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the-aussie-fangirl · 4 years

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Rough All Over: Chapter 1

The Outsiders x OC

Summary: The Curtis gang lives on the rough side of town. Their lives consist of abusive parents, violent gangs and trouble around every corner but even through all the hardships, they can always call on each other. However, when a new girl shows up to town with a mysterious past, things start to take a turn. Will the boys manage to stick together, even when everything’s trying to tear them apart?

Warnings: none in this chapter I don’t think...

(a/n: Hi everyone! This is the first chapter of a series that I’ve been planning for a while. I’m not quite sure how long it will be yet but feedback is always appreciated! Let me know if you would like to be tagged 😊)

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She arrived on a Saturday night. It was late autumn and a cool breeze was blowing through the town of Tulsa. She pulled her coat tighter around her as she walked, her footsteps echoing off the pavement. A few drunken men whistled at her from the alleyways as she walked by but she ignored them. This was definitely the rougher side of town.

She was relieved to see the gas station appear in her line of sight and she picked up her pace towards it. A bell rang when she entered, alerting the cashier of her arrival. She quickly looked around for what she needed and hurried to the register.

Placing the coke bottle and cigarettes on the counter, she looked up at the man working there. It was the first time she’d really taken in his appearance since she’d arrived in the shop and she noted how attractive he was.

“Hey, what can I do for you?” his voice was soft and kind and he flashed her a movie star smile as he glanced at her over the cash register.

“Just these, thanks.” she muttered, tapping her fingers on the counter impatiently.

He looked at her questioningly as he held up the packet of cigarettes.

She sighed. “They aren’t for me.” her hand moved to brush a strand of hair behind her ear and she glanced up into his beautiful brown irises. “They’re for my mum”.

He nodded, seemingly lost in thought. She handed him her money and turned to leave but before she could, the attractive cashier’s silky voice reached her ears again.

“Why haven’t I seen you around before?”

She turned back towards him, flashing him a small smile. “I just moved here from Chicago” she said and he couldn’t quite tell if she sounded excited or upset. “Just today actually”.

“Well, welcome to Tulsa” he said cheerily, offering her his hand to shake. “I’m Sodapop, and before you ask, yes that is my real name”.

She chuckled, shaking Soda's hand. “I’m Dawn, nice to meet you”.

His eyes glanced over her for a moment before he sent her a curious look.

“You ain’t from around these parts, are you?”

Letting out a huff, she sent him a smirk. “What gave me away?”

“Maybe it was the nice clothes, the fancy coat, could’ve been the shoes” he joked.

“I actually just moved to the West side” she muttered. “My mum sent me down here to get her some cancer sticks”. She held up the small box before placing it snuggly into her pocket.

“You shouldn't be walking around here on your own this late, you know? It ain’t safe.”

Her gaze turned cold. “I can handle myself, thank you very much”.

She turned to leave but Soda grabbed her wrist.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. The socs like to jump people on this side of town”.

She glanced up at him, eyebrows raised. “The socs?”

“Yeah”. He scratched the back of his neck. “They’re a group of kids from the West Side. They don’t like us Greasers, think we’re scum. They’ve jumped some of my buddies in the past. Roughed them up real good”.

“I’m sorry to hear that” she sighed. Soda could see emotion glimmering in her eyes as she stared down at the floor but couldn’t quite place what it was. Before he had the chance to ask her, however, her eyes shifted up to the clock on the side wall.

“I best head home, my mom will start to worry.”

“Ok, be safe” Soda shot her one last smile before she grabbed her things and headed towards the exit.

Just as she reached the door she hesitated and turned to look at him.

“Will I be seeing you at school on Monday?”

“No, sorry. I’m a dropout”

“That’s a shame. It would’ve been nice to know someone”.

And with that she was gone and Soda was left alone with his thoughts.

Soda’s shift ended at nine thirty and the walk home was a long one. Darry had injured his back while trying to carry two bundles of roofing last week and as a result, Soda had picked up a few extra shifts at the DX to make up the cost.

He found his mind wandering as he walked and he couldn’t help but think about the girl he’d met earlier that night.

She was mysterious to say the least, beautiful too. She had long dark hair that fell in soft waves down her shoulders and sparkling emerald eyes. Her skin was fair and her lips were full and red. If Soda hadn’t been so in love with Sandy, he would’ve definitely asked her out for a drink at the Dingo.

He continued walking as he thought about her, all alone at night on the east side of town. He wondered if she had made it home safely. He hoped to god that none of the Shepard’s gang spotted her. A beautiful, dolled up thing like her would be a field day for them. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought and he tried to think of something else. What brought her here so suddenly from Chicago? She seemed to have a bit of money, why would a family like hers decide to come to Tulsa of all places? She was definitely a soc, he could see it in the way she dressed but she wasn’t like other soc girls he’d met. She hadn’t tried to throw herself on him like most of them do but she hadn’t been snobby or standoffish towards him either.

Sodapop was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t even realised that he’d arrived home. Opening up the door, he heard the sounds of his two brothers arguing, just as they always did. He sighed, moving cautiously towards them.

“It’s just a C Darry, it’s not even like I failed!” Ponyboy yelled.

“You are the only one of us who has any chance of getting out of this town, Pony. But you won’t get anywhere if you don’t start working harder”. Darry responded and Soda could practically see the steam bursting from his older brother’s ears.

“Alright boys. That’s enough” Soda intervened, once again. “If ya’ll don’t quiet down the neighbours might just call the fuzz”.

Ponyboy huffed, throwing himself down onto the couch with his arms crossed. Soda glanced at Darry who was running a hand over his face, clearly exhausted from the events that had played out before Soda had gotten home.

“Hey Pony, why don’t you get ready for bed?” Soda suggested. “I’ll help Darry tidy up a bit and then I’ll head to sleep as well.”

“Fine” Pony sighed in annoyance as he moved towards the bathroom to take a shower.

As Darry and Soda began to stack the dishes in the sink, his mind wandered back to the girl he’d met at the DX. Who was she? He wondered. And what was she doing in Tulsa?

#The Outsiders #the outsiders fanfiction #the outsiders x oc #Johnny Cade #Sodapop Curtis #Steve Randle #darry curtis #Ponyboy Curtis #twobit mathews #Dallas Winston #Tim Shepard #angela shepard #curly shepard #the outsiders imagine #the outsiders movie #the outsiders book

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mocurlyshepard · 5 years

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My Girl 2 | Curly Shepard

It had been about two months since Curly and Jimmy confronted each other and almost fought in front of what seemed like the whole Shepard Gang. It was extremely difficult for the two to avoid each other, being that they belonged to the same gang, so they saw each other as less as they could. You could see from afar that it was obvious both were suffering from both guilt and an unhealthy amount of anger. He hadn't been completely the same which was understood by her, she wouldn't be feeling too hot if it were her best friend crushing on him.

After a while Curly seemed to loosen up and tried to ignore the fact that him and Jimmy were at each other's neck with a broken friendship. He had been spending time focusing on building a new friendship with other members of the gang. So far, he had taken a liking to Ed. For some odd reason, Curly was drawn to people who were open with their intelligence. It was some sort of strange admiration.

"Are we gonna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Curly asked as he smoked what seemed to be is third or fourth cigarette.

She rolled her eyes at his indifferent tone and leaned over to grab the pack of cigarettes out his lap.

"About the fact that we saw Jimmy a few minutes ago." She points out.

Curly let's out a chuckle and it's obvious he's doing it make it seem like he isn't angry or hurt from the encounter. "He was pretty much eyefucking you from where he stood."

She tries to hold in a laugh from Curly's jealousy but just a glance from his turned up face sends her into a fit of giggles. Curly dramatically huffs and begins to shuffle down the street with his hands in his pockets.

"Aw, baby, come on." She laughs, getting up and jogging to match his speed. "Relax."

"I'm fine." he replies dryly, still walking but with no specific place in mind.

"I think you should talk to 'em." She blurts out which makes Curly look twice.

He hadn't thought about talking to Jimmy because most of the time he was thinking about punching his face. He thought he'd feel relieved after that, despite the fact that Tim told him he should just let it go because bad blood between the two of them would cause more harm than anything. Curly wasn't one to listen to Tims advice, not the first time at least.

"You think I should talk to him? Why? You fancy him or something?" he teases.

He flinched slightly once she punched him in the arm from the comment and then let out a laugh before slugging an arm around her.

"I don't wanna talk to him 'cus I'm still mad at him."

"Its been two months." She groans in annoyance.

She never wouldve thought that two best friends could be so petty. It was a sight to see.

"Well. The only reason why we haven't had it out yet is because of you, so,"

"How admirable." She says with a smile. Curly laughs slightly before leaning over and popping a kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah babe. You don't have to tell me what I already know."

Much to Curly's dismay, he had found himself talking to Jimmy much sooner than he intended and if he was being honest he wasn't anywhere near ready. He already had a sour feeling when he woke up that morning that just wouldn't shake no matter how many times he pulled on his cross necklace. It had been the day he had a job, nothing too interesting, just negotiating and pretty much being Tims cheerleader. After he had gotten back home to check the messages, he could barely read through Angelas messy script, saying that it was urgent and he should probably call y/n.

He did but her father answered, not too thrilled to be speaking to his daughters teenage convict boyfriend but nonetheless still notified and answered him. She went to school and fell out with pains in her stomach early before 12, thankfully, Jimmy had been close enough to take her to the nurse and take her home. Where she was resting now.

"I'm fine." She said once she saw him.

She looked tired, her pink blanket had been pulled up to her chin and her eyes occasionally closed. "I took too many aspirins and I didn't eat."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." He says with a genuine guilt.

She smiles lightly before squeezing his hand. "You wouldn't of known. Don't worry about it, handsome."

"You don't know how difficult it is being the attractive one in this relationship." Curly sighed before looking over and winking.

He left before 7 when her eyes began fluttering and her speech was getting slurred from being tired. He promised he'd see her the next day. He went to the diner to eat something, hoping to run into Angela or Tim but instead running into Jimmy. Surprisingly, the anger had subsided. He was still mad, however, he didn't feel like pushing him out a moving car. He was actually grateful.

"Can we talk?" Curly asked.

Jimmy nodded and they stepped outside, striking cigarettes and awkwardly standing in silence. It was a strange feeling standing next to him, they had once gotten in trouble because they couldn't stop talking to each other and now they were like two strangers.

"I'm sorry." Jimmy said, he looked to the ground before looking up at Curly. "I didn't want this to happen between us. Guess there's nothing I can really say."

