Disclaimer: I don't own anything from The Outsiders


4

"Then tell me, Johnny, what is love to you?"

Scott sighed very loudly beside me, sticking his hand into the big bag of popcorn. His arm that was around me twitched and moved closer to my chest, just like he was been doing for the past hour and thirty minutes. The movie was coming to an end and he was growing bored. That was clear.

I glanced over at my brother a Two-bit, who were in the seat not too far away from us. Danny's arm was around some girl and Two-bit was staring at me, making faces to make me laugh, which I did and disguised as a cough.

A new movie was out in the drive-in and everyone was out to watch it. Scott, me, Two-bit, Danny, Macy and her friends, and Scott's friends.

Scott laughed and I followed his eyes to his buddies across the lot, making obscene gestures our way. Brian was in the lead of course, thrusting his hips in and outward. Brian and I made brief eye contact and he winked at me.

I hated Brian.

My shoulders were aching from his heavy arm and I was tired of smelling his gross breath. I didn't want to kiss him that night, so I said, "Do you want to go hang out with them?"

Scott looked at me, eyebrows raised. "Really?"

I nodded. "Oh, yeah, the movie's almost over anyway. I can catch a ride with a friend."

Scott smirked, leaning closer to me. "Thanks, sweetheart. Let's go out again soon, alright." He kissed me for five seconds before standing and starting to walk away. "I'll call you, Deb."

I nodded, waiting until I saw him disappear into a truck with his friends before I got up and walked over to Danny and Two-bit. "Hey."

Danny stopped kissing the girl he was with to look at me. "Hey, where'd Snot go?"

I gave him a short-lived glare. "Scott went to go hangout with some friends."

Two-bit put his arm on the seat I was sitting in. "You wanna get out of here? This movie's for people like, uh -" He nodded toward my brother and the girl. "Those people."

I didn't know why I liked hanging out with Two-bit so much, but I did.

"Where would we go?"

Two-bit stood and bowed, holding out his hand. "My lady."

I grabbed it and stood, laughing lightly. "Two-bit, where -"

"Ssh," he hushed, walking toward the fence that contained the drive-in or, rather, detained people who couldn't pay to be in there. He walked toward the fence and lifted up some of it to reveal a hole.

The fence kept out people who couldn't pay to be in there - people like Two-bit.

I shook my head. "You steal candy and sneak into movies."

He smirked, gesturing to the crime. "It's my best work, baby, come on."

I laughed, walking through anyway. I fixed my skirt and hair once I surfaced on the other side, still holding on to my popcorn. "Where we headed?"

"Just trust me."

"Trust you?" I laughed, throwing my head back dramatically grabbing Two-bit's arm for stability. I leaned back up to see him giving me a look that made me genuinely laugh. I shook my head. "Haven't you heard never to trust the joker?"

Two-bit smiled widely, not bothered anymore. "Well, the joker's got a fun night planned."

I smiled. "Alright. As long as it's not Buck's bar."

It was Buck's bar.

Two-bit's hands came off my eyes and my vision was flooded with red light, my nose with sweat and my skin with hot air. It took me a second, but after I realized where we were, I spun around and hit his chest.

"Two-bit!"

Two-bit laughed, putting his hand on my lower back and pushing me further into the crowded space. "Sit down, baby, I'll get us some beers. How many you want?"

I sat down in a chair, trying to talk to Two-bit, who was already walking away, over the loud music. "No beers!"

Two-bit pretended not to hear and he held up two fingers. "Two beers?"

I shook my head. "No! No beers!"

Two-bit gave me a thumbs up. "Two beers!" He nodded and smirked. "You got it!"

I laughed briefly and looked around at all the people. Everyone was always so happy in Buck's.

"Well, well, well..."

I turned around in my chair, seeing a curly-headed kid sitting on top of the table I was sitting at. I laughed. "Curly, wasn't it?"

"Debbie Wilson," he said, smirking my way. He was slid off the table and leaned against it so casually, like he was trying to impress me. "How the hell are you doin'?"

"She's still out of your league," someone I remembered to be Ponyboy said.

I blushed a little and didn't try to hide it, knowing the red light would disguise it well enough. I looked at Curly. "I'm doing well, and you?"

He nodded and then moved closer to me. "Who are you here with?"

