Hey guys so I'm glad you liked the first chapter! I hope you like this one too :]
Read and review!
The rest of the day went by quickly. At one point when I was sitting on the front stoop reading an old romance novel, a boy walked by... a gorgeous one. He had glistening jet-black hair and the typical greaser look. There were some guys with him, I heard them calling him Jimmy. What a beautiful name.
I went inside soon after and unpacked my suitcase completely, put all of my clothes away in the dresser in Sodapop's room, and set up my toiletries in the bathroom. I even did the dishes. I got the sense that Darry definitely wore the pants in this household and the last thing I wanted was to get on his bad side.
He was sweet, though. I sat with him in the living room after dinner while Sodapop was at work, sneaking a peak at the want ads in the newspaper. I had my eye on a job at the convenience store on Holiday Drive... wherever that was.
I wanted to surprise Darry with my whole getting-a-job plan, so I practically jumped out of my skin when he asked me what I was reading.
"The funnies," I answered quickly, folding up the paper and climbing onto the couch next to him. He had come home from work less than an hour before, and he sure smelled like it. I didn't really mind, though. "What's new, Darry?"
He shrugged. "I, uh... I roofed a couppla' houses today, got a sunburn..."
"Guess what!" I blurted, then realized I'd cut off my cousin in mid-sentence. "Oh, sorry... you weren't finished." I blushed.
"No, I... that was all I wanted to say."
"You sure?" I bit my lip.
"Yeah," Darry answered, his eyes flickering up to mine for a moment. He didn't make eye contact much. Because of this, I found myself making a point of looking him directly in the eye.
"Okay, well... I'm going to sound desperate and weird, but... I've got my eye on someone. A boy."
"Is that so?" he laughed again, that low chuckle.
"I like your laugh," I said softly. Know what else I liked? Living with Darry. I had always wanted an older brother. Always. He seemed just perfect for the part. Strong, protective, and... Yeah. Strong and protective.
"Thanks," Darry flashed me a flustered smile. "About this boy... what's he like?"
"Well... I don't know much about him. He's a stereotypical grease, though." I smiled to myself. "That's for sure."
I glanced at Darry and giggled. He had this look on his face... I couldn't quite read it. He kind of looked like he'd just eaten something that tasted really bad.
"What's wrong?"
Darry shook his head and grumbled, "You know your parents would have my head if anything bad happened to you."
"What could possibly go wrong?" I drawled.
Just then Ponyboy walked in quickly, stuffing a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and opening the front door. He stepped outside.
"Hold it," Darry reprimanded. "Where ya headed?"
Ponyboy didn't even turn his head. "The drive-in with Johnny. Bye."
"Wait," Darry stopped him again. Pony came back inside this time.
"What?"
"Aren't you going to invite your cousin to go with you? I'm sure she'd like to see a movie." Ponyboy's face contorted in annoyance.
"But Darry, I've had these plans for a while now..." he began, but Darry cleared his throat and gave him a look that left no room for argument. Pony hung his head. "Fine, I'll bring her." Wow... what an impossible situation! If I went with them I'd feel bad for sure.
"Darry, it's fine. Really. I don't mind staying home!" I insisted. Darry looked from me to Ponyboy, then back again. "Really!" I repeated.
"You sure?"
"Yeah," I nodded. Ponyboy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, that's very considerate of you, May," Darry told me, scowling at Pony.
"Thanks, May," he said quietly. He slipped out the door and shut it behind him. I honestly didn't mind staying home. Well... at first.
Darry and I sat and watched the news for a little while. I kept sneaking looks at him, trying to figure out if he would feel awkward if I propped my feet up on him or lied on him. I scooted a little bit closer to Darry... and he scooted that much further away. Ouch. My ego hurts.
"Darry?" I began growing restless with watching the same old news stories on the television.
"Hmm?" he grunted, not even tearing his eyes away from the screen. I put my hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
"Darry, I'm bored..." I said quietly. He sat there unmoving for a few moments longer, then finally turned to face me.
"What is it, May?" he tried to grin at me.
"I said I'm bored!" I flashed him a scatterbrained smile of my own, closing the distance between us and leaning my head on his arm. He shifted so that he could put his arm around me and I scooted closer to him. This kept me content for a little while longer... but just a little while. "Darry, I'm bored," I informed him for the third time.
"Well go, uh... call one of your little friends or somethin'," he suggested.
