𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕. ♡ 𝒋𝒐𝒉𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆.

xviii

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  "oh hey jay! glad you could take trish along. we were just about to start the game!"

  after carefully crossing to the greasers' neighborhood, jay entered the warm house and shook off her jacket as trish followed, shyly thanking darry on her way through the front door.

  "hey girls," ponyboy greeted them. he was sat next to sodapop and johnny on the floor, a game of scrabble waiting to be played on the coffee table in front of them.

"nice to have ya here," two-bit said with a wink.

  jay took a seat next to steve on the couch, "tucker here yet?"

  the boys shook their heads. darry spoke up, "i think he said he ain't comin' tonight."

  "oh..." jahanna nodded understandingly as darry came to take up the seat on the couch next to her.

  trish looked around for a place to sit when johnny caught her eye, hands in the pockets of that overused denim jacket of his. seeing there was no more room on the couch for her, he moved over slightly on the carpet, using his arm to gesture to the vacant spot. trish could feel the beating noise intensify, but that was all just in her head she thought to herself. she ignored it and took up the invitation with a smile.

"i see you didn't disappoint with the treats, sweets!" sodapop exclaimed seeing the paper bag trish had set on the floor beside her. the girl nodded excitedly.

"what is it?" johnny asked, trying to peek inside. smiling—although she didn't notice she was smiling— trish pulled the bag back playfully.

"it's just a custard cake i threw together today, nothing all that special. guess i'm just in the christmas spirit already, maybe?"

"well, i sure am in the spirit to take a bite," johnny smiled back.

"me too!" all the other boys agreed in unison. trish let out a giggle at their reaction.

"geez, did y'all skip dinner of somethin'?" jay joked. trish got out some plates and forks and napkins from the curtis's kitchen and was glad to give everyone in the room a generous slice.

  "alright, let's start then!" sodapop happily said, custard already tracing the corner of his smiling lips.

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a few hours had gone by, and expectedly, the cake was no more. and also, ponyboy had won. however, going down the ranks, it was a bloody and ugly battle.

jahanna and darry followed behind and were silently at each other's throats the entire game. trish, two-bit, and johnny were just having a nice time on their own behind them, exchanging suggestions to each other throughout the play. sodapop and steve were last, but they didn't mind. after all, they had invented some new words to grace the human race, so who were the real winners?

it was late by now. thanks to the shorter winter days, trish and jahanna could make their way across the cultural split in town without being noticed. that was around six'o'clock. as they glanced at the clock, it was a shock to see it was almost half past ten.

"best we head out now jay," trish said, standing up from her place on the rug.

"guess so, see y'all around," jay chirped and she followed suit. they started putting on their coats and hats and scarves as the rest waved and said their goodbyes.

  "be careful out there," darry haphazardly warned, gesturing to the window. everyone looked outside. it was hard to see, but here and there, little specks of white passed by the glass...

  "it's snowing!" sodapop exclaimed. and in a flash, everyone in the roomed rushed to throw on their shoes and jackets.

  filled with child-like excitement, the group ran out and were the first ones in town to step into the blanket of freshly fallen snow that covered the lawn and glistened like the starry night above it. although they tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing making a commotion could threaten the safety of the two girls with them, it was hard to contain the childish giggles that inevitably escaped their chests.

  life seemed so simple diving and rolling in the first snow of the year. brothers playfully wrestled in the cold air and sisters made snow angles one by the other, the light escaping from the opened front door the only thing allowing them to see their own two hands in front of them. their mixed joy echoed off the white street there was not a single care in the world.

  soon enough, everyone heard a yelp. everyone's head darted toward the source of the sound. it was ponyboy. it was ponyboy with a ball of fluffy white snow exploded all over his face. only a few feet away, was a laughing sodapop.

  this could only mean one thing... war.

  so a snowball fight ensued. light-hearted laughing filled the air even more as every person's arm scooped up a ball of the white blanket as if their life depended on it.

  johnny molded his projectile using the palms of his bare hands, almost making them numb. patting his creation firm he looked up to meet his target. aiming and throwing it toward two-bit's perfect jelled hair, johnny was almost certain his friend would meet his demise.

  but, it missed just by a small blonde hair. instead, it hurdled to a head of long, black hair. with a small surprised shriek, trish was hit by the snowball. for a moment she stood frozen, seemingly shocked. slowly she looked to her side and met eyes with johnny. the latter immediately stumbled through the snow.

  "s-sorry trish! i-i didn't m-mean for that t-t-to hit you at all! it was supposed t-to hit two—"

  splat!

  johnny was interrupted by a sudden surge of cold on his face. although his eyes were closed, he could picture trish's smiling face as he heard her giggling in front of him. he swiped the melting ice off his face.

  "i see how it is, huh?" he said, trying to sound big and mean, knowing he really wasn't selling it well. how could he when talking to this girl int he first place? trish could only giggle more as her reply.

  "is it a fight you want, little lady? well, well, well— you better watch out then because..." johnny began, bending down to fish up a handful of snow, "it's a fight you're gunna get!"

  with that, johnny threw another snowball. it hit trish's shoulder with a bright laugh from johnny. that was music to trish's ears, yes, but she still had to get away from the enemy.

so she did. but, she took her time. almost like she didn't want to run away from him just yet.