Random Summer Challenge

[Tensleep]

Well, surprisingly I have had more than one request for a song fic challenge. Now, I know those things take a while, so this one is a challenge open until the end of the summer.

Song Fic Challenge:

Got a song in your head that reminds you of our dear boys? Heard a song and seen the plot? Well, here's the place to put it.

To avoid all confusion, this is what I like to call a "lyrics in fiction" challenge. If you Incorporated them into a story involving The Outsiders, it can go here. Crystal? Good.

Just one rule: makes sure you list song title and Artist so we can cover our butts by giving credit where its due.

Ends September 1st


To prevent copyright infringements, there is a general disclaimer.

General Disclaimer: We, the hereby writers and members of this site contributing, do not own the lyrics borrowed and are not making any money off this bit of fun. Also, we the herefore mentioned, do not own The Outsiders. In short, unless otherwise specifically stated, we own nothing.

Happy writing and good luck to all. I have no ideas for this one. Also, keep those ideas coming. They are always welcome.

See ya in the funny papers!!!!

Tens

[queenjaneapprxmtly]

Ooh, can you submit one you already wrote? Like, mine's been posted on FF.net since about the end of March.

And if not, does it have to be about them in general? Because I know a song that reminds me of a random greaser girl ... lol. :)

[Tensleep]

I'd prefer if you wrote something new, but go for it. We have to get something up

[fairlane]

Well it would be a winter challenge to those of us in the Southern hemisphere...but I guess I'm the only one down here lol. Does a song fic involve posting all the lyrics to the song or just relevant lines?

[Tensleep]

You know, I completely let that slip my mind! January we'll have another summer fic challenge just to throw everyone off

You can use the whole song or just some lyrics you pick or choose. I personally have one on the go that cuts out a whole chunk of the song that doesn't make sense for the rest of it.

In short, have fun.

See ya in the funny papers!!!

Tens

[Laughing]

Ooh, I'm excited. I missed out on the June challenge because I was out of town, but now I'm back, and am swimming in ideas. Okay, not really, but I'll write something anyway because I've neglected the poor boys long enough.

[Laughing]

Okay, done. I've seen song fics done lots of different ways, so I just chose one and went with it. The song is Waiting For a Girl Like You by Foreigner.


