Farrah checked her hair in the mirror once more before buttoning up her green sweater. She looked over her reflection disappointedly. It didn't matter how stylish her clothes were, or how she did her hair. It wouldn't change where she was living. She hoped that she wouldn't see Johnny or that Ponyboy Curtis at school at all today. It would only remind her of Dally.
Something strange had happened that night, though. After she had closed the door on him, she had been overcome with an unusual feeling. Satisfaction is how she had put it before. He simply annoyed the hell out of her, but he was just so appealing. She remembered how it felt to have him touch her lips, and she wondered what it would have been like to have his lips touch them.
Farrah bit her lip, trying to restrain these thoughts. She could never let anyone know about this, even Cherry. No one would let her live it down. And then, what if Everett found out? He would disown her in a heartbeat. She remembered how upset he was when he found her and her friends with Dally in the Seven-Eleven.
"Damnit!" Everett shouted from the living room, causing Farrah to run out to check on him. He was standing with his hands on his hips, staring at the floor with a frustrated frown on his face. "I don't have my car. My car is at the house."
Farrah began to near him, but she recoiled when Everett shouted, "My fucking car is at the fucking house!" She bit her lip and stood in the shadows with fear. Everett's uncontrollable temper always worried her. He got so angry once that he slammed his fist through a glass mirror and ended up with fifty stitches, and that was when he was only ten years old.
"What's going on out there?" Grandma Adler called from her bedroom. Everett took a few deep breaths, then he looked at Farrah apologetically.
"Sorry, okay? That was uncalled for, I know. Just...just go and check on Grandma while I call up someone for a ride, okay?" He told her as he went into the kitchen. Farrah sighed and did as she was told, making her way to her grandmother's room.
She knocked on the door and waited for her grandmother's response. When she heard the elderly woman tell her to come in, she walked inside the room and saw her the same as she always was. Lying in bed with a book in her lap and a cup of who knows what in her hand. She smiled when she saw Farrah.
"Well, now...it's about time you come and visit me again." Grandma Adler said in her unusual Southern accent. "I already know you ain't stayin'. You've got school. Even if ya'll wanted to stay, I wouldn't let ya. An education is a terrible thing to waste, ya hear?"
Farrah nodded silently and mumbled, "Yes, Grandma."
"Now, I'm bein' serious. Listen here, missy, you better do your best at school. I ain't gonna tolerate anythin' lower than a B. You're gonna come home from school everyday and show me your papers, got it?"
"Yes, Grandma."
It became silent as Farrah stared into the cold blue eyes of her grandmother, waiting for anything else she would say. Something about Grandma Adler's assertiveness made Farrah respect her a little more. It annoyed her slightly, yet she got a kick out of it nonetheless. Suddenly, she was brought from her thoughts when Grandma Adler barked, "Well, get to school!"
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Johnny sat on the steps of his front porch with his jean jacket slung over his shoulder and his geometry book near his feet. He tapped his feet and hummed an Elvis tune that he had picked up somewhere, trying to drown out the sound of his mother's pained sobs and his father's hangover sickness. His eyes looked down the road at Farrah's house right as Everett Addams walked out onto the sidewalk. It was hard to tell from the distance between the houses, but Johnny could see that he was wearing only the most stylish of clothes. The clothes seemed to fit him, personality wise. He was rich, handsome (except for his abnormally huge nose), and oozing popularity. Johnny didn't want popularity, but he wondered slightly what it was like to be paid attention to every minute of everyday.
He began to pay more attention when he saw Farrah come out of the house. She looked very pretty, he decided, in her green sweater and skirt. He also liked the way she had styled her hair, or the way she hadn't styled it, really. It was laying on her shoulders, a few strands of the dark brown locks flowing in the wind. He watched her in a conversation with her brother right as Dally and Pony pulled up in Dally's car.
"Hey Johnny, man. You ready?" Dally asked through his open window, a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes. Without waiting for Johnny's response, he quickly said, "Actually, I don't care if you're ready or not. I ain't waitin', kid."
Johnny pulled his eyes away from Farrah and picked up his book. He got in the backseat of Dally's car and closed the door, just as Dally started to drive down the road. They went a little further, and as they passed Farrah and Everett, Dally slowed down to pop his head out the window.
"Aw, poor little richies," He mocked in a harsh tone. "Ain't got their Daddy's BMW to take them to school. Gee, guess you'll have to walk there, won't you? A whole two blocks!"
Farrah crossed her arms while Everett, looking fed up enough, gave him the middle finger.
"Go to hell, grease pit." He muttered with an intensity burning in the depths of his voice.
Dally shot a taunting smirk at Farrah and said, " If I were you, Princess, I'd button up that sweater a little more and maybe not flash them legs too much. Two blocks through Greaserland, after all. Who knows what might happen to a pretty little thing like yourself."
In a flash, they drove away, leaving Farrah and Everett on the sidewalk. Dally was laughing his head off while Pony shook his head, and Johnny remained solemnly quiet. He didn't really like the way Dally had treated Farrah. He decided to say something about it.
"Why did you have to say that to her, Dally? She's not so bad."
Dally didn't bother to look at Johnny, but replied, "First off, I wasn't bein' a jerk to her. I was only tryin' to be helpful." At this, Johnny rolled his eyes. "And secondly, they're both stuck up snobs. They only deserve it."
To himself, though, Dally had meant what he said to Farrah. A girl dressed that expensively, that good looking and innocent, would definitely be picked up in their side of the tracks. Maybe not during the day, but surely at night. Hell, he probably would've picked her up if she hadn't been so bitchy. He was still angry that she thought she could just go and live on the eastside, but maybe it wouldn't bother him...at least if her and her ass of a brother didn't bother them.
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A.N.: I'm loving the reviews even more! Yay! More updates to come!