A/N: Well hopefully you are enjoying the story so far. It is loosely based on the original story and I plan on extending it a bit. But like everyone else I hate the way the original ended haha so here is my take on it. Like I said in the disclaimer I do not own the Outsiders. Enjoy!
School dragged on sooooo long that day but luckily it was Friday, and I had my date tonight so I had something to look forward to. I walk to the car park with Angela in my ear the whole time banging on about the Rodeo tomorrow night.
"So you gunna come then? You can take Danny" she winks at me.
"I dunno we haven't even had that many dates yet Ange, I'll see how we go tonight. I dunno how keen I am on him."
She just giggles "Well I know how keen he is on you." I just laugh at her and tell her I'll call her in the morning and let her know how it goes.
"Well don't do anything I wouldn't do... not that it leaves you much room"
"Angela! You're terrible!" She just laughs again and walks off to meet her brother. I hope in Two-Bit's car, which he tells me he has managed to patch up a bit in shop class this afternoon.
"Hey Two, where's Ponyboy at?"
"Ah he walked off into town, wanted to go see a movie, me n Johnny offered to go with him, but he reckoned he just wanted some time alone"
"Jeez, I dunno what is with him. He's been getting quite distant recently, getting a bit worried about him."
"Pah I wouldn't be worried doll, he's just having some lady troubles." Two-Bit winks and pulls out of the carpark.
"So how was school today Johnny?" I already know what the answer will be. He doesn't enjoy it too much, just goes because he has to really. Johnny and Pony are both Sophomores, Pony is because he was put up a grade due to his brainy abilities, although they don't have many classes together as school is not really Johnny's strong point. I'm a Junior so I'm not in any classes with anyone, I used to be in a couple of Soda's classes till he dropped out, but he took things like shop class and math and I do home ec and textile and sewing classes. I like it though, those are definitley my strong points, which is not what I can say for most of the girls in those classes. Mainly soc girls who take them just to become the perfect little housewife. I on the otherhand took home ec out of necessity and a love of cooking passed on from my mum, and making clothes and fashion is a passion of mine. Two-Bit is a senior, again. I don't know why he hasn't dropped out already. I think he just loves coming to school and annoying the teachers. They can't expell him though because he never does anything bad enough. He plays pranks and is always mouthing off, hence his nickname, but he's just a big kid really. Plus it was either go to school or get a full-time job and he sure as hell preferred the first option.
"Yeah it was alright I guess. Failing math, no matter how hard Pony tries to help."
"Shoot kid, you don't need math anyways. You can just pinch anything you want from the shops and with your five finger discount you never need to worry about counting up your pennies!" Two-Bit bursts into hysterics at this, once again finding his jokes all too funny. However he is brilliant at shoplifting. I know it's bad and all, but makeup and smokes are expensive and Two-Bit can get em for free!
Once we're home I thank Two-Bit for getting us home this time and hop inside to get ready for my date. Johnny and Two-Bit just turn on the tv and wait for the after-school cartoons. Apparently they are better on a Friday.
I look in the mirror at my outfit. I made the dress myself and it was a pattern I was trying out for the first time. A few people around the neighbourhood have noticed my knack for making dresses. This side of town is fairly poor, the Greaser side. So unlike the rich South side soc we have to make do with what we got, which means altering clothes, hand me downs and making them from scratch. A few ladies have asked me to make dresses for their daughter's dances or for going to a wedding etc and I just charge them for fabric. It's good practice and most of the time they give me a little bit of money for my effort. This dress I like, I picked a red fabric, red being my favourite colour. It has buttons down the front to my hips where the skirt pleats out a bit stopping just above my knees. The top half is fairly tight, showing off my curves, I figured it's a date after all. I've let my hair into it's natural curls and pinned some back, I've done my makeup all nice with some black eyeliner and red lipstick, all that's left is to slip on my black wedges. I don't wear as much make up as most of the greaser girls, and I like to think I do dress a bit better than them, mainly because Darry wouldn't let me leave the house in some of the stuff they do. He quite often says that Tim and Curly should keep a better eye on their sister Angela as she comes to pick me up to go out sometimes in some pretty skimpy stuff. But I just tell him he's getting old.
I check my clock and its quarter to six, I told Danny I'd meet him at his at 6, he only lives a block away but I better get a move on seeing as Darry would most likely give me the third degree about walking alone, and what not to do on this date or he'll kill me and the guy I'm with. I usually carry a blade in my jeans pocket, and if not then in my bra, but I figured tonight I'm wearing a dress and I probably won't need it being with Danny seeing as he'll have one, so I don't bother with it and put it on my bedside table. I look around my tiny room searching for where I slung my jacket. My room isn't messy it's just tiny! Darry, Soda and Pony used to share a room until my parents died and so Darry moved into their room giving Pony and Soda a bit more space. Me being the only girl I've always had my own room. I think it used to be a pantry on one side and a linen closet on the other, but dad knocked it through and set it up as a room taking a bit of the back veranda in as well. So my ceiling is a couple of different shades of paint, and it's just big enough to fit a double bed in with a bedside table and couple of dressers. My bed is pushed into the corner with a wardrobe dresser at the bottom of my bed facing the door and another dresser next to the door with just enough room left for about a square metre of standing room in the middle. I find my leather jacket at the bottom of my bed and shove it on.
"Oooohhhh check you out that Danny is a lucky man!" Soda whistles at me, Steve is next to him just kinda looking at me with a distant look in his eyes. But he gives me a smile and a nod, he's with Evie anyways, and the brief thought we both shared is long forgotten. I never liked him all that much anyways and I think that's why he never pushed the issue, he didn't wanna risk his friendship with Soda for something which would probably never have happened anyways.
