AN: Sorry for the slight delay. This chapter was kinda hard to write, I had to keep looking at the book.
The next day, I walk into English very slowly. I have to apologize to Ponyboy about yesterday, I hope he isn't too mad.
I walk over to our seats, "Ponyboy?" I ask, my voice soft, he looks up at me.
"I just wanted to apologize about yesterday, I wasn't mad at you per se, it's just that my blood family is a very sensitive topic for me and I have a hard time controlling my emotions when it comes to them, obviously." I say, rubbing the back of my head.
He looks at me for a moment before he gives me a small smile, "It's okay, it's understandable." He says.
I smile also and take my seat next to him.
After that English went on as usual, Pony and I turned in our project, we got an A. Yay!
Later on, back at home, I'm in my room sitting on my bed, reading The Grapes of Wrath again when Rew walks in.
"Hey Rainbow." She says, plopping down on her bed.
"Hi Rew." I say, not looking up from my book.
"You have any plans for tonight?" she asks.
"Hmm..." I close my book and think for a moment, "No, I don't think so. Why?"
"'Cause I wanna go down to the Nightly Double and everyone else is busy. Peach and Hermann are going to a party, Tom is going to play some sports with her friends, Straight A's dad is acting weird-er, so she can't go, and Pepper has a date with Kevin."
Kevin Nigel is Pepper's boyfriend. He has short, neat black hair and warm brown eyes with horn rimmed glasses. I like him, he's very friendly, despite being very business-like.
"Sure, I'll go," I say, "I wanted to get out of the house a little bit anyway."
A little while later, Rew and I head down to the Nightly Double, it's cold, so we have to wear our jackets.
Since Rew doesn't have her own car, we walk in to one of the drive ins and sit in the seats that are in front of the concession stand after we get our snacks.
The movie eventually starts, it's one of those beach movies, Rew gives a disgusted groan, she hates beach movies because they have no plot, are ridiculous, and have too many girls in bikinis, that bugs her to no end.
"You gotta be kidding me," She groans, "I'm not watching this!"
"Rew, it just started, maybe this one'll be different." I say, because I know what's gonna happen, she's gonna get up and walk out on the movie entirely, she's done it before.
"No Rainbow, they're all the same. I'm gonna go see what's on at the other drive in."
I knew it.
"No! Rew this has happened before, it's not happening again! You're not leaving!"
"No I'm not, I'm gonna go to the other drive in, if you need me, just come find me."
I open my mouth, but no words come out, I'd be fighting a losing battle if I try to argue with her, so I just groan, "Fine."
"Thanks, now I'm just gonna be at the other drive in if you need me." She says, getting up and walking away.
I mutter under my breath and continue to watch the movie until I see two other girls sit in the seats not too far away from me. Hey, I know those girls! Marcia and Cherry! I can go sit by them.
I know Cherry and Marcia because I know their boyfriends, Bob and Randy. I like Marica okay, she can be real fun, but...I'm sorry, I hate Cherry Valance with a passion. I'm nice to her, and I'll talk to her, but I just can't stand her!
I get up and slowly make my way over to them, "Hi Marcia, hi Cherry." I say. They both look at me and smile.
"Hi Rainbow." They both say.
"Is it okay if I sit with you? Rew's at the other drive in so I'm here alone."
"Go ahead."
I smile and sit next to Marcia, then something dawns on me, "What are you two doing here without a car?" They've come here before, and they always bring a car.
Cherry lets out a frustrated sigh, "Bob and Randy brought us on a double date, then it turned out they brought booze along, so we just walked out on them." she explains.
"Oh no, not again." I groan. As much as I love Bob and Randy, they need to stop drinking, or at least get it under control! I wonder why they even sell alcohol to kids.
After that we just sit and watch the movie, I personally like beach movies, I think they're fun. From the corner of my eye I see someone sit behind us, but I don't pay him any mind.
Until he starts to talk.
I feel my face burn, he's talking very loud, and very dirty.
Cherry and Marcia notice him also. Cherry stiffens and starts to chew hard on her gum and Marcia just pretends not to hear him.
He starts off bad, but then he gets worse.
'Make him stop,' I beg in my mind, 'Dear God please make him stop!' I slowly start to sink lower in my seat.
And then, he puts his feet on the back of Cherry's chair and says the mother of all things dirty.
I think my face is going to burst into flame, 'Mother, of God.' I think.
