Chapter Text
Eat shit, Marcia!
Those were the words that rang in Marcia’s ears as she watched Cherry stand in front of her boyfriend, standing her ground against him. She never thought she’d see the day that Cherry would actually break up with Bob, but it was here. It wasn’t that Marcia was actively rooting for them to break up, but she had never liked him much – despite Cherry’s claims that he was different when they were alone. Marcia rarely ever saw that side of him. Tonight, though, she understood why Cherry finally took charge and dumped him. Marcia had been dreaming of this day for at least a year, though perhaps it was for more selfish reasons.
—
Earlier that night, everything had been so easy, so normal. It was like any other Friday.
After school, the three of them – Marcia, Cherry, and Bev – had all gathered in Cherry's bedroom to get ready for the drive-in. All three of them had boyfriends, so they spent their time getting dolled up for the boys and gossiping together.
“Which color looks best on me?” Marcia held up two bottles of nail polish.
Cherry looked at her through the mirror. “Oh, both of those are so pretty… And they suit you so well. What are you wearing tonight?”
Marcia pointed to the green dress she'd laid out on the bed.
“Neither of them, if that's what you're going to be wearing.” Bev chimed in, barely looking up from picking her own outfit.
“What's wrong with it?” Marcia pouted.
“It's green.” Bev said, as if that should have been obvious.
“So? That's my favorite color.”
Before Bev could say anything else, Cherry cut in. “Green is a great color on you, Marsh. Besides, with my red hair and your green dress, we're Christmas colors!” The redhead giggled.
That brought a grin back to Marcia's face. “Hey, you're right! We totally are.” A comment like that was sure to be something she'd be thinking about for the rest of the night. She could feel her chest getting warm, so she changed the subject a little. “Anyway, back to my question. Which color?”
Cherry turned around to examine them carefully. “Bev's right. Neither. But, I think I have something that will look absolutely perfect.” She opened a drawer and dug around in it until she found what she was looking for. It always made Marcia giggle that Cherry, who always looked the most put together, had the most disorganized desk she'd ever seen.
Cherry pulled out another nail polish bottle and handed it over. “This will look excellent.”
“Cher, it's red. Like, really bold. I don't usually wear–”
“Have a little fun tonight. Red goes with green, we all know that. Plus, red nail polish is so in right now.”
“Yeah, but if my parents see it–”
“You can come over after and take it off before you go home.” Cherry reassured her.
Marcia giggled and relented then. She was likely to do just about anything if Cherry recommended it.
Nails painted, hair fixed, and outfits carefully picked out, the trio got picked up by Bob and he drove them all to the drive-in. They'd barely stepped out of the car when they arrived before Bob pulled out his flask. He was in a good mood, but that was always subject to change when he was drinking.
“If you take another drink from that flask, I'm gonna go sit with Marcia for the movie.” Cherry told him pointedly. Instead of putting the flask away, Bob grinned mischievously and brought it to his lips again. After taking another sip, he handed it to Trip, who also took a drink. Marcia and Cherry shared a look, then they both rolled their eyes.
“Well, that settles that question.” Marcia muttered under her breath, taking the chance to make a dig at Bob. She didn't understand why he kept doing things like that when Cherry was clearly uncomfortable with it. And then there was her own boyfriend, just encouraging him. Boys were so selfish.
Cherry held out her hand to Marcia. “Come on. Let's go get some snacks.” She said brightly. Marcia didn't hesitate to take her offered hand. Without another word, the two wandered off to the concession stand, leaving their boyfriends behind. The second Trip was out of her sight, Marcia nearly forgot he existed, her mind wandering to how dry Cherry's hand was while her own was starting to get sweaty.
“I'm gonna get a Coke, you want one?” Marcia asked when it was her turn in line.
“Oh, sure! Hold on–” Cherry dug around him her purse for some change, then handed it over. Marcia took it with a smile and ordered their drinks.
The two of them found a bench some time later, managing to find a spot just before the movie started. There were some greasers nearby, and some other Socs, but for now there was peace.
There was peace until Dallas Winston started talking to Cherry. As a general rule, Marcia didn't dislike greasers as much as her peers. She certainly has some of the same biases they did, but she didn't hate them. Until this exact moment. And even then, she didn’t really hate them. She just really, really did not like Dally. She and Cherry had been having a great time up until that moment, just watching the movie and giggling to each other once in awhile.
“Cherry… Hey, Cherry…”
Marcia didn’t even glance back, she didn’t want to give him the attention. Both her and Cherry kept their gaze on the screen. Marcia didn’t even know what the movie was, but she was trying now to remember. But Dally kept talking and she couldn’t focus. God, he was persistent. When he started comparing sonnets and poems, she cut in sharply.
“Sonnets are poems.”
Dally smiled then and moved closer to the pair of them. “You’re so exactly right. Sonnets and poems. Same species.”
“Genre.” That comment came from Cherry, and Marcia whipped her head around to look at her friend. What was Cherry doing? Why was she even entertaining this?
