I Don't Give Two Cents What You Think!
I don't own the Outsiders or any of S.E. Hinton's wonderful characters
Gannatori walked down the street, her hands tucked into her pockets while she tried to minimize the fact that her skirt was too short and it kept blowing up in the back to reveal her backside which wasn't clad too well in her thong. Her hair kept blowing onto her face where it would stick because of the tears that wouldn't stop flowing down her cheeks. She came to about a block from her house and sat down in the old lot where her brothers and their gang all hung out. She let her head fall into her hands and she sobbed. She couldn't understand why they would do that to her, it didn't make sense to her. She cried her eyes out just sitting there in the grass, she couldn't tell anyone what had happened, they would go ballistic and aside from that it was her fault anyway. She could hear someone walking down the street, quickly she wiped her eyes and tried to look natural, but the tears wanted out badly, she hoped the person wouldn't want to talk to her.
"Hey kid," said a familiar voice as the face to match leaned down to look at her. It was Dally Winston, one of the guys from her brother's gang. She tried to smile at him. "What's the matter kid?" he asked squatting down in front of her. He was trying to get a rise out of her, he knew she hated when he called her that, especially since she was one year his junior.
"Don't call me that," she said trying to keep her voice steady.
"What's wrong Tor?" he asked with genuine concern.
"Nothing," she said turning away from him as the tears finally broke free. He put his arm around her.
"It's all right Tori," he said giving her a hug. "What happened girl, musta been somthin' pretty bad to make the tough as nails girl cry." She laughed and then cried harder.
"The Socs they came," she tried to say.
"What did they do Gannatori?" asked Dally looking her in the eyes. She shook her head and turned away from him. "God dammit Gannatori Curtis you tell me what the hell those bastards did to you!" She cried harder not looking in his eyes. "That's it I'm taking you to home, if you won't talk to me I know you'll talk to Soda." He stood up and hoisted her to her feet, she grabbed at her skirt and tried to pull it down but it was too late, Dally could see the semen running down her legs.
"They didn't," he took her in his arms," not to you. They didn't." He held her close and she cried harder. "I'll kill 'em, I swear to God, I'll kill 'em," said Dally picking her up in his arms. She laid there in his arms numb and unable to talking.
Ponyboy and Sodapop were sitting on their front stoop talking about nothing in particular when they saw Dally walking up carrying their sister.
"Get Darry," he shouted from the driveway. Ponyboy raced inside and Soda hopped off the steps and rushed towards Dally.
"What happened?" asked her brother looking down at her with concern.
"Those fuckers raped her," said Dally through his teeth. Soda stared at Dally for a second and then grabbed onto his sister and started crying. Darry and Ponyboy were loping down the stairs by then.
"What happened to my kid sister," he said staring down at her as Soda held onto her crying.
"They raped her!" cried Soda," those bastard Socs raped her." Darry looked like someone had just punched him in the gut and Ponyboy turned around and threw up.
"We need to get her to the hospital," said Dally.
"I'm gonna kill 'em," said Soda his eyes fiery.
"Later," said Dally," she needs medical attention."
"Okay," said Darry as he came around again. "Everyone in the car."
Tori lay on the table as the doctors and nurses rushed around trying to complete the rape kit. Dally was in the room with her because her brothers couldn't handle it. She was holding onto his hand tightly staring at the ceiling as quiet tears came rolling down her cheeks. She hadn't spoken since Dally had made her stand up and no one could get her to talk no matter what they did.
"Sir," said a nurse to Dally kindly," can you please take me out to the waiting room and help me find her family."
"Yeah," he said letting go of her hand, he kissed her forehead. "Don't worry I'll be right back," he said and she just cried. The nurse walked with him out of the room and into the waiting room. "Darry, Sodapop, Ponyboy," he shouted. The three men ran up to them followed by everyone else in the gang. Dally had to smile, they all loved Tori.
"How is she?" asked Darry frantically.
