Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.
A/N: This one-shot is based on a brief paragraph mentioned in the book, when Ponyboy is explaining how the greasers would watch their mouths around girls who were "the cousinly type." He compares this to the time when Steve's female cousin came down to Tulsa from Kansas. So, that's where the inspiration for this one-shot came from. The story takes place the summer before the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. I hope you all enjoy, and please don't forget to review!
The Cousinly Type
[x]
Steve was never the type to talk about his family, especially due to the fact that he was constantly at odds with his father. But now that he mentioned it again, I remembered the time we were having burgers in May at the Dingo and he said that his cousin would be coming down to Tulsa for a few weeks in July. Apparently the girl was pretty shy, but Steve said once she got used to you, she'd be her normal, life-loving self. This being said, I figured she and Sodapop would get along just fine, but Soda would never stray from Sandy. I bet he wanted to marry her.
I was propped up on two tires, watching Steve fumble around with the engine of an old Chevy. He wore an agitated expression, but I wondered if it was because he was having trouble with the car, or the fact that Two-Bit was trying to sweet-talk his reluctant cousin about twenty feet away.
I faintly heard the conversation, only picking up Two-Bit's emphasized pet names. I supposed he called her "baby" every fifteen seconds. Judy Randle just stood there, arms down, fingers twisting together with nervousness. I felt her pain; Two-Bit was oddly intimidating, what with the fact that he was so confident, so sure that everyone was his friend from the start.
"Johnny!"
At the sound of my name, my head shot up to the sidewalk, where Ponyboy was standing, smoking a cigarette. "Hey Pone," I greeted him, too lazy to sit up from the somewhat comfortable tire. This July afternoon was scorching, and I really didn't feel like walking around too much. I had never realized how big of a sweat walking could create until yesterday, when the temperature reached close to 100 degrees.
"What are ya doin', Johnnycake?" Ponyboy asked as he took a seat next to me on the hot concrete. By this time his cigarette had just about finished, so he rubbed the butt against the cement, stomping the sparks with the sole of his sneaker.
I shrugged, pulling a cancer stick out myself. Seeing someone else smoke always gave me the urge, so I made sure to carry extras when I was around the gang. "Not much; there's nothin' to do, and it's too hot to do anything anyways," I muttered, not in the mood to carry a conversation.
Ponyboy nodded in response, following my gaze to Two-Bit and Judy, who looked as if she was about to storm from the DX. Nobody was around to distract Two-Bit either, since today was Soda's day off, and I doubted Pony would want to. I was too hot to even stand, not that I would go up to that girl anyways. She wasn't overwhelmingly pretty, but she did have something about her that made her stand out a bit. Maybe it was that slight twinkle in her eye, but I wasn't sure. I couldn't see it now that she was with Two-Bit, anyway. She obviously wasn't charmed by him.
Judy sighed, said something quietly again, and made her way over to Pony and I, away from Two-Bit. "Hey," she mumbled, sitting next to Ponyboy on the ground. "I, uh, I'm Judy."
Ponyboy nodded. "Yeah," he murmured, "We met you, remember?" He chuckled nervously, unsure if his response was insulting or not.
Judy seemed a bit taken aback, but she pretended like he didn't say anything and instead endeared us in conversation. She had a slight Southern accent, but only because she was from the southern portion of Kansas. Had she lived more north, the accent would probably be nonexistent.
I was never really one to voice my opinion about others, but of course I looked the girl over. Her looks were relatively ordinary, the typical all-American girl. She had soft, almost sympathetic wide brown eyes with wavy, long brown hair to match. A few freckles dotted her summer-tanned face, but her skin was otherwise clear, free of acne.
"I'm sorry, but what's your name again?" Judy questioned, her stare directed at me. "Forgive me for asking, but it just slipped my mind. My mama says I forget things a lot."
I raised my eyebrows on instinct; for some reason I always did that when I introduced myself. "I'm Johnny," I introduced myself again, louder than I would usually speak, as if the volume would help her remember my name this time.
