Author's Note: Rather long chapter. Oops?
rjr60: *Hangs head in shame* Thank you for letting me know! Now if I can just figure out how to edit chapters we'll be in business haha.
ro781727: Her name is Ali Michael! Hope that helps!
Everyone: THANK YOU I LOVE YOU
Bridgette had a feeling that this was the year everything was going to change. Tim and Curly were being more lenient with her, she had actual friends, she was captain of the soccer team, and she was getting the hell out of that town in August.
Bridgette couldn't believe it. The only thing in the world that could make her happier was if she was dating Ponyboy. But she wasn't about to get greedy.
Nadine hung around Bridgette during most of the soccer practice on that following Monday.
"Did your brother ask a lot of questions?" Nadine asked.
"Only about a hundred," Bridgette grinned as she did her stretches. "But once he figured out I wasn't getting into any trouble, he mostly wanted to hear about your house. He things it's tuff that you have a pool."
"Well, he's more than welcome to come over and swim sometime."
Bridgette let out a loud laugh and then covered her mouth with her hand. It was a reflex reaction. She couldn't picture Tim or Curly swimming in a pool. She knew at some point in time they probably had gone swimming, but it was still hard for her to imagine.
"Thank you," Bridgette said and Nadine shoved her shoulder lightly.
"So you're meeting with Pony after practice, right?" Nadine asked.
"Right."
"So we need to start on this whole flirting thing."
"I can barely talk to him still, let alone attempt flirting," Bridgette admitted. She plopped down on the ground and spread her legs in front of her and touched her toes.
"What are you talking about? You talk to him."
"I talk to him about school," Bridgette said. And James, she added mentally. Bridgette hadn't mentioned James to Nadine. Bridgette believed in her heart that James was just a good guy looking out for her, but ever since Pony started to make a big deal about it, Bridgette decided she didn't want anyone else to get the wrong impression.
"Then talk to him about stuff outside of school," Nadine said like it was obvious.
"Like what, though?" Bridgette asked.
"What do you mean like what?" Nadine asked. "Talk about soccer. Ask him about track. Ask him about his brothers. Talk about your brothers. There's no limit to what you can talk about."
"I guess I'm just out of practice," Bridgette mumbled.
"You talk to me just fine," Nadine said. Nadine said it casually but it made Bridgette's heart soar. Every moment she spent with Nadine boosted her confidence just a little bit more. Nadine said all of the right things whether she meant to or not.
"Okay," Bridgette agreed. "I'll talk to him."
"Good, but we want you to do more than talk. We need you to flirt."
"Can't I just start with talking?" Bridgette asked.
"No," Nadine said. "It's been three months of school already and you claim you don't even talk to him. Time is of the essence, Beej. We want you to be dating him before the school year ends."
Bridgette decided not to mention that Pony still had to like her back in order for that to work, even if she did master flirting.
"Get up," Nadine instructed.
"Why?"
"Okay, I'll get down there," Nadine said. She sat beside Bridgette and crossed her legs in front of her. "I say this with the utmost love and respect, but boys are a little stupid. Even boys as smart as Ponyboy."
"What?"
"They don't pick up on subtleties the way girls do. We're more evolved than men," Nadine explained like they were in science class. Bridgette, who was in advanced science, opened her mouth to argue with Nadine's theory but Nadine cut her off. "Girls can tell if another girl likes a boy from a mile away. Their body language changes, the way they talk. Sometimes it's painful for us girls to see our friends acting that way, but boys don't really understand it. They like the attention, of course, and may start to like the girl but they don't necessarily understand that the girl is acting that way because she likes him. Does that make sense?"
"I guess."
"It's a process," Nadine continued. "We flirt with guys to kind of gauge their reaction. We want them to like us but we don't want to set ourselves up for rejection. We flirt, see how they react, and take it from there."
"Okay," Bridgette said slowly. "But how?"
"Little things. Compliment the guy. Tell him you like his shirt. Or tell him you think his new haircut is really groovy. When was the last time you complimented Ponyboy?"
"I don't know. I'm not keeping notes."
"Probably not in a long time. And it probably wasn't delivered in the right way."
"Oh no. I can't even just compliment him? I have to do it in a certain way?"
