"What do you mean there's no cake left?" I heard Two-Bit whine in the kitchen. I head the gang laugh in reply as I sat up in bed and stretched. I've always been a late sleeper, even on weekdays. My second oldest brother, Sodapop, who's seventeen, is too but since he has to be up early to be on time for his job at the DX gas station, he doesn't get to sleep in as much anymore. Neither does my Oldest brother Darrel (although we all call him Darry), who recently turned twenty-one. He works more than Sodapop since he's had to take care of bills and stuff ever since our parents died in an auto-wreck a little over a year ago. My youngest brother Ponyboy, doesn't usually mind getting up early since he occasionally will go on a morning run before school. He's got a lot going for him. He's the school track star and he's taking all advanced classes at just fifteen years old. Although I'm a fairly good student myself, Pony has just always been a really brainy kid. But anyways, I'm rambling.

I quickly got ready for school and headed out of my room with my shoes in hand. As I walked into the living room, I could see that Steve, Two-Bit, and Johnny  had their eyes fixed on the television which was some game show. Ponyboy was sitting in the couch with his nose in some book. "Ah, I see that your majesty has a awoken from her slumber," I heard Sodapop  say with a wide smile as we walked into the living room from the kitchen.

  I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Keep talking princess and you'll regret it." He raised his hands up in defeat and then bowed to me in a very over dramatic manner. I pushed his head which caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, earning a few chuckles from Steve and Two-Bit. "You're weird," I said to him as I walked into the kitchen. Darry was sitting at the kitchen table with the daily newspaper in hand and his usual morning cup of coffee. I don't know how he can stand to drink that stuff every morning. It just takes like liquid dirt to me.

When Darry heard me walk in he looked up from his paper and gave me a small smile. "Mornin' Kiddo," He said to me while raising his arms up to stretch. "Listen Ellie, I gotta work an extra shift tonight so I won't be home until late. Do you mind walking home today with Ponyboy?" He asked. I could tell that he kind of felt bad about this. But I didn't mind one bit. I know that he's only doing this to make extra money to help support us so I could walk a few miles home from school to make things easier for him.

I smiled, "Sure, Dar, not a problem. Pony and I might even stop at the DX on the way to see Sodapop too."

He nodded at me and then stood up from the table. "C'mon Soda, time to go. You too Steve," Darry said as we walked out the front door.

"See ya guys later," Sodapop called back to us with a wave as he and Steve got into Darry's truck and drove off to work.

"Alright Two-Bit, we have to get to school," I said as I grabbed my bag and handed Ponyboy his. "I have Mrs. Rogers first period and if I'm late she will actually kill me."

"Man that bitch is always on my case for even breathing the wrong way," Two-Bit said in annoyance. "I swear to God the sooner I graduate, the sooner I never have to see that old hag's face ever again."

Ponyboy laughed, " Two-Bit, you've been a junior for like, two and a half years. You don't seem to be in any rush to graduate." I laughed at his reply as Two-Bit smiled and shook his head as we all headed out to his truck. Like most of Two-Bit's rides to school, I got out with my stomach in knots and my head feeling like it would fall off.

We all walked with each other until Two-Bit went to go talk to some guys hanging out by the bleachers. Since my locker was right by Pony's, we both walked down the halls together to get books we needed for our first period classes. When we both got our things, we started heading down the hall again but I stopped when somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see who it was and to my surprise it was Connor Rowyn. He lived on the other side of town and although he could technically be classified as a Soc, he's never seemed to be very stuck up or douchey when it comes to money and stuff and he's always been decent to me. "Hey Ellie," He said with a smile. God, he was gorgeous. He had amazing green eyes and  dark hair.

I smiled back at him and now that I think of it, I probably looked severely stupid while doing so. "Hey Connor, what's up?" I asked in my sweetest voice.

"Well," He started, "As you've probably heard, there's a dance this Saturday and I was wondering if maybe you would go with me?" My eyes went wide with shock. Was this really happening? Was Connor Rowyn, one of the most popular guys in school, asking me to a dance? I was half convinced that I was dreaming.

I was so surprised by this that I almost forgot to answer. "Yes, of course! I'd love to go with you!" I said with a huge smile on my face.

"Great," He said. "I'll pick you up around 7. Can I have your address?" I nodded and quickly wrote it down on a piece of scrap paper along with my phone number. "Cool, thanks," Connor said as he took the paper. "I'll see you around," He smiled and then walked down the hall, disappearing into the crowd of people.

I could see Ponyboy still standing at his locker with an annoyed expression. I knew that he would tell Darry about this but at the time but I honestly didn't care. This is one of the best things that's happened to me ever since my parents died and I won't let them ruin it for me. I quickly walked to class so that I could avoid being bombarded with questions from Ponyboy. The rest of the day was a blur. I couldn't stop thinking about him. Saturday seemed like it was a million years away.

Surprisingly on the way home from school, Ponyboy said nothing about the morning's events. In fact, he said nothing at all. Since, we both had a lot of homework to do, both of us decided to just go straight home instead of stop by the DX.

We walked in silence for a while until I noticed something weird. I saw down the road behind us a large red truck. The reason that this was so odd to me was because I had never seen it around the neighborhood. It was just so out of place. It wasn't run down or rusted like all of the other cars on this side of town. I know that this sounds strange but I felt like it was watching me. It kind of creeped me out but I eventually shrugged it off and continued walking down the street. That was stupid of me. That red truck. That damn red truck....

A/N
Yay!! First chapter!! I hope you guys liked it! I'm gonna start off the story a little slow. I don't want anything to seem rushed. I want this book to be amazing! Leave a comment and a vote and I'll see you all in the next chapter! Stay gold!❤️