Disclaimer i own nothing but Em,Matt ,Erick and Claire so far
ok everyone that likes this story i will be putting up all the chapter i have done so far beacuse i'm moveing very soon i will be stay at my husbands grandparents for awhile and will not be able to get any writeing done and then i'm driveing across the country so it will be a while till i update again
Tried of Waiting
Once Em and Soda arrived at the Dx, they quickly got out of the truck. With a wave, Darry pulled out of the parking lot and took off down the street leaving the two teenagers alone. Once Darry was gone, the two started walking over the garage portion of the store.
Em smiled and looked up at Soda as they walked along at the leisurely pace. "So Romeo, what dose your other brother look like?" Em asked curiously.
Soda raised an eyebrow at her, "Why do you want to know what Pony looks like?" He asked with some confusion.
"Oh now look who isn't answering questions," She teased a chuckled slipping from her lips. He shook his head antics. "I just want to know if he looks more like you or Darry, or if he is better looking then both ya'll," Em answered shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.
Soda simply shrugged, "More like me I guess," He answered honestly.
"Really?" Em said and she couldn't help but smile to herself. She was mighty glad that she lived next door to them now. Lots of good looking guys to gawk at. "Well it's a good thing that Claire left. If she saw Darry, man she would have had a field day," Em stated an amused smirk stretching across her lips.
Soda laughed at Em's statement, "Claire is really something isn't she?"
"Hun," She began stopping her stride and resting her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her curiously, "You have no idea," She finished before continuing their pace. Soda just shook his head.
When they reached her car, Em couldn't help but sigh. It was a shame that Claire had gotten her hands on it. Who knows what damage she had done.
"What the hell did you do to your car?" Soda asked looking it over with a look of astonishment on his face. He knelt down looking at the damage to the front of her car.
" It wasn't me, it was Claire," Em insisted gesturing towards the damage. "As you can see, she is not a very good driver," She remarked bitterly. Em then proceeded to open the drivers side door and reach into the back seat for her sunglasses.
Soda looked up at her disapprovingly, "Well if she's a bad driver, why did you let her take your car?" He asked standing back up.
"She didn't," Steve piped up, "Claire just took it. She was here last night with Em's car to get smokes," He explained, reaching into the car and popping the hood.
"What!" Em cried at the new information. "I'm going to kill her!" Em nearly yelled, her face turning bright red.
"Yeah that's what Claire said you would do," Steve added with a smirk.
Em sighed in annoyance, and took her smokes out of her pocket. It was then that a thought struck her. She grinned, "Hey, you two remember my birthday right?" She asked them. Both boys nodded in response. "Well, good 'cause you know that bet we made..." She began leaning back against the side of her car.
Soda turned to Steve and hit him over the head, "No one would do anything to car as nice as hers," Soda stated bitterly, glaring at his best friend.
Steve shrugged, "So I was wrong, big fucking deal."
Em rolled her eyes before storming off away from the two boys. She made sure she was far away from the pumps before lighting her cigarette with her zippo lighter. She held the small metal object in her hand flicking it open and closed in annoyance. She was mad. Real mad. So mad that she really wanted to hit something. Secretly, she was hoping for that Sylvia to show up and start running her mouth again. It would give her an excuse to pound something. That sounded like a wonderful idea. However, it was unrealistic. After a few minutes, Em finished her smoke. She dropped it on the ground, stomping on it to extinguish the embers. When she was certain it was out, she walked to the front of the Dx. She sighed as she sat down on a bench outside the garage door.
A few minutes later, Soda came out. He spotted her and sat down on the bench beside her. Em felt compelled to look up at him. He really was very easy on the eyes. It almost made Claire crashing her car not seem like such a terrible thing. Almost. "What do you want Romeo?" Em grumbled in annoyance. Despite how attractive he may be, it didn't mean that she wasn't still pissed.
He chuckled flashing that carefree smile. "Clam down Em. I'm on the pumps today," He explained running his hand over his slicked back hair. "It's Steve's job to work on your car."
Em rolled her eyes, "Great. Any news?"
"He said your car needs a new radiator, " Soda replied the smile disappearing from his face and a more serious expression replaced it.
Em groaned, "That is just fucking great!" She nearly yelled throwing her hands up in the air at her terrible luck. "How much is the radiator going to coast me?" She pressed on clenching her fists tightly.
Soda shrugged, "I'm not too sure. A hundred bucks, maybe less, maybe more."
"Well there goes the rest of my money," She stated bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now I really need a fucking job," She muttered, glaring at the cars that raced passed the gas station.