"She still won't talk," said Dally. "Can I go back in there?" he asked the nurse, she nodded. Dally turned and walked back into the room and she was still laying there silently crying. They had cleaned her up and put her into a paper nightgown. A doctor ran up to him.
"A nurse was questioning her," he said quickly, "and she started talking, but it doesn't make any sense what she's saying." Dally rushed to her side and took a hold of her hand again.
"What is it hunny?" he asked her as she turned and looked at him.
"From up here the city lights burn like a thousand miles of fire," she said in between shaky breaths. Dally smiled at her and she smiled back.
"What does that mean?" asked the nurse.
"That was meant for me," he said with a smile.
"No one else," said Tori looking up at him pained. "You'll stay with me tonight right?" she asked.
"If you want me to," he said. Dally was always the one Tori ran to no matter how much they acted like they didn't like each other in the end you could almost always find Dally on the floor in Tori's room if something bad happened to her with his arm up and her hand in his. Darry didn't like finding Dally in his little sister's room at first because Dally had a reputation. But Darry had quickly realized that it wasn't like that with them and it confused everyone in the gang.
Dally looked down at her, she grinned sadly.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," he said looking into her eyes. "Was it... I mean were you..."
"Yes," she said sadly," I was." He looked more torn up then he had before and kissed her hand holding it in between both his hands now.
"All right," said a nurse," we're done darlin'," she patted Tori's arm. "You can go home, and if you would like we can recommend a consoler."
"That's all right," she said sitting up. "Where are my clothes?"
"We have to keep them," said the nurse," to search for anything on your clothes, but when we're finished we'll send them back to you clean." Tori nodded.
"Can you tie me?" she asked Dally as she stood up. He averted his eyes and tied the back of her gown.
"Here," he took off his leather jacket and put it over her shoulders. "You're backside was still showing," he smirked. She stuck her tongue out at him and took his hand. They walked into the waiting room and immediately all the gang crowded around them, she edged closer to Dally but her brothers jerked her away from him and hugged her and kissed her. She stretched her hand back and he took it. Finally her brothers let go of her and she looked at the faces of the members of the gang.
There were her three brothers, Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy. They were all very different. Darry was cold and hard, six foot two and twenty years old with dark brown hair. He was serious and hated when she or Ponyboy goofed off. Sodapop was next, he was the one all the girls swooned over and tried to get with, he was always happy and had dark gold hair that gets almost white in the summer. Then there was Ponyboy, he had light brown reddish hair and he was the thoughtful dreamy one, he always had his nose in a book or pointed at the sky.
Next in the gang was Steve Randle, he was Soda's best friend and he had the hots for Tori something bad. He was the same age as her but she didn't like him, he was pretty mean to Ponyboy. He had thick, greasy hair that Tori didn't care for at all.
Next is Two-Bit Mathews. Two-Bit had long rusty colored sideburns and wavy rust colored hair. He always made everyone smile in spite themselves with his wide grin and comical remarks.
Then there is Johnny Cade, he was shy and quiet. His old man liked to beat him up so he was kind of skittish, and he had had the tar beaten out of him by some Socs a while back and never really been the same. Tori loved Johnny like she loved her kid brother Ponyboy.
Last but not least was Dallas Winston, Dally; he was a dark kind of guy. He had grown up to be hard though and been in and out of jail one too many times. He had lived in New York so he got bored real easy around where they lived and liked to pick fights. His hair was almost white and fell everywhere, Tori liked to run her fingers through it when he was sleeping. Tori's favorite member of the gang, the man who stood next to her telling them all he knew while she looked up at him. Dally and Tori always picked on one another but it was all fun and games. Steve didn't like Dally that much, not since Tori had gone through puberty. Tori was crazy about Dally in fact, she loved him but she could never tell anyone that.
"Well let's all go home," said Darry. Everyone hugged Tori before she could get into the car and then Dally winked at her as he got out of the car and walked into his house. She smiled and leaned against Soda who put his arm around her.
