Sass

Chapter 10

"What?"

            "You heard me," I repeated, growing more and more agitated. "I want to see Pony. Take me to him."

            "Whoa, slow down, sweetheart," Dallas said, sliding off of his bed. "You want a cancer stick?"

            "No," I replied, frustrated by how easily he dismissed my request. "Stop avoiding the subject."

            He sighed, stepping closer to me. "I'm goin' up there in a couple days."

            "A couple days?" I asked furiously. "That's way too long! They could-"

            Completely cutting me off, Dallas put both hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look straight in his eyes.

            "Pull yourself together, kid," he said, almost softly. "I'll take you when I go."

            My eyes darted to the floor, and I felt my shoulders slump in defeat. Truthfully, I was exhausted- emotionally and physically.

           "You wanna get out of here?" Dallas suddenly asked, interrupting my wallowing in self pity.

           "Huh?"

            "Let's get out of here," he said, walking towards the door. "C'mon. Let's go hunt some action."

            I paused for a moment, contemplating whether to go and cause some trouble while Pony is out there somewhere, or continue to push Dallas to take me to see him. Dallas did say that he was going to see Pony and Johnny in a few days, and I supposed he seemed to know what he was doing. In all honesty, I did need something to relieve my stress...

            "Why the hell not?" I replied, receiving a smile from him in return. I followed him out the door and eventually out of Buck's; this would be the beginning of our adventure.

            "So, where are we goin'?" I asked, jogging to catch up with him.

            "I don't know, man. Wherever."

            After walking for a minute or so, a mustang full of socs pulled up, screaming vulgar things at us. Assholes.

            Dallas and I made immediate eye contact, and as if we shared the same brain, we both took off, chasing the car.

            One of the socs appeared to be holding an empty beer bottle, and without any warning, chucked it at my head. Before I could react, Dallas shoved me out of the way, letting the bottle hit the ground and smash into pieces.

            Catching my breath, I picked up the largest piece of what was left of the bottle and threw it at the car, hopefully leaving a scratch on the bumper. As we began to slow down, a giddy feeling bubbled up in my chest. I'm not sure I'd had that much fun in while.

            "Holy shit," I exclaimed, catching my breath. "That... gave me a rush."

            "Oh yeah," Dallas laughed. "You want even more of a rush?"

            He grabbed wrist before I could even ask what he was talking about, dragging me to the nearest convenience store. I couldn't help but laugh; his excitement was almost childlike. I'd never seen him in this pure form before.

            Before heading in, he turned to me, demanding my full attention. "You're going to steal something."

            My heartbeat immediately quickened. "What?"

            "You heard me," he replied in a teasing tone, mimicking me from earlier.

            "I don't think I can do that..." my voice trailed off as I worried about the consequences. I couldn't put more stress on Darry.

            "C'mon Sass, loosen up," Dallas said, slightly rolling his eyes. "I'll distract the cashier. It'll be fun."

            I sighed, giving in to the peer pressure. "Fine. Let's go."

             I did everything in my power to wipe the nervous look off my face as we walked in, as not to draw any suspicion toward myself. I slipped behind Dallas as he grabbed a magazine and walked over to the cashier, starting to bother him with made up questions.

             I strolled through the aisles, not finding anything to swipe, so I shamefully went up to meet Dallas.

            "Did you get anything?" he asked, sounding so damn casual. I could never understand how he was so good at that stuff.

            "No," I said, my eyes immediately darting towards some chapstick sitting in a small shelf on near the register. Perfect.

            As Dallas continued to distract the cashier as I inconspicuously reached down and slipped the chapstick in my pocket. I then lightly nudged him, signaling that my work there was done.

            "I didn't want this anyway," Dallas told the cashier, earning a look of disapproval.

            "You better put it back then," the man sneered. "I know your kind all too well, son."

            I looked up at Dallas and shrugged. There was no point in causing anymore trouble with this guy. He wasn't worth it.. just like Danny...

            "Fine," Dallas said defensively, turning on his heel to walk out. We soon approached the shelves where the magazines were, and instead of putting it back, he quickly bolted out of the store. I followed close by, hearing the shouts of the cashier fade away.

            We once again ran as fast as we could, ducking in an alleyway so we were hidden from the public eye.

            He pulled me up against him in order to flatten ourselves against the brick wall, and I couldn't help but laugh, even though butterflies filled my stomach. I looked up to meet his eyes, and for some reason, they wouldn't tear away from mine. My breaths hitched and I remained silent, clutching on to Dallas and studying his face. He was damn attractive...

            Breaking my concentration, he gently pulled away. "Did you snatch anything?"

            Dragging myself out of my little trance, I dramatically ripped the chapstick from my pocket and presented it to Dallas, taking a goofy bow.

            "Nice work, sweetheart," he said, chuckling.

            "What are you gonna do with that magazine?" I giggled, imagining him intently reading about pop culture or fashion.

            "I'll give it Johnny and Pony. They're probably bored," he replied, crinkling up the magazine and shoving it in his jacket pocket.

            At the mention of their names, I felt my entire body grow cold. Putting on a tough front, I said, "You better not break your promise. If I don't see them in the next couple days, I'll break your fucking nose, ya savvy?"

            Dallas shook his head, rolling his eyes at my threat.

            "I mean it, Dallas-"

            "Call me Dally," he interjected, taking me by surprise.

            "Huh?"

            "My friends call me Dally," he replied earnestly. "Call me Dally."