"I DON'T THINK I can walk," I mutter to Beatrice as I grip her closet door. My eyes were on the black heels Beatrice let me borrow. I wore a wine-red dress that had a plaid skirt and black heels.
"Back straight, chin up, and shoulders back." She instructs. I sighed and lost my hold on the door to stand the way she told me to, I definitely had more balance standing like this. "Now one foot in front of the other."
"I feel stupid," I grumble.
"Ah, ah. No negativity." Beatrice scolds. I huff and start walking in the heels. Beatrice smiles, clapping. "I feel like a proud mother." She sighs happily, putting her hand over her chest.
I shoulder bump her with a smile "You still have to help me get downstairs." I remind her.
"On it." She replies, standing beside me. I throw my arm around her shoulders and we slowly walk to her bedroom door.
"These heels are starting to make my feet ache," I tell her with a groan.
"You'll get used to that," Beatrice tells me as we walk down her stairs. I huff but stay silent as we make our way outside. I release Beatrice and start walking myself, heading towards the passenger seat of her car.
We get in her cherry red Corvette and she starts it. I knew Steve would love to get his hands on this car, he loved cars more than he loved our gang.
The drive to the movie was short and when we got there Cherry and Marcia had already found seats.
"Hey, girls." Beatrice grins, announcing our presence. The two turn to look at us, smiles gracing their faces.
"Hi. You must be Angela." Cherry Valance speaks up as Beatrice and I sit. I give her a nod and a small smile.
"Couldn't even tell you were from the East Side of town," Marcia adds. I'm sure it was meant as a compliment, but that's not what it sounded like.
Cherry must've noticed because she spoke up. "She just means you look really pretty- not that growing up on the East Side is bad." She quickly rushes out to defend her friend.
"Yeah, I know," I reply with a tight smile. An awkward silence fills the area. We turned our attention to the movie which I realized really wasn't that interesting, but it was better than nothing.
The silence was broken by someone sitting behind us. I couldn't see them so I really didn't care. That was until one of them started to talk. I would recognize that voice from anywhere.
I flick my eyes to the side and see that my suspicions are correct. Dallas Winston sat behind me and to make matters worse my brother and Johnny sat beside him.
Dally spoke subtle dirty things and Johnny must've been uncomfortable because soon he got up and left to get a coke. Dally continued his taunting words as my brother had his eyes anywhere but Bea, Cherry, Marcia, and I. I doubted they even knew it was me since I didn't really look like myself. My usual straight hair was curled and styled, my old, overly used clothes were replaced with an expensive dress, and my plain face was plastered with expensive makeup.
I was able to ignore most of Dally's words until I felt a light tug on my hair. Before I could speak Dally's hot mouth was beside my ear. My breath caught in my throat, not from fear but a feeling that made me clench my legs together and shift in my seat. "Is this your real hair?" He whispers softly.
His low tone made goosebumps pepper my skin despite it being a warm night. "I just wanted to know if this is the same hair that's on your..." He points down at the space between my legs before quickly pointing at my face "These eyebrows." He finishes his sentence.
My face burned with embarrassment, then I remembered that he didn't know it was me. I use my elbow to shove him back and he falls back in his chair with a chuckle "Fuck off." I grumble. I noticed Johnny had come back.
"Feisty ones are always the best ones in bed." Dally hums to Ponyboy and Johnny. I could tell that he meant for me to hear it. I ignore him.
Once realized I wasn't paying attention, he kicked his feet up on the back of my chair. I let out a slow controlled breath and continued to ignore him. Beatrice was getting more annoyed by the second.
"Could you please take your feet off her chair and stop bothering us?" She hisses to Dally, turning to look at him.
Dally smiled "Who's gonna make me?" He challenges, that stupid obnoxious grin still on his face.
"I'll call the cops." Cherry threatens as she turns around, and joins the conversation.
I almost laughed but held it back, she didn't know of Dally's record. Dally found her threat amusing, he let out a throaty laugh. His expression turns into a taunting pout "Oh, my, my, you've got me scared to death. You ought to see my record sometime, Red." A sly grin plasters his face "Guess what I've been in for?" He tells her as if it were a game.