Soda couldn't help but smile. It was hard for him not to. "So Em," He spoke up in an attempt to change the subject. He wanted to take her mind off of the damage Claire had inflicted on her car. "How did Claire almost burn your house down?" He asked, leaning forward on the bench.
Em turned her head to look at him, "Well, we would have been about fourteen," She began a small smile tugging at her lips at the memory. "Claire has this thing for guys will dark hair, as you can tell by her behavior with Steve. Anyway Erick was the start of that whole thing. At one point, Claire really liked him," She began tucking her hair behind her ears.
Soda nodded, listening intently. "Keep going," He urged curious as to where this was all going.
"Well obviously, he is older than us. So, one day, Claire planned to make a move, but he had this date with some girl and that just left Claire and I alone at my place. Anyway, she got mad that Erick was out with another girl and that he never even gave Claire a second look. And trust me, she really tried. I don't know how many times she would purposely drop things just so she could bend down in front of him so he could see down her shirt," Em recalled with a small laugh.
Soda joined in with the laughter, "Claire really is a character."
Em nodded before continuing, "So to vent her anger towards my brother, she put his favorite shirt in the oven. I didn't know about it or I would have stopped her. Anyway, she turned it on full blast. Luckily the whole house wasn't on fire, it just the stove. And of course being the tuff person that I am, I told her that I would take the blame for the incident," Em concluded crossing her legs. Soda just laughed at her past misfortune. Still, Em smiled.
For the rest of the day Em was bored out of her mind. Every once in a while, Soda would talk to her when he wasn't busy, but it wasn't enough. She was doomed to sit on the bench and wait. Steve came out and told her about her car a couple times, explaining things that she sort of understood, but beyond that, there was nothing to do. It was around two pm when Two-Bit and Kathy showed up. Em was so happy to see them that she ran up and gave Kathy a big hug.
Kathy laughed, but hugged her back. "What's going on here Em? Are you ok?" Kathy asked holding her at arms length, a smile never leaving her face.
"Kathy I'm so glad you're here!" Em cried exasperated. "Claire totally fucked my car up and Steve is fixing it," Em explained gesturing towards the opened door of the garage.
Two-Bit raised a curious eyebrow, "What did she do to it?" Two-bit asked, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Go and take a look for you self," Em replied gesturing towards the garage. Two-bit simply shrugged and disappeared into the garage.
Kathy and Em walked over to Two-Bits car, and Em sat down on the hood. The car sagged under her weight. Em glared down at it causing Kathy to giggle in amusement. Em shook her head and sighed. A silence passed over the two girls for a few moments before Em spoke up.
"Hey Kathy, I need to find a job. Any ideas?" Em asked running a hand through her hair.
Kathy leaned back against the side of the car as she thought about it. "Well," She began, "We just lost a girl at the thrift store that I work. I can talk to my boss and see if she'll hire you. We could use the help," She trailed off as her thoughts wandered as she thought about the possibility.
"Really?" Em pressed on turning to look at her friend. "That sounds like an okay place to work."
"I could talk to her for you. You'd still have to come in for a formal interview, but I could run the idea by her," She explained tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Are you sure? I don't wanna inconvenience you at all," Em continued sliding off of the hood of Two-Bit's car.
Kathy scoffed, "It's no problem. I have to start work at four anyway," She added with a shrug.
Em smiled, "Thanks Kathy."
"Anytime Em, I like to help people," She mused turning towards the garage to see if Two-Bit had emerged. He had not. She sighed in annoyance before turning back to Em, "Why do you need a job anyway? I thought you had money hidden away some where," Kathy questioned smoothing out the invisible wrinkles in her skirt.
"It wasn't really hidden," Em stated with a shrug, "It was just money I had saved up when I broke my arm and I need a new radiator for my car, so that's pretty much all of it down the drain," Em explained crossing her arms over her chest. It was quite obvious that this fact aggravated her.
Kathy nodded, smiling when she spotted Two-Bit heading over. His usual carefree smirk on his face. "Holy shit Em, was Claire drunk or something?" He asked coming to stand next to them.
"She wasn't drunk, but knowing Claire she could have been on something. But, truthfully, Claire is just a bad driver," Em replied shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.
"Wanna tell me how she got her license?" Two-Bit pressed on lazily wrapping his arm around Kathy's waist.
Em thought about it for a moment, "Honestly, I don't know. She more than likely fooled around with the instructor and he passed her," Em stated with seriousness.
Both Two-Bit and Kathy laughed at this, "That Claire sure is something," Two-Bit said letting his arm fall from Kathy's waist and walking towards his car.
