For the rest of the week, Lisa followed Tia around like a second shadow. Tia tried painfully hard not to get into any fights, to keep Darry happy. She succeeded, except for the fact that she smashed a Soc's head with her locker door because he kept annoying her.
Friday was there before she knew it. Her lip had healed but still hurt when she smile wide. Her eye didn't look too bad but was still slightly blue underneath it.
Lisa said she would see Tia at the rodeo that night because she had convinced KJ to take her. She also wanted to introduce Tia to KJ because he wanted to meet her.
Soda and Steve picked her and Pony up after school because they got off work early. The entire drive home Tia and Soda sang along with the radio much to the amusement of Pony and the annoyment of Steve.
Soon after they got home Two-Bit got there too.
"Who's ready for a wild night?" he yelled as soon as he opened the door.
"Calm down, your not helping my nerves." Tia yelled back to him.
"Don't be nervous, kid. You are gonna win tonight, I can feel it." Two-Bit said coming into the kitchen where they all were.
"Sorry but that doesn't help." Tia replied, boosting herself up onto the counter.
"You are not going to believe what I heard from Dally." Two-Bit said, his voice full of excitement "He was talking to Buck who heard that there is going to be almost double the crowd. They all want to see this girl who rides with the guys."
"Double the crowd?" Tia whispered.
"Yeah, some of the toughest Hood's are even going to be there."
"I think I am going to be sick." Tia said before running to the bathroom.
"Nice going, Matthews." Steve said, shoving Two-Bit.
"How was I suppose to know she was going to freak out?" Two-Bit, rubbing his shoulder where Steve pushed him.
"Tia?" Soda asked, knocking on the bathroom door. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I am fine." Tia called back. "False alarm, just give me a minute."
Soda went back into the kitchen and waited for Tia to come out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Tia finally gave up trying to eat, she went into the bathroom to change pants and put on some make-up that she had bought earlier that week with her winnings.
"Hello?" Dally called out while he came in.
"In the kitchen!" Soda called.
"Where's T-Bird?" Dally asked, entering the kitchen.
"In the bathroom." Tia yelled.
"I got your shirt, open the door." Dally said, turning the handle of the locked bathroom door.
"Just I sec, I don't have any pants on." Tia called.
"We are running low on time. Hurry up T-Bird. " Dally called, knocking on the door "Its nothing I haven't seen before."
"And its nothing your going to see of me." Tia said sticking her head out the door "What did you get?"
"Here." Dally said handing the shirt to Tia before she closed the door.
The shirt was blood red and had the word 'Cowboy', cut out across the chest and the back at the, it had "Live Fast, Ride Hard' cut out.
"Thanks Dally!" Tia called as she pulled the shirt over her head.
"Who else is coming?" Tia asked once she had came out of the bathroom and was lacing up her boots.
"Me and Steve, Soda and Pony are staying home, Darry's orders." Two-Bit said.
"Where's Johnny?" Tia asked, realizing she hadn't seen him all day.
"His parents were being harder then usual and didn't get much sleep. He went to work with Darry and stayed in the car to sleep while Darry worked." Soda explained "He could have stayed here but he was paranoid that his parents might come looking for him."
Tia just nodded and stood up once her boots were on.
"Let's ride." Tia said and followed the boys out to Dally's car.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rodeo was packed, I mean packed. When Tia got out of the car, people kept coming up to her and saying hi and half of these people she had never seen before in her life. She didn't want to loose Dally in the crowd and he knew it so he kept a firm arm around her shoulders.
They lost Two-Bit and Steve but they would be back at the car when it was time to go. They watched the first few rounds and Dally took Tia over to the gate when her group was going to be starting.
"How are ya feeling?" Dally asked Tia, smiling down at her.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" Tia asked, everywhere she looked, eyes met hers.
"Don't think about them, just think about riding." Dally said and yelled to Buck to see when she would be riding.
"Second out of five." Buck yelled back.
The first guy got thrown off almost as soon as the gate opened. They brought the next horse in, he was a lean horse with brown and white splotches all over him.
"Meet Hell-Cat." Dally said as she climbed over the fence.
Tia didn't respond, this was all familiar to her, she tied her hand on without even thinking. Luckily because her brain wasn't working right then.
"You know the drill, ride hard, I will be waiting for you." Dally said and winked at her before going to get a spot to watch.
"Ready?" Buck asked smiling at her.
