Chapter three yay! Enjoy and please, please, please R&R.
We all walked into the house, out arms loaded with bags. We had taken Pepper shopping for some clothes and other things. It was actually really strange. None of us had ever been shopping with a girl and it kinda made me uncomfortable. Soda didn't mind cause he got to flirt with a couple of girls that he had spotted.
Pepper wouldn't get a dress, no matter how much Darry tried to convince her. She bought blue jeans, white T-shirts and sneakers. She also got a leather jacket that made her look real tuff. I was really starting to like having a twin sister. Pepper wasn't like any girl I had ever met. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she slouched. She didn't wear any eye make-up and she carried a blade, a really tuff blade. It had a white handle and the sharpest edge that I ad ever seen.
We dumped the bags on the couch and Darry placed a fist on his hip, running a hand through his hair.
"Now, the question is, where does Pepper sleep?" he asked.
"I can sleep out here on the couch," Pepper suggested.
Darry hesitated for a moment. I knew what he was thinking. That couch had to be the lumpiest thing ever; there was no way Pepper would get any sleep.
"Really, I don't mind," Pepper assured him.
Darry sighed and nodded. "Just till I can build you your own room."
I bit my lip as it hit me. We didn't have the money to add on another room, how was Darry gonna manage it? I shook my head every so slightly.
"Well I'm gonna change out of these dirt clothes," Pepper said.
"You can use my room," Darry said.
Pepper nodded and grabbed up one of the bags, walked off into Darry's room. I heard the door shut.
"Darry, we don't have the money to build another room," I voiced.
"We'll just have to make out, Pony," he told me.
"I can quit school and get a job, she's my twin sister after all," I said.
"Ponyboy, don't be silly, she's all of our sister, and besides you are going to finish high school," Darry said, "That reminds me, I need to get Pepper enrolled tomorrow."
"Oh no you don't!"
I looked up to see Pepper coming out of the room. She was dressed in blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up, one of her white shirts, black sneakers and she was pulling on the leather jacket. Her hair was newly brushed and looked like she had just pulled it up again.
"I ain't going to school don't need it," she argued.
"Pepper as long as you live under my roof you do as I say, and I say you're going to school," Darry said.
Pepper crossed her arms over her chest and fell onto the couch with a frown. I couldn't help but smile. It was going to be so cool having a girl around the house. Then I realized that I wasn't the youngest anymore.
Just then the door opened and Two-Bit walked in. Pepper jumped up from the couch. Two-Bit gave a suspicious grin, his eyes locked on Pepper.
"Who are you? Soda's new girlfriend?" Two-Bit asked.
Pepper cocked an eyebrow.
"Who are you, Soda's clown?" she demanded in a sarcastic tone.
Two-Bit laughed and staggered over to us. I couldn't tell if he was drunk. Two-Bit always acted like he was boozed up, so it was hard to tell if he really was or not.
"Pepper, this is Two-Bit," Soda said, "Two-Bit this is Pepper…Pony's twin sister."
At first Two-bit looked a little confused, but then he broke out into laughter. When he saw that none of us were laughing he stopped and looked at each one of us in tern.
"You're serious?" he demanded.
Darry nodded and told him Pepper's story. When he had finished Pepper seemed pretty comfortable around our pal and Two-Bit was hollering and slapping me on the back.
"So, you got a boyfriend?" Two-Bit asked.
This question didn't surprise me. Although Two-Bit did prefer blonds he would take any pretty face. Pepper seemed annoyed by this question.
"Button it, or I'll glue your lips together," Pepper said.
Two-Bit whooped. "I like em feisty!"
After Two-Bit attempted a few more tries with Pepper we finally kicked him out. Pepper looked at me.
"Not two bright, is he?" she asked.
I shook my head with a grin. "No, but ol' Two-Bit is a great guy to have around. He's tough and he'll watch your back."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Later that night I lay in bed with Soda's arm wrapped around my chest. I could tell he was awake cause of the way he was breathing.
"Soda, do you like Pepper?" I asked.
He didn't answer for a moment. "Course I like her, she's my sister. What kinda question is that?"
"Well before you didn't seem to like her too much," I noted.
