Darry stretched, groaning as the taunt muscles in his back loosened. He was looking forward to one of Soda's massages and having a nice dinner with his brothers. He climbed down the ladder and leaned against the building, resting before he had to go and push through the abominable crowd he was sure would be surrounding the office.

He pushed off the wall and jogged to the office. The crowd wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, and he had no trouble pushing his way to the front of the line to receive his check.

He was just starting his truck when Raymond knocked on his window.

"Hey," he muttered, rolling down the window just enough as to seem polite. He kept his hands on the steering wheel and his foot on the gas, ready to speed off as soon as Ray finished annoying him for the day.

"My wife's doing a pork roast today. She wanted me to invite you over for dinner." Ray grinned.

Darry sighed and managed to not roll his eyes. He'd gone to Raymond's house once, and now he had an invitation every night.

"Sure," he forced out. Maybe if he went Ray would leave him alone.

"Great." Ray beamed. "Just follow me if you don't remember the way."

Darry hit the steering wheel once Ray was out of sight. All he wanted to do was go home, eat, get a massage from Soda, and sleep. Now, he would have to deal with small talk and bad food; Ray's wife did not understand spices and their uses or the purpose of a timer. He followed Raymond to his house, which was in a nice neighborhood with well-kept houses and clean cut teenagers walking the streets. His own neglected neighborhood teeming with hoodlums crossed his mind.

He stood uncomfortably in the doorway at Ray's house. The floor was shining white and it smelled of lavender tinged with the scent of cooking food. Darry looked down at his muddy work boots and dirty jeans, rubbing hands together awkwardly.

"Hi, honey. How was your day?" Mrs. Ausley walked in from the kitchen and kissed Raymond on the cheek.

"Fine," Raymond said. "Darry came for dinner. I told him you were making pork roast and he couldn't resist."

Mrs. Ausley smiled at him and took his arm. "I want you to meet my daughter, Joann. She was at her friend's house the last time you came." She led him into the kitchen. "Joann? This is Darrel Curtis. He works with your father."

Darry smiled at the girl politely. Her hair was a bit frizzy, he noted, most likely from the heat in the kitchen. Her eyes were very light brown, almost honey-colored, and her cheeks were flushed. He noticed with satisfaction that her skirt was a decent length. Trashy girls that wore short skirts had never been attractive to him.

He held out his hand. "Call me Darry."

She smiled and shook his hand. "Joann."

They stood there awkwardly for a minute until Mrs. Ausley ushered Darry out of the kitchen. He sat down at the dining room table beside Ray, just getting comfortable before remember that Soda and Pony were sure to be wondering why he wasn't home. He turned to Ray and asked, "Could I use your phone to call my brothers, please?"

"Sure, sure. Right down the hallway." Ray pointed to the phone.

"Thanks." Darry walked to it and dialed the number. He drummed his fingers on the spindly table while he waited for somebody to answer.

"Hello," Ponyboy said.

"Hey, Pony. I'm eating at Ray's house tonight."

"Alright. You want to talk to Soda?"

"No. I'll see ya'll when I get home. Bye." He hung up and went back to the dining room.

It seemed like it was taking forever for the food to be done. Darry passed the time by thinking about Joann. It had been so long since he'd seen an even remotely pretty girl, and he couldn't help it.

Then the food came out, and he broke out of his thoughts. He helped himself to a small helping, not really paying attention to the conversation between Raymond and Joann.

"But, Daddy! It's not fair!"

Darry dropped a forkful of rice at the screechy yell. He looked at Joann, whose face was turning red.

"All the other girls can go to Buck's."

Darry raised his eyebrows. He had to agree with Ray on this one. A nice girl like Joann certainly didn't belong at Buck's.

"What kind of girls are you hanging out with?" Ray pursed his lips.

"Coolgirls, Daddy. And they invited me!"

"Well, you're going to tell them no. There's no way you're going to that … place." Raymond closed his eyes for a second.

"But …"

Ray help up a hand. "That's enough."

Joann narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she muttered.

Darry looked at his lap, drumming his fingers on his thighs. Surely dinner would be over soon?

"Daddy, my window won't open," Joann muttered, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at her father. "Someone needs to fix it. I'm always so hot at night because I can't open it. I've been asking you for weeks."

Darry raised his eyebrows. No girl he knew talked to her parents, especially her father, that way.

Raymond sighed and leaned back, stretching his arms. "Ask Darry if he'll do it. I'm tired tonight."

Joann turned to him. "Could you please fix my window?"

Darry almost groaned. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep, but he couldn't refuse. He didn't want them to think he was rude. "Sure," he muttered.

Joann stood up and motioned for him to follow her into her room. "Here it is. She motioned towards it.

Darry immediately noticed what the problem was. He went over and turned the latch, then opened the window easily. "You had to unlock it," he told her.

Joann grimaced and blushed. "Oh. I'm sorry for bothering you," she murmured.

"It's alright." He smiled at her. He hoped she wasn't about to cry, like a lot of girls he knew did when they were embarrassed.

She grinned. "Okay."

Darry wondered what somebody would think if they walked in right now. Him and Joann were standing less than a foot from each other in a darkened room. Raymond would probably have a fit if he saw them; from his reaction to Joann asking to go to Buck's Darry could guess that he was very overprotective.

Joann smiled up at him and his stomach lurched. He hadn't liked a girl since high school, what with working and taking care of his brother's he hadn't had any time for himself.

"Um…I was wondering…" He trailed off, cursing himself in his head. He sounded like an imbecile.

"You were wondering…?" Joann replied. Her cheeks were slightly red and she flicked her eyes around nervously.

"Would you like to, um…" Darry stopped and cleared his throat. He wasn't a freshman in high school asking out the cheerleading captain, he was a grown man. "Would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Joann grinned and clasped her hands. "Oh, yes!" Her blush deepened. "I mean…um…yeah, sure, I'd like that."

Darry almost laughed with relief when he pulled up in front of his house. He knew it was probably going to smell like burnt eggs when he went inside (it was Soda's turn to cook), but right now it was perfect.

One-shot for now. Do you like this version or the other version better? .net/s/4523159/1/bEverything_b_bWe_b_bHad_b