Curly shuffled his feet awkwardly as Tims advice flowed through his head. Just let it go. "I ain't saying it's okay. I guess we would've been able to get over it if you hadn't lied but. I can't forgive you."

"Yeah. I knew you wouldn't be able to." Jimmy sighed.

Curly felt sick. Like he could double over and hurl in the trashcan at any moment. It felt like the worst thing in the world, ending something that meant so much to you. But knowing it had to be done. It was bittersweet.

"I thought about it but... You know we never kept anything from each other and this whole time you had loved her. I wouldn't of expected it from you, Jim."

Jimmy nodded and looked at his feet. "Just know I'm sorry." he said quietly, beginning to walk off.

"But Jim?" Curly called out quickly.

Jimmys back was turned and he figured it was easier to say what he needed to say. He might not have been able to do it if he looked at him.

"Thanks for looking out for her."

Jimmy didn't move for a few moments, but after a while he nodded slightly and smiled back at Curly before going off in a random direction. Curly stubbed his cigarette out and looked up towards the sky. What a crappy feeling, losing your best friend.

---

To the anon who suggested the reader to get jumped, I'm sorry I didn't do it that way but I just had difficulty with it because I don't think guys would be the one to do it and as for females, I think reader was respected for the most part. I hope this was okay :) I couldn't see Jimmy and Curly reconnecting because trust is significant with Curly, knowing this Jimmy still continued to break it. I ran it through a few scenarios and this one worked best!

@staygoldponebone @imsuch-a-cliche @mushrooms-iscat @shamlesscinnamonroll @alphakelsey @leeb10111 @darrycurtisappreciation @ineedmorespaceee @friedturtlemongerthing @chibs-draws @onestrangehufflepuff @praisetheoutsiders @moviesandcocoa @unique05sstuff @steveandsoda @aph-potatoqueen

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chaotically-cas · 3 years

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The Gang x my personal face claims through this picrew & rating them

Tim Shepard: 6/10

Johnny Cade: 5/10

Dallas Winston: 8/10

Two Bit Matthews: 7/10

Curly Shepard: 7/10

Steve Randle: 8/10 cause no hair options

Darrel Curtis: 4/10

Sodapop Curtis: 20/10

Ponyboy Curtis: 3/10

Apollo Shepard (oc): 10/10

#the outsiders #the outsiders headcanons

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 39

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: I...I’m sorry about this.

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 39 - Shot

They weren’t the first at the lot, but Rae was the first of her outfit to show. The Shepard and Brumly boys integrated with each other, and she sat on the hood of an abandoned car as she waited. When the sun had gone down, a familiar face tackled her to the ground.

“Rae!” Carrie screamed, a huge, toothy smile on her face. Her blonde friend sat up and helped her up from the dirt. “Tim said he was gonna bring ya! I didn’t believe him, but here ya are!” She looked Carrie up and down, dressed similarly to herself, long hair pulled back. The other girl crushed her in a hug.

“Jesus, Carrie,” Rae groaned. “Have you been workin’ out or somethin’?”

“Oh, sorry,” she giggled and let go. “Tim’s been continuin’ the training Dally gave us. Guess I grew some muscle, huh?” They both took a seat back on the car, leaning into each other, whispering quietly between them. Tim joined them after a while. There was a rumble in the distance.

"Sounds like a storm," he observed and took a deep breath. “Smells like it, too.”

"They're here," one of the other boys called, and pointed to the line of boys approaching in the darkness. Rae couldn't help but smile as she slid off the hood. Tim left them to go greet the newly arrived Curtis outfit. She leaned down to Carrie’s ear.

“Do you know if Dally’ll be here?”

“I doubt it,” she answered, her voice low. “When we went to the hospital, he said he hated missin’ it, but he’s so volatile, right? Who knows.”

Rae watched as Sodapop pushed past his oldest brother and Tim, eyes shining in the light of the bonfire. He was the first one to notice she was there. When he confirmed it was, in fact, her, he hopped over the rubber tire sitting in the overgrown grass and latched on to her, almost as tightly as Carrie had.

"How’ve ya been, kiddo?" he asked as she wrapped her arms around his back. God, had she missed him. Missed them all.

"It’s been hell without you guys," she answered as he released her and held her at arm's length, looking her up and down.

“You’re so thin,” Steve interjected, walking up next to his best friend, followed by Two-Bit on Soda’s other side. “Are they not feedin’ you over there or somethin’?”

“We’ll talk about that later, okay?”

“Is it okay that you’re here?”

“Prob’ly not, Keith, but I’m here nonetheless.”

Before anything else could be said, she was lifted and enveloped by Darry Curtis and his large muscles.

“It’s good to see ya, kid,” he whispered into her hair. “You’ve been sorely missed.” He dropped her back to the ground and looked down at her, sternly. “But you’d better be careful.”

"I know. But I had to be here for this. For Johnny." She took another look around. Ponyboy fidgeted beside his big brother at the sound of their injured friend’s name. “You okay, Pone? You look pale.”

He looked up from his sweatshirt zipper but, before he could answer, there were a series of loud horns blaring from down the street. The Socs were arriving. The greasers started forming up. Carrie came up next to her, cracking her knuckles. Rae looked at her and both nodded at each other. She heard Darry and Ponyboy mumbling further down.

"You stay close to me, kid," the oldest Curtis brother ordered the youngest. Lightning flashed in their eyes, followed by an earth-shaking growl of thunder. She looked up at the sky for a moment before focusing on what was happening ahead of her.

Darry approached an older boy in a letterman jacket- the leader the Socs had brought with them. They exchanged some words, but all she could focus on was her brother’s voice filtering in from behind the greaser line.

"You know a rumble ain't a rumble without me!" Before she could turn her head and look at Dally, the first punch was thrown and the rain started to beat down on them. She watched as Ponyboy went down, hard as a rock, but as she went to help him, she was tackled by someone else.

When she’d gotten back up and balanced, the rain was so thick, Rae could barely see two feet in front of her, but was able to clothesline a Soc coming right for her. He dropped into the mud on his back and she kicked him in the face.

"Nice try," she smirked, watching the rain wash away the blood running from his nose. “How’s it feel to be beaten by a girl?”

She was too slow, though, when she heard movement behind her. She was pushed off the kid under her by a hard punch to the cheek, and fell backwards. The wet earth seeped into her pants.

"Slick, grease," the Soc said as he leaned down to pick her up by the shirt. He lifted her off the ground and his hand pulled back to punch her in the face, but someone else bulldozed him. She fell back into the mud. Rae turned her head to see her brother, but he hadn't noticed that he’d just saved her.

“Dally!” she yelled for him, trying to get his attention. “Dally!” But, he didn’t hear. Between the rain and the yelling, he couldn’t hear her calling for him. She went to stand up and make her way over to him, but suddenly, a Soc ran past her. And another. She paused to watch them retreat.

"Well, that was fast," she mumbled and gingerly touched her cheekbone. She pulled her hand away when her face felt wet and wiped her muddy hands on her already soiled jeans. Someone behind her roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her after him. She looked up to see Steve.

"Time to get outta here before the fuzz get here," he said. Rae nodded. When they passed Tim, he nodded his understanding and she went to catch up with her gang, peering around the lot for her brother. He’d disappeared.

"Where’s Dally gone now?” she asked, frustrated. Two-Bit patted her on the back.

"He’ll show his face sooner or later," he answered her. She sighed, but nodded.

"Hey, Pony's gone too," Darry said, looking around at each of them.

“I’m sure he’ll catch up. Maybe they went to tell Johnny the news,” Soda offered, and they all trudged their tired bodies back to the Curtis house.

A few minutes later, Rae stood in front of the freezer, filling a dishrag full of ice. She twisted it off and pressed it to her face, then walked back into the living room. The boys were tending to their own injuries. Two-Bit turned on the television for some background noise, then sat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"It makes you look different," Soda said to his best friend, who was running his tongue over his newly broken tooth.

Things went quiet for a while, everyone mentally recovering. The boys started relaxing, settling in to watch some late-night TV.

But not Rae. She couldn’t sit still. The uneasy, bad feeling that had been sitting in the pit of her stomach for a month was becoming overwhelming. She had constant chills running down her spine, and her stomach wouldn’t calm. She sat criss-cross on the floor, leaning against the coffee table, foot constantly tapping the wood under her. The bad feeling that had been slowly getting worse over the last month was at its peak.

"Ponyboy!" Soda exclaimed as the screen door creaked open. Rae sat up straight and turned to see him. He looked terrible. Bruises everywhere and a split lip. A trail of tears ran down his face amid the blood and dirt.

But no Dally.

“Pony?” Darry asked, standing from his armchair, sensing the wrongness in the air.

His next words made everyone in the room freeze.

"Johnny's dead.” He paused and swallowed. “I don't know, he just died. Told me to ‘stay gold.’” Another pause.

J-Johnny..? Her mouth dropped open. When...when had she seen him last? What...what had been the last thing she’d said to him?

“Dally's gone. He couldn't take it. He's gonna blow." The entire room went completely silent except for the TV in the background.

"We-we have to find him," Rae said, her voice shaky. She went to stand up, but the phone rang, loudly, and she jumped from the sound. Steve picked it up.

"Hello?" He waited for a few seconds. "No, it's Steve." Another pause. "Yeah, sure." He held the phone out to Darry, his eyes suddenly haunted. The older boy took the phone and held it up to his ear.

"Dally?" he asked. "We know." Rae could hear some muffled noise coming from the receiver. “Of course. We got R-” He hung up the phone with a sigh and turned to his friends. "That was Dally. He's in trouble. We gotta hide him.” He looked her square in the eyes, knowingly. “He hung up before I could tell him. He doesn’t know.”

“Where?”

“The park.”

Rae was the first one out the door, running ahead while the other boys were still pulling their shoes on. She took off down the street, closely followed by the rest of her gang. When they reached the park, they found Dally standing on top of the hill, cops surrounding him. There was a gun in his hand. And suddenly she knew why she’d had a bad feeling for so long.

“You’re never gonna get me alive!” her brother taunted the cops, aiming a heater at them.

“It’s not loaded!” Ponyboy yelled. The others followed suit, but she slowed to a stop, a loud ringing overtaking her head.

"No…," she whispered to herself, watching him closely, willing him to turn his head. "Look at me. Please, look at me." But he didn't. And she knew he wouldn’t. He had no idea she was there.

And then, the gunshots rang out.

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days Masterlist - COMPLETE

Those Hard Days

Other fics: Masterlist

Type: Sisterfic

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: I originally wrote this fic when I was in high school. It has been around for a good decade but needed a major face-lift (it was pretty cringey). I have worked hard to make this fic seem more realistic (if theres something that doesn’t seem right, please tell me, I want to make it right) and the characters more, well, in character. I truly hope you all enjoy it. The story is…very different now than it was ten years ago xD As a fair warning, it’s 30 some chapters, so be prepared. Chapter list and other information under cut.