"Absolutely," Nadine insisted.
The coach called for everyone to start running their warm-up laps. Bridgette slowed down from her usual pace to keep talking to Nadine.
"Boys are more physical than girls," Nadine explained. "In a lot of ways, trust me. But for flirting, you have to try to be close to them. Touch their arms as you compliment them." Nadine demonstrated by gently resting her hand on Bridgette upper arm. "If you're sitting by each other, touch their knee. Like don't just put your hand on their knee without saying anything. Like…let's see. If they something you agree with, put your hand on their knee then as you say, 'Oh, yes!'"
"That sounds weird."
"It sounds weird but it's not weird in real life. Once we're done running I'll show you how it should go. But, look, the important thing is to be more physical, okay? Hold the hugs for a little bit longer."
"I've never hugged him."
"You've never hugged him?" Nadine asked with a heavy sigh.
"Well, I mean, I did once when I was six, but—"
"Okay, well when you leave today, give him a hug."
"How do you initiate a hug?"
"You just open your arms and walk towards them. It's a pretty universal thing."
"What if he doesn't want to hug me?"
"Why wouldn't he want to hug you?"
"I don't think you fully understand the dynamic between us."
"Bridgette, all I need to know is that you're a pretty girl and he's a guy. That's all that is important in this scenario. He wants to hug you. You are killing me. Promise me you'll hug him today."
"I can't make that promise."
"No, say it right now. Say you promise you'll hug him."
"But—"
"No."
"Okay, I promise."
"You can't just say it. You have to mean it."
"Okay," Bridgette said through clenched teeth. "I promise to hug him today. But if he shoves me away in disgust, I'm coming after you."
"By all means. Also compliment him."
"Nadine," Bridgette whined.
"Just do it."
"What if…What if Kayla goes after him first?"
"Let me worry about Kayla," Nadine insisted.
They finished their laps and didn't get much chance to talk the rest of practice. The more Bridgette thought about it, the more nervous she got but she also decided she didn't have much to lose. She really did want to date Ponyboy and now she had someone to give her advice on how to achieve that. Nadine had way more experience with boys than Bridgette so maybe she should do what Nadine said.
Nadine gave her a pep talk before Bridgette headed home. She got to Pony's house and knocked. Once again, they were alone.
"Hey," Pony said enthusiastically.
"Hi," Bridgette said in surprise. She had managed to convince herself on the way over that Pony wanted nothing to do with her outside of school and he was only taking pity on her. She was looking for any excuse not to try this whole hugging business. So to be greeted so enthusiastically totally threw her.
"Tell me about the sleepover," he said. He cleared a spot on the ground for them to sit. They could have sat on the furniture but it was habit to plop down on the ground.
"It was a lot of fun," she gushed. "We danced and gave ourselves a spa treatment and talked about boys. And guess what? Nadine—do you know Nadine? Nadine Jaskari—is my friend now."
"Look at you," Pony smiled. "Friends are coming from all directions now."
"It was so much fun, Pony."
"I'm glad," he said earnestly. "So what boys did they talk about? I need to know my competition."
Bridgette smirked. "Charlie Benton, for one."
"Typical," Pony rolled his eyes. "If you girls heard the things he says in the locker room you wouldn't be as impressed."
"What does he say?" Bridgette asked. She would love to have her own gossip to share with the group for once.
"Don't worry about that," Pony shook his head. "I'll just let you girls live in your fantasy world."
"Oh, come on," Bridgette insisted.
"Maybe another time," Pony said.
"Fine," Bridgette snapped. "Then I'm going to tell you that your name came up during the sleepover but I'm not telling you what anyone said."
"My name?" Pony asked and he seemed genuinely perplexed.
"Yes, your name."
"Why were they talking about me?"
For the first time since she befriended him, Bridgette could tell that Ponyboy was uncomfortable. It amused her though she wasn't sure why exactly.
"Maybe another time," she teased, cocking an eyebrow at him.
Pony studied her for a long time and she forced herself to hold his gaze. She had to remind herself that she was meant to be strong and not get lost in those beautiful eyes of his.
