The Outsider Future: Life After the Experience

Chapter 19

MACK

Steve woke me up without calling the doctor. "Mack!" he was saying. When I finally woke up from passing out he said, "Are you okay?" I nodded and said, "What just happened?" "Oh nothing," Steve laughed. "Just your boyfriend punched me in the face." "What?!" I exclaimed, and then it all started coming back to me. I started to cry again. "He's not my boyfriend anymore," I said sadly. I cried for several minutes before Steve said anything. "You really love him, don't you?" he asked. I nodded. "Wish you could have loved me like that," he said. "I really do." "Steve," I said before he could walk out the door. "Listen, I may not love you like I love Pony, but you have to understand. I can't control who I love. Love is love no matter what. But, listen to me. This doesn't mean that I don't care about you. I love you too Steve, just not like that. I don't want the gang to grow apart again. I want you and me to be friends again like we used to be before they left." Steve nodded and said, "Okay, I can handle that." He came over to my bedside and hugged me really awkwardly. "Well," he said starting to walk away. "I'm gonna let you have some alone time. I'm sorry Ponyboy and you didn't work out." I smiled. "It's okay," I replied. I said that it was okay because I had the reassurance in my heart for some reason that Pony would come back to me. Maybe it was the "blessing" that Steve had just gave me, but no matter the reason I knew he would come back. And, about twenty minutes later he showed up in my room.

"Hey," I started to say. He ran up to my bedside and just kissed me. I smiled at him when I pulled back without even questioning the kiss. "I talked to Sodapop," Pony said. "If I were in your position I probably would have done the same thing. I'm sorry that I got mad. I was just really hurt. But, Mack, you were right. We are different. No matter what I do I just can't seem to get away from you." I blushed and smiled. "I love you," was all I could get out of my mouth. "So," he said. "I asked the doctor if I could get you out of here for a few hours, and he said yes. The gang is all meeting up at our house because me and Soda are back. I figured we could make ourselves a nice little reunion." "Boy," I said. "Do we need it! The gang has been falling apart ever since ya'll left." "Well," he replied. "Let it fall apart no more. Come on."

We walked out of the hospital and jumped in Soda's truck. As I rode down the nice Oklahoma streets and rolled down the window, I thought to myself that this must be heaven. Here I was with my true love, my friends and I had made ammends, and now we were all going to become a gang again. The funny thing was, we still to this day are a gang. No matter how far each of us roamed we were all still a gang. So, as I rode down that road that day I really was in a greaser's heaven.