Stumble

Chapter Eight

Disclaimer – I do not own the Outsiders. Or Someday by Nickleback.

-- I'm gonna make it alright but not right now –

Life went on after that night. It didn't seem like it should, but it did. Vanessa started at Will Rogers. She seemed to like it, I mean, as much as a person can like school and still be considered human. I was avoiding my dad as much as was humanly possible. He hadn't managed to get his hands on me yet and I was aiming to keep it that way.

And I kept sleeping with guys for money.

And I hated myself for it.

One afternoon, I was in the driveway, the hood of my dad's car open, trying to figure out why it wouldn't work. Now, I'm not so bright when it comes to cars. I can fill it with gas, I can check the oil, but not much else.

I looked up when I heard voices coming near me. Vanessa was coming down the street accompanied by two boys. At least she was making friends at school. Even better, she wasn't walking home alone.

"Hey, Morgan," she called as she came up the driveway, followed by the two boys.

I looked up at her and smiled. "How was school?" I asked.

"Fine," she replied with a shrug. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Tryin' to get the car to start," I told her, then looked over at her friends. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade," she introduced. "This is my sister Morgan."

"Hi," the one named Ponyboy said, shoving his hands into his pockets. Johnny just gave me a nervous smile and went back to staring at his shoes.

"Nice to meet ya," I replied and went back to looking at the engine and all the other confusing gizmos under the hood.

"Havin' trouble?" Ponyboy asked me.

I sighed. "Yeah," I admitted. He stuck his head under the hood too and looked around for a moment.

"I think you need a new spark plug," he told me. "Soda probably has one." He was looking at Johnny who nodded his head.

"Who?" I asked.

"My brother," he answered. "If you guys wanna come to my house I can ask 'im." His voice was hopeful and I didn't miss the quick glance he gave Nessa while he was saying it. I looked at my sister, biting her lip in that way she does, her eyes practically begging me to say yes.

"A'right," I agreed and they both smiled. I glanced at Johnny, he rolled his eyes.

So we followed them down the street to Ponyboy's house. It wasn't a very big place. The gate was rusty and gave a horrible 'squeak' when we pushed it open. The front lawn was composed mostly of weeds and what little grass there was, was yellow. It was pretty average for this neighbourhood.

Inside on the couch there were three boys. Two of them I didn't recognize, one of them I did.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" Dallas Winston asked me. I was too surprised by his sudden presence in my life again to answer him.

"You guys know each other?" Pony asked, glancing back and forth between us. I shook my head in an attempt to bring myself back to my senses.

"No, not exactly," I answered. "He saved my from some Socs a couple of weeks ago."

"Really?" one of the other guys on the couch questioned, looking at Dallas. He didn't say anything, he was too busy glaring at me.

"Oh, sorry," Pony quickly said, realizing he hadn't introduced us. "Vanessa, Morgan, this is my brother Soda, and Steve Randle, and that's Dallas Winston. Guys, this is Vanessa and Morgan Starr."

"Hi," I greeted, giving Soda and Steve a small smile. They both greeted us back.

"Soda, do we got a spark plug that Morgan could have?" Pony asked for me.

"Uh, yeah, I think so," he replied, getting up and going further into the house. "Yeah, found one."

"You think you could show me how to use that thing?" I asked. "I have no idea what it is I'm doin'."

"No problem," Soda replied and him and Steve followed me back to my house. Nessa stayed there to hang out with Pony and Johnny.

And Dallas? Well, he didn't stop giving me that glare until I left.