"so, shut your mouth and run me like a river."

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Dakota

I kept searching through snacks, none fitting my taste buds expectations. "Can I help you?" The familiar voice made me jump and I turned towards him, a glare on my face.

"No, I can find a snack myself." I snapped, turning the other way.

He sighed, and I could hear his footsteps getting closer. "Dakota, could you at least let me say something?"

I bit my lip to stop the sassy remark from flowing and clenched my jaw. "Sure. Tell me a good snack to buy first."

He chuckled and grabbed two bags of Oreo's, him throwing me one of them. I shrugged and went up to go pay for it. He shook his head. "On the house."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why the hell do you keep being nice to me? I liked you better when you were a menacing little bastard."

He started laughing and brought me to the back of the DX, making me sit down. "You know, my oldest brother is Darry."

My eyes went wide and I slowly nodded my head. "Okay, I still don't get why you're being nice to me all of a sudden."

He sighed. "Darry told me... about your brother. And then Bob. I'm sorry."

A huge lump formed in my throat and suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore.

I was pissed.

I clenched my jaw and laughed sarcastically. "Look, just because I've lost people doesn't mean you give me pity! This is why I never wanted to talk to you or get close to anyone ever again! Once they find this out, all they do is be nice to me and treat me differently! Just do me a favor, Sodapop, and next time, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong!"

I stood up, my fists curled into a ball and grabbed the Oreo's, throwing them on the floor. I chuckled and glanced at his shocked expression. "Sorry, I lost my appetite."

I stormed out of the DX, the huge lump still in the back of my throat. I hate him. I hate life. I hate everything!

I felt like crying again and I knew where I needed to go. It's been a year, and somehow, I think right now is the best time to go.

I walked until the familiar house came into view, flashbacks hitting me like knifes, each one stabbing me in the stomach. Three more steps. Gunshots.

Two more steps. Blood.

One more step. Lucas.

By the time I arrived on his front porch, I was hyperventilating and crying so much to where I couldn't breathe. His door immediately opened and he pulled me inside, a concerned and surprised look on his face.

"Dakota, what the hell happened? Calm down!"

He tossed me one of my old inhalers that he somehow kept and I took it, still shaken up. He put his hands on my shoulders and caressed my cheek. "Hey, Kota, you're alright. Want some tea?"

I nodded and he got up, going to fix tea. I buried my face in my hands, taking a deep breath. When he comes back, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do.

[Chad Michael Murray plays Andrew!]

He came back and handed me a cup full of hot, brewing tea. I threw a nod at him as a thanks and he nodded back, waiting patiently for me to start explaining why I'm here in the first place. I took a sip of the tea and then sat it down, my palms sweaty.

"Andrew," I breathed, "I can't get him out of my mind."

His facial expression dropped and he knew I wasn't talking about Bob, he knew I was talking about my brother. I don't know how I knew that he knew that, but that's how it's always been between us.

"I know." His voice was so quiet, you could barely hear it, even though the room was quieter than an old cabin out in the countryside. "I can't get him out of my head either."

I laughed softly. "Maybe he haunts us just because we won't come to peace with the fact that he's gone."

Andrew's frown soon turned into a small smile as a laugh escaped his pink lips. "Yeah, it sounds like something he'd do."

It was silent for a moment, but it wasn't an awkward kind of silence. Just the silence of two people who haven't seen each other in over a year because they both lost their best friend.

I was gazing at the floor, counting all of the tiles on it until I got interrupted. "What's the other reason you came here?"

His question caught me by surprise and I chuckled. "What do you mean?"

He gave me a grin and laughed. "Dakota, I may have not seen you in a year or so, but I still know you better than anyone in this town. I know there's another reason why you came here. Something is still bothering you."

I felt a hot tear run down the side of my face and ran into his arms, him engulfing me in a hug while running his hands through my hair. "No one's asked me that in a long time." I choked out the words like they were sandpaper scraping against my tongue.

I let go and took a deep breath. "Andrew, I'm not the same person you knew back then."

He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about, Kota? You still seem like the same ole girl I used to go jump in the lake with every day even though the weather would be terrible."

I started laughing at the memory and wiped my tears away. "No, you don't understand, Andy. You're the only Greaser I can even remotely stand. Hell, sometimes I can't even stand you!"

His face softened and he shook his head. "Dakota, not all of us are like that one bastard that shot Lucas! Why can't you understand that?"

I screamed in frustration. "I don't know, Andrew! I don't know!"

He frowned and pulled me into a hug, grabbing his coat. "What are you doing?" I questioned, still irritated.

He chuckled and pulled me towards the door. "I'm going to teach you how to like Greasers again. That's what I'm doing."

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aw, friendship goals or couple goals??? hmm.

what ship name for Andrew and Dakota?

#ANDROTA

or

#DANDREW