Hey, thanks for reading my attempt at a story! Please, please let me know if you think this story is worth continuing. I wrote this on a whim, and truly have no idea where it's going to go. It's really just me trying to get into writing again. It started off as me trying to write an artsy paragraph about smoking, and as always, my unconscious led me into the Outsider's world. Laura was created in a snap decision, and here we are. If you think I, for some reason, should continue this please review or PM me. I would be ecstatic! Oh, and let me know you'd like to see make an appearance. Hopefully you already know who our main man is, after reading. Hopefully my writing isn't complete shit. Constructive criticism is 100% welcome. Thanks.
Disclaimer: Do not own any recognizable characters.
Tuesday, April 23rd, 1964.
The smoke curled up in tendrils around her face, dancing along her pale lips and disappearing into the pitch dark sky. The tip of the offending object in her mouth glowed a muted red, and sparked angrily. She sucked in another slow drag, and let it linger in her lungs before exhaling slowly.
The Dairy Queen was a slow moving sort of place on a Tuesday night, and she was bored out of her mind. She didn't usually mind it; the lull in work, but today was particularly gruesome. She had taken to smoking Marlboros during her breaks, a habit that she didn't intend to snap. It was relaxing and killed time, and besides that, it was cool.
"Laura! You're break ended five minutes ago! C'mon!" a shrill voice sounded from the open kitchen door behind her. She sighed, stubbing her smoke out on the edge of the picnic table she was perched on. Laura scuffed her already dirtied tennis shoes through the dirt, unamused at the thought of returning to waiting on impatient people. She didn't work amongst the easiest crowd of people in Tulsa. She reluctantly pushed open the battered screen door that led into the kitchen. She sighed, and grabbed her tiny pencil and notebook off the counter and trudged out behind the counter.
"Finally. I've gotta get going. Have fun, Laurie." Shelly shot her a wry smile, tossing her notepad onto the counter next to the tips jar, and waving a dismissing hand behind her as she plucked her light blue jean jacket out from underneath the counter.
"Yeah, bye." Laura sighed, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. She only had two more hours of this.
The more than slightly rundown DQ was quiet at seven at night, and Laura dropped her pencil unceremoniously onto the countertop. A middle aged couple was sipping tiredly at lukewarm cups of coffee in the corner booth, and a few underclassmen from Rogers were slouched up against each other at the tables by the windows. Two of the young girls had their faces close together, giggling wildly as they gossiped. The boy next to the girl with the long red ponytail looked like he'd rather be anywhere then he was, and was stabbing at the melting ice cubes with the straw in his glass of Coke. Altogether, it wasn't the most uplifting atmosphere.
"Hey, doll, can I get a 7-Up?"
Laura blinked in surprise, jumping at the close voice. Coming to attention, she realized two boys, about her age, were lounging casually against the counter in front of her like they owned the place. She felt her face heat up for no particular reason that she could come up with, and blinked again.
"You alright?" the boy asked again, raising a dark eyebrow at her. He had dark curls smoothed back with hair grease, and a cigarette was glowing between two of his long fingers. His white t-shirt looked a little dirty, and he had a dark leather jacket tossed over the counter stool next to him. A greaser, if she ever saw one. They didn't normally show up here too often, but more than Socs did. The Dairy Queen Laura worked at was somewhere in middle ground, and usually only middle class kids hung around here. She felt her heart stammering in her chest, and she blushed further. He looked like a real hood.
"You can't smoke in here." She blurted out, reprimanding herself for being scared. He couldn't be any older than she was.
"You gonna stop me, sweetheart?" he smirked, leaning a bare arm against the countertop. The lean muscles in his arm contracted, and Laura's heart faltered again. He took a long drag off that cigarette, and exhaled slowly through his teeth. He was looking at her almost incredulously, an amused glint in his dark eyes. The boy next to him looked just as tough, but seemed more interested in watching the girls giggling by the window.
Laura watched the boy in front of her nervously as he sucked in more smoke.
"So you gonna get me that 7-Up?" he inquired, grinning in a way that made Laura want to shiver.
"Oh, right." She stuttered out, turning swiftly towards the swinging kitchen door. When she was getting the drink, she calmed herself down considerably, telling herself that she was an idiot. She couldn't let boys like that scare her witless. There wasn't really anything to be afraid of. She stuck a straw in the soda, and banged the kitchen door back open with her hip. The hood had draped himself over one of the high stools, his feet propped up on the one next to him, looking quite comfortable. His friend had wandered over to the group of mostly girls by the window, his arm slung around the back of the redhead's chair, who was giggling delightedly behind her hands, her eyes wide at the attention.
"Here." Laura said curtly, setting the glass down in front of him.
"That's ten cents." She prompted, crossing her arms. He flipped a dime at her, and tossed the straw she'd given him on the counter. He tossed half the drink back in one gulp, and Laura couldn't help but stare at him. She was still scared of him, though.
As he finished the glass off, he grabbed his jacket with one hand, and slung it over his shoulder. He winked at her, smirk still on his lips.
"Danny, let's go. Didn't realize we suddenly had the time for you to pick up stupid freshmen." He struck a match against his thumbnail, and lit another cigarette, looking annoyed. His friend shot him a nasty look, but got up anyway without so much as a goodbye to the girl behind him. She looked disappointed, but quickly turned back toward her friends.
