A/N: Jesus Christ. Volleyball was a bitch… but I loved it. (Woo, first place! City champs!) So, after the longest and most fun season ever, drunken after-game parties, two to three hour practices, being mentioned THREE TIMES (!) in the paper, and last-minute homework, it's back to updating. Not that I don't mind updating, mind you. I really love you all. A lot.
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own, except Alicia and all who you do not recognize. If S.E. Hinton wants to come over to my home and beat me with a paddle and ask whose boss, I'll tell her. (I'll say Patrick Swayze, but that's not the point.)
Alicia knew that she looked like a complete idiot standing there with her mouth hanging open, but she didn't care. Curly was at a dance… with one of her best friends. Summer, of all people. And they were slow dancing. And they were very, very close. To close for Alicia's comfort, anyway.
But Summer didn't look like herself. She had her long hair combed and it was shining in the light. She wasn't slouching like she normally did, and because of this, she looked taller and more confident. Her skin was glowing, and she was wearing a trace of red lipstick. A very happy smile was playing on her face, and she actually looked really pretty.
Breaking herself away from Travis, Alicia said that she was going to the ladies', and she marched over to Curly. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, she dragged him away from Summer and led him to an empty corner. "What the fuck are you doing with her, Curly?" she practically shouted.
Curly was in a daze, and he merely grinned. Alicia slapped him, hard, and a few of the nearby couples stared at her. "Ow, whadja do that for?" Curly whined.
"I'll do it again if you don't tell me what the fuck is goin' on," she threatened. When Alicia got mad, she could look terrifying. Her eyes flashed dangerously.
Curly backed down. "Okay, okay. I met her two days ago at school. I accidentally ran into her in the hall and she dropped all her shit and I helped her pick it up and we started talking. And we sort of clicked."
Alicia raised her eyebrows. "How the fuck did you 'click?' First off, she's my age, meaning one year younger than you. Second, she don't fight. She hates violence and that kind of shit. And, third Curly, she's smart. She's the smartest person I know. And you're, and I say this seriously, the dumbest. You have nothing in common. And don't give me that 'opposites attract' bullshit."
He shrugged, making her even more infuriated. "Sorry. She's good-lookin' though."
"Is that why you go out with girls, Curly?" Alicia's already shrill voice was raising to a more hysterical pitch. "Because they're 'good-lookin'? I swear to God, Curly, if you do anything to her, and I mean anything, I will hunt you down, and I will kill you."
Angela chose this moment to walk over. Her cheeks were bright pink and she was giggling like an idiot. Trailing behind her was her date. "What's going on?" she laughed.
Alicia shot her a withering look. "Curly's going out with Summer."
Still giggling, Angela said, "that's great!"
Her sister was bordering hysteria. "No it's not! Curly'll do something like get her pregnant or dump her or get all abusive! He's already gone out with enough of my friends and I don't want Summer to get her heart broken!"
"Aw, dry up, Ali. It's just a one night thing, all right? I won't screw around with your little friends anymore," Curly said, eager to get back to the dance.
"Like you're gonna keep that promise," Alicia scoffed. But she backed off.
Cutting herself a path through the throng of sweaty bodies, Alicia went back to Travis. Smiling, she said, "there was a line," and put her arms around his neck. The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, with Alicia keeping the corner of her eye on Curly at all times.
"Who's your brother with?" Travis asked her.
Alicia turned and looked at Curly and Summer. Summer had just whispered something in Curly's ear, and he grinned. "Summer Anderson," she answered, shortly.
"Aren't you friends with her?"
"Yes."
His lips curved into a smile. "Are you mad at her?"
"No, I'm mad at Curly," she said. "I've told him over and over not to date my friends. And does he listen?"
He laughed. "Looks like they're having a good time though."
Alicia looked over at her brother and friend. Travis did have a point. Summer was talking, and Curly was nodding like he understood every word she was saying. Which, now that Alicia thought about it, he probably didn't. Summer tended to use bigger words, and crazy metaphors and analogies, and Curly didn't even understand the majority of two-syllable words.
"Yeah, it does," she said, more to herself than him. "He doesn't even understand what she's talking about. He's just trying to agree with her and shit so she doesn't think he's an absolute idiot."
Travis kissed the top of her head. "Bit bitter, aren't ya?" he asked. But he said it nicely.
She laughed, softly. "Maybe I am." But she decided to let the subject drop.
At nine o'clock, the dance ended, and the couples began to file out. Angela was still glued to her date's face, so Alicia began to walk out on her own. Travis had to be home because his parents were out, and he had to take care of his younger sisters and brothers. She smiled as he said good-night to her, and stood outside the school, smoking a joint, with about five feet in between her and Angela, who seemed to be perpetually fastened to her date.
