Author Note: Okay, so this is the new chapter! Sorry for the confusion and all that. I hope you enjoy my story! Please read and review, I'd really appreciate it!
Mon. Jan. 4, 1967
Waking me from my perfect dream, Soda was shaking me and shouting words at me which I finally figured out, "Wake up!" I woke to the sound of his angelic voice. I smiled, happy to see him but he only frowned back at me.
"What's wrong?" I moaned, half asleep.
"It's seven o' clock! That's what's wrong!" He was still shouting at me. I figured he was still mad from yesterday. I jumped out a bed finally taking in what he said. My clothes were already laid out on the end of the bed. I quickly slipped them on, with Soda standing right in front me. I pulled my hair back and ran to his car. He started driving away with the door hardly closed and my seat belt not even on. Soda drove the opposite way of the station and I asked him where we were going.
"I gotta get Steve at Two-Bit's house." Soda was always a fast driver but he was speeding ten times faster than normal.
Sodapop instantly stopped in front of Two-Bit's house. I hopped out to get Steve. I had hoped that Two-Bit or Steve would answer the door because I haven't seen Sherri, Two-Bit's mom, since we moved out of the neighborhood and I know she would be all excited to see me. I knocked quietly but firmly on the door afraid not to wake anyone. I heard the doorknob turn. It was Sherri who answered the door. I smiled, happy to see her and she literally jumped with joy to see me.
"Oh, Typhani! Look at you; you're so grown-up and beautiful!" She said in awe.
"Thank you." That was all I could get out at the moment.
"I didn't know you worked with Sodapop and Steve." She commented.
"Oh, it's just temporary 'til I get another job." I responded. I saw Two-Bit coming up from behind her.
"Ah, mom, will you let go of her?" His question was more of a demand.
"Oh, Keith, I've haven't seen her in such a long time. But you have to work; I'll let you get Steve and go." Two-Bit was puzzled for a moment, trying to figure out who Keith was. Then he realized it was him. We, especially Two-Bit, were so used to his nickname and not Keith, so it was odd to hear his real name.
I found Steve on the coach in a deep sleep. Obvious because he was snoring. I nudged his shoulder but he just rolled over and ignored me. I kept shaking him until Soda came in. Then I slapped Steve in the face because Soda was nagging me to hurry up and get him to wake up. It most definitely woke him. He rolled off the couch and Soda, Two-Bit, Sherri and I burst into laughter. I stopped laughing when I saw the look in his eyes. He started swearing and threatening me with his fist. Soda got him to cool down.
The morning was slow but things started to heat up later in the day. I went inside the food mart to get us some Pepsi while the other two lazy bums stood outside and did nothing. Well, Steve did work on some cars.
Just as I was walking out the door two Socs came along. It was Ashton and Carson. I could barely hear what Soda was saying to them but I made out some of it.
"Hey Greasers, where's the cute little girl that works here now?" Ashton started.
"Go home Ashton." Soda warned.
"Come on, I just want to say hi, maybe give her a little kiss." Ashton joked. I would never in a million years let Ashton Carter kiss me. Ashton was drunk and carrying a bottle of beer in his hand. His walk was a little wobbly. I knew Carson well enough to know he wouldn't get drunk but he was. Travis has been let down by so many people: Dallas, Danny, and now Carson. They were all his friends as a kid but they all did something he did not approve of.
"She doesn't want to talk to you or kiss you." Soda defended me.
"Ah, come on, Grease. Let me see her. You can share your girlfriend for a moment can't you?" He asked.
"No Ashton, I don't want to share her with you." Soda said.
"Oh! Someone isn't being fair." Ashton looked at Carson and he came forward. He spotted me but pretended he didn't. Soda and Steve realized he saw me and Soda swung his arm and punched Ashton in the nose.
"Ah!" I gasped and dropped the Pepsi bottles in shock.
