Life's a Joke?

I was dragged by my wrist about a block and a half, glancing back at Two-Bit, wondering if this Pony kid was some psycho. He just kept laughing at the two of us, shaking his head muttering under his breath.

Arriving at the house, I saw the exterior was a bit run down. It was better than some of the other houses around it, but still, it wasn’t perfect. White paint peeling off, trash littering the grounds, and the fence swung out too far. It felt just right.

I tugged my hand back when Pony tried to bring me inside, being shy and all. He then shrugged, walked behind me, and shoved me inside. I stumbled into a living room full of boys, all staring at me.

Standing upright, I blushed hard as I met the gang for the first time. Two-Bit just walked in past me, calm and at ease. “Um, hello?” I managed weakly. “I-I’m Shira…”

A young man about my age walked up to me and held out his hand.

“I’m Sodapop,” he said, shooting me a dazzling smile. He was movie-star handsome, with grey eyes and golden hair. I took his hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you Shira.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I said.Two-Bit rolled his eyes, then yelled out, “Hey guys, this is Shira! She’s new here and all, so I thought I’d introduce y’all!” I blushed even harder, and smiled shyly.

“Well look what we have here,” another boy cooed. He was tall, handsome, and rough looking. A red flag went up in my mind, and across is spelled the word trouble. “Two-Bit finally picked up a hot broad. You’re name’s Shira, you said? I’m Dallas. You ever danced before? Specifically, the horizontal tango?” He winked at me, which sent chills down my spine.

“Oh come on Dal, lay off,” someone else said. He turned towards me. “I’m Steve. Pleasure.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. What’s the horizontal—”

“Don’t even ask,” Pony said. I shrugged off the thought. I’d find out later. “Hey Darry! Come on in! We’ve got a newbie!”

“A what?” Darry yelled from upstairs.

“A newbie! Just come down,” Pony yelled, then turned to me. “He’ll be down in a second. Meanwhile, this is Johnnycake.”

I looked to where Pony gestured to find a tiny little guy who looked to be fifteen sitting on the couch. He glanced upward, caught my gaze, then quickly looked back down at his feet. “I’m Shira,” I said, holding out my hand. He jumped slightly at the sight of my hand, then slowly took it in his own and looked up.

“I-I’m Johnny,” he managed. “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself, I just… I’m a bit shy.”

“Don’t worry about it. Hey, how old are you?”

“I’m sixteen,” he said. “Let me guess, you thought I was fourteen.”

“Actually, no,” I lied. “I thought you were turning sixteen soon. But it didn’t help much that I couldn’t see you.” I smiled, then let go of his hand. I hadn’t realized that I was still holding it. Whoops.

“I’m here, where’s the ‘newbie’?” a man said. He was throwing on a black shirt, and boy was he fit. In his twenties, tall, and wearing an eight pack. “Oh, you must be her. I’m Darrel, the pleasure’s all mine.”

“Alright,” I said with a laugh. “I’m not about to steal pleasure from you with those muscles.”

He let out a small laugh, then looked over at Pony. “Hey Ponyboy, you still going to the movies tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I was just about to invite Shira. Hey Shira, you feeling up to your first nightly double?”

“Sure, I guess,” I laughed. “But only if someone explains to me what the ‘horizontal tango’ is.”

“I could give you a demonstration,” Dally said, a grin cracked across his face.

“No, you wont Dally. Don’t even think about it,” Two-Bit warned. He turned to me and whispered it in my ear. My eyes widened and my face turned a shade of scarlet.

“Um, well, I’ve got to, um,” I tried to say. “Uh, I’ve got to go finish unpacking. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright,” everyone said.

“Bye Shira,” Two-Bit replied.

“Bye.” I walked down the street towards my apartment, but I wasn’t alone.