Bonnie Bakers birthday bash was the hottest party of the year. She managed to get the party swinging with grass, alcohol, and hot greaser girls. Curly went to the bash every year and drank until he couldn't remember his name, except this year, because his brother was chewing him out. It was going on three hours since Tim had seen Curly riding in the car with Jose, and he hadn't shut up since.
Seeing Jose had been banned in the Shepard Household, but no one had an actual legitimate reason on why. The whole family kept their distance from Tio Jose. It wasn't so hard to stay away from him, from what Curly could remember, he had been in prison most of his childhood and when he was out of prison he stayed a few towns over.
"Charles, you listening?" Tim asked.
Curly nodded and stared at the funny looking tattoo on his hand. It rested between his thumb and index finger. It was the official branding from the Shepard Gang, in other words, your mark that said you belonged to them. Curly could still remember the day he got initiated into the Shepard Gang, how ironic being that his brother was the founder. He still had to fight his way in just like everyone else. His eye was swollen shut for days and his bones didn't quite heal right, the memory would forever be burned into his brain.
"Yeah, si." Curly rushed out.
Curly's eyes turned to look at Tim's cold ones. He could never decide if Tim's eyes said they were regretful, disappointed, or angry with Curly. Maybe it was just all three. He felt kid of bad for being a menace and never doing the right thing, because there was a time when they actually got along. But once Curly turned sixteen, all the love for each other fell down a drain and they were always at each other's necks.
"Jose will fuck you over, entiendes? He ain't a good character. He'll get you into shit you ain't ready for."
Curly nodded slowly, he hoped to manipulate his way out of the conversation. Angela managed to do it all the time, blink her long eyelashes at Tim, flash her best puppy dog face and say "please" in the sweetest voice. There wasn't any way Tim would let Curly get away with it, he had to hear the whole lecture until he was tired of hearing his own self talking.
"You're only 16. Stop trying to grow up so fast."
The old paint chipping on the wall was far more interesting to look at than Tim's raging eyes. All he could see when he looked at Tim was the regret, anger, and disappointment. He know he was a fuck up but he hated being reminded that he was. It wasn't like he could help it much, not when he didn't have any real guidance.
Tim shook his head at Curly one last time and disappeared into his room. The look made Curly want to sink into the church pews and pray for forgiveness. He hated the way Tim could make him feel, and it just could be a look he gave him and he felt shitty. So much for a big brother bringing out the best in you.
Curly got up from the old lumpy couch and walked out the door, skipping over the raggedy steps and walked around town. He didn't have a destination in mind, he was sort of hoping that trouble would find him, just so he could have something to do and not have to worry about Tim's cold stares. But with his luck, trouble always found him when he didn't want it. How ironic.
He found himself outside the downtown Diner called Susie's. The owner was an aging Italian who didn't mind being the greaser hangout for chicanos and blacks. He was the only person who had enough guts to stay open late, but Curly knew it was because the crime rate was high where he lived. Pancakes and slushees made for a great meal after a good fight. At least for the Shepard Gang it did.
The wind blew around Curly, there was a slight chill to it surprisingly because it was still the beginning of September. There was a time Curly embraced the cold because lord knows that Tulsa could get hotter than Hades. But that was ages ago and his mind went sour after he lived in New Jersey for a few months and experienced their winter without any heat.
"Curly?"
Ponyboy Curtis had walked up behind Curly. Curly slightly grinned to himself once he caught sight of Ponyboy. He had been one of his best friends, a buddy he had known all his life and they basically grew up with each other. Their friendship couldn't be explained but Curly suspected it was because they balanced each other out like fire and ice.
"Ponyboy Curtis." Curly said slowly.
Ponyboy leaned against the window where Curly was standing. He could remember this was the same kid he chased around with worms and spiders because Ponyboy was so squeamish. Curly thought Ponyboy must've lacked a lot of common sense, he loved being places where he shouldn't of been, most east side greasers didn't come to Curly's neighborhood.
"What's hanging?" Ponyboy asked. "I'm surprised you ain't at Bonnie Bakers party."
Curly shrugged and sucked again on his cigarette before dropping it and stomping it out. He had quickly gotten over the fact that he wasn't going and he already had a story for why. The guys wouldn't question it because they knew better to do so.
"Naw, I got caught up." He told him.
"Wasn't really swinging anything. The girls seem to be having a good time, though."
Curly thought of chicks who were probably there and which chicks he probably would've hooked up with if he showed his face. Maybe it was better that he didn't go, girls always had some strange attachment after hooking up and he spent weeks getting rid of them. He figured Angela was there, her friends probably would've dragged her along, not that she would put up much of a fight. Angela wasn't one to turn down booze.
"Angel there?"
"Yeah, along with Connie Winston, Sylvia, and Kathy."
"Connie's back?" Curly questioned.
