The Insiders (The Outsiders Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning feeling really dazed. Ever since my mom died, I've had trouble sleeping. I keep waking up from nightmares about her.

I rolled myself out of bed and walked downstairs. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 7:30 A.M. I figured Dad had already made breakfast so I ran downstairs to see what he'd made. But when I got downstairs, he was sitting on the recliner with the day's newspaper laying on his lap, his hand covering his mouth.

"Dad, have you made breakfast yet?" I asked, as I walked over to him and plopped down on the chair next to him. He didn't respond. I knew he wasn't much of a morning person, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't talk to me. "Hey, Dad, what's wrong?"

"Cherry Valance's boyfriend Bob was murdered last night in the park," he said, still staring off into the distance. I cupped my hand over my mouth and let out a small cry.

"Wh-what happened? Who did it?" I asked fearfully.

"No one knows," Dad said. He finally looked back at me. "But I don't want you going anywhere else other than school until this ordeal is figured out, you hear me?" Dad wasn't usually this strict, but when he was, he meant what he said. I nodded slowly and leaned back into my chair.

I immediately knew it had to have been a Greaser who did it. Bob was tough, but he didn't have beef with anyone except the Greasers. But who would kill him?

I went upstairs, changed into my school clothes, grabbed my backpack, and left the house, not having eaten breakfast and not having said goodbye to Dad. I was too shocked to eat.

Christine and Gabrielle met me at the sidewalk where we met every day to go to school. I didn't talk to either of them at first, and they knew why.

"So, you've heard the news?" Gabrielle asked blankly.

"I don't know if anyone hasn't," Christine said, looking down.

"Who would kill Bob?" I asked. "No one hated him that much."

We all began our mostly silent walk to school. After a long couple of minutes, Christine finally piped up and said, "This may sound far-fetched, and it probably is, but you don't think that maybe...." She trailed off, but I knew what she was saying.

"I don't think Dallas would kill him, if that's what you mean. He flirts with every girl he sees, it's not like he cared so much about Cherry that he'd kill her boyfriend just to be with her. I don't think that's his style," I said, as I looked down at the ground.

"You don't think-"

"No, I don't think Two-Bit would have done it," I snapped.

"Julie, I'm just saying, it seemed like he was flirting with those girls! It's certainly a possibility-"

"You think he would do it?" I asked. I stopped walking and stared at Christine. "You really think he would do it?" The second time, I said it as less of a question and more of a statement.

Christine looked down. "No...."

"Two-Bit and Dally hanging out without anyone else? Sounds a little weird to me," Gabrielle interjected. "Was anyone else there?"

I thought for a moment and remembered the two boys. "Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade were with them, I think, but they wouldn't do anything like that," I said.

"Soda's kid brother? No way. And I don't know who this Cade kid is, but if he's with Pony, he's not gonna be doin' anythin' wrong," Christine said.

We all arrived at school shortly after Christine said that and parted ways. We didn't have many classes together, so I was alone with my thoughts for the rest of the day.