Dally gave a small laugh, one that sounded like approval. “Correct again. Shakespeare and… Percy Sledge.”
Cherry actually giggled at that and Marcia had to fight not to roll her eyes. It wasn’t even that funny. A little clever, maybe, but not funny. Not enough to giggle at it.
Dally was in the row behind them now, where two other greasers were sitting. “What’s going on, Cherry, you too good for me or somethin’? Too high and mighty to talk to a greaser?”
Marcia did roll her eyes at that, and fully turned to glare at him. Who did he think he was, interrupting their evening? “Can’t you take a hint? She’s not interested!” She said that last part directly to Cherry. She knew how her friend felt about boys who were a little dangerous. For all she knew, Dally could have been exactly Cherry’s type. And that thought made her feel more frustrated than she knew what to do with.
“Let her speak for herself!” Dally shot back, not missing a single beat.
The more Dally spoke, going on and on about god knows what, the more Marcia felt irritated. She wasn’t even completely listening, because every other sentence just gave her something else to stew on. God, he was so infuriating. What was more infuriating, though, was that Cherry had been enjoying it. Maybe she wasn’t now, since he was being a little too persistent, but she had been. She had been laughing at his stupid quips, she’d been encouraging him. Why would she do something like that? He was a boy. A gross, dirty boy. And besides, Cherry had a boyfriend already. And even if she didn’t, this wasn’t a moment to be flirting or to enjoy being flirted with. They were trying to enjoy the movie together, until this stupid boy came along to ruin it.
Marcia didn’t have to worry for long, though. Before she could blink, Cherry’s Coke was no longer in its cup and was instead all over Dally’s shirt. Marcia's eyes widened and she couldn't help the shocked grin that spread across her face. Maybe it wasn't really all that funny, but she was laughing anyway. She gave him a petty little wave as he walked off.
“Serves him right…” She muttered with a soft giggle. She turned around and saw the two other greaser boys still behind him. Both of them looked small, and much younger than Dally. But they were friends of his, so she couldn't help the next words that came out of her mouth. “Are you two gonna start in on us now?” She asked, then took a sip of her drink.
The younger boy shook his head. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. “We're just here to see the movie.”
Marcia rolled her eyes, but Cherry seemed interested in talking to them further, even when they defended Dally after Marcia called him trash. That's what all greasers were supposed to be, but he'd been in jail, last she'd heard. That was worse than anything else she'd ever heard about an East Side kid. But before she knew it, the two boys – Ponyboy and Johnny – were sitting next to them. They were good kids, sort of sweet. Truthfully, Marcia didn't think much of them until Cherry asked Ponyboy to walk her to the concession stand. After Ponyboy agreed, Johnny scampered off to find his friends, leaving Marcia by herself.
She sat and watched the movie for a little bit, trying not to pout whenever she glanced back at Cherry and saw how happy she seemed to be talking to that kid. Marcia had always had a sort of connection with Cherry, a deep friendship that she didn't have with anyone else, and her stomach twisted itself into knots at the thought of someone else having that with her, someone who maybe Cherry would like better. Cherry sure did seem to be bonding with Ponyboy rather quickly, and Marcia couldn't remember if her own friendship with the redhead had started the same way.
After awhile, Marcia got tired of working herself into a tizzy at the thought, and she wandered off to find Trip. That would certainly take her mind off of things.
“Hey, Marsh.” Trip grinned when he saw her. He'd been drinking from Bob's flask, clearly, but he didn't seem too drunk. Not yet, anyway. “Bored of the movie?”
She shrugged and gave him a small smile. “I wanted to come hang out with you.”
“Did you?” He grinned, reaching out for her and gently pulling her closer. She could tell what he wanted. He always wanted it. It was a good thing she liked kissing him.
“I thought maybe we could sneak away for a little bit.” She giggled. “A few minutes alone together would do us both some good.”
Trip laughed softly and pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. “Oh, it definitely would. I was hoping you'd get bored.”
Marcia laughed and leaned into his embrace. “It's too bad you didn't bring your car.”
"Don't worry about that. I know some quiet spots we can run off to.” He grinned and kissed her again, this time it was an eager kiss to her lips. Marcia smiled into it and kissed him back.
“You're impatient. Lead the way, then.” She giggled softly, taking his hand.
The two of them wandered off to a spot a bit further away from the screen than the rest of the audience. No one would see them if they were discreet.
They made out for awhile, lips soft but insistent, and Marcia felt Trip's hand find it's way up her skirt, just as it always did. He'd never been all that good in bed, but she couldn't deny the little thrill she felt when his hands were under her clothes, especially when they were in public and it was all they could manage. But that was all she ever felt with him. A little thrill, a tease, that was it. She wasn't even sure how to tell him what would help. But for now, she settled for enjoying their makeout session. That part was always nice, at least.
Marcia's hands were tangled in his hair when they heard approaching footsteps and quickly tried to make themselves presentable.
“Trip? Marcia? You guys out here?” It was Paul.
