Disclaimer: Alrighty, you know the deal. I'm not making any money off of this story, anything you recognize belongs to S.E. Hinton, etc.

Open Your Eyes, the World is Calling You

Whisper

I couldn't sleep in the Valance house. I had dreams of Carson, my parents, Caleb, Caradog, and of all people Dallas. My dreams were feverish and I never got to sleep for too long before I woke up again, thinking of some other person who I knew slipping away from me.

Life was pretty uneventful. I went to school, was quiet, answered questions when I was asked, did my homework. I tried to sleep once in study hall but I couldn't no matter how tired I was. Nothing special was happening until one day Dallas was at the school again. He was picking up Johnny and Ponyboy with another guy who had these ridiculous sideburns. I cringed…Carson had had sideburns.

"Ah, my good friend, Rebecca," Dallas came up to me, smirking widely.

"What do you want, Dallas?" I was still angry inside but I bottled things up like that sometimes. Most of the time I just got mad when I was mad but since I had very few people to get mad at I had to bottle things up.

"Just wanted to know if maybe you wanted to go to a movie with me or something," he looked so cocky like there was no way in hell I could ever say no to him. It wasn't as hard as it seemed.

"Hmm," I replied, "Let me think about this. No way in hell."

"C'mon, I ain't that bad," he said and his friend snorted. He was pushing Johnny in his wheelchair. Dallas blocked my way. I wanted to push him. Hard.

"Yes," I said, not even blinking, "You are. Now leave me alone before I push you down a set of stairs." I don't know why I was so mad. It coulda been that he was in my nightmares and in my dreams I cared.

One day Cherry crept into my room and sat on my bed. I sat up and blinked, staring at her.

"His name is Dallas Winston. Don't go near him. He's trouble."

"How did you know about Dallas?" I was still tired, sad, fallen.

Cherry sighed and put her hand on my arm which I pulled away from promptly, "You call out his name in your sleep, babe."

"Don't call me that."

"Yeah. Well me and Randy are sneaking out tonight to go to the Curtis house. You wanna come?"

"Who are the Curtises?"

"They're a family. One of the Curtises, Ponyboy, was there when Bob got killed. He's a sweetheart." Cherry had one of those real soft voices and deep warm eyes. She was the kind of person I would have hated at my old school. She was my cousin. I never really did like dreamy people. Sure, I got along with them fine but they were never there. I wasn't a dreamer. I liked fact, but I was good with advice.

"Sure, I'll come. Might as well. Can't sleep anyway. I think I met Ponyboy at school. Maybe one of them will have a cure for nightmares," I grimaced sourly. Cherry and me were real different. Not anything alike in fact. She was beautiful, smart, popular, and dreamy. I was average looking with nothing outstanding 'bout me, 'cept maybe my eyes, a little too chubby with too big of boobs, and short. I wasn't smart. Well I was. I used my common sense whenever I needed to. I just didn't learn things too fast and I could never remember 'em. And I definitely wasn't popular. I knew Cherry, and her friends but I only liked Cherry and one of her other friends, Randy.

But alas, they were still Socs. They didn't know anything about living. Cherry said things were hard for Socs too but they weren't. The Socs didn't know what it was like and casually say someone got pregnant or married or some other thing the night before.

I moaned softly, inaudibly. My head was throbbing and my eyes were threatening to close and my brain was threatening to shut off. Jesus, I needed some help. I couldn't sleep without going into a state of nightmares that I couldn't see again without wanted to die.

As we reached the Curtis house I felt like my head was going to explode. Every step made it pound angrily. I lifted one eyebrow at myself which is extremely weird. I think it was just habit.

We knocked on the Curtis's door and Dallas Winston answered. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just a pair of tight jeans.

I pushed my way past him only mumbling, "Talk to me and die," as I passed and pushing him into the door.

"Rebecca, Rebecca," he smirked, which made me want to smack him even harder, "Hey Cherry, Randy. Looking for the Curtis boys?" I saw Cherry give him a cold look. Apparently we hated him the same amount. He cussed loudly as his cigarette fell out of his mouth and I started laughing but then stopped 'cuz it hurt to laugh. Dallas just glared at me.

A huge guy, all muscles, stepped in from what I assumed to be the kitchen. He nodded at Cherry and Randy and asked me who I was.

"My name's Rebecca Brown. I'm Cherry's cousin. Don't call me Rebecca. If you really need to speak to me I answer to 'GIRL!' and Becca. People always used to call me Becca all the time. I'm from Pittsburgh," I sure did talk a lot for someone who didn't like to. When I said "people" these days it always seemed to mean Caleb or my parents or Carson.

Another boy came out from that general direction. He was real good looking, like a movie star. Sodapop, I knew it had to be. I'd heard about the girls who went down to the gas station just to look at him. How pathetic can you get? I mean he was good looking, but that's a bit desperate.

"Hi," he grinned, "I'm Sodapop." Cherry told me Sodapop could make anyone smile. I didn't think he could make me smile but he could actually. He stuck out his hand just like Dallas had but I shook it this time. Seems like the only greaser who really pissed me off was Dallas. Maybe I was just pissed off natural.

"I'm Rebecca but don't ever call me that. My best friend used to call me Becca, and I guess I been asking people to call me that. Hey, you guys got some aspirin? My head is killing me. Better yet, you got a cure for nightmares?" I fell down into a chair, curling up. I'd always been able to make myself at home anywhere, even if I wasn't told to.

I heard Dallas snicker as if this was the most hilarious thing in the world. Sodapop smiled too.

"Sorry, it isn't that funny, it's just Ponyboy, our youngest brother, when he got nightmares I'd have to go and sleep in the same bed as him. So you know, that might work for you, but I doubt it and I wouldn't want ya to be uncomfortable or nothing." But I didn't hear a word of Sodpop's speech; I was out cold.

The next morning I woke up in my bed at the Valance house and it was 6:00 am. It was the beginning of Christmas break. Because of this I walked around town. I didn't know then it was stupid to walk alone.

I got a few cat-calls as I walked past. People often mistook me for beautiful because I had nothing ugly about me. I was just plain looking. There wasn't anything real striking about me, as I said before. My eyes, maybe, but people rarely looked at them unless they were right up close.

Everything was fine except for the cold. It was the end of December and pretty cold. I tugged my jacket harder around me and felt a hand on my shoulder and nearly flung my arm back and hit whoever it was in the face.

But, unfortunately, I didn't. That day I found a new respect for Dallas Winston because without I wouldn't be here today. Not that here is anywhere special. But if he hadn't come I would have been dead.

FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ TEX AND THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW:

Did anyone think the hitchhiker in Tex might have been Mark from That Was Then, This is Now? I thought it might be because it seemed like him and Miss Carlson would be Cathy. Just a theory. Think I might be right?