curly had nearly forgotten his hair dye had all but faded out of existence. And he wasn't wearing any piercings, not his earrings or lip ring or tongue stud. All his eyeliner and shadow were wiped off. Curly was, for once, completely natural in his appearance. No makeup, no piercings, no dye. Just Curly.

"Uhh..."

Curly never had this conversation with anyone before. Even Dallas hadn't stopped to chat about it when he found out.

"It's a long story, Pony."

"I got time Curly, I'm only here cause Dally sent me to tell Tim somethin' when he got home. That's how I got a key and all."

Curly sighed, looking at Pony through his wild, blonde bangs. Pony was smiling. Curly's heart clenched painfully. He missed Pony without even realizing it. Even worse, his friend was more grown up now, and finer-looking too. Curly gulped silently and nodded.

"Alright, fine..."