𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 , 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

two.

MADELINE WINSTON

darry lines up all the boys to introduce them to me. it takes them all a few minutes, mostly from them arguing, to get into a straight line.

"this is my brother, sodapop." darry starts.

"hi." sodapop smiles with a small wave.

i nod with a smile.

"this is ponyboy; also my brother." darry smiles, and then put his hands on the shoulders of the next boy. "steve, loves chocolate cake, and he loves it so much he ate the entire thing all in one afternoon, i hear?"

the brunette's eyes grow wide at the sound of that, "um, i'll—"

"i made that yesterday; didn't even get a slice for myself." darry says.

"i'll pay you back." steve blurts. "i'll bake you a new one."

ponyboy laughs as darry shakes his head, "you don't know how to bake."

i watch as steve nudges soda in the arm.

"what?" soda whispers at the harsh look steve is giving him. "he noticed it was gone from the fridge, it's not my fault you can eat a whole cake in under one hour!"

"this is two-bit," darry continues on down the line, paying no attention to the argument erupting behind him. "a very avid day drinker. and this is johnny, he's a sweetheart."

"shut up, darry." johnny rolls his eyes. i can guess he's probably used to the teasing from his friends because of his sweet, baby face.

"anyway, this isn't the whole gang, but you'll meet the other one at some point." darry smiles at me.

"great, so what exactly is she doing here?" ponyboy bites the bullet.

"i helped her get away from the soc with the rings."

i watch johnny's face drop.

"i hate that guy." he practically whispers, the smile wiped completely off his face. "he tried to drown pony in the fountain two days ago!"

"johnny, we know. you keep telling the story like something new is gonna happen in it." sodapop laughs as he heads back into the kitchen.

"it was scary." johnny pouts.

"she's gonna be staying with us for the night since she doesn't have any where else to go." darry explains, even though no one's even listening anymore. "i'm gonna run you a shower, you smell like liquor, and i'll get you some clothes too."

"thank you."

he gives me a smile before disappearing up the stairs.

"so ... what's your story?" ponyboy and johnny walk over to me.

i take a seat on the couch behind me as i watch two-bit, sodapop, and steve in the kitchen do whatever they're doing.

"well, i'm from new york. my dad stole a lot of money from his job and some men he worked with came and shot him for it."

ponyboy and johnny immediately look saddened.

"i think you'll feel good here in tulsa. it's not all that of a nice place, but if you like us, you might end up liking it here." ponyboy gives me a soft smile.

"thanks," i smile. "that's really kind of you."

"you can call me pony and my brother soda, by the way. we know our names are a little original." he laughs and so do i.

"all right, will do, pony."

"what made you want to come to tulsa?" johnny asks.

"my brother lives out here, so i have high hopes i'll find him one day."

"you don't know where he is? he doesn't know you're here?" pony's eyebrows are furrowed.

"no," i say. "he moved out here by himself a few years ago and ... we haven't talked much since then."

"shower's ready for you, madeline." darry pokes his head out from at the top of the steps, interrupting at the best time.

•

the warm shower feels good on my skin. darry gave me a pair of sweatpants and a shirt to change into afterwards.

i make my way back down the stairs to find everyone dozing off in the living room. i decide to take a seat on the floor next to the sofa and allow myself to get sucked into some of what's on the tv.

"hey," darry whispers after stirring awake. "here, take the couch, i'm going up to bed."

"oh—thank you." i whisper as we switch places.

i take a look around the dimly lit room at the boys i just met. johnny is asleep on his back on the floor, hugging a pillow to his chest; pony is fast asleep in a chair across from me; steve is asleep in the other chair, and soda is leaned up against the chair with his head lying back on steve's lap. i almost laugh at the look of it.

two-bit is still drinking his beer—i assume it's not the same bottle from earlier, and he's fully entertained by the tv.

i smile to myself. it doesn't seem like the safest thing to sleep over in a house full of boys when you don't even know them, but from the first second of meeting each one of them, i already knew they were nothing like those socs who approached me earlier.