Chapter Six

The next day I didn't wake up until about midday. Mom was already home and sleeping off the night shift. I was glad that I didn't have to see her with the way my head was pounding. I sat up and the room spun crazily. Mark was gone. On my bedside table stood a glass of water and two aspirin, the only evidence that he had ever been here. I gulped down the tablets greedily and lay there for a few minutes as the world came back into focus. What had I done last night?

Flashes of the party started coming back to me, throwing back drinks, allowing Curly to hug me in a corner of the kitchen and letting him kiss me outside in the back yard. I remembered Mark yelling at me that he'd seen Curly dragging me up the front steps to my house. What would have happened if Mark had come out of the Douglas' place a few minutes later than he had? Most of all though, I remembered Mark in the darkness of my bedroom telling me that he didn't have it in him to love someone. Particularly me. I wondered what it would be like when we saw each other next. I wondered if he'd avoid me like he had that week.

I got up shakily and made some toast. I took that and a glass of juice back to bed with me and spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping on and off. I didn't get why people got drunk if it made you feel so lousy afterwards.

About four o clock I decided I better grab a shower before Mom got up to get ready for another night shift. The hot water made me feel decidedly better and I even managed to rustle us up some salad. I wasn't brave enough to face the smell of anything else. Mom didn't complain when she got up, she wasn't a big eater anyway. She didn't seem to notice my tired eyes or the rings underneath them. If she did, she didn't say anything about it. As soon as she left, I crawled exhaustedly back into bed and the next time I woke up it was Monday. It was like the sickness from Sunday morning had never been there.

Bryon scowled at me as usual in English and he did the same in history. I wondered if Mark had relayed our conversation to him but I doubted it. By lunch, I still hadn't run into Mark and as soon as I found a table to sit at Darcy, Barbie and Ellen made their way over.

"How ya feeling today?" Ellen grinned at me.

"Okay," I answered, trying not to show I was embarrassed.

"Was that a great party or what?" Barbie said, setting down her tray. I didn't answer her.

"Is it true that you went home with Curly?" Darcy asked with no subtlety whatsoever as she slid into the seat beside me.

"Kinda," I answered, pushing my tuna rice around the plate.

They all squealed in excitement and I looked up at them startled.

"No!" I said irritably. "It wasn't like that. I was so wasted I didn't know what was going on and then when I said I wanted to go home, Curly took me. I didn't realise he thought my being unconscious was an invitation."

"What?" Barbie's eyes widened "Did he...?"

"No." I picked up my juice and took a gulp "Luckily one of my neighbours saw us and took me inside instead."

"Oh Jesus, Ally," Darcy said apologetically. "I knew you were drunk but I didn't know you were that bad. I'm sorry."

The three of them looked desperately remorseful so I just shrugged. It wasn't their fault; it was my own for getting so stupidly drunk.

"You wait 'til I see Curly Shepard..." Barbie muttered, stabbing her meatloaf with her fork as though it were Curly's head.

I glanced over at her.

"Well, technically, he didn't do anything. For all I know, he could have been doing the gentlemanly thing and putting me to bed."

All three of them scoffed at this.

"Curly? A gentleman?" Darcy said in disbelief. "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard."

"Not the stupidest thing," Ellen observed as Angela Shepard swept past our table. Barbie and Darcy fell quiet and I suspected there was something going on I didn't know about.

"What?" I asked, once Angela was out of earshot.

"Apparently Angela threw herself at Ponyboy Curtis last night. At the nightly double in front of everybody," Darcy explained. "Why a nice guy like him would even look at her is beyond me."

"Well from what I heard," Barbie put in, "Pony couldn't get away quick enough."

I watched Angela Shepard talking to a few hard faced girls a couple of tables away. She was flicking her hair and smirking like the previous night hadn't happened.

"Isn't she still going with Bryon?" I questioned dumbly. I guess to me it didn't make sense to be going with someone and then pouncing on someone who was so far from your type it was untrue.

