"Tabitha, get up. You have work." I heard my mother say, shaking me lightly.

"I'm up, I'm up." I groaned sitting up on the couch.

I had fallen asleep on the couch after coming home from school, which had become a regular occurrence lately. I had been really tired and sick lately, so I had taken to napping on the couch after school.

I stretched my back and yawned before going to my room and putting on my uniform shirt and a fresh pair of blue jeans. I gave my mother a peck on the cheek, slipped my coat and shoes on, before heading out the door to the DX a few streets down.

I worked there as a cashier after school to help my mom out with the bills since she didn't make much at her job as a car hop at the Dairy Queen. As I neared the DX I saw Sodapop Curtis and Steve Randle leaving their shift.

"Hey Soda, Steve, how yah been?" I asked. It'd been a while since I'd seen either of them. They used to be in my grade before they dropped out.

"Hey Tabby, been real good. You still in school?" Soda replied and Steve just nodded looking tired.

"Yeah, for now. If things get too tuff on my mom I might go full time." I told him.

"Yeah, I know what yah mean." He nodded. "I gotta get home, but I'll see you around." He said before continuing down the street.

"Yeah, see yah." I called back walking into the DX and switching places with Joanna, the day shift cashier.

"Thank God you're here, my feet are killing me," She whined, handing me the key to the register.

"Yeah, yeah," I said waving her off and stepping behind the counter.

I leaned against the counter, popped in a piece of gum, and started flipping through a random magazine Joanna had left behind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I sighed looking at my watch, shivering in the cold night air on the corner outside the DX.

8:15

My shift ended 15 minutes ago, and as per usual, my boyfriend, Joey, was late picking me up. I didn't mind walking, but we lived in a rough neighborhood and Ma didn't like me walking home alone in the dark. But if Joey doesn't show soon, she'd just have to suck it, cus I'm tired as hell and ready to go home.

I glanced back down at my watch.

8:24

"God damn it, Joey..." I huffed.

Screw this, I'm walking home. I shoved my hands In my pockets, angrily stomping down the sidewalk towards my house.

I was halfway home when I was passing the park and heard a bunch of commotion. It was a bunch of Socs, drunk off their assess and looking for trouble. I just rolled my eyes and kept walking.

I was almost past them when they started the cat-calls and whistling. A few of them stumbled up in front of me, smelling strongly of beer and whisky.

"Hey baby, what's a pretty thing like you doing on this side of town?" One of them slurred at me.

I made a disgusted face.

"I live here, now get out of my way so I can go home, asshole." I said angrily trying to push past him, but not getting anywhere.

"Oooh, a greaser girl… Yah know, I always wondered what it'd be like to mess around with trash…" He sneered, earning some laughs from his buddies.

That earned him a hard slap to the face.

Before I knew it, he had me by the neck, his hands constricting around my throat. I gasped for air, clawing at his hands with my own, trying to pull free. With whatever breathe I could muster, I screamed as loud as I could, causing his hands to tighten around my neck.

"You're gonna pay for that you fithy, greaser, whore!" He snarled at me through clenched teeth.

I was about to black out when I was suddenly free from his grasp. I fell to the sidewalk, throwing my hands out to break my fall, earning me a pair of scraped up palms.

I looked up to see that someone had grabbed him by the shirt collar, turned him around, and clocked him right in the face. His friends all ran leaving him to get his face beat to a pulp.

Some friends he's got. I thought snickering to myself.

After a couple more nasty blows the tossed him to the street, causing him to land flat on his ass.

"Beat it, asshole." The other guy told him.

The Soc scrambled to his feet and ran like a little girl. The mystery dude turned to me offering me a hand. I took it, letting him pull me up to my feet. Then I finally got a good look at the guy.

"Dallas?" I asked bewildered. What the hell was Dallas Winston doing running around playing knight in shining armor?!

"Yours truly." He said letting go of my hand.

"What the hell? What are you doing out here?"

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Dallas Winston, had just practically saved my life. That just wasn't something that happened. I'd never thought there would be a day that the word chivalrous and his name could go into the same sentence without being soaked in sarcasm.

"Could ask you the same thing. Pretty stupid of you to be walkin around at night all by your lonesome." He snapped back. There it is. There's that famous 'fuck you' attitude of his.

"I'm not stupid, I was just-" I started but I was cut off my the beeping of a car horn.

I turned around to see Joey pulling up next to us in his beat up old car.

"Tabby! Where the hell you been?!" He yelled through the rolled down passenger window.

"Walking home asshole, you wheren't there and it was half an hour after my shift ended!" I snapped. He was about to say something else when he noticed Dallas standing there.

"What the hell are you doin here, Winston? What the fuck, Tabby! I'm thirty fuckin minutes late and you run off with him?!" Joey yelled.

"Just shut the fuck up Joey. I was walking home cus of your piece of shit ass, and got jumped. He just helped me out is all. Stop being a prick and just take me home." I said opening the passenger door.

"Sure, he did." Joey grumbled putting the car into drive.

"Thanks, by the way. See yah around Dal." I said turning to Dallas before getting in.

"Yeah, whatever." He said walking to wherever he was headed before he'd come across me.

I got in the car, putting my seatbelt on, before I turned to Joey, who had his eyes narrowed at me.

"What?" I asked exasperated.

"You're screwing him aren't you!" He said pointing an accusing finger at me.

"Oh my God! No, Joey I'm not screwing around with anyone!" I said rolling my eyes.

"Prove it, Tabby!" he said finally driving in the direction of my house.

"What the fuck do you want me to prove?! You're the only person I've ever slept with Joey! And I know for a fact you can't say the same! Yeah, that's right, I know all about you and Angela Shepard last spring break! And Deanna Price too! I know everything Joey! So don't even pull that shit with me, cus I have a lot more dirt on you than you'll ever have on me!" I yelled back.

We kept fighting like that all the way back to my house, just like we fought all the time. We fought a lot and we broke up a lot, but we always ended up back together. I hoped to god it wouldn't be like that forever.

A/N: So I hope you liked my first chapter. I also hope you love Tabby as much as I do. I'm trying to really convey her it a girl that doesn't take shit and says what she wants. I think I've got a good foundation laid down and I can really develop her into the character I want her to be. Let me know what you think about her, Joey, and if I did a good job keeping Dally in character. Tell me what I'm doing right, or tell me what I'm doing wrong. Either way, help me to be a better writer and write a better story! Thank You! :) Review, Fav, Follow.