| 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 | 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 | 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 15 - Alcoholic Rivalry

I had a shit ton of work to do this week so I haven't been able to publish as regularly as I wanted. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Darry opened the door, a polite and slightly excited smile adorning his face. Quickly, he shifted to the side as to let the four of us slide past him.

The room was the same, small and filled with the gang of boys. Some sprawled out across the floor, others sat in the dining room as they played cards. I smiled at the sight, the familiar smell of tobacco, "Old Dutch" beer, and the unexplainable odor in the house added to the excitement.

Everyone smiled as we all stood inside, Darry quietly closing the door behind us before slipping past us to sit in his rocking chair. He quickly lifted the newspaper from the armrest and took a delighted sigh as he began skimming through the pages. "Hey y/n." Soda greeted me as he walked from the dining room, a grin spread wide across his face. I quickly and instinctively returned the gesture, then spoke, "Hey Soda." He smiled as he draped an arm over my shoulders, my smile only widening.

"Hey guys." Two-Bit then came to our front from the kitchen, two beer bottles dangling from each of his hands. I was slightly prepared to catch the bottles, for they hung so loosely, almost as if they held on for dear life. "Anyone want a drink?" He held out the bottles, both Ponyboy and Johnny quickly denying the offer before walking a small distance to sit on the couch. Soda also denied the offer and wandered to the dining room, pulling out the wooden chair across from Steve and promptly sitting down.

"I'll have one." I grabbed one from his hand, quickly flicking off the bottle cap and taking a swig. "Alright y/n!" He yelled proudly, making a large smile apparent on my face. "Me too." Dallas spoke with a smirk as he took another from Two-Bits hand. "Have fun with that." Two-Bit smiled and winked jokingly as he walked away to sit on the ground in front of the television, "Mickey Mouse" playing loudly on the screen.

Quickly, I easily took another swig of the beer as I sauntered over to the dining room, quickly setting down my drink and looking to Steve and Soda. "What are you guys playing?" I stood curiously, my hands spread over the table. "We were playing poker but we were just about to start a new game." Soda spoke as he shuffled the playing cards in his hands with skill.

"What game?" I questioned, intent to join them both. "Uhh..." Steve looked aimlessly around the room, his eyes quickly landing upon my beer bottle. "How about we bet on who can drink the most?" He suggested with a devilish grin. "I'm in." I smirked. I looked to Soda who smiled wildly, excited by the idea. I stood still and waited for one of them to take on the challenge, but before anyone said anything they looked over my shoulder with curiosity, causing me to also look back.

There stood Dallas, high and mighty, I could tell he had the intent to compete against me. I rolled my eyes as I turned around. "You're on Lee." He smirked. I merely sighed before reluctantly giving a response, "Fine, just don't get all mopey after you lose." I pushed past him, confidently strutting over to a wooden chair and pulling it out with ease before sitting down.

Dallas still stood with a smirk and all of us patiently awaiting his response. "You gonna sit down, huh, Winston?" I challenged him. "If you want to lose Lee." He sighed with pride as he pulled out the chair adjacent to him, sitting down quickly. "I'll go get more beer." Soda sat up from the chair before quickly running to the kitchen. "Ready to lose?" I taunted. "Don't get cocky." He crossed his arms over the table with pride. "You're one to talk." I spoke boastfully.

He only jeered and rolled his eyes before Soda soon came back to the room, a number of beer bottles hanging from each of his clenched fists. He set them down with caution in front of both of us before returning to his spot at the table. "Alright, I'm gonna bet on Dally." Steve dug in his pocket, soon finding a couple bucks which he set on the table top. "I'll bet on y/n." Soda did the same, setting down a few crumpled dollars. He quickly straightened them up as best as he could before looking to us with anticipation.

"Ready? Set? Go!" Steve and Soda yelled in unison, both me and Dallas quickly reaching for our bottles. I hurried to flick off the bottle cap before gripping the bottle and tipping it high into my mouth. I closed my eyes tightly as the beer flowed down my throat, a tingling and burning sensation occurring as it poured down like a waterfall.

I chugged and almost choked as I made it through the first bottle, relieved that I was able to. I started on the next bottle while I watched as Dallas finished off his first, smiling a bit at the sight before chugging down the next bottle. Bottle after bottle I became more drowsy, groggy, and tipsy. My vision began to blur after the fifth or sixth bottle and my eyelids became heavy, but I persevered.

Soon enough, the whole gang, excluding Darry, gathered around the table, cheering both of us on. Ponyboy and Johnny joined Steve as they cheered on Dally and threw a couple of dollars in the pool. Joining Soda on my side was only Two-Bit, and he also threw in a couple bucks.

I was eager to beat Dallas in that moment, to boast and brag, and of course provide Soda and Two-Bit with the money. Though I was quite confident in the beginning, as we grew closer and closer to the end I started to doubt myself. I knew of Dallas's tolerance to alcohol, he practically drank it his whole life, and this had provided him with an advantage. I had a high tolerance for alcohol, but not like he had.

~

"Whatcha drinking Dallas?" I peered over his shoulder, curious to see what he and my brother had been drinking. Two glass bottles stained brown stood upon the wood surface, glistening in the light. "Nothin y/n." Judd spoke. I merely stuck my tongue out at him mockingly, causing laughter to slip out of Dallas's mouth. "Fold." He announced as he handed his playing cards to Judd. Judd smiled with pride as he took the cards along with a pile of money in the middle of the table.

"What are you playing then?" I questioned. "Poker." Dallas looked to me with a smile. "Can I play?" I persisted. Judd only rolled his eyes before speaking, "No. Leave us alone, will ya." He shuffled the cards in his hand. I crossed my arms and scrunched my brows, expressing my growing anger. "Maybe some other time kid." Dallas ruffled my hair, causing me to smile and blush before dashing down the hall and to my room.