𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 ⌞ 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐩 ⌝

i. soc's

♪ - dark red; steve lacy
"i just let bad thoughts, linger for far too long."

S. CURTIS' POV

—

When I walked into the house, I could spot out Darry on his armchair underneath the bright lamp, reading the daily newspaper. He must've got out of work earlier than me today.

"Hey Pepsi-Cola, how was work?" He questions as I shut the front door. I respond, "the usual."

He nods and I plop down on the couch, watching whatever was playing on the TV.

Ponyboy and Johnny then both come running down the hall, "we're going out for a smoke!" Ponyboy hollers with a whole pack of cig's in his hand, while heading straight out the door with Johnny smiling on his tail end.

Darry had no time to argue against it, which made me laugh.

"This kid." He stifles out a chuckle himself while setting down his paper, getting up from his seat.

"Can't get mad at him, be grateful he's not doing it sneakily in his room." I shrug, and he nods as he walks off into the kitchen.

I was glad Johnny had listened to our advice and came over. I didn't want to see him coming over late, being once again belted by his parents.

My focus returns back onto the television for some time, but nothing stays simple in this house for long.

The front door is slammed open, and my eyes are met with a bloodied and bruised Steve.

"Soc's." He spits out the word as he limps into the house.

I shoot up from my spot, and I'm at his side in no time, bringing him down to the couch with me.

"What do you think Soda? Do you think I look tough at least?" He asks, rubbing his blood dripping nose.

"You look beat," I say. His face had been swollen and cut up and his cheek seemed to already have a huge bruise forming. He snarls at my response.

I get up with a grin and search for the first aid kit, which is nowhere to be found.

Steve protests in the background that he's fine, but I shove back the fact that he won't be so fine if his cuts get infected, making him quiet down.

"Darry, where's the first aid kit?" I pop my head into the kitchen, and he raises his eyebrows at me.

"Who's hurt?" He asks, stepping away from the stove.

"Steve, he got jumped by a couple of Soc's."

"It's in the bathroom, in the medicine cabinet above the sink, somewhere behind the painkillers." He replies.

I thank him and head back to the bathroom, searching through the cabinet.

When I finally get my hands on the kit, I hear the door slam open again, followed by the word "holy," and a string of curses, along with mocking laughs.

"Two-Bit lay off 'em." I say as I walk out of the bathroom, and Two-Bit looks like he's ready to get his two bits in, hence the name.

"Oh, I'm sorry for laughing at your boyfriend!"

He doubles over from laughing so much, and that's when Ponyboy and Johnny walk back inside.

"What's he laughing about?" Ponyboy asks with an uncertain smile, while Two-Bit stumbles over into the kitchen, still under a laugh attack.

"Nothing." I respond, curtly, while shuffling through the first aid kit for cotton balls, to go with the small bottle of alcohol that I held to clean Steve's wounds.

They both catch a glimpse of him and wince, as I begin cleaning off his blood-dried cuts.

"Soc's?" Johnny quietly questions as he and Ponyboy sit down on the end of the couch near us.

"Mhm." I hum, concentrated.

Two-Bit soon interrupts the few seconds of silence between us all, as he comes back into the living room with a beer in hand plopping down right next to the boys.

"Two, Mickey should be on." Ponyboy hands him the TV remote and I'm glad he's found something to keep him occupied.

I wipe off the last bits of blood from Steve's nose, and he jerks away slightly.

"It burns." He replies, sourly.

"I'm done now with that, don't worry." I pack up the first aid kit, leaving a few bandages out so I could put them on his larger cuts.

—

"There." I place on the last bandage across a cut that lied on his forehead.

"Thank you." He mumbled, pressing onto the newly placed bandages. Weirdly, my face warmed up at his words, his manners.

Steve wasn't the type to have any sort of manners with the gang, so getting a 'thank you,' from him was extremely rare for them, and somewhat occasional for me. I was sure he noticed my reddened face, but kept quiet.

Though, Two-Bit spun around because somehow he had heard Steve say it.

"So he gets a thank you, but when I do something for you, I don't?" His face expression is priceless, I don't think I've ever seen Two-Bit so stunned.

"You don't deserve thank you's, Two-Bitch." He groans as he sits back on the couch.

"Wow." Two-Bit takes a lengthy sip from his beer, and turns back to the TV.

I pack up the first aid kit, and place it on the arm of the couch, not wanting to get up from beside him.

My mind wandered about being this close to him.

I had a girlfriend. Being this close with Steve felt completely wrong, to me.

Her name's Sandy, she's got blonde curly hair and big blue eyes that dance with happiness every time we're together.

So why don't I have the same sight when I'm around her?

I lay back, unconsciously ending up in the same position as Steve.

Man, he had Evie too, I couldn't have viewed him in such a way.

I wasn't like that.

It's not that I was against homosexuals, I just couldn't be one.