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Ponyboy didn’t meet every member of the gang right away, or even at the same time. The introductions came in little batches, starting with Dally the second day he was there and ending with Johnny a week and a half later. The thought of having to get along with so many new people honestly scared him quite a bit- but the idea of holding off and letting his mind scare him even more was worse. Pony knew that was what happened when he put things off, so four days after he’d officially settled in he tugged lightly on Soda’s sleeve.
“Hey, honey! What’s up?” he asked, an easy grin on his face. Ponyboy didn’t understand how he could smile so freely after losing his parents, but he was grateful for it.
“I, um . . . I want to meet someone. Just one. Please,” he mumbled, face flushing redder and redder with each word. He was looking at the ground, so he couldn’t see the way Sodapop’s eyes softened and his smile grew more genuine.
“Of course, kiddo,” he said, “How ‘bout I talk to Darry and get somethin’ sorted out for later today?” Pony nodded, still trying to see what was between the cracks in the floorboards under his feet.
-
Sodapop thought his little brother might be the cutest thing in the world. “He was actin’ all bashful, it was so sweet,” he said, topping off some customer’s tank while Steve wiped down the back windows.
“Right,” his companion said, raising an eyebrow, “So are you just telling me this or were you going to ask me something about it?”
“You’re picking me up for our dates tonight.”
“Yes.”
“Can you just swing inside the house for a minute or two? Go shake his hand or something before we leave?”
Steve sighed. He wasn’t huge on the idea of entertaining some child. If it were anyone else asking, he’d say no- but this was Sodapop, and he wouldn’t ask unless he really wanted it.
“Fine. I can do a minute or two,” he muttered, smacking his friend with the dirty, soapy rag.
-
Normally, Ponyboy would spend his afternoons sketching on the backs of old envelopes or receipts. Darry and Soda were planning on surprising him with a decently nice sketchbook for his first day of school, but they still needed to put in a few more hours before he was comfortable letting go of that money. Today, like always, Pony had a worn-out pencil in his hand, but instead of drawing he was just staring at the used shopping list in front of him. He knew why- Soda had talked to him that morning about having someone over, and they spent a good long while debating over who the kid should meet first. They’d gotten it down to either Steve or Two-Bit before Soda pointed out that Two-Bit’s energy might be a little intimidating for a first meeting. Darry was worried about Steve acting hostile without realizing it, but his brother said he’d take care of things, so it was settled.
Soda would be getting off work in a few hours, and then he was going to go out on a double date with Sandy, Steve, and Evie. They decided a quick introduction then would probably be best in order to gauge Ponyboy’s needs; even if he wished they’d met for longer, that was better than him wanting to leave with no out. The two had planned meticulously for this moment, but Darry was still worried sick over it. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Steve. It was more that he didn’t trust Ponyboy’s ability to read past his gruffness.
“You ain’t got nothin’ to worry about,” he told him, “Stevie’s Sodapop’s best friend. We both know he’s gonna love you.” Pony nodded in response, but he still looked about as anxious as Darry felt.
-
Before either of them knew it, Soda was back and it was time for him to leave again. The purring of a well-maintained car engine vibrated the front of the house before both the noise and the movement was cut off sharply. As the sound of footsteps got closer to the front door, Ponyboy’s stomach clenched more and more. Soda messed up his hair a little bit before bounding to the front door, and by the time he’d fixed it Steve was already in the house. He was a relatively short man (though he was taller than Pony for sure), with a stocky build and dark, sharp eyes that matched the dark curls he’d combed back into complicated swirls.
“M’ Steve,” he said, giving a hand for him to shake. He took it.
“Ponyboy.”
“Golly, Soda, where’d you two even find another kid with a name as strange as yours?” he jabbed, though it clearly wasn’t aimed at Pony. Sodapop just laughed and smacked him on the back with a resonant thump.
“It must run in the family,” he replied, shooting a grin at Ponyboy before throwing his arm around Steve’s shoulders and taking off, leaving the two remaining boys in a stunned silence for a few seconds.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Darry sighed weakly, pulling out a chair for himself from the table. For the first time, Pony looked at him and got the distinct feeling that he might not have been the person most worried about this meeting.
“No, it wasn’t,” he agreed, plopping down in a chair of his own. It took far longer than either of them would ever admit to stand up after that.
