The music was playing as loudly as the drunken mess of people playing cards and betting on late nigh horse races from the television set that rested on top of an old broken fridge in the corner of the room spoke.
The smell from a thousand different alcohols and different cigarette brands was enough to choke a person if they too to deep of a breath.
Bucks place really did attract the scum of the town who were to old to hang around the gangs – because if they did hang around with the gangs they would've called creeps. [Though I am fairly sure most of them were just that, creeps.]
Each and every bar stool, broken chair and ripped couch were occupied by different body types and the only thing similar to each of them was their drunken state and gambling addictions.
I was some glad to walk into that place with Dallas. I was being ogled like the last pork chop at a supper table filled with rabid starving men.
Sure I could have [and would have] taken out any man in this place, but it made me feel uncomfortable the way drool dripped down the corner of their mouths and their eyes found a permanent fixed place upon my chest – or lack of chest there was, not that they seemed to mind either way...
But that fraction of a second when they'd look away and up to Dallas who had that serious look upon his face – the look that seemed to make the seventeen year old by a senior figure to most of the men who'd been married and started families years before he was even born, nod understandingly and look away without a second glance.
"Creeps." I pulled the two pieces of my unbuttoned jacket closer towards me and turned to see Dallas making eye contact with Buck holding a bottle of Whiskey in his fat fist. "Relax, I got you." Dallas casually slipped his arm around my shoulders making a few of the ladies look unpleased with me.
I wanted to laugh, something about possibly married woman in their thirties looking so desperate for attention from a younger man was priceless for me.
"Quit touching." I hissed but got shushed when Buck came to stand in front of Dallas, ",'Sup buddy?" His words slurred as his eyes tried to focus on the teenager standing a few inches taller then he did. "Hey man- Shepard and I got into it a little while ago, alright if I cool off and get some sleep here?"
Buck tried to look like he was thinking about it, but half the money Buck ever made was because of Dallas' jockeying skills and ways of the world so Buck would never deny him anything, ",'course." He gestured to the stairs without another word.
His eyes were looking over me, I could tell he was trying to put a name to the face but was to drunk to do it. I was partly glad. Buck and I never did really get along with one another, mainly because it was a freak at most. He wasn't to keen on Shepard's either... But right now he couldn't tell left from right and I just looked like another piece of meat in Dallas Winston's clutches.
Because I realized I was being ushered up the cracking wooden steps of the stairs.
Inside the bedroom that had a slopped ceiling, ugly colour wall paper, old rusted single beg on a frame and a dresser with more clothes out of it then in it I pulled my jacket off letting it hit the carpeted ground and crawled onto the bed yawning – though I had no intention of falling asleep anywhere near Buck's property.
"Whoa, dude..." I said quickly seeing Dallas pulling his leather jacket off with his white T-shirt tossing both of them onto the dresser.
My mind went somewhere it should not have because I knew Dallas wouldn't even remotely try to have sex with me [you know – again...] I shook the thought I was thinking and could make out the red fist marks around his ribs and kidneys. "Tim?" I felt the need to ask despite knowing the incoming answer.
"Yeah, man." His silver flattened coin looking necklace dangling midair as he pulled his cigarettes from his jacket pocket. He seemed to ignore my mini freak out as to why his clothes were coming off.
When I looked around the room, I cold feel the vibrations of the music and movement from the floor below.
"Red head Sherri was with Pony, Johnny and Two-Night at the movies tonight." I wanted to stomp that redhead like a bug.
"Mmm-hmm. She tossed a coke at me." I could tell he was thinking about her while he lit up another smoke and I closed my eyes trying to imagine being somewhere else. The house was warm but with all the drafts it was also chillingly cold.
I held back another yawn by biting the whole of my lower lip and muttered something under my breath the night surely did go from being lame to lamer.
My fingers played with my tank top and bra strap as Dallas pace the room smoking and flicking his ashes into a white plastic ash tray.
Piece of me wondered the damage Dallas may have done to Tim but another piece knew a skin on skin fight was a fair deal. Tim was a big boy he could indeed take cake of himself.
"Did you and Sylvia work it out again?" As I looked at the wall I asked, mainly because I was to lazy to look at his hand to see if the ring was still on his finger or not.
"Nah man we're done." He nodded looking all business about it. I wondered if I was more like Dallas than I originally suspected. What I meant by that was we seemed to share a lot of the same views on things and I was still learning what views they were. But yet we didn't agree on a lot of things either.
I had thought the night to be boring when I resorted in asking about his love life. "You still sleeping about with what's-his-name?" Dallas asked.
"What's-his-name, if that isn't the best description of a person I really have no idea what is." I smirked when he stuck me the middle finger and exhaled a bunch of smoke rings from his mouth.
I went to laugh but didn't hearing a knocking at the door of the bedroom. "Dally kids hanging 'round outside for you say they need'a see you something bad... Johnny and a Ponyboy." Bucks voice boomed.
