Hey guys! Sorry, I've still been super busy but I tried to make this a nice long chapter for you all! Thank you to Timshepard, bookluvr217, kat, kayla, , Yehhhok, GreaserGirl, Rockerchick09, my oh mighty,clarissa, and anonfor their reviews! It was mentioned in one of the reviews of me replacing a lot of my g's with apostrophes and I just wanted to clear up why I do that I tend to not use the letter g that often because it helps me get into Lilyrose's character better and I feel more immersed in the South where there behaviors are different than how we act up here in Iowa Thank you for reminding me to explain that to you, and if it really is too annoying that you don't want to read anymore just let me know and I would be more than willing to stop! I love long reviews so everyone keep 'em coming! Also, I'd like to send out a thanks to all those who have added my story to their favorite stories list, story alert list, and added me to their favorite authors list! It makes me feel so proud of my work and really inspires me to keep going, so please enjoy the next chapter!
Steve lost another tooth. At his rate he's going to be toothless before he turns twenty!
"How many times have I told you to protect your face more, Steve?" I ask sternly, glaring at him as I place a damp wash cloth over the empty spot in his mouth. He reaches up to hold it there while he rolls his eyes and I sigh. I'd been back in the living room for about ten minutes now and not once has Tim taken his eyes off me as I move around the room tending to all the boys. My mouth can't seem to stay moist and I'm constantly swallowing nervously, not daring to let my eyes move toward him. I'd stayed in the bathroom for a couple minutes to gather my composure before comin' back out with the first aid kit.
"Does anybody need stitches?" I ask loudly and they all check over their injuries slowly before saying no one by one.
"I need a band-aid, Rosebud. Man, that guy had sharp little teeth!" Darry says before grimacing down at his hand that has multiple small puncture wounds. I fish out a few plain band-aids and kneel down by Darry's chair to put them on. Unfortunately, Tim had chosen to sit in the dining room chair I had put right next to the arm chair Darry was currently slouched in. As I carefully wrapped up Darry's hand I couldn't help but glance up quickly at Tim, returning my eyes to my current job immediately when my gaze meets his. Determination. It was glinting in Tim's eyes so strongly; it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I wonder what he was so determined about, and why he's been staring at me. I mean, yea he kissed me on the nose but maybe it was just a brotherly thing.
"Why dontcha head on off to bed, Rosebud. Shepard and his gang are gonna stay the night here so don't worry about cleanin' anything up right now," Soda says looking at me with a smile and I nod, gathering up the first aid kit supplies and setting them on the kitchen counter just in case they needed it again. I chance one last look back at Tim right before I turn down the hallway and he gives me a soft, fleeting smile. I walk into my room in a daze, wondering why the baddest hood in Tulsa, Tim Shepard, would smile at me. I put on short, brown cotton shorts and a white tank top while in a zombie-like state and crawl under my fluffy blue comforter. Lucky jumps down from my open window and curls up down by my feet, falling asleep almost instantly while I lay there awake for a half hour. Finally I drift off into an uneasy sleep, Tim Shepard's brown eyes burned into my mind.
The sound of glass shattering and tires squealing make me jerk awake from my dreamless sleep. My messy hair falls around my shoulders in a curtain as I sit up quickly and throw my covers off before flinging open my bedroom door and runnin' down the hall and into the living room, bare feet slapping against the old wood floors. As I enter the living room two hands shoot out and jerk me to a stop, pulling me back into a hard chest when I stumble and start to fall. I see one of the front windows has been shattered and when I see a brick lying on the floor among all the glass shards I sigh and slump in against whoever is holding me. I see Darry cross over toward the brick and go to follow him when the arms tighten around my stomach, keeping me in place firmly.
"You don't have any shoes on, you'll cut your feet up," I hear a voice say quietly into my ear and I can't help the shiver that runs through my body. Tim Shepard is standin' directly behind me, stopping me from getting glass in my feet by holding me against him. I never thought I would be the type of girl to swoon at guys for being all macho, but I can feel my heart fluttering in my chest over his obvious concern. Ugh.
"Damn Socs! Don't they know how expensive it is to replace a window?" I hear Darry say angrily before pickin' the brick up off the floor and turning around.
"Don't come in here unless you have shoes, at least until we get this mess cleaned up," Darry says to the small crowd standing around the edges of the living room, but he stares at me meaningfully. Soda appears from the kitchen with a trash bag and some of the guys start picking up the big pieces of glass so they can vacuum up the small pieces. Tim's grip doesn't loosen and I find that I don't really mind, in fact I'm fairly relaxed in his arms as I watch the glass being cleaned up with sad eyes. Why do they do that? Do they really think they can just come into our neighborhood and vandalize our homes? I already know this means another rumble and I get even more depressed, thinking of how beat up everyone already is. I shrug out of Tim's hold and head back toward my room, head hung low, with tears already building in my eyes. I don't bother to shut my door when I make it to my room instead I just sit on the edge of my bed, wipin' away the tears that have started falling and look out the window at the bright stars and large, round moon.
