Simply a Greaser

Chapter 61

I walked into Bucks with tears streaming down my face. Thank God it was too early in the day for Buck's to be open, or else a bunch of greasers would've seen me sobbing.

Buck saw me from behind the bar counter and mumbled, "Last I saw Dal he was upstairs."

I nodded and went up to his room. He was in there, polishing his stupid pocket knife. He saw me crying but didn't really look all that surprised.

"You talk to Two-Bit today?" he grumbled, looking at the floor.

"How'd you know?" I sat next to him on his bed.

"I'm gonna take a shower." He stood up. "You take a minute there to calm down and try to think straight."

I nodded and sank back into his bed.

After twenty minutes of just letting myself roll in self-pity, I took a deep breath and tried to face the facts. I fucked up, I realized easily. Anyone with a pair of eyes could see from miles away that I was an idiot and screwed up badly.

I knew that Two-Bit and Dally were right, but that didn't mean that I agreed with them. That didn't give me the right to have a total freak out on Two-Bit, though, like some kind of an over-emotional bitch. I needed to apologize ASAP.

I started thinking of New York. It wasn't a bad place, and that mansion was really nice. I could almost picture myself living in it. Almost.

For the first time in a long time, I thought seriously about my future. I was an okay student, nothing amazing but not too shabby, either. It wasn't enough to get me into a college for free. Even if I stayed in Tulsa, mom could still pay for my college. But where would I go from there? There were almost no jobs in this town. No opportunity.

In New York, new jobs were everywhere. I would have a place to stay with mom and James for as long as I needed it. It was the right option. It was what I should do.

I had the gang in Tulsa. I had a family in them, more of a family than I ever had in mom.

Dally was leaving, with or without me. He was my brother, the one person who always had my back no matter what.

For the first time in a long time, I had no idea what I should do. I was torn.

I heard the water in the shower turn off, and soon Dally was back in his room. He saw me and knew I had calmed down enough to talk to him.

"What happened?" he asked, leaning on the wall.

I shook my head. "I'm an idiot and got all mad at Two-Bit for no reason."

"He told you to go to New York?"

"Yeah, which was exactly what I didn't want to hear. I freaked out on him." I sighed, kicking myself for my dumb actions. "Fuck."

"Can't believe I'm offerin' to do this, but do you want me to call him and try to smooth things over?" He sounded as surprised at his words as I felt.

"If you want," I said, wondering how much he would help. Somehow, he might be able to find a way to make his whole situation worse. "Go ahead."

He left the room, leaving me with my thoughts and growing anxiety. What if I fucked up our relationship beyond repair? I was sure I didn't, but still...

Dally came back into his room and shrugged. "He's mad, but I think he'll get over it."

I nodded. "I hope so."

"It's Two-Bit. He'll get drunk and forget it ever happened." I glared at Dally and he laughed. "You know I'm right."

"He doesn't drink as much now as he did when I first met him," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I noticed that. He's fuckin' borin' now." Dally pushed me. "Get off my bed. Sylvia's comin' over later."

I jumped up. "I definitely don't wanna be here for that." I walked to the door. "I guess I'm gonna go see a movie at the Drive-In or somethin'. See you later."

"See you."

I sat by myself with a large popcorn and drink, engrossed in the movie. I shoved popcorn in my mouth, having fun ignoring the world and my problems. The movie wasn't even that good, but it was a distraction.

The first movie finished. I excitedly awaited the second one.

I heard someone call my name. I sighed and acted like I didn't hear them. They called my name again, louder.

I looked back and saw Johnny and Pony, waving a from a few rows back. I smiled and waved and they walked over. They sat down with Pony next to me and Johnny next to him.

"What're you two doin' here?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

Pony nudged Johnny, both with stupid grins on their faces.

"Emily called," Johnny said, "and she said Randy and her parents would be at a party so she could sneak out tonight."

"She wants to meet me," Pony added on.

"Does that I mean I gotta move on down a few rows of seats?" I asked, joking a little. I didn't want to intrude on them.

Johnny shrugged. "She's met you before- kinda. It'll be okay."

"Where is she? And why are ya'll only here for the second movie?" I popped more popcorn into my mouth.

"Her parents and Randy were supposed to leave 'bout ten minutes ago and she's gotta wait for her friend to pick her up," Johnny explained. He sounded really excited to see her. "She knows to go to these seats 'cause when we went here before this is where we sat."

Just then, I heard someone call out behind us, "Johnny!"

Johnny stood up and turned around, replying in a much quieter voice, "Down here."

I glanced behind me and saw a nicely dressed girl that I immediately recognized from Bucks. She ran down the stairs and they hugged, both laughing quietly.

When they pulled apart, by the way she was looking at him, I could tell she really liked him. He had the same look on his face. I was happy for him.

Watching them, I couldn't help but think of Two-Bit and me for a moment. He was mad at me, that was for sure, and I deserved it. Would we ever be the same again? I hoped so.