Five for Fighting
Rated: PG-13 (some off color remarks in this chapter maaaybe leaning towards R)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
S.I.X.T.E.E.N.
I wouldn't call dinner a success, Dallas wolfed down the pasta with meat sauce that I had made so quickly I doubt he could have tasted it, burped loudly and made his way into the living room where he lay on the couch, sleeping with the TV turned on so loud I couldn't concentrate on my homework.
I threw my pencil down on the kitchen table after erasing the same problem for the fifth time, Dallas was snoring so loudly it even drowned out the TV. So why did I find myself drawn to him? There was no logical explanation, I figured it had to be love, I couldn't really know, I'd never really been in love with a boy before.
Soda had finally finished the dishes and came down to sit next to me, "good dinner Amber, better than anything me and Pony ever cook"
I smiled at him before turning back to my homework and scowling at it.
Soda patted me on the shoulder in a real brotherly way and cast a confused look at my textbook before shaking his head and walking away.
I could tell that it bothered him that he couldn't help me and Pony with our homework the way Darry could, it didn't do any good to tell him we didn't mind because he knew we didn't, but it still bugged him something awful.
Ponyboy came into the kitchen lugging his books under his arm, he dropped them on the table with a bang.
"Are you doing math?"
I nodded, "Trying to, but between not understanding and Dallas sounding like a locomotive, I'm not getting very far."
"Well, I already finished if you want to see mine" he offered
"She does not want to see yours Ponyboy, Amber do your homework by yourself." Darry said from the doorway.
"What does he have eyes in all areas of his head?" I asked in a low whisper
"I heard that Amber"
"…Ears too" Pony mumbled.
I laughed, turning it into a cough when I saw Darry advancing from the corner of my eye, "Well will you help me then" I asked with pleading eyes.
"Hey kid, I'll help you" Dallas rumbled from the doorway walking over and shutting my book, "this stuff is useless, I never learned it and look at me"
"Amber, don't look at him" Darry contradicted, "open your book and do your homework, Ponyboy, you too"
I drew my eyes away from Dallas and reopened my book, muttering numbers under my breath as Darry told Dallas to stop putting ideas in our heads.
Eventually Ponyboy and I finished enough of our homework that Darry agreed that we could go to the Nightly Double with Two-Bit and Dallas even though he was obviously still not over what happened one of the last times Pony went to the Nightly Double. But Soda was going on a double date to the movies with a new girlfriend of his and Steve and his girlfriend so he eventually agreed.
"Hurry up Amber!" Two-Bit yelled from the living room.
I was in my room having just showered and changed. I brushed my hair as I dried it, ignoring Two-Bit and working to calm my hair down with a hair band. I pulled it out of my hair and shook my head letting my curls go free as they pleased. Pressing down on my nose, I sighed, maybe one day it would stop turning up as much as it did.
Grabbing my jacket from the couch I slipped it on over my green sweater.
"Don't you think that skirt is a little short?" Darry asked.
I looked down, my white pleated skirt came just above my knee, "no", I replied.
Darry sighed, "be careful."
I kissed him on the cheek ignoring Ponyboys critical look towards my skirt and hurried out the door followed by Pony and then Dallas who shut the door with a casual, "I'll look after the kids" which didn't seem to suit Darry too well as he made a move to go get his jacket and follow us, but thought better of it.
It was a cold night to go to the movies, but the snow had thawed and cars were parked around the place to watch the movie that was just starting as the boys sneaked in over the back fence. I, not wanting to expose myself, paid the fee and met them near the concession stand where they were having an animated conversation with another couple of boys with slicked back hair and vacant expressions on their faces.
"Whose the chick?"
"This is my sister, Amber" Pony said moving to stand over me protectively
"Amber, this is Curly Sheperd, Tim's younger brother." Pony explained.
"My brother told me all about you, in bed with him on the first night knowing him from what I heard." Curly said crudely
I flushed, "there's Two-Bit" I said hurrying over to him as Dallas snickered loudly along with Curly.
We sat down about fifteen minutes into the movie, it wasn't exactly a plot line you had to follow from A to Z, as it was more girls on a beach, and I think Elvis might have been in it. I didn't really know because I was growing so numb I couldn't concentrate, and with Dallas hovering near by, bothering the girls unfortunate enough to sit near us, with the help from Curly and Two-Bit, I couldn't hear it either.
"Amber!"
I whirled around during the intermission between the two movies and saw Cherry making her way over.
"Hi Cherry" I said rubbing my hands together to try and warm them.
"Cherry! Hi!" Ponyboy yelled breaking away from a conversation he was in with two guys behind us.
"You mind if I sit with y'all?" She asked, leaning over to see Dallas and spilling popcorn in my lap in the process.
"Of course not!" Pony exclaimed engaging her immediately into a conversation that neither Cherry or myself were paying attention to.
