A/N: Hey guys! :)
I came up with this idea about a year ago, and I spent the past months gathering the time and courage to finally start writing, so I really hope you like it!
To all the people who aren't fans of OC fanfics, wait up! To be honest, I'm not a massive fan of them either (although there are some really great ones out there), but the reason why I decided to write one is because Mary becomes much much more than what you think she'll become. She sees every member of Ponyboy's gang from an outsiders point of view and it really puts you into perspective. It's not the typical OC fanfic, trust me. ;)
I'll try to update as regularly as possible, although I don't really have a schedule or anything.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the story plot. If any part of this fanfiction looks like another one, it's not anything intentional.
Enjoy, and please let me know what you think in the reviews! They're very appreciated! :) Stay gold. x
XxX
May 2, 1966
*Soda's POV*
I was awoken that morning by the sound of Darry starting to fix breakfast in the kitchen. I stretched and yawned, trying to find an excuse to stay in bed for my usual five more minutes. I propped myself up on one elbow and looked down on my baby brother, still sound asleep, looking peaceful. He had had a few terrible nightmares since Mom and Dad died three months ago, but I've been sleeping with him for two months now and they stopped occurring so often, so that was a relief for Darry and I. I smiled down at him and brushed away a few strands of his long hair that were falling in his eyes, careful not to wake him just yet.
I softly slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake Pony, and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. When I was done, I wrapped a towel around my hips before stepping out and heading for the kitchen, where I found my oldest brother cooking eggs in a frying pan, a plate of toasts next to him on the counter. I reached for a piece, but Darry smacked my hand away.
"Not yet, go put some clothes on for starters," he snapped, staring at my nearly naked state and my dripping hair.
"Good morning to you too!" I sassed back, flashing him one of my usual smiles before turning to go back to Pony and I's room.
"And wake up Ponyboy while you're there," Darry cried from the kitchen. "He's got school today, Two-Bit is supposed to pick him up!"
I walked into Pony and I's room and dressed in my DX uniform, Ponyboy still motionless under the blankets. I sat down on the bed next to him and stroked his left shoulder gently.
"Pony?" I called.
No answer. I shook his shoulder gently, and that's when he frowned and let out a tired groan.
"Wake up, Pony, you got school today."
Another groan, louder this time.
"Don't make me tickle you," I threatened playfully.
He instantly squirmed away to the other side of the bed, his eyes still closed, a smile edging onto his face.
"Hey, Darry!" I called.
"Yeah?"
"I think Pony needs help waking up over here," I added in a knowing voice.
Darry seemed to understand what I meant because seconds later, he was erupting into the room, a devilish grin on his face.
Before Pony could escape, he found himself trapped in Darry's grip while I tickled him mercilessly. All three of us were laughing hysterically. Pony let out a scream through his laughter, tears forming in his eyes.
"Uncle!" he managed to yell.
Darry released him and so did I. He took a few minutes to regain his breath before jumping on me and starting to tickle me, taking me by surprise. Darry laughed, shook his head in discouragement and walked out of the room to go finish breakfast.
*Pony's POV*
"Pony, breakfast is ready!" called Darry from the kitchen.
"Coming!" I yelled from the bathroom.
I had showered, dressed, greased my hair back and was now looking desperately in the mirror for a hint of beard on my chin, which turned out to be a disappointing quest.
I sighed and walked out into the kitchen, where Soda and Darry were already sat around the table, Soda eating like he would never see food again, as usual.
"When's the gang picking me up?" I asked, sitting down next to Soda, facing Darry.
"Two-Bit said he would be here at half past seven, which means he'll probably arrive around eight," answered Soda.
Just then, I heard the screen door slam and the familiar voices of the rest of our gang. I looked at the clock on the wall, which read eight o'clock exactly. I smirked at Soda and seconds later, Two-Bit, Steve, Dally and Johnny erupted into the kitchen in their usual racket.
"Gooooood morning, Curtis residence!" yelled Two-Bit at the top of his lungs in a game show animator type of voice, opening the fridge and reaching for a beer.
"Before school, Two-Bit?" asked Darry, nudging to the bottle Two-Bit was now holding.
"What? I'm thirsty," he said, flipping open the beer cap with his bare hands before taking a big gulp as I yawned in front of my plate.
"You could use a cup of coffee, kid!" sneered Steve, nodding towards me.
"Cut it out, Steve," I snapped, not wanting to get involved in any of their games, especially if Steve started it.
"Now, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning my poor fellow? Or did you stay up all night reading your entire library for the 42nd time?" Two-Bit said in a fake sympathetic voice.
"43rd, actually," I answered, earning me a few laughs from the gang.
"A sharp one!" Two-Bit smirked. "Where for art thou, Romeo!" he shouted in an overly dramatic voice as he made his way to the trash can to throw away his already empty beer bottle.
"So, what's new on the Socs side, Dal?" asked Darry. "Something we should know about?"
Dallas Winston always knew everything there was to know about the getting and goings around town, his bonding with Tim Shepard and the other gangs around making him somewhat of an informant.
"Nothing much, man," Dally answered, shrugging. "No one in the neighborhood has been jumped since the second semester started. Oh, and there's two new kids in town, a guy and some chick, they moved on the west side of town a few weeks ago. They're starting school today, I think."
"New kids?" asked Darry.
"You heard. The guy must be about Soda's age, and the chick about Pony's age. I don't know their names though. Apparently they're from Canada or someplace up north, probably sleigh-dog riders or some shit," answered Dally.