I looked at the bar, where Two-bit was talking to a very pretty blonde girl. I looked away quickly, not liking the way watching that scenario made me feel. But I kept my smile and I looked at Curly. "Two-bit, over there at the bar."

"We were gonna go outside for a smoke, you wanna come?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't smoke."

Curly nodded, Pony stood and they both walked outside, but not before Curly sent a wink my way.

"Hey, Debbie."

I looked up at another person I kind of recognized. The last time I saw him, he had a flannel on and a cigarette tucked behind his ear. He was still handsome, but I couldn't remember his name, though I knew it was hard to forget.

"Hi."

He must've seen my hesitation. He smiled a very beautiful smile and sat down in the seat across from me. "I'm Sodapop Curtis. We met when you came to rescue your brother from us." He laughed.

I laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"No worries," he said easily. "You're here now, aren't ya?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Two-bit got me here."

"What a kid, hey?"

"Yeah."

Greasers were so much nicer than I thought. The fact that he remembered who I was shocked me. Even after hanging out with the Soc group eight or nine times, some of them still didn't know my name.

"Hey!" A seemingly drunk person came up to us. I didn't recognize him until a pretty girl appeared beside him. Steve and Evie, I thought. "Who the hell is this?'

Okay, so not all the Greasers were ten's.

"It's Debbie Wilson, man," Soda said to his friend as he and his girlfriend sat down beside them. "It's Danny's sister."

"What's she doin' here?"

I looked at him. "Steve, right?" I looked at the girl. "And Evie?"

The girl smiled politely. I didn't know pretty girls could be nice. "Yeah."

"You guys look great together," I told her, knowing, as a girl, she'd appreciate something like that.

She smiled and leaned on the table, getting closer to me. "Oh, my god, you're adorable. How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

She laughed. "Fucking Two-bit and his girls."

My eyes widened. She had a mouth on her. I quickly shook that face, not seeing that reaction from anyone else at the table. "Uh, so how long have you two been together?"

Evie smiled, her arm tightening around her boyfriend's shoulders. "Just about three years."

"Wow."

"What about you and Two-bit? Are you official or -"

"We're not -" I shook my head and laughed, blushing for the second time that night. "Two-bit and I aren't like that," I said quickly. "No, I'm kind of with this other guy."

Her eyebrows rose and she gave me a suggestive look. Her dark eyes seemed so mischievous. "Who's this other guy?"

"His name's Scott," I said, already not wanting to talk about my relationship with Scott. "He's just someone that I go out with sometimes."

A hand landed on my shoulder and soon it was a whole arm. Two-bit sat grabbed the chair and sat down close to me, arm around my shoulder. He put a beer down in front of me. "I would've been waiting longer for two. Sorry, baby."

I grabbed the beer and rested it in my lap, no intention of actually drinking it, though I felt bad that Two-bit spent money on it. "That's alright, Two."

Two-bit took a sip of his beer and then rested it against on my thigh. It was cold and I guess that was why he didn't want it on him. "So, what is goin' on? What's the plan for tonight?"

Soda shrugged, pulling the cigarette from behind his ear. "Just bum around here was mine."

"Same," Evie said.

Two-bit looked at me. "You cool with that, baby?"

Did I want to spend the rest of my night with people I didn't really know, at a bar I didn't really like, on the opposite side of Tulsa that I should've been on. Honestly? Yeah, I did. They seemed like cool people. And maybe the sweaty bar was growing on me.

"Yeah." I nodded, bringing the beer to my lips. "I'm cool with it."


The week went by quickly and Saturday was here before I knew it. I was sliding on a fitting, long sleeved, beautiful dress my aunt had gotten me a couple of years ago. It showed off my body, very unlike the clothes I usually wore. It was a nice colour too.

My hair was done up nice and I put on the only makeup I knew how - lipstick. To my mother, makeup wasn't needed, but then again, neither was shellfish or shrimp. She was weird in her Catholic ways and I wouldn't have been surprised at all if she told me to put an ugly cardigan over the dress I had on.

I sighed as I looked in the mirror, grabbing my purse, putting on some nice shoes and walking out of my room. I made it to the living room and my mother and brother turned to me.

"Holy shit," Danny said, confusion on his face.

Mother slapped the back of his head. "Enough of that, Daniel." She looked at me, eyeing me up and down. "Put on a sweater."

