Author's Note: Yes, I KNOW! It moved along really, really fast. But there is a REASON! I PROMISE! You just have to wait. Sorry about the quick time progression, but it needed to happen.
Raine: I love picnics, they're so much fun. So she was a little forward, what would you do? I wish it was cloudy and rainy here. Actually, it might be this weekend...YAY!
digitaldawn: grinsbroadly You think so? I'm so glad you like it!
Sodapop's#1gurl: Thanks, I thought it was about time too. This chapter's kinda funky...Sorry about that. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: IT'S NOT MINE!
Chapter 12
Darry's POV
The kiss was soft, sweet, if anything, chaste. It seemed to last for years and only moments at the same time. When she pulled away she was blushing crazily.
"I—I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that..." I was holding her, my arms around her waist, and all I could think about was how soft her hair was. She pulled away from me and ducked her head, refusing to meet my eyes. I closed the distance between us again and took her face in my hands, forcing her to look up at me.
"Why not?" Her eyes were sparkling with tears.
"I'm so sorry, Darry. I thought---Oh, I thought I was ready and then I didn't and then...I don't know what came over me, but I...I just...I can't---."
There was a high pitch giggle from behind us which ended her tirade and caused us to break apart abruptly. Jonathan Park and the blonde that had been complaining about her weight so much earlier came around a bend. He looked like he was having the time of his life, but when she saw us, she shrieked and ran up to me, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from Angel.
"Hi! Imagine you being on this exact same path! Oh!" She looked over at Angel and then back to me, "I hope we didn't interrupt anything..."
"Um..."
"Oh goody! Then she won't mind if I steal you for a few minutes." She tightened her grip on my arm.
"Well..." I looked back at Angel who was talking to Park several paces behind us. "I...um...I guess not."
"Fabulous!"
She shrieked the first syllable of the word so loudly I flinched, not that she noticed. She just kept chattering away. I kept glancing back at Angel, who was smiling; the tears that had been in her eyes had vanished without a trace. I tried to focus on what the girl...Michelle was it? Was saying. I tried to ignore the sound of Angel's laughter behind me.
After an antagonizing hour and a half of Michelle talking my ear off and watching Angel out of the corner of my eye I managed to escape. The weather was on my side because it started to pour and Michelle shrieked something about her hair and ran off to hide. I took the opportunity to grab my plate from the table that was quickly empting and run to my truck like the devil was after me.
Weeks passed quickly. And weeks turned into months that passed quickly too. Ponyboy went back to school and my days were filled with work and trying to go to Ponyboy's track meets. More often than not I didn't make it though. He told me that Angel had managed to get to a few though I didn't know how on earth she knew he was in track or when his meets were. I didn't see Angel very often, and when I did it wasn't for very long. Somehow she managed to find out when my lunch was scheduled and on some days she would drop by with a coke or a cookie that she'd made at the orphanage that weekend. When it got colder she'd bring hot coffee. We didn't get a chance to talk for very long because she was always running back to work. But I did get the chance to ask her over for Thanksgiving dinner. And she said yes!
On November 24th showed up at eleven thirty holding four pies and apologizing about two of them.
"They just didn't work! I'm not the greatest cook, you know, but you would think that...Well, anyway. I tried two and then I bought two in case they're just impossible to ingest." She laughed. "Sorry." I grinned.
"Wait 'till you see what Soda made, these will look fabulous." Soda stuck his head out of the kitchen.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" He rolled his eyes. I took her pies to the kitchen and she found herself a seat on the couch between Steve and Two-Bit who were watching the football game.
"So, big brother, when are you gonna make a move?" He draped an arm over my shoulder.
"I don't think I'm gonna." He removed his arm and stepped back to stare at me in shock.
"What!" He almost yelled, then clapped his ovenmitted hands over his mouth and said softer, "What?"
"I'm not gonna make a move." My ladies man brother looked at me quizzically.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't think she's ready." He raised an eyebrow Two-Bit style.
"She's been visiting you at your lunch breaks for how long? And doesn't she bring you stuff? You've watched a meteor shower together. She should be eating out of the palm of you hand, Bro."
"I just don't think..."
"I'll make a move if you don't..." I jumped on him and we started to wrestle.
"Hey! Hey! HEY!" Soda and I stopped rolling around, which is kind of hard in our small kitchen and looked up at Angel sheepishly.
