❝ stop making up your excuses ❞
two-bit and ponyboy were in biology, along with dallas. they wanted to talk to him now that they found out that he's been talking to maeve.
"go" ponyboy said to two-bit. "no. you go" two-bit said, somewhat scared of talking to dallas because of how intimidating he was around people. "i've already gone" ponyboy sighed, walking torwards dallas, two-bit walking behind ponyboy.
"we know what you're tryin' to do with maeve valance" ponyboy spoke while dallas was drawing random things on a blank white paper. "yeah and what about it?" dallas looked up.
"we wanna help" he said. dallas looking at the boys weirdly. "why's that?" dallas asked."ponyboy here likes her sister" two-bit answered quickly. "what the heck is it with this chick man? she got beer flavored nipples or something?" dallas asked.
"hey!" ponyboy whisper-yelled, getting defensive. "i think i was right when i said that ponyboy's love is pure. purer than bob sheldon's" two-bit laughed. "look man, i'm just in this for the cash. sheldon can plow whatever the fuck he wants man" dallas shrugged.
"okay but there will be no plowing!" ponyboy quickly spoke. "dallas.. uh dally. let me explain something to you, we set the whole thing up so that ponyboy can get cherry. bob is just a pawn" two-bit said.
"so you two are helping me tame the wild beast?" dallas asked. "we'll find out information about maeve. we'll find out what she likes. we're your guys," two-bit grinned. "we could start here, so buck's havin' a party on friday night. it's the perfect opportunity" he said, although there actually wasn't a party planned at buck's.
"opportunity for what?" dallas asked. "for you to take out maeve" two-bit answered. "hm i'll think about it" dallas nodded then continued to scribble. two-bit and ponyboy looked at each other with wide grins.
after class while they were walking to their next classes, in their hands they held many sheets of paper which were invitations to buck's party on friday night. everyone at school was allowed to go.
"and for a little payback. this is gonna be some party" two-bit spoke. "let's do this" ponyboy said with a grin.
once the boys dropped them through the few sets of stairs, many people grabbed the papers as soon as they began to fall.
meanwhile bob was standing next to his locker with cherry. "okay cherry, this is really important. which one do you like better?" bob asked, holding up two identical pictures of him except he wore a white button up shirt on one of them and a black button up on the other.
"hm i think i like the white shirt better" cherry said. "yeah it's more.." bob nodded, thinking of a right word. "pensive?" cherry asked. "damn, i was going for thoughtful. are you going to buck's party on friday night?" he asked. "yeah i might" she nodded.
"good. because i won't bother if you don't go" bob said, giving cherry a flirtatious smile. the bell then rang. "see you there" he said. "bye" she smiled, walking away. once she left, bob turned his head torwards the mirror in his locker.
he kept looking at his face in the mirror, even winking at himself. but then he unhappily adjusts a hair that's out of place.
later in the day, cherry and ponyboy took a walk under a bridge, they felt lots of peace considering that no one was around.
"have you heard about buck's party?" ponyboy asked. "yeah. and i really, really, really wanna go. but i can't, not unless my sister goes" cherry pouted. "i know. i'm working on that but she's not really going for my guy" he sighed. "she's not a.." he said, not knowing what to ask.
"beatles fan? no. i found a picture of elvis in her drawer once, it really shocked me because she actually listens to music" she shrugged. "and as of guys.. what kind of guys is she into? pretty guys?" he asked.
"i actually don't know. all i've ever heard her say is that she would go to jail before dating a guy that smokes" she said. ponyboy nodded."what else?" he asked.
"you're asking me to investigate the inner workings of my sister's twisted mind? i don't think so ponyboy" she shook her head. "well things aren't working. our only choice is to go behind enemy lines" he said with a convincing voice. cherry eventually agreeing.
after school, cherry and ponyboy went to cherry's house, taking the advantage of maeve not being at home because she was hanging out with a friend.
once they got to maeve's room, cherry began to take out things from her drawers, ponyboy watching with some interest. she gave a few things to him to look at. "schedule, reading list, date book, coffee tickets, um, concert tickets. ah ha! blank panties" she grinned.
"what does that tell us?" he asked, flustured. "she wants to have sex someday, that's what" she said, digging deeper through her drawers. "well she could just like color.." he shrugged. "you don't buy blank lingerie unless you want someone to see it" she said. "so uh can i see your room?" he asked.
"no. a girl's room is very personal" she shook her head. ponyboy sighed.
⚜
late at night, two-bit and ponyboy went to the vacant lot to meet up with dallas and tell him details about maeve before going to buck's.
"i'm here guys. man i'm probably gonna cough out a lung cause i just ran fast to get over here," dallas spoke, panting heavily. "so what'd y'all get for me?" he asked. "some insight into a very complicated girl" ponyboy said. "yeah i know smarty, just tell me man" he said.