I nodded, going back to my room and grabbing a cardigan. I walked back out, sliding it on. "Okay, I'm going now."

"You know the rules," my mother reminded me, pushing her glasses up her nose and turning back to the TV.

I nodded, glancing at Danny. "I'll see you guys later."

"Have fun," Danny said unenthusiastically. He couldn't care less about a Soc party. He could've come with me, but he said he'd rather stay home.

I walked outside, taking off the cardigan and holding it in my hand. I got into Scott's car, not even getting a second glance until I coughed awkwardly. "How do I look?"

He didn't smile until his eyes landed on my chest. He looked back up into my eyes, smirking now. "Babe, you look great." He put his arm over the seat and gestured with his fingers for me to get closer to him. "Come here."

I scooted closer, his lips immediately going to my neck. I laughed, pushing lightly against his chest. "We can't, Scott, we need to get to the party."

Scott's head came out of my neck and he nodded. "You're right." He rubbed my cheek with his thumb, giving me a lustful look. "After the party."

I just nodded, not wanting to argue about it. "Okay."

We arrived at the party fashionably late. Her nice house had no one in the front, but the inside of the house was packed with people I had never met before. All of them were dressed very fancy and had some liquid in a fancy glass cup in their hands. The party continued through the house, the glass-sliding doors open to the backyard and pool area. Nobody was swimming because it would've been a little too cold, it being January and all, but people still stood around it.

"Scotty!"

One of Scott's friends bumped into my to get to Scott, spilling his cold drink on the front of my dress. He didn't notice, as he just looked at Scott. "Dude, there is some serious stuff in the back."

"No, man, I can't tonight," Scott told him.

"Come on, man, how long has it been since you've had a good hit."

I didn't want to hear about the drugs, so I looked at the both of them and then down at my dress. "I'm going to go get a washcloth." They both ignored me and I walked over to the kitchen, getting a washcloth and rubbing it on my dress, nothing really happening.

Once I did all I could do, I grabbed some punch from the snacks table.

"Oh, my god, Debbie!" Macy yelled excitedly, surprising me with a big hug. She pulled back quickly, looking down at the front of my dress. "Oh, boy."

I shrugged awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I just -"

"Oh, honey, no, it's fine," Macy said quickly. She smiled a pretty girl smile and put her arm around my back, but she barely touched me. "Let's go outside. It's less crowded there."

"Happy birthday, by the way," I said kindly, trying to give her my best smile.

"Oh, thank you," Macy said, just like she had already said that a million times that night. "So I saw you and your mom at church last Sunday. I saw that she was introducing you to Mathew Bright."

I nodded, remembering the awkward boy. "Yeah, what about it?"

"He's very cute," Macy said, slightly suggestive.

I chuckled, gesturing to where Scott was standing across the room. "Macy, you know I'm with Scott."

"Yeah, but it's not official."

"I mean, no, I guess not."

Macy smiled with satisfaction. "Right, so Mathew Bright was looking at you in the kind of way and I just think you'd be such a good match!"

I nodded and pretended to agree. "Yeah, sure."

"I mean, really, Debbie, how long are you and Scott going to last? You're two very different people."

I wasn't mad because she took a jab at me and Scott. I was mad because she continuously pointed out that I wasn't a part of their little group. She loved to watch my face when she mentioned that the seams on my mother's jacket were coming apart of that I didn't have the nicest and newest shoes. She loved to be rude to me and I was getting sick of it.

"Macy," I started, stepping away from her, careful not to get too close to the pool. "Scott chose me, not you, okay? I'm sorry, but I'm not going to hand him over just because you want him."

She seemed shocked by my sticking up for me, but she hid it well. She smiled in a way that I didn't like. "I think I have something that can help with the stain on your dress." She didn't give me a chance to answer before she pushed harshly on my shoulder.

I fell backward, gasping just as I fell into the pool. I swallowed the chlorinated water and clawed for the top of the pool as I felt the coldness hit me. I resurfaced, coughing and struggling for breath as I heard wild laughter from all around.

"I saw you and Two-bit Mathews hanging out together." Macy was standing there in her heels, arms crossed, smirk on her face. "There's no Greaser girls allowed." She looked at some muscular man next to her. "Take this trash out."

