A/N: Oh yes, chapter three. This is the chapter where some secrets are revealed, some realtionships plant their seeds, and the gang celebrates their last day of freedom. Enjoyy!
Discalimer: "I own The Outsiders!" - S. E. Hinton. "I don't!" - Me.
Chapter Three - Stop and Think
Remy
"Remy. Truth or dare?" A week after the movie incident, and I had somehow ended up in Lucy's basement along with Mallory, Vince, Luke, Neil, and Brody. Kory and Chandler, Luke and Neil's other brother, were there as well, but in their own corner playing cards.
"Mmm..truth?" I heard a bunch of scoffs.
"Wimp!" Vince said in between coughs. I shot him a glare then looked back at Mallory, who seemed in deep thought.
"Who in this group..do you want to kiss the most?" I rolled my eyes.
"Oh please, Mal. What is this, junior high?" Mallory folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow.
"Avoiding the question, are we?" I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Remy, Remy," Vince said, taking a seat next to me and putting his arm around my shoulder. "I know it's tough, but I think its time for you to just tell everyone. We all know you have a massive crush on me, anyways." I scoffed.
"Oh yes, Vince. I am madly in love with you," I said sarcastically as I pried his arm off of me.
"You guys, this game is lame!" Neil cried out as he layed on his back. "I feel like we're missing someone."
"We are, Ben's not here. Late as usual.."
"Somebody say my name?" We all turned to the basement entry way to see a tall, skinny boy. Ben, I'm gussing. He had auburn, almost red hair and the most amazing blue eyes I've ever seen.
"Ben!" all the boys excalimed as he walked in and took a seat.
"What's this? New comers? Jeez, guys. My vacation was only two weeks, and you've already replaced me?" Luke stood up.
"This is Lucy Sherman, Mallory Cooper, and Remy Curtis," he paused and looked at us. "It's really a long story, and I'll explain it all later." Ben smiled.
"Pleasure to meet you, ladies." I'm usually all up for meeting people, but it was getting kind of annoying now. Ben took a seat on the ground.
"So, what's going on here?"
"A whole bunch of nothing," I said, standing up. "I'm gonna get a soda, anybody want anything?" Brody jumped up after Vince nudged him.
"Yeah, I'll come with you." I nodded and we headed up the stairs. I was reminded of what Mallory said about him. This boy couldn't like me, could he? I mean, she must've gotten her facts wrong or something.
Once in the kitchen, we decided to pour cokes for everyone.
"Brody, can you get me one of the glasses up there?" Brody nodded and reached for one of the glasses, which made the sleeve of his shirt to go down to reveal a huge bruise. My eyes went wide.
"Brody..what's that?" He turned to me, then quickly pulled down his sleeve.
"Ah, nothing. It's nothing. Do we have enough for everyone?" I nodded slowly as I put the cups and the tray. There were a few seconds of silence until I broke it.
"Did you get in a fight or something?"
"No." More silence.
"Brody.." I said, taking the glass from his hand and putting it on the table, "your parents don't do this to you, right?" Brody looked away, an ashamed look on his face.
"Oh my God. Brody, I-"
"It's nothing! Really, Remy. It doesn't happen all the time, I just made him mad. Really don't worry about it," he said hurridly as he grabbed the tray and headed into the basement. I stood still for a few seconds before following him.
Vincent
Brody and Remy walked in with a tray of drinks in their hands. Remy looked wide-eyed and shocked, while Brody looked..well, like he always does. Kind of sad and ashamed of something. A few minutes before they came in, I had broken out the guitar and was making up random songs about people. I wasn't much of a guitar player, I took lessons for about a year when I was ten, but I knew enough to make a short little song.
"And this one," I said, strumming a cord as I scanned the room for my next victim, "is for Miss Mallory Cooper." She smiled at me and I started playing a bit.
"Mallory, you are oh so flowery. I wish you would hold me and I wish you would shower me." There were a couple of giggles, and I went on. "Oh my Mallory, I wish you would see that buzzing bee's don't live in tree's and that you and me are meant to be." The group applauded.
"Wow, Vince. That was very deep," Lucy said, sarcastically. I shrugged.
"I know," I said. Mallory laughed.
"Thank you, Vince. I will treasure that for the rest of my life." I smiled at her. Mallory was very different from other girls I knew. She wasn't shy, but she was very subtle and..I don't know, she was pretty. I looked in the corner to see Remy and Brody, discussing something very intensely. Neil was laying on the couch, his legs hanging over the side and Ben was sitting leaning against the couch, drumming on his knees. Kory and Chandler stood up.
"We're leaving now. Luke, do you have a ride home?" Luke groaned.
"Yes, Chandler. Why aren't you asking Neil the same question?"
"Neil's older than you."
"By one year! Big deal!" But Chandler and Kory were already out the door. I patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, Luke. It's just because he's worried about you." Luke scoffed.
