In this chapter: Darry and Kate get in an argument that leads to Kate storming out.

Several pairs of eyes followed me as I stormed past the greasers in the living room and let the door slam behind me. My footsteps seemed louder than normal as I rushed down the porch steps and approached my car. I quickly turned my car on and drove away from the Curtis house, trying to remember exactly why Darry and I started fighting in the first place.

My brain was so clouded with fury that all I could remember was Darry's voice. "I don't need you to tell me what to do! You aren't our mom!"

He had hollered at me and pointed his finger in my face, getting so close that I could smell the hand soap he had just used minutes before. I knew he would never hit me in a million years, but his hand being so close to my face made me flinch, and I stormed out just seconds later.

I sped down the streets of Tulsa, getting away from Darrel Curtis as quickly as I could.

Darry and I never fought, which was surprising since both of us were very stubborn people, but when we were together, we were always able to calmly talk things out and either come up with solutions or compromises. The fact they we never fought made it so much worse that we had such a significant and loud argument in front of the whole gang.

I was furious, and when I pulled up to my destination and threw my car into park, I realized that I was breathing heavy too, like I had just gone ten rounds in a cage match or something. I jumped out of the car and walked straight into Buck's bar. The music was loud, the smell of alcohol abundant, and the atmosphere in general wasn't one I typically enjoyed, but in that moment, I just wanted to be away from the guys and forget what happened.

"Beer please, and keep 'em coming. Don't like the glass dry up," I said as I plopped down onto a bar stool in front of Buck.

We weren't friends by any means, but Buck and I knew each other enough for him to raise his eyebrows at me in surprise. "Darrel don't even want his kid brothers here, so I know he don't want his girl here."

"Yeah, well I don't give a damn what Darrel Curtis wants right now," I spat. I slapped a $5 bill on the counter and looked right at Buck. "Come on Buck, I just want a few drinks." He looked at me skeptically, but he eventually poured me a beer and left me alone.

After I quickly finished my first drink, I let myself internally voice my frustrations. What's Darry's problem? All I ever want to do is help him and the rest of the gang. I finished another beer. What did I do wrong? Where does he get off yelling at me? And a third beer. Is this going to split us up?

A red, fruity-looking drink suddenly appeared in front of me. I gave Buck a questioning look, to which he just shrugged. "One of the guys over there wanted to buy it for you," he said, motioning towards the pool table. I looked over at the guys playing pool, and I spotted several familiar faces looking at me. I was pretty sure a couple of them belonged to Shepard's gang, but I didn't know their names.

"There you are," I heard a gruff voice say nearby. One moment later, Dallas sat down next to me and gave me a stern look as he practically scolded me. Still, I didn't meet his eyes. "Darry sent us all around town lookin' for you."

"Congrats, you found me," I said drily, finally moving my eyes from the pool table to the blonde greaser sitting next to me. His expression seemed neutral, but I was pretty sure there was a hint of relief in his eyes. "Now be a pal, and don't tell Darry where you found me."

"Look doll, Darry feels real bad about yellin' at you. You shoulda seen him after you left," Dally said. His voice wasn't soft, but it wasn't as tough as it usually was, and it caught me off-guard. I could barely hear him over the rest of the noise surrounding us, but I still could tell he was being genuine with me. "He thought you just needed to cool off outside, but when he heard your car start, he tried to catch you before you drove off. Guess he wasn't fast enough."

The idea of Darry trying to stop me from leaving was encouraging, but it still didn't make me forgive him. "I just want to be alone right now," I said plainly. Then I downed the drink in front of me before standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to win some money from the hoods over there," I said, motioning my head towards the pool table.

One of my secret talents was billiards, and hustling guys that thought I was just some dumb broad was usually an easy way to make quick money. I walked up to the guys who were looking at me before, and grinned at them. "Anyone want to play pool?"

Three short games later, I was $30 richer, and the guys I played against bought me two more drinks. By then, the room was tilting, and after I briefly wondered if the foundation of the building was done properly, I realized that I probably just had too much to drink.

