Let it Be ||Closed||

"Liv, you know you've been cleaning the same spot on the counter for five minutes, right?"

Olivia snapped out of her daze, looking around her. The diner was basically empty, except for the old homeless man slumped over his coffee in the corner. It was true, she had been wiping the same spot on the counter for quite some time. "Oh," she spoke, rubbing her eyes. Olivia glanced up at the clock-- 1:30 am. Everyone back at home was probably asleep. Olivia's boss, Anna, smiled sympathetically. "Go home to that man of yours, sweetie. I'll finish cleaning up here." Olivia smiled her thanks tiredly at her boss before tossing the rag in the trash. She untied her apron and hung it on the hook before grabbing her coat and keys-- Darry always let her use the car when she worked nights. Olivia swiftly walked to the car and jumped in, immediately locking the doors. You never could be too careful in their neighborhood, although Olivia wasn't usually messed with. After letting the car warm up for a few minutes, Olivia pulled out of her parking spot and began the drive home. She hummed along with the radio as she drove by the park, scanning for any of the boys in case they needed a ride home. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Ponyboy and Johnny laying on the ground, their eyes closed as if they were sleeping. Olivia rolled up beside them and beeped the horn until they jumped awake. She rolled the window down, whispering "Are you two crazy! Get your butts in the car and I'll take you home." Pony and Johnny immediately got in the backseat. "Thanks, 'Liv... It was starting to get cold." Johnny spoke. Olivia smiled gently as she began driving back to the Curtis house. "No problem, Johnny...You know I'll always give you boys a lift." She finished as she pulled into the driveway.

--

Soda absently flipped through a magazine, trying to ignore the mounting tension in the room. Neither Olivia nor Pony were home. Olivia was to be expected, as she was working. But Pony? Soda knew as soon as Pony walked through the door, there'd be a screaming match to beat the band. And he hated fights. Soda could see both sides of the situation-- Pony needed to be more careful, and Darry needed to get off of his back. But there was nothing Soda could do except listen to his younger and older brother scream at each other. Soda snapped his eyes toward the door as he heard what sounded like a car door slam outside. That meant that Olivia was home. As the door opened, Soda smiled and began his greeting. "Hey Liv, how was wo-" But the two bodies behind Olivia caused Soda to stop speaking. Olivia had found Pony and Johnny.

@ acid rain;
Darry had been in his bedroom, pacing back and forth as he waited for his younger brother to return home. He had had enough of Pony losing track of time and staying out way past his curfew. That boy had no sense sometimes, he just didn't think, and this left him to worry constantly about where he was. If he had jumped by some socials or picked up by the cops. The last thing he wanted was to lose custody of his brothers, and that was just what was going to happen if Pony got himself into any kind of reckless trouble. This would be so bad if his girlfriend Olivia was home to keep him calm, but she was at work, and he was already worried enough about her being out there alone. Suddenly he heard the front door slammed shut and Soda's voice talking to someone. He was out there in the blink of an eye, hitting his door open with the back of his hand and storming into the living room. "Where the hell do you think you've been?" he yelled, pointing a shaking finger past Olivia and straight at his younger brother. "Do you know what time it is kid?" he boomed.

xx

Riley was laying in Soda's bed, taking a nap while he sat on the couch waiting for Pony to return home. She knew he would be back eventually, he always came home, sometimes he just lost track of time. She understood why Darry and Soda worried though. Riley shot up in bed, in one of Soda's old DX shirts and a pair of shorts, at the sound of a door being slammed open and Darry's yelling. "Oh shit," she whispered, rolling out of bed and running into the living room. She took a seat beside her best friend Soda and grabbed onto to his hand for support, she knew how much he hated when Darry and Pony got into arguments.

Olivia quickly went to diffuse the situation before Ponyboy opened his mouth. She had to be up in six hours to take him to school, and she wanted to get to sleep. "Hey, hey, everybody just relax. Kid, go wash up and lay in bed. You have school in the morning." She bit her lip and watched as Ponyboy shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door. Olivia looked at Darry as she flopped down onto the couch, closing her eyes. "I know, I know, I should stop sticking up for him. But it's late, and we can all talk about this when we have a clear head, okay?" Olivia rubbed her temples, trying to relax. She had been on her feet since about five that afternoon, and she was beyond exhausted. Olivia smiled slightly when she saw Riley. "Hey, you... when did you get here?" She asked, yawning again.

