Young Volcanoes Chapter Three

When Ivy woke up with sun the next morning she was pleased to find Johnny still there. The fire must have went out sometime during the night because all that was left were lightly glowing embers. The air was beginning to warm up already as the sun rose over the horizon and Ivy let out a groan because she knew that meant it was going to be a doozy today. She did not do well in the heat, not one bit. She didn't particularly like the cold though either. 'Why can't we just have a happy medium? Not too hot, not too cold. Is that too much to ask for?' she shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh while silently cursing Mother Nature.

Ivy turned to study the sleeping Johnny then, and found he looked much different asleep then when he was awake. He looked innocent, like nothing bad had ever happened to him. He looked at peace. Unfortunately, Ivy remembered the look in his big eyes from the night before along with the scar that marred his cheek. The scar which was conveniently hidden by the arm he was using for a pillow. He was sleeping on his stomach with his head resting at an odd angle on his curled arm. It looked pretty uncomfortable to Ivy who liked to sleep on her side with her knees pulled up to her chest. She was once told by a boy she met at a homeless shelter that she resembled a tiny kitten all curled up in its sleep. At the time she was still sensitive about her small stature and had resented being compared to a kitten, but if someone had said something like that now she would probably blush uncontrollably and take it as a complement. She had eventually learned to embrace her height because sometimes being short came with advantages. She could easily weasel her way through big crowds, she was great at hide-and-seek, and she had found out that quite a few boys liked shorter girls. When Ivy had asked a boy about it he had said something about short girls making them feel big and manly. She had thought that sounded stupid but agreed with the guy anyway and accepted the fact that she would never understand the male ego.

Johnny groaned and rolled over, signaling that he was awaking up and startling Ivy from her thoughts. She was tempted to watch him as he woke but she didn't want to look like some sort of creep so she pretend to be busy getting the knots out of her hair with her fingers.

"Morning." Ivy greeted him with a gentle smile. It wouldn't do her any good to overwhelm him with her happy attitude just after he woke up, she didn't want to scare him off so soon.

"Mornin'." he replied with a yawn. The last bit of his sleeping innocence drifted away as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and surveyed the lot around them. He then looked over at her a bit awkwardly. "I've got ta go." He mumbled.

"Oh yeah, school, am I right?" It was Friday so it seemed logical that's where he'd be going so early in the morning. He nodded.

"Are you going?" he gestured toward her ratty backpack.

"Nah. I haven't been here long enough to enroll and anyway I dropped out last year." She said with a laugh.

"Oh." His eyebrows crinkled in confusion but he stood up without questioning her about it. He looked up the road and shifted nervously on his feet. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know how so Ivy did what she does best and took the pressure off him.

"Well, you don't want to be late right? I'll see you around though, yeah? I mean we are in a club together now after all." She joked. He relaxed a bit with her joking, then nodded.

"Yeah. See ya around." He said with a small, unsure smile before he turned around and walked off down the street. She watched his shoulders hunch up around his ears as he shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes on his feet.

"Bye! Have a good day!" she yelled at his quickly retreating figure. He stopped momentarily to turn his head to give her a small nod and then he was off again. Ivy giggled softly to herself at his shy nature. She knew that boy was dealing with things she wasn't even sure she wanted to think about and he was shoved so far up his shell that she was surprised he had even responded to her at all. She was glad he had interacted with her though. She knew that once she coaxed him out of his shell a bit he'd make a great and loyal friend.

'Let's hope he's got some patience as well because lord knows I can get out of hand sometimes.' She thought, disappointed in herself. She had lost many friends before because of how annoying and clingy she could get. She couldn't help it though. She had tried to tone it down before and give her friends some space but that just left her feeling sad and alone. The rational part of her knew that giving her friends space was a good thing, everyone needed time to themselves after all, but she couldn't stop the paranoid part of her from thinking that they would forget about her or find someone better to be around. So she hung onto them with all her might, but in the end it had always pushed them away for good and she was back to square one. Square one was not a happy place and she didn't want to go there again. Ivy didn't know what was wrong with her but she was determined not to do the same thing with Johnny. She was going to give him space, she wasn't going to be jealous if he had friends already and she definitely was not going to be a burden like all the times before.

Ivy sat around at the lot for another half an hour relaxing before she decided she should stop being lazy and find somewhere to clean up so she could start job hunting. She had to find a place where she was sure Randy wouldn't go. It seemed like an impossible task, but she had learned when she got her first job at a diner that Randy finding out wasn't good. He would demand she start paying rent. 'Rent for a place I barely live? As if. He just needs it for booze and drugs.' Randy had confiscated half of her paycheck each week until she had finally quit and found a job he wouldn't find out about. He walked around for almost a full month afterwards grumbling about her being a 'useless dropout' which she found hilarious. She had been saving up most of her money, for what she didn't know, but she was fresh out of all her savings now. Randy had caught her trying to pack her shoebox of cash during the 'midnight emergency move' as she'd dubbed it. That was another reason she was incredibly pissed at him. That was a years worth of savings gone in seconds! How could she not be angry? Some of her rage was cooled though when she thought of how Randy had bought the house and how they had stayed at two motels on the way here. At least her money had a chance at going towards something worthwhile.

