Dream On Fire (Dallas Winston)

Chapter 10

That night was different, and my fears had multiplied. Anxiety had made itself at home in my mind, and it showed no signs of leaving until after the rumble, until I knew that everyone was safe.

I sat on the edge of the sofa, picking at the skin around my nails while staring at the clock. Every tick of the minute hand made it harder to breathe, and the more the boys talked about the rumble, the more my stomach twisted in knots.

The boys sat rowdily in the living room, excited about the impending fight. Darry had been distant with Soda and me, but when he saw how scared I was, he came over and sat next to me. "Don't you worry, Stella," he said, pulling me close to him.

But I couldn't shake my anxiety. "I don't see what the point is?" I spoke up, my voice trembling slightly.

All the boys looked at me, "They agreed to fight fair." It didn't matter though, I knew how unpredictable it was. Especially with Tim's gang, they didn't like to fight fair. As worried as I was for all the boys, I was also worried for Bob. Bob wasn't like the rest, he was different. He didn't like the labels any less than we did, he didn't look for trouble and tried to stay in the back round, but Randy had a way of pulling him along, no matter what soc did what, at the end of the day to the gang/ it's a soc, and there's no mercy for them. Bob had to take the heat even if he wasn't apart of it- it didn't matter that as soon as Randy hit me, Bob was on top of Randy throwing punches, it didn't matter that he turned on his own just to defend me- if it did, Dally wouldn't have attacked him as soon as Sodapop pulled him away. No matter what he did, he was a no good soc, and no matter what we did, we were the undesirables. It didn't matter who won, respect wouldn't have been given, nothing was going to change. If the greasers won, the socs would be plotting the next rumble, thinking of ways to guarantee their victory. If the Socs won, it wasn't going to be a fair fight anymore. Violence only begets violence.

I figured Darry would've known that more than anyone, he was the oldest and most mature, it baffled me how he was so for the fighting.

"I'm comin and watching." I crossed my arms. Darry shook his head, "Stella.."

I pleaded, I didn't have to speak for him to realize how much I didn't want to sit at home anxiously waiting. Darry nodded and stood up, "fair fight." Darry reminded them. Though Ponyboy wasn't fighting, he came along too. I needed him there with me. When we all left the house, the boys cheered in the streets. They did cartwheels, flips off of neighbors cars and fences. It must've been a boy thing, I wasn't sure how one could be excited to get beat.

Dal trailed back with Pony and I. "We'll all be fine." His voice gave me reassurance, and just a little bit of weight was taken off my shoulders.

"I know." I whispered.

"Promise me though doll...no matter how bad things get... you won't come runnin to help."

I nodded. "I promise."

Their cheers echoed through the streets and only got louder the closer we got to the park. Dally blew me a kiss before running up the hill with the rest of the gang. Pony and I sat on a bench, close enough to watch but far enough to not get pulled in.

The tension in the air was palpable as they faced off. Darry, standing at the very front, beside him stood soda Dally and Tim, and the rest of the boys and Greasers stood behind them. Across from Darry, Paul Holden loomed tall, challenging him to a fight. My heart clenched as I remembered the memories of Darry and Paul playing football together, the memories of them helping each other up after tackles. They had been like brothers once, but now there was nothing left of that friendship. Instead, their eyes were filled with pure hatred as they stared each other down.