Trouble |The Outsiders|

15. All Yours

Sodapop anxiously placed the chicken in the oven while Abigail peeled some potatoes and dropped them into a pot beside her. A question had been on repeat in his mind ever since this afternoon, when Danny showed up at the DX, talking with the Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit.

"Micheal said the River Kings ain't pickin' sides, but Tim doesn't believe him. He keeps telling me to ask Abigail 'bout him, but I know it's just gonna make 'er upset."

Soda could've lied to himself and say he wasn't worried when word of Michael Keen getting out of jail came in the gas station. But he was a bit concerned. Abigail and Micheal had broken up a little over a year ago, just like he and Sandy. Sodapop wouldn't have been worried if Micheal was anybody else.

Everyone knew of the River Kings. They were a ferocious gang that did whatever they wanted. They were a band of loud, violet thugs, and Micheal fit right in. When Micheal decided he wanted Abigail on his arm, there was nothing Sodapop could do about it. He tried to ignore his lingering eyes when he picked her up from work, her hips swaying back and forth in that tight little skirt.

Sodapop tried to ignore the way she ran to him after Rumbles, how their lips fit together so comfortably. Or the way Abigail cried into Sodapop's arms the night Micheal got his tattoo and accepted his role as the leader of the River Kings. It was a struggle to hold Abigail that close and comb his fingers through her hair, listening to her sob into his chest. "He's gonna get hurt, Soda, I just know he is!"

All he wanted to do that night was tell her how he felt about her. But the gang had made a deal. As long as Micheal treated Abigail right, they wouldn't get involved. Soda held her again, seventeen days later when Micheal broke up with her. He didn't take the risk then, either. Steve, Dallas and Sodapop planned on going after Micheal that night, for breaking their friend's heart. They wandered into his territory, only to find Tim Shepard and Patrick Macrorie standing in the shadows, wiping blood from their fists and faces. "If you still wanna rough him up, be my guest. But we've already done most of the dirty work."

Micheal Keen was hellbent on revenge after that night, fighting between the River Kings and the Shepard gang went on consistently until he was arrested six months ago. But now he was out of the pen. Now, maybe he wanted Abigail back.

The rest of the gang was outside, raking up the leaves in the yard before Darry came home, Abigail was humming along to the radio, occasionally letting a word or two slip past her lips. She was stirring the potatoes on the stove, waiting until they were soft enough to mash. Her hair curled effortlessly around her face before falling over her shoulders and around her chest, one of his flannels was thrown over her shoulders. Carefully, Sodapop wrapped his arms around her waist and lowered his head onto her shoulder. "There's something I gotta ask you."

She sighed dreamily before turning her head, their noses barely touching. "What is it, loverboy?"

He knew this was the only chance he would get. "Heard from Micheal lately? Keen?"

Abigail bit down on her tongue to stop her answer from flying past her lips. Her immediate response was "no." Her first thought was what damage one little lie could cause. Then Abigail remembered her mother's lie, and it ended up with her 'father' kicking her out and kicking his son in the face. Soda's brown eyes were curious as Abigail glanced back down at the potatoes she was stirring. "Yeah, I have. Why?"

Her heart started to beat a bit more rapidly when he pulled away from her. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked immediately, "what did he say?"

Abigail let out a nervous laugh as she ran her hands up and down the lengths over her arms. "He didn't say anything, he just wanted a cup of coffee." Sodapop ran his hands through his hair, not caring that it stuck up every which way when he was finished. There was a certain look in his eye, a look Abigail couldn't place. When he spoke next, his voice wasn't quiet and tired, he almost sounded panicked.