"one question before we start: should you be drinking when you don't have a liver?" two-bit dared to ask. besides the murder rap, people have said rumors about dallas losing his liver after getting in a rumble in new york.
"what the fuck man!?" dallas asked, weirded out by his question. "oh uh nothing" two-bit quickly said. "first thing.. maeve hates smokers" ponyboy spoke, grabbing an unlit cigarette from dallas' lips, dropping it to the ground.
"you're telling me i'm a... non-smoker?" dallas asked hesitantly, looking at the cigarette on the ground. "yeah but just for now" two-bit nodded. "and there's another problem... cherry said that maeve only likes pretty guys" ponyboy said. as soon as he said that, it got very quiet.
"so you're telling me i ain't a pretty guy?" dallas asked with shock. "he's very pretty! he's a gorgeous guy" two-bit said, not wanting dallas to get angry. "i wasn't sure. i didn't know" ponyboy said as he grabbed a list with more information.
"anyways, she likes: mexican food, feminist prose, cherry also put on here that she likes to listen what she considers "hippie music". she also has a list of vinyls she has in her room" ponyboy continued, handing the list to dallas.
"so i'm supposed to buy her tacos and a book and sit around listening to hippies who can barely sing right?" dallas asked, looking at the list. "well her favorite band's playing at buck's about an hour from now" two-bit answered.
"but that music's probably trash" dallas said. "just cover your ears dal" two-bit shrugged. "she has a pair of black underwear if that helps" ponyboy said with an awkward smile. "couldn't hurt right" two-bit grinned, nudging dallas in the waist with his elbow.
later at buck's, dallas walked in and saw maeve dancing with her friend. instead of saying hi or so, dallas walked torwards the bar. meanwhile with maeve, she was thirsty and so she told her friend she'd get water, then walked to the bar.
"two waters" maeve said to the bartender, who quickly gave her two water bottles. right after she got them, she saw dallas sitting on a stool, she got somewhat mad because he wasn't looking at her, so she decided to be the one starting the chat.
"if you're still insisting on asking me out, you might as well do it right now" she spoke. "do you mind? you're kinda ruining the music for me" dallas lied, pretending to like the music although he absolutely hated it.
"you're not surrounded by your usual cloud of smoke" she pointed out. "i know. i quit. apparently they're bad for you" he nodded. "wait.. you did?" she asked in shock. "y'know man, these guys ain't the beatles or the rolling stones but they ain't too bad" he said, standing up to walk torwards the crowd.
maeve looked at dallas in shock, she never saw him as the type to listen to music at all. she quickly walked after him. "you actually know who the rolling stones are?" she asked with a grin. "why? don't you? i was watching you out there before.." he began.
right as the song ended, there was some silence as they waited for the next song, dallas was still talking in a loud tone.
"i've never seen you look so sexy" he said loudly, earning laughs from the people around him. he grinned from embarrassment, maeve couldn't help but laugh as well.
"come to buck's with me on friday night" he said. "you never give up do you?" she asked, starting to walk away. "was that a yes?" he asked. "no" she shouted over her shoulder. "well was that a no?" he asked. "no" she repeated, enjoying how difficult she was around dallas.
"i'll see you friday night then" he shouted. maeve couldn't help but smile at dallas, how insisting he was with her.
⚜
it was finally friday night and of course everyone at school was excited about going to buck's party because of how fun they'd have with music, drinks and all that good stuff.
cherry and marcia were already dolled up in their party outfits and were attempting to quietly walk down the stairs out the door meanwhile mr. valance was reading the newspaper, his back facing the girls. "you should have used the window" he spoke, cherry pretending things were normal.
"hi daddy" she said. "hi. where are we going?" he asked, walking towards the girls. "well, if you must know, a small study group of friends" cherry lied, yet acting very polite at the same time. "otherwise known as an orgy?" mr. valance asked.
"mr. valance, it's just a party" marcia spoke in a convincing tone. "and hell is just a sauna" he said, smiling at marcia. maeve began walking downstairs, oblivious of what was going on. "you know about any party?" mr. valance asked.
maeve shrugged and shook her head. "but daddy, people expect me to be there!" cherry exclaimed. "if maeve's not going then you're not going. end of story" he said. cherry turned to maeve with an angry face.
"why can't you be normal?" she asked her sister furiously. "define normal for me please cherry" maeve crossed her arms. "buck's party is normal" cherry sassed. "what's a buck?" mr. valance asked.
"buck's party is just a lame excuse for all the idiots in our school to drink beer and rub up against each other in hopes of distracting themselves from the pathetic emptiness of their.." maeve said, until the girls interrupted her.
