Title: Stay Gold
Summary: Ponyboy gets a little payback and something more that he didn't expect. Ponyboy/OC
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders
Suzie Corene sat in her third hour algebra class, ignoring the teacher and staring down at the note her best friend, Melanie had just passed her. She unfolded the paper carefully and read what it said.
Which Greaser would you most want to kiss?
Suzie glanced over at her friend, a shocked expression on her face. Suzie was from the west side. Her dad was a lawyer and her mom worked at the local bank. Her older brother was Jake Corene, the quaterback on the football team at school. They we're considered socials or socs. Greasers we're the rough kids from the east side. Guys like Ponyboy Curtis and Curly Shepard. Suzie turned in her seat and glanced at the greaser with the light brown hair sitting a few feet behind her. His greenish-gray eyes we're cold as he stared past her toward the front of the room but Suzie thought he was a pretty handsome boy. He was seventeen and a senior. She had heard rumors that he had been a pretty okay guy until about three years earlier when two of his friend's had died. She didn't know much more about him except that his brother, Sodapop was married to some greaser girl. All the soc girls said it wouldn't last long. Melanie's older sister, Marcia said that they only said that because Sodapop was really goodlooking and they we're all jealous.
Suzie looked around to make sure noone was watching before she wrote back:
Ponyboy Curtis, I guess.
Suzie had just handed the note back when the bell rang, letting them know school was over. She grabbed her books and hurried out of the room. She was almost to her locker when Melanie caught up with her and gave her a serious look.
"Ponyboy Curtis. Are you serious?" Melanie asked, leaning back against the roll of lockers as Suzie grabbed her homework.
"He's kind of cute," Suzie said, avoiding Melanie's gaze. Melanie let her gaze follow a few senior guys down the hall, socs of course as she thought about what Suzie had said.
"Yeah, I guess he's kind of cute," Melanie replied, looking back towards her friend, "but he's mean." Suzie rolled her eyes. It wasn't that she didn't like Melanie but Melanie could be really obnoxious sometimes.
"How would you know how he is, Mel?" Suzie asked, "Besides I said he was goodlooking, not that I wanted to marry him." The hurt look that came over Melanie's face made Suzie feel bad.
"I'm sorry, Mel," Suzie said, shutting her locker door and starting down the hall with Melanie by her side.
"No, your right, Suz," Melanie replied, "I don't know how he is but I've heard a lot of rumors. Like he became a really bad guy after his friend's died."
"Marcia actually met his friend's once. The ones that died, I mean," Melanie said. Suzie looked at her curiously so Melanie continued.
"Their names we're Johnny and Dallas. Marcia said Dallas was a real jerk but Johnny was pretty nice," Melanie said, "I couldn't believe she would say that about a greaser but she said he even took up for her and Cherry when Dallas was bothering them." A look of interest and surprise came over Suzie's face.
"Did she meet Ponyboy?" Suzie asked. Melanie smiled knowingly at her.
"Suzie has a crush on a greaser," Melanie teased. Suzie rolled her eyes and pushed her best friend.
"I didn't say I had a crush on him. I just wanted to know," Suzie said.
Ponyboy threw his books in his locker and started walking down the hall by himself. He glared at a soc who had the nerve to look his way. He had turned seventeen a few months earlier and he was thinking about Johnny with it being around the anniversary of his death and everything. He wasn't in the mood to be around any soc. He hadn't even talked to Cherry since the night of the rumble. The night Dallas died. He didn't want to talk to Cherry but he couldn't make himself hate her no matter how hard he tried. He hated Randy and the other socs. He ran his fingers through his hair and was just about to turn the corner onto another hall but stopped when he heard the voices.
"Yeah, Randy said Dallas Winston got what he deserved for helping those two greasers get away after what they did to Bob," a male voice, a soc voice said from around the corner. Ponyboy narrowed his eyes and seriously considered walking around the corner and making the soc sorry but he had promised Darry he would stay out of trouble at school.
"All greasers deserve that," another soc replied, slamming his locker shut, "That boy Johnny deserved what he got too.He should have known better than to mess with a soc."
Ponyboy glared across the hall toward the opposite wall. Anyone who looked at him would probably think he could burn holes through the wall just with his eyes and he wanted to. He refused to break his promise to Darry but that didn't mean he couldn't get some payback away from school.