Note: I don't own The Outsiders

Chapter 38

Sarah had to admit that she was a little disappointed that Darry's idea of an "East Side kind of night" was to go bowling. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she definitely didn't think it was going to require a shoe rental.

Darry spun around on his heel as he made another strike, pumping his arm back in victory. He did that every time. "Showoff," she muttered under her breath as she made the mark on the scorecard. She had never seen him act this way. He was competitive. Very competitive.

He also seemed to object to the way she chose to bowl. Apparently, her technique was lacking. Part of her hoped he would come up and show her the proper technique - the way a guy in a movie would always show the helpless girl how to play pool, or swing a golf club, or, well, throw a bowling ball. She even suggested it to him, but he didn't get the hint.

He came over to the table she was sitting at and knelt down, so that he was at eye level with her. "So, what's the score now?" He was grinning. Of course he was, he was winning.

"Does it really matter?" she asked as she stood up, dropping the pencil on top of the paper. Darry's row was full of X's, whereas hers was riddled with numbers, small numbers. Embarrassingly small numbers. She had an excuse - she hadn't bowled in years and she didn't own her own bowling ball. Darry, of course had his own ball … and shoes. Apparently, they had belonged to his dad. Hers were rented, and they pinched.

As she was reaching for her bowling ball, Darry suddenly grabbed her hand. "You feelin' alright? You seem a little --" His voice trailed off and Sarah suddenly felt guilty.

A piece of hair had come loose from the scarf she had holding it up in a ponytail. She absentmindedly pushed it behind her ear with her free hand as she looked down at her shoes, studying the scuff marks on the worn leather. "I guess I'm not much fun tonight?" she said as she looked up, her eyes meeting his.

His mouth was moving, but she was suddenly deaf, unable to hear him. He hadn't let go of her hand and his thumb was making lazy circles across her knuckles. All her attention was focused that single sensation, the din of the crashing pins and loud rock music disappearing into a distant haze.

"What?" she asked dumbly, realizing he was talking to her.

Darry smiled - a crooked, knowing smile. Something fluttered in her stomach. She chalked it up to the lousy pizza the place served - at least that would have been the cause if they'd actually received the order for food that they'd placed almost a half an hour ago.

"I said, 'Bowling wasn't such a great idea?'" Darry said, apparently repeating himself. Sarah felt her cheeks grow hot as she stumbled for an answer.

"No, it's not that at all. Bowling is fine. I'm terrible at it, but bowling is fine."

"How about a beer?"

Her shoulders slumped in relief, like they'd finally found a solution. "A beer sounds wonderful. It might even help with my game," she joked.

"Couldn't hurt," Darry said with a laugh as he dropped her hand and made his way toward the bar located past the pinball and skeeball machines.

She stepped up to the line just as he called out, "Little to the right, Sarah."

Sighing, she took a step, swung her arm and released the ball a little harder than she intended. The sound of one pin falling barely registered above the noise of the place.

A piercing scream tore through the dark room. A woman's scream. Dramatic music started to build, the notes growing darker and deeper as a shadowy figure approached, lurking in the trees.

"So you guys are just going to sit there all night, watching crummy horror movies?" Tom's deep voice rumbled from behind, causing Ponyboy to jump, spilling popcorn all over the couch.

"Yeah," Johnny answered with a laugh as he brushed kernels off his shirt. There was a marathon of horror movies on TV that night - The Blob, The Thing, The Creature From the Black Lagoon - the works. Right now, the wolfman was sneaking up on some lady lost in the woods and, well, things weren't looking so good for the lady.

"You aren't actually scared of this crap are you?" Tom asked as he came around the couch and sat in the recliner, a beer in one hand and an unlit cigar in the other.

"Nah," the two boys answered simultaneously. Johnny looked at Ponyboy out of the corner of his eye. Pony had already jumped three times tonight and the movie had only really just started. He was lying, and not doing a very good job of it at the moment. He wondered if he realized he was clutching the pillow so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Tom reached down the side of his chair and pulled on the handle, raising the footrest. He sighed heavily as he settled back and took a sip of beer. "Long damn day at work. You wouldn't believe how stupid these kids must think we are. At least that Mathews kid has the sense to stay out of my department."

Ponyboy made a choking sound and Johnny reached over and pounded on his back.

"You okay, man?" he asked as he locked eyes with Pony. He could guess what he was thinking, probably same thing he was. Shit, he knows about Two-Bit.

"Popcorn," Pony said as way of explanation, his voice rough and a little shaky.