"Uh huh." Darcy nodded, lowering her voice "I heard someone say Bryon wants to have it out after school."

This worried me slightly but not because of Bryon or Pony. It was common knowledge that wherever you found Bryon Douglas, Mark Jennings wasn't far behind.

A crowd had gathered outside in the parking lot. Bryon was sitting on Terry's car looking mightily pissed off. I hadn't seen Mark all day and there was still no sign of him. There was no sign of Ponyboy either.

Terry looked nervous beside Bryon and I guessed he didn't want any part of it. He hung out with Pony occasionally so he was friends on both sides.

Angela was gathered nearby with a few girlfriends, whispering to them and snapping her gum. I gave her a disgusted look. She was probably enjoying this.

I didn't feel like sticking around to watch. If I knew Mark wasn't planning on coming I would have left already but as I hadn't seen him, I hung back with Darcy, Barb and Ellen.

It wasn't long before Ponyboy Curtis came down the front steps, his jacket slung over his shoulder. He was alone but by the looks of things, he didn't look too scared. He was slouched down, in a perfect don't care pose, a greaser speciality.

The kids in the parking lot seemed to hold their breath as he made his way over to Terry's car. Bryon slid off the hood and looked at Ponyboy menacingly. They were about the same height, both of them tall but although Ponyboy had a decent build, Bryon was a good deal heavier.

Ponyboy sighed.

"I don't wanna fight you, Douglas. I got no interest in Angela. She's all yours."

I shot a look at Angela who was scowling in Ponyboy's direction. The crowd started murmuring as they realised the bull she'd been feeding everyone about it being a two way thing was nonsense.

"Well maybe I wanna fight you anyway," Bryon said, stepping closer still. He was mad and looking to take his anger out on somebody.

Ponyboy clearly wasn't gonna start anything but he had his fists clenched, ready for anything Bryon had to throw at him.

They were both startled at a new voice saying from the edge of the crowd:

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?"

Two-Bit Mathews was making his way over, fun in his voice but steel in his eyes. I guessed from the way he was looking at Bryon that he was a friend of Ponyboy's. He came to stand behind him and Bryon eyed him coolly, before casting a look back at Terry who was still sitting on the hood.

Terry reluctantly got down and looked over at Two-Bit.

"Hey, this is between Douglas and Curtis. You ain't got no business getting involved."

Two Bit looked over at Terry and grinned widely.

"Well if these two start dancing, we'll be left all on our lonesome. How's about we couple up too?"

"Cool it, Two-Bit," Ponyboy said, not taking his eyes off of Bryon.

Bryon came forward a step and I saw Ponyboy brace himself for the blow he was sure would come.

It never happened.

A loud banging noise drew the crowd's attention from Bryon and Ponyboy to some way behind them where Mark was jumping from roof to roof of the students cars. There were muttered protests from the owners but Mark didn't linger long enough for anyone to get really mad. In a matter of seconds, he had landed on Terry's car and had jumped down to stand beside Bryon.

"Quite an entrance, Jennings," Two-Bit observed "You want in on this?"

Mark looked at Ponyboy and started to laugh. Softly at first but leading up to a cackle. Two- Bit and Bryon stared at him dumbly while Ponyboy managed a wry smile.

"What's so damn funny?" Bryon demanded as Mark held his stomach, rocking on his heels.

"This is so damn stupid!" He said through his laughter "You ain't got no beef with each other. Angela Shepard has played you all like Lord knows what and you're all falling for it. I bet she'd love to see a mass brawl fought over her. If she was a guy, there's only one person you'd all be mad at."

"If Angela was a guy," Ponyboy said "I would have been mad the moment she sat herself on my lap at the drive in."
This made Mark laugh all the harder. Ponyboy was grinning too now. Two Bit looked a little confused but Bryon just looked mad.

"What's goin' on here?" Two-Bit asked, scratching his head dramatically. "We dancing? We not dancing?"

"Sorry, Mathews, you ain't my type," Mark said to him, reaching out and slapping him on the shoulder.

