The Outsiders: A New Place

Chapter 21

it was later in the day, and me and the gang were watching cartoons at the curtis house.

"so, what do you guys think dally has for me? im honestly pretty scared." i said, nervously laughing.

"i dont know, you never know with dallas winston. he likes you though, and although dally may be unpredictable, he doesn't do bad things to people he likes." steve said, chowing down on a chocolate cake.

"you're one of the only people besides us guys that dal' likes, and steve's right. he wouldn't do something bad to you. and if he does, ill be ready to beat his ass for you. we all will." pony said, holding up his fist. i smiled and laughed which made the gang laugh in return.

dally suddenly barged in through the door and said "you ready ash?" the gang all moved their eyes to me and i said "not really, but sure." i hopped up and turned to the gang mouthing "wish me luck" and headed out the door behind dallas. we walked out of the house and into the chilly air.

"ugh, i should have grabbed a jacket." i complained.

"i told you to bring a jacket, doofus." dally replied, lighting a cigarette.

"you didn't tell me that!" i said.

"i know." dally mumbled, picking up his pace. i didn't know where we were going, or what we were doing for that matter.

"what are we doing even? where are we going?" i asked.

"someplace." dally replied.

"well that doesn't help." i muttered. we continued walking for a while longer until i started to hear loud car engines in the distance.

"what is that noise? is that where we're going?"

"you ask a lot of questions, smalls." dallas scoffed, throwing away his cigarette.

"smalls? can you just answer this one question for me?" i said, getting noticeably angrier. i think dally realized this and finally gave me an answer. "yes, thats where we're goin'."

now that i finally had an answer, i started thinking of the possibilities of what we could be going to. soon enough, we came across a road with loads of people standing along a fence, cheering and throwing their hands in the air.

"what is this? i asked.

"drag race. you're always talking about how you want to go to one." he replied.

"i've never said anything about wanting to go to a drag race." i said.

"thats why i read your diary." dally smirked. he started to walk away as i said "i don't even have a diary!"

we walked to the fence that bordered the race track as cars whizzed by. i stepped back because the force of the cars driving by was so great, and i felt dally push me back forward.

"i realized that you can't be apart of the gang if you've never been to a drag race, so think of this as your... uh... whats the word?" he asked.

"initiation?" i said, answering his question.

"yep, that's the word."

we continued watching the drag races, and it was pretty cool. the only bad thing was that there were so many drunk people there. they were throwing their beers everywhere and it would get on me. the stench of beer has traumatized me now, and i cant smell it without wanting to barf.

"dally, is there anywhere else we can watch the race without having to be around drunk drug addicts?" i asked, putting my hand on my nose.

"yeah, i know a place. lets go." he said, starting to walk away. after a while, i removed my hand from my nose to check if the coast was clear, and it was. i finally took a deep breath in and out, and it felt nice to breathe without feeling like i was going to blow chunks. we walked for a while more and i started to shiver and my teeth started to clatter with the cold. dally rolled his eyes and mumbled "damn you, ash." and took off his jacket, handing it to me. i slipped it over my cold arms and the jacket was already warm with dally's heat, and it felt nice against my skin. i was suddenly more warm, and i turned to dallas and whispered "thanks."

it wasn't much longer before we arrived to the opposite side of the race track. it looked very run down, with not very many people there. and honestly, i can see why. there was trash everywhere, and the very few amount of people that were there looked like they could be murders, and could get their way out any situation. they all looked like they were hiding some secret, and everyone there knew that secret except for me.

when me and dally walked up to the fence, they all looked at us with wide eyes and straight faces, gluing their eyes to us. you don't know how bad i wanted to run as far away as i possibly could in that moment.

"dally, why are they all looking at us like that?" i whispered, still feeling the burning gaze of the creepy people on my back.

"hoodlums, im guessing." he replied, lighting a cigarette. we watched the race for a while and i eventually forgot about the creeps that were behind us. but soon, they were brought back to my attention when i heard the sound of boots on the cement, and i looked over to see a group of four greasy boys approaching the fence. they were all smoking cigarettes and i could tell they were previously drinking booze from that damned smell again and the way they were walking. the one in the front smiled at me and winked, and i turned to dally saying "i have a bad feeling about those boys that just walked in, can we go?"

dally looked at me and laughed. "we're in the middle of the race, i have to see who wins." i sighed, just wanting to feel safe and be with pony and the rest of the gang. i put my arm on the fence and rested my head on my hand and watched the race. i couldn't stop thinking about those boys; they made me feel so uncomfortable. i could tell they were up to no good, it was pretty much fact at this point. but it didn't hit me how bad they truly were until everything started happening so fast.

i look over at the boys and saw them punching an innocent bystander. he was shouting "whats happening, whats going on?" as all four of the guys beat him. my mouth dropped into an "o" shape and i heard dally saying "we should probably get going." and started to walk away. for me, that wasn't such an easy task. all i could think about was how i should be helping that bystander, but i knew i couldn't. or maybe i could?

i froze in my steps and walked over to the fight, not paying attention to dallas yelling "ash, what the hell are you doing?" as soon as i realized what i did next, i immediately regretted it. i threw one of the boys off of the man, and all four of them looked at me. they turned back around and continued beating the man who was now clearly unconscious and possibly not even alive. without thinking, i dove straight into the fight, getting punched a few times in the process. i dont even know where dallas was at this point, i didn't really pay attention.

suddenly, i heard police sirens in the distance getting louder, but i couldn't will myself to just leave this man passed out on the ground, so i didn't run away. i felt the other four boys run, yelling "the fuzz showed up!" i looked at the man under me, who was now dead. i lowered my head, knowing my efforts weren't good enough.

this next part is hard to remember, it just seems like a blur to me. all i remember is being hauled to my feet and feeling handcuffs cut into my wrists and being lead to a car. i remember seeing red and blue lights and hearing a deep, grumbly voice saying, "ash sanders, charged of murdering mr. robert paxton."

hey guys! not much to say about this chapter, but sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger ;) dont forget to vote, comment, and follow, and thanks for reading!