“Soda?” Pony asked in the dark.
I sighed. “Yeah?”
“Whatever happened with Sandy? I thought…”
I rolled over to look at him. “Yeah, I thought so too.”
I had been wondering when we were going to have to have this talk. It made sense that it would be tonight. I knew that he’d meant to talk about it earlier, but that he’d gotten caught up writing that paper for his English class. But he’d finished that today, so here we were.
I knew that he was waiting for me to say more, but I wasn’t sure I could. It was still raw, and it still hurt. Man, it hurt something awful.
“You don’t have to tell me.” Pony’s voice was hesitant. “I mean, it’s okay. I understand.”
I gave him a small smile. “It’s just that it’s a long story, and Darry would kill me if I kept you up while you’re supposed to be sleeping. You really scared us, you know.”
Pony met my eyes. “I know. But that was weeks ago. I’m not sick anymore—Darry’s just paranoid.”
“Still. Are you sure you want to do this now?” I asked, trying to buy some more time.
Pony nodded. I sighed again.
“Okay.” I knew what I had to say, and I knew that I had to start at the beginning. “It was after Mom and Dad, and after I got the job at the DX. I felt like everything was going so fast, ya know, and…well, you probably don’t get it yet, but the right girl can just make everything better. It’s nice. And so I was lookin’ for a girl that could do that, because I needed something good.
So long, I’ve been looking too hard, I’ve been waiting too long
Sometimes I don’t know what I will find, I only know it’s a matter of time
When you love someone, when you love someone
“Man, I can still see it, the way she looked the first time I saw her. She was so…perfect. I thought she was a Soc at first, because she was so different from all the others. She bought a pack of cinnamon gum from the DX, and she smiled at me. I knew that if I could convince her to go out with me that it would be what I was looking for.
It feels so right, so warm, and true
I need to know if you feel it too
“After awhile, I got up the guts to ask her out. I was so nervous. I just knew that she would say no.
Maybe I’m wrong, won’t you tell me if I’m coming on too strong
This heart of mine has been hurt before, this time I wanna be sure
“But she said yes. And it was just what I thought it would be. She was everything.
I’ve been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
I’ve been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive
“I could forget about everything that was happening. You know that numb feeling that you had right after everything changed? How nothing seemed right? How nothing anybody did was right because they weren’t Mom and Dad?”
Pony nodded.
“Well, she took that feeling away. When I was with her, I could forget.”
I’ve been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive
Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
“So…what happened?”
I glanced at him, then rolled onto my back to stare at the ceiling. “We got serious. And when you get serious, the way that we did, sometimes it doesn’t feel right. But…it was perfect with her.”
You’re so good, when we make love it’s understood
It’s more than a touch or a word can say
Only in dreams could it be this way
When you love someone, yeah, really love someone
“Um…why was it…better, um, with her?”
Poor Pony. He didn’t know yet. I knew that I had to tell him, because no one else would now.
“Because we loved each other. Well, I loved her. I’m really not sure if she loved me anymore. But Pony, when you…are serious with a girl, make sure that you love her first. Okay, promise me that. Because it’s a huge decision, and it’s not something you do just to goof around. It’s not just another fun thing to do. Do you understand?”
I knew Pony was red by this point, but I didn’t look at him.
“Yeah,” he said, and I decided then and there not to worry about it again.
I was reliving our first time in my mind. I just wanted to hold her again. “Sometimes…I can still feel her. Not in the same way as with Mom and Dad, but…”
Now I know it’s right, from the moment I wake up till deep in the night
There’s nowhere in Earth I’d rather be, than holding you tenderly
“And I’m not sure what happened after that. Somewhere along the line, it stopped being perfect for her. I guess.”
“You didn’t know?”
Damn it. Damn my tear ducts. I swallowed, hard. “No. I was still in that great place. I was so in love with her. She was just what I had prayed for. I remember thanking God every time I was with her that she would even look at me.
I’ve been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
I’ve been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive
“Every single time I saw her, it was just like that first time.”
I’ve been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive
Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
“You remember that night, god, it feels like it was years ago, but that night when I told you that I wanted to marry her?”
“Yeah, I remember. You told me not to tell Darry.”
I turned over to look at him again, and gave him a sad grin. “Right. Well, I was serious. I wanted to marry her. I even have a jar, under the bed, with money in it that I was saving to buy a ring for her. I felt guilty about it at first, because I could have given it to Darry, but I knew that she was the one for me.”
I’ve been waiting, waiting for you, ooh, I’ve been waiting
I’ve been waiting
(I’ve been waiting for a girl like you, I’ve been waiting)
Won’t you come into my life?
I took a deep breath. “But. I wasn’t the one for her. I messed up, somewhere, and she went to someone else without telling me.”
Damn it. I was crying again. I quickly wiped away my tears. “She slept with him, and he got her pregnant. Her parents found out, and her mom had to send her away to keep her dad from beating her up. So she went to Florida to live with her grandmother. But Pony, I didn’t care. I still loved her so damn much that all I wanted was to have her back. It was my fault, you know. If I had only been what she needed…then she could’ve stayed with me. We could’ve raised the baby together. It could’ve been perfect. Damn it,” I said in a hard voice.
Pony didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and neither did I.
“Soda?” he finally said.
“What, kid?” I knew that I sounded as tired as I felt.
“I know that it doesn’t mean anything, coming from me, but…it wasn’t you fault that she cheated on you. Things just happen…like Mom and Dad, and Joh—I mean Dally. You eventually just have to accept that you couldn’t have done anything.”
I looked at him closely for the first time that night. I’d thought that he was dealing with everything really well. I knew that that paper had helped him work through some stuff, but apparently not all of it. “It does mean something, coming from you. And I think that somewhere, I know that it wasn’t my fault. I just…well, you understand. Because it’s the same with Johnny for you.”
Pony looked away. “I got out first.”
I was too tired to try to figure out what that meant. “What?”
“Of the church. When it was on fire. I got out first. If I hadn’t…”
“Then we would have all fallen apart,” I said firmly.
“Well, anyway. I’m tired,” he said quickly.
I wrapped an arm around my little brother, and thanked God that he was still here, because I needed him. “We’ll get through it all.”