Tom was chuckling softly. "Relax, guys. Two-Bit Mathews is something of a legend when it comes to department store security guards. He's like the holy grail of busts. I knew who he was the second he stepped into this house."

"You ain't gonna arrest him, are you?" Johnny asked, the movie momentarily forgotten. He knew it sounded silly - Two-Bit came over practically every day without it being a problem. Yet, Tom had never mentioned knowing anything about Two-Bit's extra-curricular activities before.

"We'll just consider the house neutral territory," Tom said.

"Like Switzerland," Ponyboy added through a mouthful of popcorn.

The beer wasn't helping, but at least it was making things interesting.

Sarah's bowling ball had become very fond of the gutter, and she was just fine with that. Darry still did his little cheer after every strike, but now it struck her as funny instead of as annoying. She was tempted to do one after every gutter ball, but hadn't worked up the nerve yet. Maybe after her second beer.

All in all, things were looking up.

The waitress eventually brought their food. "Small pizza, two cheeseburgers, fries, chocolate malt, Pepsi," she droned in the most unenthusiastic voice Sarah had ever heard. She plopped the tray down on the table located behind the chairs at their lane and stood there, waiting, popping her gum. Darry stared at her for a beat or two, then suddenly stepped up, fishing in his pocket for change.

"Oh right, here you go. Thank you," he said as he handed over the tip.

The waitress studied coins in her hand, picked out a piece of lint and flung it onto the floor. "Jeez, thanks pal. Now I can retire and live out my dreams," she said in a husky drawl as she walked away, muttering to herself about cheapskates and greasers.

Darry and Sarah exchanged a stunned glance that quickly dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"See, Soda, told you they'd be havin' a good time. And look, they ordered us dinner." The familiar voice brought their laughter to a sudden halt. Sarah was wiping the tears from her eyes as she turned her attention to the crowd that had gathered around their food. Or rather, the crowd that had begun to devour their food.

"Put. The. Milkshake. Down." Darry said coolly, his voice cutting through the racket with ease and precision. Sarah tried not to laugh at the confused expression on Two-Bit's face as he slowly placed the glass back on the table.

"And the pizza," Darry added steadily. Like he was handling a bomb, Two-Bit carefully returned the slice to the box and closed the lid. He stepped back, his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

Two-Bit was joined by Sodapop and Steve and three girls Sarah didn't recognize. The tallest girl, a striking brunette, didn't look too thrilled to be there.

"Bowling? Steve you promised me a nice night out." Her arms were crossed and she was tapping her foot on the wooden floor, impatient as all get out and apparently a little angry. Steve put an arm around her shoulders, but her expression hardened.

"Easy, Evie. If you're gonna blame anyone, blame Soda. This was his idea." Evie rolled her eyes as Steve gently steered her towards the seats circling the lane Sarah and Darry were using.

The rest of the gang followed, filling the chairs. Sarah looked at Darry and raised her eyebrows. Their date had suddenly turned into a gathering.

Darry closed his eyes and started muttering something under his breath. Sarah wasn't sure, but it sounded like he was counting. He reached the number ten, stopped, took a deep breath, and turned to his brother.

"Soda …"

Tom reached into his pocket and withdrew a lighter. He flicked it open, the flame illuminating his face in the dark. The end of his cigar glowed softly as he drew in a couple of puffs, filling the room instantly with smoke.

"Thought tonight was poker night," Johnny said, eyeing the cigar skeptically. Tom never smoked in the house, Mary wouldn't let him. Tom reasoned that Mary wouldn't be back for a few hours and all evidence would be gone. Right, Johnny thought but didn't say anything. She'd know the minute she stepped into the house what he'd been up to.

Mary had left a little while ago for her monthly book club meeting, clutching a tray of brownies and a pristine copy of some book called Rebecca. Johnny had asked her if it was any good and she had waved her hand absentmindedly and chuckled, but never actually answered the question. He had a feeling she hadn't read it, which didn't make any sense since it was for a book club where they presumably talked about books.

"Jimmy's wife made him take her out to dinner. It's their anniversary," Tom explained. "Jimmy was not happy about that. I was not happy about that. I cleaned up last week and was looking forward to taking everybody's money again this week."

Tom stood up and knelt down by the television, continuing to talk over his shoulder.. "You guys ever want to learn how to play poker, let me know."

Pony and Johnny shared an quick, amused glance while Tom was distracted, fiddling with the volume knob. "That sounds like a great idea, Mr. Martin. Me and Johnny wouldn't mind getting a few pointers. Maybe you guys could deal us in some night - that would be cool, huh Johnny?"