I was still struggling to breathe as someone grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the pool. I was wiping my eyes as I was rushed through the house. I felt the chilled air again when we went through the front door. The person holding me pushed me. I didn't have time to catch my footing and I fell, resulting in scraped elbows and knees.

The worst part wasn't that I was drenched in water or the stinging on my body, it was the laughter that was so loud, I could hear it out in the front.

I willed myself to stand, unbelieving of what had just happened. I took a step, feeling the pain in my ankle. I started to cry. I was in pain and I was embarrassed and I just wanted to go home.

I was walking/limping down the nicely paved sidewalk when I heard the door slam behind me. "Debbie!"

I turned around, the tears falling down my cheeks. "What?"

Scott grabbed my shoulders. "What happened, babe?"

I sobbed, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Macy pushed me in the pool."

"Oh, babe," Scott said in a sympathetic voice. He must've really wanted to get laid if he was putting up with me in my state. "I'm sorry. Come back inside and we'll get you cleaned up."

I shook my head. "I can't go back in there."

"Why not?"

Did I want to spend the rest of my night with people I didn't really know, in a house I didn't really like, on the opposite side of Tulsa that I wanted been on. Honestly? No, I didn't. That was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.

I looked him in the eyes. "I don't belong in there, Scott. Those are you friends, not mine."

"Babe, come on," he tugged on my arm roughly, making sure I couldn't walk away. "Let's go somewhere else, then."

"No," I said through my cries, pushing him away. "Go. I'll find my way home."

"Deb -"

"Go!"

"Fine," he said, suddenly in a bad mood. He spun around, calling me a name under his breath as he walked back inside the house.

I walked down the sidewalk and made my way to the nearest payphone, which was twenty minutes away. I put in the only change I had in my small, soaked purse and dialled a number I didn't even know how I knew.

"Hello?" The music was playing loudly in the background and the person who answered didn't sound happy about it.

"Is Two-bit Mathews there by any chance?" I asked, holding off my crying for all of three seconds. And then I started to cry again.

"Oh," the guy said. "Uh, yeah, hold on."

Their was a sound like shuffling around. There was incoherent chatter and then someone breathed into the phone, and then the glorious sound of his voice game through.

"Hello?"

"Two-bit, it's Debbie," I managed to say through a sob.

"Hey, hey," he said softly. "What's going on?"

I cried, leaning against the payphone. "Can you come pick me up?"

"Where are you?"

"I don't know exactly, but I can meet you at a diner called Jax," I said, sniffling and trying to think. "Is that okay?"

"I'm coming right now," Two-bit said frantically, hanging up the phone right after that.

I hung up the phone, taking off my shoes and limping my way to Jax. It must've took fifteen minutes or so and I was so thankful when I saw the sign, and even more thankful when I saw Two-bit's car and then Two-bit leaning against the car, looking around.

I walked a little faster, cringing at the feeling of my ankle. "Two-bit!" I waved.

He took one look at me. "What the fu -"

"Two," I said desperately, feeling my knees shake.

He ran toward, putting one arm around my back and the other underneath my legs. He picked me up like it was effortless, carrying me over to his car and sitting me sideways in the front seat. He kneeled in front of my, both hands on my legs. "What the hell happened?"

I pouted, just trying not to cry. "I went to Macy's birthday party and she pushed me into the pool and then -" I cried, putting a hand over my mouth. "And then she threw me out in front of everyone."

"Oh, baby." He rubbed my knees.

I seethed, pushing his hands away. "Ah."

Two-bit pushed my dress up, looking at my scraped up knees. "Macy did this?" he asked me, looking surprised.

"No, one of her guy friends," I informed him, wiping the tears from my face.

"And you're ankle?"

"I think I just twisted it," I said dismissively, not wanting it to be a big deal. "It'll be fine."

Two-bit grabbed me under my arms and pulled me up to him. I stood on my foot that didn't hurt and wrapped my arms around. He put his chin on top of my head, wrapping his arms around me tightly. He must've not cared that I was getting the front of him wet. "Why do you hang out with these people?"

I sighed into his warm and inviting chest. "I don't know." I closed my eyes, feeling tired. "I don't want to go home. Can I just sleep your car or something?"

Two-bit's chest vibrated. "If you think I'm gonna say no to you after the night you've had, you're crazy."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"Not that I would've said no anyway."