Hi! I'm happy to say I'm finally back after a LONG 3 month hiatus. My life got super busy during the summer and is still busy right now with sports, school, and friends, but I remembered this story recently and decided to log in, and saw that multiple people had messaged me asking about this story. I have an awful habit of not finishing things I start… but I worked so hard on planning this plot out that I couldn't leave it hanging. So, I'm back.

Fair warning that I'm pretty rusty. This chapter is not my best and was originally supposed to be longer but I decided to split it in half so that the quality of the writing would be better. That being said, the dialogue and outline has been sitting in my computer for MORE than 3 months and is almost the exact same as what I had planned… which isn't 'good' in my futuristic 3-months-later point of view. So go easy on me;)


3 days later

I never really went to the drive-in too much on my own accord since I always thought that movies were way more fun with other people around. I figured that if something funny were to happen you'd want more people around to laugh about it with than just being by yourself. Or maybe I just hated being alone. But Ponyboy, like with most things, thought differently than me. He went to the movies most often out of all of us in the family.. and for whatever reason, he didn't like anyone to go along with him, even Soda when he offered. I had long since given up on trying to figure out how my brother functioned and decided that he was just crazy awhile ago. Anyways, the few times I did go to the drive-in I was with Mom and Dad. It was sort of like a treat that they surprised us kids with every once and awhile. Money was usually too tight to do anything special but sometimes the weather was extra bad, and dad got a few extra roofing jobs than he usually did. Now, however, I could barely remember going to see a movie with my parents, it was so long ago. Those memories felt ancient now. Besides, I couldn't think about them anymore anyways without tears coming to my eyes.

Ponyboy had been out of school since the night the social worker came. At first I thought he was just exaggerating, since we had all been anxious that night. But it turned out he actually was sick. He was of course still annoyingly stubborn though, and said no when Darry suggested going to a doctor. That seemed like the smart choice to me but apparently not to him. Tonight Darry and Soda both had late shifts at work, so I was left at home alone with Ponyboy for dinner. The noodles I had managed to make for us were way too watery and I knew it. But somehow Ponyboy didn't have a single thing to say about it.

Grace called me when I was putting the leftovers in a plastic bowl to save for later and said she wanted to go out with me. Her exact words were, "Get dressed, Jo, I'm on my way. Katherine is taking us to the drive-in.", and she didn't really give me a chance to say either no or yes, so I figured was in… whether I liked it or not. Ponyboy had gone straight to bed after eating so I went into my room and put on the blue dress I had worn to a team dinner for Darry last football season, his senior year. Putting it on made me think of when Mom had brought it home for me the night before the dinner and how excited I was to finally have a nice dress. It was really one of the nicest things I owned. I smiled at the memory but also felt sad and lonely, for some reason, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. After getting dressed I braided my hair down the side and got into Grace's dad's car when it came to pick me up. Then Katherine had headed to the drive-in.

Now that it was dark outside I was starting to feel nervous. It was like I had butterflies in my stomach, except instead of butterflies, they were big, stomping elephants. I had a feeling I was going to be caught and I hated it.

Grace grabbed my hand, practically making me jump 10 feet in the air. "We need to find someone."

"Who?" I asked, bewildered. I had been hoping it would just be the 2 of us tonight, but I didn't want to show that I was disappointed.

"You'll see," Grace didn't meet my eyes which made me even more suspicious. The dress she had on was definitely her sister's; I could imagine how it looked on her, but it just didn't look quite right on Grace. When it was dark out you could barely tell she was wearing anything at all. We walked in and out of the rows and rows of chairs. The outside seats were practically vacant, which wasn't surprising considering it was freezing out. Most people had done the smart thing and came in an actual car. I could feel goose bumps forming on my bare arms and legs, and wished I had been less stupid and decided to dress in something warmer.

For some reason, I started thinking about Mom. Whenever I went out with my friends she always helped me get ready, but I was always too embarrassed to tell them it was my mom who did my makeup. I always loved how it turned out, though. I wished I had her at home to help me out tonight.. I didn't look as nice as I had when she had helped me.

Jeez, I missed her a lot. I could feel a hot tear sliding down my cheek and I wiped it quickly.

My thoughts about Mom dissipated when I saw who Grace was leading me to. There were 2 boys who I could vaguely recognize from Ponyboy's grade sitting in seats up-front and close to the screen. The rest of the place was still empty, so I knew that they were definitely who she was referring to.

"Seriously? THEM?" I stared at Grace, honestly shocked.

"Why not?" she shrugged.

"You're joking!" I pulled my hand back, rubbing it with my other one. "Grace! My brothers would never let me come here, you do realize that? If they find out I'm dead!" me and Grace both cringed at my awkward analogy. But as far as I was concerned, if Darry, Soda, or even Ponyboy found out I was alone with Grace and 2 boys, it was like digging my own grave.

"Your brothers aren't here right now, they're working," Grace said calmly. "and I thought you wanted them to know you could handle yourself, that you ain't a little kid anymore."

Not like this, I thought. Somehow hearing my own words being spit back at me made me feel guilty for ever even saying them… or maybe it was because Grace had a way of making everything sound wrong.

"I just don't want them to think I'm some baby. I don't want, I don't know, a hickey or something." It sounded dumb even as I sputtered it out. Grace laughed out loud, and I felt like curling up in a ball and crying.

"Jeez, Jo, it's just a movie. C'mon." Grace started to walk over to them, leaving me without a choice, really, unless I wanted to look stupid and just stand there.

"Sorry we're late," Grace apologized. I recognized the 2 boys instantly - Tom was from Pony's English class and Chris was on the track team.

"It's alright," Tom stood up and moved over a seat so that Grace could sit next to him. She stared at me pointedly, but I made no move to sit down.

"He brought a friend for you, Jo," Grace inforned me, even though I had obviously already seen Chris sitting there. Jeez, this was such a bad idea. I just nodded and slowly sat down.

"Hey Chris…" This was certainly going to be awkward for both of us so I might as well just accept it. If he knew who I was, he knew about my parents, plain and simple. Chris smiled at me.

"Hi Jo. I, um, heard about your parents," he stopped as if he was searching for the right words. I already knew there were none; I was just glad we were getting through this part right away. "I'm really sorry. That must be rough."

"Yeah, it is," I wasn't exactly in the mood tonight for tiptoeing around the pleasantries. I was feeling incredibly mad- maybe he even borderline furious - at Grace for dragging me into this situation.

"I can go get some popcorn…" Chriss offered.

"Thanks," I said, eager for an excuse to get him out of here. He stood up, looking worried, and to my thrill he took Tom with him, too. After they were gone Grace bit down on her lip and stared at me, unsure of what to say.

"I'm really sorry, Jo,. I didn't think you'd mind," she said finally. The one-seat space in between us was like a 100-mile river.

I just stared at her and nodded silently. She wasn't sorry, in fact she was enjoying herself. But I Had bigger things to deal with.


Hope you liked catching up with Jo! Thank you for everything, reviews are greatly appreciated.