Major Characters: Rae Winston (OC), Dallas Winston, Two-Bit Mathews, Curly Shepard, Carrie Merril (OC)

Relationships: Curly Shepard/OC, Tim Shepard/OC, Steve Randle/Evie, Dallas Winston/Sylvia (mentioned)

Point-of-view: Prologue/Midpoint/Epilogue 1st Person, Chapters 3rd Person

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Character Profiles:

Rae Lee Winston Carrie Merrill

One-shots:

Kiss Me - Rae Winston x Curly Shepard, 5 years later Tattoo - Rae Winston x Curly Shepard, 1 year after the end of the story

Chapter List:

Prologue Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 - Part II Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Epilogue I Epilogue II

#rae winston #the outsiders #outsiders #dallas winston #dally winston #ponyboy curtis #sodapop curtis #darry curtis #two-bit mathews #steve randle #johnny cade #the outsiders fanfiction #curly shepard #curly shepard x oc #Tim Shepard #stay gold ponyboy #stay gold #those hard days

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eliniei · 5 years

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Kiss Me - Curly x OC

So, I wanted to do a one shot with Curly Shepard x Rae Winston (my OC). This takes place around five years after the story of Those Hard Days. I chose 3 prompts from one of the lists I posted.

Outsiders Masterlist: here

Those Hard Days Masterlist: here

Prompts: “Relax–it’s just me! I ain’t an axe murderer, I promise!”, “We may be soulmates, but that does not mean you can just waltz in here like you own the place! I could have been naked, or somethin’!”, & “Shut up and kiss me, you idiot.”

—-

Rae stood in the bedroom of her apartment after a nice, long shower, and pulled a camisole on over her head. She slipped into a pair of pajama shorts, then gathered her wet towels and tossed them into the hamper she kept in the corner by her bed.

She went back to the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed. After she’d brushed her teeth and started combing out her hair, she slid under the covers of her bed and settled in to go to sleep.

Before Rae could doze off, she heard the front door’s handle jiggle. Her eyes popped open and her brows knitted.

Who the hell was trying to get into her place after midnight?

Well, she was alone, she supposed, but if someone thought they’d get the better of her, they were sorely mistaken. She may not participate in much gang activity these days, but she was still a hood- had her reflexes- still knew how to beat the shit out of someone.

She hopped up out of the bed and went for the jeans she had worn earlier that day. They were folded in half, legs hanging out of the hamper. The blue-handled switchblade her brother had gotten her for her thirteenth birthday was still tucked into the back pocket of her pants. Every single day.

She was never going to let someone get the jump on her again.

Rae pressed the button to open the knife and flipped it in her hand so the blade was sticking out the back of her fist. She pressed herself against the hallway wall, out of sight of the front door and waited.

When it finally flung open, whoever it was had heavy footsteps, as if they were burdened by something. She lifted an eyebrow.

When the hallway light flipped on, she readied herself. She lifted her knife, her hand poised to strike when they-

But when Curly Shepard came around the corner, Rae’s eyes widened and she had to force herself to pause before she cut him. Her fiance dropped the heavy box he’d been carrying, surprised. The sound it made was probably loud enough to wake her downstairs neighbors. Instantly he held his hands up.

“Holy shit!” he cried. “Relax–it’s just me! I ain’t an axe murderer, I promise!”

“Jesus Christ, Curly,” she breathed, her chest heaving a few times. “You scared the fuckin’ hell outta me.”

“Sorry, babe. I just wanted to bring this down tonight. Found it at a yard sale earlier and thought you’d-”

“Really? You came down here at midnight to drop this off?”

“Well, yeah, there somethin’ wrong with that?”

“We may be soulmates, Curly, but that does not mean you can just waltz in here like you own the place! I could have been naked, or somethin’!”

“Like I haven’t seen ya naked before? We literally took a shower together this mornin’, doofus. You on drugs?”

“W-well,” Rae stammered. “Then, you should knock first.”

“What did ya give me a key for if I have to knock to come in?”

“Stop makin’ sense.” Her face grew hot and she knew her cheeks were turning red.

Curly chuckled at her reaction and bent down to pick the box up. Rae pushed the blade of her knife back into the handle and tossed it into her room, onto her bed. She followed him into the living room and he set the cardboard down on the coffee table.

“So, what is it?” She crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him peel the packing tape off the top.

“Patience.” When his fingers didn’t suffice, he looked back up to her. “Got any scissors?”

“Why didn’t ya say somethin’ before I threw my knife in the other room?” She rolled her eyes. She started to head back to her bedroom but-

“Just kiddin’, I got it.” There was a tearing sound and he pulled the tape up and off of the top flaps. “I think you’re gonna love this.”

“Will you just tell me what it is?”

“Will you just hold on a second? Damn.”

Curly reached inside with both hands and pulled out a large lamp. But it wasn’t just a lamp, it was-

“It’s called a rain lamp.” He held it up for her to see. Rae’s eyes widened and she gasped. “You can hang it from the ceilin’ or put it on a table.”

It was gorgeous. The top and the base were made of brass, held apart by a lot of metal rods, thin enough to look like string pulled taut. In the middle stood a figure- the goddess Aphrodite- surrounded by plants. It had an electrical plug hanging from the bottom with a switch to turn it on.

A smile spread across her lips.

“What does it do?” she asked him. He held up a finger and handed her the lamp. He grabbed the cord and pushed it into the closest outlet, then flipped the switch.

The light turned on, shining over top of the Venus statue, and after about fifteen seconds, drops of liquid started sliding down the rods. Rae touched it and rubbed it between her fingers.

Oil.

The beads of oil glittered in the light as they made their way down to the base.

Rae set it down on the coffee table and knelt down next to it, completely entranced. Across the table, Curly stood and watched her reaction, a toothy, lopsided grin on his face.

Finally, she stood up and moved to him.

“Do ya like it?”

“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed.

“You’re beautiful.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. She shook her head, a cat-like smile forming on her face, and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to reach his face.

“Shut up and kiss me, you idiot.”

“As you wish, babe.”

He lowered his mouth to hers, then reached down and lifted her, bridal-style, then carried her back to the bedroom.

#Those hard days #Rae Winston #The Outsiders #the outsiders fanfiction #outsiders #curly shepard #curly shepard x oc #prompts #elinieiwrites

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 43

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 43 - Trial

A week later, Rae found herself sitting in the courthouse on the rich side of town. She was stuck in a black dress Barb had gotten for her, Dally’s Saint Christopher medal hanging from her neck. It was the first day she had been able to open the bag of her brother’s belongings. But she wanted- no, needed- to wear it.

When they’d brought her father out, she felt the blood drain from her face. Great, now she looked like a damned ghost. She clutched the medal tightly in one hand, her other hand gripped the fabric of her skirt.

"Is it true that you drink, Mr. Winston?" their attorney asked.

"Yes, sir," he answered. "But I would never hurt my little girl. She and Dallas were all I had left when my wife died."

Rae's face grew hot and red with anger. Their attorney had warned them that this could happen- that he’d play to the jury’s sympathies. She felt a hand on her back. Two-Bit.

"Calm down," he whispered. "Even if they don’t put him away, it’ll be okay." She sighed and nodded. Her face and hands relaxed. When she’d started to pay attention again, her father had stepped down from the stand.

"I call to the stand Rae Lee Winston." She sucked in a breath and stood up. Her lawyer escorted her up the platform and sat her down in the chair. A police officer came up with a black bible. Once he swore her in, her interrogation started.

"What happened to you?" she was asked. Rae relived the night through her words. She tried hard to keep her voice stable, even.

"I was runnin’ away that night," she started, her eyes unfocusing, remembering.

"Running away? Why?"

"For-for as long as I can remember my father would-would hit my brother and me. And I-I...that night I couldn’t handle it anymore. Dally-my brother, that is- was gone and I had been stayin’ with some friends for a few days but Dad, he-he threatened to turn Darry in to the state to get his brothers taken away and-” She sighed. She was rambling.

"Okay," the man started. "So you wanted to run away because you were afraid your father was going to hit you again?" She nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“What happened next?”

"Well, I was standin’ outside the house and I was about to leave when I heard my father come out." She grimaced. She heard his words in the back on her mind, slithering up her spine. She shivered. "He was drinkin’ a beer. Wanted me to come back inside, but I...didn’t want to.”

“How did he respond when you wouldn’t come back inside?” She felt his hand on her arm, the broken glass spraying over her.

“He...he pushed me to the ground and threw his beer bottle. It shattered and cut me right here.” Rae drew her finger across the side of her face. “And then he…” She paused, feeling the foot in her back. She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm.

“It’s alright, Miss Winston. Take your time.”

“I tried-.” Her voice went high, a sob threatening to surface, and she paused again. Cleared her throat. “-Tried to fight him off but he hit me in the head. Everything was fuzzy and I-I think I blacked out. When I woke up, my pants were around my ankles. Dally and Darry were there. I-I woke up to the sound of them fightin’ my dad off."

"Dallas Winston and Darrel Curtis?"

"Yeah, right" Rae said, nodded. Her lawyer sat down and her father's stood up.

"Did you get tested?"

"No, I-I didn’t.”

"Why not?"

"I was scared."

“Scared of what?”

“Scared-scared of my father. Scared of what he’d do to me if I told. Scared that I’d be shipped off to New York and I wouldn’t see Dally or any of my friends again.”

After more questions, they called Darry up to testify that he had been there and what he had seen. Then, they had to wait. Rae was allowed to rejoin her friends in the first row of the audience.

She held tightly on to Two-Bit’s hand when the jury came back into the room. Steve took her other hand and gave her a nod.

Patricia had warned her, the attorney had warned them. Without any real evidence- with only the world of a teenage girl… Still, nothing could have prepared her for the outcome, regardless.

"We find the defendant not guilty of the charges against him.”

Shock. Despair. After everything they’d been through. Everything they’d sacrificed. None of it mattered in the end. She sucked in a breath, and bit her lip, trying to hold back the sob at the back of her throat. Her eyes shot to her father. He had a smirk on his face. Rae clenched her teeth and looked away.

“It’s-it’ll be okay,” Two-Bit said, beside her. Her attorney leaned over the railing between them and the front of the court.

“We expected this, remember?” She nodded. “We expected he wouldn’t be convicted here, but charged for his other crimes.” The judge looked over some paperwork on her platform.

