Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.
Claire liked her house. It was sturdy, clean, and ordinary, not catching any attention but her's and her father's when they needed rest. She only wished that someone would one day change the paint to blue or even beige. The greenish grey kept reminding her of the time she accidentally got drunk and upheaved her entire stomach.
She dumped her bag in the living room and rushed up the stairs and into her room. The milk was starting to become sticky, mixing with her sweat, and it was getting harder for her to ignore it.
Throwing her clothes off, she went into the shower.
The two bathrooms in their house didn't have bathtubs. Instead, they had a military style shower room with a bath curtain to block the water from spraying all over the place. This was because Claire's father, a drill sergeant, believed that bathtubs made people lazy. Claire never understood how it would, but she didn't argue.
The warm water splashed on Claire's face. It felt wonderful on her sweaty, sticky self. She leaned against the bathroom wall and sighed.
I wish my life were like this all the time. Warm and cozy, unlike today.
Claire shivered.
That stranger was freaking crazy! He tried to punch me when I accidentally ran into him. I guess I did snark on him a little, but that didn't mean he had to give me a bruise! Does he have an ego problem? If he does, it might be worse than Alice's, and that's saying something.
Oh, god, speaking of which, what am I going to do about Ponyboy? He's gonna ask so many questions! What am I going to tell him - that Alice I dumped milk on me?
She blushed.
That's so embarrassing. I sound like such a pushover.
Like you're not. A dark side of her muttered. You always do what your daddy says.
Father's scary when he gets mad. Besides this is different!
So you say...
Not feeling so good anymore. Claire did her usual routine and got out of the shower. She put on a loose white shirt and blue pajama bottoms and threw herself onto her bed.
I don't want to go to school. Claire thought. P.E. was after lunch and that meant sitting down and doing nothing. This was because the girls in her class weren't the most motivated people, nor the most competent. They cried over a broken nail for god's sakes! On top of that, her last period was history with Ponyboy...
Aggravated, Claire flung the blanket over her head. Why did this have to happen?
The blanket covered the light coming from the sun, turning the world black. Claire relaxed. She loved darkness, it was always so comforting. It reminded her of nights in the countryside, where there were no street lamps illuminating the street. She had loved it there...
Soon, she nodded off.
XXX
"Ponyboy, your girlfriend is one tuff gal." Two-bit stage whispered to Ponyboy.
Dallas, who had regained his breath, glared at Two-bit.
Two-bit stared back innocently.
"She ain't my girlfriend, she's a school friend." Ponyboy muttered.
Two-bit ruffled Ponyboy's hair. "Whatever you say, kid."
Ponyboy rolled his eyes. He'd known Claire since high school started (three months ago) and he hadn't felt anything for her. He could tell that she didn't either. They were just school friends with a lot of courses together. But, of course, once Two-bit got started on something, he wouldn't let it go. It was going to be a long week.
Dally, whose anger was rising the more he thought about the girl and her attitude snarled, "When I find her, she's dead. Bitch, talkin to me like that." Suddenly, Dally's eyes met Ponyboy's. His ice blue eyes gleamed. "Where can I find her?" He demanded.
Silence greeted him.
"You deaf? Where can I find her?" Dally demanded again.
Ponyboy was in a dilemma. Dally was a part of his gang and he was slightly (really) scared of the guy. But Claire had been nothing but nice to him in school. Not to mention, she was a girl. (Though she was able to beat Dally.)
Thankfully at that moment, Evie decided to interfere.
"Nice to know Winston's such a man, beating up little girls. I know Sylvia would love to hear all about it." Evie said.
"Shut it." Dallas snapped.
Evie made a zipping motion in front of her mouth then gave Dallas the finger.
A second, then two and Dally stood up, stalking towards Evie. Steam was literally coming out of his ears. "You'd better not spread the word around, broad. You spread it and I won't even care you're a woman, I'll beat your face in. Got it?"
Evie's hand shook, but her face didn't change. She nodded. Though Dallas was one of the lowest of the low, she knew that he had never hit a woman, not even Sylvia, his current ex-girlfriend, and she was a bitch.
Dally gave a glare to the other greasers. "You better not tell anyone either. I don't have nothing against beating you."
Ponyboy nodded hastily, glad Dally had forgotten about his initial question. Steve nodded. Two-bit arched an eyebrow.
"Want a fight Matthews?" Dally growled.
"Nah, I want to enjoy the sunshine. Though I wonder what Shepard will think of this…"
Dally took a step closer to Two-bit. "Matthews."
Two-bit held up two hands. "Alright. I won't tell anyone. But you owe me a beer."
Two-bit was taller and buffer than Dally. But Dally was smaller and faster. They both knew that if they fought, both of them would be pretty sore after. And Dally wouldn't pull any blades because Two-bit was a part of his gang.
"Fine." Dally spat. Then turned around and left. He needed to find more information and get drunk.
