Chapter Text
It was around five o’clock when I got out of the shower and got dressed for my oldest brother’s birthday dinner. Darry, my oldest brother, turned twenty today and my whole family and my brother’s and my friends were at our house to celebrate. My brother’s friends are at our house regardless if there is a celebration or not, same thing with my own friends.
I could hear my three loud brothers horsing around in the living room with their even louder friends while I finished putting on my clothes and brushing my hair in front of the bathroom mirror. Normally my mom would brush out and style my hair but she and my father just left to go to the grocery store quickly to grab some last minute chocolate frosting for Darry’s birthday cake so my messy brushing skills would have to do for the night.
“You grease-heads better not break anything out there or else Mama’s gonna have your necks.” I jeered at the rambunctious group of boys as I walked out of the bathroom, flicking the light switch off as I went towards the living room where the noise grew louder.
The faint smell of trashy beer and cigarettes filled my senses as I drew closer to the living room. I couldn’t wait until my friends, Beatrice and Eden, and my parents got here so I wouldn’t have to deal with the guys all by myself.
“We aren’t that bad, kid.” Steve bantered while throwing and missing a crushed up soda can at my head that only landed beside me at my feet which I kicked off to the side. Steve is best friends with my other older brother, Sodapop, and chooses to be a complete dipshit while addressing my twin brother, Ponyboy, and I.
Steve is tall with shaggy brown hair slicked back in intricate swirls with hair grease. He has wolf shaped brown eyes and a skinny but muscular build that he’s very proud of. Steve always says he takes showers but the foul stench that radiates from him says otherwise. He smells like pure gas, BO and oil from when he is working at the DX.
Steve was playing a hand of poker with Sodapop and their other friend, Two-Bit. “Yeah watch who you’re calling grease-heads, Paise.” Two-Bit snickered drunkenly at his own words while haphazardly waving his half empty beer bottle around in his loose grip while a cigarette was stuck between his lips.
Two-Bit is tall and muscular with extra layers (if you know what I mean). He has wavy auburn hair slicked back with a tiny piece greased up on his forehead. Two-Bit has been a figure around our family ever since the day Darry met him at recess when in elementary school. Two-Bit is the definition of loud and proud. He’s loud and obnoxious when he makes terrible drunken jokes. But very proud of being a greaser and a good fighter against socs. Two-Bit has always felt like an honorary member of the family not that it needed to be said out loud for it to be known, all of our friends feel like that for us.
“Mama’ll kill y'all if she knew you boys were smoking up a storm in her living room.” I smirked as I went and flopped down onto the end of the couch next to Ponyboy. I turned my head to look at him and plucked a cigarette out from between his lips, which he squawked in protest, but I just shot him a daring sideways glance as I put it out on the top of an empty beer can Two-Bit probably left for one of us to pick up because lord knows he won’t.
“Only if you snitch, Sassy.” Darry muttered from where he was sitting on the other end of the couch with a freshly lit cig held in his fingers as he tilted his head back and blew a smoke ring.
I turned to look at him sharply as he called me my least favorite nickname but was cut off by the sound of the front door opening behind me. I perked up and looked back excitedly, expecting to see Bea and Eden when I was unfortunately met with the dreadful Dallas Winston. “Oh, it’s you.” I mumbled as I managed to look at him with my best distasteful glare which was quickly diminished when I saw that Johnny Cade, Ponyboy’s best friend, was behind Dallas as they walked into the house.
“Good to see you too, brat.” Dallas scoffed coldly as he discreetly flipped me off so that none of my brothers would see, only me. I rolled my eyes and did the same as he continued his walk past me and into the house straight to our icebox, probably to grab a beer.
Dallas had sharp fox-like eyes that are piercing gray and cloudy. He has blonde hair slicked back in his own style that requires less grease than the average greaser. He has elfish ears and pale skin on his muscular physique. One thing about Dallas that is so true he would admit it proudly to anyone is that he’s blatantly mean to everyone and anyone, except for Johnny. Dallas is rough and tuff, some say he used to be a good kid but then he got caught up in some shit back in New York City and he was never the same since, constantly being mean and cold. So when he does something rude or unnecessarily mean to me I tend to ignore it since I never want to be on the receiving side of his anger.
Everyone said their hellos to Dallas and Johnny, Johnny sat down in the gap in between Ponyboy and I and wished a quiet happy birthday to Darry as well.
Johnny was like a small puppy that had been kicked one too many times. His big brown eyes that look black they're so dark makes him look cold and mean but then melt like chocolate when he’s given proper attention. He’s a skinny and tan boy with scars littering his body, some from his parents or from run-ins with the socs, most of the scars are from his parents.
