I'm back!! Erm…Flustered Vampire, you are not allowed to kill my fictional love interest…Anywayz, we're playing this one a little by ear, so…away we go? This still rotates around Dess' universe, because everyone else is someone else's character, and stealing is wrong. Kinda. When it's not chocolate.
DISCLAIM: I don't own them…sigh…
WARNING: This fic was written by an Aries and may contain:
Fish and poultry products
Some artificial sweeteners
The ability to kick flamer ass
And nuts. That is all.
Chapter 1: Taste the Explosion
3rd Omniscient
Darry and Elle pulled up to the house slowly. This district of the East side was peculiar in the fact that, when Tulsa was being formed, this was actually close to the center of town, therefore, the houses were large and elaborate.
As the city grew, however, the east side was developed, and this district became known as hood territory, even though is had some of the nicest houses in town, not to mention the oldest.
This particular house, as Darry had been informed by Elle, was owned by an older woman who had had a large family. It had been in the family for a few generations, which explained why she hadn't wanted to leave, but the death of her husband convinced her she needed not only a smaller house, but one in a safer neighborhood. She was selling the house for very cheap, only about eleven-thousand dollars. For Tulsa, that was great for a house of that size. At 20,000 square feet and four floors, it was a monster worthy of receiving the Curtis flock. Now if only they could convince the old lady to sell her house to a bunch of hoodlums. There was a reason they hadn't wanted the younger kids to come.
"Well, let's do it," Darry sighed, getting out of the car.
"Wait a sec," Elle requested over the top of the car. "Do you like it?"
Darry's eyes darted to the house behind his wife and back to her. "I think there are six kids in the family who really don't deserve it."
"Seven; you're forgetting Lola, who will probably move in."
"Actually, I was counting her. Lolly never did anything to me." They laughed. "And besides, this isn't just your favorite, it's Dess and Lolly's, too. So I don't really have a say, do I?"
"No, not really. Let's get this over with."
They walked toward the house and Darry knocked on the door, grabbing Elle's hand in his own and trying very hard to look older, conservative, and very much a responsible man looking for a house for his family. Right. Like you haven't heard that one before.
The woman who answered the door was at least a foot shorter than Darry, even though she held herself with a straight back. Her green eyes were bright in her weathered face, and her long white hair was managed and clean, pulled back in a ponytail. She was obviously someone who knew who she was and had seen a lot in her years.
"Hello." Her voice was authorative despite her age, and a little questioning. "Can I help you two?"
"Yes," Darry started, motioning back to the For Sale sign in the yard. "We saw that you have this house for sale, and we were wondering if it would be okay if we came in and talked to you about the price."
The woman broke into a wide smile and welcomed Darry and Elle in, suddenly considerably warmer than before.
"Of course! Please come in. My name is Rosemary Evans."
"I'm Darryl Curtis, and this is my wife, Elle."
"Oh, so you're from the Curtis clan!" Darry wasn't surprised Rosemary knew the name; his mother had been somewhat of a star for her cooking and social skills. This woman probably knew Darry from when he was in diapers. "I don't recall hearing you being married, dear."
"We just got married a few weeks ago," Elle put in. "The family is getting a little crowded, so we figured it would be best if we got a bigger house, and we've been admiring yours for months."
The cat was essentially out of the bag; if Rosemary knew who Darry was, she also knew about the large brood of troublemakers he toted around with him.
"How many? Is everyone still with you?" Her voice became soft and understanding, also a bit reluctant, like she knew she asking about something that could be a sensitive area.
Darry was struck by this woman's insight into his family and many other's tough life. She would not be surprised to hear of Johnny's death.
"Well, we're one smaller. I'm sure you heard about Johnny Cade," Darry told her, and she nodded. "And Steve Randall…no longer associates himself with us." She nodded again, as if she understood the situation without Darry telling her—she probably did. "But Keith Mathews' little sister and mine came back from out of state, so the house is just as full. Also, Elle here and her sister Lola have moved in…so we're pretty tight."
"I see you're in dire need of more space," Rosemary replied, a small, sympathizing grin on her face. "I raised ten children in this house, not to mention James and I. How many are in the family?"
Darry paused to think. Himself, Sodapop, Dessarea, Ponyboy, plus Two-Bit and Lolly, Elle, Lola and Dallas…
"Nine."
"It should be no problem for this old house, then. If you'll follow me, please." Rosemary led the way from the landing into a large living room and up a flight of stairs. "I have three floors above ground, and a basement, but you could hardly call that livable. You're in luck, because a few of my boys came by just last month and redid the roof—no leaks, and the heating is superb."
They came out in a large, open room with wood flooring. There was nothing up here, and the far wall was made entirely of glass—it was a sunroom of sorts. There were four doors set into the walls on the right and left, as the stairwell was also set into another wall, an outer one.
"There are three bedrooms here," Rosemary told them. "That far one is the rotunda, there's another room on it above us."
Darry had noted the round column on one corner of the house from the outside—this was the rotunda room, which Dess was crazy about. It would be round inside like it was on the outside.