“I’d like to see Rae Lee Winston, Barbara Mathews, and Patricia Miller in my office, please,” he said, concluding the session.

Once they were all assembled, they were offered a seat.

“Your case worker says that your father’s home is not fit for a child,” he started. “And even if your father is acquitted of all charges in the coming weeks, she suggests you not be given back to him.” Rae sat up straight in her chair, folding her hands, tightly, in her lap. “After viewing your file and seeing the pictures of your home, I’m inclined to agree. I understand you would like to stay here, in Tulsa?”

“Yes, sir. I’d-I’d like to stay with Mrs. Mathews.”

“Barbara Mathews, you’ll be willing to take this girl under your guardianship?”

“Absolutely,” she responded. “I’ve filled out all the paperwork already.”

"Custody of Rae Lee Winston will be given to Barbara Mathews, then." The judge picked up a pen, signed his name, and closed the file. Rae let out a deep sigh of relief. “But on one condition. I want you to attend therapy, young lady.” He eyed her closely. “You’ve been through an awful lot. I think it could do you a lot of good.”

Well, if it would keep her here. She nodded her agreement.

The next day, it rained. It seemed fitting, really.

Curly had been released from his reform school for the funeral, and he stood next to her now, in a nice, buttoned-up shirt and his leather jacket, an umbrella in one hand, shielding them from the rain, her hand tightly grasped in the other.

The boys were all present, of course, along with Tim and Carrie. Mrs. Mathews and Chrissy. Buck. Even Angela, Evie, and Kathy. Sylvia didn’t show- though, Rae didn’t really expect her to, after learning how they’d ended things...but the invitation was still extended, nonetheless.

The casket was beautiful, and probably bought with money that was not exactly obtained legally. Tim had pulled his boys to do- well, he didn’t tell her what, but he’d handed her the money to pay for the funeral in full.

Rae let go of Curly’s hand and walked out towards the open grave. She let the rain wash the tears from her face and she ran her hand down the smooth, dark wood. She felt everyone’s eyes on her back.

“This is it, I guess, huh?” she said, low enough so none of their friends could hear. “Dally, I...I miss ya a whole helluva lot. Darry-he’s been helpin’ me with...all of this. Helpin’ me talk about things instead of keepin’ it locked up inside. I’ll be goin’ to therapy soon with a certified professional and all.” She inhaled a shaky breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Dally...I, uh...I ain’t got a clue how I’m gonna do this without ya. It’s real hard, knowin’ that you ain’t gonna get any older...or grow old with me like ya promised. But Darry said that-that you’d want me to be happy. I’m really gonna try my best, okay? I’m gonna try my best for you. Just…just keep an eye out for me, yeah?” One side of her lips tilted up in a sad, painful smile. “I love you, Dally.”

She closed her hand over her brother’s medal, hung around her neck, and looked up at the sky, water droplets falling on her face. After a moment, she returned to Curly and the umbrella and let the others pay their respects. He took her hand again. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered, placing a soft, gentle kiss on her temple. She sighed, but nodded.

“Yeah, I think I know that now.”

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eliniei · 5 years

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Tattoo - Curly Shepard x OC

I’ve wanted to do this for a while, so I finally did XD This is a Rae Winston x Curly fic!

Fic Masterlist: here

Those Hard Days Masterlist - here

Warnings: none, except for tattoos i guess?

Rae and Curly sat side by side on the Shepard’s couch one summer afternoon, lazily flipping through a magazine. She laid her head down on his shoulder as he skimmed through one of the articles. When he turned to the next page, though, she lifted her head slightly.

“Hang on,” she ordered, putting a hand on his arm. He let it drop to his lap and lifted the magazine so she could see it. The piece was on tattoos- the photo of a woman’s back the centerfold. A giant dragon slithered over her skin, around her shoulder and down her arm. It was...beautiful.

“What?”

Rae ran her finger down the line of the artwork etched into this model’s body.

“It’s so pretty,” she answered. “I wish I could get somethin’ like this.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I don’t know anyone who does that kinda shit.”

“I know plenty of people.”

“Are they trustworthy?” Curly tilted his head to the side.

“Well…” His answer wasn’t really an answer but she understood it, nonetheless.

“Plus it costs a ton of money, doesn’t it? I ain’t got shit.”

“That’s a lie,” he retorted, smiling his lopsided grin. “You got plenty saved up.” She shoved him in the side with her elbow.

“Ya know that’s for college, dumbass.”

“Tell ya what, huh?”

“What?”

“I’ll pay if we get a matchin’ one.” Rae cringed.

“Matchin’? Isn’t that a little...corny?”

“Not if we get somethin’ really awesome.”

“Hm...I guess.” She looked back down at the magazine spread, debating with herself. “Like what?”

“Hell, I dunno.”

“A lot of help you are.”

“I know,” Curly said, smiling proudly.

After work over the next week, Rae would stop in at the library, looking for ideas. There weren’t a lot of books on tattoos. If she wanted to see design ideas she’d had to go into the shop itself. So instead, she branched out into books on astronomy- something she’d always been interested in. Those books pointed her towards mythological gods and fantasy creatures.

One evening, Curly joined her, flipping through the pages of a book, his chin leaned into his hand.

“You don’t have to be here if you don’t wanna,” she said quietly, watching him. “You’re not even lookin’.”

“It’s boring at home without you,” he shot back without looking up and turned another glossy page. Her chest shook with a silent laugh.

“I don’t even come over every day.”

“So?”

“You’re stupid.”

“Well that ain’t news,” he chuckled. “Besides, if it’s goin’ on my body too, don’t ya think I should have a say in it?”

“I suppose,” Rae said, heaving a dramatic sigh, but a smile tugged at her lips. Really, she loved him here, but she wished he was a little more helpful. She glanced over at the book in front of Curly. The page he was pulling the corner up with his finger had a giant, fantastical bird. It may have been in black and white, but she could just imagine the colors.

Yellows, oranges, reds. Brilliant blues and maybe even vibrant greens.

She grabbed the book out of his hand and pulled it over to her.

The Phoenix.

Rises from the ashes.

“Curly, what about this?”

Finally, he sat up, reading the overview. She watched as his eyes scanned down the page and his face break out into a smile.

“This is great!” he exclaimed, forgetting that they were in the library.

A chorus of “shh!”s sounded after. He ducked his head, his ears turning red.

“Oops,” he nearly whispered, then turned back to the book. “This is...perfect, Rae.”

“You think so?”

“Hell yeah. I’ll get my buddy to design us a good one.”

“Somethin’ flowy- but not too girly, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

Two weeks later, she found herself sitting in the chair of the tattoo parlor. She’d agreed on the first design the artist had come up with- it was amazingly done, exactly how she’d wanted. She decided on her shoulder blade- while Curly was going with one side of his chest.

Her back was bare against the chill of the room while her chest was pressed against the chair. Curly sat in front of her while the artist sat behind her, poised to begin.

“You know why I’m doin’ this, right? Why this tattoo is perfect?” her boyfriend asked, taking both of her hands in his.

“I’d imagine because you love me,” Rae responded. He chuckled.

“Well, yeah- but that ain’t the only reason.”

“Then tell me and quit stallin’!”

“Because, baby,” he started, pressing his forehead against hers. “You’re my phoenix.”

The needle bit into her shoulder and she sucked in a breath.

“You’ve risen out of the ashes of your own rough life and you’re all the more stronger for it.”

“I love you, Curly.”

“I love you too.”

#Those hard days #Rae Winston #The Outsiders #the outsiders fanfiction #outsiders #curly shepard #curly shepard x oc

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 40

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: *shrug*

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 40 - Strong

"No!" Rae shrieked, her voice carrying over her friends’.

But she knew it was too late. She heard the gunshots and saw her brother drop to his knees.

"Dally!" She screamed until her voice gave out. She took off, shoving Two-Bit and Soda out of her way.

And finally, finally, he turned his head towards her. He had bullet wounds dripping blood all down the front of his shirt. She saw his blue eyes fading as they met hers. The look on his face almost made her crumble. He-he wanted this.

"Rae…?" he whispered, staring at her as she approached. She watched as a tear escaped his eye and his body dropped to the ground.

Her legs gave out as soon as she reached him and she fell to the ground, scraping her knees on the pavement. She should’ve felt pain, but she didn’t. She didn’t feel anything but despair. She had been too late.

He’d saved her countless times and she couldn’t even save him once. She was useless.

"Dally...," she started, looking down at his face, a few stray tears dropping on to his skin. "Dally, don't leave me." She’d beg. She’d do anything if he’d just- She saw him look up at her with soft eyes, a barely perceptible smile on his lips.

But then, he was gone. Shock coursed through Rae’s body.

"You...you promised me, Dally,” she whispered, lip quivering. “You said you’d always be here to help me.” The police who had just pumped him full of bullets started gathering in front of her. She didn’t care. A sudden jolt of anger shot through her veins. She hit the hard pavement with clenched fists. She felt loose rocks embed themselves in the sides of her hands. When she lifted them, blood dripped down to the ground. It ran down her arm and soaked her sleeve. "You promised!" Her voice echoed through the park. One of the boys came up from behind her and took hold of one of her hands.

"Let me go!" she shrieked as loud as she could, she forced her hand out of his grasp. She glared up at him, her eyes, her heart, going icy. Steve stood above her. He took a step back, staring down at her with wide eyes.

“Rae,” he said, barely above a whisper. His words quivered, voice breaking. “You-your eyes…” She looked away from him and back down to her brother’s cooling body, trying to memorize his face. Steve dropped to his knees on the ground next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he wiped away his own tears and reached out to her. “Rae?”

She smacked his hands away, but he forcefully grabbed her face and made her look at him. She exhaled a loud, angry breath through her nose and tried to pull herself out of his grasp.

"No," he said. She tried again, but his hold grew tighter. "No."

She needed to look away. She couldn't face him now. She couldn’t face anyone now. She couldn't look anyone in the eyes or she might break. Dally would hate that. Dally would be disappointed if she broke. Dally was always telling her to be strong, right? Right?

"Rae, please." She heard Steve begging her to look at him. Her chest was heaving, eyes burning. What should she do? If she looked at him, the strength her brother distilled in her would definitely dissolve. She wasn't supposed to. She couldn’t…

"Rae…" She felt strong arms wrap around her waist from behind, Two-Bit’s voice filtering through her thoughts. She felt him press his body against hers. "Rae, this isn’t you. Dally wouldn’t want you to be hard like him."

Her body started shaking. She couldn’t hold it back much longer. They couldn’t just say his name. She couldn’t breathe-

"It's okay," Steve said. Finally, when she couldn’t avoid it any longer, she looked at her friend. He nodded, new tears spilling from his eyes. “It doesn’t make you weak. It’ll make you stronger.”