"Oh, that's how you want to do it, Greaser?" Ashton said aggressively. He threw a punch at Soda and I gasped again. Steve and Carson were fighting each other just as aggressively. I couldn't just stand around letting them fight so I had to stop it. I stepped over the broken glass and went to stop the fight. I grabbed Soda's shirt and Ashton's arm and then someone punched me. I let go of both of them and stumbled backwards. I paused before involving myself again. Then I thought of one thing that would stop this whole thing. I grabbed Ashton's face at the first opportunity I got and kissed him!
"Typhani!" Soda and Steve's mouths dropped in shock. Ashton held on to me and I pushed him away. I felt Soda grabbed me and pulled me away. He was obviously offended.
"Well, it looks like you finally came through." Ashton came toward me and I backed right into Soda.
"Well… you guys were fighting over me." I smiled. "But that's not the point! You were fighting so I had to stop you! Then someone punched me in the face!" I shouted.
"That was you?" Soda shouted in surprised. "No wonder I thought it was weird that Ashton screamed like a girl! Typh, I'm so sorry!"
"Whatever, Ashton, just go home and leave us alone." I commanded.
"Okay, okay. We'll go, I got what I wanted." He gave up and went home. We watched them walk away. We were silent for a moment.
"Why in the world would you kiss Ashton Carter?" Steve complained.
"So he could leave with what he came here for! There's no sense in fighting over it." I yelled. I went back inside the food mart to get more Pepsi for me, not them. They could get it themselves.
I came back out and Steve just took my soda from my hand and he gulped it down. I pushed him and he choked. "That's what you get!" He coughed, his face turning red. Soda went to slap him on the back, almost like burping a baby.
The day came to an end. We all went back to Soda's house for food. Pony was home already reading a book and he put it down when he saw us come in. Two-Bit came out of the kitchen, beer in hand, turned on the TV, and started to watch cartoons. Steve and I dug in the fridge for something snack on. Then we found the chocolate cake. We looked at each other before devouring the cake. But then Soda came over and kept us from eating it. When Soda walked away, Steve stuck his finger in the chocolate frosting and licked it off. Soda slapped his hand and Steve stumbled forward.
We all gathered on the couch, watching cartoons. Two-Bit looked at my face for a moment then grabbed my chin and moved my head so he could get a better view of my face.
"What are you doing?" I asked, pulling my face away.
"That's a tuff bruise you got there." Two-Bit kept holding my face.
"Two-Bit, c'mon, let go of my face." I pushed his hand away.
Soda finally gave up and let Steve and I eat the cake. The cake was practically finished by the time Darry got home. Darry had a concerned face and Soda went to go talk to him. They talked in the kitchen for a while, a couple shouts here and there but I couldn't tell what Darry's problem was.
Soda came back out and his face showed irritation. I figured it was either because Darry wouldn't tell him what was wrong or it was whatever Darry had said to Soda that irritated him. Soda literally jumped back on the couch and Steve and I bounced up in response to his body collapsing on the couch. Steve rubbed Soda's shoulder in an it's-ok-buddy kinda way.
Darry came in with the same concerned face. He looked at me and nodded his head for me to come over. I got up causally, making sure nobody noticed that Darry wanted to talk to me privately and that no one would feel left out. We walked to his room and he sat on the bed and sighed.
"Darry, what's wrong?" I asked.
"T, I got to talk to you about something I'm not quite sure about." Darry started.
"You can talk to me about anything." I reassured him.
"It's about a girl." Darry said. Really? That's what was bothering him?
"Really?" I tried to sound excited. I was a bit excited because Darry said he didn't have time to date girls. I guess the tables have turned and he realized that he needs a woman in his life, besides me. I sat beside him and waited for him to tell me his "girl" problem.
I could see his face turning red and almost—maybe I'm just hearing things—hear his heart beat. Boom… boom… boom…
"Typh, her name is Sarah and she works at the front desk. Every time I go in for work I see her." He started.
"What does she look like?" I asked.
"She has chocolately-brown hair and brown eyes. Her smile is what really gets me, though. It's a beautiful smile. She always has her hair up and her nails done."
"Ah, Darry you like her!" I awed.
"Yeah I do. But I don't know how to approach her. I thought maybe you could help me." He stated in a question.
