Chapter Three: The Catcher in the Rye
"Darlin', you're not gonna believe this," Soda drawled, brown eyes dancing with glee as he wiped his hands on a rag, "but your big brother really did convince some gal to take him home. A good looking one, too!"
"She must have some kind of internal defects if she's going anywhere with Two-Bit Matthews," Steve snickered.
Ponyboy and I exchanged a bemused, exasperated sort of look. I should've known that as soon as Two-Bit joked about getting a ride home from the DX with a girl, he wouldn't be coming back with us. I truly don't understand how he picked up chicks with that mouth, but then again, life has lots of mysteries.
"Well, Pony, I hope you don't mind chauffeuring me around," I said, turning to give him a smile that I hoped was big enough to make up for my sour mood after the encounter with Mrs. Price.
"Y'all kids should stick around for another few minutes. I'm about to get off work, and I'd like to catch a ride," Sodapop said.
Pony raised an eyebrow. "I guess I'm everybody's chauffeur today."
"Shoot, kid, you ain't drivin' if I'm there. We don't need you gettin' caught by the fuzz," his brother told him sternly.
Steve chimed in, "Maybe Rose will sit in the backseat with ya and hold your hand."
Soda aimed a winked at me. I knew plenty of girls who would kill to get winked at by Sodapop Curtis, but I was not one of them. At that particular moment, I mostly wanted to clobber him.
When he saw the expression on my face, Soda reached into his pocket and pulled out a fresh pack of Kools. "Two-Bit told me to give these to you."
"Well, I'll be damned! My brother is good for something after all," I exclaimed. Though he didn't know it, that was one of the kindest things Two-Bit could've done for me that day. Gosh, but I needed a smoke. "Where'd he get these from?"
Soda grinned. "The drugstore across the street. He said he wouldn't steal from the establishment where two of his buddies were employed - but that was only 'cause Steve saw him and threatened to bust his head open."
Two-Bit thought he could take Steve, so I was a little surprised to hear that he backed down. It was probably a good thing though. Steve had a lot of raw anger, like me, and that makes you ruthless in a fight - even when you don't mean to be. The curly haired boy didn't move at the mention of his name, focused on the car in front of him.
I asked, "Ponyboy, you got a lighter in this jacket?"
The boy nodded, then said to Soda, "We'll wait at the car for ya, okay?"
"Y'all don't get into any trouble, now," his brother warned us with a wicked grin.
By now, the parking lot had cleared up quite a bit. A few other groups were still hanging around, but nobody we knew. Pony had found a parking spot away from all of them anyway. We leaned against the side of the car to smoke, catching the last bit of sun.
A lot of people thought it was funny, how good of friends me and Ponyboy were. Truthfully, I wouldn't have believed it myself a year and a half ago. But then, I also wouldn't have believed that Johnny was dead.
My brother wouldn't tell me much of anything when Johnny and Ponyboy ran away last fall. I knew that Johnny had killed a Soc, and then the two high tailed it to Texas, but that was all Two-Bit would say. I barely saw him that week anyway; he skipped school to stay with the Curtises. When I remembered that damn funeral, I wished I could've done the same. I couldn't even imagine how they felt.
School was horrible anyway. Even at my junior high, rumors were flying. Angela Shepard was telling folks that both boys would get the electric chair. All of my friends knew how I felt about Johnny, so they tried to keep the gossip away from me, but we went to a big school. All day for a week, all I heard was Johnny Cade's name. On top of all that, the rich kids were terrorizing the greasers even worse than before. Even Two-Bit got jumped. I thought things were just about as bad as they could get - and then Johnny didn't come home.
Honestly, I still don't really have the full story. I read the article in the newspaper about the burning church, how the boys saved those kids. All the paper said was that Johnny was in critical condition. I wanted to press my brother for more details, but I'd be mortified if knew how I pined for his buddy. Two-Bit was busy getting ready for a rumble with the Socs anyway. I desperately wanted to fight, to blow off some of the steam that felt like it was right below the skin, but I knew better than to ask.
That Saturday night, I watched the rumble from my bedroom window, chain smoking. I saw my big brother split his hand open, and Ponyboy nearly get stepped on by Tim Shepard. I also saw how easily Darry could handle those guys. When Dally Winston ran up, it felt like all the oxygen had left the room. Thank God he could help Ponyboy though.
