Chapter 1

I woke up early Monday morning. I didn't have work until noon, so waking up at nine was early for me. My younger brother, Ponyboy, was off at school and my older brother, Darry, was already at work. I walked into the kitchen and found that Dar left the chocolate cake I made last night out for me. Our parents had never let us eaten cake for breakfast. But after their accident Darry started to let us. It took a lot of begging on my part, but he gave in. Probably because he has a sweet spot for the cake that our mother used to make, which is the same cake sitting on the counter before me.

I made a couple eggs, put some grape jelly on my plate and cut myself a large slice of the cake. The recliner across from the TV looked comfortable so I sat in that. I flipped through the channels until I found Mickey Mouse. One guy in the gang, Two-Bit Mathews, is obsessed with Mickey. He's twenty years old and still a senior in high school. We always joke that he should get a job and make some money so he can fix up that old car of his. It's a clunker. My best friend, Steve Randle, is also a senior in high school. He works part-time at the DX station with me until he graduates. My brother, Ponyboy, is also in our little gang. He's fifteen and a sophomore. He's into reading, writing, and movies. I sleep in the bed with him at night to keep the nightmares away, especially since they got worst last year. Darry is in the gang too. He's twenty-one, but seems a lot older. He grew up too fast, he was forced to. Me and Pony were put under his care when mom and dad died, he was just a kid. He skipped college so we weren't put into a boys' home. And then there's me. I am seventeen almost eighteen years old. I dropped out of school when our parents died so I could work full time to help support us three. I was only passing gym and shop anyway.

Our gang is small. There are only five of us now. There used to be seven, until last year. Two of our buddies, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston died. We're all still recovering. It's hard losing someone you're close to. Johnny died from injuries from a church fire. Johnny, Ponyboy and Dally went into a burning church to save the children trapped inside. Johnnycake was still inside when the church collapsed. After he died, Dallas couldn't take it. If you knew him, you would know that he was tougher than anyone. If life threw it at him, he could take it. But everyone has their breaking points. He knocked off a convenient store and then was chased to the park by cops. We tried to get there in time to hide him, but we didn't get there in time. We heard the bullets fly, saw him hit the ground, but all I could feel were the tears rolling down my face. Dallas always got what he wanted, he wanted to die. He was a troubled kid, grew up on the streets. Only seventeen. Johnny's parents were always fighting. They ignored him, treated him worse that the dirt they walked on. Made him think he was a mistake. Only sixteen.

Johnny was Pony's best friend. His death has been hard on all of us, but the worst on him. He could barely pull himself out of bed. The nightmares he started having after our parents' accident. I slept in his room to keep the nightmares away, and they did go away. But now some nights even though I sleep in there, he gets them. He always said that he couldn't remember what happened, but I could tell he just didn't want us to worry anymore.

Then there are the girls. I guess you could say they were a part of the gang, but I've never thought of them that way. First there was Two-Bit's girl, Kathy. She had blonde hair (Two was into the blondes) and they had been together forever. She was eighteen and had a lot of classes with Steve. There's Evie, Steve's girlfriend. She was the same age as me and him. She wasn't a greaser like the rest of us. She was a middle class kid. People said she was crazy for dating a greaser when she could've been with someone who could've provided a better life for her, but she loved him and I didn't blame her. Stevie was a great guy. Next there was Dally's girlfriend, Ever Ann. She was nineteen. We could barely pry her from her room, still tore up over his death. I usually went to check on her on my way to work, like I was going to that day. She graduated from school the year before. Ever Ann was best friends with my girlfriend, Hannah. Hann was easily the most beautiful girl in the world. She had long, wavy blonde hair and dark blue eyes, She was always so happy. I'd never seen her drink a drop, but she gets drunk off life. Her smile brightened my day. It's so perfect. She's so perfect.

