Author's Note: This chapter is written by taylor519 (user id 2770779). I wrote chapter 9 and will write from here on out.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.
A heavy silence filled the car, making Emma Leah feel uncomfortable. She had given Ponyboy a ride home, and after dropping him off, she and Johnny decided to go get something to eat. She bit on her lip and glanced out of the corner of her eye at him.
Johnny sat with his forehead pressed against the window, staring out like his mind was in a whole different place. She didn't blame him; he had just lost his mother. But the silence was irritating her anyways.
Emma Leah hated quiet. It was one of the small reasons she was hoping Johnny would stay with her. Living alone was always quiet, and it never failed to make her paranoid. She would imagine she was hearing sounds or thumps and freak herself out until she was forced to turn on the radio, just for something to cover the eeriness.
Finally, she couldn't take another minute of it and spoke up. "I'm sorry about your mom." She wasn't sure if that made it more awkward or not, but it sounded like the proper thing to say.
"S'okay."
Refusing to let the conversation end there, she said the first thing that came to her mind. "Was she... Good to you?"
Johnny turned his head to look at her, his expression un-readable. He thought for a minute how odd of a question that is for someone to ask him. "No."
"Oh." She already knew her aunt was never good to him. Biting on her lip, she hesitated before asking the next thing on her mind. "Are you sad she's gone?"
Johnny raised his eyebrows, surprised again by her question. But he decided to answer honestly anyways. He liked Emma Leah, the way she fidgeted in her seat like she was nervous when nothing was even happening and the way she went with her instincts. Like pulling that gun or asking whatever questions came to her mind. He also liked the friendly way she smiled at him, like they had been friends for years or something.
"I don't know. I should be. I don't really know how to feel about it. It almost like I'm kind of..." He trailed off, not even sure what he was going to say.
"Relived?" She filled in for him.
He met her eyes then, knowing that was exactly how he felt but feeling guilty for it. His mother was dead! The last thing he should feel is relief. Yet, he did.
He expected her to be judging him, but she wasn't. Her eyes only showed comfort and understanding. He noticed she had the same dark eyes as his mother, but, unlike his mother, they weren't filled with cold hatred.
Johnny shrugged, not wanting to admit out loud that was how he felt. As he turned to look out the window again she spoke up.
"So where do you want to eat?" Her tone had changed with the subject.
"The Dingo, I guess."
Emma Leah smiled to herself, glad she knew where the Dingo was. The last thing she wanted was to get lost and look like a complete idiot.
The two of them sat down in a booth near the back, away from most the chaos being caused by the young greasers closer to the front. A waitress came over, sitting two menus down and asking them if they wanted something to drink. Emma Leah ordered ice water and Johnny got a coke.
After the waitress walked away, Emma Leah turned to Johnny, ready to ask him about himself, but he beat her to it.
"So, how exactly are we related?" He asked, not really in the mood to answer any more questions about himself or his parents.
Emma Leah smile widely at him, noticing that this was the first time he initiated the conversation and not her.
"Well, your mom's sister, Anne Meza, is my mother." She explained.
"Oh, how come I never really seen you around before?"
"Well, we lived around here until I was eight. You were only, like four when we moved. We moved up to Bartlesville then. I absolutely hated it there, mostly because I didn't have you or Granny Ann around. My parents were never real good to me either. I guess nurturing your children doesn't really run in the family. Anyways, we moved because my dad's family was up there, and he basically told my mother he would go there with or without us."
The waitress came back and she stopped as the lady flipped out her little notepad. Emma Leah ordered herself a burger while Johnny just got onion rings. The waitress flashed them a cheesy and obviously fake smile before chomping down on her gum and walking away.
"So where was I?" Emma Leah thought, trying to get back on track with her story. Before Johnny could tell her she grinned and said, "oh yeah! Moved to Bartlesville. Anyways, after we moved there I kind of got really depressed. I was only young but I was too shy to make friends so I never had anyone to talk to or anything. Dad's mood never improved with being around his family, if anything it got worse. He drank more and got angry more. As long as I wasn't in my mom's way she didn't really bother me too much. Around the time I turned thirteen was when I first tried to get away. I ran off, trying to run right back to Tulsa. But, of course I only made it a few days before the police picked me up and brought me home. My parents weren't as upset as I had expected them to be. If anything they were only mad about being bothered by the police." She stopped, frowning deeply.
