Here's the second chapter!

2 – See you again

"Dad, does the car need anything? Like a change of tires, or…I don't know…"

"Why you're asking?" my dad looked at me curiously.

"Just because." I shrugged.

Still eyeing me like I was nuts, he told me the car was okay and we didn't have any money to waste on it. I sighed. If the car had needed to be fixed, I would have loved to go back to the station where I had met Sodapop Curtis. I couldn't wait to see him again. He was so handsome…he had something that totally caught my attention. Maybe the sparkle in his lively brown eyes, maybe…

"Sybil! Are you listening to me?"

"What?" I was taken back to reality by my best friend, Sophie. We were the same age and had been best friends since forever,or at least since I could remember. She was a cute girl: she had dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and a very cute smile, that showed her dimples when she grinned.

"I've been trying to make you listen to me for the past half an hour!" she exclaimed. "Are you dreaming about something? About…someone?" she grinned.

I reddened. "How do you know?"

"So there's someone!" she grinned again and gave me the thumbs-up. "You've finally came to your senses and noticed guys, right?"

I didn't say anything for a while. Then, I figured I could just as well tell her.

"Sophie, you must promise me you won't think I'm nuts…and that you'll keep your mouth shut."

"Of course I'll keep my trap shut! So? Who's the lucky guy?"

"He's…hum…he's probably a…" I took a deep breath. "A Greaser."

"Really? You're head over heels for a Greaser?" she sounded astonished. "Who is he?"

Surprisingly, she hadn't yelled at me I was crazy. Feeling better, I added: "He works at that gas station called DX…he's very goodlooking,…and I mean it…I've never seen someone as attractive as him, except maybe James Dean…"

"Does this guy look like James Dean?"

"No, they don't look a bit like each other…Sodapop is much more handsome…" I sighed.

"What did you call him?"

"Sodapop…that's his name, he told me. Sodapop Curtis."

"What kind of name is Sodapop?" Sophie laughed. I glared at her. She stopped.

"Okay, sorry…so the only way to see him is going to that gas station?"

"Apparently, yes. Do you think there's some place to work in, around the East Side?"

"The East Side? Full of Greasers? You wanna go work there? Are you nuts?"

"Shut up! I'm not nuts…if you saw Sodapop, you would understand he's worth it…" I sighed. "He's…I don't know… he looks like a Greek God…"

Sophie stared at me, shocked. "You have a serious crush on him."

"I think so."

"Well, I think it's time for my mom's car to be checked."

"What?"

"You have an excuse to see him if you and I go to the DX and I ask him to have a look at my car…"

"No way! He'd understand that something's going on…I've never been there before and all of a sudden I go there with my friends…just…no!"

"But…"

"No!" I repeated. "Besides, if Julian knew about it, he'd probably kill you."

"He wouldn't know about it…and it's not like I wanna hit on that guy…I leave him to you, it's you the one who likes him. And I love Julian too much to betray him. I'm just curious to see this guy that managed to catch your attention."

In the end, I didn't let Sophie do anything. I had to wait for a week and did my best to finish the gas soon…then, I drove to the DX station.

As soon as I got there, I started looking around…but Sodapop wasn't there. Maybe he had lied and he didn't work full time. Maybe it was his day off. Maybe he had just left, since it was 6 pm.

I sighed and waited for the guy working there to reach me. After I was done with the gas, I decided I didn't feel like going back that soon. I drove around a bit, till I noticed some big store. I figured I'd go buy some book: I hadn't read any novel in a while and, being a huge book worm, that was pretty strange for me.

I was scanning through the books till I noticed The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. Someone had mentioned it to me once and I thought I may as well read it.

"Hey, Pony, have you found the book you're looking for?" a voice cheered. I noticed the guy next to me, around my age or maybe a little younger, was also looking for something, and he answered: "No, hold on!"

"You know turtles are quicker than you?" the owner of the voice reached the book stand. I almost gasped. It was Sodapop. I started panicking and thinking: Should I say hello to him? Or should I wait for him to say something? Maybe he doesn't remember me anymore. Of course he doesn't remember me anymore! I am just a girl…one of many he probably sees everyday…

"Hey, Sybil! How are you doing?"

