Keep On Trying by Another Illusion

Summary: Dealing with the deaths of two friends, Two-Bit uses all his wit to try and keep his remaining friends together, and on meeting someone within detention realises the importance of family and friendship to get through these difficult times. Two-Bit, OMC, OFC 3rd person POV

A.N-I’m British so use British spelling and terminology, which you may know by now! Thanks as ever to my betas and all my reviewers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Two-Bit or any of the characters created by S E Hinton or 'Blood on Blood' by Bon Jovi.

Six: Time Moves On

“I can still remember/ When I was just a kid/ When friends were friends forever/ And what you said was what you did ..."

Sunday was always the one day Two-Bit felt entirely justified in doing nothing. As a kid, his mother took him to church, but he fidgeted so much and caused such a fuss that after a while his mother eventually stopped taking him, freeing up the whole day for him.

He lazily ate his bowl of 'Rice Krispies' until he heard someone walk into the kitchen.

“Mornin’ Peggy.”

“Two-Bit, it’s two in the afternoon. Have you just gotten up?” his sister asked as she poured herself a glass of juice.

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “So what?” He was actually surprised that it was that late in the day, usually he didn’t sleep in that late.

“You’ve wasted the day! Anyway, I’m going to see a movie with Alice and Susie,” she said casually. There was something different about her , but Two-Bit couldn’t work out just what it was. Was it her sweater? No, that was her favourite sweater, she always wore it. Was it her hair? Maybe. Come to think about it, he never really noticed Peggy’s hair before. He never really gave how she looked much thought. So, that could be it, maybe she was wearing her hair different. He wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, he’d at least pinpointed it to something around her face.

“Have fun with that,” he teased, continuing with his cereal once more. His day was not wasted, contrary to Peggy’s opinion.

“What are you going to be doing?” she asked, tugging a jacket on. “Bum around all day?”

Two-Bit raised his hands in mock offence and wondered when his sister had become so sassy. “Me? Bum around? Shoot, kid, do you know me at all? If you’re really interested, I’m going to drop in on Steve and Soda later. I think I’ve got just enough gas to get from Charlie’s to the DX.” He could even have enough money to get a bus to Charlie’s, which would save him another very long trek.

“There are other gas stations closer to Charlie’s y’know,” she said pointedly.

“Yeah, but my buddies work at the DX,” he said. “I have to be loyal, you see.”

“Oh,” she replied flatly, before picking up her purse. “Well I need to go if I’m going to catch the bus. I suppose asking you for a lift-” she hopefully began.

“Didn’t you hear me about the gas?” he asked, smiling at his little sister. Peggy scowled, flipped her hair over her shoulder, then shrugged before she walked out.

Through pure luck and a careful use of speed, Two-Bit managed to get his car to just crawl into the DX.

“Is it broken again?” Steve asked, as Two-Bit got out of the car.

“Nope, I just need gas,” he said digging in his jacket for the money he had saved for gas from yesterday.

“How much is in her now?”

“I pretty much drove here on fumes,” he admitted, avoiding Steve’s glare.

“Shit,” Steve said. “No wonder that poor thing is always in here. Do you not want to look after your car? Get a job, and then put some gas in the damn thing!”

“Calm down, Steve,” Soda said, grinning as he joined Two-Bit and Steve. “Not everybody here cares about cars like you do.” Steve glared at Soda, but didn’t say anything as Two-Bit filled up the car. Two-Bit was grateful for Soda’s intervention; he really wasn’t looking forward to yet another lecture on car care.

“Soda’s agreed to the date with Evie’s friend,” Steve suddenly said. “You remember? The girl I said that Evie wanted to set him up with last week? It’s gonna be on Tuesday, isn’t it, Soda?” Steve looked triumphant

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging at Two-Bit.

At that moment a group of girls walked over to them, Steve rolled his eyes at Two-Bit and Soda grimaced.

“Hi, um Soda ... we were wondering if you could come look at our car? It isn’t working properly, there’s this funny noise,” a redhead asked, fiddling with a strand of her hair and smiling coyly at Soda. Soda looked at Steve, who gestured it was fine to go over. Steve had a cruel grin on his face, and Two-Bit wondered how often this happened to Steve. Having a guy like Soda for a best friend was sometimes intimidating.

“What do you think is wrong with it?”

“Probably nothing,” Steve flatly said. “They just wanted to get him on his own.”

Two-Bit laughed. “You make it sound like some strategic Army operation.”

“With those girls, it probably is,” he said, fighting a grin.

“Have you seen Evie this weekend?” Two-Bit asked, once again attempting to keep the conversation alive.