"Yeah, well he shouldn't be. I'm not a baby I can take care of myself."
"Ah, Shit!" Remy yelled. We all turned to look at her, and she looked back at us, shocked at how loud she'd spoken.
"I forgot my dad was working late tonight.." she said quietly, sitting back in her chair. She looked to Lucy who shook her head.
"Sorry, Rem. Dad's taking me out to dinner when he gets home."
Remy turned to Mallory. "I'm at my dad's place tonight." She let out a small groan.
"Hey, uh, Remy?" Luke said, "You can stay at my place until he gets back." Neil, who I swear was asleep two seconds ago, sat up intently. Remy let out a relieved sigh.
"You sure?" Luke nodded.
"Sure, it's no problem."
There was a sound of a car horn coming from outside.
"That's my dad," Mallory said, standing up. "Goodbye! See you all at school tomorrow!" We all let out groans. School. I had totally forgotten about that. At least this year we were sophomores instead of dumb freshman. I strummed a few cords then looked up to see Mallory looking at me. We made eye contact for a few seconds, but she quickly looked away. I didn't say anything, just smirked.
Lucas
Neil, Remy, and I ended up walking home from Lucy's, agreeing not to tell Chandler about it. The walk was actually pretty plesant, and it was the first time I actually got to a get a good look at Remy, seeing things you don't see everyday. Like, I noticed that even though she was a redhead, it was a lighter, almost pinkish, sort of red. I'd always thought that she it was just full on red. She and Neil seemed to hit it off really well, though. Man, they were laughing every two seconds about something I didn't understand.
When we finally got home, we spent our time in the living room. Remy was sitting on the arm chair and me and Neil were on the couch.
"So, where are your parents?" she asked. Neil and I looked at each other, not sure what to do. Remy's smile faded.
"Oh, I..um.." Neil held up his arm for her to stop.
"No, it's okay. You don't need to appologize. Our parents died six years ago in a car wreck. It's just been me, Luke, and Chan since then." I winced a bit, waiting for the synthetic pity I got from everyone when I told them this. Remy, however, just looked down and nodded. It kind of looked like she was unsure of what to say. A few seconds later she looked up.
"I'm sorry. Really. I don't know what I'd do without my parents. You guys are very lucky to have each other.." Neil and I nodded and there was an awkward silence.
"So, ah," Neil cleared his throat, "how's your love life going?" In a matter of seconds, sad, dopey, Neil was gone and replaced with the charming, ladies man, Neil. The one we were all so familiar with.
Remy's face went a little pink.
"Mm..it's um..nonexistant, at the moment." She shifted a bit uncomfortably in her seat, which Neil picked up on and changed the subject.
"What's your favorite book?"
"Huh?"
"Your favorite book. What is it?" Remy looked at him with a funny look on her face, but smiled a little. I didn't want to ruin the moment by telling her that Neil had only read about three books in his life, only one of them for fun.
"Well, uh..what's yours?" Remy asked. Neil leaned back on the couch a bit.
"Promise you won't laugh?" She nodded.
"Little Women." I stiffled a laugh. I remember when he had read that book. It was just last year and he obsessed over it for weeks.
"Really?" Remy said, an amazed look on her face. "Wow. That's my favorite too." Neil blinked.
"You don't think its weird that I like it?"
Remy shook her head. "Not at all. I think it's cute." She smiled and I could tell Neil got a little embarassed. The thing with Neil is that he rarely ever blushed. Instead, he did this weird thing with his hands whenever he was embarassed. It's really hard to explain, but you'd only notice it if you really knew him.
Someone tapped on the window and we saw Remy's dad standing on the other side, waving her over.
"Time to go, I guess. Thanks a bunch for letting me stay over guys. See you tomorrow!" She waved quickly, then left. Neil watched her leave, then sighed a bit.
"Man. That girl is really something else."
I raised my eyebrows at him, but he didn't notice. He was still staring at the door.
Brody
I was stuck at Lucy Sherman's house with no ride home. Mallory, Luke, Neil, and Remy had left a while ago, and I figured I'd just get a ride with Ben but he left without telling me, taking Vince with him. And I sure as hell didn't want to call my parents up. It's not like they'd come, anyways. Lucy offered to give me a ride, but I was saving that as a last resort. Lucy lived on the good side of town in what could be called a mansion. She would probably think differently of me if she saw my sad excuse for a house. Either way, Lucy lived with only her dad and he wasn't home yet. Rumor has it that her mom had run off with some rich guy (because this wasn't rich enough for her?) when Lucy was eight or nine.
So like I said, I'm stuck at Lucy's house with no ride home. Any other male species would be pumped to be in my position, but not me. Why? Because I'm the stupid one that likes her best friend.
Currently, I was in Lucy's living room, dialing Vince's number on her phone. It rang for a while until I heard a click.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Vince. Are you home?"