It was about 10:10 by the time I finished breakfast. I decided that I had time to grab a shower before I headed over to Ever's apartment to check on her. When I got out it was around 10:25. I put my DX shirt on and didn't bother to button it up. As I was walking out the door I looked down at my feet and realized that I had forgotten to put my shoes on. I ran back in and put them on. I hopped into our run down truck and sped across town. I hate driving slow or even the speed limit. I've only been pulled a hand full of times. Darry always gets mad when I come home with a ticket. I can usually charm my way out of getting a ticket, but there have been a couple of occasions when I couldn't.

Darry tried hard not to be a bad parent-like figure. Not hard and abrasive. Tried hard not to yell at me and Ponyboy, but sometimes all the stress got to him and he exploded. Sometimes me and Pony forgot about all the pressure that's put on him. Pony thought that Darry hated him sometimes because he's pushing him to get better grades and go to college. The only reason he dis was because Pony's smart and both me and Darry know that he can. Darry wanted for him to have the life he never got.

When I got to Ever Ann's apartment I didn't bother to knock. She always said that she thinks of us as family. Her house is ours. She told us to just walk in whenever and not to knock or even call to see if we could come. Her door is always unlocked. In case someone needs somewhere to crash for the night, to maybe keep us off the road if we're drunk, to give us a place to go if we're in trouble. My house is the same way, even when our parents were alive. They understood the troubles of the world. They were always there to help.

I found Ever sitting on the couch, empty beer bottles littered her floor, there were smashed ones all over the room, and I noticed that she had another in her hand. She had been crying a lot and that's when I realized what day it was.

It's November 9th. That's why she's so sad. Today would have been his nineteenth birthday. Dally's that is. Dally always talked about how when they were both nineteen he was going to propose to her. She had her nineteenth birthday was two months ago. So today would have been the day.

I grabbed the trash can from the kitchen and proceeded to the living room where she was. She didn't even acknowledge my existence. I picked up all the tinted brown bottles and threw them away. I got the broom and swept up the mess of the broken ones. Then I tried to pry the one in her hand away from her. She had a death tight grip on it.

"No, not until I can't feel anything anymore," she said unsteadily. I looked into her grass green eyes that used to be bright with life, filled with love that are now troubled and depressed. I stroked her long, straight dark brown hair that went down to her elbows.

"Ev, please, let me get you cleaned up. Let me help," I said in a soft, sensitive voice. She threw the unfinished beer bottle across the room. It hit the wall, glass and beer going everywhere. She threw her arms around my neck and cried into my shirt. I grabbed her legs and picked her up. She's much lighter now than I remember, but I didn't say anything about it. I walked her into the bathroom and set her on the counter. After a few minutes of trying to figure out how to turn the shower on, I got it. I grabbed a towel from her room and told her to shower. She didn't object. While she was in there I called my boss and told him that I was going to probably be a little late. He said it was fine as long as I can make up the time I miss tomorrow. I told him that I would. I picked out an outfit for her and laid it in the bathroom. When she got out she laid on her bed.

"Come on, Ever. Sit up so I can brush and braid your hair." She did. My mom had taught me how to braid hair on my ex-girlfriend Sandy. I've always liked braiding hair. Especially Ever and Hannah's, their hair is so long and easy to do. I brushed her wet head and did french-braided pigtails. When I finished I asked her, "Do you want your makeup done? I'm taking you to work with me." She nodded her head and pointed to the dresser where her makeup was laying.

From years of watching Sandy, Hannah, Ever, and Evie do their makeup, I learned how. I put a thin line of black eyeliner on both upper eyelids. Then I put another on the bottom. I mixed the dark brown and gold eye shadows like I've seen her do so many times before, and then applied some to each eye. I put the jet black mascara on her eyelashes. I didn't have to put concealer and foundation on her like Sandy used to cake on her face. Hannah doesn't wear that stuff either. They have naturally flawless faces. Plus, both Ever and Hann believe that a woman shouldn't cover up their face like that. There's no point.

