Pretend To Be Nice
By Josie and the Pussycats
A/N: My first song-fic. My songing skillz need some work, lol…this is anything but seamless. It's not a super serious work, if you know the song, but go as harsh as you like on this one, cause I need the work.
And that's exactly what I wrote when I posted this for the WSOTTA summer challenge.
Disclaimer: I did not write "Pretend To Be Nice" although, neither did the Pussycats. I can't remember who did… I think it was John Frizzell. But, in any case, it wasn't me, and I made no money here. Oh, and S.E. Hinton owns Dally and Sylvia and Tim and anything you recognize, really. But, you all knew that.
xxx
"What the fuck is that."
"It's a skirt."
"It's a fucking Kleenex."
"I got it at Wallmart…"
"Jesus. You're one fucking classy broad. Jesus Christ, you look like a hooker."
Well, he looks at me with those innocent eyes
And says: "It looks like you're wearing some kind of disguise,
Because your hair sticks up, your shoes are untied.
I hope that you got that shirt at half-price."
Dallas took a drag off his cigarette. He flicked his gaze at me with his ashes and gave this stupid little half-laugh without moving his mouth from that mean smirk.
"Well, come on, honey, I bet you're just itchin' to show off that little number downtown."
He held his arm out to me like a gentleman and laughed and gave me a challenging look.
I stood up from the bed, stretching, arms over my head, standing on tiptoe. "I been sittin' too long, I guess."
Dally put his hands in his pockets. Hah.
I turned to smooth the bedspread and by the time I turned back, I knew he'd changed his mind about the skirt.
"Are we going?"
"Just waitin' on you, princess."
I gave him my sweetest smile. "Honey." Asshole.
He turned around and went out in the hall and down the stairs and out through the kitchen onto the grass before he even looked back at me.
"Hurry the fuck up," he said, irritable-like. He's always got something buggin' him.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said, trying to scramble down the stairs in my heels.
He smirked. "That right? I look that good?"
I felt my face get hot. I never blush for real though – if I did I don't know how I'd survive dating Dally.
I tripped going across the lawn and had to grab at him. "Shit!" I scrapped the mud of my heel. "Damn three-inchers."
He gave that little laugh again. "You're lucky you got me then, baby. All the inches you need."
Can't you take anything at face value, Dallas? But I didn't say nothing, cause I'm smarter than that at least.
He slammed into the driver's seat and started the car before I'd got the door open. Some gross tan thing, paint flickin' off, sticky door, the engine soundin' like a chainsaw…
"Where'd you get this car?"
He'd tossed his cigarette butt out the window and took a drag off the one already lit in his mouth. "You don't like it, then you can walk."
He was in a bad mood, then. I decided to pull him outta it with his favourite suggestion. I put on a sexy smile.
"You wanna drive to the lake?"
"No."
He was in a really bad mood, then.
And every word I say falls flat on the floor.
I try to tell a joke. He's heard it before.
And I don't think that I can take it no more.
He's driving me right out my front door.
He drove like a madman, of course. It was fine up till we hit the Ribbon, but who wants to hit eighty when there's a car stopped a hundred feet in front of you?
"Dally, can't you slow down a little?"
"No."
We went screaming past the Dingo. It was packed with kids and Elvis was wailin' and he didn't even slow till the car in front signalled left.
He slammed on the brakes. "Shit."
I twisted to look behind us. "Why don't we go to the Dingo?"
"No."
"But, there's so many-"
"No."
I was quiet. "You wanna-"
"No."
He gave me this mean little look that meant "shut-up" and he said: "Shut the fuck up, will ya? I know where I'm going."
So I shut up.
Can't you just pretend to be nice?
Could you at least pretend to be nice?
If you could just pretend to be nice,
Well, everything in my life would be alright.
We stopped at this little bar with no sign on the door and a lot of boys and not too many girls, neither. Dally got out and must have known everyone there by the way they hollered at him. My door got stuck.
"Dallas," I called.
He glanced back at me, He was grinning and talking with his buddies and then he motioned for me to come over. Then he walked into the bar.
"Dallas!"
There was a roaring laugh and I knew it was at something he said. Probably something dirty, but he could make the stingiest Soc girl giggle with one of those jokes if he wanted. My door still didn't open.
"Dal-"
Someone pulled it open and I almost fell out onto a couple of legs in jeans. I looked up across the jeans and the blue eyes looked down around the leather and he gave me a hand up and raised an eyebrow.
"You alright, there, Sylvia?"
I shrugged. I can't help getting tongue-tied around Tim cause he's so good-looking.
He gave me a once over. "You look real nice tonight. Nice skirt."
