steal away into that way back when.

"Stay as long as you like," Kaity spoke with a warm smile before heading to the linen closet to get an extra pillow and a blanket for Penny. She liked her guests to be comfortable, no matter how brief their stay in her house was. "You owe us nothing," she spoke as she entered the room again. The brunette quickly made up a little bed on the couch, smiling satisfactorily when it was done. "Alright, sweetie. We're gonna get out of your hair and let you get some sleep. If you need anything, just holler, alright?" She gave Penny a friendly squeeze on the shoulder before turning her attention back to Sodapop. "Get your butt back to work before Roy notices you're gone. Be good." Kaity gave him a quick hug and watched him leave before following Darry back to their bedroom, flopping down on the bed. "I'm getting my nap in, dammit." She grumbled jokingly.

--

Sodapop hugged Kaity before turning his attention back to Penny. "See? Nothin' to worry about. And like Kaity said, you don't owe us anything. We're happy to help ya out." He spoke, patting Penny's shoulder. "I really do gotta get heading back to work. Head by the gas station once you wake up, yeah?" The middle Curtis boy called goodbye to his older brother before leaving the house and heading back to the gas station. Luckily,his boss hadn't even noticed his absence due to Steve covering for him.

Penny smiled, and accepted everything happily. She nodded to Sodapop as he left, "Yeah, I'll see you in a little bit." She watched as he left, then Kaity and Darry walked off. Laying back on the couch, she sighed and stared at the ceiling. She was happy to get to sleep for a little bit, but she was nervous to go back home. Rolling over so she was facing the back of the couch, she pulled her sleeves down more, and then the blanket over her sleepy body.

-

A few hours later, she woke up and noticed she was alone. Shaking her head, she stretched and folded her blankets up. Setting everything on the couch, she made her way to the door. She felt better after getting to sleep, but her body still ached. Lighting up a cigarette, she made her way to the gas station. It looked dead as she got closer. Penny spotted Sodapop, "Hey!"



Darry eyed the girl before he went back to his room. She looked exhausted, and he really didn't want to bother her. Lying down in bed, he chuckled at Kaity's comment. "Then let's get a nap in, love." He wrapped his arms around her. He kept his mouth shut, his head was whirling. He wanted to tell her what had happened, he hated keeping secrets from her. "Kaity, I gotta tell you something." He sighed, and chewed on his lip. "I was laid off last night. And I wanted to wait to tell you until I made sure I got this job... But if I don't, I wanted to tell you." He felt like a failure.

@ saraya-jade.

Kaity felt a mix of emotions right then. She was angry that Darry lied to her, first and foremost. The brunette understood why, but still. They'd been together for god knows how long now, all she wanted was for him to be honest with her. She ran a hand over her face, exhaling softly. "It'll be okay. I'll pick up extra shifts at the deli, Soda's working too. If you don't get this job, it might be a little tight for awhile, but we'll manage. We always do." Kaity was saying these words mostly to calm herself at this point. She was actually considering calling her mother, whom she hadn't talked to in about a year, and asking to borrow some money. "Let's just take a nap, okay? Everything will work itself out."

**
When Kaity woke up, she felt the bed beside her to see if Darry had left for his interview. He did, and Kaity sighed to herself. The last thing she wanted to do right then was get up and go to work. But she absolutely had to. There was no other choice, seeing as she was now the main breadwinner until Darry got this second job. Kaity got out of bed and padded across the room to her closet, throwing on her work uniform. "Penny? You still here?" Kaity called out. Receiving no answer, she assumed her guest was gone.

--

Soda had just gone outside for his break when he saw Penny come walking up. "Hey, you!" He spoke, giving her a friendly wave. "You look a lot more rested to me than you did this morning." She looked rested, and a lot less worried. Which Soda was glad about. Even though Penny was a relatively new friend, he still worried about her. The look she'd had on her face and the way she carried herself that morning was not lost on him. "Did you eat at the house? Cause I can grab you a sandwich or something. I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely starving." Soda said. He rolled his eyes as Steve called out not to listen to him, that he was always starving.

Darrel sighed, he knew he had messed up. He could sense the tension with Kaity, now. He knew there wasn't anything he could say to make things better, so instead he kept his mouth shut, and closed his eyes. They would figure it out, they always do. But it's true, things were going to be tight, and even with a new job he still had to wait to start, and get his first paycheck. The last thing he wanted was for his girlfriend, and younger brother to have to support the family. Darry was always the breadwinner, it was in his nature, and to feel so useless was leaving him with a sick gut. Rubbing his eyes, he noticed Kaity was fast asleep. Without waking her, the eldest Curtis boy got ready for his interview, and set off early. Hopefully showing his eager attitude would win him some bonus points.

