ALEX'S P.O.V.
He was walking pretty quick like he had to be somewhere, but I was mad, so I walked faster. I caught up with him and was only a few feet behind him. "Dallas," I said loudly.
He swung around, one of his newly purchased cigarettes hanging loosely from his mouth. His face lit up with surprise, then nervousness. "Hey-a Alex! Nice skirt ya got on, soc." He let out a chuckle. He then saw my stern, angry face, and his face fell, getting more nervous. "I-I-ah I've been looking all over town for you!"
"Bullshit." I stopped in front of him and folded my arms. "What happened to you that night? Why'd you leave me in the middle of the city drunk, alone, and in the rain? Huh!?" He stumbled over his words, started several sentences that he couldn't seem to finish. "Where'd you go?" My words were firm, and if they could be touched, they'd cut like a knife.
He cleared his throat. He looked me up and down and started walking again. "I got busted by the fuzz."
My expression softened slightly. I was a little taken aback. I knew that the cops had busted the party, but I thought Dally was too smart to get caught. "No kidding?" I stumbled to keep up with him.
He shook his head. "I went to go dance with that broad during the party and that's when the cops showed up and started cuffing people like crazy."
"Why'd you go dance with her?" I asked before I thought about it. I wanted to know, I just didn't know why.
"She was hot." He shrugged.
I scoffed, and whatever pity I felt for him getting hauled in by the cops disappeared. "You're a real piece a work, Dallas." I shook my head and started to walk away, swinging the bag containing the salt by my side.
"Hey!" He called after me. I didn't bother looking back, he had pissed me off and I was ready to get away from him. "Don't you wanna hear 'bout how I got out?" He jogged up beside me and matched my pace.
"Not at all actually." I clenched my jaw.
"Well when the cops hauled me in, they took me in on drug charges. But when we got there, well--I didn't have no drugs on me. I also wasn't on any drugs, so they couldn't hold me there. For some reason, they still held me there a few days, just not talking to me. Finally, I started banging on the cell door and yelling for a lawyer. That's when the damn fools let me out." He chuckled.
"So you walked out of that police station without a care in the world then!" I fake laughed.
"Pretty much." He popped his collar coolly.
"What about me? I had to call Sodapop from a payphone to have him sneak out and pick me up. Didn't think about that huh?"
He went quiet for a few moments. "I-I didn't know all that happened to you."
"Course ya didn't," I mumbled.
"Listen, it wasn't my fault I got held up? What do ya want me to say?"
I crossed my arms. "Nothing, Dallas. I don't blame you for anything. I only blame myself. I was stupid enough to sneak out with you and I realize I shouldn't have done that. My bad." I spoke angrily.
We walked for a few minutes in silence, and I could tell he was trying to come up with something to say. Soon, we arrived at Aunt Laney's house just as Two-Bit was pulling up. I hadn't even realized the sun had started to set and the afternoon breeze started to rustle the bushes. "Hey, Alex!" Two-Bit called hopping out of his car. "Dally buddy, where ya been?"
"Being a jackass apparently." He glanced at me.
Two-Bit shrugged with a laugh. "Ain't nothing new then!" Then he walked inside.
I walked up the lawn towards the door as Dally stayed on the edge of the lawn. I felt his eyes burning a hole in my back. "How can I make it up to you Alexis?" He called.
I had made it through the front door and was about to close it when I turned back to him. "Two things. Don't call me Alexis, and next time you need to 'get out' or take some liberating, spontaneous trip to the city, leave me out of it, Winston."
All he could do was smile devilishly at me before I shut the door. When the closed door finally separated us, I waited a moment, then sighed. I leaned against the door and close my eyes for a second. "Alexis?! Alexis?" Aunt Laney called from the kitchen.
I thought I told you to call me Alex. My mind spat, but I decided not to say it aloud.
"Yes?"
"Do you have that salt sweetheart?"
I sighed. "Yes, ma'am."
I walked into the kitchen and pulled it out of the bag, placing it on the counter. "Thank you so much, 'hun. You're a lifesaver."
"That's what I'm here for," I smirked and shrugged.
Aunt Laney flashed a warm smile and I walked back into the living room where my book still sat, unaffected by all that had happened to me in the time I was gone. I was about to sit back down on the couch when Two-Bit walked into the room. "Alex," He whispered. "C'mere."
