East West Sunset - A Darry Curtis Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Six

The sun had long set by the time we arrived at the Shepard's bar. It was an inconspicuous storefront with a small yet bright neon sign that read, "Tim and Curly's." The boys practically trampled on top of each other as they piled out of the car, rough housing and talking amongst themselves. Darry led the way inside.

As the door of the bar opened to admit us, I was greeted with a miasma of thick cigarette smoke. It was hazy inside, and there was little light except for the slightly red-tinted lamp that hung over the bar area. A pool table dominated the middle of the room, surrounded by some booths and tables. A few gambling machines blinked animatedly in the corner, next to a couple different jukeboxes. It was packed in there; a couple of men in fatigues were slow drinking on barstools, and some truckers were playing pool. A bunch of greasers and their girls were dancing by the jukeboxes, one of which was softly playing "My Girl" by the Temptations. A few girls were there alone, without dates, and Two-Bit and Soda immediately made their way over to them. I saw them smile and flutter their eyelashes at Soda and couldn't help rolling my eyes. I still felt oddly protective of him, though I wouldn't say I had a crush on him or anything.

"Call the next game, would ya, Pony?" Darry said with a nod at the pool table, where the truckers had almost finished their game. "I'm going to grab a drink."

"Hey, Diana, come on," Steve said, grabbing my hand and pulled me towards the group of greasers, obviously wanting to get me away from Darry. I didn't miss the look that passed between them. It made me kind of anxious; I didn't want to be the cause of infighting within the gang. But Darry just ignored the challenge and headed over to the bar.

I followed Steve to the corner where Two-Bit and Soda were talking to the greaser girls. Bryon wandered after us sullenly. 

"Hey, Steve, Diana," Two-Bit said. The girls were too busy flirting with Soda to notice us new arrivals, but a few of the boys nodded at me. The music on the jukebox changed to an edgier Jefferson Airplane song. I silently entreated Darry to come over and whisk me away. Don't misunderstand me; I liked Steve, but I just didn't like him. I was a terrible person.

I had a pretty okay time waiting for Darry to come over. I struck up a conversation with a really nice girl named Annaliese, who, as I soon discovered, actually went to Central Tulsa High School. She told me that she had tagged along with her older sister Susy and her boyfriend, and that she was just as out of place as I was. I noticed that she was looking at Soda with some interest, but everytime he looked over at her she would dive into the conversation with me even more determinedly. It was slightly funny but I also felt bad for her. I decided to play wingwoman and talk to Soda later about the situation.

"So have you been in Tulsa long?" Annaliese asked me conversationally.

"No, not long. Just a few weeks," I said. "I'm living with the Curtises."

"Oh." Her eyes widened and she glanced at Soda, her cheeks reddening. "I didn't know- are you guys-" she said in obvious embarrassment and regret.

"Oh, no, we're not- I'm not going with- it's just a living arrangement," I explained awkwardly.

"Oh! Well, that's good then," she said, her blush deepening.

I gave her a knowing smile. "Soda's really something," I noted innocently.

"Oh, be quiet," she giggled.

Before long, Darry wandered over with a tall glass full of some sort of amber alcohol. He leaned against the table of one of the booths and took a long drink. He greeted the other greasers and entered their flow of conversation effortlessly. Annaliese was still talking to me, but my attention was slightly diverted. I continued to respond and engage with her, but I found my eyes drifting over to Darry a slightly alarming amount.