The End.

Yeah...I don't really know how I feel about this. It's a bit too mushy for my tastes.

[Tensleep]

Girl Like You - I thought that this was an interesting look back at everything. In the story we kind of get the feeling Ponyboy glosses over Soda's feelings until his blow up in the park and it's nice to read something where he feels and hurts and everything isn't perfect for him before he gets to that blow up point. It was a nice brother bonding moment in those quiet hours of the night and you could see both characters in their respective roles. Like you said, a little mushy, but true to form.

I liked the ending the best. Soda had it right - they're going to get through all of it, but it's going to take some time. I like that you also added in Pony's guilt about the fire. I think that's realistic. Many people never take that angle, but it fit this story well and you brought it out without making it into something agnsty and drawn out. Congrats! Thanks for starting us off and hope to see you out for our next rumble!

See ya in the funny papers!!!

Tens

[Laughing]

I'm glad that the guilt over the fire worked, because I was afraid that it would take away from it. I thought it might be distracting from the real issue of the story, but I figured that Pony was dealing with that at the same time Soda was dealing with Sandy, and sometimes life doesn't let you focus on just one thing, so what the hell.

Heh. I usually don't swear in real life. Damn greasers are rubbing off on me. Oh, there I go again. I should just stop now.

[Tensleep]

Well, that's a little tricky. The most we would like submitted would be two part stories. So if you're thinking multi-chapter this isn't really the place to be posting a continuous story. It just gets hard to follow when there are other entries as well as reviews between these chapters.
However, if all these chapters are unrelated, stand alone, and lyrically constructed, then I have no objections.

[Keira]

Keep in mind that FFN does not allow you to post full lyrics to a song when posting, so be careful if you choose to post your new song fics there as well.

I think this challenge is great - I have a partially written one that would go great with this, I think... *taps chin thoughfully*.

[fosterchild]

laughing, that was a really good song fic...of course, I had to sing the words along with reading them. lol The story was realistic and I liked that it was from Soda's point of view. That made it feel right. Good job!

[Masquerade]

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Outsiders or “Better than Me” by Hinder.
I’ve never done a songfic before, so bear with me. And I’m not sure, has anyone ever used this song before? I hope not, but it seemed to work. Also, I had to take some of the lyrics out because they just didn't make sense. Is that okay?

