Whoever says heartbreak is the worst pain has obviously never had a hangover.
It felt like my head was going to explode. I groaned as I opened my eyes against the harsh light streaming in through the window.
Geez, it must have been one long night, I thought, looking over at the clock. It was 2:35 in the afternoon. A loud yawn escaped my mouth as I rolled over on my side, bumping into a warm, breathing heap as I did so.
Oh, great.
I didn't even try to suppress my groan of annoyance. Slowly the night before came back to me in flashes.
Chillin' at Bucks place, drinking his special recipe brew like crazy. Dancing with a few hot broads. Meeting the brunette girl that Two-Bit had ditched -just as I had suspected. Bringing her-
Wait.
I reached over and pulled the corner of the quilt down off the sleeping figure and laughed as my suspicions were confirmed. It was Two-Bit's brunette chick. Ha, wait 'till he got a load of this one.
Before I had the chance to go back to my flashbacks, my stomach growled. I forced myself to get out of bed, wincing from the pain in my head, and put on the closest pair of jeans and a shirt. When I went to grab my jacket, I found an old napkin and a pen lying on my shelf. Smirking at my own cleverness, I picked it up and began to scrawl out a note.
You were decent. Get out.
I dropped it on the sleeping figure on my way out the door, chuckling as I went.
I approached Dingo's Diner, the best place to eat on this side of town, and smiled at the sight of Two-Bit's beat up car in the parking lot. I made my way up to and through the clear, glass doors, making a few cat calls at some hot broads outside on the way. Two-Bit spotted me right away.
"Hey, Dally," He shouted across the small diner, "Come on over, man!"
I nodded at him and headed to the front of the room where the cashier was.
"I'll have a Coke and a sandwich," I said, leaning against the counter.
The girl behind the register nodded nervously and hurried away to get my order. When she returned, She held the tray out to me with a reluctant, shaky hand.
She must have heard some of the rumors about me.
Everyone had heard- oh wait.
That thought stopped me. Not everyone had heard about me, as I had learned from that hot broad last night. What was her name? Hannah? Heather? Oh well, who cares? Whoever she was, she got on my nerves. Her and her stupid groceries and cigarette stealing…
Dismissing the thoughts of the irritating broad, I reached into my back pocket, hoping I'd find money there. Luckily I found a five and slammed it down on the counter. The cashier flinched back a little- earning a smirk from me- and put the bill in the register. Then I made my way over to where Two-Bit was sitting.
He wasn't eating or drinking anything- probably couldn't afford it. Instead, he sat with a wrinkled newspaper in his hand, his head turned sideways with a look of concentration on his face.
I sat down across from him and took a sip of my Coke. It was flat. Scowling, I pushed the bottle a few inches away from me.
Meanwhile, Two-Bit began to read-or tried to read-parts of the headline out loud.
"Apple-O 11 p-prepares to takes flight to the mone," He stuttered, then looked up at me with his eyebrows furrowed in, "What does that mean?"
I rolled my eyes and snatched the newspaper from his hand.
"Give me that," I said, and then began to read it, "It says 'Apollo 11 prepares to take flight to the moon' , stupid."
"Oh," he said, unabashed, "Well that's stupid."
I gave a small nod of agreement and took a bite of my sandwich.
Two-Bit let out a laugh and shook his head.
"The moon," he chuckled in disbelief, "Boy, these people just get stupider and stupider everyday. I mean, I know I'm not one to give talks on bein' stupid, but people on the moon? Shucks."
"We talkin' about that 'Apollo 11 deal' here?" Asked Soda as he appeared beside our table.
"Oh, hey, Soda," Two-Bit said, "Yeah, we're talking about that. Ain't that the stupidest thing you ever heard?"
Soda took a seat next to Two-Bit and studied the newspaper article in front of him.
"Sure I do," Soda chuckled, "Ponyboy seems to think it will work, though. He says this is the greatest piece of news he ever heard; a breakthrough in history."
Two-Bit smiled.
"Pony would say that."
I sat back and listened to them chat about the trip to the moon.
Apparently, a couple of guys thought that they could leave planet Earth in some sort of rocket and just take off to the moon. I had to agree with Soda and Two-Bit. It seemed pretty stupid. I don't even think there is air in space.. Is there? Well, I guess the whole world will see that is a scam when something goes wrong. They'll probably blow up or crash, or heck maybe they'll even back out altogether. Its not even worth the risk. What is the point of going off to somewhere else in space when we've done perfectly fine here on Earth? Who knows. Like I said, the whole thing was completely stupid.
"So," Soda said, changing the subject, "You catch any action last night, Dal?"
I shrugged.
"Yeah, a little bit," Then remembering, "Oh, Two-Bit, that brunette that was dancing on you last night.."
He burst out laughing.
"You took that little broad home? Good for you, she was hot," He said.
I smirked.
"Yeah," I said, "She was alright."
"In fact, I would have taken her home if that blonde hadn't been there.." He trailed off. I shook my head and chuckled.
"Buck said he saw you talking to some dark-haired broad outside the bar last night," Soda said.
Shoot.
I blinked and tried to keep my face composed.
"Oh, yeah," I said calmly, finishing off the last of my sandwich.
"Said she was a looker, too," Soda added. I wished he'd just shut up. I didn't want them to know about her or that fact that I'd been suckered into carrying some her groceries. It wasn't tough; it wasn't me.
I nodded and took a sip of my flat Coke.
"She was," I said, simply.
"You catch her name?" Two-Bit asked eagerly.
"Nah," I shrugged absently, twirling my coke bottle around.
"Well, I'll catch you guys later," Soda said, standing up, "I have to get back to the DX before Steve skins me for leaving him to work alone."
"See you, man," I said as he walked off.
"Yeah," said Two-Bit, "I better get going, too. My mom needs me to watch my sister. I'll catch you later."
"Later," I repeated and he walked away.
I stood up and began to gather my trash when I saw a familiar face outside the window. It was Hallie. She was standing outside of the Tulsa Memorial Cemetery (across the street), leaning against one of the black posts of the entrance.
I felt a smirk grow on my face. She may have been annoying and irritating last night, but it didn't change the fact that she was the hottest broad I ever saw. And as far as I knew, I had no plans tonight.. Yet.
I tossed my sandwich wrapper and empty Coke bottle in the trash and strutted out across the street to meet her.
