BLACK SHEEP | DW

014.

"when a million things can bring you down, find one reason to keep you up."

venus looked out of place in the curtis's living room. she wore uncommon hemlines and asymmetrical cuts. the dress draped over her body in a flattering way, in a way that caused many, pensive stares. she had kept tugging at the bottom of it in insecurity.

july came fast in waves of heat, beaded sweat and sunburnt cheeks. it was strange how when the sun had vanished it had been so cold, but when it had risen it was like standing next to a furnace. the gray morning was still, and you could almost touch the crispness of the air.

venus listened as the radio played from the living room. it would've been deathly silent if it weren't for the melodies.

the boy was now awake, and two-bit was trying to hold an ice pack over his bruising eye. "oh quit it, two, will you? i got it!" he swatted him away.

venus smirked, looking back at pony who was mindlessly playing with a deck of cards at the kitchen table. she watched him absently throw down one card after the other, like a rhythm. it was almost as if he could sense her, he looked up, meeting her eye.

for a moment she could see a ghost of a smile fall upon him, and he waved her over to come sit with him. venus grabbed the book she just got, from the tattered binding, and tossed it on the table before sitting.

"wow, looks like a great game, ponyboy," she says sarcastically at the obviously scattered cards. he shakes his head humored, before picking up the novel she just put down.

"you like to read?" he asked her curiously, flipping through the pages of the book. his finger ran across the yellowing parchment, and he glanced at the contents for only a moment.

venus shrugged, "sometimes," she said honestly. "this is for summer reading, though. can't believe i still have to do that," venus chuckled annoyed.

"me too," two-bit laughs. "i have to pretend i read the book for another year now. how many times are they gonna make me sit through junior year before they realize i don't give a damn."

ponyboy rolled his eyes at his friends comment, and venus looked over her shoulder back to the wounded boy, only, to her surprise, for him to be getting up off the couch.

he limped over to the table where the other three were now, and shrugged into the chair. she pitied him, he looked so scared that he could distrust even his own shadow.

as venus collected the cards that were scattered over the table, almost as if it were a habit, she stacked them neatly. when she began to shuffle the cards in an impressive way, like she were a vegas dealer, she could feel eyes on her.

johnny looked at her through his eyelashes, and hesitated to say something. "v-venus?" he asks unsure, but nonetheless the teen girl gave her attention to him. "i just wanted to say thank you, for helping me and everything."

venus grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulders, "wild horses, sincerely" she said.

the boy gave whatever he could muster into a slight smile, but it looked like even turning up his lip caused him pain.

two-bit gave one last look to the group, before standing up obnoxiously. "well, this has been a blast, truly. but i gotta head out," he said prompt. "my mom will skin me if i don't watch my sister. you'll be alright, johnny?"

"i'll be just fine, two," he groaned, putting his elbows on the table. "i certainly don't need a baby sitter, so you just run along."

two laughed, snatching his keys from his pocket. "yeah, i'm sure venus here will take real good care of you," he said, trying to bother johnny.

as the boy shook his head in annoyance, venus crossed her arms. "he ain't like you, two-bit. i'm sure he could handle himself just fine."

ponyboy laughed as two-bit flicked off the girl when he stepped out the door, and the other two gave an amused look.

"some character, that one is," venus said with mock superiority. placing her head in her hand, elbow rested on the table, she sighed.

pony gave her a crooked smile, and raised his eyebrows to her. "he sure is, but he's the only one that don't treat me like a kid, not like steve at least, so we get along alright," he says, huffing.

before she could respond, the radio pulled her in. she hadn't payed it much attention but the song had torn her consciousness from the two boys that had perched on the chairs near her. it seemed they had also tuned in.

as the song spun around their wandering minds, seemingly out of nowhere johnny stated, "i hate it!"

venus's attention torpedoed in his direction before turning down the volume, "the song? i didn't think it was that bad," she said honestly.

"no... not the song," johnny grunted, crossing his arms with much effort. "i hate that we have to sit here, listening to some old crumby radio, while those soc's down on the south-side get their summer party at the lake," he sighed.

"i've never even been on a boat," ponyboy laughs sarcastically, shaking his head at the thought. "never been on a boat, never got to ride in one of those fancy cars, and surely never got invited to one of those parties," he begrudgingly knocks over the cards that venus had neatly stacked only minutes previously.

johnny now let out a low laugh in his own satirical nature, pushing the hair out of his eyes. "i've never even left tulsa," he joked in almost a whisper. but it wasn't a funny joke, it was one that made venus break a little bit inside.

venus hadn't realized how fortunate she had truly been compared to these boys. she had spent her summers at the beach or sometimes in different states, she had never worried about where her money would come from as she was always comfortably provided for, and most of all... she had a boat.

"well, why don't we have our own summer party?" venus asks as the lightbulb in her mind had ignited a most brilliant idea. the two boys glanced at the girl like she were insane, or perhaps had sprung five new heads, but her grin never left her face.

"yeah right, you went to buck's, you saw how awful the parties are around here," pony shakes his head in disappointment, misunderstanding her statement.

before she could clarify, however, johnny chimed in now too. "even worse, imagine showing up to one of those rich kid parties," he scoffed in disgust at the idea. "we would get a beating worse than i did last night."

venus gave him a crooked look, before standing up from her seat with excitement. "no, i mean something new, something different," she said happily. "pony, you said you've never been on a boat right? well i have one! and i live on the lake too. we could have a party at my house; a party that would surely give those socs a run for their money."

pony's expression lit up, "different?" he said in almost a dreamy tone. "yeah that's surely something different."

"well, i like the idea, venus," johnny nodded now too, shifting in his chair to display his support nonverbally. "but would your parents- i mean your dad mind?" he asked awkwardly, unsure as to what to refer to her family situation as.

"i think my folks would be most excited," she said, nodding with certainty. "i best be going, i have a lot to plan."