On the Wrong Side
Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This work of fan-fiction is not intended for personal profit. All characters utilized herein which are not creations of myself belong to S. E. Hinton.

The next day, Ponyboy was at his locker a few minutes before the morning bell. As he took out his books for his classes, he saw Nicky coming towards him, smiling. That smile at Ponyboy's presence stirred a strange feeling somewhere around his stomach. Ponyboy's return smile was partly provoked by Nicky's rather odd paint-streaked shirt, and he said, "Hey. I thought you played in a band, not messed with paint buckets."

Nicky's smile faded a little as he said, "Oh. Well, yeah, I do play the guitar, and I guess your brother told you I play at the bar my Dad owns. Anyway, I was doing an odd job for a friend of my Dad's a few days ago and I just forgot to clean it. He wanted help painting a bathroom."

A question occurred to Ponyboy. "Hey, how come I never noticed you were accelerated, like me, anyway?"

Nicky, exaggerating his head-scratching and pondering, said, "Weeeeeeeeeell, lemme think… Gee, there was that big thing about you bein' away from school and the court case and on and on. Anybody'd be a little less observant about his classmates, right?"

The bell rang for morning classes, and the volume jumped as students in the hallway who'd been fairly quietly talking suddenly began slamming lockers and pelting off for classes.

Reluctantly, Ponyboy nodded, not wanting to think too much about last summer with Johnny and Dallas, but also not wanting to have to stop chatting with Nicky. Ponyboy shut his locker, waved his book and said, "Gotta go. I'll see you at lunch or somethin'. Darry checked over my homework so we can make sure you got everything right, too."

Nicky briefly touched Ponyboy's arm, saying, "Sure. See you later."

III

Ponyboy walked to his English class and sat down at his desk. He tried to put the memory of the tingle up his spine from Nicky's touch out of his head as he focused on Mr. Syme.

The teacher had the class read the first two chapters of The Prince and the Pauper, which didn't take long, after which he led the class in a discussion on the differences in the way people lived in England at the time.

Unfortunately, just like in math class that other time, Ponyboy started drifting off, remembering how Nicky's hand had felt when they shook hands and the jolt he'd felt when their legs had touched briefly the other night.

Mr. Syme's voice broke in on his meanderings. "Ponyboy, what do you think of the way Tom Canty escaped from his life by fantasizing about royalty?"

Feeling like a complete idiot, Ponyboy floundered for a reply, trying to recall the specifics. He said lamely, "Um… well, I thought it was interesting, you know, because, well… I don't pretend to be a rich kid when I think about things."

Mr. Syme gave Ponyboy a searching look, then went on as though nothing had happened. That made Ponyboy feel worse than if he'd been reprimanded for woolgathering, as though he hadn't even been worth correcting.

Civics with Mrs. Krieger didn't help. A pop quiz at the end of class caught Ponyboy unprepared, and to his dismay, it had been on class material covered earlier that period, of which he remembered bits and pieces, thanks to his fading in and out as he had been thinking of Nicholas Westlake in ways that were decidedly not normal.

Ponyboy didn't like feeling this way; he felt like he'd just lost control of everything that mattered. Guys didn't moon over other guys!

Ponyboy made an executive decision to avoid Nicky at lunch, and took off with Two-Bit to the greaser hangout at the corner grocery store to sneak a smoke and wolf down the ham sandwich he'd slapped together that morning.

After he finished the sandwich, he rubbed his hands and pulled his jacket around him a bit tighter, saying, "Geez, it's still so damn cold! When the hell is spring gonna get here?"

Two-Bit's answer was cut off as a Mustang pulled up in the parking lot, causing the crowd to go quiet. Surprise and resentment shot through Ponyboy as he saw Randy Adderson get out of the car. Randy, the Soc. Randy, the guy who had it all together and wasn't screwing up his classes because he wasn't a queer.

Another guy Ponyboy didn't know stepped out of the passenger side as a few greasers jeered half-heartedly, but for the most part they gave Randy and his Soc friend a wide berth. Randy's stolid expression melted a bit when he saw Ponyboy, and he seemed on the verge of smiling. That expression went away fast when Ponyboy turned away ostentatiously and said loudly to Two-Bit, "When did the well-bred trash with Mustangs to match decide to come on down here?" Just like the old days, thought Ponyboy.