Ivy remembered seeing a DX gas station while scoping out her new home the day before. Maybe she could use their washrooms to clean up a bit. She wanted to make a good impression on all possible future employers. It was at that moment her stomach let out a roar. 'Guess I'll have to see about getting something to eat first huh?' she only had a bit of money, most of which was change she found floating around in her backpack but she had also lucked out and found a dime on the ground yesterday. Just thinking about food was making her stomach ache. She hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning and she felt fine until the moment her stomach decided to speak up, and now it was all she could think about. Her stomach rumbled again. "Okay, okay! Food first, then gas station, then job." She nodded to herself then gathered up her things and trudged off to find herself a diner. Or a grocery store. Or just anywhere that had food!

Who knew food could make a girl so happy? Ivy's tummy was full and no longer screaming at her and she now felt ready to take on the rest of the day. The diner she had gone to was fairly empty considering that it seemed like a prime teen hangout spot and most were in school. There were some older couples and a few teens who she assumed were dropouts like her. She didn't interact with anyone and no one tried to talk to her other than the waitress, who was very kind. Ivy was okay with this though because she was too busy stuffing food in her face and she probably would have seemed rude if someone had tried to talk to her. She thought momentarily about asking for a job at the diner then remembered Randy's dislike for cooking. He would probably end up there for every meal just so he wouldn't have to cook so it was out of the question.

By the time the DX was in sight she was getting antsy. Not because she was worried about them letting her use their washroom, but because she actually really had to go pee. 'This is what I get for drinking a full glass of ice tea and full glass of water. I shoulda' stopped at one, but I was super thirsty!'

When she walked in she was greeted by an extremely handsome boy. He had dark blond hair that was brushed back and deep brown eyes. He was leaning casually against the cash register and when he heard her come in he looked up and sent her a thousand watt smile.

"Hey, how can I help you?" he asked, his voice was smooth and care free.

Ivy rocked on her feet for a second, "I, uh, I could really use the restroom if that's okay?" she asked and she could feel her face getting warm. Of course the first impression he would have of her would be from her doing to potty dance and stuttering while asking to use the washroom. It was just her luck. She knew she didn't have a chance with him at all, and she wasn't looking for a boyfriend, but come on, could anyone blame a girl for being embarrassed in front of such a good looking guy?

"Yeah sure. Right over there." He said and pointed to a door with a plaque that said 'Restroom' on it. Ivy managed to breath out a quick "Thank you" before rushing to the door.

Once Ivy relived herself she felt ten times better. She then dug through her backpack to find her little pack of toiletries. The restroom was a single room with a sink and a toilet without stalls. This is why she wanted to wash up here. She could have done this at the diner but it lacked the privacy. She didn't have to worry about people walking in on her washing up here. She pulled out a balled up washcloth and unwrapped her little bar of soap that she took from one of the motel bathrooms along with a mini two-in-one shampoo and conditioner. She then pulled off her shirt and used the soap and washcloth to wipe herself down. She looked in the mirror and winced when she saw how gross her straw blonde hair looked. The last time she had a real shower was at the motel the day before they got here so it had been almost three days since she had showered.

'No wonder Johnny didn't talk much. He was probably trying to hold his breath." she thought with a chuckle. The days were hot and she sure was smelling ripe. She quickly did her best to wash her hair in the small sink. It was quite the ordeal considering she had waist length hair that was, in her opinion, way thicker than it needed to be. When she was finally done she pulled an extra pair of underwear and an extra t-shirt out to change into. She only had the pair of jeans she was wearing so they would have to make due until she could find somewhere to wash them where she wouldn't get caught sitting around in her underwear waiting.

When Ivy was done redressing she threw her soaking wet hair up in a ponytail and secured it with an elastic off her wrist. She checked herself in the mirror to make sure she was presentable before exiting the restroom. The boy from the cash register was still there and he was staring right at her. She could tell from the pitying look on his face that he knew what was up. She was probably in the restroom for about fifteen minutes and that along with the fact that she was wearing different clothes and her hair was sopping wet was a dead giveaway that she was currently living on the streets. She didn't really care though, she grew up on and off the streets and knew all about pitying glances and zero action. Of all the adults who had given her sad or pitying looks when she was a little girl not one of them took even a second to try and help her like she wished they would. She sometimes grieved for her younger self and the pain the looks caused her. She was older now though, and knew how to take care of herself so the looks sent her way didn't make her angry anymore. They did make her feel guilty though. People felt bad for her when they saw her on the streets, and it made her feel like she was burdening them emotionally when she knew that every single one of them had there own problems already. They didn't need to feel bad for her and that's why she always tried her best to be her happiest.

