The Outsiders: Book Two

Haunted House

A/N

In the media thing, there's a fan-art I did of Red (it's pretty bad when your friends ask who you're drawing, and you say "A fictional character" and they ask from what book, and you say "ONE I MADE UP DON'T QUESTION ME.") She's wearing a bandana over her mouth, if that isn't super obvious. Sorry if it's not very good, but hey, I tried and it kind of shows you what she looks like, sort of. So yeah...let me know what you think.

When Two-Bit and I got home, Red was sitting in the kitchen, looking pensive. Her eyebrows were all scrunched up, she was biting her lip, and her icy eyes were piercing the table, but you could tell she wasn't really seeing it. Her hands were working away at her hair, where a bunch of little odd braids already hung loosely. I guess that's a habit she has when she's thinking.

She didn't seem to notice us come in. I looked to Two-Bit, and he just gave a what-can-you-do kind of shrug. I sat down slowly across the table from her, and Two-Bit went over to the oven.

"Hallo?" I said, looking at Red curiously. When she didn't respond, I said again, "Hellooo?"

Nothing. Finally, I just began waving my hand frantically in front of her face. "Earth to Red, yoo-hoo!" Red blinked quickly, and looked at me as if I had intruded into her thoughts.

"What?" she asked irately, her hands falling from her hair.

"You were zoned way out, Red. Like, gee," Two-Bit interjected, sitting down with a piece of cake and throwing her a dirty look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, her brows scrunching up again.

"Why else? The top of the cake is burnt!"

"There was a cake?"

"Yes, there was a cake! We left a note!" Two-Bit said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Red bit her lip. "Gee...sorry, Two-Bit. I...I didn't see it."

Two-Bit let out a tried sigh. "I suppose it's alright. I'll just scrape the burnt part off. It's just a cake, I guess. Someone needs to make icing though." He looked pointedly to me.

"Fine, I'm on it," I sighed, standing up and going over to the cupboard.

We sat there for a while in filtered silence, and the only noises were those of me mixing the icing, and Red humming a tune I recognized to be "Tulane" by Chuck Berry. Two-Bit was silently tapping his foot to her rhythm. The silence was still thick though.

"What day of the week is is?" Red asked pensively, breaking the quiet.

"Uh...Tuesday. Why? You got plans or somethin'?" I asked, setting the bowl in front of Two-Bit and handing him a spoon. He cocked an eyebrow at me, but then commenced to using the spoon to spread the icing on his piece of cake.

"Yeah, I'm going to bust a group of roguish convicts out of the state penitentiary and see where it goes from there," Red said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Then she sighed. "No, I don't really have plans. I'm just really, really bored. It's exasperating to me."

"You don't really have plans? What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It means that I don't have any plans I plan on carrying out at the moment," she replied irritably.

"That was redundant," I said.

"Well I have plans!" Two-Bit stated plainly, his face making it seem like a light bulb was supposed to be suspended over his head. "I'm going out. To the Ribbon. Maybe there'll be real cake. And you guys are-"

"Going to accompany you!" Red exclaimed, thrusting her fist in the air.

Two-Bit laughed. "I couldn't have said it better myself."