Disclaimer: Don't own anything, except Juliet.

Juliet

Chapter 2

Adjusting

Days seemed to fly by. Before anyone knew it, Juliet had been in Tulsa for three weeks, and seemed to be adjusting quite nicely. She spent the majority of her time at the Curtis' with her brother. She liked it there, it was friendly and fun. Best of all, it wasn't home. She had to give her mom credit, though. Alexandra was trying her best to keep her only daughter comfortable and happy. She didn't pry and she didn't set many boundaries. She did ask that her and her brother, Steve, were home by a reasonable hour, but she didn't wait up for them.

Juliet appreciated this. It was her mother's strict attitude that made her leave all those years ago. She'd always considered herself a free spirit, and didn't like having bounds put on her. She wanted to be an eagle, bold and free, not a dove locked up in a cage, docile and obedient. Her biggest fear about coming back to Tulsa was that nothing would have changed, that her mother would still impose all of her rules and requirements. It put her mind at ease to realize that this wasn't the case. She decided to attribute it to that her mom didn't want to see her unhappy here again.

Juliet had met Johnny, the quietest and most thoughtful member of the group. She liked him right away, remembering what Darry had said. "We all love Johnny. There's just…something about him." She couldn't have said it better herself. She tried to think of why it was so easy to like Johnny, but she couldn't put her finger on it. He had a heart-wrenching smile, bright eyes, and everything he said was dripping with politeness and sweetness. Juliet had immediately noticed the marks on his arms, and wondered if they were burns, but she didn't ask. He didn't talk much, and that was a nice change of pace for her. The rest of the gang, especially Soda Pop and Two-Bit, talked non-stop. It was nice to have a friend who was content with silence…but wasn't a cold-hearted jerk.

Juliet hadn't seen hide nor hair of Dallas Winston since he'd left that first night. Johnny had stumbled through the door about fifteen minutes after his departure, but had no words to say about where Dallas had gone. He hadn't been back since. When she'd asked about him, Soda and Steve both assured her that this was normal for Dally. He would disappear from time to time, go party and hang out with Tim Sheppard and that gang, then come back to check on Johnny and the rest of them. The more she heard about Dallas Winston, the more she loathed him. The group tried to vouch for him, especially Johnny, saying that he was "an all right guy, once you get to know him." But all Juliet saw was a rude, inconsiderate, arrogant pig. She hoped he'd stay away for a good long while, so he wouldn't come and rain on the happy parade she was currently marching in.

Along with being a free spirit, Juliet also considered herself a tomboy. Her favorite thing had always been playing football. This was another thing Alexandra had not approved of, and another reason she had left. This time around, her mother had no objections to spit out, so Juliet played football with the boys whenever she could get a chance. One of those chances was on a warm, rainy summer afternoon.

The teams were split up three to three; Darry, Steve, and Ponyboy against Juliet, Sodapop, and Two-Bit. Johnny opted to sit back and watch under the big oak tree in the lot. The game had just started, and Juliet's team had the ball. Soda was quarterback, so when he called it, Juliet and Two-Bit went racing down the impromptu field. Darry took off after Two-Bit, Ponyboy after Juliet. Steve stayed back to try and tackle Sodapop. Just as he was about to go for the lunge, Soda threw the ball in the air. It sailed down the field right towards Juliet. She glanced to her right and saw Pony was only a yard away. She glanced up at the sky towards where the ball was coming and suddenly shot forward, sending mud flying, reaching her arms up. The ball landed in her outstretched arms, and she tucked them around the ball protectively, still surging forward with all of her strength. She didn't stop until she'd crossed the invisible line into their decided end zones. Soda and Two-Bit both cheered loudly, and Juliet laughed, collapsing onto the ground.

Steve ran down the field towards her, worried she may have been hurt. He stopped, however, when he saw that she was rolling around in the mud, laughing hysterically. He chuckled and little bit, too, and slowed down to a walk. He heard Johnny laughing softly from the sidelines. Darry smiled, and Ponyboy finally started laughing. Steve reached Juliet on the ground and looked down at her, a huge smile spread across his face. He asked, "Why are you laughing?"

Juliet choked out, "I haven't had that much fun in years! That felt—so good!" She started laughing all over again. Steve rolled his eyes. Just then, they heard a voice call out, "What's so damn funny?" Juliet recognized the voice and stopped laughing instantly. The lot was eerily quiet for what seemed like an hour.

Steve, only a moment later, and still smiling, "Hey, Dally. You wanna play?" Dallas considered for a second, glanced down at Juliet, still on the ground, and replied, "Yeah, why not?"

