Chapter is finally up :) Sorry if it's long and maybe useless, but this is what I had planned for a while :) Reviews appreciated and happy holidays!

It was 10:07 and I was still dressed, lying on my bed and reading. I had taken a shower, but dressed right back into a skirt and a blouse, not wanting to change into my pajamas. Dinner was a quiet affair; Michael had started drinking a bit but not too much. I hadn't heard him come up the stairs since I came up after washing the dishes, but I occasionally heard him laugh; he was probably on the phone with someone.

"Get your ass down here Crystal!"

I sighed, and set down my book. What the hell could he want? There's only so much you can ask of your younger sister at ten in the evening.

I went downstairs, and found him in the kitchen, empty beer bottles on the table. He was definitely drunk. His eyes were slightly out of focus, and the room reeked of cigarette smoke and alcohol.

"What do you want?" I stop in the doorway, crossing my arms, refusing to get closer. I'd seen too many people who weren't happy drunks, and Michael wasn't a happy drunk. He made a come hither motion, but I shook my head, pushing away the fear that was building up.

"Come here you little bi... Bitch," he said, slurring slightly, his eyes turning dark, and I shook my head again. He stood up suddenly, knocking over a couple of the bottles to the floor, and I winced as they shattered. I took a few steps backwards, startled, but he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, and I let out a small cry. He slammed me against the wall, and I felt my stomach lurch. "You fucking listen to me, alright?" He growled, and I turned my head away, not wanting to breathe in his breath. "You and Winston, it ain't gonna last long. He's a player, he fucks girls, and then he throws them away. He ain't doing that to my little sister. Ya kn-"

"Dally would never do that to me!" I screamed, trying to pull away from him, but he slapped me, shutting me up. I glared at him through my eyes that were rapidly filling with tears, and he smirked, holding on tight.

"Yeah he would. I've seen him at Merril's place; makin' out with se-several girls a night and fuckin' them in his room. Now my friend Sam, he just broke up with his girlfriend," his grip tightened as I struggled to break free, "nasty little skank. Cheated on him with some Socs; I think they paid her to do it. Anyway, he's comin' over in a few, and he really needs something to bring up his spirits. He's out pickin' up a girl for me, so I won't be botherin' you two. He's much better than Winston, you'll see." He threw me down, and my head hit the wall. I looked at him with a glare, then got up, feeling the rage building up. I went over to the table, picking up an empty bottle by the neck. "You're drinkin' now?" He asked, slightly shocked. I didn't reply, and held it in a firm but loose hold, just like Tim Shepard does, then swung it across his face. He fell to the floor with a grunt, and I staggered back with a gasp. I just made my own brother pass out. I just hit my own brother with a bottle.

"Shit..." I fell down to the floor, shaking. My heart was pounding against my chest and I felt like it was going to burst out of it. A feeling of nausea ran through my body and I clutched my stomach, trying to stop my teeth from chattering. I've seen things like this before; Johnny after he had gotten jumped was a lot worse, and I'd seen how Tim Shepard got that scar of his, but somehow this was worse. My brother. I fucking smashed a beer bottle on my brother.

I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't let me. I needed to get out before he came around and before that sick friend of his got here. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

With his back to the rapidly fading sun, Dally stroked my cheek, a small smile on his face. I smiled, biting my lip, and leaned back on the hood of the car. He pressed his lips to mine, going soft and slow, and I could feel his smile on top of my lips.

Pony threw another match into the fire and leaned back against the broken down couch, rubbing his hands together, then looked up at the sky. "Sure is awfully clear tonight," and Johnny and I nodded, muttering in agreement. The stars twinkled in the dark sky, almost looking like miniscule diamonds. I smiled, closed my eyes, and leaned my head on Johnny's shoulder. He tensed up for a moment, but relaxed, and wrapped his arm around me protectively.

"Come on Crystal, dance with me!" laughed Two-Bit, taking me by the hand into the middle of the Curtis's living room as The Twist started to play. The whole gang was there, and so were Patricia and Darrel, and they watched and laughed as Two-Bit spun me around in circles, dipping me as the song came to an end. He bowed and kissed my hand, and everyone burst into applause as I curtsied.