--

Walking into the office at the mill, Darrel shook hands with the man in front of him. "Darrel Curtis." He introduced himself.

The burly man returned the shake, "Joseph Walker, I was just transferred here outta Detroit. If all goes well, you'll be my first official hire." He gave a friendly grin, something he had become a pro at over the years. Joseph talked with Darrel, the usual interview questions were shot his way. Darry answered all of them with the right attitude, and it was what Joseph wanted to hear. After around twenty or so minutes, Joseph cleared his throat. "Well, I will more than likely be calling you within the day or so. I can see you here, Mr. Curtis."

Darry smiled, "Well thank you, sir! My girl will be happy to hear this."

Mr. Walker raised an eyebrow, "Ah, do you have kids then?"

"Oh, no. Just me, my two younger brothers, my gal, and sometimes some of my brothers friends stay with us. We actually have my brother's friend at our house right now. She was asleep when I left. My girl and I really like making sure the kids are taken care of."

He nodded, "I see. Well, I can understand that. I have two daughters of my own, and I always make sure they're safe."

Darrel didn't quite like the tone he had with that sentence, but he found it best to ignore it. With one more handshake, and good day, Darry went straight to the Deli to talk to Kaity.

--

Waltzing into the deli, Darry smiled big, his heart full of hope. He almost ran to the counter. "He said he'll call me in a day!"



Penny smiled when Sodapop greeted her, his voice was warm. "I feel so much better, thank you!" She could've wrapped him in a hug for being so kind. Rubbing the back of her neck, she felt her stomach grumble. "I am a little hungry, actually. I wasn't too sure about eating someone else's food." She laughed a little. Her home wasn't as open door as his. Her mother would always try to have the neighborhood kids over, and make sure they were taken care of, but her father was the opposite. Kids would come over her father would make them feel unwelcomed, or like a nuisance.

Laughing at Steve's comment, "Nothing wrong with an appetite. I'm pretty sure I could eat more than he could." The small dirty-blonde thought about how much trouble she would be in if her father knew where she was. However, that wasn't her concern for the time being. Instead she was excited to be hanging out with someone who made her feel like a person, and not a possession.

Kaity had been in the back of the Deli with Josie, filling her in on what had happened earlier in the day, when she heard the door open and the booming voice that could only belong to her love. She ran to the counter, her face lighting up as she hear Darry's words. "Oh, my god, that's wonderful! I'm so proud of you!" Kaity leaned across the counter, pressing a kiss to Darry's lips. "That can only be good news! See, I told you! Everything's gonna be fine." She breathed a sigh of relief, the pressure momentarily relieved. "I'll be home at about eight, okay? And don't worry about dinner. I'll bring home that macaroni that you boys all like to celebrate... now only if someone would clean my kitchen." She teased, giving Darry a wink to show she was kidding.

"I love you." She spoke by way of saying goodbye.

**

Kaity had left the diner at about eight ish, deciding to go on foot. She let Soda borrow her car so he, Penny, Steve, Johnny and Pony could go to the movies again. The brunette didn't mind at all-- she was happy that the boys were going out again, especially Soda. He deserved to be a kid every now and again. Kaity could always live vicariously through their stories, anyway. She hummed as she walked home, hand wrapped around the blade (given to her by Dally Winston, the brother she never had) in her coat pocket.

About a third of the way into the walk, she noticed a pair of headlights up ahead. The car was too new, to nice to belong to someone in this part of town. What the hell are the Socs' doing around here? She asked herself, stopping as she did so. Big mistake. As soon as she stopped moving, two Socs got out of the car. They were big-- not as big as Darry, but they still made Kaity very aware of her 5'3 and 110 pound frame. "Hey, streetwalker, how much for the night?" The smaller of the two asked, putting a hand on Kaity's shoulder. She shoved him away, glaring harshly. "Get away from me, asswipe!" Kaity hissed. The bigger of the two Socs glared right back before slapping Kaity across the face, hard as he could muster. "Wrong fucking answer, whore!" He yelled, ripping off Kaity's jacket before hitting her over the head.

And that's where everything went black for her.