"What is it with people saying that today?" Em asked in annoyance. It had been like that for most of her life. Everyone was always so into Claire, and she got handed the short end of the stick. No one noticed plain Jane Emily. Not that she was truly plain, but there was just something about Claire that seemed kind of exotic. It made people want to take a second look at her best friend. At least, that's how Tommy had explained it to her. At one point in time, all the attention to Claire drove her insane. However, she had gotten used to it by now. Although, it was still annoying to say the least.
"Two-bit Claire is..." Kathy began, but seemed to fall short of the mark as she failed to think of where her train of thought was heading.
"Claire is Claire," Em spoke up for her new friend. "She might sleep around, but she is a nice person and despite all the shit she puts me through, she's is fun to be around," Em finished a small smile appearing on her lips.
Kathy returned the smile and followed Two-Bit towards his car, "Hey Em want a ride home?" Kathy asked opening the passenger side door.
"Hell yeah!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. "I have to go see how Matt's doing anyway," Em piped up heading towards her friend.
Kathy turned to her boyfriend, "We need to stop at Em's place before you drive me to work," Kathy stated as she climbed into the old beat-up car.
"Kathy, you know my brakes are shit. I don't think its a good idea," Two-Bit replied with a sigh.
"Oh come on Two-Bit don't be a baby," She stated climbing into the back seat. "Just don't hit the brakes. It's not that hard. You can always change to low gear to stop," Em explained as he also got into the car.
"How in the hell do you know that?" Two-Bit asked turning around to look at her.
Em shrugged, "I know how to drive," She replied simply.
Two-Bit just rolled his eyes, "Buckle up ladies," Two-bit stated turning the key in the ignition.
Kathy rolled her eyes, "Already taken care of," She replied smugly, gesturing towards her buckled seat belt.
Two-Bit shook his head and chuckled before backing out of the parking lot. They drove in relative silence for a few minutes. Em turned her head to look out the window at the passing scenery. It had been a while since she had rode in the back seat. Usually, she was the one that drove since she had the nicest car and was the best driver. With Claire around, driving was necessary.
"Hey Em," Kathy piped up turned around to look at the other girl. "Wanna come to work with me, so that we can both talk to my boss?" She suggested, her eyes dancing with excitement. It was obvious to tell that Kathy was really keen on the idea of Em working with her.
"Sure, I like the sound of that, but I still need to go and check on Matt," She explained leaning forward in her seat slightly.
"Oh of course!" was Kathy's bubbly retort.
Once they got to her place, Em walked inside. She looked around the house for Matt, but she couldn't find him at all. He was not in the house. She sighed in annoyance. She opened the back door and took a look in the backyard. He was still no where to be seen. She was about to head back inside when she spotted a flash of movement in her peripheral vision. She turned to look in the direction the movement had originated. It came from Soda's back yard. To her surprise, there was Matt hanging out with another boy around his age. This, she assumed, must have been Soda's younger brother Ponyboy.
She descended the couple steps leading up to the back door and walked over to the fence, "Hey Matty!" She called, resting her arms on top of the wooden divider.
Matt waved enthusiastically, "Hi Em!" He called before rushing over to the fence to see his sister.
She smiled ruffling his hair, ignoring the scowl she received by doing so, "So listen kid, my car is fucked, thanks to the oh so wonderful Claire," She began running a hand through her hair as she watched her brother fix his own. "So I am going with Kathy to the thrift store to see if I can get a job," She explained letting her hands fall down to her sides.
Matt scoffed in disbelief. "A job? You? You're going to get a job?" He continued on with a bit of surprise in his voice as well as quite a bit of sarcasm.
"Watch it Matty," She barked pointing her finger at him. "We need the money and I ran out of the money I saved up," She concluded resting her hands on her hips. "Just tell Erick about my car if he gets back before I do," Em continued on when Matt failed to respond.
Matt shrugged his shoulders, but nodded all the same, "Ok," He replied as the other boy made his way over to the fence.
He watched the two siblings with curiosity before introducing himself. "Thought it was pretty lousy of me to stand over there and ignore you like that," He spoke up, his words directed towards Em. He held his hand out over the fence for her to shake, "I'm Ponyboy," He said with a friendly smile.
