Disclaimer: As much as I wish this weren't true, I don't own the Outsiders. I own Reba, but I don't own her family :(
A/N I hate reading OC stories, but I like writing them. My compromise is to write from a main characters point of view. This isn't all about Reba, mostly Pony, but she's a main character. Hope you enjoy, and if you want more, review.
I had just turned in my theme to Mr. Syme after school. I felt like I was giving him part of my soul. But the words came out so easily, it wasn't so hard to do once I got started. As I walked from the classroom, Two-Bit immediately jumped to my side.
"Hey, Ponyboy, what took you so long? I grew a beard waiting for you to turn in that paper of yours." He had been leaning against the door jamb while I tried to explain to Mr. Syme what to do with my over 100 page paper. He had offered to drive me home. I can't be sure, but I think Darry might have asked him to look out for me at school. It doesn't bother me much, Two-Bit's a good guy. On top of that, he also had to drive his kid sister home, cause his mom was working a double shift.
"Sorry, Two-Bit, I had to talk to Mr. Syme. And you..." I started, but was cut off by a curse from Two-Bit. We had just walked out the front doors of the school, just in time to see Reba Matthews slug a boy from my grade right in the nose. He fell to the ground, blood running down his chin.
"Don't you ever touch me again you scum-sucking Soc, and don't you ever say another word about Johnny Cade!" she spat at him angrily. Then she seemed to notice Two-Bit and I's stunned faces and smiled sweetly. "Hey, Ponyboy. Ready to go TB?"
"Rebecca Matthews!" Two-Bit's eyebrow was cocked and he looked to me like his face was switching from angry to awestruck. The boy got off the ground, blood pouring onto his white madras shirt. He called her a greaser tramp and ran off, probably after seeing the menacing glint in Two-Bit's eyes. "We'll talk about this later." Two-Bit said as he walked to his car. Reba shrugged and followed him and I walked behind them
I hadn't really ever talked to Reba that much. Two-Bit had said once that he didn't want the gang to grease her up. I don't know a lot about girls or anything, but from what I had just seen, it looked like she'd already been greased without our help. But she wasn't the typical hood girl. The girls on my side of town wear too much make up, and are tough and loud. Soc girls are nicer and look good, but most of them are stuck up. But as I looked at Reba in the back seat, I realized she wasn't like either.
Reba was my age, but since I had skipped a grade she was still a grade younger. She had the same rust colored hair as Two-Bit, but her eyes were a deep dark blue instead of his tuff gray. Today she was wearing a baggy Mickey Mouse shirt, one I had seen Two-Bit wear sometimes, and dark jeans despite the heat announcing the arrival of summer. She was skinny, probably too skinny, but she looked tough and could obviously throw a good punch. But she was quiet and thoughtful most of the time, and rarely cursed unless she was angry. She stared out the window frowning in thought. I realized that she was actually very pretty. Then my thoughts were interrupted; I guess Two-Bit finally decided against being angry with her and asked the question I knew I wanted answering.
"So what'd the scum do that made you decide to sock him?" He looked back at her in the rear view and gave that wide, toothy grin that made everyone love him. "Pull your hair and tell everyone you had cooties?" Reba just rolled her eyes at him and remained silent. I wondered if she hadn't heard the question, but Two-Bit stayed quiet and waited for her to answer. I guess it's that sibling relationship, like Soda and I have, that makes you know when to say something and when not to. Finally, she spoke.
"He was talking bad about Johnny," she said quietly, and in the mirror I saw her eyes flicker to me anxiously. I was sick of that look. It was the look that people gave me when they had just mentioned what had happened not so long ago, as if I was going to suddenly snap and jump them all. I usually just ignored it, unless they said something bad about Johnny. Then I would go cold, grabbing the nearest object to me and somehow making it a weapon. They could say anything they wanted about me, but not Johnny, not him. Don't remember...
"Why didn't you just verbally beat him? You're good with words, though I can't say your punch was awful." Two-Bit was pulling onto his street. He planned to drop Reba off first, I realized, which means he either wanted to talk to me or hang at my house for awhile. That or Darry wanted him to keep watching me. I don't mind the company though. Reba sighed from the back seat.