"Oh of course I'll help you. Darry this is your first love." He laughed at my comment. "Well just start off by saying hi in the morning and bye when you leave. Then watch the way she says it."
"Okay, whatever. You staying?"
"Yeah I guess I will." We walked back to the living room. Darry went back to the kitchen. I guess that Sarah thing is really getting to him.
"Is Darry all right?" Pony asked.
"Yeah, he's fine. He'll tell you when he's ready." I said.
"Tell us what?" Soda asked, concerned.
"Nothing! He'll tell you when he's ready!" I shouted back.
"Calm down." Steve nudged by leg. I think I was a bit on edge because of my interview later. I left a little early so I could shower and get ready.
I was extremely nervous. I was dressed nicely and prepared for the worst. The drive to the office was about five minutes, which was good. I went inside and everyone stared at me. I went to the first person I saw.
"Excuse me, where can I find Bill Makler?" I asked.
"Right through there." The lady pointed to a room off to the right.
"Hi, are you Bill?" I asked, walking in quietly.
"Yes, and are you Typhani Taylor?" He gave me a friendly smile and stood up to shake my hand. I put my hand out to greet him back. I took a seat in the empty chair in front of his desk.
"You got the job." He said.
"What?" I gasped, confused.
"We need better writers over here and Jim, your old boss, called me and told me how good of a writer you are. You'll start right where you left off tomorrow." He stood up again as a sign that this "interview" was over. He shook my hand one more time and bid me good-bye. "Oh, and Miss Taylor, when you come in tomorrow look for James Davidson, he'll help you out." I nodded and walked out. I gave the building once last glance before leaving to go back to Soda's house.
Steve and Two-Bit were still at Soda's house when I came back but they left around seven but I stayed for dinner. I noticed that while I was over at Soda's house, Pony was avoiding me. He wasn't talking to me like he used. So, right after dinner I went home to end the awkwardness between Pony and I.
Thurs. Jan. 5, 1967
It was the first day of relatively the same job. It was just in a new place. Today was also Darry's birthday and his brothers wanted to throw him a big party but Darry hates parties. I wasn't sure when I'd be leaving work so I told them I'd meet them there when I could. I had no gift for Darry so I had to get one on my way there.
I was right on time when I drove up to work. I came in and once again everyone stared at me as I walked in. I looked around for a bit seeing if I could spot someone that looked like a James. That didn't help because I still didn't know who to go to. The same girl I had talked to yesterday came up to me and said, "If you're looking for James, he's over there." She pointed to a cute guy with greasy, black hair. I walked over to him with no fear at all.
"Hi, are you James?" I asked confidently.
"Yeah, so then that makes you Typhani Taylor." He smiled with the cutest dimples. I was a sucker for dimples. I smiled back and he blushed. I was good around guys so I was able to hide my feelings.
"Let me show you your desk and then you can get started. Um, Bill wants you to just start off with an easy article. It's something about a robbery that happened yesterday. No biggy right?" He had walked me to my new desk and I sat down in front of the typewriter and got started. There were a few notes written down for me sitting on my desk to help me out.
It took me about half an hour to write about it only because I wasn't there to take notes and get information myself. Generally, though, a robbery is one of the easiest to write about. At around two o' clock James came back to my desk.
"So you can leave anytime after two o'clock. I'm leaving in about fifteen minutes." James informed me.
"Oh perfect! I have somewhere to go after work." I said, not taking into consideration that he won't care.
Around two-thirty I left. I stopped by the store to pick up some Pepsi for Darry's party. I didn't know what to get him so I didn't.
Two-Bit had come to open the door for me when I arrived and he seemed to already be drunk. Darry wasn't home yet but everyone else was. Well, it was just Soda, Ponyboy, Steve, Two-Bit and I. Music was blasting and there was a huge chocolate cake on the table. Steve was standing there, staring at the cake. It was taunting him. I walked next to Steve and wiped my finger in the frosting. As I brought the frosting to my lips, Sodapop knocked my hand away.
"First bite goes to the birthday boy!" He demanded. I just gave him attitude back. Darry drove up and Pony shouted, "He's here, he's here!" We turned the lights off and hid. We could hear the car turn off and Darry's footsteps up to the porch. The door opened and Darry switched on the lights.
