Chapter 5

Sorry for slow updating! I've been super busy lately. I also had some writer's block. But it's okay now!

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Chapter 5

There's no other way to say it. I know I'm pregnant. All the signs point to it. Another week goes by to prove me right. Oh gosh. What am I gonna do?

It's another weekend in the Curtis house. Like before, I find Two-Bit drinking, and the same encouragement for me to do the same still stays around. Even Darry, the cautious and strict one of us all, is drinking a beer and lounging around. But he's only taken two sips since he opened it.

Of course I find myself next to Ponyboy and Johnny. I smile to myself as I realize how much I really like their company. We're alike in ways we understand. I know Soda tries to understand. I don't know how he possibly could. We're a mess of friends, that's for sure.

Two-Bit finishes making a terrible joke. Everyone laughs though, except me. I feel a little distant since I'm thinking so much about my situation. How will I tell them? I'm torn apart. I want to tell them, but I can't. My heart says I can trust them, but my mind is telling me to be scared and run away from it all. I don't know which to believe... I feel like I'm having a war with myself. They'll find out soon enough. I guess maybe sooner than I expect, really.

"I saw these little kids today. Tough, man. They're gonna be some good greasers," Steve comments.

If someone mentions kids one more time...

"JT, grab ya a beer," Two-Bit insists.

"I don't want one," I answer.

"Why not? You got ripped on your birthday," Steve says, confusion on his face.

"I just don't want to. That's all..."

"You seem down," Soda points out.

"I'm fine!" I answer. "I'm just a little tired." I wasn't exactly lying either. I'm exhausted. They accept my convincing comment and continue talking and messing around.

"Y'all remember the fair?" Two-Bit says with a drunken laugh. "Man, that was the best time of my life."

"What about that time we got JT to drink for the first time?" Dally jumps in. "That was funny."

"No it wasn't!" I defend myself.

"Yeah it was," Darry says.

"Aw shut your trap, Darry! You were the one hollering like a madman at Buck's," Soda tells him.

"Yeah and JT missed it," Johnny reminds everyone.

"I probably didn't miss much," I tell him.

"Then why don't you grab yourself a drink?" Two-Bit insists.

"I said I don't want one."

"Why?" he asks.

"C'mon!" Steve adds. Everyone begins throwing in their agreement. Seven people are talking at once. I explode.

"I can't!" I yell. "I can't!"

The room goes silent. Everyone stares at me.

"W-why can't you?" Soda asks, approaching the situation the best he can.

Crap.

"I just can't..."

"There's gotta be a reason why not," Dally says.

"Shut up! If I wanted to tell you, I would!" I point out to him angrily. I frown at my actions. "I'm sorry, Dal. I ain't been myself lately..."

"C'mon, JT. You can tell us anything," Johnny insists. I sigh heavily and close my eyes, preparing myself to break the news to them.

"I- I..." My mouth closes as I try to speak. I don't know if I can tell them.

"What's wrong?" Darry asks softly rather than his usual tough self. I swallow hard.

"I... I'm pregnant..."

No one speaks a word. Everyone stares at me incredulously. Then they look around the room. Two-Bit lets out a soft laugh.

"You're kidding, right?" he asks. I look down and shake my head.

"No. I'm not," I admit quietly.

I look into the eyes of a surprised, shocked, and disappointed gang. I knew this was a bad idea...

•••

Ponyboy's POV

She's... pregnant? Since when?

"How long have you known?" Soda asks, looking at his feet.

"A week..." she answers. I can't tell if everyone's disappointed or not. It's hard to figure it out when everyone has a different outlook on it.

"Who did it?" Dally asks. JT seems unsteady now. I'm pretty sure she knows for sure. My only fear is that it's me... My second biggest fear is that it isn't because she said she wouldn't do that...

"I-I don't know," she stutters. She doesn't know? I thought she said she loved me? What does she mean?

"You mean you've been screwing around?!" Darry yells.

