28A/N: Alright y'all, I made this up when I just messing around on my computer. The first paragraph, I guees, I wrote from experience and went on from there. Hope y'all like it. Please review!
Summary: Instead of running away to the lot with Johnny, Pony runs to the Nightly Double to think about everything that's been happening lately. There he meets a girl who isn't as bad as she seems.
Chapter One: One Big Drunken Mistake
Not that I don't love my family, don't get me wrong, but they can be so frustrating. It's like sometimes I don't belong there; like they're some aliens that abducted me from my real ones. Everything has gotten harder since I've gotten older. Everything's changing and sometimes I hate it. I hate the fact that I can't control things that I used to when I was little. No one seems to understand me and I hate it.
Darry's always telling me that I'm old enough to make my own decisions, but then he's still making them for me like I'm some kind of baby. It's just frustrating that's all. To know that Darry is always going to be doing things for me, that I need to myself. It's just frustrating.
After Darry was done hollering at me for staying out so late, the night he hit me, I ran out of the house. I didn't want talk to him, let alone anyone else. I knew Johnny was in the lot but it was a nice warm summer night and he'd be alright. If he was cold then he would have gone over to my place anyhow. So I ran and ran until I reached the Nightly Double, which was shut down since it was so early in the morning. I didn't know why I ran there, but it just seemed like a good place to hide and think for a while.
I snuck inside through the fence like I had earlier that night with Dally and Johnny and sat down in the seats we were sitting in before. It was weird to know that just a couple of hours ago, I was sitting there with Cherry Valance, one of the prettiest Socs, I've ever seen. Shoot, she was one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I knew I shouldn't because she was a soc and she would never date a guy like me, but I couldn't help it. For some reason she just blew my mind every time I thought about her and that bothered me a bit.
Sometimes I wish things had changed for the better instead getting worse, but the worst just seemed to happen to Greasers the most, huh? I wish mom and dad hadn't died in that car accident. If they hadn't then everything would have been different. For one thing, Darry wouldn't have grown up so quick. He wouldn't have to take care of us or keep himself bottled up with his emotions. Sodapop, though he still is the happy-go-lucky guy we knew when mom and dad were still alive, I know he keeps things bottled up too. Doesn't it seem like everyone's trying to keep things from me, instead of letting it all go? That's another thing I hate. People are too scared of hurting me so they think the best way of protecting me is to not tell me anything at all. I know I'm old enough to know the truth, well, I think I'm old enough to handle the truth.
I was just sitting in silence, when I heard some heavy breathing behind me and I was scared stiff. When I turned around, all I could see was darkness, but I could still see the silhouette of a person sitting in the chair two rows behind me. The moonlight was hidden behind some clouds, so that wasn't much help. When I realized it was a girl, my nerves calmed a little and I walked towards her. She was sleeping peacefully and looked real calm. She was little chubby, but she was really pretty; probably prettier than Cherry Valance. The girl had dark brown hair, but it looked black, and it went a little bit past her shoulders. But, her eyes were what attracted me the most. Though they were closed they were beautiful, and shaped her face perfectly, making her look like some kind of Asian-looking angel. When I looked closer I noticed her cheeks were a rosy-red, but were tear-stained too.
I wondered why she had been crying. Such a pretty girl like that shouldn't have been crying. She started to stir a little bit and moon finally came out from behind the clouds. She must have seen me since she jumped a little. Before I could say anything she had a switchblade to my throat.
"Who are you?" she asked me. I gulped and raised my hands in defense.
"P-Ponyboy Curtis." I stammered. I didn't even know her name and she scared me real bad. I kept thinking that I was going to die. She was going to kill me just because I had been watching her sleep. That sounded wrong even in my mind, and I'm glad I didn't say it out loud.
"Well, why were you watching me sleep, Ponyboy?" she questioned me. I asked her to take the switchblade away from my throat before I explained everything, and she said I'd better not try anything. I wasn't about to, especially since I could still see the switchblade gripped tightly in her right hand.
Quickly I explained I had run away and found her there. I didn't tell her that Darry had hit me though. I didn't want to think about Darry right then. She asked me if I was a greaser or a soc. I told her the truth, and I saw her shoulders relax a little. She put her switchblade away and sat back down. There was a jacket next to her. It was a large leather jacket that looked nice and warm to be sleeping in.
"I'm Jace," she said finally breaking the silence. "Sorry, I've just been a little jumpy lately."
"How come?" I asked. "If you don't mind me askin' that is."
