Porcelain

Chapter 31

"This is your last chance, Dal. You coming along? It's not like you've got anything better to do."

"No it ain't, you ain't gone yet."

"Yeah, but I'm about to load the car. When I'm gone you can't go anywhere unless you walk or take a horse or something."

"Aw, fuck it. It can't hurt."

"Horrible decision, start getting your shit together."

_____
"I know the speed limits are dumb but that doesn't mean you have to be, at this rate we're gonna be dead before we make it out of this godforsaken town," Estelle grumbled.

"And why is that a bad thing? We both want to be dead."

"Yeah, well, there's no way either of us are getting into heaven, and there's a couple people I ain't ready to see quite yet."

"Then get ready," Dally said.

"I'll puke on you, I'm gettin' car sick."

"Do it, I fucking dare you."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"No."

"Good answer. But seriously. Take the turns easier or I will. And if I don't, Ollie certainly will."

"Oh, damn that dog."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Dally. It's up to you."

That set the tone for most of their drive.

_____
"Right, so I said I'd drive the rest of the way," Estelle said after they'd switched drivers, "but I currently look like a girl in boy's clothes, and I have to go back to looking like a girly boy. So can you drive?"

Dally rolled his eyes. "So long as it gets youe dog to stop wiping its fucking mouth on my jacket."

"Thank you Dally."

_____
By the time they pulled back into Tulsa, two tuff boys sat in the car, along with a puppy. Estelle thought he was some kind of German Shepard mix.

"Wow, guess I'm officially Babydoll again," she mused.

"No one gives a shit, be whoever you want to be," Dally replied.

"Yeah, well, I don't feel like being Estelle, I don't fancy gettin' jumped."

"I'm here, I wouldn't let you get jumped."

"Well I don't think the Socs give a damn if they've got your permission to jump me or not."

Dally scowled. "You know how to fight, anyways, you can fend for yourself."

She frowned. "Well fuck you too."

He smirked. "You already did that."

Estelle punched him solidly in the chest.

_____
"Right, so I guess we're going to the Curtis house, I can't think of much else to go. Besides maybe the DX, I guess we could stop by and act like normal customers? Or like we never left, that would be funny."

"That's dumb."

"And also funny."

"No it's not, it's just stupid."

"No one in the gang has a particularly complex sense of humor, it would be funny seeing their reactions to us being back in town. Especially if we act normal."

"Why would us acting normal be funny?"

She looked at him strangely. "Because we just aren't. It ain't what people like us do. I killed people, you planned for people to kill you. It would be so, so abnormal that it would be funny."

"I guess you're right. Fine," Dally said making a sharp turn.

_____
Babydoll walked into the DX, head down. Sodapop was lounging at the register. He had looked up when Babydoll walked in, but was paying no mind to the Greaser boy.

He grabbed a few items he wanted, and contemplated paying. He knew Dally was only a few minutes behind him and there was no way he would pay, so he grabbed a dollar from his denim jacket and threw them down with the snacks and bottle of coke.

"Here's your change," Sodapop said, handing him a few coins. He had a smile on his face, but it was one he would give any customer, not one that showed he recognized Babydoll.

He tipped his head at Sodapop, before grabbing his things and sauntering out of the gas station. Dallas was standing outside, smoking a cigarette.

"Well?" He asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing. He didn't notice."

Dally jerked his head in the direction of the building. "I'm going in real quick, I need a couple things. You go on to the Curtis house, I think Steve's onto us."

Babydoll cracked a grin, before looking a bit puzzled. "I wonder why Soda ain't working the pumps, and Steve fixing cars. And don't Steve have school?"

"Hell if I know, I ain't been in a decade."

"Go on in, Soda's staring."

_____
He walked over to the Curtis house after grabbing Oliver from the car, marveling at how Tulsa hadn't changed. That was to be expected, but with with how fast his life was changing it was strange to see some things never have to change.

Even though it was the middle of the day, the Curtis' door was still unlocked, so he walked right in. No one was home, but it was good to see Tulsa finding its way back to whatever normal could be there.

He put Ollie into the yard with a bowl of water, and poured himself a glass of chocolate milk and grabbed a slice of the chocolate cake he knew would be on the counter.

He carefully sat on the couch, taking his time. A few minutes later, he heard the squeal of tires in the driveway as Dally pulled in, and a few seconds after that the slam of the door.

He promptly sat down and helped himself to Babydoll's snack, which earned him a slap.

Babydoll sighed and handed him the cake and chocolate milk and opened a bag of chips and a bottle of coke.

"And since I'm not a horrible person I payed for my shit."

"Yeah, yeah, not a horrible person like me, huh? Remind me, why did we leave in the first place?"

Babydoll smirked. "Cause I'm madly in love with you and couldn't let you go."

"Wrong answer," Dally grumbled, flustered.

His smirk only grew. "Oh, I don't think do. I think you're just denying the truth."

"Nope, you're just delusional."

"Yeah," he said, "that's the truth. Sure. That's why I'm your girl. That's why, just the other night, you were screaming my name louder than I was yours. That's why-"

"Shut up, I get it, you love me."

"I do," Estelle said, placing a peck on his cheek. "I do. I'm glad you know that."

"Don't do that, not when you're Babydoll," he replied, wrinkling his face, while Babydoll laughed.