Em couldn't help but smile back. He was kinda cute. She could instantly see the family resemblance between him and Soda. They had the same smile. "Em. Hmm you do kinda look like Soda," She remarked as she shook his hand. He shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal, but you could see in his eyes that he was proud of the fact that he looked like his brother. She suppressed a chuckle, and turned back to her little brother. "Anyway Matt, I have to go. Two-Bit and Kathy are waiting on me," She explained shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she walked backwards away from them. "It was nice to meet you Ponyboy, and Matt, don't do anything I wouldn't do," She called before turning around and heading towards the front yard.
"That's not going to be a issue," Matt replied. "See you later sis!" He called after her as she disappeared around the corner.
It didn't take long for Two-Bit to drive the two girls to the thrift store from Em's place. Once they arrive, Kathy and Em got out of the car. Without a word, Em walked inside the small store. She thought it would be a good idea to leave Kathy and Two-Bit alone for couple of minutes. After all, she had intruded on their time together. She felt a little bad about it, but not really. She enjoyed their company, even if it was somewhat awkward at times.
A fair amount of time had passed by and Em was looking around at some of the stuff on the shelves when Kathy walked up beside her. She seemed to appear out of no where. "C'mon Em's, let's go and meet my boss," Kathy chirped wrapping her arm around Em's and pulling her towards the back room.
Em nodded seeming to have no choice in the matter what so ever. Kathy dragged Em along with her as the two girl's walked through the back door looking for Kathy's boss. It did not take long for the bubbly blonde to spot her. It was then that Kathy finally released her hold on her arm. Em shook her head as Kathy skipped off towards the older woman. Em followed her at a much slower and more casual pace. Em listened as Kathy began to explain to her boss that Em was new in town and needed a job.
After Kathy finished, her boss looked at Em and smiled, "Hi, I'm Lisa," She introduced herself, holding her hand out for Em to shake.
She smiled back and shook her hand firmly, "I'm Emily."
Her hand fell back to her side that warm and friendly smile never leaving her face. "Well Emily, what where you looking for? Part time, or full time?" She asked clasping her hands together in front of her.
"Full time," Em replied.
"For the summer full time and part time when school starts up?" Lisa pressed on casting a sideways glance at Kathy, who was attempting to tie her apron and having some difficulty.
Em shrugged, "I graduated in June and I haven't decided on collage yet, so just full time," Em answered honestly.
Lisa's smile widened, "So when can you start?"
Em grinned back. "Anytime."
It was decided that Em would start the next day. She was going to open the store with Lisa and learn the ropes. Em left the shop with a smile on her face. Despite her bad luck with her car, her day wasn't turning out to be so bad. She had a job, and she had made a good deal on her bet. She lit a smoke and looked around the street for a pay phone. Fortunately, she didn't have to look very hard. There was one across the street. She looked both ways across before running to the other side of the street. There wasn't much traffic, but running always made it seem more fun. She fished out some change and put the money into the phone. She dialed the number for her house and waited for someone to answer. After three rings, Matt picked up. She proceeded to tell him that she had gotten the job. He seemed excited for her. This put a bigger smile on her face. Casually, she asked if Erick was home, and wasn't surprised when he came back with a no. It was four thirty, so she had not expected for Erick to be back yet. But she thought it was worth a shot. After a short goodbye, she hung up the phone and continued along on her journey down the strip.
After a couple minutes of walking, she spotted the Dingo. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and she remembered she had not eaten much today. She started to walk towards the when a girl stepped in front of her.
"Hey can I bum a smoke off you?" The girl asked, somewhat rudely. She smacked her gun loudly as she waited impatiently.
Em looked her over, she couldn't be more than fourteen. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a tight shirt and a revealing top. The heavy make-up covering her face did nothing to enhance her looks. Her attire was enough to cause Em to wrinkle her nose in displeasure. This girl wasn't old enough to be dressing like Claire. "Sure," She mumbled none the less. She pulled out her now beat up package and handed one to the girl.
She took it gladly, tucking it between her lips, "Thanks," She stated pulling out a pack of matches and lighting it. She let out a content sigh as exhaled. She then turned to look at Em once more, "Hey, your the new girl right?" She asked pointing her finger at her.
Em scoffed, "Is it really that obvious?" She countered slightly annoyed that she stuck out. Not that it bothered her that much, she just wasn't used to the attention that came along with being 'the new girl'.
The girl shook her head, "No, I just haven't seen you around before," She replied before holding her hand out, "Names Angela."
"Em," She replied taking her hand. 'Man I am doing a lot of hand shaking today,' She thought to herself.
"Nice meeting you, but I gotta go. I said I'd meet my brother down at the Dingo," Angela stated gesturing towards the diner.
"I was heading there myself," She stated shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.
