「it ended at sonic」 | d.w. + c.v.

Chapter Three.

"I'LL BE BACK, Bruno!" She called out, slipping a bag over her shoulder before shutting the door. Bruno was her elder brother; she never talked about him. Hell, Bob hadn't even known she had any siblings. She didn't like to talk about family much, Bruno especially. He used to be in the army, and golly he'd sure had a lot of problems when he came back home. He'd snap on just about anyone. He was like Dallas in a way, though a Soc and a damaged one at that. Cherry loved him to death, but at the same time she wanted to keep him a secret from those she hung out with. They just wouldn't understand him. He wasn't some guy who needed medication to be sane, he just... the military had done a lot to him. Being all over the place, barely ever coming home. They wouldn't hear from him for months. There was even one time they'd gone a year without even so much as a letter from him, they all thought he was dead for a while, and it left her mother heartbroken. She stayed in her room and did nothing but stare at the wall. She'd go days without eating or sleeping until someone finally brought her some food. Her parents started fighting when Bruno got back; they used to be in love, getting butterflies each time they saw one another. Now, they couldn't stand each other's presence. If her mother was home, her father would quickly ditch. Regardless of how much they hated one another, they couldn't bare to let the town know of their divorce. They nearly made Cherry swear not to tell anyone, but that didn't stop the fighting. Like she'd once told Ponyboy; things are rough all over. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she made her way toward the other side of town, straight down to the DX where Soda worked. "Sodapop!" Her voice rang out, her palm moving to shield her eyes from the harsh sunlight. His head whipped around at his name, his signature pretty boy smile falling along his features. His eyebrows furrowed in surprise and confusion.

"Do you know where Ponyboy is? Or even Dallas?"

"I reckon they're at the house--" He gestured to the right. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen her. "Two blocks down, third house on the left." He paused. "They in trouble or somethin'?" The redhead laughed softly, throwing her head back a moment. It figures he'd ask that.

"No, I just thought I'd talk to them." She shuffled her feet, looking down a moment before meeting his lively brown gaze with a smile. She noticed slight recognition flash in his eyes.

"Hey, aren't you that Valance girl?" She was slightly surprised to know he knew her name, but, it probably just came up in a conversation.

"Yeah, Cherry Valance. Um," she gestured to where he had pointed the house to be at, "I'm just gonna go see how they're doin'." She turned hastily, wanting to get there as fast as she could. Sodapop watched her walk out of sight before quickly making his way inside.

"I'll be back in a bit!" He called, swirling on his heel before taking the shortcut to the house. "What'd ya' do to get the attention of Cherry Valance?" It was the first thing he said when he'd ran inside, causing Pony and the rest of the gang to turn and face him.

"She was with that girl Marcia wasn't she?" Two-Bit questioned, his interest was obviously plagued. Those two had gotten along well; so much, in fact, that they had been the only ones able to properly understand the conversation they'd been having. Ponyboy simply nodded his head in a yes motion, while Dally turned to face him. He was chewing on a strawberry doughnut, mouth full, though nonetheless he decided to speak.

"Why?"

"'Cause she's-" Soda was cut off by the sound of a knock at the door. He motioned for Two-Bit and Steve to follow him into another room, Pony and Dally the only ones left to answer the door. Darry was at work, no doubt. The youngest of the group made his way to the door, opening it with ease. He came face-to-face with Cherry, and even though Soda had tried to tell them beforehand, he was still surprised. Socs hardly ever came around, especially not in their neighborhood. Dally was still in the kitchen, scarfing down that damn doughnut, when Pony decided to let her in. She smiled nervously as she followed him inside.

"Hey, Ponyboy. I'm sorry for the intrusion and all-"

"No, it's fine, it's a nice surprise. What're you doin' here anyway?" Pony asked. Cherry was about to answer him when Dally spoke, coming out of the kitchen with crumbs all over his face and shirt.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Ponyboy shot him a look, though Dally ignored it as he walked closer to the two, still standing by the door.

"Actually, I kind of wanted to talk to you for a moment." She folded her arms across her chest and looked to the ground, her feet suddenly strikingly interesting as she chewed her lower lip. Dally cocked a brow, a bit intrigued as he brushed the crumbs of strawberry doughnut away. She gestured towards the door slightly, and he could tell she was trying to hide her embarrassment. He was cautious for a moment, but, nevertheless, followed her.

"Listen, I'm awful sorry about how I acted that night at the movie." She said as they got outside, hands fidgeting at her sides.

"Don't worry about it, I'm over it." He rolled his eyes, about to go back inside when she stopped him.

"Really. I mean it, thank you. I don't know what would've happened if you two hadn't stepped in. I... probably have the worst taste in guys and I'm sorry for how I reacted. " Again, she shuffled her feet before looking into his blazing icy blue eyes. He looked away after a moment.

"Is that all?" He asked, a little harsher than he meant to sound. It looked like he was giving her the cold shoulder. Slowly, she nodded, before following him inside to talk to Ponyboy. He plopped himself down on the couch while she went ahead and said a quick goodbye to Pony.

"Anyway, I better head back home, it was nice seeing you both again." That was probably a nice way of saying she didn't really care for seeing Dally. She gave Ponyboy a hug before setting out. But, of course Ponyboy just had to come up with what had to be the dumbest idea of the millennium. When she got to the road, Pony called out to her.

"Hey, um... We could give you a ride, if you want." Immediately, Dally shot him a look, the only car available at the moment was his, and Pony didn't have a license. He sure as hell wasn't letting anyone use his car unless he was with them. Nonetheless, Pony ignored the daggers being shot at him through a burning gaze. Cherry glanced around, she'd made it there on foot and she could get out of there on foot.

"Oh, no, that's fine. I can make it there on my own. Besides, I'm meeting Marcia at the store to pick up groceries." She was nearly headed on her way, but Pony was nothin' if he wasn't damned stubborn.

"It's a long walk to the store, and I bet those groceries will be heavy." This time, she turned to him, a small smile playing on her lips. Dally's head fell back in a groan of protest.

"You're not gonna give this up, are you?" Cherry asked, shielding her eyes from the sun for what must've been the millionth time that morning. Pony smiled back at her.

"Nope." He looked proud, but Dally just achingly got up and trudged towards the door. The smile visibly vanished from Cherry's face.

"Wait- No, no, no. I am not going to let him drive me somewhere. I don't trust him at all, least of all his driving." She nearly yelled, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg.

"Come on, Dally's not that bad."

"If his driving is anything like his dirty talk, then he's not driving me anywhere!" However, despite her protests and Dally's reluctance to drive them, ten minutes later they were on their way. Cherry sat in the backseat, figuring it probably wasn't the greatest idea to sit beside Dally. She was sure to buckle up, and as soon as they began driving she was glad she did. Her assumptions were correct; Dallas Winston was a horrible driver.