She nodded and braced herself. The horse took off as soon as the gate was opened. The crowd was screaming for her. He wasn't into the fast turns, he just bucked like mad. Tia's neck felt like rubber but she was carefull to keep her other arm high so she didn't break the rules.
Unfortunately she didn't get to chose when to get dumped. The horse veered a hard left and she went flying. She landed hard on her back and had the breath knocked from her. She rolled over and glanced towards Hell-Cat. He was coming back.
She climbed to her feet and ran for the nearest rail and vaulted herself over. The crowd moved away in time so that she didn't hit anyone. She was breathing heavy and was covered in dirt but the crowd screamed for her.
She felt someone tap her on the back and turned around to see Lisa smiling up at her.
"Hey." Tia said smiling.
"Oh my god! You rocked." Lisa exclaimed.
"Really? Thanks but I was no better then most of the guys here." Tia said and began dusting herself off.
She pulled her hair out of the elastic that was holding her hair back and shook the dust out of it.
"I want you to meet my brother KJ." Lisa said motioning to the guy beside her.
Tia moved her hair out of her eyes to see a tall guy looking back at her. He had warm, light brown eyes and the same colour hair to match. He had a muscular build and offered his hand to her. He was definately a Greaser, he was dressed like one and his hair was slicked back.
"Hi." he said as she shook his hand.
"Hey." Tia said smiling back at him.
"You did great!" a familar voice said as someone pulled her into a hug and lifted her right off the ground.
She didn't know who it was at first but when she caught a glimpse of light blond hair she relaxed.
"Hey Dally." Tia said "Put me down please, I am kinda sore."
"What? Oh." Dally said putting her down. "Hey KJ, Lisa."
"Hey Dallas, oh yeah, heres your money." KJ said handing him a $5 bill.
"Tia?" Lisa asked, her voice sounded weird.
"What?" Tia asked looking at Lisa.
"Do you know that guy?" Lisa said pointing behind Tia. "He has been staring at you in a weird way for a while now."
Dally looked to where Lisa was pointing. A guy who looked to be about 17 was leaning against the rail and his eyes were locked on Tia. Dally had never seen him before. He had on jeans and a leather jacket and had some grease in his hair. He looked pretty tough. He had jet black hair but there was something about him that kept Dally's attention.
"Oh crap." Tia whispered.
The guy looked from Tia to Dally who realize what was wrong. His eyes were the same sea green that Dally had looked into so many times. His eyes were identical to Tia's.
Friday was there before she knew it. Her lip had healed but still hurt when she smile wide. Her eye didn't look too bad but was still slightly blue underneath it.
Lisa said she would see Tia at the rodeo that night because she had convinced KJ to take her. She also wanted to introduce Tia to KJ because he wanted to meet her.
Soda and Steve picked her and Pony up after school because they got off work early. The entire drive home Tia and Soda sang along with the radio much to the amusement of Pony and the annoyment of Steve.
Soon after they got home Two-Bit got there too.
"Who's ready for a wild night?" he yelled as soon as he opened the door.
"Calm down, your not helping my nerves." Tia yelled back to him.
"Don't be nervous, kid. You are gonna win tonight, I can feel it." Two-Bit said coming into the kitchen where they all were.
"Sorry but that doesn't help." Tia replied, boosting herself up onto the counter.
"You are not going to believe what I heard from Dally." Two-Bit said, his voice full of excitement "He was talking to Buck who heard that there is going to be almost double the crowd. They all want to see this girl who rides with the guys."
"Double the crowd?" Tia whispered.
"Yeah, some of the toughest Hood's are even going to be there."
"I think I am going to be sick." Tia said before running to the bathroom.
"Nice going, Matthews." Steve said, shoving Two-Bit.
"How was I suppose to know she was going to freak out?" Two-Bit, rubbing his shoulder where Steve pushed him.
"Tia?" Soda asked, knocking on the bathroom door. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I am fine." Tia called back. "False alarm, just give me a minute."
Soda went back into the kitchen and waited for Tia to come out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Tia finally gave up trying to eat, she went into the bathroom to change pants and put on some make-up that she had bought earlier that week with her winnings.
"Hello?" Dally called out while he came in.
"In the kitchen!" Soda called.
"Where's T-Bird?" Dally asked, entering the kitchen.
"In the bathroom." Tia yelled.
"I got your shirt, open the door." Dally said, turning the handle of the locked bathroom door.
"Just I sec, I don't have any pants on." Tia called.
"We are running low on time. Hurry up T-Bird. " Dally called, knocking on the door "Its nothing I haven't seen before."
