ALEX'S P.O.V.
"You better back off buddy you're outta your territory," Two-Bit hissed.
The three socs smiled drunkenly and my stomach twisted. One of them chuckled and stumbled as he took a step forward. My eyes flicked furiously back and forth. "We don't want any trouble," I croaked, keeping my eyes on the blade that the soc closest to me grasped in his hand.
I had a pulling urge to run, but I knew if Two-Bit wasn't, then it wasn't a good idea. "Who's looking for trouble?" The front most soc laughed. "We're just looking for some action."
Two-Bit slowly slid his hand into his back pocket and pulled out a blade. It had a scary looking handle, long and big, and when he flipped the blade out, it was sharp. Two-Bit whipped the blade in front of him, causing the soc boy to take a cautionary step back. "Watch it." Two-Bit's voice was low and gravely.
The soc stayed silent for a moment, uneasily looking down at the blade Two-Bit held. Even drunk, anyone could see that blade could have you pushing up daisies in one swipe. My mind momentarily flashed an image from a movie I once saw back in Texas. A movie about gangs up in New York. Those guys were tuff, real tuff. Most of them used heaters, but every now and then one of them pulled a switch—one like Two-bit's.
The soc threw up his hands slightly, showing us him flicking his switch closed. "C'mon guys, I heard there's a beer blast down by the lake." The soc spit to his friends next to him. He then walked away with the other two following close behind.
Just as the Mustang rolled away, another car drove up next to us and stopped. I squinted and saw it was Steve. He was looking at the Mustang that was driving away. "Did you guys just get in some trouble?" He asked.
Two-Bit held up his blade. "Not with this thing in my back pocket." He chuckled lowly.
Steve's eyes wandered to the car that still emanated smoke. "I was just driving home, you guys need a ride somewhere?"
Two-Bit looked back at the car, then at me. I was still a little shaken up, and had some questions about what just happened, but I remained calm and silent. "Yeah, can you drop me off at the Curtis house, then take Alex home?" I turned my head to him in question. Almost reading my mind, he added: "My mom is gonna have a heart attack if you don't get home."
I closed my mouth that hung open, knowing he was right. We climbed into the car and the two chatted in the front seat while I sat in the back. I pressed my forehead up against the warm glass and looked out at the passing houses. When we got back to the Curtis house, Two-Bit hopped out of the car and I switched to the front seat. "Tell my mom I'll be home as soon as possible." He tapped on the window once, then jogged into the front door.
I silently longed to go with him and hang out with the gang more, but I knew someone had to go home and check in with aunt Laney. I glanced over at Steve while we drove back to Two-Bit's house. He looked tired and wore out. I wanted to say something, break the awkward silence that hung thick in the air, but I couldn't come up with anything. "Ya wanna know something?" Steve asked out of the blue.
I didn't look at him, but I could tell he was smiling. "What?" I grinned, glad the silence was broken.
"I think Soda likes you."
"Really?" My heart skipped and stomach flurried.
He shrugged. "Yeah." My lips curled into a small smile as I imagined Soda's bright smile. "A few months ago, his girlfriend Sandy cheated on him, and he just hasn't looked interested in any girls since. I haven't seen him look at a girl like he looked at you in a long time."
"Well," I sighed. "I've only known him for about eight hours." I giggled.
Steve chuckled. "Sodapop's funny like that. He falls for girls real easy. I should know, we've been best friends since second grade."
I smiled to myself. There were a few moments of silence as I looked out the window and watched the night. "What about Dallas?""
"Dally? What about him?"
"What's his story?" I asked curiously.
"Awe, you know. Grew up in a bad place with some bad parents. He got tuff." I nodded and bit my lip. "But he's a good guy. You just gotta get to know him."
"His whole personality is a little hard to swallow." I giggled.
Steve chuckled. "Yeah, he gives off that vibe a little. You'll get used to him." Steve sighed as we rolled up to Two-Bit's house.
"Thanks for the ride." I smiled.
"No problem Alex. Oh, and don't say anything to Soda about the whole..."
"I won't."
He smiled and I shut the door, jogging up to the house.
***********************
After a lengthy explanation of where and what we were doing to aunt Laney, I went up and took a shower. Today was a lot to process. I thought about Sodapop and his cute smile and how Steve said he fell easily for girls. It was odd, though. I was different. I took time to start to like guys. I had to get to know them first. Really develop a relationship before going steady. I didn't come to Tulsa looking for a boyfriend, but I wouldn't really mind getting one.
