Bexley and Ponyboy both had the same dream about Soda and Darry.
They remembered Darry calling them for breakfast, making coffee before he had to leave for work. Soda would use the tickle monster against his twin sister and little brother. Sometimes, Bexley would join him in getting their youngest brother awake.
When they would be finished with the dishes, everybody would go down to the lot to play a game of football. Unlike other girls, Bexley was the second best player despite being as short as Johnny.
Bexley's dream changed to what happened last night. She jolted upwards with a shout, unable to catch her breath for a moment.
She sees that Johnny and Ponyboy hadn't woken up yet. They weren't light sleepers after all.
She sighed and got up from the floor, feeling stiff. It was the next morning. How long had they slept for?
She went outside to get some fresh air, craving a cigarette. Neither had one since last night and her nerves were spiked up to the point of her hands beginning to shake.
"Bexley, you okay?" Johnny said from behind her. She jumped when his voice broke through the silence.
She turned around and saw him standing in the doorway.
"Oh... Johnny. You scared me," she said, looking at him over her shoulder. "You scared me when I didn't see you," Johnny replied, sitting down with her.
Bexley rubbed her hands on her knees. "I-I didn't wake you up, did I?" she asked him.
"Nah, that floor was top hard for me to sleep on," Johnny replied, giving her a cute smile.
"Oh..." Bexley said, feeling her face getting hot again. 'God, that smile...' Bexley thought to herself.
For a moment, they looked at each other before they broke eye contact. "Y-Yeah. Anyway, you still got that money Dally gave you?" Johnny asked, clearing his throat.
They stood up from the church porch and stretched, still feeling stiff from the floor. "You sure you don't wanna stay with Pony?" Johnny asked.
"Nah. Pony's a hard sleeper. He probably won't be wakin' up anytime soon. Besides, he needs it anyway after last night," Bexley said. She didn't want to wake her little brother up.
"Yeah, he does. Hold on, gimme a second," Johnny said, running back inside. He came back a few minutes later without his denim jacket and the gun Dally gave him.
"Where's your jacket?" Bexley asked. "I covered Pony up with it. Figured he needed it," Johnny answered.
"Oh. That was real sweet of you," Bexley said with a nod. "Yeah. C'mon, let's go," he said with a nod towards the road.
The two started walking down the road. Bexley hoped that Ponyboy wouldn't wake up while they were gone.
(Windrixville Market)
It was in the afternoon by the time the two make it to the market, which read, 'Windrixville Market'. The entire way there, Bexley couldn't get the way Johnny smiled at her out of her mind.
Her heart raced whenever she thought about it. She was beginning to see him in a whole new light.
They go inside the store, hearing The Beatles in the background through an old jukebox. "Okay, I'll look over here and see what I can find," Bexley said. Johnny nodded at this. "Sure thing," he replied, flashing her that cute smile.
Bexley felt her heart race again. She looked around the store and found some playing cards. "Sweet," she whispered to herself.
After looking around some more, she found an aisle of books. One book caught her eye though.
"Oh, no way," she said, picking up the book. It was Gone with the Wind.
"Pony's not gonna believe this," she said to herself. She walked out of the aisle and went to find Johnny.
She remembers when she, Johnny, and Ponyboy went to see the movie. It had become Bexley's favorite since she first saw it.
When she found him, she saw him waiting for her at the counter. "Hey, what'd you get?" he asked her.
"Found us some cards. And found a copy of Gone with the Wind," she said, setting the stuff on the counter so the man behind the counter could ring them up.
"Oh, man. You remember seein' that movie of it a while back?" Johnny asked. "Yeah, vividly," Bexley replied, gathering the stuff after Bexley paid for it.
Afterwards, they made their way back down to the church.
"What'd you get, Johnny?" Bexley asked. "Ah, some bologna, two loaves of bread, something for us to drink, peanut butter, 3 packs of cigarettes, and some peroxide," Johnny answered, looking inside the bag.
Bexley lit up when she heard him saw cigarettes. "Thank you, Johnny. My nerves are spiked up," she said, pulling out a pack.
She pulled a cancer stick and put the pack in her jacket pocket. She lit up the stick and took a drag of it.
"Oh, that's tastes nice," she said, blowing out the smoke. She felt calmer already.