“Yeah, we went to the movies, then a party at Will Winter’s place, I fucking hate that guy, ” Steve said. “What’s happening with detention girl then, eh?”

“We’re going out on Thursday.”

“Date?” he asked quickly.

Two-Bit shrugged honestly. “I don’t know. Steve, I barely know this girl.” Steve scoffed. “Yeah, it’s a date,” Two-Bit added quickly to save face. Steve nodded and looked over at Two-Bit’s car for a moment, shaking his head. He was clearly thinking about how poorly Two-Bit treated his car, and Two-Bit suddenly realised he may not have escaped from a lecture on car care from Steve.

Two-Bit watched a group of more girls walk over to Soda. He almost felt sorry for the guy , but decided it was a situation that didn’t deserve sympathy. One of the girls was Annette, and even from a distance he recognized her bright voice and blonde hair. He was about to sneak away when he saw that she had clocked him and was now pointing him out to one of her friends.

He sighed and looked at Steve.

“Help me!” he pleaded quietly.

“No way,” Steve said, smugly crossing his arms. “I am not missing this for the world.”

Annette was wearing a pale blue dress and heels, and she grinned as she walked over to Two-Bit. He heard the cell doors close and felt the weight of the ball and chain as it was locked in place around his ankle. Steve exchanged a quick smug look at Two-Bit, who was trying to plan the best way to handle Annette without Kathy getting on his back.

“Hi Two-Bit,” she said cheerfully, “I was just meeting some of my friends here, they’re having car trouble.”

“Annette,” he said. “Have you met my buddy Steve here?”

“No. Hi, I’m Annette.”

“I figured,” Steve muttered darkly.

“So, Two-Bit, I was wondering whether you would … I mean, perhaps … I mean ...” she trailed off, an expectant look on her face.

This was not going to be easy. Two-Bit gently took her arm and ushered her away from Steve, who was obviously loving every second of Two-Bit’s predicament. The last thing he needed were witnesses to what he was about to do.

“Do you know what I mean?” she asked. He had no idea what she meant and remained silent. “Your friend sure is intimidating,” she added in a half whisper

Two-Bit exhaled slowly. “Annette, I think you’re a great girl-”

“I don’t like where this is going,” she said quietly.

“I’m just not really in a good position to date at the moment,” he lied as the words smoothly slipped out of his mouth with ease. Annette’s face fell slightly which made Two-Bit feel like the lowest of the low. It wasn’t his fault that there wasn’t any chemistry between them, that there was no reason to keep dating, but it damn well felt like it was his fault.

“Oh,” she said in a low voice. “I-”

“Honestly, Annette, I think you’re lovely. We’re still good, right? Friends?” he said lamely. She nodded carefully, a hint of her usual brightness in her eyes was back, which reassured him. He was not cruel, and there was no need to mention Bonnie. This was bad enough though, letting down someone who was pretty, blonde, and a genuinely nice person really sucked.

“See you around?”

“Yeah, see ya,” he said as they went their separate ways. He swallowed slightly as he saw Steve was leaning against the petrol pump, a smirk on his face.

“Did you let her down gently?” Steve asked as they watched her walk over to her friends. He nodded. “It’s easier that way, buddy, trust me. If you both want to be casual, that’s fine, but if she wants more and you don’t feel anything then she oughta thank you one day,” he said simply. Two-Bit grinned, he felt suddenly more reassured he had done the right thing. If he was honest, he would have usually gone out with her for a few more weeks, but she was Kathy’s pal, and Kathy knew all his tricks.

“What do you reckon we go help out Soda?” he asked, nodding toward a tired and harassed looking Soda who was leaning under the hood of a car, surrounded by a group of chicks.

Steve grinned wickedly. “Nah, give it a few more minutes.”

Bonnie smiled to herself as she closed the paperback. Reading that book always seemed to brighten her day, despite her brothers mercilessly taunting her over it.

“I thought you knew that book by heart,” her father said as he walked into the kitchen. He looked tired, and he probably was, Bonnie always thought he worked too hard.

“Not quite,” she said, grinning. “I’m getting close though.”

He laughed. “Haven’t you got homework to do?” he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Coffee?”

“No thanks,” she replied as she looked at a small pile of textbooks and notebooks to her left. “I think I have a little homework to do.”

“Well get it done, and then you can read your books as much as you like!” he said fairly. “Hell, maybe you can even watch a movie!” he said, grinning widely at Bonnie. She laughed lightly, shaking her head.

“Fine,” she said. He nodded, making his way back into the living room now his parental duty was over.

