Alex had hung around with the gang as long as she could remember. Ponyboy was her age, Ponyboy and his brothers lived right next door, they were constantly hanging out. Over time as they got older Alex began to develop a crush on Ponyboy. He was kind to her, and probably the most understanding person she knew. The only problem was, she was far too shy to tell him.

One night Ponyboy, Johnny, Dallas and Alex had all gone out to the drive in. Things went south pretty quickly when Dallas started acting up, picking on some girl who sat ahead of them. After Johnny stood up to him, Dallas stormed away and the girls—who Alex soon learned were named Cherry and Marcia—invited the three up to sit with them. Envy seeped into Alex’s head, it made her feel shameful. The older girl had beautiful red hair, and one of the prettiest smiles Alex had ever seen. And what was worse was that the envy changed into a sense of jealously when Alex saw how Ponyboy looked at Cherry.