My breathing started to slow down, but the room was still spinning.

I entered the high school gymnasium, clutching Mark's arm. It was full of students, and the music was on at full blast. Peppermint Twist was playing, and I was bobbing my head to the beat, and Mark saw.

"Care to dance?" He asked, smiling. I nodded, and he pulled me out onto the dance floor. We were one of the only middle school couples out on the floor; our school and the high school decided to allow eighth graders to the Homecoming. Dally was supposed to take me, but he got put in the cooler. I think he was secretly glad though, because he hates these social activities. I spied Two-Bit chatting up some blondes, and he gave me a thumbs up as Mark twirled me around. I giggled, and Mark held me by the waist, smiling.

"Having fun?"

"Yeah, thanks for taking me," I smiled.

I was starting to breath at an almost normal pace, but my heart was still pounding at an impossible rate and my head was starting to hurt.

I jumped into Steve's car before Soda could, and stuck my tongue out at him, waving my hand through the window.

"Hey, Soda's shotgun, get in back if you wanna ride," Steve said, pointing behind him.

"Aw, I don't wanna go in back! You always put me in the back," I pouted. Meanwhile, the Socs were in their car, revving their engine and telling us to hurry up.

"God, fine," he sighed. I squealed and clapped my hands, and he gave me a death glare, so I shut up, but I had a huge smile on my face. Soda, Dally and Two-Bit were in back, and when the Soc girl shouted at us to go, we shot off, the screams of the onlookers and the music blasting from our radios filling our ears. Two-Bit was desperately trying to flick his lighter, protecting the flame from the wind so he could light a firecracker. He managed to get one lit, and stood up, his voice nearly inaudible with the wind rushing in our faces. "Take that you Socs!" He yelled, throwing it at their car, slowing them down as they had to swerve to avoid it blowing up on their tires. He let out a loud whoop as the firecracker let out a loud bang, and I stood up too, holding on to the side of the car, laughing in the wind.

I sighed as a small breeze passed by, relishing the cool air on my hot skin. Soda glanced at me, and smiled softly, then reached his hand out towards mine. I took it, and scooted closer to him. He frowned for a second, then took his hand out of mine and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and took my hand in his other. I had snuck out of my house around midnight, and me and Soda have been out on the roof since two, talking about everything and nothing. Specks of gold began to fill the sky, and we watched the sunrise in silence, the golden and orange rays peeking through the tree branches, giving everything a magical look.

"Hey Soda?" I asked as the sky started to turn more blue than gold.

"Yeah sweetiecakes?" His voice sounded tired, but he squeezed my shoulders and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"I love you."

"I love you too darlin'."

My body was trembling like crazy even though my breathing was somewhat back to normal, and I put my head in my hands, trying to control my body.

I looked at the Ferris Wheel with wide eyes. To my ten year old self, it looked so much higher than sixty feet. Soda, Steve and Two-Bit, along with some girl, were already on it, and Ponyboy and Johnny were waiting in line; I was the only one who wasn't in line.

"Hey little miss, why aren't you in line?" Darry appeared behind me, with a couple of his friends a little ways behind him, laughing and talking.

I clutched the stuffed bear that he had gotten me before he went off to join his friends. "It's really high."

He looked at me for a couple of seconds, then cracked a grin. "I'll go with you."

"Really?" I stared at him with wide eyes, but didn't feel scared anymore, and smiled and giggled as he nodded. "Thanks Darry!"

"Of course, let me just tell my friends I'll meet them later." He walked over to them, and they laughed for a little while before walking away. Darry came back to me and took my small hand into his, smiling. "Come on little miss."

"Oh my gosh there's an Elvis poster in here!" squealed Evie as she flipped the magazine sideways to see the rock star better.

"Forget Elvis, there's Ricky Nelson in this one!" I showed the magazine to them and we all freaked out, giggling. Empty pop bottles and bags of munchies surrounded us, along with various makeup items, hairbrushes, magazines and our clothes that we had carelessly tossed aside when changing. It was two AM and we were still full of energy.

My body had finally returned to normal, and I got up, still supporting the wall in case my legs decided to fail me again. There was a small pool of blood around my brother's head, but he was still breathing.

I need to get out of here.

