Summer Nights // Sodapop Curtis

Nine

Dally arrived ten minutes early to pick me up, which was a huge surprise. I looked at myself in the mirror once more. Amy had curled my hair for me, and despite my fears of her messing up, it actually looked really nice. When I got downstairs, Dally was standing in the doorway, talking to my parents. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a white button down shirt with a letterman jacket. His hair was styled perfectly, without any grease.

"Hey Callie," he smiled when he saw me.

"Your friend Joshua was just telling us about himself," Mom said.

"And what did he tell you?" I asked, and I could tell that this whole thing was making Dally uncomfortable.

"I told her about my football, my good grades, stuff like that," Dally said.

"I'm glad you two are going out, you seem like a nice boy.

"Well, Joshua, I think we better get going," I said.

"It was nice meeting you," Dally said to my parents as we walked down the driveway.

Once we got into Dally's car, he ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up. He threw the letterman jacket in the backseat, and he took off the button down shirt, revealing a white t-shirt that was underneath.

"Better?" Dally asked me.

"Better," I agreed. "Where did you get the letterman jacket?"

"Stole it. You don't look enough like a Greaser," Dally told me. "You can borrow this," he said, as he pulled a jean jacket out from the backseat.

"Thanks Dally," I smiled, putting the jacket on. It was a little too big on me, but it looked nice with my outfit.

"How's your cousin doing?" He asked.

"She's fine, she was back to complaining the second she woke up this morning," I laughed.

"I'm glad she's okay," Dally said.

"Wow, Dallas. Everyone always says that you're a badass, always in jail, being rude to girls, but I think that they're wrong," I said.

"I'm tough," he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Of course you are. I can tell that things have happened to you that no kid should go through, but you've still got the biggest heart."

"Whatever. Just don't tell any of the guys," Dally said, parking the car in front of the Dingo.

"What, tell the guys that you actually have a heart?" I laughed.

"Yes, now let's go inside," He said, getting out of the car.

We walked inside of the Dingo, which turned out to be a run down diner. It was full of Greasers, and it didn't look like the safest place in the world, but I was with Dally, I would be fine.

"I don't think Sodapop is here yet," I said, looking around for him.

"Let's just sit down, we're early anyways," Dally said, walking over to the nearest booth. I sat down, and Dally sat next to me. "How are we gonna do this, you wanna act all in love?"

"Look Dally, we both know that I like Soda and you like my cousin, but they can't know that. So just treat me how you would treat any other girl that you liked," I said.

"I don't think you want to be treated like that," Dally laughed.

"Just be nice, Dally. And don't make it obvious that we don't actually like each other."

Just then, Sodapop and Sandy walked in. Sandy wasn't dressed up like I was, she was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, but she still looked pretty. Sodapop looked handsome as ever, with a little bit of grease in his hair. He was wearing an opened button down t-shirt with jeans, and his eyes were sparkling. Dally waved at them and they walked over to the table to sit with us. Soda sat across from and and Sandy sat across from Dally.

"Hey guys," Sodapop smiled.

"Thanks for inviting us," I said politely.

"Yeah thanks man," Dally said, slinging his arm around my shoulder.

"Sandy and I were just talking about taking her to meet the rest of the gang after we eat, you guys wanna come?" Soda asked.

"Sounds good to me," I smiled.

We made small talk for a while, and when the waitress came to take our order, we all ordered the same thing, a cheeseburger with a soda on the side.

"You two look comfortable together," Sodapop pointed out, looking at Dally and I.

"What can I say, she's pretty hot," Dally grinned. I stepped on his foot from under the table. "I'm just kidding," he laughed nervously, "she's really...sweet."

"Thanks Dal," I laughed.

We ate our food in silence, it was an awkward dinner, but it was nice sitting across from Sodapop, and Dally wasn't half bad for a date.

"Should we head back to my place?" Sodapop asked once we were all finished eating.

"Sure," I responded.

"I don't think I can make it," Sandy said.

"Why? I thought you were my date for the whole night," Sodapop said, looking confused.

"Yes but I think my mom needs me at home tonight. I'm sorry Soda," Sandy said, wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

"We should go," Dally said, getting up from his seat. I followed him out the door and we waited for Sodapop outside. There were two police officers standing next to Dally's car, and I looked at him suspiciously.

"I guess we better get a ride from Soda," Dally shrugged. Sodapop came outside a few minutes later, Sandy was nowhere to be seen.

"You want a ride?" Soda asked us, and I nodded.

We all piled into the front seat of the truck, but there wasn't much room.

"Why don't you sit on my lap," Dally suggested with a grin. I moved over onto his lap, and he placed his hands on my knees. I thought that I liked Sodapop, but Dally was really good looking, and I had butterflies in my stomach as we sat together.

Sodapop turned on the radio as loud as it would go, and we all sang along at the top of our lungs. Dally held onto my hand, and I was starting to wonder if maybe I liked him instead of Soda, but then I looked over at Sodapop, and I knew I would always like him.

We got out of the car laughing, and I hadn't even looked around to see where we were. When I saw the house that we were in front of, I immediately felt sad. It was a small house, painted white, but it looked old and broken. It hurt to see that my family lived in a house ten times the size and without any broken windows.

"This is it, home," Sodapop said, walking through the front door.

When I stepped inside the house, holding Dally's hand, I saw a bunch of boys scattered around the house. It must be a dream.

A/N

Finally an update! This is probably one of my favorite chapters so far. Thank you guys for commenting and telling me to update, it encourages me to keep writing, so keep commenting! Thanks for reading!
xx
Maddie