At his words, Rae felt all of the fight leave her body. The hardness in her eyes faded and she felt a hole open up in her chest. Tears started flowing out as sobs wracked her entire body. Steve released her head, and she dropped into his chest. She grabbed on to his jean vest, shoving her wet face into his shirt as she cried. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her tightly against him. Two-Bit released her, but she could hear him sniffling behind her.

"Dally…," she whined, her words muffled by Steve’s mud-caked shirt.

In the time it took her to calm down, Ponyboy had fainted and fell to the hard ground. Two-Bit came clean, crying as he confessed the youngest Curtis brother had a fever earlier in the day, but made him promise not to tell. They were all just a huge, fucking mess.

By the time the ambulances arrived, Rae was completely devoid of tears. Her body was still shaking, but she had nothing left in her. The police had laid a white sheet over Dally’s body, and Steve had pulled her to her feet, wanting to move her farther away, but she was too weak to stay upright, and he set her back down again. As Darry lifted Pony from the pavement to take him over to the medics, she heard fast footsteps coming up from behind them.

"Oh my god," Carrie’s voice said. Weakly, Rae turned her head to see her friend and Tim approaching, with wide eyes and mouths hanging open. "We-we heard screaming and gunshots. What-," Carrie started, but stopped suddenly when she saw the white sheet in the middle of the park. Tears formed in her eyes. “Oh, god.” When she found Rae amongst the boys, her lip quivered and she quickly dropped Tim’s hand to make her way over.

“Rae…”

One of the medics approached their group and informed them that everyone needed to be checked out and give their statements before they were released. Carrie helped as Steve lifted her to her feet again. She had almost forgotten that she needed medical attention.

A while later, Rae sat on the back bumper of the ambulance, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her hands and knees were clean, and wrapped in gauze bandages. Carrie sat next to her, shoulder-to-shoulder, in companionable silence, as they both stared out into the darkness. She dropped her head on to her friend’s shoulder, who in response, wrapped an arm around her back. They didn’t need words. There didn’t seem to be any words available, anyway.

"Let's go," Two-Bit’s voice sighed. Rae opened her eyes. Carrie’s head was resting on top of hers, now. They must have fallen asleep. She sat up straight, causing her friend to rouse, as well. “The cops have given the go-ahead for you to come home with me tonight. We’ll meet with your caseworker again tomorrow.”

Once Carrie was awake, she helped Rae to her feet and supported her as they all slowly made their way back to the Curtis house. An ambulance delivered Ponyboy, absolutely delirious, and deposited him in his own bed. It was well after midnight when the rest of them walked through the door and nearly collapsed in on each other.

When she opened her eyes again, Rae could hear the telephone ringing from down the hall. Her eyes still felt heavy and swollen. There was a dreary light filtering in through the blinds, just enough so that she could see Carrie, fast asleep, in bed with her. She slipped out of Soda’s room as someone picked up the phone. When she passed the living room, she saw Two-Bit stretched out on the couch, Tim laid out across an armchair, and Steve, covered with a thin blanket, completely passed out on the floor.

“Okay,” Darry’s soft voice said. “I’ll have them ready when you get here.” She heard him set the phone back on the hook and saw a soft light in the kitchen blossom as he opened the fridge.

“What time is it?” she asked, quietly, when she approached the open doorway. She squinted in the light, watching him take a swig out of the milk carton. He turned to her.

“Rae?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s just about five. What are you doing up?”

“Phone woke me up. How’s Ponyboy?”

“He’s...he’ll be okay once the fever passes.”

“Who was on the phone?”

“Mrs. Mathews. She heard from the Children’s Bureau that you were supposed to be there with her last night. She was callin’ to make sure you were here and that she would pick ya’ll up in the mornin’ to go meet with your social worker.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll be goin’ too. Gotta chat with ours about…” Darry sighed. “Everything.” She nodded, but stayed silent. “You want somethin’ to drink?” He held out the milk. Rae went up him and took the carton from his hands. She took a long drink, letting the cold liquid slide down her throat, and then set it bad into the fridge.

“Gonna go back to bed,” she said. He nodded, and she slowly made her way back to the bedroom she was sharing with Carrie. She felt his eyes on her the whole way back.

For a while, Rae laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling as the sun rose, the light in the room growing brighter, her brother’s face flashing in her mind. Eventually, her eyes grew heavy again and she finally found peace in the darkness of a dreamless sleep.

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 14

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope that my descriptions of clothes don’t suck XD I finally have a final chapter count. This fic will be, in total: 46 chapters! Good luck, and I hope you enjoy it.

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 14 - Dance

That afternoon, Rae and Two-Bit walked Ponyboy home from school. When they got to the house, Tim and Curly Shepard were sitting on the front steps. Tim had a smile on his face and was making fun of his younger brother. The second he saw the trio approaching, he stopped and stood up.

"Uh, hey guys," Ponyboy said when they reached the steps. "You guys could’ve gone in, ya know." Tim shrugged and looked over at his brother, an expectant look on his face. Curly had his hands stuffed in his pockets, trying not to make eye contact with any of them, looking completely put-out and annoyed. Tim gripped his brother’s arm and hoisted him to his feet.

"Stop bein’ shy," Tim ordered and pushed Curly towards Rae. Curly shrugged out of his brother’s grip.

“Gimme a minute. Jesus.”

“Curly, shy?” Rae asked, an amused smile tugging at her lips. “You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

“I never shoulda told ‘im,” he mumbled as turned towards his girlfriend. “So, there’s this dance at your school this weekend...I guess it’s the homecomin’ dance or some shit...” Tim crossed his arms over his chest. “And I, uh-”

"Get to the point," Tim said, impatiently. “We have places to be.” Curly rolled his eyes, scowling. His ears were turning red.

"Well, I was, uh, wonderin' if you'd like to, uh..." He looked down at the ground and cleared his throat. “To go with me?” Rae’s face turned a bright red. Two-Bit, who was very obviously trying to make himself otherwise engaged, took one look at her face and burst into a fit of laughter. Ponyboy stood nearby, eyes wide, not even trying to hide his surprise and embarrassment for the situation. "This is stupid. If you don't wanna to go-" Curly went to turn back to his brother.

"No!," she interrupted, forcefully. He paused and faced her again. She tucked her hair behind an ear and noddded. “No, I wanna go.”

"Really?" She smiled and nodded.

“Why not?” He smiled as well, and then looked around at the rest of the guys watching them.

"Show’s over now, assholes." They all looked away in unison.

The night before the dance, Two-Bit dropped her off at the newly opened mall in town. Carrie met them at the entrance. This place made her nervous. It seemed a little on the rich side, if you asked her.

“Alright,” he said. “Meet me back here in an hour.” Rae nodded her understanding as her friend leaned into the open window.

“Hey, Two-Bit,” she said.

“Hey, kid,” he answered with a nod. Carrie looked at Rae.

“Ready? Got your money?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Rae answered and opened the car door. They headed inside.

“Any specific color?” Carrie asked while they browsed clothing racks full of dresses. Rae had asked her to come- she always preferred to wear jeans over skirts, but Carrie wore dresses often.

“No idea,” she answered. “I ain’t good at all this-” Rae waved her arms, motioning in the direction of the rack. “-girly shit.” When she looked at her friend again, she noticed Carrie wasn’t paying attention. The other girl was staring right past her, a thoughtful look on her face. Rae turned to find out what she was looking at. She frowned.

“Don’t you think that’s a little...fancy for someone like me?” A sly smile crept over Carrie’s face, wide enough to show her teeth. For a second, Rae thought she was looking at the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

“No way. I think it’s perfect,” her friend said as she pushed past her to grab the dress. “And I know exactly how I’m gonna do your hair.”

On the night of the dance, Curly offered Rae his arm as they got out of the truck they borrowed from Tim. She felt incredibly uncomfortable in the dress that Carrie had chosen for her, but she had to admit- she looked pretty choice.

Carrie had draped her in a...what had she called it? A deep purple swing dress with a full skirt and a… a boat neck? It was pulled in tightly around her middle with a tied bow in the back and she wore black kitten heels on her feet. Half of her long hair had been swept up into a small beehive, the rest cascading down her neck and shoulders in soft curls. She had thick, black eyeliner drawn around her eyes, matched with purple and black shadow, her lips painted a dark plum.

Curly’s shirt matched the deep purple of her dress and he had his signature leather jacket on overtop with black dress slacks and his regular pair of black leather boots.

Darry, pulled into the spot next to them, smiled at the two and waited for Pony and Johnny to get out of the bed.

“Ya’ll behave,” he ordered, eyeing his little brother pretty hard. “And call if anything happens.” Usually, a dance wasn’t a greaser scene, but Darry insisted the other two go- just in case. Johnny and Ponyboy didn't have dates but they figured there might be a girl or two in the same situation. Two-Bit said he might show up too- probably with a beer in hand, but when was he not drinking? “I don’t wanna get a call from the school tellin’ me about some stupid prank ya pulled.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pony mumbled under his breath.

"We’ll see ya later," Curly said. Darry nodded and drove off. They walked up to a lady seated at a desk right outside the gym.

"Tickets?" she asked. Her voice was polite, but she looked them all up and down, eyes fill of disdain. Curly frowned, but handed her all four tickets without saying anything. Once inside, they met Carrie and her date at a table they had claimed.

Her blonde friend wore a powder blue, off-shoulder swing dress with a sheer tulle overlay that glittered under the lights and belted in the front, her hair pinned back in a high, curly ponytail.

When they’d dropped off their jackets and things, Curly held out his hand, an unasked question in his eyes. Rae smiled, softly, and let him lead her onto the dance floor.

He pulled her close, his hold on her waist firm, but gentle. She rested her arms loosely around his shoulders.

“You look really…,” he started and cleared his throat. She looked down, her cheeks filling with color. “Really beautiful.”

“You keep talkin’ like that, you’re brother’s gonna have you committed,” she laughed.

“What, I ain’t allowed to compliment my own girlfriend?”

Before she could answer, Two-bit came up behind them and slapped Curly on the back, a big loony smile on his face and a can of beer wrapped in a brown paper bag in his hand. The impact caused Curly to pitch forward, stepping on Rae’s foot. She sucked in a breath at the pain. He righted them both and turned to glare at their friend.

“Sorry, R-”

“Would ya put that away?” Rae hissed, ignoring Curly’s apology. “You’re gonna get us kicked outta here. Shoulda seen the look we got comin’ in” Her friend rolled his eyes, but chugged his drink and wandered off to find a trash can. Once he was gone, she focused her attention back on Curly.