A few moments later, Curly and Summer walked by. He had his arm around her waist, and they were talking in low voices. Actually, Summer was talking and Curly was laughing at something she said. There was a sound like a plunger being removed from a sink, as they turned the corner and disappeared, and Angela surfaced. Pushing her date away, she stormed over to Alicia. "Did you see that? Curly and Summer. Did they come here together?"
Alicia resisted smacking her sister. "Yes, Angel, they came here together. We already talked about it. And you said that it was great."
Angela's date tried to put his arms around her, but Angela shoved him off. "Go away, Jack. Go… do something with your friends. My sister and I are having a crisis."
Watching Angela's date rush off to find his friends, Alicia said, "Jesus, do you treat all your boyfriends like that?"
"Yes," Angela said. "So, how long have they been… together?"
Alicia shrugged. "Hell if I know. Curly likes her though."
"How long d'you think it's gonna last?"
"Bet ya a buck one week tops. And she'll dump him."
Snorting, Angela said, "you're on."
They hoisted their backpacks over their shoulders and went to the nearest convenience store, where they holed up in the bathroom and changed into jeans and regular shirts.
"So, where's the best parties?" Alicia asked as she swiped some red lipstick over her lips.
Angela squinted and applied more eyeliner, as she said, "Buck's, duh. And, best of all, Tim's not gonna be there, so we can do whatever we want."
Alicia grinned and capped the lipstick. "Let's go."
The party was already in full swing when Alicia and Angela arrived. When they walked through the door, Buck appeared out of no where and swept them both up in a bear hug. While they were both fighting for air, he cried out to no one, "It's Angela and Alicia Shepard! Your brother was here a few minutes ago. Said for me to tell y'all that he wouldn't be home tonight."
Alicia smiled tightly and pulled out of his grasp. It was obvious he'd had more than a few drinks. "Thanks, Buck," she said, stiffly. Smoothing down her hair, she asked, "did he say why he wasn't coming home?"
Buck thought for a moment. "Nope, just that he wasn't comin' home. He said that he'd be home tomorrow. Didn't say what time, though." He winked at them, then noticed that there was a drinking contest on the other side of the room, and ambled off.
"That's weird," Angela said. "Tim usually says why he's not comin' home. And he would've told us before he dropped us off."
Her sister nodded. "Tim's just been… weird lately." She frowned. "He's all quiet now."
"Yeah…" Angela trailed off. "But, c'mon, we aren't gonna letour dumbass older brother spoil our evening, are we?"
Alicia laughed and grabbed two beers. "Bottoms up," she said, and they both tilted their head back and took a gulp. Standing up straight, Alicia belched and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Angela grinned.
"Wanna have a contest?" she asked, cocking her dark eyebrow.
Her sister snorted. "You're on."
Angela's eyes glittered with the challenge, and she grabbed two more beers. Alicia responded with a raised eyebrow and pulled her wild black hair back into a ponytail. They clinked their drinks together, and flashed identical smirks. "One, two, three," Alicia counted, and they threw their heads back, and drained their bottles, finishing at the same time.
Angela belched and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Fuck you, I won," she said.
"Bullshit; we tied," her sister countered.
"Fine. We'll do it again."
Thirty minutes and three bottles later, neither Angela nor Alicia drained their drinks faster, and both of them were bombed out of their minds. They were both laughing stupidly and looking for something to do.
That was when Angela noticed a girl dancing on a tabletop. Grabbing Alicia by the arm, Angela hoisted both of them up onto another table. Alicia flung one of her arms around Angela's waist, and Angela put hers around Alicia's neck. They kicked their legs out, and Alicia began to sing the first verse of 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend.'
"The French are glad to die for love, they delight in fighting duels."
Angela joined in, "but I prefer a man who lives and gives expensive jewels."
"A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend. A kiss may be grand but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat, or help you at the automat," they crowed in unison. "Men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all lose our charm in the end. But square cut or pear shaped these rocks don't lose their shape. Diamonds are a girl's best friend!"
By now, almost all the party was staring at them. Most of the boys were whooping and clapping and staring at Angela. Most of the girls were clinging to their boyfriends and whining and glaring at Angela. Neither of them cared. Alicia began the next verse.
"Tiffany's! Cartier! Black Starr! Frost Gorham! Talk to me, Harry Winston. Tell me all about it!"
Alicia's face was flushed, and she was laughing, and Angela was waving her arms wildly, and kicking out her legs. Neither of them had the breathy, Marilyn Monroe type voice, but they sounded all right. Some of the boys in the crowd threw a few coins at their feet, and Alicia hurried to collect them, while Angela continued to shake her ass and sing. It was going to be a great night, she could tell.