"meaningless, consumer-driven lives" cherry and marcia both said at the same time. maeve looked at them two, surprised that she was really predictable.
"please maeve, can you for one night forget that you're completely insane and be my sister? please? please!? c'mon maeve please do this for me!" cherry begged. "fine i'll go. again" maeve nodded, mumbling the last part.
cherry and marcia look at each other with wide grins and both hug maeve, who looks at them weirdly. "it's starting," mr. valance said with a smile. "it's just a party daddy" cherry shrugged. "i want you to wear the belly" he said, cherry immediately freezing in terror. "absolutely not!" cherry yelled. "not all night. just around the living room so that you can see how it's like" he said.
mr. valance took out a padded faux-pregnancy jacket from a drawer nearby. cherry held out her arms in defeat. he then hung it on her. "i am perfectly aware daddy" she sighed.
"now you listen to me, every time you think about kissing a boy, i want you to picture yourself wearing this under your halter top" he said. "oh you are so completely unbalanced" she said. mr. valance nodded in agreement. "we're going now" maeve said.
"wait a minute maeve. remember: no drinking, no drugs, no kissing, no tattoos, no piercings, no ritual animal slaughter of any kind," he said. "oh god i'm giving them ideas" he mumbled to himself. maeve opened the door to see dallas.
"what are you doing here?" she asked, completely forgetting everything. "friday night, right?" he smirked. maeve stared at him in shock, she didn't know that he was actually going to show up. "i'm kinda early" he said, looking around her house. "yeah whatever. i'm driving" she said, walking outside.
"woah man, who knocked up your sister?" dallas asked, trying not to laugh. but he earned a nasty look from cherry, who was still wearing the pregnancy jacket.
people began to walk towards buck's, buck merrill completely unaware that there was going to be a party. he was cleaning the bar when he heard a knock on the door, and once he opened it, the bar got invaded by a stampede of partiers. the bar then reached it's capacity.
dallas and maeve walked together but they eventually separated ways and walked around. maeve walked torwards the pool table to see bob, who was flashing her a grin. "sweet. lookin' fresh tonight maeve" he said. she gave him a look and pointed at his forehead.
"wait- did your hairline just recede?" she asked, pretending to be in shock. bob was flustered for a moment, then noticed she was walking away. "hey where are you going doll face?" he asked. "away" she replied. "and where's your sister?" he asked. "stay the fuck away from my sister" she warned.
"oh i'll stay away from her. but i don't think she'll stay away from me" he smirked, walking away. maeve rolled her eyes as they walked separate ways.
maeve kept walking around, curious of how parties were like since she didn't go to one in a long time. but unfortunately she saw bob once again, with cherry.
"maeve, look who found me" bob grinned. bob and cherry began to walk away, cherry ignoring maeve. "cherry wait!" maeve called after her. both cherry and bob stopped walking and turned towards her. "please do not address me in public" cherry said, annoyed.
"but i need to talk to you" maeve said. "look maeve, i'm busy enjoying my adolescence. so scamper off and do the same" cherry said. "bye, bye" bob waved at maeve, enjoying their little fiasco. maeve just stood there after they walked away, then someone came up to her and offered her a shot although she was hesitant to.
dallas appeared as soon as she took her first shot, he could tell that she felt uncomfortable. "what's this?" he asked her. "right on sister!" the person with the shots said to her.
"i've been looking everywhere for you" dallas said to her. "i'm gettin' trashed man," she said in a mocking new york accent. "isn't that what you're supposed to do?" she asked.
"i dunno man. i say, do what you wanna do" he shrugged. "funny. you're the only one" she said, leaving him to walk towards the crowd. meanwhile ponyboy saw cherry and walked towards her.
"hi cherry" ponyboy said with a grin. "oh, hi ponyboy," cherry said with a simple nod. "um do you know marcia?" she asked with an awkward laugh, pushing marcia between them.
"yeah i think we have art together, right?" ponyboy said, looking at marcia. "great" marcia muttered, unamused. "you look really amazing tonight" ponyboy said to cherry. "thanks" cherry said uncomfortably.
"oh please, we all know i look amazing" bob spoke. the girls giggled and looked at him. ponyboy stared in disbelief. "i'll see you around. okay?" cherry said with a fake smile, walking away with bob and marcia.
dallas began searching for maeve, then found her with a shot on her hand. he then tried to grab it from her. "hey hey hey! why don't you let me have this one huh?" he asked. "no, this one's mine!" she said, rushing off.
"how'd you get her to do it?" bob asked dallas. "do what?" dallas asked. "act like a human" he said, noticing maeve climbed up a pool table and started dancing. bob was very pleased, then rushed to watch. dallas also walked to the table.
once maeve finished dancing, she fell although dallas quickly caught her. "you okay?" he asked. "yeah i'm fine" she said, sitting up then ended up falling back again.