She grinned. "Johnny, that's right. I'm sorry; I just forgot."
I nodded, smiling. She forgot that she already apologized, too.
[x]
The afternoon rolled on, the blue sky slowly fading into darkness. Somehow we had made our way back to the Curtis home, and all of us sat around the dining table, eating Mrs. Curtis's baked macaroni and cheese. It was my favorite meal of Linda's.
Pleasant conversation filled the room as we ate, but instead of speaking I watched with amusement as Two-Bit attempted for the second time today to flirt with Judy, who looked just as entertained as me. After she got to know Two-Bit a bit more, she realized his intimidating persona was really just instinctive, and she knew he would never snap at her if she rejected him. It's a good thing she hadn't been talking with Dallas this afternoon.
As Judy and Two-Bit's conversation faded, I decided to listen to Darry and Soda argue about what to do tonight. Darry suggested we go to the Nightly Double, but Soda insisted on going bowling. I silently rooted for Soda, 'cause I loved playing pinball in the bowling alley.
"Why don't you all just get out of the house?" Mr. Curtis chuckled from his favorite recliner in the living room. "I can barely hear myself think with all this noise." He turned a page of the newspaper, his feet propped up on a cushion.
Mrs. Curtis grinned, laughing at her husband from the open doorway that connected the kitchen to the dining room. "I'm sorry, Judy. Don't mind my husband; he just finds pleasure in teasing the boys."
Darrel Sr. agreed, nodding his head. "Damn straight I do," he muttered under his breath, and when I was the only one to laugh, he threw me a wink.
[x]
Darry had given in to Soda's suggestion, so we headed down to the bowling alley, moving extremely slow due to the antics of the gang. Judy and I lagged behind a bit, just watching everyone lightly punch each other and chuckling as Pony dropped Soda during an unfair piggy-back-ride.
The silence between Judy and I was not awkward, but instead slightly wistful, as if we could read each other's minds. Although she was quiet, I learned that she was a wonderful conversationalist. She had a quick wit, and while she was quick to comment, she was not judgmental.
"Darry's a football player, isn't he?" Judy whispered, careful not to be heard. She wiped the hair that had blown over her face away, her eyes squinting as the wind made it difficult to see.
As if I had to look at him to know the answer, I glanced at Darry, and nodded. "He's a quarterback," I told her. I noticed a tint of hostility in my voice, and I recognized it as jealousy. Judy was asking about Darry, when she should have been asking about me. I mean, she was walking with me, wasn't she?
"He's strong," she murmured, looking him over again. "It's kind of scary, isn't it? A lot of girls want some guy who's big and broad . . . Some guy who can 'protect' them. But I feel like a girl shouldn't go for a guy just because he's buff. Nobody needs protection all the time-"
"You'd be surprised," I interrupted, earning a curious glimpse from Judy. I met her stare, noticing that her dignified brown eyebrows were furrowed together in confusion. "When you live in a town like Tulsa, I mean . . . I just mean that anything is possible."
"Enlighten me," she smirked, pulling a cigarette from her front pocket. I was surprised she wore jeans, surprised she smoked. Then I remembered that she was a farmer's girl, then I remembered that everyone smoked.
I felt a smile creep over my own face as I accepted the cigarette she offered. "You ever been here before?"
She nodded, looking ahead again, this time at Steve. "Yeah . . . When I was seven, I think. It's definitely been a while."
I shook my head. "Well, things are different when you're a kid."
"How so?" Judy asked softly, curiously.
"Well, there's just no such thing as money when you're a kid. You have no understanding of it; you just know it's there when you want it." I shrugged. "No such thing as houses or cars. No such thing as clothes or shoes, hair or skin." I shook my head and looked up from the asphalt beneath my feet to Judy, who returned my gaze.
"Everyone's the same; everyone is perfect. It's almost like the world is gold, not green. But then you grow up, and you realize . . . You realize that maybe nothing's gold. People walk around, spit on you 'cause you're just not good enough for them. You just don't fit their standards. And it's sad."