The crowd were becoming impatient. They had come here to see a fight and it didn't look like one was going to happen.

'Fight, fight, fight' The chant began quietly but slowly grew louder.

Mark jumped back onto Terry's car and addressed the crowd.

"You guys wanna see a fight, huh? Alright, I'm game. Who wants to fight me?"

The chant started to die down. Terry started to pull Bryon away from Ponyboy. A few guys in the parking lot began to mutter to themselves.

"So?" Mark walked up and down the length of Terry's car roof. "Any takers? No? None?"

It was at this time that Mr Greene, the principal, accompanied by Coach Rogers pushed their way through the throng of students.

"Alright, alright, what's going on here?"

Ponyboy and Two Bit slipped off into the dispersing crowd.

"Mr Jennings, what a pleasure as always." Mr Greene looked up at Mark with his arms folded but a tone of familiarity in his voice. For some reason, he'd always liked Mark.

Mark looked down at Mr Greene from the roof of Terry's car. Bryon and Terry stood just beneath him.

"Pleasure's all mine Mr Greene."

"And what, may I ask, are you doing up there?"

"Just taking a better look at your beautiful school, Sir."

Coach Rogers shook his head but couldn't help a smile.

"Mark, will you get off my roof before it caves in?" Terry said. He looked eager to get away from the principal. I guess he knew Mr Greene didn't have the same soft spot for him as he did Mark.

"Wise words," Mr Greene said, raising his eyebrows. "Now get out of here before I give you all a detention."

Mark jumped down and as the Principal and Coach moved away, I edged nearer. Bryon was already in the back seat and Terry had started the engine when I caught Mark at the passenger door.

"Mark?"

He turned round and looked at me in surprise.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Aw, Mark, hurry up man," Terry said, darting a look at the retreating backs of Mr Greene and Coach Rogers.

Mark ignored him and came away from the car.

"Hey, what's up?" He gave me a curious smile and I faltered. I was expecting him to be distant at the very least.

"I-uh, just wanted to say thanks for you know, Saturday. And check we were still cool?"

Mark reached out and ruffled my hair.

"Course we're cool, dummy. You need a ride?"

At this point, Bryon, who had wound down the back window yelled:

"Mark, come on already!"

"Na, it's cool," I answered, backing away a little. "Maybe see you at home later?"

"You make us sound like a married couple." He grinned. "But sure."

He went back over to the car and climbed in. Bryon gave him a rough shove from behind and his voice was loud and angry when he said;

"You shoulda let me have it out with Curtis."

"If you were mad at him for good reason, then sure," Mark said, buckling his seatbelt.

"Well, it ain't like I can hit Angela is it?" Bryon snapped back.

"I've still got Donna Bailey's number if you want it," was the last thing I heard Mark say.

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After that, Bryon and Angela went their separate ways. In a way, it sucked for me because Bryon and Mark became inseparable again. That meant the time we had together was limited to mornings or late at night sometimes when Mark couldn't sleep.

He didn't bring up what we'd discussed that Saturday night and things should have gone back to how they were. They didn't though. Now he knew how I felt and he'd been honest with me too, uneasiness settled that wasn't there before. When he'd grab me to tickle me or I'd chase him across the lawn there was always this unspoken message between us. The sentiments of what might have been.

I was just glad he didn't start dating someone else. Sure, I knew he slept with girls, but the fact that I knew they didn't mean anything to him was some comfort at least. He and Bryon often went to hunt girls together and though Bryon would have to lead the girl on some to boost his ego, Mark wasn't like that.

By sixteen, he hadn't been on more than three dates with the same girl and I had got used to watching him and Bryon leave their house on a Saturday night, all spruced up ready for a date. After time, it didn't sting so bad.

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"Hey, Ally, will you take this over to Bryon and Mark?" My Mom called one day from the kitchen. She was getting ready for work and I walked into the kitchen to find her taking a casserole from the oven.

"Why's that?" I asked "I thought that was for me."

"Mrs Douglas is in the hospital." My Mom said "Chest complaint. Bronchitis maybe. Didn't Mark tell you?"

