The One with the Mathews Sister

Okay, so it's been a while! I haven't posted anything in ages, and I found this partially finished chapter, and decided to write an ending to it and post it. I hope it works, but forgive me if it's not quite the same as before—as I said, it's been quite a while since I picked anything up. It's good to be back!

Marlene Mathews always seemed to be hanging around right when Soda didn't want her to. She preferred to be called Marlee, or Eminem, which Sodapop thought was just about the stupidest name a person could give herself.

"Hi, Sodapop!" she chirped out then, standing on tiptoe to make herself look taller. "Can I come in?"

Soda groaned inwardly but nodded, knowing that Darry would find out eventually if he refused. "What are you doing here, Marlee?"

"I just wanted to hang out with you guys," she answered cheerfully, walking in as close as she could to Soda. This was looking to be a very long morning so far.

Marlee Mathews had a crush on Soda Curtis. Two-Bit had told him that weeks ago, and she didn't seem to be getting over him at all yet. She was always hanging around, trying to talk to him, and telling him how good he was at fighting, or playing football, or whatever he happened to be doing at the time. And it drove him crazy.

"Hey, sis," Two-Bit greeted her, cocking an eyebrow. "What are you up to?"

"I just wanted to hang out with you guys," Marlee replied, as she'd said to Soda. "I don't really have any friends of my own, and you're way cooler than anyone my age anyway."

Darry shot Soda an "aww isn't that cute" look. "Why, thank you, Marlee. That's so nice of you to say."

"Only because it's true," she said, gazing up at Soda and fluttering her eyelashes.

Sass was the only other person besides Soda that seemed to find her behaviour ridiculous. "Go home, kid," she ordered. "You're what, six? These guys are too old for you!"

Marlee sniffled, fighting tears. "I'm eight and a half, for your information!" she said shrilly. "And my brother lets me hang out with his friends as much as I want to!"

"Oh yeah? Well my brother lets me beat up whoever I want to," Kansas Winston informed her harshly. "So go home!"

"I don't have to! And if you beat me up my big brother will get you!" Marlee shrieked.

"Then I'll make him sorry too!" Sass threatened.

Soda stepped between the two girls impatiently. "Relax, will you?" he told Sass. "Look at you. You're having a fight with an eight-year-old!" Then he turned to Marlee. "And you—you need to find some friends your own age, kid." This statement didn't stop the younger girl from smiling at him in adoration.

"Oh, Soda!" she sighed. "You saved me! How can I ever thank you?"

"How bout not hanging around so much?" Soda was tempted to suggest, but bit back the words with difficulty. "Just don't bother Sass, all right?" he ordered and returned to his seat on the sofa next to Two-Bit.

Unfortunately for him, Marlee was small enough to squeeze in beside him. She batted her eyelashes at him again and he stared at her face in amazement.

"Are you wearing makeup?" Soda exclaimed in disbelief. She nodded eagerly.

"Yes! Do you like it?"

Before he could answer, they heard a scream from outside. Darry jumped to his feet and bolted out the door. Dallas quickly followed, and Pony and Two-Bit weren't far behind.

There, on the sidewalk, was a strange girl being beaten up by Socs!

"Oh no!" Darry gasped. "We have to save her! Girls, stand back! We'll handle this." And he took a swing at the nearest Soc.

"Eminem, go back inside!" Two-Bit ordered his sister before joining the fray. Marlee glanced up at Soda worriedly.

"I'll be waiting inside to nurse you back to health!" she told him excitedly before running back to the house. Soda rolled his eyes and reluctantly helped Two-Bit with the guy he was fighting.

Dallas was punching anyone who came even close, and Ponyboy was too afraid to do anything. But it was Sass who really surprised everyone. By the time she was done, half the Socs around her were sobbing for mercy. She stood back and folded her arms across her chest.

"All in a day's work," she announced, sounding bored out of her skull.

"Oh, thank you so much!" said the strange girl, standing up with difficulty. She looked fine to Soda, but everyone else was fawning over her, making sure she was all right. "They had me scared to death! I was just walking over to your house, and they attacked me for no reason!"

"Wait a minute," Soda said, puzzled. "We don't even know who you are. Why would you be going to our house?"

"Oh my gosh, you're Sodapop!" the girl shrieked breathlessly. "You are even hotter than the guy in the movie!"

"What movie?"

"The Outsiders! I'm from the future and I somehow ended up here in Tulsa!" she explained, as if that would make sense to everybody around.

Dally was nodding in understanding. "That makes perfect sense and I totally believe you. Since you're here now, why don't you join our gang?"

"Okay," the girl agreed enthusiastically. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you guys! My name is Rachel, but you can call me Sodalicious if you want. It's my nickname."

Sodapop interrupted, "Wait a minute. That's my name! Why do you have my name in your name? What kind of name is that anyway?"

"My parents were also very original people," Sodalicious explained brightly. "If you must, you can call me Rachel. But anyway, I'm from 2007 and I was reading this book and all of a sudden I was here."

"How did something like that happen?" Soda questioned. He really was curious about this.

"Who cares?" Rachel replied carelessly. "The point is I'm here and now I can stay here forever just as happy as can be!"

"Don't you want to go back to your own time?" Ponyboy asked, showing the most sense he had all day. But she shook her head, bright smile never wavering.

"No. Why would I? I like Tulsa much better," Rachel answered happily. "And besides, you saved my life." She fluttered her eyelashes and cooed, "How can I ever repay you?"

"You don't have to," Darry said fervently. "And you can stay at our house for as long as you need. We're running a little short on beds right now, but you can take mine, and I'll take the couch and Steve can go with Baby and Sass can have the floor in the living room and Soda will have to find somewhere else to sleep."

Soda was really starting to get sick of being shafted from his own house, but what was he supposed to do? Any argument from him would be instantly shouted down by the others.

"Well, Soda," Jasmine said slyly, sidling up to him, "if you need somewhere to stay, I suppose I could brave the dangers of my own home and take you back there with me. We may a bit beat up by morning, but it's worth it to know that you'd be out of the cold."

"Over my dead body," Soda muttered under his breath.

"Well, that may just come true at my house," Jasmine warned solemnly, but nobody else heard her over Darry's proclamation: "Jasmine, we could never put you in harm's way! Soda can pitch a tent! He can sleep on the sidewalk! Anything so long as we know that you're safe with us."

Soda rolled his eyes but he wasn't laughing anymore when that night, he was indeed stuck outside in the cold. The only thought that comforted him was knowing that at least he wasn't shut up inside the house with all the girls. That would have been just too much.