"I think we should get you home," Dally's voice appeared near me. I had a strange feeling that he was watching me closely as I played pool against the hoods, but he hadn't made an appearance until then. Dallas wasn't the type to be overbearing or overprotective, so if he felt the need to step in, I must've been looking really drunk.

Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap around my waist and a hand on my hip, followed by the sound of a stranger's voice next to my head, his breath feeling like wind blowing past my ear. "Don't worry, I'll take her home."

Alarms bells started ringing in my head. This isn't good. I should leave.

"Look pal," Dally started, but he didn't get the chance to finish.

The stranger's touch suddenly disappeared, and in a blur of movement, I turned around and spotted two figures against the wall. If I had to guess, I'd say one of them pushed the other one into it.

"Stay the hell away from her," I heard Darry growl in a deep, dangerous tone. "You hear me?"

At first, my heart fluttered at the sound of Darry's voice, but as the wheels in my drunk mind slowly turned, I remembered that we had an argument and that I was mad at him.

"Why should I?" the strange voice said. "We've been havin' a fun night, haven't we hon?"

Hon? That's not the voice that gives me pet names. I backed away from the voice, unconsciously shaking my head. I want to leave.

"Look buddy, you better watch it," Dally's voice said nearby, then he moved to stand in front of me, and I instantly felt more comfortable about the situation I found myself in. Dallas won't let anything happen to me, and neither will Darry. "You don't know who you're messin' with."

I kept backing up, wanting to distance myself from the fight that was bound to happen. This is my fault. If I leave, maybe everyone will calm down. The last thing I wanted was for Darry and Dally to get in a fight because of me. Sure, Dally's been in the cooler loads of times, but even though I was mad at him, I didn't want Darry to get in trouble.

Buck quickly reached the group of guys that were forming a circle around Darry and the guy that offered to bring me home. "Knock it off, or I'm kicking you all outta here!"

I turned and quickly exited the bar, ignoring the looks I was getting from several guys as I rushed past them.

I stumbled down the steps, but luckily, the railing I was clutching helped me stay mostly upright. Things seemed to only get worse once I was on flat ground. The ground looked like it swirling around me, so I closed my eyes to try and prevent them from playing tricks on me. However, after just a few steps in the parking lot, I was stumbling into someone's car.

"Kate!"

I groaned. I don't want to talk to him right now.

Unfortunately, Darry either didn't read my mind or he ignored it, because a few seconds later, I felt his calloused hands hold my upper arms and turn my whole body. In response, my eyes shot open, and I tried to focus on his icy-blue irises.

"Glory Kate, you had me worried," he said, sounding truthful. "You okay?"

I ripped my arms out of his grasp and shoved my hands into his chest. "No, I'm not okay, Darrel!" I rarely ever said his full name, and it sounded weird coming out of my mouth. It was getting hard to focus on him, so I closed my eyes and leaned against the car I bumped into. "I'm mad, and I just wanna go home."

"Kate, honey, you can't drive home right now," he said, soundly like he was talking to a toddler.

My eyes snapped open, and I immediately scowled at him. "Don't talk to me like that… like I'm stupid or something." Then I reached into my pocket and threw my car keys at him, or at least in his direction since I couldn't really see him too well. "There, you have them. I was planning on walkin' anyway."

I turned and took a few steps, but his hand wrapped around my arm, stopping me in place. "I'm not going to let you walk home like this."

I tried to rip my arm out of his hand, but he was too strong. Since I couldn't out-muscle him, I turned to glare at him. "You don't let me do anything, Darry. I can do what I want."

His sigh sounded like he was becoming tired and irritated, but he didn't say anything.

"C'mon doll, let Darry take you home," Dally's voice said nearby. I turned towards it, but everything was spinning too much to see him. "I'll bring your car over in the morning, alright?"

Words were suddenly hard to say out loud, but my brain stilled allowed me to think about things without speaking. I don't want to go anywhere with him. We fought, and he made me feel bad. I'm mad at him. As the thoughts were whirling in my mind, I realized I couldn't even remember what we argued about in the first place. I am mad at him, right? Of course I'm right, why else was I in the parking lot of a bar, drunk as a skunk?