"My old man hit me earlier, so I grabbed my jacket and got out of there. He's been doing that a lot lately; you know, gettin' high and crap like that. I couldn't take it anymore so I left." I felt bad for her, but when I thought about it, I knew we had something in common. I looked into her eyes. They were even more pretty open then when they were closed. They had a nice dark brown color and hints of hazel which made them interesting to look at.
"How 'bout you? How come you're out here?" she asked me, motioning to the movie theater. I explained what had happened with Johnny at the lot and with Darry hitting me.
"I know he didn't mean to hit me, but I just don't want to talk to him right now," I said quietly.
"I know what you mean Ponyboy. Is Darry the only brother you got?" I shook my head and explained about Sodapop, and how the gang were like my brothers too. I felt comfortable talking to Jace for some reason, and pretty soon I had told her about mom and dad dieing about a year ago. (A/N: Sorry if I got that date wrong, but I sadly don't own a copy of the book. Hopefully I'll get one this summer.)
"I'm sorry 'bout your parents," she said. "Ya know I lost my mom too. She died a couple years back. She was on a train that went off course into a river," she said. "It's crazy, isn't it? That God's taking away the people we love?" I nodded in understanding. It was crazy. Our parents were the people who were supposed to take care of us, teach us all that they knew. But it seemed like everything for us greasers, changed and the Socs got the long straw of the situation.
"When my mom died, I cried what seemed like forever. She was my mom, ya' know? She was always there for me and everything. I loved my dad, but we weren't as close. After she died, he started getting high. He said that when he was high he could see her, like she was real."
"I'm sorry," I found myself saying. She gave me a strange look, "for your mom, I mean." She nodded her thanks and grabbed a can from underneath her seat. I thought it might be a soda so I didn't say anything about it.
"You want some?" she asked me. I asked her what it was. "Its beer," she said simply and took a swig. "So you want some, or not?" I hadn't ever tried beer before or even thought about it. I had seen what had happened to Dally and Steve when they came 'round the house. They would pass out on our couch and sleep off the hangover. But, I didn't know what beer tasted like, so I was curious.
Nodding my head, she handed a can and I took a swig also. It had a strong taste to it, and I smacked my lips with distaste. It didn't taste as good as I thought it would have, but it wasn't half bad. I took another swig and we talked for another hour or so. Pretty soon we had to leave, because that sun was coming up and the Nightly Double would have been open soon.
So we grabbed the rest of the beer and walked over to the lot where Johnny was gone. He must have walked over to my house last night like I thought he would have. So we sat down again and talked some more. I had found out she was a greaser, like me, and she went to school with me. I hadn't seen her around school, and she said she hadn't seen me 'round either, so it didn't really matter to us. Jace was the same age as me, fourteen, and also had a little sister, who was about a year younger then her, and an older brother that moved away after their mom died. I felt bad, real bad, for her and her little sister. And then I thought about how good I had with Darry and Soda, but last night kept coming back to mind.
We weren't drunk when we left the Nightly Double, but when we got to the lot we were far from sober. Soon we were laughing at a joke I had just made, and I leaned in to kiss her. I didn't know why I did it, but I think it was under the influence of alcohol.
"No, it's alright," she said, when I pulled away embarrassed. Slowly I leaned back in to kiss her again, and soon I had my t-shirt off, and she with her jacket and shirt. The alcohol had influenced both of us, so I knew we were both drunk and it felt so good that we weren't going to stop now.
I had been a virgin, before I had met Jace, and I think she was too. I had never asked, so I didn't know if she had any experience at all, I knew I didn't. It felt so good to be kissing her. I was real shy around girls, like Johnny was, but it just felt right, even without the alcohol.
When we were sweaty and panting, I remembered we were in the lot. Looking around I saw that no one, so Jace and I agreed to put our clothes back on. I knew it was stupid to have had sex with her, but I couldn't help it. It just felt so good. It felt like she understood me more than anybody.
We finally got dressed, and laid back down of the grass. Soon we had fallen asleep. I was content with where I was with Jace, and Darry, Sodapop, and the rest of the gang, were far from my mind.
I woke up a couple of hours later, to Johnny shaking me gently. He had been calling my name and when I got my eyes to focus I realized Jace wasn't there. She had left me here all by myself. I got up and shook the sleepiness from me, but I had a really bad headache and my mouth tasted like the beer I had had earlier that morning. When I looked up toward the sun, it made my head spin, and I felt like throwing up. And seconds later that exactly what I was doing.
Johnny must have smelt the alcohol on my breathe, because he was asking how much beer I drank. I didn't lie to him, because I really didn't know how much I drank. Besides my pounding head, and my body was aching, then I thought about Jace. Where had she gone? Why did she leave without saying anything? I missed her, believe or not. Even though I had just met her last night, I missed her. She understood me better then anyone, and she just left me here to throw up what we shared last night.