"Uh, sure. I mean, how hard can it be?" Johnny had to dig his fingernails into the palm of his hand in order to keep from grinning. For some reason, his poker face only ever worked while playing poker.

"School starts on Monday?" Tom asked, changing the subject as the movie went to a commercial. Johnny resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Tom knew full well that school started on Monday. This was just his way of making him talk about it. He was tired of talking about it and thinking about it, he just wanted to get it over with.

"Yeah, junior year," Pony said, his voice laced with excitement. Aside from the Socs, Ponyboy actually liked school. Johnny had always hated it, feeling stupid and out of place. These last few months of studying at home, though, had been like the key to some lock in his brain had been turned. Everything was making more sense and he was getting stuff right for the first time in his life.

He finished the school year with three B's and two C's. Any other year, he would have been relieved to get a report card without any F's. B's were unheard of. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was proud of what he had accomplished. Now he was afraid it would all start to slip out of his grasp again, that he would go back to being that screw up in the back row.

He wasn't sure what he was more afraid of - getting around school in a wheelchair while everyone stared at the crippled kid, facing down Bob's friends and any other angry Socs who felt they had a score to settle, or getting back his first test and seeing a big red F, validating what his parents and teachers had been telling him since kindergarten - that he was dumb and would never amount to anything. It was definitely a tossup, one he was tired of worrying about.

"Yeah, Monday," he said quietly, "can't wait."

Now Sarah was losing to seven people instead of just one.

The other girls looked just as thrilled as she did to be there but at least they managed to knock down a few pins. The boys, however, didn't notice that their companions would rather be anywhere else but there. They were whooping and hollering and making a general spectacle out of themselves. Well, at least Two-Bit was, but that didn't come as any sort of surprise.

An old Chuck Berry song came on and Two-Bit pulled his girlfriend, Kathy, up from her chair. She followed reluctantly as he persuaded her to do some sort of weird version of the twist. It wasn't long before the cute blonde was laughing and spinning around with just as much enthusiasm as her boyfriend.

The crowd in the adjoining lane was clapping along, encouraging them. Soda grabbed the hand of the girl he was with - Jenny, Sarah thought he'd said. She shyly ducked her head and her movements were awkward to say the least.

Sarah glanced at Darry who was shaking his head in amusement. He must have felt her eyes on him because he turned his head slowly, meeting her gaze. He looked a little terrified. "You don't wanna …" his voice trailed off.

"God, no," she said with a laugh and Darry looked like he was about to melt into his seat with relief.

Steve looked at Evie who was studying her manicure, which was now chipped and peeling, courtesy of the bowling ball. "No," was all she said, her mouth forming a tight line as her eyes narrowed. She crossed her legs, a move that seemed impossible in her tight black skirt.

Steve didn't say anything as he leaned back in his chair, deftly sliding one arm around Evie's shoulders. She stiffened and scooted up in her seat, a move that Steve either didn't notice or chose to ignore.

"Come on, baby," Steve started, his voice low. Evie didn't answer, but her leg started bouncing up in down in an angry rhythm.

The song came to an end and another started. It was Rock around the Clock. Kathy was headed for the chairs, out of breath and a little wobbly, when Two-Bit reached out and grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're goin'?" Two-Bit asked with a grin when Evie stood up suddenly, knocking Steve off balance.

"To the ladies room," she announced, grabbing Kathy's other arm. There was a brief moment where it looked like Kathy was going to be the prize in a tug-of-war, but Two-Bit relented and dropped her arm. Kathy mouthed the word Sorry to her boyfriend and comically rolled her eyes as the leggy brunette pulled her toward the bathroom. Jenny followed, though Sarah wasn't quite sure why since the other girls had barely acknowledged her all evening.

Sarah stood up and Darry looked up at her. "You, too?"

"I'm not being nosy," she started to explain.

Darry grinned. "Right."

He was going to make her say it, wasn't he? Well, it would serve him right. She pointed over to the half eaten food and scattered drinks on the table behind them.

"Two beers, remember?" She was rewarded with a slight blush that crept into his cheeks.

"Right," he repeated as he looked down, suddenly interested in checking the math on everyone's scores.

The ladies room was full of smoke and Sarah had to stifle a cough when she opened the door. Evie looked her up and down as she entered the room.

"Well, look here, it's the librarian," she said in a snide tone.

"Social worker," she corrected her, though she wasn't sure why she bothered.

Evie turned around, her back to Sarah as she flicked some ashes into the sink. "Good for you," she said with a shrug.