"Also, a bathroom there," the old woman added, pointing to a powder blue door. She led her two guests across the room, where another flight of stairs waited. "We can't go up today; there's a loose stair I'd rather not chance that the boys are fixing this evening. But there are three more rooms upstairs and another bathroom. It's the same as this floor, actually."
She led them back downstairs, treated them to a tour of the kitchen, dining room, living room, and master bedroom.
"Seven bedrooms, three baths, and enough room to host a party of elephants," Rosemary told them, back in the living room. "I think that will suit your needs just fine, until the group begins to move out."
"That…sounds wonderful," Elle said, grabbing Darry's hand.
"What are you selling it for?"
"I'll sell for twenty-thousand."
"Hmm…I think we could do that with a tiny loan," Darry murmured, sitting back on the couch and staring into space.
Rosemary smiled warmly. "I'm glad my home will be of some use to someone. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis."
"Thank you, Mrs. Evans."
Lolly
"Two-Bit, no."
"Just once?"
"No."
"It'll be so much fun…I'll clean it up, I swear!"
"If you do, I'll kill you. I'll kill you dead."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Push that button and see if I don't have your ass on a plate…I said…TWO-BIT!"
Whir.
For the second time in as many months, I stood in the kitchen, covered in milkshakey goo. However, the distinct difference was that this kitchen was big enough for the whole gang to sleep in…and possibly play football.
"You have four seconds," I growled, wiping shake out of my eyes. My older brother giggled like a maniac and ran out of the room. I ran after him, leaving a kitchen partially covered in milkshake for someone else. Hopefully Darry; because then he'd come and help me beat Two-Bit's head in.
I tackled him on the stairway, which probably wasn't the smartest thing ever, and proceeded to strangle him.
"I…said…NO!"
"Whoa, Lolly, easy there on the buddy." Soda emerged from picking out our room upstairs and tapped me on the shoulder. Prosper, Dessarea's cat, wrapped his tail around himself and sat down on the stair one up from me. "What'd you do this time, Bit?"
"I made a milkshake explode!" Two-Bit giggled, sounding perversely proud of himself.
Soda groaned. "Dammit Two-Bit, again? And in the new house, too…by the way, Lolly, our room is on the first floor, the door with the glass knob." He went off to survey the damage, at which point Dess and Dally came down the stairs. They were holding hands—and I looked again…and they were still holding hands. Son of a gun.
"What happened to you two?" I asked, still crushing Two-Bit's lower chest area.
"What?" Dess asked.
"You're glowing. And holding hands with it."
Dess looked down at her own hand.
"I dunno. I'm just glad to be in a new house, is all."
"Oh." Good.
"Lolly, do you still hate me?" Dally asked, sounding like he wished with all his heart for the answer to be no. Too bad.
"Yes."
He sighed. "I thought so." They continued down the stairs.
Two-Bit, previously forgotten, shifted. "Lolly…if you wouldn't mind getting off me…?"
I settled into a more comfortable position below his ribcage. "Why?" I teased. His gray eyes darkened.
"Because you're too heavy to wrestle anymore. I can't breathe, now get off."
"Are you calling me fat?"
"I'm not calling you skinny."
I frowned, even though I knew he was teasing. "Oh, your ass is as good as mine."
"Actually, I'd have to say it's better."
I drew back. I knew Two-Bit was good, but… "Okay, you win this round. I have to go see our new room." I got off of him and pushed him down a few of the stairs with the ball of my foot as I ascended the staircase.
As I went I heard Darry's distinct voice. It was yelling, and it was yelling at my brother. Revenge…had never been so sweet.
I stepped into the room Soda had picked out for us. It did indeed have a glass doorknob, and inside, there was thick, cream-colored carpet. The bed from Soda's room had been moved in here, as well as his dresser, and my smaller one from Two-Bit, mine, and mom's house. Mom had pretty much accepted the fact that we were living with the Curtises, since Soda and I were engaged, so all, not just some, of my clothes were divided between my dresser and the closet.
The bay window overlooking the backyard was a nice touch; I assumed Soda had chosen this room for that reason. I lay down on the bed. Today had been stressful.
We moved in yesterday, and today had been split between unpacking and hitting the department store in groups to check out stuff we wanted/needed. Amazingly enough, the previous owner, Rosemary Evans, left everything in the kitchen and dining room, which meant we had just acquired a large oak table and a china cabinet, not to mention a new set of china and silverware.
The only thing we lacked was…well…everything. A new couch, table, TV, stuff to furnish the rooms…it's not that we didn't have things, we just needed newer stuff, and more of it.
Luckily, the house was largely painted in solid colors, nothing abhorrently fancy that we'd have to take down. But still. We needed new stuff.
It was late August, and still stubbornly warm; we'd gone down to the swimming hole for the last time just a few days ago and had a hell of a party. Half of Sheppard's gang—the decent half—showed up to party with us.
Now it was five or six, but I hadn't slept well recently, or rather hadn't had a chance to. We'd been too busy…and honestly, who needs sleep? However, as I lay curled up in Soda and me's bed, in a patch of sunlight, I felt myself slip off into unconsciousness.