Darry looked at Ponyboy and said, "You sit out, Pony." Pont started to protest, but Soda interrupted, "Go on, Pony. I'll play for a bit, then you can tap me out, okay?" Pony shrugged and went to sit next to Johnny. Steve helped Juliet up with a grin. She tried to brush herself off, but it was useless. Dallas was walking a few feet ahead of her, and she stared at his back. He suddenly turned around and said, "Staring isn't polite, you know."

"Did you turn into a Soc all of a sudden?"

He chuckled slightly and said, "Why don't you go sit on the sidelines? This is a man's game, sweetheart."

"Oh, we'll see about that."

They set up in position. Dallas' team had the ball, and he decided to act as quarterback. He called it and immediately backed up, looking for an opening to throw. He noticed Steve was open and aimed back to throw it. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground and someone was on top of him. He blinked a few times and stared up into Juliet's face. She smirked and said, "Still a man's game?" He shook his head as she got off of him. She called out to the guys behind her, standing over Dallas and smiling, "I believe that's a sack."

Juliet walked inside the house and stretched. Her jeans, white t-shirt, and black converse were covered in mud, and all she wanted to do at this moment was shower. She started for the stairs when her mother called from the kitchen, "Julie? Steve?"

"Just me, Ma. Steve went over to the Curtis'."

"Oh, well that's fine. Will you come in here for a second?"

She sighed and trudged towards the kitchen. Her mom was sitting at the table, cutting coupons out of the newspaper. She looked up and took one look at her daughter before practically shrieking, "Juliet Eve Randle! Why on earth are you covered in mud?"

"I was playing football with the guys in the lot…It was rainy…"

"You know I don't approve of you playing football with those boys." Juliet thought to herself, I spoke too soon.

"Why not, Mom?"

"You could get hurt! And just look at how dirty you are!"

"Mom, I'm better than half the guys. I won't get hurt. And getting dirty is just a part of life." She added silently, The best part.

Alexandra sighed and said, "I wanted to ask how you were enjoying your time here. Are you having fun?"

"Yeah, it's okay. Steve's friends are cool."

She stood up and headed towards the kitchen sink, saying, "Have you thought about staying here longer?"

"What do you mean, longer? Like, through the fall?"

"Well, yes. I thought you could stay, maybe go to the University of Tulsa, or get a job…"

"Mom, we can't afford college. And I don't know if I want to stay. I hadn't thought about it…"

"Well, I want you to consider it."

"Where would I live, Mom? I'm not going to stay in this house forever, you know. I'm twenty, I'll be twenty-one in 2 months."

"We can cross that bridge when we get to it, honey. Just please consider all of the possibilities!"

"I have been here for three weeks. Let's get through the summer first, okay? Then we'll talk."

Her mom smiled, eyes beaming, and replied, "Go take a shower, dear."

Juliet nodded and turned around, heading for the stairs. She raced up them before she could be ambushed again and didn't stop until she'd closed the bathroom door.

Throughout her shower, all she thought about was staying here. Did she want to live in Tulsa for the rest of her life? Not in the least bit. Did she want to stay close to Steve? With all of her heart. It was going to be a tough decision…but she wasn't going to worry about it now. She'd get through the next two months here, and then she'd think about it. Why stress over something so far away?

Juliet pulled her wet hair back into a braid going down her back. Shehadn't bothered to clean her black Converse Chuck Taylors, because she knew nothing would get the mud stains off of the white racing stripe. They were like her babies, her favorite thing in the world. But she shrugged it off anyway. They looked better if they were worn properly. She slipped on her light blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a jean jacket. It was easy, it was simple, just the way Juliet liked it.

She called a goodbye to her mother before bounding out of the front door. She ended up at the Curtis' house, as expected. She sat down, like she was one of the guys, on the couch next to her brother, ruffling his hair as she did so. She looked around and asked, "Where's everyone else?" Ponyboy, Johnny, Sodapop, and Dallas were all missing. Steve shrugged and flung an arm around her shoulders, replying, "Soda had a date. Johnny and Pony went to the movies. No idea where Dally is." Juliet didn't say anything, just looked up at the clock on the wall. It was seven o'clock. Steve got up and flipped on the T.V and headed into the kitchen. He came back a few minutes later with two root beers in his hands. He sat back down next to Juliet, handing one of the sodas to her.

Juliet stared aimlessly at the television, not really watching. She half-laughed whenever she heard Steve laugh, so he wouldn't ask her what was wrong. Nothing was wrong, really. She was just taken off guard with how no one was around. It was just Steve, Two-Bit, Darrel, and her. It seemed awkward. Maybe not for Steve, but for her, it definitely was. Suddenly the almost empty room seemed too crowded. She stood up and said, "I'm going to go for a walk." She headed towards the front door.