"Charlie Benton isn't such a nice guy," Pony said slowly. "Smokes a lot but that's not the problem. He doesn't like to be told no, so he often pretends he doesn't hear it, if you know what I mean."
Bridgette wasn't exactly worldly but she had a feeling she knew exactly what he meant.
"Why wouldn't you want to tell people that? It could protect a lot of girls," Bridgette said.
"It's not my place," he shrugged. "Locker room talk is just that."
"But there's some truth to it," Bridgette said.
"I'm assuming so. Why would he tell us that if it weren't true?"
"That's awful."
"If any girl I knew was ever in danger of falling victim to him, I would warn them in a second," Pony said quickly, a fierce determination in his eyes. "But if I told anyone else, who would honestly believe me? They love him."
"I guess," Bridgette said uncomfortably. "It's still awful."
"It is," Pony agreed. "So don't get involved with him, okay?"
"Not like Charlie Benton would give me the time of day anyway," she mumbled.
"Good," Pony said firmly and Bridgette had to look away. They were silent for a moment as Bridgette tried to control her blush. "So? What did they say about me?"
"Oh, they all think you're really cute," she said lamely. Compared to Pony's story, hers wasn't all that exciting.
"Me?" Pony guffawed.
"Yes you," Bridgette said. "They like your eyes and hair and, well, your whole face in general. And one of them had gym with you last year and she told everyone that you have a really nice body. And, let's see…they also like that you're really smart."
"Wait a minute," Pony said, holding up his hand to quiet her. "They were saying nice things about me?"
"Of course they were," Bridgette said. "What else would they say about you?"
"That I'm trash? That I was involved in a murder? That I rolled with the wrong crowd? There are a million other things they could say about me."
"Well, they don't care about that, I guess. They dig you."
"Really?" Pony repeated.
"Yes," Bridgette groaned.
"Who said they dug me?" Pony asked.
Bridgette stared at him with her brow knit. She didn't want to answer that. Pony didn't want to believe it, but he could have any girl on that soccer team if he really wanted to. She didn't want to play matchmaker. Not with him.
"Just, you know, different people."
"Multiple people like me?" he gaped.
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "You're a god. Hey, do you have any food?"
"Uh…" he said, clearly drawn out of some deep thoughts. He shook his head and turned towards the kitchen. "Probably not."
"Oh okay, well I'm going to grab some food," Bridgette said.
"Where?"
"I don't know. The diner."
"What diner?"
"Who cares? Any diner."
"With what money?" he asked knowingly.
"I've got money," she lied. In reality she just had a sudden urge to get away from him. Screw her promise to Nadine.
"Lies. Come on, let's get some food. I'm buying."
"With what money?" she asked childishly.
"I actually do have money," he laughed. "Come on."
He grabbed a leather jacket draped over the chair and walked out the door. Bridgette looked after him in annoyance. That did not go at all according to plan. She left her bag next to his books and followed him reluctantly out the door.
Bridgette wondered what Nadine would say about how things were turning out. Once Bridgette thought of Nadine, Bridgette thought about putting that whole flirting thing into action.
"I like that jacket," she said. She reached out to run the fabric through her fingers but he was just out of reach so she ended up grasping nothing but air. She quickly put her hand by her side and hoped he hadn't seen that.
"Thanks. It's Darry's old jacket. Doesn't fit him anymore so he gave it to me."
"Cool," Bridgette said, wondering if she had done that right. "Um, so how are Darry and Soda?"
"Good," he shrugged. Bridgette was about to give up on her flirting attempts when he continued. "Do you know Connie?"
"Yes."
"Connie has it bad for Soda but Soda isn't too hot on the idea," Pony said. Pony kicked at a tuft of grass poking through a crack in the sidewalk and dug his hands into his jacket pockets. "Soda hasn't really been the same since Sandy."
"When she left?"
"Yeah," Pony shrugged. "He really loved her, you know?"
"I couldn't believe it when I heard," she admitted. "I thought they were the golden couple of town. I don't know how she could do that to him."
"Trust me, I don't either."
"So is he eschewing girls now?"
"What kind of a word is that?" Pony snorted.
"Like…shunning. Is he avoiding girls now?"
