literature

Tears into Wine - Chapter 5

Deviation Actions

Zayhad's avatar
By
Published:
1.5K Views

Literature Text

Fandom: The Outsiders
Pairing: Johnny/Soda
Genre: Romance, Angst, Drama
Rating: NC-17 (overall)
Disclaimer: Characters and world belong to S.E. Hinton
Authors: Zayhad & M3535.


Chapter 5 - "Seems like You Got as Much Luck with Boys as with Girls.”

The ambulance arrived and picked up Johnny and Ponyboy. Before Dally and Two-Bit were put in the police car to be taken down to the station they were asked for the phone number for the boys' parents so they could be informed. Two-Bit gave them the number for both Darry's work and the DX.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Darry was working on the new roof of one of the middleclass houses as he was called down by his boss. He found that very weird because that never happened. He was a bit afraid that he might get fired for some reason.

"The police called," his boss said. "Your brother is in the hospital with some other kid named Johnny or something... I told them you would be right there."

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Soda?" Steve said. "There’s a telephone call for ya. They asked for a relative of Ponyboy..." Steve handed Soda the phone.

Soda clutched the phone so hard his knuckles turned white. "What do you mean injured? What happened? How is he?"

Steve was standing behind him, trying to get his ear as close to the receiver as possible. Soda hung up and turned to him, white in the face.

"It's Pony and Johnny... they went to the school and got beat up. They think Two-Bit did it..."

"What?" Steve's face had confusion written all over it. "Why the hell would they think Two-Bit would beat them up? And why the hell where they even at school!"

Darry pulled up beside the DX and yelled for Soda. Soda stuck his head out and Darry ordered him to get in the car.

Steve agreed grudgingly to stay behind and look after the DX again. "Make sure to clear Two-Bit, will ya, Superman?"

Darry just nodded and sped off to the hospital.

o0o0o0o0o0o

They arrived at the hospital and asked for Ponyboy and Johnny. The nurse agreed to take them to Pony. Johnny was not family but she had called his parents, she assured them.

To Soda's immense relief Ponyboy was awake. He was lying in the bed propped up on a big pillow. He had a bandage around his head and a large abrasion running from his temple to his chin.

"Hey," he grinned when he saw them. "What are you guys doing here?"

Darry and Soda exchanged perplexed glances.

"Pony... what happened? Are you okay?" asked Soda as he sat down next to Ponyboy and put his hand on his unbruised cheek.

"Yeah. It's alright here. They took pictures of me," Pony said, as if something very exciting had happened to him.

"Pictures? Who took pictures? The policemen?"

"The hospitalmen," giggled Pony.

Sodapop turned his head to send Darry a worried look.

"What the hell were you doing at the school, Pony? I told you to stay home until this was outta the way. Now look what happened!"

Darry walked over to the window and looked outside. Why didn't Pony ever listen to him? Now both kids were in the hospital and Two-Bit and Dally in jail.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Johnny opened his eyes as the door opened. To his horror he saw his mother come in. She thanked the nurse and actually seemed nice, but as soon as the door closed she slapped Johnny without hesitation.

"What the hell are you doing here, you good-for-nothing brat!" she hissed. "Like we don't have enough problems - you gotta get yourself in trouble and end up in the damn hospital! We can't afford that! And you know it!"

Her voice was loud and clear - easy to hear at least a few rooms down.

"We were right about you. You're nothing but trouble!"

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Darry!" scolded Soda. "That doesn't matter right now! Can't you see it's really bad? He's all... I think he really hit his head."

Pony's strange behavior was worrying Soda more than anything. He had that stupid grin on his face and his eyes were strangely unfocused.

Darry turned and looked at his youngest brother again. He could see what Soda meant. "I'm gonna go talk to a doctor… hear what he has to say."

A nurse entered the room. "Hello, Ponyboy. How are you?" she said with a soft smile.

Pony just smiled back and nodded a little.

"What’s wrong with him?" Darry asked.

"You have to ask the doctor about that," she replied. "But I need to take a few blood samples. Do you mind waiting outside? So he doesn’t get distracted."

Darry nodded and dragged Soda with him.

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Now you get your ass outta this hospital or I‘ll make sure you get a good reason to stay here!" Mrs. Cade yelled.

"Just go..." Johnny said, trying to act like he didn't care.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

o0o0o0o0o0o

As Soda and Darry exited Ponyboy's room they heard yelling from a few rooms down the hall. A nurse rushed in there and the yelling got louder. Soda and Darry looked at each other and followed the nurse.

She was arguing loudly with Johnny's mother, trying to get her to leave.

"He's my son and I'm taking him with me! He doesn't need some fancy hospital to get over a few bruises!"

"You need to leave NOW!" said the nurse. "Or I'm calling security!"

Darry and Soda stopped in the doorway as they spotted Johnny's mother.

Johnny was sitting in bed. He didn't react at all to the yelling and his eyes just looked empty.

The nurse left the room to get security but as Mrs. Cade went back toward the bed, Darry grabbed her by the wrist.

"I think you were leaving." he said.

"I’m not leaving!" she spat at Darry and tried to make him let go, but he had a firm grip and started to drag her out.

