different comforting methods from different greaser teens:
kenickie: uses a calm voice he picked up from sally, it helps him calm down so maybe it'll help you. gently tries to touch your arm or something to see if you're comfortable enough for a hug/to be held.
putzie: just sits with you. doesn't say anything and leans against you as a "i'm here."
sonny: horrible with words but will still try and cheer you up by acting stupid and telling dumb stories to try and put a smile on your face.
doody: "i'll give you some space." but if you ask him to stay, he'll sit down and listen.
danny: (i know what you are) holding. touch. he thinks physically being there is helpful, but if you don't want him to he'll back off.
frenchy: best listener. best advice giver. occasional jokes to try and make you feel better, but overall she'll sit with you for as long as you need her, give you whatever you need, therapist friend who doesn't mind.
rizzo: "you've been through a helluva lot worse, you can soldier through this. i know it." encouragement. validation. "look at how far you've come." "you're strong as hell for being able to go through this."
sandy: depends on the person. she has specific comforts for specific people because she knows who needs what. kenickie needs to be held, danny needs reassurance, rizzo needs validation, etc.
jan: "hey, it's alright. shit.. sucks a lot of the time. it'll blow over soon, alright?"
marty: 'you need something?'/'wanna go somewhere?'/'wanna do something?' comforting. distraction. "let me take your mind off of it."
Putzie walked along the familiar road only half paying attention to the cracks in the paving slabs and weeds poking through. Despite it being late spring in California, it wasn’t a bright sunny day like it usually was. He could hear Doody and Sonny blabbering on, and he would join them if he wasn’t dreading the school day before it had even begun.
Danny and Kenickie’s fight had shaken most of them. They’d never fought in the entire time he’d known them. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was the beginning of the end. Graduation wasn’t too far away and he couldn’t be the only one thinking that their close group of friends were going to break apart.
But he was broken from his thoughts before they could spiral any further. They’d reached Kenickie’s house and the usual tense peace that they were used to was broken by a shouting match.
“I know what I saw Kenickie!” A lower, slightly slurred voice bellowed.
“I don’t know, okay? I’ve told you a thousand times that I don’t know, why can’t you just believe me?” Kenickie yelled back.
He emerged from the doorway still shrugging on his jacket. His hair wasn’t in its manicured pompadore style it usually was.
“Well, why should I believe you when you’re the one who’s been denying you’ve been getting these letters,” his dad said. “You denying it’s only making it more true!”
“That’s the first one, I’ve told you that!”
“Stop lying to me!”
“I’m not, I keep telling you that but if you’re not going to listen then why should I care? I’ll see you later, or I won’t, I just don’t care anymore.” Kenickie said.
He went to turn away but was stopped when his dad pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Kenickie didn’t move. In fact, Putzie could almost see hesitation as his eyes locked onto the piece of paper.
“Well, if you’re not going to tell me, if you don’t care, then you won’t care if I do this.”
His dad held the paper above Kenickie’s head. Kenickie let out a soft ‘No’, however, his dad evidently didn’t want to listen anymore. In one go, he ripped the paper into four equal pieces and dropped them onto the porch.
“Why would you-” Kenickie started as he collapsed to pick up the pieces at his feet. “How could you-”
“So, you do care,” his dad said simply. “And you care about her, but don’t care enough about me to tell me what I want.”
He shook his head. Kenickie looked up at him, at how he towered over him.
“Fine, but don’t come back here tonight,” he slurred again as he staggered back into the house. “Go and find her if you care so much.”
The moment ended. They stood there for a second watching him. Kenickie could be touchy at times, and they knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t like that they just saw that. Not that that would change the fact that they had.
After kneeling on the floor cradling the paper, he sniffed, wiping his nose on his jacket, and stood up. He placed the torn pieces in his pocket and turned around.
“What are you three doing here?” He asked.
“We came for a ride,” Doody said, gesturing to the car in the drive.
Kenickie didn’t say anything. He held his gaze on the three of them before shrugging and walking to the car. No one moved at first, not until they got an exasperated look, and climbed into the car, pulling out of the drive and pretending not to notice Kenickie’s dad peeking through the blinds.
~~~~
“No, I’m telling you, I’ve never seen them like that,” Doody said. “I know they argue but that was something else.”
They were at lunch. The group, sans Kenickie, were hanging onto his every word as they tried to figure out what that argument was about.
“I think they were on about some letter?” Sonny said. “I don’t know what was in it but it was enough for his dad to kick him out.”
Danny sat silently at the end of the table. He was definitely listening but there was a look on his face that told them that he knew more. He wasn’t sharing what he knew, however, and Sandy had an inkling that it had to do with their close bond that Rizzo told her about.
The conversation stopped again. Kenickie had spotted them, and was close enough to hear what they were on about.
“Having fun?” He said with a scowl.
Danny reached for him, his face screaming with guilt, “Nick-”
“No, it’s fine, carry on, why should I care that you’re discussing my personal life like some tv show,”
And with that, he walked away.
