Simply a Greaser

Chapter 23

"I swear to god if you tell Dallas I'll skin you, kid," I growled, relieved that it wasn't Dallas who'd barged into the room, but still scared that Pony might go run and tell him.

He just nodded.

Two-Bit cleared his throat and said, "Pony's not a snitch. Right?"

"Yup." Pony looked down the hallway. "The rest of the gang, 'cept for Darry 'cause he's at work is on their way... but I can tell them to go-"

"Nope, it's fine," I blurted. "Uh, yeah, they can stop by."

Pony nodded again and left the room, muttering something about needing to use the phone.

Two-Bit grinned and asked, "Am I such a bad kisser you want the gang over here so it don't happen again?"

"I- I mean, what if Dallas had walked in?" I shook my head, trying to get rid of the nerves that stuck with me.

"It wasn't Dallas, and if it was, we'd have dealt with him." Two-Bit grinned at me. "How much practice you had kissin'? You weren't too bad at it."

"Oh, lots," I replied sarcastically, smiling back at him. "I guess you were okay at it, too."

Actually, it had been amazing, but I wasn't going to let him know that. He didn't need the added confidence of me telling him he was a great kisser.

Two-Bit and I sat in awkward silence afterward, both unsure of what to say. I think we both understood that that couldn't happen again, at least not in front of the gang. At least not in front of the gang that wasn't Pony. Poor kid.

Someone knocked on the door, so I glanced at Two-Bit. It couldn't be the guys- they would never have knocked.

"Come in!" I called.

A doctor came in, Doctor Baird. He'd been my doctor and had explained some of the medical stuff to me throughout my stay. Basically, the belt had cut my back pretty badly and I'd gotten it stitched up. Although he hadn't explicitly said it, he'd tried to make sure I knew I was still here because the cops were talking to me.

Two-Bit looked at him and smirked. "What's up, Doc?"

Doctor Baird had had to deal with Two-Bit before, so he just sighed and tiredly said, "Get out, please. This is a private conversation."

"Wow, you don't gotta be nice to me or anythin'," Two-Bit grumbled, but stood up and left anyways.

I talked to Doctor Baird and almost cried tears of joy when he told me I could leave today, but I had to come back to get my stitches out later.

"Take your time leaving," he advised. "No sudden movements, no sports-"

"I know," I interrupted excitedly. He'd gone over these rules hundreds of times with me, so I wouldn't tear my wounds open again.

"I'll leave you to it, then."

He left the room and Two-Bit came back in, smiling. "So you can go?"

"Yeah. Thanks for listenin' in." I rolled my eyes at him, then grabbed a bag from under the bed. It had a change of clothes in it Dallas had brought me. "I'm gonna change, so..."

"Don't change!" he yelled, faking alarm. "I like you the way you are!"

"Dear God," I muttered, "not Dad jokes. Get out, you perv."

He left the room.

I changed, being careful to not try and move too fast and hurt myself. I walked out of the room and saw the gang standing outside. Pony snickered when he saw me and I had to fight the urge to smack him.

We happily left the hospital, laughing and joking the whole way. At the desk, I found out the bill was sent to Dad and I had a good laugh at that, even if I still felt a twinge of guilt.

We got to the Curtis' and stayed for a while until Darry came home. Eventually, Dallas said he had business to deal with and left.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, Soda turned to Two-Bit and I, as we watched Mickey Mouse together and screamed, "Get the love birds a room!"

"Separate then before Ava gets knocked up!" Steve yelled, jumping between us.

Two-Bit and I looked at each other, and I asked slowly, "What the fuck?"

"I can't believe you two had sex in the hospital!" Soda scolded, pointing his finger back and forth between the two of us.

Two-Bit's face turned red and he turned to Pony. "You told, you little bastard!" He playfully tackled the kid and they began to wrestle on the floor.

"Okay, we didn't have sex," I groaned, glaring at Steve and Soda. "And if any of you tell Dally I'll-"

"Your secret is safe." Soda crossed his heart. Everyone nodded, agreeing. I could only hope they weren't lying.

Two-Bit sat back down next to me and glared at the boys, but laughed with them.

Darry walked in from the kitchen and his jaw almost hit the floor. "I thought I told you to keep them separated! We don't want any mini Two-Bit's runnin' around!"

"How the fuck did you even find out?! You were at work!" I shouted, noting they were as bad about spreading gossip as most girls were.

"Get a room!" Steve screeched, laughing hysterically.

"It was just one kiss!"

Two-Bir wrapped his arm around my shoulder and said easily, "I hoped one could lead to more."

My face turned even redder.

Johnny made a gagging noise as everyone else laughed.

"You're gonna scare Pony again," Steve whined, covering the kid's eyes.

Pony batted at his hands, grumbling about him not being scared or something.

The rest of the night continued on like that, all of us laughing at my and Two-Bit's expense... until we found a way to turn it on Soda and Steve, teasing them about Sandy and Evie.