Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except my one tiny little OC in here. Everything else belongs to Susie. The title and the lyrics are from "Witchy Woman" by The Eagles.
A/N: This is in honor of Good Fic Day. Thanks goes to RileysMomma for the beta work. Enjoy!
Raven hair and ruby lips,
Sparks fly from her fingertips.
Echoed voices in the night;
She's a restless spirit on an endless flight.
Woo hoo, witchy woman,
See how high she flies.
Woo hoo, witchy woman,
She got the moon in her eyes.
I stared out the passenger side window as Evie pulled her car into the parking lot at Buck's place. I sighed as I reached for the door handle, knowing that my only real reason for coming here was to get my mind off of the one thing that had been haunting me for the past month.
Dallas Winston.
He had been hauled in again and sentenced to 90 days for god-knows-what. I'd spent the last several weeks moping around, pining away for Dallas in a way he never would for me. I think that I had just annoyed Evie to the point where she finally dragged me out of the house and insisted that I accompany her to Buck's.
Then again, she was the one who convinced me to let her dye my hair black before we left and I was regretting that already. This did not bode well for the night.
My kitten heels clacked on the cement steps leading up to Buck's door and the door creaked as Evie opened it and waited for me to enter. I wasn't escaping this time, so I sighed one more time and walked in.
The place wasn't exactly hopping tonight, as we had suspected, but Evie insisted that it would do so we settled at the bar and ordered some drinks. Evie chatted endlessly with me about anything that would keep my mind off of a certain hood that was currently sitting in a jail cell instead of next to me where he belonged. I was getting bored quickly and as the time passed I wished more and more that I could leave.
A greaser came up to the bar to give his order and waited for it – a little too close to me for my liking. I leaned away from him as much as I could without falling off of the stool. Once the bartender brought him his drink, however, he decided to park himself on the stool next to me. I turned to him and was about to ask him to leave – or at least scoot down a couple of chairs to afford me and my girlfriend some privacy – when I noticed his eyes.
His eyes were a dark chocolate brown, very different than Dally's and much more friendly. His face was chiseled and perfect with his high cheek bones and square jaw. His dark brown hair was greased back save for a few hairs that hung in his face. I found that once I started staring at him, I couldn't stop.
He turned to look at me as if he could sense me looking at him and there was a flash of surprise and familiarity in his eyes. "Hey, you're Sylvia Richards, aren't you?" I nodded and he smiled. "I almost didn't recognize you with the dark hair."
I grinned as I twirled a lock of hair between my fingers. "It was Evie's idea. I don't know if I'm real keen on it or not."
"Well I think it looks real good on ya," he said with a wink.
We fell silent for a few minutes, not sure of what to say, until I asked him. "So what's your name?"
"James. James McAllister."
I recognized that name; he was a member of Shepard's gang. I didn't know why I hadn't recognized him before; maybe because I usually had Dally at my side, and when I was with Dally, I didn't pay much attention to other guys.
He shook out a cigarette from his pack and put one between his lips before wordlessly offering me one. I smiled with appreciation and slid one out, amused to see that he smoked Kools, same as Dally. He deftly held his own weed between his lips as he fished out his lighter and lit mine first. He lit his own and then flipped his lighter closed with a practiced flair before he asked, "So what brings you out alone, tonight? I thought you dated Dallas Winston."
I was about to say that I was here with my girlfriend when I turned and saw that Evie was gone. Strange, I didn't remember her leaving. I turned back to James and shrugged. "I was here with my girlfriend, Evie, but she seems to have disappeared on me."
He chuckled. "Well I promise I won't disappear on ya."
Maybe it was the rum in the coke or the way that James smiled at me, but I began to truly unwind and relax for the first time in a month.
And I liked it.
I knew I was getting tipsy when all of a sudden, everything around me was funny and I was giggling my ass off while trying not to fall off of the stool at the same time. James lent me a steady arm now and then when I seemed to lean a little too far and as I gripped his arm I felt the toned muscles underneath the leather jacket. His smile appeared more and more often and I saw a look of desire flash in his eyes more than once.
Well, I know you want to love her,
Let me tell you brother,
She's been sleeping
In the devil's bed.
Soon enough we were huddled in the corner, my back pressed against the wall and James' wiry frame pressed against me. He was only maybe an inch or so taller than I was, but I didn't mind; that just meant that I didn't have to stand on my toes to kiss him.
His lips were full and pouty as it was, and when pressed against my own I felt like I was in heaven. He didn't seem to mind that my red lipstick was getting smeared across his lips and I was grateful that I had stashed some tissues in my purse, though their purpose now was far different from my original intention.
My eyes were closed as I was lost in a state of reverie while James paid attention to my neck. When I opened my eyes, though, I spotted the one person in the world that I didn't want to see at the moment.
Dallas Winston was standing on the other side of the room and as his eyes connected with mine I could feel the rage roll off of him in waves. I whispered to James to stop, just stop, as I tried to push him away. James looked at me funny and asked what was wrong. I nodded to where Dally was standing, and James slowly turned to see the hood storming across the room.
James immediately turned around and shielded me from him, taking a stance with his thumbs hooked in his pockets and all of his weight on one leg.
Dallas' face was flushed with anger, and his voice was low and dangerous. "What the fuck, Syl? I go to jail and you hook up with some low-life punk?" He spat near James' boots, but James didn't flinch.
I felt something in my mind snap. I'd had enough of Dallas Winston's shenanigans, and maybe I did kiss a few boys when he was in the cooler, but damn it that was far less than anything he did! He'd bed girls left and right when we weren't together but went into a jealous rage if he saw anyone holding my hand during our breaks. Oh yes, he could do whatever the fuck he wanted, but if I wasn't with him I was expected to be a nun. Even when we did get back together, I knew he'd see other girls behind my back; he was no saint.
He just didn't get it. When he was with me I felt safe and protected, but without him I felt vulnerable and weak. I needed that security, and if he wasn't going to make an effort to stay out of jail and give me what I needed then fuck him.
All of this went through my mind in a split-second, and before I knew what I was doing, I yanked his ring off of my thumb. My voice trembled with rage as I said, "You know what, Dally? I'm sick of all this bullshit. I don't fucking care what happens to you or what you do anymore, 'cause I'm never going back to you!" I threw his ring at his feet. "I hope you fucking die!"
With that, I made a beeline to Evie where she stood next to Steve and Two-Bit. I grabbed her wrist and said, "We're leaving. Now."
Evie nodded, her hands shaking as she dug her keys out of her purse. I looked back at James one more time, his lips smeared with red lipstick and his eyes cold and dark, a far cry from the warmth I had seen in them when we first met.
Fuck men; fuck them all. And if I never saw Dallas Winston again, that would be fine by me.