Thursday
( time jump ,, 1 day till Halloween )

You know that feeling when you're completely bored out of your mind? When you kind of just lounge around in a pair of sweatpants all day, hoping and praying that something exciting will happen soon or else you might actually die of boredom? The problem could easily be solved though if you just got up and went out, but to actually think of something to do wastes too much valuable energy.

Well, that's where I'm at right now.

I spent the whole day in my room at Buck's reading magazines that I've already read before. I would've hung out with the gang, but Pony, Johnny, Two-Bit, Steve, Sandy, and Evie were at school, while Sodapop and Darry were working. Buck took a trip down to some company store to restock and order more liquor, and as for Dallas, well, I didn't actually know where he was. He'd left the bar in the afternoon and had been out ever since.

I lifted my arm in front of my face to peer at the nonexistent watch on my wrist, groaning in annoyance at how slow time seemed to be moving. It's currently Thursday night around 9pm and I've been hanging upside down off the side of my bed for a good 15 minutes now, which probably isn't healthy, but then again, is anything? My long hair cascaded onto the wooden floor, along with my arms that draped down by my sides. My body was growing numb to the large amount of time I spent not moving. I could feel a headache begin to brew within my mind as blood rushed to my head.

Knock. Knock.

My eyes snapped to my bedroom door as I wondered who was outside. "Who is it?" I asked loudly.

"Dally."

A smile graced my lips as I pushed myself off my bed and stood up. My vision blurred for a second as I blindly made my way towards the door, swinging it open to reveal Dallas carrying two plastic bags. "What're you doing here?" I asked as I shifted my weight onto my right leg, leaning against the doorframe coolly.

Dallas shrugged as he replied, "Just thought you could use some company."

I raised my eyebrows suspiciously at him. "Alright," I said with a nod. "Where were you? You've been gone all day."

"Yeah, I know," Dallas said. "Just been out, driving around."

"Without me?" I exclaimed dramatically. "I've been bored all day! You realized I could've died, right?"

Dallas laughed and sent me a small smile. "Well, I'm here now, doll."

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

Dallas passed me one of the plastic bags as he said, "Nothin' legal."

I chuckled as I took the bag out of his hand, opening it slightly to reveal a full cartoon of eggs. My eyes wondered back to his, and a mischievous smirk formed on my face. "I like how you think, Winston."

Dallas sent me a smooth wink. "Good," he said. "Because it's mischief night and we're going to get into some trouble, Westbrook,"

"That right!" I realized. I can't believe I almost forgot my favorite night of the year. I spun on my heal and left Dally at the door as I moved around my room, grabbing my sneakers, jacket, and backpack. "Alright, lets get out of here," I said, meeting him back at the door.

»»——⍟——««

Dallas parked his car on the side of a road in some random neighborhood on the south side of town, which meant that this was soc territory, and also the worst place to get caught in. If we were discreet about this, we were for sure going to jail, or worse, get jumped by a bunch of douchebags in letterman jackets and khakis.

After getting out of Dally's Chevy, we began walking down the middle of the dark street. I glanced at each house on my left and right, each of them were a pretty decent size with perfectly painted walls and window shutters. All of the houses had neatly cut lawns and side gardens too. It was a relatively nice neighborhood, but I preferred living in small apartments with the city life roaring just outside my door.

"Alright," I grinned and clapped my hands together. "Which one of these houses is getting egged tonight?"

"Ladies choice," Dallas offered.

I smiled and nodded, my eyes moved away from his and scanned the houses around us. "That one," I stated as I pointed to a tall, white house on the corner. Dallas followed where my finger was pointing and nodded. Then, we began walking off toward the house I had picked out. It was actually a very simple, but pretty, house. The sidings were painted flawless shade of pure white with matching white shudders next to each window. There was a small brick chimney on top of the black, shingled roof, where grey smoke swirled out into the night sky. I wondered if there was someone awake inside the house right now. If there was, their peaceful night is about to be ruined.

"You ready?" Dallas asked. He held the egg carton in his left hand and an egg in his right.

I gave him an curt nod and smirked as I replied, "Oh, hell yeah."

Dallas dropped the egg into my hand, and then I throw it as hard as I could at the house before us. The white shell slammed against a window on the second floor, splattering yellow and clear yoke everywhere on the glass.

I slowly turned my head to Dallas and then we immediately burst into laughter.

"Nice throw," Dally complimented humorously.

"I know right!" I exclaimed.

Our laughter never died down as we each threw eggs out of our own cartons at the house. The shells exploded open at every impact, and created a messy piece of 'art' on the white panels and windows. I took my last egg and aimed for the front door, hitting it perfectly. I watched as Dallas threw his last egg too, which hit a window on the first floor of the house.

My eyes closed as I shook my head, still laughing and pointing at the mess of a house. "Oh, my god! They're gonna-"

"Shh!"

All of a sudden, Dally grabbed my hand and pulled me behind the blue mustang that was parked in front of the house we just trashed. "Get down," he whisper-shouted as he yanked my arm down. I quickly dropped next to him and hid behind the car.

"Why are we hiding behind a car?" I asked, not bothering to whisper.