I could just die. Sodapop remembered my name. And he was smiling at me.

"Hey…I'm doing great…what about you?" I couldn't think of anything decent to say.

"I'm doing great too. Well, actually, I think I'll fall asleep if my little brother here doesn't choose a book soon." He yawned. I could tell he was tired.

"You two are brothers? You look alike…" I said. The boy next to us wasn't exactly like Sodapop, but they shared some similar features.

"Yup, he's my 15 year old brother, Ponyboy. It's his real name…like mine…our father was pretty original. Pony, this is Sybil Forrester…"

"Nice to meet you, Ponyboy." I smiled at him. It didn't take me much: I was so happy I could have hugged my worst enemy.

"Nice to meet you, too." He replied. He looked a bit shy. And quiet. Yeah, I could tell he was a quiet boy.

"Pony, why don't you just pick up the first book you see?" Sodapop insisted.

"I don't want to waste money on a book I don't like…" Ponyboy said.

"Well, I think I'll just go and wait for you outside. Got a cigarette?"

"Yeah, here you are…" Ponyboy handed him a cigarette. I thought Sodapop was definitely a Greaser.

"It's getting dark…have you parked nearby?" Sodapop asked me.

"Across the street…the parking lot here was already full…" I answered.

"I'll walk you to your car. When it gets dark it's not safe for girls out here…"

"I don't want to bother you…" I lazily said.

"You're not bothering me!" he flashed his winning smile. "Pony, I'll wait for you outside, alright?"

Ponyboy nodded and, after I had paid, Sodapop and I left the store. He was right: it was almost dark and I hadn't even noticed. He lit his cigarette and we started crossing the street.

"Do you live nearby?" I asked, since I couldn't think of anything better to say.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Lived here all my life." He added.

I didn't know what to say without sounding corny, so I kept my mouth closed and just stared at him. He looked even more handsome than the first time I had seen him.

"You aren't a Soc, are you?" he asked.

"What?" I was a bit taken aback.

"A Social…a girl who lives in the West Side of the city, full of money, you know…" he gestured a bit.

"Oh,…no, I'm not a Soc…I live close to the West Side, but not really in there…I'm more in the middle, between Socials and…" I paused. I didn't want to say 'Greasers' because I wasn't sure if he liked the word.

But Sodapop finished the sentence for me. "Greasers."

"Well…yeah." I agreed.

"Do you like the Beatles?" he suddenly asked.

"The Beatles? They're not bad, but I prefer Elvis Presley…"

"Great!" he grinned.

"Why?"

"Well, I too prefer Elvis. I mean, Socs usually prefer the Beatles, you know?"

I nodded. "The Rolling Stones are great, too."

"They're tuff." Sodapop agreed with me.

I sighed. We had already reached my car. "Thanks for walking with me…"

"You're welcome!" he exclaimed cheerfully. He always sounded happy. I thought I could just as well ask him: "Hum…Sodapop… do you know if they're employing someone for part time jobs around here?"

"Let me think…" he crushed the cigarette to the ground with his foot. "Maybe…there's a store over here, they sell almost everything, it's pretty big…you could ask. You looking for a job?"

"Yes…" I nodded. "I just quit my last one and…the area I live in…they don't hire people now, so…" I lied. It probably wasn't true…but I wanted to work in Sodapop's area.

"This store I mentioned is quite close to the DX station…you know, where I work in…it's just two streets away." He gave me the indications to find it.

"Thank you, Sodapop…"

"Just call me Soda."

"Okay…" I grinned. "Thank you, Soda."

"Thank you for you company while my brother was lost in his own little world." He grinned too. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah…who knows?" I agreed.

Soda smiled one last time, before turning and going back to the store. I almost collapsed to the ground.

I had just had a real conversation with him! And I hadn't even sounded like a total moron! And he had asked me to call him Soda, and he was just so sweet, so caring, so…

I stopped smiling. "I guess I have a crush on someone." I sighed.