Greaser Girl

Stars

I try to keep my eyes shut but every time my parents scream at each other they pop open again. I've given up hope that my parents will ever actually stop fighting. They spend every waking hour doing it, they haven't paid me or Dally much attention for years now. I hear something shatter and I sit up in bed.

Dally had went to a party and told me to stay home, not that I had a lot of plans. But I can't take it much longer. I stand up and pull on the clothes I was wearing earlier. I grab Dally's old leather jacket and pull it on my shoulders. I slip on my shoes and after lacing them up I open the window. I climb down the drain pipe and start walking.

I'm not going anywhere in particular, I just want to get away. I jam my hands into my jacket pockets and find a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. I sit on a curb of a random street and light up. I blow smoke out and look at the stars.

It seems they always shine the brightest when my parents and threatening to kill each other. When I look at them, it gives me hope. Not hope that my parents will stop fighting and we could be a normal family. Hope that some where eyes a place where there's no socs or greasers just people. Christ, that sounds like something Ponyboy, Soda's little brother would say.

Believe it or not we were a normal family. We sat down at the dinner table together, we talked without screaming at each other, and all and all we got along. I don't know what happened, it was like one day I just woke up and my family hated each other. My dad and brother wouldn't stop yelling at each other. My mom didn't do anything to stop it and eventually join my father by yelling at Dally. Then it turned to yelling at me, I don't remember doing anything wrong but clearly I did something. Dally would always stand in front of me and yell at my parents on my behalf. Dally doesn't like when people pick on me, even if it is our parents.

I didn't realize how much I cared about stupid things like that until I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I stick my tongue out and catch the tears on my tongue. Why are tears salty to start with? I let tears roll down my cheeks for a long while. I wrap Dally's old jacket tighter around my body.

I thought I heard someone come up behind me and I dug in my pockets for my blade. The person sits down beside me and I release my knife. Two Bit sits down beside me.

"Hey Mi." He sways slightly, he's been drinking.

"Hey Two." I say and he starts laughing.

"Why are you out here by yourself?" Two wonders and I shrug.

"Thinking I guess." I say and I look up.  "And looking at the stars." He follows my gaze.

"They are pretty." He admits and looks over at me.

I was praying that in this low light situation mixed with Two's drunkenness he wouldn't notice my tear stained face. I wasn't praying hard enough I guess.

"Why are you crying?" Two asks and I look down.

"Life sucks." I say and I can feel his grin.

"Yeah but it's life, it's not supposed to be easy." He says. "I don't know why everybody takes it so seriously. It's not like you're going to make it out alive!" Two yells the last part. "I mean sometimes you just gotta sing in the street."

Two lights up like he gave himself an idea. He runs out to the middle of the empty street and stands under the street lamp like its a spotlight. Two smiles at me.

"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips
And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips" Two screams the lyrics into the empty street.

I start to laugh and cover my face with my hands. When I look up again Two Bit is stand and my feet.

"You're trying hard not to show it, baby
But baby, baby I know it"  He grabs my hands pulling me into the street with him.
"You've lost that lovin' feelin'
Whoa, that lovin' feelin'
You've lost that lovin' feelin'
Now it's gone...gone...gone...woah"

Two Bit sings as we dance around the street like idiots. I can't stop laughing and try to drop my face by Two doesn't let me.

"You're laughing again." He says quietly.

"Come on, Two. You're pretty drunk and I don't want you to get in trouble." I say as I pull him towards his house.

"Gonna drop me off drunk to my mom?" Two asks and I laugh.

I walk him up to his house and he collapses on the couch.

"Goodnight, Two." I say as I go to walk out of the house.

"Hold up." He grabs my hand as I walk by.

"Dally would kill me if I let you walk home by yourself this late." Two says. "Spend the night here."

Before I can answer, Two has pushed himself off the couch and picked me up over his shoulder. He places me gently on the other end of the couch and puts a blanket around me. Two lays down in front of me which is kinda weird. He gets under the blanket and wraps his arm arm around my stomach.

"Dally made us all promise we'd keep you safe." Two says before he drifts off to sleep.

I find my eye lids getting heavy and I fall deeper into sleep. It's quiet here, my parents aren't yelling. I can actually sleep.