I saw Grady walk inside, with a green feather stuck in his hair. He probably snuck outside to check on Verdi while the greasers were in an uproar about the whole age thing. "The gnomes are taking some time off, so I need some help." he said.

"How many people? And with whom?" I asked. If my suspicions were right, it would be Verdi, but I wanted to be sure.

"Two strong people should be good. Verdi's off her food." Grady said. She always is making an uproar, one way or another.

"Darry, and Dallas. You should go help Grady." I said. They were the strongest, and I wanted to see if anything could crack through Dallas' tough shell, and shock him.

"And if I don't wanna?" Dallas drawled.

"You can have extra mallowmelt." Edaline said, smiling. She looks like a quiet beauty, but she's cunning. She knows how to make people do what she wants, without using any abilities. Well, she might conjure a plate of mallowmelt, but she doesn't 'force' them into it.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Dallas shouted. He looked ready to face death in order to get mallowmelt. Grady led them outside.

ROAR! Verdi was trying to avoid a bunch of large stalks that Flori was trying to shove in her mouth. Flori was Calla's niece. It was bittersweet every time I saw her.

I saw the shock on both Dallas' and Darry's faces.

"Flori! I can take it!" Grady shouted.

She slid down the rope as Grady clambered onto Verdi.

"What do you want us to do?" Darry shouted.

"If I get Verdi down, can you stuff those stalks Flori has into her mouth?" Grady asked.

"Sure!" Darry shouted.

Flori, ran up to Darry and Dallas, her arms full of the long stalks.

Grady managed to get Verdi to lower her head, giving Dallas the perfect opportunity to shove the stalks into her mouth.

RO- She munched on the stalks, and tried to grab Darry's right out of his hands.

"Whoa, easy there, Verdi." Grady said, climbing off of her.

"What is she?" Dallas asked.

"A T-Rex." I said. "You're good at wrangling animals."

"I was in a bunch of rodeos." Dallas said, "I figured, if it works on horses, it'll work on other creatures."

"But the T-Rex is extinct." Darry said. I didn't think Dallas would've caught that.

"No, it would knock the Timeline to Extinction out of whack. Every creature is here for a reason." I said, "I don't see the point of mosquitoes, though."

"Same." Dallas muttered.

"You're the one who always gets bitten." Darry said.

"Yeah." Dallas glowered. "So, where's the mallowmelt?"

"Right here!" Edaline shouted, holding a steaming hot plate of the dessert.

"Yes!" Dallas hissed, grabbing the whole plate. He started wolfing it down, not stopping to breathe.

"What about me?" Darry asked.

"Get your own." Dallas growled, "Get the hell away from mine."

"That was for both of you." Edaline said tentatively.

"No way. I ain't gonna give up my mallowmelt. Especially not for a killjoy like you." Dallas glared at Darry.

"But-"

"No. Nope. No way in hell!" Dallas' glare intensified, if that was even possible.

"Dal," Linh said, "You have to share sometimes, even if you don't want to."

"What if you want to share?" Tam asked.

"When we shared a room, because our parents were furious with us for going around telling us we were twins?" Linh asked.

"Yep. Then." Tam confirmed.

"Wow. Your parents gave you a lot of hell." Dallas said dryly, "Just like most of ours."

"Yeah. You could say that." Keefe said, "At least your mom isn't the leader of a rebellion."

"That's rough." Dallas said, "But I bet your parents didn't beat you. Not like Johnny's."

"They weren't physical, but they were emotionally abusive." Keefe said sadly.

"Hey. There are plenty of parent figures in our lives. They might not be biological, but since when does blood determine your family?" I said, "You choose."

"Not your blood." Keefe said.

"Exactly." Tess said.

"Our parents," Pony said.

"They were parents to all of the gang." Tess whispered.

"Dal, what did our mom say, that kept you outta trouble for weeks?" Pony asked.

"She said, 'Dallas, I know you're not just a hood. Don't forget about your family, the ones who'll care, if the police shoot you.'" Dallas sniffled, trying not to cry at the rawness of the memory.

"That's just like her." Tess whispered.

"I know." Johnny said, pulling her into his chest. All of the greasers who knew the Curtis parents well, started piling onto the hug.

"They're fire." Fitz said, "Burning brightly with emotion." I sniffled a little. Their emotion was contagious.

"But they won't burn up from the inside." I said, "We'll keep them from burning themselves."

"Yes. We will." Fitz said, full of determination.

"If they do start to burn, I can always put out the fire." Linh said. She created an orb of water, tossing it artfully from hand to hand.

"Or I could smother the flames." Tam suggested, "Especially Dallas'."

"Tam!" Linh shouted, "You wouldn't."

"I would."

"I'd douse you."

"I'd smother him."

"He'll punch you." Linh glared daggers at Tam. "Repeatedly." She got that right.

"Sophie?" Jenny tugged at my sleeve. "Could I please have some more mallowmelt?"

"Of course." I said.

"There's no more in the kitchen." she said.

I glanced around, looking for a plate of mallowmelt. I spotted Dallas', lying forgotten in the corner.

"There." I said, pointing. "I'll grab that." I somehow managed to grab it without tripping on my feet.

"Thanks." Jenny said.

"You're welcome." I said, smiling. The group hug had broken apart, and I saw Dallas reach for his mallowmelt.

"Who the hell took my mallowmelt?" Dallas screamed.

"Don't know, don't care!" Two-Bit shouted, "Maybe it's punishment for not sharing before!"

"Uh, oh." Jenny whispered, "Was this his?"

"Yes. I thought he was done." I said.

"Jenny's the only one with mallowmelt!" Steve shouted.

"Why the hell would you take my mallowmelt?" Dallas growled, stalking towards her menacingly.

"I-I didn't know." Jenny whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry ain't good enough." Dallas muttered. Jenny was trembling like a leaf, cowering in the corner.

"Dal! Get away from Jenny." Tess bravely stood in between them. Her chin was lifted. Not arrogantly, just confidently.

"Why should I?" Dallas drawled.

"You're scaring her. I thought you had a soft spot for me. Well, guess what. You're about to drop lower than the Socs." Tess crossed her arms. "Only a Soc would try to scare a kid like that."

Dallas' tough, menacing look dropped. In it's place was a look full of sorrow. And regret. "Jenny, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay, Dal." Jenny whispered, "It's okay."