"I'm sorry," Johnny said quietly, not sure what else he could say. He knew how she must have felt, to get home and realize her parents didn't even know she was gone.
Emma Leah shrugged, trying to brush it off. "It was a long time ago, don't matter now." She sighed though, the memory of it still hurting her. "Anyways, I realized then that they wouldn't care if I ran away, so as long as I was careful about not looking like a child who ran away, I wouldn't get caught. So I started to plan out where I would go and what I would do. The basic plan was to get to Tulsa and live with my Granny Ann. It wasn't until about a year later that I figured I had enough money to actually do it. But around that time I met this woman. Her name was Isabella, and she was going to Los Angeles to become famous."
The waitress came back with two plates of food, and they were both a little upset about having to sit back and stop the story. By this point Johnny couldn't wait to hear more, he knew it was just getting good, and even though he had a few questions for her, he would wait until the end, because it was too fascinating. Emma Leah was so into her own story she felt she was re-living it. Never before had she gotten the pleasure of telling someone basically her whole life story and having them really listen.
As they each dug in she stared to talk again, between bites.
"She was old enough to drive and live on her own. Now, at the time, I missed Granny Ann a whole lot, but the way she described Los Angeles. It was like a fairy-tale! Isabella talked about it like it was a piece of heaven. With sandy beaches and waves. She told me it was a place where anyone could make it, they just had to try. And, at the time, I was writing songs. See, I've always enjoyed writing; it was the best way for me to get my emotions out. But around the time I ran away, I started to really get an ear for music. Then I started to sing, and write my own songs. It was kind of something that just came naturally, I guess. So I start thinking about Los Angeles, and my music. And I think, maybe I have a shot. So I ask Isabella to take me with her." Emma Leah finished her burger and started on her fries. "Want some?" She asked motioning towards her plate.
"Sure," Johnny said, taking a couple, "so did you go?"
She laughed at his intrigue by her story. "Of course I went! See, Isabella was the kind of person who was just free. Like she didn't care about anything, she just did and said what she wanted. She was so full of dreams. She was actually the nicest person I had ever met outside of Granny Ann and you. I basically thought the world of her. And all I had to do was ask and she agreed to take me with her. So we headed west, towards the coast. Thing is, she was a fun-loving, crazy person, but she wasn't all that bright. We got lost quite a bit, not to mention her van was a piece of junk. I spent some of the longest nights of my life on the road with her, but we had a lot of fun too. I never did make it to Los Angeles, though. We ended up heading to Las Vegas. She said she had always wanted to go there, and we would only be there a couple nights. We ended up staying for a few years, though."
The waitress came around again, this time to pick up their plates. "How was everything?" The obviously fake happiness in her voice irritated Emma Leah but she just smiled and nodded, telling her it was all good.
"Johnny, you want to get some dessert? I'm going to get an ice cream, please." Emma Leah ordered, not ready to leave yet.
"No, I'm alright." Johnny told her, wanting the waitress to leave so he could hear more.
She finally turned and walked away, so Emma Leah started again, as if she had never stopped.
"Vegas sure is something else. Different from any place I had ever been. I was half amazed by it and half scared. There were so many people there, and all different kinds of people. There were parties and flashing lights and shows. It was crazy. And it fit Isabella so well. She thrived there, everywhere she went she was smiling, I remember the one night, she had had a few drinks and we were out walking around. It started to rain, and in the middle of the rain she stared to spin, staring up at the sky and laughing like a crazy person. That's just how happy she was. And I was happy for her. She had gotten a job in this little theatre. She loved to act; it was why she was heading to Los Angeles, to act. She wasn't making a lot, the place was really nothing compared to the big theatres and shows in Vegas, but she loved it anyways."
The ice cream came and Emma Lea dug her spoon into it, only taking a small bit of it. She would take her time eating it so that she could keep talking.
