Chapter 2

Dani's POV

I reached the address that Soda had given me. The house was on the poor side of town, but it looked decent, a lot better than the ones surrounding it. I walked up the creaky, wooden steps and knocked on the door. I heard movement inside, so I waited for someone to answer the door. A boy around the age of fifteen answered. He had light brown, almost reddish, hair and greenish grey eyes.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah, is Dallas Winston here?"

"Yeah, come inside." I stepped in the doorway. "Hold on, I'll go get him."

"Thanks."

I looked around and realized that I was in the living room. There were two boys sitting on the couch watching Mickey Mouse. One of them looked over at me and smiled. He got up off the couch, walked over to me, and put his arm around my shoulders. "Hey babe. What do ya want ole Dally for when you can have me?"

"Eww…gross."

"Two-Bit leave her alone. She obviously doesn't want you," a girl said as she walked into the room. "You'll have to excuse him. He has a thing for blonds." I gave a small smile. "I'm Serena," she said and stuck out her hand.

"Dani." Serena had long, jet black hair, pulled back in a ponytail, and brown eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a white tank top.

"Dani! What're ya doin' here?" Dallas said as he walked into the living room and gave me a hug.

"Hey Dal. I needed to get away from mom. She's got herself a new boyfriend, and he's even worse than the last one."

"Oh man. Well I'm glad ya came here."

"Yeah me too."

"Uhh…would one of you two care to explain?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry Pony. Dani's my sister. She stayed with our mom in New York, and I came here with our old man. We haven't seen each other in two years."

"Well are ya gonna introduce us, or just stand there?" the one who tried to hit on me earlier asked.

"Yeah sorry. Dani, that's Two-Bit, Johnny, Serena, and Ponyboy," Dallas said, pointing to each one as he said their names.

"We already met," Serena said.

"Oh. Well you must be around Ponyboy's age, right?"

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Fifteen."

"I'm seventeen."

"How long have you been seventeen? Last time I knew, you were fifteen."

"I was fifteen when you left with dad, and we're two years apart, which means you're 19 and I'm 17."

"You're my age then," Serena said, "Are you gonna be stayin' here for awhile?"

"I was plannin' on it."

"Great. It's gonna be so much better having another girl around this place. I'm always with the guys."

"Serena's Ponyboy's cousin. He also has two older brothers, Sodapop and Darry, but you'll meet them later."

"I met Soda already."

"Where?"

"The DX."

"Oh, then you must've met Steve."

"Yeah."

"They're all part of the gang. Well I gotta go finish gettin' ready."

"Where ya goin'?"

"Party, wanna come?"

"Sure."

"Come with me and we can get ready together," Serena said.

"Okay," I said and followed her to her room.

"You can use the shower first, and I'll wait here." I nodded. "The bathroom's down the hall."

I headed to the bathroom and walked in. I took a quick shower and got out. I looked around for a towel. "Shit," I said when I didn't find one. I opened the door and stuck my head out. "Can someone bring me a towel? There's none in here."

"Here you go," Soda said, handing me a towel through the slightly opened door.

"Thanks."

"No problem," he said and went back to the other room.

I dried off and went to get dressed, but realized I left my bag in Serena's room. I wrapped myself in the towel and walked out of the bathroom. I had to walk past the living room to get to Serena's room, and all the guys were in there. They all just stared at me. "What are you starin' at?" I asked them.

"Uhh…you…uhh…you look hot," Steve said.

"Thanks, I think."

"What the fuck are you wearin'?" Dallas said as he walked into the living room.

"It's called a towel, Dal. You use it to dry off. I'm sure you've used one before."

"Shut up, Dani. Stop fuckin' starin' at my sister or I'll beat your fuckin' heads in," he threatened, and they quickly turned their heads away.

I walked away angry, and Dal followed. "What the hell is your problem? If they wanna stare, let them."

"God damn it Dani, you're my sister! I don't want them seeing you half naked!"

"It's not like anything is showing!"

"I don't care! I don't want them looking at you like that!"

"Now I see why we never got along," I said and went back into Serena's room.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just fighting with Dallas."

"Okay, well if you want, you can pick some clothes out of my closet."

"Okay, thanks," I said and she headed to the bathroom.

I decided just to wear some of my own clothes. I went through my bag and took out a pair of tight, form-fitting jeans, which were ripped at the knees and thigh, and a black halter top. When I was dressed, I did my makeup. I brushed my hair and left it down. When I was all ready, Serena came back into her room. "I'm gonna go into the living room, and let you get ready."

"Okay."

I walked out of her room and into the living room. Soda and Two-Bit were on the couch and Steve was in the armchair. I went over and sat in Soda's lap. "Hey Sodapop."

"Hey Dani. Are you goin' to the party tonight?"

"Only if you're goin'."

"Of course I'm goin'. I wouldn't miss a party."

"I guess I'm goin' then," I said, leaning close to him. I went to kiss him but was interrupted.

"Dani, what the hell are ya doin' to Soda?" Dallas asked.

"Nothing, we're just talkin'," I said, trying to look innocent.

"Yeah right, get off of him." I sighed and slowly got up, rubbing against him as I went. I looked at him and smirked at the look on his face.

Serena came into the living room wearing a pair of short shorts, a white tank top, and a grey short hoodie. "You look hot. Who ya tryin' to impress?" Dal asked her.

"I'm lookin' at him," she said, moving closer to him. He put his arm around her. She looked around the room, and her eyes stopped on Soda. "What's wrong with Soda?" she asked.

"He's fine," I said and walked outside.

"Dani was flirting with him," I heard Dallas say.

"Are you guys ready yet? I wanna go to the party!" I yelled into the house. I didn't have much patience and I hated having to wait.

"We're comin', calm down," Serena said.

Everyone came out of the house—well everyone except Ponyboy and Johnny—and I jumped down the steps. "C'mon, let's go."

"Impatient much," Two-Bit joked.

"Yes, now let's go."