**

She came to much later, only able to tell by how pitch black the sky was. Everything in her entire body hurt, and Kaity was very much aware that the only items of clothing she was wearing right then were her jacket and her panties that were hastily placed back on her body by the Socs before they ran. Kaity did her best to sit up, and running a hand through her hair told her that she was bleeding.

____

Soda's day had been wonderful, again. He took Penny by the deli on his lunch break, during which Kaity offered him her car for the rest of the day. Take your brother to the movies! Go have fun! She'd said. Soda was half convinced she was just trying to get everyone out of the house for a change, but fine by him. He enjoyed spending time with the rest of the gang, and Penny. She was a nice girl, and everyone in the gang seemed to like her. Except for Dally, but Dally really only liked Kaity and Johnny. They saw some random beach movie that Soda couldn't remember the name of for the life of him. It was funny, though-- he laughed a lot. Soda liked to laugh. He always said if you weren't laughing, you were crying. And he'd done enough crying in his life.

He'd dropped Penny off at home first, telling her that he'd had fun again that day and he'd see her tomorrow. After making sure that she got in the house safe, Soda drove Pony and Johnny back to his house. He could immediately tell that something was off before even setting foot inside. There was something in the air, and it made the middle Curtis child sick to his stomach.

button insurance!

Darry kissed his girlfriend back, he was so proud of himself, and of her. She always had faith in him, “I will happily clean the kitchen for you.” He winked, and with a wave, and I love you he left the Deli to run home and get things ready for dinner. Darrel made his way home, and immediately started cleaning. The boys were good about picking up after themselves, but there were still small things that had to be done. Picking up the blankets off the couch, he put them back into the closet. After he was done with the living room, he went to the kitchen. Dishes weren’t hard, before he knew it the kitchen was done. He looked to the clock, it was a little after eight, still no Kaity.

Time passed. Wringing his hands, he set the table while the front door opened. Half expecting to see Kaity, he almost frowned when his brothers, and Johnny walked inside. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was expecting to see Kaity.” He shook his head, shoulders drooping some. “She said she’d be home around eight-ish, but she still isn’t here.” The clock was reading past eight. “Kaity was bringing home dinner tonight to celebrate me getting the job.” Darrel was kicking himself for not going back to pick her up after work.

Something was wrong, his gut was heavy. “Alright, let’s go see if we can find her. I’m not likin’ this one bit.” Feeling his back pocket for his switchblade, the eldest Curtis boy went to his truck. The rest of the boys hopped into the bed of the truck, besides Sodapop who was sitting beside him. “Something don’t feel right.” As they drove down the road, slowly, the came up near an alleyway. Kaity knew her way around town, she had her little ways she would go, but rarely would she risk an alley at night. However, past the alley entrance, Darrel could make out someone sitting on the sidewalk. Without a second guess, the old pickup was slammed into halt, and off went Darrel.

Running up to the body on the sidewalk, his stomach dropped. A sight he never wanted to see. He dropped to his knees, “Fuckin’.. Kaity, are you okay?” She looked shocked, her small frame only covered by a jacket. He quickly took off his overshirt, and helped wrap her in it. The dinner she had been carrying was splashed across the ground. Anger boiled in his stomach, his head was pounding with thoughts of what’d he’d do if he got his hands on whoever did this. But all that mattered at the moment was getting Kaity to the truck, and getting her home. Darry could hear the footsteps of the worried boys behind him, “Get back to the truck!” He almost shouted, gently sliding his arms underneath of Kaity. “I’m so sorry.” Was all he could whisper as he took her home.

--

Darry wasn’t sure what to do, he was so angry, he only wanted to find whoever did this to her. The rest of the boys were clueless to what had just happened, soon they’d catch wind and end up at the door though. Especially Dally, which made Darrel want to kick himself more. Dally would sure have a hay day with this, and the cocky bastard would try to blame Darry. There was respect between the two, but Dally saw Kaity as his sister, leaving him in a more protective state.



Penny was ecstatic that she had spent the entire day with the boys, especially Sodapop. However, Penny knew all good things had to come to an end, landing her back into the home she wanted to leave. Smiling to Sodapop before she went inside, Penny sighed deeply as she turned the doorknob. On the other side she could hear the echo of shouts, with the response of something being thrown. Reluctantly walking into the source of the noise, she looked to her younger sister, and brother. Mary, Matthew, and their mother were all sitting on the couch in the living room while their father screamed. Apparently only one person was a decent hire out of all the men he interviewed, meaning did not make quota, meaning he wouldn’t be getting a bonus that week.

