one of them

twenty-four

DJ's POV

"Where do you want me the start?"

"The beginning."

He groaned. "I ain't takin' advantage of you. You ever thought there was a reason I never invited you over? I waited for you to ask?"

"Just thought you weren't interested." I said plainly.

"Nope. Actually, I was quite interested. Still am."

"Then that makes no sense."

"I did that so you couldn't use it against me! So you couldn't say I was takin' advantage of you over your parents death. If anything, I was taking advantage of your brother's vulnerability. Darry would knock my head in if he found out. But he didn't have time to find out. Bigger things to worry about."

"Actually, speaking of that, Sodapop got on my ass during dinner that he doesn't like my distance since our parent's death. I think he was hinting that he wanted to tell me where I've been every weekend."

"And you're gonna tell them you were getting fucked by me?"

"Maybe not so blunt." I said with a giggle.

"I advise against it. But anyway, I care about you and the last thing I ever wanted to hear you say is that I don't. Because it was the opposite of my intentions."

"Interesting."

"I served you alcohol that first night, because I didn't think you'd do it. But you did. And when you asked for more, I'd like to bring up that I advised against it. I also thought that drinking would be a good way to get your mind off your parents. It's how I do things."

"And you think that's a good way to handle that?" I asked with a laugh.

"No. Not every time. Just sometimes."

"Alright."

"And if I didn't give it to ya every time after that, you could have easily gotten me in trouble for serving it to a minor in the first place. You might think I can get away with things, but you can, too."

"I wouldn't have done that."

"If you were angry enough, you would have."

"Beg to differ."

"Leading into my next point, I don't know if I'd use the words I "always get what I want," but I do agree with the fact I know how to get what I want. I can't talk my way out of anything, but I do know how to work around things."

"How is that any different?"

"When you say that I get what I want, it sounds like I can get in trouble and be fine. When, in reality, I avoid the consequences that I would receive if I went through said thing."

"How many times have you gotten arrested?"

"Please, that's nothing. The boys down there love me."

"So, you don't mind getting hauled in?"

"It's not my favorite past time, but it's not the worst."

"What's the worst?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I dunno. Go to school occasionally so they don't try and contact my ol' man."

"Oh. Gotcha."

"So why'd you tell me you weren't a virgin if you were."

I cringed at the words. "Thought it'd make you like me more. Be more willing to go through with it."

"You didn't even mention it until we had already done it. Quite a few times."

"I know, but I thought you were goin' easy on me."

"Ouch!" He said dramatically.

I laughed. "No! No, not like that. I didn't know what I was doing." I laughed through my words.

"Okay. You've officially bruised my ego." I laughed again. "I wouldn't have cared. I mean, I would have. But it was a bit too late. Couldn't just give that back."

I calmed down. "Yeah. I guess."

"And I cared about you before. That's why nothing changed. I've known you pretty much since I got here. And I feel like you have this assumption that I've been with every girl under the sun."

"Can I ask how many it has been?"

"Two." He said quickly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not including you. Sylvia and some girl in New York."

"Interesting."

"Wanna know what else is interesting?" He asked with a grin.

I couldn't help, but laugh. He had this stupid way with his words that made me smile. And I could tell he planned this out. "What?" I said playing into it.

"You thinking that I care about Johnny more than anyone."

"Am I wrong?"

"Not entirely, but you also missed a bit. Johnny and I became friends, because we grew up similar. It was something we could talk about. Something that made me feel like I wasn't alone in this world. Yeah, we're different. But the underlying similarities are uncanny."

"You sound like my english teacher."

"Ouch. Ego bruised again."

I laughed. "Sorry. I can just tell you planned this out."

"Had a couple hours to think about it."

"Yeah, I noticed." I said with a grin.

"So just because we're different, doesn't mean I don't care about you. Johnny and I are similar, but there are times where he can't handle the same situations I can. Thank God he didn't end up in the cooler. Would've fucked him over."

I frowned. "Yeah. It probably would. But he's in the clear now. Clean record."

"Yeah, things like that can change a person!"

"Let me guess, you wanna talk about how I thought I would change you?"

"Bingo. So, what part about me did you want to change exactly? Couldn't quite guess, so I'm wingin' this part."

I laughed. "Well, I thought I could get you to care about someone. Selfishly, me. Because I cared about you and I wanted more than just a hook up thing. But I realize now that you do care about me, but it's just not who you are and I know that." I said quickly.

"Interesting."

"How the tables have turned. Why is that interesting?"

"Because I had this judgement over you that you weren't interested so I never did anything. You seemed alright with the hookup thing. And Ponyboy confirmed it."

"Ponyboy? Whaddya mean?"

"When you and that Brian guy were talking in Windrixville, Ponyboy mentioned that somehow you were able to get along with everyone. But you never seemed to be into dating and all that."

"Really? Ponyboy said that?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. I mean, I never really got that close to anyone. If anything, you were the first to come to mind."

"Alright. So how about I take you out?"