I fell asleep before I could really conjure my next full thought.
***********************
The next day aunt Laney took me shopping. Two-Bit came with us and helped me pick out some clothes that would help me "fit in" with the gang. I didn't wear pants or shorts around town all too often, most girls I knew didn't, but Two helped me pick out some really cute shorts that he said would help me move away from my habit of wearing only skirts and dresses. I also got a leather jacket that I couldn't help but be reminded of Dally by. It was odd, because I wanted to be reminded of Soda by it, but Dally consumed my mind for some unfathomable reason.
***********************
The next day, Two-Bit shook me awake like usual, and said that later that day we were going out with the gang. For that morning, aunt Laney tried to teach me how knit. I tried my best, but I wasn't as good as her. Around two in the afternoon, Two-Bit called for me, interrupting my failed attempt at knitting. "The gang is meeting up at the Dingo for a burger. You should wear your new clothes I helped you pick out." He smiled proudly.
I scoffed. "You mean I can't wear my sweater-skirt sets anymore?" I giggled.
"Never again." He hissed.
I went upstairs and filed through the shopping bags from the day before. I pulled out a pair of white shorts Two-Bit showed me. I cocked an eyebrow at them, nervously. I hadn't really worn shorts in public all that much before. I mean I wasn't scared or anything, I'd worn swimsuits before, it just wasn't what I was used to. I pulled on the shorts and a black t-shirt. I put on the leather jacket over it and looked at myself in the mirror. I raised my eyebrows at myself. I looked like a greaser. I pulled my hair out of it's ponytail and let it down to make myself look a little bit more girly.
I bit my lip at the sight of myself in shorts. I had to admit, I didn't hate them. It was a new and refreshing change. That's what my mom sent me here for, right? If I wore these when I got home, she'd flip, though.
Two-bit and I hopped in his car and drove over to the Dingo. "Sodapop did a good job fixing the car." I commented.
The car purred nicely, like after you take it into the shop. "Yeah, he made me buy him a coke with my last quarter for it."
I smiled and climbed out of the car. We walked into the Dingo and spotted the gang in a corner booth. Two-Bit walked up and sat down. "You think Alex looks more like a greaser now?" He chuckled.
I approached the table and stood in front. The whole gang was there except Darry. He was probably at work. I scanned the gang's faces. They all stared at me, not in a weird way like most boys back home would, but in a nice, supportive way. My eyes instinctively flicked to Dally. He smirked at me with a cig hanging out of his mouth. I forced my eyes away from him to Sodapop. He was smiling brightly at me, beaming. "Why don't ya bunch close your mouths! You'll catch flies!" Two-Bit cackled, making my face and ears turn red.
"Scoot." I smiled at Johnny who sat on the edge of the table.
He slid farther into the booth and made room for me. I sat and propped my elbows on the table. A waitress came out with a tray of burgers that the gang had already ordered. They all began to eat. I stared at Soda, his movie star handsome face naturally breath taking. "You want some of my burger, Alex?" He asked with a chuckled.
I blushed. "No thanks, I think I'm gonna grab a coke." I stood and walked to the counter, feeling a few pairs of eyes on my back.
I asked for a coke and forked over a quarter. I picked up a straw and began to walk back to the table. "Hey-a hunny." Someone snarled from behind me.
I glanced back at a booth filled with greasy haired, leather wearing teen boys, smirking at me. My first instinct was to be repulsed at them, maybe even leave, but then I realized that they were our kind, greasers. Also, I was dressed like a greaser. "Damn shorts." I mumbled to myself as I scoffed and walked away.
"Did they say something to you?" Someone asked as I sat back down in my spot in the booth.
I looked up, expecting it to have been Two-Bit who spoke to me, but it was Dally who was looking at me, awaiting a response. "Nah, it was nothing."
"No good those guys are. I outta beat down on a few of em someday."
"It was just cat calling Dal'." I took a sip of my coke. "I'm used to it."
I watched as he swallowed hard, then got up from his chair on the end of the table, and walked out of the Dingo. I waited a moment, taken aback, then turned my attention back to the gang. "What was that all about?" I asked shifting in my seat.