"No," I answered. "Mom, can't you take it over?"

"No honey, I gotta get to work. I'll see you in the morning maybe."

I doubted that. I would be up early for school and she would more than likely still be in bed after the night shift.

"Alright, bye sweetie." She dropped a kiss on my cheek. "Don't forget about the casserole."

After she was gone, I stared at the casserole for a long time. I made a point never to go over to the Douglas'. Bryon's coldness was bad enough on neutral ground. Deciding to get it over with, I picked up the dish and headed out of the house.

I banged hard on Bryon and Mark's front door and finally, Mark came to the door. His face spread into a smile and he leant lazily in the doorway.

"Well, Ally Jenkins, what you doing in my neck of the woods?"

I held out the casserole.

"Special Delivery. How's Mrs Douglas?"

Mark took it from me and stepped back to let me inside.

"She's doing okay. You comin' in?"

I hesitated.

"It's okay, Bryon's not home," he said with a grin.

I pulled a face at him and stepped inside. The place was a royal mess.

"Jesus, don't you ever clean up?" I complained, stepping over a pile of dirty laundry.

"Nope." Mark navigated his way to the small kitchen. "Only when Bryon gets sick of it all."

"So where is his Majesty?" I asked as Mark set the casserole on the counter.

"He's out tryna hustle some money for Saturday," Mark said. "Something like that.

I just nodded. There was a dance at school on Saturday night. I never went to the dances. I wasn't much of a dancer and there was no one I particularly wanted to go with. Well, almost no one.

"You going?" Mark asked me "To the dance, I mean?"

I shook my head.

"Why not? You must have the guys beating a path to your door." He laughed and I felt hurt.

"You making fun of me?"

Mark's face became serious.

"Naw, Ally, I'm kidding. Surely someone's asked you though?"

"Nope." I shrugged as though I didn't care. "Probably be awful anyways."

I had turned to leave when he suddenly said out of the blue:

"You wanna go with me?"

I turned round slowly.

"You serious?"

"Yeah, why not, it'll be fun."

"I don't dance," I warned him.

"Well so what, we'll get drunk."

"You know I don't drink either." I said to him.

He cocked an eyebrow cheekily at me, reminding me of the night of Darcy's party.

"Alright," I mumbled, "but I'm a reformed character."

"Okay, well how about we just sit in a corner and tell bad jokes?"

I sighed.

"Mark, you don't wanna take me..."

"Since when do you decide what I do and don't wanna do?" He said, coming over and standing in front of me. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"I guess..." I said uncertainly. I didn't know what had brought this on but I didn't want his pity.

"Are you gonna make me beg?" He put his arms around me and I felt myself melt under his golden gaze. He was just a couple of inches taller than me and his face was tilted downwards towards mine.

"I'll go," I said breathily, feeling giddy with the need I had to kiss him.

I tried to back out of his embrace but he didn't loosen his grip. Instead, he suddenly lowered his head and impulsively kissed me.

I had thought about it a hundred times before but I still couldn't believe it was happening. His lips were soft and his kiss was warm. Tender even. I kissed him back, letting my body take over. After a minute or so we heard a voice say:

"What the fuck?"

We simultaneously pulled away to see Bryon standing in the kitchen doorway.

"What the fuck is going on?" Bryon asked, staring at us in shock.

"Well, I was just proposing to Ally here. She turned me down cold though, on account of her heart belonging to you." Mark quipped.

I elbowed him sharply. Bryon looked at me then back at Mark again.

"She brought us a casserole." Mark indicated the casserole on the side.

Bryon looked at it hungrily then gave me a suspicious look.

"You cook it?"

"No."

"That's okay then," he said, lifting a corner of the foil.

"Well, I'll be off anyways," I said, stepping away from Mark and trying to control my blushing. Mark called out a farewell as I fled.

He'd kissed me. Sure I knew it was just a kiss. Sure I knew it didn't mean anything. Yet just having that memory was enough for me. A memory that I will keep forever.