Ponyboy and Johnny quickly became immersed in a conversation I couldn’t even pretend to care about. The two boys talk about books and movies that are far too complicated and have deeper meanings than necessary, something that I could never learn to care for. I sat on the couch tuning out all the conversations around me and kept my bored eyes trained on the TV playing Mickey Mouse reruns in front of me.
I was lost in my thoughts when I heard someone knocking at the front door. The voices in the house died down instantly since almost everyone in our neighborhood usually waltzes into our house since everyone this side of town knows our front door is always unlocked.
“I’ll get it,” I muttered, standing up after noticing no one else made any movement to get up and answer the door. “Maybe Bea and Eden are accidentally locked out.” I mumbled to myself once I got close enough to the door to grab onto the handle and turn it.
I could feel everyone's eyes on me, burning holes into my back. I noticed someone must’ve turned the TV off since I couldn’t hear Mickey Mouse anymore. I could also hear Darry ushering Soda and Two-Bit to clean up all the cans and cancer sticks in case it was our parents testing us or something.
I gripped the door handle, put on my best smile and turned the knob and opened the door. Who I saw on the other side of the door nearly sucked all the air out of my lungs. Two police officers looking like they had just seen ghosts are standing on my front porch.
“Uh, hello..?” I quaked shakily as I looked at the two men. I was scanning their faces, my eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.
“Is this the Curtis residence?” One of the officers asked, looking past my shoulder over at the seven boys standing behind me all of which looking guilty or nervous.
“Yes, sir. How- why are you here?” I stumbled on my words looking into the two solemn pairs of eyes burning into mine.
“Is there an adult in there that we can speak with?” I nodded dumbly as I felt the presence of Darry behind me gently guiding me out of the way so he could properly talk to the fuzz. I walked back to stand with the rest of the boys. Soda gripped mine and Ponyboy’s shoulders from where he stood behind us.
“What can I do for you tonight, officers?” Darry asked, he sounded just like dad when he said that, deep and strong voice, he looked just like dad too. Darry’s tall stature made his muscular physique look even more intimidating at where he stood at 6”2. His eyes are sharp and cold, the coldness from the blue-green ice color that lived in his eyes.
“There’s no easy way to say this, but there has been an accident, a car accident,” The other officer said solemnly, ducking his head low. I could feel the tension grow high as the pieces started clicking together for everyone in the room.
“Where’s Momma and Daddy?” I whimpered as I felt salty tears form in my eyes, I knew the answer, but I didn’t want to believe it so I kept whipping my head from looking at Darry in front of me and Soda behind me. Soda’s body was already wracking with quiet sobs, his blue eyes turning into an ocean filled with big waves spilling over his pale cheeks and dripping down his chin and dropping onto my hair that was already wet from my shower.
“I’m sorry but your parents didn’t make it, they passed on impact.” The officer's words felt like repetitive punches to the gut. I felt Ponyboy lurch next to me, holding a hand over his mouth as he turned pale then sickly green.
Someone caught him and ushered him to the bathroom, probably Johnny. Besides the loud sound of my heart thrumming in my ears I could also hear Soda’s wails from behind me as he crumpled on the floor. Or maybe they were mine, I couldn’t tell to be completely honest, I couldn’t process this. I couldn’t see out of my tear filled eyes as I sobbed.
I felt a pair of arms wrap around me fiercely and hold me close, I couldn’t tell whose. I could feel the person carry me to the couch and sit down with my shaking frame on their lap as their fingers ran through my hair and murmured quietly in my ear even though I couldn’t process the words.
The sounds of Ponyboy’s heaves and wails drowned out Soda’s and he could be heard from across the house. I slowly became aware of how real this all was and how I was so caught up in my own grief I had no clue where any of my brothers were, sure I knew they were in the house but I needed them with me, I can’t let them leave me like my parents did.
I started crying harder and babbling incoherent desperate words. The person holding me started rocking me and whispering teary words as they sounded choked up themselves. I couldn’t make out whose voice was talking to me but I didn't want them. I wanted my brothers and my parents to come and sit with me and we could all be together.
I could hear Ponyboy’s cries die down and other sniffles and quiet sobs around me when my eyes finally allowed me to see again as my tears slowed down. I looked around and could see Steve sitting in my dads armchair with Soda clinging onto him as they both cried together, Dallas was sitting on the coffee table facing the TV as he took deep stuttering breaths. I looked up while rubbing my damp eyes and saw that Two-Bit was the one holding me.
Before I could say anything the front door opened and Darry walked in and shut it and locked it behind him, I never even realized he went outside, he must’ve been talking to the fuzz because they weren’t here anymore.
“Darry!” I sobbed as I jumped off of Two-Bit’s lap and ran into Darry’s arms. I soon felt another person join the embrace who I quickly realized was Soda since Darry kissed the tops of our heads and called Soda “Pepsi” dads nickname for Soda.
“What are we gonna do?” I choked out, my words laying on thick throughout the entire house as everyone took in the words.