I frowned. New kids in Tulsa were unusual. Although this was a pretty big town, most people who moved here lived in the middle class neighborhood. Usually the west side was reserved to families with big businesses that were passed on from generation to generation and had settled in Tulsa years ago. New people on the west or the east side of town were somewhat of a phenomenon, especially in the middle of the school year.
I figured this wasn't important. Even if there were new kids on the west side of town, what did we care? It's not like they'll have anything to do with us anyway.
How very wrong I was.
"Guys, you better hurry up, you're gonna be late!" Darry said, suddenly noticing the time.
I snapped out of my thoughts, cleaned up my plate real quick before grabbing my backpack and following the rest of the gang out the door and into Two-Bit's old souped up car.
XxX
*Mary's POV*
I woke up and it was still dark outside. It took me a while to recognize where I was. You know that weird feeling you get when you sleep over at your friend's place and you wake up and you're disoriented for a few moments? That happened to me pretty much every single morning since I arrived in Tulsa. I don't think I'll ever be able to call this place home.
I propped myself on my elbows and looked at my alarm clock on my bedside table. Five o'clock. I sighed. I flopped back on my pillows and tried to fall back asleep, in vain. Today was my first day of school in Tulsa. The only thought made my stomach churn uncomfortably and I knew I was not going to get any sleep whatsoever.
I sat up in my bed, and my mind wandered to my old life. The life where I felt I belonged. I used to live in a small town in Canada, where I was happy. About two months ago from now, my parents were killed in a car wreck, and my brother, Jake, and I had to come and live here with our aunt and uncle, our last living relatives. They were really nice, but they also owned a ranch, which kept them very busy and not very present.
We arrived around here in mid-april, three weeks ago. Some paperwork and registration had to be done with the school, so we couldn't join classes until today, so most of the time, my brother and I wandered the streets of the abnormally warm city, trying to familiarize ourselves with the tiniest similarities we could find between this life and our old life. All this wandering around led me to meet this guy called Bob Sheldon and his gang of friends. We hung out together a few times in my first week here, him being intrigued by the fact that I was new, which was probably a rarity for someone who was used to seeing the same old skanks from kindergarden everyday, if you know what I mean, and about a week and a half ago, we started dating. He's really nice, and really charming, except when he gets drunk. I'd seen him drunk last weekend and it wasn't pretty. He would get violent and dangerous, which kind of made me fear him. He seemed to please my aunt and uncle though, so I would just bear that part of him. Anything to make my uncle and my aunt believe that I'm adapting quickly to this place.
I was soon introduced to the different aspects of life in Tulsa. Bob and I would go on car rides almost every night in the past two weeks, and sometimes, if his friends were with us, he would show me the east side of town. Apparently, this was the place you didn't want to be in. Those were the people you wanted to stay away from. They were poor greasers who would jump at the first occasion to steal your purse or anything they may be able to sell. I made sure to keep that in mind the first time Bob told me about this. I was really scared, but Bob promised he would protect me against those greasers.
I looked around my bedroom. That was probably the only thing I actually liked about this place, aside from Bob of course. I was allowed to decorate it as I wished, but I decided to keep it that way. It had a country, vintage vibe, just like the rest of the house, but it had a feminine touch to it, the bedspread covered with old-fashioned red and pink flowers. The room was big and there was even a seat next to the window where I could watch the sunset every night, like I always loved to do back in Canada. This room could somewhat remind me of home.
I accepted the fact that I was not going back to sleep and decided to get up. I locked myself in my private bathroom and showered, combed through my black hair, applied makeup and got dressed in the clothes my uncle and my aunt bought for me when I arrived. All the other girls on the west side were wearing similar outfits. Straight knee-length skirts with matching sweaters or cardigans. I would've probably liked them better if I was allowed to wear pants every now and then around the house, or even stay in my nightgown, but that was out of the question, our aunt and uncle made it clear from the moment we stepped in the door. Since our aunt and uncle owned a ranch, many businessmen and jockeys came in and out the house, and we had to always look presentable, like any kid on the west side.
"Mary Jane, breakfast is ready!" called Aunt Gemma from the bottom of the stairs, making me jump.
"I'm coming!" I called back. My green eyes met my reflection for one last time. I was skinny. Too skinny even. I was working on getting some curves, but it was a slow process. I sighed one last time and made my way out of my bedroom.
I made my way down the stairs and into the huge dining room, where my brother already was, sitting in front of a plate of eggs and bacon, dressed in beige pants and a Madras shirt, like all the other Socs. I sat down next to him in front of my own plate and began eating through my nervous stomachache.
"So, Mary Jane, how's your relationship with Bob going?" Aunt Gemma asked with a smile.
Aunt Gemma and Uncle Frank always insisted on calling me by my full name, despite my attempts to try to get them to call me Mary. I gave up a while ago.
"It's going well," I answered, telling her what she wanted to hear. She seemed satisfied by my answer.
We finished breakfast in silence. I barely had time to empty my plate before I heard a car horn coming from outside. Bob was picking up Jake and I for school this morning. Jake and I both jumped from our chairs and went to grab our leather school bags. Uncle Frank must've noticed my nervousness because he grabbed my hand and squeezed it before I could make it out the door. He gave me an encouraging smile.
"Just stay away from greasers and you'll be fine, Mary Jane," he said.
I nodded and smiled at him, though this was not reassuring me one bit. As I sat down in the passenger seat next to my boyfriend, planting a kiss on his cheek to my brother's disgust, I figured I didn't have anything to worry about. If I stuck with Bob's gang, I'd be just fine. It's not like I'll ever have anything to do with any greasers whatsoever. The thought of them made my skin crawl. There was no reason to think that I could possibly get involved in anything those poor kids were doing around town.
How very wrong I was.