Dallas was on his way over to check up on the boys, Ponyboy and Johnny. As he approached the old church, he kept a close eye making sure that no one else was around to snitch. What a fucking mess, Dallas thought to himself as he stepped out of his car and walked toward the church. Dallas was always up for helping the two out, but he really never thought he'd ever be in a murder rap since New York.
He peeked through the cracked walls, then through a tiny sliver, only to see that there was nothing. He walked around further, then peeked again. No sign of them. But finally, as he made his way around the front, he spotted an entrance, which led him into a room filled with paper bags, salami, and of course, the two runaways. Dallas tip toed around the bags and stopped just as he began to hover over Ponyboy. With a smirk, he reached over and ran his fingers through his freshly-blonde hair. Dallas began to chuckle, "Hey, blondie!"
Ponyboy's eyes began to open, and Johnny slowly started to wake at the sound of a stranger's voice.
"Dally!" they both said with their eyes half open. Dallas walked over and made his way to a raggedy chair, covered in dust and crumpled scrapings from the wall behind it. He sat on the arm, and began to light a cigaret. Johnny quickly sat up and asked, "Hey Dal, are the cops still looking for us? Is the word out? How are the guys?"
"Ay, ay, one at a time alright?" Dallas interrupted. He got up and started pacing, as if he were in a rush, then stopped between the two.
"Hey, you guys wanna go get a bite to eat? I'm starved."
Meanwhile, Cherry was having a late lunch at a small hamburger joint with Marcia. She could tell that something happened, because Marcia had a certain glow to her, and it certainly showed when she told her stories about Two Bit.
"So is Dallas coming tonight?" Marcia asked. Cherry hadn't spoken to Dallas since their little date on Thursday. Was it even a date? Well, we did kiss, she thought to herself while contemplating. But Cherry had figured that Dallas probably kissed girls all of the time. He probably wouldn't even know what a date was.
"Yes, I think. Well, I invited him."
"Well I hope he does. It'd be real fun for all of us. Two-Bit has the greatest stories about that Dallas boy."
Cherry laughed, "Yeah, yeah I'm sure he does." Marcia and Cherry finished up the last sips of their drinks and walked over towards Cherry's car. As Cherry sat in the driver's seat, she suddenly felt this weird feeling. It was almost as if she felt tingly, nervous, just like she had right after Dallas had kissed her. And that was exactly it, it was the same feeling she had once she sat in her car the moment after this had happened. Cherry surprisingly loved this feeling, and it made her grin. "What?" Marcia asked as she caught her reminiscing. Cherry laughed, because she didn't think that Marcia would even see her. For some reason she thought she was alone. She looked back towards Marcia, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, all smiles.
"Nothing," Cherry responded, "I'm just really excited for tonight."
The three guys rode up in Dallas' car down the road until they reached the nearest drive-through. All three of them ordered the fattest burgers on the menu, and began to chow down in the parking lot proceeding the drive through. With his mouth full, Dallas told Ponyboy and Johnny all about Cherry's proposition. Ponyboy's eyes lit up in surprise, "Really?" he asked.
"Dal, that's great! We can head on back, I'll confess, the deal's done." Johnny replied. Dallas narrowed his eyes in astonishment and stared at Johnny like he was a mad man. "I, I'm sorry...what?" he exaggerated as he placed his hand behind his ear to hear him more clearly.
"Well just like you said, it was self defense, right? They can't can me for murder now can they?"
Dallas just sat there and began to look straight ahead of him. There was a long pause as Ponyboy and Johnny continued eating while Dallas tried his hardest to hold back the anger burrowed up in him. He tried, but he couldn't.
"Listen you little shit," he snapped, "I get you a hideout. A fucking hideout, man." he continued staring straight forward. Johnny and Ponyboy weren't very surprise of Dallas' reaction, however, they continued to listen.
"I don't think you get it, Johnny. You get mean in jail, Johnny." he started up the car, and began to drive.
As he pulled out of the parking lot, he began to head out on the road, speeding at about sixty miles an hour.
"I just don't wanna see you get mean in their, man. It happened to me, it can't happen to you. See, that's why you gotta act smart, man. You guys are so fuckin'...You guys are so fucking inexperienced it's insane. And I'm trying to help out. But you gotta do as I say." Dallas couldn't even think straight. That's just the way he was, even if things weren't much of a big deal, it was a big deal to him. Once Dallas got mean, he was mean the whole way through. The fact that Johnny wanted to completely disobey him like that wasn't settling with him at all.
Dallas finally drove towards Ponyboy's house, but Ponyboy told him he'd walk from there. He brought Johnny along with him, too.