"You’ll pay for this!"

"Yeah well, sue me then!" Darry said and dragged her out. He’d had enough trouble for one day.

A security guard had arrived when Darry exited Johnny's room with his mom in tow. He took over and escorted her out of the ward.

A doctor had arrived when Sodapop and Darry came back to Ponyboy's room and they started bombarding him with questions.

"Your brother has a broken rib and a small concussion."

"But he's... all weird," said Soda. "Are you sure there's nothing worse wrong with his head?"

"No, no - that's just the painkiller he's been given. Some people react stronger to the drugs than others."

Darry and Soda visibly relaxed.

"Does he need surgery?"

"No. He just needs to rest for a few weeks."

"I run track," said Ponyboy.

"Not the next few weeks, you don't," said the doctor.

"I'm gonna," Pony whispered to his brothers - so loud that the doctor could easily hear him as well.

"I guarantee that you won't. Once the drugs wear off you'll find out why."

"What about Johnny?" asked Soda, worried. "The other kid."

The doctor looked from one to the other and then sighed. "Well, he has a concussion and a few cuts and bruises. He didn't break anything, luckily, but he’s very emotionally affected."

Soda and Darry looked at each other. That wasn’t really a surprise.

"He’s a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, he's like family," Darry said as he returned his gaze to the doctor. "His parents ain't exactly picture perfect.”

The doctor nodded. "Yes, I understand there were some problems with his mother earlier.”

"Would it be okay if we check on him as well? We weren’t allowed when we got here."

The doctor looked at them pensively for a minute. "Well, under the circumstances I think we can make an exception and let you see him. Those parents of his... is there any physical abuse involved?"

Darry wasn’t sure what to say to this. If he said yes then maybe the doctor would get the social services to look into things. He decided on: "Not that I know off… But they don't have a great relationship."

The doctor looked at him skeptically. "He has bruises that are too old to be from today. Did he get those at home? Remember that as a doctor I am bound by professional secrecy."

"Look... why don't you talk to him yourself," Darry said. He could feel Soda’s eyes burn into his neck. He didn't really want them to talk to Johnny about his home life but he didn't want to say something he might regret, either.

Johnny sat in bed. They had left him alone since his mom had been there but that only left him with a lot of thoughts. Mostly he was worried about Ponyboy. He had woken up in the ambulance but he didn’t look too good. Johnny decided to go see for himself how he was doing. He got out of bed and walked to the door. Standing up had made him dizzy and he had to stop for a minute to compose himself. Still feeling weak, he continued.

Soda spotted Johnny when he came staggering out into the corridor.

"Johnny!" he exclaimed and hurried over to support the swaying boy. "What are you doing out of bed?"

The doctor and Darry turned around. "Get him back inside!" said the doctor and waved a nurse over.

The nurse took over and Soda marched back up to the doctor and blurted out: "Look - you gotta let us take him home with us! It isn’t safe for him to go home to his parents like this!"

The doctor rubbed his temples and then nodded.

"Fine... You can take both boys home. You just have to sign some papers. And if anything happens with either of them you bring them straight back."

o0o0o0o0o0o

When the papers were signed Darry drove down to the police station.

Dally and Two-Bit were waiting in a cell at the station. Two-Bit had used his phone call to call the hospital for news, but since he wasn't family they wouldn’t tell him anything. Dally hadn't bothered using his call because they both knew the other three would already be informed and that they would take action as soon as possible. They had made quite a ruckus, though, pestering the officers for information about Pony and Johnny. Dally had been so abusive in his language that they had made a note to add disrespect to his charges (kneeing the security guard in the stomach and resisting arrest).

When Darry walked into the police station Two-Bit was hanging on the bars and shaking them dramatically.

"Darry! Get me outta here, will ya? I didn't do it! Well - I didn't do this one…"

Darry just sent him a look and turned his attention to the nearest officer.

"Hello. My name is Darrel Curtis. I’m here to get Keith Matthews. And Dallas Winston, if possible."

"Aww, man, Darry? Don't use that name!" Two-Bit complained.

"Well they don't exactly know you as Two-Bit, do they?" Darry said.

o0o0o0o0o0o

As soon as Steve's shift was over he picked up Soda, Pony and Johnny at the hospital and took them home to the Curtis house.

On the ride home Steve looked in the rearview mirror at Soda. He had both younger boys leaning on each shoulder.

"Seems like you got as much luck with boys as with girls, huh Soda?" he teased.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Darry managed to convince the police that Two-Bit had been fighting off the boys' attacker. Both because Darry looked less like a hood and because he seemed more like a responsible adult than the others. The officers also found it highly doubtful that he would defend a friend who had hurt his little brother that badly.

"And you said his name was...?" asked the officer and looked up from his typewriter where he was writing a report.

"Andy Smith. He's in my brother's year in school. Older though. I think he's been held back a couple of years..."

The officer nodded and asked his colleague to let out Two-Bit.

"What about Dallas?"

"He's staying for a couple of days at least. Charged with assault and verbal abuse. It's not like we're surprised. He's a regular here."

"I'll send an officer over to have a chat with Mr. Smith," said the policeman at the typewriter.

