We Couldn't Get Along Without Ya

20

After a few hours of not sleeping, I decided to get up and make some breakfast. After all, the only food I'd eaten in the past 5 days had been two candy bars.

I changed into a pair of shorts and a Johnny Cash tee shirt before heading to the kitchen. I didn't know whether to make waffles or pancakes, so I made a ton of both because why not? Surely the gang would be over soon and besides, I was actually hungry for the first time in a long time.

While I was cooking, I heard the front door open and two sets of footsteps. I'd been around these guys long enough now, I knew whose footsteps were who. And I knew that Steve and Two-Bit were here.

"Who's cooking? It smells good!" Steve called.

"Hey, if it smells good, it can't be Sodapop." Two-Bit joked.

"It's none of the boys." I called, smiling when they sprinted into the kitchen and hugged me.

"Damn I'm glad to see you." Steve told me, the two of them letting me go. "Don't do that again, got it? We love ya, kid."

"Yeah, and hey, I'm sorry if I was the reason you-" Two-Bit started but I cut him off.

"It was not your fault and don't think so for a second. I'm okay, I'm home and I'm safe. Don't blame yourself." I assured him, giving him another hug.

He smiled. "Love you, Katie-girl."

"Love you, Two-Bitch." I teased. "Now grab some food, beer, and go watch Mickey Mouse, I'll join ya once I'm done cooking."

Two-Bit smiled and did exactly that, leaving just me and Steve in the kitchen.

"You're wearing short sleeves." He observed out loud, a grin making its way to his lips.

"Yeah, I figured, what do I have to hide? Besides, my arm is bandaged so nobody can see the cuts anyway. That's all that really bugs me."

He nodded in understanding. "So...you cut while you were gone?"

"It's about the only thing I did besides walk around all day, yeah. But, so far so good today." I said trying to lighten the mood, giving him an overexcited smile.

He laughed with me, gave me a hug and then grabbed some food.

"Wow, are you feeding an army this morning?" Soda teased when he walked into the kitchen.

"I'm hungry!" I said in an exaggerated voice as he grabbed a pancake and began eating it with his hands.

"Hey! These are almost as good as mine!" Soda teased as I turned the stove off.

"You're hilarious." I said with an eye roll. "Don't you have work today? It's Thursday."

"No, I'm off all this week, so are Darry and Steve."

"Oh, so, what're we doing today then? I wanna stay busy."

He nodded his head understandingly. "Okay, well, what would you like to do then?"

"I'm not sure yet." I said as Pony and Darry walked in.

"Whoa, normal colored food? Katie cooked!" Pony teased Soda as he grabbed a waffle.

"Shut up, you love my cooking. It's abstract." Soda said, sticking his nose in the air as he left the kitchen to join Steve and Two-Bit.

"How you doing, Katie? You sleep okay?" Darry asked worriedly.

"I couldn't sleep, but I'm okay." I assured him.

"Okay. If you're ever not okay, you gotta tell someone, ya know?"

I nodded. "I'll tell somebody next time instead of running away." I promised as the door slammed shut and Johnny and Dally walked in.

Johnny saw me first, moving as fast and as excited as I'd ever seen him go, just to get to me and give me a hug. "Gosh, we sure missed you, Katie. Please never scare me like that again."

I smiled and returned the hug. "I won't, Johnnycakes. I promise."

Once Johnny pulled away, Dally stared me down, much like a parent would do to their misbehaving toddler in church when they can't yell at them. After a moment, he spoke, "You do that again, and I'm going to hunt you down and kill you."

"That a threat or a promise?" I teased him. It was always fun to screw with Dally, even though I was the only one allowed to do it aside from Johnny and sometimes Pony.

"It's a promise, moron. Come here." He said, pulling me into a quick hug before letting me go.

Soon, all the boys were in the living room so I decided this was the time. I walked in and stood in front of the tv, gaining their attention instantly.

"Guys, I've had some time to think..."