Beach Babe | The Outsiders | Johnny Cade

| Backseat | 52 |

I think Cherry could tell I was absolutely seething with anger so she turned back to Ponyboy and Johnny.

"Why don't y'all sit up here? You can protect us." She says.

"Okay." Pony says nonchalantly "might as well." He made eye contact with Johnny then they both went and sat by them. Johnny by Cherry and Ponyboy between them.

Johnny motioned for me to sit by him and I did. I just barely laid my head on his shoulder when a hand came down on both mine and his shoulder. "Okay, greasers, you've had it." A voice boomed, making both me and Johnny jump.

I turned to see Two-Bit laughing hysterically and sighed in relief. "Here have a beer maybe you won't be so jumpy." He hands me a beer in a brown paper bag and I start drinking it. Definitely too sober for all this.

Two climbs over and sits next to the girl whose name I didn't know. "Who's this, your great-aunts?"

"Great-grandmothers, twice removed." Cherry says smoothly

Two smirks "Shoot you're ninety-six if you're a day."

"I'm a night." The other girl says

Two-Bit basically stares at her with heart eyes "Brother, you're a sharp one. Where'd you two ever get to be picked up by a couple of greasy hoods like Pony and Johnny?" 'Picked up'? Keith I am right here buddy.

The other girl smiles real wide "We really picked them up" this girl- "We're really Arabian slave traders and we're thinking about shanghaiing them. They're worth ten camels apiece at least." . . .

"Five" Two corrected "They don't talk Arabian, I don't think. Say somethin' in Arabian Johnnycake."

Johnny grins "Aw cut it out! Dally was bothering them and when he left they wanted us to sit with them to protect them. Against wisecracking greasers like you, probably."

"Where is Dal anyway?" Two-Bit asks

Johnny shrugs "He went out hunting some action——— booze or dames or a fight. I hope he doesn't get jailed again..." the sound in my ears becomes muted and my vision blurry again.

I keep drinking the beer Two gave me, I wasn't sure why. Maybe to calm my nerves, maybe to make me forget tonight, maybe to keep me from killing somebody. As I drank the last of the beer I put the bottle under my chair and leaning my head on Johnnys shoulder. He was still talking to Two-Bit about something I couldn't hear. The pain in my head got worse.

     Despite it I drifted off. I woke up with Johnny shaking me and telling me the movie was over. I groggily got up and we started leaving. I didn't even realize we were walking the girls home for a few minutes despite the surroundings looking for too nice to be our side of town. I was kind of lingering behind while Ponyboy talked to Johnny and Cherry and Two-Bit talked to the other girl, whose name I found out was Marcia. I didn't mind not being included in the conversation. I had so much on my mind and I was slightly tipsy.

Marcia gasped pulling me out of my state and causing me to look up "Cherry, look what's coming." We all turn to see a very familiar blue mustang trailing us "What're we gonna do?"

"Stand here." Cherry says "There isn't much else we can do." Two-Bit asked who it was "Randy and Bob, our boyfriends." She started off down the street again "Act normal, maybe they won't see us." She looks real worried.

"Who's acting? I'm a natural normal." Two says with a grin.

The mustang passed and we all sighed in relief, except me. I was too busy wondering which one of the silhouettes in the back seat was my baby brother.