I got up from the ground and headed home with Johnny helping me. Boy, was I going to hear it when Darry and Soda saw me like this. Me and Darry were probably going to end up fighting again, but I didn't want to think about it right now. My head was pounding and it felt like my eyes were squishing out of my head.
When I got inside, Darry was on the couch asleep, but when Johnny slammed the door accidentally, he woke up and saw me. Jumping up, he went to hug me, but I pulled away. I hadn't forgotten what he had done to me last night. And I wasn't about to forgive him either. He looked hurt, but he had hurt me and this was pay back. All the same he stayed quietly.
Walking into the kitchen, I saw Sodapop, Dally, Two-Bit, and Steve all sitting around the table. Like Darry, Sodapop jumped to his feet and hugged me. I didn't pull away from him, though.
"Where did you go?" he asked me. "We've been worried sick."
"Who's 'we'?" I bitterly. Sodapop gave me a sad look and glanced at Darry, who was standing behind me. I didn't turned to see him, but I knew he was standing there; I could feel it.
"Don't be like that, Pony," Johnny said quietly, from behind as well. He was standing next to Darry. I finally turned around to see Darry close to tears. I turned to Johnny.
"Why shouldn't I be? He fucking hit me yesterday!" I shouted. "Why shouldn't I act like that Johnny, huh!" I turned back around to face Sodapop, and the rest of the gang. Soda didn't looked shocked since he had seen it but the rest of the gang did. Darry had never laid a hand on me before last night. There was a long silence before someone broke it.
"You know I didn't mean to, Pony," Darry said quietly. There was sadness in his voice; hurt. I turned to him again, and saw tears falling down his face. "I'm sorry," he said.
"You're sorry!" I shouted. "You're sorry!" I was angry, and frustrated. Frustrated that he had hit me; frustrated that Sodapop and the gang weren't on my side; frustrated with the fact that Jace had left me in lot by myself. Jace, I thought.
"I gotta find Jace," I said to myself. "Shit," my anger had disappeared suddenly when I thought about her. What if she had gone back to her dad? What if she was hurt? What if something happened to her? Would I see her again? I was confused, and hurt at the same time. She was special, and different, and understood me, I couldn't lose her.
Suddenly I felt sick to my stomach, and ran to the bathroom, where I threw-up multiple times.
"The kid's drunk!" I heard Dally shouted from the doorway. I heaved again into the toilet and flushed it. Quickly I wiped my mouth and stood up again, to brush my teeth. I was never getting drunk again.
I walked out of the bathroom, pushing the gang out of my way and I collapsed on the couch. Soda kneeled by my side and asked me something I couldn't understand. I looked at his face, and it was covered with concern and worry.
"How much did ya' drink, kid?" Dally asked me, loudly. My headache returned and my hands flew to my forehead. "How much?" he asked again. Dally didn't care of the fact that it was he who was making my headache worse, so he continued to shouted words at me.
Finally, after having enough of his hollering, I did some of my own. "I don't know, alright! Jace just kept handin' me some when we got to the lot!"
"Ponyboy, who's Jace?" Sodapop asked. I kept silent and tension was growing thick. "Pony, who's Jace!" He asked me again, this time louder and it was firm. I looked at him, in shock and confusion. He was angry that I hadn't answered him. I knew because he was never firm with me like that.
"A person," I said stupidly.
"Pony, this isn't funny!" It was Darry this time, and that made me madder then ever.
"Shut up Darry, like you care!" I shouted, sitting up. The room went quiet, and I regretted ever sayin' that. I knew Darry cared; that he loved me all the same, just like he loved Soda, but he hit me and I wasn't going to let that go.
"Pony, I do care!" He said quietly. I got up to face him, and looked him in the eyes.
"If you cared 'bout me, then you wouldn't of hit me! If you cared 'bout me then I wouldn't have found comfort in a girl I just met last night!" I found myself screaming. I wasn't afraid of Darry at that moment. I didn't care at that moment if the gang was watching us, or if we had an audience filled with strangers, so I kept goin'.
"If you care 'bout me then I wouldn't have gotten drunk! I wouldn't have slept with Jace last night!" Realizing what I had said, I watched Darry's face turn from hurt to shock. Silence swept the living room and I couldn't take it anymore. I ran pass Darry and everyone one else who was in my way. I didn't care what they thought. I just wanted to find Jace; to talk to her; to ask her why she left.
A/N: So what y'all think? Good? Bad? I wanna know so please review! Flamers welcome!