now, for ponyboy and kim. they had been going out for a week and people have been teasing them relentlessly. it was more playful, though. they were exact opposites in every way, yet they made a cute couple. kim was happy, and from what i heard from soda, pony was happy, too. at the party on friday, we're going to make them kiss in front of us before it ends.
kim came over on friday, flustered. she didn't have any good 'greaser' clothes to wear to the party. that made me laugh. kim has so many t-shirts in the closet, and so many jeans, there must've been a reason she was asking for my clothes. all my clothes were made to...well, show off the chest. mine was unusually big, and i wasn't being modest. it could hurt to hug people sometimes. and can you guess what two-bit loves to do? hug me.
"c'mon, kaylyn! let me borrow something for the party. we can go together, i don't have nothin' to wear. please!" kim was practically on her hands and knees begging me. my clothes weren't that fabulous.
"geez, kim, okay. let's go look." i let her in the house, and instantly she bolted up the stairs. that surprised me. kim? running? my god, she must really love ponyboy. i crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow as i followed her to my room. she was digging in my closet, looking through all my clothes. wow, kim, just wow. she picked up a skirt, putting it in front of her legs and turning in front of the mirror. she wanted to wear a skirt?
"kim, are you whoring yourself out? you never ever wear skirts!" i exclaimed. what was up with her?
"well, i wanna look good for pony. i mean, he looks at that cherry girl all the time, in her short skirt and such. maybe, if i wear a short skirt he'll look at me more."
"oh, kim, don't start. you know he likes you, or he wouldn't have gone out with you." she nodded, still posing with the skirt in front of my mirror. how come i could solve everyone's problems but my own? i put my hand on my hip, waiting for her to choose an outfit. eventually, she chose a plain black sleeveless shirt, my favorite shirt, and a short, black skirt. since when did i have more than one skirt in my closet? she went to the bathroom in the hallway while i chose an outfit. i chosen jeans that i had taken from two-bit, girls rarely wore jeans, only during casual occasions, but i liked the way i looked in them. i put on a sleeveless bright blue shirt, tucking them into my pants, before grabbing one of my dad's belts i had taken and decorated with glitter, so now it sparkled red. i brushed back my hair, leaving it down and letting it hang over my shoulders. i pinned my bangs back with a bobby pin.
"kim, hurry up!" i knocked on the bathroom door. "you're taking too long." i heard a muffled statement from the other side of the door, knowing it wasn't something civil i laughed to myself. i wondered how this night would turn out.
two-bit met me at the front of the curtis' house, as did ponyboy and sodapop. oh, was i happy. this was going to be a good party.
"hey, kaylyn," i guess soda tried to glance me over before two-bit caught on, but unfortunately, he got caught.
"careful, soda, sandy's been on the edge lately. oh, wait..." my heart skipped a beat when i heard this. sandy. i hadn't seen her in days, to be honest, i didn't care, either. she must've given up on trying to get me to leave soda alone. "aren't you gonna tell kaylyn the news?" two-bit let out an obnoxious guffaw as soda crossed his arms. i turned to him. good news? no. two-bit didn't know about good news, good news was usually not good for me. except for this time around.
"me an' sandy...broke up yesterday." soda rubbed the back of his head, "we just, well. she got real clingy and she wasn't the same person that i had been with in the beginning. i don't know. she broke up wit' me, anyway. i would've done it if she hadn't." well, it was semi-good news. sandy broke up with him, so that means it's more than likely he still loves her, but on the bright side, they aren't together anymore, so he's fair game.
"aw, that's horrible." two-bit laughed, knowing i didn't actually care about sandy. in fact, if i had heard this over the phone i would've squealed with delight and jumped up and down like a soc girl seeing a 'sale' sign. "are you okay, soda?" he smiled, shaking his head.
"nah, i'm fine, don't worry 'bout me. c'mon, it's a party, right?" soda playfully wrapped an arm around my shoulders, making me turn pink. i was glad it was so dark outside. kim must've snuck inside while i talked with the two guys, 'cause i didn't see her when i turned around. she was nowhere to be seen. 'can't keep yourself offa pony, huh kim?' i thought with a roll of my eyes. i then entered the curtis house. it wasn't clean, but it wasn't dirty. it was actually pretty cozy. their home was moderately sized, not too big but not too small. i don t see how a family of five could've lived in there though.
dally was smoking by the window, with amber by his side. she was wearing a skirt, heels, and some white shirt. guess i didn't really care about her anymore. i had sodapop to pay attention to. soda led me to the couch, making me sit in the middle. i swear i saw kim in pony and soda's room, while darry was in the kitchen, cooking i guess. steve had some cards in his hands, and soda walked over and sat in front of him, starting to play cards again. johnny was sitting on the right side of the couch, looking as innocent as a puppy. it kinda looked like he didn't want to be here.
"hey, johnny, why're you lookin' so gloomy?" he jumped, turning to look at me with wide eyes. his brown eyes were wide. i musta scared him. "sorry, johnny." he blushed.
"n-no, don't worry about it. i ain't gloomy, i jus' don't feel much like bein' here." johnny sighed.
