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Donna had been asked to come over to the Curtis house that day. She didn't know why, and she didn't ask questions either, but she wished that she could have spent that afternoon by herself. When she walked through the front door, she was greeted by a loud surprise. It was surely bright in here. There were party decorations all over the place. Balloons, paper streamers, and hanging swirls inhabited the living room and parts of the kitchen.
"Finally! We started to think you wouldn't make it," Soda said, grinning from ear to ear. Two-Bit and Steve, who were roughhousing on the floor just seconds ago, caught her attention.
"Hey Donnie!" Two-Bit spoke.
Donna paused for a moment, confused. What was going on? Then it struck her. It was her birthday. Her sixteenth birthday. "Y'all didn't have to," she muttered, a smile curling the corners of her mouth. She looked around.
Darry was in the kitchen with Mrs. Curtis. Ponyboy and Johnny were on the couch, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Mrs. Curtis wiped her hands on a dish towel before walking over. "'Course we did. Sweet sixteen only comes around once."
Donna scratched at the back of her neck. "Shucks, but it ain't exactly somethin' worth celebratin'."
"Oh, hush," Mrs. Curtis said warmly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Everyone deserves one good birthday."
Before Donna could even answer, Soda slung an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon, we got food, and your cake's later."
"Long as Two-Bit ain't made it," she muttered.
"Hey!" Two-Bit protested from the floor. "I can cook."
Steve didn't even look up. "You can eat. I think that's a bit different."
"I made eggs last week!" He paused after a look from Donna. "They were only a little burnt."
She huffed a laugh. "Sure, Keith." She only ever used his real name to get under his nerves.
Mrs. Curtis laughed, shaking her head. "You boys are lucky I enjoy feeding you."
Donna walked to the couch and sat at the end next to Johnny, once he had scooted over, making space for her. "Y'all are makin' too much fuss," she said.
"Well, it ain't every day somebody turns sixteen," Ponyboy remarked.
Truth was, Donna would've been just happy spending the afternoon wandering around Tulsa herself. Go by the stables or something. Another year older and another year still kicking. That was all they ever meant to her. She didn't need fancy balloons or cake. Still… she couldn't remember the last time anyone had bothered.
Mrs. Curtis brought out a plain chocolate cake into the living room and placed it on the table. "Soda, darling, you can help with the icing."
"Thought you'd never ask!" he said cheerily. How his joy was so infectious, Donna would never know. That boy sure did love colors, she thought, watching him ice the cake with the brightest red she'd ever seen.
The room settled into the kind of easy noise it always seemed to have. Steve and Two-Bit were back to bickering over something, dragging Soda into it, making him lose his concentration on the icing. At one point, there was icing flying across the room.
Eventually Ponyboy had wandered over to the bookshelf, pulling out an old magazine. Donna rested an arm along the back of the couch. "You doing alright, Donnie?" Johnny asked her after a while. "Haven't seen you for a while."
Donna hummed her response. "Sorry, Johnnycakes, I've been around," she replied. "I'm alright. What 'bout you?" She examined him and noticed a fresh healing cut on the side of his face. "Your old man give you that?"
"Yeah," he shrugged, leaning forward. " 's alright."
Donna sighed, taking out a cigarette and putting it in her mouth. "Want one?"
"Nah, I'm fine, thanks."
When she lit her cigarette, Darry gave her a look. She'd forgotten they weren't allowed to smoke inside, not that anyone had made that rule. They all knew that Mrs. Curtis hated it. Donna rolled her eyes and put it out.
The afternoon slipped away more easily than Donna had expected it to. Somewhere between the cake, the cards, and all the bickering, the hours simply disappeared. Dally had eventually turned up fashionably late, as always, and before long, he'd talked Steve into doing something Mrs. Curtis immediately told him not to.
"Sixteen looks good on you, Red," Dally teased her when he had the chance. She hated it when he called her Red or Freckles, even though she had none. She rolled her eyes at that. and threw a pillow at him, too lazy to tackle him.
Ponyboy had spent half an hour trying to finish a magazine article while Soda continually distracted him, and Johnny mostly watched it all with that quiet smile of his, occasionally blowing paper straws.
For a while, Donna forgot it was even her birthday.
The sun had begun to sink low by the time everyone wandered back inside. The orange light spilled through the front windows, stretching across the floor.
Mr. Curtis had the radio on low in the corner. Some old country tune crackled through the speaker, the chatter that filled the room.
Two-Bit was in the middle of another story, whether it was true or not, nobody could tell, and Dally kept interrupting every other sentence to call him full of it. Soda laughed harder than anyone, nearly falling off the arm of his chair. Darry cracked smiles and laughs from now on, and then, before shaking his head and going back to helping his mother clear away the empty plates.
Donna sat down at the foot of the couch now. She listened to their conversations or at least tried to. The voices slowly blended until she couldn't follow who was saying what anymore. She found herself staring at the paper streamer hanging from the ceiling fan. It turned lazily with every rotation.
Donna didn't even notice Soda had been watching her for the last minute or two. He wandered over and dropped down beside her on the floor. "You alright, Donnie?"
She blinked and looked at him. "Hm?"
"You alright?"
"Yeah. M'fine." She shrugged with a laugh. Though she knew Soda didn't buy it. "I'm just tired." She felt Johnny's eyes on her. He didn't say anything.
Soda rested his forearms on his knees, still watching her. "You don't wanna be here?"