"You think Pony's gonna be excited about the peroxide?" Johnny asked her. "Not by a long shot. You know how proud he is of his hair," Bexley replied, rolling her eyes.
(The Church)
Ponyboy had woken up a few minutes after they had left. He saw the note that Johnny had left before they left.
When they did get back, Ponyboy was outside, washing his face with the water from the pump. He had heard them coming, so he hid in the cellar, which didn't have a door.
Johnny whistled to get Ponyboy's attention. Ponyboy saw his sister and friend come into view and whistled back.
"Pony?" Bexley said, looking down at him. Ponyboy rushed out of the cellar, and he ended up tripping on his way up.
"Hey, fancy meetin' you guys here," Ponyboy said with a smirk, looking up at them.
"Very funny," Bexley said, extending a hand to help him up. He took it and she hoisted him up.
"I swear you're acting more like Two-Bit everyday," Johnny said with a grin.
"Who's actin'? What'd you guys get?" Ponyboy asked, trying to look inside the bag Johnny held.
"Now hold on a minute. Let's get inside. Dally told us to stay out of sight," Bexley said, dropping her cigarette butt and stomping it on the ground to put it out.
They all go inside the church and block off the entrance. Johnny sets the stuff on the old wooden table.
As Johnny pulled out each item he bought, he listed them down. It would be something to tide them over until thingsg died down in Tulsa.
Ponyboy had pulled out Gone with the Wind, much to his amazement.
"Gone with the Wind? How'd you guys know that I wanted this?" Ponyboy asked. "I know my little brother all too well. I knew you'd like it," Bexley said, throwing an arm over his shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled, shoving her arm off. "Yeah, you could read it and help kill time or somethin'," Johnny chimed in.
When Ponyboy reached the peroxide, he stared at it. "Peroxide?" he said, staring at it with his eyebrows narrowed.
He looked at Johnny and Bexley, then he realized. "You two ain't thinkin'..." he started, shaking his head.
"We gotta cut our hair, Pony. Bex, aren't you gonna bleach yours like Pony's?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah. But cutting it is out of the question," Bexley replied, taking the peroxide.
"No, you guys ain't touchin' my hair," Ponyboy whined, sitting down with the playing cards.
"Oh, it ain't gonna be me cutting it. Besides, they're gonna figure us out real quick if we don't change our identify," Bexley said, holding up her hands. She grabbed a chair and spun it so she could sit on it backwards.
"She's right. The judge would make you cut your hair anyway. That's their way of them breakin' us," Johnny said, pulling out and opening his knife, "I'm gonna cut my off too and wash all the grease out,"
"No sir, you ain't touching my hair," Ponyboy said, watching as Johnny stood behind him. "C'mon, Pone. It'll grow back," Bexley said.
Ponyboy gave in a minute after, turning around. "Go ahead," he sighed.
Johnny took a lock of Ponyboy's hair and started to saw it off, pulling on Ponyboy's head in the process.
"Ow!" Ponyboy winced. "Sorry, man," Johnny apologized, throwing the piece he cut off on the floor.
He started to cut another piece off. "Ow!" Ponyboy shouted. "Damn knife," Johnny cursed, cutting another piece.
"OW! Don't pull so hard!" Ponyboy yelped.
"Stop your whinin', will ya?" Bexley teased. "It hurts though," Ponyboy whined, wincing again, "Can I see now?"
"No, we still gotta bleach your and Bex's hair," Johnny replied.
Ponyboy's hair was much shorter now. Bexley saw that he was upset by how short it had become.
Afterwards, both Ponyboy's and Bexley's hair had been bleached, which took at least twenty minutes to fully set in.
When they were finished, Johnny went to fetch a mirror. "Hey, you guys. Check it out," he said with a grin, holding out the mirror for them to see themselves.
Bexley looked just like Soda now since his hair was a bit darker than hers. Pony's hair was much lighter though. He wasn't exactly fond of his new look though.
"Jeez, this really makes me look tuff," he sighed, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Aw, c'mon, Pone. You don't look that bad. I like how I look personally,"
Ponyboy's hair was much shorter now. Bexley saw that he was upset by how short it had become.
Afterwards, both Ponyboy's and Bexley's hair had been bleached, which took at least twenty minutes to fully set in.