"N- no! I haven't!" she says defensively. The room is an eerie silence. No one's ever yelled at her. Ever.

Darry puts his hand on his forehead. "Then what are you talking about?!" I see JT sobbing uncontrollably already. "Do you know what this means? We'll have to revolve our lives around that kid. It's not like it's hard enough or anything!"

"Darry, cut it out," Soda says gently.

"I wanna see you try and work two jobs full time to support three other people!" Darry says with frustration.

"Wait a minute..." Steve says, trying to calm everyone down though it's just Darry getting mad.

"Yeah hear her out," Two-Bit agrees.

"Okay, okay. There ain't much to hear. All I know is that I'm having a baby..." she says.

"Who's? Are you sure you don't know?" Dally asks. Me and her glance at each other. I raise an eyebrow, asking if it is mine. That's weird to say...

"JT, you can tell us. We trust you," Johnny says assuringly. JT nods at me. I swallow. My kid...

"It- it's my baby..." I speak up quietly at first. I raise my voice a little more. "Mine..."

Everyone's eyes widen, and their mouths open in shock. Dallas still looks cool though he's got this knowing and shocked face.

"Way to go, kid," he says sarcastically but really meaning it, I guess. With Dally, I never know.

"What are you talking about?" Darry asks angrily.

"You heard me... It's my baby," I answer sternly. I never talk back to Darry, but he's indirectly insulting me and her. I don't like it one bit.

"Ponyboy, you got a lot of nerve," he says. I fold my arms across my chest and frown at him.

"Wait. You mean that you and JT...?" Two-Bit asks. "Shoot, you're a liar! You did go all the way!"

"So what?" I ask in return.

"Pony, are you serious?" Johnny asks. I sigh heavily.

"Would I lie to you?"

"You did when we all asked," he says.

"Because I had to! I knew y'all would make a big deal over it, so I never told!"

"You're pretty sexy when you're angry, Ponyboy," Two-Bit says then roaring with laughter. JT can't help but try to not laugh. Pretty soon, everyone's back to silent, but deep inside I know they're upset.

Darry gets up and begins pacing. "I just... I can't believe you. I can't believe you two!" he says, raising his voice again. "Ponyboy, you know better. You never use your head! And JT, you know better too! Do you even know what you're gonna put all of us through? I don't think you thought either." She scrambles to her feet.

"Yeah? Well you ain't my brother! Why should I listen to you?!" she yells back. She runs out the door past everyone. The room is silent as the heavy tension grows. I huff angrily and get to my feet. I stop and look at him with a scowl. Then I run out the door to chase after JT. I catch her walking down the road.

"Where do you think you're going?" I ask, gently grabbing her shoulder.

"I knew this would happen. I'm just walking," she answers.

"Forget what he says."

"But you're his kid brother, and he has just as much right to get onto me..."

"No he doesn't."

"Look, Ponyboy," she says with tears falling down her cheeks. "I don't think it's too hot of an idea for me to stay here. I mean, I love it and all, and I love all y'all, but Darry's right. It's hard enough without adding a baby in the middle of it. I'll find somewhere else to stay or something. I can visit everyday that I can, and we'll figure out a good plan."

"But... But you can't leave," I tell her, tears starting to form in my eyes. I can't let her go like this. "You can't leave me after everything we've just been through. If they cared enough, they'd take care of you. Shoot, JT, we're a family. And I ain't gonna let you walk on out without me tagging along. And that's my kid too. If no one else likes it, I do, alright? We're gonna be just fine." I pull her into a hug. The renewed confidence in her beams through her smile. "We'll be fine," I repeat, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry we're gonna end up going through hell."

"We'll figure things out. Until then, don't let Darry get to you. He ain't ever had stuff like this happen to him before," I explain. She takes a deep, shaky breath and pulls away.

"I guess we're really stuck, huh?" she asks. I smile to myself.

"Maybe they are."

