The Delinquent's Daughter {An Outsiders Fanfiction - Sequel to Hope}

2

It started with Alexandra Valance, who's only a Freshman, and the leader of a huge pack of girls, basically ruling her class, most of the younger students in middle school, and the ground she walked on. She's a queen, even though she's younger than us. Everyone knows the name and no one has a bad thing to say about her, except me.

She told me her mom knew a man back in the day that she used to tell stories about. How he was wild and reckless and dangerous, and that he had a big crush on her. But for some strange reason, he ended up with my mom, and not even long enough to stay and even meet me. It was a one night stand, but they'd been friends for a while, apparently. She didn't say his name and she never mentioned the fact that he was dead, but I guess I sort of believed her still.

It was the most disgusting story I'd ever heard anyone come up with, my daddy not being my father, but this random guy that may or may not have helped create me liked the meanest girl in school's mom. Somehow, it was true. I still couldn't exactly fathom how, though. And what I could understand even less was how Alex knew all of that.

I knew Alex's backstory, I always have. My Uncle Two-Bit used to tell me stories while he babysat about the people in our town. The Socs and Greasers. We don't use those terms anymore, we focus on politics more important than who has the most money, so I never exactly understood them. I never thought they were important anyways. Dad, well, Ponyboy, always used to tell me that we got lucky. He was a Greaser when he was younger, but if we used those titles now, we'd be Socs ourselves.

Anyways, Uncle Two-Bit told me all about Alex and her mother years ago. This girl is two years younger than me, she must have some nerve to still go around picking on me. The first time she did it, I was in second grade, but the first time it ever really got to me was probably around fifth grade, when she was in third. Uncle Two-Bit picked me up from school. I was crying, and he didn't know what to do.

"She told me I was fat and stupid and that I should go back to where the "stupid greasers" came from," I sobbed to him.

"Who is this?" He asked, his eyes filled with rage. You could tell that if he could, he would kill her. His nieces and nephews are his pride and joy, since he doesn't have any of his own kids.

"A-Alexandra V-Va-Valance," I stuttered through my tears. His eyes softened a bit.

"Ya know, kiddo, what she said was wrong, so I'm not trying to defend her, but she's had a pretty hard life herself," he told me. I sniffled, wiping my tears slowly. It's not like I'd had a particularly hard life up until now, so I was all ears as to how I might feel sympathetic to her.

"Her mom got pregnant with her at her 18th birthday party, from an old friend of hers. His name was Randy, and he'd skipped town a long time ago, but came back to say happy birthday. Man, was Marcia mad when she heard..." He trailed off.

"Auntie Marcia? Why?" I asked. Marcia and Two-Bit had always been together, it seemed, but just gotten married a year or two ago. It was scandalous at the time, especially when they first started going out, a Greaser even dating a Soc, but they didn't seem to mind too much. Well, once the two of them graduated and Two-Bit found a good, steady job, the life they'd always wanted was there's. They got married not too long ago, and are now trying for a baby, but they'd been dating almost since before I was born.

"Yeah, Auntie Marcia. Before she met me, she and Alex's dad, an ugly fat guy named Randy Adderson used to be a thing." He almost cringed at his name. I giggled.

"So what happened to him?" I asked my Uncle.

"Well, sweetie, he asked Cherry..." He cleared his throat, "Er, Mrs. Valance, Alex's mom, to borrow some money. She gave him about everything she had, and never got it back. He left, and to this day we don't even know if he's alive," he told me. My eyes widened in pure shock. Maybe at the time I was too young to fully realize the severity of it, but I definitely do now. Even if Ponyboy isn't mine biologically, at least I was lucky enough to grow up with a father.

"Really? So Alex never met her Daddy?" I exclaimed. He shook his head.

"Nope. Or her grandparents, for that matter. Cherry's mom and dad practically disowned her as soon as they found out. Kicked her out a month after she turned 18 with no money, place to live, school to go to, a job, anything. Man, that was rough. I can barely stand the girl and she was in with Marcia and I for months. Surprised Marcia can stand her, especially with all of those... Pregnancy hormones," he mumbled the last sentence, cringing at pregnancy hormones.

"So? I've never met my grandparents," I reminded him. He sighed.

"But this is different. It was their choice not to see her. You, well, you have the best grandparents in the whole wide world, but they're up in heaven now," he told me, referring to Ponyboy's parents. I nodded sadly.

It was true, I'd heard stories for years about Ponyboy's parents and how much they would have loved me, but I'd never really thought about them before then. I realized at that moment that I'd see them all the time if they were still here, but Alex's grandparents, who were still alive, never cared enough to come visit. The thought was appalling to me, and for a while I felt bad for her, never taking the grotesque things she had to say to heart.

Up until today, that is. And as soon as I figured out that the two of us weren't so different, I stopped feeling bad. I challenged her to a drag race, telling her to meet me on the corner of Charles and Breck streets for the race. Then we'd see who was better, and who deserved the taunting.

A/N: I love writing this story, but I end up with ideas for things that are happening later, so I have like 15 chapters written, but nothing to go in order after chapter 3 😂 Oops...

Either way, the next chapter is the drag, where we start getting into our real story. Hope you enjoyed. Let me know! 💕 -Katy