Chapter 2- Fires, Beer and Underwear
Kelly kicked at the foot of her door, sending it flying open further. She peered down the hallway to see her aunt setting down suitcases at the foot of her kitchen table. Fuck. Kelly took a long drag of her cigarette before flicking her leg upwards and ashing it on the bottom of her shoe. That would be the last cigarette she'd smoke in the house in a while. She retreated into her room and collected bits of trash that lay around: pop bottles, empty cartons, dirty underwear of a few of her male friends…
She threw all of it in the small trash bin in the corner and moved the bin into the closet out of sight. She scurried around, brushing off her bed and the small pleather couch in her room as well. As she spun around to head out, a small blonde stood by the door, a suitcase in each of her hands. Kelly gave her a blank look and pointed to the couch.
"That's yours for now. Until y'all can buy a bed for you." Kelly plopped herself down on her bed, opening a crumpled newspaper and grabbing a black marker from her night stand. She started to doodle over a picture of their town mayor. The blonde watched her for a few moments before walking over to the couch. She put both of her suitcases down.
"My mom already bought me a bed. It's getting delivered tomorrow…" she replied, almost in anguish. Kelly ignored her and continued her doodling.
The blonde looked around the room and was immediately disgusted. This wasn't like any place she had ever lived. Kate was from New York. She had lived in a luxury apartment with her mother and stepfather. Her mother was once a school teacher, but had stayed home for the past few years because her stepfather had asked her to. Now they had nothing, except for the clothes on their back and a couple of suitcases.
Kelly looked up at her finally, sort acknowledging her for the first time. "What's in the suitcases?"
Her cousin looked down at them and then back up at her. "Uh, what do you mean?"
Kelly rolled her eyes. "I mean what's in the suitcases? Didn't like all of your stuff burn right up?"
"Oh," the blonde replied. "Yeah, uh… dad gave me and mom some money for some clothes and essentials before we made the move." She turned around awkwardly and took a seat on the couch.
The redhead pushed herself up straight on her bed and crossed her arms. She was more than frustrated that this was all happening. It wasn't fair that her life had to be uprooted because of something that didn't even have to do with her. But if this was how life was going to be for a while, she'd have to make the best of it. "Kate," she started. "You're different than me and my friends around these parts. We ain't got money, or fancy cars, or much of a neighborhood. So if you wanna keep ya pretty face pretty, then I'd stay away."
Kate inhaled sharply. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then kept quiet. She shifted in her seat and tried to stay calm.
"Well, ya gonna answer? Ya gonna tell me you're pickin up what I'm puttin down?" Kelly challenged.
Kate smiled warmly and nodded. "Yeah, Kel… I understand."
"Kellllllllllly!" Jan's voice rang loudly from the other room. Kelly ignored her mother, rolling her eyes-her favorite thing to do- when she heard her mother yell a second and third time. Each time, Kate stared expectantly at her. After a few more times of her mother howling, with no response from either of the girls in the bedroom, she came bounding down the hallway, stopping at the door frame and putting her hands heavily on her hips. "Excuse me, you know I've been callin you for five minutes. That Two Bit Matthews called for you and asked if you were comin to a fire? You know I don't like that boy, Kelly Daton and I better not find out you're hangin around with him. That boy is 21 and no good!"
Kelly hopped up from the bed and shut the door in her mother's face. Kate was shocked, but even more shocked that her aunt made no effort for retaliation. Kelly began to shuffle through her closet, ripping out a collection of jean and shirts. She stripped off her shirt and pulled on a black tank. Her jeans were next, and she pulled on a dark, fresh pair. She brushed he fingers through her hair, not improving it much.
"Where are you going? And what's a Two Bit?" Kate asked, breaking the silence. Kelly didn't respond. Instead, she looked herself over and in a rusty, cracked full length mirror. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she turned around and smiled sardonically at her cousin as she walked out of her room.
Her mother, father, and aunt were all sitting around the kitchen table. Her Aunt Susan looked as though she had been crying, and that the three were all in some sort of serious discussion. Gross. Definitely not something Kelly was comfortable with. Kelly saluted her family with a dismissive wave of her two fingers at her forehead.
But her father stood, his chair screeching across the floor. "Take your cousin with you," he demanded. Kelly laughed and reached for the door handle, but found her hand being slapped down away from it. She gave her dad a look of disbelief.
"Excuse you, pa," she spat, folding her arms. "I ain't takin her. They're my friends, not hers. She wasn't invited."
