Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. All credit goes to S.E. Hinton.
Okay, so this chapters a little longer. Hope you like it.
It had been months since Bob jumped that kid. Bob and I were on good terms again, of course. He had completely forgotten about the kid he beat up, but I thought about it every once in a while. One time, I even asked Bob if he knew the kid's name. He hadn't. That probably made it easier to jump him, less personal. He didn't know the kid's name, so it was almost like he wasn't a real person.
I had a date with Bob again. We were going to double date with Marcia and Randy at the drive-in. Still to this day, I have no idea why we went to The Dingo. It's a greaser hangout. Socs usually go to The Way Out or to Rusty's, but Bob drove to The Dingo, and I never got to find out why. Marcia and I sat in Randy's blue mustang, trying to watch the movie. It wasn't easy though considering the boys were drinking. It's not just something they do every once in a while. It's something they've become dependent on, and that scares me.
We left once they became obnoxious. My idea of a good time is not to sit in a drive-in and watch people get drunk. We walked off, with Bob screaming after us, and Marcia softly protesting. I think that there was a part of her that wanted to stay with them. We sat in the seats people use when they don't have a car. There are usually greasers in these seats, and it was making me a little uneasy. Especially when a hood behind us was hitting on me. There were three kids sitting behind us, but it was just that one kid, the oldest it looked like, who wouldn't leave us alone. He strolled off casually when I told him to get lost.
I spun around to face what looked like the youngest boy. "You gonna start in on us now too?" I asked.
His eyes got a little bigger. I think he might have been scared of me. "No." he said, shaking his head. I had to smile at his innocence.
"You don't look the type, anyway. What's your name?" I asked.
He looked a kinda reluctant to tell me. "Ponyboy Curtis." he mumbled.
Well, no wonder he was reluctant. That was quiet a name. "That's an original and lovely name." I commented.
"Yeah, well, my dad was an original person. I've got a brother named Sodapop, and it says so on his birth certificate." he explained. Oh, I knew Sodapop all right. He was beyond cute. I had seen him down at that DX station enough to know that girls swarmed like bees to the honeycomb. "My name's Sherri, but my friends call me Cherry 'cause of my hair." I explained.
"Yeah, I know. You're a cheerleader. We go to the same school." he said.
"You don't look old enough to be going to high school." Marcia spoke my own thoughts. I had almost forgotten she was there.
"I'm not. I got put up a year in grade school." he explained. He wasn't bragging, only telling the truth. Huh, a smart greaser. You didn't see that everyday. Come to think of it, you didn't see that ever. We made more small talk until one of Ponyboy's friends came back. I had seen him around school a few times. Greaser, black hair, black eyes, the same jeans jacket. I think his name was Johnny Cade. He said hi to me, and I realized that that was the first time I ever heard him speak. He looked nervous. I guess it wasn't everyday he talked to a soc like me. He looked harmless, so I knew I could relax.
The relaxing didn't last for long though because Dallas Winston came back. He handed me a coke, and I threw it in his face. He gave me a smile that sent chills up my spine, but I played it off as cool as I could. He went to put his arm around me, but Johnny stopped him. I was surprised, and I could see that Ponyboy was too. I guess Johnny doesn't usually speak up like that. I was grateful though. Dallas scared me.
"Thanks. He had me scared to death." I said. He smiled at me.
"You sure didn't show it. Nobody talks to Dally like that." he said, in kind of an admiring way.
"From what I saw, you do." I said. I could tell I embarrassed him when I said that. We asked them to sit with us and protect us, and I knew they were eager to do it. We sat watching the movie for a while until strong hands came down on Johnny and Ponyboys's shoulders. For one horrific moment, I thought it was Bob, and I don't know why that scared me so much. It was almost like a premonition. It sure scared Johnny too. I could see him shaking. But when they turned around, they relaxed. They knew him. His name was Two-Bit.
As I sat there, I realized how much fun I was having. More fun than I thought I would have, and the ironic thing was I wasn't even with Bob. These boys were real, who had seen the real world and didn't have money to get them out of every little problem. I secretely wished this night would never end. For once in what seemed like forever, I was with people who cared more about the people around them than where their next drink was coming from. We may not have been cut from the same piece of cloth, but at that moment it didn't matter.
Well? Review! Please! If you don't want to do it for me, then Do it for Johnny!