"Surprise!" "Happy Birthday!" We did not make it clear what we were gonna say so we yelled two different things. We all looked at each other when we said something different than the other. Darry had a face of disappointment rather than a face of joy or surprise. We all knew Darry didn't want anything done for his birthday because he doesn't think it's a big deal. So we didn't do much of a party just hanging out with cake and Pepsi and loud music. That's normally how things go on.
"Ah, come on guys." Darry sighed.
"Darry you don't have to think it's a party." Two-Bit managed to say without laughing.
"Yeah, 'cause I'm gonna listen to the drunk over there." Darry pointed to Two-Bit and walked to his room.
"Whatever, c'mon lets go eat the cake." Soda said.
Darry had left earlier to take a shower and returned ten minutes later. He had pretended to think that this wasn't a party just all of us hanging out together. The only birthday related thing we did was have Darry blow out the candles on his cake. Then we were finally allowed to eat it.
The party was fun. We danced to loud Elvis songs, Two-Bit got even more drunk and Darry was actually able to enjoy himself. I left early so I could get up tomorrow morning and go to work.
Fri. Jan. 6, 1967
I woke up a little earlier today because I had to pick up Soda and Steve and take them to work too. The sun wasn't even up at the time I woke up. I was feeling so lazy and I didn't want to do anything. I was finally able to get myself dressed and get ready to go.
I went to pick up Soda first down at his house. I found him dead asleep on his bed. Pony was in the kitchen making breakfast.
"Wake up!" I nudged Soda's shoulder. He rolled over and ignored me. I punched his shoulder a little harder one more time and he rolled back over and faced me. His eyes flutter open and he smiled when he saw me.
"Wake up; I gotta get you to work!" He frowned then and I left the room. I figured he wasn't anywhere near ready. He probably still had to take a shower, eat breakfast, and get dressed. Instead he came out within five minutes and was ready to go. I then drove to Steve's house to pick him up. It was very likely that Steve wouldn't be there when I went to pick him up due to the fact that his father beat him almost every week and then pays him as a way of forgiveness. I didn't think that was fair to Steve but he accepted it. He wouldn't let me report his father for abuse and I didn't want to hurt Steve in the process. He would only have a few cuts and bruises but it was enough to emotionally hurt me.
Steve was there when I went to pick him up at his house. Soda had to come with me just in case something was to happen. Just like any other of our friends' house we could just walk right in without knocking. Steve was on the couch watching TV when we came in.
"Hey Steve, you ready to go?" I asked as I walked in. he turned around and looked at us for a second before responding. He looked at us like we weren't supposed to be here.
"Hey guys, lemme get my shoes and I'll be ready." He quickly got up off the couch, like he was in hurry to get out of there.
"Steve, hold on a minute." Steve's dad, Bill, pulled Steve to the side and gave him some money and said, "Here's for last night, I'm sorry." He patted his back and Steve turned and flashed his scar. Soda and I silently gasped. He had a cut along his temple and a bruise on his cheek. Steve was all for fighting but not with his dad. That was one person he would not fight back. We left without saying any good-byes and silently walked to the car. Before leaving I had one thing to say to Steve, "You're sure you don't want me to report your father? It's not fair for you to be beat and then forgive him for five bucks!"
"If you turn him in the beatings will just get worse so you know, don't make it worse for me." Steve commented.
"Relax buddy, everything will be okay." Soda comforted Steve.
"You know, it really worries me Steve, to see you all beat up. I won't do nothing if you don't want me to but… I really wish you'd let me." I sighed.
"I can take care of myself, Taylor, don't worry about me." Steve said. We dropped the subject. It seemed to be making Steve and me uncomfortable to talk about. The ride to the station was quiet but not awkward, just quiet. Steve was the first to get out of the car when we arrived. Soda sat there for a couple of seconds and then spoke, "You'll never believe who called me late last night."
"Who called you?" I hesitated to ask who it was that called but I figured since he was willing to tell me, it couldn't have been someone to bad.
