Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders or the characters.

Whenever Buck asked Dally to do him a favor he hardly ever refused. One of the main reasons being that Dally usually got some money from him for doing small things. Buck knew that Dally was on his own and would offer him something to do here and there to make extra money. A lot of those things included drag races and other things were just personal favors. Sometimes Dally felt like an errand boy but that was just him having a problem with being asked to do something. In reality he knew Buck wasn't bossing him around. Hell he couldn't have even if he tried. Dallas was a man with a tempter and authority issues. No one could tell him what to do. This time he asked him to take one of the cars to the DX because it wasn't starting at first try. The task was easy enough. He would be able to talk to Soda and Steve while the car was getting fixed. Or he could go grab a beer in the meantime.

The DX was filled with plenty of girls which didn't surprise him none. Soda was a Greaser with the looks and charm of a Soc. The girls around town flocked to the station just to look at him. Never kept him from doing his work but it sure gave Steve a good laugh. Dally had to tell a few girls to get the hell out of his way in order to get the car into the garage but he managed to do so without hitting anyone. It was a big step for him. Usually he didn't care. If someone got in his way, it was their fault if they got hit. Luckily people had been smart enough not get in front of any car he was driving.

Once the car was parked he went into the garage to drop off the keys. To his surprise Cassie was sitting on one of the hoods of the cars while Soda worked under the other. From where he was standing it didn't look like she was talking to anyone but herself. The car hid Soda from view but he could hear his voice.

"Hey, Dal. Got the keys?" Steve asked as he walked through the door that led into the gas station. Dally threw him the keys that were in his pocket. He was known for hot wiring cars on more than one occasion and then taking those same cars to the DX when he crashed them. Whenever the cops arrested him for taking those cars, he always denied that Soda and Steve knew they were stolen. He didn't want either of them for getting arrested because of him. Darry would skin all of them alive if that happened.

From the corner of his eye he saw Cassie look up at him when he was mentioned. She didn't say anything to him, not like he expected her to. The last time they talked was at the Dingo. He'd only seen her maybe twice since then and that was only for a minute before he disappeared somewhere. He wanted to ask her why she was alone; instead pulled off his jacket and helped Steve with the cars. It would keep him busy for he time being. Dally wasn't an expert like Steve; which was why Buck didn't ask him to fix the car himself. Though he did know his way around enough. Sometimes when he didn't have anything to do, he'd come to the DX just to work on cars. No one questioned him. If anything it helped move things along if they were busy.

Dally didn't know how much time he spent at the DX. By the time he came out from under another car his white shirt was stained with oil, he was sweaty and thirsty. Once he stood up he wiped his hands on a rag and tossed a wrench into the tool box before walking into the station to grab a drink.

On his way inside he passed Cassie who looked bored out of her mind. She was still sitting on the hood of the car with her arms crossed watching Steve who was bent over another car looking at the engine. Soda had gone inside earlier and she hadn't spoken a word since.

Before he could stop himself, he walked towards her. "Come on, Doll." He nodded his head towards the door and started walking; leaving her with a confused look. He wasn't sure she was going to follow him but a second later he heard her footsteps behind him.

Dally walked to the coolers and grabbed two cokes, handing one to Cassie when he turned around.

She took the bottle and gave him a thankful smile. She then reached into the cooler herself and grabbed two more bottles.

Dally raised an eyebrow at her; seeing this made Cassie explain herself. "Soda and Steve outta be thirsty too." She said with a shrug.

"Why are you here by yourself?" He asked without thinking. The question just slipped out of his mouth. Since he'd gotten there he wondered why she wasn't off with the other two like she normally was. It was unlike him to care about what anyone did but this time he was curious.

"Ponyboy is at track practice and Johnny's in detention. Some Soc was harassing us at school and Johnny told him to back off. The guy got in his face and when a teacher asked what was going on the Soc said Johnny threatened him. And we all know who the teacher is going to side with." Cassie's tone was more fed up than anything. Johnny told Dally once that Cassie wasn't a Greaser. She was a middle class person who's friends were all Greasers. The feud between the Greasers and the Soc's had nothing to do with her. He figured she wasn't used to the treatment they got because of where they lived. Unlike Dally and the rest of them that had to deal with that type of thing everyday. So it wasn't surprising that Johnny was the one who got in trouble of sticking up for himself.

Dally only nodded as they made their way to the front of the store. Soda was at the counter entertaining the girls that stopped by to see him. Soda was a good guy. Always willing to talk to people. Dally couldn't handle the kind of attention he got. He lost his cool too easily.

Cassie handed him a bottle of Coke when they got to the counter; earning her a couple of glares that she didn't notice. It made Dally want to laugh. He was reaching into his pocket to pull out some money when he heard the sound of change hitting the counter. He shifted his eyes to Cassie who was now walking to the door that led to the garage.

"Hey." Was all that came out of his mouth but it was enough to get her to look at him.

"Let's get out of here."

Dally didn't know why he said that or what he thought would come of it. He could have just been tired of working on the cars and she was bored. There was something they could have done that was more fun than staying at a garage all day. For a moment he expected her to say no or to just ignore him and sit back down. She probably wanted to stay with Steve and Soda, they talked to her. Dally didn't.

But Cassie ended up walking towards the front entrance. "Bye, Soda." She said as she passed him while giving Dally a look.

"See ya later, Beautiful." Soda was also giving Dally a look, there was something in his eyes that he didn't like. It was like Soda knew something Dally didn't. Dally gave him a nod before walking out the door; the chimes at the top clinging together as the door closed.

A/N: I think next chapter is going to be Cassie's side. I wanted to keep it strictly Dally but sometimes things change. It'll pick up where this one left off.