Chapter One: Onyx
I didn't even blink when I saw how rundown the house was. I didn't really care. I was a middle class kid in the middle of the greaser section of town and I could tell my life wasn't going to be very long. I didn't dress like a soc or a greaser mostly I wore whatever came into my head. Right now I was wearing a long black skirt with a black t-shirt with dolphins on it and my beaded leather necklace. I had been wearing sandals earlier but I had taken them off hours ago and was walking around bare footed.
"Hey kid, lose your shoes?" some guys called out from a car. I glanced at them and frowned then went on dragging boxes into my new house. Actually, it was my mom's too but she had so many jobs she would hardly ever be there. I locked the door as soon as all the boxes were inside and began unpacking. Before I knew it there was a knock at the door.
"What?" I yelled, annoyed at the interruption.
"We're your neighbors," a guy's voice called out, "We just wanted to say hi." I sighed and went to the door. There were at least seven guys standing outside of the door. I wasn't stupid enough to open the door.
"Well you've said it now go away."
"Not very friendly is she?" one of the others grumbled.
"Let me see," I said, "There are a group of guys standing outside of my door wanting me to let them in. They look like greasy hoods and the only weapons I got with me are kitchen knifes. Whatever shall I do?"
"Haha, real funny," one of them said. I was about to reply when I saw one of the others push to the front.
"Pony!" I called seeing his warm eyes staring at me through the peephole in the door.
"Onyx?" he asked. We had worked on a project for English once. We were both writers. I threw the door open and hugged him tightly. He blushed but hugged me back. "Where ya been?" he asked.
My thoughts darkened but I shook them off.
"Mom sent me to Alabama for the summer to visit my Aunt," I lied. He nodded and smiled.
"Great to see you again," he said. We'd really clicked when we'd been writing. "This is the gang, Darry, Sodapop, Steve, Two-bit, Dally and Johnny. I nodded to them still not liking their looks. Pony looked a lot like them but I knew he'd never hurt me. He was just too sweet.
"You gonna introduce us to your girlfriend?" Two-bit asked. I glared at all of them.
"I want you off of my porch. NOW! I've still got to unpack my stuff," I said glaring. I was surprised when a blur of fast talking human came up my sidewalk.
"Danny?" I gasped, "What the hell happened to you?" Danny was a girl in my math class who thought we were best friends but I really just ignored her most of the time. I couldn't ignore her now, though. She was all covered in cuts and blood. I had seen it before. They were belt marks and cuts where the buckle hit. I took her hand and tried to calm her down. Finally she stopped shaking and sobbing. I cleaned her up on the front porch, not wanting her in my house and gave her a couple of bucks to get out of this place.
It took less than an hour for her to leave. The guys stared at me as if I had done something incredible.
"What?" I snarled.
"Looks like she really does have a heart," one of them joked. I stormed into my house and slammed the door, making sure to lock it. I woke up the next morning with a monstrous headache. I decided to wear a lime green skirt over my blue jeans and a blue sleeveless shirt. I looked insane but I didn't care. I left my hair down and pulled on a leather jacket and grabbed my backpack. I walked into the school ignoring the stares from both the greasers and the socs. My first class was English where we wrote a short story about this summer. I wrote about a girl I saw in the streets sticking an old needle in her arm as she cradled her baby. I think irony deserves a place in society.
It was my turn to read mine. "The baby, pure and defenseless, let out a whine as its mother shifted it so that she could reach her vein. She sang a quiet lullaby, the words lost to the night, before jabbing the needle into her skin as deep as she could. The baby slept and the mother smiled. I walked away to my own personal hell and away from the window into theirs," I finished emotionlessly. Ponyboy clapped slowly and the teacher smiled at me.
I sat down, not caring what they thought or at least telling myself that was the case. I skipped lunch since I hated the school cafeteria. I usually hid behind a dumpster but today I was out of luck. Pony and his gang came to throw something away and found me sitting there writing. I was writing a scary fight seen between a girl and this gang and was really into the character. It was like she'd possessed my mind and I actually was her. Suddenly Pony said in a sweet voice.
"Whatcha writing?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin, instinctively grabbing an old soda bottle to fight with. I sighed when I saw that it was just he and his friends. I was pretty sure they wouldn't hurt me with Pony around.
"Don't ever sneak up on me while I'm writing," I warned. Pony offered me a hand and helped me up.
"Want to come with us to get some lunch?" he asked. I looked around and nodded. There wasn't anything better to do.
We went to a gas station and got some food. Well, they got food. I got a soda. Caffeine is my life. A guy suddenly walked up and started punching Two-Bit. I stepped back, self-preservation making itself known. I didn't interrupt others' fights and they didn't interrupt mine. I'd always been that way. The other guys helped and pretty soon the other guy left. We went back to school in silence.
