Categories > Books > Outsiders > Red Hot Moon

Chapter 8

by TWBasketCase 0 reviews

About a year and half after the events of the book, a new gang arrives in Tulsa and stirs things up. The soc/greaser war is at an all time high, and our gang's lives will never be the same.

Category: Outsiders - Rating: R - Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama - Warnings: [!!!] [V] [X] - Published: 2007-01-28 - Updated: 2007-01-28 - 3058 words

0Unrated
Chapter 8

Two-Bit stared at the orange haired lady in front of him. Biology was interesting to him sometimes - when they got to talk about the human body and girl parts - but the cellular stuff just turned his brain to mush. He didn't care anything about a nucleus or membranes of any sort; so naturally mitosis meant absolutely nothing. She just droned on and on at the front of the room as if that day's lecture was the most interesting thing to ever come into her life.

Two-Bit could easily think of one hundred better things to do with his time.

He stared up at the clock; there was only thirty minutes left of class. He stretched his arms, and then slowly raised his hand. The older woman pulled her glasses down her nose and smiled. "What can I do for you, Two-Bit?"

He let his hand drop down to his desk and pushed himself up to a standing position. "I think I need a hall pass."

She raised her eyebrows and readjusted her glasses. "May I ask what for?"

Two-Bit's mind raced quickly for an excuse. He looked around the classroom at his fellow students and then shrugged his shoulders at his teacher. "I - I have..." He swallowed. "I have gas and I need to go to the bathroom."

He tried increasingly hard to keep a straight face at the swarm of giggles coming from around the room. The girls in the room had gasped in shock - at what he guessed - was his outright bluntness. The guys, on the other hand, were snickering at him. His teacher just straightened up considerably and blushed profusely. "Of course, you get going now."

Two-Bit smirked and cocked an eyebrow at her, and then proceeded to the front of the room to collect his pass. The teacher seemed to try and keep her distance, much to the amusement of Two-Bit. He took the pass and smirked at his classmates, and closed the door loudly behind him. He loved how outright toilet talk always got him out of class legitimately; people got embarrassed about bodily functions way too easily in his opinion. He considered himself lucky that the older woman had even bought his excuse; she was a biology teacher after all.

He took a right around a corner and headed towards a staircase leading down to the main floor of the school. They didn't attend a huge school; it only had the ground floor, an upper floor and a basement that mostly held shop classes and lockers. There were bigger schools in the city, but their school definitely had the biggest greaser population - which was still enormously outnumbered by the soc population.

He took the stairs in two's and nodded his head at a few of Tim Shepard's boys that were carelessly hanging out in front of the back entrance of the school. Two-Bit figured that if he waited in his car for the next half hour or so, he would eventually meet up with Steve or Ponyboy - or some cute blonde or another.

Two-Bit was fairly popular around the school; while he wasn't a friend to any socs, there were many greasers around who respected him, and quite a few middle class kids who he had made laugh in class every day. He may have been a smart ass on most occasions, but Two-Bit was a good guy (when people were on his good side) who lived life to have fun and laugh. He figured that was what made him and Sodapop such good friends; the two of them always got into trouble when they hung out together.

As he approached his car, he realized that someone was inside of it. He quickly reached into his back pocket to grab his blade, and he quickened his pace.

When, he finally reached the car, he ripped the back door open. "What the holy hell are you doin'?" He yelled angrily.

Curly Shepard backed up so fast that he fell flat on his butt outside of the car. He grinned at Two-Bit mischievously, while Two-Bit's sister - Mary - blushed wildly and straightened her hair.

"Fancy meetin' you here, TB," Curly brushed his pants off and stood up from the ground.

Two-Bit glared at him and put his knife back into his pocket. "Boy, you are damn lucky that you're Tim's little brother, kid. I'd waste no time cuttin' you up."

Curly smirked at him and reached into his pocket for a cigarette. "You wouldn't do nothin' of the sort, Slim. I was showin' your kid sister here a good time."

Two-bit felt the anger build up inside of him to the point that his ears burned. He grabbed Curly by the jacket and pushed him roughly into the car. "You better believe I would. You'll stay away from her, and my fucking car."

Curly pushed his hands off of him and rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever you say man." He turned to smile at Mary. "She wasn't complainin' none anyhow."

Two-Bit shook his head in disbelief. He knew that Curly Shepard wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. In fact, Two-Bit could easily say that the younger Shepard was not only one beer short a six pack, but two. The kid just didn't get it, and was always getting himself in some sort of trouble. Two-Bit couldn't recall a time lapse of more than six months - in the last four years - that Curly wasn't in the cooler. He was bad news and he would be damned if he was going to let his kid sister fall into that hole.

Two-Bit ignored his last comment and turned to his sister, who was still busy straightening her hair and skirt out. "What the hell are you thinkin', Mary?"