"oh, why not? don't you usually hang around dally when you're out? wait." amber was hanging around dally, and before i had met them, amber constantly complained about johnny. she called him annoying and ugly. i didn't like that. he definetly wasn't ugly. not at all. i would date him if i hadn't met sodapop before.
"i don't like hangin' around dal when he's with a girl. 'specially not her." johnny murmured. i must say i couldn't blame him. once you got to know her, she was fun to hang around with, but if you didn't, she looked like the biggest snob you had ever met. almost as much as the soc girls, or most of them anyway.
"right, i see why." i started. steve glanced up at me, winking and making me roll my eyes at him. he knew about soda an' sandy, , i wasn't going to let anything bring me down today. i tried to make a conversation with johnny, but he didn't seem very interested in that. i think he just wanted to go to the vacant lot and look at the stars.
"wanna go look at the stars, johnny?" he gave me a surprised look. he stuttered out a 'yes', and we both snuck outside. we sat on the porch, just watchin' the stars. he seemed more content out here, away from everyone else. i enjoyed his company. he didn't constantly laugh, question mw, or even talk. we just looked at the stars and relaxed. we were sitting on the steps, i was waiting for dally, who could see everything from the window, to say something, but he didn't. i think dally and amber were watching us.
"man, it's gettin' cold," i rubbed my arms.
"you should wear a jacket then," i felt a warm jacket on my head. i looked up to meet soda's dark blue eyes.
"u-uh, i'll be right back..." johnny stood up, walking into the house with his hands stuffed in his pockets. i watched him leave, silently thanking god for this moment with soda. he sat beside me, looking up into the night sky.
"real pretty, ain't it?" his hand softly brushed mine. "people don't really get to see it because they're all uptight. they have so many worries in the world. not me, though. whatever's planned is planned. and i don't plan on letting anything stop me from doing what i want."
"hee, sodapop, what do you wanna do?"
"i wanna have a family. a small family with a daughter and a beautiful woman as my wife. it'll be a happy family." he just said everything a girl wanted for the future. to marry a sweet and caring husband who's also attractive, and to have a kid or two with him. then, they raise a happy family and live happily ever after. it sounded good to me.
"heh, it's funny how lookin' at the stars can make ya think, huh?" i stated. soda nodded from beside me.
"what about you?" sodapop asked, turning his head towards me. "what do you wanna do when your older?"
"well... i guess i don't know. i've never been asked before so i haven't thought much about it." i murmured. it had me thinkin' now. what was i gonna do when i was older? where would i work, live, and play? would i still have the same friends? will i even get a job and be able to support myself? should i get married and have kids? so many questions yet so little time to actually answer them.
"well, i hope i'm in it." my eyes widened, my face turning dark red as i looked at him. he was a lot closer then before, in fact we were pretty much smashed together. i could tell the others were watching us, which only made me all the more embarrassed.
"why'd you really break up with sandy?" i asked. soda stiffened from beside me. i had to know why he broke up with her. they seemed so much in love, and suddenly they break up. there's always a reason for something.
"the truth is...we grew apart. everything wasn't as happy as it seemed. sandy...cheated on me. twice." that bitch. she cheated on the perfect guy? did she even know how lucky she was to have someone like him? someone who really cared about you, someone who could listen when you're sad and deperessed, or when you're angry...i couldn't say anything. i didn't know what to say. just...how could she? "and..."
"soda, you don't have to, you know." i placed my hand on his, softly squeezing it.
"she's pregnant. i was going to marry her, but then she moved away to florida..." soda looked away from me. wait, if she was pregnant and she denied his marriage proposal...
"it wasn't yours..." soda smiled at me sadly.
"yeah...so she's gone now..." soda fell silent. i was quiet, too. i still didn't know what to say. sandy cheated on soda with some other guy, she betrayed soda's trust. i turned to him, surprised to see he was facing me with a smile. he still looked sad, though.
"soda?" i squeaked. he was closer now, i could hear the others shuffling in the house as they watched us. i didn't know what to do, so i stayed still. soda closed his eyes.
"i've never had anyone i could really talk to. everyone like's to talk to me, but i've never had anyone to talk to. i mean pony, he's young. he doesn't have as many problems yet. darry's too serious. and the others, it's just not something you'd discuss with your friends. if my mom and dad were still around, i might've been able to talk to them." his eyes were getting watery, and i feared that he would start crying. i mean, it's great that he could cry in front of me, but what would i even do if he cried?
"thanks for listenin' kaylyn. now, maybe we should go inside before they break down the door," he shifted away from me, pointing his thumb at the door. i saw a few curous onlookers, but they quickly backed away to the door while we stood up. i was about to open the door when soda grabbed my hand. i was surprised, and i was about to call out his name, but i was cut off when his lips softly brushed against mine. i froze in place, letting him kiss me. i didn't mind at all. in fact, it was all i could've imagined. i leaned forward, letting my free hand rest on his shoulder. the kiss was sweet, but too short for my liking.
he gave me a starry-eyed smile, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as we walked into the house. my dreams had been answered. but nothing good can ever last long when my mom's still alive.