The Outsiders: A Girl in the Gang

Chapter 4

        I thought I was grounded because of these guys, and now Dally's taking me over to their house?  Well, I doubted all of them actually lived here, but it must have been one of their houses.

        "Hey, Dal," the one who looked like he could be That Kid's brother said.

        "Well, look who you brought for a visit," the one with complicatedly combed swirly dark hair said, almost mockingly.  Jerk, I thought to myself, but I kept my face impassive.  I didn't cope well with strangers, but you'd have to live in my brain to know it, cause I never let my emotions show.

        "Hey, it's the mysterious damsel-in-distress," That Kid's cocky friend with the sideburns joked.

        I cocked an eyebrow and asked smoothly, "Do I look like a damsel to you?"

        An amused smirk followed by a grin crossed his face, and all the other boys laughed.  Except for Dally, who was looking almost nervous standing next to me.  That was shocking, he was always so sure of himself.  He had been acting kind of strange lately.

        The cocky one then held out his hand for me to shake, but figuring he's the kind o guy that'd pull some stupid trick on me, I kept my thumbs hitched in my jean pockets.

        "I'm Two-Bit," he said.

        "Tara," I answered monotonely, and he gave an acknowledging nod before dropping his hand to his side, realizing I wasn't going to shake it.  They were all still looking at me, and I could tell from my brother's face that he probably really regretted bringing me here now.  His fault, not mine. 

        "Hey ya'll, come meet Dal's sister, the mystery lady from Friday night," Two-Bit said.  That Kid was the first to speak, he had been sitting on the couch, turned sideways to watch the whole thing.

        "I'm Ponyboy, and that's Johnny," he introduced himself and then his friend, pointing to each in turn.  The quiet, black-haired kid with the scar, Johnny, gave me a small smile.  Ponyboy was kind of a weird name, but Johnny seemed to suit the quieter one.

        I was then almost run into by That Kid- wait, Ponyboy's- brother.  He had been walking backwards, trying to catch a football that was sailing through the air over his head.  He almost smashed into me, and I almost got hit in the face by the ball.  I put one hand above my head, smoothly catching it in the nick of time, and he turned around and smiled at me.

        "Oh, hi.  I'm Sodapop.  You're Tara, right?"  Seriously, what was with their names?!  Ponyboy, Sodapop, even Two-Bit was kind of weird.

        "Nice catch," Sodapop complimented me, still smiling as I handed the ball back.

        "Soda," a loud voice came from the kitchen, "no throwing balls in the house.  You broke a window just last week," and a head appeared in the doorway, followed by a muscular body.

        It was the only guy out of these six that I hadn't really 'met' before.

        "That's my older brother, Darry.  Pony's my younger brother, but Darry's kind of bossy,"  Sodapop said, smiling.  He had a nice smile, but seriously, I'm surprised his face didn't split in half he was grinning so much.  I didn't find introductions to be that happy of an affair.

        Darry playfully whacked Soda upside the head and went back into the kitchen with a, "Nice to meet you," directed at me.

        "Steve's the ugly monkey throwing this thing," Two-Bit said, taking the football from Sodapop and throwing it back down the hallway where I heard someone catch it, even though Darry, who probably owned this house, had just told them not to.

        I turned to Dally to see what he thought of all of this, cause he hadn't said anything the whole while.

        "Is this why you brought me along?" I asked him, and he grumbled,

        "They wanted to officially meet you," before going into the kitchen.

        "Does this mean I'm ungrounded?" I joked, calling after him hopefully.

        He took a second and then loudly answered, "Maybe."

        Which meant no.

        We left soon after introductions were made, even though the oldest of the bunch, Darry, and Sodapop, had invited us to stay for supper.  I guess Dally had had enough awkwardness for one day.

        He kept looking at me expectantly as we were walking home, like I was going to say something.  Finally, I did.

        "What?" I demanded accusatorily.

        He shook his head disapprovingly and then said bitterly, "Sometimes I hate those guys."

        "They're your friends, not mine," I couldn't resist pointing out.  Somehow I knew that nothing would change between That Kid,- oops, Ponyboy- Two-Bit and- what's his name again- Johnny and I at school.  It seemed weird having names to go with their faces now. 

        "Yeah," Dally admitted with a scoffing laugh.

        But the very next day, I was proven wrong.