"So that's it, then?" Dallas said through his teeth. Johnny nodded. He knew Dallas would be upset, but the truth was, nobody was going to make him change his mind, and that was it. Dallas realized this, and drove off, leaving the two walking side by side towards the park.
Dallas tried to shake this off his mind, but he couldn't. He'll be wishing he listened, Dallas thought to himself, That little shit should have listened.
It was Saturday night, about 8:10. Dallas drove into Westford, just as Cherry said where she'd be. Westford was the name of a local drive-in. Yes, he was already ten minutes late, but he didn't think much of it only because he was upset, and he knew he had good reasoning for be late. He nearly forgot about the whole plan because of how upset he was. He started up the car after having it parked for about ten minutes, lit up another cigaret, and drove towards the open gate. Then he finally saw the three standing there, right by the beverages and snack bar. He saw Cherry, looking annoyed and impatient. He parked his car, and walked towards them. "Ay, Dally!" Two-Bit greeted him with a big pat on the back. "You came just in time! Your girl over here was just startin' to feel a bit lonesome up in here!" Dallas couldn't really say much, he was slightly annoyed. Instead he just flashed a tensely closed smile, and a nod towards Cherry. Great, Cherry thought, I guess it was a one-time thing.
Cherry expected a lot more. She expected Dallas to show up, on time. She expected him to greet her with a kiss, or at least a hug. She expected him to mess around with Two-Bit, maybe have a few laughs all together. She expected him to say hi to Marcia, and for Marcia to like him and send Cherry a nod of approval. Cherry didn't like to keep high expectations, especially for someone like Dallas Winston. She should have known better, and now, she had learned her lesson.
Dallas looked at Cherry, and he could see how disappointed she was. He started to cool down a bit, but he wasn't very comfortable knowing he'd have to sit through a whole movie feeling like this. Two-Bit noticed that the movie was about to start, so he wrapped his arm around Marcia and said, "Too-da-loo you two! Have fun!"
Cherry watched the two turn into silhouettes as they disappeared into the lot of cars. Then she looked to her left, where she saw Dallas, who was also watching Marcia and Two-Bit walk away. "Where'd you just come from?" Cherry asked him, implying that he should have to explain himself for being late. Dallas simply answered with attitude, "My car. C'mon, let's go." He reached around her and walked her over to his vehicle.
Cherry couldn't help but feel as if Dallas had gone back to normal, back to not knowing that Cherry had existed. As they walked to Dallas' car, she kept telling herself, non verbally of course, that she was making a mistake. Cherry didn't want to be one of those girls who gets tossed around, then thrown aside. She wanted to be the girl, not a girl. Dallas walked over to his door, completely disregarding Cherry's still-closed door. Cherry felt annoyed of this, and it wasn't the first time that he had completely failed to show some sort of sense for manners. Although she found it awfully puzzling wondering why Dallas hates showing respect towards everyone, she also found it somewhat attractive. When not taken to far, Dallas' ignorance toward a few manners sort of made Cherry excited. She was not used to having to fight for guys, or fight to get deeper. She often had them begging for her instead.
She sat in the passenger's seat, Dallas sat in his, and the two continued to sit in silence.
As the movie began to start, Dallas casually placed his arm around Cherry's shoulder. Cherry still wasn't very used to Dallas' touch, and the weight of his hand on her shoulders gave her chills. Dallas wanted put a move on Cherry tonight, he knew that Cherry had obviously wanted more, especially if she had asked him out here in the first place after what happened. He needed a good ending to the terrible day that he had been experiencing, since Ponyboy and Johnny were the ones who had rattled his temper.
"Is something bothering you?" Cherry suddenly asked. Dallas turned towards her and responded with an irked tone, "It wouldn't make much a difference if I told you, sweetheart." Cherry couldn't help but notice that Dallas looked somewhat hurt, or maybe annoyed. For some strange reason, however, she could not stop looking at him. His face, the way he carried himself, the way he sat in that seat, the way his hand felt; it all felt new to her. To stop herself, Cherry looked directly in the opposite direction. She gazed out the window, up at the moon. Dallas noticed her staring towards the outside. With a smirk, he snapped, "Ay, d'you come to see a movie, or to look at the moon?"
Cherry turned her head back to its normal position, watching the movie. Only she knew, however, that she still wasn't watching the movie. She stared straightly into the screen in front of her, eyes blurred, only thinking of what Dallas' words might be.
"Look at me," she heard him say. She looked up at him. He had this peculiar look on his face, a curious one. His eyebrows were tilted downward, and they made him look awfully confused.
