In Love With My Best Friend (The Outsiders Johnny Love Story)

Chapter 1~ Joining the Gang

Nikki's POV:

"Hey, Nikki, come on! We gotta get to my house for you to meet the guys!" one of my best friends, Ponyboy Curtis, calls out to me after school. "Comin' Pony!" I reply. Heyo, my name is Nicole Monroe, but I go by Nikki or Nick. I'm 15 years old, and I'm part of a group called the Greasers. My two best friends are Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade, and they're also Greasers. Pony and Johnny want me to join their gang, which consists of Pony's two older brothers, Sodapop and Darry, and a few more of their friends. I agreed, and that's why I'm going to Pony's house, to meet the rest of the gang. I already know Darry and Soda, seeing as they are one of my best friends' older brothers. I wave bye to one of my other friends and walk over to Pony and Johnny. "Ready to go?" Johnny asks, and I nod, giving them a smile, which they return. Johnny is the oldest, at 16, I'm the second oldest, and Pony is the youngest, at 14. Johnny don't look 16 though, he looks younger, but hey, that can be a good thing sometimes. Pony and Johnny are mumbling about something random while I'm off in my own little world. What if the other guys don't like me, and don't want me in the gang? I start gettin' real nervous, which ain't very normal for me. Johnny must've noticed, cause he looks at me worriedly. "You okay Nikki?" he asks. "Yea, fine." I lied, my country accent comin' through. I'm originally from Texas, but moved here a few years ago, and that's when I met Pony and Johnny. "If you're worried about whether the guys'll like you or not, they will, trust me. And just a warning, Two-Bit and Dally like flirting with girls." Pony says to me. I smile at his reassurance, and chuckle at the fact about two of the boys. "I think I can handle a little harmless flirtin' Pony." I say. After a few minutes of walkin', we make it to Pony's house. "I'm home! And Nikki is with us!" Pony calls as we walk in the house. Soda and Darry come out of the dining room, followed by three other guys. I notice one is Two-Bit Matthews. I tutored him for a bit. "Guys, this is Nikki. Nikki, this is Two-Bit, Steve, and Dally." Darry said. "So this is the broad that wants to join our gang?" Dally, I think, asked. "Yup. And she's mighty tuff, so watch out Dally." Pony said jokingly. "I think I can handle her." Dally says with a smirk. "So, how old are ya kid?" Steve asks me. "I'm 15" I reply shyly. "Aw come on kid, don't be so shy. We ain't gonna hurt ya." Two-Bit says with a chuckle. "Hey, did you tell your parents you were comin' over?" Soda asks me. See, my parents aren't the best. They only acknowledge the fact that I exist when they're drunk, and you can guess how that goes. "Um, yea, I did." I lied, not so smoothly. "I don't think ya did kid." Soda replies. "Yea...no, I didn't. But what's it matter? I doubt they'll notice I'm gone." I say. Darry, Soda, Pony, and Johnny all know how my parents are. Two-Bit, Dally, and Steve look at us in confusion.

"Why wouldn't your parents notice you missing kid?" Dally asks me. "They don't pay any attention to me unless they're drunk. And you can guess how that goes." I say with a sigh. "Dang, that's gotta be rough kid." Steve says to me, and I just shrug. "It ain't so bad once you get used to it." I say. "Well, what do y'all wanna do?" Darry asks, and we all shrug. "We can go play football in the lot." Johnny suggests, and we agree, and head out. "Hey, anyone got a light?" I ask after a few minutes of walkin', pulling out a cigarette. "Here" Dally says, tossing me a lighter. I light up my cigarette and toss it back. "I didn't know you smoked." Pony says to me. "Me neither" Johnny adds. "Eh, I just started a few months ago." I say with a shrug, takin' a puff off my cigarette. "Ya know, I'm surprised you're a Greaser. You could pass as a Soc easily." Two-Bit says, comin' over to walk next to me. "I get that a lot, and honestly, I hate it." I say with a chuckle. "Why? Most people would want to be associated with the Socs. Well, besides us." he says to me. "I don't wanna be associated with no Soc. I'd rather be classified as a full blown hood than a Soc." I say, glaring at the ground. I hate the Socs. They're stuck up, rude, rich kids, and all they do for fun is party, get drunk, and jump Greasers. "Well, that's good. Otherwise you wouldn't fit in with us." Two-Bit say with a chuckle, and I giggle a bit. After we get to the park, we split into teams. One team is Darry, Soda, Johnny, and Pony. The other team is Two-Bit, Dally, Steve, and me. After about an hour of playing, Darry's team wins by about five points. "For a broad, you're pretty good at football." Dally says to me with a smirk, and I smile at him. "I used to play with my cousins back in Texas." I say. "Hey, look, its a bunch of Greaser freaks!!" I hear someone shout. We turn towards the entrance of the park, and I see about 10 Socs comin' towards us. "What do ya want?" Darry asks them coldly. "Nothin' much, just came to see what a pretty little chick like this is doing hanging out with you Greasers." the leader of the group says. "She's our friend, so beat it." Soda says to him, glaring at him. "No way is a pretty little chick like her friends with you Greaser freaks." another one of them says. "Well, I am friends with them, so scram." I say, glaring at them.