"They won't have the chance to do this again. I promise you that," I hear Tim say and I look over to see him standing in my doorway, arms crossed over his chest. I laugh sarcastically and he comes fully into my room, sitting down next to me and sighing heavily.
"Promises are useless, and nothing can stop the Socs from being so damn stupid," I say with a bitter voice, wipin' away another round of tears that have come pouring out. I felt stupid, sitting here and crying in front of Tim while I poured out all my feelings.
"I'll make you believe again. Promises can be kept, you just wait and see Rosie," Tim says and I lift my head up at the use of that particular nickname. I open my mouth to yell at him for calling me that but my voice freezes in my throat when he pulls me into a hug. It isn't just any hug, either, its bone crushing and it takes me a little while to wrap my arms around him. I let my head fall onto his shoulder and I cry silently, my body trembling slightly as he runs his hand up and down my back. If someone walked past my room right now, they would probably think Tim was high or drunk off his ass! He never acts like he has a heart, and he NEVER hugs people.
I push all the worries of what my brothers would do if they saw this to the back of my mind and let my body relax in his arms. Soon I start drifting off to sleep and he moves, sliding me under the covers of my bed and kissing the tip of my nose again. I have just enough energy to give a little smile before I finally drop off into oblivion.
Time Jump - - Time Jump - - Time Jump
It's now Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting outside the Dingo with Two-Bit, eating a cheeseburger for lunch while greasers hang around smoking, drinking, or fighting. Two-Bit gets our trash once we're done and heads inside to throw it away and 'take a piss' as he so charmingly put it. I'm leaning against the window of the Dingo when a short guy, obviously a greaser, walks up to me. He's probably about an inch or so taller than me with long black hair, greased back of course, and bright blue eyes. His nose is huge and I bite my lip when he smiles at me and it crinkles up to reveal yellow, crooked teeth. I casually look around for Two-Bit so he can play my fake boyfriend as we usually do when I have to thwart off the advances of nasty greasers. He's nowhere in sight and I want to sigh, not in the mood to be harassed by a pervert.
"Name's Luke Duran, just wanted to introduce myself. I moved here about a week ago from Texas," he says and I'm surprised by how smooth and not squeaky it was. I give him a small smile, hoping he doesn't start acting like a pervert because he's starting to seem okay.
"Hi, I'm Lilyrose Curtis. Welcome to Tulsa! How are you liking it so far?" I ask him, turning my body more to face him and I actually give him a genuine smile this time.
"Interesting name, I like it. It's kinda borin' here but I'll live," he says, making me laugh. We keep talking about random stuff like our favorite colors, movies, and surprisingly books. I glance around after a little while and see Two-Bit appear within the Dingo. I panic a little, knowing Two-Bit would come out here and scare the guy off. Luke is actually pretty charming and I guess he's not that bad looking! Besides, he's one of the only guys who isn't a total pervert that's ever really shown interest in me. Well, besides Tim, but I am still majorly confused in that area so I'm forcing myself to forget him.
"Well, my friend is coming so I better go," I say quickly and he frowns a little bit before smiling again. As I start to walk away he puts his hand on my arm and I look back at him, confused.
"Do you wanna go see a movie at the Nightly Double tonight?" he asks and my heart starts to beat fast as I get nervous. Honestly, I've never been asked out on a date. I decide to say yes because Luke doesn't seem like that bad a guy, and it's not like he's asking me to be his girl or anything.
"Sure, that sounds like fun! Do you just wanna meet there?" I ask, hesitant to let him meet the gang because I know they would just try and scare him off. His grin gets bigger and he lets go of my arm, stuffing his hands in his pockets and leaning against the window casually.
"Alright, meet at the fence at seven?" he asks and I nod, smiling at him before walking around to the door of the Dingo to meet Two-Bit who had stopped to talk to a fellow greaser. When he comes out we start down the sidewalk toward home, him slinging his arm around my shoulders casually after a couple minutes.
"So, what do ya wanna do tonight? I'm thinkin' 'bout getting a six pack and downin' it, but I can do that just 'bout anywhere!" Two-Bit exclaims and I chuckle, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my jean shorts I had thrown on that morning along with a red tank top and white sweater I left unbuttoned. I stare down at my scuffed up black converse as they steadily move across the cracked and dirty sidewalk.