"What friends?" I replied glumly.
"Your, uh... you know, your friends back in Blair," he said distractedly, eyes now glued back onto the television.
"Oh, them. Nah, I don't think so. Will you take me somewhere?" This was the first time (of MANY) that Darry looked annoyed with me. But I had already worked myself up so much that it didn't even matter to me. "Come on, please?" I asked again when he didn't reply.
"May, no. I've had a long day at work, now please stop." He still wouldn't look at me. I jerked away from him.
"Why don't you want to hangout with me?" I accused, my voice shrill.
"I didn't say that!" Darry looked surprised at me. "I'm sorry if it seems that way, alright? I, just... I'm tired, is all. Jesus, I wish you would'a just gone with Ponyboy. You would have had fun instead of bein' bored all night..."
"Then why the heck didn't you want me to go?" I stood, my voice getting louder with each word I spoke. Darry's eyes widened.
"I never said anything like that! Quit twisting my words around!" And now he was really angry with me. That made me upset. I turned on my heel and stomped into my bedroom, throwing myself on the bed. I grabbed my romance novel off of my night stand and started reading it, determined to stop feeling so bored.
I read until I got to the climax of the story. But for some reason I had a feeling of guilt nagging at me. I thought over what had just happened between Darry and me... and what the hell had I just done?
I owed him an apology and I knew it. But my stupid pride kept me in my room for another ten minutes, arms crossed over my chest. Finally I emerged, walking slowly and timidly down the hallway. I stood in the doorway to the living room, looking at the back of Darry's head.
"Darry?" I said softly. He turned to look at me. I ran over to him and flopped down next to him on the couch. "Darry, I'm sorry!"
He kind of laughed, looking flustered, confused, and relieved. "That's okay, kid," he finally replied. His eyes flickered downward, then he glanced warily at me. He seemed about ready to jump out of his skin at any moment, as if I were a loose cannon or something...
The next week or so was pretty nice. I spent more time with Darry and he seemed to become less and less annoyed with me. That was a good sign, right? And Sodapop and I had the same sense of humor and laughed together a lot. Ponyboy and I didn't really hangout. Because, well, you know. He's just weird.
On my third day with the Curtis', I had walked to the convenience store and asked for a job application. I filled it out right there in the store and it took me about an hour. I wanted it to be perfect. When I finally handed the application back to the bored girl standing at the cash register, I had a great feeling about the job. It was as good as mine.
It was really hard for me to keep this from Darry, but I just had to keep reminding myself how great I'd feel when I could tell Darry that I had a job. I had the whole scenario thought out perfectly:
Darry comes home from work looking defeated and exhausted. He slams the front door on his way in.
I, his little princess, run up to him and throw my arms around his shoulders. "Why, how was your day?" I ask in a dreamy voice.
"Nothing went right. Oh, if only everybody in the world could be perfect like my widdle May!" Darry coddles me, talking like a three year-old.
"Aw. There, there, you poor dear. Sit," I push him down on the couch. "I have news!"
"What wondrous thing have you done this time, you selfless little joy?" Darry coos.
"I've landed myself a job," I state; modestly, of course. Darry jumps to his feet, eyes wide.
"You little angel!" he exclaims. "Taking you in was the best decision I ever made!"
And I expected everything to go exactly that way. Unfortunately, things don't usually turn out the way I plan.
Now, two weeks after I handed in the job application, I was getting nervous. What if I didn't get the job? I'd feel like a failure. Sure, I could always apply somewhere else, but... I just didn't have the patience for that. I was starting to really pick up on the shortage of money. Ponyboy's sneakers were absolutely ruined, but he still wore them every single day. When I sat in the basement watching Darry do laundry, he was so careful to only add the minimum amount of detergent. And both he and Sodapop worked way more hours than anyone their age should be working.
Ponyboy and I kind of clashed, however that afternoon, he introduced me to Two-Bit's younger sister... no doubt, Darry had urged him to find me some friends. Lisa Mathews was fifteen years old and seemed really nice. Unfortunately, my jealousy got the better of me.
"So have you made any friends here yet?" she asked, trying to make conversation. We were on a little walk around the neighborhood while Pony and Two-Bit went to the DX. I smiled, discreetly looking her up and down.