"I dunno." Two-Bit said with a mouth full of burger.
"Dally seemed a little on edge the whole day." Ponyboy added.
"He's in a dangerous mood." Johnny mumbled.
I blinked hard, then glance at the door, secretly hoping Dally would come back. I swallowed, as if it would suppress my guilty hope. I didn't want to think about him. I didn't want to make any trouble for myself by disregarding Two-Bit's comment about me not being allowed to like Dallas. But for some reason he was so intriguing to me. I guess my whole life I had never been around people like him. He was new and different and exciting and deep down I wanted to know more about him. I bit my tongue to stop my dangerous train of thought and my eyes darted to Soda to take my mind off of Dallas. Soda flashed me a goofy, handsome smile, and I giggled, in fact, forgetting about Dally momentarily. But he remained in the back of my mind.
*********************
After, I accompanied Two-Bit, Pony and Johnny into a gas station to steal a pack of smokes while Soda and Steve ran over to the DX. The manager of the station got suspicious and asked us to leave, but by then it was too late. Two-Bit already had two packs of cigs, and had stuffed a pack of M&Ms into Johnny's coat pocket, rightfully claiming them when we got outside again.
We walked over to the DX, Two-Bit opening the box of cigarettes and giving one to Johnny and Ponyboy. "Aren't you a little young to smoke?" I giggled alongside Pony.
He took a drag, then blew the smoke out in a murky puff like I'd seen Dally do. "Helps calm me down I guess." He smiled. "I really 'ought to stop if I'm gonna make the track team during the school year." He tossed the cig on the ground and crushed it as we walked.
We walked in to see Steve sitting on the counter while Soda sipped a coke, leaning against a shelf stocked with bags of chips. "Get down from there Steve! Stop bumming around." A voice from behind the counter scolded.
"Awe shut up." Steve hissed as he hopped off the counter with a sour face.
To my surprise, a girl wearing a DX shirt stood behind the counter. She had long, scruffy, blonde hair down her lower back. She had dark eyes with a mouse-y look to the structure of her face. She had light, clear skin that clung to her sharp cheek bones. She was pretty except her hair, I thought it was a little crazy. Also, she wore short, tight shorts which I found immodest, until it dawned on me that she was a greaser girl. Maybe this is what greaser girls look like. I really shouldn't be so quick to judge.
When Soda noticed us, his face lit up with a smile, and I couldn't help but smile back. "Howdy." He chuckled.
When I looked to Steve, I was taken aback. His face had lost color and he looked at me with an apologetic, sympathetic look. I furrowed my eyebrows, but I would soon find out why he made the face. "Alex," Sodapop started. "This is my girlfriend Isabella."
My smiled wavered significantly, but I tried to maintain a kind composure. My eyes flicked furiously to Steve who smiled nervously. I looked over to the girl behind the counter. She flashed me a slightly forced smile and snapped her gum. "Nice to meet you. I'm Alex." I too, forcing a smile.
My heart sunk and it felt like my stomach flipped. "A pleasure." She said with sass flowing thick in her voice.
My eyebrows furrowed again with confusion. Why would Soda go steady with a broad like this? She's so...... Greasy. Immediately I felt bad for the thought. She might be a nice girl. But from what I've gathered, she doesn't have any interest in expressing kindness through body language. Maybe this is how most greaser girls look and act. I still had a lot to learn.
I looked down at my shorts and leather jacket, reassuring myself that I now belonged to a completely different social group. I bit the inside of my cheeks and shifted my weight in the silence. "Uh S-Steve can I talk to you?" I asked, my voice going hoarse on Steve's name.
His eyes fell and he nodded, walking outside behind me. As the door to the DX swung shut, I heard Two-Bit start talking, so I knew I had some time to talk to Steve.
"Why the hell would you tell me Soda liked me and lead me on like that?!" I hissed, yelling in a whisper. "When-When he has a damn girlfriend!" I spat.
"Because Alex! You saw how she is, she's the worst!" he said like a child. I rolled my eyes and popped my hip. "I thought she was just a rebound after Sandy, but they just kept dating! I was hoping you wouldn't find out about Isabella until after you made Soda like you."
His last words made my heart sink. He never liked me. "Why would he like me? He has a girlfriend!"
