Begin [Ponyboy Curtis]

The Silence

POSSIBLE TRIGGERS: Toxic Family Dynamic

Playlist: Home - Mae

As soon as the sun dipped below the horizon the temperature dropped. I exchanged my tank top for one of my dad's old hoodies. I didn't bother to sneak out my window, but I made sure to leave it unlocked in case I needed to sneak back in.

Randy's blue mustang pulled up outside of my house. The back door opened and the redhead I always see him with waved me in.

"Hey, Dot," Randy greeted as I got in and shut the door. The car was a welcomed warmth compared to the chilly night wind. "This is Marcia," he put his hand on the thigh of the girl in the front seat, "and that's Cherry."

Both of the girls smiled and greeted me, "hi."

"Nice to meet you guys," I pulled the seat belt over my chest.

"I almost didn't recognize your place with all the furniture gone," Randy joked, "do we have to have you home by a certain time?"

"Nah," I shook my head and rubbed my cold legs, "my dad isn't home right now."

We drove to the other side of town and parked on a packed street. Not far away, a large group of kids were all gathered by a medium-sized pond. Everything was lit up by a couple of string lights and a bonfire. One of the guys sat on a swinging seat with a guitar draped across his lap, it looked more like a prop than an instrument.

Even in the darkness, and with us all dressed for warmth and comfort, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Underdressed and my hair up in a messy ponytail. I pulled it down and brushed it out with my fingers in a ditch effort to fit in with the rest of the group.

"So are you friends with those guys? Back in the parking lot?" Cherry asked with me, while Randy and Marcia stepped away to greet one of their friends.

"Uh," I looked down at my sneakers, subconsciously comparing them to Cherry's, "yeah. We're all cool."

"Oh," She nodded and shoved her hands into her front pocket, "that's nice."

"Yeah... whats. Um," chewed on my lip, hoping I wasn't about to say some kind of cuss word I've never heard before, "well. Someone said this earlier at school and I've never heard it before." Cherry looked over at me, nodding. "What's a Soc?"

"A Soc?" She grinned, "it's short for Social. That's what greasers call us kids from the south side."

"And you guys call them Greasers," I nodded.

I guess we had similar insults back at home, but there were a lot more hippies there. It was the peaceful avoiding the violent, not the rich fighting the poor.

"I wouldn't bring it up in front of any of the boys," Cherry warned, "I know greasers aren't all bad but the guys see them as competition."

I wanted to defend Ponyboy and the others, but it's not like they don't act the same way. From the looks of it neither group would ever reach out to the other, and everyone in the middle is just ignoring it.

"Sounds like the guys are pretty insecure."

Cherry huffed a laugh, "you're telling me. Come on, let's go find a bag of chips to hover over."

"Sounds like a plan."

Cherry and I found a bag of pretzels, attached to one of the singles roaming around. The three of us stood by the fire, exchanging the bag in a circle and talking about our spring breaks.

"I don't know," the girl, whose name I never caught shrugged, "I just don't want to be tied down with a relationship. We leave Tulsa so often and I like having weekend slings in towns I'll never go to again."

"You're not afraid one of thems gonna move here?" I asked her, eyebrows raised.

"Psh. No. That's their issue, not mine." She shrugged, "so where's yours?" She turned back to Cherry, nudging her side.

"Said we needed more snacks and drinks, actually he should be back any minute now."

"You'll probably lose him to Randy," she giggled, "but then we can steal Marcia back."

On cue, a voice from across the pond yelled out, "Snacks and booze!"

"Booze?" Cherry asked, her voice saturated in anger. We followed her to the other side of the pond where she found Bob, already buzzed and sipping on a cup of whisky.

"I'm just having a little," he defended himself before she ever said a word.

"It's a school night, Bob!"

"It's not that big of a deal!"

The girl and I stepped back watching the yelling match start.

"Are you kidding me?" Cherry shoved his cup, making him spill some of it on the ground, "you can't have fun without being drunk out of your mind!"

Marcia joined us, glaring at Randy who had gotten himself a cup.

"Come on, it's a get-together. It's just beer and whisky."

"Beer and Whisky?" Cherry repeated, "have fun with your booze. We're out of here."

Most of the couples broke apart, the girls annoyed that the simple gathering would be turning into a drinking party. The girls who showed up alone uncomfortably left the boys, no longer feeling safe by the pond.

The boys stayed behind to drink and play 'my dick's bigger than yours'. We all split off in groups to walk each other home or give rides.

"You'll be okay?" Marcia asked me once she realized I'd be the only girl going alone. I didn't live on the south side.

"Yeah," I nodded, "bad things don't happen too often in small cities like this."

"Here," Cherry pulled a pen out of her purse and scribbled her number down on my hand, "call me when you get home. If it takes you a while I'll ask my parents if we can go looking for you."

I nodded, "thanks. I'll see you guys around."

"Yeah. Be careful." Marcia reminded me.

I walked much faster than my usual pace. The cold air and the dark streets prompted me to get home fast. I think if I go to the southside again I'll at least try to find a walking buddy first.

The night was unusually quiet once I got away from the party. The wind whistled ever so slightly, in the distance someone would rev their car, running down a back road. An ally or two over groups of teens would laugh or whoop. But mostly it was calm.

I finally started walking down my street and saw my dad's car was still nowhere to be found. I walked in through the front door, locked the door, and turned off the table lamp.

Once I got upstairs I tossed off my clothes and grabbed my phone to call Cherry.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Dorthy. I'm home."

"Good," her voice was soft, like she was trying to hide the fact she was on the phone, "I'll let Marcia know."

"Thanks again. Night, Cherry."

"No problem, goodnight."

The line clicked, I set the phone down and sat on the side of my bed, listening to the silence of the house.