(long chapter. mentions of rape, murder, more.)
sodapop curtis
there were small, calm, short snores coming from the middle seat. dally and i exchanged looks then looked at audrey who rested her head on my shoulder. dally snickered while trying to keep in his loud laughter that could burst any minute now.
darry looked at his mirror which made us form eye contact, he cocked an eyebrow at me then a smirk. i rolled my eyes. yes audrey is a beautiful girl but i'm gonna say that i'm in love, neither denying or giving in on it.
"better wake her up, we're here." darry said, making a sharp stop.
everyone groaned as half of their body is lifted off from the seats. ponyboy and johnny almost hit their heads on the dashboard, audrey rubbed her eyes then looked at me, she was confused but it looked like she had already connected the dots.
dally jumped out of the car, making it to a nearby bush to let the dogs out. two-bit and steve made it just in time, steve's brakes are broken and almost hit johnny with his car, luckily it stopped just in time.
"thought you said you fixed that piece of shit!" two-bit yelled at him.
"i didn't say i did, i said i will!" steve defended himself.
"is there a nearby bathroom around here?" audrey asked darry.
"down there, to your right." darry pointed towards the trail, she nodded.
that trail sometimes leads to no good, sometimes old perverted men can be found in there waiting for women in skimpy bikinis. i decided to go follow audrey down that path just in case something happened, she sounded scared when i started walking behind her.
audrey then turned around, aiming right at my cheek. i fell down to the ground, she covered her mouth in disbelief. it was such a strong punch that i thought she hit my nose, making it bleed.
"i'm so sorry, soda!" she helped me up, "don't scare me like that."
"sorry, audrey. this path has a long history of rapes, murders, and everything. i don't want you going alone, especially when you're new." i told her, her outfit no offense made her an easy target.
"thank soda." she grinned at me, we began walking side by side.
one hour skips
everybody was jumping, canon balling into the lake. i threw off my flannel and t-shirt, joined the guys down by the center of the lake. audrey sat on the dock while kicking her foot around in the water, nobody bothered to ask if she wanted to join us.
steve came at me with a splash, he laughed so hard. i took the time to drag him under the water, he was gasping for air. he was strong enough to take me down with him, we were already wrestling under the water.
darry had to break up the fight or they'd have to pray a hail mary and drop the dead body by the deep end of the lake, ponyboy and johnny both got out of the water at the same time to go grab a cold drink, swimming could leave you dehydrated and you don't know the amount of people who piss in lakes.
i walked away from the group over to audrey, i sat down next to her. "not having fun?"
"i'm just not ready to take a swim yet." she told me, pushing a strand of her behind her ear.
"oh come on, swimming is fun!" i pushed a little to make her laugh, "hate playing rough or something?"
"that, and sometimes just the way the water looks. y'all peed in it or something?" she joked, i chuckled.
"want something to drink? got water, beer, juice, soda?" i offered but she declined.
audrey took a deep breath in, her arms touched mine and i could feel her goosebumps. my flannel was sitting right next to her so i reached over to grab it. i wrapped it around her shoulders.
time goes by and she still hasn't gone into the water, even darry could get her to eat one of the sandwiches he packed for everyone. two-bit was already down on 5 beers, they camped around in a circle with their beach chairs. ponyboy and johnny along with dally went out to find some wood for a fire pit.
nobody was watching but audrey handed me my flannel back, stripping off her tank top and shorts. i followed her into the water. i guess she was waiting for the sunset to be in the water, she was wearing a bikini that couldn't be seen from a distance.
audrey then turned around and splashed me, i got her back but she was running away. i was relieved to see the smile of hers, to hear her laugh that was so satisfying. audrey was spinning around now, two-bit and dally came back into the water.
darry was setting up the pit while trying to find the matches he brought with us before, it was ponyboy who put them somewhere. dally snuck up behind audrey and wrapped his arms around her, lift her up off the ground.
audrey began squealing and pushed dally off of her, "how about a game of chicken?" two-bit suggested.
"you're on." audrey smirked.
two-bit and dally were arguing over who's the heaviest one, audrey was already waiting on my shoulders for two-bit and dally to stop. they finally stopped but dally was on top of two-bit who was struggling, audrey shrugged with a sigh.
two-bit was limping towards us, audrey was already trying to tackle dally. surprisingly, dally and two-bit both fell back. audrey raised her arms in the air as the other three from the dry land started cheering for her, i smiled while carrying her off my shoulders.
everybody was back at the dirt, we sat down after ponyboy lit the fire pit. audrey pulled out a sweatshirt from her bag and put it over her swimsuit, she sat down on the ground next to me with her legs crossed.
after 30 minutes around the camp fire, people were roasting marshmallows but the sunset wasn't over yet. audrey then got up and walked back to her spot on the dock, she was looking up at the sky.
"your day been okay lately?" i asked.
"yeah, i just like looking at sunsets for when i'm contemplating life." she answered, "i think about a lot when i'm looking at them."
"same with me, although it reminds me of my parents who aren't here anymore, died in a car wreck." i frowned.
"i'm so sorry for your loss." i placed her hand on my shoulder.
"don't be, it was bound to happen." i told her, "you?"
"just stuff." she nodded.
we remained silent at that moment, audrey rested her head on my shoulder. i completed the chain with my head on her, we watched the sunset as friends who had only known each other for such a short period of time.