I heard the sound of keys flying through the air, and after several seconds of my mind trying to work, I figured Darry had tossed my car keys to Dally. There was some mumbling, and before I knew it, I was being led to a vehicle that wasn't mine, and I was gently placed on the passenger seat.

Once the rumbling of Darry's truck started, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cool window.

"Kate-"

"I don't wanna talk 'bout it," I slurred. "Jus' take me home."

Darry sighed again. "Sweetheart, I can't let you go home by yourself like this. What if you get sick or something?"

I mumbled something along the lines of "What do you care?" and Darry didn't seem happy about it.

"God Kate, I care about you, a lot," Darry said.

My heart sank at his choice of words, and I suddenly felt like crying. He didn't say "love." So we actually did break up?

I must've accidentally said at least some of the words out loud, because Darry spoke softly. "No, we didn't break up." I felt something graze across my cheek, and it wiped a stream of my tears away. When did I start crying? "Kate, I still love you. We'll talk about everything tomorrow, but right now, I'm bringing you to my house."

I grumbled. "I don't wanna sleep with you. You made me mad."

"Yeah, I know," he said, sounding a little disappointed, and I had an idea that the feeling was directed at himself. "I know I made you mad. You can have my bed all to yourself."

I opened one eye halfway to look at him. Even if I was mad at him, I still didn't want Darry to sleep on the couch in his own house. He was a large, muscular man, who was working multiple jobs to support his family; it wouldn't be fair at all for me to take his bed. "No. Me. Couch." My brain was officially not cooperating with me anymore, so I closed my eye again and let myself drift off to the sound of Darry's voice mumbling.

It felt like only seconds had passed before the wall I was leaning on moved, but thankfully, somebody was there to catch me before I fell into a dark abyss. Or is that just the ground?

"I got you," Darry's voice assured. It took an eternity for me to realize he was holding me in his arms, and the swaying movement wasn't due to my inebriated state, but from him carrying me to the house.

I heard several different voices, all saying things about "her" and "Buck's" and "drunk" and "Dally" but there were too many things to keep track of, so I ignored them and just spoke directly to Darry without even bothering to open my eyes. "Couch."

"I already told you, you aren't sleeping on the couch," Darry said, his voice sounding surprisingly gentle.

"Let me… couch… me," I tried, but I felt myself slipping.

I was lowered onto something warm and soft, and I slipped away to the sound of Darry's deep voice muttering something.

When I woke up, it felt like my head was empty, but somehow, that nothingness still ached a lot. My skull was throbbing, and I wasn't sure I had the energy to do anything to fix it. The second I opened my eyes, I was looking at a plain, beige pillow with sheets that matched, and I knew I was in Darry's bed. After a moment of confusion, the events of the previous night returned in flashes. Oh no… I really screwed up.

I turned my head to look at the clock on Darry's nightstand, and I was surprised to find an empty trash bin between the bed and nightstand. Once I realized the bin was put there for me, I felt embarrassed because it meant that I really had gotten as drunk as I thought I remembered. No wonder why my head hurts so much. On the nightstand, I spotted a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. Bless whoever put those there. Then I looked at the clock, which read 9:37. I wasn't as early of a riser as Darry, but I rarely slept past 8 o'clock, so it was obvious that I needed some extra time to recover from the night before. I groaned. That's what I get for being so stupid.

"Kate?" I heard Darry's voice suddenly say. By the time I guessed the sound had come from the floor and I leaned towards the edge of the bed, Darry straightened up into a sitting position and looked at me. He was apparently lying on the floor next to me, and after a quick glance at the pillow and blanket, I assumed he slept there, making the guilty feeling in my chest grow exponentially. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," I said truthfully, and I wasn't only talking about my pounding head or the nauseous feeling in my stomach. "Did you really sleep on the floor?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. I couldn't just leave you here by yourself. What if you got sick or needed something?" He glanced at the garbage bin and grinned slightly. "Looks like you didn't need me after all. You handle your liquor better than most of the guys."

I tried to match his grin, but I couldn't; my guilt wouldn't let me. "You should've slept in your bed, Dar. It's your house, and you work so much, you've gotta be sore."

