Author's Note: Hey, this is a bit shorter than my other chappies I think it has a bit more describing than talking too so please don't get upset. I wasn't sure what to write, so I decided to get some insight on Dallas. Hope no ones upset with the things I put in and it doesn't come out corny. Oh well, I tried. On another note, I just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews, I love them, everyone is so kind and the helpful tips really do help. And I'm not sure when I'll be updating and I never do. Not to sound like a whiny ass or anything but to the anonymous reviewer(s) who are "getting sick and tired of no updates" relax. I can't cater to you all the time. If you want me to update you can write it, but when you act like your about to throw a fit? LMAO I'm sorry it makes me laugh. It was funny the first time but now its getting annoying when people say "I'm getting sick and tired of no updates. Finish it or don't." If you're impatient about me not updating don't read it. Anywho, lets not talk about it anymore. I've added my twobits. Lol. Get it? cough lame cough Here's the chappie, forgive me for the little rant, and enjoy!
Now, away from my complaining, lol, here goes out some nice big thankies for the reviewers. You know I love you all so very much. Cookies and pickles for all:
Parixs: Lol, yup yup. I was hoping people would start to like him. He's a pretty big ass but hey, I still like him. Not much but a little. I'll probably find some way to make everyone hate him again lmao. Who knows. Thanks bunches for the review, hope you like this next chappie. Not much Leon in it but a whole lot a Dallas. sighs at the thought of shirtless Dallas
Reviewer: Not much of Leon and Dallas interaction in this chappie. More of Dallas, but hey he's cool right? Right! Anyway here's the next chappie, hope it's as good as the last one. It's getting on to about midnight so who knows. Lol. Thanks for the reviews.
Sungurl: Lol a lot of people seem to be liking Leon now. Well, he isn't in this chappie really so I hope everyone can handle that. Glad you liked the new perspective on Leon, wasn't sure what people would think. Anyway thanks for the review and enjoy the chappie.
JamesDeanismygod: Yeah, I wasn't sure how it would come out turning Leon from not caring about Johnny to almost caring. Didn't want to rush anything but I'm glad people seemed to enjoy it. Not everyone is coldhearted all the time and I need to have that bond to be there for later chapters. Can't wait to get to the end of this story, it'll be exciting. Hopefully. Thanks for the review and hope this chapter is good too.
NittanyLizard: Yeah, you like the switchblade part? Wasn't sure if it would seem too corny or not. Glad you liked the guilt trip I sent him on. Leon deserved it but I almost feel a bit sorry for the guy. Oh well, what can you do eh? Always a pleasure reading your reviews and hopefully this chappie is fun to read to.
Not-that-kinda-gurl: Great review! I loved it! Lol. Hope you enjoy this chappie too!
Scarlette7: Glad you like it. Hope this chapter comes out good, I'm not too sure of it but im throwing it out there anyway cus I spent a while typing and im so tired. Lol I not sure about most chapters but I guess they come out so we'll just have to see. Thanks for the review.
Fairlane: Yeah, I'm not too sure myself what I meant when I wrote that about Leon and Tim. I think I just meant that he was just more alone and stuff. I don't know lol. He didn't have much friends and I guess the ones he did have were just not quite there for him the way the gang is for Johnny. If that makes sense? Lol. And about that fine line between too much detail and too little, I think I crossed it in this chappie. Hopefully it doesn't bore people to death because when I don't know what to write I tend to ramble. There's a story somewhere in the chapter. Im sure of it. Lol. Anywho enjoy and thanks for the review.
Just Playin: lol, thanks for the review. I hope the spelling isn't too bad in here but its getting pretty late so who knows. Also thank you for the lovely compliment that's nice. I'm not sure if adding more drama than S.E. Hinton did with the greasers is a compliment too but I take it as one lmao. I really liked the way she wrote though, nice and simple. Wish I could do that, but sadly I must babble. So thanks for the review and enjoy the next chappie.