Bonnie was just about to finally address her homework when Dale walked into the kitchen.

“You’re not still mad at me, are you?” he asked as he rummaged through the fridge.

“I never said that I was mad at you,” she said, looking at him with some confusion.

“You didn’t need to,” he simply said. “You’ve been off with me since yesterday.”

“Fine.” She sighed loudly and looked at Dale. “Would it have killed you to be nicer to Two-Bit? Maybe you could have not looked at him so hatefully. Seriously, Dale, it’s a wonder that guys want to date me at all, and you acting like that does not help me at all."

"For God's sake, Bonnie,” he said, sitting down so he could face her. “I am twenty four years old, I know it seems old to you but it isn’t. It isn’t old at all, okay?” He stood up. “Is Dad around?” he asked as searched in his pockets for something, probably a cigarette.

“He’s in the living room.”

He nodded and opened the back door, before he took out his cigarettes and lit one. Bonnie wrapped her cardigan around her and joined her brother outside.

“I should only just be thinking about settling down really,” Dale continued. “In less than two years I have gone from living with some buddies, to having a family.” He took a long drag on his cigarette and looked at the ground. “Y’know, I could deal with that, I could deal with just that.” He started to pace around the garden, his fists clenched. Bonnie quietly followed him. She could see how hard the situation was for Dale, being left holding the baby was unusual, and to him, it was probably completely messed up. I live with my folks and in between work and getting divorced, I carry you and Marty around, watching you have lives. Well, one of you at any rate.”

“Quit being mean about Marty,” she protested, looking on an old swing set.

“Hey, who said I was talking about Marty?” he said laughing and avoiding her feeble swipe. “Look, I don’t mind so much living with you guys again, it just is not what I really planned for my life. I can’t even afford to look for my own place at the moment, and I can’t live with my friends again because of Lori. It gets to me sometimes. I can still remember when I didn’t have anything like that to worry about, and I kind of miss it sometimes. I know that sounds awful too, Bonnie, so don’t say nothing.” He sighed loudly. “I’ll admit I could have been nicer to Two-Bit, but I’d just seen the lawyer, and I wasn’t in a good place, okay?”

“Apology accepted,” she said brightly, sitting on the swings. They were rusty and loud so she didn’t swing on them too much. “You can apologise to him in person on Thursday, too.”

“What?” Dale asked, confused.

“I’m going out with him on Thursday, you may apologise to him then.” Dale raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“You’re gonna let him meet Marty and me on your first date?” Dale asked curiously as he leaned against a tree.

Bonnie suddenly blushed. “No! No, I can’t do that. You’ll terrify the poor guy,” she firmly nodded her head. “No, you won’t get to see him.” She was suddenly filled with pictures of Marty and Dale interrogating Two-Bit, probably with their tattoos and muscles on show to intimidate him too. There was a slight sick feeling in her stomach.

“Won’t I now?” he teased. “We’ll just see about that.”

Dinner at Two-Bit’s house had never been a particularly formal affair. His mother nearly usually worked nights, so she would get the food ready then immediately leave for work. Plus, Peggy and him weren’t great communicators when there was food around.

He knew something was wrong though, he could see it by the way that Peggy was half heartedly eating her dinner and kept staring out of the window with a vacant expression.

“You alright, kiddo?” he asked.

She looked up and nodded at Two-Bit. He suddenly realised what had been different about Peggy earlier, she had been wearing make-up; that was why her face had looked different. Suddenly, he was faced with the fact that his little sister was interested in grown-up things like make-up and clothes. He didn’t like it; that kind of stuff only led to one logical conclusion … boys.

“I’m great, thanks,” she replied, a vacant smile on her face.

“Was it a good movie?”

“Honestly? It was pretty boring, but then Alice and I met up with her boyfriend and this boy named Patrick.”

“Yeah?” Two-Bit did not like the way this conversation was going and wished that his mother were there so she could handle it, and he could make a stealthy escape and get out of there. “He asked me out,” she said, smiling again. “We’re going to a movie on Friday.”

“How old is he?”

“Fourteen.”

“Fourteen, huh? How do you know him?” Two-Bit furrowed his brow, time was passing too quickly and he hated it.

“I told you, through Alice’s boyfriend,” she exclaimed, looking at Two-Bit as if he was stupid. “You’re not going to get all overprotective, are you?” Two-Bit shrugged.

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t,” he teased.

“You better not, Keith!” she said, using his real name --a low resort-- and smirking with satisfaction. “Or I swear I’ll make you pay.”

Two-Bit shrugged and laughed as he stood up. “As I said, we’ll see, Peggy, we’ll see,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen.