So, this one is a little confusing...I divided the original into two, so it's Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight. Enjoy, and thanks for the new reviews, favorites, and follows! You guys are amazinggggg!
I don't own The Outsiders...
I don't know, but I think I may be fallin' for you
droppin' so quickly, maybe I should keep this to myself
wait until I know you better
I am tryin' not to tell you, but I want to
I'm scared of what you'll say
so I'm hidin' what I'm feelin'
but I'm tired of holdin' this inside my head
-Fallin for You, by Colbie Calliat
Chapter Seven
"Glory, take a look at her!" Two-Bit yells, as Steve lets out a few cusses and Ponyboy calls out my name.
I want to collapse onto the ground, just slam into the gravel as my legs give way - and I'm so shocked by the sudden turn of events and instability of my body that I don't even make an effort to spread my arms to break my fall. But luckily, I don't have to.
Strong arms catch me as I stagger forward; they're strong but gentle nonetheless and firm. Soda wraps his arms around me, and I lean forward, my head inclined towards the ground and my eyes closed, trying to shake out the last few pangs of dizziness ricocheting through my brain. In a minute, I steady myself, and I stand up straight, easing myself out of Soda's grip. He lays a hand on my shoulder, shaking me slightly.
"You okay there, Lorraine?" he asks, smiling with concern.
How can someone even smile with concern, I thought.
"Yeah. Just getting over that hangover." I mumble sheepishly.
"Why'd you get into a fight if you weren't well, huh?" Steve demanded angrily, brushing his hair back with a small comb that he'd taken out from his back pocket.
"We weren't looking for a fight." Pony replied, rolling his eyes, much to Steve's disgust.
"Hey, hey. We're all good, so let's just head on home before Lorraine passes out cold or something." Two-Bit says cheerily trying to break up the tension between Pony and Steve.
"I'm over it!" I protest as we being walking back to the Curtis house.
Darry is not pleased when we return. It's not late, and we're not bleeding or anything big, except for Two-Bit, because he tore off a fingernail.
"Wash up, sit down at the table, and then you all have got some explaining to do." Darry commands.
We obey, and file into the chairs of the dining table quietly, and all aware of the atmosphere tensing about five billion times more as Darry's glare intensifies when he sees my bruises. This isn't going to go very smooth.
"It was my fault." I blurt out, and that's the truth.
I tell the entire story starting from how we decided to go meet everyone in town today in the morning. Steve and Soda show signs of disgust when Collin comes into the story. When I'm done, everyone is shaking their heads.
"Glory, so much trouble on just your second day here in Tulsa." Darry says with disapproval, but also a hint of laughter, like it was just something that couldn't of have been avoided.
"Well, did you expect her to say yes to the dirty asshole?" Two-Bit asked crudely, and Darry shook his head.
"Of course not. In fact, I think you all did the right thing today."
"If only we'd been there first all along. Lorraine wouldn't have a scratch on her at all!" Steve says, and this offends Two-Bit and Pony.
"They had chains and knives, you know. We were lucky there were broken wooden posts lying around, and we had some bottles on us because we'd got some root beer after lunch." Pony says defensively.
"Those dirty Brumly boys. They're only good with weapons; not even half of them can put a decent fight with just skin. And they're always getting busted at the big rumbles for bringing in and using things when it's just supposed to be skin..." Soda says.
"Still. It'd been better if we were there first." Steve huffs, cracking his knuckles as his jaw twitches a bit.
"Looks like to me everything was going fine. Collin was pretty banged up before you got to him." Two-Bit says, smirking at me as he addressed Soda and Steve.
"I could have handled it if I wasn't so hung over." I muttered, scowling.
"Well, at least we got it all handled." Pony says, leaning back into his chair, then raises his eyebrows in surprise, "You think they'll wanna to rumble? 'Cause busted them up real good."
Steve snorted, rolling his eyes. Apparently he didn't really care if there was a rumble or not - he looked as if we could handle the Brumly boys any day.
"No. I saved their leader's ass last week when I was driving home and some Socs were ganging up on him. If he's got a pea of a brain that I think he does, he'll know to keep his boys back. Might even straighten them out a bit for...trying to..." Darry said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"Hmm, that's good then. I'd hate to drag you guys into a rumble on my second day here." I say, smiling.
"We get into rumbles all the time." Soda said, smiling back at me, even though my smile had been for everyone, not just him; "Maybe not as much as you did in New York, but we can still have some fun time to time. And we don't mind getting hurt a bit if it's for the gang."
My heart skipped a beat. I was a part of the gang now. I wasn't just some pitiful runaway girl they had to watch over. I was part of the gang now.
"But that doesn't mean you can go around picking fights with every hood left and right here in Tulsa. Dally was like that when things got too boring for him." Steve said, annoyed.
"I won't." I promised.
"I think trouble finds her more like, not the other way other like it was with Dally." Two-Bit added, opening up a can of beer. I made a mental note not to touch any alcohol for at least a week.
