Title- The Return of Jess
Chapter Title- Wake Up Call
Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders
Summary- Our favorite person is back, Jessica, please read "Outsider Jess" before this, it'll be way easier to understand.
Note- You will have to read "Outsider Jess" to understand this. "New York" is an option. It's only if you want a better understanding of what happened. Thank you to everybody who reviewed "Outsider Jess" and asked for this sequel.
I got off the plane and got a cab to take me back to my house. It was still there, I was surprised it wasn't set on fire yet. I swung open the door and ran into the house. I noticed the smell right away. Smoke and alcohol, it smelt of smoke and alcohol. I inhaled deeply, I missed the scent. I noticed a man passed out on the couch. He had a beer on the table next to him and the television was on. I walked into the bedroom, Steve was still sleeping. I put my suitcase down and sat down on the bed next to him. Steve was a light sleeper, so the movement on the bed would wake him up. I was right, it did.
Steve slowly got up; his eyes were fixed on me. He rubbed them and then blinked a few times. He looked a little surprised that I was sitting on his bed.
"Jessica?" He asked sounding like he was half asleep, and I nodded.
"It's been seven damn months! Where the hell were you? We were gettin' worried somethin' happened to you! What happened to two weeks? Didn't you care about what other people thought?" It was seven months, and I had told them I would be gone only two weeks, but things happened. If they were worried so much, they could've called me.
"I know it's been seven months! Things happened to me, and it's hard to explain! If you guys were so worried, you could've called! I left the number near the phone!" I shouldn't have gotten angry at him. I stomped out of the room and headed to the Curtis house.
I opened the door carefully. I heard Darry trying to wake up Soda and Pony, they weren't morning people. I went into the room. I was getting good at waking people up this morning.
"Would ya wake up for me?" I asked jumping on to the bed in between Soda and Pony. Soda shot up.
"Darry, since when can you do impressions?" Soda asked. I rolled my eyes and turned him around. His eyes got big and he rubbed them and blinked like Steve had done.
"I'm back," I said and shook Ponyboy a little. Ponyboy and I didn't exactly see eye, and that was probably because I had mentioned his parents on one of my first days here. How was I supposed to know they were dead? Although, when Steve and I had a fight, he was on my side. At least, I think he was on my side. He had made a comment to Steve about how being treated like a baby is annoying. Ponyboy gave the reaction everybody else had, rubbed his eyes, and then blinked. Everybody did it, except Darry. He just nodded and left for the kitchen.
I sat at the kitchen table and watched Two-Bit walk in.
"Hello Darry, hello Jessica." Two-Bit was really drunk I guess, he just said that like I hadn't been gone seven months. He didn't rub his eyes and blink, he just said "hello Jessica" as if he had done it his whole life. I guess he missed me a lot.
"Hey Two-Bit," I said back and started to eat the scrambled eggs Darry had just placed in front of me. I was really hungry. I shoveled down the eggs and left before Steve came. I think he might be a little angry with me for yelling at him like that, but he shouldn't have yelled at me. I did come back, didn't I? I decided to go to The Dingo, maybe if I explained what happened to them, they would re-hire me. I was going to be 18 in a week and I needed a job.
They hired me from 11-4; so I would start work in about 3 hours. I walked to DX to see Soda and because it was Friday, there was school. Soda was standing near the pump.
"Hey Soda," I said.
"I can't believe your back. I thought I lost you like I had Sandy," he told me quietly and I felt really bad. This is what Steve meant by "Didn't you care about what other people thought?" Steve knew how Soda felt. He should've known; they are best friends. I didn't know about Sandy, I wasn't going to ask. She was probably a touchy subject.
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" he asked.
"No, it's only my first night back."
"Do you want to go to the movies for a food fight?" He asked. I nodded and smiled. I came back to this place to go to the movies with him. Well, that and other reasons.
"I'll pick you up at 6," he said and I nodded again. I think nod a lot, I don't talk much. Soda and I talked for the next 2 hours and a half, well he talked and I nodded, and then I started to walk to The Dingo for work.