Her dad was medium weight, only about six foot tall, and menacing. He worked in construction for a long time, was in decent shape, other than his smoking habit, and had a good heart. But all of it was accompanied by low income. "You're gonna take her. And she was invited because that Two Bit mentioned her to your mother on the telephone. So turn around and take her."
Hot in the face, Kelly stomped back toward her room, her ears burning and her mind racing. She'd sass her mother any day of the week, but when her father spoke, she listened. He was really a good guy; he used to be great friends with Mr. Curtis when he was alive, and even took to Darry these days. Darry worked with him from time to time on some of the city's projects.
Kelly gripped the handle on her bedroom door and pulled it shut behind her as she entered. Kate had still been sitting on the couch, looking at her hands in her lap. "Get up," she ordered. Kate stood abruptly and dropped her hands to her sides. "You're comin with me. But you ain't embarrassin me in those clothes." Kelly reached into her closet and threw a large white t-shirt at her cousin. It was very oversized, about five sizes too big for either of them. Kate peeled off her yellow fitted blouse and slipped her cousin's shirt on. It almost covered her shorts entirely, leaving only a smidge of denim peeking out and long slender legs standing beneath it. It contrasted her navy tennis shoes well. She looked to Kelly for approval, but was denied it as Kelly opened the door again and was already headed out. Kate scurried after her down the hall.
As they both entered the kitchen, the three adults looked up at them, Susan's face contorted a she saw what her daughter was wearing, though her beauty shone through no matter what she wore. Kelly pointed to her cousin and stared at her dad. "You happy?" she asked rhetorically.
Susan, Jan, nor Roy had a chance to answer before the two were out the door.
The lot wasn't particularly crowded, just the normal gang of misfits. The Curtis gang, some other greasers from town, and even a few people from Shepard's gang were all hanging around, wrestling, drinking, laughing. The two girls strode side by side, though Kelly imagined her cousin wasn't there. Kate didn't even look remotely related to her; she had long platinum blonde hair, down to the middle of her back, more of a slender frame, tan skin, and brown eyes. She was about two to three inches shorter than Kelly as well. The only similarity was the beauty mark they both possessed above their lips.
The fire was growing as they walked onto the lot; some of the boys were chucking old wooden chairs and brooms into it, making the flames reach higher. A muscular arm snaked Kelly around the waist, taking her by surprise. It was Two Bit.
"Kelly where's my pack from earlier girly?" he asked, burying his face into the crook of her neck. She shoved at him, pushing him off of her.
"I smoked 'um, and get your slobberin ass off me!" she hollered. He giggled his Two Bit giggle and poked at her side.
"Damn girl, gettin as bad as us with the smokin these days." He caught sight of Kate, who was now a few steps back. "Speakin of smokin…" he trailed off, running a hand down the side of his greasy hair. He moved to go in on the pretty blonde, but his collar was snagged by Kelly's fist.
"Uh uh.. Don't even think about it slick. That's my cuz," she warned, jealousy burning in her eyes. The greaser unhooked her hand from his shirt and shrugged.
"So? What's her name?" he asked, still transfixed on her. "Hey! Hey, honey! What's yer name?"
Kelly grabbed his arm, this time, swinging him around to face her instead. "Two Bit, go get us some beers…" she said, knowing that mentioning a couple of brews would spark his interest. And, she was right, because he turned so fast on his heels that you could just about see the sparks.
The redhead spotted Pony and Soda, along with the other guys and gestured for her cousin to follow her over. When they reached the boys, Kelly jumped onto Soda's back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He instinctively wrapped his own arms under her legs, and had her in a piggy-back. Pony winced. She made him uncomfortable often. But he took note of the blonde who sauntered up slowly behind her, and he stood from his spot on a log.
Pony extended his hand to her, and smiled sideways. "Hey, you must be the squa-" he stopped before he could finish, but Kate got the drift. She knew how Kelly referred to her most of the time.
Kate put her delicate hand in his rough one, and shook firmly. "The square, yeah…" she finished for him, smiling sympathetically. "I go by Kate most of the time. And you?" she asked.
He visibly relaxed. "I'm Ponyboy Curtis. And this is my brother Sodapop," he said, gesturing to the tall and handsome boy now setting Kelly down. Two Bit came bounding over, his hands cluttered with bottles, clanking as he hurried. He held out all of the bottles, and the group reached forward to grab one before he dropped them all. "And this is Two Bit." The lump smiled dorkily.
Kate threw her free hand up to greet them all. Kelly sneered in her direction. The blonde took a sip of the beer, wincing at the taste. It tasted bitter, and fizzed in her mouth. She looked back to Ponyboy. "I like your names. They're different. Nobody back home has names like those," she said, forcing another sip.