Curly could remember the bleached blonde haired Connie Winston. She had been a fling, a terrible one at that. Memories fled into his memory of constant arguing between the two until they both decided to end it. Not that it would ever last long, she never stayed a few months in Tulsa before skipping out anyway. She was just like her brother, selfish and a person who couldn't be trusted.
"She's been back for a while. Angie hasnt brought her over?"
Curly cringed at Ponyboys affection for Angela. He had an unspoken sweet spot for the girl and he never knew had nothing in common, Ponyboy was quiet and nerdy, Angela was a trouble maker. They never fooled around and Curly always knew it was out of respect for him. Maybe that's why he liked Ponyboy so much.
"Naw, and she'd better not. Connie Winston is nothing but trouble, just like her sorry ass brother."
Curly peaked into the diner window to catch a look inside. Not many kids were sitting around because they were probably at the Birthday Bash. He didnt mind much and he knew Ponyboy didn't either, he liked the quiet.
"I'm heading in.. Coming, Curtis?"
Ponyboy nodded and followed after Curly in the diner. They slid in at a table in the middle of the floor. That way, the could see the dancing and who was there. Curly ordered a slushee, he had lost his appetite earlier in the day once Tim dragged him from Tio Jose's souped up car.
"Whatever happened to you and Connie anyway?" Ponyboy asked.
Ponyboy wasn't Ponyboy without his curiosity. Curly couldn't pick if he liked it or hated it.
"Connie was just a fling, Curtis. I never really had feelings for her. Her and her brother almost fucked things up for me and the gang."
The relationship could compare to a mutalistic relationship. They both benefited from screwing each other but he never saw it going anywhere. He knew better than to trust a Winston, and just like he predicted she almost ruined everything for them.
Curly's thoughts were interrupted when it felt like he jumped into an ice bath. Heflinched as the slushee felt onto his shirt and seeped into his lap. The cold and sticky beverage already making its way into his freshly bleached shirt.
"Christ, I'm so sorry."
"Shit," Curly mumbled.
He tore his jacket off his body and neatly draped it across the chair. The waitress quickly grabbed napkins and attempted to wipe the mess off his shirt but she wasn't doing a good job. The mess was already in his shirt.
Curly blew out a breath and looked at the waitress. He recognized her as the girl from the juke joint a few weeks prior. She must have been a new waitress because Curly came to Susie's all the time and he had never seen her. He was taken a back by her soft features and almost forgot she spilled the drink.
"Ill get you another one." She said quickly.
"Don't worry about it." He said.
"Are you sure, it isn't a problem. I'm sorry, I'm new." She rambled.
"It ain't a problem. Its a little too cold for it anyway." Curly joked lightly.
"Can I get you anything else? I feel like a jerk."
Curly shook his head the girl and continued to wipe the drink off his arms. They were already sticky and he hated the feeling of being sticky. It reminded him of his old man. He'd always come in, sweaty and sticky from the outside and from spilled drinks on his skin.
"Thats alright. I'm gonna get outta here anyway."
He gave her a light smile which made her frown. He could gather that she was bit shy and she had some sort of innocence to her. Curly thought it was interesting to see, he didn't come across innocence in his neighborhood often and when he did, it was often corrupted. Gone before it even came.
"You know her?" Curly asked.
He eyed her as she walked behind the counter and stood in the corner in the back. Their eyes met briefly before she shyly looked away and disappeared into the back room. Shy girls weren't usually his type, Curly liked to talk and he liked to move fast. But there was something about her pure personality that made him want to talk to her.
"I wouldn't think about it." Pony laughs slightly.
Curly flicks his eyes back to Ponyboy, feeling slightly offended. Curly didn't consider himself to be ugly, Shepards had a reputation around town and it wasn't just for being tough. Chicks were always hung up over him, he didn't get what Ponyboy was trying to say.
"The fuck does that mean, Curtis?" Curly asks.
Pony shakes his head and shrugs. He sips on a coke that the girl must have brought to the table before she spilled the slushee.
"What I mean is, that's Willy Johnsons younger sister. He belongs to Brumley. 'Sides, she goes to that Christian school and shit."
Willy Johnson was an average Brumley kid. They lived about ten minutes away from Curly's block and they were ally's with the Shepards. They shared connects and backed each other if they needed it. He didn't see Willy Johnson being that much of a threat but he was pretty big guy. It wasn't that Curly was scared of him but he was sure he could pack a good punch if he was angry.
He figured it made sense that she went to a Christian School. Based on her timid nature she looked like she lacked the common sense when it came to growing up in downtown Tulsa streets. He could guess that her brother sheltered her, especially because she was so pretty. A girl like that didn't last long if she didn't have someone to protect her. That's where Tim messed up, he spent too much time working on his image and reputation that Angela became just like him. Tough and bitter. Like he said, being pure never lasts.
"That's too bad." Curly says to himself.