This Ain't Home

"get comfortable"

Ponyboy sighed, he let himself slowly slip back into reality after he was lost in all of these awful thoughts. He felt a heat in his face, and a wetness dripping down his cheek. He cursed slightly under his breath, and he wiped the tears from his cheeks. He wanted to break down crying, but he knew he couldn't. He felt the glares against his face, so he didn't dare to look up from the table. Ponyboy's leg started bouncing up and down; and that's the only thing that he could focus on. He needed to focus on something other that the awful thoughts he was having too make sure he didn't keep crying.

"Kid?-"

"Hey, are you okay?" Sodapop cut off Darrel, he asked the boy and sat down in the chair next to him. Darrel wasn't good at helping comfort anybody, especially anyone younger than him. So when Soda cut him off, he didn't yell or even protest the boy trying to help the younger kid instead of him. Darrel actually preferred it that way, plus, he could finish getting dinner ready and onto the table.

"Yeah... yeah- 'M sorr-..sorry, really I-I am. I'm very so-" His voice was shaky, and nervous, scared of being hurt for accidentally crying. But, before he could even apologize, Soda cut his words off shortly.

"Ain't nothing to apologize for, kid." Sodapop said, it was almost like he knew this situation and how it was going to play out. His voice was comforting in some weird way and Ponyboy didn't want that. Sodapop's hand went to Pony's back, and before he could rub his back to comfort it; Pony quickly leaned out of his touch with a small whimper. He worried that Soda was going to be angry with him, but he wasn't mad. He understood his discomfort, so his hands found their way to the table and played with the small cracks in the wood while keeping his face focused upon Pony's.

"I'm sorry-... I just-.. I was just thinkin'.. 'bout things." Ponyboy answered Soda quickly, apologizing even if he had nothing to apologize for. He didn't know how to feel or what to say, he was nervous yes and he was scared that he was going to die in this house if he slipped up again.

"It's okay, Ponyboy. I ain't mad at 'ya or nothing." Sodapop whispered to Pony, and he must've seen the worried look across the younger one's face because he cleared his throat to restate what he said to Ponyboy.

"We ain't mad at you for nothing." Sodapop said and for once Ponyboy hadn't noticed a smile or even a small grin on the older kids face. He studied to see if his lips curled up at all, but there wasn't any sign of a smile. Pony liked it better when he saw Soda smiling, he didn't exactly know the boy that well, but he knew that he was way more comfortable when Soda was smiling. He felt less intimidated when he saw that the kid that looked a bit more happy than now. Ponyboy just kept his eyes adverted from the boy; his leg bouncing up and down against the floor, and his knee hitting the table with a small noise each time.

"Mhm." Darrel hummed, placing down two plates of food on the table. Like Sodapop had warned, the eggs were a very disgusting orangey-red color, they also looked maybe a bit pink-ish. He wasn't too sure, but it definitely wasn't the most appealing thing he's ever seen; but he couldn't complain. At least he was being served food, and like Soda had said, it was kind of fun.

"Thank you, Superman."

"Thank you, Sir..." The two voices clashed together, but yet they were so different when both of them spoke at the same time, Soda's voice was in a joking tone; soft spoken but still a bit sarcastic. Pony's voice on the other hand was more quiet, shaky and a bit more polite than he meant the words to be spoken. He was always used to calling the men, well the people but, he was used to calling the men he stayed with "sir", it was the most respectful thing he could do. Especially after they took him under their care, which they mostly didn't care, but they still had another child or another person living in their house that they spent money on.