Dess
"To the bedroom!" That was the general cry. Now that the whole gang was back from the stores and we were all in one place, we went to go unpack personally. Lolly, who was sleeping, was about to be rudely awaken, but I had bigger fish to fry. That could be saved for Halloween.
I raced to our bedroom, Dally in tow. I pulled a skeleton key on a piece of ribbon out of my pocket and inserted it into the lock below the rotunda room door's knob. It turned like clockwork. It was so weird to have a key…and yet, it opened so many doors…oh, that was a bad one. I didn't mean it…
Anyway, I opened the door and exhaled—I was happy. The room was octagonal and had a window overlooking the corner of the backyard. It had hardwood floors, and the walls, while painted a soft blue, were bare. All that was there was my bed and dresser. Dally's stuff, what little he had, lived in the bottom drawer of the five-drawered dresser, all except for two boxes of smaller stuff that had to be unpacked now.
I opened the first as Dally rummaged through the second. Pulling out a familiar frame, I searched for a nail in the wall. It was the old angel I drew when we first got home, the one Lolly had had inked for me. I figured it was about time for it to have a place in the world.
While I searched for a nail, Dally pulled out what he'd been looking for—a bottle of cologne that could fit in the palm of my hand. I froze when the oh-so-familiar scent drifted to me. He saw it and grinned.
"Oh yes…it's the cologne."
"What's it called?" The actual name of the cologne he wore had been kept a careful secret from me for months—he kept it somewhere in the depths of the medicine cabinet until now.
He held the bottle out to me and I took it…and was severely disappointed.
The name had been worn off with time, all except for a few traces of silver paint here and there. Dally chuckled.
"You didn't honestly think I'd tell you, did you?" he asked.
"Not really," I replied sullenly, popping the cap off and sniffing it. "Oh my God…it smells like…you, concentrated." He laughed aloud and I shook it a little—there was very little left inside. "You better tell me soon; it looks like you're running out. I can buy you some more for your birthday."
"You know, I only started wearing that maybe two months before you came home? I don't even remember where I got it, but you seem to like it well enough."
"Actually, it's more like it reminds me of you so I like it. But it does smell good, though."
I crossed the room and set the bottle on top of the dresser. From what little liquid there was inside, I could tell it wasn't that fancy, sweet-smelling, dyed stuff the Socs wore. It was clear, and the scent was unlike any other I'd ever smelled.
"Do they even still carry it?" I asked. The idea of him having to get a new scent…disturbed me, for some reason.
"Yeah. Don't worry your pretty head." He continued unpacking a few pictures in frames, my sketchbook, and the bulk of the materials inside, my books. "You have so many of them," he murmured almost wistfully. I paused beside him, unpacking a glass angel mom had given me for my eleventh birthday.
"Does that bother you?" I asked, puzzled as to why it would.
"No." A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "I'm glad you do. You can teach the kids to read."
"It's not like you can't," I replied, slightly shocked over the fact that he had accepted that I was getting kids one way or another.
"Not really. I can't read very well. I can…just slowly, and not very well."
"I didn't know that…" I murmured. For some reason, this made me very, very sad.
"There was never a reason for you to." He looked at me and grinned. "Don't worry about it. I don't care either way. Where do you want this?" He held up a photo, and I shook off my previous concern for another time.
It was a really old one. Me, Dally and Soda were wrestling on the floor. We couldn't have been more than six or seven, so it was before Lolly came. Mom had taken it without my knowing. I kept it close when I was in Nebraska, and I kept it closer when me and Dal got together.
"On the nightstand," I requested, and he placed it there gently. "We need to take some recent ones," I murmured absently.
Dally frowned. "I hate cameras."
"Why? You take a picture really good…"
Case in point, the one I held in my hands. More recent; I figured Dally was thirteen or fourteen. He was alone, smoking a cigarette on the porch and watching something in the distance, and there were traces of what he looked like now in his face. He did take a great picture, and Mom was a great photographer. Together, a recipe for disaster.
"When did you get a hold of this?" he asked me, taking it from me to look at it closer.
"Pony sent me pictures of everybody when I first went away. To help me remember." I pawed at the photograph. "Can I have that back? I'm rather fond of it."
He grinned and handed it back. "Sure. I'll take a picture for you anytime. Just find a camera."
I smiled and glanced out the window. It was getting dark, with the first stars in the sky. I put my hands on Dally's, drawing them out of the box and stilling them.
"Let's go to bed," I suggested. "We can do the rest of this tomorrow."
He smiled softly and slowly. "Okay."
I changed quickly while he excused himself to do…something. He was good about that, letting me change by myself. Then he came back in, slipped off his shirt, and lay down beside me, reaching across me to turn out the lights.
"G'night, Dess. I love you."
I turned to him and brushed my fingers down his arm, breathing in his mystery cologne and watching my engagement ring shine as it caught the moon's light.
"Love you, too, Dally."
Well, hi! This chapter really had very little point…so whatev. It's good to be back! A tornado recently struck my house, so my server has been down for a while, which is why it took me longer than expected to post. Anyone wanna hear anything go into this, don't be afraid to shout. There's not much planned for it, so I have room for anything! And BTW, do you or do you not like the new house? Luv everybody!
deh Tigress