"Thanks for comin' tonight," she said as they swayed in each other’s arms.

"I think I’d do anythin’ for ya," he said, a small smile creeping to his lips. Rae felt her cheeks heat up a bit. When the first slow dance ended, Two-Bit was stalking back over to them.

“Pony and Johnny are sittin’ over there like sad lil’ puppies with no dates. Hard to watch,” he said, and looked at Rae. “Wanna dance with your ole pal, Two-Bit?” She looked at Curly, who stepped aside and let the other boy in. He went to meet up with Pony and Johnny, who were standing against the wall, sipping punch.

The next song started and Two-Bit took Rae's waist.

'You look real pretty tonight. Carrie pick the dress?" he asked. She huffed a laugh and nodded.

“She did the hair and makeup too.” She shrugged. “I don’t hate it. Should’a seen Curly’s face when he pulled up earlier. I thought his jaw was gonna fall off his skull. I’m gonna sleep over at her place soon and she’s gonna teach me. Maybe I’ll start wearin’ dresses more often.”

“Man, you’re such a liar.” She laughed again.

“You’re prob’ly right about that.” They swayed in silence for a few seconds. The dance floor was filling up with other couples.

“Have you thought anymore about what we talked about? About who attacked you?” Rae looked down and sighed.

"Yeah- I don’t remember seein’ her face," she started, thinking back now that her head wasn’t pounding. “But I think I know who the voice belongs to.”

“Curly’s here alright, but he’s asleep. Don’t know if ya heard, but he got into a fight with some Brumly brutes over one thing or another.” A soft laugh over the phone receiver. “He’ll prob’ly be out for the rest of the night but you can call back later and see-”

“Surprise, bitch.”

"That's good," Two-Bit said, with a sad smile. It faded slowly into a straight line. "When are ya gonna to tell him?”

"Soon. Maybe tonight." He nodded and left it alone. They danced the rest of the song in silence.

When their dance ended, they joined the other boys. They stood against the wall for a while, laughing and messing around, as they watched the Socs dance. Some of them stared back at the group, incredulously. Rae thought she saw Carrie and her dark-haired date dancing amongst the elite.

“You wanna go join ‘em?” Curly asked, getting close to her ear so she could hear him over the noise. He held out his hand. She smiled and took it. As he led her over, she grabbed onto Pony’s sleeve and dragged him with them. Johnny followed as well.

“Hey!” Carrie yelled over the music, her face lighting up at the sight of them. “Join us!” She separated from her partner and grabbed on to Rae’s arm. Soon, all of them were swaying in a circle.

Chrissy eventually barrelled in with a shining black shift dress, hair piled on top of her head and stiff with hairspray, complaining loudly about her date showing up drunk as hell and abandoning her to hang with the “boys” and get high. Rae laughed when she spied her trying to get close to Ponyboy. She leaned into Carrie and whispered. Her friend looked towards Chrissy and burst out laughing.

It was contagious and Rae found herself laughing, too, until she heard some commotion behind them.

“Come on, Bob.” Cherry’s sugar-laced voice filtered through the crowd. “Stop drinking and spend some time with me,” she begged.

Before she could even roll her eyes, a body collided with her and Carrie’s backs, forcing them forward. Rae fell, her knees knocking on the hard tile floor of the gym. She glanced to the side, where Bob had rolled after knocking her over, drunkenly giggling to himself, an expensive silver flask in his hand. Cherry let out a frustrated growl.

“Randy, help him up,” she sighed. Curly bent down to help her up. She let him lift her from the ground. At the same time, Randy was also helping his drunk friend off the floor, and he put his foot down on the skirt of her dress. As she stood up, Rae heard a ripping sound and froze.

“Oh, shit,” she heard Cherry whisper. Bob burst out laughing again. When Rae was finally on her feet, she checked out the hem of her skirt. Part of it was torn from the skirt, hanging to the ground. She ground her teeth, the rage roiling in her stomach. Cherry’s mouth opened in the form of an apology. Anger gurgled up her throat, hot and sour.

"Don't worry about it,” Rae bit out and shoved her way through the crowd toward the table her friends had left their jackets. Carrie was on her heels and Curly followed her.

“We can get my mom to fix it- she’s real good at sewin’,” her blonde friend offfered when they finally reached the table. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she snapped but stopped and took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. “Sorry, Carrie. I think I just want to go home. Those assholes always have to ruin everything.”

“It’s alright,” Carrie said quietly, as Curly came forward to grab their stuff and follow her towards the exit.

Rae burst through the doors to the gym. The cold air hit her face and the heat inside her started to die down. She inhaled through her nose and a sigh escaped her mouth. Curly laid his leather jacket across her shoulders.

“You sure you want to go home already? It’s still early. We could go somewhere-” Rae shook her head. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her down the steps outside the building while digging in his pocket for the keys to his brother’s truck.

“Could we walk? ”

“Oh-yeah, sure.” They started heading towards the Curtis house. “What about Pony and Johnny?”

“They’re old enough to find their own way home,” she retorted. Curly lit up a smoke as they walked. Rae took a steadying breath. This was as good a time as any, she supposed. "Besides, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Remember when I got beat up?” she asked, motioning to the back of her head. “Knocked me clean out?”

"Yeah, course. Socs, right?" He lifted the cigarette to his mouth.

"No," she started. He looked down to her, pausing his drag.

"What? Then who?" She chewed on the inside of her mouth for a second before answering.

"I-I think it was Angela."

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 36

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: not sorry.

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 36 - Fade

The next two weeks passed slower than any time in Rae’s entire life. She felt herself spiraling into the darkness, that feeling and thought in the back of her mind growing larger until it overcame her.

She’d stopped eating- except for a few bites here and there. She couldn’t handle the food. Everything made her sick to her stomach. Curly tried to coax her with her favorites, but she just...couldn’t. She lost weight and she could feel herself wasting away, although she couldn’t find it in her to care.

Rae felt so stupid-so naive-to think she’d have been home by now, cooking dinner with Barb and helping Ponyboy with his homework. Playing cards with Two-Bit and laughing with Carrie. Hanging out at the Curtis house, all of her friends surrounding her. It all seemed so unreachable now. The hope she’d placed in her brother was quickly fading away. He couldn’t stay out of trouble long enough to help her when she needed it most.

Ms. Douglas made it clear that she was worried. But when Rae starting breaking rules, it made her mad. The woman didn’t show it-but she knew. She’d tried to sit her down at have a long, serious discussion, but it only went in one ear and out the other.

At first, she started sneaking out after everyone was in bed and sneaking back in before they woke up, but eventually she didn’t even bother coming back in the mornings and skipped school entirely. She went to an abandoned warehouse deemed the Shepard gang hangout. She’d sit around a barrel fire with them, passing around bottles of hard liquor and getting shitfaced. Occasionally someone would bring a radio and they’d dance until they passed out on the old couches they’d set around the firepit.

Curly was the one who usually found her after each night out, dark circles under his eyes. The one who held her hair back as she puked her guts out. He did his best to comfort her, and she knew it. But, he was at his wit’s end, so high-strung that one morning he couldn’t wipe the despair off his face as he almost broke down crying, begging her to eat something. To stop destroying herself.

But he didn’t understand. She felt like her brother had betrayed her- that she had a hole in her chest where the faith she’d stored for him lived. Maybe it didn’t seem like a big deal to him. It wasn’t like she was far away from her friends, right? She still had him and Tim and Angela, right? But this-this was the biggest part of her life. For years, she only had Dally...and now it was like he didn’t even care.

She felt horrible. She really did. But, if he didn’t care, then why should she?

Finally, Tim started threatening the members of his outfit with bodily harm if they let her have anything harder than a couple of beers. Fearing for their limbs and skulls, they’d blocked her, told her what their almighty leader had ordered, and then abandoned the warehouse early. Rae just laid down on the musty couch, staring at the flickering flames before falling asleep.

That’s where Tim found her the next morning, alone. She was curled up into the corner of the couch, legs hugged to her chest, forehead resting on her knees. She heard him approaching, and suddenly she couldn’t hold it back anymore. Her entire body started shaking as tears started falling freely from her eyes. For the first time in nearly two weeks, she was stone cold sober- and she fucking hated it. Everything hurt. Her head, her heart...

“Tim,” she said, her voice high, threatening to break. He sat down on the cushion next to her.

“Yeah, kid?” His voice was low, gentle.

“I’m so lost.” He sighed.

“I know.”

“I’m...I’m hurting everyone, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are.” She let out a shuddering sob.

“What do I do?”

“I think you should go see Dally.” At that, Rae lifted her head and peered at him.

“What?” she asked him, thinking she must have heard him wrong. He flashed her a grim, close-lipped smile.

“Yeah. Quit cryin’ and come with me.” He stood and walked towards the door.

Once she’d dried her face and ran her fingers through her hair, she met Tim just outside the warehouse. He pulled a black baseball cap out of the pocket of his jacket and handed it to her.

“Put this on and keep your head down.”

Rae did as she was bid, and followed him back to his truck. He drove them to the Tulsa County Jail and told her to let him do the talking. Together, they approached the security guard in the lobby. The oldest Shepard sibling gave him a short wave as they got close.

“Hey, Billy.”

“Names?”

“Oh, come on. You know my name.”

“You know I gotta ask, man.”

“Tim Shepard. My sister, Angela Shepard.” The guard took a look at Rae, although she refused to make eye contact with him.

“Ya’ll look nothin’ alike,” he mumbled as he took a note.

“Stepsister.”

“Inmate you’re here to see?”

“Come on, man, really?” The guard gave him a pointed look. “Fine, fine. Dallas Winston.”

“Alright, go on back. You know the way.”

Tim opened the door next to them when it buzzed and led her back to an open area, tables and chairs spread out all over the room. He picked a table and sat her down in one of the plastic chairs, then sat across from her.

“Do you come see Dally a lot?” she asked him, looking down at the surface of the table.

“Been a once or twice.”

The next few minutes were quiet, but when Tim stood up, she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. She didn’t move until she was sure the guard had walked away, then look up to see Dally and Tim slapping hands. Her brother wore a blue jumpsuit.

“Hey, man,” her brother said, a smile on his face. “Nice to see ya. How’s the kid?”

“Don’t ask me,” Tim said, tilting his head towards her. Dally looked over as if it was the first he realized there was someone else there and his eyes went wide.

“Rae?” came his loud whisper as he hurried over to her. Without warning, she was lifted from her chair into a tight bear hug.

“Dally,” she breathed into his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him as well.