When I got everything done, I made her some lunch since it was almost noon. She told me that she wasn't hungry, but I could hear her stomach growl. I found some ham and cheese in the fridge, but that was all. There was piece of bread in the bread box. I made her a half sandwich and had her eat while we were in the car.

We made it to the station, only thirty minutes late. I immediately went to the drawer behind the counter where I keep anti-anxiety pills for Hannah. There was half of a bottle left, so I shook two out and put the bottle back. She bought a Coke from the machine and gladly took the pills. I let her sit behind the counter with me. It was a slow day today. Only one stuck up Soc brought a car in for repair and three Greasers needed gas. All of them, even the Soc, hit on Ever like she was a piece of meat. I almost had to pry one of the greasers' eyes from her chest with a crowbar.

That's one thing I couldn't stand. Womanizers. They get on my last nerve. They treat women like shit. No one deserves to be treated like that. They think a woman is just there for their entertainment. It's wrong.

At around 2:45, when school gets out, business picks up a bit. Kids come in to fill up their gas tanks for the rest of the week; they grab snacks before they go home. Girls come in and crowd around me. They say that I'm handsome, but I've never thought of myself that way. I have wheat-gold hair that I grease back and lively brown eyes. Pony told me that I was handsomer than anyone he knew. I always said "sure" and rolled my eyes. I have a reckless grin. I'm pretty much crazy; at least that's what Hannah says.

When Hannah walked in the crowd of girls dispersed. For some reason they're scared of her. Probably because Hannah is a tough greaser and they're weak, preppy Socs. She had curled her hair today. The dirty blonde under parts of her hair mixed with the bright blonde parts at the top. She only put on mascara today, and looked even more beautiful than usually. The only other makeup she was wearing was the bright red lipstick. She looks really nice in red. She wore a black cardigan over a red camisole with dark wash skinny jeans. Her white converses commented the outfit perfectly.

Hannah walked right over to me and planted a nice kiss on my lips. She noticed Ever sitting right next to me and ran behind the counter. She hugged her tightly and for the first time Ever actually did something without being forced, she hugged her back.

"I'm gonna take you out to dinner tonight, Evs," Hannah said, still embracing her. "We'll all go out. Just us girls. Me, you, Kathy, and Evie. We can go to the Dingo." Ever seemed a little apprehensive at this, she hasn't been out of her house except coming here, my house, and Hannah's house.

"I guess," Ever said in a small voice. She still had teary eyes and was still drunk. Hannah took one whiff of her breath and said, "Ever, baby, have you been drinking?" When Ever didn't answer, Hannah looked at me, her soft eyes turned hard. Her face that was normally calm had her jaw was clenched in anger. "Has she been drinking, Sodapop?" I avoided her eyes. Last month she came to Ever's apartment and cleaned out all of the alcohol. Then she made sure we all knew that she was not to have any alcohol.

"Sodapop!" she yelled. She didn't need my answer, she could tell by the guilty look on my face. "What did I tell you guys about that?"

"I didn't give it to her," I said calmly. "I don't know who did. Just when I got there, there were bottles everywhere." Her eyes softened but her jaw was still set. She turned to Ever and took her hands in her own.

"Ever, sweetie, who gave it to you?" Hannah asked as calmly as possible.

"Buck did," Ever said quietly. Buck Merrill was the guy that owned the bar Dally lived above. He's scum. We didn't bother telling him this new rule because we never thought Ever would contact him or vice versa.

"I'm going to kill him," Hannah said angrily.

"Just calm down, baby," I said to her. I planted a kiss on her forehead to calm her down and it worked. She hugged me and said, "I am. I'm gonna take her home with me and try to sober her up before we go out tonight. I love you, Pepsi-Cola." Pepsi-Cola was the nickname my dad gave me when I was a kid.

"Alright, Hannah Banana, I love you too. Love you, Ever." She said something inaudible back, but I'm pretty sure it was along the lines of 'love you too'.

They left me in the lull of the afternoon. It was only 3:30. I had two and a half hours until I could go home. Great.