Tuff Chaser (The Outsiders FF)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight
Tammy's POV

I watched as the train slowly came to a halt. Dally was grasping my hand tightly. He spun me around to face him. "Now, remember what you promised me?"
I nodded.
"Good girl." He pulled my face to his and filled my mouth with his sweetness for a few glorious moments. "I love you. Take care."
I forced a weak smile. "Will do. Thank you."
He squeezed my hand for a few seconds before I pulled it away, letting my fingers linger on his palm.
"Bye."
"See you soon," he called back as I stepped off the platform into the carriage. I found a seat and gazed out the window at him, my heart breaking at the thought of not seeing him for a week. The train started moving forward, and we moved further away from him until he had disappeared out of my line of vision.

I stepped onto the platform at the Dallas station and took in my surroundings. It was late afternoon and there was a moderate number of people milling around. I wheeled my suitcase outside and waved down a taxi, which drove over to me and halted and the driver got out. He was a cleanly shaven man who passed off as no older than thirty, with a huge smile an warm eyes.
"Hi!" he greeted me with gusto.
"Hey."
"Let me take that," he said, dragging my suitcase away an lifting it into the boot.
"Thanks," I said, and showed him the street my grandma lived on.

"So, what brings you to Texas?" he asked once we were both in the car.
"My grandmother's ill."
"I'm awfully sorry to hear that. And none of your family came with you?"
I shook my head. He turned into a narrow street and stopped the car outside a neatly trimmed lawn, hopping out and fetching my suitcase. I thanked him, paid the taxi fare then went to knock on the front door.

It opened and my grandmother poked her head around the corner, coughing. She still looked short with wisps of light gray hair and crows' feet spreading out from under her eyes. A massive smile lit up her face as she pulled me in.
"Tammy! Long time no see!" She exclaimed before collapsing into a coughing fit again.
I frowned. "Are you okay?"
"I have the most horrible throat and a headache, and my nose is running too. Being sick is horrid and I don't want to give it to you. The doctor said I should drink plenty and rest."
I patted her on the back. "Absolutely. Now why don't you take a seat, and I'll prepare dinner."

It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal. My grandmother and I talked like old friends. We'd been close ever since I was a kid and she was one of my best friends. After dinner, she sat in her armchair and I settled myself on the sofa.
"You know, I've been so miserable since George died."
I nodded vaguely. "Ouch."
"I feel as if he's still here with me. I mean, I can feel his presence. Do you ever have that feeling when you feel a lot better all because of one person? And they're the only one who can make you feel that way?"
I almost jumped out of my skin. She could describe my emotions perfectly. A smirk creeped onto her pale face. "I know that look, Tammy."

I blushed and pursed my lips, twiddling my thumbs and purposely avoiding her gaze. I could still feel Dally's kiss on my lips and it was ridiculous; perhaps this was what happened when you kissed someone too much.
My grandma chuckled. "Aw, little Tammy and a boy?"
I furrowed my brow and looked her straight in the eye. "See, grandma; this is the problem. He likes me, and I like him. I like him a lot."
She looked confused. "So he likes you and you like him. What's the problem?"
"Well, uh, he kinda tells me that he loves me, all the time."
"That's nice. And you don't believe him?"
I shook my head vigorously. "I mean yes, I believe him more than anything. He treats me like a princess and he's always so goddamn sweet and thinking about me before himself. He's the most amazing boy I've ever met."
My grandmother was beaming by now. "I don't see anything wrong."
I laughed nervously. "The thing is, we're way too different. We're from different social classes and were brought up differently. He's had a...rough past. Nobody thinks we should be together."
"Who cares what other people think?"
"The thing is, I never thought we should be together either. That's why, when I first entered this relationship, I promised myself not to get too attached to him. I convinced myself that we were too different for each other and he would go back to his promiscuous ways sooner or later. And he was making it incredibly hard to keep this promise."
"Now you have no idea how you actually feel because the line between what you want and what you are is so blurred. You are much too scared to admit it to yourself, but you love him too; and the reason why you're scared is because it goes against everything you promised yourself."
I opened my mouth to speak, but I was completely frozen. A shiver ran down my spine as I took in what she had said, and shockingly realized it was true. I loved him and there was nothing I could do about it. I recoiled in my seat and tried to keep my fear, shock, ecstasy and anxiety from running wild.
Completely calm, my grandmother continued, "You mentioned him being promiscuous, and I'm guessing he's probably heavy on all the physical parts. How long have you been going for?"
"Six months." I was unsurpassed to find that my voice was raw and hoarse.
She cracked a smile. "I'd say you're safe."
I buried my head in my hands. "I'm afraid. What if he does go back? I don't think I could survive if that happened," I said truthfully.
"In my opinion, I think the only thing he needs to keep him at your side forever is reassurance. Make sure he knows you love him as much as he loves you, and everything will be alright."
Everything will be alright. I repeated the words to myself while lying in bed that night. Now that I really considered it, I probably could class whatever I was feeling for him as love. From what my friends had told me, it took an average of a month and a half for a couple to realize they love each other and be able to admit it. Ours had been three times that much, but I bet the couples my friends raved about weren't made up of a goody-two-shoes and a juvenile delinquent.  He was capable of triggering emotions inside me that i never even knew existed; and I could feel everything from the deep, painful lows to the exhilarating, beautiful highs. As soon as I went back, I would tell him just that; and he would never leave me, just as my grandmother said. Everything will be alright, the words were caught on pleasant replay inside my head. I found myself smiling and falling asleep with a perfect image of a perfect somebody in my mind.

