Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders
Annie took a shower at the Curtis house, and after that the gang was meeting up at the lot for a game of football. During the walk, Annie and Johnny fell a bit behind to talk privately. Or at least that's what Johnny's plan was.
"You had a nightmare last night," he said. Annie nodded.
"Yeah, I know. I get them sometimes, but I can't remember what I dream when it's over. How'd you know?" she asked.
"You were moving a lot, and you were speaking. I think it was in Pig Latin."
"Can you tell me what it sounded like?"
"It sounded like, 'Onay, ymay abybay.' I didn't know what it meant, but I figured you'd want to know what you said and you'd know what it meant.
She did know what it meant. She said "No, my baby." She had a nightmare about her unborn child. Johnny couldn't possibly know about what she said. He'd probably want to know. Knowing him, though, if she told him it was personal and she didn't want him to know, then he wouldn't press the subject.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"Um, it's kind of personal. Sorry…"
He looked a little hurt that she wouldn't tell him. It was for his own good. In this case, what he knew would hurt him. That's the last thing she wanted to do to him. He was the best thing that happened to her in Tulsa. Hell, he was the best thing that ever happened to her. He was worth living for. Him, and the baby.
"So, are you gonna play football with us?" he asked after a few moments of silence.
"No, I don't know how to play. I'll just watch you guys," she said hastily. One word popped into her mind when he said "football". Miscarriage. The lack of athletic ability wasn't a lie either though. It wasn't a complete lie.
"I'm sure they wouldn't mind teaching you," he offered.
"No, really, I'm bad at sports, or anything that requires agility. I'd slow you guys down. Plus, you're the only one who gets their own cheer section," she said, smiling at him. He blushed and looked down.
"Okay, if you don't want to then I guess I can't make you."
They arrived that the lot not long after. She sat on the sidelines in the shade of a tree while the guys split into teams. All of them were there. Dally looked like he was showing off a bit, but her eyes were for Johnny only. They'd smile at each other occasionally when he didn't have the ball or was running after to someone to get the ball. He even scored a touchdown, in which he earned a loud cheer. All the guys seemed to notice that Johnny played a little better when Annie was watching.
They took a break for a minute or two, and Johnny came over to the tree Annie was sitting under. He was sweating a little bit, but Annie didn't mind.
"And you thought I'd be able to keep up?" she asked. He smiled.
"The guys would go easy on you since you're a girl," he assured.
"Hey, I'm not that delicate," she regretted saying that when it came out. It as a lie at the moment. She was in fact delicate. If she didn't have a bun in the oven, then she would've tackled Johnny on the spot to prove her point. Luckily he didn't ask her to prove anything and he just rolled his eyes. "So, what are we doing after his?" she asked.
"I dunno. Some of us go off and do our own thing. Pony'll probably hang out with me. You're welcome to hang out with us," he offered.
"Depends, I might go find another job. I need more than I'm making now if I'm going to get an apartment in the next eight or nine months."
"Why such a specific number?" he asked casually.
"I just don't want to wait any longer, that's all."
Johnny just shrugged. The guys called him back over after that. Annie sat back watching. Smiling at them all goofing off. These guys were awesome, she thought. They seemed to like her well enough. Maybe she'd stick with them if they wanted to stick with her. She seriously considered going to look for another job after football. Then again, it would be kind of hard. If she was a waitress, then she'd either have to wear tight clothes or a uniform. She couldn't afford either. Maybe she could be a babysitter. No uniform, she'd get some practice with kids, and she could charge how ever much she wanted.
After football, instead of finding another job, she went in for her checkup which she forgot about earlier. There wasn't much to look at. It'd only been about two weeks. There could always be problems, though. If she couldn't give her baby whatever other's had, then the least she could give it was health.
The doctor informed her that so far everything was going well. The baby was developing on time, she was taking the right precautions. As long as she kept this up for the next eight months or so, her baby would be perfect.
After the doctor's appointment she went back to the Curtis house. As she expected, Johnny was thee with Ponyboy. They were playing a game of poker on the floor, the TV on, the radio up all the way. It was a little hard to hear, but it wasn't too bad.
She took a seat next to Johnny who smiled at her. It looked like he was winning, because he had a pile of about twenty smokes on his side and Pony only had about three. He took the cigarette out of his mouth.
"I asked Two-Bit if you could crash at his place tonight. He said it was okay, just to let his mom know that you invited him."
Annie nodded and continued watching the poker game. Ponyboy had the worst poker face she'd ever seen, but she didn't let him know what.