"He's definitely not avoiding them," Pony smirked. "But he's definitely not getting attached."
"Not every girl is going to hurt him like she did," Bridgette said logically.
"No, but it's hard to open yourself to that kind of pain potential again," Pony shrugged. "So I guess Connie is out of luck."
"Connie is pretty cool," Bridgette decided. Connie had been by her house a few times to see Tim and the gang. She had red hair and a face full of freckles and these really light brown eyes. She was pretty enough. She was pretty stereotypical as far as greaser girls went, though. She only ever wore black capris that were two sizes too small and a simple bra. She was nice enough, though. She always said hi to Bridgette when she was over which is more than most people could say.
"Yeah," Pony said.
"What about Darry?"
They reached the diner and Pony waited to answer until after they had ordered their food and took a seat at a booth.
"Darry is busy," Pony said carefully. "It's been better since Soda has been using his paycheck to help out. I volunteered to get a job, too, but they both refused to let me. They told me to focus on school. They want me to go to college and I want to go, too. I really do. And my only hope is a scholarship."
"Welcome to the club," Bridgette said, taking a sip of her cherry coke.
"You can get any scholarship you want," Pony grinned. "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Yes," she said.
"Sure," he laughed. "It's not that easy for me, though. I really fell behind in school a few years ago and I had to work really hard to catch up."
"Yeah," Bridgette said. She wanted to tell him she remembered that but she didn't want to draw attention to the fact she had been watching him that closely. "But you did."
"Yeah," Pony nodded. "I did. It wasn't easy. I had to make a lot of deals with my teachers."
"What kind of deals?" Bridgette asked.
"I had to write this massive personal essay to pass English that year, for starters."
"Which must have been pretty good," she shrugged.
"It was," he chuckled, probably not seeing the point in being modest. Bridgette knew how smart he was and she could only imagine what that essay said. She wondered if she could break into the school and find it somewhere. She shook her head and took another sip. Even if she did, she would feel too intrusive. "But as soon as I got my act together, I talked to my teachers about extra credit. Anything I could get. Before long the teachers saw I was serious about my studies. Luckily I also showed them I was capable and I slowly moved to the advanced classes."
"And now you've gotten into every school you applied to."
"Yeah," he laughed. "Scholarship of my choice."
"No way."
"Way."
"That's really great, Ponyboy," Bridgette said with all the sincerity in the world. Pony smiled down at the table and Bridgette had the urge to reach out and take his hand. Instead her hand just twitched in the direction of his hand.
"Thank you," Pony smiled. "Have you heard back from any schools yet?"
"Not yet," Bridgette said, averting her eyes to the table.
Their food was brought to their table and they thanked the waitress.
"You will," Pony said confidently. "You didn't apply that long ago. Besides, they're going to be fighting for you soon once the soccer recruiters come by the games."
"No," Bridgette laughed and shook her head.
"Yes," Pony said. "But you really want to go to OU?"
"Yeah, I do," she nodded. "Have you decided yet?"
"No. But ever since you said you were going to OU, Darry has been pushing me in that direction."
"Why?"
"He likes the idea of me knowing someone."
"That would be kind of nice," Bridgette shrugged. "But college is big. We may not even run into each other."
"True," Pony shrugged.
"Thanks for buying me this," Bridgette said, pointing to her burger and fries.
"It was nothing," he waved off. "Anyway, Darry is doing pretty good. He's been throwing a football around the house again which is fine because he can actually aim. Soda tried it and knocked down a lamp on the first try. Soda is forbidden from throwing in the house from now on."
Bridgette laughed heartily and Pony grinned. They took a break from talking to eat their food. Bridgette popped a few fries into her mouth and looked around. For the first time since arriving, she realized people were staring at them. Well, people were staring at her. Everyone looking their way was a greaser and she knew they were surprised to find her out without Tim. And she was with a boy nonetheless. Surely Tim was about to burst into the room and cause a scene. Surely Pony would pay for this.
But the longer they ate and chatted, the more people turned away. It embarrassed her a little but mostly it felt great. She wanted to shout to everyone that she was her own person and she was living her own life.
"How are your brothers?" Pony asked. They had finished their food and their small talk. They sat back in their seats.