"I wasn't lying when I said he hasn't looked at a girl like he looked at you for a long time. He doesn't even look at Isabella the way he used to look at Sandy like. And he was in love with Sandy! I saw a flicker of that in his eyes when he saw you, and I was hoping that you could get him out of the clutches of that snake in there!"
I swallowed hard and folded my arms. "I'm not a man stealer." I hissed, leaning in towards him slightly.
"I never said you was." He sighed. "All's I'm saying is that you could persuade him to exit that relationship."
"Who said I even liked Soda?" I raised my chin slightly.
He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Every girl likes Sodapop." He smiled toothy, showing his crooked teeth. "'Sides, I see how you look at him. Like he's some moviestar."
"I do not!"
"Yes you do. You practically swoon over him hunny." He chuckled. I tried to suppress a grin, but I couldn't. "See." He smiled regarding my smirk.
"It doesn't change that he has a girlfriend, Steve." My face fell back into a frown. "I didn't come to ruin relationships." I turned to go inside.
"Why are you here?" He blurted.
I felt a little hurt by his words but I decided he didn't say it with malice. I turned back to him, taking my hand off the swinging door "Because I was shipped off by my mom against my will to come here."
"Why'd she ship you off?"
"She said I needed more adventure, more relationships, some crap like that."
He stayed silent for minute, looking at me, then at his shoes. "Soda's a good guy Alex. That girl in there doesn't deserve him."
I thought about it for a moment, sincerely thought about it. Soda was kind and handsome and sweet and everything a girl would ever want in a guy, so why wasn't I jumping all over this idea? Then I realized what I knew all along, but didn't want to believe. He wasn't the problem, it was me. I knew that I couldn't get into a relationship because I was leaving in less than three months. Soda was sweet and kind and handsome, that's why I didn't deserve him. Because if for some unfathomable reason, he started to like me back, I would leave him at the end of the summer. I just couldn't do that to him.
I swallowed and looked back to him with stormy eyes. He had a pleading look with begging eyes. "It's not my business to decide who's good enough for who, Steve."
I walked into the DX, leaving Steve. The words I had spoke felt like knives on my tongue, but I couldn't let Steve think that me and Soda were just gonna fall in love.
I walked towards the group and scooted next to Two-Bit. "What was that all about?" Two-Bit mumbled to me as the others talked.
"Nothing," I whispered as I looked down at my hands.
I eyed Isabella as she chomped on her gum, resembling a cow. Then, I looked to Soda. He smiled and laughed at something Pony had said. He was so pure and she so wasn't. I squinted and snapped out of my trance as Steve walked back in from outside. I looked to him, expecting to get a scolding look, but instead he was wrapped up in conversation with Dallas. My face lit up at the sight of Dally. It was a weird feeling I got when I saw him. Like seeing an old picture of a celebrity. He was so surreal, just his presence. He was just so.... Real. He knew how the world was, and how to live in it, in the present, in the moment. And it showed in his step, in the way he carried himself.
His eyes scanned the room and stopped on me. He smirked, then looked back to Steve. He mumbled something that I couldn't hear over Two-Bit chatting with Johnny, Pony and Soda. "Y'all wanna go over to the drive-in?" Dally asked the group.
Johnny, Pony, Two-Bit and I agreed. I watched as Soda looked over to Isabella, raising his eyebrows, asking silently. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. When her eyes stopped rolling, they landed on Dally. No one but a girl could see the look that then appeared in her eyes. A look that only girls would recognize because only girls know it. Potential lust. She thought Dally was hot. "Yeah Sodapop." She said, keeping her eyes on Dally as she wrapped an arm around Soda and hopped down from where she sat on the counter. "Let's go to the drive-in with ya friends." She blew a bubble real big as Soda chuckled.
Soda kissed her on the cheek as we walked out into the night. But her eyes were glued to Dally's back. I looked at her as we walked. We had to pick up Two-Bit's car where we left it at the gas station he stole the smokes from. Slowly, her eyes moved lower and lower until she was obviously staring at his ass. I coughed loudly and her eyes flicked away, to me. I cocked an eyebrow at her. And she shot me a look of hate.
I clenched my teeth and shot her a look back. All she did was smile and keep eye contact with me as she pulled Soda by his waist closer to her. She winked at me, then looked back to Dally, snapping her gum again.
I secretly hoped that she would choke on that gum.