Angela smiled, "Hey, wanna walk together? I know it's not far, but I like you," She exclaimed dropping her smoke on the ground before stopping it out.
Em chuckled, "Sure, I don't see why not."
With that, the two girls continued on their journey down the strip towards the diner. Along the way, they talked about random stuff. Girls stuff, they briefly touched on their families and found that they had a lot in common in that department. Only difference being that both of Angela's brothers were older than her.
When they were in view of the Dingo, Em stopped. She only stopped because she spotted Tim Shepard. She scowled at him before turning to Angela. It was then that she noticed the resemblance between her and Tim. The black hair, the blue eyes, the shape of her face. It was easier to tell now that she could see the both of them nearly side by side. Em cursed her luck. "Fuck. You're a Shepard," She stated.
Angela just laughed, "Well that much was obvious," She replied, but her smile fell when she realized that Em wasn't smiling with her. "What's wrong with being a Shepard?" She asked tilting her head to the side. Before Em could reply, Angela began to speak again. "Hey! Your the chick that punched Tim!" She exclaimed pointing her finger at the older girl again.
Em nodded crossing her arms over her chest, "Yes I did," She stated coldly turning and glaring at him, "And I'll do it again if he opens his big fucking trap," Em seethed threateningly. She was dead serious. If there was one thing Em couldn't stand it was egotistical men. They were always so full of themselves.
Angela tossed her hair over her shoulder as she laughed again, "Man you got guts. You know no one treats Tim like that and gets away with it," She explained smugly.
Em shrugged, "Whatever. It was nice meeting you, bit I think I'll go the rest of the way on my own," She stated flatly as she slipped past Angela and left her to go and talk to her brother alone.
She passed Tim and kept on walking towards the entrance to the diner. She was almost inside when someone grabbed a hold of her arm. In an instant, she turned around and ripped her arm out of the person's hold. She turned to yell at her assailant, and glared when she realized that it had been Tim. She more that conceited smirk on his face that he had the day she had met him when she had first moved to Tulsa. That look just seemed to make her blood boil.
"What the hell do you want?" She spat resting her hands on her hips defiantly.
He laughed, running his hand over his greased hair slicking it back, "You have guts, I like that in a girl," He stated with a wink.
Em gagged but quickly regained her composure. She glared at him, her eyes shining bright blue. "Go fuck yourself," She snapped once again turning to enter the diner. However, Tim grabbed her arm again pulling back back towards him. Em growled pulling her arm away from him again.
"Tim!" Angela yelled interrupting the altercation before it could escalate any further. "Stop it!" She hissed as she stepped between Em and her brother. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, glaring at the older greaser. "Leave Em alone," Angela stated firmly.
Tim looked between his sister, and the girl standing behind her before cursing under his breath. He then walked away from the two girls, heading away from the diner and towards his car. Angela nodded her head towards the diner, and the two girls walked in without further incident. Em could hear Tim yelling about her from inside the restaurant, but she chose to ignore him. She looked around hoping to see someone familiar. Someone friendly. Secretly, she was hoping that Two-Bit would be there. He always seemed to be hanging around the Dingo, and Em liked hanging around him. He was always so funny. Besides, Kathy told her that Two-Bit liked to hangout there. After establishing that nothing of interest was going on inside the diner Em walked outside and starting walking towards home.
Em decided to head to the Dx before heading home. It was a decent walk, but she didn't care much. When she arrived, the first thing she did was go and look at her car. She peeked into the garage and saw that Steve was working on something underneath the hood. She smirked sensing an opportunity to be mischievous. Carefully, she stealthily made her way into garage.
Without being detected, she snuck up behind Steve. She couldn't hide the grin on her face as she tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey Steve!" She greeted cheerfully.
Steve jumped and hit his head on the hood of her car, " Fuck," He cursed covering up the injured spot with his grease covered hands.
Em laughed in victory. That had gone better than she had planned, "Sorry, but I could help myself," She said as he glared daggers at her. Em awkwardly shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans, "So how is it looking?" She asked leaning over and peeking under the hood.
Steve sighed wiping his hands off on the rag that hung out of the back pocket of his jeans,"It's coming along, but it will take a couple days to get the part you need," He stated tossing the rag down onto the mobile work bench beside him. Em rolled her eyes, a gesture that failed to go unnoticed by Steve. "You're in a great mood today aren't you ?" He stated crossing his arms over his chest.