Danny got up to follow him but Sandy stopped him with a touch on his shoulder. She could see his heartbreak the same as the other night, after their argument. She’d said that someone needed to talk to Kenickie, Danny had failed, to some degree, so maybe she could put her hat in the ring.
~~~~
As most people were at lunch, the corridors were mostly empty, so it was easy to find Kenickie. He'd curled himself up in a corner near the science labs. If she listened closely, she could hear him crying.
"Kenickie?" She said.
He looked up. His red rimmed eyes told her that she was right.
"No offence, Sandy’s, but you're not the person I was hoping to see."
She carried on anyway. When she reached him, she made sure to look down with a smile. He shuffled up with a reluctant huff, he didn't look at her.
"You were hoping it was Danny, right?"
Now he looked up at her. In his eyes was shock, and a tiny bit of fear.
"I'm not stupid, you know," she said, then added. "That and Rizzo told me how close you two are."
He didn't look any less shocked. The fear grew in his eyes.
"And about your mum." She added quietly.
He didn't answer. Some of the fear lessened in his eyes. His body was still highly strung, tightly tucked into a ball like a child afraid of a storm.
"Fine, I'll tell you," he said.
She shifted to face him more. Worrying the chapped skin of his lip, he took a moment before he spoke.
"So, Rizzo told you about how my mom walked out on me-" he stopped, he seemed to ponder something before shaking his head and carrying on.
"Which I wasn't supposed to tell you."
He gave a small snort of laughter, "You're in for it, then."
Sandy laughed along too but his face soon fell and they were back to tense, half-filled silence as he thought of exactly what to say.
"My mom sends me birthday cards, she sent letters when she first walked out but I think she worried my dad would find out and know where to find her if he read them, so she just stuck to birthday cards.
"But my dad kinda knew, subconsciously, so when he’d get drunk, and he's a sentimental drunk too, he wails on me about where she is," he gulped and looked down as his eyes went watery. "He never gets physical, but it's-it's scary and the only person I've ever gone to is Danny."
"And a few days ago I got this letter from my mom, no address, so she either actually dropped it off or got someone to, and my dad found it before I did and started yelling at me about whether there were more and why she left-"
A tear dropped down his face. He furiously went to wipe it off, his jaw tense as he tried not to cry, to show he was vulnerable to this in any way.
"-and I went to ring Danny and I got no answer."
Sandy put the pieces into place. Danny had had dinner at her's one night in the week. She’d been in Danny's life more, and without knowing about their bond, must have changed things around from what they'd been for years.
"So, you think it's my fault?" She asked.
"Yes, no, I don't know anymore," he said. "That's what I thought on Saturday when we had that bonfire."
"And that’s what you and Danny were arguing about?"
"Yeah, I, erm, this is kinda awkward, I said some nasty stuff about you, and he put me in my place, but I went on about what I just told you, and I was so mad that I didn't give him a chance to, I don't know, help me? You know, talk it through?"
He ran his fingers through his hair and settled the base of his palms against his eyes.
"And things with my dad only got worse because he's drinking himself stupid, it's the weekend, you know, so he's crying to me about my mom and getting mad when he's sober and the one person I want to go to I can't because I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut and we had a big fight."
Everything fell into place. The argument the others saw earlier, how dismissive and aloof he'd acted. What he didn't know is how sad Danny had been acting. If Kenickie thought he was mad, he couldn't be more wrong.
"I think you should talk to him," she said.
When he gave her an eye roll, she carried on, "No really, Danny’s just worried for you, we all are."
He sniffed and played with his hands.
"No you’re not."
"Yes, they are, they all are, Rizzo, Danny, me."
They met eyes.
"You're worried about me?"
"I mean, yeah, you're acting even more cold than normal, and for good reason but you're just shutting everyone out."
He gestured between them, "But I've been nothing but mean to you, on purpose-"
"Doesn't mean I can't worry," she said, then turned to face him fully. "Look, we may not get on but Danny cares about both of us a lot, so maybe for his sake, we agree to get on a bit more?"
He shrugged his shoulders and nodded. He looked away again.
"And you go and talk to him, if not for you, then for me? It'll show him that he doesn't have to choose between us to have us in his life."
Still averting his gaze, he waited a moment or two before nodding and extended a hand. He didn't spit on it for once.
"Friends for Danny?"
"Friends for Danny."
She got up and, still holding his hand, pulled him up too. They walked back to the canteen in silence. As they entered, the group looked at them. Danny seemed to hold his breath.
"I'm sorry for the other day," Kenickie said, Danny let out a sigh of relief. "And for how I've been acting."
"Thanks, man, thanks,"
And everything seemed to go back to normal. Sandy and Kenickie fell to each side of Danny, the rest of the T-Birds and Pink Ladies bickered. And Sandy realised that Danny smiled for the first time all weekend.
I've had this written since I posted the first chapter but then I just procrastinated posting and then started my prompt challenge but here it is! Thanks for reading!