She dropped her mouth open, but just as quickly shut it again. She stepped out of the car, and stood in front of him with her chin jutted out defiantly. "I was just havin' some fun, Keith."

Curly snorted from behind him, but Two-Bit paid him no heed. Mary had just gone and went as far to call him by his real name. No one did that, not even his mom, or his teachers. She was really getting on his last nerve. "In my car?"

She shrugged and folded her arms over her chest. "Where did you want me to go?" She cocked an eyebrow at him - a mirror image of himself. "To the cafeteria?"

He shuddered in irritation at her seeming lack of intelligence. "You better watch your lip, girl!" He raked a finger through his long, rusty hair, and proceeded to light a cigarette in his time of stress. "Not only are ya breakin' into my car, you're foolin' around with the worst hood on the block!"

"Watch it, wise guy," Curly warned from behind him.

Mary's smirk turned into an angry frown. "You shut the hell up! You can't tell me what to do!"

Two-Bit rolled his eyes. "No shit. But I can tell you when you're bein' a dumb broad."

She stomped her foot in irritation. "Oh you're one to talk! You're with someone new every week!"

He threw his smoke down in anger and inched closer to her face. Slow, swirling clouds of smoke exited the sides of his mouth as he spoke. "Maybe so! But I can defend myself against them, and they won't get me thrown in the cooler!"

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, only if they're over eighteen."

That one had stung. He had no idea what was up with his kid sister, but he had had it with her attitude. "Fine, you go! Don't come crawlin' back to me when he knocks you up!"

"I hate you!" She screamed in his face. He could tell her eyes were beginning to well up with tears and she stormed past him, grabbing Curly by the arm. "Let's go, Curly." He smirked at Two-Bit from over her shoulder and proceeded to follow her, leaving Two-Bit alone in the parking lot.

He kicked the tire of his old car angrily and cussed. "Fuck!" He couldn't believe the guts of that girl. If it was anyone else - hell even if it was one of his friends - it wouldn't be so bad. But it had to be fucking Curly Shepard who she wanted. He hoped to god that it was one of those so called rebellious phases that kids go through at her age.

He picked his cigarette back up and popped it back into his mouth. The two younger kids strode out of the school gate and into the Tulsa streets, leaving school for the day. Her long auburn hair licked back over her shoulder, and she never even looked back at him.

He would have to deal with her later.

... ... ...

The bell for lunch rang and Evie couldn't have been happier. She did not dig math at all; there were very few classes that she actually did enjoy, but math was the one that topped the cake in terms of classes that really irritated her. She gathered her notebook and quickly slid out of her desk.

She knew that Steve was probably going to be hanging with Two-Bit during lunch, so finding the girls would probably be her best option. Evie had a hard time getting along with Two-Bit, and an even harder time getting along with Ponyboy. It wasn't that she didn't like Two-Bit, they just had a very bad set of clashing personalities. He was a joker who was always cracking cheesy gags to her, while she was 'too obnoxious' for him. They were like cats and dogs when it came to their companionship. Ponyboy, on the other hand, was a whole different story. He was always bothering Steve and tagging along with them when they went out; she tolerated him because he was Soda's brother and no reason else. He was way too sensitive and uptight for her liking.

That wasn't to say that she didn't like the gang. She liked Sodapop and Darry just fine, and she also didn't mind when Dallas hung around when he was alive too. Sodapop was fun and friendly to everyone, no matter what happened. Soda kept them all on their toes. She respected Darry a lot. He took Sodapop and Ponyboy under his wing when Mr. and Mrs. Curtis had passed on. He also took care of Steve whenever his dad was giving him trouble. Darry was the one adult in all of their lives that they could depend on. Even when Darry had punched Steve in the jaw, Evie knew that he had deserved it.

Dallas used to come around and accompanied them on their dates from time to time. He had also dated Evie's friend, Sylvia, for a few months before that blew up. Dallas could be very mean and dangerous, but he was also very reckless and could keep up with Soda and Steve in terms of having fun. He hadn't given her any troubles before.

For the most part, Evie had her own group of friends to hang out with. Sandy had been her best friend at one point, but she was living in Florida since she had her baby. Sylvia was around, but she had the tendency to spend her time picking up on any old greaser she could; she loved Sylvia and all, but the girl couldn't for the life of her keep her legs shut. The other girls were pretty much clueless; they would attend games and pick up on boys, only to have them pissed off at them the next day. They were good friends, but Evie often questioned their actions.

Evie seemed to be the only greaser girl she knew of who loved and respected her man. She would do anything for Steve; anything he asked for, or asked of her, she would do. The thought of hurting him or not having him around broke her heart. They were good together; Steve understood her in ways that no one else could. He was the first person she ever dared admit that she loved, and love from Evie came rarely.