"Don't get your panties in such a twist, Tim." The guy grumbled, casting a glare at him. The guy shrugged, backing up towards the front double doors. He winked at Laura again, smirking through his cigarette smoke and saluting her. She blushed brightly, ducking her head. She heard their laughter as the door slammed shut. She couldn't wait to get out of the Dairy Queen.
Wednesday, April 24th, 1964.
"Greasers, huh?" Penny said, looking slightly amused.
"Yeah, real hoods. They just surprised me, you know?" Laura scribbled mindlessly on the cover of her algebra notebook, not meeting her friend's gaze.
"Sure," Penny agreed, popping a stick of gum in her mouth. "Were they at least good looking?" she grinned behind a large bubble, and then popped it with her teeth. Laura rolled her eyes, but remembered the boy lounging against the counter with the greased, dark curls and eyes. He had been attractive in a mysterious way, and probably would have been stunning if she hadn't been scared stiff by him. The other boy wasn't as memorable.
"I guess." She offered lamely, refusing to admit she had found the guy attractive.
"They were, weren't they!" Penny crowed, blonde braid falling over her right shoulder. Wisps of her light hair had come down around her face, and her blue eyes were alight with glee. "I knew you had a thing for greasers. How couldn't you? There's something hot about bad boys, I'll admit." Penny grinned, dimples indenting each cheek.
Laura sometimes wished she was as beautiful as Penny. She was pretty in an innocent way, with her baby doll looks and small stature. She barely cleared 5'4", and was a tiny little thing. Her hair was a natural shade of blonde, and her china blue eyes were too large for her face, giving her this incessant doe-eyed look. The dimpled cheeks were just the cherry on top. Laura wasn't as stunning. She was almost 5'11", an unfortunate height for a girl. She was gangly and awkward, with bony knees and elbows. Her face was average, in her opinion. She had a few light freckles across her nose and cheeks, and full eyelashes. Her hair was a boring shade of brown, but she kept it shiny and healthy, and had recently cut it. It brushed across her shoulder blades as she walked, and she had never dyed or highlighted it. The only feature about herself that she could truly say she liked, were her eyes. They were a startling shade of green. Her mother called them "striking".
Laura looked back at Penny dubiously.
"He scared me stiff! Oh, I was a mess Pen. He got me all flustered. It was awful embarrassing." Laura groaned, shaking her head slightly.
"Flustered? He flirted with you?" Penny didn't hide her surprise, light eyebrows lifting. She had a bright smile across her face, suddenly riveted by what Laura had to say.
Laura started in surprise. Had he flirted with her? He had definitely made her squirm, but she hadn't even considered he might be flirting with her. She assumed he was only trying to make her uncomfortable. Why else would two greasers wander into a middle ground DQ? He had seemed unnaturally interested in her. And he kept winking and smirking at her. A lot of greasers did that though. No, he hadn't been coming onto her. Definitely not.
"I, I don't think so." Laura said slowly, but her eyebrows furrowed. Penny was looking gleeful again.
"A greaser likes you. Who would have thought? I bet he's awful attractive, isn't he Laurie?" Penny gushed in a whisper. The teacher had strode into the classroom, and she didn't look amused about all the chatter. The announcements over the intercom had come to a close, and first period was about to begin.
"He was not flirting with me." Laura insisted stubbornly, just feeling embarrassed about the whole thing. Boys of her own social status didn't even like her. What would make Penny think anyone would? Especially anyone outside of her comfort zone. She lacked any sort of allure, and her height didn't help her out. The only thing she had going for her, was the fact that her chest had filled out over the summer but she was self-conscious about that now as well. If she couldn't get even any middle class boys to like her, what made Penny think this guy would? She barely spoke to any greasers, or Socs for that matter. She wasn't rich enough, pretty enough, well-dressed enough for a Soc. She didn't wear short skirts or lots of eye makeup, and wasn't nearly as stunning as a lot of the greaser girls she saw. She was a lost cause, mostly.
"You wouldn't know a boy was flirting with you if he kissed you on the mouth." Penny rolled her eyes, and laughed softly. "You'll have to point him out to me."
"I've never seen him around school, which is weird. He didn't look much older than us." Laura said, confused by that fact. Penny didn't look as nonplussed.
"He probably cuts class more than he shows up." She supplied, and Laura had to agree with that.
"He was with another boy though," Laura continued. "I've definitely seen him around before."
"Well, I hope you see that guy again. I want to see him." Penny shrugged, flipping her notebook open to a fresh page. "If he's planning on asking you out, I need to approve."
"He was not flirting-,"
"Girls, please stop the side conversation," Mrs. Hanson gave them a tired look, midway through drawing up a polynomial equation in dusty chalk.
"Sorry." Laura mumbled, and slunk lower down in her seat, blushing. Penny rolled her eyes at her friend's reaction, and began copying the equation down.
"This isn't the end of this." She whispered, and Laura fought the urge to sigh. Penny was making the whole thing into a bigger deal than it was. The boys had barely been in the restaurant for fifteen minutes. It was hardly anything to get worked up for. And he hadn't even said ten words to her. It was honestly really sad that that was the most interaction she'd had with a boy in a while, but it was. She couldn't let Penny get hung up on it. It was really all embarrassing that she'd brought it up at all. He probably didn't even remember her, the awkward girl behind the Dairy Queen counter.
God, her life was boring.