Darlene and Mary had each ordered a milkshake and fries, talking about eachothers interests and hobbies. Darlene felt that talking to Mary was like a breath of fresh air. Though the way she was so calm, the way she sat up straight, the way she covered her mouth when she chewed made Darlene feel a bit self-conscious, as she was a bit loud, slouching, and absolutely inhaling those poor fries.
"Okay, so I have an idea." Mary said, grabbing Darling's hand once again. She nodded and smiled in response.
"We could go back to my house and have a sleepover. We can watch TV, paint our nails, all kinds of fun stuff."
On the outside, Darling just nodded and said "yes", but on the inside she was squealing happily.
"Yes, that sounds awsome. I'll have to check in with my brother first. I can call him right now, one minute."
She got up from the booth and practically pranced to the phone. She'd never had a sleepover, which she thought was a bit embarrassing considering most girls her age had already been to multiple. But finally, she had been invited. After checking in with Darry, she went back to the booth. He had told her to be careful and not do anything he wouldn't do and blah blah blah. She'd blocked out most of it.
"Alright, sleepover is on." Darling announced to her new friend.
---
Mary had luckily driven to the Dingo and was able to drive them back to her house, not having to worry about being out alone at sundown. When they pulled into the neighborhood, Darlene was overwhelmed with white picket fences and brightly painted two and three-story houses. They pulled into the driveway at a large yellow and white house with a perfect, large front lawn. Darlene knew not to comment on how much bigger the house was compared to her own.
"Beautiful place." She said simply.
"Thank you. It's all thanks to my dad whose a huge perfectionist. He's always on top of the lawn being taken care of."
The two girls climbed out of the car and walked up to the front door. As they stepped inside, Darlene instantly found herself staring at the nice furniture a almost perfectly clean house. (She did think the furniture was a bit tacky, though she would never say that out loud.)
"Hey, mom, I'm home! I brought my friend!" Mary called. Right then, a lovely, kind-looking woman in a ruffled apron walked out of a large kitchen. The woman smiled at Darlene, holding out her hand for her to shake. She accepted and took her hand.
"You must be Darlene. I'm Mary's mother, but you can just call me Diane. It's so nice to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you, too, Diane. I'm glad Mary's having me over." Diane let go of Darlene's hand, that warm smile never leaving her face.
"Me too. Well, I'll let you girls hang out. If you need something, let me know." The two girls nodded.
"Thank you, Diane." The Curtis girl gave a gracious smile and followed Mary up the stairs.
---
"Okay, here you go!" Mary handed Darlene a mirror. Her hair was now braided beautifully and decorated with an itchy purple ribbon. She wouldn't take it out though because Mary had spent a good 15 minutes perfecting it after also filing and painting the greasers nails.
"I love it, thank you." Darlene said, admiring her unusually neat hair.
"No probleme. You're hair is lovely to work with." She continued running her fingers over the perfect braids. It was now completely dark outside, and thunder rumbled as rain began to fall. Mary abruptly stood up and opened her wardrobe.
"Do you care if the clothes you're wearing get dirty?" The Soc asked.
"Uhm, no....why?" Mary shut the wardrobe.
"Good. We're going outside."
Darlene looked at Mary, a bit hesitant. "Won't we get cold? It's dark out, what if we get hurt or there's people creeping around, or-" Mary held a finger up to Darlene's lips.
"Girl, I promise you it's safe. Trust me. It's fun."
Darlene thought about it for a few seconds. This wasn't something Darry would ever let her do. At least not with another man around. But tonight she wanted to live.
"I trust you." She said. Mary took her and and they ran downstairs and straight out the front door. It was real downpour. The cool rain was a bit shocking at first but it didn't take long before theu were used to it. They ran around, down the street, through the grass. The smell of rain and warm streetlights seemed beautiful in the moment. The girls probably woke all the neighbors with all the laughing and loud conversation.
Once the rain stopped they continued walking down the street. They were soaked but neither of them seemed to be in a rush to get changed. Lord knows how long they were walking for. Maybe an hour or two. From where they were at they could see the park. The streetlights that seemed beautiful before now seemed eerie. Darlene looked across the park. Her hands began to sweat and her heart rate quickened.
"Hey...Mary. We should head back in the direction of your house...the park can be sketchy at night."
Mary, too, was staring into the darkness of the park.
"Yeah you're right. Bad vibes." She said. They linked arms and turned around, laughing out of nervousness.
"Ew, hated that eerie feeling." Mary chuckled.
"I know right." But Darlene wasn't scared. Not with her best friend.
---
🥀🥀🥀
"I woke the same as any other day
Except a voice was in my head
It said, 'Seize the day, pull the trigger
Drop the blade and watch the rolling heads'"
YOU ARE READING
Darling
FanficThis is the re-written version!!! Darling (Darlene) Curtis struggles with herself and others, and even though she is close with her friends and family, she doesn't think anyone else would understand the strange activity in her mind. What she didn't...
