The Outsiders: Summer as a Greaser

The Drive Back Home

Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this new chapter! I hope to finish this story now that I have more free time and I hope you guys will continue to read. I have big plans for this story so buckle up! 

Love you guys!!!

I stood up and ran, pumping my legs as fast as I could. I zeroed in on the car just a little farther up, but I could still see Dally running next to me with a wild smile. Next to me, I heard a bullet hit a tree as we made it back to the forest line.

"Get in!" I heard Dally yell.

I felt like my feet were on fire and I couldn't run fast enough. When I made it back to Dally's car, I yanked open the door and jumped inside. Dally had gotten there a second before me and had already turned the ignition. The car roared to life and before I could close the door, Dally was accelerating forward. I reached out and shut the door just as I heard a loud crack come from behind me. I ducked out of instinct and felt Dally put the pedal to the metal. After we took a fast turn around a corner and I knew no more stray shots would be aimed at us, I whirled around to find a bullet hole in the back seat window right behind me and the surrounding glass shattered. I clenched my jaw and turned back to sit normally in my seat.

"You okay over there girly?" Dally yelled with a quick bark of laughter.

"Yea I'm fine. No bullet wounds I don't think." Dally sat forward in his seat, keeping a toothy smile. "Dal?"

Dally started laughing and hitting the steering wheel with excitement. "Man, did you see that?" He howled. "We beat him right outta there! Ol' man couldn't even catch two ratty kids! Ha!"

"Dallas, how much does it cost to replace a window?" I bit my lip and turned to him.

"What are you goin' on about?" He turned to me, still riding his adrenaline high.

Now it was my turn to laugh. I bent over in my seat, laughing until I was out of breath. I don't know if it was the built up adrenaline and the rush of actual danger coursing through my system, but I couldn't stop laughing for the whole world at that moment. As Dally watched me, he glanced at the back window and finally realized what I was talking about.

"Damn, that's gonna be a pain in the ass to fix!" At first, he seemed mad but then started laughing right on along with me.

Almost for no reason, we both laughed like fools for ten minutes straight as we drove down the country roads slowly winding back home.

After we eventually stopped laughing and could catch our breath and speak in cohesive sentences, I put my feet up on the dashboard and rolled down my window. The warm summer air felt cool as we rolled down the road and now smelled prominently of rain and I could tell it would rain in the next few hours. Although I had literally almost been killed, I felt a lot of peace driving down those dark roads that night.

As if he'd read my mind, Dally suddenly spoke. "I like driving with the windows down," he said under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. "Or driving in a convertible. Those are real tuff."

"Don't you worry, Winston, with that hole in the back window it'll be like you're driving with the windows down all the time!"

We both laughed and he playfully hit me on the shoulder with the back of his hand. We sat quietly for the next few minutes as I began to recognize the road we were on, and could tell it would lead us back to Two-Bit's.

As we pulled to the side of the road in front of Two-Bit's house, I yearned for my bed and the sleep it brought with it. "So..." Dally hummed. "How's that to make up for the night in the city."

I concealed a smile. "Yeah, almost getting us killed really helped me start trusting you again."

He chuckled and shifted in his seat. "Yea sorry 'bout that part."

"It was going so well before that part!" I joked.

We laughed and sat as he lit up a cigarette. His face glowed in the moonlight that shined through the windshield. I felt butterflies fill my stomach and watched as he blew smoke gently out of his lips. He was one of the toughest people I'd ever met. He was cool and collected (most of the time) and talked about everything like he was in a movie. He was the embodiment of a smooth talking greaser. Or at least that was what he wanted people to think.

"Thanks," I started, staring down at my intertwined fingers. "for helping me when I hurt my ankle. I don't know if I ever said thank you."

"Aye no problemo," he spoke after taking a long drag.

"You didn't have to help me. You left the gang and missed out on all y'all's kicks that night." He stayed quiet. "I mean it. Thanks, Dal'." I suddenly felt a rush of confidence and decided to put my hand on his arm. In that moment I silently hoped he'd once again turn and slowly lean in, leaving only inches between our faces just like he did that night on his couch. This time, I'd let him kiss me, though.

He looked down at my hand on his arm and sniffed. I could immediately tell that something changed. His face turned emotionless as it usually looked when he was trying to look tuff. As if he was talking to a stranger, his tone turned blunt and cold. "I got somewhere to be, doll. I better get going."

I was taken aback by his response and blinked hard. "Uhhhh yeah... I-I better get inside." I slowly took my hand back from his arm and clenched my fist. I hesitated, giving him a split second to change his mind. Nothing. I pressed my lips together and clicked my seatbelt undone. After opening his door and sliding out, I began walking back towards the house. I turned back. "Bye Dal'." I half smiled.

"Later."

He then pressed down on the gas and just as fast as he came, he was gone. I felt a sad ping in my chest, like someone had stuck a small thumbtack in my heart. I walked up to the front door and went quietly straight up to my room. I showered, trying to wash off the memories. He was so fickle, I was usually good at reading people, but Dallas was a closed book. Closed tight. He let out nothing without a calculation of how to balance it out with his tough-guy reputation.

I went to sleep confused that night. Even more confused than the night before. I guess we weren't fighting anymore, and technically I had forgiven him. I wanted him to be forgiven, but maybe Two-Bit was right. People don't change, and I was naive to think that I would be the one to change him. I felt deep down that I could fix him. But I was lying to myself. Dallas didn't want to be fixed. He let me know that when he drove off tonight. He had no interest in getting to know me. Which made me wonder more why he would take me out in the first place. Maybe he just needed someone to do stuff with, and didn't care who it was. I was just conveniently there. 

But then on the couch back at his house, I felt something real . He was a real live person with feelings and a past. I hadn't seen that part of him before that and I wondered if many people had. I blinked and a tear fell down the side of my face. But I wasn't sad. Just disappointed. I felt a strange urge to know everything about him. I had never felt like that with anyone, not even my old boyfriend that I had dated for a quarter of a year. But then I thought about the dark pit that formed in my lower stomach when Dally would talk to me like just another broad. I reassured myself that I didn't come to Tulsa to find a boyfriend, and I was perfectly content without one.

I tried to empty my head of thoughts of Dallas Winston as I drifted to sleep. It didn't work.