darlin' || the outsiders

9

two-bit matthews

i walked with steve and soda down the sidewalk to the curtis house. we had gone to the DX to get snacks and get ponyboy more smokes.

"i think elsie snuck out last night." soda finally said. steve and i looked at him, confused before he continued.

"i had a feeling about something so i got out of bed and went to get water, then i opened elsie's door and she wasn't there." he said.

"what if she went to the bathroom?" steve asked. i took a swig from my can of beer.

"well that's true, i was half awake. didn't think too much into it." soda's voice got quieter. "you're probably right.".

"like ya said, you were half awake." i said, taking another drink. "maybe you just didn't see her because she was under her covers.".

soda looked at me and sighed. "maybe." he said as we walked up the steps to the front door.

we walked inside and darry and elsie were sitting at the table, while dallas sat on the couch with ponyboy.

"wassup whores." i yelled, putting my arms up in enthusiasm. everyone looked at me, dallas and ponyboy started laughing at me. i watched soda and steve wander to little side table and sit down in the chairs opposite to each other, pulling cards out from a drawer in the table.

"hey, two." dallas said, standing up and walking over to me. "can i have a swig of that?" he asked. i handed over my can and smacked his back.
"thanks man." he said, taking a long sip from the silver can before handing it back to me.

"hey, elsie, where were you last night?" i asked. she looked up at me, she had this look of panic in her eyes. i was genuinely curious, not trying to berate her.

"in bed, why?" she said, looking back down at the paper she was reading. it looked like she was reading a book that pony had given her. i just shrugged and took a drink from my can, then throwing it down because dallas had drank the rest of it.
"remind me to never let you have a drink from my shit again." i muttered to dallas, who was still watching tv with pony.

"whatever man, you love me." dallas rolled his eyes.

"you're lucky i do." i frowned, walking to darry's fridge.  "hey, dar, what you got?".

darry hesitated. "uh, water? milk?" he sighed, pulling the newspaper back up, blocking his face.
"alright." i said, opening the fridge and grabbing a water bottle. i guess i should have some since it feels like it's been days since i had water.

i don't know how i'm not dead yet, but hey. dallas is probably thinking the same of himself.

••••

elsie lock

we had been sitting around the curtis house for what felt like a million years, but it's only been about 2 hours. two-bit, dallas, and pony were sitting around the tv watching mickey mouse; steve and soda were playing poker on the little side table; and darry and i were just chilling at the kitchen table, me reading 'to kill a mockingbird' that pony had let me barrow, darry reading a newspaper. we were all bored out of our minds.

"i'm bored." someone finally said.

"hi bored, i'm dad." i mocked something my dad used to say. the voice belonging to dallas, looking at me. i made eye contact with him for a second before winking at him. dallas wanted to murder me or rail me. i don't know which one, but part of me wanted to know and the other part just wanted to leave him hanging for a little longer.

"let's go to a movie." pony perked up, looking around the room. "we can go to the drive-in tonight.".

i looked at the boys and they were all nodding in agreement. i could see darry out of the corner of my eye, just looking at the group of immature 12 year olds in his house.

"you going?" i asked, placing my hand gently on his arm. he looked at my hand then looked up into my eyes.

"i dunno." he said, looking back at the boys. "i don't wanna be responsible for these dumbasses.".

i giggled and nodded. "i get it. these boys are a hassle, but ya gotta love 'em.". darry smiled and tilted his head downwards, a small laugh escaping his lips.

"i think i'll stay in tonight." he finally said. "don't worry about me. you guys go out and have fun.".

i nodded and stood up, grabbing the blue jacket that pony had lent to me. "it's gonna be cold tonight boys. darry said i'm in charge of y'all, so wear your jackets." i smiled, pointing soda and pony to their rooms.

"okay mom." two-bit joked, grabbing his leather jacket from the floor behind him. the boys were all wearing leather jackets, besides soda, steve, pony, and johnny.

"have fun." was all darry said as we shuffled out the door.

"bye darry." soda said, waving and shutting the door behind him.

••••

we had walked out to the drive-in theatre. there were cars and people all over the field, the ads playing and sounds playing through the loud speakers. part of me had this anxiety in the pit of my stomach. what if i run into those boys again? i can't fight... i'm too weak.

"hey soda, can you get us some drinks?" dallas asked, handing him a few cents for his drink. soda nodded and invited me to go with him. i felt cramped between the guys, so i had to agree.

we started walking through the grass that was uneven in height. it was dark behind the concession building, and it was on the side of the field. behind it was completely empty. just nothingness for a mile or two.

"seven drinks please, regular." soda said. i started tuning him out as he paid and we were grabbing the cups. we filled the cups up the the brim and placed the foggy lids on the cups. we carried the cups out and back to our seats. dallas stood up and helped me carry the many cups i was holding, grabbing two of them and handing one to pony and the other he kept.

we all piled into our seats and relaxed on the fold up, tan chairs. luckily we got back when we did, because the movie had started.
••••
sorry this chapter sucks, i'm tired lol

word count: 1096