I shuddered as another clap of thunder made the bleachers shake. I hate thunder storms. When I was real little I used to go over to the Curtis' and wait out the storm with Ponyboy. During a storm a few years ago, Dally dragged me outside and wouldn't let me go back in until I was soaked to the bone. He said I'd never get over it if I didn't suck it up and face it. I remember getting drenched, my denim jacket laying heavy against my arms, hair plastered to my face. I woke up with a fever the next day, too. Soda got real pissed at Dally for it, but he didn't seem to care much. He'd shrugged Soda off, telling him, "I never heard of a greaser afraid of the rain."
Now Dally was looking over his shoulder towards the entry gates. "I gotta get goin' before they call the whole deal off." I lit another cigarette, hoping to make up for the one Jake'd put out, but Dally snatched it and put it to his lips. "What're you doin' up in the nosebleeds, anyhow? This's where the nobodies sit. Well, them'n the Socs who think they can ride. C'mon." He jumped down off the fence and waved for me to follow.
"You sure I'm allowed?" I called after him, swinging under the bars and into the ring. "I'm not gonna get in the way?"
"Nah." Dallas took a drag off the weed and slung an arm around my shoulder. "Ain't worth it to sit up there, anyway, you'll miss the whole thrill of it."
His arm around my shoulders felt good. "Hey Dal, about the horse you're gonna ride... You sure you're gonna be okay? It was twice the size of Soda's old horse."
He tilted his head back and blew smoke, laughing. "That dead beat Disney character was a sad excuse for a horse compared to anything you'll see 'round here. Curtis wouldn't last a minute in that ring."
We reached the stables where the ranch hands were runnin' around, saddling horses up and, in a far off corner, taking last minute bets. From out of nowhere, Jake nabbed Dally's cigarette like he'd done mine and shot a glare in my direction before grinding it into the dirt. "What are you guys, chimneys? Just soak the place in gasoline and get it over with already!"
Dally ignored him and rubbed his hands together. "So, when'm I up?"
Jake made sure the weed was out before answering. "You're goin' last, remember?"
"What? No, fuck that! You told me 3 o'clock!"
"Hey, you sign up last, you ride last. That's how it works'n you know it, Winston."
A pretty girl wearing a light blue skirt made her way through the crowd, leaning close and kissing each guy she came across on the cheek. I didn't even see her till she was right behind me, hands on my shoulders and lips against my face. "Good luck, little guy!" she cooed, squeezing my arms. My face went hot and Dally started laughing again, and when she went to kiss his cheek, he moved his head and kissed her on the mouth.
When she tried to plant one on Jake, he shrugged her off, annoyed. "Kate, d'you mind? I'm kinda busy here."
"Aw, 'cmon, it's tradition!" She made a face and tried again, standing on her toes to reach his cheek.
He gave up and let her, but the look on his face made it seem like she was biting him. "Yeah, tradition..." He nodded at another hand and finally, the first rider climbed onto a waiting horse perched at the edge of the fence. The "nobodies" cheered their approval, and two ranch hands grabbed the gate handles, ready to pull them open at the signal.
Dally elbowed me, pointing to the rider. "Newest guy here on a horse that hates the extra weight of a rider. Makes for a great combo, don't it? McPherson does it on purpose, to break in the newbies."
He was right; the ride didn't last very long. The only things I could hear over the crowd were the start and finish bells. The horse didn't waste any time in knocking the kid off; it acted like he was dead weight. He might've had more of a chance if rain hadn't started pouring down in the middle of the ordeal; the thunder probably made the horse that much more skittish. I stood under the over hang with Dally and some of the guys who'd been collecting bets, trying to keep dry.
"Haha! Did you see that? Did you see that! That's 20 bucks! Pay the fuck up, Johnson!"
"Yeah right! You bet on 30 seconds! That was no more than 24, at best; he hit the ground at 22!"
Before long it was on to the next rider, and then the next, and the next. It went on like that till 5, till the ring was almost completely mud. Horses and riders alike were slipping in the mess, but that just brought on more bets and even more cheering from the crowds, so it wasn't a surprise that no one saw any reason to head in. Rain didn't stop these guys, lightening just made them ride harder. I felt real uneasy; none of the horses we'd seen so far were anything compared to what Dally had waiting for him. He didn't look worried--he was too busy winning bets and making out with Kate whenever she passed by--but that didn't help settle my mind. I hadn't seen any of the hands bring the horse out yet, and the later it got the darker it got, and the darker it got the harder it rained.
Jake came to stand next to me, carrying a Coke and a hot dog. "Hungry, kid?" Food was the last thing I'd been thinking about, but when I saw the hot dog it dawned on me that I'd never had any of Darry's pancakes that morning. I'd have to wait till next Sunday's batch to get one. I took the food and he leaned against the wall next to me to brush the rain off his jacket. When I reached up to shake the droplets from my hair, I felt Jake's shoulder against mine.
"You ready?" He crossed his arms, shivering a little.
"For what?"
