Yes, yes he was, and no, no he did not. Two-Bit Mathews was constantly concerned about his image and did not care in the least about grades. His grade point average was a solid D+, and he did not see that it would change anytime in the near future. It wasn't like he cared, of course. Two-Bit had never been one to set high expectations for his grades- his mother had known that he was not the brightest ever since he was three in preschool and had messed up on the ABC's- eight times. In a row. With a poster right in front of him.
He had a one-track mind: Girls. Hair. Impressing girls. Look tuffer to impress girls. Yup, ol' Two-Bit was something of a ladies' man. He'd dated about two-thirds of the blonde teenage girls on the block at some point or another: Minnie, Alice, Katie, Tracy, Dani, and Sal. He was currently with Kathy, but he was planning to end it with her on Saturday in favor of another blonde beauty, Jackie. Two would have to find some way to break it to her nicely, though. Oh, well… nothing he couldn't handle.
Some called him disgusting, some a player. A few called him a try-hard, others a helpless girl-chaser. It wasn't that he was any of those things. It was that he was trying to find It again. It. The spark. The one that he'd felt with her.
He'd met her in the eighth grade- yes, that was young, he knew, but he had an argument with his then-friend Alexa and was exceedingly annoyed by the baffling minds of girls. Two had found her sitting under a tree alone, thoughtfully chewing a turkey and cheese sandwich. He remembered exactly how she had looked sitting there- long, dark brown hair that curled towards her back, neat bangs that stopped just above her twinkling blue eyes, a pale yellow dress that perfectly complemented her thin form, and rosy red cheeks, despite the cold.
Two-Bit gazed at the girl sitting under the tree. She was staring at the sky, and he felt his feet propelling him forward, towards the girl, until he was standing right in front of her.
She looked at him questioningly, swallowing the bite of her sandwich before putting it down on a piece of tinfoil. "Um, hello. Whatcha doin'?" The girl cocked her head, eyebrows raised in confusion.
Two-Bit grinned at her. Gosh, this chick was cute. He sat down beside her, opening his own backpack to take out a spaghetti container. "I was about to ask you the same question," he said cheekily, looking into her eyes. The girl blushed warmly, then looked up again.
"I was just watching the clouds," she said, staring at the sky. "Aren't they beautiful?"
Two-Bit looked up at the clouds, frowning. "I don't see what's so interesting about them. I mean, they're just huge blobs of fluff in the sky, aren't they? Besides," he said, winking with a grin, "I think the little lady right next to me is much more visually appealing."
The girl's cheeks turned a flaming red color, and she giggled. "Water vapor, actually," she said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Two-Bit frowned. "What?" he said, turning his head to the side. What was she talking about water vapor for? It seemed that she was ignored his every attempt to flirt with her.
"Water vapor," she repeated, face turned towards the clouds. "It's what they're made of. Not fluff, water vapor." She turned to Two-Bit, sticking out a hand. "I'm Wendy, by the way. Wendy Miller."
Two-Bit took the smaller hand in his own and kissed it with a goofy grin. She giggled, and he smirked playfully. "And I'm Two-Bit Mathews." He looked up again, right into her big blue eyes, which he noticed were framed by long black eyelashes. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, wide-eyed. The girl-Wendy-slowly released her hand from his and went back to eating her sandwich.
"So," she asked, chewing thoughtfully, "Who do you have sixth period? I'm new…"
They had talked for the rest of lunch period: laughing, chatting, and really getting to know each other. Two-Bit had sat with Wendy again the next day… and the next… and the next, until finally he sat with her every day. Eventually, he got up the nerve to ask Wendy a big question that he was not usually so scared to ask- but that time had been different. She was special.
Lunch period was ending as the bell rang, and Wendy got up to leave. Two-Bit, however, grabbed her hand. "Hey, uh, Wendy?" he asked as she looked back at him with a startled expression. "Would you like to maybe come to the park with me after school today?"
Wendy's initial surprise seemed to melt away, and she grinned, giving the redhead a quick hug. "I'd love to!" she said before skipping away. "Meet you at four!" she called over her shoulder.
Two-Bit had felt a spark running through him as she'd hugged him. Their afternoon at the park had been magical. They'd gotten to spend time together without the restraints of school, and it soon became a regular thing for them to spend a few days a week at the park after school. One night, however, they'd stayed out later than usual- something Two-Bit would live to regret forever.
Wendy and Two were in ninth grade now, the babies of high school. They sat on the edge of the fountain, Wendy with her head on his shoulder, his head on hers. It was growing dark, but neither one cared. They were just enjoying being together.
Wendy sighed, and Two-Bit wrapped his arm tighter around her. "I think I might be falling in love with you, Two-Bit Mathews," she said, causing his eyes to go wide open. But it wasn't a bad shock. In fact, he realized in that moment that he loved Wendy, too. So, he leaned down and kissed her.
They separated after a moment, and Wendy stood up. "I should be getting home," she said, giving Two-Bit a quick kiss on the cheek. She walked up to the sidewalk's edge and waved at him before walking into the street.
Two-Bit watched her as she trotted across the street, so in love with the image before him.
Then, it came.
The car. It was so fast that he didn't even know it had happened until he heard a scream and the screeching of tires on pavement. Two-Bit jumped up from his spot on the bench and ran into the road to find Wendy.
She was sprawled out on the street, and Two-Bit gasped. So much blood. He picked her small frame up in his arms and carried her back to their bench in the park. "Wendy, c'mon, wake up. Wendy! Wendy, please, no. I love you, don't go!" He was crying now; he couldn't help it. Her eyes opened a little, and she brushed her hand against his face, giving him a faint smile.
"Love you, too," she said quietly before her hand dropped and her eyes closed forever. Two-Bit's eyes opened wide and he pressed her into his chest, breathing quickly. "No, no no no no…" he said, frantically checking for a heartbeat. The efforts were fruitless. "NO!" he screamed into the night, up into the sky. As he looked up with tears in his eyes and streaming down his face, he noticed something.
The sky, which Wendy had always like to point out for its beautiful white clouds and sparkling stars, was totally black that night.
Two-Bit tried not to think about her too much. She couldn't possibly be the only one. But he found that, no matter how many girls he dated, that spark was lost to him.
And, despite his ignorance towards this detail, perhaps she was the reason that he dated only blondes.