SE Hinton owns The Outsiders.
Female Lead
Six-
Two-Bit has been carrying on and cursing since he got Honey back in his car on 2nd Street. It takes him almost four blocks to realize that she hasn't put up a fight or snapped back with some smart remark. He steals a glance at her. She's staring out the window, absent-mindedly snapping her tights against her thigh.
"Have you heard a word I've said?"
"What? Yeah, no. What'd you say?" She says. She looks at him, wide-eyed, and forces a smile.
"Christ on the cross, Honey. You about gave me a heart attack back there."
"No, I didn't," She springs back to life. "Not until you got finished with Shepard anyway. Or he got finished with you from the looks of it."
She says it out of pure meanness, and he knows it. In a way, it pleases him. She's mad because she'd wanted him to be paying attention to her and not his beef with Tim. But his beef with Tim was over her, right? Why doesn't she care about that? Two-Bit drums his fingers on the steering wheel, confused.
"You know, if you'd just bought a couple of beers and come back and played pool with me…"
"I couldn't get the bartender's attention. He didn't see me. He saw Tim." She changes the subject. "Did the cops come around when my mom and dad died?"
"What? Where did that come from?" When she doesn't answer, Two-Bit gives it some thought. "Well, yeah, Darry said they came that night and told him."
"But after. Did they investigate it?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. It was an accident. One of those assholes from the railroad called it 'an act of God'. What kind of shit thing is that to say to your brothers?"
Honey doesn't seem disturbed by it. She's frowning now, thinking hard. Two-Bit has plenty more to say about the 'act of God' accusation, but Honey's silence is making him nervous.
"You going to tell me what you're thinking?" He asks her.
She replies with: "What time does the salvage yard open?"
"Why? What do you need? You don't even have a car. Soda will take care of it, whatever's wrong with the truck."
"Just what time does it open?"
"I don't know. Probably nine. We always just climb the fence."
"How do you find stuff in there? Is it numbered or by the date it came in?"
"There's a little card catalog like in the library. Everything is organized by make, year, and…no, Honey. You pretty much just got to wander around and look. What are you trying to find?"
Honey sighs. She isn't ready to let Two-Bit in on this, but it will take her forever to find the car on her own. She tells him:
"My parent's car," and hopes that he'll just leave it.
Which, of course, he doesn't.
"Why do you want to see that, Honey Bee? You don't want to see that."
"Why? Did you see it?"
"No, no one saw anything. You know the funerals were closed-casket. The car was totaled." Two-Bit doesn't want to talk about. He's almost begging when he asks, "Do you even want to be talking about this?"
"I'm not talking about it. I'm just asking a question."
"Well, no then. I didn't see it. I don't know where in the salvage yard it's at. You're acting all spooky. What happened between the bar and that guy trying to pick you up?"
"He wasn't trying to pick me up," Honey says, although now she can't remember if he asked her if she wanted a ride or not. She remembers his prodding about looking for her parent's car, and asking around with the railroad. And his insistence that her father wanted to look for her after she left.
"What was he talking to you about then?" Two-Bit asks.
"He was lost," she tells him.
"I heard him when I came up on y'all. He knew your name. What'd you tell him your name for?"
"Two-Bit, can you just drive?"
She leans forward and turns the radio up. Two-Bit is tempted to switch it off and keep interrogating her, but he doesn't want to risk her bailing out at the next stoplight.
"Yeah, alright. Your wish is my command."
They ride in silence the rest of the way. Two-Bit drives straight to the house this time. He turns in at the corner of Independence and makes a u-turn that puts them right behind Darry's truck. He puts the car in park, but doesn't turn the engine off. He'll likely need a push-start if he does that. He looks up at the house. The porch light is still on. Most likely, Darry is still up or asleep in his chair in the living room.
"Thanks for picking me up, Two-Bit."
"Don't ever do that again, you hear? You want to ditch me, tell me, and I'll take you home. We're friends, Honey, ain't we? Whatever else happened, I'm still your friend."
"I know." She feels like she should be saying she's sorry, and it pisses her off a little. Instead, she tells him that she won't need a ride home from the diner tomorrow.
"Do you need a ride up to the yard?" He asks. When she pauses, he tells her, "Honey Girl, you shouldn't go there alone. They ain't going to believe you're there looking for parts, and if you tell them why you're really looking, they might not let you see it."
Honey nods. She hates this world- the one where a girl can't walk down the street by herself and has to apologize if she does. The world where no one will believe her if she says she needs parts for a car. She relents, though, because she wants to see the car.
"Yeah, alright. Will you take me up there?"
"Love to," Two-Bit says.
She can hear it in his voice- there's a part of him that will actually love it. He'll do her a favor and she'll be beholden to him for something.
"Thanks," she tells him and pushes hard on the door. He waits for her to get inside the get and up to the house before he drives away. Then he pulls away from the curb and turns left at the corner, which- Honey knows- means he isn't going home.
Honey stands in the cold sunshine with her hands jammed deep in her coat pockets. Next to her, Two-Bit is fidgeting and shuffling his feet. They both remain silent until the salvage yard watchmen is out of earshot.
The old man hadn't batted an eye when Two-Bit told him he was looking for parts for a 1945 Super Deluxe. He knew right where one was, he said, but there might not be anything you can use off of it. It was all smashed to hell. He had offered Honey a chair to sit in the office and cup of coffee to go with it. No reason for a pretty little thing like her to go tromping through the dirt in her skirt and boots.
Honey said no, thank you.
"This is his idea of a hot date," she'd said, jerking her head in Two-Bit's direction.
With the watchman gone, Two-Bit says to her, "Thank you so much for blaming me."
"You're the one who wanted to tell him it was you looking for parts."
They both stand in place in front of the Super Deluxe. They'd rather snipe back and forth at one another than acknowledge the state of the car. It is bent nearly in half at the front seat. The windows are all missing- nothing but the jagged edges of the broken glass remain- as is the driver's side door. If the tires survived, someone has already taken them. The car sits unevenly on its rims. It is beginning to sink into the ground that had softened up during the spring rains.
"You see what you needed to see?" Two-Bit asks.
"No, I want to see the rear bumper."
"The train hit it on…"
"I know where the fucking train hit it," she snaps and Two-Bit is silent.
He follows Honey around to the back of the car. The chrome itself is still bright. It gleams in the sun. It's dented, though: two deep marks, one on each end beginning to rust where they'd cracked. The lid of the trunk is open. It bounces a little in the wind.
"Why is the bumper like that?" Honey asks.
Two-Bit shrugs.
"The impact could've bent it when the middle caved in."
"Bent it in two identical, symmetrical places?"
"Hell, I don't know. Did your mom ever back into anyone or get rear-ended?"
"No. Not that I know of. Not unless it happened after I left. Do you remember hearing anything about that?"
Two-Bit shakes his head.
Honey asks, "It looks to you, though, like it got rear-ended?"
"Yeah, if I didn't know better, that's what I'd say. What the hell is this all about? If you're ready to go…Christ, I'm ready to go."
Honey nods. Two-Bit's voice seems so small. She hooks her arm in his and lets him lead her back towards the gate. A large dog announces their return to the watchman, who comes out of his office and lights a cigarette.
"You find anything?" He asks.
Two-Bit shakes his head.
"No, sir. You were right. There isn't much left."
"Well, you two kids enjoy the rest of your date. Darling, make him take you out for some dinner, at least. He owes you after this."
Honey grins at the man and nods.
Under his breath, Two-Bit says, "Darlin', I think you owe me."
"Always," Honey whispers. When Two-Bit asks her what? she says nothing and offers to take him back to the diner for some cocoa.
