♡ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜱᴀʏ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ♡

2 3

It felt like ages before I saw the school come into view.

I heard a few guys shout "Greaser!" as we walked up the steps. We ignored them, and when we got inside, I said goodbye to Ponyboy and Johnny and started down the hall.

"Promise me, Cary," Johnny said before we separated, "call Darry if you need to go home."

I sighed. "I promise."

He nodded and turned to catch up with Ponyboy and I went to my locker. Putting in my combination was just muscle memory at that point: I'm not even sure if I remembered the numbers, just knew the motions.

It clicked and I swung it open, carefully taking out some books I left here over the weekend. One of them was Lord of the Flies, a book we had to read for English that I absolutely hated. I liked to tell myself I 'forgot' it in my locker, but I knew I left it there on purpose.

I checked the time on my watch to see that I still had about 15 minutes before the bell rang. I raised my eyebrows in astonishment: I was never this early.

I shut my locker, and was instantly surprised by Cassie's face inches from mine. "Golly, Cassie," I sighed with a hand on my chest, "you scared me to death."

She laughed. "Sorry." Then, her face turned a bit more solemn. "Where were you yesterday?"

I chewed my lip. I wasn't sure that I wanted to tell her everything that happened. I wanted to keep those memories locked away. They were too much to think about right now.

"I wasn't feeling good," I said plainly as I began walking down the hall to class.

Cassie trailed behind me. "You're lying."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. You did that thing with your voice."

"What thing?"

"The thing you do when you're lying."

I sighed loudly. "You're real stubborn, you know that?"

"You're my best friend, Cary. I just want to know what's wrong."

My fuse was running short. I wished she would stop asking. I wanted to yell at her to shut up, but I knew she meant the best. So I just took a deep breath and looked at her. "Listen, Cass, I don't really wanna talk about it right now."

She looked at me, her eyes softening. She thought for a second, studying me. "Okay."

When she said nothing else, I began to turn away and continue walking, only for her to lightly touch my arm. I turned back to face her. Her eyes were gentle, her lips curled into a forgiving smile. "Lunch?"

I smiled back, suddenly feeling bad for being so brash towards her. She didn't deserve that. "Yeah," I said softly, "see you then."

She looked at me again before wrapping me in a hug. I resisted the urge to burst into tears because I knew that, with Cassie, I could cry as much as I wanted. But we were in a crowded hallway full of people, and bursting into tears was the the last thing I wanted to do.

Without a word, she let me go, smiled at me again, and turned towards her classroom. I watched her go down the hall and eventually meet up with her boyfriend, David. His face lit up when he saw her, smiling as he put an arm around her and walked with her down the hall. I smiled—she was so lucky to have him. He was perfect for her. He kind of reminded me of Soda in that way, in that he was a gentleman.

Not all Greasers were no-good hoodlums.

I then thought of Johnny. Shy, sheepish Johnny Cade. The boy with dark brown eyes that comforted me. The boy with the gentle smile that made me blush. The boy with the touch of silk that made the butterflies in my stomach flutter. The boy whose arms made me feel safe.