Tabula Rasa

Chapter One

Nice to meet you

Disclaimer and Author's Note:

I don't own anything, all rights to the Outsiders goes to S.E. Hinton. Also, I'm not sure if dance halls existed in Tulsa but if not, I'll just say this is AU.

Song of choice: "Dance Hall Drug" by Boys Like Girls.

"Sandy, would ya please calm down already?"

"Why should I? And no, not after what Sodapop said," she muttered stubbornly.

"C'mon Sandy, you know how that boy gets. I've known Sodapop for a long time Sandy, and of all the girlfriends that boy's had, he obviously cares about you the most," Evie explained, trying to comfort her good friend. "You know he don't mean it. I bet he's doing the exact same thing you're doing right now only he's probably feeling worse than you do. He probably won't show it, but still."

Sandy was hysterical. "Evie, you were there. That girl was pretty much all over him."

"Please, Sandy, what else is new? Did you really expect much better, Soda's probably the one who felt uncomfortable."

Sandy sighed. "You're right...I just wish he'd let up on all of that, ya know?"

"Sandy, right now, all you've got to do is keep your mind off him and I'm sure you'll feel better about it by tomorrow."

"Okay, but why in the world are you taking me to a dance hall?"

"Sandy, the dance halls are where a lot of people go to just have fun. Especially the middle class kids. There you've got like a blank slate. Not a lot of people there will know you and you could make a lot of new friends."

"Yeah, but won't I be doing exactly want I'm mad at Soda for doing?"

Evie frowned. "No, not really. Dance halls like this one are really casual. Sure you dress nice and there's some formal dancing there, but after a while, it's really just a place where people like to hang out. Nothing serious usually comes out of these kinds of things," Evie tried to assure her good friend.

"It'll be okay, Sandy. I'm sure of it."

"Okay, thanks Evie."

As they kept on driving, Sandy noticed that they were driving by a local cemetery.

"So Sandy, when're you gonna get a car? You know, me and Sodapop are getting kinda sick having to drive you around."

Sandy was about to answer her question but instead, a young man wearing a white tank top ran out from the cemetery gates and right in front of them.

"Evie, stop the car!" Evie's foot pounded into the brakes but it was too late, and they crashed into the man.

But much to their surprise, there was no crash, no thud, not even a bump. In fact, once they brought the car into a full stop, the man was nowhere to be found.

"What!" Evie almost screamed. "What was that? Where did he go?"

The man seemed about their age, well-built, and had thick black hair. But nothing about him seemed particularly familiar, and the darkness of the night didn't help anyone in that department. But they could see him surprisingly well despite the darkness, even though there weren't a lot of streetlights around.

"I don't know," Sandy answered slowly.

"I dunno...do you think it could have been a..."

"No! Of course not. Probably some joker trying to pull something on us."

"I don't know Sandy, he seemed pretty real. From the way he was running, he seemed awful scared or in a hurry."

"Whatever, let's just go to the dance, okay?"

"Right."

They both arrived at the dance hall at around 8 p.m. Evie and Sandy had on a nice, simple dress. Nothing too complicated because well, they preferred not to spend too much on how they looked, but there was no way they'd go around looking poor, even if their families were.

It didn't take very long for Evie to get comfortable with a small part of the crowd. She and Sandy were talking about little things, mostly about their school since most of the kids around here went to another school instead. Soon enough, it was like Evie has been around here for months even though this was her first visit. A friend invited them here and both were happy they came along.

Like Soda and Sandy, Evie hadn't been going great with Steve so much. It wasn't quite as bad as what happened with Sandy and Soda, but it still bothered Evie, whether or not she'd like to admit it. Steve and Sodapop were two pretty wild guys. They'd go on parties, rodeos, drag races, and fights. They were two of the tuffest and toughest kids around.

They also had a notorious reputation around the girls, particularly Sodapop. But to Evie and Sandy, they were much different men. They acted very sweet and kind towards their girlfriends, as they did to them.

The girls would give up almost any of their time if it meant spending time with them, and their boyfriends would do the same. At least, until recently.

As time passed by, it seemed like they were spending less and less time together.

Unlike Evie, Sandy didn't find herself having such a good time. It was nice, but she couldn't stop thinking about Soda.

"Sandy, what're you doing?"

"...I dunno Evie."

Evie sighed. "You know what you need to do? You need to get Sodapop out of that head of yours for once and try and have a good time, okay?"

"..."

Evie surveyed the room. "I know follow me."

"What? Oh, okay."

Sandy followed her friend to another part of the dance hall, near the dance floor where a few others were already dancing.

"How 'bout dancing with that doll over there, in the white suit?"

"Evie I don't think that's a-." At that moment, Evie shoved her friend right at the man, she almost fell over until he caught her.

"Oh miss, I'm sorry," the man apologized.

"No it's my fault," she said. As she gazed upon the young man, she could have sworn she had seen him before.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

Author's Note:

That's all for the first chapter. Sorry it was so boring but the next one is a bit more interesting, but I really don't know how long this story will go on.