After arriving home from grocery shopping, Linda stood in her kitchen finishing putting away things. When she got done, she walked out and into the living room to enjoy her day off. It's not to often she was in the house without having to worry about three teenage boys and a husband.

She sat down on the couch and flipped on the television when her brows furrowed as she saw out the windows a person sitting on the wooden swing they kept in the backyard outside.

Linda got up and walked over only to see it was Dally sitting out there. She sighed and walked out the back door wondering what he was doing here.

"Dallas," she said while walking outside.

He turned his head when he heard her voice and it was then Linda saw the condition he was in. She gasped when she saw the blood running down his head and the bad cut on his mouth.

"Dallas," she said again, then took a deep breath. He looked up at her saw the she looked both disappointed and frustrated. "How long have you been out of jail?"

"Two hours," he responded.

"Come inside," she shook her head while gently taking his wrist and leading him in the house. Once they entered she pointed to the couch.

"Sit down."

Dally did so, wincing at the pain in his back. She left the room and he looked up at the television. A news channel was on and was talking about the fight he had with the Brumley boys at the store. He quickly picked up the remote and turned it off just as Linda walked back in the room.

"Here," she said as she handed him a glass of water and a pill.

"Thanks Mrs. Curtis," he said as he accepted plopped the pill in his mouth. Linda sat down next to him and gently began wiping away the blood on his face with a wet wash cloth.

"I told you before, you can call me Linda," she said.

Dally suddenly regretted his decision to turn off the television as an uncomfortable silence came over the two as Linda continued wiping away the blood from his head and mouth. When she finished she took away the rag and stared at him.

"Dallas, can I ask you a question?" Linda finally said.

"Go ahead."

"When's the last time you've seen your parents?"

He took one last sip of water before sitting the glass down.

"Months," Dally replied.

"Why?"

"We don't get along."

Linda smiled slightly.

"You know, my parents and I didn't get along all the time when I was your age, but I never felt the need to get into trouble all the time."

"Well maybe you didn't Linda," he almost spat at her. "But your dad probably never hit you when he got drunk. And your mom didn't ignore what was going on and only yelled at you and kick you out of the house for fighting back. Well, why do you think I had to fight back against him? I never could count on her to do anything! Maybe that's why I get in trouble all the time!"

She stared, dumbfounded by his outburst. She had known him for almost a year and she'd never heard him talk about his past like that.

"Dallas–"

He shook his head and began to fiddle with his jacket, obviously regretting revealing so much about himself. "Screw it. Just…forget I said anything." He got up and began to walk away.

Linda quickly got up and followed.

"Dallas, wait!"

He spun around, and she recoiled at the anger on his face. The flame in his eyes burned furiously, shimmering with something that looked like pain.

"Leave me the hell alone!"

"Please don't leave," she begged as tears began to form in her eyes, but she blinked them away rapidly.

Dally was shocked when he saw tears in her eyes. Was she really crying for him? Linda then reached out and gently took one his hands.

"You're so angry," she whispered while reaching out and taking on his hands, trying to sooth his uncontrollable temper. "Why don't you let anyone in?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You have friends who care about you, but they can't get in if you don't let them. You've never told anyone about your past before have you? You've never let anyone really know you."

"What's it to you?"

"Because I care about you Dallas. It's okay to care about someone you know."

Dally stared at her for a second before he began to feel a little woozy.

"What did you give me?"

"A pain killer, it's going to make you a little sleepy."

"You don't say," he muttered as his eyes gazed over.

"Come on," Linda said and led Dally upstairs and into a bedroom. "You can sleep here," she pointed to the bed.

"This is Darry's room," he said.

"It's okay, he won't be home until late. Get some sleep."

Linda glaced at Dally one last time before shutting the door behind her. Dally kicked off his shoes and took off his leather jacket before laying down. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Later on, Dally rolled over and opened his eyes, hearing talking and laughter coming from downstairs. He looked around for a clock, wondering what time is was and got to his feet, putting his shoes back on and grabbing his jacket.

After he made his way down the stairs he looked into the living room and saw Two-Bit and Karen sitting on the couch while Sodapop and Ponyboy were wrestling on the floor. From the kitchen, he heard the voices of the Curtis parents and Two-Bit's mom. They must be having some kind of get together.

"Hey Dally!" Two-Bit examined when he saw him. He got up and walked over to him. "I forgot you were getting out of the cooler today."

He gave Dally a brief hug before he could refuse. Dally looked disgusted as he pulled away from him and stepped over the two brothers who had rolled to where they were.

"How come every time I'm here, you guys are always doing this?" Dally asked annoyed as he came into the living room and sat down on the recliner.

"What do you mean?" Soda asked while looking up.

"I mean, you've been on top of him more times than his wife will be."

Ponyboy looked disgusted after Dally's comment as Two-Bit busted out laughing.

"Get up Soda," Pony said as he lightly pushed Soda off him and stood up.

"Forget about him Pony," Soda said while getting up then looked at Dally. "You wouldn't know what it's like to have a little brother."

"You got me there," Dally replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, don't worry about him." Two-Bit said echoing Sodapop. "He doesn't know how to have fun."

Two-Bit then smirked and started to approach Dally while wiggling his fingers.

"Two-Bit, I swear to god I will cut each one of your fingers off."

That stopped him dead in his tracks just as Darryl Senior, Linda, and Ms. Mathews exited the kitchen and walked to where they all where.

"Oh, hi Dally," Ms. Mathews said when she saw him. "Alright, come on guys, say good night to the Curtis's."

"Thanks for dinner Mr. and Mrs. Curtis," Karen said as she and Two-Bit left the house with their mom.

"Are you staying the night Dallas?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, if that's okay."

"Fine," she said as she went up the stairs with her husband. Darryl gave Dally a look as he went up the stairs and Dally smirked when he was out of sight. He always got the impression that Mr. Curtis didn't like him.

While his parents and Soda went off to bed, Ponyboy took a drink of chocolate milk out of the carton before following everyone else up the stairs. Dally glanced at him as he came back into sight.

"You've got quite a mom," he said to Pony. "She knows the score."

"Thanks," Ponyboy said slowly, not knowing what he meant and continued his way up the stairs.

"If only she were fifteen years younger and not married," he thought as he layed down on the couch.

The next morning, Ponyboy quickly got dressed and headed down the stairs, unsurprised to see Two-Bit waiting for him at the bottom.

"About time," he complained. "I was getting ready to come up and put some ice cubes down your back. Steve told me that'd do the trick."

"Try it and I'll kill you." Pony warned as he got his back pack out of the hall closet. He looked over and saw Dally sitting on the couch, looking like he'd just woken up himself.

"Dally, can you give us a ride? I'm tired of walking," Two-Bit said.

"Lazy bum," Pony muttered. They had only walked to school once since he had wreaked his car.

"Yeah, why not?" Dally said as he got up and threw his jacket on. Linda then exited the kitchen and spotted the three of them heading out.

"You're going to school Dally?" She asked.

"No, just givin' them a ride," he responded and nodded towards his buddies.

"Oh," Linda said, sounding a little disappointed. "Alright, have a good day at school guys."

Dally sighed as he exited the house and got into his car, Linda's disappointed look still in his mind. What was the big deal about going to school anyway? Two-Bit goes to school and he's a dumb ass. Soon, they arrived at Will Roger's and pulled up in the parking lot.

"Thanks Dally, see you later." Pony said as he got out of the car and headed towards the school.

After they got out Dally reached over into the glove compartment and pulled out his schedule he'd received several months ago. He then looked towards the school.

He really had nothing better to do today.