Trade Mistakes

4

Over the next few weeks, M&M had been spending less and less time with me, and more and more time with those hippies from school who were a few years older than us.

He'd invited me along with them one time, but as soon as they started smoking marijuana, I got real scared and went home. They were breaking the law, a big law.

That's not to say that everyone in the gang hadn't broken a law before, but those had been small and stupid. M&M was using drugs. I knew that some of the people that hung around here had used drugs before, but they'd been clean for a few months.

M&M didn't want to get clean. And he was only thirteen.

Sodapop's POV

It was the middle of summer and me and Steve were hanging out with everyone else in our backyard. It was the middle of the night, and Dally and Two-Bit would let us sneak sips of their beer when Darry wasn't looking.

Even Lizzie had come outside with us. She'd been at home more than she usually was lately. When I asked her about it, she just said that her friends were all busy. Even though she spent almost everyday outside, she was still paler than a piece of paper.

She was standing by Pony and Johnny, drinking a soda with them. Two-Bit had just started saying something when a car drove down our street.

Huh, I thought. Cars never come down here, especially not this late.

I heard a car door slam, and I looked over at Darry. Everyone fell quiet and I saw a kid I used to know from school, Bryon Douglas, walking around the corner.

Lizzie looked real worried for some reason.

"Uh... sorry for comin' here so late, but Lizzie, there's somethin' you oughta know," he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's about M&M, isn't it?"

"Yeah. He ran away."

"Figured he would."

Bryon nodded. "Just was wondering if you'd seen him."

"He doesn't even know where I live, Douglas,"

"Right. Sorry."

Lizzie nodded, and he turned and left.

"What the hell kind of name was M&M? And what was all that about?" I asked.

"Your name is Soda," she replied, giving me an angry look. I felt bad about that- she never got mad. "M&M was my friend."

"Was?" Steve asked.

"He's got new friends now, and he's been doin' LSD and pot. He ain't been acting right, anyway. I knew he'd snap eventually." Lizzie explained.

"Ain't he your age?" Pony frowned, and she nodded.

"Yeah."

.

The next day, when we woke up, we realized Lizzie wasn't here.

"Do you think Lizzie went lookin' for her friend?" I asked Darry.

"Probably," he frowned. "But where would she go looking for him?"

"She didn't go looking for her friend." Pony piped up. "I know where she's at."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Johnny and I been hanging out with her the past few weeks, we know all her go-to places." He said simply. "She's at the creek a few miles outta town, she usually takes the bus down there and spends all day there."

We didn't take the bus, we drove down there. But when we got there, it was completely deserted.

"I thought you said she'd be here." I said.

"I thought she would! This is where she always goes when she's upset."

"Aw, why'd you have to tell 'em, Ponyboy?" I heard Lizzie's voice up in a tree, and a moment later, she had jumped down from a low-hanging branch and giving Pony a disappointed look.

"Well, we were worried," he shrugged.

"Elizabeth, why did you run off?" Darry asked in his 'oh-I'm-so-responsible-and-in-charge-so-suck-it' voice.

"Because." She muttered, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jacket and staring at the ground.

"Lizzie-" he started, but I elbowed him in the ribs. He gave me an offended look, and I shook my head angrily. "Fine. Let's just go home."

.

When we got back and got inside, Darry was still angry. "Lizzie, you're grounded for two weeks."

She didn't say anything, she just stormed off to her room and slammed the door. The three of us were silent for a minute, and we could hear her crying.

"Darry, come on, that's not fair!" I defended her.

"She could have gotten hurt," he argued. "She can't just run off like that."

Ponyboy suddenly got mad. "But neither of you- or anyone else- has ever cared when she hasn't shown up at home for a few days at a time, or when she doesn't talk to anyone for days, or how she's basically ignored all the time!" He snapped.

I felt my face get flushed as I realized that was exactly what was happening.

"She's never disappeared for days... and she hasn't stopped talking to us for days." Darry said weakly, but we all realized it was true.

Man, we were the worst brothers ever.