All credit of 'The Outsiders' goes to S.E. Hinton.


Jamie's POV

"Jamie dear, would you pass the orange juice please?" It was breakfast the next morning and my mother had prepared bacon and eggs for my father and me.

I stretched my arm out with the carton of orange juice in my hand, handing it over to my father who had just asked for it. I stuffed in a mouthful of eggs. My mother's eggs were the best in the whole nation, there was no doubt about it.

"Any new friends yet?" My mother asked me, setting a plate on the table for herself.

I shrugged and once I was done chewing said, "I met these two boys yesterday evening when I was out. They seemed pretty nice. They're part of some greaser gang."

My father dropped his fork on his plate and sighed. He put his elbow straight up on the table and stared right at me with a disapproving look. I should have known better than to bring up the word 'greaser' when my father was around.

"You better stay away from those boys, Jamie. I mean it. It's enough that you're starting to dress like one of those damn greaser girls, with your short shorts and your low-cut tops. Hang out with them and you'll get yourself into some big trouble." Jeez dad, all I said was that they were nice to me. Wasn't like I said I wanted to marry one of them.

I looked at my mother, who was silently chewing and staring down at her plate. She would often act this way when my father got mad. She was a little bit more accepting of those who were different from her, but was too scared to go against what my dad often said.

My eyes shifted back to my father who was still staring at me. Couldn't he just loosen up a little?

"These greaser kids, they're all over the country. They hang out in gangs. Back in Texas, I taught a class with about four of 'em in it. Worst year of my life. Throwing paper airplanes, sleeping in class, hitting on the other girls in inappropriate manners... They have no positive future."

I set my fork down on my own plate. "Dad, these two boys were really kind to me when I spoke to them. I'm never gonna make any new friends if you're always judging the ones I actually like." My voice cracked.

"Jamie Judith Houston. You will not speak to me that way." His voice got louder and sterner.

"Robert, she seems to like these boys. Why don't you just-"

"Elaine, shut your trap! She is not to hang out with those boys. Those greasers are nothing but bad news no matter what state or town they live in!"

I stared at him for a moment, deeply frustrated. How dare he speak to my mother that way? How dare he judge Ponyboy and Johnny, whom he had never even laid eyes on! I barely even knew Johnny and Ponyboy yet I was feeling very defensive of them. I had read newspaper articles about greasers many times in the past, and I understood how hard it was for them to live when there were people like my father around. My family wasn't rich, but my old man definitely acted like he was superior to many.

When I felt that I made my point, I pushed myself out of the chair and ran out of the kitchen.

"Shit, not again!" I heard my father yell.

I kept on running, running out of the house. I ran out on my strict father, and my mother who was too scared to voice her opinion to her own husband. No, not for one second did I feel I was overreacting about the whole situation. My father was manipulative, mean, and didn't let me live the way most sixteen year old girls want to. He acted similar with my mom. He wasn't a bad person. He just had bad motives.

I walked down the sidewalk, my legs moving fast, keeping my head down and my hands in my sweater pockets. It was a clear, sunny morning in late June. I decided to take yet another walk around town, this time going a bit further into the east side, seeing what else there was in the city of Tulsa. I had to clear my mind and get away from my father. I wasn't sure if this was a runaway or just a temporary leave for a night or two. All I knew was that I was sick of my father and the way he treated my mother and me.

He started this behaviour when we were back in Arizona. That was around two years before we moved to Texas, and about five or six years before we moved to Tulsa. He became an alcoholic, and even if I was too young to fully understand, it hurt me terribly when he would come home from work and do nothing but drink whiskey and yell at my mother and me for five hours straight. I can't go into detail about all the horrid things he had done to my mother - all those memories are way too haunting. He wasn't necessarily an alcoholic anymore but he did have a violent drink every once in a while.

As I was walking on the sidewalk, a crazy thought popped into my head that maybe I should've grabbed my mother with me as I ran out. I knew how strong she was being, and how much she wanted to leave my father sometimes. But you must at least have an idea about how hard it is for a woman to leave her abusive husband.