"I haven't ever seen you around before. You new in town?" the boy asked, startling Ivy out of her thoughts.

"Yup," she popped the 'p' "just moved here two days ago. My names Ivy." She stuck her hand out to shake and smiled brightly at him. 'Is a handshake too weird for this situation? Should I have just gone for a wave?' She was relieved when his strong hand griped hers and gave her a firm shake coupled with another one of his blinding smiles.

"I'm Sodapop Curtis, it's nice to meet you." He replied.

"Sodapop?" she wondered if it was a nickname.

"That's what it says on my birth certificate" he said and he laughed like it was something he had said a thousand times before. 'With a name like that I bet he has. It's an awesome name though!'

"That's awesome! Your parents must be really cool people." She said with child-like awe in her voice. A bittersweet smile washed across his face and Ivy knew immediately she had said something wrong.

"Yeah, they were." he said with a nod. 'Oh.' Ivy instantly felt the need to give her condolences and apologize, but she knew that constantly hearing people saying sorry for something they had no control over never really made you feel better and it usually ended up grating on your nerves instead.

"I bet." She said with a simple smile which she hoped would cheer him back up. He seemed thankful for the fact she didn't make a big deal about and she was glad she made the right choice.

"So how do you like it here so far?" he got back on topic.

"It's nice. I miss home but I'll be okay once I get used to it here." An idea hit her then. He would obviously know the city better than her, so maybe he would know if anyone was hiring. "I could use some help though, if you wouldn't mind, do you know of any places that are hiring around here?" she asked. Before Sodapop could answer though, another boy walked in wiping his grease covered hands on a rag. He had started to say something but stopped when he looked up and saw Ivy standing there.

"Steve, perfect timing! This is pretty little lady here is Ivy. She's new in town and looking for a job, got any suggestions?" Sodapop clapped the new boy, Steve, on the back as she blushed lightly at being called a 'pretty little lady'.

"She even old enough to have a job?" Steve asked while looking her up and down with distaste. Ivy scrunched up her nose at his tone. 'And I thought I put out a bad impression with the potty dance. This guys got some serious work to do on his meeting new people manners.'

"I'm sixteen actually, but thanks for the concern." She said sarcastically. She saw both their eyes widen and rolled hers in return.

"Oh, um, sorry." Steve rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. She waved him off with a smile to show she forgave him. "The only thing I can think of that's actually hirin' is the butcher shop downtown. Not sure that'd be something you're interested in though. Maybe the diner?" 'A butchers shop? Randy wouldn't step foot in a butchers shop considering he'd have to cook it himself. That's perfect!'

"No, that's perfect actually. I'm pretty carnivorous so I'd probably get along good there." She said and patted her tummy for emphasis. "Do you think one of you boys could give me some directions?"

After giving her directions they chatted for a bit more before she thanked them for their help and then she was on her way. As she left the parking lot she turned and waved cheerfully. Both boys waved back, Sodapop even threw in a wink and yelled "Good luck!"

They were nice and Ivy liked them quite a bit. Sodapop, or just Soda as she was told was fine, was a huge charmer and it didn't even seem like he had to try. Steve seemed a bit rougher but just as fun once he found out her age and she got over his cold reception. Maybe he had younger siblings and was just sick of dealing with little kids. One thing she did learn about him though was that he was a freak for cars. They had mainly talked about the DX and their jobs there and Steve had got right into talking about cars. Even though the information he was spouting off went way over her head, it was nice seeing someone so passionate about something, and she was genuinely interested so she asked lots of questions, which he seemed happy to answer. She could see it becoming a habit to go down to the DX to chat with those two. Who knew, maybe she could even learn some neat stuff about cars and make more friends at the same time.

Hey friends here's chapter three! I mostly read fics on the mobile app and I didn't realize how short these chapters looked on the desktop so I tried to make this one a bit longer. As you can see I have decided on the Ivy/Dally pairing, hooray! Thank you musiclover4ever and Bookworm for your reviews! Also, Bookworm I'm not sure you know how much you made my day when I read that you liked my writing style. I honestly never thought I had a style but thank you either way! Sorry if anybody found this chapter boring (we met Soda and Steve though!) but I think things are going to start picking up now and we might just end up at the Curtis' next chapter *wink wink* so stick around! Please drop me a line and tell me what you think because I feed off of reviews!

Bye xoxo

-SwitchbladeSweetheart