"Well, Curly is in jail," Bridgette said bluntly and Pony snorted. He turned it into a cough but she smiled to let him know it was okay. "Not like it's the first time, right?"
"Right. Still don't know what he did?"
"Not the foggiest," she shrugged. "Doubt he'll ever tell me. But maybe that's for the best."
"And Tim?"
"Tim is alright. He's been really tired lately. He says he's working on something for Curly but I have no idea what it could be."
"Is Tim still seeing that one girl? Oh, what's her name? Sharla or something?"
"Charlene?" Bridgette asked. He nodded. "I honestly have no idea. He doesn't talk to me about girls. He actually doesn't talk to me about anything. You know more about him and Charlene than I do."
"She is a piece of work, that's all I really know," Pony said. "She stabbed a guy a year ago. Did you know that?"
"She stabbed a guy?" Bridgette asked dubiously.
"Yeah. I think he tried taking money from her purse and she just lost it. Stabbed him right in the thigh. She just went WHAM!" Pony demonstrated by slamming his fist into his thigh.
"Does Tim know that?"
"Definitely. I think that's what drew him to her in the first place."
"So romantic," Bridgette said sarcastically.
"I know, right?" Pony laughed. He cleared his throat. "Well, I guess we should go. I still have homework."
"Oh shit," Bridgette winced.
"What?"
"I haven't done my homework yet."
"So? Do it when you get home."
"No, you don't understand. My mom always checks. I need to have my homework done."
"Do it when you get back to my place," Pony said, clearly not understanding the problem.
"I can't," Bridgette shook her head. "They're already going to wonder where I am. I'm not even supposed to be hanging out with you in my mom's eyes. Oh glory. This isn't good."
"Can't you just lie and say you didn't have homework?" Pony asked. "Or maybe you can say you had to take care of captain business."
"Do—do you think that would work?"
"Well, let me ask you this. Do you often lie to your parents?"
"No, I never do."
"Then they have no reason to doubt you."
Bridgette felt uncomfortable with the whole thing but Pony had a point. She could say almost anything to her parents and they would have no reason to think she was lying. Her only concern was that one of the people that had seen her with Ponyboy would somehow tell her mom. She didn't know how or why they would, but it still made her nervous.
"Okay."
Bridgette ran back to Pony's house and he ran along with her. It probably looked odd to anyone who saw them but they didn't care. At first Bridgette was surprised Pony kept pace with her but then she remembered he was, in fact, on the track team.
Just as Bridgette prepared herself to run off into the night, back to her own home, she got caught up in the moment and quickly gave Pony a hug.
"Thanks for everything!" she said. She pulled away and took off. Seconds after she launched herself from his front porch did she realize what she had done. She had definitely hugged him. She had fulfilled her promise to Nadine. It wasn't quite how she pictured it would go, though. It was very quick and impersonal and she barely gave him enough time to return the hug before she took off.
Of course, she didn't have time to dwell on the hug when she arrived home. Part of her was hoping her parents wouldn't be home so she could avoid all of that lying business. They were, though.
"Where have you been?" her mom boomed. She stood from the couch and took a menacing step towards Bridgette.
"Soccer," Bridgette said quickly. "After practice the coach pulled me aside and asked me to go over the roster for the game on Thursday. A recruiter is going to be there and he wanted to make sure the best people were on the field."
Bridgette even surprised herself with how fluidly the lie fell from her lips. She didn't even flinch. Perhaps she had been watching Tim and Curly for so long that it was bound to rub off on her.
"Coach didn't think it would take that long but there was a lot to go over," she finished.
Her mom looked over at her dad and he nodded.
"We need the best players out there with you," her dad said gruffly.
"Do your homework," her mom said stiffly.
Bridgette hurried to her room and let out a relieved sigh. She focused all of her attention on getting her homework done because she knew her mom would want to check it before going to bed.
"You survived," Pony acknowledged the next day in math.
Bridgette, who had been digging through her bag for a pen, jumped in surprise. Pony took his seat and turned around to talk to her.
