Chapter 9
All Kathleen knew to do at that moment was to agree. She could learn to be a greaser, and she really liked to be around the "gang." They made her feel welcome the first time she ever met them. She nodded and Johnny smiled at her as Two-Bit gave her a hard slap on the back and Kathleen almost fell forward. "Alright! Welcome to gang little missy." Ponyboy frowned at Two-Bit and asked, "So what you guys wanna do now?"
"How 'bout we go over to the Dingo and celebrate. I bet they're still servin' breakfast. You ate anythin' Kate?" Kathleen shook her head. All her aunt and uncle fed her since she got there was leftover soup. Although she had no idea what the Dingo was, she was starving and decided to follow the guys.
The Dingo turned out to be kind of like a diner. The inside looked a bit old and it needed cleaning, but it was cozy looking. They all sat down at a window booth and began looking at the menu. Everything looked so good to Kathleen, but it only took her a few minutes to settle on bacon, eggs, and toast. The guys ended up getting huge orders of eggs, bacon, and toast for everyone to share and make it easier.
Kathleen just about inhaled her breakfast. All the guys looked at her with surprised looks on their faces; never had they seen a girl- especially one as small as her- eat so much so fast. After everyone was done eating, Steve and Soda started asking Kathleen about what it was like living in Ireland. She was happy to answer them, but it made her terribly sad to think about home. "So there really leprechauns in Ireland?" Two-Bit asked. Kathleen laughed out loud at this question. "Some people still believe that, but they aren't supposed to be as cute as the ones people decorate their houses with on St. Patty's Day." Everyone was laughing at that point. Two-Bit was always the one to ask silly questions.
"Oh, yeah. We forgot to tell Kate that kid from the pub came by the lot this mornin' lookin' for her." Dallas said. Kathleen looked at Dallas with a half questioning half horrified look. "Yeah, he said he wants you to meet him at the fountain in the park tonightat 7," he continued, "guess we forgot to mention it 'cus of all that went on with that soc and all." Kathleen shook her head in disbelief. Part of her said she should see what he had to say, but the other half told her to stay as far away from him as she could. But if she didn't meet him this time, he'd never leave her alone. "Thank ye Dallas," she said as she got up to leave, "If ye all would excuse me, I'm goin' to take a walk."
Johnny looked at her with his big brown eyes. "Would you, uh, like company?" He asked, almost in a whisper. She couldn't help but smile at him. "O' course me Johnny." He got up and followed her out the door. After they were out of diner Kathleen le tout an exasperated sigh. Johnny was debating within himself whether or not to try and comfort her. He knew how much she hated that boy. He finally walked up beside her and gently slid his arm around her shoulders.
They walked along in silence until they reached the lot where the guys played football. Kathleen led Johnny over to a tree that was on the far side of the lot and sat down. "What should I do, Johnny?" She began. "Me life is fallin' apart. I got nothin' and . . ." She started to tear up again, " . . . and . . . I just want to die." Two silent tears made their way down her cheeks and she leaned on Johnny's shoulder. "No, no, Kate, I know you say you wanna die but you can't. You jus' can't. I . . . I . . . I love you, Kate, and you got me." Kathleen looked up and saw the tenderness in his eyes. He really did love her. This made her want to cry more. She realized she did have something; she had him. "I love ye to. Me Johnny."