“Careful, man,” Tim warned. “Don’t break her.” When he finally put her back down, he moved back to take a look at her. His eyes hardened and he gave his friend and icy look. “That’s why we’re here. Talk.” Tim moved to another table and dropped down into a chair, facing the window.

“What’s this about?” her brother asked as she carefully sat back down. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. She looked down at her lap for a few moments, chewing on her lip. “You look like shit, Rae. You need to tell me what’s goin’ on.”

“Sorry. I-I haven’t eaten in a few days.”

“A few?”

“A-and maybe I’ve been drinkin’ a bit.”

He sat back with a heavy sigh.

“Look, I already know, okay? Curly...came here the other day.” She sighed as well and rubbed her eyes with her fingers. “He’s real worried about ya. Told me this all started when ya found out I was in jail. He wants to help but doesn’t know how. That little twerp failed to mention how back it was, though.”

“I thought,” she started. “I thought…”

“It’s alright, I ain’t gonna get mad.”

“I felt like you’d given up on me, Dally,” she finally admitted, outloud. “I thought that you’d gone off the deep end and if you did, then it was okay for me to give up, too.”

“Rae Lee Winston,” her chided, his voice stern. The tone in his voice caused her to look up. He crossed his arms and shook his head. “I can’t believe you. Honestly, I can’t.”

She tried to keep her mouth from falling open. She stared back at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Have I ever given up in my entire life?” he asked. She hesitated for a moment, eyes wide. “Well?”

“N-no.”

“And you choose now to doubt me anyway?”

“But then-?”

“Rae, the guy stiffed me. He refused to give me the money so I punched him. This ain’t about anythin’ more than that.” She felt like she just got slugged in the stomach. Dally sat forward again, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I’ve been tryin’ real hard to be on my best behavior, yeah? They could let me out early. Charges could be dropped.”

“And...Sylvia?”

“We just ran into each other. Got talkin’ about old times, ya know? Thought about maybe givin’ it another chance.”

“But-I-”

“So stop beating yourself up over this. It’s nothin’. I ain’t givin’ up. Soon as I’m out, the hunt’s back on. I know it’s takin’ a bit longer than we thought, but we ain’t givin’-”

She jumped on him before he could finish, hugging him as tightly as her weak arms could. He buried his face in her neck as he hugged her back.

“I will never give up on you. Do you hear me?”

“I love you, Dally.”

“I love ya too. Feel better now?” Rae nodded as she released her hold on him and wiped her eyes. “Now, get goin’. And eat some food for fuck’s sake. If someone wanted to jump ya, you’d get bulldozed lookin’ the way ya do.”

Tim rejoined them when her brother stood up to leave. They shook hands again.

“Appreciate it, Tim,” he said with a quick nod.

“Yeah, no prob.”

“Don’t you ever bring her back here,” her brother ordered, poking a finger in his chest.

“Yeah, yeah. Desperate times.”

Dally turned back to face her. They stared at each other for a moment longer, his eyes searching hers for something. When he was satisfied, he broke eye contact and turned to head back to the security guard waiting for him at the other end of the room. She took a deep breath and turned back to Tim with a small smile.

“Ready?” he asked, lifting his hand to reposition the hat on her head.

“Yeah, I think I am.”

“Alright, let’s get you to school.”

She nodded. The bad feeling was still there, at the bottom of her stomach, but at least it wasn’t as strong anymore.

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Character Profile 2

Carrie Merrill

Masterlist

Self: Name: Carol Anne Merrill Nicknames: Carrie Birthday: March 16, 1950 Age: 15 Hair: Dirty blonde with natural light curls, keeps it about breast-length Hair Style: usually wears it up in a ponytail or bun unless she’s going to a party Eyes: Brown Height: 5’2” Build: Skinny, muscular Scars: Not a scar, but a small birthmark on her side Style: All over the place. She loves dresses and skirts, but also is comfortable in jeans. Usually wears blouses over tshirts, but likes plain long-sleeved shirts Makeup: Yes, and carries it on her at all times, just in case Fears: Bees Nervous Habits: Pulling at the ends of her hair Prefers to shower in the: Evening, right after dinner Morning or night person: Night Alcohol?: Yes Smokes?: No Highest Level of Education: Sophomore in high school Intelligence level: Pretty smart, does well in school with a bit of studying Hobbies: Shopping, picking out good outfits, makeup

Favorites:

Animal: Hammerhead Shark, although would never get into the water with one Favorite Color: Purple Favorite Dishes: Loves a good burger with fries or potato salad Favorite Dessert: Ice cream Favorite Snack: Red Vines, lollipops Favorite Drink: Prefers milk or water Favorite work of art: Really loves sculpture, but can’t really place her favorite Favorite Day of the Week: Friday

Relationships:

Family: Father & Mother (still together, living at home), Brother(Buck Merrill) Perception of family: Has a great relationship with her own family, and it breaks her heart that Rae’s home life is so bad when hers is so good. Best Friend(s): Rae Winston, Chrissy Powell Dating: spoilers Natural Allies: Curtis & Shepard Outfit. Friendly with other greasers in school, but doesn’t get involved much in gang activity until later Pets: None

#rae winston #carrie merrill #The Outsiders #outsiders #those hard days #the outsiders fanfiction #dally winston #Dallas Winston #curly shepard #curly shepard x oc #Tim Shepard #Two-Bit Mathews #Steve Randle #Ponyboy Curtis #darry curtis #Sodapop Curtis #stay gold ponyboy #stay gold #Johnny Cade

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 28

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 28 - Visit

"Don't be gone too long," Dally said, leaning into the open passenger side window of Two-Bit’s car. His sister nodded.

“Just wanna see how he’s doin’.” He stood up straight. Rae noticed he watched until they were out of his line of sight.

It didn’t take too long to get to Shepard territory when driving, but Two-Bit wanted to stop at the Dingo first.

"Let's get something to eat first, huh, kid?" Two-Bit asked.

"Are you a bottomless pit or somethin’?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow. “We just ate lunch.”

“Hey, I’m a growin’ boy. I gotta eat more than just a little turkey on some bread.”

"Alright, fine," she started. “But I wanna take a couple of shakes over to Tim and Curly and you’re payin’.”

When they got there, she sat across the table from him, occasionally stealing a fry or two.

"So, I-I gotta tell ya somethin’ Two-Bit," she said after swallowing a sip of Coke. He lowered his burger from his face for a second. “And you can’t tell Dally. I don’t think his anger’ll do any good. It’d prob’ly just make it worse. But it’s weighin’ on my mind and I gotta tell someone.”

“Alright,” he confirmed, and then took a bite.

"I don’t know how he found out- but that kid I fought. The one from the roller rink,” She bit her lip and started picking at the hair ties at her wrist. “He knew.”

"He knew?” Two-Bit said, incredulously, dropping his burger onto the foil wrap. “And you don’t want to tell Dally? Are you out of your mind?”

“No- please, chill-”

“That kid’s a Soc, Rae. And he’s got it out for you.”

“I know, I know, but-”

“He could go to the fuzz at any time.”

"I know. But, he’s waitin’ for somethin’. He knows, yeah, but he ain’t turned us in yet. If we tell Dally- and Dally kicks the shit outta him- don’t you think he’d do it for revenge?”

"I don't know," he replied, scratching at his sideburns. “We need to talk to my mom real soon.” Rae blew out a deep breath.

“Just...finish your food. I’m gonna go get the shakes. We can talk about it later.”

"Alright, fine," Two-Bit sighed, but she could tell his appetite had disappeared. She got up and went back to the counter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her friend staring out the window, picking at the skin on his bottom lip.

The rest of the ride over to the Shepard’s was virtually silent. She couldn’t tell if he was angry at her- but she thought he was more nervous than angry. When he’d stopped on the curb outside the house, she got out and stood on the sidewalk while waiting for him to come around.

She felt a sudden pain in her shoulder as someone bumped her elbow from behind. She hissed and watched as two kids a couple years younger than her walked past.

"Sorry," the kid mumbled under his breath as he kept walking.

"Mark," his friend whispered. "You have to watch where you're goin’."

"Hey!" Two-Bit yelled from her other side, milkshakes in hand. The two boys stopped and looked back at him.

"What?" Mark asked.

"Don't ‘what’ me, you little shit. Get back here and apologize right. You hurt her," her friend demanded.

"I said, 'sorry' already.” The kid looked at his friend, who gave him a look. Finally, he sighed and walked back up to Rae.

"I'm sorry for running into you," he said, angrily, his face going red. She shrugged with her good arm and he went back to the other boy. The two turned and started back in their own direction, talking quietly. "See, Bryon? She didn't even care."

"You didn't have to do that, you know," she said to Two-Bit, who shrugged.

"Brat needs to learn some manners.”

"Look what the cat dragged in," Tim’s voice came from behind them. They both turned to see him leaning in the open doorway of his house. “Thought I heard ya’ll out here. Come on in.” Rae took a good look at him while they made their way up the front steps. He looked pretty okay- didn’t get beat up too badly, she supposed, but he was always real good in a fight. Experience, probably, although she was always curious how he ended up with that long-ass scar down the side of his face but never had the courage to ask.

"Is Curly here?" she inquired as he led them through to the kitchen.

"Back in his room. Prob’ly got a concussion," he said and accepted one of the shakes from Two-Bit. “Thanks, man.” He sucked in a mouthful through the straw. “Here, I’ll take you to him.”

“Sure, thanks.” He led her down a short hallway, to the last door on the left and knocked.

"Hey, shitface, you got some visitors," Tim said through the wood. “Now, don’t be shocked. He ain’t got a lick of grease in his hair.” She stifled a giggle. A muffled “come in” came from the other side and he opened the door to let her in. Curly sat lounging against his headboard, copies of The Avengers sitting in his lap, his long, dark hair light and fluffy, combed and tied back so it wasn’t in his face. Tim took Two-Bit and went back out to the front room.

"Didn’t peg you as a comic book reader," Rae said as she sat down on the edge of his bed and handed over the milkshake. “Dally used to read comics when we were kids.”

“Don’t got nothin’ else to do," he said and smiled. He inspected her face. "Don’t look like you got beat up too bad.” She shrugged out of her jacket. His eyes widened in alarm when he saw the sling. “What happened?”

“You don’t remember? You were there.”

“Nah, don’t remember much. That kick to the head must’ve been worse than I thought.”

“That Soc shoved a knife blade into my arm.”

“Hope you beat this shit outta him for it. Is it deep?”

“Tim had my back. Broke his nose. And yeah- went all the way through. Steve’s girlfriend came and stitched it up for me, though.” She jerked her head in his direction. “You look like shit, yourself. Lose any teeth?”