When they finally got back to their house Tori walked up to her room and closed the door. She walked over to her window and opened it, a few seconds later Dally climbed through it. She was curled up on her bed wrapped up in his jacket by then. He sat down next to her and laid his hand on her shoulder. She shook with a sob and he lay down behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"It's all right Tori," he cooed. "It's all right; I won't let them hurt you ever again." He held her close to him as she rolled over and buried her head in his chest. "I should get off your bed because Darry'll kill me if he finds me here," he said softly. She held onto him tighter. "All right sweetheart," he said stroking her head.
"What the hell are you doing!" Tori was awoken by Darry screaming at Dally. Dally stood up quickly and hoped off her bed.
"Nothing," he said. For the first time in her life Tori saw that Dally was scared.
"Get out of my house now!" yelled Darry grabbing him by his collar and shoving him out of her room. Dally waved bye to her and then walked down stairs and back to his house.
"Morning Darry," said Tori blinking at him as she sat up.
"What the hell was that?" asked Darry still shouting.
"The same thing it always is," said Tori standing up and pushing Darry out of her room so she could get changed. She pulled off Dally's jacket and then the paper gown that they had given her the night before. She turned her face away from the mirror as soon as she saw all the stitches and bruises all over her body. She walked to her closet and got out an outfit and some new underwear and a bra. Then she got dressed and her mind drifted to what she had said to Dally the night before. She smiled happy that he had been able to connect them.
Once Dally had found Tori on a date and completely ruined it, well actually it was already bad and Dally had helped Tori escape. He had walked over and put his arm around her while she was sitting watching a movie with the guy, he kept talking and shouting at the screen and Tori was trying to contain laughter.
"There's my girl," said Dally walking over and throwing an arm around her before planting a kiss on her cheek. Tori had bit her lip trying not to laugh. The boy she was with had gotten so mad at that that he had stormed out. She and Dally had been laughing so hard about it that they got kicked out of the theater. They had gone up to the roof of a convenience store after that because Tori hadn't felt like coming home and getting interrogated by Darry. They had stared at the whole town from the top of the store and Dally had held her close and kissed her passionately. They both blushed after that and he let her go. Then they had looked out across the city.
"The stars will cry the blackest tears tonight," Tori had whispered.
"From up here the city lights burn like a thousand miles of fire," Dally had whispered back. Then he took her home and they had never talked about it since or told anyone.
Tori smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror, she was wearing her baggy cargo capris and a white tank top. She threw Dally's jacket on over that and thought she looked very tough. She walked downstairs and grabbed a piece of toast trying to sneak away before any of her brothers could corner her. She turned and there was Soda looking at her with his concerned eyes. He hugged her.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said hugging him back. "I was gonna go return Dally's jacket."
"Want me to go with you?" he asked worriedly.
"No that's all right, it's just down the street," she said popping the toast into her mouth and walking out the door with a wave to him. Man, she thought, they better not all be like this. She walked down the street a few steps before she saw Steve rushing towards her.
"What are you doing out alone?" he asked grabbing her shoulders.
"Going to give Dally back his jacket," she said putting the rest of the toast into her mouth. Steve frowned.
"Well let me walk with you," he said letting go of her.
"Nah," she said walking past him. "Soda is up, go walk with him." She smiled to herself as she walked away from him. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going until she heard herself knocking on Dally's front door.
"I got it!" she heard him yell and then he appeared behind the door. He smiled at her and opened the door. "What do you want?" he joked.
"I was gonna return your jacket," she said with a smile peering into the kitchen. "Morning Mrs. Winston," she said with a wave to the woman sitting at the table. Dally's mother looked up and smiled at her.
"Good morning Gannatori," she said. Tori flinched at the sound of her real name. "It's always such a treat to have you over," said Mrs. Winston standing up and walking over to her. "You're not like those other girls Dallas brings home," she smiled and said under her breath," trashy things." Tori laughed.
