Worth waiting for

Chapter two: the Gang

Disclaimer: all recognisable characters belong to S.E.Hinton

Johnny stood anxiously, looking up at the house that held the address on the paper crumpled in his hand. The house itself wasn't that impressive, but to Johnny, having grown up in a place that needed a lot of work, he thought it looked wonderful. The house itself was small, with one story and white siding. The front door was an inviting powder blue. There were random flowers in a patch on either side of the porch. There were two oak trees on either side of the property. Quaint came to Johnny's mind as he stared at the house. Taking a deep breath he walked up the stone steps and knocked twice at the door. Variations of what to say ran through his mind but he soon found out that wasn't needed as Cassandra's smiling face greeted him and she ushered him inside. The first thing he noticed when he went inside was the temperature. It was much cooler than it should be seeing as it was so warm outside in late summer. He could hear a slight rumbling and saw its source was a window air conditioner in the kitchen.

"I'm glad you came; I was worried you wouldn't and I'd have to go back and get you. I went to the principal at your school and inquired about your parents. He said you never came to school so he had no idea." Johnny looked at the hardwood floor sheepishly.

"That's not true, I go to school sometimes." She raised questioning brows at him.

"Oh really? And how often is sometimes?" He felt nervous and indignant at her questioning but not nearly as much as he felt relieved, relieved that someone cared enough to at least inquire.

"Alright, alright, not very often," his sheepish grin made her laugh in spite of herself.

"That's what I thought." The smile and sparkle in her eyes made her critical tone seem not so harsh. "Why don't we discuss this over dinner? I was just about to check the chicken when you came. Go in to the kitchen and get yourself a drink, there's soda, orange juice and milk in the fridge. The glasses are in the cupboard above the sink." She followed him into the kitchen and over to the oven. As she opened it the smell of sage and thyme filled the room. It made Johnny's stomach growl in anticipation. She handed him a plate full of broccoli and cheese, rice, chicken and a slice of fresh buttered bread. He looked at his plate trying to remember when he last had a meal this…domestic and good. Nothing came to mind. Not wanting her to bring up school yet, he started the conversation for the first time.

"I told my gang about you," he stated simply. She looked thoughtful for a second.

"Oh yeah? How'd they take it?"

"They wanna meet you."

"Really?" He nodded.

"Tomorrow, they want you to come with me to one of my friends places. Soda asked me to. He's got two brothers, Ponyboy's fourteen and the other, Darryl, is twenty-one. Their parents died a few months back and now Darry's lookin' after 'em." Cassy looked at him sympathetically.

"I'm assuming he works?" Once again Johnny nodded.

"He's a roofer. Keeps pulling his back out though. Put's him in an awful mood. He's a good guy though; just not ready to be raising two kid brothers."

"Imagine doing that after the death of his parents, he must really love them." She smiled sweetly.

"He sure does, whether he admits it or not." Johnny had a longing in his voice that broke Cassy's heart. Then, all of a sudden he shook his head and brightened up. "So will you come with me tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, if we can go before I have to go to work." Johnny nodded.

"When do you go to work?"

"I work one to six on weekdays and nine to five on Saturdays. I get Sundays off because the gym's closed that day." Johnny furrowed his brow.

"The gym?"

"Yeah, I work as a receptionist at the fitness centre. My friend's dad is the owner so I get paid pretty well." She grinned and he couldn't help but return it.

After they ate Cassy cleared the dishes and showed him around. She had one spare room that she said he could use anytime, day or night. He smiled at her gratefully. They both knew that he'd be taking full advantage of that offer.

The next day was Friday and Johnny got Cassy up bright and early to head for the Curtis' home. Really though, it was only ten o'clock.

The first thing Cassy noticed as Johnny led her up the lane was the noise emanating from the house. It was a good noise though. A busy kind of noise that was welcoming, even though she had yet to step through the door. She raised a brow when he opened the door and pulled her in.

"Hey Johnnycake, ya brought her!" a handsome blond haired boy came bounding towards them and stuck out his hand. "Hello there, the names Sodapop Curtis, and you are?" She took his hand and shook it animatedly.

"Cassandra Cade, nice to meet you." At this another guy came rushing over. He had rusty hair and friendly eyes.

"Two-bit Mathews, welcome to the greaser headquarters. Rule number one, there are no rules! Rule number two, don't look Dallas in the eye," at this he pointed to his eye. "'cause he'll pop!" With that he made an exploding gesture and then ran when he heard the words, "Why you little!" She had hardly registered the blond hair go by as the guy she decided must be Dallas had chased him out the door. The last thing she heard was "See what I mean!" from somewhere outside. She couldn't help the laugh that burst from her throat. Soda linked his arm with hers and pulled her onto the sofa with him. Everyone was watching Mickey on the television so she took her chance to look around. It was a warn down house but it was nice. It had the feeling of being lived in. She soon realised that not all eyes were on the TV though as hers met with the cool blue of a tall muscular man. His brown hair was slicked like the rest of them but she could tell he was older. Twenty maybe? Then it dawned on her. This must be Darry. Johnny did say he was twenty-one and with the aged look in his eyes it made sense that it would be caused by all the responsibility he was burdened with. She smiled warmly at him. He was handsome and she could see the intelligence in his features. She respected him all the more for the obvious love and devotion he had towards his brothers. She was pleased when his eyes softened and he returned the smile, if only a little.