king and queen

thirty-two

Alexa's POV

I finished off my performance and smiled and waved. I curtseyed and walked off stage. The remaining girls went out and we were all invited back on stage for one final bow.

People stood and clapped and my smile was wide.

I walked back off stage and headed back to the hotel to pack back up for Tulsa.

"Alexa!" Someone yelled.

I turned around. I recognized that thick New York accent anywhere. "Dallas? What are you doing here."

He awkwardly handed me flowers. "You looked amazing."

I laughed slightly. "Cute. How did you get tickets? Shows been sold out for weeks."

"I pulled some strings. Very expensive strings."

I laughed. "Well, thank you for coming. You didn't have to do this."

"Yes, I did. Alexa, I'm so sorry for what I said. I was so completely wrong about you. The guys are right. I'm stubborn. And angry. I was so mad at you and when you explain your side I felt terrible.  I would never say that about you now."

"Well, thanks Dal. Never judge a book by its cover. You never know what's inside."

"I know, I know. Can we be friends again...?"

I smiled. "Y'know, I think friends sounds like a great idea."

I could tell he was disappointed by 'just friends,' but it was good for us.

We spent the next couple days together in Texas as just friends before we went back to Oklahoma.

We got to Bucks at 7:00 am on Sunday morning.

We both took a nice nap and woke up around 11:00 ish.

I walked out of my room around four after getting ready and just chilling for a bit. He was already downstairs.

"Hey, Dal." I said.

"Hey. I'm heading over to Ponyboy's. You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll come with."

We walked over there and walked inside. "Hey, everyone." He said.

"Hi, guys." They all said awkwardly.

"Uhh... are you guys okay?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, we're okay." I said with a smile.

"Yall together?" Sodapop asked.

I sighed. "No. We're just friends for right now."

Dallas' POV

RIGHT NOW!

RIGHT. NOW.

THERE'S HOPE!

God, I hated "just friends."

Alexa's POV

We both sat down and watched TV. "We saw your dance, Alexa. Ya looked really good. Nice job." Steve said.

"Thanks. It was so cool. Everyone was so nice and it was a great experience!" I said with a laugh.

"Hey, can one of y'all take the trash out?" Darry asked.

"I got it." I said goin' to the kitchen.

"I'll come with!" Dallas continued.

"I mean Pony or Soda, but thanks guys." I grinned as Dallas shoved me aside to grab the trash bag.

We walked out back and he threw it in the bin and wheeled it to the drive way.

"So... we're just friends for right now?" He asked with a grin.

I laughed. "Who knows what'll happen?"

"Yes!" He said to himself. I laughed as we walked back to the yard. He bent down to pick up the football. "Catch!" He said.

I laughed as I went to catch it. I tripped over a stone in the yard and fell into the bushes. I didn't even catch the football. I groaned. "Yuck."

He was laughing in the yard to himself. His laugh was contagious, I will say. I wasn't hurt and I guess it would be funny. I playfully chucked the ball back and it hit him in the balls. It was my turn to laugh.

"This is not as funny." He groaned as he sat on the floor.

"Maybe just a little."

We both stood up and I dusted myself off. "Fine, if you're gonna throw a football, we can play football."

He came running at me. He picked me up by the waste and spun me around. I screamed while laughing as he threw me over his shoulder. "Dallas!" I yelled playfully.

Mark's POV

"Where's your friends house?" I asked.

"Right on the corner. Go ahead and park out front."

"And you're sure they'll know Alexa?"

"No, but it's a small town and it said on TV she was homecoming queen in both towns she's been at. They go to Will Rogers. I'm sure they'll recognize her. Maybe give some direction."

I parked and we walked up to the door and knocked. "Come in!" We heard.

Darrel's POV

The second Alexa and Dal walked outside I heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" I yelled.

The door hesitantly opened and I recognized her, but I wasn't sure from where. "Hi, everyone. It feels so weird walking in with a bunch of boys here." She laughed.

Oh! It's Margaret Walsh. She was my mom's friend from a while ago. "I don't know if y'all remember me." She said walking hesitantly up to me.

I shook her hand. "Yeah, hi Mrs. Walsh."

"Good to see ya, Darrel. Hi, Ponyboy. Hi, Sodapop." They both waved. "Is your mom home?"

I scratched my head, unsure how to tell her. They were real good friends for a while. "Uh... our parents actually passed a few months ago. About nine months."

She gasped. "Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry to hear that. You boys live here by yourselves?"

"Yeah, court granted us permission to stay together as long as we keep outta trouble. What makes you stop by?"

The man spoke up. "I'm Mark DeVos. I'm looking for-"

Johnny cut him off. "DeVos?"

"Yeah..." He uttered. Mr. DeVos looked back at me. I wonder if he has any relation to Alexa. When Margaret and Mark weren't looking Johnny gave me a look indicating not to tell him about Alexa.

"I-I'm gonna head out back." Johnny said.

Who was this and why was he keeping Alexa away?

Mark continued. "I'm looking for my daughter, Alexa? I saw on TV she was in Tulsa and my fiancé is from here. We figured it was best to start with you guys. She was homecoming queen at Will Rogers, right?" He asked looking back at Margaret. She nodded.

"Uh..." I stuttered.

Just then, the back door slammed open. We all faced that way and Dallas came running in with Alexa over his shoulders.

I had a bad feeling about this.