A/N: People of the world, whazzup? One of our favorite books ever is the Outsiders, so we decided to write a fanfiction about it! Now, we know that a number of people dislike Outsider sister fics, so if you're one of those people, this is not the story for you. In this story, there is a Curtis sister, a Winston sister, and a Mathews sister (we know that the Mathews one is canon, but obviously not the specific character we wrote for her). This story takes place after the whole church incident, and we have altered the plot in the way that Johnny and Dally are alive, and Johnny can walk. Now, we have the UTMOST respect for everything in the original plot and we love everything about it (though it did break our hearts when Johnny and Dally . . . y'know) but this story was created with our desire to give them futures and see how it all unfolds. If you don't like when people alter the original plot, then this is probably not the story for you.
Anyway, sorry for the long author's note! We don't own anything about the amazing Outsiders, but please read, review, and enjoy our story! Thanks so much! :)
Chapter 1: Trouble's Calling My Name
Echo's Perspective
My name's Echo Holly Curtis. Echo. Not Brenda or Susie or Mary, but Echo. My daddy always told me that when I was born, my shrill cries pierced the walls of the room and echoed across the hall. Or something like that.
My daddy was a strange man- loveable and sweet and kind, but strange. Hell, my name might be Echo but my second oldest brother's name is Sodapop and my third oldest brother's name is Ponyboy. I got off easy.
My daddy's name was Darrel and my ma's name was Holly- was. They were killed in a car wreck more than a year ago, smashed by a train.
My parents were wonderful. Everybody loved them- everybody. Even the meanest, angriest, toughest and tuffest hood I knew, Dallas Winston, adored them. My daddy was a handsome man with almost black hair and dancing brown eyes. My older brother, Darry, looks just like him but Soda has his eyes. I have his eyes, too and it makes me real proud.
Ma was golden. She had long, beautiful waves of blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Darry has her eyes but Soda's the one who looks so much like her. Pony and I are the odd ones out, we don't look like our parents or our older brothers.
Pony has this rich reddish-brown hair and green eyes (he says his eyes are gray, but they're green, he just won't admit it 'cause Pony's the most stubborn person I know) and he had to bleach his beloved tuff hair blond a few months back (long, long story).
Now, I have long orange-red hair. Redder than Pony's; I'm considered the "redhead" of the family. My ma's ma had red hair, so maybe that's where it's from. It looks like fire in the sun.
Anyway, I'm the youngest of all them: thirteen-years-old, more than a year younger than Pony. It's been especially hard for me after daddy and ma died because ma was the only woman in the house to help me ward off all the testosterone- now I was damn near drowning in it. And it's not like I could talk to Darry or Soda or Pony about any issues I could be having because they plain just wouldn't dig.
Anyway, I was walking home from school on my lonesome 'cause today was the last day of the seventh grade and I wanted to feel the sunshine . . . or mainly because Two-Bit was too impatient to wait for me because I was busy talking to some friends.
"Echo, wait up!" I screeched to a stop and waited for my best friend, Kiara (everybody calls her Kiki) Mathews to hustle over. Her rust-colored hair was falling out of its usually impeccable braid and she panted for breath, her pale cheeks flushed. Her gray eyes sparkled in the sunlight. "It's finally summer!"
"Two-Bit forgot you too?" I asked dryly, cocking an eyebrow as the aforementioned flake taught me how to do. "I was annoyed he forgot me, but forgetting his own sister's kinda shitty."
She shrugged it off. "It's Two-Bit. I don't expect anythin' else."
"Thanks for leavin' me behind!"
I grinned and spun around, a playfully pissed off Angela Shepard displayed in front of us. "Sorry, Angel," Kiki apologized but I just rolled my eyes.
Now, here was the gist of it. Kiki was a goodie goodie, and dressed rather conservatively. Skirt always at or past the required length, no unnecessary skin showing, no piercings, etc. After my parents died, I found myself a little more rebellious than before and dressed a little more openly (much to the displeasure of my older brothers).
Now, Angela? . . . Angela was a slut and everybody knew it. She was only thirteen like us, but I was pretty damn sure she was already sleeping around. There was a rumor that she had an STD, but I was too afraid to ask.