A flawless smoke ring escaped Judy's lips, and I watched for a moment, awestruck. "It's sad that it's come to that," I finished with a whisper.
To my surprise, Judy grinned, looked up at the sky in appreciation. "It's not like that in the country." I could hear happiness in her voice; I could feel her "life-loving" self arrive as we watched the boys enter the bowling alley, the two of us choosing a vandalized bench instead.
"In the country, everything is gold, even the grass . . . "
We both gazed up at the nighttime sky now, our heads tilted back against the top of the bench. For a moment Judy's breathing had become so still that I figured she was asleep, but her eyes were wide open when I glanced at her, still staring up at the black universe.
"You know how they say the North Star will always help you find your way home when you're lost?"
"Yeah?" What the hell was this girl getting at this time?
Judy chuckled, as if sensing the tone my voice set. "You ever think that maybe it's not the North Star sending you home? You have so much faith in that star. You believe in it, trust it to take you back where you belong." Judy paused for a moment or two, then she looked at me, her eyes narrowed. "You ever think that . . . maybe it's God sending you home?"
"God," I sighed, shaking my head briefly. "I wonder about Him sometimes . . . "
"You don't believe in Him," she assumed, her voice cutting.
Insulted, I sat up straight. "I didn't say that," I snapped, surprising even myself with my tone. "I just said that I wondered. Since when is wondering about something so unexplainable-well, I guess vast is a better word-so bad?"
Judy raised her eyebrows, amused. "Since when did you get such a temper?"
I chuckled, and she snickered. There was that wit, and the way she seemed so cool about what she had just said brought me to hysterics. I felt my abdominals tighten up as I laughed even harder, the tears streaking my cheeks.
"Judy-" I started, but I realized speaking was impossible. I wondered how weird I looked, laughing like it was my last breath while she sat there, eyebrows raised in an amused fashion. She seemed to wear that expression a lot. I never knew I was so entertaining.
[x]
"Johnny and Judy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!"
I could feel my face burn with embarrassment, but it was no use; I could never take Two-Bit in a fight. The result was too predictable.
I'm not sure if Dallas sensed my pain then, or if he was just plain annoyed, because he smacked the back of Two-Bit's rusty head, muttering something incoherent beneath his cigarette.
The heat from Judy's blush warmed me as she walked close to my side. Her hand briefly skimmed my jeans, causing my heart to pound in my chest. I figured it a new sense of desperation.
"Where are we goin' now?" Steve questioned from the other side of our messy line formation, his heavy accent evident.
Sodapop's shoulder brushed against mine as he shrugged. "Don't know."
"How 'bout we go home?" Ponyboy suggested, yawning with exaggeration. "I'm beat."
"Yeah, I don't feel like going anywhere either," Darry agreed.
I was tired too, but to be perfectly honest, I wanted to spend as much time with Judy as possible. Her dad took a long weekend off from the farm, and they had to leave Tulsa early tomorrow morning to get back to Kansas. Tonight was my last chance to make some sort of move on her.
[x]
Luck seemed to be avoiding me tonight, as the gang decided to drop me off at home first. We approached the house, silently listening to the remainder of a drunken argument between my folks. Judy sighed sympathetically.
"Maybe we should give them some alone time," Two-Bit suggested, grinning as he began to strut away. I wasn't an idiot; I knew they'd hide in the bushes to eavesdrop.
In the dark, I could somehow see Soda's encouraging wink, the same his father had given me before, and before you could say something moderately important, the gang had disappeared.
Judy kicked nervously at the dead grass beneath her shoe. "What exactly does this 'alone time' entail?" she questioned, glancing up at me, biting her lip.
An adrenaline rush bulging through my veins, I decided to take a risk. "I don't know, you tell me." I inched closer to her, gently leaning closer to her face.
"I don't have to tell you anything," she murmured, the last thing I heard before I had my first kiss.
[x]
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