"Actually, I haven't. Not counting Darry," I skillfully made my small-talk, all the while burning with envy for the size of Lisa's chest. She had to be at least a B, maybe even a C. And she was only fifteen! I looked down slightly, grimacing at my tiny breasts. I took after my mother, no doubt. Brown hair, green eyes and a flat chest. I mean, I wasn't terrible looking. At least I wasn't huge or fat. But I definitely wasn't gorgeous. I was… plain.
"I should introduce you to some people!" she exclaimed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"Okay," I said hesitantly.
"I mean, I'm sure there're some guys you'd be interested in..." she giggled, flouncing around in her little blue dress that was tight in all the right places. My ears perked up when I heard her mention guys.
"Like who?" I tried to act uninterested.
"Hmm, well, there's Ponyboy," she laughed, "you know Ponyboy. A coupla' my friends have crushes on him. Oh, but don't tell anyone!" she insisted, as if I was some big gossip in Tulsa who knew everything about everybody. "Let's see... Curly Sheperd, Tim Sheperd, he's real handsome, and... oh, I sort of know a boy named Jimmy Crandle," Lisa shrugged.
"Jimmy Crandle?" I asked a little sharply. Jimmy? My Jimmy? The typical greaser, jet-black hair Jimmy? Why, that bitch! He's probably crazy about her. I mean, sure, she's just fifteen, but look at that rack! And she's got perfect hair, and...
"Yeah, he's a real oaf. I wouldn't date him if he was the last guy on Earth!" she spat, tearing me out of my thoughts. Okay, so maybe she wasn't a scheming brat.
"This Jimmy guy... does he have black hair? Look like a real grease?" I had to be sure.
"Oh yeah," she nodded, scowling. "He tries to use every girl he can get his filthy little hands on..."
But I tuned out what Lisa said after that. Because guess what? I knew Jimmy's last name! I wanted to jump up and down and squeal. And I also felt like maybe I had to give Lisa a little bit more credit. I blinked at her, trying to get back into our conversation. She was too sharp, though, and realized that I hadn't taken in a word she'd just said.
"Wait a second, you like him, don't ya?" Lisa smiled smugly. I felt my cheeks heat up fast. I didn't want to tell her. After all, this was the first time I'd ever talked to the girl. But I didn't want to lie.
"I guess… maybe a little," I admitted. I smiled nervously at Lisa, waiting for her to react.
"Aw!" she exclaimed, her eyes getting real squinty. "That's cute!"
"But I thought you said he was..."
"Oh, forget what I said. That's just how I feel about him. It's cute that you like him! I could hook you guys up..." Now Lisa was talking a mile a minute again. I grinned, listening to her jabber on and on about how adorable Jimmy and I would be together. I loved this. Not the whole talking about Jimmy thing, but the feeling of having a friend, I guess. I might've been a little bit older than Lisa and she might've made me insanely jealous, but she was already being sweet to me. So I liked her.
Later that night when I walked into the kitchen to see what was for dinner, I had a lot to tell Darry. He was rummaging around in the fridge, his entire upper half lost behind the door. I ran toward the counter nearest to the stove, thank God nothing tragic happened, and jumped on top of it. I leaned over into the pot on the stove.
"Mac and cheese again?" I groaned. Darry walked back over to the stove carrying a big block of cheddar cheese and a grater.
"Sorry, kid," he chuckled. "Can't afford nothin' else." That last remark kind of hit me. I searched Darry's face for any trace of worry; no, he just looked tired. He stirred the macaroni noodles with a bored expression. Eager to help Darry, I picked up the cheese and the grater.
"Do you have a plate?" I asked quietly. Darry didn't say anything, but reached into the cupboard and handed me one. "Okay, so guess what," I started, grating the cheese.
"What?" he asked, amused.
"Two-Bit's sister's really sweet! Like, at first I hated her because she has the perfect body and amazing hair and I feel totally inferior to her, but she just about hates the guy that I like and said that she could hook us up, so then I said..."
"Hold it," Darry interrupted me. "First, there's nothin' wrong you. And second... where the hell did you learn to talk so fast?" I blushed.
"There's a whole lot of stuff wrong with me! Like... I have no chest!" I blurted out, realizing what an awkward thing that was to say in front of my twenty year-old male cousin. He cleared his throat, shaking his head at me.
"Well, uh... I don't know what to tell you about, um... that. Talk to Soda about it," he replied, finally meeting my eyes and giving me a crooked grin. "But all I know is, nobody said you had to be perfect."