Less than five minutes later I was out the front door and running hard down the street. I made up my mind to go to Buck's, because that was where Dally would be. I didn't want to bother Soda and Darry, Evie was out with Steve, and Two-Bit... Actually, I had no idea what Two-Bit was up to. But to Dally it was.

My lungs started protesting after a while, but I was only ten blocks away from Buck's. It really wasn't the best part of our neighborhood, already we don't live in a good part of town, but I slowed down to a walk, breathing hard. I put my arms around my body, holding my switchblade up the sleeve of my leather jacket. The streets were empty for the most part; a lot of people were in bars, I could hear the drunken laughter and the muffled music. Occasionally someone would come stumbling out, swearing at someone inside the bar.

I was almost to Buck's; I could see the building, just two blocks away. In front of me there was a group of five guys, all older than me, smoking, drinking and talking loudly. As I got closer, I could see that they were all built the same way: slim, tall, with dark greased back hair and hard eyes. They were slightly hunched over, but they looked like they had the agility of an alley cat if they needed it. They called out nasty things to me as I walked by, but I tried to tune them out.

"Hey baby, I don't like it when you ignore me," one of them called out in a rough voice, but I ignored them, walking faster. "Hey, don't you fuckin' walk away!"

I heard the pounding of feet and started sprinting harder than I had before, hardly hearing them yelling behind me. I was fucking terrified. If they got a hold of me, they could do so much worse things than if I was one of the boys. I could get raped and beaten, and left in an alley or a Dumpster until someone found me. The thought made my heart skip a beat, and I stumbled over, hearing their laughter and yelling get louder. I screamed.

"BUCK!" I cried as I came into the parking lot. "BUCK!"

I pounded on the front door desperately, crying and screaming as the boys came closer. One of them got hold of me, shoving his hand in front of my mouth and grabbing me by the waist, pulling me away. I kicked on the front door, trying to break free of his grip. It opened, and Buck stood in the doorway, his eyes slightly glazed over, but they widened as he saw me. He was holding a beer bottle in his hand, and I flinched as he smashed it over the head of the guy holding me. It was enough to let him release me, and I dashed inside, hiding behind Buck.

"What the fuck man?" The biggest one snarled at him, and made to go inside, but Buck blocked the way, his eyes hard. He flipped something out from the waistband of his pants, and the guys backed off, staring at the heater in his hand.

"Leave her alone. Next time I see y'all on my property I'm calling the fuzz, y'all hear me?" His voice was rough but steady, and they glared at him. The one who had gotten the bottle smashed on his head was clutching it, and I could see a hint of fear in his dark eyes as he stared at the heater.

"Jesus, we just wanted a bit of fun..." Another said harshly, but they started to leave, throwing hard looks at me and Buck. Buck closed the door, and I broke down in sobs, crying loudly. He cursed loudly, and led me to a small back room that was empty, sitting me down in a chair. He must have stayed with me, because when I stopped crying a tissue was thrust at me, and I took it, blowing my nose.

"You're Kantor's kid sister, right?" He asked.

"I'm turning sixteen in January!" I shot, trying to rid my voice of any fear. He sighed.

"What the hell were you doing out this late alone?"

An image of my brother lying on the kitchen floor, and I let out a muffled gasp. "I... He... I kinda hit Michael with a beer bottle. He's passed out on my kitchen floor now," he looked at me with wide eyes, and I let my own down. "Please don't tell that I'm here, please. I just wanted to see Dallas."

He looked at me for a few seconds, trying to process what I said, then spoke. "I won't tell him that you're here if he comes. But if he finds out that you are here, I have nothing to do with it. And don't try to cause any more trouble, last thing I need is the fuzz comin' and shuttin' me down for having minors here." I nodded, and thanked him quietly, getting up. "Hey." I turned around and he tossed me a pack of cigarettes. "Looks like you need one."

I went to where the pool tables were, and found Dally drinking and playing a game with some tuff looking guy. There was a girl, obviously drunk, hanging over Dally and kissing his neck, running her hands over his cheeks, and I felt a flare of jealousy rising up. He wasn't responding positively to her advances, but then again he wasn't doing anything to push her away. I took a hit of my cigarette, looking at the boys playing.