The family now had to endure his anger. Penny cringed as he cursed out her mother, getting in her face, she tried to stand up for herself, it only landed Matthew to be the next target. Almost running in between her father, and Matthew, Penny shouted. “You’re a fucking monster!” The burly man reeled back, and allowed the back of his hand to collide with her cheek.

“You won’t speak to me that way!” Penny shook off the tears that threatened to fall, instead she kept her younger brother behind her, while Mary went to tend to their mother. Mr. Walker continued to shout, his hands grasping onto Penny’s shoulders. The small girl was being thrown like a ragdoll. After twenty or so minutes of constant screams, and low blows, the drunk mess left to the bar.

--

Penny pulled the blanket over her sleeping mother, and sister. Her brother was curled up in her bed, while their mother and sister slept in her sister’s bed. The bedroom door was locked, a chair perched under the door handle. It would be another sleepless night; at least she would see Sodapop the next day. The thought of running to his house with her family was an idea, but one she pushed far to the back of her mind. He had already done enough for her.

@ saraya-jade.

At first, when Kaity saw the headlights, she thought the Socs' had come back for more. She merely curled up into a ball and closed her eyes, all the strength to fight gone. Relief flooded her system when she realized it was Darry, and she gratefully accepted his shirt. "I'm okay guys, don't worry. Just listen to Darry, m'kay?" Kaity coughed as she stood up, doing her best to smile even though she was in the worst pain she'd ever been in in her life. That was just who Kaity was, though. No matter what happened to her, she wanted to make sure those around her were safe. Johnny said something about going to notify Steve, Two-Bit, and Dally before tearing off, and the frightened look on Pony's face was enough to break her heart.

She climbed into the truck with the help of Soda. He gripped her hand, told her he loved her and that he was sorry before going to join Pony in the bed of the truck. Kaity gave him a slight smile, too exhausted to form a sentence more than a few words at this point. She waited for the door of the truck to close before putting her head in her hands. "I didn't even have time to grab my blade out of my god damn pocket..." Tears pooled up in her eyes and she punched the dashboard in frustration.

The brunette was silent the rest of the car ride back to their house. "I just want to take a shower and go to sleep." Kaity spoke, coughing slightly at the end of her sentence. She accepted Soda and Pony's help up the driveway, squeezing Pony's shoulder to show that she was okay. "You should really get to bed, squirt. Isn't it a little late for you?" Kaity teased once they were inside. She sighed, realizing that she probably looked like a complete mess. "I'm going to take a shower... I'll be fine." Without waiting for anyone to object, she headed down the hall to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

When Kaity finally looked at herself in the mirror, she felt like she was going to be sick. She looked like hell. There was a cut on her forehead that had bled a considerable amount, as well as tear and mascara/eye makeup stains. She had a black eye, as well as bruises on her neck from where the one guy had attempted to choke her. With a heavy sigh, Kaity took off her clothes. She didn't even want to look at her body at that point, for fear she would burst into tears again. The brunette turned the water as hot as she could before stepping into the stream.

--

Soda was hit with a mix of emotions when he saw Kaity-- rage, confusion, and sadness being the most prominent. Why the hell would someone do something like that to her? She was practically the human equivalent of sunshine, respected by pretty much everyone on their side of town. Johnny looked at her as the mother he never had, and Dally worshiped her word as law. "I'm gonna go get the guys, be back at your place in thirty." Johnny had said before turning on his heel and tearing into the night. Soda nodded his head before gently taking Kaity by the elbow and helping her into the truck. "You know I love you like the sister I never had right? I'm sorry, Kaitycakes..." he busted out Kaity's rarely used nickname, squeezing her hand before closing the door and climbing into the bed of the truck.

He slung an arm around Ponyboy, giving his brother a side hug. "Don't worry about Kaity, Pone. She'll be fine, she's tough. She has to put up with us, she can do this." He teased, attempting to illicit a smile out of his little brother. They drove past Penny's house, and Soda briefly wondered what she was up to. They were home in a few minutes, and the younger Curtis boys were on their feet in an instant to help Kaity into the house. Once she was safely inside, Soda turned to his older brother. "I'm gonna go see where Johnny is in rounding everyone up. I'll be fine." he grabbed his blade and jammed it in his pocket before running off, scanning for his friends.