"Would you be quiet?" Dallas spoke in a hushed tone.

I rolled my eyes and slowly stood up to peak over the mustang to see what was happening, when I noticed that the lights in the house were on now, and the front door was swung open. Dallas moved to my side and watched in amusement as a girl retreated from her house.

"Hello?" The redhead called out. "Who's there?" She sounded angry and nervous at the same time.

I stifled a laugh as I sat back down behind the car. "You've got to be kidding me," I huffed. Dally sat down again and leaned against the side of the mustang. I glanced over to him and asked, "Did you know this was Cherry Valance's neighborhood?"

"No," Dallas chuckled. "How the hell would I have known that, huh?"

"I don't know!" I exclaimed quietly.

"I can hear you guys talking!" Cherry shouted. Dallas and I shared a look, but continued talking, ignoring her comment.

"Did you know this was her house?" Dallas asked.

"Seriously?" I said, giving him an unamused look. "You know I'm not even from here, so how would I have known this is her house!"

Dallas shrugged absently. "You seemed pretty set on trashing this specific house."

"Woah, don't take it there, Winston. This was your idea, not mine," I stated.

"You're the one who went along with it," Dallas added.

"Yeah, but you're the one who knocked on my door in the first place," I huffed, growing annoyed with him.

"Well, you didn't have to answer the door," he remarked.

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest defensively. "Are you seriously turning this on me right now?"

"No," Dallas sighed. I guess I'll take that as an apology.

"If you don't show yourselves I'm going to call the police!" Cherry threatened. Panic started to set in my mind. I couldn't get caught and go to jail. My record is definitely out there, and I could get into some serious trouble.

Dallas must've noticed my frantic state, so he tried to comfort me. "Look, the worst that can happen is that she calls the fuzz and we spend the night in the cooler. No big deal."

"No big deal?" I repeated.

"Yeah, 'no big deal'," Dally said again.

I sighed angrily and ran my hands through my hair. "Dal, in case you haven't figured it out by now, I can't go to jail."

"Why? You scared or something?" He asked, chuckling slightly.

I shook my head and shot daggers at him with my eyes. "No, idiot, if I go to jail I'll get caught."

"Yeah, Diana, we both will," Dallas said in an obvious tone.

I groaned irritatedly. "No, you don't get it," I snapped.

"Then help me get it!" Dally fired back.

"Getting busted for trashing some soc girl's house is the least of my worries," I explained carefully, trying not to give away anything.

Dallas huffed. "Wait, is this about what you did in New York?" He asked. I didn't answer, only nodding my head, yes.

"Fine!" Cherry shouted. "You're leaving me no choice!"

"Cherry, who the hell are you talking to?" Bob Sheldon asked. My eyes went wide and I slowly turned around to look at the blue mustang Dally and I were hiding behind.

"Damn it!" I whispered. I turned to Dallas and pointed to the car. "This is Bob Sheldon's mustang."

"So?" Dally asked uncaringly.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I could tell that this was only the beginning of a very long night. "So, if he catches us, we're going to get jumped by his asshole friends."

"We can take 'em," Dallas said with a smirk.

"I don't know," I admitted. As much as I wanted to believe that, there was no way we were going to win a fight against five or six other guys, especially if it's just the two of us.

"Fine, what do you want to do then?" Dallas asked.

"Well," I thought aloud. "We could just.. run."

"Run?" Dallas repeated. I shrugged and nodded. "No way in hell I'm running."

"Why? Do you have asthma or somethin'?" I joked. Dally shot me a look and shoved my shoulder lightly. "Kidding, kidding," I laughed.

"I've never run from a fight," Dallas said.

"Well, technically, this isn't a fight yet," I reasoned. "Think of it more as an escape, rather than running away."

"Of course, you're fine with it," Dallas said, rolling his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean," I defended.

"New York," Dallas said.

"Oh, yeah," I hummed in response. "That was different though."

"Not really."

"Yes really."

"No."

"Yes."

"Okay, stop," Dallas snapped. I put my hands up in surrender, and sent him a small smile, which he returned.

"Alright, listen up, dickheads!" Bob raged. I almost forgot about him and Cherry for a minute. "Whoever the fuck did this has five seconds to show themselves!"

I gave Dallas a knowing look and he sighed, but nodded back in response.

"Five!"

Bob started his countdown.

"Four!"

I grabbed Dallas' hand and sent him a smug smirk. I lived for these kinds of adrenaline rushes.

"Three!"

He shook his head and chuckled. I couldn't help the blush that rose to my face after he smiled back.

"Two!"

Dally and I both nodded curtly.

"One!"

We shot up to our feet and dashed down the dark and empty street, running in the middle of the road and not bothering to stop or turn back as Bob continued to rage.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Bob bellowed. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him run to the road, but Dally and I were too far for him to catch up to. "OH, YOU'RE SO FUCKING DEAD! WE'RE GONNA FIND YOU!" 

With Bob Sheldon's threats echoing down the street, Dally and I continued to run as far away as possible. Our shoes stomped on the cement road, and our breaths were uneven because of our laughter. We were definitely going to get caught later, and I'm sure Bob is already calling up his buddies, but in that moment neither of us cared.