you just moved to tulsa, and you meet a sweet guy who stands up for you—and is also in all of your classes! you may soon become closer to him than you think…
warnings: minor harassment
a/n: hi friends! this is going to be my first series, so please don’t kill me if it’s bad. i feel like this fandom is slowly dying, so here’s me trying to revive it just a little! like, comment, and reblog if you enjoy! part 2 coming soon…
you had just moved to tulsa, oklahoma. home of the sooners! how exciting. your dad had gotten a new job at a factory that had just been built, which was the reason for the upheaval from your quaint little town in pennsylvania. it was a mighty big raise for him that he couldn’t refuse. as a result, you packed your bags and suffered through the nineteen hour drive all the way to little ol’ oklahoma.
you adapted quickly, rushing into the house and unpacking all of your things as quickly as possible. old t-shirts and ratty pairs of converse strewn about your room with no organization method in mind may not have been the best idea, but it worked. your clothes were settled in their rightful spots, your bed was made, and you were prepared for tomorrow. ugh, tomorrow. new school, new classes, new homework… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? at least it would be a friday, you would only have to go a day and then you’d have a break. in the meantime, you were focused on getting a good night’s sleep in a bed and not in the backseat of your dad’s truck.
beep.. beep.. your alarm clock droned as it reminded you to get up and get ready for school! you quickly rushed out of bed, scrambling to make yourself presentable. your favorite pair of jeans slid on like a glove, and your head poked through the t-shirt you never had an excuse to wear until now. a slight bit of mascara, headband crowning your head, and the smallest spritz of perfume marked your daily routine complete. a glance at the clock.. gosh, it’s already time to leave! you slung your bag over your shoulder, kissing your mother’s cheek goodbye before running out the door. ugh, the other bad part. you had to walk to school.
as you walked into school, you realized you had absolutely no idea where you were going. the principal had mailed your mother a map of the school for you to take, but it wasn’t much help when you were actually put in front of the building. a few people chattered as you walked by, crumpled up paper shoved in your face as you searched for your first class.
“woah, pretty lady, do you know where you’re goin’? never seen you ‘round here..” a boy grinned, nodding towards his friends for them to come over to you. “boys, we got fresh meat. ain’t she a pretty one?”
“a fine broad at that.” a shorter boy smirked, his hand touching your shoulder. harassment on the first day of school? god, how would the rest of the year be?
“i don’t want any trouble, would you please just let me get to class?” you pushed the shorter boy’s hand off of you, trying to move forward through the halls.
they weren’t having that. of course, they followed you down the hall. “come back, girlie! we aren’t doing anything, we just wanna get to know ya…” a third cooed in your ear, yanking on your bag so you couldn’t go anywhere. good grief, now you were going to be late to class.
“man, leave her alone. don’t you have to go iron your slacks? they’re looking a little wrinkled.” a new boy piped up, but he didn’t look the same as the others who were picking on you. the mean ones all wore stuffy polos, khakis, or dress pants, and reeked of expensive cologne. this boy— the nice one— looked a bit more disheveled. slicked and oily hair, jeans that looked as if they had gone through a war or two, and a tee that was two sizes too big for him.
as you analyzed the kind boy, the bell rung. shit! the preps scattered to find their way to class, which left you and the upstander in the hall.
“thanks for that.” you smiled softly, introducing yourself. he seemed like a kind boy, so maybe you could get to know him.
“it’s nothin’, the socs are always causin’ problems. you’re the new girl, right? heard about you yesterday or somethin’. my name’s ponyboy. where you heading?” ponyboy? what kind of a name was that? and what was a soc? you chose not to comment, but nodded instead.
“uh…” you hesitated, looking down at your map which conveniently held your class schedule as well. “203. i’ve got honors history first period and i haven’t a clue where i’m going.”
“huh, that’s where i’m headed, too. i’ll walk with ya.” ponyboy nodded for you to follow him, and you complied. he seemed sweet! maybe he could be your first friend…
classes came and went. ponyboy didn’t talk to you in history, but it wasn’t a big deal. everyone was chattering about you when you walked into your classes, so why would he want to be stuck up in the gossip? you did however notice that he’d been in all of your classes so far. you found your way around without him, following the crowd as best you could. which then led you to your final class of the day—english.
english was your favorite subject, so you were reasonably excited. would you have a good teacher? a bad one? would you walk into a gigantic test that you would have to make up later? were people going to talk about you again? so many thoughts rushed through your head as you walked in, heading over to the teacher.
“ah, you must be the new student, correct?” the teacher smiled at you softly, welcoming you to the class.