-
It only took until the following day for Ponyboy to meet someone else. He was eating lunch with Darry and Soda, and despite Sodapop’s presence it was a relatively quiet affair. Key word being was, because-
“I heard Superman is off to work again tomorrow!” someone bellowed, slamming the door open so hard the knob hit the wall with a loud crack. Darry just sighed. He didn’t even bother with telling whoever it was off for their aggressive entry techniques.
“Two!” Soda groaned, “We told you not to come over yet!”
“I thought he’d be in school!” the stranger protested, flinging both hands up in a gesture of surrender.
“You should be in school,” Darry pointed out dryly.
“So should he!” Ponyboy stiffened slightly at the accusation, but immediately found himself relaxing as Soda put a hand on his shoulder and winked at him.
“This is Two-Bit,” Darry said to him. “He’s a character, that’s for sure.”
“They keep me around because I’m entertaining,” Two-Bit joked.
“And because you’re our friend,” Soda added.
“Yes, yes. That too. And what about you?” he asked, leaning towards Pony. “I heard you’re some kinda mega genius. You might get to skip a grade.”
“He already skipped a grade, Two. He ain’t gotta skip another one,” Darry said. Ponyboy just nodded, already starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all the talking.
“Damn, an’ he didn’t cheat or nothin’?” He raised his eyebrows and Pony felt a pit form in his stomach. He’d been accused of cheating a lot these past few years. No one ever wanted him to be as smart as he was- but Two-Bit was guffawing at his own joke and already moving on to the next topic of conversation. To him, it must not have been serious at all. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
“Oh my God, Two, what the hell?” Soda whined.
“God and Hell in the same sentence? What is this, the Bible?”
Ponyboy snorted. He couldn’t help it- the joke was just so stupid. Two-Bit clapped his shoulder, rusty curls bouncing a little as he did from the sheer force of it.
“Oh, you an’ I are gonna get along great,” he said.
-
It was pouring.
Ponyboy didn’t really have any opinions on the rain. It was a bit annoying if he had to walk somewhere, but it could also be nice after running around on a really hot day. Soda and Darry seemed to feel a little differently about it. The former was pacing wall to wall with a look on his face like he wanted to puke, and the latter was on his recliner staring right through the newspaper. He wanted to ask if everything was okay, but he didn’t think they were there yet, so he tried to figure out what was up on his own. God, what could be so dangerous that Darry was scared of it?
The door slammed open, and Pony screamed high enough to be mistaken for a little girl. Soda and Darry both jumped a foot in the air as he slapped a hand over his mouth, wishing to sink into the ground and die right then and there.
“Jesus, kid!” Dally exclaimed, throwing in a few more swear words for good measure. He looked like he was towing in someone else by the collar of their jacket. He looked away, flushing, but his eyes were drawn to Darry as he stood up. Immediately, Ponyboy noticed that he looked a lot calmer than before. His gaze flicked back to the person inside the sopping wet jean jacket Dally was dragging. He looked to be no older than Pony, with dark hair obscuring most of his face and a stance that almost made it look like he was shrinking into himself. His arms were folded (but not crossed, somehow) over his chest. His hands looked bony, and there was a sharp tremor present that he would later learn was nearly always there.
It couldn’t have been anyone other than Johnny Cade. Soda had told him some and he’d picked up a little more from a combination of guesswork and plain listening. The plate that was always saved for him in the fridge, even if Dally was always the one who actually came to pick it up. The way Darry’s eyes hardened a little bit when his name was brought up. Was he really sixteen like Soda had said he was? He looked so much . . . well, Ponyboy really wasn’t sure what to call the way he looked. It wasn’t pathetic- there was too much fire in his eyes for that to be the case; but he got the feeling Johnny didn’t necessarily want people to perceive him in any other way.
“Johnny!” Sodapop yelled, lighting up. It seemed like they’d been real worried about him. Did he normally wait out rain in the lot? Or did they just really not want him to go back to his house?
“That’s the new kid,” Dally said under his breath. Pony saw Johnny give him a nearly imperceptible nod and look up at him. He waved awkwardly and watched Johnny’s shoulders slump a little bit.
“You’re very wet,” Ponyboy said, like an idiot. But Johnny huffed and just shucked off his jacket, hanging it on a coat rack as he brushed past it.
“You’re Ponyboy,” he replied quietly. Pony nodded. “Dal’s told me some about you,” he continued, “Welcome to Tulsa.”
He didn’t say much else the whole night, but Ponyboy still got the feeling his welcome was a warm one.