𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐜 | 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 25 - Hanging out

We got to the house and Pony swung open the front gate. We all went up the rickety steps. I was behind Johnny, Johnny was behind Pony, and Dallas was behind me. Pony swung open the front door to reveal both Soda and Steve eating chocolate cake on the couch.

"How was school?" Soda asked as we all got through the door. He looked up at us, his blue eyes shining in the light. He had a big pearly white smile across his face, his greasy hair gleaming. He sure was breathtaking.

"We didn't go." Pony stated as we all sat on the floor. I was confused, I thought us skipping was a secret. "Why not?" Soda questioned Pony. "We skipped." Pony said. Soda had a confused look on his face then quickly shrugged it off. "I ain't gonna be the one to tell Darry." Soda stated. Everyone seemed to be afraid of Darrel. I guess it would make sense, he was the oldest and strongest out of the gang, at least from what I've heard. "We ain't gonna tell him!" Pony shouted. "Calm down kiddo, I'm just messing with ya." Soda said with a slight laugh in his voice. Pony rolled his eyes at him as Soda and Steve chuckled.

"Whatcha wearing y/n?" Steve asked out of the blue, looking over to me. He must've been asking about my soc outfit. "The most uncomfortable skirt in the world." I said. Steve and Soda chuckled. "Your hair looks funny." Steve said as he got up and passed by me. He ruffled my hair. I pushed his hand away as he chuckled. He went off into the kitchen, probably getting more cake. 

Me, Soda, and Pony talked as Johnny and Dallas stayed silent. "Who's your supplier for cake?" I asked jokingly as Steve came back in with a whole cake in hand. Everyone chuckled. "Soda makes 'em." Steve stated as he ripped off a piece of the cake. I nodded my head. "Can I give it a try?" I asked Steve. He brought the cake closer to him as if he was trying to protect it. I giggled as I quickly snatched a piece of cake from him. He rolled his eyes at me. I took a bite of the piece. It tasted really good. It tasted like it was professionally made. "This is really good Soda." I stated as I chewed on my piece. "Thanks." Soda said.

Me, Steve, and Soda were all talking and eating cake on the floor of the living room while Pony, Johnny, and Dallas were watching the television. I felt like I was starting to get pretty close to everyone, it was nice. I really liked hanging out with the Curtis gang, it was always fun around them. It was a weird feeling because I could never make friends as fast as I had with the Curtis gang. I guess they were just easier to talk to.

As we talked we were interrupted by the door swinging open. All of us looked up to see who it was. It was Darrel. "Hey Darry." Soda greeted him. Darrel nodded his head to say hi. He walked past all of us and went into a room across the hall, it must've been his bedroom or something. "Is he always like that?" I asked, turning to Sodapop. "Like what?" He asked, turning to me. "All grumpy seeming." I said. Soda nodded. "He works a long day." He said. I nodded my head.

I kind of felt bad for Darrel. I didn't know him very well but he always seemed out of it. He didn't seem as laid back as the rest of the gang. He always seemed to have the life drained out of him. As soon as Soda said he worked a lot, I understood why he acted that way all the time. Poor Darrel, he shouldn't have been working so much at his age. He should act like my sister, not like a forty year old.

After awhile of talking with Soda and Steve I thought about my sister. She was probably done doing whatever she was doing before. "Do you mind if I use your phone?" I asked as  I got up from the ground. "Go ahead." Soda answered. I went over to the wall phone and dialed my house number. It rang for a little bit before someone picked it up.

"Hello?" I heard Matilda on the other end. "Hey." I said. "Oh hey. Where are you?" Matilda asked. "I'm at my friends house." I answered. "Oh. Do they still wanna meet me?" She asked. "Yeah, I'll come get you." I stated. "Ok." She said. "I'll be there in a bit." I said. "Ok, bye." My sister said. "Bye." I said, hanging up the phone.

"Does anyone wanna come with me to get my sister?" I asked. "I'll come" Steve stood up. "Alright." I said. "We'll be back." I said as me and Steve walked out the door.

Me and Steve walked down the stairs of the porch and out the open gate.

I don't know Steve well, I questioned why he wanted to come with me. During the walk we mostly stayed in awkward silence. Occasionally we would ask questions like, "How was your day?" or "What's your favorite color?". Of course most of these questions would only come with a one worded answer then right back to awkward silence.  I still didn't know exactly why Steve volunteered. Maybe he expected more out of me.

We walked along a dirt road silently as we got closer to the south side. The houses and buildings slowly became less and less run down as we approached the tracks.