I furrowed my eyebrows with a small smile and followed him out of the room, up the stairs and into his room. He shut the door behind us and plopped down on the bed. "Guess what." He rocked back and forth excitedly.
"What?" I sat down on the bed in front of him.
He glanced at the door, then reached under his bed and brought up a brown paper bag. "Ready?"
"Ready."
He then dumped the paper bag out, and cash fluttered onto the bed. My eyes widened and my smile wavered. "T-Two-Bit, w-where'd you get all this dough?"
He let out a bark of laughter. "Don't worry A, we didn't steal it."
I looked up from the money to him. "Well, where'd ya get it?"
"Soda, Steve and I won it in a high stakes pool game down at the pool house." He smiled wolfishly.
"You guys even old enough to be in there?"
"It doesn't matter none," He shrugged. "They don't card."
"Well, then that makes it alright," I mumbled under my breath.
"Listen, we're going to try and double it at a drag race in a few days. I want you to come and watch with the gang."
"You're drag racing?" I cocked an eyebrow like I had seen him do so many times before.
"Well I'm not driving, Soda is. I'm gonna be in the car, though."
"Soda can race?" I asked a little uneasily.
"Hell yeah he can, and he's good at it too!"
I sighed. "A bunch of kids got killed in a drag race last August down in Texas."
"Well, this ain't Texas! We know how to drag race here!"
"Oh, I bet," I said sarcastically raising my eyebrows.
"You don't have to come dolly." raised my eyebrows at the name. "--I mean Alex."
"Mmhhmmm... I'll come, I guess. I ain't got nothing else to do. But if it gets too crazy we're leaving, ya dig?"
He nodded. "Let's go have some dinner." He smiled.
"Last one there's a rotten egg." I squealed and pushed him back on the bed.
I heard him let out a howl of laughter and the thud of him jumping off the bed. I ran down the stairs, but he jumped down the stairs, catching up with me. We both laughed as we ran. He caught me by my shirt and pulled me back. I yelped and fell to the ground as he ran ahead, making it to the kitchen first. "Keith Mathews did you just push your cousin down?!" I heard Aunt Laney yell.
I laughed and walked into the kitchen with a fake limp. "It only hurts a little," I said with obvious fake hurt and a smile.
"Oh, I'll give you something to hurt about." He mumbled as he ran over to me with a smile.
He started to tickle me until I was blue in the face laughing. "Don't suffocate the poor girl!" Aunt Laney laughed as she brought a bowl of soup over to the table.
**********************
After dinner was over, and the sun had set, Two-Bit and I became restless because of the warm weather outside. I don't know what about the Summer time that makes you want to go out and do stuff, but just the smell in the air makes you want to go and spend the whole night out with friends. We decided to go over to the Curtis house to see what was up.
We drove over and just as we pulled up, they walked out. Pony, Johnny, Soda, Steve, Dally, and Isabella were there. "Howdy Two-Bit!" Soda called when he saw the car roll up. When I got out of the car, his eyes shot to me and he smiled. "Alex." He nodded with a goofy grin.
I waved back as I approached the group, avoiding eye contact with Dally. "We're just going over to the drive-in to see a movie, wanna come?" Pony asked.
I bit my lip and glanced over to Two-Bit. "Sure. What movie are we catchin'?"
"Who the hell knows or cares." Steve chuckled.
And with that, we all piled into two cars. I got back in Two's car with Pony, Two-Bit, and Johnny. Johnny and Pony were chatting about something that didn't really catch my attention until Pony spoke a little louder. He was telling a story. "What?" I turned around as we drove away from the Curtis house.
Pony's eyes softened with embarrassment as he looked down. "I got jumped today." He mumbled.
"No kidding?"
Pony shrugged. "He was walking back from the lot alone," Johnny spoke shaking his head slightly.
Only then did I see the cut along the side of Pony's face. "Damn Pony, they pull a blade on you?" My eyes widened as he winced at my words.
He nodded slightly. "Damned socs," Two-Bit growled keeping his eyes on the road.
"It wasn't no socs." Pony snapped. "It was that gang that was giving us trouble back in the spring."
Two-Bit almost jumped out of his seat trying to look back at him. "You serious?!"
"Yup."
"Whaddya talking about?" I asked. "What gang?"