"Yeah, like what happened today. That wasn't Lorraine's fault at all." Pony said, lighting up.
After dinner, some of the boys went into the living room to watch Mickey Mouse while I took the dishes with Steve. Darry had protested, but I'm good at arguing, too. I felt that I should help with the household chores, being another mouth to feed - and I was a girl, too.
"Soda's smoking again." Steven muttered darkly under his breath as I handed him a sudsy dish to rinse off.
I guess he didn't think I'd heard him, because he looked away when I glanced at him curiously.
"His smoking brothers you guys some, doesn't it?" I asked, setting down the sponge.
"Yeah." Steve said, letting the water run through his hands as he gripped the dish tightly.
"Soda...he doesn't smoke much, huh? Or like before...drinking, too." I say with a little bit of question in my tone.
Steve takes the sponge and begins to scrub the dish in his hand ferociously, even though it's already clean. He avoids my eyes, and just glares down at the sink filled with dishes and spoons. I didn't think he would reply, but he does after a while.
"Soda...had a girlfriend. It didn't go too well in the end."
I let that sink in. A part of me is shocked, and the other part is calm, like I knew all along that Soda was no innocent or pure boy or anything. I mean a boy like him had to have at least one girlfriend by the age of sixteen. But it kind of hurt inside, I don't know why, but it did.
"Oh-" I start, but Steve interrupts me.
"He loved her a lot. It wasn't like how he loves me and Two-Bit, or how he loves Ponyboy and Darry, or how he loves life even if we are the second to last on the list after the hoods. He loved her...like something else. Sandy, her name was Sandy. A real bitch - but no one saw it coming. We all thought she was nice and whatnot, until she told him she was pregnant. And then she upped and moved to Florida after he offered to take care of the baby that wasn't even his. And she wouldn't even open his damn letter - she sent the damn things back unopened." Steve tells me, though it's like he'd talking to the window above the sink because he's staring at it so intently.
"Soda used to only smoke when stuff bothered him, or when he wanted to look tuff. He doesn't need to look tuff - he's already with his hair. And his smile that wins all the girls, and his personality. You dig?" he finally turned to me, and I was staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.
"She just upped and left to Florida, just like that?" I asked, incredulously.
"Yeah. I guess she didn't love him at all. First, she cheats on the guy almost every girl is heads over heels for in Tulsa, then she turns him down and goes cold turkey when he offers to get married and take care of the baby. The baby that isn't even his. I'm glad she refused - I don't think I could handle it if she did say yes and..."
I pat Steve's hand, which is clenched into a fist in a feeble attempt to calm him down. He's not yelling or anything, but fuming and speaking in a low, restrained voice. There's a murderous look in his eyes, like a fire might break out of those dark, dilated pupils anytime.
"And that goddamn bastard Soda has been smoking so much these two days...worrying me to hell and back. He ain't trying to look tough, I know it. He's bothered by something, and that's bothering me, too. I think he's bothered by you."
I nearly yelp in surprise by the last line, but manage to just keep it down to a little violent shake. Steve stares at me, coldly, and I don't know if he's mad at me or what Sandy did to Soda.
"Me?" I squeak, grimacing.
"Yeah. He likes you, a little right now, I can tell. And liking a girl...reminds him of Sandy probably. You don't look like Sandy at all - she was taller and blonde, and she has china blue eyes. But you're a girl, and he likes you a little, so yeah."
"Soda...likes me?"
"Like a friend," Steve says flatly, and my heart drops.
I stare at Steve blankly, exhaling slowly. It was to be expected - Sodapop Curtis having feelings for a girl like me? Impossible.
I didn't tell Steve that I thought about Soda too much, that I had to be careful when I spoke because the first word to come out of my mouth if I wasn't thinking would be Sodapop. I didn't tell Steve that Soda made me smile, that I thought Soda was an angel who'd flown down to Earth the first time I saw him in the DX...I didn't tell Steve any of that. He didn't need to know. No one did.
"Glory, this is going to be..." Steve murmured, and I couldn't hear the last few words.
"What?" I asked, panicked.
"If you hurt him like Sandy did, the rest of the gang isn't just going to stand around, you know. We're not as low as the hoods, but don't think we won't hit a girl. And what you did to Collin just makes it worse for you." Steve said, walking out of the kitchen.
He left me speechless, so I tried to puzzle out my numbness by resuming the dishes while softly humming a tuneless song that I made up. What had he meant by that? Was Steve assuming that I would go after Soda? Did Steve even know that I liked Soda? This was all too confusing. Nonetheless, Steve's unexpected fullisade of words and small moment of opening up to confide in me about his best friend had taken me completely by surprise. I t made me happy that Soda liked me as friend already, though. But I knew I would not be content with being friends. That would hurt, a lot.
Surprisingly, I managed to finish washing the dishes in my out-in-space mood and pondering how things would go on from here. I wandered outside, onto the porch hoping to enjoy a smoke by myself in the quiet night.
Review please? Thankssss. I hope you liked this chapter! Ch. 8 will be up in a few.