"It wasn't too comfortable, but I'm fine," he reassured me. "You didn't want to be near me-"

"I told you I wanted the couch-"

"And I told you that wasn't going to happen," he said with a jokingly-stern voice.

We both sat there silently for a moment, both of us walking on eggshells as we tried to figure out how to talk about the elephant in the room. Finally, Darry took a breath, then moved to sit on the side of the bed. He watched me carefully, probably looking for any sign of irritation or discomfort from me, but seeing none, he relaxed slightly and put a hand on my leg, which was still covered by his sheets. "What do you remember from last night?"

I tried to recall as many details as I could, but they were all a little foggy.

"You okay, Darry? You're looking a little rough and you're snapping at the guys a lot."

"I'm fine, just tired."

"Did something happen?

"No, nothing happened."

"Are you sure? I can help out more-"

"Don't worry about it, you help out plenty."

I couldn't remember how our conversation progressed, but I remembered certain pieces of it. I had a feeling we both some things we didn't really mean, but I knew the end of our fight contained a lot of yelling.

"You're being too hard on him-"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Cut it out, Kate."

"No! I'm not going to just keep my mouth shut and let you-"

"Stop-"

"Soda and Pony just want to-"

"How would you know what the hell they want and I don't? I'm their brother!"

"I know you are, but you need to go eas-

"I don't need you to tell me what to do! You aren't our mom!" Darry yelled and pointed his finger in my face, making me flinch.

I stormed out of the house, went to Buck's, and got drunk. Dallas showed up, I played some pool, and right when I was about to be in a bad situation, Darry came and saved the day. Then Darry brought me to his house and let me sleep in his bed while he slept on the floor.

"I think I remember most of it," I responded once my mind stopped finding more memories to piece together and add to the puzzle. Suddenly feeling vulnerable on top of ashamed, I moved into a sitting position and rested my back against the headboard as I looked at Darry, almost at eye-level. You better apologize if you still want to be part of his life, Kate. "I'm sorry, Darry."

He looked completely baffled, which puzzled me. "Sorry?" Just saying sorry won't be enough, Kate. He's mad, and he's about to break up with you. "What on Earth are you sorry about?" To his credit, he looked genuinely confused when he asked that.

"I was nagging you, telling you how to act with your brothers, and I had no right to do that," I explained. Please forgive me. "Then I ran off, drank too much, and made you sleep on the floor in your own house."

Darry's eyes were wide as he slowly shook his head. "No. No Kate, don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."

I looked down at my hands, unable to meet his eyes. "I should've just stopped arguing with you, then I wouldn't have gone to Buck's. I know I'm not your mother, and I never-"

"Kate, let me say something," he said. Then he held my hands in his and added, "please."

I stopped talking and nodded my head, but I kept my eyes on our intertwined hands.

"This whole thing was my fault. You just wanted to know how I was doing and I started the stupid fight because I was tired and in a bad mood. You've only ever wanted to help, and I threw it back in your face and compared you to my mom." He took one of his hands away, and I followed it with my eyes. He rubbed the hand down his face, and in his expression, I saw pure anguish. "When I yelled and pointed at you, it felt like I was some dictator or disciplinarian, and then I saw you flinch from it, from me… right away, I knew I messed up. I never want you to think I'd hurt you."

"I don't, Darry. I know you wouldn't-" I started, but he kept talking, completely ignoring my attempt to comfort him.

"I really thought you just needed a minute to cool off, but when I heard your car start, I thought you'd be gone for good, never to come back. I sent the guys looking for you, but I stayed at the house, hoping you'd come back, even if it was to scream at me or something. I just wanted you to come back." There were unshed tears in his eyes, and I knew he was speaking the truth. "When Dallas called me from Buck's, I was so happy to know where you were, and I got there as fast as I could, ready to beg for your forgiveness. But when I saw that guy's arm around you… I sort of lost it, and I forgot to apologize last night."

"It's okay, Darry," I said gently. I pulled his hands towards me, silently telling him to move closer. He obliged, but he still seemed cautious as he moved just a few inches closer to me and remained sitting at the edge of his bed. I squeezed his hands and looked right at him. "I'm sorry for everything I said and did yesterday. You didn't deserve any of it."