"I actually already have plans, but I'm sure Pony, Johnny, and Dally are doin' somethin'. You could hang with them," I say, smiling fakely. My expression drops into one of nervousness when I see him lookin' at me with a raised eyebrow. I just smile at him and he steps in front of me, stopping our forward walk.
"What the hell kind of plans do you have? When I asked you this mornin' you said you weren't busy," he asks with a pout that makes me roll my eyes.
"I'm goin' to the Nightly Double tonight, and I swear if I see any of you guys there I will skin you alive!" I threaten and he furrows his brows. We've made it home by now and I jog up the stairs and into the house, letting the screen door slam behind me. I smile at Johnny who's sitting on the couch and plop down next to him.
"Hey Lily," he says quietly with a small smile and I give him a big grin back.
"Hey Johnnycakes, watcha doin'? Where's Ponyboy at?" I ask and he nods off in the general direction of Ponyboy's room.
"Just waitin' for Pony to get his jacket so we can head off to the movies," he says and I nod, getting up and heading off into the kitchen where Two-Bit had disappeared into a few seconds ago. As I walk in I see Dally leanin' against the fridge with a beer in his hand and Two-Bit and Steve standing next to each other in front of the kitchen sink.
"I heard you got a date tonight, Rosie," Dallas asks over the rim of his beer bottle, a smirk on his face and I roll my eyes at him. I lean against the doorway of the kitchen and choose to ignore him, turning my gaze to Steve and Two-Bit who are both looking at me with glares.
"Well Lilyrose, I'm not sure tonight is the best idea," Steve says and I roll my eyes with a sigh. I knew this fight was comin' sooner or later I just expected the entire gang to do it at once not in small groups.
"Steve, I'm a big girl and can take care of myself," I say and he sighs, walkin' over to grab a beer out of the fridge. I watch as he pops the cap off with the bottle opener lying on the stove and takes a big swig.
"Do you even know the grease? What the hell's his name?" he asks next, startin' to get frustrated.
"His name is Luke Duran and he just moved here from Texas. We talked for a little while today and it's not like he asked me to be his girl or anything," I say with a shrug of my shoulders and Dally lets out a loud, short laugh.
"Wow Rosie, wait 'till Tim hears about this," he says and I glare at him, starting to feel defensive.
"What in the hell is that supposed to mean? I don't even know Tim, so just shut up," I huff out and storm off to my room, the boys stayin' silent. Probably 'cause of the swear word, I usually don't let them loose like that but I was just agitated. As I slam the door to my room shut I toe off my converse, falling face first onto my bed and sighing. I spend the next couple hours reading my book and absentmindedly petting Lucky, keepin' an eye on the clock. When it reaches 5:30 I slap my book shut and jump outta bed, headin' toward the bathroom for a shower. I hear the entire gang in the living room as I close the bathroom door and turn the shower on.
A half hour later I'm sneakin' back to my room in a towel, thinkin' about what I'm gonna wear. As I shimmy into some underwear and a bra I pull the red skirt with blue polka dots outta my closet along with my matching blue tank top. I pull them on, the skirt fallin' to about an inch and a half above my knee. I decide on the same white sweater I was wearing earlier and some white canvas shoes. I sit down in front of my old beat up vanity and pin my bangs back, leaving the rest of my hair to fall in waves over my shoulders. I swipe on some foundation, blush, cream eye shadow, and clear gloss for my lips. I glance over at the clock and notice its 6:45 so I jump up and head out to the living room. Darry looks up from the newspaper he's reading in his chair and glares at me.
"I don't like this. I've never met the kid so I don't trust him. I shouldn't even let you go but I will if you're back by 9, understand?" he asks in a deep voice and I smile brightly at him, bouncing over to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Darry! I promise I'll be home by 9," I say happily and Two-Bit stands up, glaring at me as well.
"I'm drivin' you, and pickin' you up," he says before walkin' out the door. I roll my eyes and run after him, wavin' to the rest of the gang and raisin' an eyebrow at Dally's smirk. I climb into the passenger seat of Two-Bit's death trap and watch the houses go by as we start towards the Nightly Double.
"Thanks for drivin' me, Two-Bit," I say as I climb out of the car a few minutes later. He sighs and leans across the passenger seat to look at me. I feel startled as I take in how serious his face is and lean through the open window to hear what he has to say.