"I win again Williams, pay up," Dally smirked, sticking his hand out.

"Fuck you Winston," the guy growled, taking out some money from his pockets and handing it over to Dally. He pocketed it, grinning, and then girl smiled, licking her lips, and whispered something in his ear, putting her fingers in the waistband of his jeans.

"Jesus, I ain't interested in anything you have to give to me," Dally said roughly, pushing her away. She huffed, and flipped her hair, then walked away, looking annoyed. The guy, Williams, looked at Dally with raised eyebrows and a slight smirk.

"Pushin' away a broad that willingly wants to go somewhere with you? That don't seem normal man."

"I don't feel li-What the fuck are you doing here?" He noticed me against the wall, and I put out my cigarette and threw the butt on the floor.

"You don't want me here? I suppose I'll just walk back home and get beaten by my idiot brother and basically get raped by his friend if some assholes don't find me first on the way!" I screamed. People looked my way, but it didn't bother me like it usually did. Dally's eyes were hard with anger, but behind them there was a hint of shock.

"Crystal, I-"

"You want me to leave? Fine goddamnit!"

"Crystal, shut up and listen to me!" He yelled, grabbing me by the shoulder as I turned to leave. My body was shaking, and I could sense that my temper was boiling up.

"Winston, another game or ya gonna leave?" Williams asked, leaning against the pool stick.

"What does it look like I'm going to do?" Dally snapped, pulling me out of the room, and up the stairs to his bedroom, nearly dragging me. When he slammed the door to his room, the music and shouts were muffled, and he turned to me, his eyes blazing.

"What the fuck?"

"I hate it!" I cried, kicking the wall. My heart was pounding, but I didn't feel a sense of panic or fear overtaking my body. "I fucking hate it!"

"Hate what?"

"I don't know; everything!" I threw my hands in the air, feeling lost. "I just fuckin' want to get out of this town, go somewhere where I can have a normal family and a normal life without worryin' about my life! You know what happened before I came here? My brother was drunk and his friend was on his way over to basically rape me, so I smashed Michael's head with a beer bottle because he was saying all these things about you and I just couldn't stand what he was saying. I had a panic attack because I knocked him out, and then I ran out of the house to get away, and I hoped that you could protect me if he ever found me. Then on my way here these guys started sayin' these things to me and checkin' me out, and nearly got a hold of me but Buck saved me before they could do anything but now that you know I'm here it looks like you don't want me here!"

"Whoa, calm the fuck down!" His eyes were blazing, and he was pacing the room, then stopped in front of me, "I never said I didn't want you here, but you know how much I hate it when you walk out on the streets this late without one of the guys! And I was just wonderin' why you were here dammit."

"Would you have rather had me stay home and wait for my brother to wake up and beat the shit out of me, and then get raped by his friend?" I snapped.

"Of course not! I just fuckin' said that I hate it when you walk alone during the night, not that I didn't want you here!"

"I don't want him to find me and I'm afraid of what my parents are going to say," I whispered, hanging my head and feeling bad for yelling at him, knowing that he didn't deserve it.

He frowned, and wrapped his arms around me. I laid my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. I hated fighting and hurting people… Sure, if I was provoked, I would defend myself; but what I did to my brother kind of scared me.

"If he somehow finds out you're here, I'll protect you," he said, squeezing me. He moved my head gently with his hand, and brought our lips together. The taste of alcohol kind of bothered me, but a feeling of warmth passed through my body.

Someone knocked loudly on the door, and Dally pulled away, a growl low in his throat.

"What do you want?" He demanded, throwing the door open. Buck stood there, looking slightly intimidated by my boyfriend, but spoke.

"One of those guys you hang out with just called; he sounded pretty angry and told me to tell you to call back as soon as you could."

"Who was it?"

"Stared with a D... Can't remember the name... He has two younger brothers I think you told me-"

"Darry," I said softly, and they both whipped their heads towards me.

"Who?"

"Darry," I said louder, a feeling of dread overcoming the warmth. I had a feeling that the reason he called had something to do with my brother...

"Yeah, that's the one!" Buck said. Dally cursed and sent Buck away, then turned to me.

"You stay here, I'm goin' to call him and see what's up."

