Kaleidoscope- a Cherry Valance fanfic

The Gang

My alarm blared, causing me to jump at the unfamiliar sound. I looked over and saw 1:00 PM written in bright red letters across the screen of the clock. Once I had turned it off, I decided to get ready. I got up and immediately felt my muscles aching. The bed in my motel room was really hard, but I guess I had been too tired to notice it the night before. I stretched until I cracked my back, alleviating some of the pain. I rummaged through my backpack until I found a decent outfit. After about 40 minutes, I was ready to leave.

I walked the not-so-familiar streets, taking in different houses and street names as landmarks. I couldn't help but notice how different these streets looked during the day. At night, they were empty, except for the occasional group of drunk men that would make some nasty remark. During the day, they were filled with kids playing amongst themselves, mothers talking to their neighbours while doing laundry, and fathers playing catch with their sons. 

Soon enough I arrived at Ponyboy's house. He was sitting on the porch with Johnny, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey Y/N," Pony yelled.

"Hey Pony, what's going on?" I answered, opening the gate and stepping into his front yard.

"Johnny and I were waiting for you to show up so we could introduce you to the gang," he said.

I was about to say something when I was interrupted by someone.

"What're you doing here?" he asked in a rude tone.

"Well when I left you, I ended up finding Ponyboy and Johnny being beat up by some socs, which, may I add, I saved them from, and they invited me over to meet the gang, Dallas," I answered, smiling sarcastically at him.

"No," he said

"What?" I questioned, taken aback by his answer.

"No way. You can't just waltz in here and be friends with my friends, too. Listen, I don't mind you being here, but can't you go make your own friends or something, man?" he spoke.

"Fine. You wanna be an ass? Well, two can play at that game." I began, "I'll leave, but don't be upset when I'm on the front page of the newspaper after being murdered because I was all alone."

I turned around and was about to start walking when I felt Dal's hand roughly grab my arm and spin me back around. He looked at me and scoffed, smirking slightly. Only then had I noticed that Ponyboy and Johnny had snuck away while we were arguing. Dallas began walking up the steps.

"You coming or what?" he laughed.

I ran up to join him. When we got to the door, he just pushed it open, without knocking or anything. I looked around the room observing the four boys I hadn't yet met.

"Hey, Dal, who's the broad?" one of them asked. He was wearing a mickey t-shirt and had cake and a beer in his hand. I was surprised he had even noticed me, considering his eyes were trained on the TV.

"It's my sister, so you better watch your mouth before I skin you, Two," Dallas grumbled. 

I looked over at Ponyboy and Johnny and noticed them giggling a little, causing me to, as well. The rest of the boys looked confused, and I knew that it was because Dal had never mentioned me before.

"Uhhhh, well, I'm Keith, but everyone calls me Two-Bit," he said.

"Hi, I'm Y/N," I said back, sending him a smile.

Dallas then finished introducing the rest of the boys. I learnt that Sodapop and Darry were Ponyboy's brothers and that Steve was Soda's best friend. 

"So, what brings you to Tulsa, Y/N?" Soda asked.

"There wasn't anything left for me in New York, I guess," I answered.

He nodded and smiled at me. God, if I hadn't been so hung up on that girl from the drive-in I probably would've fallen for him on the spot. He was gorgeous, but my mind was set on Cherry Valance.

"You know, Dallas has never mentioned you before," Steve blurted, earning him a smack on the back of the head from Darry.

"Yeah, it was kinda obvious," I stated, laughing a little.

After that, we all just talked. I got to know the gang and they got to know a little about me and I could tell that they liked me. Hours passed, and eventually, dinner rolled around. Darry insisted we all stayed, so we did.

"So, Y/N, where are you staying?" Darry asked while we were sitting at the table, eating.

"At a motel about 15 minutes away from here," I answered.

"Oh, really? I thought you would be staying at Bucks," Two chimed in

I tilted my head to the side, confused.

"Bucks?" I asked

"The bar where Dallas lives," Pony added.

"Of course he lives at a bar," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dallas asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but then remembered I was ignoring him for being such a dick the previous night.

"I don't know if living at a bar would be a good idea for a 16-year-old girl," Darry said.

"It's not like I have another option, I won't have money for a motel room forever," I said

"You could stay with us," Soda beamed.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. I couldn't do that" I said, shaking my head.

"Why? We have room. Ponyboy never uses his room anymore." He said enthusiastically.

Pony nodded and Darry did, too.

"No, I really don't want to impose," I continued.

"You wouldn't be imposing, Y/N, really. You could get a job at the DX with Soda and Steve, then you'd be helping out," Darry said.

I thought for a moment before nodding my head and agreeing.

At around 11 pm, Dallas said we should leave and offered to walk me to my motel room. I would stay with the Curtis brothers from tomorrow on. Once we were far enough away from the home, Dallas stopped. I turned to face him and I looked him in the eye.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled looking down.

I smirked internally. I tapped my ear and squinted a little. 

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." I said

"I-I'm sorry," He said a little clearer.

"Huh?" I repeated.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was a total ass. I didn't mean any of that shit. I don't want you to go back to New York. I'm really glad you're here." he said, loud and clear.

"Thank you," I answered, smiling.

He draped his arm around my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my forehead, beginning to walk once again.