"Sandy…" Soda kinda dozed off and stared into space.
"I hope that's a cousin or a long lost sister not Sandy Mason, your beloved ex-girlfriend." I said sarcastically. I knew the Sandy he was talking about. There was only one Sandy in his life that was important to him and one that had an impact on my life.
"She wants to have dinner with me tomorrow night and I'd be more comfortable if you guys were there. You don't have to be there at the table with us but somewhere in the restaurant nearby. Well, I'll talk to you later about it, but I am having that dinner with her." He explained.
"You do remember what happened last time right?" I didn't even make eye contact with him.
"Yeah, my girlfriend dumped me after my ex-girlfriend kissed me. I'll never forget."
"Let's not have that happen again, shall we?" It was a rhetorical question.
"I'm gonna tell her to… leave us alone." He smiled. I drove off the minute he got out. What does Sandy want? To get back with Soda? Really? Again? She wants to honestly try to get back with a guy that she cheated on? She's out of her mind! Since I was so furious I accidentally ran a red light but there was no one there to catch me. All day long I thought about Sandy and how she might be with Soda again like they used to. I knew Soda still had feelings for her even if he didn't admit it. James ran me through a few more training sessions but I hardly paid attention. I couldn't even write the articles I was assigned.
"Is there something on your mind?" The girl who I first talked to on my interview, whose name I found out to be Michelle, asked me.
"There's typically a lot on my mind." I continued staring into nowhere.
"Are you a mother?" I could tell she was smiling by the tone of her voice, I knew she was kidding.
"You could say that." I was referring to the motherly duties I have for taking care of my delinquent friends.
"Well, unless you're a mother, you shouldn't have much on your mind. Unless… it has to do with a boy." I didn't know Michelle well but I could tell that I could just trust her.
"My boyfriend's ex-girlfriend came back and I think she wants to apologize and try to get him back. And no I'm not jealous. I was when they first went out but then the jealously turned to hate." I told her.
"Be yourself and let Fate do its job. I'm very superstitious." She smiled and walked out the door and I went to follow her out.
Sat. Jan. 7, 1967
Tonight was the dinner Sandy wanted to have with Soda. They weren't going anywhere fancy just Flinn's, the burger place we like to go to.
We were all at Soda's house waiting for Sandy to arrive. Soda was really nervous. He was sweating and pacing back and forth. I sat on the couch, watching Soda. I knew he had feelings for me but were they as strong as I thought; were they stronger feelings for Sandy still? A knock at the door knocked me out of my trance. Darry answered the door and called me over.
"Travis? What are you doing here?" I asked surprise to see him here.
"I came to warn you." He stepped inside without an invitation. "The Socs—"
"You mean your own kind." Two-Bit snapped and Steve hit him in the stomach and told him to shut up.
"They're coming over here tomorrow. Some Soc was killed the other day by some other Greasers and they're just so sick of their friends getting killed. They're gonna use heaters, knives; whatever they can get their hands on. I just rwanted you guys to be prepared and I don't wanna see you guys get hurt." Travis left without receiving a thank you even if he deserved one. I followed him out the door.
"Thank you. And I appreciate you caring about my friends. That means a lot to me." He nodded and drove away. Travis did care about my friends, even if he didn't show it all the time. I was honestly happy to have Travis as my brother. I went back inside. Before I got through the door, Sandy pulled up. I turned around and made eye contact with her. She gave me the death stare. I looked away and finished walking inside.
"She's here." I regretted saying those words so much. They made my mouth feel dirty. I took a seat on the couch again so no one would see my legs shaking. Soda became even more nervous now. We could hear the car turn off and her footsteps up the front steps. She slowly opened the door and made her way inside. She looked around and she smiled, happy to be back. Soda and Sandy hugged, awkwardly. It was awkward for the rest of us too. They left literally two seconds after she arrived.
"This is gonna be some night." Steve commented. We got up and all piled into Two-Bit's car. When we got to Flinn's we waited outside for a little bit to not make it look like we followed them here. But when we did go inside, we snuck in so Sandy wouldn't see us. Luckily, Soda listened and had Sandy put her back to the door so she wouldn't see us come in. We all put menus up so we would be unidentified.