"Barely," she mumbled. Ever since the crisis of her homework had been resolved, she had been thinking about her pathetic attempt at a hug. Technically, she had done everything she was supposed to. She put her arms around his neck, rising to her tip-toes in the process since he was a good bit taller than her. He had even put his arms around her middle which was a good thing. He had not, in fact, pushed her away. But the hug lasted all of one second and then Bridgette had been the one to practically shove him away. She couldn't wait to see Nadine so Nadine could help her work through it.
"Did they give you a hard time?"
"No, actually."
"That's good," he nodded. "Hey, before I forget, I don't think we can get lunch today."
"Why?" Bridgette frowned. Had her hug attempt really been that awful?
"Two-Bit got into it with some Socs," Pony rolled his eyes and Bridgette felt her heart rate return to normal. "They've been jumping greasers left and right. I doubt they'll do anything to me on my way to the DX but I can't risk having you there in case they do."
"I could help you, you know."
"Honestly, I'm sure you could. But Tim would kill me. Besides, we don't want you to risk getting into any trouble. Not now."
Bridgette shrugged because he had a point. It seemed like greasers were always blamed, even if they were the ones that had been jumped.
"Fine," she sighed.
"It's temporary," Pony said reassuringly. "They'll get bored like they always do."
"Yeah," she agreed.
Bridgette spent the rest of the week eating with James. Now they were spending so much time together, they started to get more in depth with their conversations. Bridgette told James more about her brothers and family. And James told her more about his upbringing.
He grew up outside of Oklahoma City to a middle class family. His mom died giving birth to his little sister, so it was just him, his dad, and his two sisters. He told Bridgette that he was always more into soccer than school and was often threatened with getting kicked off the team if he didn't keep up his grades. Bridgette found that hard to believe which made him laugh. He said that things turned around for him when he had to meet with his counselor his junior year. He said that his counselor really turned his life around and James decided then and there that he wanted to help people the way his counselor helped him.
Bridgette wanted to run to Ponyboy and tell him that story and rub it in his face. She knew James was a good guy. She knew James was trying to help.
"Hey, I know what it's like to worry about my sisters," James said after Bridgette finished telling a story about Tim and Curly. "I would do anything for them. But you have to make your own mistakes. That's part of growing up."
"I know. Tim is realizing that now, too."
"That's good," he said. "I know you're a tough girl with a good head on your shoulders, but don't hesitate if you ever need anything. I'm here to help."
"I know. And thank you."
That Thursday at her soccer game, there really were recruiters. There were four, all from different schools. Bridgette didn't know if they were all there for her but it was still intimidating.
Her coach was talking to a man in a crimson windbreaker that had OU embroidered in cream letters. They were laughing away. James was there like she knew he would be. He was standing by the benches. When she looked over at him, he gave her a confident smile. Pony, Soda, Two-Bit, and Steve had all made it out to the game. She wondered if everyone knew the recruiters would be there and she had managed to forget.
"This is crazy," Nadine whispered as they stretched. "I know they're here for you, but maybe I can impress them enough for a scholarship."
"You could," Bridgette nodded.
"Sure," Nadine snorted.
"You could," Bridgette repeated more firmly.
"We'll see," Nadine laughed.
Bridgette went about her normal warm ups with Nadine. The day after the hug incident, Bridgette talked to Nadine about it and Nadine looked at her blankly. Bridgette started a rant about how she knew it wasn't what Nadine had expected but she was panicking and Nadine cut her off. Nadine told her that was no right or wrong way to hug and it was fine. It made Bridgette feel better.
Bridgette was nervous as the game started but she forced herself to push the nerves aside. She had a game to play. Hearing the cheers from her friends made her push herself that much harder. Bridgette considered hogging the ball for the sake of the recruiters but quickly dismissed that notion. Recruiters or not, this was still her team and teams had to work together.
They won 3-1, two of those goals had been scored by Bridgette.
Bridgette ran over to the sideline after shaking hands with the other team. She caught Pony's eye and the whole gang cheered. She smiled at them and they beckoned they had to go. She thanked them. She was ready to drink the entire bottle of water Nadine's mom had provided for her. Instead she was intercepted by the coach. Bridgette went down the line and introduced herself to every recruiter. They all praised her and asked her questions and she answered them to the best of her ability.