When they couldn't see Dally anymore, Two-bit said, "That sonofagon, thought he was gonna thump me right then and there."
"Then don't be a wise-ass." Steve said.
"You're girlfriend seemed plenty to me."
"Unlike you, my girl knows how to set him off and get away with it" Steve said and reached for his girlfriend.
Evie pushed his hand away and slapped him so fast she could have killed a paranoid fly. "Don't 'my girl' me. I was real scared there and you didn't do anything!" She stormed away.
"Evie!" Steve shouted and chased after her.
"Whoop cha!" Two-bit made a whipping motion. Steve caught it and gave him the death glare. He also gave one to Pony as well.
Great, Ponyboy thought, Now I'm a tag-along kid and his girlfriend chaser. He's gonna hate me forever.
Two-bit grinned. This year was beginning to get interesting.
XXX
"Thump! Thump!" Small rocks bounced against the window.
Claire was startled awake.
"Ya there Chad?" a boy shouted from below.
Claire recognized that voice anywhere. "Curly?" She shouted and fumbled her way to the window, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Sure enough, Curly Shepard stood below her house, a small scar across his face illuminated by the street lamps.
"One an' only!"
Then she remembered, the previous events rushing into her brain.
Oh shit. It's eight o'clock! That means I skipped class. Father's going to kill me…
Fuck it, I'm doomed anyway, so why not prolong whatever's going to happen to me?
"Give me a second, I just woke up!" She shouted and pushed down the surge of worried feelings. She was going to have fun before the execution began.
She rushed into the bathroom, squeezed a liberal amount of grease in her hands and attacked her hair. In seconds, her hair was slicked back and it looked as if someone had dipped her in a bucket full of lard.
She then threw off her clothes and grabbed a pair of jeans, a chest binder and a black shirt. She put them on in record time.
"Get out of the way!" She shouted, and opened the window fully. She slipped through and jumped.
"Fuck." She heard Curly shout. She didn't care though, the ground was rushing up to greet her. Preparing for the impact, she bent her legs slightly and pointed her toes so that the front of the foot would touch down first. Landing on her heels directly could give her a broken kneecap or even worse, a broken ankle. Ankles took forever to heal.
Gracefully, she landed, a cloud of dust forming around her from the impact.
"Hey Curly." She said, grinning.
"Geezus almighty, you're crazy man."
"Get used to it. You saw me do this at least twenty times, and I'm not gonna stop. And it's only the second floor, I bet you could do it too." She retorted. Curly was only one year older than her and judging by the state of his body he could if he put his mind to it.
"I ain't crazy like you. Don't want to break my knees."
She laughed, the sound ringing in the silent background. Her friend was such a scardy cat sometimes.
She ran forwards with Curly jogging behind her.
"We going to your place?" She questioned.
Curly nodded. "There ain't anything to do at yours. Sides, I think I heard Tim say something about a rumble."
After a minute or two, they slowed to a walk.
Curly grinned and took out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one, breathed it in, and blew out. "Want one?"
Chad frowned in distaste. "No."
Curly smirked. "You're such a girl sometimes."
Don't I know it. Chad thought.
"It's a cancer stick. The stuff from the cigarette goes into your lungs, kills the little hairs, and turns your lungs black. It's gonna make you die early! Not to mention the disgusting plaque and bad breath you'll have. If somebody who didn't smoke tried kissing you right now, it would feel as if they were licking an ashtray."
Curly lifted an eyebrow. He sucked the cigarette in deeply and breathed out and repeated the motion rapidly.
Chad punched Curly. The guy was just being an asshole. Curly punched her back. Chad was more than pissed off from the events earlier and if Curly wanted a fight, she'd give him one. She needed to let out some steam anyway. She readied herself to launch another punch. But before she could, Curly held up a hand.
"Y'know, most greasers smoke cause it calms them down."
Chad nodded. It was because cigarettes had nicotine in them that made people feel lightheaded and a little euphoric. She'd tried one before, but she hadn't liked it. It agitated her throat too much.
"I smoke to die." Curly grinned, a strange distant look on his face. Chad recognized it as the look he got right before he did something stupid, like the time he took on three Brumley boys at once.
A heavy feeling settled in her gut. Annoyed, she ripped the cigarette out of Curly's mouth, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it, imagining that Alice's face was on it. "Then, jump out of a window. You're not going to die smoking in front of me."
Curly's face transformed into one of surprise. But it was so fast that Chad almost thought it hadn't been there, almost.
"You owe me a cigarette." Curly said in an annoyed tone. Chad noted that he'd put away his smokes and his lighter. She hid a smile.
"Anything new?" Chad asked.
"Angel's tryin to date Rob." Curly said distastefully, kicking dirt with his sneakers. "Fucker better stay away. She's only twelve and he's fifteen. Tim's gonna kill him too if he tries to make a move."
