Only You || Two-bit Matthews

Chapter Three • Inclusive

Keith twisted the gold handle of my door and pushed it open. He grinned at me and put his hands on his hips. "How long have you been awake, little lady?"

I shrugged and smiled back, "I'm not sure, maybe thirty minutes or so."

He shook his head, "Well, I was thinking I should get goin'. The storm is gone and the sun is out."

I didn't expect him to want to leave so quickly; for some reason, I wished that he had stayed.

Frowning slightly, I nodded. "Oh, alright," my tone was flat. Over the years, I learned to disguise sadness and disappointment with anger.

Keith noticed my frown, "Well, let's go then." He said simply, gesturing for me to hurry as if I had taken hours to get ready.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Go where?"

"To meet my buddies. I want my new buddy to get along with my old buddies," he smiled ear to ear, goofily.

Before I could protest, he walked away from my room. Quickly, I jogged after him as he headed for the door. All of his belongings were in his hands, prepared to leave. I hastily shoved my feet into my shoes, leaving them untied for now.

Keith had a skip in his step as he got in his car, pulling open the door, and sliding in. I shut the front door and quickly hopped in the passenger seat, beginning to tie my shoes.

He turned the engine, and it rattled a few times before finally roaring to life. Putting the car in drive, he drove out of my driveway and back the way we had come from late last night. I only recognized a few street signs; the houses and sidewalks were still unfamiliar to me.

"So, uh, what're your friends like?" I asked out of curiosity.

Keith smiled, "Well, there's Ponyboy. Yes, that's his real name. " He paused to giggle, "He likes school and all the nerdy stuff most of us other guys wouldn't care about. "

I smiled, "These guys don't sound like thugs or hoodlums to me."

Keith continued, "Ponyboy has two brothers, Darry and Sodapop. Again, yes, his real name. "

This time I laughed with him.

"Darry is the oldest one; he works and is stubborn all the time." He smiled at the memory of Darry being stubborn. "Soda works at the DX he don't go to school."

I nodded, not knowing what the DX was. I was slowly beginning to grow guilty for thinking that these guys were going to be violent and nasty like all others. Maybe that was the socs lifestyle that had been instilled in me my whole life. Some mindsets are hard to break.

"And Steve, he's well. Let's just go meet 'em." He smiled goofily and pulled into a driveway. His car sparked with a cranking sound before shutting off.

I scanned the front of the house, taking in the details. For a home in the "greaser side" of town, it seemed to be very homely. Looking from the outside, you got a feeling that the house was well-lived in and cared for. I smiled softly at the thought.

Keith opened his door and stepped out, pushing his door closed again. I jumped slightly at the loud bang from the door. "C'mon, little lady," he said whilst gesturing me out of the car.