Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders or Keeping the Moon.
NittanyLizard: Thank you for your long comment. This is more of a general thing, taking place neither before nor after the book. But I guess you could look at it as before the book. It's nice that you think Roxie is relatable to girls. I hoped that at least a few people would find her that way. Thank you for giving a suggestion on which guy she should end up with. Soda is definitely a possibility. If she does end up with him it will be done the way you say, slowly and realistically. Stuff is going to happen later that really changes the way all the guys look at her, in a positive way. Your suggestion about keeping it real was really helpful. I guess they do seem kind of cuddly in my story. I'll try better to make them "tuff"er. I hope you like this chapter.
oOoDancingQueenoOo: Does UDS mean update soon?
cutiepiepink angel: I felt really bad as I was writing Trisha saying that to her, I mean I felt like I was saying it to someone. I mean I know how much it hurts when someone insults you like that. And it sucks, but its part of the storyline unfortunately. However I could never write a story without at least a semi-happy ending.
Babygurl33: A beta-reader is a person who reviews the story for spelling and grammar errors and also if there is a major mistake (i.e.: I say that Cherry has blonde hair instead of red) they fix it. If you would like to do it please let me know (now that you know what it is). If you do I'll e-mail you the chapter (you'll have to give me your e-mail address) before it gets posted and then you send it back with the corrections. Only if you want to that is, I totally understand if you don't want to. It's a hard job, I'm not the best speller or grammar person so I could never do it but maybe you can. And Johnny is still being considered as the guy Roxie ends up with. Hope you like this chapter.
Banana4422: Dallas is most definitely going to be in the story, the next chapter in fact. I don't know about her ending up with him though, I mean they are really different people. He wasn't someone I was thinking of. But we'll see. Thank you for your input! I hope you like this chapter.
Author's Note: This is a pretty short chapter, and sadly none of the boys are in it. However I hope you enjoy it. Even though I feel bad writing what Trisha says sometimes she is still really fun to pretend to be. I've always been like Roxie, insecure and uncertain, wanting to be a girl like Trisha but never quite able to accomplish it. Also for those who were wondering Dallas will be in the next chapter, and you'll find out why he wasn't there at the beginning. As always review with who she should end up with, and for something new say why they should be together. So far in the voting pool there is Johnny, Soda, and Dally. I also have two other boys in mind that nobody has mentioned yet. I may have a vote to see who the favorite is just for fun in one of the later chapters.
Chapter Four
"Roxie!" Aunt Candace knocked on my door. "There's someone here to see you sweetie," my aunt's voice came through the door, waking me from my slumber. I groaned and looked at the clock radio beside the bed, which only got one station that seemed to play only Elvis and the Beatles. It was 1:30 in the morning. Groaning I stumbled out of bed in my shorts and baggy t-shirt, wondering who had come to see me. I doubted it was one of the Curtis boys because I could see their house from my window and there were no lights on. And Steve, Two-Bit, and Johnny would have no reason to stop by to see me.
My aunt was waiting for me outside my door. She smiled at me in her pink quilted bathrobe, pointed down the stairs, and then headed back to her room with a thick novel under her arm. I sighed and headed down the stairs. As I did I saw a pair of feet in a pair of those rubber flip flops you get at the drug store, the ones that give you blisters after ten minutes of wearing them. Then I saw a pair of long slender legs in jeans that looked familiar. Then there was that same small tight t-shirt, with beach blonde hair spilling over the person's delicate shoulders. Finally face that looked like a china doll came into view. It was Trisha with Olivia standing beside her.
Trisha was frowning, her forehead wrinkled while Olivia stood there with her arms crossed; when she saw me she smiled a warm apologetic smile. She nudged Trisha but Trisha shrugged.
"Hi?" I said uncertainly. I looked at them quizzically; I didn't understand why these two girls I had just met where here at my aunt's house to see me in the middle of the night.
"Trisha has something to say to you." Olivia said. She was still smiling. Trisha rolled her eyes.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked, snapping her gum in an annoyed way. I nodded and she led me outside, leaving Olivia inside to look at the books on Aunt Candace's bookcase.
Outside in the moonlight I hate to admit she was even prettier. Her classical nose, high cheek bones, and beautiful hair added to the elegant way that she held herself. She was no greaser, but she wasn't a Soc either. It was like she was in a class of her own.
"I'm sorry okay!" Trisha said like I had demanded the apology. I just looked at her. I was used to half-assed apologies like this. The person didn't really mean they were sorry, people never are really sorry when they say it. They just say it to make other people think that they are a good person or to clear their conscience. But they are never really truly sorry that they've hurt you. And once they have apologized it doesn't take the pain away. Olivia appeared at the screen door.
"That wasn't how we discussed it Trish," she said, brushing her short ink black hair out of her eyes and shot Trisha a stern look.
"What more do you want?" Trisha asked throwing up her hands.
"Do it like you mean it, like I told you." Olivia said. Like she meant it? Trisha didn't feel at all bad for what she had said to me. I shifted uncomfortably on the pathway, looking over to the Curtis's dark and quiet house. Even the tough greasers had gone to bed at this hour.
Trisha rolled her eyes and said in a rushed monotone, like a rehearsed speech you give in class, "I am sorry I said what I said. I tend to be very critical of what I don't understand. What I said was rude and hurtful and uncalled-for. I'd understand if you never respected me again. But I hope that you can forgive me."
"That's better Trisha," Olivia said, opening the door and coming outside. She patted her friend on the shoulder and looked at me.
"Um…it's okay." I said shrugging. I really wasn't okay with that apology but I knew better than to say it.
"Happy?" Trisha asked Olivia who nodded. Trisha, seeing that her obligation was fulfilled, walked down the path to an old VW bus, painted white and green, that was parked on the street. Olivia sighed.
"She's not that bad," she told me as if I had said something about Trisha being an awful person. "She can be a bitch sometimes. Mike says that she's friendship impaired."
"Mike?"
"My boyfriend Mike," she answered. Up close Olivia seemed older, there were crow's feet forming under her eyes, and her nose was very prominent, but she was still pretty. Not pretty like Trisha in an obvious way but her beauty was still there, lingering under the surface of her pale skin. Although I admired Trisha's beauty in awe, Olivia's beauty was much more realistic. It was the way Aunt Candace or my mother were beautiful. The way real women were.
"Why do you put up with her?" I asked, nodding toward the car where Trisha sat in the driver's seat. She was singing along to "Love Me Do" off key as it played on the radio, bobbing her head along to the song, her long hair bouncing on her shoulders.
"Because for the most part she's all I've got." Olivia said smiling. She started down the path to the car. "See you later." She got in the bus's passenger seat and waved at me before Trisha took off at breakneck speed.
"Good night." I shouted after them, going back into the house. I shut off the downstairs light and headed upstairs to my room. I presumed that Aunt Candy had gone to bed because there was no light coming from under her door.
I yawned as I went into my room. I got into bed, turned off my light, and rolled onto my side. I frowned into the darkness, not sure what to make of what just happened to me until I fell asleep.