East West Sunset - A Darry Curtis Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-One

When we got back home, there were a couple of cars parked on the street outside of the house. I recognized one as Two-Bit's old Ford and the other as Steve's rundown pickup. I hadn't seen either of them in a while, so I excitedly slipped out of the car and followed Darry into the house.

"Hey, Darry, Diana!" Two-Bit greeted us as soon as we walked in the door. He was sipping a beer from where he lounged on the carpet, watching cartoons. He gave me a smirk that I didn't quite know how to read, but I just ignored it and gave him a smile in return.

"Is everyone else in the kitchen?" Darry asked him. He was already loosening up; the tension he had been holding in his face the whole ride home melted away. I could tell that being home and being around his gang did wonders for alleviating his anxiety.

"Yeah, they're just finishing eating," Two said, turning back to his show and taking a long swig from his beer.

"Who said you could have that?" Darry asked good-naturedly. He plucked it out of his hands as he walked by and took a deep drink.

"Hey!" Two-Bit protested and slapped his leg. Darry snorted and ducked into the kitchen, still sipping the beer. "Grab me another!" Two called after him.

I shook my head and smiled to myself as I followed Darry's lead into the kitchen. After working so hard that afternoon, my stomach was growling, and I could smell something delicious wafting through the air. I was so hungry.

There were a lot of boys in the kitchen when I got in there. There was almost no room to move; even when I tried to sit down, there were no empty chairs. Bryon, Pony, Darry, and Steve were all seated at the table, and Soda was presiding over a large pot and saucepan on the stove. He scooped some spaghetti noodles onto a plate from the pot and drizzled some marinara sauce on it from the saucepan, for either me or Darry, I assumed, since the other three boys had empty plates and dirty napkins in front of them. When he saw me enter the kitchen, he gave me a large smile, revealing his dimples.

"I made spaghetti!" he exclaimed proudly as he handed me the full plate. "There was no meat, so no meatballs, but still! And I didn't burn it!"

Ponyboy rolled his eyes. "Almost did, though." I noticed he was busily doing his homework at the table and was carefully guarding it from stray pasta bits and drops of red sauce.

Soda began loading up another plate for Darry. "As if you could do any better, kid brother," he said.

"Hey!" Pony looked up from his homework and shot Soda a glare.

"Thanks, Soda. Stop fighting, you two," Darry said, accepting his plate from his brother. "Why don't you sit, Diana? Pony, get up."

Pony opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, I said, "No, it's fine. You don't have to get up." But it seemed doubtful that I would be able to sit: Bryon looked stubborn and probably wouldn't move, and Steve looked comfortable where he was. He was leaning far back in his chair and swirling a bottle of beer around in his right hand. Obviously, this wasn't his first bottle, as there were a couple of empty ones sitting on the table before him.

"Here, sit with me, Diana," he suggested wickedly.

I shook my head. "I don't know if there's room," I said innocently.

"Right here." He patted his lap and grinned at me. 

Soda was hiding a smirk. "Had too much to drink there, Steve?" he asked, taking a swig of his own bottle of beer. "You're drinking away Darry's whole stash."

"Nah, I'm perfectly fine," he said. "Come sit, Diana."

I laughed. Bryon rolled his eyes. "No, really, I'm okay standing."