Steve started to stand as he said, "I'll go with you."

She replied quickly, "No, that's okay. I'll be fine. I won't be gone long." She smiled at him appreciatively and opened the front door, calling back, "See you later, guys."

She closed the door behind her and leaped down the front steps. Opening the front gate, she thought about how good it felt to be outside. If there was anything she missed about Oklahoma as much as she missed Steve, it was the cool summer nights. They weren't too cold, and they weren't too hot. They were right in the middle. The brisk night air swept over her face and she sighed, breathing in the rich, pleasant scent that was an Oklahoma evening.

Reaching the sidewalk, she headed off down the street, away from the house and away from the lot. She thought about Texas, and how she couldn't do anything like this there. It was too hot, even after the sun went down. And she didn't like the neighborhood her dad lived in. If anyone thought this neighborhood was bad, they should see the street her dad lived on. Crazy as it seemed, the Greaser neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma made her feel safer. Much safer.

She reached a crossroad. If she took a left, she'd be on Sycamore Street. A right would be Elm. She knew those were both dead ends, so she continued straight on Willow. She could see a house a few blocks ahead on the right with lights on in every window. It stood out against the darkness around her. There were a lot of cars out front, so Juliet assumed there was a party going on. She kept walking, anyway.

She was just passing the lit up house when the front door opened, and someone walked out. She glanced over, and saw the end of a cigarette light up. She kept walking past, glancing over at the dark smoking figure periodically. She was almost past the house when the voice called out, "It's not polite to stare." She stopped dead in her tracks. Even though she'd only heard it a few times, she could pick out that cold, empty voice from a mile away. She turned, a small smirk on her face and called towards the voice, "You know, that line's going to get old real fast." She heard a small chuckle, but couldn't see anything except the burning end of a cigarette. She continued to stand there, knowing this wasn't the end to the conversation. After a minute or two of just watching his cigarette burn bright orange, she called out, "So, something you needed?" She heard a sigh, and the orange tip was snuffed out. She heard footsteps coming towards her and braced herself.

Suddenly he was there, less than a foot from her, glowing underneath the streetlamp, "No, nothing I need. Something I want, yeah."

She cocked and eyebrow and took a defensive step back, replying, "Watch yourself, Winston. I tackled you earlier; don't think I can't do it again."

He shook with silent laughter and looked above her head, seeming to be off in his own world. He finally met her eyes and replied, "That is not what I meant, doll face. Although…" He looked her up and down. She narrowed her eyes and said, "If that's all, I'll be going." She started to turn away, but he grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around. She gave him an incredulous look. He smiled and said, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry."

Her eyebrows raised in surprise, and she said quickly, "Excuse me?"

"What?" His eyes shown with confusion.

"Did I just hear the words, 'I'm sorry' come out of your mouth?"

He shrugged, completely indifferent again, and replied, "Yeah, well."

She smiled and said, "Who would've thought…" He shrugged again and looked away. She gave a short laugh and said, "What, did I touch a nerve, big tough man?" He was still silent. She rolled her eyes and said, "Alright, thanks for the apology. Does that help?"

He rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed, but still a little playful, as he said, "You're funny."

"Woah, take it easy there, buddy. An apology and a compliment in less than two minutes? My head just can't take it." She smiled.

He sighed and said, "Can I say anything without you damaging my ego?"

She shrugged and said, "You can try. No promises." There was silence again. She decided to break it, "So, what are you doing out here?"

He glanced behind him and replied dryly, "Just some friends, hanging out."

She nodded, sensing an end to the conversation nearing, and said, "Well, I should probably get back." He nodded and said, "I'll see you around, kid." She walked past him, in the direction of the Curtis house. Thinking of something, she stopped and turned her head, calling back to him, "Don't call me kid."

He cracked a smile and replied, "Whatever you want, doll face."

AN:

Note #1: The street names? Totally generic and I made them up. I tried and tried to find the street address of the Curtis house, but I am convinced that she never wrote it into the book. If anyone's a The Outsider's trivia buff and knows the address of Ponyboy Curtis, please let me know.

Note #2: I tried very hard to keep the dialogue time period. Please, tell me if you think it sounds too modern. I will time travel it back an ickle bit.

Note #3: Thank you so much to my amazing reviewers! I think there are a total of…maybe 4 of you. However, I don't care. You all made me write this out, and made this story sort of come alive for me. So, jolly well done for you all! And thank you to those who added my story to their favorites. That also made me smile.

Note #4: PLEASE REVIEW! Thoughts are ALWAYS appreciated. I love constructive criticism, ideas and what you want to happen, what you enjoyed, what you didn't, etc. So, REVIEW!

Love always,

Dangerous Combonation