"Thanks, I like coming over here, Darry can't yell at me then," she took Dally's hand by accident then and leaned closer to him. His mother looked like she was going to cry for a second and then walked back to the kitchen.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked looking up at Dally. He smiled and looked down at their hands. "Oh," Tori blushed and let go of his hand.
"C'mon," said Dally heading up the stairs to his room. Tori followed him and walked into his room. Tori loved Dally's room, it smelled like him. She sat down on his bed and fell backwards with a smile.
"You're my mom's favorite," he said as he pulled off his shirt and dug through his closet. Tori propped herself up on an elbow. "She always raves about you and asks why I don't have you over that often."
"Did you tell her about last night?" asked Tori as her hand went to the stitches in her right shoulder.
"Yeah, she was worried sick about you," he smiled pulling out a new shirt and pulling it on. "Why do you have your hand on your shoulder?"
"Oh..." Tori blushed and looked down as her vision blurred.
"They didn't..." Tori nodded. "Those bastards," spat Dally walking over and sitting next to her. "Can I see?" he asked tentatively. She nodded and pulled off her shirt. Dally stared at her in disbelief.
"I don't," Tori said as a sob choked her throat," I don't know how anyone can love someone so used liked I am."
"You're not used," said Dally standing and pulling her shirt back down," and you're beautiful," his hand caressed her cheek.
"I'm sorry," she said wiping at her eyes," for mentioning the rooftop last night."
"It's all right," said Dally smiling at her. "We should talk about it anyway."
"What about it?" asked Tori as Dally lead her back to the bed. He sat down with her.
"Tori I..." His mother burst into his room.
"I made sandwiches, do you want the crusts on or off?" she asked.
"On ma," he sighed standing up.
Tori walked back into her house. Darry was sitting there; she smiled at him and headed towards her room. Darry cleared his throat.
"Where have you been?" he asked. Tori turned.
"I was out with Dally," she said.
"Tori there are some things that you don't know about him," Darry stood up. "Tori I don't want you to get hurt by him." Tori stared at him for a second and then shook her head.
"We're not dating," she said. "We're just friends." She turned and walked up the stairs to her room.
Tori flopped onto her bed and laid there. She had wanted to know what Dally wanted to tell her so badly. She rolled onto her stomach and realized she still had his jacket on. She smiled and pulled it around her tighter, maybe she could get him alone again tomorrow. His musty smell surrounded her and made her sleepy, she slowly felt sleep push her eyelids down and she was taken into a dream.
"Don't worry," she saw Dally's face appear with a grin that only she had ever seen," she doesn't mean anything to me." Tori giggled.
"You have to stop seeing him!" this time she saw Darry. "You have to stop seeing him!"
"We're not dating," she said back to him.
"Tori there are things you don't know," he looked at her sadly.
"What don't I know?" she asked glaring at him.
"I don't know?" said Dally. Tori opened her eyes and he was staring down at her. "What don't you know?"
"I don't know," she said shaking her head. "What are you doing here?"
"Not happy to see me?" he looked at her sadly.
"No I am," she smiled at him," I just didn't ask you over tonight; I think Darry might kill you if he finds you in my room."
"Well," said Dally," I came over because I wanted my jacket back."
"Oh is that all," Tori raised her eyebrow, a trick from Two-Bit. He smiled at her. "Come 'ere Dallas Winston," said Tori grabbing his head and kissing him deeply. She pulled back and looked at him.
"Tori I..." she pushed her finger against his lips.
"Shhhhh," she cooed. "I know." He kissed her and then pressed his forehead against hers.
"Can I stay here tonight," he asked his voice rough.
"Yes," she said. He realized he was holding her; slowly he lowered her down onto the bed. Her hands went down to his belt. "No," he pushed them away. "Not yet, you're not ready," he whispered. Tears came to her eyes and she buried her face in his shirt. Dally wrapped his arms around her.