"The theatre was under this bar. It was kind of dingy and was almost never busy, but that was where I got my first job. I was sixteen, and Isabella set it up for me. She had to insist, since I was still pretty shy and kind of had stage freight, but finally she convinced me I should do it. She had been going with the owner of the place for a while, so it was easy for her to get me in. That first night I stepped up on that stage, I was so nervous. I tell you Johnny, I was ready to pass out on the stage." Emma Leah smiled, her eyes glowing. "But when the spotlight turned on and that music started playing, I just started to sing. I closed my eyes, and the words just came. It felt so good, too. All my stage freight was gone, everything was gone. It was just me and the music. Is sang this little thing I had written on the road, about new beginnings or whatever."
Johnny and anyone else who looked at Emma Leah in that moment could see the pure happiness on her face. It made Johnny smile too.
"After that Danny, the guy who owned the place, told me he was never going to let me go. He said I could work there as long as I wanted and he paid me too, even though I would have done it for free. From that moment on I was in love with the stage. I started to bring in more people, make the little bar/theatre more known. But Danny let the money go to his head. He started to get bossy, with both Isabella and me. Eventually she snapped. I have never known her to be a tolerant person anyways. If someone was mean she let them know. Things got ugly and they ended up breaking up, and Danny fired her. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to leave my job, but I knew it would kill Isabella if I just stayed there with him after what he did to her. I decided eventually that Isabella had done so much for me I couldn't just not do this for her. So I quit."
Emma Leah looked down at her now empty bowl of ice-cream and frowned. Sure enough, the waitress appeared again, picking up the bowl.
"Did you want anything else?"
"No, just the bill." Emma Lea replied. The waitress hurried away, cueing Emma Leah to resume her story.
"We lived there for another year or so. Isabella desperately tried to find work, but ended up waiting tables. She never stopped looking for the opportunity to get back on stage, though. I felt bad for her, and I could tell she was different after Danny. She had really loved him, and he really took away a little bit of that fearless, passionate girl I met back in Bartlesville. I ended up getting another job. This guy, Andy Drew, had heard of me, and when he heard I quit he wanted me to come work for him. It was another singing job, so I was happy. But there was still something missing. It was like Las Vegas had lost its flare for me. It was still as crazy and exciting as ever, but I noticed now more of the drunks and homeless and people who were basically pretty bad off. Isabella had lost that spark in her eyes and it seemed like everything around me was just wearing out."
Emma Leah picked up the bill, checking to make sure everything was right. Then she dug into her purse and pulled out her wallet, flipping it open just long enough to pull out the cash.
"You don't have to pay for me," Johnny protested, realizing she wasn't going to read out how much his was. He started to dig in his pockets for cash but frowned when there was none there.
Unaware of his failed search for money, Emma Leah smiled at him. "No, no. This is on me."
Johnny would have argued, but she hadn't said it as if it were charity or as if she felt bad for the 'poor' kid. She had simply said it to be nice, and he didn't have any money anyways so he didn't know what his argument would be. The waitress didn't even say anything as she picked it up and handed out the appropriate amount of change. She thanked them for coming then took off to another table. Emma Leah left an alright tip then stood.
It wasn't until they were back in her car and driving before Johnny asked her to continue.
"So one day, Isabella comes home looking more excited than I had seen her in a while. She was going to Los Angeles. I was happy for her, but didn't want her to go. I didn't even want to go anymore. But I wasn't going to ask her not to; I wished her the best as I watched her leave. It was hard, she had been my best friend for so long, and it was like I was suddenly all alone. I decided I didn't want to stay anymore either. I told Andy Drew I was leaving. He was a really great guy, we had a bit of a thing actually, and he didn't want to see me go. But he was understanding and nice about it. When he asked me where I was going I could only think of one place I wanted to go: Tulsa. When I told him that's where I was headed, he was actually really great. He told me he had a cousin living out here, Herb. Andy Drew actually called his cousin and asked if he knew of any places that needed a singer. You wouldn't believe how grateful I was. He gave me Herb's number and told me Herb had a friend who owned a little place that was looking for someone to sing. So I headed back to Tulsa, pretty much already set up with a job and excited to see Granny Ann again. And now, here I am."
She beamed at Johnny, proud of herself for getting through the whole story.
Johnny smiled back at her, more comfortable with her now that he knew more about her.