"Have a chat?" spat Dallas. "Is that it? He should be put away for good! Or have his kneecaps shot off."

"Thank you, Winston - when I want your legal advice I'll ask you. Until then keep your mouth shut!"

The officer turned his attention back to Darry. "We’ll need testimony from the boys once they're up for it. Are they still in the hospital?"

"They're being taken to our house."

"Alright. We'll probably send someone by tomorrow."

Darry nodded and turned to Dallas. "Dally – please don't make any more problems while you’re here, so you can come home soon."

o0o0o0o0o0o

Darry and Two-Bit found Soda and Steve in the living room.

"Where’s Pony and Johnny?"

"Sleeping. Johnny's in my bed," said Soda and smacked Steve when he sniggered.

Darry said that they should let the kids sleep as long as they could and be careful not to disturb them.

"Hey, Two-Bit!" said Soda "Where do you think you're going? Leave them alone - they need to sleep!"

"I wanna make sure they‘re okay!" Two-Bit said as he busted into Ponyboy's room. "Hey, kid! I missed ya! Man, you scared the shit outta me!" He gave Pony a hug and then left for Soda’s room.

Before any of the others could stop him he kicked the door in.

"Johnny!!!"

Johnny sat up so fast he almost fell out of bed.

"Kid! How are ya?" Two-Bit said as he jumped onto the bed.

"Two-Bit, God dammit!" Darry yelled.

"Hey, Soda. Two-Bit’s hugging your boyfriend," Steve laughed.

"TWO-BIT!" yelled Soda angrily. "You're scaring the hell out of him! He's just been attacked twice in the last two days! And it ain’t like he had the steadiest nerves before! What were you thinking?"

It was rare for Soda to get mad so Two-Bit stared at him open-mouthed for a second before throwing his hands up in surrender and retreating theatrically.

Darry grabbed Two-Bit by his collar and dragged him out of the room.

"Let's go see how much damage you did to Pony!"

"Hey, take it easy," said Soda as he sat down on the bed next to Johnny, who was still shaking slightly from the shock. "Just relax, okay? Two-Bit’s the most dangerous person that can get to you here, so you're safe, okay?"

Johnny took a few deep breaths to settle his nerves. He had his arms wrapped around himself but let them drop as he finally relaxed. His left hand landed on one of Soda's.

Steve studied Soda and Johnny for a moment and then decided to go into the living room. Soda had it covered. He was the one who was best at these sorts of things, anyway.

"It's gonna be alright," said Soda and put a gentle hand on Johnny's shoulder. "You're gonna stay here until you're well again, okay?"

Johnny opened his mouth to say something - no doubt about not wanting to be any trouble - but Soda cut him off.

"You ain’t gonna be a burden. Think of it as looking after Pony, if that makes you feel better. There's no way Darry’ll let him stay here alone until this situation is resolved. You'll actually be doing us a favor. Otherwise, Darry or me would have to take time off work."

Johnny dropped his head a little. "Okay..."

That was indeed true. He could look after Pony and that would help both Soda and Darry. His hand was still on Soda's and without thinking about it he let his fingers slip around it. He suddenly realized what he was doing and removed his hand with a jerk. He looked up at Soda who was still watching him.

"S-sorry!"

Soda chuckled at how easily embarrassed the kid got. "Sorry for what?" he said and gave Johnny's shoulder a little squeeze before letting it go.

Soda watched him closely for a minute. Johnny really was a sweet kid. Not just personality-wise. He was kind of pretty, too. Not guy-handsome, but... pretty. He had those big dark eyes and thick eyelashes. And Soda had always though the way his hair always flopped into his eyes suited him real nice - even though Johnny hated it. If he were a girl he sure would be cute, Soda thought. He suddenly realized how uncomfortable he was making Johnny by looking at him like this. The boy was staring very hard at his hands and blushing as furiously as his dark skin allowed.

Soda smiled and got up. "Get some more sleep, all right? I'll make sure Two-Bit doesn't bother you again. We'll put him on a leash or something."

Johnny couldn't help but chuckle at Soda's remark and nodded. Soda always made him feel better and safer. Johnny looked up at him and sent him a soft smile. One of his rare real ones.

Sodapop sure was good looking. And charming. The kind of guy that everyone loved. He could get anyone he wanted, Johnny thought. He just had to snap his fingers and girls would drop at his feet.

It wasn’t like that for Johnny at all. No one dropped at his feet. The only girl that had ever made a move on him was Silvia and that was probably because she saw him as an easy target. At least that's what Steve had said. Or something like that.

Johnny wondered if Silvia had ever made a move on Soda. He hoped she hadn’t. He wasn’t sure why but he didn’t like thinking about that – or all the other girls who bothered Soda constantly.

oOooOo

To be continued...
A/N: We announced earlier that we were planning to post about twice a week - but that just turns out to be more than we can manage, so about once a week will be the plan from now on :)

First Chapter: [link]

Previous chapter: [link]

Next Chapter: [link]

Art for this Chapter: [link]
© 2013 - 2024 Zayhad
Comments3
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
PoltergeistForever's avatar
this one I realy like keep up the work