Of course I noticed them when they sat behind us at the movies. Three hoods. But they had a tragic street thing all the soc guys didn't have. A vulnerable kind of…I don't know. I guess I wanted to rescue them, especially the one with the jet black hair and big eyes.
Dallas Winston. I'd heard of him. In and out of jail all the time, now hassling me.
"Leave her alone, Dally." The dark haired one said when Dallas tried to put his arm around me. I liked his voice, husky and deeper than I thought it would be.
Dallas scowled and left and we all watched him go, the lights shining off his platinum blond hair.
We asked the boys to sit up with us and they smiled crooked smiles at each other and agreed. Ponyboy sat between Marcia and me and Johnny sat next to me. This close to him I could see the faded threads of his denim jacket, the nervous way he looked off to the side, and the shiny scar across his cheek.
One of their friends came, snuck up on the boys and scared them. Johnny shut his eyes and sucked in his breath, let it out in ragged gasps. I liked how his thick dark lashes looked against his tan skin, the way his lips were slightly parted. I felt dizzy looking at him.
"Johnny," I said after he'd calmed down and had a cigarette. He looked at me with wide eyes.
"Come with me to get some popcorn," He got up, eyes darting to his friends and back to me.
At the snack bar I noticed the curious looks we were getting. Can't blame them, really. I knew I looked classy in my expensive clothes, my tasteful makeup. And Johnny, his hair slick and gleaming with grease, his clothes all torn, worn out, faded.
The line was long and not moving fast. Mostly middle class kids in their jeans and nice shirts. Johnny and I both stood out.
I held my head high, chin tilted up. He ducked his head, not daring to meet anyone's eyes, especially mine.
"What happened?" I said, lightly touching the scar on his cheek. He flinched a little.
"Fight," he mumbled.
I could smell the popcorn, butter and salt. I watched the hot dogs spin in the hot glass case. The middle class kids milled around, glancing at me and Johnny.I looked back daring them to say anything. Johnny looked fearful that they would.
We got the popcorn, some sodas. Both our hands were full when we left the bright snack bar. There were picnic tables near the door and I put my armful of popcorn and soda down.
I backed Johnny up against the wall of the snack bar. He looked at me suspiciously. Suddenly I wanted to kiss him, thought he looked cute with his collar flipped up and his hair in his eyes.
"Hey," I said softly, a little smile on my lips. I pressed up against him and he dropped the soda and popcorn. The soda ran in a caramel colored river around his sneakers.
"What?" he said back, his voice just above a whisper. I kissed him, my tongue gently exploring his mouth, tasting the soda he just drank, the cigarettes, and a taste like apples, dark and sweet.