"Aw come on dollface, don't be like that." the leader says to me. "Yea, come with us, you'll have way more fun." another one says to me. "She ain't goin' nowhere with you Socs. Beat it." Darry says, glaring at them. "Well there's ten of us and eight of y'all. I don't think you can stop us. Grab her!" one of them says, and two of the boys grab me by the arms. Dally is the first to act. He punches the two who have me, and that's when the fight starts. We're fighting pretty good, then I get pinned to the ground. The Soc is beatin' me up pretty good, and I call for the first person I can think of. "Two-Bit! Help!" I hollar. Two-Bit runs over and throws the Soc off me, and eventually they all start runnin'. "You okay?" Two-Bit asks as he helps me up, and the others run over to us. "Yea, thanks for the help." I say, smiling at him. "No problem" he replies, returning the smile. "Nick, you're bleedin'. Come on, lets get you cleaned up." Soda says, and we head back to the Curtis house. "I've never seen a chick fight as good as you kid. Nice job." Steve says, and the others agree. "Thanks guys." I say, and Soda starts cleaning up the blood on my face. "That Soc got you pretty good. You sure you're alright?" Pony asks concerned. "I'm fine Pony, really." I say, giving him a reassuring smile. After Soda cleans up my cuts, there's a knock on the door. Darry goes and opens it. "Mr.Monroe, what are you doing here?" Darry asks in shock, and I freeze. My dad is here. "I came to get the little brat. Where is she?" I hear my drunk father say. I cling onto Soda's arm. "Don't let him take me." I whisper to Soda. "Don't worry. Darry will handle him." Soda says to me. "She isn't her. She might be in the lot or at the Nightly Double. But I haven't seen her today." Darry lies, glaring at my father. "Bullshit! She's here! Now let me through! my father shouts, and shoves past Darry, coming in. "I knew you were here you little bitch! Come on, you're coming home right now!" my father shouts at me, and I cling onto Soda tighter. "She ain't goin' nowhere with you." Steve says, glaring at my father. "Oh yea? And whose gonna stop me from taking her?" my dad asks. "We are" Two-Bit says, and he, Steve, Darry, Dally, Pony, and even Johnny stand in front of my dad, blocking him from getting to me. "Fine, whatever, the little bitch can stay. But she ain't welcome in my home no more!" my dad shouts, and walks out. That's when I start crying. The guys turn to me, and when they see me crying, Johnny and Pony rush over. "Hey, Nikki, its fine. He's gone now." Pony says. Soda lets go, and I hug Pony. Considering he's taller than me, it ain't that awkward. "You can move in with us Nikki." Darry says to me, and I start calming down. It takes a lot to make me cry. I guess my dad finally hit that point. "You okay now kid?" Dally asks, and he seems concerned. "Yea, I'm alright now. Sorry bout that. I usually don't cry..." I trail off. "Its okay kid. Everyone has a breaking point." Two-Bit says, and the others agree. "Well, that was an eventful day, but I think I'm gonna head home. See y'all tomorrow." Steve says, and heads out. "Same here. We still going to the Nightly Double tomorrow?" Dally asks Johnny and Pony. "Yup, sure are. Can Nikki come with us?" Johnny asks. "Sure thing. See y'all tomorrow." Dally says, and heads home. Two-Bit heads home too, and Darry tells me I can share Pony's room with him. We head to bed, and I fall into a dreamless sleep.