The Insiders (The Outsiders Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

I knew Christine's accusation of Two-Bit was silly, but it stayed in the back of my mind the whole day. I didn't know what I'd do if Two-Bit had done it. I never really cared about Two-Bit. I disliked him more than I disliked any other person I'd never met, as a matter of fact. And yet the thought of him killing anyone made me sick to my stomach.

I scolded myself for caring. I scolded myself for even thinking he could be a suspect at all and simultaneously scolded myself for thinking that that Greaser could be anything more than some hood who could easily murder anyone. My thoughts were scattered across my mind like papers on the floor when you're trying to write a poem and the words just don't come out right.

I was never great in school, but I got decent grades in English. But that day, even in English, I couldn't focus and get my work done. My teacher clearly noticed something was wrong, but I think he noticed something was wrong with everyone considering the news, so he didn't do much about it.

The entire school was mournful the whole day. No one spoke of his death, and no one ignored it. The students just walked through the halls, not pausing to talk to each other in between classes or during lunch.

You see, no one really liked Bob except for his soc buddies, and even then they seemed to think he was irritating when he was drunk. But no one liked hearing that anyone was so much as jumped, nevermind murdered. And the idea of one of the toughest socs in the neighborhood being murdered had set everyone on edge. If someone capable of having the courage and strength to kill Bob was still out there, they could easily kill any one of us in this school.

When the final bell finally rang, I ran down the steps and out the back gate. I wanted to get home as quickly as possible without having to deal with the after school traffic.

As I was walking, I rounded a corner and heard voices arguing a block or two away. I was about to walk toward the voices but then remembered what Dad had said: I don't want you going anywhere else other than school until this ordeal is figured out, you hear me?

Suddenly, I heard a voice rise louder than either of them had been before. "He's just a kid, Darry!"

Darry...Darry...the name rang a bell in my head. Then I realized. That was Soda's voice, and his brother Darry was there, too. I disregarded all doubts I had of going towards the voices and slowly crept down to a block with a bunch of beat up old houses. I could hear the argument much clearer from there.

This time, a deeper voice spoke. "Look, Soda, I'm worried. I'm sorry. What if that shove I gave him sent him off the rails? What if he couldn't keep himself together anymore? What if...." The voice broke off and I heard a crack in his voice. I think I heard a sob, too. I was shocked. From what I could remember, Darry wasn't the type to cry if you gave him a million bucks.

"It's gonna be okay, Darry. He'll come back, I promise."

Who on Earth were they talking about? They didn't know any little kids. Except-

"Hey, guys, I just heard Pony's on his way to Texas with Johnny!" My eyes widened. I could recognize that voice anywhere. It was Two-Bit. Oh no, I thought, I hope he doesn't see me. I inched backwards to try and obstruct any view of me as much as I possibly could.

The conversation continued, but I started connecting the dots: Soda and Darry were talking about a kid who had just run away. Two-Bit said that Pony had just run off to Texas. They had to have been talking about Pony. And Pony's never absent in school, and today being the one day that he was....

"Oh no...." I said. I tried to hush my voice, but it must not have worked. I was too loud. I swore under my breath as I heard Soda shush Two-Bit and Darry. I heard quiet footsteps walk over toward me. I decided that if I didn't wanna get jumped, I had to make a run for it. They'd hear me, but I'd at least get a headstart. So I bolted. I got up and ran around a random corner. At that point, I had officially gotten lost. I had no idea where my house was, and even if I could figure out where it was, I wouldn't be able to outrun those Greasers to get to it. So I kept running forward.

I heard a voice behind me. "Hey, dollface, where're ya goin'?"

I rounded a corner and once I had lost him behind that corner, I turned around another one and fell to the ground. I hadn't been that out of breath since I first ran the mile in school. I was sitting on some random house's lawn; I hoped no one would notice and make me leave, because I was too tired to get up.

Then I heard that voice again. "Shoot, where is she?"

Suddenly, I felt a thump against my back. I leaped up and screamed, only to see that it was a dog. I covered my mouth to try to stifle the scream, but it was too late. I heard footsteps rounding the corner. The dog kept barking, helping to lead him closer to me. The footsteps got louder and louder until he rounded the corner, and we locked eyes.