“Over here, Paul.” Trip called out, handing Marcia his letterman jacket so she could stay covered up and have a little extra time adjusting her dress.
Paul came into view and raised his eyebrows when he saw them. “Am I interrupting?”
Trip cleared his throat. “No, no. Not at all. Just…” He ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it over.
Paul waved a hand, uninterested. “Whatever. I came looking for you guys, we've gotta get back to the benches.”
“Sounds urgent.” Marcia noted. She looked pretty okay, at least. "Everything okay?"
“Cherry's been off talking with some greaser, and Bob's pissed.”
Oh. That's what this was about. Marcia rolled her eyes. “The kid's fourteen, he's practically a baby.”
Both boys looked at her. “You knew about this?” Paul asked.
“Christ, Marcia. That's why you came to hang out with me, huh? You didn't get bored, she just wasn't paying attention to you.” Trip shook his head. That stung, and Marcia felt her shoulders tense. She hated the way he said that, as if she didn't care about him at all.
Her mouth opened and closed as she searched for an answer. “Trip, that's not–”
“And you didn't think to mention that she was talking to a goddamn greaser?”
“He's harmless. He was so giddy at the concept of just sitting next to a girl, I doubt he'd cause any actual trouble. And besides, Cherry's not one to entertain cheating—”
“No greaser is harmless.” Trip spat out. “Come on. We need to go deal with this.”
Rather uselessly, Marcia followed the two boys back towards the crowd. When her eyes finally landed on Cherry, her stomach twisted. She looked so happy, talking to that boy. And Marcia knew that it was nothing other than platonic. But she also knew that Bob was never going to understand that. Marcia wanted her to be happy, whatever that meant. And right now, talking to Ponyboy Curtis, she looked happy. But it could never last, because Bob was stalking towards them and all of his friends were following. Marcia darted over ahead of Trip, hoping to maybe prevent whatever the hell was about to happen.
Bob was already walking over to the pair, and unfortunately reached them before anyone else could.
“Cherry, get in the car!” was the first thing Marcia heard as she tried to make a beeline towards her friend. Trip blocked her path, which she was pretty sure was intentional.
“Trip–”
He squeezed her arm, telling her to be quiet. She glanced at Cherry. Her friend looked startled, scared even.
“Bob, how much have you had to drink?” Cherry asked, hushed and worried.
“Enough to know we're done here.” Bob snapped, scoffing as he turned to look at the greasers nearby. He was looking for trouble. He always was when he'd been drinking. Even Marcia knew that. She wondered if Cherry was going to do anything about it. Cherry was stubborn as all hell when she wanted to be. But Bob tended to break down her resolve pretty easily.
“That's enough!” Cherry shouted suddenly, getting between Bob and a greaser, who were apparently going to fight over this. “I'm not going anywhere with anybody!”
Marcia's eyes widened. This was new. Cherry stood up to Bob sometimes, sure. But not like this. Never like this.
“We're over, Bob!” And with that, Cherry threw Bob's letterman jacket on the ground. Marcia would have laughed or at least smiled proudly had she not been so afraid of what his reaction would be. There was a thick silence for a moment as Bob turned to the redhead.
“What does that even mean?” He laughed in disbelief.
When Cherry didn't answer right away, Marcia pushed past a few other Socs. “It means she's done, Bob!” She told him firmly.
“Eat shit, Marcia!” He whipped around to look at her, and the look in his eyes startled her. For a moment, every time he'd been charming and kind faded from her memory. All she could think of now was how angry he looked. Not only that, he looked like he was going to do something about it. He was yelling at poor Cherry, and Marcia couldn't go to her because Trip had his arms around her – supposedly to comfort her. Cherry looked so scared underneath her crossed arms and her furrowed brow. The greasers looked impressed as they watched her stand up to Bob, but Marcia knew her better. Marcia saw how tense her shoulders were, the way that her hands were gripping her own arm like it was a lifeline. Cherry was brave, that was true. But all Marcia felt was heartbreak at seeing her friend go through this, all because she'd found someone to talk to that she felt a connection with.
Once Bob stormed off and his friends followed him, Marcia yanked her arm away from Trip and went to Cherry's side.
“Hey, hey… are you okay?” Marcia's hands were immediately on Cherry's arms, staying there for a moment before moving to take Cherry's hands. They were sweaty and trembling.
“I… I don't…” Cherry tried to speak, but nothing coherent came out. Then, she spotted Ponyboy and ran over to talk to him.
Ponyboy seemed about as shocked as Cherry was by the whole thing.
“Ponyboy… if I don't say hi to you in the hall, don't take it the wrong way, okay?” She said softly, and he gave her a bit of a sad nod.
“Cherry…” Marcia murmured, glancing around nervously. There was no telling if Bob was going to come back, but she didn't want to wait to find out, especially if they were going to stand here talking to Ponyboy and Johnny again. “We should go.” As they left, Marcia whispered a quiet “I'm sorry” to Ponyboy before they hurried off.