Darkdestiney2000: LMAO why must you be so diffcult? Lol. You're the only one who came right out and send they still hate Leon, I love it. You get an extra cookie at the end of the chapter. Glad your enjoying it though, and keep holding them grudges. :D
Greendayrocks: Im glad your really liked the perspective on Leon. Yeah, the only POV's I think I'll be having are Leon's Johnny's and Dallas's. This chapter mostly Dallas, well it is Dallas really. But the others will be the three of them on and off the way I've been having it. There might be a chapter with Pony's POV I'm not sure yet. Keep readin and thanks for the review.
Ale Curtis-Carter: lol. Thanks for the review I'm almost asleep right not, just a few more thank you's and I'm done. Anywho hope you enjoy the update.
Snowgurl54: Gald you like the story and I know the updates take a while most times but here's another one. Hope it tides you over till the next I update. Thanks lots for the review and I'm really happy you like it.
Islandsweetie: Glad you really like it hope you enjoy this chappie just as much as the others.
Pinkcottoncandy, Reachforthestars, and hiya: This is an update okay? Hope it'll calm you down a bit or something. I know it takes some time for updates and I'm flattered you'd get all upset because of it. But seriously kids, try and be patient. The chapters are added when I have time. I have other things on my mind most days than worrying about pleasing some anxious people on fanfiction. I gotta wait for author's to update too, it's how it is. Deal with it or don't. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I'm glad you like the story, but come on and calm down just a tad.
Well with all that stuff being said, it's now one in the morning I got school tomorrow and I need to catch up on some sleep. I've got me a date with Brad Pitt as soon as my head hits the pillows so adios. Hope this chapter is statisfying, I'm not sure about it, not much but Dallas and a flashback in here. OH, THAT'S RIGHT. ITALICS ARE THE FLASHBACK SCENE. I'd right flashback before and after but I'm lazy. Enjoy. Tell me what you think. I just put it up.
Chapter 6:
Liquid sun came through the cracks in the blinds, forming gray ominous shadows on the hardwood floors. Outside the rain fell in fat translucent drops. Tapping the tin roofs of old cars and slapping the worn asphalt it created a symphony out of the dragging storm. Lightning shot across dark sheets of clouds, slithering about the sky like a serpent in flames. It stayed only for an instant and then again disappeared before Dallas could process what he had seen. He'd been watching the storm for some time. When you don't have a job and school is as useless as to you as an owl is with three peckers, watching a storm develop before your eyes doesn't seem too bad.
With his legs propped comfortably on one arm on the Curtis couch and his head on the other, he took in a slow drag from a half finished cigarette. His eyes slowly played across the muddy landscape outside the living room window. Cars would pass now and then but for the most part the street remained silent. The rumbling of thunder would shake Dallas out of his daze now and then, but it was never long before he was off in another world again. Pulling the cigarette from his lips, Dallas shredded it in the ashtray beside him and stumbled tiredly into the bathroom.
Warm soothing water came out of the shower head, stinging his crooked back before it finally penetrated his skin and slowly began to sooth him. Dallas cocked his head backwards, letting the grease run down the sides of his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a shower and he wasn't sure when the next one would be, so he enjoyed every minute of it. Mirrors and windows in the room slowly blurred from the condensation while Dallas moaned with pleasure from behind the shower curtains.
Dallas moved shriveled fingers across his waits, outlining the shape of a three inch scar that rested just above his belly button. It was rough beneath the pad of his index finger. The blade had gone deep. Squinting down at it through the flow of water, he pushed aside his wet bangs and hid in comfort of water that fell from the shower head.
Memories of a past he'd buried long ago were overwhelmed him and now he was suddenly drowning in a flood of emotions. His chest tightened till the air he breathed came in short pants. Hands trembling slightly, he combed through his damp hair and shuddered. Alone, with no one to see he began to slowly embrace the pain. No one to judge him, he could let the old tears stain his face once more, if only for a moment. The present slowly meshed with the past and Dally soon found himself stumbling about an old memory that he'd kept hidden within his heart since he'd been eight years old.
Rain, it marked the windows in little Dallas Winston's small bedroom. He pressed his nose to the smudged glass and looked on outside to the people in their cars. Water enveloped the cracked streets, filling in the pot holes and overflowing from the gutters. He grimaced miserably just as he had done for the past two days. It wasn't that he hated the rain, it was just that with an endless storm there was no escape from his small two bedroom house and the wrath of a drunken father. It was quiet right now, but in another hour or so the ol man would wake up and come looking for trouble. Dallas rubbed a meaty hand against the growing shade of purple beneath his left cheek, wincing at the sudden pain it brought.
