Chapter 3

The rain had stopped completely when they started walking. Tulsa wasn't all that different than she had anticipated, but the people were friendlier. Everyone they passed had made an effort to nod, smile or say hello – something that Ava wasn't used to.

She and Ponyboy talked the whole walk. She told him about her time in Boston – with the exception of what happened to Andrew and her sisters. Ponyboy told her about his two friends – Dally and Johnny – who both died a few months ago.

"Rumbles?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, basically gang fights. Settled down a lot since then though. Hardly any trouble." Pony replied.

"What do you fight them with?"

"Usually just fists. Knives are considered dirty fighting. Skin against skin is the way to go."

Ava smiled slightly. "I don't know, skin against skin sounds slightly dirtier to me."

Pony only smiled, and nodded towards a gas station.

"You mind if we stop off to see my brother?" Pony asked.

"You mean, the soft drink one or the roof building one?" Ava asked.

"The soft drink one – but don't call him that to his face." Pony said, grinning.

"Sure." Ava said.

They walked over to the DX gas station, which was deserted. Ava looked around, and didn't see any signs of life at all.

"Man, this place is sure hopping." She said, sarcastically.

"Hey, Soda!" Pony called.

Ava turned and saw two guys come out of the building. The first was tall and well built, with dark hair all greased back like Pony's was, wearing a blue muscle shirt. The second was a little shorter and thinner, also with dark, greased hair, and was wearing a blue uniform. The only real difference between the two at first sight, was that the second was absolutely gorgeous.



Ava had to catch her breath when she saw him. She had never seen anyone that beautiful in her life. Sure, Boston was full of good looking men, and Andrew had been a very handsome guy, but Ava could honestly say, that this guy was incredible. If she didn't know better, she would asked for his autograph – thinking he was a movie star.

"Pony? What are you doing here?" The gorgeous one asked – this must be Soda.

"I just got out from the movie, and decided to stop in on the way home."

"Who's your girlfriend?" The other one asked.

"She's not my girlfriend. This is…oh God, I don't even know your name." Pony said turning to her.

Both guys laughed. "Good start." The taller one said.

"Ava" She said, staring directly at the gorgeous one.

The gorgeous one looked back at her, and gave her a soft smile. The tall one pushed passed him to her to her.

"Steve Randle." He said, sticking out his hand, which Ava shook politely. "This here's Sodapop."

So Ava had been right. The gorgeous one could only be Sodapop. A name like that needed a face to go with it. She smiled at both Steve and Soda, and then turned back to Pony.

"You're brother was nice enough to offer me the use of your house for the night." She said, directing the comment at Soda, and completely ignoring Steve, who hadn't taken his eyes off her since she arrived.

Soda looked surprised, and turned to Pony. "You did what?" He asked.

Pony shrugged. "She just moved here from Boston, and had no place to go. I wasn't just gonna leave her there." He said.

Steve laughed. "Ha! You work fast there Ponyboy."

Pony ignored the comment, and Ava could see that his ears were turning red. Ava just smiled at Steve pleasantly.

"Actually, I thought it was a very gentlemen-like thing to do." She said.



She saw Soda smile out of the corner of her eye, as she directed this remark towards Steve. Steve didn't really know how to respond, so he just turned around and went back inside.

"I'm off in ten minutes if you wanna wait, Pony." Soda said.

Ava screamed inside for Pony to wait. Even if he would've said no, she probably would've stayed, even though that would've been rather awkward.

"Yeah, sure. As long as Ava doesn't mind." Pony responded, looking over at her.

"No, not a problem." She said, stealing a glance at Soda, and smiling.

Soda grinned back at her and followed Steve inside. Pony and Ava were left alone in the parking lot. They sat down on a stack of tires, and Pony offered her another cigarette, which she gladly accepted.

"You like him, don't you?" Pony said, not looking directly at her.

Ava had every idea what he was referring to, but pretended to play dumb.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Soda." Pony replied. "I'm not stupid. I saw how you were looking at him."

Ava shrugged. "So, I find him attractive. Is that a problem? Is he, like, off limits or something? Does he already have a girlfriend?"

"Jesus, you ask a lot of questions for someone who only finds him attractive." Pony responded, looking up at her this time. "No, there's no problem with it, no he's not off limits, and no, he doesn't have a girlfriend." He said all in one breath.

The answer he gave to her last question made Ava breathe a sigh of relief. She had secretly hoped that Soda wouldn't be attached to anyone. Not that she was in dire need of a boyfriend – she had bigger problems than that to deal with first. But, she reckoned that once she got her act cleaned up a little, and got her life back on track, maybe then she would be ready to have another boy in her life. As long as he didn't hurt he, she would be good to go. Judging by what she'd seen of Soda, he just may be the right person for the job.