The Worst Thing

Summary: Being large and tough has it’s advantages; no one could touch you. That’s how Steve felt. And Steve never thought this would happen to him, but it did.

That morning Two-Bit came downstairs and found that Steve was sleeping silently. He must of been tired from the events of yesterday, the rusty haired greaser assumed. Two-Bit pushed some hair out of Steve’s face, only to have the boy jump out of fear and press himself against the back of the couch. Steve stared at Two-Bit for a few moments with a little fear in his eyes until he got himself calmed down. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” Two-Bit apologized. Steve shook his head, breathing hard.

“T-that’s okay...”

“Hey, we’re going to the Curtis house later, after breakfast.” Steve paled, thinking of coming face-to-face with Darry.

“Can’t I just stay here?” he pleaded. Two-Bit saw the pale state of his friend and sat next to him quickly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m... I can’t really walk,” Steve whispered, looking down.

“We’re taking my car, so that can’t be the reason.” Two-Bit stared into Steve’s eyes, trying to find the reason. “Is it Soda?” he asked earning a head shake ‘no’. “Darry?” When he saw Steve’s eyes grow, Two-Bit nodded. “Darry. Well, he wont hurt you. I know he’s rough, but I bet he won’t even touch you.”

“It’s not that. It’s... his size. That guy was as big as Darry...”

“Oh...”

“I would of gone there first, to talk to Soda, but... then an image of Darry flashed in my head and... I hate to say it, but I got scared.” Two-Bit looked at the younger greaser for a moment before patting his shoulder and giving a reassuring wink.

“Nothing’s going to happen. I promise.” Steve cocked his head, thinking, before rising to his feet with a grunt. He pressed his hands to his legs, trying to push the pain out of them.

“I’ll go get some clothes,” he said, beginning to walk to the stair case.

“Need any help?” Two-Bit offered, getting up also.

“I’m not that helpless.” Laughing to himself, Two-Bit watched his friend stumble up the stairs.

“Just holler if you need anything,” he called, getting a grunt in reply.

Two-Bit went to the kitchen and grabbed a box from the shelf to look at it. Happily grinning, he put the box on the table and went to the ice box for some milk. He’s not the best cook, but if it has instructions, he can make it pretty well. Grabbing the bowl from the same shelf, he put it next to the box and the milk. The whole box was emptied in the bowl along with half of the carton of milk, which wasn’t that much. Using a spoon, he stirred until it was a thick liquid. He pulled out a pan and put it on the stove, then turned the stove on medium.

There was a thud from upstairs, making the greaser jump a little. He quickly went to the stairs, leaned over the railing, and looked up. “Steve, you alright?”

“Y...yeah... I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“Lost my balance... I’m alright. I landed on... on something soft.”

“What did you land on?”

“My ass. It still hurts like shit too,” Steve whined.

“Need help?” Two-Bit asked.

“No... I’ll be down in a minute.”

Two-Bit returned to the kitchen and grabbed the bowl. After feeling the heat off of the pan, he poured enough of the batter to cover the entire bottom. It was only after he did so that he realized that he couldn’t flip it. That is, not with one spatula. He put the bowl down and grabbed a couple of spatulas to be able to flip it. He jammed both of them under the pancake and lifted, then flipped it over quickly. It wasn’t right on the dot, but pretty close.

Steve came in and sat at the island, rubbing a hand on his lower back. Two-Bit looked at him with a small smile. “I hope you don’t mind a giant pancake,” Two-Bit said, grinning wider. Steve shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter what size.” Two-Bit was busy grabbing a couple of plates, forks, the syrup, and butter. He returned to the stove and flipped the giant pancake onto a plate, then sat it in front of Steve along with the butter and syrup. Next, he poured another pancake onto the pan. The rusty haired greaser joined his friend at the table.

“Ya know... you have to tell the others about what happened,” Two-Bit got out quickly. Steve stopped mid-chew and stared at him.

“No way,” he whispered firmly.

“At least Sodapop. You were going to tell him first anyways.”

“Yeah, but...”

“Listen. If you don’t tell him, I will, then he’ll get all worried because you didn’t tell him and it’ll be a soap opera.”

“But...”

“Then the soap opera will spread to Pony, then Johnny, then Dally, and Dally will flip out and go kill someone.”

“I get it.” Steve looked down at the plate, then at Two-Bit. “I’ll tell him.”