•••

JT's POV

Ponyboy and I walk back into the house. All eyes fall on us again. I start to walk to my room to be alone, but a voice stops me. I turn around.

"JT," Ponyboy says, "we're all here for you, alright?"

"Yeah..."

"Seriously, kid. You need me to come beat up some socs for ya, I'm right here," Dally says. I look up and weakly smile at him.

"We've always been here, you know," Two-Bit adds.

"I guess it just takes something like this to realize it, huh?" I ask.

"We'll tell you what," Steve starts. "When this kid gets here, we're all gonna pitch in." Everyone chimes in their agreement.

"We're all in this, JT," Soda says.

"Where's Darry?" I ask.

"He's in his room." I sigh heavily and turn in for the night. I being reading on a book and eventually hear a light knocking on my door.

"Come in," I say quietly. Soda walks in. "Hey, I thought you'd be going to bed by now. You got work tomorrow."

"Yeah I know. I wanted to talk to you." I close my book and sit up. Soda sits on the edge of my bed.

"Alright. You gonna talk or does a cat got your tongue?" I ask. He smiles a little.

"So you and Ponyboy, huh? Man, I thought I'd never see the day he'd get with a girl. He's always so caught up in books and stuff."

"Yeah well, I guess he's put 'em down for a while. He'll have to..."

"Look, what Darry said, don't take it personal, okay?"

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" I ask.

"But he didn't mean it. He doesn't mean half the stuff he says. He's just got a lot more worries than he should. JT, you know how he is. That's a lot to put on his shoulders all at once. It scared him more than anything. He doesn't show it, but it scares him. None of us know how to take care of a kid, you know?"

"You think I do either? And besides, how else was I supposed to tell y'all? I was mad and scared all at once. I didn't want to say nothing, but I had to. You would've figured it out sooner or later," I explain.

"Hey look, talk to him tomorrow. He might be cooled off by then."

"What if he ain't? What am I gonna do then? We can't just ignore one another. I don't know how to please him at all. To him, I'm probably the worst girl he's ever met."

"No, that ain't true. You think we'd be around anyone else? We don't wanna be 'cause we know we got one of the best friends anybody could want. That's you."

"You mean that?" I ask him. He nods with his famous smile on his face.

"Yeah!" Soda says. I then hear Darry's words in my head again- "You mean you've been screwing around?!"

"Why would Darry think I went screwing around?" I ask. His smile fades, and he frowns like he's thinking about something really sensitive to him.

"I had a girl who did that to me before. She moved away. I sent letters, but she sent them back unopened. The thing is, it wasn't my kid... Darry got mad. He gets really protective over me and Pony, especially. That's why when Ponyboy said that this is gonna be his kid, Darry got upset."

"Soda, I'm gonna tell you something that I'll probably never tell anyone, alright? Don't say anything."

"I won't," he assures me. I look down and back to his wild yet soft eyes.

"We- I was drunk out of my mind. Ponyboy wasn't as bad off as I was. We didn't mean for it to go there. I remember telling him how I really did love him. We talked it out. I told him since I loved him and he loved me that it was okay. I wasn't wrong, was I?"

"I don't know. Yes and no," he says.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, yes because when you love someone, it's okay. No because you might have regretted what you did."

"I don't, but I do. I don't know how we're gonna do with this baby. It worries me to think that I might not be a good mom, or we can't support this kid. I wanna be there for them as they grow up..." I feel a tear roll down my cheek as I think of what I want to be for my baby. I don't want to end up like how my parents were to me. It wouldn't be fair. I continue. "Soda, I'm scared. I'm really scared things won't work out like they always do..."

Soda pulls me into a hug. "I know, I know. It'll be okay. We always pull through, don't we?" I nod. "Same here. We'll figure out something, JT. I promise." We pull away, and I wipe my tears away.

"Thanks, Soda. You ought to go to bed. You got work." He nods.

"I guess so."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, JT."