"I did, but when he walked away he grabbed my ass..." She ended the sentence quietly, and I glanced back at her and she had a fiery look underneath her night sky eyes. Two-Bit had a very similar look for a second, then laughed loudly as he pulled up the curb of his house.
"Shoot, I was gonna give you hell for jumping a Soc for no reason. Seems like I don't have to play the big brother card tonight though, you seem to have handled things alright by yourself." He laughed loudly again. Reba beamed, happy with her brother's affection.
"Should I make you dinner tonight?" she asked as she opened the door, "Mama's working til 2 so I was gonna get something together and leave her the leftovers when I go to bed." Two-Bit's face fell; I knew it was because he didn't want to hurt his sister but he had already planned to eat dinner with us tonight. We were having chili and chocolate cake that night, and Darry's chili was the greatest in Tulsa. I mean it, if there were to be a chili making contest in Tulsa, Darry would win it. Hand's down.
I knew Two-Bit loved his sister more than anyone and would sacrifice Chili Night for Reba. I don't know why I did it or when I decided to do it, but I found my mouth moving. "Reba you can come to my house for dinner. It's chili night and you can take some home for your mom." Two-Bit's mom was a bartender, and she worked constantly to raise her two kids after Two-Bit's dad ran out on them. Reba grinned happily; she had never been invited to the anything with the gang. She asked Two-Bit if it was alright that she go. He cocked his eyebrow and nodded, telling her he'd pick her up around six. Then she slammed the door and walked inside and Two-Bit and I sped off.
"Why was Reba defending Johnny? I didn't even think they knew each other," I said after a few moments of silence. Two-Bit cocked his eyebrow thoughtfully as he told me.
"Whenever Johnny had been real beat up by his dad, he always swung by your house or mine to stay for awhile. Once his dad had gotten him real bad with a belt and it had cut his back wide up in a few places. He crashed at my house since it was closest. Mom was working and it was just Reba and me, with a bleeding greaser on our stoop in the early hours of the morning." He sighed as he turned onto my street. "I had to run out to get bandages and antiseptic, but Reba stayed up and washed his wounds, talked to him, and more importantly, listened to him. I know Johnny ain't a big talker, but he had been so messed up that night he had to talk to someone. Ever since then when Johnny stayed over he and Reba would stay up and talk for hours." Two-Bit finished the story, shrugging. "I think that's the only girl he's ever cried in front of. Shoot, I'd never seen him talk to any other girl until..." He trailed off, but I knew what he was going to say. Until we met those Soc girls at the Nightly Double. I begged my brain not to think about it, turning instead to the surprising relationship between Johnny and Reba.
"If she's so close with you and Johnny, why doesn't she hang out with the gang? And don't give me that bull about us turning her Greaser." Two-Bit shook his head firmly, almost angrily.
"I wasn't kidding when I said that. That's why I was so shocked to see her take down that Soc. She has a future ahead of her, and I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her..." For once he wasn't grinning like an idiot. I thought about what he meant, I can't imagine what would happen if a group of Socs jumped her. Attacking a girl, would they stoop to that level? What would they do to her? The thought worried me, and suddenly I wasn't so sure about inviting her to dinner.
"It's alright that I invited Reba, right Two-Bit?" I found myself asking. I knew sometimes Soda always let me hang with him, but we were both guys. I was surprised by how he reacted.
"No way Pony, I'm actually glad she gets to come along. She always wants to come with me when I hang with the gang, but I worry about her, ya dig? I guess I gotta let her go sometime." Two-Bit pulled up next to the house and I could already smell the chili and hear the gang yelling and bickering loudly. It was the first time Two-Bit had ever really opened up to me. I snuck a glance at his face: his lopsided grin was still on but his gray eyes were stormy. I think he was worried about his sister but wanting to let her have her fun. The house loomed up in front of them.
A/N First fic, rate and review! I'm not sure how far this is going to go so I'm going to go ahead and rate it T for now, but that may change!