Surprisingly, Em found herself chuckling at this, "You are so funny Steve," Em said with a hint of sarcasm. He smirked shaking his head at this. Em shrugged her jacket off of her shoulders. She placed it down on the chair behind when suddenly, Steve grabbed a hold of her wrist. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, "What the fuck Steve," She hissed ripping her hand from his hold. She had, had enough of being manhandled for one day.
"What the hell happened to your arm?" He asked his eyes lingering on her arm.
Em looked followed his gaze and was surprised to see a purplish bruise, in the shape of a hand print, was beginning to form. It hadn't felt as though he had held her that tight, but he must of. There was no other explanation. She would have noticed it before. "Tim," She stated bitterly, holding up her arm so that he could get a better look. "You know that guy is a pain in the fucking ass. I tell him no, and he's all in my face. I should sock him one," She ranted pacing the floor as she did so.
Steve nodded in understanding, "Yeah, Tim is like that when he wants something," He replied shrugging his shoulders. Em wasn't sure if it was because of his statement, or because he was stiff. Either way, she decided not to pay attention to the gesture. About a minute of silence stretched between the two teens before Steve spoke again. "So Em, when is Claire coming back?" He asked shoving his hands into his pockets mimicking her previous pose.
Em couldn't help but let out a laugh. He must be suffering bad from the Claire bug. "Don't worry Stevie, Claire will be back in a couple weeks. Man, she really got you going with that kiss didn't she?" Em asked an amused smirk creeping up onto her lips.
"No," Steve barked narrowing his eyes at her. "She just seems like fun," He added shrugging his shoulders again. This time she was sure it was because of his comment.
"Trust me, you have no idea," She stated picking up her jacket and putting it back on. She didn't want anyone else commenting on that bruise. "Anyway I'll let you get back to work," She stated earning a nod from the other greaser. She nodded back and headed out of the garage.
She hummed to herself as she walked into the store. It was surprising how quickly her mood had change. She was almost certain that it was the fact that Steve had it bad for Claire. Not that it was the first time that had happened, but not usually quite so fast. She sighed, 'Oh those Oklahoma boys,' she mused in her thoughts. She paid no attention to her surroundings as she walked to the back cooler and grabbed a coke. With it in hand, she walked up to the counter.
She placed it down pulling her wallet out of her jacket pocket without bothering to look up. "Can I get two packs of smokes as well please?" She asked pulling out a five dollar bill.
She heard a chuckled, "Sure thing Em's," Soda said opening the drawer and placing a pack of kools on the counter. Her favorite. How he knew that, she had no idea but she was happy to see a smiling face.
She couldn't help but return his infectious smile. When he smiled, it was basically impossible to resist the urge to copy him. "Hey Romeo," She greeted placing the worn bill down on the counter.
Soda chuckled picking up the money and ringing it into the till. He quickly made her change and handed it back. "So has your day gotten any better?" He asked, waving as the bell to the door went off signaling that someone else had entered the small store.
She shrugged, " It was alright until I ran into Tim and his sister," Em began popping to top off her coke.
"Well that's always fun," He remarked running a hand through his golden blonde hair.
She rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah, it was a real ball," She replied, but instantly began smiling again, "But it's gotten a bit better now," She concluded with a wink. She wasn't sure why, but Soda seemed to always put her in a good mood. It most likely just because he was pretty to look at. When you have something so appealing to the eye, it was like a bright light being added to your gray and cloudy day.
Soda laughed, "Well, I am glad to hear that," He stated nodding to her as two boys came up to pay for their own cokes.
She waved, "I'll see you later Romeo," Em called as she turned to leave the store. She didn't wait for him to reply, but she was certain he waved back. She walked outside and began the lengthy walk home. She began to think about her day, and had to think of what she would say to Erick about the bruise on her arm. It was almost impossible to hide anything from her brother. It didn't help that he had been very protective of her lately.
It took her nearly a half hour for Em to reach her house. She was tired since she woke up early and had the hot sun beating down on her all day. It was a relief. She was just heading in the door when she heard voices in the backyard. Em rolled her eyes and abandoned her original mission of going inside. Instead, she walked around the house following the origin of the voices. She wasn't surprised by what she saw. Matt and Pony were hanging out near the edge of the yard. Matt was on the balance beam, attempting to stand on top without losing his balance. However, he wasn't entirely that coordinated.
"You're going to fall," Pony stated shaking his head in disbelief.
Matt shot a glare in his friend's direction," No I'm not," He replied finally gaining his balance and standing straight. He smirked smugly, "I know what I'm doing," He added proudly as he braced himself to do a flip. He then proceeded to do a flip. His landing was a bit jittery, but he managed easily enough. He smirked smugly, "See," He countered.