He gave me a small, sad smile. "Me too. Glory Kate, I'm so sorry."

I pulled him into a tight hug, and I choked out a sob of relief when he returned the embrace. We sat on Darry's bed, holding each other tight, for a minute or two before Darry pulled away from me. He kept his hands on my shoulders, and he looked sheepish when he spoke again.

"Kate, tell me the truth. What was the real reason you went to Buck's?" Darry asked, his voice sounding so quiet and scared, it was hard to believe he was the one who was speaking. "Did you go there to find someone-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," I said, not even wanting to hear Darry suggest such a thing. "I was upset, I wanted to grab a few drinks and be alone, but I would never do something like that to you."

He seemed to accept the truth, but I could tell something was still bugging him. It took him a few moments to ask, but when he did, I knew he was voicing some of his biggest fears. "Did any of those guys… any of them get too close to you or anything?"

I was glad he didn't ask exactly what he wanted to because it probably would've made his stoic expression crack, and that would've broken me. How could I have done something like this to Darry? Darry, my boyfriend and the love of my life… I made him think and feel like this.

I put my hands on his cheeks and looked straight into his eyes. "No, I swear. Dally was there, and you know he wouldn't have let like that anything happen." Then I sighed and moved a little under his grip on my shoulders, suddenly feeling uncomfortable from the immense amount of shame I felt. "As soon as I understood the situation that I got myself into, I knew I needed to get out of there."

Darry stayed silent, which scared me more than anything, so I looked back at him and started rambling about everything I could think of to make him understand how I felt about him. "I'd never do anything to hurt you, Darry. I love you. God, I love you so much. I-" he cut me off by holding my face in his hands and kissing me passionately.

We sat on his bed, fervently making out, our feelings for each other practically leaking out of us. We eventually had to pause and catch our breaths, but even then, we rested our foreheads against each other and shared the same air as we panted.

"Are we okay?" Darry asked with a small, hopeful smile.

I smiled back at him and gave him a peck on the lips. "Yeah, we're okay."

We kissed again, but afterwards, the pounding in my head intensified, and Darry seemed to notice something was wrong. "Hey, you okay?"

I nodded and put my hand against the side of my head. "Yeah, just a little hungover."

He grinned, then he reached for the bottle of aspirin and the glass of water on the nightstand. "I figured you would be." Then he handed the items to me, and I graciously accepted them. "I brought these in earlier for whenever you woke up."

I quirked an eyebrow, and after I took a few aspirins and drank all the water, I dared to ask. "Earlier? When were you awake?"

He smirked, then he reached forward and gently moved some of my hair behind my ear; one of his favorite displays of affection. "A couple hours ago. I was awake most of the night, just in case you needed me."

He's so damn sweet.

I ran my fingers through his hair, stopping when I interlocked my hands behind his neck. "Yeah? No wonder you look so tired." Then I gave him another quick kiss before moving to the side, making room for him, then I pulled him down with me. "I'm not ready to get up yet," I said with a tired smile.

He laid down next to me, and once he was settled, he immediately draped an arm across my waist and pulled me towards him. "So this is okay? It's alright that I'm right here?"

I remembered saying something the night before about not wanting to be near him or sleep with him or something, and I internally scolded myself. "Yes, this is more than okay." I still felt bad for how I acted, so I added, "I really am sorry, Darry. For everything."

"It's okay, we don't need to take about it anymore," he said quietly as he pulled me tight against his chest. "I'm sorry too. We're okay."

I believed him. We argued, we talked, and we made up. Everything had been addressed, and we could move forward, knowing that our love was more powerful than an argument.

"Now get some sleep, Darry. You need it," I said with a smile.

He chuckled. "Yeah, and you do too."

The two of us started falling asleep, but before I welcomed more slumber, I heard voices on the other side of Darry's door.

"You think they'll be okay and make up?"

Then the door to Darry's room creaked open, but I pretended to be asleep and I kept my eyes closed.

"Yeah, they'll be okay."