AN: Since I love getting reviews (^_^ especially the good kind) I decided I'd post another Outsiders story of mine. This one is more contemporary and yes, set in California because I don't know what it's like over… there… X.X So don't start thinking I'm nuts when you hear about the ocean or recent bands or something! …Don't flame me for it because I warned you and I shall scoff at you if you mention it because it means you didn't read this! So, on with the story.
I was really the only one in the gang with a family, or a real, good life with some hope of not being killed before I turned twenty. I had my mom, my dad, and my brother… My half-sister kinda was considered family, though she lived two hours off. The guys didn't have that.
Jason, my twenty-one-year-old brother, didn't like the guys. He stayed away from them for the most part, except for Darry; they got along ok. Which was good for me, because it was better to have him get along with one of them than none of them at all.
My mom wasn't too thrilled, either, when she learned they didn't go to a private school and get good grades. She especially didn't like Dally and Steve, even though they didn't come around a lot. She loved Ponyboy and Johnny, and even Sodapop, though. But she favored Pony the most for some reason. He was like the son she 'never had'.
My dad wasn't really around that much to have a say-so in the argument, so I didn't worry about him liking the guys. But I knew that he would get along with Steve if he ever was home when the guys came 'round, because Steve was really the son he never had.
Jason, well, I hate to say it, but he's kinda a wuss. He doesn't get in fights, he doesn't ride a motorcycle, he doesn't know much about mechanics, and he really doesn't like working on cars. Steve's everything Jason isn't. And for that, I thank the Lord over and over everyday, every time I see Steve and Jason together, or in the same room at least. Steve works on cars for a living and loves it to say the least, and he's a tough guy that doesn't back down to anyone.
Tony, well, since she lived two hours off, I didn't even have to think about her and the guys even meeting. If I had to pick one of the guys that she would like, it probably would have to be Ponyboy. Sweet, nice, lovable Pony. Tony would probably trust him with her life, or at least her kids, which made me also thank God for having her live so far off, because if she hadn't, she'd have poor Pony baby sit those monsters.
I, personally, liked Johnnycake and Two-Bit the most. Johnny I could protect from people, and I liked that kind of responsibility, and Two-Bit made me laugh and forget all my problems. The others were either too stiff or liked by the popular girls on the streets. That bugged me. Pony was okay, but he needed to lighten up a bit.
The guys really didn't mind my family; they actually loved hanging around someone that could be there 'mother' or 'father' (even if he never was around), and even having Jason to pick on. Dally especially liked that feature, even if Darry would sock him for doing it…
It made my heart leap every time Jason and the guys got into a petty fight, because I'd kick up my heels, get some popcorn, and wait for the show to start. Jason had enough of his years picking on me; it was his turn to have that treatment, whether or not he got a say-so in who won. I rarely stepped in to protect Jason. I think I only did that once or twice, when I thought Jason might actually get hurt. The guys didn't like it, but they didn't have a say.
About two weeks after I had met the guys, I was considered one of the 'guys', or rather in there little gang or pod or whatnot, and I considered myself their pet, besides Johnny that is, because they always looked out for me. I didn't need as much help as Johnny did, considering I had my family, but I still got my beatings in.