Thunder echoed through the mid afternoon air and shaking the side of his house stirring the sleeping figure in the crib next to his bed. Hands about half the size of his reached out helplessly from beneath a light pink sheet. Fingers squeezing in nothing but air, they opened and closed hoping to grasp some sort of comfort. Dallas swung his legs off the sides of the bed as the springs squeaking noiselessly beneath his weight. Coming around the side of the white crib, Dally stood on the tips of his toes and craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the small child.
"Hey, you" he mumbled awkwardly. Tiny azure eyes widened beneath long blond lashes. A rash, small with little rough bumps covered her cheeks, but she was still cute. White fuzz, that's what her hair consisted of and Dallas figured she'd never grow anything but that. It made her look ugly but that short smile and blue eyes made up for it.
Reaching over the edge of the crib, Dally almost fell on top of her as he hauled her up in his short arms. Cradling the delicate body against his chest, he paced about the room as her mother should have been doing. Dallas knew better than to wait for his ol lady to relax the kid. She was gone out and wouldn't come back until later on at night of early the next morning as she always did. For the first few weeks the baby had been like a new record, she'd be played all the time and the slowly it just became dull and held no more excitement to his mother. After she turned a year old, she'd been neglected completely save for diaper changing and feeding time.
"Hey, Linda" Dallas whispered, eyes closing as he rocked her in his arms. She was warm and quiet, letting the rhythm of his heart soothe her. Dally heard his ol man cursing in his sleep from down the hall and looked at Linda, cringing at the thought that one day she would go through what was only the beginning for him. He dreamed then, listening to the rain hitting the window panes, dreamed that one day when he was older and tougher that he would take Linda from New York. They'd get away from the ol man and his wife and take a bus somewhere. Maybe to California, it was always sunny there and they could spend all day on the beach.
He let his fantasy carry him away from the rundown house and the continuous storm. Dallas was no longer shivering inside the house with his baby sister but lying asleep in the white sands of a tropical beach. It wasn't until he heard yelling coming from the end of the hall and felt Linda struggling in his arms that he remembered just where he was. Opening his eyes, Dallas tried to calm the thrashing child, holding the small head against his chest but it his efforts were futile. Thunder and lighting came in a few quick series, battling one another in the gray sky before eventually settling down. It had been enough though to scare the little girl. Shrill cries escaped her chapped lips, while tears ran down her face.
"What the fuck is going on in there?" Dallas trembled as Linda's crying rose up in pitch.
"Come on Linda, stop that" he calmed, teeth gritted anxiously.
Harsh wrapping made Dallas' heart skip a beat and the bedroom door swung open. A man with dark stubble encasing the lower part of his face dragged his feet recklessly across the stained carpet. His thick meaty muscles stood out from the rest of his body, accentuated by the cotton undershirt that covered his torso. With three quick steps he made his way from the doorframe to the crib and tore the baby from Dallas' hands. With Linda tucked in one arm, the man leaned back and used his other arm to back hand the towheaded boy. Dally swayed on his feet from the sudden blow.
"The hell were you doing waking it up? I take a nap and you can't even keep outta trouble for a few hours?"
"It was the storm, it woke her up…"
"What did you say you little shit? Don't you back talk me! I should take off my belt and teach you some manners. Hmmm?"
Dally remained silent. Linda continued to cry, the rough handling of the ol man was not really calming her down any. She screamed endlessly in his bulky arms.
"Shut up" he yelled down at the small girl. Her eyes grew and she cried louder and longer than before. The voice singed her ears as she pulled tiny hands over them. "I said shut it."