"You're nervous," he said with a slight smile.
Cherry laughed, "I am not." She didn't want to be a nervous wreck anymore. It was time for her to take control of the situation. She turned towards him, took her hand, and placed it onto Dallas' chest. And with all the confidence she had within her, she leaned into him and brushed her lips onto his. Dallas accepted her with open arms, and he began to kiss her right back. Cherry had noticed that his kisses were less gentle tonight than they had been before. He began to open his mouth, and Cherry let him in. He leaned in towards her even more, until he finally laid her down below him. Cherry felt so small as Dallas hovered over her like a dark shadow. His kisses grew harder, and they began to rattle Cherry slightly. He worked his way down to her neck and then the kisses were back to being gentle. She could feel him breathing right below her chin, on her left side. While her mouth was free, she spoke, "Tell me what's bothering you, Dally"
He stopped. His mouth still pressed against her neck, he mumbled, "What do you mean?"
"You're acting different. Tell me what it is that's bothering you."
"Uh, well, nothing really. Just some shit I gotta work out with Ponyboy and Johnny," he said as he lifted up his neck.
He continued to kiss her neck, but more roughly, when suddenly Cherry again spoke, "Why do you need to work things out with Ponyboy and Johnny?"
"Why do you ask so many questions?" Dallas responded, lifting up his neck as if he were tired, and then proceeded to lower it once again, lips brushing behind her ear.
"What, am I not allowed to talk and converse with you?" Cherry replied back.
"You gotta loosen up, Red, and quit it with these damn questions."
Cherry rolled her eyes, "Only if you can quit telling me to loosen up. I don't like taking orders."
"Jesus, what do you want?" he exclaimed as he sat up.
Cherry almost felt stupid. She knew she was asking too many questions, but she didn't like the fact that they were mainly here to kiss and touch. She wanted to at least be able to talk to whoever she handed over her trust to.
"Maybe I don't wanna answer your little questions about Ponyboy and Johnny because I'm trying to make my day a little bit better, is that too much to ask?" he finally said.
"What, so you come here thinking you're gunna make your day better? How? By scorin' some girl, then heading on home? Is that why you're acting so careless?"
Cherry was furious. She hated liking someone that was bound to hurt her so much. Although she had spent days convincing herself that this would happen, she could not hold back the hope that had rested in the back of her mind.
"Jesus Christ Red, are you for real with me now?" he pulled back, and then paused for a minute.
"Just come here baby," he grabbed her and kissed her on the lips, again, only to find Cherry pushing him back, moaning.
"Get lost, Dally. I knew I shouldn't have even let this happen."
Cherry just sat there, continuing to look up at the moon as she was doing before. Dallas angrily stared at her. "Get lost? Enough of this. You get lost! Get the hell out of my car!"
Cherry muttered "Jerk," to herself and got out of his car, then slammed the door. With the window remaining open, Dallas yelled, "Yeah get outta here, you make my stomach sick! Crazy fucking broad!"
Cherry, who was on the verge of tears, turned around. With a broken voice she yelled, "Go to hell!"
Dallas couldn't even think straight. He took out another cigaret and began to light it. "Fuck." he said to himself.
Suddenly, the pressure all went to his head. The anger from Johnny's disobedience towards him earlier that day, the tension from wanting Cherry so badly, the anger of hearing her telling him to get lost, everything, all to his head. Dallas punched the side wall of his car, until his knuckles began to turn red. He inhaled deeply, and everything started to make him more upset. He hated way the movie looked in front of him, he hated seeing other couples in their stupid little cars nearby, he hated the sound of some girl laughing, he hated the light of the moon. The moon. Dallas looked up at the sky, and then at the moon, just as Cherry was doing before. For some reason, Dallas began to feel regret when he stared up at that moon. Cherry probably loved the moon, Dallas thought, it's so pretty. No wonder she couldn't take her eyes off it.
And suddenly, Dallas grew more upset. He hated Cherry. Cherry made things so complicated, she made things so overanalyzed. He hated the way she made him feel. But, what exactly did she do wrong? Dallas replayed the entire scene over within his head. "Tell me what's bothering you, Dally" Dallas heard. Was that all? Was that what started this whole thing? Has anyone even asked me that before ever? Dallas thought further. He began pulling out of the drive-in. Once he left, he turned down the corner and saw a second chance.
A little further down the hill was a young red-head, storming down the street in her small skirt and long sleeve, with her purse in hand. Dallas hated even seeing the sight of her, it just made him sick. He pulled over.
"Hey, Red, can you talk for a second?"
*Much, much more to come. Please continue to review, thanks so much!