medicine. dallas winston - the outsiders

9

THE NINTH CHAPTER ;
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"What's goin' on, Two-Bit?" Dallas was out of breath, "I'd love to sit and chat but uh..the fuzz is after me..I think." He sounded unsure of himself this time.

Two-Bit laughed. "They were after us!"

"Us?" Dallas peaked behind Two-Bit, saw me, and squinted. "Oh."

"What'd this one do, huh?" He has a cigarette between his lips, and he pulled it out to blow smoke in my face. I shake my head and turn away from him, crossing my arms. "Refuse to take pictures with some of mommy's fans or somethin'?" He said with a chuckle. I stiffened.

Two-Bit ignored Dallas' comment, and I just tried to.

"So you heard sirens and just ran, huh?" Two-Bit looked at Dallas in amazement. I wondered why for a moment but then I figured it's because everyone's astonished at how he's kept himself out of jail for good.

"Yeah, man. I guess it's a habit now." He smirked, taking a long drag off his cigarette. "What'd ya swipe from the station, Two-Bit?"

"Candy and booze." Two-Bit's exclaimed, with his crazy laugh right after it.

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"Hey, Ponyboy." My voice was low. I took a seat in the desk beside of Ponyboy's and set my bag down under it.

Ponyboy was leaned over his desk a bit and writing down stuff in a notebook. I wasn't sure what it was—because there was no assignment on the board posted yet. I didn't think to ask.

"Hey, Rose. How're you?" He didn't look at me once, he kept writing.

"I'm okay." I lean my head on my hand and sigh. The sigh caught his attention more and he peaked up at me.

He studied my face for a moment. "You're wearing makeup." He stated. I couldn't tell by his expression if he was judging me by it or not. But I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach, like the ones I always get when I start to feel insecure.

"Yeah. So?" I bit my bottom lip, then frowned at me.

He shrugged, and a small smile broke out onto his face. "It's just different."

I didn't want to tell Ponyboy why I had the makeup on. It's been a few weeks since the Soc incident, so most of the bruises and cuts from that went away. I couldn't blame it on that anymore. It's just now there's a bruise right under my eye that needed covering up.

It didn't occur to me that wearing makeup could mean that I think I'm all that. But to some of the Greaser's, apparently so.

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"Miss Hollywood's lookin' the part today, ain't she Soda?" Steve said as he ruffled my hair.

I pulled my head back and rolled my eyes, smoothing my hair back down. I sat back on the Curtis' couch and sighed.

It was nearing time for the sun to go down. Ponyboy was outside on the porch, and I asked if he'd like for me to come, but he told me he'd like to be alone to think. I had no idea what was going on, but truthfully, all of the boys acted strange that night. Steve was cracking his jokes only to lighten the mood it seemed. When Darry arrived home from work he went straight to his room and didn't come out for a couple of hours. Two-Bit surprisingly stayed quiet. Sodapop sat with Steve the entire time just twiddling his thumbs.

I thought back to how Ponyboy acted this morning. After he and I spoke he was quiet, and kept writing in his notebook. Not once did he look up to see what was going on during the class.

They seemed fine a couple of days ago when I last saw everyone. I wondered what was up today.

Minutes drug by, and I notice Darry finally come out of his room. He seemed very stressed out, which sadly, wasn't anything new. I felt for the guy. I agreed with Ponyboy in saying that Darry works like he's older than what he truly is.

He walked into the kitchen, and I could hear him sigh. Two-Bit watched him and then sipped his beer. He was already on about his seventh of the night.

I felt so uneasy and anxious, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I get those antsy feelings once in a while and I just have to do something or I might die.

So, I got up, and went into the kitchen. Darry was rummaging through the refrigerator. "H-Hey, Darry." I said quietly.

He looked up at me almost instantly, his expression stayed blank. "Hey, Rosie."

"How are you?" I bite my bottom lip, then look up into his tired eyes. A bit of sadness lingered in them, too. What in the world is wrong with them. Their happiness is usually what gets me through my days—I really don't like when they're upset.

Darry sighed. "It's a long story and.." He rubbed the back of his neck while I interrupted.

"I'm listening? Tell me."

"Well..Uh. A-A buddy of ours passed away about three years ago on this day." He looked at me and forced a tiny smile. "Yknow, he kept us together like glue. I don't know how we've managed without him."