When the Socs began to run away, I nearly cried with relief. I thought it was finally over. We won. I couldn't have been more wrong.
It happened late that night, past midnight. I had drank a couple cans of Two-Bit's beer to help me fall asleep, but it was a restless and uneasy slumber. Sirens startled me awake, what sounded like dozens of them, blazing away. I bolted straight to the window to see what was going on, still in my nightgown.
Dally was in the vacant lot. There were a whole pile of cops surrounding him, their weapons drawn. It occurred to me that Johnny must be dead if Dallas Winston had allowed the cops to catch him. Then Dally raised a heater and gunshots rang though the air. Dallas fell the same way that Johnny had when he got jumped. He would never get up though. And yet again, I watched it all.
I was kind of a mess after that, I guess. On the east side, you have to shut down your feelings a lot, and I was a pro at it. But I didn't know how somebody could just stop feeling this. I couldn't eat or sleep. I was smoking a pack a day and knocking the lights out of any girl who looked at me funny during lunch. By Wednesday afternoon, I hadn't slept more than six hours in four days, and I was practically delirious. I was in Two-Bit's room after school, trying to hunt down some liquor, when he caught me.
"Little-Bit, what on earth are you doing?" He asked, an eyebrow cocked.
I flushed bright red, dropping the pillow if been checking under. "Nothing," I mumbled abashedly. I tried to hurry out of the room, but he blocked the door.
"What are you looking for?" My big brother questioned. For once, he sounded dead serious.
I sighed. What was the point in lying, especially now? It's not like he could fault me for it. "Booze."
Without a word, Two-Bit pulled a flask out of his jacket pocket and handed it to me. I took several big swigs of whiskey before giving it back. Henry Matthews would've been proud.
"Come on," Two-Bit said. His voice was thicker than I'd ever heard it. "Let's go have a smoke."
My brother and I went and sat out on the front steps. He gave me one of his cigarettes, even though I had my own pack.
For a minute, Two-Bit just smoked and rubbed his face. I'd never seen him like this. One of his eyes was still bruised from the rumble, and he desperately needed a shave, a shower, and a good night's sleep. He settled for another dip into the flask before speaking.
"Listen, Little-Bit, Ponyboy Curtis ain't doing too good right now," he said slowly. "This stuff kind of messed him up, and he's sick from hidin' out too. He's gonna be okay, but he's gotta lay up for a while, ya dig?"
"Yeah. That's awful," I replied softly. I didn't understand exactly why Two-Bit was telling me this, but I did feel sorry for Ponyboy. If I was this upset, I didn't know how he was still functioning.
"Maybe you could go see him some time. Take a pile of books or somethin'. The kid loves those," Two-Bit told me.
"Why?" I asked incredulously. "I barely know Ponyboy."
My brother hesitated, hitting his cigarette. Finally, he looked at me with a small smile and answered, "I just think both of y'all could use a friend right about now. Do it for me, okay, kid?"
I thought about what Two-Bit said all day at school that Thursday. My brother and I weren't exactly close back then; we usually saw each other at breakfast every morning, but that was about it. He spent most of his time with his buddies and his blondes. At the time, I didn't get why he would even think to ask me that kind of favor. Eventually, though, I decided that I would go see Pony, if only because it must have been real important to Two-Bit for him to ask. Anyway, it's not like I had anything left to lose.
Back then, I usually walked with Carla in the afternoons to the elementary school to pick up her little sister, and then we all went to the Hendersons together. I walked straight home from school that day, alone. Completely disregarding the homework that I was supposed to do, I dumped my school bag on the bed and filled it with all of my favorite books. The bag was heavy; I'd been stealing books from the library since I was eight. I liked anything that took me out of my own head and put me into somebody else's.
As I made the short walk down to the Curtises, I passed by Carla's house. Her little sister Shelly waved at me from the front window, her face lit up like Christmas lights. Two teeth were missing from her smile, and it warmed my heart as I waved back. Seven year old Shelly Henderson is what gave me the courage to smile at Sodapop Curtis when he answered the front door.
Like I said, I didn't really hang around with my brother's buddies friends much. I hadn't even been to the Curtis house since their parents died. Soda was surprised to see me, but he smiled back. "Well, hi there, Rosalie. How are you?"