Ponyboy rolled his eyes, "Yea, yeah you can do it now get down," He agreed attempting to reason with his friend.
Matt shook his head, "No way man, I can totally do a backwards one."
"Matt come on," He continued hoping to knock some sense into his friend so that he would get it through his head that he was being ridiculous. Matt shook his head and prepared himself to do a back flip off of the beam.
Em grinned mischievously once again. She couldn't help but get into mischief. It was way too much fun. Just as Matt jumped from the beam she took a deep breath, "Hey ginger!" She yelled watching as he little brother lost his concentration and moved his feet.
Instead of landing on his feet, Matt landed on his butt in mass of tangles limbs. Both Em and Ponyboy burst into laughter at the sight of Matt's shocked expression. After the shock of the botched landing wore off and he realized what happened, he glared at his sister,"Dammit Emily!" Matt cursed pushing himself up onto his feet
Em was still laughing as she made her way over to the two boys, "I'm sorry Matty," She began as her laughter subsided, "I just couldn't help myself," She admitted wiping to tears that had formed in her eyes from the excessive laughing fit.
He scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, a look of displeasure forming on his face, "Yeah right," He countered grumpily.
Em shrugged, "Besides, Pony's right, If you don't know what you're doing, then don't do it," She continued sitting down on the balance beam. "You'll hurt yourself, or other people," She continued crossing her legs.
Matt brushed off the back of his jeans, and got up and looking at her as he did so, " I'm not going to hurt myself. It's not my fault that you make it look easy," He grumbled stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Em rolled her eyes at her little brother's childish attitude. "That, my dear brother, is because I have worked hard at it for years," She stated tossing her hair over her shoulder, "I also had a couch, you don't," Em concluded jumping off of the beam. Matt just rolled his eyes at her. She walked passed her brother and kicked off her shoes. She shrugged off her jacket and dropped it on the ground next to her shoes. She then stepped up onto the beam.
She gestured for her brother to approach her. "Matt come here," She called balancing herself perfectly on the beam with seemingly no difficulty what so ever.
Matt sighed but walked over to her, "What."
"Watch what I do," She said before copying the exact moves that Matt has just preformed, but without his obvious mistakes. Instead of trying to land on the ground, she flipped so that she would land on the beam. "Now do you see what I did that you didn't?" She asked resting her hands on her hips.
Matt scoffed, "Yeah you didn't get off."
Em shook her head, "No not that," She replied sharply, glaring in annoyance at her little brother. Sometimes he could be so hot-headed.
"You tucked your arms in and let them out to balance yourself when you landed," Ponyboy stated informatively.
She looked at him in surprise, "Finally someone gets it!" She cried as she hopped down off of the balance beam.
Later on that night, after Em had prepared and cooked supper, she picked up the phone and reluctantly called Claire. She half wanted to giver her best friend a piece of her mind, and the other part already missed her company. Even though she had spent a fair share of her last day there throwing herself at Steve. She was used to that. So much so that her behavior was not surprising.
The phone rang four times before Claire's voice chimed over the receiver, "Hello," her perky and energetic tone stated.
"You're a bitch, you know that right," Em said without bothering to inform the other girl of who it was. Claire would know.
"What no hello, or how are you doing? Kinda rude don't you think Em's," Claire teased.
"Oh cut the bullshit Claire."
"Oh whatever do you mean?" She asked feigning innocence with a sickly sweet tone in her voice.
Em rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Claire, you almost wrecked my car," She almost yelled in response.
Claire sighed, "Oh relax Em's. It's not like you're not gonna be able to fix it," She continued sensing her friend's irritation. "I mean, we did make that bet with Steve and Soda," She reminded her.
"That is so not the point. I don't have a car for a couple days while they fix it," She continued a small whine in her voice. "I have to get Erick to drive to me to work in the morning now thanks to you," Em explained stressing the issue some more.
Before Em could continue, Claire interrupted, "Wait, you got a job?" Claire questioned with surprise evident in her voice. "Why?" She pressed on finding the whole idea laughable. Em just didn't work. Period.
Em scoffed, "Because I am broke now, thanks to you," She snapped sitting down on in Erick's chair, which was right next to the phone. The cord on the phone did not stretch very far.
"What do you need a job for anyway? You can just call your dad. I'm sure he'll give you money. After all, you are his only daughter," Claire chirped.
"I don't live with him anymore, and besides I'm not going to ask him for anything," She spat back.
Claire sighed, "Ok. I get it. Look Emmy, I'm really sorry. Truly, I am."
"Sure."