Kathy nudged her friend in the arm. "Be nice."

"Is everything okay?" Sarah couldn't help asking - part of it was concern and part of it probably was nosiness, if she was being honest with herself. She could really be too much like her dad sometimes.

"Everything is fine," Kathy said in a calming tone as she rubbed Evie's arm.

Evie laughed bitterly. "Yeah, just fine - if you want to call my complete asshole of a boyfriend fine."

Sarah remained silent, having learned from her dad that sometimes it was best to just step back and let the suspect talk himself into a confession.

"Sweetie, you don't know for sure …" Kathy said. Jenny was completely silent and Sarah had almost forgotten she was there.

"Oh, I know. I found the box, remember. And he tried to casually mention how special tonight was. I even got dressed up."

Sarah tried not to be too obvious as she surveyed this girl's idea of "dressed up". Tight black skirt, paired with an equally tight hot pink blouse that was unbuttoned low enough to be just this side of obscene, and bowling shoes. Okay, the bowling shoes were beside the point. Sarah could remember the three inch heels she had arrived in and her feet ached just thinking about them.

"He's changed his mind. I know it." Evie braced her hands on the sink and stared into the mirror. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Kathy laughed suddenly. "Bowling does not equal backing out."

"Well, I hope you're right because if Steve Randle doesn't ask me to marry him soon, I'm going to have to kill him."

The Wolfman had ended and now they were watching The Creature From the Black Lagoon. The monster was slowly creeping up behind an unsuspecting woman, ready to snatch her and drag her into the water. Minus the fur, it was almost the exact same thing they just finished watching.

"Is it the new tutor?" Pony asked as he dug into the bag of pretzels. They'd finished off the popcorn and had moved onto pretzels and potato chips.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Is that what's bugging you about Monday?"

"No, that's not it. I'd kind of forgotten about that, so thanks for bringing it up," he said with a grimace.

"You're welcome," Pony answered with a grin as he returned his attention to the movie.

Tom was watching the exchange from his seat, Johnny could feel him staring at him, looking for clues. It didn't happen often, but every once in a while Tom would make him feel like he was on trial for something - something he was pretty sure he was guilty of although he had no idea just what it was he was supposed to have done.

"Ponyboy, I'm think there might be another jar of popcorn hidden behind some stuff in the cupboard. Mind checking and maybe making a fresh batch? These chips are stale," Tom said as he dropped the bag of chips on the coffee table and wiped the grease from his hands onto the chair.

Pony looked from the TV screen to Tom and back again. "Uh, sure." He sounded a little reluctant as he got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen, his feet dragging. Johnny wasn't surprised when Tom leaned over the arm of his chair and looked him directly in the eye.

"Okay, kid, time to spill."

"I'm fine," Johnny said without hesitation and Tom groaned.

"Jesus, if I had a dime for every time you gave me that answer, I'd be a rich man."

What was he supposed to say? That he was scared? That was sure tough.

"It's not a big deal. I'll get through it," he said quietly.

"You do that a lot, don't you? Get through things?"

Johnny just shrugged. Crappy or not, he really just wanted to watch the movie.

"When Sarah asked us to be foster parents, I was against it at first," Tom admitted, staring at the bottle he was holding, peeling the label off. "We had a tough go of it last year and I didn't want to bring another kid into this house and risk opening up just-healed wounds. Or, hell, risk creating new ones."

Johnny stared at Tom, taken aback by his sudden confession. Tom never really talked about himself before, a fact Johnny hadn't thought about until just then. This house felt more like a home to him than the one he grew up in, but he was essentially living with strangers.

Tom continued, the usual gruffness gone from his voice. "I guess what I'm tryin' to say is that I'm glad we decided to go through with it."

"I'm glad, too," Johnny said quietly, absentmindedly picking at the edge of the arm of the couch.

"So, you can trust me with anything. I won't ever get mad, or make you feel stupid, or ridicule you. You understand that, right?"

"Sure, I understand …"

"Well?" Tom prompted not too subtlety.

"I'm --"

"Fine … I know," Tom finished for him with a frustrated sigh.

A loud crash sounded from the kitchen, followed by a string of curses and the faint smell of something burning. Pony came stumbling into the family room, a strange look on his face - kind of a mixture of fear and embarrassment.

"Uh, Mr. Martin … you wouldn't by any chance have a fire extinguisher handy, would you?"

"You were going to what?" Darry's voice rose in disbelief.