Cherry's had enough also, she turns around and gives him a cool stare, "Take your feet off my chair and shut your trap."
"Who's gonna make me?" The guy asks.
Marcia turns around in her seat also, "That's the greaser that jockey's for the Slash J sometimes." I hate the tone in her voice.
The guy doesn't seem to care, "I know you two, I've seen you around rodeos," He's silent for a moment, I feel his eyes on me, "I'm not sure about your little friend though."
Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! Don't turn around, don't make eye contact, don't say a word!
"It's too bad you can't ride bull half as good as you can talk it." Cherry says, turning back around.
"You two barrel race huh?" My God this guy doesn't stop.
"You better leave us alone," Cherry says in a biting voice, "Or I'll call the cops."
'Or I'll get Rew," I say in my head, "And she'd be more than happy to beat the tar out of you.'
"Oh my my," They guy says sarcastically, boredom laced in every word, "You've got me scared to death, you oughta see my record sometime baby, guess what I've been in for."
I blink. Is...is this who it think it is?
"Please leave us alone," Cherry says almost desperately, "Why don't you be nice and leave us alone?"
"I'm never nice. Want a Coke?" That sounds contradictory.
"I wouldn't drink it if I was starving in the desert!" Starving in the desert? Really Cherry, really? "Get lost, hood!" Wow! Okay Cherry! Take in down a notch!
From the corner of my eye I see the guy shrug, then leave. "Oh thank God." I say aloud.
I glance over my shoulder to see if I can catch a glimpse of the guy, to if it's who I think it is, but instead of him, I see…
Ponyboy!
I do a double take, by this time he's noticed me, I send him a smile, he smiles back, I can tell that it's a slightly apologetic one.
He barely opens his mouth when Cherry speaks up, "Are you gonna start in on us?"
I look at her and send her a glare, "Cherry!" I snap, "This guy's in my English class, he ain't gonna start in on us!"
She looks at me for a second before she looks back at Ponyboy and gives him a smile, "He doesn't look the type...what's your name?"
For some reason Pony looks hesitant, "Ponyboy Curtis."
Cherry smiles again, "That's an original and lovely name." She says and I suddenly feel this weird feeling in my gut...I don't know what it is.
"My dad was an original person, I've got a brother named Sodapop and it says so on his birth certificate."
He told me the exact same thing yesterday.
"My name's Sherri, but I'm called Cherry because of my hair. Cherry Valance."
"I know," Pony says, "We go to the same school, you're a cheerleader."
'I'm in color guard ya know!' I yell in my head.
"You don't look old enough to be goin' to high school," Marcia says, "Did you start early like Rainbow here?"
Pony sends me a small grin that takes away that odd feeling in my gut.
"No, I got put up a year in grade school." Wow
Cherry's looking at him, "What's a nice, smart kid like you hanging around trash like that for?"
My head snaps over, "Cherry!" I know that guy was a dirty talker, but that doesn't mean he's trash!
I see Ponyboy stiffen, "I'm a grease, same as Dally. He's my buddy."
Cherry looks somewhat apologetic, but I cut off her apology, "Dally? Um...That guy wasn't...Dallas Winston, was it?" I ask.
Pony looks at me, "Yeah..."
"I thought so!" I say, "I was just curious, 'cause it said that he was supposed to be in jail for ninety days."
"He got off early, good behavior." Pony explains.
"Aah, okay." I say with a slight grin, "Like I said, just curious."
Pony sends me another smile but before I can say anything else, Cherry says briskly, "So, your brother Sodapop, does he work at a gasoline station? A DX I think?"
"Yeah." Pony replies.
"Man your brother is one doll, I should've guessed you were brothers, you look alike."
At that moment I turn around to watch the movie, that odd, slightly uncomfortable feeling is back full force, I just watch the movie and drown out the conversation between Cherry and Ponyboy.
I hear someone sit down behind us about a minute later, I look over my shoulder to see if it's Dallas, but it isn't, it's another one of Pony's buddies. He looks around for a moment before he manages a shy "Hi..."
I smile, I've seen him around before, his name is Johnny I think, Johnny Cade. "Hello." I say cheerfully.
He looks at me and manages a small smile before he tries to watch the movie.
I turn back myself, I take a sip of my pop only to find that I drank it all, "Darn it." I mutter, throwing it into a nearby trashcan.