"Well what have we here, ready for the soda yet?" Dallas asked catching Cherry's eye for the first time since she had sat down.
"I brought my own, thanks", she said coolly.
"Come on guys, please don't argue", Ponyboy begged.
I could see the pain in his eyes, and the remembrance of what happened last time and I felt guilty for wishing Cherry and Dallas bad feelings towards each other.
For whatever reason they conceded, if not out of mutual respect for Ponyboy, then because it was just too cold to concentrate on an argument.
The boys behind us ended up being really nice guys, friends of Ponyboy's for awhile and I stopped trying to pay attention to the movie and started talking to them instead.
"Come on Amber, I'm freezing, let's go"
"It's over?" I asked looking at Ponyboy
"You see the credits, dontcha kid?" Two-Bit asked.
I smiled at him and stood up, rubbing my arms, which had gone numb some time ago.
Fred, a grinning redhead slipped an arm around me much to Ponyboy's displeasure as he scowled darkly in Fred's direction.
Although he paled horribly in comparison to Dallas, who was, along with Cherry, no where to be found, I leaned against him, trying to absorb his warmth.
We started walking home through back allies, all of which the boys knew well.
"Oh shit, I think I dropped my glove, let me run back and find it", I said searching my pockets for my leather gloves, a Christmas present from my adopted mother, we were supposed to go Skiing this winter.
"Want me to come with you?" Fred asked.
I nodded, I didn't want to admit it, but I was scared alone in the dark.
We retraced our steps back to where we had been moments before, "there it is!" I said stooping down to retrieve it.
Standing up I nearly jumped out of my skin, two people were at the end of the ally.
Straining my eyes I gasped, I couldn't mistake that face, it was Dallas, and he was in the tightest embrace I've ever seen outside of a TV Soap Opera, with Cherry Valance.
Tears welled in my eyes and without explanation, I turned away from Fred and ran as fast as I could, blindly, with no idea of where I was going.
The cold air stung my lungs and I finally came to a stop, leaning against a cold wall, breathing heavily for a few minutes until I thought I was ok to walk again.
"It's not safe out here alone little girl."
It was Jake, smelling strongly of alcohol, with three of his friends, all drunk.
"Leave me alone", I said standing up straight and sniffing back tears.
"Now you don't think I'd just leave you here all by yourself, obviously upset, come here and let me…comfort you"
"No, thank you" I said trying to walk away
He grabbed my arm pulling me towards him.
Screaming I tried to run but was quickly stopped by his friends who closed in around me.
"Please let me go"
"Not when you're so upset, come here" Jake said, "I'll comfort you, then Lee will, then George and if you're still upset you'll have Brad"
"I'm not upset, let me go before I yell"
"Go ahead and yell, no one will hear you, we made sure of that when we knocked out the ugly red head greaser trash you were with, why were you with such trash Amber? You know you could do much better", Jake said as he ran his hand down my face to my chest.
I cringed, "He's more of a man than you could ever hope to be!"
"Oh, I'll show you what kind of a man I am", he snickered.
I started to yell, not knowing what else to do, praying Ponyboy and Two-Bit were close by, or even Dallas.
"Shut her up!" One of them yelled.
Passages from Pony's English essay came floating through my mind, Socs were professionals at shutting screaming people up.
I screamed in pain as Jake slapped me across the face, "It'll go faster if you just knock her out too", one of them said and when Jake nodded his consent I was punched hard across the face.
I fell to the ground, my vision blurred, I could hear voices but I couldn't distinguish who it was.
I was so cold
I heard footsteps but I couldn't tell whose.
And before I passed out, I saw Dallas hovering over me, Cherry standing behind him peering at me worriedly.
I woke up the next day with a scratchy throat, a hell of a lot of pain in my face where I'd been hit, stiff joints, and my three brothers hovering over me.
"Amber, are you ok?" Darry asked.
I nodded, the whole night came back to me in one hurried memory.
"What happened?"
I couldn't respond, I couldn't get past the part of Dallas and Cherry in my mind, there was no way I could explain why I ran away from Fred.
Fred
"Is Fred ok?" I asked.
"Yeah he's fine, are you ok?" Soda asked "It's ok baby, you can tell us what happened."
"I was attacked…" I mumbled
"They didn't…he didn't…" Pony stumbled over the question
I shook my head, "Going to, but didn't…"
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop them, no date is worth this…" Soda mumbled
"Not your fault Soda, he would have done it some other time"
"Who Amber, tell us who", Darry said sitting on the edge of my bed and stroking my hair.
I felt hate well up inside me as I closed my eyes and saw Dallas, holding Cherry, kissing Cherry, loving Cherry and not me.
And even though I knew it was wrong, even though I knew that it was Jake and his friends, even though I knew it could and would end friendships, I looked up into Darry's eyes and said in a hard even voice, "It was Dallas."