Dallas's POV

I woke up several mornings later and decided I wasn't going to be pathetic, depressed or whiny. No, I had a lot to do this week. The pay from Jeremy was steady and I had a fair amount saved up as long as I wasn't tempted to spend it. I would head over to the garage shortly.
The springs creaked as I rolled myself out of the bed and stood up straight, reaching into the chest of drawers for a T-shirt when my gaze fell on the photograph sitting on top. A cloudless blue sky hung over the grassy field. She was laughing at the camera, the picture of carefree. In her shining dark hair was a bright yellow flower that I had inserted. I picked up the photo frame gingerly and pressed my lips against the cold glass, my heart throbbing. No, I'd make it through this week. She'd be back soon enough.

"Haven't seen much of your girlfriend lately," Jeremy remarked while we were both sipping orange juice after a day's work.
I leaned back against the workbench. "She's in Texas visiting her grandmother."
His eyebrows shot up. "I'm from Texas too."
I rolled my eyes. "And I could goddamn tell."
"Look, son, I have important things to get done over there as well; so the garage will be closed until next Wednesday. We'll resume then, all right?"
"Fine," I said.
I unlatched the gate and walked onto the familiar porch of the Curtis house. Soda was still in his DX shirt and Darry was nowhere in sight. It was a Friday  night and I wanted to go action hunting.
"Hey, Ponyboy," I greeted the kid, who I still wanted to beat the shit out of.
"Hey Dally, where's Tammy?"
I scoffed. Of course he would ask about her.
"She's in Texas with her sick grandmaw," I replied briskly.
He didn't say anything, just like I knew he wouldn't. God, it was scary sometimes just how much I knew this kid.
"I'm thinking about going over to the Nightly Double. You wanna come?" Today was a Friday and I knew Darry wouldn't mind.
"Sure," he answered. "We can pick up Johnny on the way. Soda, you wanna come?"
"To what? A movie? No thanks. Boring."
I glanced sideways at Pony and he shrugged. "Let's go then."
"Darry, Dal and I are going to the movies!" he called.
From somewhere deeper in the house, I heard a muffled "Sure, just be back by twelve".
I fingered my necklace as I waited for Pony to finish tying his shoelaces. He stood up and we headed toward Johnny's. Just as we neared, he came bursting through the door onto the street. I ran to his side. "Johnny!"
He huffed. "My old man just started yellin' at me."
This was nothing new. And yelling wasn't even the worst of what Johnny usually got. His parents were honestly the worst people on earth and I was sure they were going to rot in hell. There wasn't much we could do about it though.
I felt around in my pockets; my fingers enclosed on a largely untouched box. I pulled it out and lit a cigarette for Johnny; and upon seeing Pony, handed him one too.
After he'd calmed down, I said, "Johnny, we're going over to the Nightly Double."
He nodded, then his eyes grinned. "Gonna get another Coke in your face?"
Pony laughed and I felt slightly irritated. "You two ain't gonna ever let me live that down, are ya?"
"Nope."
I shook my head. "Thought so."