My eyes and Dallas' connected a worry in my own and a confused curiosity in his. Knowing full well it must have been something awfully bad if they were coming to Dallas at Buck's place. I remembered Darry once chewing a strip off Ponyboy about ever setting foot near Buck's property.
"Shoot son." I whispered to myself as Dallas didn't need telling twice and off down the stairs he went coughing and hacking up something that sounded rather unpleasing.
My mind started racing what was going on? Why were those two this far our in the North side noticing it was nearing three o'clock in the morning made me worry more when I rubbed my eyes. Turning on my side still laying on the bed as the door opened again.
"Awh hell what's going on?" I asked seeing Ponyboy soaking wet and shivering with Johnny beside him pinching his lower lip between his left hands thumb and index fingers.
"Johnny killed a Soc." Dallas said hardly, "Pony take that shirt off!' Dallas tossed him a towel as he sat down on the edge of the bed. I went from laying down to sitting up. "What?" My eyes went wide looking at Johnny.
Sweet, little, kind – lost puppy Johnny.
"I dunno what to do!" Ponyboy was holding back tears while he dried his hair quickly with the towel. "Its big but its dry." Dallas tossed one of Buck's plaid shirts at him. "They were drowning me! Johnny saved my life!" Ponyboy quivered.
"Oh hell." My hand covered my mouth sliding across the bed, my hands touching Ponyboy's bare shoulders rubbing them carefully while I looked at Johnny who seemed to scared to move.
"We knew if anyone could help us it wold be you Dal." Johnny finally spoke looking at the oldest man teenager for guidance as he kept moving around the small room.
"-You got that right kid." Dallas opened a dresser and I moved my hands away from Ponyboy's cold skill while he pulled the shirt on.
"Fuck." I cursed to myself, maybe I should've walked when them tonight. Leave it to the two most undeserving kids to get stuck in this kind of situation.
"Do Soda and Darry know about this?" I wondered but seemed to know the answer before Ponyboy started shaking his head quickly.
"Well I ain't itching to tell your brothers and getting my head kicked in!" Dallas' voice was sharp and dark now.
"So don't tell him!" Ponyboy raised his voice.
The room filled with a unsettled silence.
"Here." Dallas held a gun out to Johnny who hesitated for a minute before taking his with shaking hands. "It's loaded, don't point it at me!" He said sharply turning and sitting down on the bed making it sink in with the weight of three people on it.
Putting it into his pocket, Johnny went back to chewing on his finger nail. Black eyes darting around nervously. "Hey, listen to me." Dallas reached out taking a hold of Johnny's jean jacket and pulling him closer to the bed.
"You'll be okay." I caught Ponyboy's eyes who was really trying not to cry anymore. He nodded but I knew he didn't believe me.
"Here's the plan." Dallas caught everyone's attention. "Catch the Three-Fifteen freight to Windrixville, there's an abandoned church on the top of Jay Mountain -" He stopped himself. With a wad of Cash in his hands I watched Dallas pulling out two twenty and a ten dollar bill. "Fifty bucks." He stuffed it into Johnny's jacket pocket. "Get a weeks supply of food, as soon as you get there, this morning before the story gets out."
The two boys looked incredibly nervous. "I can't go with you-" - "I will." I found myself cutting Dallas off without thinking.
All eyes came on me. I looked forward and not at anyone. "I know Windrixville, I know the store – I know the mountain." I lied. I had no idea where any of it was. But I didn't want the two of them going alone.
"Leslie, no way man..." Dallas shook his head. Waving me off and I narrowed my eyes.
"Dallas come on, they're just kids..." I said sharply and I hoped they wouldn't have taken offence to that. "What are the Fuzz gonna do? They're gonna haul you in first and then coming looking for the Shepard's. When ones missing – they'll be looking for me not those two." I pointed two fingers at Ponyboy and Johnny.
"I'd like if you came." Ponyboy looked at me and I nodded watching Dallas getting up, handing Ponyboy a big leather jacket and I rubbed my forehead this really was an information overload.
"Then I'm coming." I pulled myself off the bed that squeezed in response.
"There's a pump well behind the church, don't worry about water." Dallas continued seemingly approving of my going now. "When you get your supplies, don't you stick your noses out the door! I'll be up when the heats off." He brought a match to his coin necklace and lit the smoke in his mouth.
"And I thought New York was the only place I'd find myself in a murder-rap." He let the smoke from his lungs.
"We should get going if we wanna make it to the train station before the freight leaves." I looked to the clock reading three-oh-seven. "We're gonna have to book it." I pulled my jean jacket on.
At the time I never really had the chance to think to myself why was I getting involved? This was a murder, not a beat-down gone bad. But a murder.
Now I think it was because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something had happened to either Ponyboy or Johnny out there while I sat home doing nothing.
Maybe there was a different reason, I'd just have to ask myself later on.
But for now here I was. Leslie Shepard running off to another town with two teenaged boys who'd got themselves into major trouble.
