Forever Apart (Johnny Cade) {The Outsiders}

Five

I had a special spot on the Curtis couch. Whenever Dallas was too drunk to understand life, I was on that couch. For the first few days, I spent my time sitting on the couch watching cartoon with Two-bit Matthews. Another member of the gang. He was always wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt and cracked a joke at everything. He always had me laughing at something.

Ponyboy and Johnny, and I walked around town while sharing deep conversations with each other. They explained their world to me and told me stories about the people in the gang. They explained the feud between Socs and Greasers to me, which is basically a battle of the classes. They said I'd know a Soc when I saw one when I asked about them. When Ponyboy was being kept inside by his overprotective brother, Johnny and I were laying in the grass of either the park, the Curtis yard, or sometimes Two-bits yard. That little tradition started when I was laying in the cold grass at the Curtis house, staring at the stars, remembering my mom. Johnny laid beside me and watched a small tear drop drip down my face. "Do you think I'm crazy if I swear a new star appeared after my mom died?" I asked him.

"Depends." He shrugged.

"Depends?" I giggled. "What depends?"

"You cold, Peggy?" He changed the subject. Before I could answer with the word no, he took his denim jacket off. I sat up and he rested it on my shoulders, then we both laid back down. "I don't think you're crazy Peggy." He assured me. I scoffed at him. "Sometimes people see things differently."

"Guess so." I shrugged. I really liked the scared little puppy named Johnny. He was very sweet and I couldn't see him hurting a fly.

I somewhat adapted to the life of a greaser. After some months of living with them, I knew the routine and they considered me one of them, despite the fact that I was a girl. By then, I forgot my stuck up New York ways and lived like a greaser. Instead of my New York dresses, I wore nice jeans or a skirt and instead of heels, I wore boots and nice flats. My shirts or blouses always looked presentable and I almost always had a Jean jacket on. My style had definitely gone down, based on what I could afford, but I still looked like a presentable woman. My habits gave in to the greasers, a few swear words here and there and a few drinks as well. They greatly influenced my life and the way I saw the world. The boys looked after me and treated me like a little sister. As the days went by, i got closer to feeling like I belonged.

"His jacket was stained with blood and we heard whimpering. There he was, the poor little kid curled up in a ball in the corner of the lot. Never had we seen him so shaken up, and I've witnessed him getting beatings from his parents and not shedding a tear." Ponyboy explained the horrors of getting jumped by socs.

"That's why he has that scar?" Ponyboy nodded. It explained why Johnny was so fragile and jumpy.

"That's why he's so quiet." I put it all together in my head.

"Yeah. Except for when he's with you." I looked up at Pony and scoffed. "Admit it. You get him talking. You bring something out of little Johnny Cade." I rolled my eyes and bit my lip, I really liked Johnny. "And I definitely know he likes you."

"You think so?" I excitedly asked.

"Well of course. He followed you out of the house the first day you got here, sometimes he gives you his jacket. He really likes you. I've never seen him like that, none of us have." I smiled at Ponyboy, he sure was cute. I especially loved his unique eyes, they were gray but in the sunshine, you saw green in them.

"What is it about me? Half of you found me intimidating. Why didn't Johnny?" Ponyboy shrugged.

"You're a New York girl, you dressed like you were rich..and you have quite the attitude. Which is definitely the Winston in you." I cringed at his comment. "I don't know, Johnny just..sees something in you." I smiled and looked down with happiness. "Where's Dal tonight?" Ponyboy asked me. I shrugged and turned around to face him, causing us to stop at the side of the road.

"He dumped his girl and now he's..drunk somewhere. I don't know." Ponyboy heard the disappointment in my voice.

"I thought you liked when he left you alone." He crossed his arms.

"He's the only family I have. The least he could do is check in. Anyways, Two-bit offered me a place to stay so."

"Two-bit, huh? You two are awfully close." He hollered as I walked up the stairs on the Matthew's porch.

"You know who my heart belongs to." I flashed him a smile just before I walked inside the house.

It wasn't very different from the Curtis house, it was small and rundown and a little crowded, but they were nice people. "Peggy!" Two-bits mother sure was a dear. I hardly saw her because she always worked, but she had a kind heart. "Two-bits over there eating all the dinner, I have to go to work. There are blankets on the couch.."

"Thank you." I told the worried woman.

"You're welcome my dear. I'll see you in the morning." She was obviously covering her stress with that smile, but I still adored her. I set my jacket on the couch and walked through the living room to get to the kitchen/dining room where Two-bit was grinning away.

"Whatcha eating?" I sat across from him.

"Pork and potatoes. Go on, grab yourself a plate." I stood up and took a plate off the pile and served myself some pork and fried potatoes. "How's life?"

"It's good. Pony and Johnny and I walked around town a bit. We got some drinks and a little food, they showed me around. Then Pony walked me here." I sat across from Two-bit. "Haven't seen Dal in a few days."

"That a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I don't like going from couch to couch. I came here to live with my brother whether I hate him or not." I took a bottle of beer from the middle of the table and drank a few sips.

"Women." Two-bit commented. "Make up your minds. Either you love us or ya hate us." I laughed at him. "God you're beautiful." I blushed. "Any Socs hitting on ya? Dirty greasers?"

"Just you." I told him, making him chuckle. "Pony said the Soc thing will happen eventually."

"You won't have the real greaser experience until you run into a Soc. You've been so clingy with us lately that you've gotten lucky." I nodded as I chewed my potatoes. "Which is a good thing. I don't want you getting jumped. Pony tell you about what happened to Johnnykid?" I nodded. "Awful. He's gonna have that scar for life."

"I can't believe you guys put up with it."

They get away with everything. Boils my blood." Two-bit finished his beer. "You gonna finish that?" I shook my head and gave him the bottle. "You didn't have these problems in New York?"

"I mean, you got mugged sometimes but..nothing like this. I also lived on a different side of New York."

"Dal put you as far away as possible..smart." I shook my head in disagreement. Why didn't he stay with me? That question repeated over and over in my head every time someone brought it up. "When are you gonna get over that?" He saw my disagreement. "He did the right thing. Why don't you see it?"

"Goodnight, Two-bit." I set my dishes in the sink and made my way to the couch.

I laid under the blankets that were set out for me and slowly drifted off to sleep.