dance in the sun 〖 the outsiders 〗

the party

Today is the day!

I got a phone call from Sadie asking when she should come over to help me set up and in a couple hours I got one from Janice as well.

The morning was mostly cleaning up from yesterday and putting away anything that could get broken. I put the smaller stuff in the kitchen cabinets and what wouldn't fit I put in my parent's room. Their room was absolutely off limits so nothing would be meddled with in there.

Sadie got to my house less than an hour after she called, her costume was in her arms and she also had some drinks. I told myself I wouldn't drink too much, since I'm the host I gotta make sure everyone is safe, but I probably wouldn't say no to one or two. It wouldn't be a huge crowd so I know there'll be plenty to go around.

Marcia came over about an hour after Sadie. I told Cherry she could have a couple friends but she only wanted Marcia to come, she was the one with the most sense, in her words. It was only one in the afternoon, I told people to start showing up around five. Our afternoon was spent joking around and blowing up lots of balloons, I even turned on my parents record player and got some tunes going for us. I loved that Cherry had Marcia come because she really helps her relax. She can relax with me but you know how friends just bring out another part of you?

The last thing I needed to do was make the cupcakes. I started mixing them up and asked Sadie to prepare the frosting. It wouldn't take too long, that's what I loved about the boxes. Cherry sat out the rest of the snacks along the counter and about an hour later, the cupcakes were done, Janice had shown up within that hour as well and she brought some candy which was great because I'd totally forgotten to get some. Janice was dressed as a country girl which was funny to me; she used to talk about how weird some of the things people wear were, she always found the plaid, boots, hat, and baggy jeans most laughable. Not many dressed that way where she was from.

"Cupcakes smell good, Lena," Janice complimented, "When are you gonna change?"

I looked at the clock and almost hit myself, of course I needed to change, people would probably start coming in like thirty minutes. Luckily my friends usually run late.

"I guess now would be a good time, huh?" Marcia was in her mouse costume which was just ears and a grey dress (she wasnt big into costumes) and Sadie had already changed into her cute Wonder Woman costume and so it was only Cherry and I left. Someone knocked on the door and I asked Sadie to answer it for me while I went upstairs. Cherry was already in her room, she was doing her makeup right now, her hair was already straightened and put half up. I could hear Ronnie and Lowell's obnoxiously loud voices from up here and I chuckled as I changed into my all red ensemble. I asked Sherri to put a bit of makeup on me, she did it a lot better and quicker than I could.

"You look good," She said, smiling at me.

"Thanks." I blushed in response. She swiped her soft brush against my cheeks, adding a bit of red to my complexion and she lightly lined my eyes with eyeliner and gave me a bit of black mascara.

I heard another knock on the door and wondered who it would be. I was waiting on Cherry now to finish getting dressed and then we'd head down.

I was so nervous for Johnny to get here. I hope he doesn't think it's boring because we don't do too much, just hang out, play cards and dominoes, dance usually. I was probably over thinking but it's okay. Cherry emerged from her closet in her cute little skirt and shirt and it reminded me of when we were little and had matching costumes like butterflies and fairies. We haven't matched costumes since I was ten.

"Remember when we were ladybugs and we sprayed black dots into our hair?" Cherry said chuckling.

"Oh yeah," A smile took over my face when I remembered the night. "I literally had to cut the paint out."

"Yeah, for some reason mom and dad let us use regular spray paint!" We both laughed at the memory and looked at ourselves in her vanity mirror.

"I keep thinking about how they'd kill us if they could see us," I said, examining our outfits again. We look damn good, really.

"Me too!" She exclaimed.

I stood up and walked out of her room, ushering her to come. After getting a couple more tapes from my room, I looked down over the balcony and saw that Johnny had made it along with his friends. I turned around and took a breath, nerves and excitement filling my gut. As I made my way downstairs with Sher a couple steps behind, we got a couple whistles and I laughed, greeting all the guys who came. I exchanged hugs with Ronnie and Lowell and gave all of Johnny's friends a wave and smile. Ronnie's outfit was really fancy looking but I couldn't tell what he was.

I gave Johnny a hug and a kiss on the cheek, accidentally leaving a light red mark on his cheek. "Sorry, I forgot I got this lipstick on," I apologize, attempting to wipe it a bit.

"That's alright," he responded with a chuckle, I noticed a bit of red filling his cheeks, "You look... wow."

I grinned, "Thanks." Two-Bit, Sodapop, Steve, and a couple friends Ronnie and Lowell brought along, think they're named Grace and Frances, were there as well. Johnny's friends didn't dress up but one girl was dressed as a cat and the other as mouse. "Lowell where in the hell did you get a chainsaw?" I asked, upon seeing his costume, obviously based off the horror movie Chainsaw Massacre.

"Every hillbilly's got one," he said as if it were obvious.

"You ain't even a hillbilly," Sadie said chuckling.

"My father is, and don't worry it don't work anymore."

I chuckled and turned my attention to the other guys. "Y'all can sit if you'd like, drinks are in the fridge and there's food too."

"Cool," Steve said, heading towards the fridge. Soda took a seat at the couch and Johnny at the dining room table not too far away while Two-Bit went to grab a drink as well.

"Hey," Johnny said, reaching for my arm, "I brought Dally, too, told him not to act like an ass. Hope you don't mind I just wanted you to get a better idea of him, y'know?"

I nodded, part of me knew he would wanna bring him. "That's okay, where is he?"

"Oh, he went to the bathroom right before you came down." Speak of the devil, I thought. The guy emerged from the hallway, that regular cold look on his face. I put on a smile and looked in Sherry's direction, she didn't notice him, she was in conversation with Marcia and Janice.

There was another knock on the door and I left Johnny's side to go answer. I smiled when I opened the door and there stood Jenkins wearing tattered clothes, a blue blazer, a cowboy hat, and a guitar. He was playing dramatically as he walked in, singing Walkin' Back To Georgia.

"So you're...?"

"I'm a travelin' gui-tar man." I chuckled and nodded, closing the door behind him as everyone greeted him. "And I got you somethin'," he said, reaching in his pocket and handing me a bag of shockers, my favorite candy.

"Where's mine, Jenkins?" Ronnie complained.

"At the store, go get 'em." I smiled and thanked him, giving him a side hug to avoid bumping into his guitar.

"If you get tired of holdin' that you can put it by the chainsaw," I told him. He nodded and made his way to the table sitting across from Johnny, greeting Soda and Steve on the way as well.

"Anyone else comin'?" Ronnie asked me. I shrugged, I didn't invite too many people, I only wanted my friends to be at my house, no one that I wasn't close with.

"I cant think of no one else," I say.

"Well let's get this party started then, huh?"