We crossed behind Spencer's Special again and saw the same junior high kids that were there last time, only this time they bolted as soon as they saw us. I chuckled openly and remembered how I'd threatened to kill them. I wouldn't kill a child, really. They were just fun to taunt.
"Glory, your kids'll be scared to death of you when you have them!" Johnny remarked.
"That's why he ain't ever gonna have kids," added Pony.
Johnny shrugged. "I wouldn't be so sure about it. I think Tammy likes kids, and she always gets her way with him."
At the mention of her name, my heart started thumping in my chest. Pony looked at me. "Are you and Tammy getting married?"
"Maybe," I said. "Not now, we're seventeen."
"The average age is twenty."
Hmmm, smart guy. "Yeah, I'd say we can wait that long."
I was looking at the ground when a foot blocked my next step. My gaze shifted upwards and there was Two-Bit. "What were y'all chattering on about? Sounded pretty intense to me."
"Just Dally's marriage plans," Johnny answered brightly.
Two-Bit laughed. "What you do is get her pregnant first, then she can't say no!"
"Shut up, Two-Bit. That's stupid," I told him.
"Whatever. Where you guys headed anyway?"
"Movies."
"Ah, to get rejected by girls again?"
Seriously! That was all anyone could think of?
I glared at him.
"That was pretty funny, man. You fell off your chair and got your face wet!"
"I remember," I said through clenched teeth. "How do you know? You weren't even there yet when that happened."
He cocked an eyebrow. "Everybody knows, Dal."
I grimaced and ignored him. We reached the side of the drive-in and slid under the fence, after I silently debated whether to go in the legal way. Screw it, I thought, and led the others to the front. Fortunately for me (but mostly Two-Bit) there were three little broads in front of us. I leaned forward and took a closer look. Two blondes and one African-American. Definitely not greasy girls, but not Socs.
"Hey ladies," I grinned wolfishly at them.
All three turned their heads to stare at me. One of the blondes spoke up. "Hi. I'm Jennifer."
I smiled politely. "Hi Jennifer. I'm Dallas."
This time, the dark-skinned one talked. "I know. You're Tammy Hicks' boyfriend, right?"
I grinned at her. "Sure am. You know her?"
"She goes to our school," the other blonde who hadn't spoken cut in. "This is Caroline and I'm Wendy."
"What's up, Dal?" Two-Bit asked, poking his head through. "Why, I never saw such fine young women as you lot before! What are y'all doing talking to an old geezer like Dallas?"
I slapped him on the back. "I ain't no old geezer."
The girls were giggling annoyingly by now and I decided it was time for Two-Bit to work his charm.
He was happily taking all three of them at once and I leaned back and tried to watch the movie; and failed. I stood up. "See you later, I'm bored," I told Pony and Johnny who waved goodbye before turning back to the film.

I decided to go over to the bar that Buck was a regular at. I knew he would be there, probably playing pool or something. As soon as I walked through the door, I spotted him across the room with a girl draped on his arm and a glass in the other and talking to some other people. I crossed over to him and saw that it was just some bored college student with excessively shiny attire that was hanging onto him.
He saw me and yawned lazily. "Hey Dally."
"Hi."
"I'm having a party at my place on Monday. Six-thirty, see you there?"
"Sure," I agreed, since there really was nothing to do.
I walked to order a drink and noticed Sylvia standing at the bench.
"Well," she sneered, "how's the little girlfriend?"
"Just fine," I snapped back. "I heard you tried to beat her up."
"You can't get anywhere with that bitch," she muttered.
I chuckled humorlessly. "Just don't mess with her and you'll be fine. And if you or Angie ever touch her again, you are dead meat."
She shrugged, downing the remainder of her drink and asking for another. "Where is she, anyway? I thought you two was attached at the hip."
"She's in Texas."
Sylvia raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead she asked, "Are you going to Buck's party next week?"
"Yeah, why?"
She slid off her stool. "See you there then," she said as she glanced at me one last time before sashaying away.
I stared after her and half-thanked whoever was out there that had stopped her insane flirting with me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alright, so Taylor Swift was absolutely MINDBLOWING. I love her to pieces and almost got to meet her (quite a sad story but I DID manage to get gifts to her).