"If he doesn't behave himself, you find someone and call us. Don't do anythin' stupid. I'll be here a little before 9, so I will come lookin' for you if you don't show up, understand?" he asks, soundin' like Darry and I nod, givin' him a smile. I walk over and lean against the fence to wait for Luke, waving as Two-Bit pulls away back toward home. I only wait for about five minutes until Luke shows up, dressed exactly as before makin' me sigh. Would it have killed him to put in a little bit of effort? We actually pay to get in, surprising me, and find good seats. We keep talkin' about random stuff, even when the movie starts. It's some stupid beach movie and we decide to ditch and go get some food somewhere, but I let him know that I have to be back here before 9.
We head outta the Nightly Double and start toward the Dingo, enjoying the five minute walk. Sittin' down and eatin' our food I ask him about his life before Tulsa, only receiving vague answers that make me frown. He's being really mysterious, and I know some girls like that kind of thing but it honestly just annoys me. I glance at the clock in the Diner and see it's 8:45 so we head out, leaving our money on the table. I had to pay for my own food, another thing that irked me. I mean, isn't the guy supposed to be all chivalrous and doting? This is my first real date but I guess I just expected somethin' different. Somethin' more romantic, but I'll take what I can get I guess. We're about halfway back to the Nightly Double, holdin' hands and not really talkin', when Luke suddenly pulls me into a dark alleyway. I feel my back hit the brick wall and wince a little bit. He smiles at me and starts talkin' quietly.
"I really like you, Lilyrose, will you be my girl?" he asks in a breathy voice and my brows furrow. This is our first date, and I honestly hadn't really felt a connection at all. I wanted that spark, the one I felt with Tim. Ugh. Can't believe I actually brought him up after not havin' him on my mind the whole night.
"Luke, you're so nice but I just don't feel a connection. This is my first real date, and even if I did feel a connection I wouldn't want to be your girl. It's too fast," I say, biting my lip and he glares at me before I feel his lips smash against mine. I wince again when I feel his teeth bang against mine. I feel a sting on my bottom lip and realize he's made my lip split open. I grab his shoulders and push but he's taller and stronger than me. My head flashes back to when I turned 13 and Dally told me that the best way to stop a grabby guy was to hit him where it hurts. I bring my knee up clumsily but manage to hit him in the right spot, right between the legs. He back up immediately, groanin' a little and cupping himself. I glare at him, adjustin' my sweater because it was fallin' off my shoulder and stompin' out of the alleyway. He doesn't follow me and I feel myself sigh in relief.
I feel the anger bubblin' up inside me. Did he really think he could just force a kiss on my and I would change my mind? What an asshole! I reach the outside of the Nightly Double and stomp up to the curb, slumpin' down. I don't notice the group of Greasers leanin' against the fence, smokin' and laughin'. I bring my hand up to my stingin' lip and touch it gently, wincing. I look at my fingers and grimace at the blood on them. The gang is gonna have a field day with this. I hear the scuffin' of boots and whirl around, thinkin' it's Luke again but stop in surprise when I see Tim starin' at me. His eyes instantly zero in on my lip and scratch my head nervously, knowin' I don't exactly look very attractive right now. His hand moves up to remove the cigarette danglin' in his mouth and he drops it, stepping on it as he moves to right in front of me. The same hand comes up to run across my bottom lip and I pull away slightly.
"Who?" is the only thing he asks and I become confused. How in the hell did he know someone did this? I could have just bit my lip or run into somethin'? I decide to play dumb.
"What do you mean?" I ask and his eyes harden into a glare makin' me take a small step backwards.
"I ain't stupid. Who?" he says then asks again. I open my mouth to tell him to mind his own business but I hear Two-Bit's car comin' so I just turn around at walk to meet him. I can feel Tim's eyes on my back and ignore the shiver that goes through me. Two-Bit stops alongside me and I climb in, keepin' my face out of his sight.
"Where's the grease? Didn't even wait with you? Jesus, what if some Soc had come along? It's dark as hell outside," he asks before muttering angrily. I just sight and lean my head against the seat, watching the houses go by like I did on the way to the Nightly Double. It's silent the rest of the way home but I can tell Two-Bit is barely containin' himself. When we get home I'm out and joggin' up the steps before he can shut the car off. I hear him jog after me but I just barrel through the livin' room, ignoring the greetings and questions thrown at me by the rest of the gang. I keep my head down until I make it to my room and shut the door. I lean back against it, starin' at the ceiling. What a shitty first date.
Okay guys, I'm actually pretty happy and proud of this chapter. I'm pretty sure it's the longest one I've ever written, so I should totally get an award or something ;) Actually, the best reward would be reviews from all of YOU! Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas. Like I've said before, constructive criticism is definitely welcome and appreciated! LOVE YOU GUYS!
LilCrafty6