𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 , 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

seven.

MADELINE WINSTON

i watch my feet as i run down the steps from dallas' room.

"mad, stop!" he yells, following me all the way outside.

"dally!" i shout his name, turning around to face him. "darry helped me get away from bob the first night i came here, he lets me crash at their place, he bandaged me up last night, he's just helpin' out! he doesn't look at me any different from the boys!"

"oh come on, you're a girl! of course he looks at you different from the boys!"

i let out a harsh breath as my answer.

"whatever." he mutters, turning around to head back inside the bar.

i'm angry enough to stomp across the state of oklahoma, until i realize i don't even know how to get back to the curtis' house. so instead, i just keep walking until i make it into town.

i shiver in the cold as i stumble into the first familiar area since i left dally's—the DX.

soda is outside, just finishing up filling a guy's tank when he notices me, "mad!" he smiles as he says my name. "what're you doin' here?"

i walk across the lot, "i was at dallas', but we got into a fight."

"about what?" soda frowns, leaning against the pump.

"he's—" i search for the right words to describe my emotionless brother. "worried? jealous? i don't know."

"dally worried and jealous? we are talking about dallas winston, right?"

i roll my eyes with a smile, "yeah, we are. i don't know, i think he wishes he was the one to help me out with things instead of darry."

"well, darry's used to taking care of us, so when he saw you, young and in some sorta danger, it was probably just instinctive."

"yeah, that's what i was saying." i look down at my scuffed up converse. "anyway! do you guys need some help?"

"no, actually, today's just a half day for steve and i. you wanna go do some shopping?"

"shopping?" i question.

"yeah, i mean, i know you brought some stuff from new york, but if you want, we can take you to get some more."

the smile on my face grows larger, "that'd be great."

•

"where is everyone, ponyboy?" soda asks, seeing pony alone, cooking dinner in the kitchen.

"darry's staying late tonight at work, two-bit went home, and i don't know where johnny is."

"didn't ya see him at school?" soda asks.

pony shakes his head no, his eyes landing on me and the bags i'm hauling into the living room, "what'cha got there?"

"clothes." i smile.

"hey—uh, i think you already know this, but you're allowed to stay here. i mean, you don't really got no where else to go, so if you want, you can take my old room as your own." pony tells me.

his words mean more to me than i portray, "thanks, pony."

•

an hour later and we're all seated to eat the dinner pony worked hard on.

"hey, madeline, we should probably get you enrolled in school sometime soon." soda says as he scoops a handful of green beans.

"oh, great." i mumble sarcastically. "i thought maybe i could leave that behind in new york."

"oh, come on. you're my age and i don't wanna see you drop outta school just like i did."

"i know." i sigh, giving in. "i guess we'll have to look into it."

we spend the rest of dinner talking about our lives—dallas and i, where johnny could be, ponyboy's grades in school, and steve and soda's work. we all help clean up the table, and then steve leaves to go home before the three of us head up to bed.

i walk into the room that is now mine and smile at the thought of it. i admire how sincere all these boys are. they'd give you their shirt right off their back, that's how much they care about each other. i never saw much of this in new york.

as i lie under the covers, i find myself thinking about dallas. i can't figure out why he said what he did earlier about darry. i think i might've gotten it right before, that he's either feeling some kind of worry or jealousy; maybe both.

whatever it is, i just hope he isn't drowning himself in booze right now.

•

i find myself standing in the middle of two cars revving their engines. i look to my right—blue mustang—socs. i look to my left—red car—dallas. i look straight ahead and the horizon of the city streets is in front of my eyes—my home. the engines continue to rev as if they're about to race, but they're facing each other head on, and i'm in the middle. in a split second, the car's accelerate, coming right for me. i try to scream, but nothing comes out of my mouth.

"madeline!" a voice shakes me awake and i jump as i open my eyes. "mad! it's me, darry—you're okay, but y—you gotta wake up."

my eyes adjust to the darkness and i can now see darry's face above mine.

"it's johnny." he hurriedly says. "he's been jumped."