One Shot Collection

Sixteen Going On Seventeen (The Outsiders)

Steve and Soda were reading in the Curtis home one day. Steve was on the couch and Soda was lounging in the armchair. Both of them were reading. Suddenly, Steve threw his packet of papers in the air with an "Aaargh!"

Soda glanced up, "What happened?"

"Some idiot dared me to try out for the school musical, and I got a dumb part," Steve said through clenched teeth, "and I can't sing."

"What play is it?"

"The Sound Of Music, and I'm Rolf."

Soda stood up. "That's not that bad of a part. Here, I can help you practice. What do you need help with?" Steve picked up the packet, thumbed roughly through the pages, and jabbed the place with his finger. Soda looked, then nodded. "How about I pretend to be Liesl, and you be Rolf?"

Steve sighed in submission, then got up off the chair and started, "You wait, little girl, on an empty stage, for fate to turn the light on. Your life, little girl, is an empty page, That men will want to write on..."
"To write on..." Soda sang back, and grinned mischievously at Steve, who grinned back.

"You are sixteen, going on seventeen; baby, it's time to think. Better beware, be canny and careful; baby, you're on the brink. You are sixteen going on seventeen, fellows will fall in line. Eager young lads and rogues and cads, will offer you food and wine. Totally unprepared are you, to face a world of men. Timid and shy and scared are you, of things beyond your ken. You need someone older and wiser, telling you what to do. I am seventeen going on eighteen, I'll take care of you.''

Steve was beginning to get into the acting, and started to dance along, without realizing it. Even Soda was getting into it, and he wasn't even a part of the play.

"I am sixteen going on seventeen, I know that I'm naïve. Fellows I meet may tell me I'm sweet, and willingly I believe. I am sixteen going on seventeen, innocent as a rose. Bachelor dandies, drinkers of brandies, what do I know of those?" Soda and Steve were starting laugh like they were drunk, high and loud, though they didn't know why.

"Totally unprepared am I, to face a world of men. Timid and shy and scared am I, of things beyond my ken. I need someone older and wiser, telling me what to do. You are seventeen going on eighteen, I'll depend on you."

Steve hadn't told Soda about the part that came after this last dance routine, but he hadn't really given it much thought until the dancing led Soda's face right up to his. They both shied away awkwardly, then tried again, but again had to turn away laughing.

Finally, the third time, Steve looked Sodapop right in the eyes, then caught him up in his arms. This was just as Ponyboy walked in.

"What are you doin'?" Ponyboy asked, and it just dawned on Steve what he had actually been doing, and pulled away quickly.

"S-sorry," he squeaked, then noticed Curly Shepard was right behind Ponyboy, and was looking at them all with interest.

"Pony, is this your family?" he asked.

"Um... some of my family, yes. But right now, we just have Soda, me, and his friend Steve. There's also two-Bit Matthews, Darry, Dallas Winston and his boyfriend, Johnny Cade-"

"You have a real nice little gang," Curly said brightly. "But I bet mine's gayer. Say, you look like your brother here."

"I don't," Ponyboy insisted, blushing. Steve silently agreed.

"Nobody compares to Sodapop Curtis, nobody," he said. Soda looked at the floor, shaking his head. "Y'all are crazy."

Two-Bit came by with Marcia. "Do y'all know my girl, Marcia Flowers-Darling? Fitting last name, though I feel like Matthews would be less of a mouthful."

They sat down on the couch and Two-Bit swung his arm around Marcia, who looked happier than anyone who'd seen her lately. "I'd be willing to take that name."

Dallas strutted out of a closet with Johnny right behind him.

"Where you been?" Two-Bit asked as they sat down in the armchair together.

"In the closet trying to convince Dally that he isn't straight," Johnny explained.

"Yeah, I'm bi, or gay, one of those, don't know which sounds tuffer," said Dallas, shrugging.

"Curly Shepard, where have you been?" Yet another addition to the party joined the fray. One Angela Shepard came in, tugging Cherry along behind her.

"I'm sure he's fine. I know Pony, and he'd never hurt him, even if Curly attacked him," Cherry was saying.

"That's what I was afraid of. Pony'll get beaten to death if we ain't careful," Angela muttered.

That's when Darry walked in. "What is this? I thought I heard someone singing. Now our group and that Shepard Outfit are millin' around here. If you want a gang party, let me know before you start, please, so you have supervision."

"And why would we need supervision?" Johnny said innocently.

"I don't trust y'all, that's why."

"What did the singing sound like?" asked Marcia.

Darry cleared his throat, then in a full baritone began singing, "You were Hetero going on Homo-"

"It's sixteen going on seventeen, like Soda," Pony said, "and he was helping Steve rehearse, or something They were kissing when I walked in."

Steve glared at Ponyboy. "No need to announce it."

"Same difference. Now does someone want to help make dinner or what?" Darry announced, walking into the kitchen. No one followed.

From the living room everyone could hear him singing to himself, "Hear that lonesome whippoorwill, he sounds too blue to fly. That means he's lost the will to live, I'm so lonesome I could cry-"

Dallas jumped up, almost knocking Johnny out of the chair. "I'm goin' in there, just to get him to stop singin' Hank Williams," he said, storming into the kitchen. Johnny covered his ears.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes, "Let's all go in and help him, just so he doesn't start singin' again and gets killed by Dallas."

Two-Bit was covering Marcia's so she didn't need to hear it. "Welup," he said, taking his hands off Marcia's ears and standing, "For a single man, Darry sure knows how to keep himself that way."