How could I have let this happen? He still didn’t know anything yet. I had to tell him, but getting there was another story. I was on my own and being sent away. All because of one stupid mistake.
I think you can do much better than me…
Sodapop didn’t deserve this from me. He loved me, he’d told me that and that was partly what made me pull away. He could do better than me, he could get any girl he wanted. But he’d wanted me, and this was how I treated him for it.
After all the lies that I made you believe…
He’d never known, never even suspected that something was going on behind his back. Soda was always so busy with work, or his family, or—before dropping out—trying to keep up his homework. Sometimes he was just too busy for even me. I understood why, but that didn’t make it any less difficult to work with. He asked how I was, I said fine. He apologized for having to miss a date, I told him it was okay, that I understood.
Once, I was gone for the day and when I came home he was waiting for me. He asked me where I’d been. I told him I’d been visiting an aunt and uncle’s house. Sodapop never even questioned that I was telling the truth, when in reality I’d been to see the person who changed my life forever in one fateful visit.
Guilt kicks in and I start to see the edge of the bed…
I was packing to leave for Florida, where my parents were sending me to stay with my grandmother. All I could do is stare at the edge of my bed, where I would spend so many nights thinking about the date I’d just returned from, or writing in my journal about Sodapop. Now all I could think is how he’ll react when I tell him the truth.
I told myself I won’t miss you…
That’s a lie. Before all of this started happening I convinced myself it would be okay, Soda would never find out that I cheated on him. That it was his fault for not being there, always putting everything else before me. But more than ever, I regretted what I’d done. Who would be there for me through all of this if not Sodapop?
But I remember what it feels like beside you…
Why? I asked myself. What had really made me so unhappy in our relationship? Sure, a sixteen-year-old girl likes to have fun, and wants to take her boyfriend places. When that wasn’t happening, I got upset. But I never thought it would ever go this far, to the point where I’d cheated on him and was pregnant with that other guy’s baby.
I really miss your hair in my face…
Now a tear slipped down my cheek as I remember those words on our last phone conversation. We didn’t call often, he liked to talk to me in person, but that week things had been particularly hectic with work and he’d had barely any sleep because of his younger brother’s nightmares, and everything was just crazy for him. And he’d teased when I asked if he missed me, “I really miss your hair in my face, Sandy. You know how you do that, right? Toss your hair so that it flies all over me. I miss that.”
And the way your innocence tastes…
It ached to think of it. Sodapop Curtis was by no means innocent, but everything in the way he’d held me and kissed me had always been honest. He didn’t have any expectations from me the whole time we were going out. I mean, you could tell when he spoke to me that what he said was how it was. If I told him the baby was his, he would try to do the right thing. Even when I told him it wasn’t, he would still probably try to help me out. If he was anything, he was a guy who treated me right.
And I think you should know this…you deserve much better than me…
He had to know. It was too late to make things right between us, but the least he deserved was a bit of honesty. Soda loved me, but I didn’t deserve him. And he deserved much better than what I could give him. I’d messed up. Now it was time to pay up.
While looking through your old box of notes…
I found those pictures I took…
That you were looking for…
He used to write notes to me, before he dropped out of school and we’d had some classes together. He didn’t know it, but I’d kept every single one of them, along with all the pictures I’d taken over the year we’d been together. He’d asked me a couple of weeks ago to see some of them and I had never gotten back to him. Then yesterday I’d been going through some of my things, when I’d started packing for my new life.
It was time to do what I never thought I would have to say to him.

***

The bed I'm lying in is getting colder…
Wish I never would've said it's over…
I’d done it. I’d told him everything, all the lies, all the secrets I’d kept, the cheating, the baby I was going to have now, that I had to live in Florida, everything. I wished in the instant after saying it that I could take it all back and return to the way things were, when my life was blissfully innocent and uncomplicated. All I could do was stare at the ceiling and imagine myself back before any of this starting spinning out of control.
And I can't pretend... I won't think about you when I'm older…
Cause we never really had our closure…
This can't be the end…
But it was the end. I was leaving in the morning, moving on, beginning a new stage in my life. It would be the hardest thing I’d ever had to get through, and I was going to have to do it all on my own. But somehow I knew I’d never forget the look on his face when I told him I was pregnant, or the way he offered to marry me anyway. It would stick with me for a long time after I boarded that plane to Miami.
There was one more thing I had to do. I had a letter to write, one that I knew would never get sent.
Dear Sodapop,
I’m sorry for everything. The cheating, the lies, the secrets. And I’m sorry I have to go away like this, but I think your part in my life is over. None of this is your fault. Please believe me when I say, I really do wish I could change the way things ended between us. I was wrong to do what I did, and I’ll always regret my decisions. And I think you should know this…you deserve much better than me.

[whattodowithkarlie]

Okay, since I can't think of anything to write for it, but the song was giving me some serious Soda moment flashbacks, I'd like to request one for someone to use...

The Chicks Dig it by Chris Cagle, listen to it, It made me think of Sodapop.

[fosterchild]

Masquerade, nice job! That song is so cool and your story fit right into it....I did like how you omitted certain parts....I really couldn't see Soda's nightgown being on the edge of the bed!
I can believe Sandy would have felt all those things.