Dallas comes striding back a minute later with an armful of Cokes, he hands one to each of us, "This might cool you off." He says, sitting next to Cherry.
I can't help but smile, 'See Cherry," I say in my head, 'He ain't all bad.' I take a drink.
But then…
I hear a splashing sound and look over to see Dallas drenched in Coke, "That might cool you off, greaser, and if you wash your mouth and learn to talk and act decent, I might cool off too!"
I don't believe it, one minute Cherry was perfectly fine talking to a 'greaser' the next minute she throws a Coke in another one's face...This is why I hate Cherry!
Dallas wipes the Coke off his face with the sleeve of his jacket and gives Cherry a smile...I feel my entire body go cold, it's a dangerous smile, and I don't like it.
"Fiery huh? Well that's just the way I like 'em."
He starts to put his arm around her, but Johnny reaches over and stops him, "Leave her alone Dally."
This takes Dallas off guard, "Huh?" He looks at Johnny with a look of disbelief.
Johnny gulps and gets a little pale, "You heard me, leave her alone."
Dallas scowls for a moment, before he gets up and stalks away, he doesn't come back.
Cherry and I let out relieved sighs, "Thanks. He had me scared to death." Cherry says.
Johnny gives her an admiring grin, "You sure didn't show it, nobody talks to Dally like that."
Cherry smiles at him, "From what I saw, you do."
I see Johnny's ears go red, Ponyboy's staring at him with disbelief also.
Marcia grins at them, "Ya'll come sit up here with us. You can protect us."
Pony and Johnny look at each other for a moment, "Okay," Pony says nonchalantly, "Might as well,"
They both get up to move up front with us; Johnny sits next to Cherry and Pony sits between Marcia and me.
"How old are ya'll?" Marcia asks.
"Fourteen." Pony says. Hey same as me!
"Sixteen." Johnny says.
"That's funny," Marcia says, "I thought you were both-"
"Sixteen." Cherry finishes.
Johnny grins, "How come ya'll ain't scared of us, like you were Dally?" he asks.
Cherry sighs, "You two are too sweet to scare anyone, first of all you didn't join in on Dallas's dirty talk, and you made him leave us alone. And when we invited you to sit up here with us, you didn't take it as an invitation to make out for the night. Besides, I've heard of Dallas Winston, and he looked as hard as nails and just as tough, but you two don't look mean."
'Cause not all greasers are like that Cherry,' I say in my head, 'I've tried to tell you a million times.'
"Sure," Pony says tiredly, "We're young and innocent."
For some reason I think that's the cutest thing and I can't help but giggle.
Cherry looks at him, "No, not innocent, you've seen too much to be innocent, just not...dirty."
"Dally's okay!" Johnny says defensively, and Pony nods in agreement, "He's tough, but he's a cool ol' guy."
"Yeah," I say, "I did kind of get that vibe from him, he was okay when he wasn't talkin' dirty."
Pony and Johnny smile at me, "He'd leave you alone if he knew you." Johnny says.
"Well," Marcia says with finality, "I'm glad he doesn't know us."
'Yeah,' I think, 'If he had known us, we wouldn't be sittin' here with free Cokes.'
After that Pony asks us why we're here without a car, I tell them that I came with Rew, and Marcia and Cherry tell them what happened with Bob and Randy, but after that, we settle down to watch the movie.
As we sit there watching the movie, I see strong hands land on Pony and Johnny's shoulders, and I hear a gruff voice say, "Okay greasers, you've had it!"
Oh, I don't think so! I've had just about enough of this, I whirl around in my seat, "Listen here-" I start, but the words die in my throat, "Oh, it's you."
It's another one of Pony's buddies, Two-Bit Mathews, he's pretty well known around the school, you know for being eighteen and a junior in high school.
"Glory Two-Bit, scare us to death." Pony groans.
I look over at Johnny, he's white as a sheet and he's breathing oddly, but he manages a weak, "Hey, Two-Bit."
Two-Bit smiles and ruffles Johnny's hair, "Sorry kid," He says, "I forgot." he climbs over the seat and plops down beside me, "Who's this?...Hmm," He looks at Cherry and Marcia, "Well these two must be your great aunts," He looks at me, "And this one must be your guardian angel."
I can't help it, I burst into laughter.
"Unbelievable," Rew mutters, putting her cigarette lighter in her pocket and taking a drag of the cancer stick. She walked out on the other drive in movie also, seeing that the other movie was just as stupid, she decided to just mill around until the beach movie was over.