--

Soda squeezed Riley's hand, watching in amazement as Olivia diffused yet another argument. She had an amazing way to do that. "So, are you going to crash on the couch tonight?" He asked, turning his attention to Riley. "I can grab you some blankets and stuff, Ri." He sipped his glass of soda, finishing what little was left. "Or if you wanna go home, I can drive you. It's up to you." Soda yawned, beginning to feel tired as well. He refused to go to sleep until Ponyboy came home safe. God forbid if anything ever happened, Soda wanted to be awake and able to help.

@ acid rain;

Olivia laughed slightly when Riley said she looked stressed. "Kiddo, I'm always stressed." She sighed and rubbed her eyes, leaning into Darry. "I didn't do it for any special reason, I just wanted quiet." She teased. Olivia was half joking. She diffused the arguments between the oldest and youngest Curtis boy for two reasons. First of all, for peace and quiet. Second, she hated seeing the two fight. She didn't want to be in the middle, as she could see both sides of the argument. "A back rub would be lovely. I've only wanted one since nine." Olivia teased, stretching out.

--

Soda nodded his head. "Sure," he said, patting Riley's shoulder before getting off of the couch. He headed down the hall to the linen closet and opened it, grabbing a few of the nicer blankets that they had. Soda also grabbed a pillow, because he knew just laying your head on the couch was uncomfortable as hell. "Here you go, kid." Soda spoke, handing the items to Riley. "If you need pajamas, I can grab you one of my shirts. But if you're fine its cool." Soda headed back to the fridge and grabbed himself a soda.

Olivia flopped on the old, lumpy, sagging mattress, tummy first. "Home sweet home," she yawned, rubbing her eyes again. "I had another good night with tips," she whispered, turning so she was on her side. "A couple of more weeks like this and we can afford a nicer car." She and Darry had been talking about getting another car, and giving the current one they had to Soda. He could fix it up to his liking and do with it what he wished. Olivia moved back to laying on her tummy so she could get a back massage. "Any time now, muscles." She teased, smiling sleepily.

--

Soda rolled his eyes. "Sure thing, 'kid'. He teased, ducking into his room again to grab a shirt before Riley smacked him again. After covering up Pony, Soda grabbed a big old t-shirt and headed back out to the living room. "What am I doing tomorrow? Well, Sandy and I were supposed to go to the movies with Steve and Jeanie, but she has to study. so I'm free as a bird. Why, you wanna do something tomorrow?" He asked, turning around like a gentleman so Riley could change.

@ acid rain;

Olivia yawned sleepily, closing her eyes. "If this could just happen for the rest of my life, that would be great." She spoke softly, adjusting to kick off her shoes. "Well, yeah, I'd been on my feet with no breaks for eight hours, except for like five minutes to scarf down a burger." The only reason Olivia didn't quit her job at the diner, aside from her amazing coworkers, was the fact that they desperately needed the money.

--

Soda turned back around, nodding with a slight smile on his face. "Yeah, that'd be awesome." He said. "I really wanted to see that movie. You know what, I might just even pay for you. I'm that nice of a guy." He teased before yawning. "Well, I'm gonna go to bed. If you need anything, you know where my room is." Soda gave Riley one last smile before heading toward his room.

@ acid rain;

Olivia bit her lip. "I know, I know. But I want us to have a little emergency money, in case one of us has to take off work or if something bad happens. Put in the work now so we can relax a little bit later, you know?" She asked, rubbing her eyes again. "Maybe throw some in the savings account, so we can finally get you in community college." To be completely honest, Olivia didn't care about her own education-- she dropped out at the same time Soda did. But she did want Darry to continue his education-- he deserved it.

--

Soda closed the door behind him when he reached his room. Once he saw Pony sprawled out on the bed, snoring away, he didn't have the heart to nudge him over so he would have room to lay down. So Soda just grabbed his pillow and a little throw blanket and curled up on the floor. He did have to get a little bit of sleep-- he worked pretty early in the morning.