"you're not fine man. c'mon" he said, carrying her. "i just need to lay down somewhere, that's all" she said. "no cause you'll lie down and you'll go to sleep. i ain'tno doctor but i know things" he said.
they went outside where dallas then sat her down on a stone bench. "okay there we go" he said, still standing up. ponyboy then walked over to him. "dally, we need to talk" he said. "i'm kinda busy right now man" dallas said.
"can you give me a second?" ponyboy asked impatiently. dallas stepped aside to ponyboy. "the whole thing's off" ponyboy spoke. "what are you talkin' about man?" dallas asked. "she never wanted me. she wanted bob the whole time" ponyboy sighed.
"pony.. you like this chick?" dallas asked, not having the time for this. ponyboy nodded. "is the worth all the trouble?" he asked impatiently. "well i thought she was but i don't think so anymore. i think i should just focus on school instead" ponyboy shrugged.
"well she is or she isn't i don't care man. first of all, bob ain't even half the man you are. second, don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want" dallas said. "thanks dally. i think i'm gonna go home before darry scolds me" ponyboy nodded, then started walking away.
dallas looked at maeve, who just kept looking around. "we should get away from the party. i'm getting kinda sick of it" he said, helping her up. they walked towards a small hill, dallas holding her up.
"you're so patronizing" maeve said, annoyed at being held up. "leave it to you to use big words when you're smashed" dallas said. maeve pushed his arm off and tried to walk by herself although she ended up falling. "yeah i don't think so" she said, getting up from the ground.
"okay.." dallas said, simply looking at her. "why are you doing this?" she asked, looking at him. "i told you. you might have a concussion" he said. "you don't care if i ever wake up" she said, looking at him weirdly. "sure i do" he said, grinning at her.
they both walked over to a set of swings covered in ivy, then sat together. "well then, because then i'd have to start taking out girls who actually like me" he said. "like you could find one" she mumbled a bit loud enough for him to hear.
"see? who needs affection when i have blind hatred?" he joked. "let me sit down for a while" she said, gently swinging the swing back and forth.
"so why'd you let him get to you?" he asked. "who?" she asked. "bob" he answered. "i hate him" she rolled her eyes. "looks like you've chosen the perfect revenge: taking several shots of tequila" he said, then the two began to laugh.
"you know what they say..." she said, getting tired. "no. what do they say?" he asked, stopping the swing. maeve fell asleep and because she didn't answer, dallas looked down at her to see her sleeping. his eyes widened a bit, concerned about the fact that she was sleeping with a possible concussion.
"maeve wake up! c'mon look at me man! listen to me! open your eyes!" he began to yell, gently slapping her face. maeve slowly opened her eyes, her eyes landing on his.
"your eyes have a little black in them" she smiled. dallas smiled and sighed in relief. they continued to keep eye contact, that was until she threw up on his feet because she was getting hung over.
about an hour later, they walked over to maeve's car because they thought it was the good time to leave the party. dallas insisted on driving because he wasn't feeling drunk unlike maeve. maeve turned on the stereo.
"i should do this" she spoke, humming along with the music. "do what?" dallas asked as he began to drive to her house. "this" she answered, pointing at the stereo. "start a band?" he asked.
"no. install car stereos, yes start a band. my dad would love this for sure" she said sarcastically. dallas pulled over at her house and stopped the car.
"you don't seem like the type to ask your father for permission" he said, looking at her. maeve turned to look at him. "so now you think you know me huh?" she asked. "i'm gettin' there" he shrugged.
"the only thing people know about me is that i'm "scary" she confessed, her voice beginning to lose it's venom. "yeah, well, i'm not picnic myself" he said. it was silent for a little while, dallas and maeve simply staring at each other.
"so what's with your dad? is he a pain in the ass?" dallas asked, avoiding the tension. "no. he just wants me to be someone i'm not" she shrugged. "who?" he asked.
"cherry" she rolled her eyes. "oh cherry.. no offense or anything, i know every guy wants her but i don't see why" he said. maeve smiled, staring at him with new admiration.
"you know, you're not as bad as i thought you were" she said, leaning closer to him. their faces grew closer as if they were about to kiss, until dallas pulled away.
"maybe we should do this some other time" he said, getting out of the car, walking away. maeve stared at him pissed, then got out of the car and stomped over to her house.
boy what a night.
hi pookies 🥰
i've been writing this since monday as soon as i got out of school.
also i'm just gonna tell y'all that this chapter has nearly 4000 words 😊
luckily i didn't get tons of homework like usual but um yeah
stay gold 💋🫶
~ alma