While Alicia and Angela were partying, Tim was sitting at home, watching TV. Curled up in his lap was Angela's cat, who Alicia and Curly had affectionately renamed Tar Baby, and she was purring loudly. He ran his hands over its head, making her purr even louder, and he didn't mind. The sound was soothing, and Tim's head began to droop. The television was blaring an old "I Love Lucy," episode, but he wasn't paying attention.
A fly landed on his head, and Tim lifted a hand to swat it away. After the fly flew away, he ran his hand through his hair, and a thought struck him. Come May, all his hair would be gone. All of his thick blue-black hair that Dally said that he loved, it would all be gone. The thought terrified him. Not just that his hair would be gone, he could live without his hair, but everything would be gone. His home, his life, his gang. Curly. Angela. Alicia. Dallas. They would all be gone.
He scratched the cat behind the ears, and she raised her head to lick his hand. Tim remembered when Dally told him that he was like a cat. He laughed to himself, softly, and continued to stare at the television blankly. The cat continued to purr. Tim envied it. The cat didn't have to go off to fight or jump Socs for money or take care to its sisters and brother or break it off with someone you love because of mother fucking society.
At that moment, Tim realized that he had reached a new low: He was jealous of Angela's cat. He felt like crying. Getting to his feet shakily, Tim picked up the cat and began to walk to his room. The cat left black hair on his shirt, but he didn't care. He walked to his room and fell down on his bed. His head felt like it weighed one hundred pounds, and he was suddenly very tired. He curled up into a little ball in his bed, and closed his eyes. The cat meowed and laid down on the pillow next to his head. Its purr was soothing, and he soon was fast asleep.
A few hours later, Tim awoke when he heard the front door open and close, and he knew that his sisters were home, and drunk. Hearing them staggering around and laughing and crashing into stuff confirmed that idea. He hoped that Buck didn't tell them that he's said that he wasn't going to be home that night. Honestly, he didn't know why he'd told Buck to say that. He didn't mean it, and he knew that in the morning, there would be the Spanish Inquisition, with Alicia and Angela asking him all this shit and he just didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.
"Where's Tar Baby?" he heard Angela ask.
"Hell if I know. She's not my cat. Maybe she's in our room. Or Curly's."
He could hear Angela banging around, then he heard Angela's voice again. "She's not in our room, or Curly's."
"Maybe she's in Tim's. He ain't home, you can go in there."
If he'd been in the mood, Tim would have gotten out of bed and talked Alicia's ear off about getting into his stuff. Instead, he just closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep when his door opened quietly, and Angela came in. Gently, she lifted the cat off Tim's head, and he could hear her talking to it. "Come here, sweetie. Oh, you're so sweet." The door closed, and Tim could hear her and Alicia's muffled voices. "Tim's home," she whispered.
Alicia sounded confused. "But Buck said…"
"I know. Either Buck must've lied, or he was seriously shit-faced."
"Whatever. I'm tired. Let's just go to bed or watch T.V. or something." Tim noticed that Alicia really did sound tired. Her voice was hoarse and groggy. After a while, he heard their bedroom door close, and it was silent.
"Michelle, ma belle. These are words that go together well, my Michelle."
Dally groaned and opened his left eye. There was nothing he hated more than when people sang in the morning. He hated it worse when he had a hangover, and he had a bad one this morning. Trying to ignore the buzzing in his head, he began to sit up. Soda's voice felt like it was being beaten into his head. He would have yelled at him to shut up, but he couldn't. He was too tired.
Then he heard an all-too-familiar voice coming from the kitchen. "Ew, that looks fucking nasty. Who eats that shit?" Dally's head fell back onto the pillow. It was Curly. Why the hell was he at the Curtis'? With every fiber of his being, he prayed that Tim wasn't with him. It would be just his luck.
"C'mon, Curly, it's just eggs." It was Two-Bit.
"Exactly. Eggs are fucking nasty."
"You want some?" That was Soda. Dally didn't know if he was talking to Curly or Two-Bit.
"No, thanks. I don't eat eggs." Whoever said that was female, and, judging by the voice, wasn't anyone Dally knew. She had a very soft voice, and sounded pleasant enough.
"Where's Ponyboy?" Curly again.
"I dunno. In his room, I think."
Dally heard Curly coming out of the kitchen, and he immediately feigned sleep. Opening his left eye a little, he could see that the girl was with him. "You can sit down, if you want," Curly said to her, gesturing to the armchair, as if it was his house. She nodded and sat down, and Curly made his way down the hall to Ponyboy's room. The girl just sat there, quietly and so still.
A few minutes later, Ponyboy and Curly emerged from his bedroom, and Curly took the girl's hand. "C'mon, Summer. We'd better get goin' before we wake Dally up."