“Good boy.” He watched Steve’s eyes grow, so he whipped around and saw the smoke coming from the pan. “Oh, shit.” Hopping up, Two-Bit grabbed the pan and threw it in the sink, pouring cold water on it. “And I don’t have any more batter,” he groaned. Steve was laughing a little, making Two-Bit turn to face him.

“What?” Steve asked, stopping his laughter.

“You laughed.”

“So?”

“You haven’t laughed since you came here.” Steve’s face grew hot, so he turned to face a different direction. Two-Bit smiled, saying, “No need to be embarrassed.”

“I hate you,” Steve said, grinning.

“Love ya too, Stevie.”

xXx

Steve sat in the car, staring at the Curtis house. Two-Bit was staring at him from the drivers side. He noticed his friend was a little pale, so he patted his shoulder. “Darry won’t hurt you,” he assured.

“I know,” Steve began, “but...”

“But nothin’. You’ve known him most of your life and you know better.” Two-Bit opened his door and got out, then waited for Steve to do the same. After a few moments, the black haired greaser got out, squinting from the pressure on his legs. “There ya go.”

“Go to hell.”

“Maybe later. Need help?”

“No.” Steve leaned on the car until he got around it. He followed Two-Bit up the stairs and into the house, taking the closest seat to him, the couch. It wasn’t long until Sodapop flew in and landed himself on Steve’s lap, much to his discomfort.

“Where have ya been hidin’ yourself, Steve?” he asked, hopping up.

“Two-Bit’s. I don’t want... to be around my father right now.”

“Ya know you could hide out here,” he offered.

“Well, Two-Bit’s mom and sister are out, so he has more room.” Soda looked at Two-Bit, who smiled and went to the kitchen.

“Alright then.” Soda flew back to his room, laughing. Steve heard a thud and Pony yelling at him and laughed a little. Two-Bit was staring at him from the kitchen, mouthing, “You gotta tell him” at him. Steve waved him off; Two-Bit turned around and went back to the kitchen. He came back with a beer and sat in the armchair to watch television. Steve leaned forward and held his head in his hands.

Darry came out of the bathroom and saw Steve; he looked over at Two-Bit, who was looking right back at him. The older man had a concerned look on his face. He was surprised that something like that could happen to someone like Steve. Slowly, he went over to Steve and was about to put his hand on his back. Two-Bit saw him and yelled, “Wait, Darry, don’t touch–.” but he was too late. Darry put his hand on Steve’s back, making the younger boy jump to look at him. When he noticed it was Darry, he jumped up fast enough to send a jolt of pain through him. He fell down to the floor, still looking at Darry with horror.

“Sorry Steve, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said softly, reaching down to help him up. Steve saw his hand and scooted back.

“Don’t touch me,” he said firmly, getting to his feet. He leaned on the closest wall, catching his breath. Darry reached out again, as if to apologize, but Steve’s eyes grew. “Don’t fucking touch me!” he screamed. Darry froze as Steve opened the door and walked out, using anything for support.

Two-Bit got up right as Sodapop and Pony came out of their room. Darry looked at Two-Bit, who had a stern look on his face. “He told you not to touch him, Darry.” He turned to Soda and gestured with his head to go outside. “Go talk to him.” Soda did as was told and left quickly. Ponyboy was staring at Darry and Two-Bit, until Two-Bit looked at him. “Darry and I have to talk. Mind going to your room or something?”

“Um...” Pony stuttered, “I’ll go out the back way.”

“Don’t be too long,” Darry called.

“Okay.” As soon as Pony was gone, Two-Bit looked at Darry.

“Don’t touch him. He’s afraid of you.”

“Why?”

“Because the guy who raped him was as big as you. Don’t you get it? Didn’t you see how afraid he was of you?” Two-Bit asked. Darry rubbed the back of his head.

“I didn’t mean too...”

“I know, Darry. But you can’t just go up to him like that anymore. He’s different.” Darry nodded, looking out the window at Soda and Steve, who were leaning on Two-Bit’s car.

“I hope he’s okay.”

Next chapter: The Break-Down Pt. 2
Thanks for all of the reviews
Review!
Oh, and about the name change: I have switched companies; from Charlie Sheen to Patrick Swayze XD. Actually, no. As most of y'all know, Patrick Swayze(who played Darrel Curtis in The Outsiders moviein case y'all didn't know) has a serious type of cancer and has about 2 or 3 weeks to live, so they say. All my support is to him. He is actually reacting to the treatment well and may be one of the 4 to live to 5 years. Just in case y'all were wondering. Support him too!