Fair Fight

"Thank you. Had me scared to death," she said to Johnny, who sat back down. "Sure didn't show it. Nobody ever stands up to Dal like that," Johnny said with a slight grin, though he was still shy around them.

"So do you guys wanna sit up here with us so you can protect us?" Marcia asked, smiling at them. The trio glance at one another before deciding to sit up front with them. "Don't you need protecting, Bex?" Marcia asked as the grease girl after she sat down. "Nah, I ain't scared of him," Bexley replied after taking another sip of her drink.

"Yeah, didn't he try picking you up a little while ago?" Johnny asked her, making her roll her eyes. "Yeah, he did. I don't want to be reminded of that time," Bexley said. It only took one time for Bexley to tell Dally that she wasn't interested in him before he got the message. "So how old are you guys?" Cherry asked.

"Fourteen," Ponyboy said. "Sixteen," Johnny told her. "Sixteen going on seventeen next month," Bexley added. Both Cherry and Marcia were stunned at how old Bexley and Johnny were. "Really? I woulda thought you three were all fourteen," Cherry said. Bexley and Johnny didn't look like they were sixteen - they looked younger than that. Bexley was bothered by this because of her height.

"I'm surprised that you weren't scared of us like you were of Dally," Johnny said, which made Cherry smile a bit. "You three look too sweet to actually scare anyone," Cherry replied. "That guy is as tough as nails. The three of us are just innocent," Bexley replied, glancing at her little brother. "Yeah, she's not wrong," Ponyboy agreed with her as he nodded.

"You guys have seen way too much to be innocent," Cherry retorted. "Well, he's not so bad when you get to know him," Johnny assured. All the greasers were like a family - They were true to one another. Even Sandy and Evie, Soda and Steve's girls, are like family too, and the only other grease girls like Bexley.

If they were all at each other's throats, they really wouldn't be called a family. That was one thing that Dally understood since he lived there for a part of his life. "He'd leave you guys be if he knew who you were," Ponyboy said with a smile. "He don't know that you're a soc," Bexley replied as she stretched.

The trio couldn't believe that they had picked up two soc girls. Bexley was the most surprised out of the three of them. They remembered when Steve's cousin came down from Kansas not that long ago. Dally was actually cool around her unlike he was with Cherry. The greasers are always pleasant around other greaser girls.

They were caught up in their conversation, failing to see that Two-Bit was sneaking up behind them. When he did reach them, he shouted out, "Alright, return of the dead!" while laughing. His sudden appearance scared the group, causing Bexley to drop what was left of her drink. "Damn it, Two-Bit!" she yelled at him as she smacked him hard. "You're gonna give us a heart attack before we turn eighteen!" Ponyboy yelled, both of his eyes bugged out of his head.

Johnny felt as though his heart jumped into his throat. He was still very jumpy from being jumped a few months ago. Bexley noticed how pale he had gotten and she carefully wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Take it easy, Johnnycake. Two-Bit doesn't know what he's doing," she comforted him as she glared up at the rusty-haired greaser behind them.

Two-Bit felt bad about what he did and he rubbed Johnny's hair. "Sorry, kid. I forgot," he said, leaning between Bexley and Marcia with a goofy smile on his face. It wasn't the same type of grin that Dally had with Cherry. "So who're these lovely ladies? Your great grandmothers? What y'all doin' here with these hoods anyway?" he asked.

"Yes, twice removed," Marcia said, blushing a bit around Two-Bit. This made the rust-haired greaser's grin become wider. "You dig alright, babe. Want a piece? C'mon, it'll put hair on your chest," he said, holding a bag of tobacco in his hand. Two-Bit was the definition of a ladies man, nothing like Dally was. They could tell he was flirting with Marcia.

"So where's old Dally anyway?" Two-Bit asked, thinking that he would be there. Just as he said this, Tim Shepherd, the leader of the Brumly Boys, walked up to them. "Yeah, where is old Dally?" he asked them. Ponyboy glanced over his shoulder to look at the older greaser. "He's not here, Tim," he answered.

Tim's eyebrows narrowed at what he said and he exclaimed, "Hey, I know he slashed my tires!" Bexley glimpsed up at him and she shook her head. "Nah, he left a little while ago. You guys know where he is?" she asked, giving the others a quick wink. They all agreed that they had no idea where Dally had gone too.

"I'll be looking for him," Tim said to them before he walked away from them. "Dally got a blade on him?" Two-Bit wondered. "I don't think so," Ponyboy replied. "Good deal. Tim will fight fair as long as he don't," Two-Bit nodded. "You guys don't believe in playing rough, do you?" Marcia asked as she glanced up at Two-Bit.

"Well, a fair fight ain't rough," Two-Bit replied with a shrug. "Yeah, boy, real simple. If he gets killed or something, you just brush it off, no sweat," Marcia chuckled, making the smile on Two-Bit's face grow. Then, Cherry stood up, asking if Ponyboy could go with her to get more popcorn. "Yeah, sure. You guys want anything?" Ponyboy asked after he stood up.

"Yeah, sure. Two-Bit, you owe me another drink since you made me spill my last one," Bexley said, more as a reminder. "Okay, I'm sorry. Here I'll pay for it. Get Johnny and me one too," Two-Bit said, fishing for some change in his jeans pockets. He gave the change to Ponyboy before they went to the concession stand.

"Be nice now!" Bexley teasingly said to her brother, making him blush bright red. "Bex!" he exclaimed. She couldn't help but grin, pleased with herself about what she said. "I'm just teasing," she laughed. After they left, Bexley saw that Johnny's hands were trembling. It was a sign that he needed a smoke.

"Here, Johnnycake," she said as she gave him one. "Thanks, Bex," he said as he lit it with his lighter. She then took his shaking hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. She knew when her fellow greasers needed a lending hand whenever they needed it, which wasn't far in between.

The last time she saw him this shaky was when he was jumped by the socs. It absolutely broke all of their hearts if not pissed them off. Their innocent Johnnycake didn't deserve that. They could hear a conversation between Two-Bit and Marcia, bringing them away from that memory.

"So you're from the Southside, huh?" Two-Bit asked softly. "Yeah," the brunette replied, smiling back at him. "Is it nice there?" he asked her. "It is. I like it," Marcia replied. "You do?" he asked, still smiling softly at her. They seemed to connect so well but knew they couldn't be together due to their social standards.

After a while, Ponyboy and Cherry returned from the concession stand. Ponyboy had been told that things were rough all over, even if they were from different social classes. It was all the same. But they did have nice cars and nice girls with madras.