I was done, my night had been ruined by none other than Dallas Winston. I abruptly stood, wobbling slightly in my heels. "Where are you-" I cut Beatrice off.
"Have a nice night girls, I'm going home," I tell Cherry, Marcia, and Beatrice.
"Aw, gone already Doll?" Dally pouts, his face looking quite punchable right now.
I decided to reveal my identity for the fun of it. I turn to look at Dally, Ponyboy, and Johnny a fake smile plastered on my face "Yep gone already, Dallas. I'll see you all at home."
Ponyboy and Johnny's eyes widen in shock as Dallas chews the inside of his cheek before a flirty smile takes over his face. "You want me to walk you home, Darlin'? I could give you the time of your life, you know."
"I'd rather look into a loaded gun and pull the trigger than sleep with you!" I seethe before storming away, a lot slower than I usually would but the heels made it difficult to walk away angrily, especially in the grass.
I had taken my shoes off within 10 minutes of walking to Beatrice's house. I catch a ride to her house from a Soc since I look like one. Once I get to her house, I sneak in, and change back into my regular clothes. I lay her dress that she let me borrow neatly on her bed. I then leave and walk myself home.
The porch light is on when I get home. My feet ache from walking so much and I stumble up the porch steps to the front door. "Pony with you?" Darry asks the second I open the door. Sodapop is passed out on the couch.
"No, he's at the movies with Johnny and Dallas." Even saying his name made me annoyed.
"It's midnight the movie ended hours ago." He retorts, my eyes snap up to the clock and my blood runs cold. It was 12:32, the movie ended at 10.
"Wh- Are you sure he didn't come home?" I question. My aching feet suddenly didn't bother me anymore. I rush to Ponyboy and Sodapop's room and flick the lights on. I rip the covers off the bed expecting to find my baby brother, only to be met with cold sheets.
I gulp and rush out of the room, I move past Darry and reach for the door "Woah, woah where the hell do you think you're going?" He asks as his rough hand grips my wrist.
"Checking ditches. He could've gotten jumped. He and Johnny were sitting by Soc girls, they might've had boyfriends." I rush out.
I open the door barely an inch before Darry slams it in my face. I turn to look at him "Let me go, Darrel." I demand.
"I'm not letting my kid sister go look for our idiot kid brother in the middle of the night." He responds.
"He's not an idiot." I hiss back, ripping my wrist out of his strong grip.
"You take one step out that door and I'll tie you to that chair." Darry threatened, pointing at me and then the armchair that sat beside the couch. I knew he wasn't bluffing, Darry was a lot of things and a bluffer wasn't one of them.
"So you expect me to just sit around while our baby brother could be bleeding out in a ditch?" I retort.
Darry's jaw tenses "Don't say that." He snaps at me.
"Dad would've looked for him." The sentence left my mouth before I could even process it. I clammed my mouth shut and I saw grief flash in Darry's eyes before it was replaced with anger.
"Go to your room." He says, deathly calm.
"Darry I didn't-"
"Go!" He barks. His loud voice causes me to wince and Sodapop jumps awake with a cut-off snore.
"Wh-whats goin' on, Pony home yet?" He hums as he rubs his eyes.
"No." Darry and I both snap at the same time, glaring at each other.
"Geez, sorry for asking." Sodapop mumbles, laying back down.
"I ain't trying to be dad, Angela. I didn't ask to be responsible for you, Soda, and Pony." He tells me.
"That's not an excuse." I hiss back before shoulder-bumping him and plopping on the couch beside Sodapop. "If he's not home by dawn I'm calling the police," I say.
I didn't usually turn to authorities, but for my little brother, I would make the whole damn police force search for him.
What felt like days, which was really only a few hours later, Ponyboy came into the house around 2 in the morning. Darry stood up from the armchair he was sitting in. He slammed the newspaper he was reading down on the coffee table.
This wasn't gonna be good.