Darling

Social Enemies

The Curtis's woke up Monday morning for school and work. Darlene still didn't feel 100%, but knew she needed to get through the week. She put on a black tank top, her usual black jeans, and leather jacket. She put on a bit of eyeliner on her waterline and pushed back her hair. She made sure she had everything in her backpack and went out to the living room. Johnny was eating breakfast with them. He had been spending more time at the Curtis house to get away from his parents, which was good for him. He was still a bit shaken. Though he said he had been through worse, like the last time he got jumped. That was awful. All cut up. We didn't think someone could live through something like that, but he did. It left him scared and jumpy, though, and it definitely affected him a lot. When Dallas found out about what happened to Johnny and his parents he was really upset. He'd never admit it out loud, but he's got a soft spot for the kid, and everyone knew it. It really angered him, and us, that there's nothing we could do about the abuse.

Steve was also in the house this morning with too much energy for anyone else to be able to handle that early. He was eating the leftover chocolate cake from the other night, of course, creating a mess.

"'Mornin' Steve." Darlene said, lightly punching his shoulder.

"'Mornin'. Hey, you guys got anymore beers?"

Darlene nodded and motioned to the fridge that was recently restocked. The house smelled of bacon and coffee and the morning sun shone through the windows just right, creating a light yellow/gold filter over everything, and those little rainbows in the floor that she loved so much, creating a sense of nostalgia. She went into the kitchen to make herself some toast. Pony looked pretty miserable, sitting there poking at his eggs. She patted his back softly and leaned down closer to him.

"We'll get through today together, okay?"

Pony smiled and and hummed. The both of them could mutually agree that school wasn't exactly exciting. It was just simply school. You get up early, work for 8 hours straight, then go home only to do more work, then get to bed at 10:00, then repeat. Not a favorite for them. She put some bread in the toaster then got herself orange juice. Darry was putting some coffee in a thermos to bring with him to work. The man could hardly function without it, he's always so tired. Soda was climbing out of the shower, flashing everyone in the process, but he didn't seem care.

"Wow, thanks Soda." Steve said flatly. Soda rolled his eyes and as he passed the mirror, he glanced at himself. The door then slammed open. Two-Bit waltzed in and immediately turned on the TV to catch Mickey.

Johnny grinned, "Hello to you, too."

"Oh, hi, Johnny." Two-Bit barely looked away from the idiot box, completely immersed in the colorful cartoon. He could almost consider it a completely different world for him to go to when real life got boring or too much to handle. That was understandable. Darlene listened in on Steve and Soda's conversation. Apparently Sylvia had cheated on Dally again, and they were through. She thought that was a good thing, mostly for her sake because Sylvia was often rude to her and she didn't understand why. Darry glanced at the clock and quickly gathered his things.

"You two walkin' or riding with me?" He looked to the siblings scarfing down breakfast.

"We can walk, you go ahead. See you later." Pony stood up and put his plate in the sink. Darlene did the same and put on her boots. As soon as she grabbed her bag and reached to open the door, it became more noticeable how tired she was. She rubbed her eyes and stepped out the door, Ponyboy following. She knew this week wouldn't be easy.

---

They made it to school and went to their lockers. The noise of all the other lockers was almost overwhelming. Ponyboy left for his first class that was on the other side of the school, leaving Darling to stand by herself. Two-Bit usually didn't even show up until later. He isn't supposed to do that, but he doesn't care. She sighed and leaned on the wall. The bell doesn't ring for another ten minutes. She wished Pony had stayed a bit longer to spare her the awkwardness of standing alone. People walked by, chatting with their best friends and greeting each other with hugs. She watches for a bit, wishing she had a best friend. Another girl her age she could relate to.