"And its nothing your going to see of me." Tia said sticking her head out the door "What did you get?"
"Here." Dally said handing the shirt to Tia before she closed the door.
The shirt was blood red and had the word 'Cowboy', cut out across the chest and the back at the, it had "Live Fast, Ride Hard' cut out.
"Thanks Dally!" Tia called as she pulled the shirt over her head.
"Who else is coming?" Tia asked once she had came out of the bathroom and was lacing up her boots.
"Me and Steve, Soda and Pony are staying home, Darry's orders." Two-Bit said.
"Where's Johnny?" Tia asked, realizing she hadn't seen him all day.
"His parents were being harder then usual and didn't get much sleep. He went to work with Darry and stayed in the car to sleep while Darry worked." Soda explained "He could have stayed here but he was paranoid that his parents might come looking for him."
Tia just nodded and stood up once her boots were on.
"Let's ride." Tia said and followed the boys out to Dally's car.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rodeo was packed, I mean packed. When Tia got out of the car, people kept coming up to her and saying hi and half of these people she had never seen before in her life. She didn't want to loose Dally in the crowd and he knew it so he kept a firm arm around her shoulders.
They lost Two-Bit and Steve but they would be back at the car when it was time to go. They watched the first few rounds and Dally took Tia over to the gate when her group was going to be starting.
"How are ya feeling?" Dally asked Tia, smiling down at her.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" Tia asked, everywhere she looked, eyes met hers.
"Don't think about them, just think about riding." Dally said and yelled to Buck to see when she would be riding.
"Second out of five." Buck yelled back.
The first guy got thrown off almost as soon as the gate opened. They brought the next horse in, he was a lean horse with brown and white splotches all over him.
"Meet Hell-Cat." Dally said as she climbed over the fence.
Tia didn't respond, this was all familiar to her, she tied her hand on without even thinking. Luckily because her brain wasn't working right then.
"You know the drill, ride hard, I will be waiting for you." Dally said and winked at her before going to get a spot to watch.
"Ready?" Buck asked smiling at her.
She nodded and braced herself. The horse took off as soon as the gate was opened. The crowd was screaming for her. He wasn't into the fast turns, he just bucked like mad. Tia's neck felt like rubber but she was carefull to keep her other arm high so she didn't break the rules.
Unfortunately she didn't get to chose when to get dumped. The horse veered a hard left and she went flying. She landed hard on her back and had the breath knocked from her. She rolled over and glanced towards Hell-Cat. He was coming back.
She climbed to her feet and ran for the nearest rail and vaulted herself over. The crowd moved away in time so that she didn't hit anyone. She was breathing heavy and was covered in dirt but the crowd screamed for her.
She felt someone tap her on the back and turned around to see Lisa smiling up at her.
"Hey." Tia said smiling.
"Oh my god! You rocked." Lisa exclaimed.
"Really? Thanks but I was no better then most of the guys here." Tia said and began dusting herself off.
She pulled her hair out of the elastic that was holding her hair back and shook the dust out of it.
"I want you to meet my brother KJ." Lisa said motioning to the guy beside her.
Tia moved her hair out of her eyes to see a tall guy looking back at her. He had warm, light brown eyes and the same colour hair to match. He had a muscular build and offered his hand to her. He was definately a Greaser, he was dressed like one and his hair was slicked back.
"Hi." he said as she shook his hand.
"Hey." Tia said smiling back at him.
"You did great!" a familar voice said as someone pulled her into a hug and lifted her right off the ground.
She didn't know who it was at first but when she caught a glimpse of light blond hair she relaxed.
"Hey Dally." Tia said "Put me down please, I am kinda sore."
"What? Oh." Dally said putting her down. "Hey KJ, Lisa."
"Hey Dallas, oh yeah, heres your money." KJ said handing him a $5 bill.
"Tia?" Lisa asked, her voice sounded weird.
"What?" Tia asked looking at Lisa.
"Do you know that guy?" Lisa said pointing behind Tia. "He has been staring at you in a weird way for a while now."
Dally looked to where Lisa was pointing. A guy who looked to be about 17 was leaning against the rail and his eyes were locked on Tia. Dally had never seen him before. He had on jeans and a leather jacket and had some grease in his hair. He looked pretty tough. He had jet black hair but there was something about him that kept Dally's attention.
"Oh crap." Tia whispered.
The guy looked from Tia to Dally who realize what was wrong. His eyes were the same sea green that Dally had looked into so many times. His eyes were identical to Tia's.
