The Delinquent's Daughter {An Outsiders Fanfiction - Sequel to Hope}

8

"Hi Mom. Hey, Dad," I said, coming out of my room the next morning.

"Good morning, Sweetie," my dad said.

"Are you in here for breakfast?" My mom asked, not looking me in the eye. Noticing that she's holding her back, I flash back to last night. When I was being yelled at about sneaking out and getting grounded, she was doing it then too. I wondered in the back of my mind how I didn't notice it. She must have been moving furniture around, something she does a lot, and tweaked it.

"Yes, ma'am," I told her, even though I wasn't hungry at all. She smiled at me.

"And how's the hangover, my love?" I hadn't noticed the slight pounding in my head until now, so I reached up to get a few Advils in the cabinet.

"Oh no, Hope. You snuck out, and you drank. No one forced you to, and it was your own choice. Now you pay the consequences," my mom told me. I rolled my eyes.

"Consequences. A headache and being grounded? Where I get to lay in my room until I feel better? Doesn't sound too bad to me," I responded, feeling lucky that it was a weekend.

"Sounds like you didn't have too much then. Did I ever tell you about the first time I had a beer?" My dad asked me. I shook my head.

"Maybe I should have before... I was out with Uncle Two-Bit, and I told him I wanted to try one, so he gave me a can, no questions asked."

"I remember that!" My mom exclaimed, suddenly smiling. "Dal was so proud of you that day." She was laughing.

"Yeah," my dad was too, "after I threw up on Soda." They both laughed again, long and hard, until my dad was wiping away tears.

"Remember when you went into your room, and I followed you in? I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that," she said, through giggles. I laughed at that too.

"I was crying, wasn't I?" Dad asked.

"Yep. First time I ever saw you cry. Dar grounded you for a what, a month? You were not happy." More laughing. I stopped laughing then. So did my dad, and so did I.

"Ponyboy, what did you learn in that month?" God, really mom? Predictable parents, I guess. I rolled my eyes at the stupid question.

"It was a long time ago, Lydia," my dad responded. Okay, maybe not so predictable.

"You learned not to drink, right? You saw how bad it was for you?" She suggested. I tried hard not to laugh.

"Yeah," my dad said. "I saw all of those, Lydia. But do you really think Hope's going to go out drinking again? She's smart," he defended. My mom sighed, then looked at me.

"Hope, drinking is in your blood. From both sides. My mother was an alcoholic, and so was your father. I'm not going to go into detail about this, but I never want you to go near any kind of alcohol again," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"I won't, Mom. It was gross anyways," I told her. My dad smiled at me, chuckling quietly. I looked over at him, and he stopped, holding his hands up.

"I wasn't laughing," he stated. I just shrugged. And then I remembered my date tonight. I tried to find the best way to bring it up, the easiest way for them to tell me yes, I can go.

"Hey, Dad?" I started. He looked to me, then to my mom, who frowned, but nodded slowly.

"Yes," he said. I raised an eyebrow.

"If it's that important to you, you can go on your little "date"," he said, putting air quotes on the word date. I laughed.

"But I want to meet him," he said. I stopped laughing, but then realized this would be the only way I could go.

"Only if you promise not to embarrass me, Dad. I really like this one," I explained. He shrugged.

"We'll just have to see how it goes," he said. I hugged him.

"Thanks, Dad," I mumbled into his shirt, squeezing his tall frame out of excitement.

"Hey, am I still grounded then?" I asked when I let go of him. He nodded, and so did my mom.

"Oh yeah you are. That's not changin' honey, until you can pay off the ticket, or your month is up," she said.

"I could get a job. Then you'd have to unground me so I could work to pay it off, right?" I suggested as I got a piece of bread out and put it in the toaster. My mom laughed.

"Nope." I stood there, thinking for a second about what I was going to do. I wondered if I could go on more dates while I was grounded, or if this was my only exception, but I was too nervous to ask. My mom was still so mad that she could take this away at any second.

When my toast popped, I took it out, burning my fingers as I threw it on a plate to butter. My mom took a quick look at the food and rushed out of the room.

"I'll be right back," she said. I was going to ask if she was okay, but she was already gone. I looked at my dad, who shrugged. Weird.

A/N: I'm not sure why I really like this chapter, since it's a boring little filler, but I find it very entertaining still.