Her blouse was buttoned a few buttons too low and her skirt barely came to her mid-thigh. Her dark eyes were caked with eyeliner and mascara and her lips were a cherry red. Golly, I swear every time Tim Shepard caught a glimpse of her outside of their home he had a heart attack. She typically dressed down around him so he wouldn't flip a switch. Curly Shepard was probably too dumb to notice.
"Are ya gonna apologize, Curtis?" she said, only half-teasing. I scoffed in her face and kept walking down the pavement along with Kiki.
"In your dreams, Shepard."
"There's a huge party at Buck's later," Angel said conversationally, picking up her pace to match our quick stride. "To celebrate that school's out. You two better be coming."
Kiki looked at me pleadingly. She didn't want to outright say that not only was she forbidden to go but she didn't want to go. I denied Angel's request for the both of us. "Naw, Angel, that wouldn't be such a hot idea. Dally and Two-Bit are practically always there and they'd kill us if they saw us there, then bring my body back to Darry, where he'd kill me all over again."
"Graphic," Kiki commented and I elbowed her hard in the ribcage. I just saved her ass!
"And wouldn't Tim blow a gasket if he saw you there?" I asked Angel tentatively. Her brothers were a touchy subject.
"Tim don't give a shit about me," she spat.
"That ain't true," I argued. It wasn't. Any outsider could see that while he wasn't too great at showing affection, he would do anything for his little siblings. "He loves ya, Angel. You know that, right?"
She didn't respond and I knew then to drop it. Her expression was clouded over in thought until she finally came to the conclusion, "Well, I'm goin' to the party. Hope I see the two of you there." With that, she turned the corner and left, going off to who knows where.
"We ain't going, right?" Kiki said nervously. I was about to say "no" until I thought it over a minute.
"I dunno, Kiki, it might be kinda fun." I shrugged my shoulders apathetically. "We don't got any other plans."
"Darry would skin ya!" she cried and I was inclined to agree. "And Two-Bit told me in no uncertain terms that I ain't allowed at those kinds of parties or anywhere near Buck's place."
"Two-Bit's a damn hypocrite," I muttered under my breath as we approached my shabby old house. "Probably an alcoholic, too."
"Don't talk about my brother like that," she snapped and I knew I offended her. She skirted past me and opened up the perpetually unlocked door of my house, walking in without even holding the door open for me.
"Gee, thanks," I grumbled, kicking it open to find that she was already splayed across my couch. We were the only ones home so I concluded Two-Bit and the others stopped off at the DX. "C'mon, Kiki, the party might be fun."
She looked at me with something almost to the liking of concern. "Echo, you've been real different ever since your parents died. You used to be all sweet and polite but now you're all sassy and rebellious and-"
"Yeah, yeah," I cut her off angrily. "I get it. Darry's been regurgitating that for months. I just want to have some fun, that's all. It ain't too easy when you got three overbearing brothers constantly getting on you for shit. Well, not so much Soda and Pony but Darry's the biggest mother hen I've ever seen."
"He's just trying to do a good job," Kiki said softly and I chose to remain silent. I knew Darry was trying his best, but she didn't have to act like she knew him better than me.
It was decided. I wanted desperately to go to this party so I flashed her my best puppy-dog eyes and poked out my bottom lip. "Please, Kiki? This party's gonna be great and you know it."
Kiki tried to keep her expression impassive but she was failing dismally. Kiki always broke with my puppy-dog eyes and judging by her face, they weren't letting me down today.
With a long sigh and an eyeroll, Kiki reluctantly nodded. "But we can't get caught and you can't drink or leave me."
I gave her a humongous hug from behind the couch and squealed, "It'll be a hit! But . . . you can't wear that."
She shimmied out of my hug, looking offended. "And what's wrong with my outfit?" It was too school-girl.
All I did was laugh in her face and saunter over to my room to pick something out for her. Most of my outfits didn't really fit Kiki's style but they looked good on her and they fit surprisingly well, considering she was a few inches taller.
She joined me in my room and sat on the edge of my bed, still looking rather pissed off. I took out the dress I thought would work and presented it to her. "How about this?"
"Hell no, I ain't a slut," she groaned and tumbled back to splay across my bed.
The dress was white with red polka dots and came down to the mid-thigh. It was a gift from Angela, as a lot of my "nice" clothes were. She was a lot bustier than me and whenever she outgrew something, she'd give it to me. I didn't like the charity, but I liked the clothes.
