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Marcia’s morning has been going pretty normal. She wakes up late and goes downstairs to find her parents at the table, her mother doing a newspaper crossword puzzle and her father going through the mail. She says good morning to both of them and sits down.
“Marcia, a letter came for you.” Her dad says as he slides an envelope across the table. The back of it just says her name in barely legible chicken scratch that she recognizes as Two-Bit’s. Marcia puts it in the pocket of her nightgown to read when she goes back up to her room.
After breakfast, Marcia goes back upstairs and flops down onto her bed and tears open the letter, expecting a love note like many Two had sent before. Instead she reads:
“Dear Marcia,
We have to break up. It’s for the best. I’m sorry. I love you.
All my love,
Two-Bit”
Marcia feels like her heart’s been ripped out of her chest. She reads and rereads the letter over and over. Why did he do this? How could he do this? He loved her, he said it right there. Why would he break up with her if he loved her so much?
Marcia clutches the letter to her chest and starts to sob. She sits there for what feels like forever, just crying. And then, she has an idea.
Marcia cleans herself up enough that her parents wouldn’t question if or why she’d been crying and changes out of her nightgown into real clothes. She shoves the letter into her pocket, goes downstairs, grabs her keys, and drives as fast as she (legally) can to the east side.
Marcia had been to Two-Bit’s house plenty of times. She went whenever dealing with her parents got too much. Two’s house was calmer than hers and his little sister Kimmy, and his mom welcomed her with open arms.
When Marcia knocks on the door, it’s Kimmy that answers.
“Marcia! I missed you so much! Do you wanna see my new drawings?” Kimmy beams.
“Maybe a little later. Is Two-Bit here?” Marcia asks, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.
“I think so, but he hasn’t come out of his room all morning. I heard him crying, but he yelled at me to go away.”
“I’ll go make sure he’s okay. Thanks, Kimmy.”
And with that Marcia walks into the house and to the end of the hallway, where Two-Bit’s room is. She knocks on the door and leaves no time for a response before walking in.
Sitting on his bed, backed into the corner, hugging his knees with his head buried in them is Two-Bit. He doesn’t even look up when she walks in, just continues full body sobbing. It takes Marcia saying
“What the actual fuck, Two?”
and pulling the letter out of her pocket for him to look up.
“Why are you here, Marcia?”
Two-Bit’s voice and how rough it sounds breaks Marcia all over again. She sits down on the opposite corner of the bed.
“Because I don’t know why on earth you’re breaking up with me if we both still love eachother and I’d really like for you to tell me.”
“Leave, Marcia. You shouldn’t be here.”
“And why is that, Keith?” Marcia thinks that if there’s any time to pull out his real name, it’s this moment.
“You deserve better than me.”
It’s so quiet that Marcia just barely makes out the words.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I mean you deserve better than a nothing greaser. I see the way the socs look at you when we’re together. They look like they pity you. They act like you can do so much better than me. And they’re right. You deserve a man that your parents approve of. You deserve a man that can take you on a date in a nice car and pays for dinner. You deserve flowers that aren’t stolen out of your neighbor’s yard. You deserve a man that you can bring to soc parties. You deserve a man that you can walk down the street with without fear of being jumped. I can’t give you that, Marcia.”
Marcia wipes tears that she hadn’t even realized she’d been crying off her face and moves to sit next to Two-Bit.
“Look at me, Two.”
He doesn’t, he just keeps crying into his knees.
“Baby, please look at me.”
Two-Bit looks up, but doesn’t meet Marcia’s eyes. He looks like shit. Marcia can only imagine how long he’s been crying for. Marcia wipes the tears from Two-Bit’s face with her thumbs.
“I don’t want any of that stuff, Two. I just want you. I don’t give a shit what any of the socs think. I wouldn’t trade you for the world, let alone some stuck up rich assholes.”
“You say that now, but then you’ll start to resent me and what I’ve done to your life.”
This boy. This sweet, beautiful boy. Marcia can’t believe how little he thinks of himself and how much he underestimates her love for him.
She grabs his hands before she starts talking.
“I never liked hanging out with the socs. I felt like everyone saw straight through me. I was just the prettiest girl’s best friend and the accessory to complete the football guy’s perfect life. Nobody cared that I was my own person. And then at the drive-in, the loud mouthed greaser stopped to listen to what I had to say. Saw me for me. I’d never felt like that before. Going back to the ‘soc life’ just means going back to fading into the background of everybody’s minds. I don’t want that. I want the boy who screams my name when he sees me halfway down the hallway even though he knows how much it embarrasses me. I want the boy who remembers every little detail about me. I want the boy who puts his hand on my leg when he can just tell I’m nervous. I want the boy who can tell when I fight with my parents before school just by looking at my face. You’re the only person who sees me, Two. That’s all I want. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. To be seen.”
Two-Bit has gone back to full on ugly sobbing. Marcia pulls him into her side and he links his arms around her waist and buries his head into her neck. She runs her fingers through his hair and quietly shushes to calm him down. She whispers ‘I love you’s into his curls. After a while, Two-Bit finally looks up at Marcia.
“I love you, Mar. So much.”
“I love you too. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I won’t. I promise you.”
He seals his promise with a kiss and Marcia pours all the love she can into it, praying that he understands just how much he means to her.