Chapter Three

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"Pony, I have work again tomorrow. Will you please not keep me up too late?" Soda asked politely. I reached over to turn off the light, being blanketed in darkness. "Thank you," I heard Soda muffle into his pillow. I laid my head down, shutting my eyes tight. A shiver ran through me, so I pulled the blanket over my shoulders.

Ellis crossed my mind. I pictured her laughing and twirling around, her hair flying around her face. I imagined her playing her guitar again, with her petite hands. Absentmindedly, I smiled at the thought of her.

"Ponyboy! Come here!" Ellis called, arms wide open. I spotted her from across the lot, starting into a sprint. I ran further and further, but Ellis didn't get any closer. Everything started to melt away, leaving Ellis standing in a colored puddle. The ground was a big mass of hideous color, the sky- or what was supposed to be the sky- was nothing but black. A hole opened in the color mass, making me slip and fall. I hang onto the edge, trying not to fall.

"Help me, Ellis! Please!" I pleaded, struggling to hold on. Ellis walked over with her guitar strung across her back with the strap. She only stood there, watching my struggle. I pleaded with my eyes, but she only watched. A mischievous grin slowly grew on her face, curling her soft pink lips. She stepped on my hand, sending pain up my arm. Then I began to fall.

I woke up in a cold sweat, shaking slightly. That was probably the weirdest dream I had since Mom and Dad died.... It was quite strange, once I really thought about it. I had no idea what it was supposed to mean. My heart was pounding hard in the frame of my chest.

"What's wrong with me," I whispered. I felt Soda shift beside me.

"Are you ok?" he asked groggily. I shrugged, letting my head sink back into the pillow.

"It was just a bad dream, that's all," I assured him.

"What happened?" he inquired, propping up on his elbows. I began to tell him about Ellis and what happened in my dream.

"Maybe your mind is telling you that you aren't exactly ready to date, or maybe that she's going to be trouble," Soda suggested.

"That could be," I mumbled into the fabric of my pillow. I turned over to look at the clock which was visible by the faint light from the street lamps that filtered through the cracks in the shades. "I have a couple more hours until school," I added with a groan.

            "Oh how will you survive such a horrid Monday?" Soda asked sarcastically, emitting a soft chuckle. "Find Ellis and talk to her tomorrow, that might make things better."

            "But what if my dream actually meant she was trouble?" I urged, desperate to hear the answer.

            "It's up to you if she's worth finding out," he responded softly and that was the end of that conversation.

Ellis' P.O.V.

               I hadn't ever really gotten butterflies over a boy before, but after the direct approach from Ponyboy at the small festival, I now knew. His personality and features were quite charming.

               In fact, he actually gave me something to look forward to as Monday approached. My dad dropped me off in front of the school as usual and waved goodbye. I nervously tugged at my skirt, silently praying that I looked ok.

             "Ellis, how was the festival?" Janet asked, approaching me as soon as I entered the building.

              "I made like 10 bucks," I admitted proudly. "You should come with me next time, sing with me." Janet let out a laugh in disbelief.

              "Me? Sing? Ellis, I swear it's like you don't know me at all," she teased. "C'mon let's go meet Jimmy and Clara in the courtyard."

              Jimmy stood tall and lanky, leaning against a tree. He made Clara look so small, even if he wasn't standing completely straight. "You guys wanna smoke?"

I didn't hesitate. School usually put me on the edge, so a good smoke would calm me down. Janet looked a little unsure, but took the cigarette she was offered anyway.

"No teachers comin', right?" Clara asked. I nodded, taking a drag. My hands started to steady; they normally shook a little when I was at school. It practically made me a nervous wreck. The socs were jerks and most of my classes were filled with them, not to mention people were so judgmental and I worried so much about messing up.

"Ya gotta let loose," Jimmy would tell me. "Do it your way, I'm not going to make you smoke, got it?" But smoking is what I stuck with, it worked good enough for me.

"Thomas asked me to go steady with him," Clara chimed. "Of course I said yes."

             "How's Miles gonna take that?" Jimmy asked, a pained expression crossed his face. Miles hung out with us often; we definitely considered him a close friend. He wasn't an A+ student and was probably least likely to be the boss for any job but he was good to us. Loyalty was his main priority, oh and Clara. He really liked her and would no doubt be disappointed with the news.

              Clara waved Jimmy's question off. "I-I don't want to hurt him, just- don't." She flicked her cigarette butt to the ground and stomped on it before walking away.

              "She always comes around," Janet stated. More students began to pass through the courtyard because school was about to start. We all put out our cigarettes and headed inside. Amongst the small clusters of people, I spotted Ponyboy. He caught my eye and smiled at me.

We both continued walking, not breaking eye contact until I felt myself crash into something. A tall, broad shouldered boy glared at me. Jimmy and Janet stopped, turning back to assist me. I felt my face grow red but my hands didn't start shaking. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ponyboy jog over.

"Ellis, are you alright?" he asked, his features overtaken by concern. I nodded as he, Jimmy, and Janet helped me to my feet.

"Watch yourself little missy," the tall guy grumbled, hiking up the collar of his varsity jacket. I rolled my eyes at his sour attitude and flipped him the bird as he turned away.

"What a di-" Jimmy began. Janet shot him a look.

"Jerk," she broke in before Jimmy could finish, saving his ass as the principal walked by. Ponyboy chuckled softly. "So who is this knight in shining armor?" she asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"I'm just Ponyboy," he answered modestly, shrugging. "That's it."

"Did Ellis serenade you and you swooned over her?" Jimmy joked with his signature lopsided grin.

"Possibly," Ponyboy remarked, smiling at me. He turned serious for a second. "But really, we met at the festival. She's really good."

"Flattery could get you kisses," Janet pointed out with a wink and shoved me closer to Ponyboy. I frowned at her.

"Don't touch me," I warned. Janet took the warning and took a small step away from me. I turned to Ponyboy. "She messes with every guy I bring along that's not in the group traditionally. I don't think she knows how to stop."

"It's alright, see you around." He waved to us and headed the opposite way.

"Sorry, Janet," I apologized. "I just don't you to force me on him or anything."

"Take your time, but one day, I swear I'll be your personal match maker."

A/N: Ok this was a short update because I haven't updated in over a year and more people have been adding this story to their libraries. Sorry about the wait. I thought no one would read this so I thought I could take my sweet time. I normally do things at a snail pace anyway. Thank you for reading! So I'm thinking of making Ellis' friend Miles like a mini Dally but make him nice like Johnny. Idk yet. Love you guys! 😘

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