"Isn't Rob in your brother's gang? He should know better than to try and date your sister."
Curly snorted, "The guy ain't too smart. One time when we were slashing the Brumly gang's tires, his switchblade broke and he tried to puncture the thing with the handle."
Chad laughed. "Why'd your sister want him then?"
"She's tryin to get on Tim's nerves. She's angry cause Tim didn't let her drive his car."
Chad winced. She'd met Curly's sister before and she had one big temper. The girl had been screaming bloody murder at Curly for using her shirt as a towel when she'd been introduced.
"What about you?" Curly asked.
Chad thought back to school. There was no way she was telling Curly any of that. "I studied, read books, and slept."
Curly wrinkled his nose. "You're like Ponyboy, always doin school work."
Surprised at the mention of the name, Chad stumbled. "You know Ponyboy?"
"Yup. He's the youngest of the Curtis gang. We hang out sometimes when our brothers are discussing their next fight or something like that. You know him?"
"N-no. I was just surprised at the name. It sounds weird." Chad said quickly. Then winced inwardly. There was no way Curly didn't know she was lying. Her voice had dropped and she could feel her face going bright red.
Curly glanced at Chad. Chad avoided Curly's eyes and changed the subject. "Who's in the Curtis gang?"
There was a momentary pause. Chad thought Curly would question her sudden change in topics, but Curly said,"Ponyboy, his two brothers, Sodapop and Darry, Dally, Two-bit, Steve, and Johnny."
"I've heard of Two-bit before." Chad said. She'd heard about that boy from almost every greaser girl gossip at school. Apparently half the girls either held an immense hatred or harbored a gigantic crush on him.
Curly snorted. "Of course, he's the town drunk. You don't ever catch him sober and when he is, he acts so drunk that he don't look sober."
Chad muffled a girlish giggle. She could imagine the giant hobbling like an old man, trying to decide whether up was down or down was up. "Why would he want to do that?"
"Beats me."
"Oh hey, we're here!" Curly shouted.
They neared a grey house with peeling blue paint. A brown fence, broken in some parts where drunks (or other dangerous people) tried to enter, surrounded the house. Bright lamp lights streamed out of the uncurtained windows.
Skipping over the shorter parts of the fence, they approached the house. Curly slammed the door open. Curly leading, they stepped inside. A mix of smoke, beer, old spice and cleaning detergent wafted into Chad's olfactory system. They weaved their way through the narrow corridor, filled with broken bottles and cans (Chad imagined a whole ecosystem of bugs there, and shuddered discreetly), and went into the living room.
Tim Shepard, the leader of the Shepard gang lay on his back, flipping through a newspaper. Chad could tell he wasn't reading it though, the newspaper was flipped backwards. Angel, Curly's sister was no where to be seen. She was probably over at her friend's house.
Curly opened a cooler. "I think there's cake in here. Tim, can we eat it?"
Tim Shepard put the newspaper down. "Eat half. I'm goin to Buck's."
Curly's face darkened. "You always go to Buck's when I'm home." He muttered.
Chad was sure it wasn't meant for her ears. Curly never talked about his brother unless he wanted to boast about him. So she pretended not to hear.
"You goin to tell me if there's a rumble Tim?" Curly asked. His face cheerful as before.
Tim glanced at Curly, then at Chad.
"Yeah." Tim said and went out, the door slamming behind him.
"I guess we're not goin' to have that rumble." Curly said nonchalantly when Tim left. She could literally see disappointed puppy ears on Curly.
You don't need his attention to feel happy. She thought.
And you don't? Don't you want your father's attention? Another part of her whispered viciously.
Shut it.
An idea popped into her head. She flounced to the sink, pressed her thumb against the nob, angled it just right, and turned it on. Water sprayed all over Curly's face.
Curly's mouth turned into an O.
"What was that for?" Curly shouted.
She stuck her tongue out. "It wasn't me, it was the water sprite!"
Dumbfounded at the stupidest excuse he'd ever heard, Curly said, "That don't exist!" Then Curly had an idea of his own. Smiling evilly, he walked over and shook his head like a wet dog, spraying droplets of water everywhere.
Screeching like a little girl, she screamed, "Watch it!"
Curly laughed. "That's what you get for spraying the mighty Curly!"
She narrowed her eyes. You're asking for it. She jumped Curly, hooking her arms around his neck, she put her weight and momentum on the top of his shoulders. "We'll see who's mighty!"
Curly went down with a thump. Immediately, she head locked him and with her other arm, pinned his arms behind his back. "Hollar Uncle or I'm not letting go!" She said gleefully. He wasn't going to get out of this that easily.
Curly tried to struggle but Chad was locked on tight. After a few more seconds, he said, "Fine, Uncle! Geez."
Chad jumped off him. She grinned triumphantly. Chad 2 and Curly 1. "Let's eat that cake"
"Pig." Curly said.
Thank you for reading!