Dallas watched in horror as the ol man's face reddened at the disobedience of the fourteen month old child. His voice became more aggressive and soon Dally found himself looking on at the scene as if it were a movie. Squinting from the thick haze, he saw Linda and his father, her body being held roughly in his grasp and then as she went to let out another cry her body jolted forward. Her wail fell silent and what teeth she did have clicked uneasily inside her mouth. This continued for a few minutes, the cries and the shaking, until slowly the baby began to give up. With one last aggressive thrust -that Dallas figured was to make sure she shut up completely- the baby stopped moving entirely. From where he stood he couldn't see much of anything, but he saw her head move on her shoulders unable to stay up and then it rolled back and fell limp. Her eyes were shut and her mouth hung ajar. A small bit of blood about the size of a thumb print clung to her upper lip from where her teeth had broken through the pink surface.
Stomach churning, Dallas felt the onset of tears brim his eyes as he stared wonderingly as the lifeless ball of flesh. Wrapped safely in that pink sheet, it gently slipped off her crumpled body and fell to the floor as the ol man adjusted her in his arms.
"Bout time she shut up" the ol man grumbled, oblivious to the fact that the child's chest would rise and fall with every breath and that the eyes didn't flutter open at the sound of his voice. Putting her back inside the crib, Dallas shook at how Linda looked. So peaceful and alive, but she wasn't, not anymore.
Clenching his hands into fists, he made a move to strike his ol man. He hadn't covered more than two feet when the large man turned on him. Spinning around, he pulled his arms from Linda's crib and as his animalistic instincts told him, drew out a switchblade he carried all the time. Dally paused for an instant, debating on whether to retreat back to his bed or to take a stand and face the penalties that his next actions would bring. The blade danced about, slicing through the muggy air.
"Get your ass into bed." Dallas looked up into the large brown eyes, they stared right through him as if he were nothing. He took another step forward and got into a fighting stance he'd been taught by one of the hoods down the block. The ol man curled his lips. "You want to fight me kid? Is that it?" He laughed and launched himself forward, swinging the knife about in hopes of frightening the child. Dallas slowly began to circle his ol man, the blade taunting him as it cut air only inches from his waist. Than, as he made to move around the left side the blade came from out of the thick haze and dug deep inside his stomach. Dragging across, till it left a big enough he ol man realized what he'd done and drew the metal out with a hurried yank.
Dallas stumbled back and groped the area above his belly button. He panted and heaved, fearing that these were his last seconds to live. Dark red leaked through the cracks of his covered hand and began to stain the carpet an ugly brown. His strength was quickly leaving his body as the pain created this thick fog around him. Things got too be too hard to hear, only the sound of familiar cursing could be heard. The ol man shoved him roughly towards his bed where his coat was. He walked, tiredly in hopes of reaching it but a sudden wave of vertigo overcame the young boy and he fell, knees hitting painfully onto the floor.
"Get your ass up!" The ol man reached under Dallas' arms and hauled him to his feet, before tossing the coat into his outstretched hand. As the ol man took hold of Dallas by the collar of his t-shirt and dragged him out the door, the boy spied one last glance at his sister. He felt the hatred sinking into his heart. Thinking back to his plans of escaping with her he realized it was hopeless. He'd never get out.
Dallas shivered under the cold water. The hot water had run out nearly five minutes ago but he hardly even noticed until then. Reaching down, he shut off the taps and wiped the water from his face with the back of his hand. He stepped out of the shower and draped a towel about his waist. In the back of his head he was still thinking about Linda, about Johnny. He imagined what could have happened to Johnny had he not been there to pick him up. Johnny was himself, eight years ago in that run down house. The kid didn't know what he knew. Johnny wouldn't be able to save himself if he wasn't there to catch his fall.
Dallas dried off quickly and tugged his clothes from the night before back on. He borrowed some of Soda's hair grease and ran it through his white locks, combing it back nice into its rightful place before exiting the house. Seating himself behind the steering wheel, he pulled onto the road with a sharp turn, spraying wet gravel as he went. Mondays, he hated them. Everyone was at school until later and he'd have hardly anything to do until then. The thought of visiting Tim Shepard had crept into his mind more than once during the day but there was always a chance he might run into Leon. Buck would be past out somewhere in his house and he was never fun to talk to and any other hoods he knew weren't even worth the trouble of tracking down.
Burning rubber, Dallas turned down Shepard's street and headed for the house he'd visited so many times before.