When they were finished, Johnny went to fetch a mirror. "Hey, you guys. Check it out," he said with a grin, holding out the mirror for them to see themselves.
Bexley looked just like Soda now since his hair was a bit darker than hers. Pony's hair was much lighter though. He wasn't exactly fond of his new look though.
"Jeez, this really makes me look tuff," he sighed, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Aw, c'mon, Pone. You don't look that bad. I like how I look personally," Bexley said with a grin.
He looked at her for a moment before shrugging.
"Alright, go ahead. Get your jollies," Johnny said humorously, handing Ponyboy the knife.
"My pleasure," Ponyboy said, taking the knife. "Be nice," Johnny said.
Ponyboy started to cut Johnny's hair. Johnny winced as Ponyboy was cutting his hair. "Hurts, don't it?" Ponyboy asked with a smirk.
"Take it easy, Pone. He didn't cut that much off of you," Bexley commented.
Johnny had washed out the grease in his hair after Ponyboy cut it.
Needless to say, Ponyboy was less than pleased with his new look. He compared it to a Halloween costume that he couldn't get out of.
But it was either their looks or them because of how much trouble they were in with the cops.
They all went inside the church because it was starting to get cold. Bexley leaned back against a church pew that was in front of the small fireplace.
She had one knee raised up so she could rest her elbow on it. "I'm still tired," Ponyboy said, his voice cracking. Bexley looked over at him, seeing tears rise in his eyes.
She knew why he was starting to cry. This whole situation was a big mess and neither one of them didn't know how to handle it.
"Pony, I'm sorry for cuttin' off your hair," Johnny said, apologizing. Ponyboy looked over at him and threw the candy bar he was eating across the room.
"No, it ain't that... It's just... I don't know, I'm all mixed up," Ponyboy sobbed. Bexley looked over at them, feeling tears rise in her eyes.
"Yeah... things are happening... way too fast, Johnny," Bexley said, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes.
Johnny wanted to help them feel better. "Hey. You guys know that one-horse store? Two-Bit would be all over that in a minute. He would take anything in that store. Heh. Good ol' Two-Bit," Johnny said with a grin.
"You remember how he was wise-crackin' last night?" Ponyboy sobbed, unable to hold back his tears any longer.
"Yeah... we were walkin' Cherry and Marcia home from the movies... I know you and Pony were in the lot..." Bexley said, wiping her wet eyes.
Hearing this made Johnny riled up. He got off the floor. "Shut up, you guys! Shut up about last night!" he shouted tearfully.
"Johnny!" Ponyboy cried, getting up. Bexley followed suit.
"I killed a kid last night! He couldn't have been 17 or 18 years old and I killed him! How'd you two like to like with that!? Huh?!" Johnny cried, sitting down on one of the pews, hands clasped together against his mouth, crying.
"I didn't mean to... They was hurting you guys and... I didn't know what to do," Johnny sobbed. The two walked over to their friend, still crying their eyes out.
They sit down with him. "There sure is a lot of blood inside of people..." Johnny sobbed.
"Wh-What're we gonna do?" Ponyboy asked, wrapping an arm around Johnny's shoulders.
Bexley leaned forward, unable to hold back her tears.
Johnny got up from the pew angrily. "It's my fault for bringing a 13-year-old kid and 15-year-old along! I mean, you two oughta go home, you can't get into any trouble! You didn't go off an kill him!" he shouted at them.
"Stop! I'm sixteen, Johnny! Soda and I are turning seventeen in a few months! Ponyboy's only been fourteen for a month!" Bexley shouted, getting up.
"We're in this just as much as you are!" Ponyboy shouted, walking away from them.
Bexley followed suit. "We'll stop cryin' in a minute. We can't help it..." Ponyboy sobbed, sitting down next to her little brother.
Bexley was sobbing uncontrollably, hugging her stomach.
Johnny saw them getting upset. "Hey... I didn't mean it like that... Don't cry guys... C'mon, don't cry..." he said, pulling the two siblings into a hug.
They hugged him back, silently crying on his shoulders.
"We're gonna be alright, you hear?" Johnny said, sobbing. After a while, they all calmed down and went over to the fireplace,
falling into a restless sleep. Things should be looking up from then on.