She pulled open the door to the cafeteria and looked around the bodies throughout the hustle and bustle of the school. Most of the students ate their lunches in the cafeteria; some socs would be hanging out in the gym, and some greasers hung out in the parking lot and smoked cigarettes. Evie and her friends mostly ate in the cafeteria; they even had a table that they had declared their 'own' and sat at it every day.

Today, no one was there.

She shook her fingers through her blonde hair and thought about where they could be. Class was over, and unless they had decided to skip for the day, they had every reason to be in the lunch room. She took a look around the room before her eyes fell on a lone figure at a table next to the soda machines. She made her way over.

The girl had her nose stuck in a book, and had not noticed Evie's presence until the blonde girl sat down next to her. Evie smiled and smacked on her gum. "Hey Christine."

The brunette lifted her eyes from her book and gave Evie a toothy smile. "Hey, how are you?"

Evie shrugged and returned her gaze to the sea of students. "Fine; you haven't seen any of the girls, have you?"

Christine put her book mark between her pages and shook her head. "No I haven't, sorry."

Evie shrugged. "Oh well." She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and turned her expression serious. "So, what happened on Saturday?"

Christine sighed and put her book down on the table ahead of her. "Ray flipped his lid..."

"Again," Evie finished for her with a frown. "What the hell is up with that anyways, huh?"

Christine shrugged and folded her arms. "I don't know...he saw me talkin' to your friend at the gas station - the blonde one, Soda..."

Evie raised her eyebrows. "So he lost it because you were talking to someone?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "We was in a fight that mornin', he got the wrong idea is all. He didn't mean anything..."

Evie snorted. "Yeah, he didn't mean anythin' yet my friend has a black eye."

She bit her lower lip and frowned. "I didn't mean for him to get hurt..."

Evie narrowed her eyes at the shorter girl. "You didn't mean for him to get hurt? Your man was under the assumption that ole Sodapop was hittin' on ya..."

Christine began to blush and shook her head. "No it wasn't like that at all. That boy is nice and all, we was just talkin'. Ray always gets the wrong idea...he never..."

Evie shook her head sympathetically. "He never lets you talk to anyone, does he?"

Christine shook her head and picked her book back up. "Let's not talk about this, okay? I like your friend, he's a nice boy. Would you be a doll and tell him that I'm sorry for everything? I don't want to bother him again."

Evie patted the girl's leg and nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell him. He's a good guy, and you wouldn't be bothering him."

Christine's lips twitched upwards. "I bet he is, but for his sake - and mine - I'll leave him alone."

Evie slowly chewed on her gum and let her eyes drift down to the table top. "You know, hopefully one of these days you'll get some sense knocked into you and you'll realize that you don't need that Ray character." Christine said nothing; she only stared at Evie with a look of understanding in her eyes. Evie nodded and stood up. "I'll see ya later."

Christine nodded her head and went back to her book. Evie just sighed and walked towards the entrance of the cafeteria - where she conveniently spotted Sylvia approaching her. The taller girl gave her a wide grin. "Hey Evie!" she waved.

Evie waved in return. "Hey Sylvia, I've been looking for you."

She tossed her shoulder length, platinum blonde hair behind her ear and smiled. "Well I was back behind the bleachers..."

Evie rolled her eyes. "I don't even want to know who with..."

Sylvia rolled her eyes right back. "Who was that you were talking to?"

Evie glanced behind her at the brunette sitting at the table and just shrugged. "Oh, that's Christine."

Sylvia grinned wickedly. "I have seen her before; have you seen some of the boys she hangs out with? Hot damn! They be good lookin'!"

Evie tucked her hands into her skirt pockets and shrugged. "They're a bunch of no good hoods. Her boyfriend laid it into Sodapop the other night..."

Sylvia raised her eyebrows in excitement at the potential gossip. "Really? Why Soda?"

Evie shrugged. "Don't quite know myself. He seems to think Soda likes her."

Sylvia placed her hands on her thin hips and scoffed jokingly. "She really does get the hot ones, doesn't she?"

Evie glared at Sylvia and pointed at her. "It ain't nothin' like that! You just keep your trap shut about it, too. The last thing we need is his gang going after theirs again because of you and your big mouth. You just don't even start, Sylvia."

She pouted her brightly painted lips, but grudgingly nodded. "Fine, fine. I won't say a word."

Evie nodded her head and opened the door leading to the back of the school. "Good. Now I'm going to go find my old man."

Sylvia rolled her eyes playfully. "God you get to hang around all the cute ones too..."

Evie glared at her. "Don't you even finish that sentence, Sylvia."

The other girl just rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll see ya later, Evie." She shook her head in amusement at her friend; there was way too much going on right then for Sylvia to understand.

She spotted Steve leaning against Two-Bit's car, watching as the taller, rusty haired boy was doing a balancing act on a railing. Steve met her gaze and gave her a small smile. At least something - or someone, rather - made up for all the bullshit that Tulsa threw at her.

She made her way over to him, forgetting about all their current problems for the time being.

TBC
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