"But, on a lighter note," Claire began that in her predictable, cheerful manner, "Did you talk to Steve today?" She asked hopefully.
"Yeah, why?"
Claire seemed unhappy with the flatness of her friend's voice. "Well, did he say anything about me?" She prodded hoping that the answer would be a yes.
Em rolled her eyes. Typical Claire. All she ever seemed to care about were the boys. "He asked when you would be coming back," She stated looking down at her fingernails. "You really got him where you want him."
"Yes!" Claire cried happily ignoring the fact that he friend was on the other side of the reciever.
Em couldn't help but laugh at Claire's exuberance. She shook her head. "Anyway Claire, I have to go. I don't wanna be on the phone when Erick gets home. You know what he's like."
"A stick in the mud?" She chimed in a sing song tone.
Em nodded, even though her friend couldn't see. "Exactly."
"Bye Em. I'll see you in two weeks!"
Em chuckled, " See you then Claire bear," Was her retort before swiftly hanging up the phone.
Sometime later, after Ponyboy left, Em and Matt were both sitting outside on the front step. Erick hadn't returned yet, and the two siblings had grew bored and decided to wait for him. Em had a bottle of vodka with her, a fact which Matt wasn't particularly fond of. Em reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the pack of smoke that she had picked up earlier. She opened the pack offering a cigarette to her little brother. Matt took one with a small smile. Em nodded and took a sip from the bottle of vodka.
Afterward, she wiped the remaining moisture off of her lips and then handed the bottle to Matt.
He gingerly grabbed hold of the bottle, and hesitantly took a sip. His face puckered up at the bitter taste. Matt wasn't really a drinker, especially hard liquor. "Em, why do you drink so much?" Matt asked handing the bottle back to her. He didn't understand the appeal of alcohol. It tasted horrible.
Em shrugged, "Because I can," she replied taking the bottle back.
"Emily come on, it's been a year since mom died and you promised me that you wouldn't drink as much here," He pleaded as he took the bottle away from his sister.
"C'mon Matt," She whined in annoyance. "I'm not drinking as much as I use to. Give me the bottle back," Em demanded holding her hand out expecting him to hand the bottle over.
Matt looked at the bottle, and then back to his sister, "Do you promise not to drink it all tonight?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
Em sighed, "Yes Matt, I promise. I will not drink it all tonight," She replied knowing exactly what Matt wanted to hear.
"Thanks Em."
Reluctantly, Matt handed the bottle back to her. Just as he did so Erick pulled into the driveway. Em rolled her eyes, "Great, Mister 'tries to be our dad is back,'" Em stated putting the bottle down on the front porch so that it was out of Erick's line of sight.
Matt laughed at her comment,"He's not that bad," He said in his older brother's defense. Em just rolled her eyes.
"Hey you two," Erick called as he got out of his car. "Did you have a good day?" Erick asked walking away from the car and up towards the front door.
"Nope," Em spoke up popping the p. "We had a big party," She teased, a grin spreading across her face. "While you were gone, we totally trashed the place."
Erick looked at her and shook his head at her blatant lie, "I wouldn't put it past you Em's," Erick said with a smile patting her on the shoulder. "But really, what did you two do today?"
Matt shrugged, "I was with Ponyboy all day."
"Claire fucked up my car so it's at the Dx getting fixed for the next couple days. Oh and I got a job," Em announced proudly.
"Good for you Em!" Matt encouraged happily.
Erick looked down at her in surprise. He raised an eyebrow at her, "You? You got a job?" Erick asked teasingly.
Em rolled her eyes, "Is it really that unbelievable?" she asked looking between her brothers. When no one answered she shook her head, "You guys suck," She retorted as she pushed herself up onto her feet.
Erick laughed, "That's good Em, what is it? Selling newspapers?" He teased with a small amused chuckle.
Em gasped, pretending to be annoyed. She then punched Erick in the arm,"No, I work at the thrift store," was her retort. "I start in the morning at nine, and since I don't have my car, can you drive me?"
Erick shrugged, "Sure, I don't see why not."
"Thanks big bro," Em replied brushing the dirt off of the back of her jeans.
"So what do you guys want to do now?" Erick asked his two younger siblings.
Em turned to look at Matt at the same time he had turned to look at her. The two siblings shared the same evil smile before they turned to their brother. Without further warning, they both jumped on Erick and they all started to have a wrestling match in their front yard, not caring about anything but spending some time together.
ok so i just got good news from foamy she will upload chapter 5 and 6 for me while i'm moveing thanks foamy your the best friend i could have