"Come on, with a leather jacket and a pair of boots you'd be a babe!" I laughed at how appalled she looked. Although it was sometimes hard having a friend who's the exact opposite of you, it also came with its fun.
"Echo, you know that isn't my goal right?" she remarked, sitting up and and taking it from me like it was burning hot and singing her fingers. She smoothed out the fabric with a visible grimace.
"Hell, it's the best you're going to get so suck it up." I was such a great friend.
"I feared that. I will wear it, but know I'm not happy about it." She was starting to realize who I was now, how I dressed, wasn't just a quick faze. Like I said before, I was real different before my parents died.
After hearing the gate rattle open and male voices from outside, I shoved the dress back in my closet and walked to the living room to meet my brothers and the gang, trying my best to look perfectly guiltless.
"Hi!" I sang, hoisting myself up onto the back of the couch. Kiki joined me and I could almost hear the gears shifting in her head. Man, she was a thinker. She was probably trying to find some way to get out of the party but I wouldn't let her.
"Hi there, Echo," Soda greeted, friendly as ever. "Hi, Kiki." Steve gave me a stiff nod that I didn't even bother to acknowledge. Ponyboy waved at Kiki and I but didn't say anything. Johnny, unsurprisingly, was equally silent though he smiled shyly.
Two-Bit was already in our fridge pulling out an ice-cold beer before I could even blink. Kiki admonished mildly, "It's three in the afternoon, Two-Bit." He shrugged off her rebuke and grinned.
"Speaking of you, Two-Bit," I said casually. "You forgot to pick us up from school."
Sodapop shot him a scolding look. "C'mon, man, you got one job."
Two-Bit had the decency to look at least half-heartedly ashamed before plopping down next to his kid sister, throwing an arm around her. "Damn, I knew I forgot something. Sorry 'bout that." He grabbed the remote, not bothering to care if we accepted his apology or not, and clicked on the TV. "Mickey's on!"
Soda darted into the kitchen and came out with a pepsi for Pony, Kiki, Johnny, and I. He sat down next to me and Steve sat on the ground by his feet, pulling out a deck of playing cards. Ponyboy accepted the drink then skirted around us to disappear into his room with Johnny to draw or write or read or whatever the heck he did in there. I sometimes wondered what conversations he could possibly have with Johnny, considering the two of them hardly ever talked.
"Soda?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder and trying to act as innocent as reasonably possible.
"What do ya want this time?" he asked, laughing his charming laugh I loved so much. It was so damn infectious. He could cure somebody from the plague with that laugh.
I smiled my brightest grin and shifted my head to prop my chin on his shoulder. "Well, ya see, I have this friend and she's havin' a sleepover tonight and Kiki and I want to go but I know that Darry ain't gonna let me."
"You don't know Darry won't let you until ya ask," Soda said logically, playfully nudging me with his elbow. "Who's the friend anyhow?"
"Angela Shepard," Kiki blurted out and I tried to kick her in the shins but I missed and nailed Two-Bit. He winced then kicked me back.
"Yeah, Darry ain't gonna let you go," Steve piped in and I kicked him next. He turned around to glare at me but I glowered back until he huffed and turned away again. "Hey, what can I say? Darry ain't gonna want his little sister hangin' around a slut like that." Kiki's forehead creased in a deep frown.
"Nobody asked you, and don't call my friend a slut or I will plant my shoe up your-"
"Okay, guys, that's enough," Soda interjected. He knew I didn't like Steve all that much, he hated Pony and I, but I put up with him for Soda. Well, I put up with him but I wasn't too nice about it.
I childishly stuck my tongue out at Steve before fully relenting. Deciding to relax, I just lay down on Soda's knee and rested for a little while. He rubbed circles into my back and I drifted off to the sounds of Mickey and the guys' loud, yet comfortingly loud voices.
A few hours later. . . .
My eyes peeled open as my bed lowered and creaked- somebody was sitting near me. Looks like Soda had carried me into my room and lay me on my bed. That was nice of him, but it didn't surprise me. Soda was always doing nice things like that. Now Darry was shaking me awake with his rough hands.
When he realized I was finally awake he smiled tiredly at me. "How was your last day of school? How were the exams? I've made you study all week, it better had paid off."
In response, I pulled the covers over my head and rolled over. I knew he would make me get up but I was gonna try to bug him.