"That was before I knew she was really our sister."
"How come you didn't talk at dinner?"
"Look, Pony, if I tell ya will ya shut up and let me sleep?"
I nodded.
"I alright, the reason I didn't like her before and still don't like her too well is because I'm not used to it. All my life, I've only had to look after you and now there's two of you that I have to watch out for," Soda said.
"Darry likes her," I said.
"Yeah well Darry's different. He's had to look out for both of us, so one mores no big deal."
I furrowed my brow. That didn't make much sense. I sighed. Even if Soda didn't like Pepper too much, I sure did. She was funny and nice and I had always wanted a sister. It had always just been me, Darry and Soda; there was never a girl that needed special care or nothing. I liked the idea of being able to walk around with Pepper and say that she was my sister.
It wasn't long before I head Soda's breathing become heavy and even. I yawned and snuggled closer to my brother. I closed my eyes and dropped off to sleep.
I woke up in the morning to the smell of bacon and eggs. Soda was still asleep so I wiggled out from under his arm and walked out to the kitchen. Pepper was standing over the stove, dressed the same way she had been the night before. She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled.
"Hey Pony, breakfast will be ready in a minute," she told me.
I nodded and let out a huge yawn, stretching my arms over my head. That's when I realized that I was only dressed in my boxers. I felt my face get hot and I rushed back to my room, tossing on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Well that was embarrassing. I pulled on my sneakers and ran into the dresser in the process, waking Soda up. He sat up and looked at me through squinted eyelids.
"Pony, what are you doing?" he demanded.
"Getting my shoes on," I answered.
And with that I walked back out into the kitchen. Darry was just coming out of his room, pulling a black T-shirt over his head. I heard the screen door slam shut and Two-Bit and Steve came running into the house, hollering and laughing. They came into the kitchen and stopped, staring at Pepper. That made me mad. Pepper wasn't something that people could just gawk at, she was my sister.
"What'd I tell ya, Steve, pretty as a picture," Two-Bit said.
Pepper shot him a harsh glare and he let out a howl of laughter. My ears got hot as I got even angrier.
"Two-Bit you lay off her," I snapped.
He looked at me, his face masked with shocked. I was a little surprised myself. I had never been so mad before, so why was I now? It was Pepper. I felt like I had to protector no matter what was happening.
"Its fine, Pony," Pepper assured me.
Two-Bit shrugged off the way I had yelled at him and now he was laughing and carrying on again. I walked over to the counter and snatched a piece of bacon from a plate that Pepper had set out. I shoved it into my mouth and chomped on it. It was real good.
Soda finally came out of the room. He was fully dressed and he his usual reckless grin plastered on his face. Two-Bit came over to me and rubbed my hair.
"Hey Pony, if you and Pepper are twins then how come she's so pretty and your so not?" he asked with a loud laugh.
I tackled him to the ground and we rolled on the floor, knocking over chairs and shouting. Darry grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me off of Two-Bit, who was still laughing like a hyena.
"Pony, I still gotta get Pepper enrolled so you get off Two-Bit and get in the truck," Darry ordered.
I nodded and grabbed Pepper's hand, pulling her out of the house, barely managing to avoid stepping on Steve, who decided he was gonna take a nap on the floor. When we got outside Pepper started laughing softly.
"I think I'm gonna like living with you guys," she said.
She glanced back at the house and a mischievous grin tugged at the corner of her lip.
"Does Two-Bit have a girlfriend?" she asked.
I stared at her for a minute. Was she serious? I wasn't exactly sure how to answer that question.
"Uh…Two-Bit always has a girlfriend," I told her, "I think it's Shelly this week, oh no, Shelly was last week, maybe it's Darcy."
Pepper laughed. And I gave her a look.
"Yesterday you looked like you wanted to bite his head off," I reminded her.
"Yeah well, maybe I changed my mind."
Darry came out before I had a chance to respond. We piled into the truck and were off to school.
Sorry that the chapter have been kinda short, but what do you think? Love it? Eh? Hate it? Burn it? Please let me know and I'll update the new chapter soon. Again, if you have a request for the next chapter, or any chapter let me know and I'll consider it.