Chapter 2
He grinned back, "One everything coming up!" While Darry cooked, the gang told stories of what I missed, the good fights, and the new broads in town. They told the latest news of the surrounding gangs, and especially how much they missed me. God, it was good to be back I thought to myself. There was only one major problem... That problem was named Cherry Valance.
Cherry wasn't a problem, she was an angel with red hair with bright green eyes. And she was my girl. I liked how that sounded, my girl. The only thing is, she's a Soc. She isn't like the Greaser girls with loud, dirty mouths who wear too much makeup and try too hard to make themselves look beautiful. Cherry had soft, fiery red hair that falls in perfect ringlets at the end. Her eyes are the color of jade. She has the sweetest soft pink lips, not to thin and not too fat. She had high cheekbones and a slight nose. She was perfect in every way. And I loved her, just thinking about her made my heart swell with love, excitement, and happiness. The prettiest girl in town was my girlfriend. Mine. I guess I drifted off dreaming about Cherry and the possibilities of our relationship and it took a shake and a loud, "Hey Pony, stop day dreaming and eat your food." From Darry to snap me out of my trance. "What's gotten into you, you've been acting weird."
"Me?" I asked nervously. "I haven't been acting weird, I've just been... thinking about stuff."
"What kind of stuff," asked Darry wearing a worried expression, "Have you had any of those dreams lately?"
"No, nothing like that." I said.
A coy smile crept across Darry's face, "I think Ponyboy is in love."
My face turned a deep tomato red and I felt my anger growing. "Aw Darry, knock it off, it's nothing like that."
The whole gang started chanting, "Pony is in love, Pony is in love! Who's the lucky little lady?" The chanting got louder accompanied by banging on the table. I was so angry I began to shake. I pushed my chair violently out from under the table and stood up, tears filling my eyes. I turned away and ran out the door, sprinting down the street. I didn't stop until I got to the main road and stuck out my thumb, trying to catch a ride to the other side of town. Finally, a blue Mustang pulled up on my left side.
"Hey stranger," called a familiar voice, "Need a ride kid?" The familiar voice belonged to one of the Socs, it was Cherry's oldest brother, Mike. I smiled gratefully and leaned in the rolled down window.
"Any chance this car is going to stop at Cherry's house?' I asked.
"That's my first stop." Mike responded. I hopped in the back seat there were three guys in the car, including Mike. Mike is a tough looking guy, he's about six foot and completely ripped. One punch from him could knock someone out. He had cold, steely gray eyes and an uneven smile. He had a scar that started at his ear and ended at his chin. He had a square jaw that was almost always clenched shut. The rest of the ride was quiet. We stopped at Mike's house and he let me in to see Cherry. "She's been worried sick about you." Mike said.
"That's why I've come to put her fears to rest." I answered with a smirk. Mike punched my shoulder in approval and jogged back to the car. "Thanks for the ride Mike." I called over my shoulder.
"Anytime, you're one of us now." He said with a smile. One of us. That was different I thought. Me, a Soc. I stepped into the house.
"Cherry, it's Ponyboy." I called into the vicinity of the clean, spacious house. I heard the sound of feet racing down the stairs.
"Ponyboy," Cherry sobbed, "You're okay, thank God you're okay." She threw herself into my open arms. She cried with her head resting on my shoulder. She squeezed me hard, a little too hard. I gasped and suddenly the room was spinning. "Ponyboy, are you okay?' she asked, loosening her grip, and looking at my face, worry present in her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I wheezed out, "I just might need to sit down for a while."
"Okay, I'm really sorry."
"It's okay, you just caught me off guard." I said weakly. I tried to smile but it looked like a painful grimace. She held me next to her and I leaned on her until we made it to the couch. "Thanks." I said when I sat down.
"Anytime," she said with a smile, "This was, after all, Mike's fault." Thinking about that night made me flinch and I pushed the thought out of my mind and I focused on Cherry. "I haven't seen you since that night and I was so worried." Cherry said without taking her eyes off of my face. "You look pretty bad, what happened?"
"I really don't remember but I have had five broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and needed seven stiches to my face and five to my hand. Looking at my face made her cry some more. "Hey, it's okay baby, I think it makes me look tough." I said with a smile. She reached up and gingerly touched my bruised, multicolored face, my swollen black eye, and traced the deep, stitched-up cut along my face as if she was afraid to.
"Your face, your poor beautiful face." She said, cracking a smile though still crying.
"Hey, I'm still good looking, right?" I said jokingly.
"You will be when your face heals up and doesn't contain the colors of the Aurora Borealis." She said with a giggle. "Ponyboy, do you know I love you?" Before I could respond, she craned her neck and softly kissed my lips. Her lips tasted like sweet candy. I cradled her head in my hands and kissed her again. She moved closer and moved her hands up my arms and I winced but didn't care. I kept going. I pulled her closer to me until she was practically sitting on my lap. She reached for the hem of my shirt. Suddenly, we heard the door knob turning and we pulled apart. She snuck one more kiss onto my lips and held my hand.
"Now I do for sure." I whispered in her ear. I could tell she was smiling even though she was staring at Mike standing in the doorway.
"Ponyboy, I think you better go home, I'll give you a lift. Your gang is looking for you." Mike informed me.
"Okay, I'll be right out." I called. Mike turned around and went to start the car. "Well, Cherry Valance, I guess I better get going. Bye for now." I quickly planted one more kiss on her lips and stood. She stood to and hugged me before I walked out the door. Once I got home, I was in big trouble.
"Where the hell have you been?" Yelled Darry, his face a mask of worry and anger.
"Around." I replied coolly.
"Don't you get smart with me kid." He shouted.
"I. am not. A KID!" I said, no longer keeping my cool.
"You are in this house." He said coldly. I gave him a dirty look and stomped away into my room, where Soda was relaxing on the bed.
"Hey Pony, I'm real sorry about this morning." Soda said guiltily. "I didn't know that you'd take it that hard."
"It's fine," I mumbled, "I'm over it."
"You scared me when you ran out like that," he said. "Don't do that to us again."