"Echo, get up, I ain't talking to a blanket." His voice changed from friendly to grumpy rather fast, like usual. Deciding not to push my luck with him today, I sat up and rested my back on the wall behind me.
"The exams were fine, but the math and science were especially easy. I'm glad school's done," I said whole-heartedly. Unlike Pony, I hadn't skipped a grade. He was good at everything school-related, I was just good at math and science. I wasn't good enough at the other subjects to be bumped up a grade, but I was in an advanced math program.
Kiki was pretty damn smart and studious, and was given the chance to skip a grade, but she was a bit socially awkward so she loyally stayed with me. I was real happy about that.
"Thought you'd be, and good about the exams. You hungry?"
"I'm always hungry."
"Go set the table, Two-Bit and Kiki and all the rest of those freeloaders are staying for dinner," he ordered, getting up and slapping me once on the knee.
"Why can't Pony do it?" I groaned and he sent me a 'Don't mess with me right now' look so I caved.
"All right, all right, I'll do it." He turned to leave once more and I said before he could, "Hey, Dar?"
"Yeah?" He didn't turn around to look at me.
"Can I have a sleepover tonight?"
He glanced over at me, impassive. "With who?"
"Kiki and . . . Angela Shepard."
"No," he said immediately and it was clearly final.
"C'mon, Darry-"
"I said no. I don't want you hangin' around the likes of her." With that, he left the room and I scowled at his retreating form.
After setting the table, I told Kiki my plan (she was currently sifting through my closet) and then picked up the phone to call Angel, all the guys lounging around in the living room. Dally showed up a few minutes ago 'cause he just couldn't stay away.
Tim answered on the fifth ring. "What?" He never had the decency to say "hello."
"Hi, Tim, this is Echo Curtis. Can I talk to Angel, please?" I said in my most polite tone.
I heard him bellow, "Angel, get your ass down here! Tiny Curtis is on the phone for you!" and then noisy footsteps before her softer voice replaced his gruff one. Tiny? I thought, annoyed. Rude.
"Hello?" She sounded like she was chewing something, maybe gum.
"Angel, it's Echo. I can't go to the sleepover tonight." I was saying this for Darry's benefit, who was within earshot.
Crack. She was chewing gum: definitely bubblegum. "The hell you going on about?" Realization seemed to dawn on her. "Your brothers are in the room, aren't they?"
"Yeah." I snuck a glance at them; they weren't paying careful attention.
"So this is a ruse? Smart little Curtis. You comin' to the party or what? It starts at eight."
I worked to keep the enthusiasm out of my voice. "Yup."
"I knew you'd come around! Kiki better be coming, if she ain't then haul her ass over there. See you there."
"Bye, Angel." I hung up then fazed into the second part of my plan. "Hey, Dar?" His head snapped up from his newspaper and he looked at me with his undivided attention.
"Yeah?"
"Since I can't go to Angel's, can I go to Kiki's for a sleepover?" I clasped my hands together in a beg.
He thought it over a moment then relented, "Sure, since school's over and if Two-Bit's mom thinks it's fine."
Two-Bit hollered over from his poker game (I was fairly sure he was cheating), "'Course she'll be fine with it! My ma loves her. As long as somethin's got to do with Kiki, she'll love it." There was some truth to that.
I turned to Kiki who had just entered the room, hiding my face from the rest of the group, and winked at her. I knew at this point she was inwardly groaning but I didn't care, I got to go to the party.
After a satisfactory dinner of pasta Soda whipped up (a miracle he didn't pour food-coloring all over it) I was in my room packing an overnight bag. Well, at least that's what Darry thought I was doing, but I was actually picking out my outfit for the party.
"How's this?" I asked a thoroughly bored Kiki. It was a dress that flared out at the skirt and came to about my mid-thigh. It was a lush dark blue with a stylish belt that wrapped around my slender waist. Since Angel was bustier than me, the shoulder sleeves fell to my mid-arms, but overall, it fit nicely.
"I like it," she monotoned and I sighed, reaching into my tiny closet to pick out a pair of Angel's old shoes and stuff them into my overnight bag- yes, I actually was going to bring that to Kiki's house . . . before I completely disobeyed Darry and met up with Angela at a party at Buck Merril's. If Darry found out then I would not be alive tomorrow, but I was one to live in the moment.
I should have thought this one through.