Chapter Text
Darry’s POV:
Freshman year, September 2006
“2 more reps, boys,” Coach called out. I observed the boys around me, confused by their scoffs and rolling eyes. The season had just started, and they were all so pissed. Why don’t they enjoy this? I thought. It’s our first game! I loved football with my entire being, I didn’t understand how anyone couldn’t, especially when they signed up for it!
I continued doing my backward skips, when I noticed a boy I hadn’t seen before and almost tripped. He was a dirty blond, with these beautiful eyes, painted with hues of celadon and a rich, pale blue, that had a lively look to them. These eyes met my icy ones, and I realized I’d been staring excessively. He smiled, then looked away. I’ll meet him later, I decided, and resumed warming up.
And so, the game flew by. We won, and yeah, I was happy, but I couldn’t get this boy off of my mind. I headed for the locker room, accepting praise from coaches and teammates. I took a long shower, letting my thoughts settle in, until I realized that there was only one other person there. I recognized that light hair, it was the boy.
After some hesitation I called out, “Hey.” The boy looked over, beaming.
“Whassya name?”
“Holden. Paul Holden. You?”
“Darrel Curtis. But everyone just calls me Darry.”
“How about Dar? You like that?”
“Y-yeah sure. I do like that, Paul. So, where ya come from? Did ya just move?”
“Yeah, came from Garyville. The old man forced me, divorced my mom and here I am.”
“Well I’m glad you’re here. I think we’ll get along just fine, Paulie.”
He laughed. “Thanks, Dar. I’ll see ya tomorrow, yeah?”
“See ya tomorrow, blondie.”
I watched him walk away, smiling. My heart was beating fast, and my face warmed up. Seems like a good kid. I packed up my things, and headed to look for Mama’s car. I hadn’t realized that she’d be waiting for me.
“Hi Darry, what took you so long, love?” She asked as I walked in, waving.
“Just showering. Long line, you know?”
“Who was that uhh, kid you were talking to?”
“Oh, just some new friend. Moved from Garyville, he seems sweet.”
“Nice. I’m glad you’re makin’ even more friends, honey.” She said, planting a kiss on my head before starting the car and driving home. We arrived, and I greeted my younger brothers. Sodapop, or Soda, was 10, with dirty gold hair and lively, brown eyes. He really was handsome, like a movie star. Our parents were very attractive, I guess it got passed down to us easily. I’m pretty tall for my age, athletic too(obviously). My hair’s dark, and I’ve got icy blue eyes. I like how I look, but honestly, I’ve never been too interested in girls or anything. Finally, Ponyboy is my youngest brother. 8 and really smart for his age. His hair’s this kind of auburn, reddish-brown color, and his eyes are green with hints of gray. He claims that they’re just gray, but we all know that’s not really true. Guess he don’t like green.
My brothers and I get along pretty damn well, actually. I tend to act older than I am, but I’ll always play around with them. See, we’re greasers. The east-side poor kids. The three of us are a part of a gang of 4 other greasers. We’ve got 12-year-old Keith Mathews, but we call him Two-Bit. He’s ginger and very proud of his sideburns. Two never fails to cheer anyone up with his wisecracking. Next is 13-year-old Dallas Winston. Dally came from New York about a year ago, and we picked him up. I personally didn’t like him, but Mama took care of him, and he's kind of growing on me. Dallas is blond, with a sort of elfish look to his face. His eyes are blazing blue, and admittedly scary. Our 6th member is Steve Randle, Soda’s best buddy since grade school. He’s also 10, and keeps his dark hair in intricate swirls, and is tall and lean. He’s a bit of an odd kid, but we keep him. Finally, the pet of our gang, 10-year-old Johnny Cade. He’s got long, dark, greasy hair and bangs awning his forehead. His eyes are almost completely black, and have a strong sense of innocence. Even the toughest people love the kid, he couldn't hurt a fly!
“DARRY!!!!” Pony exclaimed as I walked through the door. I dropped my things and hugged my brothers as they ran towards me.
“DARRY WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!” Soda panted.
“Haha, I missed y’all too. How was your day?” My brothers went on to explain what they did. Pony went to his 2nd grade class, came home, and drew horses. Same as every day. Soda went to 7th grade, struggled in class, and fooled around with Steve. He went home and colored with Pony. Same as every day. Though the conversations were repetitive, Soda and Ponyboy never got tired of telling. And I never got tired of listening. It made them happy, so nothing else mattered
After catching up some, I went to my room, unpacked, and went to bed. Except, I couldn’t sleep that night. It was odd, as I typically never had trouble sleeping. I stayed up thinking about Paul Holden. He was pretty handsome, I realized. His kind, friendly green-blue eyes, sharp jaw, large nose, and light hair went together so well. I’d never been a nervous person. I’d always been super friendly, confident, and a “true leader.” I didn’t know why I was so anxious around Paul. Just excited to have a new friend, I thought. As if I already didn’t have many of those. Though I’m a grease, football is one of the only places I’m seen as Darry, not a greaser. At school, I get teased and thrown horrible looks, but that happens to all the poor kids. At football, no one seems to care.
Hours later, I fell asleep. I decided that I’d ask Paul for his number the next day at practice. I have loads of handsome friends, this ain’t any different, I thought, then my mind drifted to darkness.