Beach Babe | The Outsiders | Johnny Cade

| Dumbfounded | 59 |

I walked over to the Curtis's after we ate, I took some of those pain killers I bought earlier instead of the pharmacy ones, I've decided those will only be for when I'm at home or going to sleep.

I was playing poker with Steve and Two-Bit while Dally watched and Darry cleaned up the kitchen. He looks so tired, like he hasn't been sleeping at all. Soda looks like that too. I wondered if I looked as bad as I felt, I mean I've got a broken nose but I'm talking about the alcohol addiction, pills, and stress. I wonder if everyone else can see those things taking an effect on me. If they can they aren't saying anything.

"Stacy, I only have two cigarettes and a dime left." Steve says

"You act like I'm not just gonna give all this back when we stop. The cigarettes I mean, I'm keeping the money." I say. Steve flips me off.

"Can one of you give me a hand in here?" Darry calls out

"I will! It's getting boring winning so much." I say standing and stretching

"Oh it must be so hard! My pockets can't hold all my winnings!" Two-Bit says mocking me

I mess up his hair as I walk past him and go into the kitchen "Whatcha need help with?"

"I dropped a fork and went under the oven, can you get it? My hands are uh.. a little full." Darry's says. His hands are indeed full, he's washing dishes while also drying them and putting them away all at the same time.

"Yeah I'll get it." I get on my knees and start to feel around for the fork, it takes a hot minute to find. "Got it!" I grab it and pull my hand out.. and see a big ass brown spider on the back of my hand. I didn't get to scream before my knees went weak and I blacked out.

I woke up on the couch with a rag on my forehead. "Huh?" I sit up.

"She's awake!" Two-Bit calls out from his seat at the end on the couch "I take it you don't like spiders?" He jokes. I've never fainted like that before though... not because of a spider..

"Obviously. How long was I out for?"

He looks down at his watch "Twenty minutes." I nod

Steve comes in "Hey drama queen."

I narrow my eyes "What?"

"You fainted at the sight of a spider. Drama. Queen." He says "Two-Bit you shoulda seen her the other day! There was a spider in the DX and her and Soda were literally on the counter hiding from it."

"Speaking of Soda, where is he?" I ask

"Sandy's. She called and told him to come over, said they need to talk." Two-Bit says not taking his eyes off the Saturday morning cartoons

"That doesn't sound good." I say

"No, no it doesn't." Steve agrees

"What if they're breaking up?" It would suck for Sodapop but would be great for the rest of us.

Steve sighs "He would be devastated. Losing a brother and a girlfriend in one week.."

I run my hands through my hair "God.. what day is it now? Four? Five?"

"Four." Darry and Dally say at the same time.

We settle into a sad silence. The gang lost two people. I lost three. No matter which way I think about it I end up blaming myself. If I had never let August hang out with those stupid guys in the first place none of this would've happened. This is all so fucked up.

Two-Bit shot up "God I can't take it! Why don't we just go down there and find them? We can find them, they can't've got far. Stacy, where's your mom live? Maybe they went there."