The recruiters left and Bridgette made to walk to the locker room but the coach stopped her again. James jogged over and they formed their own little huddle.
"They are smitten. Every single one of them," the coach said gleefully. "They can't believe she's sixteen. If she's this good now, think about how she'll be in a few years. And they also kept going back to how smart you are. They are blown away. College athletes are always getting bad reps for being dumb or getting special treatment. You would be their poster child. You are going to make the whole school look good. This is so…"
The coach couldn't continue because he was too delighted. Bridgette laughed lightly and James squeezed her shoulder.
Bridgette was finally able to go to the locker room.
"Bridgette!" Nadine cried. "That was amazing!"
"It was," Bridgette beamed.
"Guess what? The recruiter from University of Tulsa talked to me. He says I show a lot of potential."
"I told you!" Bridgette laughed.
The girls giggled.
Bridgette didn't think anything could ruin the natural high she was riding, but the next day in physics proved to have that power. Their lab was on oscillatory motion and their lab report required them to meet up. As much as they had worked together and talked on the phone, they still had their reservations.
"Just come over after soccer," he said.
"Why don't you come over to my place?" she asked.
"Bridgette, please," he scoffed like that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.
"Please yourself," she snapped.
"Look," Skyler said impatiently. "We only need to work for maybe…thirty minutes. Forty minutes tops. Besides, we need a bike wheel. Do you have a bike?"
"No," she scowled, not at all amused by his tone.
"So that settles it. Come to my place after soccer. I'll have everything ready so we can get out as soon as possible."
"I have to ask my brother," she said.
"If you ask your brother, he'll say no," he said knowingly. "You know he will. And I refuse to get a bad grade on this because your brother is crazy."
"He is not crazy," she glared. "He's protective. And for good reason. Are you Socs done jumping greasers for no reason?"
"It's not for no reason," Skyler said. "That one guy hit on my buddy's girl."
"So does that justify a group of five Socs jumping one twelve-year-old?" Bridgette asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"I don't know anything about that," Skyler said, though he did look genuinely troubled by the notion before he could control his emotions. "That wasn't me or my buddies. And no one is going to jump you. It's for school and we both need to keep up our grades. Come on."
"I just don't see why you can't come to my house," she grumbled.
"Because I will get jumped if I set foot in that territory alone."
He had a point. The greasers were getting restless. The Socs had been jumping people left and right and tension was high. The greasers would love to get their frustration out on a single Soc, the same way the Socs loved getting their frustration out on a single greaser.
"Fine," Bridgette said stiffly.
He wrote down his address and handed it to her apprehensively. She snatched it from his hands and shoved it in her pocket.
She considered keeping the whole thing a secret, not telling anyone where she had been. Now that she knew soccer was a good excuse, she could lie to everyone and say she had recruiter business to take care of. But at the same time, she didn't trust the Socs. She trusted Skyler to an extent. They had been working together for some time now and they tolerated each other just fine. And she knew that Skyler honestly believed she wasn't in any danger. But even as sheltered as she had been, Bridgette had seen too much and heard about too much to be completely naïve. Even if nothing bad happened at all, she still wanted someone to know where she was…just in case.
So she pulled Pony side after calculus. He had a split lip from a recent encounter with a Soc and she felt validated in her decision to tell someone. She knew that Pony would fight her on it, but he would be more understanding than anyone.
"Can I tell you something and you have to promise not to tell Tim?"
"No," he said simply.
"Please?" she insisted.
"What is it?" he asked suspiciously.
"You have to promise me first."
He studied her for a second before nodding. That was good enough for her.
"I have to work on my physics lab with Skyler," she said bitterly. He immediately opened his mouth in what Bridgette knew would be a protest but she cut him off. "We have to. Trust me, neither of us are thrilled. I'm going to his place after soccer and it'll only take about forty minutes."
"Bridgette, no," he shook his head. "Are you…come on! There is no way."
"It's for school."
"I don't care. There are some things in life more important than school. Your life, for one."
"No one is going to kill me," she rolled her eyes.
"Do you even know what's happening right now?" he asked in annoyance. "Soda and Steve have been walking me to and from school, and I'm an eighteen-year-old boy in good shape. The Socs have lost it, Bridgette."