“now, everyone, i know we’ve just started our essays, but we have a new student. do try to make her feel welcome.” the teacher addressed the class then turned back to you. “we’ve just started our research essays, and it’s partner work. i trust you’re a good writer because you’ve managed a spot in my class. i’ll assign you with ponyboy,“ the teacher gestured in his direction, but you already knew the familiar face. “he’s a good one. he can explain everything you need. do let me know if you have any questions.”
you nodded, heading over to the empty desk next to ponyboy. the room was full of boys who looked like the ones from this morning, which made your stomach churn. there were a few dressed-up girls in the class, too, and it made you wonder if they would act the same. nonetheless, you took your seat. “and we meet again. i’m your partner, i guess.”
ponyboy looked up from his papers and smiled softly at you. “hey, you’re the girl from earlier. well, i haven’t started yet, so we could pick somethin’ together if you wanted. i’m not real good with researchin’ things.” he fumbled through the textbook in his lap until he landed on a page with topic ideas. “any of these ones stick out?”
you shrugged, peering into his lap to see the pages when you accidentally bumped his shoulder. “oh, sorry! didn’t mean to get all close.” a blotchy rose color crept up your neck as you smiled awkwardly, leaning back to look through the topics.
“no problem.” ponyboy’s face turned a light pink to match yours as he scanned the pages, not seeming too interested. “so, what made you move to tulsa? ain’t much here other than tumbleweeds and diners.”
“well, my daddy got a new job so we had to move. it’s a lot more money than what he was making. came all the way from pennsylvania.” you bit the inside of your cheek, feeling homesick at the mere mention of your state. “have you always been in oklahoma, ponyboy?”
“jus’ call me pony, that’s what everyone else calls me. and yeah, lived in the same house since i was born. guess you could consider me lucky to say that, right?” he shrugged, placing the book on the table. “i’ve got no interest in this lousy paper. any ideas?”
you thought for a moment, looking pony up and down as you did so. he wasn’t like any of the other people you saw in the class— why was that?
“not really. i mean, i just got here and all, but is there anything local that stands out? we could research some of the best places around and explain why they stick out to some people.”
ponyboy nodded, his eyes lighting up. “that sounds fine to me! better than what i would’ve came up with. say, wanna work on this over the weekend? we could go to some real good places. i could show ya around or somethin’…” his ears turned crimson as he broke eye contact with you, a grin lighting up his sheepish face.
“gosh, pony, your ears can get red.” you had to stifle a giggle, replacing it with a sweet smile instead. “that sounds great to me!” you quickly shuffled in your bag for a piece of paper, scribbling your address on it before shoving it his way. “there. we could go to yours if that’s okay with you? you can pick me up or somethin’ if you wanted.”
your smile was something he couldn’t refuse. “yeah, um, sure. that’s fine. i’ll come pick ya up. well, me an’ sodapop will, that’s my brother. i can’t drive or anythin’ yet, but you know what i mean…” he rambled off, and it made you actually giggle this time. gosh, he was a cute one. you sure were lucky to get paired up with him!
“sounds good. do you live in the neighborhood by the school? i’ve gotta walk home, and i dunno if i’ll find my way back.” you grinned, winking at him. “if you’re not doing anything, you could walk me home..”
boy, did his face get flushed. were you that much of a tease? it was cute, to be honest. “i, uh, yeah i do. i walk to school, too, actually. i could walk ya home.” ponyboy ran his fingers through his greased waves, seeming like he was itching to get out of his seat.
brrring!! saved by the bell, it seems.
as soon as the sound of the final bell rang out, everyone scurried to pack their things up and get home. you and ponyboy took your time, chattering about irrelevant things as your books found their way into each of your respective bags.
“nah, you got it all wrong. english is yellow, and math is red.” ponyboy teased, holding the door for you on the way out of the building. “there’s something wrong with your head if you think otherwise.”
“no, you’re wrong,” you laughed, shaking your head. “english is red, math is yellow. can we both agree that science is green, though?”
“nup. it’s purple!” he teased, his shoulder brushing yours as he caught up to you. “you’ve got a wacky sense of colors, man.”
the walk to your house was filled with nonsensical banter about trivial things such as the best and worst ice cream flavors, the best actors at the time, or favorite seasons. the walk was enjoyable, and you felt as if you had made your first friend here in tulsa. just as the chatter was getting good, the two of you had reached your humble abode.
“well, i guess this is me. i’ll see you tomorrow for research? thanks again, pony.” you smiled softly at him, opening the fence to your yard.
“no problem at all. me n’ soda’ll pick ya up around 9 and bring you back to our place to think up some places ‘fore we go out if it’s okay with you.” you nodded in agreement to ponyboy before parting, a wide grin on both of your faces as you went your separate ways. maybe tulsa wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
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dividers by @sweetmelodygraphics !
a/n: thank you all so much for reading! as said earlier, please like, comment, reblog, and follow if you enjoyed! let me know what your thoughts are! my asks are open if anyone had any ideas or requests! be on the lookout for part two! love you all 🧡
