Trouble |The Outsiders|

08. Young Love

"Alright, how do I look?"

She came down the rickety old stairs slowly, pulling at her sweater while hiking her jeans up so they fit around her hips. It was quarter to seven, fifteen minutes until Sodapop Curtis would be here. Danny stood at the bottom of the stairs, a bowl of cereal in his hand. He looked over his sister carefully before swallowing his dinner, then speaking. "I dunno."

Her converse hit the floor loudly while she groaned. "C'mon Daniel, this is the fourth outfit change I've had, and Soda's gonna be here in ten minutes!"

He rolled his eyes at her outburst before draining the leftover milk down the sink and rinsing his bowl. Abigail paced back and forth anxiously, blue eyes darting from her jeans to the clock hanging on the wall. "Jesus, fine. You look nice, alright? I'm just making sure you don't look too nice-"

Abigail swished her head around and narrowed her eyes. The blue stood out boldly against her tanned skin and dark mascara, her lips shimmered a light pink. "Now what's that supposed to mean?"

Danny scoffed and combed through his hair with his fingers. "You gotta look classy, Abigail. I don't need Soda thinkin' about fuckin' you the entire night. In that sweater, at least you know he's lookin' at your eyes."

"You're insane," she scoffed, "Soda's been my friend since we were little, he doesn't think like that." Anxiety bloomed in her chest as she pulled at the collar of the pink wool, a Christmas gift from Aunt Connie. She sighed angrily as her hair tucked itself under the fabric, nearly flattening the curls she had spent an hour perfecting. Danny chuckled as he walked towards her and brushed the hair from her face. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He bit at his lip while he straightened the gold necklace Abigail wore, finally dragging his eyes to meet hers. "Can I go over to Curly's tonight? Dad's been gettin' on my nerves lately."

Abigail hummed in agreement as she brushed his hair back. Danny was getting tall, too tall in her mind. "Sure," she said simply. The childish gap in his smile was painfully obvious, but all she could think about was how her little brother, wasn't so little anymore. "Just make sure you stay outta trouble, ya' hear? I dunno what Soda has planned, but I'm not ditching so I can bail you out again." He placed his right hand over his heart and tipped his chin up, his eyes landing on the ceiling and its peeling paint. "Cross my heart and hope to die!"

He immediately stepped towards the phone hanging on the wall and dialled the Shepards' number. Abigail glanced back at the clock. Six fifty-one.

"Angie says good luck on your date," Danny told his sister as he hung up the phone, "make sure you pack some condoms."

Abigail slugged him in the shoulder playfully and rolled her eyes once more. Danny punched her back but cleared his throat before staring at the front door. "I know you like Sodapop, I do, too. He's a nice guy and if anything happened I think he could keep you safe, but-"

She dropped her face into her hands. "Why is there always a but?"

"But," Danny continued, "If he does somethin' or says somethin', you tell me, alright?"

Any childish innocence his face once held vanished. The boy standing in front of Abigail now looked less like a boy and more like a young man than she ever realized. Something flickered in his eyes as he turned to face her. 

Concern. 

Abigail forced a smile to her lips as she placed her arm around his shoulder. "I know it's Soda and all, but guys can get kinda pushy. I don't want you to do somethin'-"

"I'll tell you, Danny. You've got nothing to worry about, but if something happened, you'd be the first person to know. I promise."

He leaned his head against her shoulder and chuckled dryly. "I'll be the first person to fuck his face up, too." There were a few minutes of silence in the old house. The only sound belonged to their heartbeats. "Actually, I'd go after Ponyboy if I had to."