"If it has anything to do with Michael, then I have every right to be there when you make the call!" I crossed my arms and glared at him, feeling just the slightest bit like a little kid

"You can get so fucking childish, you know?" he said, but dragged me downstairs. I looked vaguely at the people as we went down to the phone.

"Come on, pick up the damn phone," Dally hissed. He glanced at at me, and pulled me close to him.

"Hey, Darry, it's Dallas, what's up?" I leaned closer, trying to hear Darry over the noise of the music and shouts.

"-brother just left, how's Crystal?"

"She's fine; she's right next to me. She seemed a little shaken up, but otherwise not hurt."

"Okay, that's good. You keep her safe, alright? Don't let her brother or his sick friend get near her; they're drunk, dangerous."

"Do you really think I'd let them get near her?" Dal asked harshly.

"Just wanted to be sure. Alright, well stay safe."

"Aren't I always?" Dal winked at me, and I giggled.

"Is that Crystal?" his voice sounded surprised, and Dal handed me the phone.

"Hi Darry."

"Are you okay? Your brother and his friend just came by and tried to pick a fight with us because they thought that we were hiding you; they-"

I didn't want to hear anymore. "I'm awfully sorry Darry, but he was just being such an asshole and I couldn't take what he was saying to me..."

"It's fine Cryst, don't worry about it. Soda's just a bit shook up, but he's been different since..." his voice trailed off, and he coughed. "Yeah, I'll just go now. I'm glad you're safe. See you tomorrow little miss."

"Night Darry," I hung up and looked at Dally. He was surveying the scene; his mouth set in a hard line, and then he turned to me suddenly, startling me.

"Come on; let's go up before your brother gets here." He started walking back upstairs, shoving people out of the way and literally picking others up so we could get through. He slammed his bedroom door behind him, locking it, then turned to me. Well, the room. I was standing in the middle of the small area, and the floor was littered in various clothes, beer cans and bottles. He frowned, and kicked the clothes under the bed, and set the alcohol bottles on the dresser and in various drawers.

"Is this how you clean?" I asked, trying to hide a smirk.

"Shut up you," he said, but walked over and stood in front of me.

"What if I don't want to?" I gave him a sultry smile and twirled my hair around my finger.

"I'll make you."

"How-" but I was cut off by him pressing his lips against mine. His touch was rough and urgent, and I adjusted myself as he sat down, curling my legs under me and wrapping my arms around his neck. I let out a soft moan as he bit down on my lip before breaking away to take a breath, but he kissed me again, slipping his tongue into my mouth. He set his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him, until I was nearly sitting on him.

"Fuck," I moaned as he pulled away and began kissing and nipping at my neck. His hands went to the hem of my shirt, and then I realized that I still had on my jacket. "Wait."

I got up, averting my eyes, but could feel his gaze on me. I zipped down my jacket and took it off, then began slowly unbuttoning my blouse. I could hear his breathing beginning to get more labored as I slid off my skirt, and I finally locked eyes with him. His were dark with lust, and I went over to him, straddling him. "You're fuckin' gorgeous, you know that?" he asked, his voice thick with arousal. I bit my lip, feeling my cheeks heat up, and shook my head. "Yes you are." His hands were set firmly on my hips, and he brought me closer to him, grinding me against his crotch and kissing me. A moan escaped from my lips when I felt his erection so close to my innocence, and I ran my hands under his wife beater and over his chest. Our breathing was getting harder and we pulled away so I could take off his shirt. He began kissing my neck, sucking and biting as I bit back moans.

"You like this baby, don't you?"

"O-oh, y-yes Dally," I moaned as he thrust his hips against mine, sucking on a spot on my neck that was particularly sensitive. His hands went to the back of my bra and he kissed my shoulder. I was about to take it off when someone started pounding on the door.

"WINSTON, OPEN UP!"

I gasped as I recognized the voice and hastily put my bra and blouse back on, rapidly buttoning it up. My brother knocked on the door repeatedly, demanding that Dally open it. Dally handed me my skirt and hissed at me to get under the bed, and grabbed a half empty beer bottle, taking a sip out of it. I watched anxiously from under the bed, only seeing the guys' bottom halves as Dally opened the door, the music and shouts getting louder as he did so.