Two-Bit swallowed hard as he settled back into his seat and looked back on the road. "This new gang of tuff greasers formed back in spring and they've been giving us trouble ever since. They know we're a pretty cool gang, so they keep tryna rumble with us... Assert dominance or something like that."
I shifted in my seat. "Well, why don't ya rumble with 'em?"
"They're some tuff cats in that gang." Pony sat forward in his seat. "Might be a bit of a challenge."
"Yeah, but we might have to take that challenge and fight them so they'll stop beating on us." Two-Bit gripped the steering wheel till his knuckles were white.
I clenched my jaw. We rolled up to the drive-in and got out of the cars. It was cheaper to go in without a car. As we approached and met up with the other group, I had some major deja vu from the last time we were at the drive-in and Dally and I talked up those girls. A grin played on my lips for a moment, basking in the fond memory, but I promptly swiped it away when I made eye contact with Dally. I looked away hurriedly as I kept my pace with the rest of our group.
In front of me, Isabella wrapped her arm around Soda and Soda did the same. I rolled my eyes and Dally caught it. He chuckled. I glanced at him and scoffed, folding my arms as we each forked up a quarter in line. We went in one by one giving our quarter when it was my turn, Dally gave the lady a quarter for me. "I can pay for myself," I growled and gave her my coin.
Dally walked up closer to me. "When are you gonna give up this whole angry act?"
"Well, you did only apologize about four hours ago."
Suddenly, with a blanket of darkness lacing the ground, I tripped on a rock. "Damn it!" I cursed as my ankle twisted, sending immense pain through my foot.
I watched as the ground came closer and I could feel myself crumble under the pain. Before I hit the ground as anticipated, I felt someone catch me in their arms. I knew who it was right when I got close enough to smell him. The unforgettable and strangely comforting smell of cologne, old leather, and smoke Dally always sported. "You okay?" He asked as he helped me limp over to a bench out of everyone's way.
"I think I broke my ankle." I hissed holding it.
"It's probably just twisted." He looked down at my ankle as it began bruising almost immediately.
"Hey what's the holdup, guys?" Two-Bit came over in a jog.
"Alex did something to her ankle, man."
"You okay?" Two-Bit's eyes widened.
"Yeah, yeah, it just hurts like hell."
"Man, we should get you to a hospital or something." Two-Bit sighed.
"No." I hissed. I knew that if they took me to a hospital, it would cost more money than they've got. But aunt Laney would insist on paying for me because she is kind and prideful and would probably feel partially responsible because I was here when it happened. "I'll just go on back home. It's not that serious I promise."
Two-Bit glanced back at the gang with sad eyes as they sat down, laughing and joking. "Hey Keith," Dally started. "I'll take Alex home, you stay here and get your kicks."
"You sure?"
Dally nodded and before anyone asked me if I was okay with this plan, he was gone. Dally stood up and began to try and pick me up. "I don't need you to carry me," I said firmly.
He took his hands back in defense and I started to stand up. Dally helped me up, but on my first step, the pain in my foot was too much to handle. I didn't want him to know that, though. So I hopped on one foot with my arm wrapped around Dally. I was horrible at hopping on one foot, though. I almost lost my footing and stumbled. "Damn it, Alex," Dallas growled with an angry face.
"It's not my fault!" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Just let me help you!"
"I don't need your help!" I felt foolish not accepting his help, but I didn't want to be a damsel in distress. We took a few more steps and got out into the parking lot.
Just my luck, I stumbled again, this time to catch myself I used my bad foot. I let out a yelp of pain. Dally then had enough and picked me up into his arms. I didn't protest anymore because, in actuality, it felt really good to get off that foot.
When we made it to his car, he sat me down in the passenger seat and I folded my arms as he got in on the other side. We both didn't speak as he turned on the car and started to drive. His car brought back some unwanted memories. Memories of that night we ran away and drove recklessly on the highway. The music, the night air, the freedom. I squeezed my eyes shut to flush out the memories.
"Listen, Alex." He mumbled, breaking my train of thought. "I'm a real dick sometimes."
"Hm."
He glanced over at me and I didn't look at him. "I'm sorry about that night, I really am."
I decided not to answer, thinking about how I maybe should take it easy on him. I looked out the window as we rolled through the east side neighborhood.
I looked around and didn't recognize this place. I knew the general place of where we were, but this wasn't even near Two-Bit's house. "This isn't the way back to my house."