This Might Hurt A Little-A Dallas Winston Fanfiction

What Lies Beneath

School was and always has been a drag for me. Especially math. My teacher that year, Mrs. Thompson had a monotone voice that only ever slightly changed when she talked about functions and other things I didn't bother to learn. I spent most of the class looking out the window and wondering what everyone else was up to.

I wondered about Two-Bit who I knew was somewhere in the school, probably mouthing off to the teachers who wished he would stop showing up to class. And then Steve, who was doing the exact same thing. I didn't have a clue where anyone else was. I guessed Ponyboy and Johnny were still at the church, probably going crazy but, I had no way to know for sure. 

It was dead silent in class, seeing that the walls are soundproof, but everyone heard the shouting that slipped in through the crack in the door. 

"What the hell?" The boy in front of me with blonde hair asked his friends.

Mrs. Thompson sighed from the front of the class and walked past me to the thick wooden door, pushing it open. She peered out and looked both way. As soon as there was another shout I recognized the voice and so did everyone else.

"Looks like jailbird's back at school." Jackson hissed to his friends.

"Not for long." The boy with the blonde hair laughed.

I swore under my breath and ran past Mrs.Thompson who thankfully, wasn't that quick on her feet.

Dallas, Two-Bit, and Steve went sprinting past me,  literally blowing wind through my hair. I didn't hesitate to run after them.

"What the hell?" I shouted, barely dodging a student teacher who picked the wrong time to walk out into the hallway.

"Fight." Dallas huffed, shoving open the school doors.

The fuzz in Tulsa were willing to take down any of the greasers for fighting. Especially Dallas, who had a file so long you could turn it into a novel. I could already here the sirens in the distance. Normally, the cops don't show up for a fight so, I knew it was something bad. 

"Get in my car." I shouted at the boys who were a couple feet ahead of me.

They rounded the corner and waited anxiously for me to unlock the doors and as soon as I did they all piled in. I didn't wait for them to tell me where to go. I pulled out of the parking lot with my tires squealing.

"Go to Marks." Dallas barked from the passenger side, resting his head against the window.

The ride was short, Mark only lived a few blocks away but, I hardly ever saw him at school. We weren't being tailed by cops and if anything, they would have gone to Buck's since that was his main place to crash.  That, or Tim Shepards, but you don't just waltz into Tim's house. 

When we pulled up into Marks driveway I knew the house was empty. Two-Bit whipped out a key from his jean pocket, "Swiped it from the little guy last week. Thought it might come in handy."

He jiggled it in the door and sure enough, it unlocked.

"Mark know you have that?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"Sure." He said but, I didn't believe him for a second.

You'd have to be crazy to believe a word Two-Bit Matthews says.

Just as I thought, the house was empty. There were pictures of Bryon and a few of Mark spread throughout the house. It was weird knowing Bryon and Mark weren't related but they still lived together. I always figured Mark to be like Dallas and just going where he pleases but, moms don't hang up pictures of kids that crash at their houses every once in a while. Mark had a family and was loved.

"So why are you running?" I sat down on a worn arm chair.

"Dally pulled a blade on Randy." Steve glares at Dallas who stays silent.

"Out of anyone you could have done that to, why him?" I groaned.

Randy was one of the most well known kids in Tulsa and Bob's right hand man. He wasn't a bad kid, just like Bob wasn't a bad kid. He was just caught up in everything.

"I knew that little creep had somethin' to do with Johnny and Ponyboy. Figured I would set him straight."

"Good plan."  I muttered, sometimes Dallas just can't control himself.

He doesn't get that the soc's have their reasons and so do greasers. Or if he does, he doesn't care. I'll figure it out one of these days.

"Look, if you wanted to stay outta' trouble you shouldn't have helped us." Steve said to me, flicking the ashes of his cigarette in my direction.

"And then you all three of you would have been arrested." I snapped back.

I hate Steve, sometimes, I really do.

"Then shut your trap and stop complainin'." He gave me a fake smile, the kind that makes you uneasy just to look at.

"Lay off her." Dallas growled, making Two-Bit widen his eyes so far I thought they were going to fall out of his head.

"Since when do you care?" Steve asked with a tone of disbelief.

Dallas didn't defend people. Nobody defended him so, he did the same for everybody else. But, he had defended me that afternoon. It didn't matter to me that he'd only done it to Steve over a stupid argument or that he gave me a smile afterwards. The only thing that mattered to me was that Dallas had done it.

"I didn't say that I cared. I'm just sayin', lay off her."

Steve rolled his eyes and turned around, muttering something foul.

"Well, this is a change." Two-Bit laughed, and didn't get a respond from any of us. It wasn't worth it.

Dallas sat in the arm chair, tapping his feet nervously, and squeezing his knuckles, cracking them over and over again. He looked 20 years older. He didn't look 17 anymore, he looked aged, like the weight of the world was crushing down on him. He used to be able to walk down the street without a care in the world, not even bothering to consider what could have happened to him. Because he was Dallas Winston, and he could handle it. Nobody else had realized it but me. If they would have, they would have mentioned it or maybe even helped him. But, the only one who noticed was me. So, it was true, Dallas was changing. I just didn't know if it was for the best.