He nodded towards the stables, and I followed his glance. I hadn't noticed Dally leave the over hang, but there he was, helping the other guys bring his horse down to the ring. It didn't look any calmer than it had the last time I'd seen it; in fact, it looked downright pissed off to be wearing a saddle. More thunder and lightening welcomed them to the entry gates.
Instead of his usual restlessness like before a rumble, Dally climbed into the saddle looking cool-headed. He rolled his shoulders, leaned forward and muttered something to the angry horse. It tried to bite his fingers when he ran a hand down its nose, made noises of protest when the two guys positioned themselves to open the doors. I glanced at Jake, but he was staring straight ahead, waiting. The corner of his mouth was turned up. They'd been riding buddies...
More thunder rolled through.
"This oughta be good," I heard someone say, down near the betting corner.
Dallas grinned just as the starting bell rang out.
The horse panicked when the gates were flung open, and it's huge hooves made the mud splash up around it so that it looked like someone'd thrown fire crackers into the arena. It bucked and reared, slammin' into the fence and spinning around in circles. Dally had a good hold on it for the first half a minute, but the crazed thing was carryin' on like it didn't even realize someone was holdin' on for dear life, hands frantically grabbing at it's mane and neck. I couldn't make out the look on his face, but I bet everyone around me was wearing the same one. The horse tried knocking against the fence again, and Dally had to kick against the railing to try and push away so he wouldn't get crushed.
"This is no good..." Jake breathed, watching the horse careen around in another circle. "Anyone else'd be on the ground with a busted neck by now." In the stands, the crowd was cheering, most of them on their feet. It was the most noise they'd made all afternoon. Jake ran out into the rain and climbed up onto the first rung of the fence, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Dallas! Dallas, for Christ's sake, let go!"
The horse circled back around and tried bucking its rider off one last time before I took the fence in one jump and hit the ground running.
Dally let go just as I splashed down in the mud.
"Dallas!"
Shit, shit, shit...!
I could hear Jake climb the fence behind me. "Hey! What do you think you're doing, kid?"
Some of the other guys from the bar were down in the mud, trying to round up the spaced out horse that somehow hadn't run out of energy yet. Their shouts didn't seem like real sentences, just jumbled noises that buzzed in and out of earshot. I stumbled and fell, landed on my knees next to Dally. To tell the truth, I didn't know what to do. My hands were shaking and he wasn't opening his eyes. He was lyin' face down, covered in mud from head to toe. Something about the way his arms were laying made me feel like I was gonna be sick.
When Jake reached us he looked like he didn't know what to do, either. On top of that, he seemed as panicked as the horse. He grabbed Dally by his jacket and rolled him over. He was limp, like a doll. The corners of my eyes stung. "Dallas!"
Before either of us knew it'd happened, Dally reached up, grabbed Jake by the collar of his mud-stained shirt, and yanked. Jake fell headfirst into the mud next to him, sputtering out a string of curses before he hit the ground, and I fell back on my ass, completely taken off guard.
Dally was crowing with laughter as he propped himself up on his hands to watch Jake's reaction. "How's that for a show, McPherson?" He was fine, perfectly fine.
"You sonnova bitch!" Jake scrambled to his feet in what I bet was record time. He stared down at Dally, who was sportin' so much dirt on his face he looked like he was wearin' a mask. Anyone meeting him for the first time wouldn't've known he was blond, that's how drenched he was. "What the hell kinda stunt're you tryin' to pull?"
"What, no good?" All Jake's swearin' was making Dally grin wider. He was about as sorry as Jake was amused.
"'No good?' I thought you'd bashed your thick head in! D'you know how fast they'd shut me down if some jackass like you just happened to kick off anywhere near the bar?" More laughing from the mud was all he got in return. Dally clutched at his sides while his friend stood above him and fumed.
"C'mon Johnny, tell me at least you got a laugh out've it!" I stared at him, just as surprised as Jake. I was still shaking, and wiped at my eyes with the back of my sleeve, hoping they'd think I was getting the mud off. When he saw I had nothing to say, Dal snorted. "Aw, the hell with both've you." He shook his hair out, like a dog, splattering me across the face again. "Got a towel?" He grinned up at Jake.
"Fuck you!" Jake was madder than all hell, and probably a good deal embarrassed, too. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you...!" And with that he stormed off, kicking up almost as much mud as the runaway horse had. The overhead lights flicked on one by one, lighting up the ring. The crowd was alive again, we could hear cheering coming from the stands.
"What a pussy." Dallas spat mud; his mouth was full of it. Then he looked back over at me, smirking through the downpour. "Hey, kid, quit your crying already, I'm fine."
"I ain't crying." I protested, glaring at him. Jesus Christ, Dally... "You had that planned all along or what?"
He looked real pleased with himself as he watched his other buddies get the horse back under control, and he winked. "Told you I'd show him who's boss."
Dally stood up. "Hey, were you watching the clock?" I stared at him from the mud. "I think I got the best time...and you know what that means! ...Drinks all around!"
As a friendly reminder, reviews encourage faster updates! ;) I also wouldn't advise missing the next chapter... And one more thing: I edited the previous chapters. Nothing big, just fixed some typos and reworded some sentences. Have fun with it!