The Outsiders: Before My Time Sequel | Sodapop

Difficult Goodbyes

May 12, 2018

I woke up to my phone blowing up.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

It was driving me crazy. I checked it, and the brightness blinded me. After I adjusted to the light, I saw that they were all notifications from Lillian. She wanted me to meet her at the boys' house. Not their apartment, but their house.

They were getting ready to be sent back to 1966.

I texted her saying that I would be there in a few minutes. I wish I had spent the night at their place, but it would have been too hard. I bolted to Jenni's room and woke her up by throwing a pillow over her head. I knew that she would want to come too. She would never forgive me if I did not bring her along to say goodbye.

There wasn't much time, so I threw on the first outfit I could find. Some baggy jeans and my favorite band t-shirt with a pair of white converse. I released my hair from their braids and quickly did my makeup, but this time I decided to use water proof mascara.

I drove like a bolt of lightning to the Curtis house, I remembered exactly how to get there, Jenni was impressed. It was my home for over a year, so of course I remembered how to get there. I parked in the driveway right behind Lillian's car, then Jenni and I ran inside.

"How did you guys get in here?" I asked as Jenni as I walked through the door, which was swinging wide open. There were white sheets everywhere on all the furniture, and a thick layer of dust on every object, it lingered in the air too. It seemed like no one had lived here in years.

"I broke the lock," Dally stated proudly.

"Of course you did." I chuckled nostalgically.

The house seemed smelled of old people. I distinctly remember the house having that musty odor the first day or two when I first starting living with the guys, so it made sense. I lifted one of the white sheets slowly, and noticed that the furniture was not any furniture that I remembered from the Curtis house, so they must move out before it becomes foreclosed. But the house was a beautiful time capsule.

None of the lights were working, so we were only using natural sunlight to see. You could see the dust floating around in the air. Johnny sneezed a few times because of it.

Lillian's voice was stern, yet quiet. She said, "I put a lot of thought into this... and I think as long as you guys don't change the past... I think it's a good idea if there's a little pit-stop before sending you back home."

All of the guys looked at Lilian with puzzled expressions. Even I side-eyed her briefly, unsure of what she was talking about. It wasn't until Ponyboy's eyes shot towards me, and when our eyes met I saw a sparkle of hope in them. As if he already knew what she was going to say.

"What do you mean?" Darry asked.

"You guys are going to go to 1964 so you can see your parents... one last time," Lillian revealed to everyone.

It took a moment for all of the boys to fully process what she was saying. Almost all at the same time their eyes widened and their jaws dropped to the floor. Mine included. I could not believe it.

"Are you serious?" Soda asked with tears immediately welling up in his eyes.

"Just... please try not to talk to them. Your past-selves might see you and it'll cause chaos. And remember, you can't stop the accident from happening. It'll mess with the whole timeline."

"We know," Ponyboy said with a sour expression.

"You guys ready?" Lillian asked with a soft smile.

"Are you coming with?" Ponyboy asked as a Lillian handed him the headband and began turning on the machine.