"Next time I'm goin' out, I'm goin' to the movie house...I hear they're playing Rasputin the Mad Monk...and I'm talkin' to myself."
She sighs and goes to take another drag of her cigarette when someone barrels into her, causing her to choke on her smoke, *cough cough* "Hey jackass! Watch where you're going!" she snaps.
She turns and glares at the guy, he doesn't look angry, like most guys are when she yells at them, he has an odd grin on his face.
"Sorry Doll-Face, didn't see ya there," The guy says, even though Rew knows it isn't a sincere apology. She just rolls her eyes and turns to walk away, when the man speaks again.
"Are you real?"
Rew blinks and turns to face him, "What the hell does that mean?"
"I mean...how do I find out if that's your real orange hair...is it the same orange hair you have on your..." He trails off.
Rew just sends him a smirk, "That's for me to know and for you to find out...and you never will."
The guy smirks also.
"I know who you are," Rew explains "The infamous Dallas Winston."
Dally chuckles, "The one and only, baby."
Rew rolls her eyes, "You've got a death wish, talkin' to me like that." she says.
"Oh my," Dally says sarcastically, "You gonna call the cops? That don't scare me, Baby. You oughta see my record, guess what I've been in for."
"Oh, am I supposed to be impressed, son of a bitch?"
Dally just laughs.
"Besides," Rew continues, "I don't need the cops, I'll kick your ass myself if I have to." She says, walking away.
As Rew walks away, she gets a weird feeling down her back, she turns around to see Dally behind her, "You followin' me?" Rew asks, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Yeah." Dally says simply.
"Are you gonna stop?"
Dally stops, but only for a moment, "No, don't think so."
Rew groans.
As we sit there watching the movie, Rainbow suddenly stands up, "Ponyboy, I'm outta popcorn, wanna come with me to get some?"
I jump up, "Sure! Ya'll want some?"
"I do." Marcia says, she's finishing the Coke Dally gave her, I realize then that Marcia, Cherry and Rainbow are different. Cherry said that she wouldn't have drank Dally's Coke if she was starving and she meant it. But Marcia and Rainbow saw no reason to throw away perfectly good, free Coke.
"Me too." Two-Bit says, he flips me a fifty cent piece, "Get Johnny some too, I'm buyin'." he ads as Johnny started to reach into his jeans pocket.
"What about you Cherry?" Rainbow asks.
"I'd like some, thanks." Cherry says, handing Rainbow a fifty cent piece also.
Rainbow and I walk to the concession stand and as usual, there's a line a mile long, so we have to wait. Quite a few kids turn to look at us, you didn't see a kid grease and a Soc-y color guard team member together often.
As we wait in line, I feel Rainbow's eyes on me, but before I can ask her what's up, she reaches over and pulls the collar of my sweatshirt down slightly.
"What happened there Pony?" she asks. She's referring to the cut that I have on my neck.
I go cold, "I was jumped," I say, rougher than intended.
I see Rainbow go white, "Oh-...Oh my god, when?!"
"Yesterday, a little after school, I went to the movie house, and as I was walking home, I was jumped by five socs..." I look around nervously because there are plenty of socs milling around, some of them are giving me funny looks, as if I shouldn't be with Rainbow or something.
I continue nonetheless, "...one of them held a blade against my throat and as I yelled for help the blade slipped while the socs tried to shut me up..." I trail off, remembering the voice, "Need a haircut, greaser?"
"Ponyboy?" I snap back into reality when I hear Rainbow's voice. I look over at her, she's looking at me with a look of concern. I nearly forgot she was listening.
"Sorry," I say, "I'm okay."
"You know Ponyboy...I was jumped myself not to long ago."
I can't help but double take, who would jump Rainbow? Why would they jump Rainbow?
"When?" I ask.
"About a month ago," She says, "I was walking home from the drugstore, when I was jumped by about five soc-y girls."
"But...why? I mean, you're a soc too!"
"I'm middle class," She says, "And these girls jumped me because they really don't like me."
After that we drop the topic completely, it isn't fun thinking about a time you were jumped.
After we get our popcorn I turn to Rainbow, "We better get back or Two-Bit'll think we eloped to Mexico." She laughs and we make our way back.
AN: Just a quick FYI, Dally is nineteen here. 'Cause for some reason I always thought that's how old he was in the book. :/