Two-Bit's Little Sister

Chapter 3

The first thing I did when I woke up was smile. Oh, how wonderful last night was...well before Two-Bit  showed up. You know what? Never mind about my obnoxious brother, he didn't matter. He was just being himself, he didn't do anything exactly wrong... 

Anyways, I shot out of bed to shower and do all that morning stuff, then made my way to the kitchen.

"Good morning!" I chirped to my brother, still in my bubbly mood. 

Two-Bit smiled and looked up from his black-handled switch that he had been polishing. "Good morning to ya, too."

"Whatdya want for breakfast?"

"Cereal?'

I chuckled. "Really? Two-Bit, I'm in the best mood I've ever been in. I want to cook up a feast, while you're sittin' on your ass telling me you want cereal?"

 He cocked an eyebrow. "Best mood you've ever been in?"

I nodded, hoping he didn't question anything else.

Then my brother smirked. "Ohhh yeaaaahhh..the youngest Curtis brother making you smile mega-watts, huh?"

I ignored him and pulled out the milk, cereal, two bowl, and two spoons.

"That's cute...puppy love." 

I gritted my teeth and forced a smile. "Shut up and eat your cereal before I dump it on your head." I said, sweetly.

Two-Bit took a seat and began eating. "Wow, you call this the 'best mood you've ever been in..."" I made a face as he began to talk with his mouth stuffed. Then he continued: "I swear, Nicole, I've seen you in much better moods."

"Oh yeah?" I asked neutrally, hoping this conversation wouldn't turn into an arguement.

"Yeah, like that time we stole three packs of your favorite gum from the store."

I chewed my breakfast slowly before replying, "Boy, I was nuts for that gum. It was so addicting.."

My brother nodded, still eating his cereal. "I'll say, you couldn't stop chewin' it...I swear, if they had a new type of gum that would never lose its flavor, I'd be the first to steal it for ya."

I laughed. "I love how you say 'steal' instead of 'buy' or 'get.'" I was chasing that last bit of my cereal in my bowl, but the damn thing kept moving around in the milk everywhere. I hate that more than anything.

"Well you know shopliftin's my specialty." He winked.

I pulled a mock-grossed-out face. "Ew, don't wink at me, save that for one of your many blondes." That got a laugh out of him. I'll tell you one thing, nothing in the world feels better than getting your older brother to laugh at your jokes. I don't know, it just gives you some sort of pride.

"So anyways, I'm headin' down to the Curtis house, you comin'?" Two-Bit asked, taking our dirty dishes to the sink to wash.

"Umm...They might think I'm a tagalong...I dunno."

He shook his head as he got started on the dishes. "Nahh, Soda digs almost everyone, Darry thinks you're a nice kid, Steve seems to tolerate you somehow, Johnny likes you, and Pony's practically your boyfriend." He paused and smirked, just to see my reaction. I blushed then he continued: "and Dally..well, he's Dally"

I raised my eyebrows, a signal for him to continue. He did: "Dallas just doesn't dig kids, that's all."

"What about Johnny? Pony said they were real close." I pressed, my bubbly mood vanishing.

"It's different with Johnnycake, I reckon." Two-Bit merely shrugged, as he dried his hands on a small towel. 

"Oh."

"So, you didn't answer my question. You comin' or ain't cha?"

I looked at the floor. The floor that I maintained, well everything in the house I maintained, except Two-Bit's room and bathroom. That's right, I was lucky enough to share a bathroom with my mother, and not him. Speaking of whom, my mom was at work. "Do you think I should go?"

My brother came up to me and stared. "Um, Nicole, you feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, why..?"

"You just never ask for my imput on anything...You usually do whatever you wanna do.."

"Now you didn't answer my question." I poked his belly.

His eyebrows scrunched together, trying to figure out what I meant. He can be so slow sometimes, just like me. "Oh, you mean if I think you should come with me to the Curtis house?" I nodded then he continued: "Yes, I do think ya should come with me to your little boyfriend's house." He laughed, then ran out the door.

I chased after him, grinning. Then I tackled him but he managed to get away. "Damn, you sure are the worst at tacklin'." He commented, after getting back on his feet.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, you're not exactly the best at talking decent to girls..."

Two-Bit scoffed. "You mean decent talk- like with you? Or clean talk- like with my ladies?" He didn't wait for my answer, instead he continued: "I talk just fine around you, you're the one who can be very mouthy sometimes....and how I talk with ladies is none of your beeswax!" With that, he put me in a  headlock.

We continued to walk down the path to Pony's---I mean the Curtis' house. We walked because I hated riding in Two-Bit's old Plymouth. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm high maintainance...it's just that his car was dangerous.

I was silent for a moment, absorbed in my thoughts and brought back to earth when my brother said, "I can promise ya one thing, I got more manners than good ole Dallas."

"Probably" was all I could say. 

When we arrived to the house, it was a normal Saturday. Darry, Sodapop, and Steve were outside walking to the Ford to get to work. Soda playfully bopped me on the head lightly, causing me to giggle. Steve ruffled my hair, and to my rescue, Two-Bit swatted his hand away. And Darry gave me a small smile.

After hey drove off, as we were opening the front gate, I asked my brother, "So you're okay with Soda messin' around with me...but when it's Steve you get annoyed?"

Two-Bit pulled the same mock-grossed-out face I did during breakfast. "Yuck, don't say 'messin' around,' it sounds gross"  

I gave him a playful shove. "You're dirty-minded."

"Am not! The way you worded it was funny..." Then as soon as we stepped inside, his eyes magically attached to Mickey Mouses' on the tv.

"What's goin' on, guys?" I greeted Ponyboy and Johnny.

Ponyboy smiled and scooted over to make room for me on the couch. Johnny shrugged and turned his attention to the tv.

I decided I wouldn't ask Johnny why he and Dally didn't show for last night. And I shouldn't make assumptions, I told myself. But by the way Pony said "Oh" when my brother told him that Johnny and Dally decided not to show, I think he expected them too. So maybe they were regular movie-goes.Whatever.

Anyways, where was Dally? Didn't he usually hang around here? Maybe he was sleeping off a hangover somewhere...it was Saturday morning, after all.

But it was Johnny who asked my question, "Where's Dal?"

Pony shrugged and Two-Bit didn't answer because he wasn't paying attention.

Then, as if right on cue, an angry Dallas Winston walked through the door.

_________________________________________________________

A/N: So I decided this might be the only story I'll be continuing, based on the lack of reads and votes I get on my other stories...I would really appreciate it if you guys can check out some of them? Thanks, and votes and comments are appreciated!!! :D