"I'm going to be fine," Bridgette said. "When do they ever attack girls?"
"Bridgette, they attack girls all the time," Pony said impatiently. "Do you think it's just Soc guys that like a fight every once in awhile?"
"I have never seen Soc girls attack a greaser girl," Bridgette said.
"Have you ever actually seen anyone get jumped?" Pony asked.
Bridgette tapped her foot and Pony cocked an eyebrow.
"I didn't tell you for your permission," Bridgette said, looking down at the ground. "I told you so that someone would know. It won't even take me an hour. I'll be fine. Please trust me."
"I do trust you. I don't trust them."
"Well then trust me when I say I know what I'm doing, okay? Please don't tell Tim, Pony. Let me handle this on my own. Please."
"Bridgette…"
"Please," she urged.
He stared at her pleadingly for a long time. She could tell he wanted her to change her mind but she couldn't.
"Bridgette, I can't control you," he finally said. "But I really wish you wouldn't go."
"Thank you," she said, not sure what else to say.
He looked defeated as she walked down the hall towards James's office.
Bridgette was nervous as hell after soccer practice. She really didn't think anything bad would happen to her but she hated going into Soc turf. It was unnatural and she didn't like it one bit. She took her shower and walked as fast as she could to the address on that piece of paper. On her way, a few cars would slow down beside her. She realized quickly that they weren't slowing down to hurt her, but to check if it was really her.
The closer she got to Skyler's house, the more massive the houses became. It was unnatural. Their garages were bigger than her entire house.
She reached Skyler's house, this sprawling colonial thing. She scowled at it and rang the doorbell. It wasn't even a normal ring; it played a song. Bridgette stared at the doorbell in disgust.
The door opened and Skyler stood there. He was wearing a blue madras shirt and his pants that stopped above the ankle. He looked ridiculous.
"Let's go," Bridgette muttered. She pushed past him into the house and he rolled his eyes.
"It's set up out back," he said. His voice echoed in the giant foyer. Bridgette couldn't help but look around the room in awe. Everything in it looked expensive, from the uninviting chair in the corner, to the pieces of art hanging from the walls. And that was just the entry way.
They had to walk through six rooms—six rooms —to make it to the backyard. And even then Bridgette couldn't fathom it all. His backyard stretched out into a pool and fire pit. There was enough room back there to fit another house. Bridgette gaped at everything as he led her over to where he had set up.
"What are you looking at?" he asked defensively.
"This is huge," she breathed. She didn't even care if he considered that a compliment. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. He looked around in confusion and shrugged.
There was a record player outside and he was playing Dion and the Belmonts. Bridgette had always liked Dion. It was another group that made Tim cringe but she didn't care. Skyler had propped a bike upside down on a stand. He had stayed true to his word and had everything ready.
They read over their instructions silently and Bridgette forced herself to focus. They worked together in almost complete silence, only communicating when they had to compare notes. Every so often Bridgette would hum along to the music and Skyler would look at her in surprise.
"You like them?" he asked.
"Yeah. Good music."
"Yeah," he agreed skeptically, as if unsure if he should be agreeing with a greaser or not.
They managed to finish in thirty minutes. Skyler offered to walk her out and she knew it was more to keep an eye on her than to be polite. She hurried away from his house and away from that part of town. All things considered, that had gone very smoothly. But now the sun was setting and she still had a ways to go.
When she got home, she let out a sigh of relief. She knew nothing bad would happen but she couldn't help but feel relieved anyway. No one was home to grill her or ask her questions which was just what she needed. She picked up the phone to call Pony because she felt she owed him that.
"Hello?" Darry greeted.
"Hi, um, this is Bridgette. Is Pony there?"
"Yeah, hold on."
Bridgette heard Darry call for Pony and then the sound of the phone being passed off.
"Hello?" Pony asked.
"It's me. I'm alive and well."
"Hilarious," he said sarcastically. "That's good, though. How was it?"
"It wasn't so bad, I guess," she shrugged. "His house is huge."
"I'll bet it is. But everything worked out?"
"Everything did," she said. "Thanks for being so cool about it."
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Same. See you Monday, I guess."
"See you then."