"Yeah?" I asked as I stood and pulled up Soda.
"Is there anything I can do?" Soda pretended to look offended.
"You! Helping out in my kitchen? I think not! You can't even throw a pie together!" She smirked.
"I'd like to see you try." Sodapop took both of our arms and led us to the door.
"The only thing either of you will be doing is the dishes! Letting you touch something that could be eaten! HA!" He pushed us out of the room. We stood there, looking at each other.
"We could set the table." I suggested. She smiled.
"Alright."
When we went back into the kitchen Soda didn't even notice us. After we set the table he loaded us up with covered plates and bowls and set us "out! out! out!" to the living room. Five minutes later he yelled that dinner was served at the top of his lungs. The boys ran away from the football game and thundered to the food fast as lightening. I had to grab Ponyboy because he was reading through the whole thing. When he sat down at the table and saw Angel his eyes brightened.
"Hi Angel, what are you doing here?" She laughed.
"Your brother invited me."
"He did?"
"Yup, I did little buddy. You just weren't listening."
"Oh, say the blessing and let's eat then."
"It's your turn this year, kid." Soda said. Pony's face fell.
"Is it? Drat, couldn't Darry..." He looked at me with pleading eyes. I shook my head.
"No, absolutely not, the order would get messed up."
"Oh fine." Everyone looked at him expectantly. "Well, bow your heads and close you eyes!" he said, looking somewhat irritated. Everyone obeyed.
"Dear God, thanks for the food. Thanks for old friends and new ones. Say hi to Mom and Dad for us and tell them we miss them something awful. Please bless the food. Amen."
We opened our eyes and looked up. I saw tears in Angel's eyes, but she quickly blinked them back and told Ponyboy he'd done a good job. Sodapop then sprang up and started taking the covers off the plates. Angel's eyes widened and she nudged my arm.
"What is that?" She whispered, pointing to different things.
"The blue is mashed potatoes, the green is stuffing, I think...And the red rocks are actually rolls." Her eyebrows flew up.
"Oh...Okay." She bravely sampled all of it when it was passed to her and even compliment Soda on his stuffing, to which he beamed broadly.
"Sodapop, that was pretty good eatin'." Two-Bit said leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah, Soda, that was good stuff." Ponyboy said closing his eyes and letting his head fall to one side.
"Even if it was strange and unusual," was Angel's comment which brought a ripple of laughter around the table. And one by one the boys got up and left the table to find more comfortable places to sleep off their gluttony. Soon it was just Angel and I sitting at the table. She stood up and started to stack plates on top of each other.
"Sodapop was just joking; we'll all do the dishes later." I stood up and took the plates from her, setting them back on the table. She picked them up and started towards the kitchen.
"Do them with me then."
She went into the kitchen and a minute later I heard water running in the sink. I rolled my eyes and started picking up dishes. It's actually quite fun doing dishes with someone else, especially someone like Angel. We talked a lot and joked and teased back and forth.
"You know, you can really pull off an apron." She said, rinsing off the last dish.
"Yeah?"
"Mm-hm."
"I bet you look good wet." She looked at me out the corner of her eye.
"What that got to do with--?" I squirted her with dishwater and she shrieked.
"Hey! I was right!" She grabbed the sprayer and got me in the face. I shook the water out of my face and sputtered.
"I can't believe you just did that." I said, stepping towards her. She stopped laughing and sprayed me before running towards the door. I ran behind her and picked her up.
"No Darry! NO!" She shrieked. "Don't you even think about it!" I headed towards the sink which was still full of dirty dish water. "Darry don't! Darry!" She hollered and started wriggling. Unfortunately, I slipped on the wet linoleum and we both went crashing to the floor, yelling and laughing. Her head landed on my shoulder with my arm under her shoulders.
"Are you okay?" She asked when we were both able to breathe again.
"Yeah, what about you?"
"Oh, I'm fine." She rolled over on her elbow and looked at me before she started laughing again.
"What?"
"You should've seen your face!" I laughed too.
"Man oh man, what I would've given for a camera right then!" I said, propping my head up on my elbow. It was then I realized our faces were mere inches apart, a position we hadn't been in since July. She stopped laughing as if she realized this too. And our heads were moving closer together and our eyes were closing and we were kissing. And she didn't even pull away.