Ever since I got home the night before, the only person I could think about was Ponyboy. He was so nice looking, and I don't even think he knew it himself. He seemed so kind and gentle, especially for a greaser. I got butterflies in my stomach when he talked to me. I got such a nice, warm feeling too. Man, was I getting a crush on Ponyboy?

Back to walking on the sidewalk: I didn't even know where the hell I was going. I was strolling past houses and parks and children playing in the street for about ten minutes. I was walking slower than I was when I first started, but I was still just as angry.

Ponyboy's POV

The next morning, the day after Johnny and I spent a couple of hours at the park at night, it was only Darry, Two-Bit and me at the house. Two-Bit wanted to show off to Soda the new blade he had stolen just a day or two before, so he showed up early before my brother left for work at the DX.

"Hey look, Mickey's on!" Two-Bit ran right in between Darry and me, while we were talking, and threw himself on the floor in front of the TV. He was a sucker for Mickey Mouse.

Darry glared at him. "You know if you were a little bit more courteous sometimes..." he trailed off. He knew it was useless as Two-Bit wasn't even listening.

He turned back to me and pursed him lips.

"Look Darry, please just let me fight in the rumble tonight. I ain't ever been in a real one before. You used to be in 'em all the time when you were my age." Trying to convince my older brother to let me fight wasn't an easy task.

He sighed and looked away. "Yeah, well, I had much more muscle than you do. I was on the football team, for Chrissake. You get a little taste of it, and then you'll want to fight in every rumble. I just can't let ya Pony. If the cops ever come and you're hurt, they'll throw both you and Soda in a boys' home faster than you can even say 'rumble.'"

I sighed, shoved my hands in my front pockets and hung my head low. It was no use trying to convince Darry.

"Oh come on, Darry. Let the kid fight if he wants to fight," Two-Bit broke in, still lying on the floor with his back against the couch and his eyes glued to the TV.

"So now you decide to listen to me?" Darry walked over to him and threw a couch pillow at his head. Two-Bit in turn used it as a cushion under his butt. My brother sat in his favorite grey armchair and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, fine," he finally said.

Two-Bit and I smiled in unison.

"All right, Darry!" Two-Bit yelled, throwing his fists up in the air.

"But," Darry said loudly, "don't get cocky and take on any big guys. And if the rules ever change from now on to tonight and weapons are allowed, you are out. Understand me?" He pointed his index finger at me.

I quickly nodded and hurried for the front door. "I'm goin' to the DX to see Soda for a bit. Y'all need anythin'?"

"Pick me up a pack o' smokes will ya, Pony?" Two-Bit asked, poking his head up.

"Nothin' for me," Darry said as he picked up the newspaper he was reading the night before.

I then headed out and lit a cigarette as I walked through the front yard.

"Ponyboy?"

My gaze immediately went towards the voice that was calling me. It was Jamie. She was coming up the sidewalk.

"Uh, hey Jamie. What-what are you doin' here?" I figured that I might as well make conversation; she seemed pretty eager to see me, smile on her face and all.

She shrugged and walked closer to me. We stood at the gate, only a foot or two apart from each other. Her eyes were beautiful; almost, if not just as nice as Soda's.

"Oh... I got into a little fight with my dad, so I figured I'd..." she paused. "I figured I'd just take a walk to cool off." She looked past me, at my house. "Hey, this your house?"

Turning my head around, I said, "Yup."

"Wow, I live just about ten minutes away."

I looked back at her, surprisingly grinning pretty wide. "That's neat."

"Yeah... yeah, it is pretty neat." Man, now we were both smiling like damn ditzes.

"So what are you doing now?" She asked as she leaned on the fence.

I was surprised how much Jamie actually wanted to talk to me and how she kept dragging the on the conversation. I didn't mind though. It was just that she hardly knew me; we had only met for the first time the night before.

I threw my cigarette in the grass and stepped on it with my right foot. "I was just goin' to the DX to see my brother, Soda."

She simply nodded. I didn't know if she was waiting for me to invite her or what, so I just went and did it anyway without thinking too much about it.

"Do ya wanna come with me?"


CLIFFHANGER!

I felt like I should go a bit more into Jamie's background, I just hope it wasn't thrown at you too quickly lol :) thanks for reading!