"Hey y'all, how's it going?" Flinn came over and greeted us and people knew that Flinn only came to greet us.
"Shh, Flinn, we're not here." I whispered.
"Right, I'm talking to a bunch of ghosts." He said sarcastically.
"We're keeping an eye on Soda and Sandy." I said keeping my eye just on Sandy.
"Sandy?" Flinn was still standing there in front us, talking.
"Yeah, she decided to come back." I sighed.
"Does Sodapop know you're here?" Flinn continued to interrogate us.
"Yes! He's the one who wanted us here." Two-Bit shouted.
"Alright, I'll leave you to it." Flinn finally left.
"Oh, Flinn, four hamburgers." I ordered at the last minute.
"Got it."
We continued staring at Soda and Sandy and a few times Sodapop would look over at us. He made eye contact with me and had to smile. So that set off Sandy and she had to be nosey and turn around to see who he was smiling at, so then we automatically put the menus back up. Soda got up at one point and came over to us.
"Sandy thinks I'm in the bathroom." Soda came and sat down beside Ponyboy.
"How are things going?" Pony finally spoke.
"It's good." Soda lied, I could just tell. He didn't want to make things weird for me so he lied about how things were going. Either he lied about how bad it's actually going or how amazing the two are getting along. Soda was sitting with us for awhile and I think that worried Sandy. I saw her start to look around and I quickly put up my menu. That signaled for the others to put their menus up too. Soda looked at us like we were circus freaks. Then he saw Sandy staring at us and he waved and smiled awkwardly.
"I'm gonna go but I'm telling you now that I'm bringing Sandy back to my place." He spoke trying not to look at us. The minute after finishing eating, we got up to leave and went back to the Curtis house. We had to get back to the house before Soda and Sandy did.
We got there about fifteen minutes before the other two did. But as far as Sandy knew, we were here the whole time. She wasn't happy though to come home and find me there. But she had to expect me. They were my best friends; where else would I hang out.
"Sandy I need to talk to you, alone." Soda said and looked me right in the eye when he said alone. They walked to Soda's room and came back fifteen minutes later. They continued right passed us to the door and Soda escorted her out to her car. Soda came back with a weird look on his face. Not disappointment, not sadness, not anything familiar at first but once I gave him a good long hard stare, I realized he was feeling guilty. He felt bad for what he did to Sandy. He knew it was right. I knew it was right. We all knew it was right. Soda just didn't like making people upset, it wasn't him, even if it was the right thing to do. This is all Sandy's fault. If she just stayed in Florida like she was supposed to, Soda wouldn't feel so bad and he wouldn't feel so guilty. I left early so I could avoid Soda's breakdown later. I knew it would come (Steve told me later that Soda broke down crying about Sandy and hurting her and that he still loved me. I felt bad for not comforting him).
Sun. Jan. 8, 1967
Tonight. Tonight was not a going to be a good night. I was worrying the whole day and I wasn't able to focus on anything but the big fight. Tonight I am gonna lose someone for sure, unless they can dodge a bullet. Hearts will be broken and lives may end. A deep breath and a prayer are all that can save us now. I plan to stay at the Curtis house no matter what anyone says.
I was sitting on the couch watching Darry pace back and forth about what is to come. Everyone tried to convince me to go back home so I wouldn't get hurt but I was able to convince them I was staying. When they left for the fight, I went to take a nap in Soda and Pony's bed because the couch was uncomfortable and if I mess up Darry's neatly folded bed, he'd kill me if he's not already dead himself.
It felt like I was sleeping for a real long time but I only slept for about twenty minutes. I got up out of bed and walked over to the couch by the window to sneak a peek at the danger outside. Of course, I saw some Soc pointing his stupid gun at Soda's chest, ready to shoot. I bolted out the door, without thinking (like always), and screamed, "NO!" I startled both the Soc and Soda. The Soc turned to me and accidentally shot. The bullet came full speed and hit me in the arm. I fell to the ground, calling for someone to save me. The world was spinning and then it just went black…