The Demons Within the Pages

I expected to arrive home to an empty house, seeing as my parents decided that they didn't get out enough and decided to go see some movie that was out. As I pulled my key out of my backpack, I heard Soda snickering. 

"Sodapop, what on earth is so funny?" I asked, genuinely curious. He immediately shut up, his eyes widening. He attempted to stifle his laugh, and upon failing, told me to hurry up and open the door. Swinging open the front door, I walked straight into a living room full of young men. 

"What the--" I began, trying to comprehend what was going on before Ponyboy jumped in front of me, Soda at his side. 

"Surprise," they shouted, laughing uncontrollably now. "Your face," Soda managed before plain falling over, then getting a pillow thrown at him by one of the boys wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt. 

"We figured," Pony managed to say between laughs, "it was time you met the rest of the gang." He took my hand and led me over to the young man who had thrown the pillow. "This is Two-Bit. He's a bit of a--"

"A handsome young man who could whip any Soc anytime," he interrupted, and by the look on Pony's face, that wasn't the description he would have given. "The name's Two-Bit. You can call me Two-Bit. At your service, miss." He did a small bow, grinning from ear to ear. 

"Anyway, this is Darry." The older boy stood up, offering his hand. I shook it, almost wincing as his grip nearly crushed my hand. "Dar, don't hurt her..."

"Relax, Ponyboy. I'm just being friendly," he replied, shooting me a smile. He then leaned forward, looking me right in the eyes. "You be good to my kid brother, you hear?"

"Anyway," Pony started quickly, beginning to blush. "This is Dallas." 

The young man nodded his head, flicking his lighter back and forth in his right hand. He took a good look at me, checking up and down before smirking. "You can call me Dally. And by the looks of it, feel free to call me anytime." He shot me a wink before slipping his lighter back in his pocket, leaning back further onto the couch cushions. Pony just rolled his eyes and took my hand, leading me away from the heart-breaker. 

Ponyboy brought me over to a smaller boy standing in the corner. He had big, black eyes that matched his hair, which needed cutting badly. He had been quiet this whole time, even after Sodapop had finished his giggle-fit and gone over to wrestle with Two-Bit. 

"You must be Johnny," I said softly, noticing he was already real nervous. He jumped a little, as if he hadn't been paying attention. His eyes darted up to mine, almost seemingly judging how he should reply. Before he could, I kept going. "I've heard so much about you, it's great to finally get to meet you."

He opened his mouth to try and say something before pausing, closing it quickly. He seemed to be struggling to put a reply together. I took the opportunity to pull him into a small, friendly hug. He flinched a little before pulling his arms up and returning the hug awkwardly. I pulled away to see Pony smiling wide. "What?" I asked. He just shook his head and nodded his head in Johnny's direction. His eyes had grown even more in size. 

"Sorry," the dark-haired boy all but whispered. "I guess I'm not very good at meeting new people." He smiled faintly before looking around, realizing Pony had wandered off. I turned around to find him joining Soda and Two-Bit, rolling around trying to put each other in head locks. 

"It's going to be a long night," I laughed quietly.