Donna looked at him then. "It was a good day," she told him, not sure what the right response was. She liked being here. With the gang who treated her like she was their own. But there was something about her that hated herself for getting attached. She was going to lose them sooner or later. She always did. She brought death to those around her. And she hated not being able to control that.
Darry's voice cut through the room. "Still got maybe half an hour before it gets dark." He tossed an old football into the air, catching it again. "Who's comin'?"
Steve was already on his feet. Two-Bit pointed across the room. "I'm quarterback."
"You ain't quaterbackin' nothin'," Steve shot back.
Dally caught the football as Darry threw it his way.
Mr. Curtis chuckled from his chair. "Just don't tear up my yard, boys."
"And no tackling into my flowerbeds!" Mrs. Curtis told them, before Steve shoved Two-Bit toward the front door.
Johnny stood, and Soda rose beside Donna. "You comin'?" Soda asked her.
Donna looked up at him. "Nah, you go on."
"C'mon, it'll be fun."
She shook her head. "I'll pass, thanks."
Pony frowned. "You don't even know what the teams are. You scared?"
Donna smirked at that. "Kid, I'd flatten you."
"You wish."
She sighed and shook her head, watching Pony and Soda follow the rest out of the door. Johnny lingered for a moment. "What're you gonna do?"
Donna shrugged. "I got places to be. I told someone I'd do something. Return a favor or somethin'," she lied.
Johnny glanced toward the front window. "It'll be dark soon."
"Yeah, I'll be okay. I'll sleep in the lot or something."
"Or you could crash here. I'm sure no one would mind," Johnny insisted. "I ain't going back to my place tonight."
Donna considered it for a moment and nodded. "Alright then," she muttered with a convincing smile.
By the time darkness settled over the Curtis house, the party had long since wound down. Steve had headed home. Two-Bit had finally talked himself tired enough to leave. Dally left too shortly after. And inside, the house had grown quiet again.
Mrs. Curtis was upstairs, and Mr. Curtis had stretched out in his chair with the evening paper, though Donna doubted he'd read more than two pages before drifting off.
Ponyboy and Soda had disappeared into their rooms. Donna slipped out the back door without saying a word. The screen door creaked shut behind her. She lowered herself onto the back steps and pulled a cigarette from her jacket. The match flared, and for a while, she simply watched the fiery ember burn.
A warm Oklahoma breeze stirred the trees beyond the fencing. She took a slow drag. It was just a birthday, so why was it getting to her? The thought had followed her all day. It ain't a big deal. People had birthdays every year. Nobody made this much fuss over hers before. So why today? Why now?
She blew a stream of smoke into the dark. She'd had worse days. A hell of a lot worse than this shouldn't even register. She'd survived things most grown men hadn't. So why couldn't she stop thinking about Mrs. Curtis making that cake? About Mr. Curtis ruffling her hair on the way past. About Johnny quietly making room for her on the couch without her having to ask.
She ground the cigarette beneath her foot before it was even half finished. "Stupid… get over yourself," she muttered to herself, leaning forward now, elbows on her knees. She rubbed both hands over her face. Her chest felt tight.
She thought of her mother and what she would think of her. Would she be proud… would she even like her?
Mrs. Curtis felt more like a mother to Donna, and Mr. Curtis like a father; she didn't even think she'd accept. Why did everything suddenly feel so overwhelming? The prospect of having people who cared… but the feeling deep within her was knowing she'd draw away and isolate whenever she felt like it. What kind of person repays the kindness that was shown to her that way?
The first tear caught her completely off guard. She hadn't cried in months, it felt, not after the nightmares stopped the moment she felt at home in Tulsa.
The screen door creaked open behind her. Donna scrubbed at her face so fast she nearly scratched herself. Darry had stepped out onto the porch carrying a trash bag. He stopped the second he saw her.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Donna hoped it was too dark to make out how she looked, but she could tell by the way Darry hesitated that he could tell something was wrong. "I'm fine," she said, turning away first, her voice cracking on the one word she wanted to sound stronger.
Darry set the trash bag beside the door instead of taking it to the bin. "…. Mind if I sit?"
Donna didn't answer, and he took that as permission. The old wooden steps creaked as he lowered himself beside her, leaving enough space that she didn't feel crowded. Silence settled between the two.
Donna kept her eyes fixed on the yard, still teary. "If you tell anybody…" she muttered eventually, still refusing to look at him. "… I'll knock your teeth in."
A corner of Darry's mouth twitched. "I won't. You want to tell me what's bothering you?"
"I don't know. Maybe that's the problem." She let out a humorless laugh. She blinked, letting more tears fall.
"You could try me. Start small," Darry suggested.
"This is stupid," she said, standing up, wiping at her face. She lingered for a moment, just about to stand up.
"It's not, Donna," Darrel said, turning himself to face her. "Look, I know we might not see eye to eye on a lot of things. Shoot, you don't even gotta like me. But you got family here. And we ain't gonna leave ya."
Donna hesitated to speak. "I never thought I'd get it this far," she admitted. "Not here anyway. I never cared enough about how old I was becoming neither. Well, suppose had no one to care for me… sorry if I ruined things today."
Darry was taken aback, and Donna didn't blame him. She had never shown anyone this side of her before, except to maybe Johnny on occasions. And perhaps Soda.
"You didn't, Donnie."
"Darrel," Donna spoke after a while of silence, sitting together.
"Hm?" He hummed his response.
"I don't hate you," she replied sincerely.
Darry smiled. "Good. I don't think I hate you either."
Donna huffed a laugh as he slung an arm over her. "Yeah, yeah."