"Yeah. Where are you?"
"Lucy's house. Do you think you could come and get me?" There was some silence. I know Vince didn't want to come and get me, but he was the only person who knew about my parental situation. Well, besides Remy, I guess. God, I was so stupid for letting my guard down. She probably thinks I must be a real bad kid for making my parents hit me.
"Sure. I'll be there soon." Vince snapped me out of my daydream.
"Thanks a lot, Vince."
"Yeah, whatever. See you later," he said before hanging up the phone. I put the phone back on the receiver to see Lucy standing there.
"Find a ride yet?" I nodded. Lucy took a seat next to me on the couch. Her perfectly clean, white couch. This was the first time I'd ever actually been alone with Lucy. I know she has the whole physical attraction thing down, but really she's sort of boring. All we talked about was school, friends, stuff like that. I was relieved when Vince finally came to get me. Once we were in the car, he shook his head.
"Dude. I wish you knew how lucky you are." I rolled my eyes. I didn't even want to start this subject. I was just looking forward to getting home, sleeping, and being able to see everyone again tomorrow.
Remy
I can't tell you how excited I was for school the next day. Since the beginning of freshman year, I was waiting for this time to come. My hair is exactly how I want it finally, falling down in soft curls down the small of my back. I had gotten my braces off two months ago, and those dumb horomone-ey pimples were gone. For good, I hoped. Not only that, but I finally had the class I want. I had already done my PE credit last year, so that was out of the way and this year I'd be taking French and photography. I had spent hours picking out my outfit, finally deciding on a pair of jeans and a baby blue v-neck sweater. Basically, I was stoked for the first day.
My dad and I were eating breakfast, but I just couldn't eat. Partly because my dad makes gross pancakes, and partly because I was nervous.
"What's up, Remy? You havn't touched your food."
"I'm not too hungry, dad." I looked at the time. "I should probably get going. I'm meeting Mallory and Vi-" I stopped myself. I discovered that Vince lives on the same street as Mallory and I, so we were all going to walk to school together. However, my dad did not need to know this. I wish you could've heard the lecture he gave me in the car when he picked me up from Luke's last night. I can't understand why he's so protective. Whenever I ask him, he just gives me this sad look and says, "Because love hurts sometimes, Remy."
"Mallory." I said with finality. Dad gave me a weird look.
"Just you and Mallory?" I nodded.
"Yeah. I'm just so used to saying Lucy afterwards. Well, I have to go. Love ya dad, bye!" I gave him a kiss and ran before he could question me any further.
The whole walk to school I was jumpy, but Mal and Vince didn't really notice. Honestly, they are the biggest flirts I've ever met in my life. Vince kept joking around and nudging her, while Mallory giggled. Yes, giggled. Not laugh. It seemed like three years later when we finally got to the school. Ben, Luke, Neil, and Brody were sitting on the steps in front of the school, waving at us once they spotted us. My face got hot when I saw Neil, who gave me a quick smile.
"He was the one who smiled at you during the movie last week, huh?"
I jumped a bit as a hand touched my shoulder, and turned around to see a smirking Lucy.
"I, uh..what are you talking about?"
"Neil Bourke, that's what I'm talking about," she whispered as we got closer to the boys. "Where's Kory?" she asked, mostly to herself, as she looked around. It's kind of weird to think that if Lucy hadn't met Kory, we wouldn't have become such good friends with the guys.
Vince sat down in between Ben and Luke, and Mallory sat in front of him with Brody and Lucy on either side. I stood there for a second, looking at Neil who was sitting two steps above them, just staring up into the sky. I took in a deep breath, then sat next to him.
"Hey," I said, smiling a bit. He looked at me, the trademark cheery Neil look on his face.
"Hey," he said back. There was some silence while we both sat there. I moved my hand, which had previously been on my lap, to the bottom of the step, but Neil had done the same at the same time, causing our hands to brush.
"Sorry," we both muttered at the same time, then laughed a bit nervously. Neil faced forward, fumbling with his hands a bit.
"Hey, Remy. I was just wondering, uh-" Dammit. The stupid bell rang right then. He could've gone on with what he was saying, but the moment was killed. I just sort of shrugged and stood up.
"I guess I'll see you at lunch," I turned to move but he grabbed my hand.
"Wait!" Neil stood up as ther rest of our group made their way through the doors.
"I just.." he kissed me on the cheek quickly, then smiled. "See you later, Remy."
It was amazing how much I liked him after only two weeks.
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EEEEK: Ahh..so the Remy/Neil romance is starting to blosssooom! Hahah. But how is Brody going to feel about this? We also find out that Brody has abusive parents, Lucy lives only with her dad and no one is sure why, Vince and Mallory have a thing going on, and we get introduced to BEN! So, stick around for chapter four and don't forget to review!
