The Outside of the Glass (The Outsiders FF)

Chapter 3

I fiddled with my fingers as Soda paced back and forth. Darry was going through the house, turning off all the lights while Ponyboy starred off into space. I was so nervous. What would happen to Steve? Would he be taken in? Would he rat us out? No. I know Steve and he would not do that to me. Right?

Suddenly, we all heard a knock on the door. All our eyes went to the door as Darry walked over to answer it. When the door opened, Darry shook hands with the person and showed a look of relief on his face. Then, Steve walked in and looked around the room. Darry flicked on the lights and I saw that blood and dirt covered his face.

"Steve." I whispered, struggling to get to my feet and I threw myself into his arms. He hugged me back. "I thought you were hauled in."

"You thought I was hauled in?" He chuckled. "You don't know me that good, do you?" I new it wasn't a real question, but I thought about it. Do I know him? Do I REALLY know Steve Randel?

~

I had a hard time sleeping, that night. After what happened earlier today, I didn't think sleep was an option. I had never been put in the middle of a fight, before. Ever sense I got jumped when I first came to Tulsa, I've steered clear of the Socs. But, I knew I would have to watch out for the Greasers, too.

Steve's parents locked him out of the house, so he was sleeping on our couch. Soda passed out on the other couch, talking to him.

I coughed. I think I'm coming down with something.

I stood and walked through the house, my bare feet's nerves tightening as it hit the cold floor. I could hear Darry and Soda snoring from my doorway. I peeked around the corner and saw Soda on his stomach, snoring loudly. Steve lied on his back on the other couch. I watched Steve's chest rise up and down. His forehead was bandaged up and he looked really calm.

I pushed myself past the boys, trying not to make a noise. I reached in the fridge for a Coke and chugged some down, watching the boys sleep. I smiled and turned my back to them, still drinking my Coke. I remembered the look on the Greasers face when he choked me. The smell of alcohol on his breath. I shivered.

"Are you cold?" A strong, warm hand touched my arm. I jerked up and looked at Steve.

"Steve, I thought you were asleep!" I whispered.

"I thought you were asleep." Steve told me.

"I'm not feeling so good." I said. He pressed his hand to my forehead and moved it down to my cheek. I held back a girly giggle.

"You don't feel warm." He said.

"You do." I told him. He smiled.

"You should get some rest." He said. "Are you coming to work with me and Soda, tomorrow?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "If I'm not sick."

"Then you need to sleep. Here, I'll walk you back to your room." He took my Coke and put it in the fridge. Then, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me to my room. His warmth took my mind off the cold floors below my feet. In fact, all thoughts escaped my mind. My mind was completely blank.

I crawled back into my bed and let Steve tuck me in. Then, with a kiss on my forehead and the click of my door shutting, I fell asleep.

~

I woke up the next morning with my hair in knots and my head pounding. I touched my forehead, gently, as I got up to brush my teeth. I thought about brushing my hair, but didn't think it would help my forehead. Instead, I walked into the living room.

"Darry, do we have any-" Just as I was about to ask for some medicine, I spotted Steve walking in the living room from the kitchen. He was wearing jeans and his DX jacket. The jacket was left unbuttoned so part of his chest showed. Soda, however, had a white shirt under his jacket.

I moved my eyes away from Steve, quickly, and looked at Darry, who hadn't even heard me. I had seen Steve shirtless, before, so why was it making my stomach flutter?

"Darry, do we have any medicine?" I asked, louder this time. Darry looked over at me.

"What kind of medicine?" He asked.

"For headaches." I said. He shook his head and handed me some money.

"No, but if you want, you can go to the pharmacy on your way to work." I took the money.

"Thanks." I said.

"Arie, if you're gonna join us you should brush your hair." Soda teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." I walked back to my room to finish getting ready.

~

I walked beside Steve on our way to work with Soda walking backwards, in front of us. For some reason, he was really wired up about something. Oh, wait. This is Sodapop. He doesn't need anything to make him wired up.

He kept talking about something, but I wasn't really listening. I was too busy focusing on how close me and Steve were to each other.

"There's the pharmacy, Arie." Soda said. I pulled off from the group, my head pounding to hard for me to say anything.

"I'll go with you. Let the boss know I'll be there soon." Steve said. Soda ran off and Steve helped me shop for medicine. When we got the right kind, I popped two pills in my mouth and swallowed without a drink.

As we made our way to the DX, I stepped into the road and put a thumbs up beside me.

"Maybe we can get a ride." I smiled. Steve laughed. I looked up at the sky, still walking. It was sunny and not a cloud in sight. I bet the sunrise looked really pretty, this morning.

Suddenly, Steve grabbed my arm and jerked me out of the road as a blue Mustang sped past us. The boys in the car cursed and threw trash at us.

Steve stumbled away from the car and I put my hand to his chest, steadying him. His heartbeat started going back to normal, so I put my hand down and blushed. I knew he saw it. Which made me blush even more.

"Let's go." He said after a moment of silence.

I nodded. "Good idea."