"And he's about to get a whole lot luckier" Two-Bit winks, and Soda punches him in the arm saying "that's my sister man, watch it!"
This just earns another laughing fit from Two-Bit. Now it's Darry's turn, he pops his head around the wall from the kitchen and reminds me of my curfew, to not be pressured into anything, he knows what the guys from Tim's gang are like and to make sure Danny drops me home.
"Yeah yeah Darry I'll be fine, I'm a big girl."
"I dunno about that, still got a couple feet left to grow shorty!"
"Yeah whatever Two-Bit, see ya later".
I turn around the back of our house to start walking up the dirt track to Danny's street. But before I even get around the house I hear Pony screaming for Darry and Soda, I see him just up the end of the track with a fair few socs on top of him.
I run back into the house yelling for the guys to come and everyone runs straight down the track hollering at the socs. I try and keep up wishing I'd worn flats instead of wedges but I catch up as the boys start throwing punches at the socs as they pile back into their mustang. I stop by Pony and ask him if he's ok, but he's bleeding from his neck. I search my jacket pockets for a handkerchief but don't find anything. By this point the socs have taken off and Darry and Soda head back to where Pony is slumped on the ground.
"They didn't hurt ya too bad did they Pony?" Darry asks with concern etched all over his face.
"Hey Pony, did they pull a blad on you?" Soda kneels down next to him.
"Yeah" Pony shrugs turning away trying not to cry.
"Hey they ain't gonna hurt ya no more." Soda stands pulling Pony up giving him a rag from his pocket to stop the blood.
"God walking by yourself you don't ever think." Darry starts his rant now, I just get up and hold Pony's arm as I walk along next to them.
"All's I did was walk home from the movies."
"Movies and books, movies and books. You know I wish you would just concentrate on something else just once in a while."
"Yeah you should just concentrate on girls and cars, works for me" laughed Soda as he tapped Darry.
"Look if you had to go by yourself you shoulda carried a blade."
"Oh yeah that woulda been a great excuse for the socs to cut his neck a little more there."
"Hey if I want my kid brother to tell me what to do with my other kid brother I'll ask ya alright? Kid brother?" And with that Darry storms off into the house kicking a can along the way.
"Jeez man why does he always gotta be like that?"
"Hmph, don't worry about it Pony he's just stressed out is all. He's got a lot more worries than he used to." Pony just gives me a half smile and nods.
I look over and see Dallas Winston leaning against our neighbour's old truck. Didn't even realise he was out of jail yet. I give him a wave and he just nods, taking a smoke out of his pocket and lights it.
"How's the kid?" he asks swaggering over to us.
"He'll live, I'm sure." I say as I walk over to Two-Bit.
"What are ya doing out of the cooler Dal?" But before he could give Pony an answer Steve pipes up, not happy again. Pony seems to get on his nerves a little bit.
"Yeah and what are ya doing walkin by your lonesome on the streets? Huh?"
"None of your business smartie."
"What do you mean none of my business? It is my business look at ma nose!"
"Yeah it's huge."
"He's a smart ass, he is some smart ass kid." Steve rants as he turns to Two-Bit and Dally giving Dal a handshake. "Hey Dally how ya doin?"
"Yeah I thought you were in for about 90 days Dal?" Pony pipes up, ignoring the look Steve gives him.
"Yeah I got out early man, good behaviour." He starts walking round us towards Johnny who snuck past us, a little shook up from seeing the socs. "Hey Johnny man! How ya doin bro?"
"Thing's would go a lot better if the Socs stayed on the south side of town."
"Hey don't you worry bout that Johnny coz we're gunna have it out with them sooner or later" we start walking over to our yard as Steve pipes up looking for a fight.
"Sure as hell are if they keep comin' over our side of town." Soda joins Steve. I don't know what it is about the two of them, they're always keen for a fight, and are always in competition with each other.
Dally ignores them, "those the same guys that got you?"
"Nah, they were other guys."
"Now that I'm out I'm gunna make it my business to get the guy who did that to your face." Dal's thick New York accent coming through.
I just nudge Johnny and give him a smile, which he returns sheepishly. He doesn't really like talking about the night he got beat up. It was real bad, we almost thought he was dead. Johnny took beatings from his dad a fair bit, but this was something else. Dal got put away a couple days later. He was really angry about what happened. Out of all of us he was closest with Johnny. Dally wasn't exactly the most loving person, but he had a soft spot for Johnny. When Johnny was bad, I don't think he really knew what to do with all the worry he had inside and he got in a pretty bad bar fight with some socs and was locked up for assault. Just another item on a long, long rap sheet.
"What do ya think bout me becoming your personal bodyguard, huh Ponyboy?" Two-Bit pipes up with a grin.
"I don't think it's too hot of an idea."
"Hey I was thinking you and Sylvia come over with us to the game tonight?" Steve says to Dally, changing the subject.
Pony beats him to the answer, "I wanna go."
"Awh nah we're takin' Evie and Sandy," Soda lets him down gently before Steve gets his word in,
"Which means no kids allowed." God, Steve was so moody, guess he was just shitty he copped a punch to the nose.
"Nah I'm gunna go hunt some action. Little kids are allowed." Dally asks Johnny and Pony if they wanna go to the Nightly Double tonight, which I'm not too keen on as that's where I'm headed with Danny.
Oh shit, Danny.
"Hey sorry guys I better run now the coast is clear. I was meant to be at Danny's at six."
"Where ya's goin?" asked Pony.
"Same place as you guys by the sounds of it."
"Might see ya there then Curtis." Dallas just winks as I turn around and rush off to Danny's. Man is he gunna be annoyed.