"Yeah, my mom, she liked to be different. She said we'd all be unique, so she gave us unique names." Pony took a swig. "We got another brother. Darrell. He's about the only one who got let off easy by our ma."
Kelly stepped forward, clinking her beer bottle against her cousin's and taking a long drink. "What, ya don't drink, cuz?" she mocked, letting out a small giggle.
Kate shook her head. "No, I've drank before.. I'm just used to martinis I guess." Back in New York, they were a little more sophisticated than here in Tulsa. The kids from her school all drank martinis at parties, and the guys smoked cigars, not cigarettes. She was a long way from home now, and all of her friends were back in New York, sipping their martinis in a luxury apartment; just not hers.
Kelly shook her head and dismissed her cousin. "Speaking of Darry, where is he? I thought he was coming tonight?"
The small crowd got quiet for a minute. Soda and Pony looked away and sipped on their beers. Kelly and Kate exchanged confused looks, for once being on one side together. Two Bit cleared his throat and spoke up first, breaking the silence.
"He's picking up Dally. They're lettin him out of the joint a week early. Actually, they're probably-"
But he was cut off by the commotion at the edge of the lot. Greasers were lining up to greet two of their own, one who had just gotten back in town two years later. They were all patting a tall and lanky kid on the back. He looked sick, and run down. Darrell gently pushed some of their friends away, giving Dallas Winston some room to breathe beside him. Darry wrapped an arm around Dallas' neck and pulled him toward their gang, who were all staring in disbelief.
Kelly's stomach knotted and she couldn't move. Soda felt her grab at his wrist weakly, and he took pity on the girl and clasped her hand, which she quickly pulled away from. She hadn't seen Dally ever look so wrong. They both suffered from Johnny's death, and she wanted to be selfish about it, and keep all of the grief to herself. However, she also wanted into Dallas' mind; to understand why he was so hung up about Johnny, and to find out why he liked girls like Cherry Valance. In short, she wanted to sleep with him, but not because she liked him. She just wanted to get as close to Johnny as she could get. And since Pony would never go for it, Dallas Winston was the next best thing.
Darry and Dally finally reached the group, and Soda was the first to step forward and give him a pat on the back. This group knew that Dally wasn't a hugger. Hell, he probably was never hugged as a child. A good pat on the back was all he needed. The others stepped forward and gave him handshakes, all exchanging words of kindness, saying how much they all missed him. Kelly stayed where she was but watched him. He didn't even look at her.
Soda held up his beer. "I think we should all toast to Dally. Welcome home, pal," he toasted. The others raised their beer and Dally nodded, forcing a smile.
"To Dally!" Two Bit declared.
"To Dally!" the group followed.
Kate clinked her beer along with the others, but her presence became known to Dallas all of a sudden. He took notice of her bright hair, and they locked eyes instantly. When everyone finished their drinks, they saw the little exchange, and the air became thick and tense.
"Uh, Dal, this is Kelly's cuz. Her name's Kate. She'll be around a while," Pony introduced.
"Unfortunately... " Kelly muttered. Soda elbowed her playfully then rustled her hair.
Kate outstretched her hand to Dallas, feeling bad that she was toasting a boy she didn't know. And she had no idea what he'd done to land himself in jail. This wasn't the type of person she usually would surround herself with. But then, she normally wouldn't be hanging around any of these people on a normal day. He took her hand and shook it quickly then released.
"So, uh…. What kind of underwear ya wearin? Any of you guys find out yet?" he asked, chuckling to himself. Two Bit laughed of course, but the others shifted uncomfortably. Kelly's fists balled and jealousy arose in her eyes again.
Kate withdrew suddenly dropped her beer, which shattered against the gravel and sand, and she threw her open palm across Dallas Winston's face. The gang broke into a laughter, along with Dally, who found it amusing as well. Kate tossed her platinum hair over her shoulder, which looked as red as Kelly's against the glare of the fire, and walked across the lot toward a different group of greasers. Pony chased after her.
"She ain't fun, Dally, don't waste your time. She's not a Cherry Valance who's bored with her own life. She's got fancy shmancy morals," Kelly said, stepping toward him.
He looked up as he lit a cigarette. "I said it because I thought she was as easy as you, broad," he said, puffing. "So if she won't show me her underwear, why don't you- ya know what? Nah. I don't think I wanna see those things."
Kelly shook her head, trying to hold back all of her offensive thoughts. "Soda, walk me back to your place?" she asked. He nodded, downing the rest of his drink. "Ya know I'm tired of hangin around punks all the time who only give a shit about gettin into a girl's pants."