"Kantor?" Dally put on a rough voice with a slight hint of surprise. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You know damn well what the fuck I want Winston!" my brother shouted. Besides my brother's legs I saw another pair, and gulped, knowing that they probably belonged to that friend of his.

"No, I don't," Dally snarled. "Can you just tell me what the hell you want? I was kind of gettin' ready to go to bed and you just come here with your friend and fuckin' barge in!"

There was the familiar sound of a fist against skin, and I saw Dally stumble, the bottle falling from his hands and smashing against the hardwood floor, its contents spilling everywhere. "My sister! Where is she?"

"Why would I know where she is?"

"You're fuckin' hiding her!"

"No I'm no- hey, no, what the fuck?"

My brother lunged at my boyfriend, and I put my hands over my mouth, biting back a scream. Michael punched Dal square in the jaw, and I got out from under the bed as Dally wrapped his hands around my brother's throat.

"NO!" I screamed, feeling my eyes getting wet. "Stop it! Please, stop it!"

The boys detangled themselves from each other, breathing hard. Both of their eyes were dark, but even in the dim light I could see that Michael's eyes were full of rage, and so were Dally's, but his were also wide with something else; like he was silently screaming at me what the hell I was doing out from under the bed. I could see that Michael had a slight gash on his forehead, dried blood on it, and felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"You're fuckin' coming home with me you bitch," he spat, advancing towards me. Dally stepped in front of me and pushed him away with a growl, wrapping an arm around my waist tightly. He made to say something to my brother, but I spoke first, just a simple word.

"No."

His eyes bulged slightly, and his face began to darken as he spoke.

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean that I'm not going to go home with you!" I screamed. "You don't treat me like your sister; James does a better job at that! You don't respect me; you've treated me more like I was a little brat instead of your family. You fuckin' called your friend so he could basically rape me," I pointed over to his friend, who was leaning in the doorway, arms and legs crossed; a tall, slim guy with thickly greased back hair. "And you know what? You can just go on the fuck home back to Mom and Dad and tell them that I'm staying over here with Dally, because I'm not going back with you. You can tell them exactly why I'm staying here. And if you ever, ever hurt me again in any way, I'm telling them about Alice."

His eyes widened at her name, and he snarled at me. "Fine, I'll fucking go home. And you know what? You're right. I always thought that you were a little brat, and I never fucking loved you. For all I care you can get jumped and rape-"

"You shut the hell up and get out of here!" Dally yelled. "Leave Crystal alone and if you ever hurt her again I'll find you and beat the shit out of you until you're fuckin' unrecognizable, alright?"

Michael flipped us off and left, muttering under his breath, and slammed the door behind him. I stood there, stunned, my mind slowly processing the reality of Michael's words.

I always thought that you were a little brat, and I never fucking loved you…

I had just said that I thought that he thought I was a brat because I was mad at him, but I guess he really did think it… And that he never loved me… I thought that just because of the age difference he hated having to drag me along with him when Mom and Dad couldn't get any of my friends' parents to watch over me. But times when his friends had made fun of me and pushed me around came to mind, and I realized that never once he had defended me. No, he always let them push me around…

"Crystal?" Dally's voice was soft, and he shook me by the shoulder gently. "Crystal, are you okay?"

"He doesn't love me," I said. My body was becoming numb, and my vision was blinded by tears. I had screamed at him and hit him and punched him and even beat him up the other day, but I still somewhat loved him. "He doesn't love me," I repeated, wiping my eyes hurriedly.

"Oh snap, come on," he tried to make his voice as happy as possible. "Your parents love you, and so does the gang. Evie and Sandy love you. And you said yourself that James cares and loves you like a sister. Crystal, baby?"

I was sobbing silently, my body shaking. Michael doesn't love me. I had loved him, even though I didn't really show it at times, but I really did. It hurt so much to hear those words coming from my own brother.

I tried to stop crying; I had cried way too much during these past few days, but what just happened hit me really hard. Dally rocked me gently against his chest, running his hand through my hair.

"Don't worry sweetheart, everything's going to be okay."