I opened my mouth and closed it and took a breath. "Thanks."
He looked over at Dally's back. "What you doing here looking so good with a hood like that?"
"He's my boyfriend, I guess."
"Yeah. I know. Ain't acting like it. You and me oughtta run off and teach him a lesson." He winked. "Kiddin'."
I shrugged. "I guess he's in a bad mood."
Everybody laughed again, real loud, and Dally was right in the thick of it.
The corners of Tim's mouth twitched a little. "Yeah, looks like it," Tim said slowly.
"Well, he was," I said defensively.
"Sylvia!" Dally looked over and scowled and motioned again for me and just like that he was in a bad mood again.
I left Tim and met Dally half way to the door. "Why are you so mad?"
He looked at me and his eyes and his face went blank. "I ain't mad." He kissed me real soft and put his hands through my hair like he know I like. "I ain't mad. Crazy, pretty little chick.""
Then some guy called him and he ran over to drink outta a beer that came from nowhere and laugh like a maniac at some dirty joke.
And I try so hard just to figure him out,
But he won't tell me what he's been thinkin' about
I sat on a picnic table outside and Dally brought me a beer. Then he went to the bathroom, but it took him an hour, and then after five minutes of kissing and talking with me he had to go again. A half hour later I was hungry, but the guys in the bar were giving me looks already. It was a miracle they hadn't bothered me yet, but I guess Dallas had said something to them. The way the night was going I almost wished he hadn't said a thing.
I was sitting by my lonesome and playing with the empty beer bottle and feeling like crap when I heard the sirens. I looked behind me trying to see where they were coming from, but I knew who they were after, sure as anything. When I turned back around, Tim was there again. He spooked me something awful, just creeping up and not making a noise just like a cat.
"Don't think you'll be seeing much of your boyfriend for awhile," he said seriously.
I don't see him that much anyway, I thought, but I didn't say it cause I wasn't aiming to be the talk of the town over Dallas again.
Tim looked at me closely. "I mean it. Some boys talked him into riding shotgun in a drag race – in a cop car."
Drag race? But, we were on a date! He'd swore last time he wouldn't get caught again and leave me stuck without a way to get home. He'd swore it.
And then he disappears for a week at a time
And then he shows up just like everything's fine.
I don't get what goes on in his mind
But I'm tired of hearing the same stupid lines.
I shrugged at Tim, and now I could talk because I was madder than heck. "It's okay. I could use a break from him anyway."
He smiled a little. "He ain't treatin' you right, huh? Now why would that be?"
I shook my head. "I dunno. Guess he doesn't think much of me no more. Guess he's just tired of me."
Why do you do what you do to me baby?
Shakin' my confidence, driving me crazy.
You know, if I could I'd do anything for you.
Please don't ignore me, cause you know I adore you.
"I don't really care, anyway."
Tim nodded. "You shouldn't."
"I won't."
"Good."
"Yeah."
"Yeah." Then Tim licked his lips and took a breath and I knew what he was about.
We watched the cop cars clear off but I didn't see any sign of Dally. I tried not to mind much, cause I knew the next time I saw him he would spend a lot of time with me. At least, until he said he loved me, and then after that it'd be no more than ten minutes and he'd be gone, or at least asleep. But, at least he'd be nice for the whole time while he waited. But, after the last cop car went, and Tim told me how long he figured Dally'd be gone, I thought about it and I thought about the bar and I thought about the five minutes he'd spent with me that night and I felt like shit.
Can't you just pretend to be nice?
Could you at least pretend to be nice?
If you could just pretend to be nice,
Well, everything in my life would be alright.
Tim hotwired the car that Dally drove us over in to take me back home. On the way, though, he kept giving me these quick little looks. I guess the skirt was good for something. I rubbed my legs like they were cold and tried to forget about Dally.
"I hear the stars are real nice around now. Full moon, too."
"That right," he said lowly, but he barely heard me, I know it.
"Yeah, but you can't see them cause of all the city lights."
"That right," he said again and I couldn't help smiling.
"Yeah. I love lookin' at the stars, you know, but I don't hardly get to see them."
I crossed my legs and neither of us said nothing while he watched my legs and I watched him swallow. We were quiet for a minute. He took a breath.
"That…right."
I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder and looked at his good-looking face and thought about how tuff he was. He looked at me quickly. I wanted him to look for longer so I put my hand on his knee and he did it, just like that, just like Dallas, just like anyone. Then his eyes closed a little. "So, stars," he mumbled.
"Yeah. You know where you can see them real good?"
"Huh."
"The lake."
We did a U-turn that almost broke my neck and I felt better.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
The End.