"I'm good," I replied cheerfully. "My brother told me Ponyboy isn't doing so great though. I brought him a bunch of books."
Sodapop's brown eyes softened, and he smiled even wider as he let me into the house. "I'm sure he'll be excited about that. I was just about to go to work and he was gonna be bored. I'll go tell him you're here real quick, okay?" He bubbled.
I stood in the Curtises living room for the first time in almost a year, picking at the hem of my skirt and looking at their furnishings out of the corner of my eye. It looked exactly the same as I remembered it, except now a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Curtis hung prominently over the television. I could hear Sodapop talk to his brother.
"Hey, Pony, Rosalie Matthews is here to see you. She says she brought books."
Pony was surprised too. "Two-Bit's kid sister?"
Sodapop lowered his voice, but I still caught every word. "Shoot, I wouldn't call her a kid any more. She's probably the same age as you. Pretty little thing, too. I don't know if I oughta leave the two of you alone..."
"Aw, quit it, Soda," Ponyboy grumbled. "I know who she is. You said she had books?"
"A whole bag full."
"Okay."
The older boy loped his way back to the living room. I played with the ends of my brown hair, pretending I hadn't heard their exchange. What on earth did that "I know who she is" mean?
"You can go on in. Listen, though." Soda glanced around and lowered his voice significantly. "Don't talk about Johnny or any of that, okay?"
That was just dandy with me. Still, I was feeling a bit more timid when I headed down the hallway myself.
I shouldn't have been, though; Ponyboy was sitting up and smiling widely when I walked in. He looked strange with his hair so short and so blonde, but I could still see why a few of the girls in my class harbored crushes on him.
"Hi," he said. "Sorry about the mess."
There were books everywhere, but it just looked like my room. I told him so as I sat down on an empty chair.
"You must've cleaned up a bit to bring me all them, then." He gestured towards my full book bag.
I hauled it up into my lap. "This really isn't much. I didn't know what you would like."
"Well, which one is your favorite?" Pony asked. His tone was pleasant and genuine.
As I searched through the bag, I bit my lip in concentration. I was aware that the boy in bed was studying me intently, and I tried not to wonder what he thought of me. Triumphantly, I finally retrieved The Catcher in the Rye.
"My real favorite is Jane Eyre, but that's kind of a girl book. You might like this one," I said, handing over the paperback.
Ponyboy's eyes widened. That was the first time I noticed them, a light, sparkling green. "I've always wanted to read that," he replied excitedly.
"Holden can be kind of annoying, but he's alright by the end," I assured him.
The boy flipped the book so that he could read the back cover, and it was my turn to study him. Of course I looked at his hair, greased back even in bed, the way his eyebrows furrowed as he read. Something about his face reminded me of his mother's though. Mrs. Curtis used to make me a chocolate cake for my birthday every year, November 11. I remembered that Dallas Winston's birthday was two days before mine, but she made both of us our own cakes, just like she did every child in our neighborhood. I also remembered the way that Pony tried so hard not to cry at their funeral. I could relate to that feeling now.
I couldn't save Johnny. Not anymore. But maybe I could help Ponyboy. He liked my books, at least.
I started going over to the Curtis house regularly after that. At first, I was just exchanging books with Ponyboy, but Sodapop immediately took a liking to me. He told me I could come by any time. Soda was warm and patient and asked me questions about school and my friends. I figured Two-Bit wouldn't like it, since he'd never let me hang around and he also spent most of his time over there, but it actually seemed like the opposite. For the first time in my life, I was buddies with my own big brother too. It was honestly one of the best things that had happened to me, and I had Ponyboy to thank for that. Hell, I had a lot to be grateful to Ponyboy for. I don't think I could've gotten past Johnny without him.
With that in mind, I nudged him gently. "Hey. I'm sorry I'm so grumpy sometimes."
He looked down and gave me a half smile. "As long as you ain't mad at me."
"Don't you know I can't ever be mad at you?" I replied with that Matthews wide grin.
Ponyboy shook his head and kicked at the ground, but he was smiling too. His ears were awful red.
We didn't talk as we finished our cigarettes and waited for Sodapop. It was a comfortable silence now though. All was right between us, and that was all that mattered.
A/N: What do you think? Hopefully Rose and Pony's friendship makes more sense now, and hopefully it still feels realistic and in character. If you like the story, please leave a review and don't forget to favorite/follow! :)