"Nah," he answered. "Just a little ache in the ol’ noggin.” She rolled her eyes.

“I’m surprised. Your mouth was all red when you smiled at me last night.”

“Whatever. I think you prob’ly win the ‘worst injury’ award.” Curly shook his head. “Don’t know why I’m surprised. Those fucks break the rules all the time.”

"Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you get better quick-like, got it?" she demanded. He reached out and threaded his fingers in hers for a moment and smiled. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. “We’d better get goin’. Just wanted to see how you were holdin’ up. Make sure you weren’t in a coma or some shit.” He squeezed her hand, then let go of it and opened one of the comics in his lap.

“Alright. I got some very important readin’ to do, anyway.” He smirked, which made her giggle.

“Get you a pair of glasses and you’ll look like a real nerd.”

“Yeah, too bad I’m dumb as shit.” With a loud laugh, Rae grabbed her jacket and made her way to the front room.

“Ready to go?” Two-Bit asked her, looking up from the TV.

“Think so,” she replied, a smile still on his face. He got up and slung her jacket over her shoulders.

“Leavin’ already?” Tim asked, poking his head out from the kitchen. “Ya’ll could stay for dinner if you wanted- mom ain’t home, so I’ll be cookin’.”

“Nah- Dally wanted me back home early. Thanks, though,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t know you could cook too.” He shrugged.

“It ain’t nothin’ special, but it's edible.” When Two-Bit headed out the door to get his car started, Tim came around the corner, wiping his hands on a dishrag.

“Look, kid,” he started, walking up to her. “I’m sure Curly prob’ly told ya that we threw Angel into a rehab center.”

“Yeah, he might’a mentioned it.”

“I just wanted to tell ya that I’m, well, sorry.” Her eyebrows shot up. The day she figured she’d get any kind of apology from the Tim Shepard for any reason, hell would’ve frozen over.

“You feelin’ okay?”

“Look, Dally’s my buddy and all and even if she is my sister- what she did ain’t right. For what it’s worth- I think she’s sorry, but I can never tell with that girl.”

“Well, I-I’m sorry that it had to happen the way that it did. But, it means a lot, comin’ from you.” She smiled at him. “So, thanks. Maybe she and I can have a chat when she comes home, yeah?”

“You’re alright, kid,” he said with a smile and clapped her on the good shoulder. “Get that arm healed up quick.” She nodded.

“Good as new in no time,” she confirmed and turned to head back to the car. “Later.”

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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 27

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 27 - Wound

Rae’s eyes fluttered open. The sun was shining through the window and onto her face, making her squint. There was a dull throb in her shoulder. For a long moment, she couldn't remember what had happened, but after a few peaceful seconds of warmth and comfort, it started coming back to her.

The Brumly rumble.

She’d fought the kid who beat up Johnny- who wanted to beat the shit out of her because she ran into him on accident.

He’d stabbed her in the shoulder with her own knife, then pocketed it and left with his buddies.

She was back in Sodapop Curtis’s abandoned bedroom, wearing a bloody, but dry, camisole, and a pair of pajama pants. Her arm was tightly bound, and the pain was minimal- at least for now. She pushed herself up into a sitting position with her free hand and laid her injured arm in her lap. She heard movement to her right and looked to see the honey-blonde God himself shifting in one of the dining room table chairs. He was leaning back with his eyes closed, and breathing steadily.

“Soda?” she asked softly, reaching out to touch his leg. His eyes opened and he watched her through a sleepy haze before realization struck him, and his eyes widened.

"Hey, you’re finally awake!" Sodapop Curtis exclaimed, leaning towards her, elbows on his thighs. “How ya feelin’?”

“Mm...okay,” she answered, sweeping the fingers of her good hand through her hair to tame her bed-head. “It hurts a little, but not too bad. How long was I out?” He looked at the clock sitting on the bedside table.

“Not very. It’s Saturday, close to noon.”

“How did I end up here?”

“Dally, of course,” he mused. “Brought ya here instead of goin’ back to Two-Bit’s. Didn’t want his mom to freak out.”

“Oh- right.”

“You didn’t wait up with me all night, did you?”

“No, no,” he assured her. “A few of us took shifts. Didn’t want you to wake up and need help with no one here to-” She pushed the blanket back, and tried to slide out of bed, but without the use of her other arm, she struggled. Soda was at her side in an instant, lifting her to her feet. Her knees wobbled a bit and she grabbed his arm to steady herself. “Okay, okay,” he said, softly. “Take it easy. Ya ain’t had nothin’ to eat or drink since yesterday. Slow down.” He led her to the dining room and dropped her into a wooden chair, then hurried away with the promise of a glass of water and some Aspirin.

She hoped Bob was feeling just as miserable as she was after three blows to the head and a broken nose. God, she couldn’t wait to see his bruised face on Monday morning.

Rae downed what Soda gave her. Her friend disappeared again, but this time out the front door. She heard voices coming from outside. Dally was inside quick as lightning, and met her at the table.

“Feelin’ okay?” he asked her, the smell of tobacco still on his breath. She nodded.

“Prob’ly better once the pills start kickin’ in.” He sat down next to her and she motioned to the bandage wrapped around her shoulder. “Who cleaned me up?”

“Well, Tim was gonna stitch the cut up, but not long after you passed out, Curly got real dizzy, puked in the mud, and keeled over with you still leanin’ on him. Ya’ll were a sight. Tim had to drag his ass home- prob’ly a concussion. Stupid kid.” Rae gave him a look. “What? It’s the truth, ain’t it? Anyway, I got ya in the car and drove ya here. Evie’s real good with sewin’, ya know, so Steve asked her to come on over and stitch up your arm.”

“Evie? Really?”

“Well, we couldn’t take ya to the hospital, ya know?” Dally let out a soft laugh. “She wasn’t real happy, as you can imagine. Went green in the face a couple times, but she managed. She’s gonna come over again later and help you get a shower and stuff.”

She could feel the painkillers spreading through her body as he finished explaining. The pain nearly vanished. She gripped the table and stood up, taking a moment to balance herself. Without thinking, she stretched her arms. She felt the thread pull and a shock of pain ran down her arm. She gasped, then relaxed her arm again and watched as the gauze around her shoulder soaked through with a little blood. The sudden sight of red against white made her head light.

“Shit.” Rae clutched the table again for a few seconds until her head normalized.

“Take it easy, kid.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m goin’ outside. I think I could use some fresh air.”

“Alright, but just on the porch,” he instructed.

“Yeah, cause I’m gonna go walkin’ down the street in my bloody undershirt.”

“Hey, don’t get mouthy with me, kid.”

Her brother stood and laid his own jacket across her shoulders, and she went out to find Two-Bit, Johnny, and Soda outside, chatting. She took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill her lungs.

“Rae!” Johnny exclaimed, unfolding himself from his slouch. She smiled at him, watching his big eyes sparkle for the first time in weeks. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Oh, it’s okay. Just took some aspirin, so I should be set for a while.”

Two-Bit came up behind and surprised her with a clap on the back. She pitched forward a little, not expecting it. At least it wasn’t on the injured side.

“Cool it, Two-Bit!” Soda ordered, loudly, grabbing her arm to make sure she didn’t fall off the porch.

“Oh-right. Sorry,” her friend apologized. He reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out an off-white canvas sling. “Swiped this at the drugstore for ya. Figured it might help.” Rae took it with her good hand and examined it.

“Thanks. I’ll have Evie help me with it when she gets here.”

“No prob, no prob,” he responded with a nod. “Anyway, I gotta use the facilities. Be back.”

Soda followed Two-Bit inside, saying he wanted to get lunch started. Rae slowly lowered herself into one of the lawn chairs occupying the porch. Johnny was sitting on the top step, leaning against the pillar, a cigarette lit between his fingers. She leaned back in her seat.

“Heard you took on old Bob last night,” he said, staring off down the street, his eyes squinting in the sunlight.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Got him pretty good. Twice in the face and Tim broke his nose.” Her small friend nodded and took a drag.

“Good,” he said, when he’d exhaled the smoke.

“I got a bad feeling it ain’t over, though. He don’t like to be bested at his own game.” She let out a breath. “And he knew.”

Johnny choked on his cigarette and looked at her, alarmed, but before another word could escape his mouth, Evie appeared at the front gate, her wavy brown hair flowing down her back. She greeted them with her pretty, bright smile and a wave. He closed his mouth, and concentrated on finishing his cancer stick.

Once Evie had helped her out of her clothes, she took a good look at the cut. Rae couldn’t bring herself to look at it. She didn’t want to faint again. Once she confirmed that none of the stitches were pulled and the bleeding had stopped, the older girl helped her in the shower, tightly bound a fresh gauze bandage around her shoulder again, and then put her in a new change of clothes. It was a long process without the use of an entire arm, but they managed.

The two girls sat at the dining room table a while later, eating the turkey sandwiches and potato chips Soda had prepared for lunch. Once they’d finished, Evie started messing with the adjustable strap of the sling while Rae combed out her wet hair. When she was done, Evie slipped it over Rae’s head and set her injured arm in it.

“How is it? Comfortable?”

“Yeah, it feels fine,” Rae said, setting the comb on the table. “I really appreciate this, Evie. I know we ain’t close or anything.”

“Hey, it ain’t nothin’, kid,” she said, waving her off. “Glad to help. And look- if you need anything-” The older girl eyed Rae, closely. “-anything at all, just come on over. I’ll put you up.”

Rae looked up in alarm. Evie stretched her arm across the table and placed her hand over Rae’s.

“It’s okay. I won’t tell nobody.”

“But-”

“Look, I didn’t exactly get blessed with a great home life, either, okay? Don’t be mad at Steve- he only told me ‘cause he thought maybe I could help. He’s real worried. They-We...we all are. So just-” She smiled, a genuine, soft smile. “You can count on me, too.” Rae’s hesitation melted away and she felt her eyes well with water.

“Thank you, Evie.”

“Good girl.” Evie stood from her seat and wiped away a tear slithering it’s way down Rae’s cheek. “I’m gonna get. Meetin’ Sandy over at the mall, later. Wanna get all pretty.” She winked, and floated out the door, saying her goodbyes to the boys on her way. Rae went back to the bathroom to clean up the mess they’d left behind. Dally followed her a couple minutes later.

“Better?”

“Much,” she said with a sigh of relief. In more than one way, she didn’t say. "Can we go visit Curly?"

“Sure, if ya want. Go ask Two-Bit to drive ya, though. Buck needed his car today so I ain’t got no wheels.” She zipped up the last of her dirty clothes in the backpack her friend had brought from his house and scampered off to find him.

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