"Steve was gonna ask Evie to marry him tonight. Weren't ya, Steve?" Soda nudged his friend who remained stony faced, staring straight ahead. "Then he chickened out."

That got Steve's attention. "I did not chicken out," he said, his voice like granite. Suddenly, a loud clucking sounded behind them.

"Two-Bit," Steve said steadily without looking behind him at the culprit, "remember how I worked on my uncle's farm a few summers back? Had to ring the necks of a bunch of those chickens. Yeah, got pretty good at it, too."

Two-Bit's last Cluck trailed off - a sad, dejected sound. Obnoxious laughter quickly replaced it and Darry looked to see who the source was.

Two-Bit was leaning against the wall, bent slightly at the waist as he whispered something in the ear of some ditzy looking broad with teased blonde hair. Apparently, what he was saying was the funniest thing she'd ever heard because she didn't stop giggling the whole time he was talking to her. She was leaning heavily on his arm, her generous assets brushing against his chest in what was probably the most blatant come-on Darry had ever seen.

At the precise moment Darry realized the girls hadn't returned from the ladies room yet, an angry voice blurted out, "You've got to be kidding me." Well, they'd obviously come back and Kathy was obviously not happy about what she saw.

She stormed over to a crowded table full of a bunch of older greasers, grabbed their pitcher of beer, and marched over to her boyfriend and the ditz. Two-Bit was too busy telling cheesy jokes and looking down the low-cut sweater of his new friend to realize what was about to happen. One minute he was laughing and flirting, and the next he was showering in beer.

"What the hell?" he sputtered.

"You are an idiot," Kathy punctuate each word with a shake of the pitcher, forcing every last drop to land on top of his head.

"Kath, it's not what it looks like."

"You know, that starts to sound like a lie after I've heard it for the twentieth time."

"But --"

She cut him off, tossing her hair over her shoulder and placing a hand on her hip. "We're through, I mean it this time."

Steve discreetly slipped a five out of his pocket and passed it onto to Soda. "Damn it, I had next week," he groaned.

Soda grinned as he pocketed the money. "Nah, that would've been three months. They've never lasted three months."

Steve was about to say something else when Evie stepped up next to him, her hand out, palm up. "Keys. Now," she said sharply.

"Right," Steve snorted, but she didn't budge.

"Now."

Rolling his eyes, he dug into the front pocket of his jeans and reluctantly pulled out the keys to his car. She snatched them from his hand before he could change his mind.

"It's still early. It ain't time to go home," he protested.

"You can walk home for all I care. I'm going home, in your car, without you in it." She leaned down and grabbed her purse and heels from under one of the chairs. "Kathy, grab your stuff, we're leaving."

Evie started to leave and then stopped and looked at Jenny, who was surveying the scene with wide eyes. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do. Darry had no idea when Soda had started dating her. He could have sworn that Soda was dating someone named Candy last week, and there was a girl named Carol a month ago that he swore he was serious about. Soda's life had become a revolving doll of girls - all tiny blonde's with bright blue eyes. They were all carbon copies of Sandy, a fact he was positive had escaped his brother's notice.

Evie grabbed Jenny by the arm. "Come on, you're coming with us."

The three girls quickly left, leaving behind a trio of bewildered boyfriends. Steve kept staring at his hand like the keys would magically reappear. Two-Bit didn't even try to mop up the beer and a large puddle was forming under the chair he was currently slouched in.

Soda kept staring at the exit, his brow furrowed in confussion. "I can't believe they took Jamie with them."

"Jenny," Darry and Sarah both said simultaneously.

"Huh?" Soda said, blinking slowly.

"Jenny," Darry explained with a sigh, "her name is … oh, forget it."

Sarah walked over and sat down in the chair next to him. She had an amused expression on her face. He wasn't sure what her reaction to everything was going to be - he was glad to see the smile.

"Interesting night," she said, the wryness in her voice making him grin. She leaned into him a little and he instinctively placed his arm around her shoulders. She didn't push him away or stiffen like he was afraid of. Instead she melted into him, like she belonged there.

"Yeah. Say, what are you doing next week?" he asked with a laugh, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Uh, Darry," Soda asked, loudly clearing his throat. "We kind of need a ride home."

Darry started to count again under his breath and he felt Sarah shaking in his arms, laughing.

"One, two, --"

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A/N - Sorry this took so long to write. It just kept going, and going, and going ... Anyway, thanks again for all the great reviews - you guys have been terrific. And in case you missed it, I posted a one-shot about Two-Bit a couple of months ago. It's called "Well, What Happened Was".