"You already did," Dally mumbled, quietly enough that none of them heard.
As they began to walk out the front door, the girl looked over her shoulder, right at Dally. She regarded him carefully, a knowing look on her face.
"Don't you guys think this is wrong?"
Alicia laughed as she pulled her long hair into a black hat, where it was completely hidden. "Nah, we're doin' them a favor."
Summer raised her eyebrows. "And what, prey tell, is the aforementioned favor?"
Curly looked confused for a moment, and Alicia knew that he didn't understand what his girlfriend just said. "We're just gettin' rid of all their extra money. Wanna help?"
Both Ponyboy and Summer shook their heads. "I don't fight. I'd rather watch," Summer answered.
"And I'd rather not jump Socs that didn't do anything to me," Ponyboy added, looking at Alicia and Curly.
Alicia shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said as she pulled one of Tim's black leather jacket over herself. "How do I look?" She was already wearing a pair of oversized, ripped and dirty jeans, a black shirt and black boots. With her hair pulled into a hat, she looked exactly like a boy.
Summer grinned. "Like a boy. You look like Curly, only smaller."
"Good. That's what I wanted."
"Why?" Ponyboy looked confused.
"'Cause then I won't have bunch of Socs on my trail later on. They'll think that it was some boy that jumped 'em, and they won't think about me. After all, I'm just Tim Shepard's little sister; they would never suspect me."
"They probably would, actually," Summer pointed out, and for a brief moment, Alicia thought that she and Ponyboy would make a good couple. What was it in Curly that she saw? "You've jumped them before. They might think it was you again."
Alicia rolled her eyes. "Like they would remember me."
Her friend shrugged. "Okay, just don't blame me when you've got Socs on after you."
"I won't. And I won't get caught," Alicia declared. She grabbed the two baseball bats at her feet. "Come on, Curly."
Together, they stalked over to two Socs, one wearing a Letterman jacket, the other in a plaid shirt, who were standing alone in the open. There was no one else around. Alicia looked over at Curly and cocked an eyebrow. "Them?"
He nodded and grinned. "Yeah."
Alicia felt that familiar thrill rush through her as they approached the unaware boys. They weren't much bigger than Curly, so it wouldn't be hard to take them out. Alicia crept up behind the smaller one, the one in the Letterman jacket, and brought the bat down, hard. He crumpled and fell to his knees. A little blood trickled out from under his head. She looked over at Curly, and he was standing triumphantly over the one in plaid.
Ponyboy and Summer came out of hiding. Ponyboy looked pale, and Summer looked faintly ill. "So that's how you get your money nowadays, huh?" Summer said, faintly. She looked about ready to pass out.
"Yep," Curly answered, proudly. "What's wrong?"
"You just hit 'em and take their money?" Ponyboy asked, incredulously. "Isn't that like stealing?"
"No, cause it's for a good cause," Alicia said. Who stuck a stick up their asses? "It's not like they need the money. We do it all the time."
"Why don't you just get jobs?" Pony suggested, quietly.
"We don't want to. Angela has a job; that's good enough," Curly said, bluntly.
Alicia didn't understand why beating Socs' heads in and taking their money was bad. They'd always done it. It wasn't like they were hurting them.
"But you could kill them," Summer said, sounding a little afraid.
"We don't him 'em hard enough to hurt 'em! Come on, it's fun!" Curly cried, brightly. "They jump us all the time! It's like getting revenge and money!"
"You sure get your jollies in weird ways," Summer said coldly. Then she sighed. "But it's not like I can stop you from doing it."
By now, Alicia was rummaging through the kids' pockets, until she found their wallets. Ten dollars in one, eight in the other. She laid the wallets next to the bodies, and stuffed the money in her pocket. She walked up to Summer and flung her arm around her shoulders. "You ought to try it sometime, doll face. It's fucking awesome, once you get into it. It's like survival of the fittest: jump or get jumped. Steal or get stolen from."
Ponyboy looked disgusted. "I'd better go, Curly, or Darry'll get mad. You know how he feels about you two," he gestured to Alicia and Curly. Darry thought Alicia was a whore and thought Curly was a bad influence. "Nice to meet you, Summer," he added, politely, then he began to walk away.
Alicia rolled her eyes. "I know he's your friend and all, Curly, but I think that kid's a twat. Him and his brothers, especially Darry." She shook her head.
A/N: Yeah, I know that it sucked. It must blow more than an over-paid hooker to wait for so long and then get a shitty chapter. It was just so freaking hard to write this one. Don't ask why. Tomorrow I don't have school, and I'll try to get a lot done then, depending on how my schedule looks. Anyways, review please!