Oddly, it didn't get as many laughs as it would have back in May, but nevertheless, Ponyboy vindictively smirked at the confused expression on Randy's face. His friend, exasperated, said, "Aw, c'mon, Randy. Let's just get our Cokes and get outta here. Why you thought the greasers wouldn't give us a hard time I'll never know."

The pair went into the store, and the banter resumed among the various greasers seated on cars or leaning against them. Two-Bit, under the babble, said into Ponyboy's ear, "What's with you today? You got all cold like you did back in October, you know. Seems I reckoned it wasn't a good idea then and it ain't a good idea now."

A bit spitefully, Ponyboy snapped, "Damn it, Two-Bit, if I want your advice, I'll ask, okay?"

Two-Bit seemed about to say something, then shrugged in resignation and lit up a cigarette.

As the door opened and Randy stepped back out, Coke in hand, Ponyboy looked away. Randy got into his car without a word to anyone, his friend following on the other side of the car. They vroomed off without further ado.

At least Ponyboy had had control over something so far that day.

III

Classes that afternoon went a bit better. As the last bell rang, however, Ponyboy realized he had to find a way to ditch Nicky. He didn't want to face the guilt and the confusion he knew he'd have to deal with if he saw the boy.

He slipped to his locker and stuffed his bags in the carryall. He chewed his lip, considering as he worked out the sneakiest way out of the school. Let's see now, up those stairs, north to the arts classroom and then back down.

Feeling a bit like a CIA agent in the middle of the Lubyanka, he looked to his left and right every few steps, checking to make sure he wasn't going to bump into Nicky.

Unfortunately, disaster struck. Just as he pushed the door to go down the stairs next to the arts room, he heard someone's voice say, "Hey, Ponyboy! I thought we were supposed to meet for lunch. Where were you?"

He turned around and felt the uneasy roiling of his stomach as he regarded Nicky. Uncertain as to whether to lie his head off, Ponyboy settled for a shading of the truth. "Sorry, Nicky. Two-Bit wanted to go to lunch with me so we took off."

Blankly, Nicky said, "Oh." He held up his math book and said, "Well, did you want to do the math stuff now?"

Nervously, Ponyboy said, "Um… I can't. I… have stuff to do, you know."

Nicky's eyes narrowed. "Did your brother tell you to stay away from me or somethin' like that? I'm not stupid, you know, even if I act completely out of it about the whole social-rivalry thing here at school."

A bit confused, yet relieved, Ponyboy replied, "Uh, no… Darry didn't say anythin' about that really, except I wasn't supposed to be meeting you at your dad's bar."

Mollified, Nicky said, "Look, it's like this. My dad said I could either play for the customers, which I actually don't mind doin', or I could go work as a gas jockey or at the bowling alley to earn my keep. Put that way…"

Ponyboy nodded. "Yeah, I get the idea. You're lucky. I remember the time Sodapop spilled gas all over his pants somehow. Boy howdy, Darry wasn't pleased. Soda had to take his pants off outside and then dash in like a wolf was after him."

Ponyboy didn't know why he felt like appeasing Nicky's feelings as he blurted, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that when I said I was busy; I just don't really feel like looking at a math textbook today, you know?" He grinned nervously, hoping Nicky would leave him alone now.

Luckily, Nicky nodded in understanding and said, "Okay. I'll catch you tomorrow then."

And damn it all if he didn't casually put his hand on Ponyboy's shoulder and squeeze lightly before heading down the stairs.

Now Ponyboy had twice as much distraction to deal with as he trudged slowly down the stairs and left the school.

Author Note:

I'd like to thank Misfit Greaser for checking this chapter for characterization and allowing me to use his OCs and elements of his fic. I'd also like to thank Marauder and the Q for her beta work.

This fic/chapter is being posted as part of "Good Fic Day," an effort to raise the quality of writing here. We hope to encourage more writers to improve the quality of their own fan fiction - spell check, grammar check, keep the gang in character, outline, plot and don't use Mary Sues. Good fan fiction requires effort, and we would like to encourage other writers to rise to the challenge of producing better fan fiction, not only for our readers, but for S.E. Hinton, who created the wonderful book we are trying to honor.