I stopped crying after a while, my sobs becoming just the occasional sniffle. I pulled my head away from Dally's chest, and looked at him. He had a pained expression on his face, and hugged me tightly. "I hate it when you're sad."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," he tilted my chin and pressed his lips on mine for a few seconds, then pulled away. "Who's this Alice girl?"

Alice… I haven't seen her for almost a year, not since what happened between her and my brother. I took a deep breath and was about to start the story, when someone knocked on the door.

"God fucking dammit, what do you want?" Darry spat as he wrenched the door open to reveal Buck.

"Phone again, for Crystal."

"Who is it?" I asked, wiping my eyes.

"Your mom."

My eyes widened and I dashed downstairs, pushing past couples and drunken underage and college kids, going to the phone. Buck was behind me, and led me to the phone in the same back room that he had taken to me to earlier in the night, and handed me the phone that was sitting on a table.

"Mom?"

"Crystal, your brother just came back and told us what happened!" her voice sounded distressed, and like she had just been crying.

"Yeah, not so fine, is it Mom?" I said, a bit harsher than I intended.

"Please come home baby, we can talk this over," she begged.

"Talk this over? There's nothing to fucking talk about! He called his friend to come over and basically rape me, and then he gets into a fight with Dally and then tells me that he thinks I'm a brat and that he doesn't love me? What the fuck is there to talk about?"

"Don't scream at me in that tone! You know what; I had to give your father one of his shots because he couldn't believe what happened! We just asked you and your brother to act civil towards each other for a few hours, and then there's this whole mess going on now!"

"He's the one that started everything!"

"You hit him with a beer bottle!"

"Because his friend was going to come over to take advantage of me Mother! He was going to rape me! R-A-P-E. You know what that means right?"

"We'll talk this over when you come home," her voice was sad again, broken. I felt my heart break, but shook my head.

"There's not going to be any talking because I'm not going home tonight! I don't want to see Michael's face, alright?"

"Crystal, please…"

"Goodnight Mother!" I slammed down the phone onto the receiver, and buried my face in my hands. Fuck, I probably just ruined my relationship with my whole family now.

"Everythin' alright?" Buck asked from the doorway, a bottle of beer in his hands.

"Fan-fuckin'-tastic," I muttered, walking past him. For the first time that evening, I noticed that Hank Williams was playing at top volume and groaned, but went upstairs. I felt a headache coming on, and made a mental note to ask Dally if he had any aspirin. Said boyfriend was leaning in the doorway, talking to a tall, lean guy with short but greased back dark hair, who I recognized as Tim Shepard.

"Hi," I greeted quietly as I walked up to them. Dal wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him.

"Hey Kantor," he said, and nodded over to Dally. "So this is the new chick?"

My cheeks heated up real fast, and Dal nodded. "Yeah. She's pretty bad. Hates fighting, but defends herself pretty well if she does. She's cool."

"You're turnin' eighteen soon, her parents are parents cool with that?"

"Since when are you the one to worry about ages?" Dally laughed, punching Shepard in the arm.

"It's Dally anyway, I don't think my parents would mind too much…" I said. "I've known him since I was a kid."

"Dallas Winston, with a police record a mile long, dating an ex soldier's daughter?" Tim feigned shock. "Impressive!"

We laughed, and I fought back a yawn, covering my mouth. Dally noticed this, and asked if I wanted to sleep.

"Yeah," I nodded, "do you have any aspirin, by the way?"

"You're asking me? What person who loves alcohol doesn't have aspirin at hand?"

"Two-Bit."

That was true. He's came over to my place more than once just for aspirin, and the Curtises had to replenish their stock every couple of months thanks to him.

He waved me off. "Whatever. See ya Tim," they fist bumped and Tim nodded at me.

"See you little miss, Dallas."

He went off and me and Dal went into his bedroom, locking the door behind us. I took off my blouse and skirt again, folding them neatly and set them on the dresser while Dal went to the bathroom. He brought me two pills and a beer bottle that he reassured me was water, and flicked off the lights. Light still streamed in through the small crack underneath the door, and the moon's light shone in through the window. I crawled into bed next to him, laying my head on his chest and closing my eyes, while he wrapped an arm around me protectively.

"G'night sweetiecakes."

" 'Night Dally."